BUFFYVERSE

Sarah Michelle Gellar ’felt degraded’ After Sex Scenes

POSTED BY: ANGELDOVE
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 03:25
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 39990
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Saturday, May 8, 2004 12:32 PM

ANGELDOVE


Quote:

Sarah Michelle Gellar says she was shocked by sex scenes in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
She claims some of the scenes were like a bondage movie, reports the Daily Star.
"It became very S&M and I felt degraded as an actress," Gellar tells this month’s Elle magazine.
The 27-year-old actress says the series left her bruised and tired.
"It was exhausting - physically and emotionally," she says. "There were at least two fight scenes in every episode. I never wore skirts for years because of all the bruises."



I was certainly suprised by the scenes, but I did see their necessity to a point as the story line wasn't about this 'relationship' between the two of them, but about Buffy doing things completely out of character, to simply feel something other than the emotional pain of having been ripped out of heaven. Never would we have thought in the past that Buffy would have been into violent sex as seen in her previous 'love' scenes. It needed to be shocking to hit home.


"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 1:05 PM

SUCCATASH


Quote:

"It became very S&M and I felt degraded as an actress,"

Scooby Doo seems more degrading, if you ask me.


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Saturday, May 8, 2004 1:47 PM

FLYINFREE


Does this girl ever do anything but complain??!

"...we're still flyin'."
"That's not much."
"It's enough." Malcolm Reynolds and Simon Tam - Serenity

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 1:50 PM

SLOWSMURF


Before I read this I was assuming it was in reference to using her voice in that angel episode when he was hallucinating.

She choose the role, its her fault if she didn't realize what it entailed.

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 2:37 PM

LORA


Perhaps that simply means she actually felt quite a bit for her character? Buffy often complained of her time with Spike and tried to distance herself from it, as if it were a base part of her life that she just couldn't keep herself from, that she'd sooner forget even though she wasn't strong enough to leave it behind. I don't think I could do a job like SMG's and not begin to believe, just a little bit, that I was the person I was pretending to be...

And I agree, she must have done the Scooby movies for the money. It's a living -- probably a good one -- but I had hoped for more serious work for her. Maybe she needed a change? Some light-hearted fluff after the last couple of seasons?

"Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?"

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 7:11 PM

ZORIAH


We never heard these complaints when she was filming those infamous sex scenes in Harvard Man now did we?

Incidentally why should she feel degraded as an 'actress' (not character) for the balcony sex scene (which is ALL that she seems to mention in the Elle interview) when poor James Marsters had to work on set for days on end in season 6 wearing nothing but a sock in front of the cast and crew while she was fully clothed and reportedly had fun mocking and teasing him about it?

And as for the S&M - I just don't get that. Bufy jumps him in Smashed after the big fight, she jumps him in Gone when he can't see her. Spike tells Buffy he can hardly keep up with her etc. And public sex? Plenty of people do it. The one time there is talk of handcuffs and we see later it is *Spike* who wears them. Plus both Xander and Anya quip happily about sex with handcuffs.

I fail to see the 'degrading as an actress' slant.


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Saturday, May 8, 2004 9:07 PM

ANGELDOVE


Its interesting that you mentioned Harvard Man, which I haven't seen, because I was thinking about Cruel Intentions. And good point about James, he's never complained about all of that nudity.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 9:24 PM

ZORIAH


Here's what she had to say about Harvard Man:

http://litefoot1969.bravepages.com/buffy/features/sarah_star.htm

But - shock horror - she's recently filmed her first sex scene, for her new film, The Harvard Man. So what was that like?

"I have two steamy love scenes," she admits. "One was on my first day. It was 110 degrees and it was so hot. The scene is in the wood with an actor I'd only just met.

"It was like, 'Hey, it's nice to meet you - now let's have sex!' The entire crew was watching and I didn't know anyone. It was quite an experience.

"It took a few takes to make us more comfortable. I was fully clothed, though.

"I don't think my fans will be too shocked. After all, it's not Buffy having sex up against a tree. It's me, Sarah, the actress."


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Saturday, May 8, 2004 9:26 PM

ARDEN


While I certainly support her right to feel however she chooses to about those scenes, I think it a tad unprofessional to speak out now about how uncomfortable it made her. The fact is, as an actress she has a responsibility to work with the material given her, but she has a higher responsibility to herself- to not engage in any role or scene which she feels is demeaning or uncomfortable. If she was not able to separate herself from the role enough to do those scenes comfortably, she simply should have refused and asked them to rewrite. It would not make her a "diva" to ask for such rewrites; there is absolutely nothing wrong with an actor objecting to material they are uncomfortable with, especially as in a series the actor is dealing with new material constantly, and she couldn't have known when she signed on for the series initially that scenes of that intensity might be in her future. She could have expressed discomfort at the inital reading of the script and given the writers plenty of time to alter scenes so that she could film them without undue emotional duress, and still represent the author's vision. I'm not saying she should be condemned if she couldn't separate the performance from reality; acting is a highly personal, emotional process (I speak from experience), and sometimes it's necessary to invest yourself deeply in order to correctly play the role, but she still should have prevented the situation from ever occurring, instead of speaking poorly of what she was "forced" to do.


