Yeah I was going to going to post this earlier but 'Valentine' was on the telly. Anyway, there seems to be a number of Whedonesque posters who said that they were going to Comic Con so here's a discussion thread.
And if you think you're going to mention spoilers, remember the invisible text.
To use it:
<Span class="invisible">the text you want made invisible</span>And we get (highlight with mouse):
text made invisible
KernelM | July 26, 03:05 CET
Invisible Green | July 26, 03:21 CET
http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=6403#81547
ETA: Coverage by the same poster (FFF is overloaded right now) at the OB:
http://forums.prospero.com/foxfirefly/messages?msg=16899.1
[ edited by KernelM on 2004-07-26 03:27 ]
KernelM | July 26, 03:58 CET
Afraid I won't be the best reporter - it's just too hard to chronicle/take notes or photos with 2 kids who are crawling over you, telling you they're thirsty etc. I'll offer my impressions, and you'll have to wait for the Ed's and RandyGiles's of this world to give you the fine details.
SATURDAY:
Got in autographs line for the Buffyverse folks. Present were Danny Strong, Tom Lenk, James Leary, George Hertzberg, Mark Lutz, and Robia LaMorte. (Robin Sachs was on earlier - didn't get to see him; Adam Busch was advertised but not there). Danny was wearing a full stubbly-face and a Kerry/Edwards sticker, and I'd never noticed before that he has the most piercing blue eyes . . . and, yep, I'm a guy. :) We had a little political exchange; I thanked him for coming out for Kerry, and suggested that "we" were in decent shape. He said he had a good feeling about this one, and thought that "we" would be ahead in the polls come Oct/Nov - "you heard it here first!" He and Tom and James signed my "OMWF" script book and were all diligently ignoring the woman standing behind the signers who kept urging them to charge for all autographs that were not for "personal items"; apparently, my script book counted as "merchandise" that had to be charged for. George, Mark, and Robia each signed my Buffy S2 script book; Robia was quite charming, and looked wonderful. I told her I liked her website, and she seemed genuinely delighted, and asked me if I participated in the forums there (I haven't). All of the above actors were totally happy to have pics taken with them, and were very gracious.
SMG and Jason Behr
First, I must say that Hall H at the Comic-Con was a bit of a nightmare in terms of finding seating. Since the progs were all back-to-back, there was no changeover, just a constant flow of entrances and exits. We couldn't find 4 seats together, so had to separate. SMG and Jason's bit started late. First, the announcer showed what appeared to be a longer version of the preview that is available on-line - the SMG's parts seemed pretty much the same, but there was more featured of some of the other actors. Then he introduced SMG and Jason who came on to what was at least a half-hall standing ovation. SMG looked really great (as did JB...;)). They both said a few words about being happy to be there, then invited questions.
At this point I should say that I was really disappointed at the organization of this appearance. Unlike other panels, where there was a moderator, or Q&A was broken up by several clips, or there were at least 3 or more people on stage, this was only Sarah and Jason, and Sarah did, literally, 95% of the talking. I didn't have a problem with that, per se, but it made the success of the appearance completely dependent on the quality of the questions . . . and they were pretty much all along the lines of "Sarah, I love you, you're my inspiration. Oh and hi Jason. Sarah, what is your favorite kind of ice-cream?" OK, I exaggerate, there were some decent questions but I really wished it had been moderated/broken up in some way.
As already announced, the very first question was why Sarah had not attended Comic-Con previously. She immediately said, "I thought I would be asked that, so I prepared, in David Letterman style, a top 10 of reasons why I didn't". I think at this point many in the audience thought she would offer more or less "real" reasons why she hadn't. Instead, she did a jokey top 10 based on various comic-book series coming out/not coming out, and other "inside" comic-book geek lines. I'm guessing that Freddie wrote some or all of the top 10 because (1) he apparently is a big comic-book fan, I'm not, and I didn't catch half the references; (2) the answers didn't really sound like Sarah's style, and (3) they probably could have been funnier. I thought it was an interesting way to try to win the comic-book fans over, but probably didn't quite succeed because (a) the real geeks in the audience probably know more than FPJ and didn't find his lines funny;(b) Sarah's humor is quite different (I think it would have been funnier for her to compose her own non-comic related reasons for why she didn't attend);(c) the hardcore Sarah fans would have been confused by the reasons she read out; and (d) it just wasn't what people were expecting to hear. But kudos for the attempt.
I can't give you the verbatim Q&A. Sarah was very quick-witted and silver-tongued in response to every question. Jason Behr basically sat there and said "I agree with Sarah" to pretty much everything.
One poor questioner asked her about working with "Josh Weldon" again, and Sarah immediately pounced on her (in a good-natured way), saying "Who again?" and then "If you're going to ask about him, you have to get his name right". The poor questioner then doubled her error by mentioned Joss's current work on "The Fantastic X-Men"; Sarah straightaway told her "It's the Fantastic Four, and The X-Men".
Another questioner asked whether Sarah was keeping alive her interest in other fields, such as journalism. SMG's immediate response was "Is there something you're not telling me? (about my acting career)" which had the audience laughing.
There was a nice bit of banter around Jason's appearance (in "Lie to Me") and whether that was Sarah's favorite Buffy ep: "I liked that one with the guy with the brain tumor". She actually said, as she has elsewhere, that her personal favorite episode was "The Prom".
In response to one question about her and Joss working together again, she said something like "He didn't ask me to be in Serenity", or "why don't you ask him tomorrow?" or something similar. All in a very good-humored way.
She made *repeated* statements about what a joy it was to participate in BtVS, that it would be incredibly hard to top that on TV, that the show was groundbreaking, that the cast and crew were fabulous, etc. etc.
Specifically to a question re a future BtVS movie, she answered that she felt Buffy worked far better as an ongoing program on which characters and relationships could develop, and that she couldn't conceive of it as a 2-hour thing (although she then said that she wished the finale had been 2 hours). She then stated that if she were presented with a mindblowing script for a 2-hour Buffy film, she would "strongly consider it" or something to that effect.
Both she and Jason talked a little about shooting in Japan, learning Japanese etc. One thing I remember her saying is that in Japan, the actors are expected to actually do many of the bits themselves that might be "effects" or doubles in the U.S. For example, the director told her to jump through a window. She replied, well how do you want me to (fake) this? He said, no, just jump through it!
That's all I can remember (and bore you with) for now; I hope others can fill in with more precision. I thought, contrary to some reports, such as the AP one, that she was met very warmly on the whole, and that her wit and candidness won over most of the audience. One final regret I have is that, in response to a question about signing autographs, she said that there would be "surprises in store" after the panel chat. I wasn't able to stick around - what with the crawling kids and all - to find out what those might have been. Someone please enlighten me.
I won't write about the Serenity panel at this point, since someone else should have the first crack. All I can say is Wow! The preview was great, Joss was hilarious as ever, and the entire cast looked happy, playfully sniped at one another (especially victimized were poor Morena and Jewel), and Adam Baldwin and Nathan were like two naughty schoolboys in the back of the classroom.
If anyone has anything specific for me to respond to, let me know. Oh, and I met one other Whedonesque-r, RandyGiles, who was as delightful in person, as she is on this board. ;)
Oh, almost forgot: Amber Benson. She was "greeting" on various days, and I got to talk to her today before the Serenity panel. Damn it, but I am under her spell. She looked enchanting, spent as much time with each person in line as they wanted, signed everything they wanted, took pics, offered to sing with my 7-year old daughter, who, much to my chagrin, was too shy to take her up on it ;) Got a copy of "Chance", which I shall watch this evening, a t-shirt and several autographs made out to me and my daughter. Just lovely.
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 05:29 CET
http://fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=1590
KernelM | July 26, 05:50 CET
I ran across an AP story on the Comic-Con in the Miami Herald (reg. req.), which had a bit about SMG:
When Sarah Michelle Gellar arrived Saturday to promote her upcoming horror thriller "The Grudge," the first question posed to the actress by one unhappy attendee was: Why, during seven years of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," had she never visited Comic-Con before?
Gellar anticipated that reaction and read a top-10 list of joke excuses: but the audience laughed only sporadically - they wanted an actual answer.
They eventually warmed to her, but first she had to give them some tough love back.
