My fangirl weekend - Can't Stop the Serenity '08

Just dropping in to give an update on my time at Can’t Stop the Serenity 08 in Minneapolis/St. Paul this past weekend.

Saturday afternoon we went to the “shindig” which consisted of a parasol painting party and catered lunch. Steph had a great time painting her parasol. Me, I’m artistically challenged so I had really 2 sets of swirls on mine instead of 1 set of long ones. They asked me if I wanted to do another one since they had way extra parasols, so I said sure. And I painted the panels on that one green & yellow *s* They played the first disc of Firefly during the luncheon (they had the disc there because it contained the episode with the scenes of Kaylee holding said Parasol) and we were serenaded with the soundtrack from Serenity during the 3 hours we were there. There were some very artistic people there. One guy painted Snoopy on his dog house on his parasol. It was cute (I’m a *huge* Snoopy fan). Another guy painted “symbols” on each panel – a leaf for Wash, the parasol spirals for Kaylee, the hat for Jayne, etc. It was very fun to see. Steph’s turned out very nice.

After the luncheon, Steph found a theater where Sex and the City was playing and we went to see that. Very glad I saw it, even if I had to shell out $17 for tickets between the two of us (I’m spoiled in Fargo, tix aren’t that expensive here). The theatre wasn’t too packed, and there were only 4 men in attendance. Other than the woman sitting behind us criticizing the entire movie, I enjoyed it. I was beginning to wonder why she was even there because clearly she wasn't a fan. Carrie's hat wasn't right, Big wasn't behaving right, an embarrassing scene involving Charlotte wasn't funny at all - on and on she went.

After Sex and the City we head over to Riverview Theatre where Serenity was being shown. The package for the amount I’d contributed included 2 T-shirts, 2 posters, 1 keychain, and raffle tickets. My name was also in the program as a companion *heh* If I’d been a business (or had a published book) I could have had an ad, too. We also got a little goodie bag for being one of the first 100 through the door. These bags included a pen, a EqualityNow wristband, a granola bar and a couple of stickers. We were greeted when walking in by one of the women from the shindig playing violin. She played pretty much the entire time up until the movie started at 11:30pm.

While we didn’t win anything with the raffle (there were some pretty neat prizes, too, including a Spike puppet) we did win the auction for a MN Firefly CSTS T-shirt autographed by Adam Baldwin. Stephanie was kind of excited about that. They also had a Firefly DVD set autographed by Adam.

I’ve never seen Serenity in a theatre full of Joss fans before. Seeing it here in Fargo, I don’t think many of the audience knew it was anything but another sci-fi movie. So, some of the backstory went over their heads obviously. So, it was fun to laugh with an audience (and interesting to hear where there were a few laughs with no others or where you laughed and others didn’t). And it was fun to cry with an audience and know that even though we knew what was going to happen to Wash it was still shocking. There was a theatre full of gasps at the scene. As if we all expected that THIS time it wouldn’t happen. And the theatre was full. It was great to see that many people coming out.

There was a funny little introduction by Nathan, thanking us. There was a short movie with a browncoat dressed as Mal explaining just what Can't Stop the Serenity and Equality Now is about. And they showed Joss' speech from ’06 with an introduction by Meryl Streep. Kind of a punch in the gut to hear him being introduced as the guy who was going to be bringing us Wonder Woman. There were lots of groans from the audience at that.

We had a late breakfast with a college buddy of mine and his wife Sunday morning and then we were on our way back to Fargo. Overall, it was a great experience. The people I met and talked to were fun. It was fun, too, to see the different “types” of people that were there. Young and old, geeky and not so geeky *s*. It was fun.

Discovered at the shindig luncheon that there actually are people who like Firefly & Serenity who haven’t given Buffy and/or Angel a shot. One of the volunteers asked if anyone wanted to hear Once More With Feeling after the second play through of the Serenity soundtrack.

It was a relatively costly weekend, but well worth it. Equality Now is an organization I contribute to anyway, so I got to have some fun and get some goodies out of the deal while supporting it. Interestingly, according to 2007 number-crunching, Minneapolis contributed the most of all the cities listed.

Steph had a good time. When I told her what we were doing she just kind of rolled her eyes and didn’t seem too thrilled. Of course doing something geeky with her mother is beneath her at 17. But once we were there, she had a blast. Even Lee commented on how good her mood was last night when we got back.

