It’s no secret that Joss Whedon has found both a great amount of success and a decent amount of failure as well. But one thing he has never had a lack of was a devoted fan following. In the 15 years since Buffy the Vampire Slayerstarted, the man who has graced television, film, and comics is easily one of the most loved cult-followed creative talents in pop culture. After a jaw-dropping and record setting weekend at the box office with The Avengers, Joss made sure that despite this large addition to his win column, he’s not letting it go by without thanking the very fans who got him there.

Via Whedonesque:

Dear Friends,

Well, it’s been quite a weekend. Someday, long from now, I will even have an emotional reaction to it, like a person would. I can’t wait! But before I become blinded by this “emotion” experience, there’s a few things I’d like to say. Well, type.

People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good — change is exciting. I think — not to jinx it — that I may finally be recognized at Comiccon. Imagine! Also, with my percentage of “the Avengers” gross, I can afford to buy… [gets call from agent. Weeps manfully. Resumes typing.] …a fine meal. But REALLY fine, with truffles and s#!+. And I can get a studio to finance my dream project, the reboot of “Air Bud” that we all feel is so long overdue. (He could play Jai Alai! Think of the emotional ramifications of JAI ALAI!!!!)

What doesn’t change is anything that matters. What doesn’t change is that I’ve had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of — I’m not even gonna say fans. I’m going with “peeps” — that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I’ve had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y’all. A lot of stories have come out about my “dark years”, and how I’m “unrecognized”… I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I’m ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I’ve yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I’ve thought, “maybe I’m over; maybe I’ve said my piece”. But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y’all. Because you knew me when. 

If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you’re probably new here. (For the record, and despite my inhuman distance from the joy-joy of it: topping a box office record is super-dope. I’m an alien, not a robot.) So this is me, saying thank you. All of you. You’ve taken as much guff for loving my work as I have for over-writing it, and you deserve, in this our time of streaming into the main, to crow. To glow. To crow and go “I told you so”, to those Joe Blows not in the know. (LAST time I hire Dr. Seuss to punch my posts up. Yeesh!) Point being, you deserve some honor, AND you deserves some FAQs answered.

Yesterday, The Avengers crossed $700 million at the global box office upon 13 days of release, and it’s expected to cross the $1 billion mark sometime soon. Throughout the press for the film, Whedon has said he had a very outstanding relationship with Marvel over The Avengers. He’s said “the director’s cut” of the film is what he put out on screens this past weekend, as Marvel let him make the exact film he wanted to create. It’s expected that Whedon will likely be back for The Avengers 2, which will come to theaters at an undetermined time in the future, but nothing is official yet.

Source: Joss Whedon Writes Letter To Thank Fans for ‘The Avengers’ Support and Success | Durance Magazine.