I greatly appreciate what she did for “nine months of the year for eight years of my life”. That she would “wrap at six a.m. Saturday morning and be back at work six a.m. Monday morning”. And that she got it done even though “weekly television is the most incredible grind”. However, it never fails to irk me when actors-- who are lucky enough to be doing what they love, are paid more than minimum wage (I would assume) and don’t even have to brown bag their own lunch—whine about how “difficult” it all is. She goes on to say “The first thing that I'm learning right now is that I can really wait until there's something I really want to be a part of and I want to do. I don't want to have to work nine, 10, 11, 12 months a year and I can wait." It’s not that I don’t think she deserves a break to have a life, but some people don’t have that luxury. Maybe she could go fight fires or work on a fishing boat to gain a little perspective on the burden of her existence and appreciate what she has. ; )

bloodflowers | October 11, 20:49 CET

I very much agree with what you are saying, bloodflowers. And I applaud your bravery in posting such a paragraph here. ;)

Willowy | October 11, 20:58 CET

Posting anonymous rants on the internet is bravery? Really? OK. :) <--- (smiley means friendly joke)

[ edited by ringworm on 2004-10-11 19:38 ]

ringworm | October 11, 21:03 CET

Appreciate the general point you're making, bloodflowers, but I think the aim is a little misdirected. I didn't read what SMG was saying here as whining in the least. Just that she's enjoying what free time she has now, having not really sat back and thought about bigger picture stuff since she was a wee teen. I don't have a problem with that statement.

And contrasts are always invidious. With the same justification, one could say, "easy for blue-collar worker X to talk about the 'hardship' of her life - what about people in other countries who do back-breaking labor just to bring in enough food to feed their families". Let's face it, American workers are, relatively speaking, better off than almost any other group on the face of the planet. I have many times been guilty of the same charge; I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's better to look at the person *in their individual circumstance* and see how hard they're working, what good works they may be doing, etc. For sure, SMG is in a most enviable position. That doesn't make her comments illegitimate.

ringworm: in context, I think Willowy's point was pretty clear.

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2004-10-11 19:10 ]

SoddingNancyTribe | October 11, 21:09 CET

I don't think bloodflowers was so much saying that SMG was whining as much as lacks perspective though it's definitely true that many, many people also have this affliction.

And Willowy's comment on bravery was in reference to what the reaction on the board might be.

marmoset | October 11, 21:34 CET

I enjoy the interviews Sarah does for genre magazines much more than the ones for fashion/beauty magazines!!

Re her 'hard life' - Sarah seems to appreciate her fortunate position. As a fan, I hope that she wields her freedom to pick and choose projects wisely. Up to now, I have seen very little of Sarah's movies as they just haven't appealed. I am steeling myself to see The Grudge (I'm a big scaredy-cat).

WWBD | October 11, 21:34 CET

My comment was not intended as a “rant” and as rants go, it would be a pretty mild one at that. Notice the ; ) at the end? : ) I’m not a big fan of SMG, but I do have admiration for her professionalism and all her hard work. She has every right to sit back and say ‘How did I survive that? I’m so tired!’ And if she is now in a position to pick and choose projects at such a relatively young age, she is a lucky woman indeed. It’s just when you think about it, she didn’t have to break the stories, write the scripts, set up shots etc. She had to show up, say her lines and kick some demon butt. I am in no way trying to diminish her excellent work on Buffy. I love the magic that actors create. It’s just that everyone worked hard and weren’t given as much attention or paid as handsomely. It also doesn't help that her tone is very hard to distinguish in print interviews. I was just expressing my opinion. Some people may not agree with it, but that doesn’t make them right and me wrong or vice versa because it does have a lot to do with circumstances, context and the individual.

bloodflowers | October 11, 22:00 CET

I don't understand why SMG's comments about the grueling schedule of weekly, hourly television can seem so controversial. I don't care what you do for a living, or how much you love it, 6 days a week, 16 to 18 hour days, for 8 years, simply wears you out.

And when you consider that SMG came to Buffy from All My Children, it puts her comments more in perspective. Soap opera filming is year round. They don't go on hiatus. So this is still a new schedule for her, and the perks are going to be welcome and exciting. There's also the physicality involved with playing Buffy, that can understandably be very draining. Her success has not come without sacrifice. And yes, her hard work has earned her far more money than most of us are able to make, but it's to be expected that it becomes tough to simultaneously make enough money for a beautiful home, and beautiful things, and then spend so little time enjoying them. Sure, there's a degree of, "Oh, you poor thing" associated with that, but that's easy to say on the outside looking in.

Angela | October 11, 22:09 CET

Thank you, SNT and marmoset, for getting my meaning.

Willowy | October 11, 22:15 CET

In this instance a rant against the studio system itself would make more sense. I agree that there is inequality in the way things are setup and that can really only be addresed by changing the system.

herb | October 11, 22:54 CET

Those people really should quote their sources instead of stealing them.