You got a wife? All I got is that dumbass stick sounds like it's raining.

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Saturday, May 8, 2004 10:39 PM

ANGELDOVE


Quote:

Originally posted by Arden:
While I certainly support her right to feel however she chooses to about those scenes, I think it a tad unprofessional to speak out now about how uncomfortable it made her....



Wow, I couldn't have said it better. A long time ago I saw DB on Howard Stern and of course Howard was trying to get DB to dish on Sarah, and find out if they dated off screne, and of course DB said no, that they were both in other relationships and added that out of respect for those realtionships they didn't use tongue in kissing scenes. I found that very interesting. It seemed on that score no one on the crew was forcing her to do something she didn't feel comfortable with. And it may sound disconcerting, but ever since that interview, whenever I see repeats of the shows, I'm always watching the kissing closely, strangely enough, no tongue.



"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

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Sunday, May 9, 2004 3:28 AM

MAUGWAI


That's so disappointing that she feels that way. I always respected her so much as an actress, I wouldn't have thought she'd complain so much about the job that made her career and allowed to her to practice her craft so well.

In the commentary for season 2, Joss talks about the first sex scene between Buffy and Angel, and he says he was worried about how comfortable they'd feel with the scene, but "They are both such professionals" that they did the job with dedication and no complaints.

He has spoken of her with nothing but respect and admiration. (ok, maybe not that line in the Serenity commentary about the seven-year-TV star)

"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

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Sunday, May 9, 2004 9:23 AM

DELIA


Quote:

Originally posted by maugwai:

He has spoken of her with nothing but respect and admiration. (ok, maybe not that line in the Serenity commentary about the seven-year-TV star)



I guess I didn't take that real seriously, since that's the same commentary in which Morena and Gina are described as homely and Summer is descibed as having an offputting smell. Although I did wonder if David Boreanaz really is afraid of chickens.

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Monday, May 10, 2004 6:20 PM

ANGELDOVE


Yes DB is very afraid of chickens, and strangely enough it is a real phobia, Alektorophobia. I think he said that he sees them as very dirty animals.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

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Tuesday, May 11, 2004 1:09 AM

SASJA


Quote:

Originally posted by Succatash:
Quote:

"It became very S&M and I felt degraded as an actress,"

Scooby Doo seems more degrading, if you ask me.



Couldn't have said it better.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2004 4:39 AM

LIZ


I am withholding my final judgement until i read the entire article, BUT i think i understand how she could feel this way. I was once asked to appear onstage wearing only underwear, and quite frankly i didn't think i could say no, even though when i took the role it specifically said the character would be wearing a bathrobe. Looking back on that, i'm more upset about it than i was when i was originally asked to do it because i was put on the spot when i was asked. If Joss and the crew have always been so careful about how she feels and making sure she was comfortable then she might have felt even more pressure to do the scene as it was. Also, just because she was the agressor and was usually clothed doesn't mean she couldn't feel degraded. She also had a scene where she was nearly raped... and that happened after she had been doing the role for years so we can only imagine how connected she felt to the character. (Any gamers out there who want to imagine how they'd feel if their character was assaulted?)

As far as the "she should have known" bit, here's my take -- yes she should have known about the fights, but she had no way of knowing about the sex scenes. When the show started Buffy was supposed to be 16! Who could have expected Buffy to run so long ang grow so much? The scenes made sense in context and were necessary to further the plot, however no one can say that they saw that coming after watching season 1.

...But that's just my take.

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Friday, June 18, 2004 11:31 AM

HELLSANGEL


THIS IS COMING FROM THE GIRL WHO WILLINGLY DID CRUEL INTENTIONS??????????????


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Sunday, June 20, 2004 2:15 PM

ZORIAH


From the dailies of Smashed and Wrecked, Sarah and James seem to be having a fun old time with the sex scenes. They're joking and smiling between takes and at one point Sarah gets so distracted at the kissing that she forgets her lines and they giggle about it.

I guess her perspective changed in hindsight? Or because she wants a different image now? Who knows.

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Sunday, June 20, 2004 2:36 PM

JAPPAR2001


Well i just think shes a BITCH anyway. And i'd like her to explain why she thinks she isn't. Fans of buffy (those that don't suspect shes a bitch)would love to meet her at conventions. Now i'm sure shes busy wih her projects and all. But put yourself in her position. If you were aware that your co-stars were travelling the world to conventions to visit fans young and old, wouldn't you especially want to go. I realise she wants to work in movies, but shes not exactly desperate for the money. I think people need to sort out their priorities. If she was poor i could understand. I just can't imagine being her and making the decisions she does. It would be a first for an actress as established as her to make a convention appearence sure, but who made that rule? If i had the power she had i would be holding parties for my fans and say hi to them every time i was on tv. She could at least suprise us. She only ahs one shot at life liek evryone else. She would be nothing without us and thats a fact Also, it's ridiculous she doesn't do dvd extras and sorts things like that and attend wrap parties. And tell her co stars when she plans on putting them out of their jobs. Thats such a tacky thing to get paid from a magazine to give that info. Very typical hollywood bitch. I'm sure she can be nice to be around once in a while. I wish i was wrong, but in all essence she just does come across as an actor i would strive not to be if i was her. Also David boreanaz needs a good lecture on not to charge UK fans £300 for a convention ticket. Is it that painful for him to meet us. If so then he should just stay at home. If anything he should be holding the party for us and paying expenses. If you were SMG you'd do that wouldn't you. Even if you couldn't attend you'd record a vid. You wouldn't charge for a ticket. I wouldn't anyway. I don't know how these people sleep at night. sorry about the rant

