PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO HONOR JOSS WHEDON WITH 2010 VANGUARD AWARD

The Producers Guild of America (PGA), a national non-profit trade group committed to protecting the rights and credits of producers in film, television and new media, announced today that award-winning science-fiction and fantasy storyteller Joss Whedon will be honored with the 2010 Vanguard Award at the 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Whedon is a producer, writer, director, and creator for such hit television programs as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Firefly," and "Dollhouse." He has written several feature film scripts including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Alien Resurrection and Titan A.E. and is author of the cultish Dark Horse comic book series "Fray." Whedon also created and produced an Internet sensation with the musical superhero spoof "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog," which stars Neil Patrick Harris.

The PGA's Vanguard Award recognizes achievements in new media and technology. Previous recipients of the prestigious Vanguard Award include George Lucas, James Cameron, and John Lasseter, who is also being awarded the 2010 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures by the PGA this year, MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe and president and co-founder Tom Anderson, YouTube founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Will Wright.

"Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award," said David Friendly and Laurence Mark, co-chairs of the PGA Awards.

"This is an honor I didn't expect and probably don't deserve," said Joss Whedon. "The truth is, I've never actually guarded a van. But I am a super-total visionary, so that fits. I'm ready to take my place next to the guys who made �THX 1138' and �Tin Toy' (Did they ever do anything else, btw? They showed such promise.). This is a time of radical change in media delivery and content, and I'm honestly proud the PGA has singled me out as someone who sort of knows what's going on."

Whedon is a third-generation television writer. His grandfather and father were both successful sitcom writers on shows such as "The Donna Reed Show," "Leave It to Beaver" and "The Golden Girls." After receiving a degree in film studies from Wesleyan University, Whedon landed his first writing job on the staff of the top-rated series "Roseanne." He later pulled double duty on the series "Parenthood," co-producing and writing a number of episodes.

After creating "Buffy" as a feature film script, Whedon brought it to television in 1996, where it became a cult phenomenon. In 2000, Whedon garnered his first Emmy� nomination in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his groundbreaking episode entitled "Hush." The series won several awards over its run including, Emmys, Saturns, SFXs and a Hugo in its seventh and final season.

In 1998, Whedon developed and produced "Angel" through 20th Century Fox Television and his production company, Mutant Enemy. The "Buffy" spin-off gained a loyal following of its own and ran for five seasons on the WB. In 2002, he followed up with the critically acclaimed sci-fi drama "Firefly" for the Fox network. In addition to serving as creator and executive producer on "Angel," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Firefly," Whedon also wrote and directed multiple episodes of each series.

In 2002, Whedon wrote, composed and directed a Broadway-style musical episode entitled "Once More, With Feeling," which received worldwide recognition and spawned an "Original Cast Recording" soundtrack, which sold more than 400,000 CDs worldwide.

Whedon earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay with Disney's box-office smash Toy Story. His other feature writing credits include Titan A.E., Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alien Resurrection. In fall 2005, Whedon made his feature directorial debut with Serenity, based on the "Firefly" series.

In addition to his television and feature writing, Whedon created "Fray" for Dark Horse comics, writes "Astonishing X-Men," "Runaways" for Marvel and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" season 8 for Dark Horse Comics.

Whedon's wildly popular Internet series titled "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" was recently released on DVD after making its online debut in 2008. "The Cabin in the Woods," a feature he co-wrote with Drew Goddard, is currently in post-production and will be released in 2011.