Whedonesque : Comments on 17632 : Out and about: Joss at a Hollywood political fund raiser.

I would have liked to sit at Table 23. And apparently Chris Rock sat at two tables!

I think one of them may be Chris Rock from the 80s. And on a school night too, shocking.

Yeah Joss! And to the credit of whoever checks these things, they gave Kai's last name correctly.
It's been maddening to hear the criticism on some media today, about going forward with such an event in the face of the crumbling U.S. economy. But how can that, and all the other disasters of the last eight years, even begin to be corrected, without getting Obabm elected?

edited for bad spelling.

[ edited by Shey on 2008-09-18 11:27 ]

Shey | September 18, 11:26 CET

*snicker* I caught Chris Rock too. But I just thought that seeing how Obama knew him, he knew just one table cannot ~~take~~ hold all that energy lol

Wendy Wanderman

For a second there, I thought Wonder Woman was invited. ;)

Mirage | September 18, 11:37 CET

Mirage, I thought of the character from The Middleman! LOL!

OzLady | September 18, 12:18 CET

Herb Albert! Nice to know he is still out and about.

Lioness | September 18, 12:47 CET

edited for bad spelling.

Except for that "Obabm" part. ;)

The One True b!X | September 18, 13:06 CET

Obabm is a third-party candidate.

Edited because sucky spelling is contagious. I had to fix this line three times!

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2008-09-18 13:16 ]

Nebula1400 | September 18, 13:15 CET

Go Joss and Kai! I may be half the world away but whole political situation in the U.S. is making me nervous.

Sorry Simon, I'll try to behave :)

[ edited by Aviva on 2008-09-18 14:14 ]

Aviva | September 18, 13:20 CET

I know it's not easy given the nature of this entry but I'd rather we didn't try and slag off the various candidates in the US election.

I do wonder if we'll see a Whedon for Obama event. The Kerry one was fun to cover from what I remember.

Simon | September 18, 13:33 CET

Considering that Danny Strong is nominated for an Emmy for a political film, I hope that HE will spearhead an Obama benefit. I'd totally fly out for that if he did! :-)

Edited to clarify WHICH Danny. Because I'm picky that way. ;-)

[ edited by OzLady on 2008-09-18 13:43 ]

OzLady | September 18, 13:43 CET

I prefer to think of it as Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas were at a table with the likes of Joss Whedon and Kai Cole.

Tonya J | September 18, 13:51 CET

Could a Joss Whedon remake of Working Girls be on the cards?

Simon | September 18, 13:53 CET

Could we not do political commentary here? Please?

scotws | September 18, 13:55 CET

I think since Joss is at a political event, it'd be kinda hard to avoid the politics of it.

gossi | September 18, 13:57 CET

And rest assured I'll be keeping an eye out if anyone tries to play silly buggers.

Simon | September 18, 14:00 CET

Isn't Antonio Banderas a vampire?

jcs | September 18, 14:12 CET

I agree, we're going to discuss it regardless, so might as well set the rules as of now.

Madhatter | September 18, 14:13 CET

I would love to see a Joss essay in these parts about the upcoming election. That's all I'm going to say.

Tonya J | September 18, 14:17 CET

Joe Roth -- producer of Hellboy II -- was also sitting at Joss's table, possibly even next to him (if the order implies seat positions). I wonder if conversations drifted to Joss directing a future super-hero movie... *wishful thinking*

SteveP | September 18, 14:40 CET

My love for Joss and Kai just keeps expanding...

Kirochka | September 18, 14:46 CET

I love saying Antonio Banderas's name. It just... flows. :)

NYPinTA | September 18, 15:07 CET

Hmm I wonder when we'll be seeing a Whedon/Banderas project, since Joss seems to have all his ideas while having lunch or dinner with someone... ;)

@SteveP: The names look a lot like they're sorted alphabetically ;)

adastra | September 18, 15:21 CET

Could a Joss Whedon remake of Working Girls be on the cards?

I think you mean Working Girl, Simon. Working Girls was an entirely different movie. A Joss remake of Working Girl would be fun, though, if one were to leave out Melanie Griffith altogether and have Antonio play the Harrison Ford part. yum.

palehorse | September 18, 15:26 CET

Isn't Antonio Banderas a vampire?

He is, and the shocking thing about that is he's such a lame one!

Nebula1400 | September 18, 16:11 CET

I love that Joss and Kai were at this event. Yet I can't get over the surrealness of their sitting and dining with Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. Don't they inhabit separate universes? Feels that way to me. Universes are colliding!

phlebotinin | September 18, 16:27 CET

You know, I'm just hoping it was a happy dining together.

