32) What did they use for when you were drinking blood?
A) Strawberry Quik

I had always wondered what it was, and now I know. I imagine they must have made it up with water, not so tasty really. I suppose that's why we only ever really see them sipping it.

nixygirl | April 04, 10:45 CET

"I just turned down an acting job in a NY TV show"

No!! damn him for being picky :)

eddy | April 04, 11:26 CET

Strawberry Quik! I always wondered that too.

Hey, everybody! James is interested in a Spike tele-movie, and Joss is interested, so let's start the campaign! What are we waiting for?

electricspacegirl | April 04, 11:29 CET

There had to have been more in it than just Strawberry Quick at least some of the time though, right? Depending on how close-up/detailed a shot? 'Cause Quick on its own really doesn't look like convincing blood. I mixed up fake blood a couple times in highschool for some productions, I remember it being a combination of corn syrop, food coloring, baking powder (for consistency)...got the recipe off the internet, it was a lot more convincing than Quick. I bet you can also buy edible fake blood-in-a-can/pack/box at this point.

Kris | April 04, 11:40 CET

It wasn't real blood?

Pssh, interns aren't what they used to be...

Bad Kitty | April 04, 11:41 CET

I always get a little disappointed when one of the actors expresses misgivings about Buffy not being "fun" at the end.

Melisande | April 04, 13:55 CET

Yeah, although he was commenting on viewing the show rather than acting in it. It's strange, because in many ways season seven was lighter than season six in terms of the characters. Not a huge amount, I'll grant you, but it was contrasted with more comedy and more of the season one energy which was missing from season six at times.

Although I did hear there were some disagreements between the big players in Buffy. Not sure exactly what happened. Sounded as if SMG was involved, and I did hear she disagreed with the writers over the direction of the character in season six. Which is fair enough, having invested five years in the character she would be qualified to have an opinion on how the story is progressing.
I also heard that Charisma Carpenter had some disputes with Joss which lead to her being fired and that's why she wasn't a cast member in season five. Not sure whether it was true, although it's interesting to speculate why. We know that her pregnancy had to be written into season four so perhaps it was something to do with that? Or maybe she was just on maternity leave.

It is a shame, though, I like to think that everything was great when they made Buffy and Angel, and aside from a few rumors it appears it was.

Razor | April 04, 14:24 CET

I would ask that we didn't speculate about alleged disputes between Joss and Charisma. Regarding Sarah, well she's said in the past that she was unhappy with what happened in season 6 but seeing as we've talked this topic to death at Whedonesque, I would also ask that we didn't discuss in this thread as well.

Simon | April 04, 14:38 CET

Their are a few photos up from this convention at Flicker if you want to check them out, I will be posting a some more later today.

RavenU | April 04, 14:50 CET

James definately seems very enthusiastic about getting back to playing Spike. It's always been clear to me that he is very aware that a role like Spike comes along once in an actor's lifetime, if that, so it's no surprise to me that he wants to get as much out of the character as is realistically possible.

ESG, i've left you a message at Flickr. Hopefully we will be able to get some initial plans sorted out in the next day or so.

Razor, it is fun to speculate about certain things, like how storylines would have developed under different circumstances or who will play the role of Wonder Woman (but let's not do that again just yet, okay!!!). However, as far as rumours are concerned such as the ones you mentioned above about Sarah, Charisma and Joss, i don't personally think they need discussing. The simple fact is that, unless one or more of the people involved in the situation come out and tell us exactly what happened, then we really don't know anything beyond internet gossip, which nine times out of ten is massively blown out of proportion and context. Continuing to discuss and specualte on that simply leads to more and more rumours and lies getting spread around various fan boards. The reason i post here and nowhere else is because Whedonesque doesn't seem to get involved in idle speculation that may damage a person's reputation unfairly. If we knew the facts, then fine, i would have no problem discussing what happened between Charisma and Joss. Since we don't then nothing we speculate is going to help the matter become any clearer.

Technopagan | April 04, 14:50 CET

Dammit, if i'd just waited an extra ten minutes and seen what Simon just posted i could have saved myself a lot of typing! ;)

Technopagan | April 04, 14:52 CET

Now I know a very good April fools joke for next year ...

The new book "Buffy - behind the scenes, the previously untold stories of actors and crew", will be available on April 1st 2006 at selected bookstores, read the extract about NN at zxcbxzfool.com'.