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Sunday, June 20, 2004 5:06 PM

PELICANJAKE


before I post my (long and convoluted) comments I want to say that I just registered to this site to reply to this topic, I come here a lot and have always enjoyed reading what everyone has to say, the one time I don't...
I have to say I'm pretty shocked at how mean so many "fans" are to Sarah Michelle Gellar, and I thought you all would be different. I have very strong opinions about actors and filmakers that I think a lot of people would disagree with, for one I don't think actors have the *right* to say whether or not they think a movie they did was bad, they only have power over their performance and even then they might be asked to do something they disagree with, the movie belongs to the director (and possibly the writer although I think Joss fans see that's not always true) and in tv the episode belongs to the writer so it doesn't matter to me that SMG thinks that she was a part of one of the greatest shows of all time and that she's said that many times, recently even, but it does matter to me what she thinks of her performance and what she was asked to do, so she did some sex scenes and she felt degraded doing them, this makes her a horrible person? James Marsters talked about how much he hated doing the attempted rape scene he even says he avoided talking to SMG even though he felt she wanted to talk, I don't think this makes him a horrible person though I am surprised when the fans feel bad for him but they don't feel bad for her the one that he was (acting, obviously) attempting to rape.
And of course you can joke, she was in Scooby Doo, that's degrading. So it's not a good movie, she's said that it doesn't exactly force her to stretch her acting chops, this was just a chance for her to have some fun. Light hearted fun at work, how degrading.
To jappar2001 you say you would like SMG to explain to you why she thinks she's not a bitch, well I'd like you to explain to me why you think you're not a moron, I'm sorry, that was rude and hateful and I apologize I'm sure your a nice person and not a moron at all, odd how I can think you might be a nice person after you posted such a hateful rant and you can think SMG's a bitch because she ummm, I guess because she felt degraded, I actually don't see how that makes sense. And I don't want to continue replying to your post but she actually is doing a convention, for The Grudge, I guess that makes her a bitch because she's not doing it for Buffy or maybe that just makes her a professional who does what she's contractually obligated to do? Bitch.
So obviously I've come here and posted for the first time because I enjoy being an arrogant asshole, not really the case, I understand people are entitled to their own opinion and blah blah blah I'm just really surprised that SMG can be hated so much even though she did what she was asked and did it well for so many years, the only time I know of that she complained about a scene (because of her performance it seems) was the ending of "Beneath You" which as written pales in comparison to the brilliant one that Joss Whedon eventually wrote and directed. She became very famous very quick because of this show and when negotiating her contract she never asked for a producers credit, which could have gotten her more money and more say-so. She's never badmouthed any of the writers or the actors and still to this day she says what a great show it was but she's a bitch because she didn't like doing what she was ultimately asked and paid to do a few times in one season, the character was supposed to feel degraded, the audience was even supposed to feel degraded but when the actor feels... ahh, forget it, I'm just going in circles, I'm sorry this post was such a pain for any of you that chose to read it all. And here's something for those of you that did read it all I just realised my post can be summed up in four words: cut her some slack.

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Monday, June 21, 2004 12:46 AM

SASJA


Hey PelicanJake, and welcome out of lurk

I'm not a SMG fan, though I do appreciate all her hard work on Buffy. I'm more of a writers/directors fan, as - just like you say - they're really the ones creating the film (or tv). Of course, they can't do it without the actors - acting talent is obviously important. So I'm grateful for the talent SMG has and that she has committed it to Buffy for all those years.

As a non-SMG fan, I don't really care much whether she's on the extras on the dvds. But as a Joss fan, I know how much I look forward to the commentaries and interviews, and I understand that a SMG fan may feel cheated over and over, because she never decides to do those things. I don't know why she doesn't, but I can understand a certain frustration over it in her fan base. Contrast this for instance with Joss, who openly says thank you to the fans for making the Serenity movie a reality, and with our BDH who not only frequently visit the OB but even post here on our own little board. So, cut the frustrated fan some slack, too

On the degrading issue. Well, what struck me as weird in the SMG quote is that she "felt degraded as an actress". That it's a mean experience to be a rape victim, even a fake one, seems obvious to me. But actors in interesting roles usually have to portray less than happy circumstances - think about war movies, kz movies, etc. It's not degrading to them as actors - on the contrary! It's the chance for their acting skills to really shine! That you need a tough psyche and emotional support to do it is beyond doubt. But degrading to her as an actress would be a role that doesn't give her any use for her acting skills - more the Scoobydoo role than Buffy.