When one woman asked Gellar whether she ever turned to her characters for the inspiration to solve real problems, the actress quipped: "You know they're not real, right?"
That finally earned her an unrestrained laugh from the crowd.
[Ooops, Simon already posted a link to the above AP story earlier. Sorry for the duplicate!]
[ edited by Ubqtous on 2004-07-26 04:58 ]
Ubqtous | July 26, 06:53 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 07:06 CET
eddy | July 26, 07:11 CET
First of all, SoddingNancyTribe is SO right about Amber. Just the sweetest, most pleasant person you could hope to meet. Ed and I got pics with her so we'll probably post them on our website along with a longer con report later. Just adorable! And we bought Chance. Word to the wise, they say she is just selling out the copies she has left because they finally sold the theatrical release rights to some company, so if you don't have a copy, go to her website and buy it!!
I'll let Ed tell you about what it's like to see the beautiful Eliza Dushku in person. It probably meant more to him, though I thought she was just wonderful too. And she's got a decent singing voice!
I was VERY pleasantly surprised by SMG. Yes, I agree her 'top ten' list was probably written by Freddie, and I didn't get half the references either(Ed got them all). It didn't go over for her very well, I think she's under the misconception that most people there were total comic people AND liked Buffy, but that just wasn't the case. Another Comicon misconception, though with that moniker, it's understandable! :) She was pleasant and bubbly. Spoke highly of Buffy and even defended Joss to that gal who got his name wrong. "If you're going to say it, get it right. Gotta give him props" or something to that effect(we have it audio taped, but I'm going by memory now). Jason Behr(sp?) was very gracious and nice and realized that most people were there for SMG. They were joking between each other about how he was a big fan of season 2. She tested him by asking what happened after Buffy slept with Angel, and he responded, "Uh, I remember there was a guy with a brain tumor...."(Behr played Ford in Lie To Me). It was a nice panel. I decided not to bring the rotten fruit to chuck at SMG, but maybe I should have brought it anyway and left it with Tom Lenk! BTW, SMG is actually NOT as skinny as I would have thought she would have been in real life. Maybe they made her eat something for The Grudge, because she was not as bony as she looks in pics. And Amber is skinnier than I thought she would be! I openly admit I'm overweight, but next to her I felt like the StayPuft Marshmallow man! She is tiny! I heard people in line behind us commenting on that too.
And we got the autographs of the group of Buffy folks who were signing. Danny Strong was very nice, and YES has beautiful eyes! He says we should expect to see more of him on Gilmore Girls next season. He also said Adam Busch wasn't there because Common Rotation(his band) was touring with They Might Be Giants. And he liked my shirt that said, "I (heart) Nerds"(I didn't think we were getting his autograph that day or I wouldn't have worn the obvious 'nerd' shirt)
The biggest disappointment of the autographing(with the exception of not getting to the autograph area in time for Eliza or Firefly) was Tom Lenk. He seemed totally bored and terribly unhappy to be there. I observed him with other people, and some people would lean in over the table to get a pic with him, and he would barely move his head closer. He barely acknowledged us and had very little eye contact. He signed our item and immediately looked away when he handed it to me! I don't think he enjoys doing cons, or maybe it was just a bad day. Who knows. BTW, we were only intending to get one person's autograph(because the others we will see in Oakland or just didn't care about), but they made the line so that you had to pass them all, so we thought it would be rude not to have them all sign. So while I stood in line, Ed ran and bought a Buffy calendar to sign and Danny Strong started flipping through it and asked if he was in it. He wasn't :( So he asked if he should sign on his birthday, so that was kind of the 'thing'. I had all the actors sign on their birthday. After the dismal Tom Lenk, I met who I had come to see......my Grooooooo..... Mark Lutz is SO cute!! I haven't stopped bugging my husband about meeting him. But he teased me. I asked him to sign on his birthday and he said it wasn't in the calendar. He pointed to where February 29th would be, and I asked if he was serious. He said, "When have you ever known me to be serious?" I was thinking, "I don't know you at all!" So he signed on Feb 14th writing, "Mark is cool day." We didn't really care much to meet George Hertzberg or Robia LaMorte, but they were both pleasant. Robia is gorgeous! And when she saw what Mark had written she went, "Ugh, I am SO over him!" Then there was a guy between Robia and James Leary who had a little sign saying he was from Charmed. So I had him sign my Comicon book. I have no idea who he is or what role he played, but maybe he'll hit it big someday! Then I told James Leary that I had heard great things about Stunkcocks and HAD to have it(courtesy of RavenU!). (He had it on display for sale) So he signed that for us, as well as our calendar. He was also very nice. One of the bigger surprises for us was Robin Sachs. We didn't plan on getting his autograph either(not a guy I'm into). But as we left the Buffy line, we saw him at his own table and thought, "What the hell." And I have to say, just that short encounter with him kind of made me giddy! I asked him to sign the calendar on his birthday and he said, "That will take too long." I didn't get it at first(I had just met Groo, leave me alone) and he said, "I can't stay here until February 5th to sign!" And I was like, "Oh, you got me." And he said, "Yuck, yuck! Pull my finger." He signed and I thanked him and he smiled very warmly and said, "You're very welcome, darling." And lemme tell ya, that 'darling' made me a HUGE Robin Sachs fan. That man has a beautiful accent and I melted a little! And he's kinda hot for an older guy too!
And today was Firefly and Joss and that was the most fun I had all weekend. That is a great group of folks. Joss got all 9 castmembers to come out and they got the most applause of any of the panels we were at(Star Wars with Carrie Fisher and Hayden Christenson, Sky Captain with Jude Law, SMG, Eliza, Sin City with Jessica Alba and Frank Miller etc, just to give you an idea.) Joss got a huge ovation, as well as the cast members. The cast came out and were taking pictures of the audience. They all seemed very happy to be there, but as usual, Joss and Nathan took most of the spotlight and cracked the most jokes, usually about Morena being stupid, everyone hating Jewel and Adam being called Stinkypants. I'm sure someone else(possibly Ed) will do a longer description, but I have to point out the most hilarious moment. Joss told Adam that he thought Jayne was the 'Cordelia' of Firefly. Adam then jokingly said, "Who's Cordelia?" At which point Nathan leaned over and did hand gestures of a curvy woman, and then pointed to his head like she wasn't very smart. Then he pretended to open up a Playboy centerfold, which got a huge reaction from the crowd, and Joss had to duck his head a bit he was laughing so hard. I don't think all of the panelists got the joke, but then maybe they haven't all seen Charisma's 'spread', so to speak! hehe
Let's see if I can do this from memory, Joss asked them what their favorite things about their characters were(and what they most hated about Jewel, hehe)
Gina Torres: Zoe's gun, and her spandex pants(cuz she can move and sit like a normal person in them)
Alan Tudyk: Wash always trying to steer people away from guns and violence
Adam Baldwin: Jayne's straightforwardness
Nathan Fillion: That no matter what kind of situation or problem presented itself, you could always look at Mal and know that he has the legs of a dancer.....
Jewel Staite: That no one has a problem with Kaylee. Everyone likes her
Morena Baccarin: Inara's smarts
Summer Glau: River gets to be barefoot a lot, Summer doesn't like shoes
Sean Maher: Simon's love for his sister
Ron Glass: Book's humor, conviction and unpredictability
Ok, that's all from me for now. I have to go decompress after a long 5 days in San Diego. Hopefully Ed will have pics up soon that we'll link to here.
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 07:13 CET
Oh and Awwweee! The Firefly cast seems like they are best of friends.
[ edited by nychick on 2004-07-26 05:37 ]
nychick | July 26, 07:27 CET
Rogue, you weren't the first person to comment about Tom Lenk's lack of friendliness. Does anyone know if this was his first convention? Maybe he's just shy in real life and feels uncomfortable.
Can't wait to read Ed's comments.
