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Jeffrey Overstreet
joined a small crowd of journalists at the Serenity film junket
in L.A. on Thursday, September 18.
Here's a transcript of a press
conference with Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds), Gina Torres (Zoe),
and Morena Baccarin (Inara) ... who, by the way, seemed almost to be
in character, with their sharp banter and personal styles and wardrobe
that resemble their characters' styles quite closely.
  
(The questions raised by the press have been
paraphrased here. *'d questions were raised by Jeffrey Overstreet.)
What was it like going
back? Was it like a déjà vu experience?
Nathan: Vindicating.
Gina: [In a sultry
tone.] It was good for me. [laughs]
It was déjà vu. I think
we all had different experiences about going onto the ship… the ship
set…
Morena: What?!
It’s not a real ship? Wait a second! Wait a second!
Gina: No! I just
found that out!
It was the same but it was
different. It was bigger in some places and smaller in others, and it
went up in other places. But there was definitely … redemption
is a word that Adam Baldwin likes to use.
Morena: It felt like we
hadn’t left, too. It was a little different. It was a little like
coming into your living room when your mom rearranged all the
furniture. Things aren’t where they were, but you’re still home. And
it felt like we picked up right where we left off, sort of.
Gina: Absolutely. Just
seeing each other was great. Although we never really stopped seeing
each other.
Nathan: We never
stopped seeing each other, but you know what actually was good? Seeing
the characters again. [turns to Gina] Seeing you guys in your
outfits again… [turns to Morena] Your outfits too! For me, that
was good.
Gina: [to Nathan]
Focus!
How much time passed
between the cancellation of the show and the making of the movie?
All: Two years.
Nathan: Joss kept the spirit up, saying you guys would be
back. But was there ever a time when you felt like you’d never come
back to it?
Gina: The day that we
were canceled. [laughs]
Nathan: Joss had that
plan of finding it another home. He said, “I’ll find it another
home.’ And I said… [laughing in a very unconvincing way] Hey,
that’s really great! That’s a wonderful thing to say! It’s really
dead, isn’t it?!
I wasn’t prepared to fall in
love with Firefly the way I did. And I wasn’t prepared for
Firefly to dump me the way it did…
Gina: Like a cold
crustry whore. We got dumped.
Nathan: I wasn’t
prepared to have that hope and say, “Maybe, maybe…”
Gina: You didn’t want
to get dumped again.
Nathan: Well, I didn’t
want to set myself up for another depression and gain 20 pounds
sitting around my house, knock on wood…
Gina: Not that that
happened.
Morena: [laughing]
Nathan: Right!
How much did you have to
practice or work out to get back into character?
Morena: Well, I had
a lot of sex.
[laughter all around]
Gina: God bless you.
Morena: I had to say
it. It’s a whore thing.
Nathan: [Hard] to get
back into character? No. Certainly, the TV series was a process
because we had time to learn the character.
Gina: But we had seven
months of just learning each other, and falling in love, and falling
into these people and getting to know each other.
Nathan: Feeling each
other out, so to speak.
Gina: And by the time
we got back, these relationships were already established. And I know,
for me, it was just about getting into those damn pants.
Morena: It wasn’t the
gun?
Gina: No, no, that old
friend, no.
Are you all signed on for
sequels?
Gina: Yes.
Morena: Yes. Two more.
Nathan: You are?
Gina: Next question!
[laughter]
What was it like working
with Summer Glau?
Nathan: [joking] She
was unprepared. She was unprofessional…
Gina: That’s not fair.
She’s not here to defend herself.
Nathan: … but she was
flexible.
Morena: She’s so sweet,
it’s hard to say those things about her even jokingly.
Gina: We all just
wanted to take care of Summer in our own way. [She
then adopts a low, sexy tone...] And some ways are kind
of illegal.
[laughter]
But we don’t talk about
that.
Nathan: Not in this
state!
Gina: She’s adorable
and she’s sweet and she just wanted so much to do a great job. So, how
do you not support that?
*The
zeal that your fans show recalls what happened over the years with
Star Trek, what happened when the Star Wars movies came
out, what happened when The Matrix movies came along. With
Star Wars, people tap into the spiritual conflict, good versus
evil, the light and dark side of the Force. With The Matrix,
there’s the whole idea of waking up to reality, and realizing you’ve
been deceived about the way of the world.
What is it about
Firefly and Serenity that resonates so intensely in the
minds and hearts of your fans? Why are they so enthusiastic and so
drawn in?
Nathan: I think it’s
the same reason that I’m drawn to it—the people. These characters. I
am invested. I’ve spent time with them, I’ve learned about
them. I’ve hung out with them. I’ve learned about them through their
choices and the decisions that they make… and I’m invested in these
people. I like them. They’re flawed. They’re not all perfect… except
for Malcolm Reynolds… and I’m invested. I think people are inviested.
That’s Joss’s gift.
Morena: You can relate
to something with each of the characters. I’ve been watching them
recently [turns to Zoe and Nathan]—and you guys are great, by the way.
Gina: You too.
Morena: You didn’t have
to say that.
Gina: Yes I kinda did.