Joss Whedon talks to Ign.com about ME day

From Ign.com -

Joss Whedon talks to Ign.com about ME day

US, December 10, 2007 - This past Friday was "Mutant Enemy Day" on the picket lines during the ongoing Writers Guild strike, named in honor of Joss Whedon’s production company. Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, was joined by writers from all of those aforementioned shows — including Tim Minear, Marti Noxon, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Doug Petrie, Ben Edlund, Brett Matthews, Drew Goddard and more — not to mention a large collection of fans (some of whom had flown from around the world to show support) and many notable actors from Whedon’s work, including Nathan Fillion, Nicholas Brendon, Summer Glau, Eliza Dushku, J. August Richards, Juliet Landau, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, J. August Richards and more. According to fan reports, Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, began the day by bringing 1000 donuts to those in attendance.

The group, all-told about 400 people, walked the picket line in front of the 20th Century Fox Lot, the studio who have produced all of Whedon’s TV series. Summer Glau told me her presence there that day began with an email from Whedon, which she said "Was a very funny email, like it always is. He writes great emails… he’s an amazing writer ! Even his emails are brilliant." Glau added "I didn’t know quite what to picture. I just knew that he was going to be here. So I was surprised the huge, huge crowd that showed up today."

Glau said that stopping production on her new series Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles has "been heartbreaking. No one wants to stop working. We love what we do. This is just a necessary step for us. We’ll support the writers as long as they are striking." Glau noted she had been glad to see fans showing such understanding about the strike, saying "I think everyone’s been really positive and hopeful and it’s wonderful to see how many people showed up to support us."

Eliza Dushku also told me she was glad to see so many fans joining the writers and actors on the picket line, remarking "I think it’s impressive and it’s strong and it’s really showing what these people are made of. Their support is deep that they’ll walk the walk. We all will." Duskhu said that for her the strike was about the writers "Being taken care of properly in the fairest way, so we’ll stand here and support that as long as it takes."

As for TV fans upset about the strike and their shows not being on the air, Dushku said she hoped they would understand that "You don’t have shows without writers and writers can’t live without their respect and the compensation and their rights. So we gotta join together and remember that if it were actors we would hope that there would be a show of support and hopefully everyone will understand."

I also spoke to Whedon himself, to get his thoughts on the strike, the studios, the fans, and even a few comments about Dollhouse, the new series Whedon will be writing for Eliza Dushku whenever the strike ends. It should be noted that this interview was conducted a few hours before word came down that negotiations between the writers (the WGA) and the studios (the AMPTP) had completely collapsed once more.

IGN TV : You know you have a lot of loyal fans, but I assume it feels particularly good to see them out in support of something like this.

Joss Whedon : It doesn’t hurt !

IGN TV : After perhaps some initial confusion over what the strike was about, do you feel like the fans understand the crux of the issues going on now ?

Whedon : The fans from day one have understood what this is about. There’s never been any "Where’s our shows ? Why are you guys doing this ?" They understand that we’re reacting to an impossible situation. They also understand that making a show or a film is collaboration between the artists and the fans. They come out and support not just with us but with each other and the whole concept of an artistic community.

IGN TV : We’ve obviously heard a lot of back and forth the past week or so as negotiations resumed - "things are going good" ; things are going bad." What’s the overall vibe you’re getting ?

Whedon : Things are going bad. I kind of thought it was going to be bad. I had this conspiracy theory that the studios were just going back to the table as a show of good faith but then they offer us nothing and then say "Look, they didn’t even try", as they break off talks with us and send everybody into the holidays in fear for their jobs and their homes and their livelihoods. And that’s exactly what they’re turning out to do.

IGN TV : What do you think it will take to get things to change and to come to an agreement ?

Whedon : We have to break them. These are multi-billionaires who could give a rat’s ass about any of the issues they’re actually talking about except for one – If they can break this union, then they can break them all. If they can do that, then they can control everything. They already, thanks to the [repeal of] Fin-syn laws and all of the sort of vertical integration, control almost everything. They’re very close. They have basically one last thing to figure out how to own and rule in and we’re it. And it’s simply not going to happen. The only way we can break them is just by stopping. By being out here instead of in there. And we’ll do it. We’ll do it for a year. We’ll do it forever. We’ll do it until somebody else steps up and says "Hey, we’ll run a business a different way." We’ll work for those people instead. What you’re going to find in Hollywood is maybe a lot fewer millionaires, but a lot more working people with steady jobs, because these guys can not crush us. It will not happen.

