Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Obviously everyone as Titan Towers is normally too keen and hard-working to attend parties, but we made an exception for the annual Buffy Posting Board Party in Los Angeles! Abbie Bernstein went along to chat to the stars and get the general gossip!

The Posting Board Party is a night when several hundred fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel celebrate and hang out with one another and the people who make their two favourite shows. Guests this year include series staff/writers, actors from Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Buffy comic/book writers and artists, behind-the-scenes personnel, Buffy-related musicians - and series creator Joss Whedon himself. First envisioned as a small get-together in 1998 for fans who posted at the old official WB internet site the Bronze, the Posting Board Party - the PBP for short - has become a unique and legendary event in the annals of fandom, raising a total of $10,000 for charity. "The PBP has been a very generous supporter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation with the event that they’ve put on for us each year," says Make-a-Wish spokeswoman Shelley Ginsburg, "and it’s enabled us to grant an increasing number of wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses." The sixth and final PBP, billed as "The Monsters Ball - the Last Dance," was held on February 15, 2003 at the American Legion Hall in Hollywood, California. Registration was open to all regular posters at the Bronze Beta (bronzebeta.com), the unofficial board founded after Buffy moved to UPN and the original Bronze closed, and the UPN official Buffy site. Bronze Beta designer Artie McDonald says that this year, the 325 attendee slots filled up in a record 29.5 seconds. "In the first minute we probably had 1000 registration submissions." People have come from five continents and 17 countries, partying not only at the PBP itself but also at get-togethers held before and after the main event, like a supper for fans of the Nerd Troika and a luncheon for Drew Goddard’s Minions. A lunch with writers Jane Espenson and David Fury is auctioned for $450, with proceeds going to Make-a-Wish. There’s an official pre-party the night before the PBP, with auction items on display, stalls selling Buffy merchandise, the Score team hosting demo rounds of the new Buffy card game and people generally enjoying each other’s company. Many strong friendships and even romances have been forged on the BronzeBeta. Jo ’Covergirl’ Boulter, an English woman, and Canadian Bill ’Old One’ Doumoulin ’met’ on the Bronze. When Jo came to Los Angeles for last year’s PBP, she went to Canada afterward to meet Bill in person. "We got married on the 30th of August," Jo concludes happily. When the PBP starts, fans and VIPs converge in one ecstatic talking, photo-taking, autographing mass. There’s food, drink, and also lots of music all night long, courtesy of bands Darling Violetta, which does a hard rock version of their Angel theme, Four Star Mary, Andy Hallett (The Host), with back-up singers Hiram ’Boots’ Johnson, Joanne and Bobbi and back-up dancers costumed as monsters from both shows, and finally Common Rotation, fronted by Adam Busch and Eric Kufs, who put in a full-length set. "It’s been a great night," says Alexis Denisof (Wesley) as he takes in Common Rotation’s concert. He’s been to several PBPs, but can’t say how it compares to being a convention guest: "I’ve never been to a convention, so I don’t know. [The PBP has] been awesome." In contrast, James C. Leary (Clem) has done a number of conventions, but this is his first PBP. "I thought maybe it would be this little fundraising event, [with] a few people there from the cast," James laughs. "When I walked in and saw that it was huge, I had no idea what to expect." Out of his demon make-up, James is not immediately recognisable, but James Marsters (Spike) points out his colleague to the partygoers. "When [James Marsters] mentioned that I played Clem, I was mobbed. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, with people just rushing over. It was very cool - and it was a little scary. It totally felt like rock stardom!" James Marsters, who is tasting rock stardom himself as lead singer of Ghost of the Robot, says that what he’ll miss most when Buffy ends are the writers: "They’re really good people, and they’re really imaginative. Actually, I hope I won’t have to miss them - I hope that we’ll just keep in touch with each other." All the rockers at the PBP have new albums in the dealers room: Ghost of the Robot’s Mad Brilliant, Four Star Mary’s Welcome Home, Common Rotation’s The Big Fear and Darling Violetta’s Parlour. Andy Hallett seems like he’s still ready to burst out singing about being made a series regular on Angel. "I was excited, head over teakettle. It was a complete shock. I’m so happy to be a part of such a great cast, an unbelievable crew. I’ve done 50 episodes, so finally being made really part of the team just solidifies all the feelings I’ve felt about just being part of it and I love it. I can’t ask for anything more. Camden Toy has had Buffy ask for more of him, literally - he’s not only played a Gentleman, Gnarl and the first Turok-Han, but he and stunt double Ryan Watson