I hope that explains some of the issues. I would never consider attacking people I don't even know on a personal level, and I think the alienated SMG fans should be more level-headed about it, though I do understand their frustration. SMG's a person and entitled to make her own choices. What you see is just her media face which she may not nurture in the best way, but don't confuse that with what she's like as a person.

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Tuesday, June 29, 2004 12:50 PM

GHOULMAN


SMG should try ACTING! And yes, I do think she can act.

"Actors are whores" - Laurence Olivier.

You see, if an actor finds acting "degrading" they shouldn't do it. A "sex scene" is still acting. Some might argue it's absolutely no different than any other scene. I noticed that American actors refuse nudity all the time while British actors will drop thier pants instantly... because they are whores.

I mean actors.

On a side note - what the hell is SMG on about? She felt degraded? By sex? Wha?

Some issues I can only guess at. She's weird.

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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:13 AM

IDEFIX


on a side note:

I once heard Joss say in a commentary that all the time after Alyson Hannigan (Willow) was doing a scene where Willow was sad or upset and crying, all the people on set just felt like going up to her to hug and console her. when he did he was met by a grinnig Aly saying: "what's up? it's called _acting_.".

this thread made me think about this. I think that's what it's all about, actors have to act not try to be their character. it doesn't work like that. they can do superficial stuff or silly stuff or whatever without acting but they will kill themselves if they do the serious stuff in the same way.

maybe that's the problem here or it's just something weird about someone confusing consensual rough sex with rape. I think the scenes are very well done. feels real and sexy and about the way it's supposed to. like fun that's leaving a bad taste in your mouth. sexy but not healthy because Buffy didn't love Spike and wasn't happy about sleeping with another vamp, especially a soulless one.

what I think of as bad in this context is the 'rough sex' equals 'unnatural sex' theme it tries to create. it was unnatural because Buffy felt like she shouldn't do it not because they liked to play it rough. they obviously both like to fight and they can take it being a vamp and a slayer, both healing very quickly. and they never really fought to kill or even seriously harm each other or else they would have at one point or another. slaying makes her horny said Faith, so fighting is a pretty natural foreplay for slayers. it's no sign of Buffy being bad or evil or having come back wrong if she likes to sleep with Spike for the fun of it. she should have been more honest to herself and to Spike, though. always saying 'no' but meaning 'yes' is undermining what all females on earth are fighting for: being taken seriously.
and having some bruises after a good night of sex is nothing bad even if you're not a slayer ;o)

Idefix

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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 6:42 AM

LIZ


there are a few different schools of acting...
English style acting involves creating a character from the outside in, which does make it easier to separate oneself as an actor from the character being played, but can occasionally lead to a "stiff" performance.
American style acting is from the inside out, thus blurring the line between actor and character (method acting).
Both schools are perfectly legitimate and can certainly be combined to varying degrees. (and i'm sure there are other comepletely different schools out there somewhere, but these seem to be the ones that apply in this discussion.) So, please, don't criticize her for using a different method than Sir Laurence Olivier.
(there are a few different versions of this story about Dustin Hoffman and Olivier working on "Marathon Man," but the gist is the same (from an interview w/James Marsters): "The greatest example of this is Sir Lawrence Olivier, who was a great stage actor, one of the best, obviously. But on film? Not so great. You can see the man acting. You can see the strings being pulled on the puppet. There’s a great story about Dustin Hoffman staying up all night when he was preparing to do the teeth-drilling scene in Marathon Man. Lawrence Olivier looks at him and Hoffman’s eyes are all bloodshot and baggy and Olivier says, “My dear boy, why don’t you try acting?” My response to that is, “Larry. Look at the dailies ‘cause Dustin is kicking your ass!”"-- http://www.buffy-vs-angel.com/news/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1076
254570&archive=&start_from=&ucat
=&
another: http://www.stupidlyhappy.com/archives/000482.html )

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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 7:03 AM

GHOULMAN


Wow, you're so on there Liz. And I love that quote.

Though I might argue Dustin over Larry in the acting department.

However I was refering to the English attitude toward acting as opossed to the American one.

btw... I remember seeing a short interview with Spike and he had spoken about SMG talking to him saying something like;"I won't be 'friends' with you. It's nothing personal..."

Seems to be relevant to this discussion?

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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 7:13 AM

LIZ


but the attitude toward acting is part and parcel to the style of acting -- With the Engish Style the actor separates him/herself from the character and anything that charater says/does/has done to them is compartmentalized and separated from the actor.
Quote:

I remember seeing a short interview with Spike and he had spoken about SMG talking to him saying something like;"I won't be 'friends' with you. It's nothing personal..."

SMG said that to James Marsters or Buffy to Spike?... (the characters or the actors -- there's that fine line again)

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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 7:26 AM

MAUGWAI


I just watched an E! thing about SMG's wedding to Freddy Prinze, Jr. She did do interviews to discuss her Vera Wang dress. It made me wonder why she won't so interviews on the DVDs. But whatever. Because I am a fan, and I do love her as an actress, and it's just so diheartening to admire someone so much who doesn't really care that you admire them.

