San Diego ComicCon International 2001 Trans
Joss Whedon Panel 
Sat. July 21st
12:30pm


Scott Allie introduces Joss Whedon . . . applause, applause, applause . . . 

Joss Whedon:	ìI just want to say a couple of things up front. First I want to thank Scott and everybody at Dark Horse for dragging me down here and for letting me do a comic book which Iíve been wanting to do since I was ten. And the guys I work with, Karl and everybody for making me look way smarter than I am. Iíve been having an extraordinary time with it and Iím really grateful to them for that. This is a big deal for me, Iím a huge comic geek -- and I donít mean geek of course (Laughter) I mean aficionado. This is a big summer for me in that respect and the other books he was talking about, Brett and I have been having a great time with Angel and Tales of the Slayers is going to be a landmark book I think, I really do. I should just up front say that I burned my hands with Lime ñ so that nobody has to ask cause I had to tell 400 reporters  this. Ah, donít rub Lime on your hands and then go out in the sun if you look like me because youíll start to bubble. So I think weíve all learned something here today, (Laughter) about citrus, so that was big. I hope people will have some questions about the book and about the show and about any particular thing they want to ask about. Iím telling you now, Iím not giving anything away. So all those of you that are about to stand up and ask if Buffy is going to get together with Spike or if Anyaís going to be a demon again or whether theyíre really gonna get married or any of that stuff. Just make yourselves comfortable in your chair ñ never gonna tell! So, having said all that, thatís it. I didnít actually come prepared with anything, as I never do, so hopefully there will be people with questions and they have mikes.î

As the audience members approached the stage, a Comic-Con staffer guided them to the mike area and asked them to bend down so the sitting audience could see. As he sat up on the dais watching this it prompted Joss with a little response to the goings on below him. 
JW:	ìYes, kneel!î (Laughter)

Audience Member:	Has there been any thought to an Oz TV movie of the week or a one-shot to explain what he did in the Himalayas or explore where that character goes?
Joss Whedon:	ìI believe that Dark Horse is actually doing a book about him in the Himalayas.î
Scott Allie:	We have a 3-issue comic series about what Oz did when he was in the Himalayas. That issue just came out.
JW:	ìYour dream will be answered in print. As far as Seth, heís like doing a dozen movies and what not and seems to have trundled off so we have no plans to bring him back right now but we rule out nothing. But right now he exists only in comic book form. I apologize for the voice, I hit puberty yesterday. (Laughter) My wife is very excited. Itís a whole new thing in our relationship.î

AM:	Are you going to be able to show crossovers in the future now that youíve switched Networks?
JW:	ìNot right away. Theyíre pretty adamantly against it and Iím not really for it myself. I believe that Angel needs to prove once and for all what Iíve known for a long time that it can stand on its own as a show, that itís got this great cast and extraordinary stories. Itís got itís own vibe and now itís got its own night and hey, Seventh Heaven! (Laughter) Seventh Heaven was the lead-in for Buffy when we first started and ya know, people like God and punching so Monday night they can have both.î

AM:	Was there anything in either show that didnít come across the way you wanted it to? And if you could change anything in either show, would you change it in hindsight? 
JW:	ìI think I really saw Buffy as a rather heavy set Asian man --  and I donít feel that Sarah captured that. (Laughter) A part from that, no. I would say that that is a question that the answer which is practically no. If I look back over 5-years I would say one disappointment that I had was that we never had enough money to make The Initiative look cool. No, sort of 5 guys with guns patrolling around a shrub for an entire season. (Laughter) ëSpikeís in the shrub! Just go to the scrub!í (Laughter) And that was ñ you know, we wanted to capture that very sort of antiseptic cool government, thereís-something-wrong-with-them, feel. And I just donít feel like visually we could do that and I think thatís the reason why that season had less impact for some people than it might have. But by in large everything that Iíve wanted to do has been realized on that show more than anything Iíve ever done, possibly anything I ever will do.î

AM:	Is the animated series still a go, is it still gonna happen?
JW:	ìAs of yesterday, the animated series is finally a go! (Applause) Itís been a long, grueling time and as my co-exec Iíve got the redoubtable Jeff Lobe running the show. A huge boom and people from my own staff have already turned in great scripts. Steve DeKnight and Jane Espenson have already done hilarious scripts, so weíre ready to go and weíre about to start drawing.î 