Madhatter | September 18, 16:38 CET

For 28 grand a seat i'd want frikkin' ecstatic, nevermind "happy" ;).

Saje | September 18, 16:41 CET

Working Girls was an entirely different movie.

I'd rather see Joss re-do that one :) - imagine the subversion of expectations!

so might as well set the rules as of now.

As Simon said, "I'd rather we didn't try and slag off the various candidates in the US election."

zeitgeist | September 18, 16:44 CET

Heck, I wish I could sit at a table with Antonio Banderas, even if he is a lame vampire. And I would sell my soul to sit at a table with Joss and Kai.
I think it is possible for us to comment on an event like this without getting overly political. Let's just keep in mind we are one community and we don't want to alienate or offend any of our friends.

Linnea1928 | September 18, 16:46 CET

That's unfortunate.

Delirium | September 18, 16:58 CET

People seem to be doing a decent job of holding off the political commentary.

I wonder what they ate. (If I ran the dinner, it would have been rice and beans!)

Nebula1400 | September 18, 17:13 CET

Maybe Joss Whedon used the opportunity to talk to Antonio Banderas -- with his v.o. experience as Puss in Boots and a temporarily possessed Donkey in the "Shrek" films and the Bee in the Nasonex commercials --about providing the singing/speaking voice for Bad Horse in the next "Dr. Horrible" installment :)

I see Tim Kring was in the group as well :)

Shapenew | September 18, 17:20 CET

I'm glad to hear that Joss was at that event, and I hope that if he DOES do a fund raising event (like he did for Kerry) he doesn't wait until the last minute to do it (like he did with Kerry).

BTW I just heard that Dana Delany was bringing Nathan Fillion as her date to the Emmy Awards on Sunday night, so we should all watch that just to see if Nathan wears a kilt!

embers | September 18, 17:35 CET

Ah Antontio! Too Sexy, too sexy!

Harmalicious | September 18, 17:36 CET

I didn't read the article but I wonder if it came up that Harmony wanted to eat Banderas and that Spike granted his permission to take out him, Melanie, and the family...

Could have been an amusing exchange... ; )

Brett | September 18, 18:24 CET

I see that Jodie Evans/Code Pink, etc. was slated to attend, but surely that's not the old Saturday Night Live Victoria Jackson at Table 24 with Will Ferrell? Not the sad lil' Victoria Jackson who thinks Obama might be the anti-Christ? It's a common enough name, and it has to be somebody else, but it gave me a moment's pause...

There was some serious Hollywood firepower in that room - Medavoy and Chernin, right next to each other, and Jodie Foster, Quincy Jones, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Paula Weinstein (incidentally, one of ReCount's EPs) and Robert Zemeckis. And woo-hoo for my guilty pleasure Seth MacFarlane, sitting at the table with Kring and Friday Night Lights' Peter Berg.

I won't get into the politics of it - I don't imagine my political affiliations will be much of a shock to anyone here - but I will say that even I knew that Zapatero was Spain's leader, and I am not 1) known for my knowledge of world leaders nor 2) running for President.

QuoterGal | September 18, 18:24 CET

Sighs.

Simon | September 18, 18:26 CET

Heeeheeeheeeeheeeheeeheee!

Seriously, Joss attending a fundraiser for the candidate of his choice is legitimate celebrity news for a site like this, and implies nothing. and given the historical tendencies of persons in "the Biz," nobody needs to be surprised. (Altho I do wish I knew about Emma; I'm guessing she's voting for Barr. Just guessing tho :-).)

And Joss's shows were full of pop culture references, so meeting the peson mentioned shoudln't be especially awkward since,w ell it was kinda inevitable. Humorous, yes, but not awkward.

Waht really depressed me is how out of touch I am; proportionally speaking, I knew almost none of those names. Not none, but almost none. And I'm supposed to be a film fan.

An attempt at a non-partisan politcal comment; I turned 52 last November and this is pretty much the first Presidential election since I was in kindergarten that I'm not scared of the outcome, that's how I feel about these four people as people.

DaddyCatALSO | September 18, 18:43 CET

I knew it.

Woo Hooooooooooooooo!

WhoIsOmega? | September 18, 18:52 CET

Joss at an Obama fundraiser. Now I just need a pic of him wearing an Obama button and my life is complete. Of course I knew he wouldn't be for McSame, but I thought he might be for Hillary. Or maybe he was and just decided to come over when Barack got the nom. Either way, Joss is on board, so now we just can't lose!

Someone may die, though... hmmm...

Willowy | September 18, 19:11 CET

Lets not slam anyone; if Simon has to sigh a second time, there will be repercussions.

zeitgeist | September 18, 19:25 CET

What?