were digitally duplicated to create the army of Ubervamps in Buffy’s climactic vision in "Get It Done". Camden laughingly recalls the reaction on set when he enacted Gnarl eating a strip of Willow’s skin, "played" by a piece of rubber: "I don’t actually eat it, but the cast and crew were really grossed out when I did it. They went, ’Ewww, I didn’t know you were gonna do that!’" Vladimir Kulich says acting under The Beast’s heavy-duty make-up has been "Absolutely my first foray into being ’visually obscured’." Despite the character’s exotic looks, Vladimir says he based The Beast’s walk on someone close to home: "I copied my dog. He’s a pit bull. Because he’s so powerful, he just goes wherever he wants to go." Julie Benz (Darla), who will be seen later this year co-starring in George of the Jungle 2, reveals that she too took real-life inspiration for certain aspects of her character. When Darla was pregnant, Julie recalls, laughing, "My sister was very pregnant at the time, and so I called her on the phone constantly, going, ’Okay, now, how are you feeling, what’s going on, how’s it affecting you?’" Eighteen-year-old Sarah Hagan (Amanda) says she didn’t have an especially physical background to prepare her for playing a Potential Slayer: "I’m a very laidback person - no fighting," she laughs. However, once stunt co-ordinator John Medlen showed her some moves, "It was pretty easy. It came naturally for me I guess." Iyari Limon (Kennedy) has a slightly more Slayerlike background: "I did a little bit of dance, a little bit of tae kwon do, karate, things like that. Nothing to a professional level, just on my own." Both actresses are having a blast on Buffy. "The people are amazing," Iyari observes, "everybody from the post-production [team] to the writers, the directors and all the actors. I’m really blessed to have stepped into something like that, even if it’s the last season." Make-up artist Dayne Johnson has been on Angel since its first season. "On angel’s [vampire] make-up, very little has changed," he points out. "The sculpture went from very light-furrowed to very heavy-furrowed back to being very light-furrowed again. I do Andy Hallett’s make-up. Andy and I get along great, and it’s a great make-up. Colour-wise and texture-wise, it hasn’t changed, but the sculpture’s changed just a little bit. We hit a stage where [his nose] was very pointy and he didn’t like that, so we’re in the less pointy stage now." This hasn’t stopped David Boreanaz from tweaking Lorne’s prosthetic nose, Dayne laughs: "David loves to terrorise Andy, and there’s no changing that." As the evening winds down, the organisers seem very happy. PBP chairman Bryan ’Blade’ Bonner comments: "This was the best year by far logistically, in terms of the cast and crew, and ultimately, the donation amount is the most we’ve ever raised at a single event, making our cumulative total about $80,000." Still, the PBP is over in its present form. With Buffy in its final season, the PBP has come to what Bryan terms "a natural end. I think all of us have put everything that we can into it. Maybe in a couple years we’ll do a reunion party, but if the show spins off, we’ll probably just support it like normal fans." However, Karri Phillips, in charge of the technical concerns for the PBP, assures that the Bronze Beta board will continue: "It’s not going anywhere." The PBP has been a big part of the lives of everyone involved in organising it. "For me," Bryan says, "it’s something that’s very intimate and close. It started off as just an idea and has grown into this iconic, historic thing that will always be part of the Buffy and Angel folklore. It’s really heartening to know that you were a part of it. It will always be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life." Preparing to present the check to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Bryan asks the PBP-goers, "Are you having a good time?" The crowd roars affirmatively, cheering again and again as each VIP takes the stage. Bryan then introduces the PBP staff, including Karri, Artie, Los Angeles liaison Will York, public relations specialist Jamie Rudolph, pre-party organiser Wendy ’OzLady’ Schapiro, raffle coordinator Nancie ’Nikka’ Schuman and PBP committee president Peter ’Morbius’ Heuser. "This is the reason that we put this party together for six months out of the year," Peter announces, bringing Make-a-Wish representative onto the stage. Shelley thanks everyone involved for an event that has yielded the biggest charitable donation in PBP history. "On behalf of the PBP Committee," Peter declares, "the cast and crew of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I’d like to present you with a check for $80,000." then it’s time for Joss Whedon to speak. He addresses the audience first: "Thank you all again for coming, for making this happen." He tells his fellow makers of Buffy and Angel, "All of you on stage are greatly talented. None of you can take any of the credit for this." He turns to the audience again. "Tonight, we can be your fans. thank you for that. A lot of people asked me, what does it feel like, it’s over? It’s not over. I will see you all again very soon." The crowd screams its love with one voice. Bryan sums it up: "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