IGN TV : If you did encounter someone saying "I just want my shows back !", what would you say to them ?

Whedon : No fan is saying that. The people who sit in front of the TV because they can’t figure out what else to do might be saying that. Fans are not saying that. Fans are getting on the internet and showing support and coming to this rally and organizing in a way that I wish I could ever. Fans are the people who really, absolutely get it. And so not one of them has ever said to me "I’m upset that I’m not going to get to see your shows because of the strike." They say "Get what you need. Do what you have to. Make it right. And then we’ll get the show."

IGN TV : Your new show was announced about a week before this strike started. I assume you’d be working on it right now if things were different ?

Whedon : Yes, actually we’d be close to filming the first episode. But that’s not gonna happen. Nor am I secretly working on it, as many people talk about. First of all, there’s too much strike work to be done. And second of all, it doesn’t feel right. So I’m very happy to pick it up once the strike is resolved, whenever that is, but in the meantime I don’t go near it.

IGN TV : When this is all over, what can you say about Dollhouse and what it will deliver ?

Whedon : What can I say about the show ? Well, first of all, have you seen Eliza ?! It’s basically going to deliver as many different genres and as many different identities and as many different rhythms and feelings with Eliza. And that was the idea of it, was a show that would keep both of us on our toes and that would really challenge us, both in terms of storytelling and in terms of the morality of the show. It’s very dark and very weird. Eliza is a good, smart, liberal, dedicated person, who wants to make a show of substance. When we had lunch and I came up with this idea, she got it instantly. She got the humanity of it. She’s perfect for it. It’s really about showing America how much Eliza can do that she hasn’t had a chance to do yet.

IGN TV : In terms of tone, will it be similar to any of your previous work ?

Whedon : Not really. It’s different. It’s new ground, which is the only ground I should be watching, except for this ground in front of Fox, which for me right now is pretty old.

Joss posts at Whedonesque - ME Day approaches

From Whedonesque.com -

Joss posts at Whedonesque - ME Day approaches

As Mutant enemy day approaches, Joss considers what to wear (red), what to bring (powdered milk) and what this ’hygiene’ everyone’s recommending is all about.

A couple of things before the big day. First of all Marti Noxon has tried to HIJACK this entire site for some ’cause’. She forwarded this letter she wanted me to print:

"We think it would be unbelievably amazing if Joss were able to tell whomever might be reading his blog for info on the Friday picket that, as a part of the whole thing, the WGA is doing a Holiday Harvest Food drive for local food banks (that have reached an all-time low in donations, recently) and we’re asking everyone who can to bring jars of peanut butter, cans of tuna, and tons of powdered milk. In this way, besides just making a statement in solidarity and support of the WGA strike, we can also be re-stocking the shelves of the local food banks and feeding the poor and hungry of our community."

Like I’d print something so depressing! This event is about one thing: my famousnessness. First everyone’s all about ’the strike’, now it’s ’helping people’... let’s not lose sight of the point, people! You can’t spell M.E. without, well, me.

Powdered milk, Cans of tuna, peanut butter. Other non-perishables will also be gratefully accepted, but those are the key groups. If you get the chance. ’Cause, me aside (for as long as I can stand it), supporting the strike and supporting the community are all part of the same thing. No one in this country should be hungry. I won’t get on the soapbox (’cause it’s too big to fit on the one I’m already on) but totin’ a can really would mean a lot.

MAN DOWN! Yes, Alexis Denisof had to leave town and will not be able to attend. On the bright side, HE HAS A GLASS EYE! No, he totally doesn’t, I’m just bummed and lashing out. We’ll miss him, but I’m still gathering troops, so stay tuned. (Stay logged?)

RAIN! Man, I’m just harshing your mellow tonght, aren’t I? Scattered showers predicted. It was prettty boily today, but who knows. Be prepared! Wear a snowsuit AND a bikini! I’m not frightened. I am unwavering. Nothing will stop us from picketing, unless there’s a single fluffy cloud, in which case I’m just gonna panic and go scab.

I look forward to seeing you all, except the people I won’t be seeing, like ol’ glass eye and the people who live in New Zealand. (Go New Zealand! Road Warrior! Shrimp on the Barbie! G’day, and... and... wait... oh God! WETA! I meant to say WETA! Jeez, I’m losing fans by the boatload here. I gotta stop the bleeding and end this post.)

Bye for now, -j.