Anyway, Freddy said something on the special that really irritated me. He said, despite the fact that her TV career's been good to her, "Sarah's too good for TV."

Good grief. Although Harvard Man was good, it was not better than Buffy. And we all know about Scooby Doo.

I appreciate that he thinks highly of his wife, but it would be nice if he thought highly of her work, too.



"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

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Friday, July 2, 2004 2:50 AM

GHOULMAN


Ah. I see Liz. But I think I mean that the English Acting Culture in general sees actors as... well, unholy. *chuckle*, you know I gotta wonder if it's still English law to forbid burying an actor on holy ground.

If you see what I mean. Acting is art... art requires bravory. SMG had better get some unless she wants to end her acting career with the words "it felt icky". lol!

And Liz - it was an interview with James M. taken about 3 years ago (?). He nervously mentioned this in the context of the 6th season (6th is the Spike/Buffster relationaship right?). Seems SMG kept James at arms length. Not only that, she talked to him about it. When I heard it I rolled my eyes rather loudly. It might have been then where I noticed SMG is high maintenance! lol!

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Tuesday, July 6, 2004 9:21 PM

HOWDYROCKERBABY1


Quote:

Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Ah. I see Liz. But I think I mean that the English Acting Culture in general sees actors as... well, unholy. *chuckle*, you know I gotta wonder if it's still English law to forbid burying an actor on holy ground.

If you see what I mean. Acting is art... art requires bravory. SMG had better get some unless she wants to end her acting career with the words "it felt icky". lol!

And Liz - it was an interview with James M. taken about 3 years ago (?). He nervously mentioned this in the context of the 6th season (6th is the Spike/Buffster relationaship right?). Seems SMG kept James at arms length. Not only that, she talked to him about it. When I heard it I rolled my eyes rather loudly. It might have been then where I noticed SMG is high maintenance! lol!



Who in their right mind would keep Mr. James Marsters at arm length? He's hot, he's funny, he can sing, he can act....why would you not want to embelish in every single moment you had with him?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
MAL: This is my scrap of nowhere. You go on and find your own.
SAFFRON: You can't just leave me here, on this
lifeless piece of crap moon...
MAL: Sure I can.
SAFFRON: I'll die.
MAL: Well, as a courtesy, you might start
getting busy on that, cause all this chatter ain't doin' me any kindness.

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Tuesday, July 6, 2004 9:51 PM

ZELDA


I recall something similar, but James' attitude was fairly different from what you're saying. He was talking about the fact that SMG was very upfront with him early in their professional relationship about the fact that she didn't really hang out with the Buffy folks - was, in fact pretty strict about keeping professional and personal lives separate. And James' response was pretty much "that's cool - me too." And he said they got along swimmingly after that.

And, for what it's worth, it's always been my impression that SMG is very greatful to her fans, but is just a more reserved person than many Hollywood people. She seems very focused on the aspects of acting as a profession, and not so much with the fame-building parts of it. And if a man is a good actor, and very reserved & private, people say "oh, how interesting," but if a woman is the same way, people start calling her names. Because god forbid actors be able to treat their job like a job.

Although I will say that I think Freddie is a walking PR disaster, with the constant saying of well-intentioned but poorly thought-out things.

And am I the only person who thought that Joss' comment about 7th year TV actresses, while tongue in cheek, might just as well have been prompted by the behavior of CC? SMG wasn't his only cranky 7th year actress that year...

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Wednesday, July 7, 2004 5:40 AM

GHOULMAN


^^^ Zelda, your recollection strikes me as better than mine. I think your version is pretty close to the actual truth of the interview and what SMG ment (as well as Jamie M.).

Howdyrockerbaby1 also has laser sharp insight there I'd assume.

Quote:

Zelda wrote: And am I the only person who thought that Joss' comment about 7th year TV actresses, while tongue in cheek, might just as well have been prompted by the behavior of CC? SMG wasn't his only cranky 7th year actress that year...

CC? Not sure what you're talking about here... though I feel I'm getting waaay outside my Buffy knowledge. I like the shows but really don't pay attention to hype, though often it permiates the mediascape - hence my seeing that James interview.

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Wednesday, July 7, 2004 6:10 AM

LIZ


CC= Charisma Carpenter (or Cordelia Chase, strangely enough)

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Monday, July 19, 2004 5:46 AM

RITA


What was up with CC i heard she was dissappointed about not returning to angel that it was not her descision to leave-at least that's what i read in T.V guide

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Wednesday, July 21, 2004 5:51 AM

GHOULMAN


^^^ TV Guide is readable?

I didn't see that, but I found CCs pics in Playboy readable.

Really, they were SO sexy. Love the tats!

