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The Joss Report
Hello,
my name is Suzanne Brockmann,
and I am a Joss Whedon fan.
· Chapter One: Backstory. (Skip ahead if you want to go directly to info about The Dinner.)
· Chapter Two: Pre-Dinner (Meet the auction winners!)
I can tell you exactly when my Joss Whedon addiction started -- it wasn't that long ago.
My son, Jason, and I have always loved good television. And we'd always had something that we thought of as "our show." One hour of TV a week -- usually a comedy -- that we always watched together and talked about afterward. My husband Ed (Jace's dad) might or might not like it, but he's so easy-going and good-natured, he'd watch pretty much anything. (And only mock us a little if he didn't think it was deserving of our time.)
It was late summer, some years ago, and I was squinting at EW and TV Guide, going through the descriptions of the upcoming fall shows, searching for something that both Jace and I would like.
See, we don't have a lot of time to spend watching television. We watch appointment TV at our house -- not a lot of channel surfing going on. West Wing. Boston Legal. Rescue Me. Veronica Mars. (Lately -- Burn Notice! Bruce Campbell rocks. Jace and I used to watch Brisco County Jr.) Our best friends, Bill and Jodie, come over nearly every night -- we have dinner, we watch the news with Keith, and then we either talk or watch one of our shows. The TV never plays in the background -- it's a full attention thing. Someone has something to say, we hit pause.
Anyway, Jason's never been big into violence. And he's hearing impaired, so the quick dialog from West Wing left him in the dust. (We often watch with captions on.) He's also in the American Idol camp, which, okay, I'll admit it -- I've started watching with him, too. Ed doesn't even bother to try not to mock us about that. He just rolls his eyes endlessly.
But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yeah, searching through the seemingly-the-same offerings of new shows a few summers ago, but then...
What's this?
Firefly?
Whoa. This looks... different. We like SF. I'm a Trekkie from way back. Jace fell in love with a Nickelodeon show called Space Cases when he was really little... And... double whoa. Firefly is written and produced by That Guy. You know who I mean. What's-His-Name. The one who does Buffy and Angel -- which are two shows that I hear about ENDLESSLY from my friends. (And from my former editor at Ballantine. Huge Buffy fan, Shauna is. Huge.)
But I can't watch Buffy, because Ed doesn't like vampires.
Okay. Tangent. I've been married to this guy for nearly 25 years, and he is so freaking easy-going that it sometimes pisses me off. "What do you mean, you don't care where we go for dinner?" "What do you mean, you don't care which movie we see?" "What do you mean, you don't care if we move house every three years simply because I'm a headcase and like to shake life up in a major way just because I can?"
Thing is, he really doesn't care. He'll enjoy himself, no matter what we do. He is a Happy Person.
Clean underwear. Give the man clean underwear, and he's fine. And, if he doesn't have clean underwear, he'll do the laundry. (He also grocery shops. He believes marriage is a partnership, and does his share of household chores. When I cook dinner, he cleans up after. When I don't cook dinner, he cooks or gets takeout, and I clean up after. It's a great system.)
So when Ed does say something like, "Yeah, you know, I really don't want to watch that," the entire room sits at attention.
There was also this little problem of mine -- I can't watch a show unless I watch from the beginning. I think it might be a mental illness (obsessive compulsive, anyone?) but it's in a relatively harmless form. And totally solved with the advent of TV shows on DVD. (That's my new fav format for watching TV, by the way. DVDs and watching four, five episodes in a sitting. I'm in heaven!) (End tangent)
So I'm sitting there thinking, Firefly. Yeah. I'll finally get to see what That Whedon Guy is all about. The show's SF, looks like plenty of action and a strong ensemble cast. Love the black woman as an actor -- I've seen her before and she rocks. So I tell Jace, grandly, with a sweeping gesture, "I Have Found Our Show For This Year."
He glances briefly at the TV Guide, says, "Whatever." (He was a teenager at the time.)
I am undaunted by his lack of excitement. I'm excited enough for the both of us. The Tivo gets programmed and...
Holy cow. This show is freaking great. I've got a serious case of like (I don't use the word love lightly) from the opening credits, and Jace is no longer in whatever-mode. He's jazzed -- and already writing Firefly Rocks on his arm with a Sharpie. (Not really, but I'm a writer, prone to hyperbole, and that accurately symbolizes how enamored he was right from the start.)