Tuna
Powdered Milk
Peanut Butter

joss | Purple prose | 06:38 CET

Joss' Astonishing X-Men, Issue 23: Lysad.blogspot.com Review

From Lysad.blogspot.com

Joss' Astonishing X-Men, Issue 23: Lysad.blogspot.com Review

When Whedon first launched the title, I resisted the hype as much as humanly possible, trying to bad-talk the book as much as possible and discover the cracks in every page. Talk about hopeless. For once the hype is right, and there can be no denying it.

In the first draft of the review, I had decided to skip all the usual routine about how "this is the best an X-Men book will ever be, so enjoy it for one month more while you still can". But, it’s hard to resist: it is true, after all. Marvel realizes this as well, thus giving this title the special deadline-breaking privileges to make sure the art is the best it could possibly be to fit a volume of work that will be re-read and references back for decades to come. I wish they had made the same realization earlier, back when Morrison’s New X-Men run was in full-swing and the book was shoved into a bi-weekly schedule and fill-in hell. Whedon and Cassaday certainly benefit from that experience.

Some persistent nay-sayers might retort ’Hey, the guy’s only writing an X-book, it’s not like he’s reinventing the wheel’. Well, that’s where they’re wrong: in this issue he actually does.

Joss Whedon rewrites the book on comics (well, more like adds an appendix, but allow me my hyperbole this once), introducing a brand new tool in the arsenal of the medium, something unique to comics alone which no other medium could reproduce. I wish I could do more than tease, but this ties into the major twist in the storyline (’oh no! now he’s said there’s a twist!’). I knew Whedon had a talent for revisiting classic scenes from X-Men history and shedding light at them from a new perspective, but I never imagined he’d be doing the same with his own X-Men stories!

Enough Whedon hype for this review though! Instead, let’s talk up John Cassaday.

When Ord of the Breakworld first showed up in the opening arc, I had found him a visually unimpressive alien villain. No distinctive costume, no catchy colour scheme, no cool headgear (seriously, what was up with the metal nose-muzzle and those funky eyebrows?). He just looked poor to me. (wait, here comes the ’but’ again). Now I get it. See now, the X-Men have visited Breakworld and we got to see Cassaday’s brilliance in design. He hadn’t created a throwaway one-note villain; he had designed a entirely new alien race: their bone structure, their facial features, their body language, their materials and their fashion, their armour and their architecture. The kind of thing Jack Kirby (i.e. the Skrulls, the Kree) would make seem effortless, yet we hadn’t really seen since Dave Cockrum created the Shi’ar for Uncanny X-Men. An alien civilisation designed whole cloth for the sake of one storyline.

Whedon does love to break loose once in a while and indulge himself in a new alien landscape for a closing chapter; here he doesn’t have the budgetary hindrances when creating Pylea for the wrap-up of Angel Season 2, but instead has the only limitation of John Cassaday’s pen and imagination. Cassaday is the perfect fit for this, having proven himself in this area from his previous work with Warren Ellis in Planetary —which called for this kind of feat only every other issue.

Before I wrap this up, a small tease without breaking spoilers taboos. By the end of the story, you’d have gone guaranteed WHOA over at least 4 scenes, before the shocking double geek-gasm finale, starting with a Thundercats moment and finishing with a splash which rivals in coolness ’that’ Kitty cliffhanger from #15.

Joss & the WGA Strike - 5 Great Strike Movies

From Whedonesque.com -

Joss & the WGA Strike - 5 Great Strike Movies

PURPLE PROSE – THE NEXT GENERATION

Hi campers (and people not currently camping)! Still phegmtastic, but wanted to say a quick thanks to Dreamlogic (I will not reveal her real name here, for I know she has many enemies) (which is weird ‘cause she seems nice enough) for bringing the sign and the food and the love yesterday. The place was mobbed, and in addition to Drew and Marti I got to hang with BKV, and Liz Craft and Sarah Fain (Women’s Murder Club – Catch it! When it comes back!) and many other fine folk. And yes, there was talk of a Buffy picket (or really a Mutant Enemy picket) being set up when I’m not sick and Tim’s not on jury duty.

Since I don’t have any real news and don’t feel like waxing poetical (can you bikini wax poetical?) (like short, painful prose that reads real smooth after?) I’ve decided to list my five (off the top of my congested head) favorite strike movies, to get us all in the proper frame of mind. Hopefully, none of them can be downloaded.

FIVE FAVORITE STRIKE MOVIES.

