Firefly

Jewel Staite (Kaylee) at DreamCon

Several Browncoats attended the DreamCon in Jacksonville, FL on June 12, 2004 to see Jewel Staite. The following is a transcript from her Q&A session on that day:

Jewel: ... wasn’t cool with the idea of bringing it to series elsewhere, who knows why, but um, there is talk of a sequel, there’s talk of a third. It all depends on the success of the first one. If a lot of people go and see it, a lot of people love it, and production was smooth and easy for them, then I’m sure there’ll be another one. So see it two times, four times. >>general laughter<<

Q: Is Joss gonna leave some things open then?? Or is he gonna... Jewel: Ummmm, yea. There’s a few things that aren’t solved. Umm, there’s a few mysteries left in the open. But not too many. I mean you’re not going to walk away going like "Well what was that?" But umm, there’s definitely enough ... a third... We’re happy to keep going.

Q: ...On the set of the Serenity ...

Jewel: Ahhh, it was very surreal. It kind of contained a spaceship. I mean, we forgot that we were on a set and we were like "Oh, should we meet you in the bridge?" or "Wanna have, you know, lunch in the foredeck?" or you know what I mean?? Like >>laugh<< it was it was it was really cool. Cause it was like a ship. It was very... It was all connected. And we had one floor that was, you know, engine room, hallway, kitchen, hallway, with little steps leading down to the bedrooms, and bridge. So it was all connected, it just made it feel very much like a real place. It was awesome.

Q: Is the new ship anything like the old one??

Jewel: Yes.

Q: They kept it the same??

Jewel: Yes. Somewhat. Umm, there’s a couple things that are different. It was tweaked a little bit, even though Joss didn’t want it to be. Umm, but, it looks good. It’s just looks, it’s just looks like we have a little more money and we, you know, we have a big studio behind us. >>general laughter<<

Q: Jobs were good.

Jewel: It just looks a little better, you know, I mean it’s not as... There’s a few things that are a little bit different in a very good way. You won’t be disappointed I hope. It looks great.

Q: ... Would you still be a fan and why??

Jewel: That’s a really good question. Yes I would. Umm, Kaylee’s my favorite character. >>general laughter<< I’m joking. Umm, it’s a great show, it’s about a family. I mean, everybody says that, you know, "What is the main theme of the show to you??" And I think it’s a show about a family. About dynamics between people. It’s not all about action, even though there is action. It’s not all about special effects, even though there are some. It’s about people. It’s about people that are forced to live together under extreme pressure. And umm, extreme situations. And it’s about how they learn from each other, and how they relate to each other. And I like stuff like that, so yeah, I think I would be a fan. I mean, I’m VERY biased in saying that, but I think I would, yeah.

Q: I was wondering, um, you said ...

Jewel: But uh, yeah, so it wasn’t difficult to create that chemistry at all. Luckily we all get along very very well. And everybody says that, a lot of people say that on shows and they don’t mean it, trust me, because, you know, they’re lying to you. But we do get along. And we love each other very much. And we are very trusting of each other, as people, not just as actors in "Oh I know what you’re going to do here and I’m glad you’re going to do that in this scene" but "I have this going on in my life and can I talk to you about it". Like we have really deep great relationships with each other. So umm when the series was canceled, uhh we all burst into tears. And it was very emotional. And when we filmed our last shot in the last episode, they yelled "Cut, Print" and we all kind of looked at each other. And Ron Glass was like ">>gasp<< Wahhh" and just started bawling. He was like the first one to totally break down. And we were like "Oh my God!" So we vowed to stay in touch and umm call each other at least once every few weeks just to see how we were doing. Morena was the maid of honor at my wedding. Nathan stood in as my husband’s best man. And umm, Alan filmed "I, Robot" in Vancouver where we live. And Morena filmed a series there. So, we spent a lot of time together and if we were in different cities... I mean Gina stayed in LA, and Ron was in LA, and Adam was in LA with his family. We just made a point to stay in contact, say hello, and so by the time we all got back together it was, it was easy, it was so easy. We were just like "Oh hey buddy!" You know, it was like no time had passed. So yeah, it was awesome. This is like the best cast I’ve ever worked with. This is like my 8th series, and the best by far. It’s always easy. It’s great to work with every single one of them individually. I’m always excited to a scene with Adam or Gina because we don’t have a whole lot of exchanges. But umm, it’s great. I mean I have a really special relationship with every single one of them and I say that very honestly.