If that doesn't kill the server nothing will, of course whoever put it out might want to have a new identity handy.

Someday in perhaps 20 years someone is going to make a fortune writing that book ( even after lawyers fees ) :)

jpr | April 04, 15:58 CET

I wonder why James was so bothered about "just that one time" that Spike and Angel were intimate? It was a funny, throwaway line and I am surprised that he would mind his character having had a slight bisexual moment.

JudithS | April 04, 16:18 CET

Reading other accounts of the con it seems that it wasn't the " one time" thing that bothered him, he laughed about that at the Halloween con and evidently found it very amusing. It was the "We finally found the perfect ingenue for Angel" thing on the commentary , ingenues are pretty ,feminine innocents ... not really very Spike.

debw | April 04, 16:41 CET

ESG, i've left you a message at Flickr. Hopefully we will be able to get some initial plans sorted out in the next day or so.

Ok, Warlock. I will keep trying to send you the email. Do you have a second address though? Message me on msn please.

Dammit, if i'd just waited an extra ten minutes and seen what Simon just posted i could have saved myself a lot of typing!

Oh, but you typed it so well! Well said, Warlock.

electricspacegirl | April 04, 16:58 CET

Speaking of a Spike tv-movie campain....shouldn't Sky One be a good "target"? From what I understand they were investigating/considering taking over Angel, right? Anyhow Sky does co-produce American shows like Battlestar Galactica (maybe The 4400....I am not sure about the latter).

Jonas | April 04, 17:28 CET

False rumours I'm afraid. There were at least two made up stories about Sky One being interested in a sixth season of Angel.

Simon | April 04, 17:39 CET

If anyone is interested in helping with the Spike tele-movie campaign, visit the flickr discussion thread. Thanks.

electricspacegirl | April 04, 17:39 CET

Simon, thanks for clearing that up!

Jonas | April 04, 17:47 CET

As far as i'm aware Simon is correct that the rumours about Sky being interested in helping to produce a sixth season of Angel were overstated at the very least, if not totally untrue. I do seem to remember reading something on the Sky One Angel site that they had considered the idea but had not been able to find a way to make it a reality. How much the idea was considered is anyone's guess though.

Still, given the whole deal they know have regarding Battlestar Galactica, as Jonas said above, maybe they would be more inclined to do the same with a Spike telemovie. Hmmm ....

Technopagan | April 04, 18:03 CET

The following is Sky One's statement on the end of Angel from March 13th of last year:

Simon | April 04, 18:12 CET

Speaking of a Spike tv-movie campain
Support Spike has been running a Spike Movie campaign for two years. We've been targeting the press quite a bit which is why it gets mentioned almost weekly at E! and TV Guide. We've also been sending thousands of postcards.

Since it's already a recognized name, could we coordinate through there?

(Btw - Hi Everyone! I'm Teep from Support Spike, Cold Dead Seed and BAPS and was one of the media liaisons for SavingAngel.org)

http://www.supportspike.com

Teep_P12 | April 04, 18:18 CET

Teep, how come nobody is hearing about the news that Joss is interested in a TV movie? I've talked to several people who go online and they had no idea it was a possibility. I assumed nobody had been spreading the news.

We need to motivate fans to send postcards to everyone. How come so many fans are not? Even if you don't care for Spike, a Spike movie could open doors for a number of favorite characters (Giles, Faith, Xander, Illyria, Willow).

I'm not being argumentative. I didn't know there was already a campaign. But that's my point. Why aren't fans aware of it?

electricspacegirl | April 04, 18:25 CET

I think it would be better if we move discussion of a Spike TV movie campaign to the afore mentioned Flickr thread.

Simon | April 04, 18:28 CET

Simon, i recall reading that statement before as well but the comment i was referring to was something said in a Q&A with somebody where fans were invited to send in questions.

Sky One have revamped the site a lot but i'll go have a look around to see if the comment is still there when i get five minutes.

Edit: Nope, can't find it on the site anymore. If anyone else recalls exactly what was said, or better yet knows where it is still available online, i'd be grateful if you could let me know.

[ edited by Warlock on 2005-04-04 16:40 ]

Technopagan | April 04, 18:28 CET

Sorry Simon.

electricspacegirl | April 04, 18:48 CET

Lanford Freaking Wilson? OMG!!! If that was a joke or a way to get his attention, the person should be shot. If it was on the up and up I can understand his stomach upset. What a thing for a stage actor to hear knowing that you have promised not to take a theater job. Talk about dying inside.