It was during broadcast episode three that I grabbed the Sharpie and followed Jason's lead and fell completely in deep, endless love. (Ed did, too. Yes, even easy-going Ed took indelible marker in hand.) (And you guys get that I'm just continuing the symbolism here, right?)
It was just... awesome storytelling. Incredible writing. Great characters. Terrific cast and direction... Just wonderful high-quality entertainment. If you haven't seen Firefly, I recommend it highly. It's available on DVD. Buy it. You'll want to watch it more than once. It's on my DVD keeper shelf.
So weeks pass, and our friend Scott, who watched Buffy from the very beginning and is connected to the Whedon-verse, gives us the bad news. "Firefly's been cancelled," he tells us morosely.
What?
WHAT????
Jace and I both say a whole string of bad words that neither of us should have said in front of the other, and go into a profound funk, stomping around the house in disgust. WHAT is WRONG with these TV executives that they have to go and cancel this terrific show, while keeping all that other crap on the air?
Which was when Karen, my friend Eric's wife, stepped forward. "Uh, guys? Buffy Season One is out on DVD. I've got it -- you want to borrow it?"
I look at Ed. Vampires. But... he nods, probably because he sees the glimmer of hope in both Jason's and my eyes. It's not Firefly, but at least it's Joss. Of course, maybe Ed just wants us to stop stomping around the house. "I'm willing to give it a try," he says.
And so we did. And That Whedon Guy became The Amazing-One-and-Only Joss Whedon, Master Storyteller and Creator of Greatness.
(Note
to Joss: We may have borrowed that
first season, but we've since bought not just one copy for our keeper shelf, but
two -- because Jason was going away to school and had to take all of Buffy
and Angel with him.
And then we bought the complete boxed set -- twice -- because we got a
place in
We watched Buffy and Angel in broadcast order, in amazement and awe. And then, when it was over, we didn't watch anything at all for a few months, because nothing could come close. We finally found Veronica Mars, which was awesome before it stopped being awesome (First season is terrific -- another DVD collection on my keeper shelf). And we found Lost. Which was okay.
But finally, just a few months ago, Ed and Bill and Jodie and I all looked at each other, and one of us was brave enough to say, "Uh, guys? Anyone want to, like, you know, just... quit watching all that other crap that we've been trying, and watch Buffy again from the beginning?"
And
so we did. We're taking it more
slowly this time. We're in the
middle of Season Five -- just watched The Body.
Yeah, that's right. Ed and I
came home from
I
sat there, on the sofa, surrounded by friend and family, just weeping (I never
cry in public. Never.
I can count the number of times I've cried during a movie or TV show on
my fingers) during the scene with
Okay, I'm probably talking about things here that don't make sense to some of you, because you haven't seen Buffy. (Please, watch it! It's so great!) Again, I highly recommend the entire seven seasons. (But please do watch them in order!) And I really recommend Buffy Season Eight, which is out right now in comic book form from Dark Horse comics. Joss is writing it -- it really is Buffy's eighth season, and it is incredible. Check out Dark Horse at http://www.darkhorse.com/ .
(Joss Tangent: Joss has written a completely new comic called SUGAR SHOCK, which is available, for free, online, from the amazing Dark Horse. I was told it's a typical three kids and a robot have a band story... LOL! As someone who once was a kid and did have a band, and even competed in local battles of the bands, I'm really digging it. Although my band didn't have a robot. (At least I don't think we did...) You can read SUGAR SHOCK at MySpace at http://myspace.com/darkhorsepresents )
(And by the way? My friend Bill? He was the bass player in another band that was friends with my band. Almost 30 years later, and we are still hanging together. Cool, huh? Although he could be a robot...)
So that's my personal history with Joss Whedon. I didn't watch Buffy from the start, but once I did (thanks, Karen!) I recognized what many, many other people had already noted: That Joss is Great.
I've been pretty outspoken through the years Since Firefly (s.f.) about how much I admire and respect Joss. He is, IMO, a writer's writer. Many, many writers in the romance writing community think he's the balls. (Can I say that?) (I just did.)
