{...} means unsure or inaudible

July 25, 2004

EVENT COORDINATOR

Are we ready? (Wild applause.) Uh, there's no reason to delay this anyone longer. Would you please welcome one of the best, Josh Whedon.

(45 seconds standing ovation.)

JOSS

I was really afraid that you'd forgotten me. (Voice from the audience cries, "Never!") I really don't think I've ever seen this many people in my life. This year, I really, really should have thought of something to say, but... umm… I'm not going to waste a lot of time, because we don't have a lot of time. I have something to show you:

(Presentation of Serenity Movie preview.)

Some quotations

• "{Hands on your knees, {and heads bob now}}."
• "Heads up you guys, violence is going to {ensue/resume}."
• Gina while robbing a bank says, "At last, we can retire and give up this life of crime."
• "This ride is gonna be pretty interesting."
• "You got a plan? I need a plan?"
• "Reavers."

That was... uh.. put together by the Universal publicity people out of what we've been shooting so far, just for this con, because… uh... I really want to show you guys how much fun we're having. Umm... and... uh... I have one other thing to show you, or rather I have nine. {Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of Firefly and Serenity}

(The whole cast walks onstage.)

Thank you all for coming, good night!

Now, I don't know if we have mikes set up for questions, but... uh… that's pretty much where we are going from here, is to get some questions from you guys... from anyone who wants to ask; unless, anybody here has a formal statement prepared-- I'm looking at you Nathan.

(Nathan stands up momentarily and clears throat while pretending to read his name card.)

NATHAN

Ahem. Thank you. It's good to be here.

EVENT COORDINATOR

We have one microphone. Please do not stand in front of the microphones. Stand on the opposite side; you'll have to yell really loud. So please line up behind the one microphone so you guys don't have to watch a tennis match. All the questions will be coming from...

JOSS

Ah! Ah, ha! There! (Points to a microphone.) Alright.

This is the first question. It had better be great. I mean {very seriously}.

Q1

There was somebody ahead of me, but she chickened out. Uh.. Joss I really like the theme song to firefly and I'm wondering if it's gonna be available in longer format and will it be available on a CD at any point.

JOSS

Umm... I don't know. I hope so. I like the part where you really like it. I like the part where the other guy sings it.

Q2

I let her go first because I don't really have a question, I have more um... I want to let you know I was one of 350 people who attended the Slayage Conference in Nashville this past spring, and it was just such a treat to see all theses academics {tributing your} work. I just want to let everybody know that sort of thing is going on. If you want to look it up: Slayage.com.

(Joss looks to the cast.)

JOSS

And I think you actors should take note that I'm really important. (Applause.)

(Addressing another person with a question.)

Uh, sir.

Q3

One of the {posters/website} on Buffyverse claimed that your philosophical position seems to resemble {utopianism}, and to which I have this right: is about the desire to right simply because one cannot bear the consequence, or one can not stand to see what will happen if one does not step in to intervene regardless of the {cost} to oneself. What I was wondering is: Is this completely BS or this man has a point.

JOSS

No. Actually, I think that the man has point. Um. Actually, I think that a large of part of Serenity has to do with that very thing. It has to do with the idea of {with that} can you just walk away from something or do you have an obligation to deal with it. That's all I'm saying.

Q4

Hi, I think of you guys got the nickname Johnny Tightpants. I just want to know what other nicknames do you have for each other.

(Audience corrected with: "Captain Tightpant!")

NATHAN

We call Adam "Stinky Pants Mulligan." (Adam gestures and nods.) Ask him how he got that nickname.

JOSS

How'd you got that nickname, Adam.

(Nathan answers for Adam.)

NATHAN

It was burrito day.

MORENA

Unfortunately, they just call me whore. (The audience awwwws.)

JOSS

That's not true. We call her stupid.

GINA

We call Morena whore with a great deal of love and affection.

ADAM

(In a low tone Jayne voice.) A great deal.

Q5

Joss, I love Buffy. I love Angel. Firefly {trumps/tops} them both.

JOSS

Nice.

Q5

(Inaudible because of stuttering) When it was taken off the air, I've written to the network executives. I'm wandering what else we can do as fans to you guys back on T.V.

NATHAN

Buy a network.

JOSS

Or a DVD of the Movie. You know, now that I got these guys on the big screen, it’s... It's kinda hard for me to imagine them getting any smaller again. It's quite something to see when they're up there.

Q5

Thank you.

JOSS

Thank you.

Q6

Joss. Ben Edlund. Are you gonna working again with him on anything?

JOSS

I don't know. Ben marches to the beat of his... it's not even a drummer. He marches to the beat of a xylophone player. Um, I have no idea of what's he's doing. I hope so because he's genius, but I don't know.

Q6

{And one other thing.} Jubal Early is so much cooler than Boba Fett.

JOSS

Yes!

Q7

Hey guys. Josh... um... Joss. (Audience boos.)

JOSS

(Mock crying and pretending to leave the stage.) This interview is over.

Q7

{Two quick comments} Joss. I really want to thank you... um... I guess for giving Mandarin Chinese a really big audience while the show was on. As a native Chinese speaker, I want to make you an honorary Chinese person.

JOSS

Thanks {a lot}.

Q7

Last comment. Alan and I want to give really big ARRRGGGHNY. {Everyone here, my friend love Dodgeball. Good Movie.

ADAM

Let's see how good he is. (Adam throws a wad of paper at Alan who didn't dodge. He just put his index over his eye to mimic a pirate with an eyepatch.)