AM:	In the Buffy novels, are there plot elements that are not allowed to be written? I wonder if you have any laws about what canít appear in any kind of Buffy-verse.
JW:	ìWe donít have very strict laws about the books because we know up front that we control that. It was just that I couldnít possibly read them so we sort of let them exist a little bit on their own and there maybe some confluence or conflict with what happens in there. You know, we generally say, ëTry not to make it exploitive and donít make Buffy a wimp or a large Asian man.í (Laughter) Basically, they do sort of go on their own, theyíre careful about the mythology and what they feel is true to it but Iím not actually that aware of what theyíve done simply because it would be too much information and with the two shows, the animated show, the potential BBC spin-off and three different comic books, uhm, I sleepy.î

AM:	As a person producing and directing at the local theatre level what kind of suggestion do you have for someone like me to do what you do?
JW:	ìWell, I do a lot of things but if youíre talking about writing, Iím going to say something really clichÈ and obvious, you should write a lot. If itís about just producing and directing I donít know any other way to get into it other than the way I did which was to write. Which is actually a very bad way to get into directing because people laugh at writers when they want to direct. The two are very different and most people approach getting into Hollywood through a more technical level rather than establishing themselves at doing the same thing in a different venue, so thatís my non-answer.î

AM:	Since the showís switched to another Network, is it going to get darker now?
JW:	ìItís going to get more wrestlely. (Laughter) No, itís not going to change a bit. If it gets darker itís because me and the staff are in a dark mood and itíll pass, donít worry. But nothing about the show will change because of the Network. Itís just that the show will change because every year it does. But itís not a question of being in a different place. You know, weíre still Tuesday nights at 8 so weíre still the same old guys.î

AM:	In FRAY, did you model her after the Buffy in the episode, ëThe Wishí?
JW:	ìYou know, I really didnít, which means Iíve clearly run out of imagination. (Laughter) They are very similar, I didnít approach it from that way at all. Clearly I looked at her when we put it together and said, ëOkay, thereís some Faith in there, thereís some of that Slayer in there,í but Iím just gonna get so deep enough into her life that hopefully those will just be cosmetic similarities and nobody will notice that Iím a tired old hack. Thank you for bringing it up in front of 3,000 people! (Laughter) Thank you, hereís your free comic. No, the only difference ñ the real significant difference between Fray and Buffy in the alternate universe is that you can actually see Frayís scar.î

AM:	When will the rest of the US get Buffy and Angel on video tape as apposed to the rest of the world who can go in a store and get it whenever they want? (audience Shouts / Chants ìDVDís!î)
JW:	ìSo DVD is the thing? (Laughter) I donít have an answer to that. They told us ñ you know we all did commentaries on the episodes which are just really boring because they said for the DVD release and then they released it in England because when I was there they were selling them. But I think there may be some weirdness between the fact that itís coming out in syndication next year and they thought a DVD sale would hurt that or something, Iím not sure. All I know is thereís been no movement on it, nobodyís really told me anything and I keep forgetting to ask. So at this point I donít know when. Just come to England, itís pretty, theyíve got castles and funny teeth and DVD. Uh, Iím allowed to say people have funny teeth because I have tiny little yellow ones.î

AM:	Are there going to be seven seasons of Buffy or are there going to be eight or what?
JW:	ìThatís unknown. Weíre definitely contracted for seven. We definitely have stories for seven, we probably have stories for eleven. Weíll find out year by year. You know, I treat every year as though is were our last, just in case, but I donít think FOX has any intentions of getting rid of the show. And I donít think most of the actors are looking to leave but 2 years from now they might feel differently, you canít really tell. I do know that itís the kind of show that the ensemble is so strong, if you remove a piece the structure would still stand. We keep finding extraordinary new people like James and Emma and Michelle, so the show might have to evolve somewhat but I believe it will go on just as long as we can pick up pencils.î (Applause)

Andy Hallett:	Putting aside, James, Emma and Michelle I would like to know if the Host would appear on every cover of every one of your comic books (A ñ which drowned out the rest of his humorous, rambling, self-promotion) and Iíd also like to know if I could take you out for Chinese food? (Laughter)
JW:	ìI canít answer that question unless itís asked in the form of a song!î
AH:	(Andy wails on his famous high note) 
JW:	ìAndy Hallett, the Host!î (Applause)

AM:	I just wanted to know if youíd do The Dance of Joy for us? (Applause)
JW:	ìNo! It would be a Dance of Shame.î (Laughter)