And when I found out (again through my pal Scott, although far less morosely this time) that Joss was auctioning off a dinner for five people through e-Bay, with all money raised going to Equality Now, an international women's rights organization, I was really impressed.
I like people who use their powers for good. I, too, like giving back. I'm constantly trying to raise public awareness about issues that matter to me -- from women's rights to gay rights to bone marrow donor registration. (We were part of a team that helped a Navy SEAL find a bone marrow donor last summer, remember, dear readers? Many of you helped either by registering as a bone marrow donor, setting up donor registration drives, or just plain spreading the word. By the way, at last report, Justin-the-SEAL found a match, had the bone marrow transplant and is 100% in remission! You can continue to get updates or read the whole inspiring story at www.imaswabbie.blogspot.com ) I've also held fundraisers for organizations such as Greater Boston PFLAG and the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program. And I've donated the entire proceeds of my upcoming holiday "novella" to MassEquality, a group dedicated to preserving equal marriage rights in Massachusetts. (Massachusetts is the ONE state in the U.S. where my gay son has the right to get married to the person he loves.)
Anyway, it took me a few weeks to decide to enter the Joss-Dinner Equality Now fundraising auction -- and once I did... Well, as Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try." So I did. I played to win, and got two seats at the table for six. (Five of us, plus Joss.)
Why two seats? Because, as I told yet another Karen (this story is filled with them) from the Whedonesque board last week, after 25 years, I'm still totally in love with my husband -- and great things are even better when he's by my side.
I
was at RWA in
There
was much jubilation in
I was going to have dinner with Joss Whedon. I flashed hot and cold, but not about the amount of money I spent. I'm lucky -- my hard work over the past dozen or so years has brought me good fortune, but I rarely buy myself things. This is a double win -- I get to give money to a good cause and have dinner with The Man. But I'm suddenly freaking nervous. I'm going to meet Joss Whedon. What do you say to your hero? What if I start to babble? Or what if I choke, the way I did when I met Leonard Nimoy at a booksigning years ago, and I don't say anything at all? I began to practice saying aloud: "Hello, Joss Whedon, I'm Suz. How do you do?"
Because
I was/am in heavy promo prep mode for the release of FORCE OF NATURE, Ed and I
decided to fly from
Which brings us to...
Friday, July 27th.
I
wake up, and I'm in
We
flew from
But now it's morning, and the landscape is completely different from New England's green hills. We're driving south, with our destination -- the Marriott hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter -- plugged into our rental car's GPS.
As I gaze out the window, I wonder about the effect of GPS directions on our names for roads. For example, I'm aware that we're on "the five." But the GPS lady calls it "I...Five." With an unnatural pause between. Last night, as we left LAX, she directed us onto "I...four...zero...five," which I would have called, far less herky-jerkily "route four oh five." Will that casual "oh" disappear, I wonder. Will future generations refer to the "four zero five" with that strange computer phrasing? I look out at the otherworldly desert landscape we are driving past and realize that in just a few short hours, I'll be meeting Joss Whedon.
Life is odd, but good.
Traffic
in
I announce to Ed, "I could live here."
He
just smiles, because I also said that in
"No
really," I say now. "This
is where we're going to live when we come out to
My
son Jason is an actor, as is my best friend Eric Ruben.
For years we've been talking about coming to
In
fact, as we head south, with the mighty Pacific on our right (which is backwards
and fascinating for someone from
It's fate. I point that out, but Ed just smiles. He hates the desperate feel to LA, but after I annoy him long enough, he admits that, yes, he could live here in Encinitas. For a few months, anyway.
We stop to get coffee and with the caffeine my attention span shortens. The Mighty Pacific... We'll have fun, fun, fun... I touch the fire and it freezes me...
The soundtrack to the Buffy musical, Once More, With Feeling, squeezes all other noise out of my head, and I think, "Shit, I'm going to meet Joss Whedon in just a few hours."
I really hope I don't pull a Chris Farley. And I don't mean drop dead of a heart attack. Jeez. I mean, I hope when I meet Joss I don't sound like that SNL skit. "Dude, remember when you wrote and directed Buffy? You were awesome."