Willowy | September 18, 19:32 CET

Would shipping Morgan Freeman and Buffy make Simon sigh? If so, I need to stop writing that fanfic. :D

crazygolfa | September 18, 19:42 CET

As long as he doesn't have to read it, I'm sure it'll be fine (or at least if he has plausible deniability re: having read it thrice and loved it).

On the actual topic, cutesy nicknames for candidates and calling someone sad for their political beliefs fall under the no-no list.

zeitgeist | September 18, 19:51 CET

Was the Kerry fundraiser the one were the person who introduced Joss called him Josh Whedon?

icallitvera | September 18, 19:53 CET

Wasn't that every event he's ever been at?

zeitgeist | September 18, 20:01 CET

embers "I hope that if he DOES do a fund raising event (like he did for Kerry) he doesn't wait until the last minute to do it (like he did with Kerry)."

Ooh, I kind of hope he does wait until the almost last minute. If I could attend a Joss related Obama fundraiser on November first or second it would totally justify flying out for the Dr. Horrible Halloween screening.

deadbessie | September 18, 20:26 CET

My favourite pic from that day.

Link:

Simon | September 18, 20:32 CET

Just to be clear, I didn't call Victoria sad because of her political beliefs. I wouldn't call someone sad simply because of political beliefs that differ from mine.

For $.50 and an SASE, I am happy to explain offline why I did call her sad.

QuoterGal | September 18, 20:46 CET

Did her puppy die ?

Saje | September 18, 20:46 CET

Yes, her "puppy" died a long time ago, and it is still very, very sad.

QuoterGal | September 18, 20:51 CET

Wow. Reading that Victoria Jackson essay on Obama being (1) Muslim and (2) the Antichrist was enough to motivate me to head on over to barackobama.com and make a donation. Thanks for sharing that wonderful example of the First Amendment in action, QuoterGal!

BrewBunny | September 18, 20:52 CET

Yep, some people you don't have to comment on at all, you just keep them well supplied with rope. And that essay would be pretty funny if you guys didn't have nuclear weapons ;).

Saje | September 18, 21:31 CET

Make no mistake, Saje. I didn't find those sort of essays funny at all. Particularly because one of the VP candidates is a longtime member of a fringe Christian movement which seeks to bring about the "End Times" in order to establish a world-wide Christian theocracy. And to think that said VP candidate would be only one melanoma away from the presidency. Do you think she'd bring her own personal tanning bed to Washington with her?

BrewBunny | September 18, 21:51 CET

I think I can hear Simon sighing. Or something.

jcs | September 18, 21:54 CET

Yep I'm warning people now that comments will be edited.

Simon | September 18, 21:57 CET

Earlier today I went into the staff kitchen to heat up my lunch. I made a comment in the 5 minutes while I was there that became something that still going on when I stopped by to wash my bowl later. And all I said was "Wow, it's quiet in here. Lately I hear you talking politics a lot."

This thread reminds me of that.

Sunfire | September 18, 21:59 CET

Listen, I know that this is an entertainment-themed site and most people come here for the fun. But is it really such a bad thing to allow people to talk politics on a single thread that is about, oh, politics? There are a lot of intelligent posters on this site who I'm sure could offer up some thoughtful facts and analyses on which candidates are best suited to take the helm of the U.S.A. Have we really hit such a low that we can't be trusted to disagree with each other in a civil manner?

Or I can just shut up and go back to fretting over the fate of Dollhouse rather than fretting over what may end up being the most dire financial crisis since the Great Depression.

BrewBunny | September 18, 22:04 CET

BrewBunny if you have a problem with what I please extend me the courtesy of emailing me about it as per our rules.

Simon | September 18, 22:08 CET

There are a lot of intelligent posters on this site who I'm sure could offer up some thoughtful facts and analyses on which candidates are best suited to take the helm of the U.S.A.

No one's offering those though. Everyone's just using this less-than-frequent opportunity to get some jabs in. There's nothing said here that hasn't been said elsewhere. People are just repeating the ammunition of the day: McCain's Spain gaffe, Palin's tanning bed, etc.

Sunfire | September 18, 22:09 CET

The left-leaning ammunition of the day, technically. Those of us who are conservative or libertarian usually know to maintain "weapons-safe" when venturing into the fandom :)

KingofCretins | September 18, 22:19 CET

Sunfire, Fair point on the tanning bed comment. That was 100% pure snark on my part.