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 07:37 CET
I've been combing and surfing till my fingers fell off, but I've yet to find any posts as informative and in the moment as yours. It's been eating me alive that I wasn't able to be there, but your post made it better. THANK you. Can't wait for the pictures too... *greedy*
Willowy | July 26, 07:38 CET
I wasn't aware of any specific anti-SMG sentiment in the hall, although the people immediately surrounding me were a bit cool to begin with, and then rather won over by her attitude (which was sassy but funny. Ex: someone asked her whether playing Buffy helped her in "real-life": her answer on a dime was: "You do know she's not real, don't you?", which pretty much everyone laughed at.) Some of the audience may have felt sorry for the woman who mispronounced Joss's name, but the majority thought it, and Sarah's correction, was a hoot.
My wife reported serious SMG-mania around her; really, think Beatles' first visit to the U.S., but in much fewer numbers. Everyone I spoke to in lines really enjoyed her presence; only one rather creepy woman spoke in somewhat derogatory tones, and then followed that up by implying a little too strongly that she was an Amber Benson stalker. I think she was "just" infatuated and making a joke, but - yuck.
I hope Sarah viewed it as a very pos experience on the whole, and maybe will come to other cons and for other reasons. She's certainly a worthwhile guest.
I have to second RogueS's comments about Tom Lenk. He barely lifted his cap-covered head to acknowledge me, and didn't make eye contact. I am prepared to assume, charitably, that he was having an off day. Maybe someone who's had other experiences can comment.
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 07:42 CET
And even if Freddie is 'hip' to all the 'net stuff, does that mean SMG actually thinks someone would throw something at her? And really, there are FARRRR more venemous things said about her on the net than that, so I doubt my little joke would make SMG trepidatious about going to a con. Besides, what's her excuse for the past 7 years?
No, to be honest, I think some of the ridiculous people who get a hold of the microphone at the Q&A would keep me from going to a con, were I a famous person. Sadly, the poorest representatives of the fandoms are allowed to talk and ask the stupidest questions. It's usually either that, or people who try to sound educated but come off pompous. Rarely are there just normal people who ask normal questions.
BLWessels, this wasn't Tom's first convention, and I've seen pics of him at other fan functions where he just doesn't seem to be having any fun at all. Ed poo-pooed me when I said he might not be into it, but then he went away a believer...sadly....
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 07:42 CET
As to the Tom Lenk thing, I had read that elsewhere also. It reminded me of this Star Trek con I was at about 15 or so years ago. Walter Koenig was a total jerk. He of the horrid wig and snidely bored demeanor. There was this guy who came up to him, and he had this enormous vest on filled with Chekov buttons. All he wanted was a picture with his obvious idol, so jerk Koenig rolled his eyes and leaned on one hip in a "hurry up" pose. You should have seen the guy's face. Poor kid. I hope there weren't any huge Lenk fans there who got their little hearts broken.
Willowy | July 26, 07:44 CET
eddy | July 26, 07:53 CET
I doubt SMG thought anyone was going to be chucking fruit at her, maybe sushi?! Just kidding! Anyway, glad you didn't bring the fruit with you Rogue Slayer. I'm sure everyone knew you were kidding when you said that you would be!
And SoddingNancyTribe, that person would've creeped me out too, hopefully they aren't really the stalker type but unfortunately that type is out there. Those would be the type of people I'd be afraid of if I was a celebrity.
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 07:55 CET
I forgot one little funny bit. Someone asked Joss whose idea it was for Spike to have a 'swagger'. He said(not verbatim) "It was ALLLL James. Sometimes I'd have to reign him in and say, 'Bring it back a little. You're supposed to be sad now. No swagger. It's too sexy for the lens.' "
Oh yeah, and extremely OT...if anyone cares to know the name of the next Star Wars movie(I didn't, I was just camped waiting for SMG....)
Revenge of the Sith
And I'm a total admitted nerd, but yes, there were several people at the convention I would be afraid of if I were famous too. And several people I was afraid of just sitting next to them. One guy next to us at the Star Wars panel put his shaking hands to his face and gasped when they showed a clip of Anakin putting on the Darth Vader helmet for the first time. Ok, historic movie moment, to be sure, but come on dude....take a pill. And this is coming from the gal who is going to frame her autographed picture of Mark Lutz and apparently going to have to redecorate her bedroom from romantic Renaissance decor to 2 Spike posters, a Buffy poster and a Tru Calling poster..... Sadly, no more room for the sex swing and trapeze.....they'll get in the way of the posters :( ; )-
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 08:04 CET
Willowy | July 26, 08:09 CET
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 08:18 CET
Update from the Ed. He's almost done. Or at least he said to tell you guys that anyway......
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 08:23 CET
Willowy | July 26, 08:26 CET
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 08:29 CET
Overall, great con. Minuses for us: Adam Busch didn't show, but great news for him and his band, so who can blame them. Eliza, Joss and the Firefly cast all signed, but dear lord, the only way to get through to that crowd was with an uzi! (I was considering, but....alas, I had no uzi. Note for next year!) Seriously, it was pandemonium when these people were about to sign. We tried, and I got close with Eliza, but no dice. Badly organized too. Still I got some good shots of ED while she signed (Along with several other camera-armed, severely dissappointed males) We had to zoom in on her through several panel-rows, but hey, you're pathetic or you're not right? And after buying an Eliza picture at the con, and fighting to get inline, yet now finding myself standing there on the sidelines, so close and yet so far, I felt pretty darn pathetic!
And since we had great seats for Joss and the FF guys, we were waaay too far from the doors to be anywhere near first in line for their signing. But really, sitting in row 5 in the middle was worth it. Great seats.
Another minus has been mentioned but let me just add to it: What the FRAG is up with Tom Lenk?? He looked and acted like he was forced to spend the whole session sitting on a nest of red fire ants, all the while suspecting us fans of putting them there! Honestly, they had barely begun signing so I can't even blame it on tiredness. And yeah, he was that way with everyone. I looked if he ever cracked a smile, but nope. Didn't even want to look at people. "Could you sign this?" -"*Sigh*...Yeah okay." *scribble*" *quickly gives the object back while already looking to the side and hoping it will all be over soon*.
Okay it's pretty intense, I'm sure, but if you loathe every moment this much, just don't do it! Blah...
Enough of that! The good stuff!
-Eliza......hmmmmmmmm Eliza......No autograph fer me but pretty good seats with her too. And she's not just gorgeous, she's adorable. Funny, sassy, friendly, enthusiastic....and maybe even hotter in real life. And taking the sometimes rather stupid questions from fans with such grace and humor. I was glad to see they were smart enough to know people would come for HER and didn't bog it all down with Tru Calling side casters who would just have gotten increasingly cranky as everyone only talked to Eliza. Ya know. Just her in all her salty goodness! One of my favorite moments was when a guy next to us asked a question at the mike and was practically shivering. He said "I-I'm shaking, I'm so nervous!" and she instantly said "Oh don't worry! Me too!" Sweet'n funny.....Eliza, hmmmmmm.
Oh and one more note. She pushed Tru hard of course, fighting for her show. She said she liked the addition of Jason Priestly as an opponent on the show and how she wasn't crazy about the first half of the season. She wished Tru would stop whining all the time, hehe.
SMG. As people here know, my wife and I aren't SMG apologists (or for any of the actors) and when we feel she (or they) say or do stuff we thing is less than nice we say so. I say again, we've never been bashers either, but we did felt Sarah seemed to want to distance herself from Buffy a little too hard in the first year after it ended. And in all honesty I was worried she'd get a little iffy about coming there for the Grudge and have people ask only about Buffy.
Well, all my fears laid to rest and for naught: she was wonderful. She was funny, self-deprecating and praised Buffy through the roof. I must say I didn't sense any anti-her sentiments in the crowd. When she came on it was a HUGE applause and the whole vibe was one of realization of how rare this moment with her was. People laughed, people cheered. It was a great hour.
Now her 'Top Ten List' jokes were laughed at, but probably not as much as she figured beforehand. She caught it well though, fluently catching any possibly awkward and more silent moments before they could truly hatch. And yes, I am a comic nerd and I caught every single reference. But my wife is right, Sarah wrongly assumed that everyone there would be a comic reader. I think most people there were just Buffy/Sarah fans and that is in no way a guarantee you read comics! I too suspect hubby Freddie, a known comic fan helped her with it. It was a good list. If you get the references they're funny jokes.
Jason seemed to've been aware beforehand that Sarah is simply 10 times bigger than him and that most would be about her. But fans talked to him too, or addressed a question (often really clearly for Sarah) to both of them and Sarah kept pulling him into it as well.