What do you say to your hero? How do you make him understand how much you respect and admire his work? How do you put into words the fact that his characters, these people he's created, have touched you so deeply, that they've become your friends, that you've laughed and cried alongside of them...? How do you say thank you for creating this world that you've escaped to, in both good times and bad, a place that you've gone both to celebrate and to nurse your wounds? How do you make him understand that he's both saved your life and killed you, that he's unfrozen your frightened heart and made you realize that this being-human-thing is something we all struggle with, that you are not alone....
Please, God, don't let me say, "Dude, you're so awesome..."
We
arrive in
Crap. But I'd anticipated this, mapquesting in advance a list of parking garages and lots in the area surrounding the hotel. We are Prepared. Ed gallantly drops me and goes to find a place to park, while I find the ladies' room and change into my dinner clothes.
We're
way wicked early (as they say in
And we see Joss come in, clearly straight from Comic-Con. Oh, my God, that's Joss Whedon over there, across the lobby. I'm proud of myself. I don't shriek or faint. I just watch as he vanishes toward the elevator, clearly heading up to dress for dinner. (He told us in an email that he'd be wearing a suit for the occasion.)
I sit there, wishing we'd all decided to wear jeans. I am most comfortable in jeans.
I try to breathe and live in the moment. It's mere minutes to five o'clock. Before I know it, the dinner will be over and I want very much to enjoy it while it's happening.
Ed
and I have e-met the three other auction winners -- Paul, Karen and Radha.
We're a diverse group. Sort
of. Two of us are from
But we are diverse in background and age, stretching from 20-something to 50-something. We are, however, united in our love of all things Joss.
Ed and I meet Radha first. She has described herself in her email as being fond of wearing shiny clothes. Her jacket is gorgeous -- gold and yes, quite shiny. I wave to her from across the lobby, and she comes toward us with a smile.
She is beautiful, with large, expressive dark eyes and a lovely face.
We introduce ourselves and settle in to wait for the others, and for Joss. We talk about all kinds of things. Horseback riding on the beach. Radha admits that it took her a long time to pick out tonight's outfit.
She looks amazing, but she's one of those very pretty women who would look amazing in just about anything.
I admit to her that I dressed for comfort. I'm wearing yoga pants that pass as dressy because they're black and a new top that I like because it's both cool and comfortable. I admit that both Ed and I don't dress up very often. We both work at home -- I'm often in running shorts and a tank all day. Fancy is putting on sneakers and actually tying them.
We continue to chat, and I immediately like her. She's funny and smart -- really smart -- and very interesting. I realize that I was a little nervous about meeting the three other auction winners, but now I relax. Radha will be good company at dinner.
Paul is the next to arrive. He's dashing in his suit and tie -- a tall, good-looking man whose age falls somewhere between mine and Radha's. He's former army, and when I tell him I write books about Navy SEALs, he laughs. Apparently he's met a few SEALs in his time in uniform.
We do a fast small-world check -- my friend Michelle is a retired Air Force major. Did he, by any chance, meet her while serving overseas? Nope. The world's not that small.
Paul now works in the computer industry. He's cool -- also smart and funny. The evening's going to be awesome. (Uh-oh -- I realize that I have to work harder to keep my inner Chris Farley suppressed...)
Joss's assistant Michael appears. The IFC film crew is here. We've all agreed that it's okay (yeah, like it wouldn't be...???) to be interviewed by Matt Singer, the news host from the Independent Film Channel. (www.ifc.com )
We meet Matt and Doug and Erika and several other very cool people from IFC.
Who wants to go first, in front of the camera?
Everyone freezes. No one ever wants to go first. I figure, hell, I will. I've done interviews often enough. Come on, Ed. We'll do this together.
We talk to Matt. Yeah, we're excited about meeting Joss, about the dinner, about the fact that we helped Joss raise a lot of money for Equality Now. We're both writers, no we don't write together. Yada yada. The interview is over before I know it. I realize that I didn't even mention FORCE OF NATURE. Silly me. But FON has nothing to do with why I'm here, so it's no big.
Radha goes next -- when she finishes, she's bemused. She listened to Matt interview Ed and me, prepping for the same questions, but he asks her different ones. She does just fine. Her smile is so radiant -- the entire IFC audience will be completely charmed by her.
It's Paul's turn, and while he's talking, Karen, the 5th winner, finally appears.