Q: Do you think you would ever act like Kaylee out of the show??

Jewel: >>laughs<< Umm, well, I think Kaylee is very innocent. I think she has this childlike innocence about her that I don’t necessarily have all the time. I’m very sarcastic. My sense of humor is sick and twisted >>audience: YAY! clapping... laughter<< And Kaylee’s not like that. She’s such a sweet gentle soul that would never hurt anyone intentionally. She’s never in a bad mood. And she’s just so loving, and when she’s angry, she’d not even angry. She’s just sad. You know. And I can get angry, ask my husband - I can get angry. >>laughter<< Umm, so I think I’m a bit more sarcastic, sardonic person than Kaylee is.

Q: What did you think about Joss wanting you to gain weight for your role as Kaylee??

Jewel: I, I had broken my collar bone about a year before I got the part of Kaylee. And, when I broke that collarbone, I sat on my ass and ate for like 2 months. And I gained about 20-25 pounds. And once I was better and healed, I was like "Ok, I can’t fit into any of my favorite pants. What’s going on??" So I started working out, and I started doing yoga, and I really got into yoga, and I was really enjoying it. And I lost all the weight and I was feeling real happy. I was in the best shape I had ever been in. And then Joss was like "Yeah - can you gain 20 pounds??" >>laughs, general laughter<< I was like "God! Why?" I was in a jump suit and I was like "You can’t see anything. I mean I have a round face anyway, no matter what I do. But, like what’s the big deal??" But he just wanted her to be, he just wanted her to be round. He describes her as round. Round personality. She’s round, she’s got this round fullness around her. She’s so full of love, and happiness, and feeling. She’s so emotional. He’s like "I just see her as, you know, a voluptuous kind of woman." I was like, >>pause<< "Um ok." >>general laughter<< So, he gave me about 3 weeks... And, which is not a lot of time >>general laughter<< when you’re in your early 20s it’s hard to put that weight on immediately. Like it’s probably not gonna be like that forever for me, but uhh, it was difficult. So I ate a lot of cheeseburgers and french fries and piled on the calories, didn’t work out. And I was very tired at first. I just felt so full and bloated. And I was just like "Ugggh, oh God! This is just horrible." And Nathan would come up to me and I’d be at Kraft Service eating a donut. And he’d be like "How ya doing??" I’d be like >>rolls eyes<< "I’m so full!" I was full all the time. For the movie, Joss was like "You know what?? You’re Kaylee. I’m not going to give the part to anybody else. So, don’t worry about the weight gain thing. You can do what you want." And I was like "Alright! Cool. Thank you. Appreciate that." So now I can just eat what I want and when I’m full I can stop. It’s nice.

Q: I lied when I said I wasn’t going to ask you a question, I lied. The producers of one of your other series, Higher Ground, recognize that your character Daisy can sing beautifully. Will they recognize ever that Kaylee can also sing beautifully?? Cause if you folks don’t know, Jewel has a beautiful singing voice.

Jewel: Welllll. Ummm, I haven’t sang in a loooong time. I don’t know how beautiful it is right now. >>general laughter<< But umm, I don’t know, I don’t know if Kaylee has any hidden talents like that. I think that if she could sing, she’d be singing all the time. I mean I just see her as this person that would be open to something like that. I don’t think she’s that artistic. I think she’s more of a technical person. Her talents are more technical. >>inaudible<<

Q: You were saying how Fox doesn’t want it to go to any other network or anything like that. How long do they have the rights for umm say...

Jewel: 10 years. >>collective GASP<<

Q: 10 years??

Jewel: 10 years. But, it doesn’t say anything about the movies. So, we can do as many movies as we want. You know, I mean we can wait the 10 years, just keep making movies.

Q: You can make 3 or 4 movies in 10 years...

Jewel: Yeah, so, you know, I mean who cares. If I just hope they watch it and they’re kicking themselves. I hope they watch it and they’re like >>rolls eyes<< "Ohhh, now I get it" >>general laughter<< "That’s what they mean. I like the horses." >>more general laughter<< *reference to earlier question I didn’t tape referring to Fox not understanding why there were horses in the show*

Q: ...