Someone asked if she would do TV again and what it would be (Stupid question as she could be on the verge of a breakthrough in her movie career, and that is clearly what she's trying to do) and she said that Buffy set the bar for that so high, it would have to be something amazing. Great moment too when that girl (another genius) said "Joss Weldon". Hahah you should've heard the crowd. And Sarah instantly, jokingly but firmly "Okay! Say the name right. It's Joss WHEDON. If you're gonna say it, say it right. Give the man his props!"
Well we all know Joss and Sarah probably had their differences especially in the last two seasons, but it did me good to hear her jump to his 'defense' if you will, so quickly.
Anyway, then the girl said Joss was writing "Fantastic X-Men" (I swear, these people give nerds a bad name) and Sarah corrected that too: "Noo, look, you've got the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, two different things." Clearly, hubby has instructed her in the comic ways as well as I have been doing with Rogue Slayer, hehe.
Another good moment was when a girl said she wrote a paper on Buffy and Roswell and that she aced it. Then Jason asked what her grade was and Sarah said (with a bit of a 'duh' tone) "She got an A. That's what it means when she says that she 'aced' it." And everyone laughed. She giggled and touched his arm with a "I'm sorry that was mean" hehehe funny stuff. I still say she wears the pants in her marriage, hehehe. All in all a great panel. I hope we didn't scare her off forever from conventions.
The other Buffy actors, well...has been said too.
-Amber: Nicest person in the world. What and abslute sweetheart. She took the Chance DVD from me that her people just gave us (well...'gave'....after we paid them obviously. Don't mind me I'm rambling.) And Rogue chastised me for letting HER take it out of the plastic! (She took it from me! What could I do? Ahem) and she laughed and said "Oh that's okay, I'm used to it." She peeled it out and looked at our badges to get our names on there. Mine (uhm, my REAL name that is. The one not out of Count of Monte Christo) and said "Oh that's a weird name...is that...is that dutch?" And of course it was. Except no one english-speaking ever knows that since it's not a 'van' name. So that was really cool. Then as she signed it she laughed and said she got a 'married' vibe from us. So we told her that was right too. I think I said "She's good!" and Rogue "She's really smart" (yeah we're great conversationalists when we meet famous folk...) Amber rolled her eyes jokingly and said "Oh yeah, I'm SO smart". (We said other stuff but who the hell can remember. We were smiling too hard) So she signed, and we bought a pic of her and Willow and she signed that too, then she posed on a pic with each of us (allowing us to step behind her desk). And we're both grinning like idiots in those pics since we were pretty much star struck. (She had her arm around my waist.....*fangigglethatamanshouldntmake*) Sweet, sweet girl. Just an aura of niceness.
The rest:
-Danny Strong: Great! Funny, sweet guy. (and yes. pretty eyes.) I asked him about the Gilmore Girls thing just as we almost walked on. He thought we were gone already but instantly turned back to me and enthusastically said he'd definitely be back and we'd probably see more of him this season.
-Tom Lenk: blah! 'Nuff said about that.
-Mark Lutz. Nice guy. Funny, and clearly knows how to treat fans. He teased my wife, but hey, I think she liked it. Don't need to say to much there, since my wife won't stop talking about him....grnf. And of course *I* had to miss Eliza...
-Robia: Nice. Also not a novice at giving fans that extra smile and little joke. Same as George Hertzberg.
-James Leary. Well what hasn't been said. I think he's the Jack Nicholson of the TV world. How? Well look at the oscars. No one has more fun than Jack. Just loving it all. James Leary is like that. He loves the work he did, he loves the attention it got him, he loves the fans and is just lapping it up. Love to hang out with that guy. We bought Sunt C*cks as said. Hope it's as funny as I....uhm, hope. Did I mention I was rambling?
-Robin Sachs. WEll I like Ethan Rayne but he's hardly buffy A-list right? But he was sitting there in his own booth, and while waiting in line for the others, I noticed he seemed really nice to people. And sometimes there were no people (I think he was there several days, for several hours and there are going to be quiter moments) So we popped over and as Rogue Slayer said he was charming and funny. Really had charisma. The 'darling' bit really worked on my wife! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she meets Tony Head! Nice guy, glad we went to him. Tom Lenk should ask for tips.......
Lemme post this and get on Joss and Firefly....
[ edited by EdDantes on 2004-07-26 06:53 ]
EdDantes | July 26, 08:45 CET
I agree that Robin Sachs is hardly Buffy A-list but after seeing the behind the scenes of the Buffy Chaos game with him in it you could see how much he was getting into the role and that made me like him all the more. Glad most of the celebs seemed to really enjoy being there and if Tom Lenk truly isn't there because he wants to be he just should go. Hopefully he's just having a bad day but he's an actor and if that's the case he should be able to at least act like he's having some fun.
I've never been to one of these things and never thought I would but you guys did such a great job sharing your experiences it really makes me wish I had.
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 09:10 CET
*waiting in anticipation for the "firefly' report
nychick | July 26, 09:15 CET
He should be more than grateful that he's sliding in on the coattails of greatness. Joss chose him to be one of the gang. Plucked him from obscurity! Wanna go back there Tom?
I gotta allow that he is a human being and something extraordinarily wrong or bad could have happened in his personal life. But if he didn't feel up to the task, he should have cancelled.
Anyhoo, don't mean to be all about the badness! Thank you Ed for that great post! Thanks so much to all of you for sharing! I hope to read tons more when I get up tomorrow morning. :)
Willowy | July 26, 09:24 CET
eddy | July 26, 09:32 CET
Allyson | July 26, 09:36 CET
Griffmoy | July 26, 09:37 CET
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 09:43 CET
Of course last year he signed at Dark Horse, since Fray had come out there. This year he's writing X-Men! Which marvel had been shouting out to the world. And imagine, Marvel actually had a booth this year! So you would THINK they'd organise a signing session with joss right? RIGHT?!?!
Nope. Oh they had a booth. Together with gaming company Activision. Well, more like an Activision booth where Marvel had some posters up and 2 tables for signings. Yay. But still, of course they would have Joss sign, right? RIGHT!?!?
Nope. Oh he did sign. But UNANNOUNCED! On Saturday when no one knew he was there and only because he was nice enough to take the initiative and sit down and sign for whoever wanted it. Except we weren't there because we didn't know because Marvel are idiots! We went to the booth on sunday to ask if Joss would sign after the Firefly panel, but they said "Uh well there wasn't anyting scheduled. That he signed YESTERDAY was only a courtesy of him"
.........I nearly burned down the Marvel booth. Joe Quesada is on my hit list now.
Anyway.....the firefly panel....
Lemme just say that we saw a lot of panels throughout the con. Some we wanted to see, some because we wanted to be there early for later panels. (It's a jungle out there people) And we saw some pretty famous people promote some pretty high profile projects. And of course, every project/actor/artist atracts their own following.
But nothing, absolutely nothing compares to the crowd at the Joss/FF panel. That hall holds some 4000 people and the place was completely packed. (Previous panels got maybe half of that.) And when Joss was announced and came on everyone rose as one and the ovation was a deafening ROAR. You just had to feel the goosebumps.
A thing I love too is how clearly Joss loves doing this. He felta little "wow...gee.." (He said "I just wanted to say how great this is. I don't think I've seen this many people in my life!") He obviously loves it. I imagine it's a nice counter medicine from all the corporate crap he has to fight and the lack of appreciation the suits often give him. I remember last year when he mentioned Firefly and everyone applauded that he said something to the extent of "I so needed that" And it shows. This crowd loves his work and supports and 'gets' him and I think it does wonders for him.
Then he said he had something to show us and we got the Firefly clip. Some amazing footage already. (Invisible for possible spoilery bits!:) I especially loved the shot of River up against the ceiling. (huh? Yes up against the ceiling, like she was hiding with her hands pressed against the walls and one leg out in that intensely focused look she has) The action looks huge and epic and there were some special effects in there already. Great moment too when Zoey and Mal open up a vault to find only a couple of coins and two dusty bills in there and Zoey says something like "Great captain. Now we can retire from our search for fame and fortune..." hehehehe. Then there's a shot of River getting shot and falling on her back. Then the camera zooms in on her from above and she softtly but intensely says: "......reavers...!" Great moment. So great that later on, Nathan wanted to make sure we caught that the second time they showed it. Ah man I can't wait to see it.