Does anybody know if he talked to the person further or remember anymore details of his reaction?

newcj | April 04, 19:15 CET

James has promised not to take another theater job? When did he say this?

electricspacegirl | April 04, 20:55 CET

He has said that he had family commitments that will keep him from doing stage work for another 10 (it could be 9 by now) years.

Stage work involves a very strict schedule of being in a particular place 6 nights a week (all day Saturday and maybe Sunday) for the length of the run/contract. It is not conductive to spending time with school age children even if you are in the same city, much less 3000 miles away.

[ edited by newcj (changed from cj to avoid confusion) on 2005-04-04 23:25 ]

newcj | April 04, 21:30 CET

“What kind of preparation did you do for the role of Bobby Comfort?
A) Good question. Zero. I was cast about 12 hours before filming. I returned from the Halloween Event and there was a script delivered. I called and asked about it and said I was too tired and wasn’t even going to open it…”

I’m rather surprised he had basically no time to prepare for Cool Money, since his charismatic performance was what made it worth the while. I guess what I thought was a subtle and relaxed performance was possible exhaustion!

“I learned to stand up for myself on the set. I realized that if something was really bothering me, it was probably bothering others too. That I needed to say something to get it taken care of. People would come over and thank me.”

Why is it if an actress does something like that she’s labeled a difficult diva/bitch?

“Where would you be if you didn’t have family commitments and could live anywhere?
A) Probably New York or Chicago. I want to prove to everyone that I really am good on the stage.”

It’s admirable he puts family ahead of a desire to get back to theatre, I just hope the “circle” comes back around for him when he’s ready.

bloodflowers | April 04, 21:39 CET

This was my question actually and it was done strickly tongue in cheek cause it just seemed like the question to ask after Andy had joked how he didn't want to talk about his make-up at the beginning of his Q&A and then at the end joked that if had anymore questions for him they could ask James.

I think the exact question was, "So how long does it take to put Andy's make-up on?" (Andy was still in the back area and heard it and thought it was funny as well - everybody got that it was a joke cause the first thing James did was crackup laughing - he had been in the back and heard Andy's comment about asking him any other questions about Andy.)

James also described how Andy was two different people, in the make-up he is very grumpy but in real life he is gregarious. Mostly because of the contacts, and the fact that the set was really dusty and he couldn't see half the day. James also mentioned that poor Andy was always there before everyone else, a 15 hour day was normal.

[ edited by RavenU on 2005-04-04 19:57 ]

RavenU | April 04, 21:49 CET

Do you have to be a member to read the transcript? I can't seem to find it.

Harmalicious | April 04, 22:26 CET

Harmalicious, what do you see when you click on the link? It's just a matter of scrolling down a few posts if you're getting the correct link, and you don't need to be a member as far as I can tell.

Rogue Slayer | April 04, 23:17 CET

GEEZ, yep that's all I needed to do. I'm tired. The pictures of Spike and Angel hugging did not make me want to scroll down :)

Harmalicious | April 04, 23:35 CET

Awesome. Thanks, RavenU. I so want to go to a Buffyverse Q&A. It sounds like fun. I'm more interested in the writers' Q&A's, preferably Joss, but those seem so few and far between. I'd go to an Alexis Q&A too, since those are rare too, and hey, it's Alexis! And of course, Aly. She doesn't do those though, unfortunately.

The pictures of Spike and Angel hugging did not make me want to scroll down :)

I find the banner of the slashy romp through fields of flowers highly amusing.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-04-04 21:54 ]

electricspacegirl | April 04, 23:53 CET

For those who are interested, I just spoke with Time Machine, the company shipping his CD. For whatever reason, my credit card company thought this was a suspcious purchase and refused to put it through. Time Machine were nice enough to call and let me know, and the situation is fixed.

During that conversation, I was advised that they have actually received a large shipment of CDs already, with more coming next week, so they are going to start shipping this week, as opposed to waiting until the 15th.

Angela | April 05, 01:10 CET

Just an Update for a good chuckle I have posted my photo ops from the Houston event at Flickr.

RavenU | April 05, 01:50 CET

He has said that he had family commitments that will keep him from doing stage work for another 10 (it could be 9 by now) years.