Jewel: Doing this movie, I don’t want to take it for granted. You know, I want to remember it and savor it and just really enjoy every day as much as I can. Cause, nothing is like this show. And nothing is ever going to be like this cast. It’s just not going to be that way. I did Wonderfalls, Tim Minear’s other show, which should have a box set DVD coming out at some point in my life. Umm, and again it was like the cast didn’t hang out very much. There was no, you know, group lunches. Like we all go to somebody’s trailer for lunch and we’d hang out. And we’d watch a movie or we like made fun of each other whatever. We’d hang out. And they wouldn’t do that on other shows. And, you know, lunch time comes around and everyone like scatters. And I’m like "Anyone wanna have lunch??" Like, "Where you going??" You know?? So yeah, it’s difficult but can’t help but compare it to everything else.

Q: Hi Jewel.

Jewel: Hi.

Q: Thank you for coming here -

Jewel: Thanks for having me.

Q: And thank you for making Firefly what it is -

Jewel: Thank you.

Q: to you and the cast. And the crew of Firefly. And my question was -

Jewel: >>trumpet sound<< bumph bumph bumph bumph >>general laughter<<

Q: Are the characters in Serenity, I mean the movie Serenity, are they gonna change a lot from the beginning of the film until the end of the film??

Jewel: That’s a good question. I don’t think it would be a great movie unless we had all changed a little bit. Umm, there’s a lot of surprises. A lot of things happen that I was very surprised to read. Umm, I don’t think any of us change drastically. Like nobody becomes horribly evil or anything, you know. Nobody does one of those 180s and -

Q: Not even Jayne??

Jewel: does any crazy - Jayne’s just a jerk! >>general laughter<< He’s always going to be a jerk. And he’s great at being a jerk. So, yeah, he’s a jerk in the movie too. And, he does sh!t that you’re like "I can’t believe you did that!" You know, >>more laughter<< whatever! I mean, it’s all good. You want Jayne to be a jerk. Everybody loves to hate Jayne, you know.

Q: >>inaudible<<

Jewel: Yeah! Exactly! Like he’s like the comedic relief in a way. I would say the character that changes the most, or the character that we learn the most about River. Cause we need to know more about River.

Q: We need to know more about Ron’s character. >>general laughter<<

Jewel: Yes!

Q: What do you know about him??

Jewel: Yes, we do. Umm, I think, um, Book and River are the biggest mysteries. So, I can’t say much about it. But, I’m watching what I say here man! >>laughs<< Umm, but ah, yeah I think the biggest change will come from those two. And there’s some dynamics between characters that change as well. It’s a lot darker than the series. Joss was given free reign. And when he’s given free reign, he does what he wants. And he was like, "Mal’s not a sweetie. Mal doesn’t like..." You know like every episode Fox was like "We want people to be happy. We want the episode to end like ’What an adventure!’ And, you know everybody, to like, to hug and get along." Joss was like "That doesn’t make sense! That’s not the characters. Mal is not that way. Like, he’s not forgiving like that. He’s not trusting like that." He just hated that part of it. He hated trying to have to compromise stuff, and umm, yeah, so we all change a little bit. But I can’t say a whole lot.

Q: Who exactly did you play on Wonderfalls??

Jewel: I played a horrible woman named Heidi who is a Jersey girl. She’s a princess. She’s a brat. She’s used to getting what she wants. She’s the wife of the bartender in the show who’s supposed to end up with the lead character. You want him to end up with her, but then Heidi comes in and she’s like "I don’t think so!" >>waves finger<< And stirs up the pot. But, that was really fun to play. It’s always fun playing a bad girl, somebody who is just horrible.

Q: You were her??

Jewel: I was her! I had the big backcombed hair, and the long French manicured nails, and the push up bra, and the, you know, tacky outfit. I was in these tight jogging suits and high heels, and white fur jacket. And she’s just like... You know you just want to wring her neck. But, this is really fun!

Q: Hi Jewel.

Jewel: Hi.