More applause (I swear I'm deaf now...) and Joss announced all nine cast members (not that much of a surprise anymore for anyone who counted the number of water bottles on the table, heh) Man that was unreal. Everyone went nuts. And I can't believe how close we were. They were all just right up there. Sorry I go on about that but we really had good seats. The coolest thing though was how everyone in the audience had their cameras up (a zillion clicks went off) and then the actors had their cameras up too and took picks of the audience! And they kept doing that too, taking pics of us, of each other, and Adam kept trying to take pics of the screens that showed the footage!
I think they were loving it as much as we were. Everyone was just beaming. (Joss maybe most of all)
Let's see, good moments....well the one where Joss said Jayne was sort of the Cordelia of the group has been described, but man, I literally split something in my side. I gotta tell it again:
Adam(after hearing he was the Cordelia): "Oh.....yeah.....I can see that."
(everyone laughs)
Adam: "*quietly into the mike* uh....who's cordelia"
(more laughter)
And then Nathan's deadpan brilliance. He tapped Adam on the shoulder, made the curvy woman-shape, then the "she's cuckoo" sign to his head, then opened an invisible magazine, turned it over and pretended to open the extra centerfold page, all the while with a completely quiet and serious face. Adam just went like 'ah? oh! ah-haahh' with his face. Man, I needed some extra oxygen after that one...Can't remember when I laughed so hard. And yeah Joss just doubled. He was probably wondering what Charisma was gonna say to that one!
Another great moment was when someone asked them all what their other future projects were. The first few started with "First, finish Serenity". Then listed what other projects they had. (Some, like Jewel didn't have any and got a big ole 'awww' from the crowd) Then Nathan said: "I don't think I'll be finishing Serenity" (big laugh) "No, I think I'll live there from now on." (big applause) Then he said his future projects would be 'Mal- spinoffs' like "Mal and his Browncoat Renegades" and "Mal, the early years" (he added: "You know when his heart was open and he could commune with the beasts") It was just hilarious. That guy is so funny, I hope he'll do DVD commentary.
Then someone asked if Angel still had a shot, and if Joss could maybe sell it to another network (not someone from this board methinks, since we know all that stuff, eheh) since Angel was so not finished. Joss said Angel was not so 'open' as some people seemed to think. As for what happened to the characters, he started to say "Well, Gunn DEFINITELY died..." and a portion of the crowd (Gunn fans no doubt) started "awww"-ing and "owwww"-ing. Joss pulled a mock scared face and quickly said "Well uh, on the other hand, y-you never know WHAT might have happened!"
Then someone called him 'Josh' instead of 'Joss' and the crowd buzzed with dissaproval. Joss pulled a hurt face and pretended to walk offstage, hehehe. Then later a girl said it was so great to 'meet' him it was like meeting the president. Then she added "but then right now, that's actually an insult" in a clear jab at Dubya. The crowd roared and applauded. So did most of the actors, except Adam who sorta pulled a soury smile (the actors have posted on FF boards how Adam is basically the only right-winger there and always goes into discussions with the others who mostly hate Bush, hehe. They say Alan and Gina just started ignoring him after a while on that front).
Anyway, Joss laughed and said "I'd rather be called "Josh" then." which got more laughter and applause. No secret how Joss feels about Bush, hehe.
Some girl said she wished Joss (who'd said previously he hoped he could keep FF on the big screen rather than go back to the little one) could just have Buffy, Angel, Firefly tv shows AND Firefly movies going. Joss said he'd like that too but "....I-I'm so....very very tired and..." (He looked at the girl) "...I fear you".
Another good one was when someone said he didn't like Jayne at first, but that over the course of the show, he became one of his favorite characters. And how a stupid character like that can be hard to portray probably. Everyone "oohh"-ed at the stupid bit and Adam started to pull faces. Joss laughed and said he didn't think Adam was necessarily stupid. Then Nathan started to point at Marina (The recurring "she's stupid" joke) and Adam said "Well....you know it's probably a lot harder for someone stupid to play a smart person" clearly continuing the joke aimed at Marina who's said earlier that Inara was so much smarter than her. Everyone laughed and Marina pretended to be hurt and walk offstage. Joss caught her and they hugged. Then she laughingly returned to the table while Joss walked over to Adam and looked down on him with a stern look and crossed arms like the angry teacher. It was so funny. Adam started shrugging hemming and hawing and said "I didn't mean HER..."
Man those guys were great and the whole panel was just the highlight of the con. There was more stuff but right now I can't remember. I hope this gave a bit of an impression. Damn I wanna hang with these people. I'm gonna try and break into Universal again and just pour Joss some coffee. Should work.
[ edited by EdDantes on 2004-07-26 07:56 ]
EdDantes | July 26, 09:50 CET
IMMORTAL | July 26, 09:52 CET
Got there about 11, ran into Tim and John, went out for a smoke, and then they went in for an interview and I cant remember what i did but I think it involved lemonade.
Serenity panel, yadda yadda all reported above.
Too hot. So hot. Melty. Need more lemonade. Hug Chris. Hug Jenny. Hug Mike. Very proud of them.
Hall empties. Wait. Get water. Wonderfalls is screened, two eps. Audience laughs and has good time.
Get in line to ask question. Lots of other questions before me. All very long questions with folow-ups, rebuttals, and I JUST WANT TO ASK MY QUESTION. I forget question. Suddenly remember. But then the dude in front of me has the last question. WHY IS LIFE UNFAIR?
Chuckle to myself that I am an idiot and need to go sit down and stop being an idiot.
Sit down. Panel ends. Say goodbye to folks. Get going, wee Allyson.
And that was that! I'll probably put adjectives in it and post it all in my journal, tomorrow.
Allyson | July 26, 10:06 CET
And without further adieu, a post in my personal journal (don't read it, it's either vain, boring, or sans updates) of some really nice pictures.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/newberlinwall/160564.html?#cutid1
(I can't remember how to HTML-tag a link all nice and purty, moderators. Copy and paste, friends.)
Coming soon, to a forum near you, some wacky con musings.
randygiles | July 26, 10:07 CET
(BTW: Just want everyone to know that I took the pic of randygiles and Amber. Credit where credit's due . . . ;))
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 10:19 CET
And Rogue, no offense, but Ed's rendering of Nathan describing who Cordelia is was funnier than yours! Probably because it was a man describing another man describing a woman's body. Am I making sense? Really way past my bedtime now!! But then again you posted yours so quick and Ed had so much more time to compose his because he took so long to post his ;)
Okay, good night all!
Firefly Flanatic | July 26, 10:21 CET
Oh good grief, yes I forgot that one! That's the kind of idiot that gives Cons a bad name. Sarah replied with "Noo, I'm Sarah. Sa-rah. This is Ja-son". Don't really blame her for that one.
"Got autographs and pics of everyone Buffy and Angel related, plus to my delight, Joss and all 9 Firefly cast members."
You are evil and I hate you.........
Seriously, I checked out your pics. Cool stuff, our pics are going to look less I think. Why does everyone have better equipment than us? (Btw, didn't know you were a girl. Yer Randy Giles fer pete's sake;-) Looks like with Firefly you sat to our right and maybe a row down, hehe. But the Joss/FF signing....how the F*** did you do that??? We practically ran but by the time we knew where, there was already a crowd the size of a sports stadium around it and a guy said the line was already capped! ARGH! I can't STAND THIS!!
Ahem....happy for you.....of course.....
"And Rogue, no offense, but Ed's rendering of Nathan describing who Cordelia is was funnier than yours! Probably because it was a man describing another man describing a woman's body. Am I making sense?"
