Cast details shared at Dragon*Con by mima

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Cast details shared at Dragon*Con

POSTED BY: MIMA
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 09:19
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Monday, September 5, 2005 6:42 PM

So here’s some remembrances of the 4 cast panels from dragoncon, and one panel with KRAD.

KRAD was forced to turn in his novelization one day before he found out the premiere was pushed from april to Sept. He is one of many who sent in proposals for an approved 2 original firefly novels coming, probably placed after the movie serenity in the timeline. A possible animated “show” (feature? Series?) has been suggested, unsure if it would be only in the same universe, or with the crew. The cast was not invited to do commentary on the movie DVD.

Sean’s nickname on set is “the bod.” Ron’s hair was his own- no extensions, and he cut it after the last day of filming firefly. Ron is a buddhist. Adam defended his dancing cop gig, saying “be bold” and something to the effect that you need to try things. Jewel regrets a compost video that is still used in schools in canada, that she did as a young girl. She sings a rap with an animated worm. Someone saw her in a hotel elevator and told her she looked just like Kaylee from Firefly. When Jewel laughed, the person said, “No, really! It’s a complement!” She closed the last session on this funny anecdote. Morena doesn’t care for the “I’ll be in my bunk” line being tossed at her all the time. When discussing the possibility of talking action figures, she says one where jayne can repeat that line endlessly was her worst nightmare. Jewel said she’d want hers to say “shiny.” She knows Inara’s secret, and so does adam, and promises that if it is not revealed in the story of any future trilogy, she’ll tell the fans. She says it’s “amazing” and was in the back of her mind informing every scene. Ron does not know his backstory, or at least will not admit to it. But I think he really doesn’t know because he defended not knowing by explaining how as he went through a given day, he doesn’t think about his childhood every minute, all his background information isn’t conscious as he carries on. [to which I thought, well, yeah, but it led directly up to your personality and choices now, which does have a direct bearing on your daily activities] Jewel says she thinks Kaylee smoked a lot of weed. Jewel’s audition scenes were meeting Book and talking to mal after she’d been shot and was in the infirmary. Adam’s never made it to the epidsodes, but one of them was him being mean to kaylee. Adam denied any possibility of jayne ever developing a romance with river. I think he said something like “horribly wrong.” The age difference was disturbing. Most of you know that morena auditioned once, immediately auditioned again for joss, and was walked on set after filming had already started. Ron fell in love with the script even outside of his portrayal. Morena dreams of playing cleopatra from shakespeare and would love to play wonder woman (there’s a clip of her on some red carpet saying so that’s charming if you haven’t seen it.) She loves to cook, and read, and go to plays. Her favorite outfit on the show was an antique blue-green kimono-robe. Jewel also loves to cook, and shop, and it was her husband’s birthday. He’s cute in a disheveled, lean, college boy way (imo). The crowd sang happy birthday to him and gave him a card. Some jokes they played on each other: nathan greased alan’s trailer doorknob so he couldn’t get out. Someone tied industrial bag fasteners to the axle of nathan’s new car, causing a loud noise that upset him. He and jewel have a running contest to flip each other off in creative ways, and she did a very funny trio of birds for him during the third panel. Adam kept the head of the statue of jayne. He says you can see a crack in the neck from when they needed it back for pickups. He also kept his boots. Nathan kept a lot of stuff, and is fond of the alliance money. Jewel kept her room’s sign from the ship, and morena has a tea set and the bowl that she held in the hallway of HoG. Ron has socks he liked. His favorite line to say was “the bible is a bit fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.” Jewel’s favorite line was “have great sex.” I can’t remember morena’s or adam’s. Ron also loves the line about not fixing the bible, that faith fixes you.