Q: Now, in your regular life, do you ever catch yourself cursing in Chinese?? >>general laughter<<

Jewel: Umm, well we say >>biswaite??<< to each other which is "Shut up". >>general laughter<< Um but not really. It was so hard to memorize all that stuff, that I was just so happy to let go of it once it was over. >>general laughter<< And we all had a tough time. Morena is a genius at Chinese. She just has the mouth for it. You know it’s so hard to twist your lips around those words, but she’s really good at it. Alan is so awful at Chinese. >>general laughter<< So awful! He has never got it right! He’s just speaking gibberish there. It’s not what’s scripted. He just makes it up, and it’s hilarious coming from him.

Q: It was interesting because it seems that Wash seems to be the one who speaks it the most.

Jewel: Yeah, he was always like "Damnit! I got more Chinese!" >>general laughter<< Like he’d read a script and he’d be like "Oh my God! You’ve got to be kidding me!" >>general laughter<< You know, so >>laugh<< it was always the running joke that Alan had like all the tough Chinese stuff to say. And he does in the movie too. And just he like, he’ll just make it up you know. Like he’ll try and say a line to you off camera. He’ll just like "Daaa...>>goofy Chinese<< ..." >>general laughter<< And he’ll be like, and he’ll break out if it and you start laughing because you’re just like "What are you doing?! Is that difficult?" But yeah, it’s hard. Chinese isn’t easy at all, especially when you have to mean what you say.

Csteinme: Hi, um, some of us post on the Firefly online board, and Adam posts there quite a bit. And he’s very much into the political threads and I was wondering >>BIG eye roll from Jewel<< does that carry over on the set, or do you hear about his board postings or does he go on about it -

Jewel: When he goes off about politics >>pause - general laughter<< everybody runs! And he loves to argue. He’s one of those people that loves to argue and will keep arguing with you until they think they won. So what you have to do is let him think he’s won. >>general laughter<< He and Alan and Gina get into the most heated discussions about politics because they are in/completely disagree with him. And he loves having these conversations with Alan just because Alan is so easy to provoke. >>general laughter<< He’s a very dramatic person. He, you know, he’s always like "Ohhh God! I can’t believe you just said that!" You know what I mean?? He gets so heated that - and Adam just sits back and laughs! >>general laughter<<

Csteinme: He likes to stir the pot on the boards too.

Jewel: Oh my God! He loves it! He loves to stir the pot about everything. He’s just that guy. So I’m sorry about that... I’m sorry he’s doing that.

Csteinme: No, he’s fun! He’s fun! No he’s fine - he’s nice.

Jewel: That’s good. But yes, it carries over on the set all the time. As soon as he’s like "Well you know Bush..." everybody’s like >>makes like she’s leaving<< >>lots of general laughter<< leaves. We’re like "Anyway..."

Csteinme: I wonder if he gets some of his arguments from the board and carries it over??

Jewel: Yeah, I don’t know. He argues with everybody about it. The hair people, the cast, anybody he can. If he can argue with you he will. He just loves to argue, loves it.

Q: When you’re working on a show like Firefly. That’s got a high profile to it and a very high fan base. And it’s a show that’s shrouded in secrecy as far as the development and you know the movie and things like that. How much about your own character are you told about ahead of time and when you’re not told things, is it hard to - like do you ever feel like the writers are keeping things from you and it’s affecting the way you’re playing the character working in an environment like that??

Jewel: Yeah, it’s always a surprise. I mean especially when you’re working on a series it’s a surprise because you don’t get a script until you’re about to shoot. You get it - sometimes you get it the night before you’re supposed to start shooting the next episode. Which is really hard, you know, especially when you’re shooting out of order too. Umm, because those dynamics and things that happen sometimes carry off into other episodes and you have to remember that "Oh I’m mad at Jayne for this" or whatever. And that’s difficult. But umm, they never go too crazy. And sometimes they’ll warn you ahead of time. They’ll be like "So a few episodes from now, Kaylee’s going to be having sex in the engine room - da da da da da." >>general laughter<< You know and like warn you about it. And kind of like "Oh! Ok. Oh, whatever." I guess you can say, you know, I’m not comfortable with that but they’ll probably be like "Who cares!?" >>general laughter<< But, yea, it’s not too bad. I mean, especially with the movie. We all know so much about our characters at this point, that uhh, it’s a breeze. We all know how to act with each other and, you know, Sean and I are like over making lovey-dovey eyes at each other - ok yea - we’re used to that. That’s all we ever do. So, ok. But ummm, nothing’s coming as a huge surprise. There’s a couple things that happen in the movie where I was like "Oh my God! Wow! That’s umm, that’s gonna change everything!"