Perrrrfect sense.....perfect;-)
[ edited by EdDantes on 2004-07-26 08:24 ]
[ edited by EdDantes on 2004-07-26 08:34 ]
EdDantes | July 26, 10:22 CET
Simon | July 26, 10:33 CET
Well, our piccies(that do look much worse in light of SOME people's pics....I'm not gonna say cheating teleporter....) can be found here: http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v359/RogueSlayer/
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 10:52 CET
Caroline | July 26, 11:22 CET
Soooo wishing I could have been at the Serenity panel -- it sounds incredible. Ten warm bodies representing a boundless array of collective hotness and coolness combined! Raw BDM footage! Jokes at other people's expense and endless Nathan antics! *seethe* (And seeing those two unaired Wonderfalls eps wouldn't have sucked, either.)... Just imagining the roar that went up when Joss came onstage makes all the hair on my arms stand at attention. God knows he deserves some love, with all he's been through in the past year trying to keep his creative ventures afloat. I hope his memories of that experience are stored away as one of the more wonderful things he pulls out to help sustain himself though the crapful moments of trying to stay true to himself in Hollywood...
Re: Tom Lenk, I've read an interview with him (which I think is on the CityofAngel website, only it's too late, and I'm too lazy right now to go hunt it down -- perhaps later) where he admits he shares none of Andrew's geeky interests whatsoever, and that it in fact weirds him out a bit how people identify him with his character. I'm hazarding that his behavior at the con is a product of figuring 'I'm an actor, I was acting but now it's over, and that's the end of it.'
Still. I agree that if he's not going to have a good attitude about being at a convention where BtVS fans will most probably be well represented, he shouldn't have accepted the offer to appear. I suspect it was a purely financial decision for him, based on this latest report (which seems to corroborate what I've read of his con manners in the past). It's too bad for those who attended; to intentionally (or not, who knows) leave a surly, ungrateful impression in the minds of those who might otherwise have gone away favorably disposed toward him is just a shame for them, and certainly isn't likely to do his career or professional reputation any favors.
[Wow, I make even less sense than usual at 4 a.m.]
[ edited by Wiseblood on 2004-07-26 09:50 ]
Wiseblood | July 26, 11:43 CET
-JanR
wissxwe | July 26, 17:26 CET
I must say, I'm quite struck by Rogue Slayer's change of heart re: SMG. She must've been quite the charmer to win you over. Considering how poorly organized her session was, it sounds like she took everything in stride.
Re: Tom Lenk. As Wiseblood said, I think some of his discomfort at Cons may be due to the number of fans who think he *is* Andrew and consequently run up to him with, "Omigod! Have you read the new Aquaman series! I can't believe they yadda yadda yadda...." At a Con, the number of fans likely to assault him with such a barage increases exponentially....too bad he hasn't learned a polite yet friendly way to fend them off.
I can't even comment on all the FF stuff. Every time I think about it I lapse into fangirlsugarcoma! The bit about Ron Glass is very interesting; after reading set reports for the last few weeks, I've begun to think that is is Ron - and not Alan, who seems to be on the set all the time - who has a reduced role in the film.
Keep 'em coming folks. Any links to other good reports out there?
wren | July 26, 18:01 CET
palehorse | July 26, 18:03 CET
I would do that kewl linky thing, but don't know how, so you'll have to settle for this: http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=4858
nychick | July 26, 18:40 CET
Simon | July 26, 18:54 CET
http://fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=60 (it links to the file and also to their report thread)
the mp3 file: http://168.215.229.19/comiccon.zip
been trying to download it for the last couple of hours, but only 5 persons can download it at a time. So keep trying.
Guys, just wanna say, great, really great reports. You made me feel like I was there, specially after checking the pics. If envy could kill, I'd be close to it. Hope we'll be able to download the footage soon.
Hmmm... Was Chris Buchanan in the Panel, or was only Joss and the cast on the table??
Numfar PTB | July 26, 19:11 CET
herb | July 26, 19:27 CET
[ edited by nychick on 2004-07-26 17:46 ]
nychick | July 26, 19:45 CET
My personal highlight of the Serenity panel - a moment which made the hairs on the nape of my neck rise and my blood start going "whoosh!" was this:
Questioner: [Someone, can't remember the name] has said that it is impossible to meet the challenge of producing a quality, well-written TV show for 22 episodes each year. How have you [Joss] managed to put on 3 over the period of 8 years?
Joss: To quote Captain Malcolm Reynolds - "We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty".
The entire room just rose up in an enormous roar of warmth and, I think, gratitude to Joss and his accomplices. It was at that moment that I had a deep sense that, "despite all the network bullshit and our anxieties about the success of the movie etc., it's *all going to be alright*". I haven't really done the description justice, but the moment was, for me at any rate, transcendent.
nychick: "most obvious phony celeb award"? Without any reason given? (other than his *obvious* antipathy toward SMG?) I actually agree largely with his criticisms of the panel set-up, as I said in my first post, but that has *nothing* to with SMG.
In keeping with the board's policy of not hammering other boards, all I shall say is: Jo *Blow* really lives up to his name. And who do you guys trust? Mr. Suck (excuse me, blow), or fair-minded neutrals like EdDantes and RogueSlayer?
Oh, just saw nychick's disclosure of the "surprise" - darn it, now why don't nice things like that ever happen to me (or Ed for that matter)! Thanks for posting that.
Finally, I apologize for the failure to report on Wonderfalls. I *really* wanted to stay for the screenings, but (wheels out the kid excuse again . . .) the children were about to eat me alive. I hope Allyson can provide a full and glowing report.
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 19:59 CET
PIcs:
set 1
set2
set3
set4
set5
Some reports:
The Grudge
Grudge report
Tru Calling:
Tru report
Numfar PTB | July 26, 20:29 CET
"Partly, I'm here to talk about the movie," she said. "But I also just wanted to say thank you for everything they've done for me. They are the most heartfelt fans I know."
That's a quote from SMG taken from Usatoday: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-07-25-comic-con-main_x.htm
*sniff*
nychick | July 26, 20:35 CET
ShotgunWes | July 26, 21:32 CET
You can read my report of the Serenity signing here.
The Wonderfalls panel was great, I stayed around to listen to Tim talk and he had a few Firefly mentions. He also said that if Joss doesn't screw up and Serenity 2 gets made, that he will be on board for that!
Mal'sGal | July 26, 22:06 CET
acp | July 26, 22:11 CET
Someone asked Joss whethere there was any hope AtS going to another station and continuing, since "Not Fade Away" had left things so "open". (See EdD's post for that exchange). I think it was in response to that question that Joss said he couldn't see AtS returning to TV. I understood this to mean no more series. He then said that the idea of doing movies (I think he meant TV movies) was alive or on the table or something like that. I don't remember him giving any more specifics than that, but, to reiterate, he said very emphatically that he wanted the Buffyverse (again, his choice of words) to continue "in some format". Not right now though, since all focus is on "Serenity".
And, for those who care about such things, I mentioned above that Sarah said she would "strongly consider" the possibility of a Buffy movie if it was a top-notch script, despite her reservations that BtVS worked best as an ongoing and evolving TV show.
Caroline, re your question above about Whedonesquers. I was in the line for Amber when the cute and sparkly young woman in front of me turned round, eyed my name badge and said "I know you!". Since I couldn't remember ever seeing her before, I was slightly lost for words (pretty rare for me, that), but she quickly said the magic words "Whedonesque", and everything was alright. :) Thank you RandyGiles! We had a nice chat in the line and it was delightful to make that connection. All weekend I looked for a couple that met EdDantes' and RogueSlayer's description - tall, lean (I imagined), and Dutch-looking man, with more diminutive, sleek female companion. Didn't spot em. Thought I saw a man in a plaid shirt and companion who met the description just before the Serenity panel got underway, rushed over, and read his name-badge, which was "David Willetts" or something. Didn't sound nederlander enough to me . . . Oh well, maybe next time.
Oh, I remembered some more Sarah stuff. Someone asked what superhero she would like to play. Her answer was nice: since both Buffy and Daphne were both derived from other original material, she said she'd really like to "bring to life" an original hero, not one who had appeared in another place. And she had a good quip about Shimizu having her run in one scene over and over again (apparently because she ran too purposefully like a hero) until she got "more tired and lamer", which better suited the character.
SoddingNancyTribe | July 26, 22:26 CET
Thanks for all the photos and reports **pouting** I wish I had been there.