Often when you see the same quote used in various locations and not attributed, that usually means the interviewers were most probably at the same roundtable interview session. So it's not stealing, rather just sharing due to the nature of how the subject was interviewed.

TaraDi | October 11, 23:06 CET

8 years? Am I the only one saying "huh"?

dcubed | October 11, 23:50 CET

Well, she's obviously been taking the time to catch up on all the movies she didn't have time to watch whilst filming BtVS. How many movies did she mention in that tiny interveiw? Eight? Ten? 'Eyes Wide Shut', 'Donnie Darko', 'Gothika'..

The folks at Netflix must LOVE her. ;)

Bad Kitty | October 11, 23:57 CET

8 years? Am I the only one saying "huh"?

Seasons 1-7, plus the time before spent shooting the production pilot and stuff. So, yeah, 8 years.

Invisible Green | October 12, 00:07 CET

TaraDi, I did not know that. If that's the case, I take it back. ;-)

lekiare | October 12, 00:19 CET

Hee: Plus I had no days off and I would leave work and take a singing lesson and go to the dance class and to me that should've been the first episode after a three month hiatus when you could've been ready and I'm done with that, boy.

While SMG did not embrace the role as ASH or Amber may have, it's clear she did try to come up to speed on her skillz, the mark of a trouper. The part of this quote that made me laugh is the transcription -- I can hear Buffy delivering that line without taking a breath, and it gave me a zing! of nostalgia. *sighs*

bogu_salias | October 12, 00:58 CET

Money quote

"I believe there wasn't enough Xander"


There is *never* enough Xander!

Chris inVirginia | October 12, 01:27 CET

Gosh, my first read-through I totally missed the line about her emphatically *not* singing in "Southland Tales". Have to say, I'm a touch heartbroken. We all know she's not the greatest vocalist, but I found her delivery in "OMWF" extremely touching in its fragility (especially in "Something To Sing About"), and was looking forward to more in a different genre. And her MTV Awards song with Jack Black didn't seem like an altogether unpleasant experience, did it?

SoddingNancyTribe | October 12, 02:03 CET

"I don't understand why SMG's comments about the grueling schedule of weekly, hourly television can seem so controversial. I don't care what you do for a living, or how much you love it, 6 days a week, 16 to 18 hour days, for 8 years, simply wears you out. "


I remember James Marsters making a comment to the effect that he didn't know how SMG put up with that type of schedule as when he had to do a similar schedule for a short period he felt exhausted

garda39 | October 12, 02:41 CET

Red Bull, baby. The new Hollywood crack. ;)

Willowy | October 12, 07:24 CET

I agree wholeheartedly with SNT. It's a real shame that SMG can't divorce 'OMWF' from the experience of making it, something that she obviously found difficult or unpleasant. I was looking forward to the prospect of her singing in 'Southland Tales'. However, if it's something she doesn't want to do again, that's her thing. For myself, I thought she did a brilliant job in 'OMWF', as did everyone else. Hopefully, one day she'll be able to the enjoy what she achieved in it.

Regarding her comments about the unrelenting work schedule, I don't see any problem with what she says. Whatever their personal views about her might or might not be, nobody, to my knowledge, connected with the show has ever questioned her commitment or how hard she worked. I'm ignoring long-forgotten claims made by Jeff Pruitt, which were never that trustworthy in the first place. It's well-known that she throws herself into whatever she is doing and never holds back, even though she has described herself as a 'lazy actress'. She certainly comes across as being very driven. I am not suggesting that the other actors were not equally committed, but Buffy does occupy far more screen time than any other character, and that is something that does need to be remembered.

The various clips from ComicCon to be found at the SMGfan site were a real eye-opener for me. She comes across extremely well in these, but the written transcripts don't really capture this. Personally, I find her quite interesting and I think her acting is often superb. I'm sure she can be a pain in the ass at times, but that goes for us all. My wife tells me I'm one all the time!

alien lanes | October 12, 13:24 CET

At the end of the day, SMG will realise what other actors have realised, what gave them opportunities, what made them a star. At the same time, working on a show for 7 years might take you away from things that matter in life, when your dead your dead, when your old, you won't be young again, so gotta do what makes you feel good both ways, as a fan, yeah I dig her at Buffy, play it forever, but as a human being, everyone should live their own lives, money, success, stardom, all great things, but look at many hollywood people, their not always happy. What will Sarah take to the grave with her, what will all of us, our dvds? nope, that's exactly why I understand where she's coming from, life is just too short and precious.

The whedon verse is so seductive and fun, and we like it too much, such a great verse it is, great escapism, it's tough not to relate the characters and the actors, and think some qualities should be similar etc
One thing Bruce Lee once said "It's always good to be doing something new, a new experience." Exactly what Sarah is doing.





[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-10-12 21:59 ]

[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-10-12 22:02 ]

[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-10-12 22:04 ]

SeanValen | October 12, 23:57 CET