Q: Don’t tease us like that! >>general laughter<<

Jewel: I was really shocked! But umm, yea, it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be interesting to see everybody’s reaction.

Q: Uh, do you have any favorite cast stories from filming??

Jewel: I have a lot! Umm, like, outtake stories?? Or just -

Q: Anything funny that happened on the set??

Jewel: Umm, Nathan uh, likes to make up songs about people. And he plays the guitar, but he only knows like a few chords. >>general laughter<< So it’s always the same song, it’s just with different words. >>general laughter<< And I had a whole week where I didn’t say anything in the movie, like in the middle of a couple weeks ago last week whatever. Umm, I didn’t say a word, and I was in all these scenes like >>eye rolls, looks around with facial expressions<< reacting, and I didn’t have anything to say. And I was like "When do I get to SAY something!?" And, umm, he was making up this song it’s called "Jewel’s First Day at Work". And he was like >>singsong<< "Joss told you to come in and look pretty, but say nothing, say nothing". >>general laughter<< And then he had one about Morena. And he was like >>singsong<< "Morena just sits on her ass and tries to get by with her looks, but you’re not that pretty, you’re not that pretty..." >>lots of general laughter<< And we were like dying laughing, we were just like tears streaming down our face. And Morena of course was laughing the hardest. But umm, Nathan is usually the one that comes up with the jokes and the funny bits. Like he’ll ask for one take for himself at the end of it. He’ll be like "Can I have one for me??" Joss will be like "Yeah, sure man." He’ll be like "Do we have time, can I have one for me??" "Yeah, absolutely." "OK." And he’ll go like he’s preparing something, and he’ll come back and do the whole scene drunk. >>general laughter<< >>drunken, rolling eyes<< "Djyou wanna know about the Reeevers?? Djyou wannna know??" >>lots of general laughter<< Like, he’ll keep going. Like, it’s not over. You know, and it keeps going and going. And as long as someone is laughing at him, he’s encouraged. >>hi-larious general laughter<< So it’s just like "Oh my God!" And he has this thing about giving me the finger. >>general laughter<< And since the very beginning of the series, we’ve been inventing new ways to give each other the finger. Like >>puts down microphone... Put’s fists together... Right hand does wind up motion, left hand fingers slowly goes up<< >>general laughter<< Or like he did one where he was showing me a magic trick where he had like this ... >>puts fist up<< and he put a scarf over it >>other hand waves over the fist<< and lifted it up and went like that. >>lifts hand, fist has finger up<< >>lots of general laughter<< Umm, and it just like went on and on and on and on. So I decided I was gonna get him back really really good. So Valentine’s day rolled around, and I had umm I wrote a letter with a poem as if it was from this psychotic fan. >>general laughter<< You know "Roses are red, violets are blue, you don’t know me, but I know youuuuu..." >>general laughter<< Like, really creepy. And I dropped it off at his house >>general laughter<< as if someone knew where he lived. >>general laughter<< So, his girlfriend, who I know really well, was sitting there at home with him when he checks the mail. And he’s like "What’s this??" And it’s got kisses all over it. And he’s like "That’s weird..." He opens it, he reads the letter. There’s another little envelope in with the letter, but he reads the letter first. And he reads it, and he’s like "Oh my God! Oh my God - this is serious! Joan! This is serious! Oh my God!" And then he >>laughs<< and then he open the other envelope and it’s a picture of me doing this. >>Jewel smiles with the finger up<< >>lots of general laughter - applause<< She said he laughed for like 10 minutes and he has it framed and sitting on his mantle. >>general laughter<< It was soooo great!

Csteinme: Hi, um, did you happen to see the banner that the fans sent to you -

Jewel: Yes!

Csteinme: And we have seen pictures of all the men... And I was wondering have they had a chance to take pictures of the women with the banner yet??

