Vancouver Can't Stop The Serenity 2013: Fun and Fundraising! Plus Joss Update.

CSTS Vancouver, 2013

JOSS UPDATE AT THE END
Yesterday I had a wonderful time at the Vancouver Can't Stop The Serenity 2013. Gayle and her team of helpers had prepared a fun-packed day and the atmosphere was welcoming and happy.

There was a packed schedule of events:

Saturday's Schedule - subject to change without notice (but probably not)
Noon     Doors open
12:30     Welcome then Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog sing-along
  1:20     Evil Laugh Contest
  1:40     Live Auction
  2:15     Costume Parade & Prizes
  2:30     Whedon Trivia Bingo
  3:00     Silent Auction ends; doors close. Prize draws. Special videos & introduction to movie 

  3:30     SERENITY

  5:30     Silent Auction winners announced. Closing remarks and acknowledgements

The sing-along Sing-Along was a traditional way to start everything off and if you've never had the experience of singing "..It's a brand new day, and the sun is high. All the birds are singing that you're gonna die.." with a bunch of other people, then I highly recommend it.

Straight after that was the Evil Laugh Contest, and there were some incredibly strong contenders this year. After each had demonstrated their prowess we were treated to mass laugh-off, which can only be described as a Macabre of Evil Laughs.

A Macabre of Evil Laughs

It came down to the Final Four. Unfortunately I didn't get my iPhone set up quick enough to record 'Inaru', but you can see (and hear) for yourself the high standards of the entries:

After that excitement came the Live Auction. The inaugural auction last year was a huge success, and this year it was MC Alan Douglas (a.k.a. @alalcoolj, The Masked Roger and Father Aloysius Rambo) who whipped up the crowd into a bidding frenzy. With many cries of "Signed by Jewel Staite, you say?" the magnificent prizes were snapped up by an eager mob.

If that wasn't excitement enough, next was the costume competition. Another very strong field this year, and we had quite a time of it trying to decide who should take the prizes:

Firefly and Whedonverse Costume Competition

In the end Kaylee, Malinda and Inaru all claimed prizes.

I had neglected to buy my Bingo cards in time (and not just because I was lining up to sample the sweet treats from C & C Cakery which were, as it happens, delicious), so I could sit back and enjoy the Alan Douglas challenging and delighting the audience with some well-thought-out Whedon Trivia Bingo. The tension in the room was palpable, and after a couple of false dawns, there was a clutch of Bingos all at once. 

Then it was rush to get out to the Silent Auction:

Once time was called, it was on to the Main Event. A screening of Joss' Equality Now speech, the CSTS 2013 Equality Now introduction, and then on to Serenity. And, again, if you've never watched Serenity with a crowd of Browncoats you are missing a rare treat.

Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech

I can't thank Gayle and her team enough for such a wonderful day out and I hope everyone enjoyed a well-earned rest today!

JOSS UPDATE
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the fact that Joss is now on Twitter, and how conflicted I felt about that. Well, sad to say that the @JossActual account has now been made private (I'm sure it wasn't anything to do with that post...).

But - fear not! There is now the @JossWhedon account! So all is good with the world. Just don't be tempted to do something like this:

I'm glad I didn't :)

Not content with doubling his presence on Twitter, Mr Whedon has been busy IRL, including making the 2013 Wesleyan Commencement Speech (surprisingly, nothing to do with Wesley Crusher). He was also made an honorary Doctor Of Letters:

I AM A-SMARTI AM A-SMARTS-M-R-T -- I mean S-M-A-R-T... twitter.com/josswhedon/sta…
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) May 27, 2013

Fandoms: Stand Down!

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/

It would be funny if it wasn't so...no, actually it is funny. But also a little sad.

Fandoms gone wild have made the headlines in the UK. The 4th Annual Norwich Sci-Fi convention was the venue for a showdown between Dr Who fans and Star Wars fans. It has been widely reported from such bastions of hard news at The Guardian and the BBC, to IMBd (who knew they blogged?!?) and The Sun (nuff said). No word from Alan Partridge as we go to press.