I appreciated everyone’s efforts to keep all comments spoiler free, especially since an annoying and significant portion of the audience seemed to have seen the screenings and was determined to ask questions about the movie, obliquely wording awkward phrases to try to get at their questions despite the restriction. It was ANNOYING. Morena gave away a spoiler inadvertently, and no one called her on it, I was surprised. The question was about injuries sustained during filming, especially stunts. Adam said he did some, but had a stuntman for most. Here’s morena’s small spoiler she shared about her injury:

Select to view spoiler:

__________________________

she had bruises around her neck from chewitel choking her

________________________

And of course, anyone at the first 2 panels saw a special clip that takes place after the vault robbery mentioned in the trailer. So a guy behind me who was so spoiler phobic he hadn’t even watched the trailers was upset. (*mental shrug*) The clip was AWESOME. They were all incredibly gracious and polite, even to people who asked rude or stupid questions. They praised the fans up and down. They made an effort to give unique answers to questions that were asked in every gorram panel, or questions that showed a fan’s ignorance (as in people who do not haunt these boards as I do and aren’t up on all the inside info. One lady said, I heard you all got to adlib, and asked what contributions in the show were their own ideas. Ummm, everyone knows joss is a script nazi. They answered the question very kindly and in a funny way. Adam shared how he always tried to keep jayne busy. He’s not a man to sit with nothing for his hands to do. Him brushing the whore’s hair was his idea in HoG. Joss would make them redo shots where they omitted “the” or “um” that was in the script.) Many people were ignorant of the Tam session excerpts. Hope they hunt them down! Fans agree the new movie website is awesome.

Adam is so incredibly eloquent and ron is also nuanced and thorough in his completing his thoughts. Adam donated his proceeds of the weekend to the hurricane victims. Ron wore serenity tshirts twice. Morena wore a scarf in her hair once, and both she and jewel were very fashionably dressed. They all did great riffing off each other, sharing jibes and jokes. The mosquito fan film was hi-larious. Great to hear all 800+ of the room laughing at it together. The waiting lines each day were incredible, but everyone got in all 4 sessions, to my knowledge. Demand for serenity merchandise was fierce and I got several compliments on my tshirts (purchased on zazzle and I gave the website to everyone who asked.).SEB was organized and did a great fan table with hourly raffles of fab stuff. I didn’t win $hit. There was an absolutely stunning illustrated cast composite portrait by jasonpalmer (.net) for $30 on high quality stock. He even included serenity in it. Can’t wait to hang it in my office.

Let’s see.. What else... The crowd sang “hero of canton”’s chorus during the first and second session. Cedric performed delightfully during the art crawl- awesome serenity filk and original songs inspired by. The shindig was a total crush. When I left at 2am there was still a line around the entire lobby waiting to get in. If I had to say one thing I wished was different- we need to develop a fan greeting, or wave or something like our version of a secret handshake. I saw so many people in passing, some with tshirts, some with hasufel’s gorgeous badges, some with jayne hats, and I wished I could say something besides “hi browncoat!” Adam’s favorite place was the catwalk in the cargo bay, and jewel liked the couch in the lounge next to the infirmary even though it smelled like cat pee. Morena liked her shuttle. She said people were usually quiet in it, as if it was special place. They all agreed that the casting was “perfect.” There was a common core personality all of them shared with their characters. When morena first met everyone and didn’t know who played what, she thought adam was playing mal and nathan was played jayne. Morena had to do her bath scene on her second day, and had to do it twice. Joss teased her by saying she had to do it a third day, and nathan teased her by saying he watched it on the circuit tv in his trailer. During the filming of safe, the scene in the general store had to be done over and over because jewel and morena had terrible giggles, and sean was not amused because it was over 100degree heat. When ron had to do a laughing scene at the table with all of them, nathan got all the other characters to give him a flat face during the take as a joke. A common refrain during any mistakes during the filming of the last 2 episodes was “what are they gonna do? Cancel us?”

Overall, it was fabulous to hear their perspectives, their excitement and hope for the movie and possible trilogy, and their fondness for the series and fans. They were much fun to listen to and I feel like a kid who got a glimpse into a magic world.

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Monday, September 5, 2005 8:51 PM

PIFFLE101

Thanks so much!! Many people dont post con reports these days! It's highly appreciated!!

I dont wear underwear...You know that...I mean!?!

