I've just posted this at the Buffyguide forums too, apologies for any repetition...
Buffy round table II
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is soon to mark its 100th episode in what will be the most highly anticipated event in the show’s history. In our latest ‘round table’ conference, Dreamwatch’s Jenny Carrillo discusses the evergreen series’ past and future with Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Alyson Hannigan (Willow) and creator/producer Joss Whedon, and what it has meant to be part of a cultural phenomenon.
Dreamwatch: Joss, congratulations on your Emmy nomination for last season’s ‘Hush’. Did it feel like a validation, having been doing the show for four seasons?
JW: It was nice. I thought that ‘Hush’ might be the one episode that people would notice. I knew I was not going to win. On this show we don’t think about it because this is never going to be Emmy bait, even though I think it is incredibly brilliant.
Do you think the show’s title has anything to do with that?
JW: Well, the WB was worried about that when we first started. They said they loved everything but the title. I stuck to my guns and said that the title had to stay because [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] is what it is about. It has comedy, drama, action and horror in the title. The network was worried about alienating people. I believe that if the title alienates people then they probably should not watch anyway, but that’s their loss.
Since you are with Warner Brothers you do not rely on ratings to keep going, so you could do this forever. Do you foresee the story ever getting stale or you getting bored?
JW: You know, there is a certain amount of exhaustion after doing the show for five years. But at this point there is no-one who is phoning in, nobody is falling apart, nobody is just picking up a paycheck. Everybody is still excited about it. The writers are still excited every time we break a story, and as long as that is the case then we will have a show. We will never run out of stories. You can’t, really. These characters are too interesting, and life is too painful and strange.
Anthony Stewart Head (ASH): When I went back to England the first year and took a tape of the show with me and I showed my agent, she said ‘Yes, it is very cool, but where can it go? I can’t see it lasting more than a year.’ I said ‘I think Joss has a few things up his sleeve but I’m not sure.’ Now, in its fifth year, the show constantly reinvents itself and I think that’s a testament to Joss’ imagination. About halfway through the season he’ll get excited about what he is going to do to all of us next season. It is wonderful to work on a show that does not feel stale or anywhere near its end. While Joss has something to say, the show will always be very, very strong.
Alyson Hannigan (AH): And the more exhausted he becomes, the more original the stories become. So we all call him in the middle of the night and wake him up!
Do you read the whole script when you get it or just your part for the week?
ASH: Every time I get a script it is like the first time - I just get blown away, sometimes more than others, but I always get excited by getting a new script in my hand. Sometimes it’s because we know we are filming the next day and I can’t wait to find out what we are filming.
You don’t narrow it down to your part?
ASH: Not really. I mean, the current script I’m looking through I see I’m not in it very much, but that’s okay. Ultimately it’s more about the fact that it’s still exciting, I still get off on it.
What do you believe is the show’s strength?
ASH: The writing.
JW: I think it is the writing, the characters. It is half of each. The characters have so much to offer, they are so engaging. People care so much what they are going through, and as long as the writers know that the actors are up to anything, then they can change and they can grow. And as long as it doesn’t get boring and we are keeping it fresh then, to me, that is the most important thing. I think that is what people really latch on to . Monsters they like but these characters they love, and it is the same way with the writers - we all love their voices. So it is a drama with some horns, some fangs.
How does it work? Is there one writer that comes up with the idea and everyone else writes about that one thing?
JW: No, we all talk about an idea. I come up with a lot of them and just sort of put them out. We have a basic structure for the season. We know here is where Angel has to go bad, here is where Oz has to leave...
Whatever it is we build toward these big bench posts, so we track these things and sort of break the story together. We do a very big outline, figure out every beat, and then one writer will go and write it. Then, when he/she is done, I will take a pass at it, but much less now than at the beginning because we have such a strong staff.
How long does it take to write an episode, and how long from the time you shoot it to the time we see it on television?
JW: Well, it takes a few weeks to write, eight full days of about twelve to fourteen hours of shooting, and a few weeks to edit. Once the middle of the season comes, however, they start airing it faster than we can make them, hence I have written some shows in two days and I have also written shows we are already filming. I sort of hand them pages every day.
AH: We get a very detailed outline, just no dialogue.
How do you draw the line between scary and absurd?