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Sunday, September 5, 2004 2:02 AM

JK


Well, I dunno. I don't like to slate people if I don't know them (and even then I don't like to do it), but from all the stuff I've read and watched and heard about Buffy and SMG, I am getting the feeling that she is a little high maintenance. And that, certainly towards the end of Buffy, she was getting tired and dismissive of the series. Seems to me Buffy ended in large part due to the fact that Sarah stated she wasn't going to do any more, and I got the distinct impression that she just announced it to everyone and expected them to deal with it. No negotiation, no apology. Not a nice thing to do to people you've worked with for seven years.

But then, I might be wrong. But whatever, you can't argue that she's a bit full of herself.

By the way, what was Joss' comment about seven year television stars? I don't remember it.

JK

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Sunday, September 5, 2004 4:28 AM

DIETCOKE


Well all I can say is that I thought year six was wonderful and really pushed the characters to a whole new level. I think everyone did their best acting job that year because the scripts demanded more from everyone. It was adult, intense, dark, and very, very moving. The cast should be thanking the writers for such an intense year of scripts that really allowed them to show off their talent.

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Monday, September 6, 2004 1:32 AM

JK


Here here.

JK

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Monday, September 6, 2004 6:24 AM

DANFAN


I respect your right to the opinions that you hold of season 6. Everyone's taste is unique to them.

As for myself, season 6 had the entirely opposite effect on me... it nearly stopped me from watching the last season. To me, the season felt forced and artificial. It seemed as if characters we had grown to love were being needlessly tortured... as if our attachment to those characters (nurtured for 5 years) was deliberately abused beyond the point needed to carry the story arc. And that's really what broke season 6 for me. I grasp that they wanted to show a difficult, awkward transition from childhood to adulthood. But I felt that they could have done it with less ugliness.

I understand the basics of drama. I don't look for sugar and sweetness in every episode that I watch. But neither do I consider an entire season of unrelenting depression and angst as entertainment. I wanted more variation in the diet...

Season 6 was too one-note. And that note was dissonant to me.

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Monday, September 6, 2004 7:30 AM

DIETCOKE


Danfan, I know you are not alone in your feelings about season six. There are many others who hold the same view as you.

I was surprised that the writers would go to such dark places with the characters and yes, there were times, I just wanted to slap Buffy and tell her to grow up and take some responsibility.

But in the back of my mind, I knew the characters would somehow triumph over adversity and find the greatness inside themselves. The writers were taking us on a journey of peoples lives and sometime people loose their way for a while.

I guess that's why I like Joss' work so much. He really makes the audience FEEL, he takes us through the whole rainbow of human emotion. And that's what artists do, they get us out of our head and really make us feel our feelings.

I am always amazed at how Joss' work touches people in such very diffent ways. As Joss said about the characters of Firefly - it's about nine different characters seeing and experiencing the verse in very different ways.

And so we see things through our own perspective because it is the only way we can. What is great is that regardless of our perspective, we all agree that there is something very, very, special about Joss Whedon and we were the first to recognize his greatness.

Thanks for your perspective, Danfan.




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Friday, September 17, 2004 6:48 PM

SERENITYSRIVER


I agree with DanFan, but not completely. Sixth season had a negative effect on me. I have no problem with angst, but I felt the characters were being needlessly abused. Also, the fact that I was a large Spike fan (and a Spuffy hopeful) I was extremely angered seeing how horrible their relationship ended up being. I truly dislike Buffy as a character now. Seventh season healed some of the wounds concerning her character, but not all. She is probably one of my least favorites, that oppinion being egged on by her character's extreme abusiveness in seasons six and some of season seven.

One may argue that she never could love Spike, so the relationship was doomed to begin with. I disagree. Seeing how their relationship patched itself together and evolved toward the end of the show, I believe there could have been a healthy relationship there, if they had only tried. More correctly, if only Buffy hadn't been screwing him for kicks.

As for acting: I'm a method actress. I haven't had to do any intimately physical work, but I can't imagine it being that difficult to do, once one is on the professional level. And, if an actor is uncomfortable on a series, they should talk to the writers, talk to the director, let people know how you feel.

So, she felt degraded in those sex scenes with James? Well. . . . . I'll take her place anyday. . . . .

(And about being "too good for tv": I've never liked any of her movie work. I only really like her on the show, and that's only occasionally. She can act, but she's nothing too extremely unique, from what I've seen. That's only my opinion, of course.)

"Ten percent of nothin', well, let's see, that's nothin' add nothin', carry the nothin'. . . ."

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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:12 AM

SPACECOWGIRL


I love the DVD commentary and would've liked Sarah to participate. Here's what Sarah has to say about it.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Defends Buffy DVDs
From Scifi.com - 2004-10-22nd









Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar told SCI FI Wire that time constraints, not a lack of interest, prevented her from providing commentaries on the acclaimed TV show’s DVD sets. "You know, it’s so interesting," she said during an interview while promoting her new film, The Grudge. "Most of the time in this business you really only get one side. You get he who speaks loudest."