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Monday, September 5, 2005 10:20 PM

LOMARA

Thanks for the great report. :D

----------------------------
Boredom is for the Uninventive.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 1:08 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

That was a very detailed report, thanks.

Only one thing upset me though:

Quote:
The cast was not invited to do commentary on the movie DVD.

WHAAAAATT???

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 1:46 AM

XANDERESQUE

I agree, great report and many fine details!

I caught the first panel, and I'll try to add some remembrances as they come to me.

Morena and Jewel started their friendship soon after meeting on the set, and were always joking around and harrassing each other. Morena said she remembers this particular time they started getting rowdy and cutting and up, and Joss was interrupted and gave them this look like "What is wrong with these people. I've created a monster!"

Alan always flubbed the most lines on set, and seemed like he could never get it right on the first go.

Ron kept referring, jokingly, to Morena being the whore. Then at the end he went over to her and gave her a friendly hug as if to make sure she knew he was joking. Ron was a real treat to hear as he seemed to have a good perspective on show business and acting. He wanted to make sure everyone knew that actors and actresses have tremendous ups and downs in their profession.

Someone brought up the subject of how women in sci-fi seemed to be hired for their attractiveness, and asked how Morena and Jewel felt about their presence on this show having more depth that typical sci-fi women (which I though was funny because they are obviously attractive, just like the men on the show). The person asked about them being a role model for young women, and at this point Ron pointed out...she's a whore! Heheh.

Jewel brought up last year's salute to Nathan, where the entire room flipped Nathan off for Jewel, as the two were always playing a game where they would surprise each other with the finger. She said Nathan still talks about that all the time.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 2:15 AM

NAKEDANDARTICULATE

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
That was a very detailed report, thanks.

Only one thing upset me though:
Quote:
The cast was not invited to do commentary on the movie DVD.

WHAAAAATT???

I second that--"whaaaaaaaaatt?!?!?"

"It's about how much freedom you can take away from somebody before they either fold or fight," Whedon says. "It's about the right to be wrong and the nature of human beings, that they need the freedom to be wrong. That they cannot be made to be better or perfect."--Joss Whedon on Serenity

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 2:30 AM

AKUKODOGO

Thanks for the report, never been to a con, not likely to ever get to one either, but that was almost like I was there. Thanks a BDbunch

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 3:32 AM

CALLMESERENITY

Wow! You remembered nearly everything! I had forgotten some of that.

I have only one thing to add. We were tearing down the browncoat table Monday getting ready to leave and a voice behind me said "This is where they all are!" I turned around to see Ron standing behind me in his Mid-Atlantic Browncoats t-shirt. It was like Christmas. He was so great. He gave me and a few others hugs and then he signed the Serenity model that was auctioned off over the weekend. I don't remember who won it or who made it but it was INCREDIBLE and I'll post a picture of it if no one else does.

I met so many great people working at the fan table. People who'd never heard of the series to die hard fans. It was wonderful introducing newbies to the wonder that is Firefly and it was great chatting with people who are as obsessed as I am.

And I've never heard the word "shiny" used to much. It was like "smurf". Loved it.

And I agree with whoever said we need a secret handshake or something. Didn't you just want to hug every single person with a Browncoat laniard or Jayne hat?

Serenity, First Officer of Destiny

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 3:33 AM

WICKEDWREN

The answers bandied around about the cast not being on DVD commentary went something along the lines of this is the first DVD release. But we "might" get a special edition DVD at some point in the future, and the cast could be featured on that.

I don't remember where this info came from. The whole con has blended together for me.

But I wouldn't get terribly upset about no cast commentaries...yet.

eta-can't spell, brain not working yet

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 4:24 AM

DANTE144

THANKS FOR THE UPDATES!

I really wanted to be there. :(

Its really hard to not read those spoiler sections.. but I was able to.. MAN, Isn'tt his movie coming out soon! Arg. hurry already!

oh yeah, thanks again!