Jewel: Umm, not yet. We just, we’ve been shooting in the desert. And they, umm, hung it outside of our lunch tent. And, we were sort of noticing it and we’re kind of like "Oh what’s that??" And then I walked by and I was like "Oh my God!" And I read it and noticed what it was. So yeah, we haven’t taken any pictures of it. We broke our digital camera...

Q: >>inaudible<<

Jewel: It’s... it’s a... it’s... it’s a huge banner that talks about congratulating the Browncoats, and has all these sayings around all around it favorite Firefly sayings all around the whole banner. It was really sweet. It was really great. The attention we’ve been getting is very inspiring. It just propels you to work harder and to make it the best it can be. So it’s awesome, we looove that stuff.

Csteinme: Well, we appreciate y’all!

Jewel: Cool!

Aarchellion: Well, um speaking of the banner, umm, some folks that saw some of the, I guess, wardrobe that the people were wearing were wondering if it’s going to change alot from the movie from the show. Like it seems to be more modern or whatever -

Cyby1: Where are the suspenders??

Archellion: Yeah, where are the suspenders??

Jewel: Yeah, umm, there are suspenders. Umm, Nathan just doesn’t like wearing them so he takes them off whenever he has a break. Umm, Inara’s dresses had to be remade and redone because we had a whole new costume person so she kind of wanted to put her own little flair in everything. Umm, they’re not that different. They just look nicer. They just look like they cost more. And umm, they’re a little sexier. They’re definitely a little more fitted. And umm, the jumpsuit is like fitted, sexy jumpsuit instead of just being like, you know umm, material everywhere. But umm, it’s cool. I think it’s great. It looks really good. When we were all dressed in costume and we were all on set we were like "Wow!" Nathan was like "Everybody looks amazing! Except Summer..." >>general laughter<< But he was just joking. Summer looks fabulous too. We pick on Summer. >>general laughter<<

Q: How did you feel when they told you that they were making a Firefly movie??

Jewel: I was ecstatic! I was disbelieving, but I was ecstatic! I mean when somebody tells you something like that, you don’t want to believe it until you’re name is on the dotted line so to speak. You know, you don’t want to believe it until you sign that contract because you don’t want to get your heart broken. Umm, Joss called me to tell me it was finalized. And said he wanted to be the first to tell me, and they were sending me a script and when I got the script in my hands with my name on the front said Jewel Staite, I was like "WOW! We’re making a movie!" You know, it was very exciting, very emotional.

Q: Umm, what was your favorite episode when you were on "Honey I shrunk the kids" the TV show??

Jewel: Umm, definitely not the one where the bugs spit up on me - >>general laughter<< I didn’t like that one so much. Umm, I would say the first one.

Q: Oh, the mind reading one??

Jewel: Yes! That one. I would say the first one yeah, even though my hair looked terrible.

Q: I agree. >>general laughter<<

Jewel: He’s like "Yeah" >>nods head<< I went blonde. It will never happen again, I promise.

Wsteinme: Uh, what was your favorite episode of Firefly, and which was your favorite filming??

Jewel: My favorite episode to watch was "Object in Space" by far. I saw "Out of Gas", and I was like "That’s my favorite episode!" And then I saw "Objects in Space", and I was like"Oh my God!"It was - I just thought it was so beautiful. I just thought it was soooo different and beautiful. I loved everything about it. And that guest star that we had was a genius. And he was the nicest man, he was sooo sweet. And he was umm - he was such a great actor. And I love watching Sean, and I love watching Summer. And they had some really cool stuff to do in that one. So, I really like watching that one. My favorite one to film?? There was always a wonderful moment in every one of them. But, I would say "Out of Gas". I really liked, I really liked filming "Out of Gas". We had a lot of fun on that one. Umm, I got to do that great scene in the engine room. >>general laughter<< I love the way that scene was written. I was like "Oh my God! This is sooo great - this is hilarious!" Umm, Shindig was fun too. Anyplace we got to do something different was fun. So, I’ll think of more, I’ll think of more moments.

Q: Which member of the Firefly cast do you think would have been the villain on Angel that got canceled for next season??

Jewel: Umm, the villain on Angel?? Umm...