She's not sure if she's coming or going -- she's flown to San Diego from Boston this morning -- her dad's in the hospital -- she's got to fly back tonight after the dinner. She's petite and blonde with eyes that sparkle with her enthusiasm. She's got a quick wit, and she soon has us all laughing and at ease.
Bonus! She's nice, too. We're in for a night of Big Fun with an excellent group.
Karen is a lyricist, and it's clear she appreciates wordplay. She's got a CD coming out. (She's going to send us all one -- I can't wait to hear it.) Out of all of us, she discovered Joss most recently. I thought Ed and I would win that prize, but her first encounter with The Man was when she went to see Serenity when it played in movie theaters.
Interestingly, she went because a friend of a friend (I think that's what she said) did the score. So she went to listen to the music. She loved the movie so much, she went back to see it thirteen days in a row. (I did a similar thing when I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the first time. Twice a night for a week. So I get it. Completely.)
So Karen does her interview with Matt, and then the five of us kind of stand in a circle and chat. Joss will be here soon. This is very exciting.
And then it happens. Joss appears. He's wearing a suit, but no tie -- claiming he left it home by mistake. Hmmm. Sounds more like accidentally on purpose to me. Ed doesn't miss a beat. Never one to pass up an opportunity to be more comfortable, and probably also in an attempt to make Joss feel more at ease, he takes off his own tie and loosens his collar as we all take turns shaking Joss's hand.
It's my turn! It's my turn. Say something brilliant... "You are so totally my hero."
Okay. More Chris Farley than I would have liked, but at least I didn't Dude him.
Ed is more eloquent. He says something like, "It is such a pleasure to meet you -- to get a chance to thank you for all the hours of entertainment you've given us."
It's kinda weird because the IFC is still filming and we're very aware that the cameras are rolling. Unlike most reality TV, no one starts to weep, so the cameraman can't decide who to focus on. We're all just a little stiff and unnatural. But grinning like idiots because we're standing there with Joss Whedon.
But then it's time for Joss to get interviewed by Matt and he does that and we all look at each other, silently saying with our eyes, "Oh, my God, this is really happening."
Chapter
Three -- My Dinner with Joss
The interview finally done, we walk several blocks from the hotel to the restaurant -- a place called Greystone (I think. Like Radha wrote in her blog, I'm not paying any attention to the name). As we enter the place, there's a bar up front, and we're greeted by Scott from Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse is hosting this dinner. I'm excited about meeting Scott -- I'm a huge fan of the Buffy comics, and I tell him so.
They've reserved one end of the bar for us, and we climb onto stools to have drinks and appetizers. I'm sitting between Paul and Ed, with Radha next to him and Karen on the end. Joss comes over to talk to us, putting himself right in the middle, which was very cool.
Ed jumps off his stool and pushes it back so that they're both standing. Joss makes a joke of it -- how manly of them to lean against the bar. He managed to raise just one eyebrow and Ed is impressed. Joss admits that he taught himself to do that, and I share the fact that I learned to wiggle my ears in math class in middle school.
We're all working hard to break the ice, but it's clear to me that Joss is a little nervous. What pressure. I imagine he's slightly shaken by the fact that all five of us paid so much money -- just to spend time with him. (By the way? Totally worth it!!!!)
He uses humor to fill any silence -- we're all a little freaked out. Here we finally are. This is Joss Whedon, and he's standing inches from me.
He talks about his love of music. He loves musicals. He knew all of the words to Sondheim's first four musicals by the time he was nine years old.
I ask which were Sondheim's first four? Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, and A Little Night Music. Joss says that you can learn everything you need to know about broken relationships from Sondheim's musicals numbers two through four.
He's a huge fan of Sondheim, and has met and had dinner with him.
He likes working with actors who can sing -- and gives an example of Harry Groener who played the Mayor. (I adored the Mayor...) Joss tells us singers have incredible control over their voices. their breathing.
We
get our drinks -- Joss likes Newton Chardonnay.
A bottle is opened. I have a
Sam. (Sam Adams
Joss doesn't think of himself as handsome, but he is. He has really beautiful eyes, and his heart is there for us to see -- he doesn't try to hide it -- as he makes a toast and thanks us for our contribution to Equality Now. This is a cause that matters to him, it's something he truly believes in -- and his words are heartfelt.