"Jesus saves, everyone else takes damage" -tee shirt some girl was wearing at Megacon.

http://dantedreams.com <-my webcomic

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 6:28 AM

NEEDY

The road to Hel is paved with good intentions

Excellent post. Like others I love reading accounts of screenings/cons/tales of being an extra on set, like has been said by another person, it makes it feels like you were there

I forgot to mention the bit about Nathan taking the alliance money in my account of the Birmingham screening he talked about that at there, going so far as acting out how he accomplished it

...

Oh by the way, IMO the spoiler is very small, and no more spoilery than the trailers. So if you're man (or woman) enough to watch them, I highly doubt you'll be harmed by reading this. Its only for those manic-spoilerphobes

Needy. Male Companion a.k.a. First Boy Whore of Destiny

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 6:35 AM

XANDERLHARRIS

Hey! You said shiny....damn so did I. Well that means that we both have to take shots!

Ash

-----

For all information on the NC Firefly group please go here:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/fireflync/

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 7:26 AM

RIVERGIRL

SHINY report

almost like I was there ----almost

Also, I can kill you with my brain.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 8:21 AM

FEATHERSMCGRAW

Some other half-remembered stuff from the Saturday/Sunday panels:

Adam was interested in doing Firefly pretty much the instant he heard the word "Western". He said he was really looking forward to talking "like this" (lowering his voice an octave and throwing in a raspy drawl).

Apparently, Joss is less than effusive with praise while shooting, but isn't afraid to apply a little directorial smackdown. "Could we try that scene again, but with less suck?"

When asked about their approaches to acting, Morena divulged that she was professionally trained in the Method, then was quick to point out that she did not use it in her prep for her role as Inara.

Tim Minear apparently likes to give his actors a couple of throwaway takes where they can try out different approaches to the scene.

Ron Glass kept mockingly bringing up the fact that he actually had to pay for his copy of the Serenity RPG book.

Regarding Ron Glass playing up the whore jokes during the weekend, while I was getting my DVD signed by Morena, Ron comes up to the table, picks up a glossy from one of the stacks sitting on the table, looks at it critically, and says, "Would you look at that! What a shameless piece of trash!" He repeats the shameless piece of trash line a couple of times, gives Morena a hug, then goes back to his own table.

When I was getting Ron's autograph, I asked him about the possibility that we would see him do flashback material regarding Book's backstory in the future. His response was that if the fans are interested in seeing those sorts of stories, they should "make your voices heard".

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 8:38 AM

TRACY

What is the definition of a spoiler? Saying that you had bruises after a scene with someone else is a spoiler now? Morena didn't mention what the scene is all about, and how she ends up getting the bruises (as a consequence of what). Honestly, what if she had said:

*****FAKE SPOILER - FAKE SPOILER - FAKE SPOILER*****

"Yes, 'cause Mal and Inara go off and live together in a gingerbread house, and then River comes in and she breaks her hand on the door, and you find out she's made of chocolate, and Inara breaks out from eating the hand."

*****THE ABOVE IS A FAKE SPOILER FOR EXEMPLIFYING PURPOSES*****

That, to me, giving exact details of what happens, constitutes a spoiler. Saying that you got injured in a physical scene without giving major details as to the scene itself, is not.

My 2p.

MAL: If anyone gets nosy, just, you know... shoot 'em.
ZOE: Shoot 'em?
MAL: Politely.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 10:22 AM

EMBERS

thank you Mima for a wonderful, articulate, interesting report!
That is really one of the best con reports I've ever heard and it is obvious that you had a great time!

were people very upset Joss wasn't there? Did you hear anything more about what went wrong with that?

thanks again!

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 11:10 AM

MES3

The ladies both kept their water bras according to them!

Mac

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 11:20 AM

MES3

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
thank you Mima for a wonderful, articulate, interesting report!
That is really one of the best con reports I've ever heard and it is obvious that you had a great time!

were people very upset Joss wasn't there? Did you hear anything more about what went wrong with that?

I heard from various sources that he didn't ever hear from them, and from other sources (that I trust slightly more) that it was confirmed that he had been in touch with them. So, take everything related to this with a grain of salt. The one official thing I did hear is that the studio isn't happy with DragonCon, and I really hope that doesn't cause them to pull back from allowing people to go to DragonCon since we fans will be the most impacted.

