A third-generation Hollywood writer, Whedon started out as a story editor on Roseanne before penning the screenplay for the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1992. After reportedly script-doctoring big-budget blockbusters such as Speed and Twister, this geeky scribe resurrected his bloodsucking Buffy franchise by transforming it into a prime-time series in 1997 and creating the spin-off Angel two years later. As the shows' creator, writer, producer and, in the case of a musical episode, songwriter, Whedon maintained complete creative control over his striking blend of dark fantasy and sharp humor. He took another one of his creations, Firefly, on the opposite journey, turning the short-lived series into the movie Serenity in 2005. Since then, Whedon has kept busy with projects in a variety of different mediums: he wrote issues of the comic-book series Runaways, Astonishing X-Men and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cowrote the feature film Cabin in the Woods, created the television show Dollhouse and cowrote and directed an Internet musical called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" during the 2008 writer's strike. Whedon's work frequently centers on tough female protagonists and in real-life he is a feminist and avid supporter of the international human-rights organization Equality Now, which promotes equal rights for women.