Writer Revelations

Buffy and Angel writers are not only PBP VIPs, they’re often also fellow BronzeBeta posters. "I lurk more than I post," says Angel’s Mere Smith, "but I post occasionally, especially after an episode that I’ve written or exciting developments in the story arc." Jane Espenson is particularly proud of a contribution she’s made to this season’s Buffy arc: "we had been talking for a while about what if Nikki [Spike’s Slayer subway victim] had a daughter who survived and came to Sunnydale seeking vengeance. Then I had a literally sit-up-in-tour-bed brainstorm, where I went, ’She didn’t have a daughter, she had a son - and we’ve already met him. It’s Principal Wood!’" Sometimes a phrase from the BronzeBeta - for example ’Jonathan-slash-The First’ - will turn up in an episode. This isn’t just synchronicity, Mere says: "That’s us paying attention and it’s also a sort of a shout-out, an appreciation of the fans and their perspective." Then again, sometimes the writers can’t resist teasing. If you were worried that Giles really was The First when he didn’t touch anything for several episodes, you may wonder if this was calculated to drive you crazy. "Pretty much," Drew Greenberg confirms with a grin. The writing is often collaborative. On Angel’s "Calvary," Mere says, "Jeff [Bell] wrote the first act, Steve [DeKnight] wrote the second act, and I wrote acts three and four." Sometimes there are more writers on a script than the credits indicate. Buffy’s "Conversations With Dead People" had four separate plot threads. "I was assigned the Dawn material," Jane says. "I really wanted the Jonathan/Andrew material - if Jonathan had to die, I felt he should die in my arms, I wanted to be the one to say goodbye to that character. But Drew Goddard did a fine job." Two other writers on the episode went uncredited out of financial generosity, Jane reveals. "Joss does not have a screen credit, but he did the [vampire psych student] Holden stuff and Marti did the Willow/Cassie stuff. Joss and Marti sometimes won’t take screen credit on something, because [as executive producers] they don’t get paid by the individual script." There was yet another division of labour on "Lies My Parents Told Me," David Fury relates. "I did Acts One and Three, Drew Goddard did Two and Four, then I went back and did some of Two - it became a big collaboration, it wasn’t specific to one scene or character." Steve will direct an Angel episode this year, and David Fury and Doug Petrie have each directed several Buffy episodes. As writer/director, Doug Petrie dealt with a water-filled set in "Flooded" and a helicopter in "As You Were," but says "Get It Done" was his most complicated episode yet: "God bless Joss Whedon for giving me the opportunity to screw up on a large scale." He’s in no hurry for the show to end: "When they kick me out, I will leave my finger tracks in the carpet as they drag me out, it’s the only way they’ll get me out of here." Then again, "We definitely want to go out with a bang." David agrees: "There’s definitely a coming full circle. We’re basically wrapping up the whole mythology and giving [Buffy] an ultimate villain. I think this season is the punctuation mark on the seven years of the series."