RavenU | July 26, 22:43 CET
Oh, don't get me wrong. I still think she probably had her controlling bitch moments on set(I can't so easily dismiss MANY reports that she can be unpleasant) but I never thought she would be anything but nice and smiley for her fans. I kind of got the vibe she was a bit uncomfortable and didn't know what to expect. I imagine it went better than she had been fearing. But she did lean on Jason for support, sharing quite a bit of dialogue and internal jokes with him. I'm not sure she would have wanted to be out there by herself. Her 'top ten' list showed very clearly her misconceptions about the crowd before her. But she recovered well and seemed to get a bit more comfortable, but I also got the feeling she was happy when it was over. This will sound weird, I don't think she was being fake, but very much had her 'fan face' on. Just much less at ease than say Joss or Nathan or even Eliza to a certain extent.
HOWEVER, when I compare her to Tom Lenk, who just had no business being at the con whatsoever, the advantage goes to Sarah. Because even though she didn't do a signing, being 100 feet from her was a much more enjoyable experience than being 2 feet from Lenk. And just for the record, I didn't see one person run up to Tom and call him Andrew or talk about 'nerdy' things. I wasn't there the entire time, maybe it happened lots, but what I observed were polite, respectful fans trying to get an autograph, maybe lean in for a picture, and Tom giving them the barest acknowledgment. If you don't like fans, don't go to fan events. I say do it with pleasure or don't do it at all. Hell, even Robia LaMorte seems to have less problem(and more fun) being recognized as a character whose traits she now preaches against. Really, if you're just in it for the money, there's a good chance you may lose money on the other end when you piss off fans who decide they don't want to follow your career.
Oh, and OT, hubby was so happy to see Erin Gray. His first boyhood crush from Buck Rogers. I'm too young for that, I just know her from Silver Spoons. Still looks pretty good for an older lady.
ShotgunWes
Joss did confirm that he had been approached about doing a few tv movies, but nothing was solid yet.
Oh yeah, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before....Someone asked Joss whose idea it was for Spike to 'strut' so much. Joss said, "It was ALLLL James. Sometimes I had to tell him to bring it back a little. 'You're supposed to be sad now. No swagger. It's too sexy for the lens.'" :)
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 22:44 CET
Check this thread several hours from now, because I'll have a writeup and photos posted later. That being said, I got to ask Amber Benson's mother about the Global Frequency situation and Mark Lutz about Andy Hallett. I also found out what the Sarah Michelle Gellar-signed poster sitch was.
And I managed to get both Amber and Iyari Limon together for a photograph. They look absolutely adorable together, and neither one objected to the idea at all. In fact, Amber had nothing but compliments for Iyari when I proposed the idea to her, and Iyari went back for a second photo so she could get one taken with her phonecam. :)
Oddjob | July 26, 22:48 CET
Less sleek, more geek! :) Companion....make me sound like Inara! (I wish!)
But now I'm a little scared thinking someone was looking for us..... ;) Actually, my hubby had a few conversations with people and I was like, "What if that was someone from Whedonesque?! We'd never know!"
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 22:50 CET
Actually, my hubby had a few conversations with people and I was like, "What if that was someone from Whedonesque?! We'd never know!"
Hmmmmmmm. Next year, either we go for Monty Python style arrows pointing out Whedonesque posters at Comic Con or have some sort of meet up point arranged.
Simon | July 26, 23:21 CET
Yeah but now we all know what you look like Rouge and Ed. :)
[ edited by RavenU on 2004-07-26 21:29 ]
RavenU | July 26, 23:27 CET
I know! Now SoddingNancyTribe can stalk us with greater ease! ;)
Rogue Slayer | July 26, 23:48 CET
I'm in! With a year to prepare, maybe we can get those Monty Python arrows working after all :-)
wren | July 26, 23:48 CET
Allyson | July 26, 23:52 CET
I did get to ask Mark Lutz about Andy. I said "I've read online that you are good friends with Andy outside of work, and we've all been very concerned about his health. If you do talk to him, please tell him all the fans hope he gets better really soon and to take it easy and feel better." Mark said he would indeed be calling Andy that very evening and he was doing better and will pull through. So, hooray!! It's always very cool to know when Buffy people are really friends, and I for one would love to be a fly on the wall when they go out together.
RogueSlayer and EdDantes, now that you guys know what I look like (and not a boy in the least, but I had just rewatched Tabula Rasa the day before I made the name so it was fresh in my head), come say hi at the Oakland superconvention since I will be there all alone!
And if you really wanna know how I managed to get prime seats for the Serenity panel and get in the front of the line to meet the folks, read here (Invisible so as to not attract those who want to throw vegetables at me)
Post-Serenity panel, in the mad rush, I was dodging larger people and power walking with the best of 'em. The line was split in two, with about 30 people in front of the table for signing, and a larger line further back so as to not block the walkway. That line had apparently been there all day. I didn't even know that existed though! I just walked up to the front and didn't get caught. It was pure dumb luck. I really thought I had just been super quick!
Meeting the Firefly panel and the notable quips:
*shakes hands*
me: I always knew you'd have big hands and a firm handshake.
Adam: That's why they hired me.
*shakes hands*
Nathan: Mine aren't very big but they are indeed soft.
me: They are. I'll be sure to tell the internet community you exfoliate.
Nathan: It's like in Steinbeck's Red Badge of Courage, I put gloves on with the vaseline under.
me: (not knowing what he's talking about) I don't know, I just watch tv.
me: so are Inara and Mal gonna hook up, or what??
Morena: I don't know, you'll just have to see.
me: the two potential couples never having got together on a canceled series, it's torture to know what could have been.
Alan to Gina: How come no one wants to see us make out?
me: Well, we did, and that was damn hot. Like Alan's line "Have you been with a warrior woman??" And now I want more.
Gina: good answer.
More later on why Danny Strong should be my husband (our short babies would have piercing blue eyes)
randygiles | July 26, 23:54 CET
bogu_salias | July 27, 00:08 CET
SMG always gave me the impression that she is very professional, but also doesn’t suffer fools lightly and is unforgiving towards those who don’t fit precisely into her controlled universe. It’s nice to know that she can be flexible and poke a little fun at herself. She could have been very rigid and all “I’m here to talk about The Grudge. Buffy is history. Next question”. She had no idea what the tone of the crowd was going to be and I think she was brave to be there.
I’m hoping Tom Lenk was having a really bad day or is really shy and uncomfortable with strangers and not just plain rude. Even if he was being forced to be there by a manager or whatever, he could have called on his acting skills and at least *pretended* like he was pleased to meet people. Who cares if that’s being sincere or not—you’d think he would make some attempt to be polite to the people who support his career. I’m sure there are some who are jerks to him, but to be snooty to Whedonesquers? These are nice, sane--I’m hoping : ) -- people, Mr. Lenk!
I just watched “Chance” again this weekend and every time I catch some dialogue I missed before. I’m glad to hear Amber Benson is such a sweetie.
"Oh yeah, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before....Someone asked Joss whose idea it was for Spike to 'strut' so much. Joss said, "It was ALLLL James. Sometimes I had to tell him to bring it back a little. 'You're supposed to be sad now. No swagger. It's too sexy for the lens.'" :)"
You did mention it before,Rogue Slayer, but I am so not complaining. ; )
bloodflowers | July 27, 00:16 CET
There isn’t really anything I can add now that hasn’t already been said. But I will give it a shot.
Re: Eliza Dushku
She was super at ease up on the stage and handled all her questions beautifully. The highlights of her panel for me were when all the camera flashes and overhead light were reflecting off her supergirl tank and she said, “Look, I’m blinding all of you with my bosom!” and the fact that she was wearing the same necklace that I was… granted hers was probably much more expensive and undoubtedly not cz!
Re: Tom Lenk
I completely understand why he would be uncomfortable in an atmosphere such as Comic-Con, hell, I was pretty uncomfortable myself half the time. Comic-Con attendees in can be pretty scary. Just an example- when our cab driver dropped us off at the Convention Center Saturday morning he warily eyed a couple in some S&M-type anime-inspired costume and asked in his thick Moroccan accent, “What again did you say this conference was about? Are you sure you want me to leave you here?” So, I can see him being a bit stand-offish and not wanting to “provoke” any conventioneer with ,you know, eye-contact, chit-chat, or even a friendly smile. BUT if he were that uncomfortable he shouldn’t have and saved himself the trouble and in turn saved some fans from gaining a poor opinion of him. A friend that was with me was trying to make and joke and get a little friendly with the woman that was with Tom selling his merchandise. He pointed to Tom’s headshots and said to the woman, “Wow, these pictures don’t do you justice” the woman giggled and Tom very deadpan said, “No, actually those are of me.” It wasn’t even funny sarcasm, just kind of rude.