And I'm both proud and glad to be part of this amazing experience. And I know at that moment, that Joss is as wonderful as I'd hoped he was. This is a good person.
So often we meet our heroes and find that we've built them up to be more than they are. But this was not the case. Joss cares.
Which is probably why his writing is so great.
As
we hang there in the bar, he talks about his mother, about moving to
We talk about our society's treatment of women -- of the assumption that a child will take his or her father's name. Joss tells us that he and his wife have made a different choice.
As he talks about his family, all nervousness slips away.
He tells us that his wife has a beautiful singing voice -- much of the discussion throughout the night comes back to music again and again. It's clear music is an important part of his life. We note that his wife sings on one of the demo tracks on the Once More With Feeling soundtrack, and he tells us that that doesn't do her justice.
He says, "A few nights ago, Tony came over, and you know, he can really sing, too."
Tony? Tony. As in Tony Head, who played Giles on Buffy. Whoa. Rupert Giles is too freaking hot, as is Tony -- who came over to Joss's house for dinner a few nights ago. Yow. (And it looks as if there's a solid chance that the BBC will produce a 90-minute special featuring Rupert "Ripper" Giles. I'm so there.)
Joss tells us that Kai had never really heard Tony sing live (I think that's what he said but maybe Tony had never heard Kai sing live...), so after dinner they go over to the piano. He sits and starts to play -- Killing Her Softly. He knows the chords and Kai starts to sing, and then Tony puts on a harmony. They're standing on either side of the piano, with Joss sitting in the middle, and it's amazing. The music is beautiful. He tells us, "And I'm sitting there, thinking This is my life..."
Yeah, Joss. We know. Because we're all sitting here, listening to your stories, thinking This is my life...
We get it. Totally.
He's real, gang. He's warm and funny and sweet. He's honest and steadfast in his beliefs -- he's an unabashed liberal, unwilling to surrender that word, liberal, merely because it's been made unpopular. He believes -- completely -- that morality lies in one's actions.
He's incredibly smart -- brilliant -- and when he turns his full attention upon you, it's disarming.
He makes a point, all night long, to hold our gazes. Eye contact. I see you. I'm listening...
It's time to go upstairs -- to a private dining room. As we head up there, he pulls me aside. He tells me he hadn't read any of my books, but he mentions the dedication to Hot Target that I wrote, my open letter to my son Jason.
He
brings it up later in the evening, too -- he's very appreciative of the time,
effort and money I'd recently given to MassEquality, to help preserve equal marriage
rights in
We're up in the dining room now. There's a huge wooden table, with place-settings for six. Three on one side, three on the other. Joss sits in the middle, with Ed and Radha on either side of him. I'm across from Ed. Karen's in the middle and Paul's next to her.
Joss was a little afraid the table was too big, and he'd suggested that we move around throughout the meal, but the room is quiet. It's easy to hear. Everyone is happy with the arrangement. No need to move at all.
The menu is huge, the food all looks delicious, but we're still more interested in talking than eating.
The waiter comes in every now and then to check on us.
I ask if we can have copies of the menu inserts -- they're cool, they have Comic-Con printed on them -- maybe we could all sign them? The waiter tells me no, sorry, and Joss thinks that's pretty funny. He calls in his assistant and asks him to make it happen.
We talk a bit about the fact that I write romance novels. Joss tells me that his wife grew up reading them. He's respectful of the genre, and I appreciate that. Later in the evening, Radha and I talk more about the books that I write. I tell her that the genre has changed through the years -- these are not your grandmother's romance novels. I tell her that I write books with strong female characters and that my heroines often save the day. I like writing books that turn the "heroine in jeopardy" storyline upside down. I like my heroines to save the hero. Fair's fair, after all.
My romance novels aren't so much about "You complete me," but rather, "My partnership with you makes my life even more special and even more complete."
During dinner, we talk a little bit about my son Jason -- about having a son who is gay.
Joss admitted that when he was growing up, particularly when he was in high school, many of his friends thought he was gay.
He
told us a story of this girl that he adored back when he was younger.
Joss picked hanging with Nancy over a sure thing. (And yeah, we all fell even more in love with him when he said that.)