No, he said family commitments will keep him from moving away from Los Angeles. I don't know where you got the "stage work" from since he's doing some sort of theatrical thing on stage in London this Halloween and he could do stage work in L.A. if he wanted. In fact, he's turned down some TV show offers because they would require him to move to New York. It doesn't have anything to do with the stage.

killinj | April 05, 05:28 CET

killingj, I think it is a semantics problem. I had used the term "theater job" in an earlier post but I realize that could also be misinterpreted. In my first post I was just reacting to the Lanford Wilson reference and was not trying to make a big explanation. In my second post I tried to make a quick explanation of the disadvantage of doing theater when raising children. JM had not said that part, I did...and I stand by it. Actually, I am still more interested in finding out what actually happened with the Lanford Wilson question at the J&A, than to get too far into this. I am pretty tired right now and just can't afford to go off to find quotes and spend a bunch of time I don't have.

Oh well, here goes without any quotes. I have been following what he has said on this subject because in some of his comments back when, he had been much more open about the possibility of doing theater again in the near future. It was something I was very interested in seeing, so I paid special attention. Lately that changed. Once fairly recently he was quite specific I believe about how he would love to do theater again but right now he has made a commitment to his family.

A one night or weekend staged reading, a convention, etc. are not what I was saying he was referring to. Yes, admittedly they are all work done on a stage. And a staged reading can be considered stage work, but it is not a real theater job or doing theater or whatever he said. (I remember the meaning, not the words and there are a number of ways actors can say this.) They are all do-able because they do not take a real commitment.

I know he has done shows in LA, but he has also said LA is not a theater town. (Not an uncommon notion among actors.) To do real theater of the level that would be the next step up for him, he would need to make a commitment and do it in a theater town. NYC would be the common place, though he has expressed a fondness fot Chicago.

Playwrights of the caliber of say, Lanford Wilson, usually do their work in NYC and expect an actor to make that strong commitment. Chances to work with such people are few and far between. If the person at theQ&A was serious and not just pulling JM's chain, it would be more than a shame to miss the opportunity to at least talk to LW about it. Unfortunately it would require just exactly what JM has said he cannot do.

Since just trying to explain this is making me depressed, I think I'll leave it at that. If you understand, that's great. If not, I apologize for not being able to explain it better so late at night.

newcj | April 05, 08:01 CET

NewCJ - Lanford Wilson - works more in Regional theatre and now resides and works in Houston. I think if he was in LA or would work with a regional theatre in LA - James would be there in a heartbeat. The woman who told him she knew Lanford Wilson and he wanted to work with him was a regional theatre director who has worked with him on a few times and has his number on her cell phone.

RavenU | April 05, 17:50 CET

Excellent.

newcj | April 05, 18:14 CET

This is one of the reasons I dislike writen transcripts of Q&A's cause you can loose a lot of the intention behind it, and must always remember this is one person's perception. This is also the reason I think photos are more important cause you have a visual representation of the event and it's a more emotional impact than just the text. Unless you are a writer by nature you miss why somethings where done the way they were. Like my question, or the Lanford Wilson person, James reaction to what the woman said was like that of Charlie given the keys to the Chocolate Factory. Or for those who know "Chance", like Simon getting his $200 from Chance.

RavenU | April 05, 21:41 CET

That is why I asked the question that unintentionally got this mishagoss started. But simple pictures cannot do it unless they are tied to something. Thank you for answering the question, RavenU.

Enough. Still tired from work. Leaving here now...unfortunately not work.

newcj | April 06, 00:44 CET

A friend of mine has been telling me about the rumours of a possible Spike movie for a week or so now but knowing that he is very aware how much i've been hoping for a continuation of the Buffy/Angelverse, not to mention that he is very good at winding me up, i'd taken it with a grain of salt until i'd got chance to check this out for myself. It's about time we got some good news.

I had actually hoped that the next series was going to be based around the new Watchers Council but Spike is a favourite of mine as well so this is equally good news to me.

Bearing in mind i've had little or no access to up to date Buffy news in recent months would somebody be able to fill me in on exactly what stage this Spike telemovie is at? I get the impression that James and Joss are both wanting it to happen but is that as far as it currently goes?

The Watcher | April 06, 02:22 CET

That would be right. At the minute, it seems to be Joss and the WB talking to each other via TV Guide but who knows what is happening behind the scenes.

Simon | April 06, 02:38 CET

So they aren't exactly building any sets yet then? Ah well, it's a start at least. Thanks, Simon.

The Watcher | April 06, 02:49 CET