Morena: I think what
was drawing me to it again and again was the stories… they’re stories
that you want to be told. They’re not just relative to that
universe. They symbolize something. I think that the style of Joss’s
writing is so grand and stylized, and it’s sort of Shakespearean.
These peoples plights are extremely accessible. And I think that’s
what draws me in as a human being.
*Can
you say more about what that plight is, or what it is that
the series is telling people that they want
to be told?
Morena: Each character
has their own, it seems.
Gina: I think unlike
The Matrix and the Star Wars series where you have a
very heightened reality, and black and white is very clear, and the
lines are definitively drawn. You fall into it because you want to
aspire to the grandness of these heroes that are put in front of you.
We’re just regular people
in extraordinary circumstances, and that in turn can be more
inspiring, because you think that these people, as jacked up as they
are in these circumstances, with all of these issues and
unpreparedness, can meet these tasks and actually survive them
and learn something from them and get past it and
live another day, then I can too.
And as Morena said, we all go
about it—each character goes about it—differently. And so there’s
always an opportunity for you to see yourself in whoever you
see yourself and how they come to these tasks and get past them.
Morena: And they’re
each discovering things about themselves that they didn’t know were
there, and that’s what’s interesting to watch. [turns to Nathan] Your
heart. You’re discovering in some of the episodes with Summer … you’re
discovering that Malcolm Reynolds has his vulnerable side … he has
something he cares about. You may not think so.
Nathan: I do. These are
nobodies. I don’t have very much in common with Jedi Knights. I have a
good deal in common with nobodies.
Going to comic
conventions and meeting the fans… can you picture yourself in 20 years
coming back and doing a spoof of all of this?
Nathan: [doing his best
William Shatner impression] Get a life! Have you ever kissed a girl?!
Did you see Trekkies,
that documentary on Trekkies? There are people out there who are
fanatical. And I prefer to use the entire term. They’re fanatics. I
find Serenity fans to be thoughtful… pretty intelligent people.
They’re really wonderful. My experiences have been really positive.
And I can say this about the fans—we all have one thing in common.
We’re all in love with the same damn show. If they think they’re fans,
they’ve got nothin’ on me. I’m a fan.
How much do you find your
own personalities in your characters?
Gina: I think it would
be a much more interesting question if we answered about each other.
Nathan: You do me!
Gina: I think what
Malcolm and Nathan have in common is that ultimately they do want to
do the right thing, no matter what they put you through on the way to
the right thing… and you kinda have to love them for it. They both do
have a great moral streak that runs through them, and it’s endearing
and it’s wonderful.
Morena: But there’s
something about Nathan that doesn’t have that dark [streak.] There’s
something about Malcolm Reynolds that’s a fallen man.
Nathan: Really?
Morena: Maybe you do.
Are you a fallen man?
Gina: If you’ve ever
seen him play Halo, he’s a whole other person.
Nathan: Both of you,
very classy, very sexy. [Morena,] you are a little more on the demure
side, whereas, Gina, I know you are not to be crossed.
Gina: Oh! [Surprised,
and maybe a little pleased]
Nathan: You’re a force
to reckoned with, aren’t you? You know you are. You don’t lose your
cool. You never lose your cool.
[Gina is laughing.]
Nathan: You are not to
be crossed.
Morena: But she sure
likes to play like she’s not going to do anything, and she’s shy about
it, but yeah… it’s true.
Nathan: Remember when I
wanted something taken care of, and I called you? Somebody called me
and said, ‘Nate, can you get this taken care of and I said ‘Sure.’ I
called you?’
Morena: But you know,
Gina’s a lot more feminine and ‘girlier’ for lack of a better term.
Gina: That’s true.
Thank you.
What was different now
that you were doing a movie, with a bigger budget? What were you
required to do differently for the film?
Morena: I had to do
archery, which was very cool. I really took to it, actually. I
remember that when we were shooting, that scene came where I’m
supposed to shoot one of the Reavers with an arrow. [And they were
like,] “Alright, let’s clear the set! Only people here that need to be
here! Everybody put on goggles!” All of the camera guys have these
hard hats on. Everybody’s freaking out. And they gave me an X to hit.
And every time I hit that X.
Gina: That’s right. You
got good at it almost immediately.
Anything else?
Gina: It was pretty
straightforward from series to movie. Zoe still has that gun. She’s
still right by this guy’s side.
Nathan: Malcolm was
allowed to be a little darker than the series allowed him to be. In
the series, we experienced a little pressure to make him… [puts on a
shiny, happy voice] more likeable! And nicer! Let’s make him
funnier! Let’s give the show more action!
Morena: Jazz hands!
[laughing]
Nathan: And Mary Parent
at Universal, she had the faith in Joss’s vision to say, ‘Do it how
you want it to be done.’ So we were allowed to make Malcolm a little
darker than he he was. And it made a lot of sense. And in the time
that passed since the series, before the movie, events have happened
that have made him a little more bitter. If there’s one thing Malcolm
finds easy to express, it’s bitterness and anger. He’s comfortable
there.
And what was it like coming
to the script wondering if Mal and Inara would finally hook up?
[Well, folks, I’d love to
transcribe their answers for you, but you’ll just have to wait for the
movie. I ain’t spoilin’ nothing!]
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