#5: BILLY ELLIOT. This is primarily about a boy who wants to dance, but the backdrop is the miner’s strike in Manchester in the 80’s, and it’s gritty and tough and depressing and uplifting. (Thatcher and Reagan really got the ball rolling on anti-unionism. Thanks, guys!)

#4: DAY OF THE DEAD. Okay, not a strike movie. And it’s a stretch as an allegory, but it’s not a stretch to find a critique of capitalism laid out in it. Expanding (as Romero always did) on ‘Dawn of the Dead’s themes of mindless consumerism and conformity (zombies outside the mall) and ‘living the American dream’ of pointless acquisition (people living IN the mall), Romero takes us here to the bleak end of that scenario, where the ‘haves’ (soldiers and scientists) are holed up in a cave with acres of trailers and boats and goodies – all of them useless – going completely insane while the ‘have-nots’ (zombies) are left outside or kept in a pen, the lucky few being fed the occasional dead person. The zombies are much more sympathetic than the humans, especially ‘Bub’ (the unforgettable Sherman Howard), who is being tested and showing signs of humanity, and who becomes the ‘voice’ of the starving (okay, for brains) masses. I myself am a capitalist, but like any system, taken to its extreme it’s unfair, untenable and results in the destruction of the system. And what is this fight about if not capitalism at its untenable extreme? How much money do these corporations need to take from us? Seriously. In what way can our basic rights actually damage them? Have they ever said “We can’t guarantee you fair residuals on all media because of such and such, because it will lead to this and that?” What, exactly, is their position besides “Nuh-uh”? The bile riseth. So I have no problem including a film with entrail-munching on my list.

#3: NORMA RAE. Duh. ‘Sides, Sally Field was on the picket lines yesterday. Yay her.

#2: NEWSIES. Oh, you knew this was coming. The wonderful irony of Disney making a children’s fable about the power of workers’ unions was lost on me when I first saw it (it was not lost on the L.A Weekly). The politics of this film are clear, intelligent and uplifting. And the songs are catchy. And Batman’s in it. (And hearing my children walking around the house singing “No one can make us give our rights away” makes all of this a lot easier.) Is it dorky? YOU’RE dorky! Dork.

#1: MATEWAN. This is one of my favorite movies, period. John Sayles captures a coal miners’ strike from the thirties with beauty and pain and extraordinary verite. He also captures Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn long before they were well known, in indelible performances. And you don’t know what contempt is until you’ve heard James Earl Jones use his James Earl Jones voice to spit out the word “scab”. A classic. (Fun fact: Kevin Tighe plays a heavy in this AND ‘Newsies’. Have a Kevin-Tighe-is-a-meanie double bill!)

There! Now you can makes some popcorn, cosy up on the couch and get all strikey! I’ll check back in when I’ve got actual news, or any leads on Dreamlogic’s many enemies. (Wait a minute… didn’t I see her talking heatedly with TrollLogic?) Let me know if there’s any good movies I missed.

Parenthetically (seriously, what’s up with that?), –j.

Joss Whedon: Geekmonthly.com interview 2

From Geekmonthly.com

Joss Whedon: Geekmonthly.com interview 2

Part two of our little chat with Geek extraordinaire Joss Whedon.

Geek: Speaking of TV, are you still planning to return some day?

Joss Whedon: I still am trying to make a couple of movies. But my plans for getting back to TV still exist, only in that I really miss TV. I don’t like the hours as much as I used to, but I do like the idea of telling the stories in a long format over a period of time. I have to find the right story and the right situation where I won’t get body-slammed. But Firefly being cancelled and then Angel being cancelled didn’t exactly make me feel welcome. And I realize, you know, “Cowboy up and get just over it,” but at the same time, I was slipping into this other medium anyway, which is something I always wanted to do. So I’m testing these waters for a while. But TV is awesome. I really love it and miss it. It will be a little while, but I’m definitely planning to stage a comeback.

Comics also seem to be a good opportunity for you to tell those long-form stories, and it sounds like it’s been a pretty smooth ride. What is there to miss about TV, besides the money?

[Laughs] I’ve made a lot of jokes about comic-book money. Too many jokes about comic-book money! The things that I miss, apart from it being a somewhat larger audience, is that I really love film, and I include TV in that. Most of all I miss the actors, but also cameras and editing and everything else. When you see a human being speak a line you wrote, there’s almost no substitute. And I’m including the art of [X-Men illustrator] John Cassidy, which is probably the closest thing there is to that. To have someone really talented deliver a line that you’ve put out there, and unlike in the movies, to have it happen within a couple of months instead of a couple years after you wrote it, is just the most thrilling thing that there is. Except possibly for being the actor who is saying the lines, but you’d have to ask them about that.