He admitted that when he went to college, his priorities changed. He realized that there was a point when he became more predatory, when people stopped thinking he was gay. He was a little sad about that -- like he'd lost something important.
The conversation drifts. I'm sitting there, thinking, this is Joss Whedon. This is so freaking awesome.
We order dinner, food arrives. It's wonderful, but frankly we're all more interested in listening to Joss's stories.
We talk about the fact that Joss is scoring the music for a 15-minute short film. It's a ballet, with Summer Glau (River from Firefly), who is an accomplished dancer. Joss loves dance, and often filmed his friends' dance recitals. (I think I'm remembering that correctly.)
We talk about a screenplay called Cabin in the Woods that he's just written with Drew Goddard. (He actually tells us the plot, but I will not divulge it here. It's a horror movie, and it sounds amazing. I usually don't go to horror movies, but I will go see this one.)
(And no, if you email me, I will not tell you about Cabin in the Woods. You will have to wait until it comes out.)
He tells us the story of David Boreanaz's audition for the part of Angel -- how all the women in the room melted onto the floor when he came in.
Joss talks with great admiration about Summer Glau, whose first real acting job was as a ballerina in an episode of Angel. One of his production staff asked him, "You're thinking Summer for River, right?" when they were casting Firefly, and he went, "Huh? Oh. Wow, good idea. Yeah. Yes, I am."
He tells a story about Emma Caulfield's birthday party. (Emma is Anya in Buffy.) He compares Emma's screen presence to Carole Lombard. She is funny and beautiful -- and sometimes he can't tell if the words coming out of her mouth are Anya's, Emma's or Jane Espenson's (Jane was one of the writers who wrote particularly well for Anya).
Joss is a huge fan of Nathan Fillian, who played Mal on Firefly and Caleb in the last season of Buffy. Joss admits that Nathan may, in fact, be even smarter than Joss, and is, quite possibly, the best improv actor Joss has ever worked with.
He
speaks about his experiences with the cast of Firefly
-- he really enjoyed working with the entire ensemble.
He tells us that Alan (
I ask him a question that my former editor, Shauna Summers had asked me to ask. (I tell him that Shauna adored him and said hi.) "What TV shows are you watching right now?"
His answer: Battlestar Galactica. He loves it. (Note to self: Get this show on DVD... Shauna's been telling me about it, too. Must watch...)
Joss tells us the story of a movie he wrote called Afterlife. It was one of just a handful of movies that he saw completely, as a whole, before he sat down to write it. I don't think it was ever made, but the first disappointment was, after Joss sold it, he found out the lead was going to be played by Jean-Claude van Dam. (Not quite what he was thinking for the lead...)
We talk about Hush -- the Buffy episode with the really scary "gentlemen" who take away everyone's ability to speak or make a sound. It's a wonderful episode -- a universal favorite. Joss admits that it frightened him to make it -- he wasn't sure he could pull it off -- an episode where no one speaks for 35 minutes...
We discuss the fact that Hush and the musical episode Once More with Feeling are similar in many ways. Karen calls them "bookends." Very astute. Both are about communication. Both are brilliant.
Joss tells us that when he was making Buffy, whenever a scene didn't seem to be working, the rule was to simply turn the camera on Sarah (Buffy). We all agree that she was wonderful.
I ask about writing in a group -- how different it is from my very solitary writing process as a novelist. And Joss talks about the writing room for Buffy. He tells us that everyone figured out what was going to happen in each episode, and then in each scene. Once it was decided, one person would go and write the script.
Joss made a point of letting that script -- that person's writing -- go straight to air. Apparently, in some writing rooms, a writer's script will be rewritten and reworked until it is no longer their work. Not so with Joss. While tweaks were a part of the process, he felt it was important that his writer's scripts were aired.
He's modest -- saying much of the greatness of Buffy came from other writers. But I point out that he's the one who gathered these writers and who fostered this truly creative environment in which they worked.
He admits that many of his former staff have gone on to other projects and have commented on the differences between his writing room and others'.
Joss tells us, too, that he oversaw -- with great intensity -- the people who directed each episode of his shows. He included director notes in his scripts, and allowed little discretion on shots. But talented directors were still able to contribute creatively.