Q7

Hi. Um, I'm sorry. I though this was the line to the bathroom. {Uh, but no.} Thank you very much everyone for Firefly. It's was amazing show that has so many twists that I love to see explored. And I was wondering can you tell us something about the plot of the movie. (Audience cries noooo!)

JOSS

Have you met me?

Q7

Well, uh, I live outside you house, but...

JOSS

Awkward... and creepy (pinching his fingers together). Uh, you know. I can't tell you much. Um, it has these guys in it (points to he cast). Um, It has the alliance in it, uh... personified in one particularly uh… antagonistic individual and uh... who's played by Chiwetel Ejiofor who's one of the best actors around right now. And um, yes, it has Reavers.

Q7

Blue sun?

JOSS

Um, Blue Sun appears... um, but the Blue Sun corporation as a concept is not a major theme of the movie.

ADAM

But they have ingredients in the burritos.

Q7

Thank you very much.

Q8

Uh. How's it going? This is for Joss. Uh, I think everyone here that has read {it} can agree that your comic series have been incredible, in particular, Fray. And so I was just wondering off chance if we are ever gonna get the chance to see our fabulous cast and characters in comic form.

JOSS

Uh, we have every intention of putting Serenity in comic book form as well.

Q8

If so, we will ever see a Serenity-Fray crossover.

JOSS

Noooo. They're of different worlds. There are no monsters in Serenity's world except for Adam.

ADAM

{I resent all that.}

JOSS

Dark Horse. Uh, we're talking to Dark Horse right now about doing... doing a Serenity comic becau... because of Fray and all stuff we've done with them.

Q9

Hey, how's everybody doing. My name's {Jamal. I'm in the Navy {...}.} Everybody ship loves the show. I show it to them. I want to ask what is everybody doing in the future? Any future endeavors? {And also if anyone wants to get a good game dogdgeball in, I want to play with Alan; Alan on my team.}

JOSS

Future, people.

GINA

Hi. Umm... I plan to finish the movie Serenity. I plan to take a very long nap. And I'm very excited..... I just {signed onto my husband's, Laurence Fishburne, movies.} I have two of them coming out in the fall... look for those.

ALAN

Um, yeah I'm gonna finish Serenity too, and uh... then I'm gonna go do a western. Which actually I couldn't have gotten it if it wasn't for Serenity because uh... I hadn't learned my lines really well for the audition,and uh I had to start ad libing. But because we'd been speaking in Firefly, it bears a resemblance to the frontiers that is in this western. So I was able to BS really well, and they gave me the job. (Applause.)

Q9

So I take it that {you are/you're} an awesome BS'er {...}.

ALAN

(Reluctanly and sighing.) Yes...yeah...yeah...

GINA

(Jokingly verifying Alan's talent.) Yes.

ALAN

You kinda have to learn it quick in Hollywood. But uh, it's gonna be call Into the West; it will be on TNT-- it's a miniseries. That's what I'm gonna be doing.

ADAM

This is my twentififth year doing this stuff and I'm at the point where I'll never work again becuase I'm just in these movies, at the end of... at the end of the movies like (guttural sighing) {I'm} out of the business again. {That's/It's just...} that's the way I feel. (Audience awws and Alan hugs Adam.) You know what my problem is: I..., I prepare my audition too well. I think I should take a tip from Alan.

NATHAN

That was good, that was good Stinky.

I'm not gonna finish Serenity. I just gonna {live there (a fan yelled over Nathan)}. I'm gonna do a little spin-off movie I'm playing called Mal's Browncoat Renegades. And then uh, Mal: The Early Years. A before the war kinda thing, a romantic ranch-style movie.

Q9

{That'd be before all Mal's sexual tension.}

NATHAN

Yes. When he yeah, when {he'd} open heart {and can} communes with the Beast.

Q9 or JOSS

And now?

NATHAN

Right now I no plans. Right now I just have uh.. my heart in this movie, and my fingers are crossed for a huge success, and a trilogy, {of course.}

JEWEL

Hi. (Applause.) {Umm..} I dont' have any plans either. I haven't been hired to do anything else yet. Um... (A female fan yells, "Can I hire you?"), uh what? {.....} I ya... I would like to work at home. I'm from Vancouver and I get {awfully} homesick when I'm not there. So I would like to do something locally for a change, but any work is... is a good thing. So, uh hopefully something will happen to me before Christmas so I can buy people nice things... {if I can.}

MORENA

I guess Jewel and I are going to do that together. {Uh uh, not anything from here.} Um, I'm going look {for} every help wanted signs that I can find. And uh.. that's it. And I'm having an independent movie coming out in the fall, so look out for that also, {followed by Off Broadway.

SUMMER

Um... I'm gonna beg for an audition onto Nathan's movie. (Audience laughs.) {And after, I'm going on to movies where they kiss. I can't even think past that right now, it's been so well been fun making it and even...}

SEAN

Um, I hope to be in Nathan... Nathan's movie as well. Talk about that later. Umm... uh... I haven't thought... I... I don't know. Summer and I are talking about maybe going on the road-- maybe a circus act called the Flying Tam's. Right now, uh I... I plan to finish the movie and uh hope for great success so that part two come soon after.

RON

Just last week, I had the opportunity to sign on as the national chairman

(Morena, pretending to be hurt, leaves the gets up and walks off the stage. Joss then comes up to her and hugs her.) (To be continued...)

I transcribed to the best of my ability. Feel free to edit it. -minh