Dawn Ostroff at the CW network said recently that “she would love to be in business with Joss Whedon in any way.” Is that something you would ever consider?

Oh, certainly. Apart from their choice of forest green for the CW’s logo, there’s nothing about them I don’t like. Dawn and I had a great time on Buffy, and they were extremely supportive and respectful and there’s no reason why that wouldn’t be one of the first stops I’d make.

Do you think you’d really have trouble getting a show off the ground at this point?

You know, there’s really no such thing as a track record in TV. I’ve talked to other people who are much more successful than I am, who’ve been shot down not just quickly but appallingly rudely by major executives. And the fact of the matter is that those executives have the burden of enormous responsibility, and that’s put on you no matter what. My track record is not such that all of America watches what I do, and I can put on “I Pooed on My Head: The Miniseries” and get away with it…It really is about whether this project is going to work in their scheme.

Now, to an extent, I completely agree with that. I don’t think you should be able to put on anything just because you did something well once. But by the same token, there does come a point where “if you don’t trust me at all, why did you bring me in?” It’s a fine line. So no, I certainly can’t sell a show blanc and have it go the way I want. Making Firefly was ridiculously hard. Casting it took forever. It feels like it fell out formed, like it was just there already, but it was actually a very painful birthing process. And they shut down Angel after the first episode, as you mentioned. It’s always tough.

I can get in a room, and I think people will listen to what I have to say, but I can’t just say [in faux British accent] “Oh, you lucky, lucky network, here it is, and now do exactly as I say while I bathe in money.”

Maybe this is a little naïve, but hasn’t the cachet of your name risen since you left TV?

Ooh, I like that idea. Nobody’s mentioned that! I was thinking I was just getting to has-been status!

But what other shows that ended in 2004 are people talking about today? Your shows have all become sort of legendary. Doesn’t that count for anything?

Legend is good. Legend is what I’m looking for. You know, nobody has said “no” to me. I haven’t pitched anything. I have literally stayed away, because I have these film obligations that I would very much like to do, and because I was so wounded by what happened before. It’s not like people are slamming doors in my face. I have to start training, to start mentally preparing myself to go back into that arena. Because no matter what, there are lions…They’re always in the room, no matter what. You have to gird your loins. My loins are notably ungirded.

But you do have one TV project in the works. Or is inadequate loin girdage the reason you’re pursuing Ripper as a 90-minute one-shot rather than a mini-series?

To do a series in England and truly oversee it is a little more than I had planned for this time. It was always meant to be stories about Giles that are self-contained, in a Prime Suspect-y way. There could be more, there could be not-more, but I want this to be the one story. It’s not just the idea of using the character, I actually had a story I wanted to use him for…It’s a very internal story, and it goes to a part of Giles we might not have been able to see. It’s very different from Buffy.

If you had the power to snap your fingers and resolve all the bureaucratic tangles on one of your projects, which would you must like to pursue?

I can’t answer that, because I want to pursue all of them. This is my problem. This is my problem when I sit down to write every day. Goners is the thing I’ve invested the most time and effort in right now, and it’s hopefully the closest to actual fruition, so that’s the first on my list. But when I do something, I do it entirely.

I know we’re running out of time, but if I don’t ask about Firefly I’m going to get a beating from my co-workers. Can you give them any false hope?

I can’t give them any false hope, and in fact it always gets me into trouble when I do. There is no false hope, there is no sequel, there is no new series, there is nothing. I would do it, but I’m not the king of all TV and movies, and I can’t. And I’m happy to say that the crew is all variously employed, so they’re not necessarily the worse for it. But nothing is happening.

So would you say you’ve made your peace with Firefly’s fate, and people should stop thinking about it?

I’ll never make my peace with it. People should stop thinking about it, but I can’t. And, well, I’m not entirely sure I want other people to stop thinking about it either, I just can’t give them any hope.

Well that’s sort of a sour note on which to end the interview!

That’s good though. It’s kind of like a dissonant note. Like a Bernard Hermann piece!

Shepherd Book's secret revealed at the 2007 Serenity LA Convention!

From Forums.pdxbrowncoats.com - By The One True b!X

Shepherd Book's secret revealed at the 2007 Serenity LA Convention!