BrewBunny | September 18, 22:22 CET

There's a perfectly viable thread for campaign discussion on our flickr group. Its (and I kid you not) fast approaching 1000 comments.

zeitgeist | September 18, 22:47 CET

In my humble opinion, BrewBunny, while the event in the article was political, the article, as far as this website community is concerned, does not invite a debate on the candidates or issues.
Thanks Simon and zeitgeist for your attention in keeping this site friendly and approachable for all involved.

Linnea1928 | September 18, 23:21 CET

Joss, I invite you to my $28,500-a-plate dinner.

I hope you like pasta. A lot.

Pointy | September 18, 23:50 CET

embers and deadbessie, the election is Nov. 4 and today is Sept. 18. I'd say that in terms of organizing events, we're pretty much already at the last minute.

Shapenew | September 18, 23:52 CET

Simon, that picture brings back memories. SNT and rogue slayer (where is she these days?) and the others who got to go wrote such great accounts.

phlebotinin | September 18, 23:56 CET

Can we slag off candidates in the Canadian election?

redeem147 | September 19, 00:05 CET

Or we could 'slag off' politicians in the UK? Personally I had liked Harriet Jones at first but after she became Prime Minister I really didn't think she was very good, but you do have to give her credit for saving the world at the end there...

I agree, Shapenew, that a fund raiser at the end of September would be late, but at the end of October is really after the point of usefulness.

embers | September 19, 00:17 CET

Hey guys -- I'm not here as anything but an occasional lurker that often these days, but I felt like stepping in to defend Simon a bit. As someone who's a habitue at political blogs and has seen a few food fights even among people who mostly agree with each other (the Obama vs. Clinton battles at various liberal blogs were a thing to behold) that I totally understand why Simon wants to constrain the political barbs -- they have a way of getting unpleasant fairly fast (though the troll issue is not one here), and every large site has its rules. For example, DailyKos has a strict one about advocating 9/11 conspiracy theories (you can't -- it gets too hairy even for the often fractious and outspoken Dkos). Certain subjects have a way of spiraling out of control. It's okay if you go in knowing that and with a thick skin on and prepared to battle on a specific topic, but Whedonesque is trying to be a friendly, fun community and suceeds better at it than almost any site I've seen.

That being said, it would be interesting one time to have an intra-ME debate between Joss and Tim Minear and, as back-up, perhaps one of the more outspoken liberal actors and Emma Caulfield (though she reportedly said she was voting for Kerry in 2004...wonder where she is on this election).

Also, I was at High Stakes. Fun event but perhaps Joss, skeptic that he is, nevertheless fears it's a jinx, considering. (Or maybe he's just too darn busy.) Danny Strong, though I'm sure he's not auditioning for the National Review, would probably prefer to play down the any "Recount" with his opinions on the election (I think he was at High Stakes though my memory might be playing tricks on me.) I'm guessing he wouldn't want to do anything to play into the widespread perception on the right that everyone involved in the project pretty went into it with a specific agenda, regardless of the facts of the case.

[ edited by bobster on 2008-09-19 00:45 ]

bobster | September 19, 00:42 CET

bobster; LAst I heard Emma was registered as a Republican but she's more a "closet Libertarian" than she is part of the knuckle-dragging wing like I am. She keeps a bit quiet about it for reasons of employment, since lots of casting driectors think all Republicans are like me.
From the writeups and pictures at High Stakes, besides Joss, ALy and ALexis, there was Amber, Adam, Danny, Tom Lenk, Amy A., Julie, and I think Nathan and Nicky, not clear beyond that. No surprises there, darlings.

Willowy: Generally, unless there's a serious ideological split in the primary campaign leading up to the convention, most people pull together afterwards to support the nominee during the main campaign ahead. There are always a few exceptions;the mother of my best friend in college generally voted for the one she thought was the cutest.

And,as I said above, except for Mr. and Mrs. Banderas, the only other name I recall knowing was Jaime Leigh Curtis.

[ edited by DaddyCatALSO on 2008-09-19 01:26 ]

DaddyCatALSO | September 19, 01:22 CET

Oh, Danny was at High Stakes . . . and thanks for those words, bobster.

SoddingNancyTribe | September 19, 01:40 CET

Yeah, bobster, you are totally right. Although we did manage to have a decent discussion about religion a while back, which is another of the Major Hot Topics Which Can Lead To Unpleasant Posting (yes, that's the official term).

Having said that, I do think it's probably possible to have a discussion here on - say - the politics of Serenity (or, possibly soonish, on the politics of Dollhouse), which might then evolve into a more general discussion on politics, as long as it's kept in ideological and philosophical terms and not linked to any direct "hot topics" of the day. In general, during election time? Probably not a great plan :). Which is to say: "our sighing mods" (now there's a great band name, right there) are totally right. As per usual. Which sucks, because one of these days I'd like to do one of these off site private e-mails to discuss site policy we keep reading about when things get heated ;)

GVH | September 19, 01:51 CET

Oh, no politics here, god yes.