Re: Sarah Michelle Gellar
After sitting through a torturously boring panel on Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (which by the way could not even be saved by the hotness that is Jude Law) Sarah’s warmth and perkiness was just what I needed to jolt me awake. Just before Sarah and Jason came out the crowd was buzzing and the moment that some guy a couple aisles up from us sat his Buffy cardboard cut-out in the seat next to him and draped his arm across “her” I knew that it would be interesting. After Sarah came out a woman behind me kept saying to the person she was with, “Omigod, that’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, that’s Sarah Michelle Gellar…” Then the questions started. Eh, why did the people who have the silliest questions always make it to the microphone? When the question being asked was too inane or embarrassing to stand I would sit back to hear the woman saying, “… that’s really her, Sarah Michelle Gellar. She’s sitting right there…” The funniest part of the Q&A for me was when a girl went up to the microphone and said, “I have a question for Sarah… and Jason, but mostly for Sarah…” the crowd laughed and SMG said, “Man, I feel like there’s a joke I’m not in on” and the girl at the microphone very seriously and meekly said, “I don’t know it (the inside joke)…” I taped the first 10 minutes of the Q&A on my digital camera and that was the very last thing I taped, classic. I also really liked SMG’s No. 1 reason for not coming to the San Diego Comic-Con … “There’s just not enough merchandise with my damn face on it!”
Re: Joss & the Cast of Serenity
OK, this was the whole reason I went to the Con and I missed it! =(. A very dear person to us who was gravely ill and took a turn for the worst so we had to rush home. I just got the news a little while ago that he passed away this morning. Not the best way to end an otherwise great weekend. But writing this little report for you guys helped to get my mind off things. Hope it wasn’t too redundant.
Here are the pictures and a few other tidbits. Karen's Con Report .
Karen | July 27, 00:43 CET
You were very, very lucky. I was fifth in line and a guy tried to sneak in behind us and got the boot mighty quick.
kdavid323 | July 27, 02:10 CET
Also glad to have read Ed and Rogue's comments about SMG. I may disagree on some of your views of SMG but I respect you both tremendously and your reports on how SMG was at the convention seemed very open and fair. On that same Slayerverse site there were many comments (and I suspect these were from people who weren't even there) that SMG came across as cold and unfriendly. One even judged a picture of her laughing as proof that her body language proved she didn't want to be there because she had a look of horror on her face and her gums were showing. It wasn't a great picture because she was in full "laugh out loud" face but it was just funny how this person totally misread everything about it.
Thanks to everyone for sharing such great pictures (Rogue and Ed, your pictures were very good!!) and your personal experience. You all truly brought the convention to life for all of us who weren't there. I feel like I was there!
Here's a suggestion for identifying others at future conventions. Why don't you who own the board make up some great Whedonesquer tee-shirts! You could do a nice black shirt with your name streaming across. And maybe if you could get permission, you could use the pictures too! People could buy the t-shirts from you and that would help the site. And because I most likely won't be going to any conventions maybe you could make up some black coffe mugs with the same design! I bet those would sell good! Just a thought!
[ edited by blwessels on 2004-07-27 01:35 ]
Firefly Flanatic | July 27, 02:25 CET
Willowy | July 27, 02:31 CET
Karen: thanks for the great pics and report!
RandyG: funniest (and yes, luckiest) post yet!
SoddingNancyTribe | July 27, 02:41 CET
It's kinda noisy (duhh...) with all the cheering, which makes it hard to copreehend a few things they are saying on stage, but whatosever it's great. Wish I had been there.
Just check one of my posts above and access the first link to find all the mirrors (I think it'sin my first or second post in this thread), also there's an option to download it through bittorrent.
Numfar PTB | July 27, 02:42 CET
Some shirts go overboard with the graphics and they end up looking like nothing I'd ever want to wear. I'd be sure 'nuff proud to sport the Whedonesque logo, though.
Willowy | July 27, 02:59 CET
Chance, however, was very good. And for any James Marsters fans, he looks particularly yummy! He's got the excellent season 6 hair(I call it that, though I don't know what season of Buffy was going on at the time). A little loose and wavy. Very nice! And Amber looks sexy too! It's a cute little movie. Runs about 1 hour and 15 minutes and was definitely worth the money! A little too many musical interludes, but I can sit through most anything to see James without his shirt on! :)
Rogue Slayer | July 27, 02:59 CET
Oddjob | July 27, 03:21 CET
Season 5, during the last few episodes. Tara was insane, so Amber had a bit of time to concentrate on the movie, but Spike was heavily featured in those episodes, so James was doing quite a bit of work. I liked the movie quite a bit myself, particularly the park bench scene with James and Andy, but still don't have the DVD.
Thanks to everyone for their great con reports, I've been enjoying the heck out of them =).
teenes | July 27, 03:34 CET
Hah! That's funny. Gotta wonder what's 'dutch-looking' to people not from Holland though. Sorta like scandinavian? Is that the image we have? Well, we're less blond, lemme tell ya....;-)
And Randy Giles.....that's your big secret??? You cheated?? Damn! Why didn't I think of that!!!!
Oh and about Tom Lenk, sorry none of the excuses apply. I've been up and down the boards and apparently this is how he always is. So unless he always happens to have a bad day just as he's supposed to meet fans....
As for how 'scary' the comicon is...well, don't go then. Besides, so some cabby thinks people who just like to dress up like Spiderman and Lara Croft are scary? And that's a measuring point? Please, the average night club holds scarier people. And once again, I saw no freaks or loud rude people at the line. I saw no one calling him 'Andrew' or yelling to him about Boba Fett action figures. They only just gotten started and people were nice, polite and just wanted a autograph and a nice word or two going both ways. He was a sourpuss! He clearly just hates doing this. Don't think there's anything else to it. I'm sure he does it for the money, which I can see, but for frag's sake, put on a frikkin' smile or just stay away.
"Also glad to have read Ed and Rogue's comments about SMG. I may disagree on some of your views of SMG but I respect you both tremendously and your reports on how SMG was at the convention seemed very open and fair."
Right back atcha blwessels. (Uh the respect part that is) And yeah, we're not gonna paint things in a certain way to suit a certain view. If I think she's being a bit of a bint I'll say it. When I think she's being sweet, funny and nice I'll say that too.
"On that same Slayerverse site there were many comments (and I suspect these were from people who weren't even there) that SMG came across as cold and unfriendly. One even judged a picture of her laughing as proof that her body language proved she didn't want to be there because she had a look of horror on her face and her gums were showing."
Oh good grief. Don't think I have the words to describe what a pile of nonsense I think that is. Sarah's big smiles always show her gums you unbelievable morons. (not you blwessels, obviously) The only thing these people could try is saying she was faking the whole thing, but apart from that being crap too (I think so anyway), it would still mean she was being nice for the fans. 'Cold and uncaring'. Please, what panel were they attending.
And the crowd were Buffy fans and apart from the top ten list that got less of a reaction than she hoped, it was a lovely panel. People laughed, people cheered, people were happy to see her. She hid any uncomfortableness well and was funny and enthusiastic. Any stupid questions she countered perfectly and the audience was clearly on her side with those.
Like SoddingNancytribe said, me and Rogue Slayer are no Sarah apologists, nor bashers. Believe me, if there'd been coldness or any type of blahness coming from her, I'd say it. I'm not here to make up excuses for people just because they're actors.
I sure don't do it for Tom Lenk, wouldn't do it for her.
EdDantes | July 27, 03:43 CET
garda39 | July 27, 03:57 CET
And it doesn't count as cheating if you don't know that you are doing it. I'll merely be sent to a lesser hell dimension. A world without candy perhaps.
[ edited by randygiles on 2004-07-27 02:21 ]
randygiles | July 27, 04:21 CET