SPOILER! - Book’s Past Revealed?!

So during the Jewel/Morena panel at Serenity LA on Saturday, Morena got to wondering out loud whether or not she could finally just reveal what Inara’s big secret was. She herself figured she probably couldn’t, but the audience and Jewel suggested she simply call Joss and ask for permission. (Morena, however, said Joss doesn’t pick up the phone when she calls.)

During their Sunday panel, joined by Christina Hendricks, the subject came up again — including after Nathan had arrived to join the women on stage.

So Nathan called Joss.

After a brief conversation, Nathan said that Morena couldn’t tell.

Moments later, Nathan’s phone rang. It was Joss calling back.

When he got off the phone, Nathan said that Joss had offered a compromise: Morena couldn’t reveal Inara’s secret, but could reveal Book’s.

After some conferring with Nathan because she couldn’t remember if she actually knew it, Morena announced the following:

Book was a dirty cop.

Now comes the next great moment of Browncoat debate: Was Nathan ever really on the phone with Joss, or was he just BSing everyone? But he got called back, so he was clearly on the phone with someone. Nathan also said that of course Ron knew Book’s secret. But earlier in the con Ron had said he didn’t know. Nathan said he was a liar. At closing ceremonies, Ron reminded us that it’s Nathan who is a liar.

So: Is it true? Did Joss really tell Nathan on the phone that Book’s secret could be revealed in exchange for continuing to protect Inara’s?

Let the debate begin! And next time someone talks to Joss, ask him.

Joss Whedon interview with Msn.com

From Msn.com -

Joss Whedon interview with Msn.com

What’s in Your DVD Player, Joss Whedon?

The creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly," and "Angel" dishes about his DVD player, talks musicals, and sets us straight on the rumors of a "Serenity" sequel.

By Sean Axmaker Special to MSN Entertainment

"Angel," the greatest TV show ever about a vampire detective, is getting the complete-series treatment in a new DVD edition. To mark the occasion, Joss Whedon — also the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" — dishes on "Angel," talks musicals, and sets us straight on the rumors of a "Serenity" sequel.

What’s in your DVD player?

That’s a double answer because I’ve been watching "Newsies" with my kids and I’ve been watching "Crank," with Jason Statham, while I exercise. "Newsies" and "Crank," yeah! How many fans did I just lose?

"Newsies" is a musical. Have your kids gotten into musicals?

Oh yeah. They don’t watch TV and we only watch a few things selectively, and I tend to show them musicals first because I don’t like to show them a lot of heavy cutting. I don’t like to do that to their brains. I like "Mr. Rogers," I like long takes. Musicals are very peppy and they are very much about just showing you what’s going on instead of the magic of cutting and cutting and cutting, so that they become confused, visually. So since I’m easing them into the whole concept of filmed entertainment, it’s a good place to start. Besides, I get to watch them.

My sister’s kids’ favorite movie, at least at one time, was "Singin’ in the Rain."

Well, it is the best movie that has ever been and I have shown that to my kids, because it’s "Singin’ in the Rain." Every number is magical and every joke is actually funny and every bit works, so that makes sense.

Do you ever check out the supplements on other DVDs?

You know, very rarely. If there’s a movie I’m really curious about how they did something I’ll try to hunt it down. But either I’ll try to listen to commentary and somebody will say something that upsets me and I’ll stop; or if it’s something where I’m completely transported, like "The Matrix," I never want to know how it’s made, I want to believe it happened.

Having done commentary yourself and listened to other commentary tracks, what’s your take on the concept? For it? Against it?

I’m for it. I love doing it. I get nervous but I love doing it and I love the idea of it. I still think the best commentary I’ve heard is "Cannibal: The Musical": Trey Parker and Matt Stone and all their buddies just getting drunk and talking about the musical. You really get a bunch of cute insights and a bunch of drunk guys. What more could you ask for? But I haven’t watched many since then, even by people I like. Occasionally I do find them kind of dry. But I’m definitely for them, I think there’s a lot you can do with them, and they can be really fun.

The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" DVD sets were some of the first to be filled with multiple commentary tracks and featurettes and other extras. Is there one DVD supplement that stands out for you?