The DVD sets of Buffy, which ended its seven-season run on The WB and UPN last year, have featured commentaries by cast and crew, but not the star. "In terms of the DVDs, they always did the commentaries during the show," Gellar said. "I was working constantly, three units. There was never time. It was unfortunate. It was a timing thing. If you tell a line producer, ’OK, we need Sarah for two hours on this day to do commentary,’ the line producer is going to tell you, ’Uh-uh.’ So that was why I didn’t do it during the show. And if I had free time, if for some reason I was getting a day off, I was taking it. I was exhausted." Season seven of Buffy comes out on DVD on Nov. 16. 2004


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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:12 AM

SPACECOWGIRL


I love the DVD commentary and would've liked Sarah to participate. Here's what Sarah has to say about it.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Defends Buffy DVDs
From Scifi.com - 2004-10-22nd









Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar told SCI FI Wire that time constraints, not a lack of interest, prevented her from providing commentaries on the acclaimed TV show’s DVD sets. "You know, it’s so interesting," she said during an interview while promoting her new film, The Grudge. "Most of the time in this business you really only get one side. You get he who speaks loudest."

The DVD sets of Buffy, which ended its seven-season run on The WB and UPN last year, have featured commentaries by cast and crew, but not the star. "In terms of the DVDs, they always did the commentaries during the show," Gellar said. "I was working constantly, three units. There was never time. It was unfortunate. It was a timing thing. If you tell a line producer, ’OK, we need Sarah for two hours on this day to do commentary,’ the line producer is going to tell you, ’Uh-uh.’ So that was why I didn’t do it during the show. And if I had free time, if for some reason I was getting a day off, I was taking it. I was exhausted." Season seven of Buffy comes out on DVD on Nov. 16. 2004


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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:47 AM

MANIACNUMBERONE


Buffy?!? Degraded!?! And no one told me!!!
I must've missed those episodes.
Which ones were they so I can go back and watch the degredation? JK

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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:13 AM

DIETCOKE


Quote:

Originally posted by ManiacNumberOne:
Buffy?!? Degraded!?! And no one told me!!!
I must've missed those episodes.
Which ones were they so I can go back and watch the degredation? JK



Year six! Lots of degradation going on in numerous episodes, my goodness! Here degradation, there degradation....they were just degradating all over the place.

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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:32 AM

MANIACNUMBERONE


No wonder. I'm borrowing Tash's Buffy dvd sets, and he won't let me watch them out of order. He's a buffy/angel continuity nazi.

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Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:38 AM

WILLOWY


Ah, the thread that won't die...

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Wednesday, November 17, 2004 12:26 PM

ZELDA


As long as this thread won't die...

Joss makes a comment on one of the Firefly DVDs about someone being "as cranky as a 7th year TV actress." (Probably not the exact quote, but real close.)

The obvious conclusion was that he was referring to SMG. But I'm someone who likes to imagine the non-obvious possibilities (I think they call that 'contrarian'), and it seemed to me that the public relations between Joss & CC got weird that year as well (and they wrote her off of Angel). And she was also in her 7th year of starring in his shows.

Or maybe the effect of dealing with both of them (particularly when contrasted with his shiny new cast of BDHs) caused him to make a comment about 7th year actresses as a class.

It's all just stupid speculation anyway. I just like alternate theories, because the whole SMG-bashing thing is so boring & overplayed.

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Thursday, January 6, 2005 4:28 AM

BLOODYAWFULPOET


Degraded as an actress? This is from the star of the Scooby Doo movies.

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Friday, January 7, 2005 2:15 PM

DIETCOKE


Degraded? I would give anything to do those acting scene with Spike! What heterosexual woman (or homosexual man) wouldn't!

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Saturday, January 8, 2005 11:21 AM

WEASY


To be fair -

Because Sarah was so young (18-19) when she started playing Buffy she hadn't learnt how to seperate herself from Buffy (English Style) and she's actually very attatched to the character, this is what she said about Graduation Day Part Two:
Quote:

"Last year, with Angel and the heartbreak, I would go home and cry. My body wouldn't work properly. I don't take demons home with me, but I do take Buffy's pain. The vampires I'm immune to, but not the emotion. When we filmed the episode where Angel breaks up with her, I cried for 25 minutes. I thought I was having a breakdown. They had to shut down the set. When they say rip your heart out, that's really what unfulfilled love does."

I think Buffy as a character mattered a lot to her, and that's why everyone was so careful about asking her if she minded bringing people in and letting her know where the plot was going - but she didn't actually have a choice. She's contractually oblidged - she can't just NOT do something because she doesn't want to.