Kara Vichko:	[Organizer of the Give Buffy an Emmy Campaign] Are you sending everyone to any sort of boot camp for the musical episode of Buffy?
JW:	ìFirst of all, the GBAE campaign ñ I finally got to see the ad that was taken out, which was beautiful and thanks everybody who was involved with that so much. It was such an incredibly  thoughtful and classy thing to do. And much like the FOX campaign, didnít work. Boot camp. No, some of them are getting coached, voice coaches, which I could use right about now, and we will have a choreographer. Weíll have rehearsals, weíll have a great deal of work to do. Itís going to be the hardest episode weíve ever filmed. But itís not like we clear a space for everybody all at once and go out of town for a few weeks with it. So weíre going to have to just sort of find the space where we can and theyíre all terrified and it makes me laugh.î (Laughter)

AM:	Are you doing any other feature film writing not associated with the Buffy-verse as you did before?
JW:	ìWell, Iím certainly not doing anymore rewriting! (Laughter) That part of my life is over. I am looking to make a feature because Iíve wanted to for some time and I have a secret weapon over at Buffy and sheís sitting right there and her name is Marti Noxon. (Applause) This next year she will be executive producer with me. That gives me a little bit more free time although I will still be doing Buffy in a big way. To start developing a film, I have a couple of things; an original in mind and something that Iím probably not suppose to talk about. But Iím definitely looking to make a feature and something will come out about it within the next few month when I figure out which one it is that Iím going to make.î

AM:	I was wondering what happen to the Dream Cast video game that was suppose to come out?
JW:	ìSo am I!î (Laughter)
AM:	And what would Lime juice do to a demon?
JW:	ìActually, it just makes you look like one. Very little, they would laugh. They would say, ëHa-ha lime juice!í î (Laughter)
AM:	And would Buffy be really good at the Buffy video game?
JW:	No, I donít think so. I donít think sheís ñ I think she would die right away, like me.î

AM:	I work in Literary Management and every other day I get writers who want to get a spec out to Buffy and some are really very good. I was wondering if Mutant Enemy ever takes a look at them?
JW:	ìStuff is sent to me and the guys there do look at them. They usually canít accept scripts without an agent unless thereís a waver and thereís a whole deal but if stuff is sent to me I have guys there who will look art them. I donít generally because of the time factor, because there are a lot of them but they are sendable, it can be done.î

AM:	Have you ever wanted to do a cameo on one of the episodes?
JW:	ìYa know ñ ah yes and more even then just the Dance of Joy. (Laughter) No, actually I want to play Buffy. (Laughter) It was between me and the Gellar woman and they went a different way. (Laughter)  I think a lot of writers are frustrated actors which is very ñ and I donít say that as an insult ñ itís a very useful thing to be. I act out every part that I write and if it doesnít sound good in my mouth then it probably doesnít make sense so itís an important thing. So I do have a certain nagging desire to go out there but then I would see my face on a screen and all the joy would be sucked right out of me so if I ever did Iíd have horns again.î

AM:	Iíve been reading that Giles is to only be a reoccurring character on Buffy and heís going to have his own show and itís only going to be shown in England. Can you talk about that?
JW:	ìWell, you just did and thatís pretty much where weíre at. I am developing something for Tony to do for the BBC as Giles. Itís right now still in the developmental stages. We havenít made a deal but I think itís going to happen. And right now itíll only be shown on the BBC because their series run about 6 a year and so there really isnít an American venue for it. I have a feeling there will become one because things are getting so funky. So I believe if we make it to be shown in England it will find its way here fairly rapidly. So worry not, but I think weíre looking to shoot that sometime maybe in the Spring as a Pilot and then see so itíll be awhile before it goes down but it is gonna happen.î

Meloney Chadwick:	Coming from a family of writers did you find that made it easier or more difficult to become a writer yourself?
JW:	ìIíd have to say easier because, you know, the people I grew up with were extremely witty and I was surrounded by comedy writers my whole childhood and you sort of fall into it. You fall into those patterns and I understood the world of TV. Iíd seen production and stuff like that as a kid ñ it was sitcoms so it was different then what I do but I knew enough about it. And I knew if I wrote a script I could get an agent to look at it, which is more than a lot of people can so I had some advantage from that. So definitely that was a plus.î