For "Buffy," it was probably the making of the musical, which David Fury sort of oversaw, because that was the first time we said, "OK, we know this is going to be intense. It may be our downfall, but it’s going to be an intense one and we should document it." That was really fun. But at first, whenever anybody did an extra, it was always like, "How’d you do vampire teeth?" There was a lot of genre silliness as opposed to, "What are we actually trying to do here?" By the time we were making "Angel," they sort of figured that out, that there were more interesting things to talk about. I can’t remember a favorite one particularly for "Angel," but that’s because by the time I was making "Angel," I had stopped sleeping several years before and I have little or no memory of it. I think it was about a vampire ...

You weren’t sleeping and you were living in Los Angeles. Was there an autobiographical dimension to "Angel" that you’re not telling us about?

There is a reason that I write about those guys, and if you’ve ever seen the color of my skin you’ll know I’m not kidding. I can’t go in the sun. It burns. (Voice breaks.) It burns!

It must be hard living in L.A.

You know, in retrospect, it might not have been the greatest choice. I probably should be in Seattle.

The "Angel" series DVD box set is coming out, and there’s a new show with a vampire detective called "Moonlight" on TV this season. What is it about TV vampires that makes them all want to become detectives?

You know, I think ultimately it’s the dream of every young vampire to be a detective. I don’t know. I mean there was a time when vampires were all puffy shirts and poetry and that was glorious, when it was Frank Langella. When we started "Angel," people were like, "It’s just ’Forever Knight.’" But you take the vampire concept and ultimately it translates into sort of a modern noir and a lot of noir stories were about detectives. The idea with "Angel" was to do a modern noir, was to do a little office with the blinds and the fast patter and the sort of nihilistic toughness and the dark world and the strange turns and all of the things that you find in the great ’40s and ’50s noirs. And I have a feeling that’s probably what everyone else is chasing, a little bit, too. It puts you in a world that’s slightly heightened in the way that those were. So it kind of makes sense that they would be detectives.

Fred [played by Amy Acker] has a heavy, honeyed Southern accent when she joins "Angel" in Season 2. It’s gone by the end of Season 3. Was she secretly getting speech therapy from Lorne?

She just likes to fit in, that’s my theory. Amy’s actually from Texas and had the accent but had obviously done a lot of Shakespeare and dropped the accent. I heard it and thought, "I want the accent." But actually she doesn’t speak like that anymore and I think it naturally faded away. (Pause.) Now that I realize that, she’s fired. I’m not bringing her back.

Where can I get an Angel puppet?

I don’t know. They do sell them. I have one, and now there’s a Spike puppet, too, even though Spike was never a puppet.

I would love to see the Angel and Spike puppet show.

You know, I kind of want to, too. But like, hardcore noir, with lots of big fights, lots of toughness. Not just "learning and growing," I really want them to kick it old school, but puppet school.

What’s the status of the Buffy spin-off "Ripper," which, last I read, you were still negotiating to bring to the BBC?

I tried for a while to do a series and it kind of blew up in my face. Now I’m going to try and see if I can’t do it as a 90-minute BBC film. Right now it’s sort of in the hands of FOX as to what rights they need to secure and I don’t know how long that’s going to take. I’ve been honing the story in the meantime, talking to Tony [Head] and the BBC. Everyone’s onboard, it’s kind of up to FOX.

I recently watched the new "Serenity" special-edition DVD and I have to say: The easygoing 20-minute featurette "A Filmmaker’s Journey" makes the set look like a marvelous and fun place to be.

There will never be another thing like that in my life. The set of "Serenity" exists because the set of "Firefly" was like that. I will do many things that I will enjoy greatly. I do not think I will ever be on a set that feels the way that one did, and I will also never get over the fact that I am not on it right now.

Actor Alan Tudyk mentioned the possibility of another "Firefly" movie in a recent interview. Is that wishful thinking? Is something happening? If so, can you talk about it?

I can talk about it because it’s wishful thinking. I always said, they made the special edition DVD because they cannot keep the DVD on the shelves. That’s what they told me, and they really went to the mattresses to make something special because they knew I wasn’t going to do a "director’s cut" because the "director’s cut" played in theaters. So they really pumped up the extras and I really appreciated that. And they also (slides into a Peter Lorre-ish voice) made it look pretty, finally. But I think what happened was that I said, "Well, if there’s hope for a sequel, it’s people buying the DVD," and that translated into something more literal. But, no. Right now, nobody has any plans to do any kind of sequel. If they do, I hope they’ll include me, because if I find out Brett Ratner is directing it, I’m going to be so mad. That’s not a dig on Brett. I want to do more, but nobody’s talking about doing more right now.