Thanks,
Mac

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005 2:26 PM

MIMA

wow thanks for all the back pats.

i did have enormous fun. i felt like my eyes were as big as saucers for 4 days. i agree that working the fan table was the best way to see the range of reactions to firefly. my 2 hours there went by so fast that when my husband showed up...
me: i'm done at noon.
him: it's 12:15
me: haha i just got here
him: *shows watch*
me: NO WAY!

i remembered a few other things: ron kept the bible river tore pages out of, and they all agreed that jubal was the scariest and best villain. ron thinks firefly fans are more intelligent than other genre fans (implication: trek and SW). adam said the orange hat haunts him, he sees it everywhere (and pointed all over the audience). one of the fans was actually knitting them at the show and selling them faster than she could knit. i got to meet tracy, and serenity, and hasufel, and cary, and they're all really awesome people.

all the jokes about the personal hygiene issue i heard before hand i didn't really think too much about. OMG! some of the rankest BO i've ever smellled... i think it's also worth a mention that major actors/authors were there as well from other scifi lines (mccaffery from pern, the empath lady from star trek, darth maul and chewbacca) and firefly KICKED ALL THEIR ASSES. no one else's lines were as long, panels were as full, or fans were as visible. not even with all the stormtroopers combined. i don't know why everyone jokes about the food. there's 2 foodcourts with plenty of real food options, even healthy food choices, attached right to the hyatt. it was fine. there was even a starbucks catty corner from the firefly line outside. hitting the line an hour early every day allowed for to hit starbucks and feed my addiction. sleep was definitely an issue. but for these kinds of con observations, there's another thread.

and many people were very bummed about joss not being there, but i actually heard more disappointment about nathan cancelling than joss. it was shared that they were together in france promoting our BDM.

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005 8:15 AM

PATMAN

Hi,

Since this was a thread on what went on at the Serenity panels at Dragon*Con, I thought I would share the photos I take at the 3 Serenity panels I attended as well:

http://www.patcave.com/dc2k5/dc2k5panserenity1.html

There are 2 other days of photos from the panels. To see how long the lines were for the panels, I took photos for the line on Day 2, all the way around the hotel block:

http://www.patcave.com/dc2k5/dc2k5panserenity2.html#line

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005 8:52 AM

BOOMERGOODHEART

My husband and I attended Dragon*Con this year, and it was the first Con ever for me.

I was one of the folk who lined up 4 hours before the panels were to start. I didn't really mind, as there wasn't anything else I wanted to see/hear/do. I love Firefly/Serenity, but am not a rabid fan. I don't dress up as a character, or attend Shindigs or the like. I'm just a middle-aged mother of 3 from St. Louis who loves this show. My husband and our 2 boys (18 & 16) love this show, too.

The panels were informative and very funny. My rememberence: When Adam called that little boy up on stage, and sat him on the table to ask his question. I thought that was very sweet. All 4 of the cast were very gracious, even to such a noob as myself.

The Shindig on Friday was crowded, I'll give it that. Just wasn't my kind of thing, though--struck me as more of a Firefly Rave, with techno-dance music (which I really can't stand), and outrageously priced little drinks which took over an hour in line to get. If they would have played the theme just once, I would have been happy. Hubby and I left around 1am. I probably won't attend the Shindig next year.

All in all, I had a great time and can't wait for DC next year! Oh, we also met the twins from the Harry Potter movies...they were very nice, too, and cute. LOL...I may be 37, but I can still ogle the 18 year olds. (And for an older man, Ron Glass looks mighty fine in a pair of Levi's.)

Oh, and sorry I didn't stop by the fan table...I'm terribly shy (it's almost a phobia).

BoomerGoodheart
"I love my Captain."

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005 9:19 AM

CALLMESERENITY

Quote:
Originally posted by BoomerGoodheart:
(And for an older man, Ron Glass looks mighty fine in a pair of Levi's.)

Ain't that the truth!

Serenity, First Officer of Destiny

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