AM:	Can you talk about rewriting other peopleís work and what that experience was like?
JW:	ìWell, have you ever been in prison? (Laughter) Iíll just briefly because I could basically bore you to death for hours. It could be a lot of fun, it could work out in a situation if you have a good story with a bad script that you can make better and people who know that itís better, then film it. That can be fun. But generally speaking when youíre working as a rewrite guy nobody pays attention to anything you say and very often anything you write and itís the most frustrating thing in the world. Itís great practice for running the show, where you have to do a lot of rewriting even when you have great writers. And I do less and less now because my stable of writers is the best that there is. But when you come into the movie late and you have all of these things that must happen, ëYou know we bought the boat, there has to be a boat. Weíve hired Dennis Hopper, thereís nothing you can do.í (Laughter) You put them together and you find out whatís missing, what works and it really lets you look at a script a certain way thatís very useful when youíre putting out 22 of them a year. So itís a great training ground, it is not a great job.î

AM:	Any chance of bringing back Lindsey? I always liked him, heís kinda like Angelís Lex Luthor. I liked the whole play on the kind of like Draculaís Van Helsing ñ the vampireís the good guy and the humanís the bad guy. I liked the whole spin on it too.
JW:	ìWe like Lindsey a lot. He falls under the category that Eliza and Marc Blucas and a bunch of our guys that weíd like to see again, and Seth fall into which is theyíre making movies all the time. We find when we can get them we do. I think weíll definitely see Lindsey next year, but I have no idea when.î

AM:	 Last season on Buffy you sprinkled the entire season with weapons that you could use in the final episode to beat up on Glory. And in the second to last episode, Spike cheerfully points out that Glory is Ben, Ben is Glory, two people, one body. And when I saw that I was wondering, the weapon that was used in ëThe Real Meí to split Xander into two people, I was like, this is a weapon that Joss was going to use and when you didnít use it I thought you either ñ the story changed or I was just reading too much into the series. Giving you a little bit too much credit I guess.
JW:	ìNo, no - no! (Laughter) We had a plan and it when off brilliantly ñ ah, I gotta go! (Laughter) No, you know what? We never thought of that. (Laughter) (Applause) That would fall under the too much credit [category] again. You can sit with the FRAY girl!î (Laughter)

AM:	One concern that I and some of my friends have had with the show moving to UPN is that it seems that the WB has given you a large amount of leeway in stories you wrote to really stretch what can be done with television with things like Hush with the season 4 closer ñ the Dream episode. Do you have assurance from UPN that you are going to be able to continue such innovative work?
JW:	ìAbsolutely! And in fact, we would not be there if we didnít. They were as good as they could possibly be. Iíve known Dean Valentine for awhile, actually Iíve dealt with him before and heís a solid guy, he gets it. And what he said to me was, ëYou make the show, weíre paying you a lot for the show because of the way you make it. Weíre not going to start telling you how to do it.í And you know, the first thing I said was, ëWell, I got this musical! (Laughter) Itís going to be like a Broadway musical!í and expecting him to go, ëWhaaaa?í (Laughter)  and he was like, ëBring it on. Come on, give it to me.í He wants it all. No, they are absolutely on board. The only thing I worried about was, I said, ëYou know, we have a very specific relationship with Practices & Standards. We have [limits] with what we can do and what they are comfortable with. Thatís something that I want to make sure that the relationship is as comfortable and as collaborative at UPN,í and he said, ëOh, we donít have that department.í (Laughter) (Applause) And I said, ëThen weíre gonna get along just fine!í î (Laughter)

AM:	I just have a question about Buffy being dead now.
JW:	ìWhat!?î (Laughter)
AM:	Will there be another Slayer born? Is that possible?
JW:	ìWell, Iím working under the assumption that the line now runs through Faith and thatís what weíre working on the show. However, if we come up with a really, really good idea -- I never said that! (Laughter)

AM:	I know youíve written the story arc many years in advance for Buffy and I know you have a really great stable of writers but how much leeway do you give them? Are they allowed to come up with their own ideas?
JW:	ìWhaaaaa-haaaa, Never! Theyíre drones! (Laughter) We actually have 5 of them here and theyíre gonna beat the shit out of me when I get done. (Laughter and Applause)
AM:	But do you object to maybe some things that they might bring up?
JW:	ìNo, we go over ideas, everybody pitches. The way we come up with stories is we all get together in the room and we start throwing things around and we say, ëOkay, what do we need to feel about ñ where do we need Buffy to be emotionally, how do we reflect that,í or ëWhat character havenít we serviced for awhile, or what could we do with them,í or something like that and everyone kicks around ideas and it takes a really long time and finally something starts to ping. So everybodyís in there, itís totally collaborative at that level and we map out the entire story together, beat for beat. So that when a script comes in we already know that the story works and we donít have to go back to the drawing board when theyíre about to film it. Every now and then we all write a script and look at it and go, ìWell, it seemed good when we outlined it but now it is sucky.í But that happens very seldom compared to other TV shows. Any idea that works that I didnít have to think up myself is a good thing. And Iíve worked for people for whom thatís not the case, for who just need, ëI want all the credit, I want,í not all the credit but, ëI want to do everything. I want to rewrite everything, I want to have every idea,í and I think writers as talented as mine would have quit by now if that were the case on Buffy so I think maybe the process works pretty well.î