JW: Well, you know, we go overboard a little bit. We sort of veer drunkenly from one to the other. One week will be completely farcical and the next will be completely creepy and the next will be sappy and dramatic and sweet. As long as we do all of those things, we will never do too much of one.
What are you scared of?
ASH: I do not know what I am afraid of. I am scared of my imagination. My imagination is worse than anything that can actually happen.
AH: I guess I am not really scared of death. I am more scared of the pain that leads up to death. That is my biggest fear, probably. That and spiders. Spiders that don’t have trainers, that is. When they are on the set they are fine. They are fuzzy and cute. But when they are in my house, I just want them to leave!
Does anything spooky or funny ever happen to you on set?
JW: There is not a lot of funny, spooky stuff. There is mostly just having to work really hard.
AH: I scare Tony pretty much every day.
ASH: Every day!
AH: .. because our trailers are lined up next to each other and my window faces his door to enter the trailer...
ASH: I made the mistake of telling her that my daughter, Daisy, likes to make me jump...
AH: .. so every time he walks by, he can’t see in but I can see out and I just scream his name really loud and he always gets a startle! Then he started getting used to me screaming his name so I just started screaming. It was really very amusing for me...
ASH: Yes, it keeps Alyson very happy...
AH: I think I am keeping him young!
ASH: Yes, my heart is basically like leather now because it has gotten tough thanks to her!
AH: If you ever read that he dies of a heart attack on set, it is probably my fault.
Anthony, how many children do you have?
ASH: I have two daughters. They are very beautiful. Alyson has spent some time with us at our home so she knows what I miss.
JW: I miss it too.
AH: Amazing - I don’t know how he comes here...
JW: I would not do this crappy show if I had his beautiful family!
Do you all spend time together when you are not working?
ASH: We do, but Sarah (Michelle Gellar) does not always have a lot of time to spend. I mean, she works more than any of us on the show, so when she has free time sometimes she comes out with us, but not a lot.
AH: I always think of us as like brothers and sisters. You know, sometimes you are really close to one person and then you get tired so you move on to another person but it’s not like you don’t love that person. You just don’t want to play with them anymore. Alexis Denisof [Wesley on ‘Angel’] would not date me while we were working together, so once he moved shows we began to see each other.
Joss, do the actors often come to you with their own ideas for episodes?
JW: Everybody wants to kill things, die, be evil, come back, be a vampire. That idea has come from every cast member.
ASH: I have pitched a couple of ideas and Joss, ever-so-sweetly, smiled and went ‘No, no.’ But he did tell me why on both occasions, and on both occasions I could see his point. What is more interesting is the fact that you find your character developing in ways that strangely parallel your own life. If you are going through something or are insecure about something, suddenly your character develops all sorts of insecurities, and you think to yourself how strange it is that art imitates life.
JW: Well, a lot of it has to do with the fact that I spend most of my time with these guys, and some of their real life works its way into the script. I mean, not just how they think and speak, but in the way they develop, the ways they are manic. The conversations usually are not so much about plot as they are about characterization. They work on an emotional, sub-textural level.
What about the rumours of Britney Spears being on ‘Buffy’?
JW: It is possible. She and I are really good friends and there have been some talks. There was interest expressed, and I have an episode in mind that she would be good for. We have to work around her schedule, but even if she drops out the story still works. It is still a ‘Buffy’ story and somebody else can fill it. I hear rumours about all sorts of people wanting to do the show and they’re not true. This is a real one, but it’s just a question of scheduling.
Do you all believe in evil and hell?
JW: I believe in evil and I have a lot in me, but I do not believe in hell.
ASH: Definitely. There’s black and white, there’s good and bad. As far as evil and hell is concerned, I actually believe in reincarnation, and I think hell is basically when you have had a bad time here on Earth.
AH: Yeah. I definitely believe in evil. Not quite as vividly as on the show, but I have always maintained the philosophy that I will never say that evil does not exist, because I don’t need some creature trying to prove me wrong!
ASH: The show hasn’t changed my attitude, although in the time I’ve been doing it things have happened in my life to sort of reaffirm and reassure me. I met a good fir end, who is psychic, who’s told me all sorts of interesting things. That was reaffirming, and as you go through life and experience it and open yourself to it and allow changes, it makes an interesting learning experience rather than blocking yourself off and saying ‘No, I don’t believe in this.’ That is the way I am. You don’t go anywhere, you don’t learn anything, and life just becomes treading water.