Q: ’Cause Nathan - he’s saying ’cause Nathan got to play a villain on Buffy and then Gina got to play a villain on Angel.

Jewel: Right.

Q: And Adam, Adam...

Jewel: And Adam.

Q: So you figure you know...

Jewel: Summer’s been on Angel too.

Q: Yeah, >>inaudible<<

Jewel: I would love to see Summer as villain though. I would love to see her do that, ’cause she is a crazy actress. She is just like so good I can’t even tell you how good she is. She is - just - she amazes all of us. We’re all just like >>whew<< Can learn from her. You know, she’s really incredible. So I would love to see her do something really great like that. Play a crazy villain.

Wsteinme: Who has the shortest amount of time on the movie because of other scheduling conflicts. Who aren’t we going to see the most of?? Or can’t you say??

Jewel: I don’t think I can say because I’d blow it for you. Because I want you to be really shocked. And you’re going to be if I don’t say anything. You’re gonna be like "Oh my God! I can’t believe that just happened!" But, yeah, there’s a couple, I’ll say that. There’s a couple of people that couldn’t be with us because of scheduling stuff.

Cyby1: Oh my God...

Jewel: >>general laughter<<

Cyby1: They’re going to kill off the Captain...

Jewel: >>general laughter<< It’s not Nathan I promise. It’s not Tightpants.

Q: You mentioned that you guys know everything about your characters now. Does Ron know all of Shepherd’s secrets??

Jewel: We guessed. Umm, maybe he was this or maybe he was an Alliance general or maybe he worked in the lab where they kept River or - He knows too much, he knows a lot. So umm, we’ve speculated and guessed and - Alan who writes scripts for the show, he used to like write episodes. He’d be like "So this crazy thing happens and Wash is in jail. He’s been in jail before and da da da da da." And Joss was like "No Alan, nooo." >>general laughter<< "Nooo." So he’s always trying to like come up with crazy ideas about what people’s back stories are. I’m sure Alan would go off on a tangent with that question.

Q: What episode of the X-Files were you in??

Jewel: Umm, it’s called "OOOBLIET" >>!?!<< It was uhh, about a girl who was taken from her home in the middle of the night by a psycho photographer who’s a obsessed with her. I was about 13, and he kidnaps me and puts me in a basement, takes pictures of me, and it’s very creepy. And umm, I try and escape, and he drags me back, and Mulder figures out where I am, and then he tries and - he drowns me in the river - but I don’t die. Mulder saves me. But umm, yeah, it’s cool.

Q: Thanks, that way I don’t have to go and watch it.

Jewel: Yeah, you don’t have to watch it. >>general laughter<< You don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to.

Q: We’ve got about 8 minutes left.

Q: How accessible is the movie going to be to people who haven’t seen the show??

Jewel: That’s a good question. Joss made sure that umm, anybody who had never seen the series would still enjoy the movie, would still understand. Which is hard to do. But it’s going to be a long movie.

Q: >>various<< Yay - all right - miniseries - etc.

Jewel: It’s going to be like 2 1/2 hours long. Umm, if it was up to Joss it would be a 6 hour movie.

Q: The flip side of that question is how much ground work do you think it retreads for people who are fans of the series?? I mean, how much of it for you reading the script were you like yeah we’ve been here before?? Did you ever feel it was stuff -

Jewel: I didn’t feel like it was redundant.

Q: No??

Jewel: No. I felt like the themes were there, and they were obvious. The theme between Kaylee and Simon, the theme between Mal and Zoe and Wash, umm, Jayne being the bad guy, you know. The theme between Inara and Mal. But, it’s different enough that I think you will really enjoy it. A lot of stuff has happened, a lot of time has passed. So, I think it will be interesting for everybody I hope. I was really interested to read it. So - >>rolls eyes<< of course.

Q: This is kind of a silly question, but did it just drive you crazy that Kaylee and Simon never to got to kiss on the show??