AM:	I wanted to compliment your body of work and writing. I noticed when the show Angel was created, it seemed as though some elements were taken from the Buffy crew, behind the scenes. Possibly the cinematographer may have gone from Buffy to Angel. I was wondering if something like that happens because it seemed like Buffy was hindered a little bit as a show.
JW:	ìI donít think it was hindered. (Laughter)  No, we had a few people on the Angel crew that had worked on Buffy but were actually promoted when they came on the Angel crew. Our cameraman on Buffy became the DP [Director of Photography] on Angel, one of the prop people became the Prop Master, stuff like that. But we didnít pilfer anybody from Buffy that we needed on Buffy because then Buffy would be hindered which we didnít want to do but apparently happened anyway.î (Laughter) (Sobs) ìAnd then they made me do a dance!î (Laughter)

AM:	Any plans for Faith in the near future?
JW:	ìItís the same thing, itís not that I donít want to say, itís that we donít know and we plan so far in advance we canít really build story arcs around people not knowing if theyíre going to be around. So when we talk about Eliza or somebody like that we say, ëWell, okay letís think of a one-episode stand alone that we could plug in somewhere with a few modifications and then find the right time. Thatís sort of our mandate for that but weíre so busy working out the arc of the entire season that we seldom actually get around to doing that but Iím dying to see her again, I think sheís cool!î

AM:	Now that the shows are on two separate stations do you have any idea what the new time slots are going to be next season?
JW:	ìAll I know is that UPN is planning to show Buffy at the same time, 8 oíclock on Tuesdays and that Angel is at 9 oíclock on Mondays. It may be different on certain regions or certain Canadaís but thatís as much as I know.î

AM:	(Shouted from the back of the room) We love you Joss!
JW:	ìOkay, who said that? ëcause youíre the best! Free comic for that guy.î

AM:	The last episode of Buffy to me was ñ 
JW:	ìHindered?î (Laughter) 
AM:	-- was a hard episode to deal with. I felt like my first love, when I got the axe from her, and I was just like, ëOh my God.í 
JW:	ìWell, thereís nothing like that feeling when your first love -- when she chases you with an axe.î (Laughter)
AM:	That kind of heart-broke feeling that you get when your first love breaks up with you and youíre just sitting there and you have this empty feeling. I was sitting there screaming at the television and my wife came out of the bedroom and went, ëWhatís wrong?í and I went, ëThey killed Buffy, I canít believe that!í And I donít think Iíve gotten really that emotional over a program and I just wanted to commend you and your writing staff and the actors for intricate characters  . . . (applause drowns out rest of comp)
JW:	Our mandate was . . . make them cry! Make them all cry! And I donít know if it worked, but we watched it and we all cried!

AM:	Is there any plans to bring back the Buffybot? I love the Buffybot!
JW:	(Laughter and Applause) ìWell, sheís ever so slightly headless but you know --  and I donít know if I can get the actress. Sheís doing movies. But we like the Buffybot too and weíre throwing around a couple of ideas because sheís pretty funny.î (Laughter)

AM:	You had great dynamism on the show with bringing back actors to reprise characters; I was blown away with the Apocalypse Now bit from the Dream episode.
JW:	ìYou know, Armin Shimerman as Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now is one of the greatest moments of my career!î (Laughter and Applause)
AM:	And as a great compliment to you as a director because I take it because thatís not in anybodies contract, they do that because they enjoy being part of your process.
JW:	ìWell yeah, ah we do pay them. (Laughter) I think most of the people who work on the show get a pretty good feeling from it because itís, I embarrassingly say, itís a pretty happy place to work. And Armin was a dream, Harry Groener who played the Mayor, guys like that, you know they are always perky and fun when they show up again. Theyíre never resentful that I had them eaten by something or blown up or chased with an axe or any of that stuff we all go through. (Laughter) Itís a very good feeling and Iíve gotta give a huge shout out to the beautiful and delightful Kristine Sutherland (Applause) who, not only took the bad new she was to die really well  but laid there for eight days while we shot it and was just wonderful about it. I miss her.î
	(Shout from the crowd) Bring her back!
JW:	ìWe canít bring everybody back.î (Laughter)