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2008-09-19 01:58 ]

Chris inVirginia | September 19, 01:56 CET

Woot!

I'm going to an Obama rally this weekend. Not in Hollywood though.

GrrrlRomeo | September 19, 02:24 CET

Can we slag off candidates in the Canadian election? (Couldn't figure out italics)

Yahhh...I think voter turnout this year is going to be pretty much zero in Canada.

Justin | September 19, 06:54 CET

I am glad that Joss is a Obama fan, but I would be hard pressed to stay away from Mia Sara.

What that woman does to this old man can not be said on this page.

shepherdbookshair | September 19, 08:41 CET

Ah, Mia and I go way back, at least as far as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" ;).

Make no mistake, Saje. I didn't find those sort of essays funny at all.

Well, that's because you live amongst it Brewbunny (and as I say, neither do I really cos you guys are packing inter-continental heat and i'm not 100% convinced by your record of keeping it out of those sorts of hands ;). Other things being equal though I just can't help myself, that sort of mindlessness just makes me laugh - I mean, it's so over the top, so full of ill-considered poison that you have to laugh at it, it basically parodies itself.

No doubt when that sort of "thinking" is more prevalent over here (and - though 10-15 years ago i'd never have believed it of Brits - it looks like it's just a matter of time, creationism's trying to creep into science classes at schools for instance) then i'll be more upset by it.

[ edited by Saje on 2008-09-19 09:53 ]

Saje | September 19, 09:52 CET

bobster, Danny Strong covered the Democratic National Convention for the Associated Press. I don't believe he's worried about appearing partisan :) At the time when "Recount" was airing, the creative personnel involved who discussed their own politics, Danny Strong included, said they were Democrats but wanted to be fair in their depiction of the Republicans in the story. We're now far enough after the premiere of the telefilm that I doubt anyone involved feels that their personal politics, which in many cases are a matter of record anyway, need to be suppressed for the good of the film's publicity.

DaddyCatALSO, Adam Baldwin is a very forthright Republican. (And yes, Nathan Fillion and Nicholas Brendon were at the High Stakes event. Also Dennis Christopher -- Cyvus Vail on "Angel" -- and a number of writers from various Whedon projects. But I don't think Julie Benz was there ...?)

zeitgeist, we have a flickr group?

Shapenew | September 19, 11:44 CET

Redundant post, apologies.

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2008-09-19 12:02 ]

Chris inVirginia | September 19, 12:02 CET

Shapenew, they call it the library but there's also a link to flickr. It's on the main page of this forum on the right side if you scroll down to, and under, the photo of Neil Patrick Harris (or you can click on Neil's photo).

Tonya J | September 19, 13:53 CET

zeitgeist, we have a flickr group?
Shapenew | September 19, 11:44 CET

Look to the right on Home, scroll down to the photos. Click on any photo, then at the top of the photo page that opens, click on "Groups".
What you have to do from there may depend on whether or not you already have a general Yahoo account. I do, so I was already good to go.
Not that I've had time to do more than lurk, except for one quick comment. :-)

ETA TonyaJ beat me too it. :)

[ edited by Shey on 2008-09-19 14:08 ]

Shey | September 19, 14:07 CET

Speaking as a Canadian, I absolutely will be voting. Unfortunately the person I really want to vote for is running in another province. Dang.

redfern | September 19, 14:37 CET

We do have a lovely little flickr group for off-topic catching up. Do join us over there sometime...

barest_smidgen | September 19, 16:16 CET

Can't help beign a bit catty here, tho; I wonder what California law says about smoking at a catered invitation only banquet, given that Melanie and Antonio are known for being big on the nic....

DaddyCatALSO | September 19, 18:16 CET

In California, almost all high end venues have outdoor areas set up especially for smokers. It is completely acceptable and I can't see why someone's addiction would be a source of amusement. I quit over a year ago, but never had a single issue with having a place to light up when I wanted to.

TamaraC | September 19, 18:33 CET

For the first time ever I have donated to the Democratic nominee Barack Obama, and I feel really good about it. :)To sum up how I feel about these last 8 years, I quote Capt. Picard from Star Trek: First Contact: "We've made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!" :D

nakedandarticulate | September 19, 19:16 CET

That's okay, redfern. The person I really want to vote for is running in another country.

redeem147 | September 20, 04:15 CET

September 18 2008