So you are more open-minded now?
ASH: I definitely believe in an afterlife - I’ve got a spirit in my house and all sorts of stuff going on.
Are you kidding?
ASH: No, she’s a little girl. Bangs about a bit when she gets a little unsettled and makes quite a lot of noise.
AH: Are you sure it’s not one of your little girls?
ASH: No, because we’ve had a couple of friends who have seen her, and one of my daughters has seen her. We think she’s late Victorian. The house is in the west of England and the front part was built in 1813. We don’t worry too much because she’s a gentle spirit.
AH: That’s so scary. I love that story. I conveniently forgot that when I was staying with Anthony and his family!
Alyson, can you top that one?
AH: No, I’m afraid I can’t... Well, there is this huge cemetery on Sepulveda and Wilshire [Boulevard in Los Angeles] and for some reason I’ve always been spooked by that cemetery and I was taught to turn your radio off when you pass by. I never did for others, but I did it for this cemetery. One time I was with my boyfriend and two other people and we were [running] late, and right there at a stoplight he had turned off the radio out of respect for me, but he turned it back on again briefly just to see the clock and it wouldn’t go on. Then we drove past and turned it back on and it was fine. That’s my little girl story!
Buffy factoids - Joss Whedon
* Joss Whedon seems to have been bitten by the comics bug of late. Not only is he working on ‘Fray’ - an eight-issue mini-series documenting the emergence of a new slayer in a futuristic dystopia, where vampires aren’t the worst things on the streets, but he is personally reinventing the monthly ‘Angel’ comic to encompass concepts not achievable on TV. Whedon will also contribute to ‘Tales of the Slayers’ - a comic anthology from almost the entire ‘Buffy’ writing staff....
* Having enjoyed last year’s visit to the UK so much, Whedon will return this summer to guest at the Nocturnal 3K convention. Don’t rush to buy a ticket, though - the event sold out many months ago...
* Whedon draws heavily on his own youth when developing ideas for ‘Buffy’. The idea of a person literally disappearing because they have become so ignored - in season one’s ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ stems from a self-portrait he drew as a child depicting his hand fading away. Whedon reportedly believed that he was ‘invisible’ to people, and that no-one would ever love him. The image of the disappearing hand was also used in the episode. Whedon is now happily married and everyone loves him, so he needn’t have worried!
Buffy factoids - Alyson Hannigan
* In between completing work on the final season five episodes of ‘Buffy’, Alyson has found time to reunite with Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari and the rest of the gang to film a sequel to 1999's smash hit teen comedy, ‘American Pie’. What she will do with her flute this time round is open to debate.
* Also on the film front, 2001 should finally see the release of ‘Beyond City Limits’, a movie thought to be languishing in distribution hell since it was completed over two years ago. Hannigan’s boyfriend, Alexis Denisof, also features in this indie crime caper...
* Hannigan is a great collector of Beanie Baby toys. Whenever she appears at signings and events, fans always bring her new toys to swell her collection. Her favourite is reportedly Bongo the Monkey....
* Whilst it is well known that Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in controversial advertisements for Burger King at the age of four, Alyson began her TV career at the same age featuring in ads for arch rival McDonalds.
Buffy factoids - Anthony Stewart Head
* Anthony Stewart Head, always a talented singer, has recently embraced modern electronic music. Working with George Sarah, whose band THC performed at The Bronze in two season four episodes of ‘Buffy’, he has recorded what he describes as “an eclectic collection of mostly original compositions” for release this summer. Tracks from the album were recently performed by the duo at the ‘Buffy’ Posting Board Party in America...
* His tendency to improvise on set doesn’t always fit in with Joss Whedon’s master plan. For one encounter between Giles, Xander and Spike, during the season four episode ‘This Year’s Girl’, the actor played the scene as though he had just trodden in something nasty, which had actually happened the previous night whilst Head was out to dinner with James Marsters. Viewing the footage the next day, Whedon remarked “This is not a scene about cat poo!”...
* In October last year, Head joined in with the 25th anniversary celebrations for The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Las Vegas, having won great acclaim for his interpretation of Dr Frank-N-Furter in the UK stage show. Dressed in leather jacket, fishnets, high heels and full make-up, Tony performed several songs from the horror musical as part of the event’s celebrity karaoke evening. Amber (Tara) Benson also sang in the show, which was broadcast by VH-1 in America.