AM:	In the first few years of Buffy there was a underlying subtext of sexuality and sexually transmitted deceases and for Angel youíre really dealing with discrimination and racism and genocide as times. I was wondering if you pull off this BBC series with Giles what will the underlying subtext of this be?
JW:	ìYou know, I look at the BBC series as a different entity. I think of it more as a kind of a mystery series with monsters in it. Not kick boxing demons, more like classic English ghost stories and apparently those are good. But if I had to choose a word it would be ëlonelinessí. Because I think of it as the people who live there, itís all very isolated and the demons that theyíve brought upon themselves as sort of, not companions but the things that are most important in their lives and I want to play Tony as that sort of -- he himself has been gone for many years. He was surround by a family, a defacto family that he no longer has and him picking up his life all alone and then getting involved in the sort of underbelly of other peoples lives and sort of finding out about them. Loneliness is really what I think of. It may not be the theme so much as the emotional intent of the series. But thatís what really attracts me to it the most.  (Applause)  If you could just clap during at every awkward pause. (Laughter) 

ìAre there more questions? I saw you raise your hand before and you reached up really high but then you gotta like come around, you gotta follow through, you gotta commit. Make yourself known ñ and donít say hindered. (Laughter) That poor guy, I mean, I totally -- now I feel bad.î

AM:	I was wondering if when Buffy ever ends do you ever plan to do movies on Buffy?
JW:	ìYou know, itís an open book. I love the idea that the show ends and then we start making incredibly expensive feature films with all of my cast. Really big and wide screen and all that coolness but like with every season we donít know what will happen next, so thereís no movement. Everybody always asks, Iím like,  ëThatíd be cool,í but we really wonít know until it happens.î

AM:	Did you write the series premiere for UPN or did some of the other writers?
JW:	ìMarti Noxon and David Fury wrote it together because weíre starting with a 2-hour extravaganza and we just started filming it the day before yesterday and I think itís really cool but Iím bias.î

AM:	Will Amy ever become something besides a rat? (Laughter)
JW:	ìIíve been asked this before, I promise to turn her into a Gazelle this year. (Laughter) No, weíre bringing Amy back, weíre going to de-rat her. Iím not sure when, Iím not sure how but weíre gonna do it. Elizabeth deserves it, you all want it, weíre gonna see her again!î

AM:	I was wondering if youíve ever played the Buffy board game by Parker Brother?
JW:	ìAh, no I havenít. Is it fun?î
AM:	Itís a lot of fun!
JW:	ìCool. Now are there two?î
AM:	Yeah, thereís two different ones.
JW:	ìThereís a simple on and then like a role-playing one right? Sort of complex and role-playie? Okay, my staff tried to play it and they couldnít! (Laughter) (Applause) They couldnít figure it out! Theyíre not big role-players, but or thatís what they tell me. But, no they were like -- they couldnít quite figure it out. Then the other one, they had more fun with it. (Laughter) So I guess one of them is a die-hard role-playing class and the other is a regular board game but I donít have them. They donít give them to me, Iím hindered!î (Laughter)

AM:	Do you have any plans of filming or producing in High-Definition with any of your shows?
JW:	ìThatís really a studio decision. Iíve seen footage in High-Def video that it think looks wonderful. Iím not against it. Every Director of Photography has a different opinion about it and I think when it happens it will happen across the board. Theyíll bring down the mandate, ëWe know a way to make this cheaper.í Right now itís not quite cheap because you have to make all these changes to do it. So theyíre sort of ñ the studios are iffy. Iím comfortable just shooting on film so Iím not pushing for it but I have no problem with it. I think itís the way of the future, itís just a question of how soon the future is gonna come.î   (Big Applause ñ Cheers)

JW:	ìI just want to say I really appreciate you guys coming out here. Iím just looking at a room full of people who really care about what weíre doing and it helps us to keep doing it. And after five years thatís not nothing! Iím also really glad that all of you are clearly such die-hard comic book fans (Laughter) but I do again want to thank Scott and Dark Horse for giving me the opportunity on FRAY and bringing me out here so I could see you guys. I make a lot of jokes and I donít prepare and I didnít even bring my voice this time but it means a lot to me to be here and thank all of you!î  
(More Applause and Cheers)     

End