Ed
brought up the incredible use of framing in Buffy
and Joss's other shows -- how Joss filled the entire frame with little details
that made his world seem more real. For
example, we'd just watched the Buffy episode where the robot-girl comes to
Sunnydale, looking for
This technique adds so much to the real feeling of the show.
When
someone asks which of Joss's characters is most like him, he tells us "
Joss
tells us that one of his biggest regrets about the cancellation of Firefly
was that he was unable to write a show that contained a real, functional
marriage. (
He tells us that when he was casting Mr. Trick (in Buffy) he was looking for an LL Cool J type vibe.
We talk at some length about Buffy's mom -- Joyce. Joss says that it was difficult for him to write mother/daughter or sister/sister relationships. I don't see that. In fact, I point out that, as the mother of an adult daughter, having lived through a teenaged daughter/mother relationship, I was struck by how real this story arc felt to me.
I point out the scene in the crazy-dream episode where Joyce is walled up -- literally, she's inside of a wall. There's a small hole where she looks out at Buffy and cheerfully tells her, "I'll be all right. You go do what you have to do. I'm fine." I tell Joss that that scene was so... exactly what it felt like to be the mother of a teenage girl. Trapped and helpless and trying so hard to pretend that everything's normal...
He tells us that he likes to speak in voices. He does a mean "sycophantic 1930's era reporter" for us, then morphs into someone British. There's lots of laughter.
There's
more -- so much more -- that we talk about, but it's a blur.... Paul gives
Joss an RPG book. Then Karen
has to go. She's heading back to
We all take pictures -- taking turns posing with Joss.
I am still grinning like an idiot.
The party's breaking up -- we've already run far later than advertised.
I pull Joss aside -- I've brought some CDs for him, because it's so clear to me, just from watching his shows, that music is an important part of his life. I bring him music from two of my favorite recording artists: Michael Holland's beach toys won't save you; and Groovelily's Striking 12 -- an awesome new musical. I should have told him that Michael Holland has recently written a musical called Hurricane, and that it's very likely it will make it to Broadway in the near future. (Michael made waves a few years ago at the NYC Fringe festival, with Bigfoot, the Musical.)
I
also give Joss a copy of my former a cappella group's CD, Serious
Fun. (We used to be the house
band at the
He accepts the CDs graciously.
Scott from Dark Horse comes in with copies of the comic for Buffy Season Eight, episode # 5. It's got the collector's edition cover, and Joss signs one for each of us.
"To Suz," he writes on mine, "Thank you so much."
Ed
asks him to sign his comic book for our son, Jason, who still hasn't forgiven
him for killing
It's time to go. We're also getting signed poster-sized lithos of the first Buffy Season Eight cover, but Dark Horse will send those to us, so we don't have to take them on the airplane.
Joss's assistant has managed to produce one copy of the first sheet of the menu, and we all sign it -- except Karen has already gone. We're not exactly sure what to do with it after we sign it, but since it was my idea, Joss hands it back to me.
I decide to auction it off and give the proceeds to Greater Boston PFLAG's Safe Schools program. (Watch my website for details about that.)
Now it's really time to go, and we move out of the private dining room, down the stairs, back to the bar at the front of the restaurant.
"Don't think you're getting away without a hug," Joss tells us.
And I get hugged by Joss Whedon. "Thank you," I tell him. "Not just for having this dinner, but for writing such great stories, for creating such wonderful characters -- people I love so much."
I do it. I say it. I wish I have the presence of mind to say so much more, like, "I understand what it's like to be a writer and to make choices for your characters. Some viewers won't like those choices, and they'll complain, but it's only because they love those characters so much. And then there are viewers like me, who are content to let you take me wherever you want to go. I know, with blinding certainty, that when the words "Written and directed by Joss Whedon" appears in the opening credits, that whatever is to come will be wildly entertaining and deeply satisfying. It will make me feel -- sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy, and almost always hope that the world can and will be a better place. Thank you for that."
I don't manage to say all that, but at least I didn't Chris Farley all over him.
Ed and I head for the door.
"I
really am sorry about
"I know," I tell him. And maybe now, with Buffy Season Eight coming out in comic book form, maybe she can.
With Joss Whedon, anything is possible.<