Jewel: Yeah! >>general laughter<< When we got canceled, I was shooting a scene with Gina and Nathan and Adam. And Nathan was like "Well, let’s go to my house and drink." And we were like "Ok". So we all went to his place, and we called everybody from there and told them the news. And said "Come by. And bring booze." >>general laughter<< And umm, Sean walked into Nathan’s place and he was like >>throws up arms, looks around<< "We never got to kiss!" It was like the first thing he said! And I started laughing. I was like "Oh my God!" But, it’s true you know, it kind of bugged me a little bit. And it was like the running joke. Everybody was like "Goddam you guys. Get a room >>general laughter<< Do it"

Q: You were saying a lot of time has passed in between the two things. How much -

Jewel: 6 months.

Q: Just 6 months?

Jewel: 6-8 months. Ummhmm. A lot of things have happened in that 6-8 months.

Q: Do we get to know -

Jewel: Yup.

Q: Do we get a back story -

Jewel: Yup. >>nods head<<

Q: Anyone else??

Csteinme: A follow on question. Do you get to kiss Simon in the movie?? >>lots of general laughter<< >>Jewel laughs, rolls head<< You don’t have to answer it but -

Jewel: It looks good. >>nods head<< That’s what I say. >>laughs<<

Q: Blink your eyes twice for yes...

Jewel: >>laughs<< Oh God! I’m working to not get into trouble here. Joss is going to be like "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" >>general laughter<<

Q: I came in late, but how was your transition from being a child star into more of an adult actor, umm, actress??

Jewel: It was a little difficult. A lot of casting directors still saw me as a kid. And still wanted to send me out. Like sometimes, I get breakdowns still for 16 year olds. And I’m like "Guys, they’re not going to hire me. They’re going to go with Michele Trachtenberg or like somebody else. I mean think about it." But, umm, I think it’s starting to work in my favor a little bit. You just have to change their mindset. You just have to get them to take a chance. And once they see that you are an adult, and you can play an adult, and people buy you as an adult, and don’t mind watching you have sex with people on the screen and all that, then they are cool. It’s not so bad.

Texjunkie: Did you want to revisit maybe that question earlier about on screen or onset incidents or fun times??

Jewel: Umm, so the other day, umm, we had this umm - Sometimes at the end of the day, they’ll want you to loop some lines while you’re there. Like "Oooo, just before everybody leaves let’s just get that line that we might not have got earlier." Or the producers want you to add this line in that this other part we’ve already filmed, but they just want it to be added in the background. So, we’re all standing around. Nathan’s sitting in a chair at a table like this, and he’s reading his size over. And it’s Alan’s line. And they wanted him to say in Chinese, "Sweet barbequed crap." >>general laughter<< But, they didn’t have the Chinese there. So, so he was like "I don’t understand. Should I say it in English?? I don’t understand." And they were like "I gueeess..." Like no producers were around, so they were like "I guess they want you to say it in English." He’s like "This is the weirdest thing." And I was like "Sooorry, I don’t know." And he’s like "Ok." And they were like "Ok, rolling." And he’s like >>high pitched<< "Sweet barbequed crap." >>general laughter<< And then they were like "Can you try it a different way??" And he’s like >>low pitched and slow/sexy<< "Sweet barbqued crap" >>general laughter<< He did it three or four ways. >>high pitched and fast<< "Sweet barbequed crap" And Nathan looks up from the sides and says "I’ll have the same." >>lots of general laughter<< I laughed soooo hard. Oh my God! It was the funniest thing, it was hilarious. >>general laughter<< And um, getting back to Summer and making fun of poor Summer. She never does anything wrong, she’s really professional. When there’s, you know, a blooper, it’s never her fault. She always knows her lines, she’s never screws up. But, when ever anything happens or they yell "Cut, we’ve got to go again", the running gag, all of us go, "Summmmmerrrrrr..." It’s like every time anything goes wrong, "Summer - get it right". So, you know, she gets made fun of the most. We’re always like >>twirls finger by temple, whispers<< "River’s crazy". >>general laughter<< In the back of the scene when she’s doing something really emotional and we’re supposed to be giving her off camera lines, we’re going >>twirls finger by temple, shakes head<< "Craaaazy" >>general laughter<< Or Nathan will mime picking up a jar and be like >>shaking motion, shakes head<< "...no marbles...no marbles" >>lots of general laughter<< We’re horrible to her. But she takes it really well. She always laughs, or like "Guyyys" >>general laughter<<

The end.