Eliza Dushku

Eliza Dushku, wearing an enormous white scarf to protect her throat from the night air, not only braves the PBP with a cold ("I’m sick and I’m not staying out to long tonight"), but takes time to chat with Buffy Magazine while she’s here...

Has it been hard coming back to playing Faith after all this time? It’s been easy! I jumped right back into my girl. Everyone around gave me the stimulus to just really embody that girl again and she’s been so fun. I love David [Boreanaz] - I haven’t done my Buffys yet, but on Angel, we just turned it out, and it was so much fun, and I think we have some really great shows coming up, so I’m psyched.

Did you do anything to prepare physically for all the slayage? Yeah, I tried to get back in shape, because, after all, my character’s been in the clink and so I figured, she would be doing some body work to try to survive and get by and so I worked on it a little bit with a good friend of mine, a trainer, and we tried to just get my body tight, in fighting status. Nothing too extreme.

What else have you been up to? I have a movie coming out this year called Wrong Turn, which Fox apparently is really excited about. I hope the fans go an see that movie. It’s like Deliverance for this day and age. It’s really disturbing and raw and crazy.

Anything else you’d like to say about Buffy and Angel? I just have so much respect for the people who created these shows and I just think that they’re all geniuses and so intelligent and it’s such a great vehicle for the actors involved.

Danny Strong, Tom Lenk & Adam Busch

Do the three of you miss working as a trio? Adam: Yeah, absolutely. We all work out together to make up for it.

Adam, Danny, do you compare notes on playing The First? Adam: We both do a Method preparation together. It’s a Strasbourg kind of thing where we both roleplay, do an animal and then build it up from the ground. Danny: Which I find very odd, but I just go with it. Adam: He doesn’t want to be a good actor. I can’t help it.

Was it tough playing rotting Jonathan/The First? Danny: I had about three hours of make-up for the shot where I’m really decomposed - the first time where I’ve done a lot of make-up on the show. It wasn’t that bad.

Tom, do you play Andrew differently opposite Adam and Danny, depending on which one is playing the first? Tom: I don’t think so. I deal with them differently. I’m nice to Danny and I’m mean to Adam. Adam: Just like in real life.

Was it hard doing the Andrew-stabs-Jonathan stunt? Danny: It was easy for Tom. It was like a dream come true. tom: I dream of it every night. No, it was fine. Danny was well-protected, I had his best interests in mind - safety is my Number One priority. Danny: Was I wearing a bad, Tom? I was wearing something [under the shirt] - I was protected.

tom, Are you excited about getting to be part of the Scoobies? Tom: Yes. I mean, it hasn’t really been determined [if Andrew is a full-fledged Scooby], but it’s nice. Danny: We’re all excited for him.

Joss Whedon

Technically, Joss Whedon is The Beast’s boss, but when the creature approaches at the PBP - actually, that’s Almost Human make-up artist Christopher Burdett in The Beast suit - the Buffy/Angel creator seems suitably wary of the big red guy. "Oh, man, this is just not gonna go well . This is just bad." Joss praises The Beast on his work: "Loved your destruction! I’m just gonna say ’moisturiser...’" When The Beast lumbers off to terrorise more PBP-goers, Joss answers a few questions.

Are you now going back and forth between Buffy and Angel the way you did pre-Firefly? In the way that I did during Firefly. Always, all the time working.

So even with Firefly finishing, there’s no extra time? Doesn’t feel like more time - I had a kid, so whatever more time there was went away.

Is parenthood affecting your view of your work at all? No, it’s still really disturbing and horrible.

Er, work or parenthood? The work. The kid’s great. His name is Arden. I like him. But no, it hasn’t made me go, ’Wait, I need to make the world kinder! What if they only fought droids?’ So it hasn’t changed me at all.

Is the PBP different from other events? There’s no other event that’s like this at all. There’s really no [other] event where I’m this popular, so it’s very important. I go to the Bronze [online], and I look at the messages. This is homegrown. And - not to be taken out of context - there’s nothing as sweet as homegrown. You really get a sense of the community in a way that you just don’t get anywhere else - not just the fans, but the community. And that’s why I’m here.