As far as doing sex scenes with Spike goes Sarah wasn't particularly happy with the idea of Buffy sleeping with anyone that wasn't Angel -
Quote:

"Every time they try and bring someone new in for Buffy, all I can think is, 'But it's not Angel!'. I'm not really sure what we're going to do now. We just did an interesting episode where Buffy spent the summer moping over her boyfriend -- like everybody who loses their first love -- and then this cute sophomore in college asks her out and she's so excited and he says all the right things, and does all the right things, and she sleeps with him on the first date and then he dumps her. I ran into Joss' office, screaming, 'Buffy would never do this! All this history with Angel – this is WRONG!' And Joss said to me, 'Sarah, try going to college. This is what people do and this is how they learn and these are the mistakes they make'"

Basically Joss had complete control over them, there's more than just Sarah quotes from people saying that the Buffy set wasn't as happy families as they liked to make out. There's another Sarah quote...
Quote:

She joined the show when she was 18, and when in the sixth season she felt that the show had lost it's way, becoming much darker in tone, she was reluctant to say anything to Joss Whedon, Buffy's creative mastermind. "I really didn't have any [input]. Maybe I should have, 'cause then we wouldn't have got so lost. It took me a while to work up the nerve to say something... It didn't feel like Buffy... but it's easy to be vocal now, because Joss isn't going to be yelling at me tomorrow when I get to work."
I think there must have been some kind of clause in all of there contracts where they couldn't tell the press if they were unhappy with the direction of the show - if Sarah had turned around and said before the beginning of Season Six, I think this is awful and I wish I wasn't contractually oblidged to do it, then I think the ratings would have hit rock bottom (I think they did in season six anyway - because a lot of fans didn't like it without her saying anything) Anyway, the networks wouldn't have wanted that so they probably weren't allowed to say anything negative. Actually if you notice a lot of the season six promo interviews they did, Sarah goes around with Marti and Marti pretty much carries the conversation. It's interesting. Maybe they didn't trust her not to be honest.

If you think about it all that season six stuff *was* horribly abusive, Buffy was depressed and doing anything to feel *Something* - if you don't know that's generally why people self-harm.
When she was so attatched to her character I'm not surprised that she didn't really want to do it, or talk about it. Not to put too much of a stress on this she was acting out the darkest most awful moments of essentially a close-friends life.

I'm not surprised she felt degraded. Who cares if James Marsters is fit (hello, she's married I'm sure she doesn't care) I sure as hell wouldn't have wanted to film those scenes.

As for her other films being degrading - haven't seen harvard man can't comment - Scooby Doo wasn't actually that bad you have to bear in mind it is a kid's film, and if I was doing all that hardcore Buffy stuff for however long it'd probably be quite cool. Plus she got to go to work with Freddie which is honestly probably why they did it. - Cruel Intentions is an AMAZINGLY good film, based on amazingly good book Les Liasons Dangeresuses and I think *any* actress would have jumped at the chance to be in it, also if you read the book, they actually tamed it down for the film, in the book there are orgies in the countryside and the ending is much worse.

To be honest - with films, I think she was just trying to make sure she didn't get typecast into lots of little Buffy replica roles for the rest of her life so she's trying to do a bit of everything. So she also doesn't really want to be associated with Buffy that much anymore - that's not ignoring your fans, it's called being a pertinent businesswomen. Which she sure as hell is.

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Saturday, January 8, 2005 12:58 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES


Quote:

Originally posted by Weasy:

I think there must have been some kind of clause in all of there contracts where they couldn't tell the press if they were unhappy with the direction of the show - ... Maybe they didn't trust her not to be honest.



Doubt there was anything in the contracts - sometimes when someone terminates a contract such a clause is part of the agreement, but there are plenty of examples of TV and film people making their feelings known on things (whether directly or indirectly).

The fact is, she was on a gravy train, and it was in her interests to not lay into the show in public.

I always find it interesting how some actors in shows seem to start re-writing history. SMG didn't create Buffy, Joss Whedon did - so if he says "that's what Buffy would do", that's what Buffy would do. If the fans don't like it, fair enough, but that's not the point about how the character developed.



"I threw up on your bed"

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Sunday, January 9, 2005 2:46 AM

WEASY


Quote:

Doubt there was anything in the contracts - sometimes when someone terminates a contract such a clause is part of the agreement, but there are plenty of examples of TV and film people making their feelings known on things (whether directly or indirectly).

The fact is, she was on a gravy train, and it was in her interests to not lay into the show in public.



No, you're right, it is in her best interests to do whatever the networks and Joss say. Because otherwise she'd get fired. And I think you'll find most people will put up with things they don't agree with at the time in order to keep their jobs.

I just don't see why it's considered horribly unfair of her to say she didn't like it later on - when her job isn't at risk.

Quote:

I always find it interesting how some actors in shows seem to start re-writing history. SMG didn't create Buffy, Joss Whedon did - so if he says "that's what Buffy would do", that's what Buffy would do. If the fans don't like it, fair enough, but that's not the point about how the character developed.


Well, not exactly - if you think about it, Buffy was a team written show, and it's obvious on occasion that the networks got their way instead of Joss. He didn't have complete control over the show either.
Plus season six was mostly Marti Noxon's baby - and she didn't even come into Buffy until after the first series and I'm not sure ever actually watched the first series, she hadn't when she did the season two dvd commenteries. So quite frankly, I'm not sure that she has a right to decide what Buffy would do either.

The things is - despite the fact I couldn't quite bring myself to watch season six, I understand the logic of why Buffy does what she does and sleeps with Spike - but because I understand it, I think I also undertsand why SMG didn't like having to film it very much.

And knowing that, I think it's unfair to criticise her for stating her opinion. Which after all is just an opinion - she didn't actually refuse to do any of it.

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