The BBC used Stormtroopers as their lead image:

from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22542222

While The Guardian used Cybermen:

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/tvandradioblog/2013/may/16/sci-fi-tribes-trekkies-browncoats

The Guardian used the brouhaha to unveil their knowledge of fandoms (Browncoats!), but rather spoiled it with this:

Browncoats spend their days arguing over the show's correct episode order, writing lesbian slash fiction about the show's female characters and clamouring for Whedon to open a Kickstarter page to fund a new Firefly movie, even though he's not really that bothered now he's got the Incredible Hulk to muck around with. (Link)

 And people wonder why fans get upset?

Still, the main thing is that the warring fandoms are going to try to make peace. From the BBC piece:

Dominic Warner, secretary of Norwich Star Wars Club, said: "It's been blown up as if it was a fight. There was no fighting."

He acknowledged there had been disputes between club members in the past, but said: "There is no bad feeling between the two clubs. We have never interfered with them.

"It does sound comical. People that dress up in costume are labelled geeks and some people laugh at us, and this just makes it even more so."

He said the two clubs were having discussions about a meeting to resolve their differences. (Link)

So there we have it. No battle, just a little turf war. Whooligans? Hardly. They wouldn't Hurt a Firefly.

And speaking of Browncoats - don't forget that the Can't Stop The Serenity Charity Screening in NEXT WEEKEND, May 21st. There are some fantastic auction items up for grabs so get your tickets now and we'll see you there!

Joss, Actual. Joss Whedon joins Twitter and apparently the world keeps spinning.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Joss has moved on.

It's over five years since I started this blog.

Why did I start it? Because of Joss Whedon. Factual.

The first post I made here is titled "numfar, do the dance of shame......" and if that doesn't mean anything to you, then you're probably in the wrong place.

Joss introduced me to Felicia. And Felicia introduced me to so many amazing and wonderful people that the past five years have been filled with adventure.

When I was covering Dr Horrible I often wondered how awesome it would be if Joss had been on Twitter, and how much fun it would have been to see the Fail Whale called to action again and again.

In the past I have gently poked fun at the fact that I never thought I would see the day that Mr Whedon Mr J Whedon Joss Whedon would ever take up any form of Social Media. And I may have hinted that he was incapable of wresting utility from this dread technology.

But, dear reader, I was wrong. Very wrong.

After being snowed under with work I dipped into Twitter tonight to do a little catchup. And I saw this by Felicia:

@feliciaday

It's true. He's here:

@JossActual

I should be happy!

I should be tweeting my brains out!

Truth be told, I'm a bit sad. Not having Joss on Twitter meant something. It meant that he was too busy working to care about new things, and we still had something that was not mainstream. And it didn't matter about doing silly stuff because no one would ever know.

My writerlyness has given out, and this is more than I meant to say, anyway. 

But if he turns up on the red carpet wearing Google Glass, I think I'm going to really lose it...

New trailer, new book for Joss Whedon's 'The Cabin in the Woods'

(image from http://discoverthecabininthewoods.com/)

Something to blog about!

It's been a while since I posted but I couldn't not talk about the new trailer from 'The Cabin In The Woods'. Actually, I'm not even going to talk about it, because you should just watch it and then start speculating on your own. Because you don't need me to tell you that April 13th next year is going to feature a whole new level of cinematic fervour.

Spoiled for choice?
Titan Books have also announced details of the Visual Guide, which holds the secret to The Cabin...

"The details of the plot are a closely guarded secret, though Joss himself has described it as “a straight-up, balls-out, really terrifying horror movie,” adding,"it is not just a slasher in the woods. It's a little more complicated than that..."

All will be revealed in the Official Visual Companion, featuring in-depth interviews, the full screenplay by Whedon and Goddard, stunning production art, and hundreds of color photos!..." 

 From TitanBooks.com

The book is print on demand with an estimated delivery time of 21 days. That's an interesting way to do it but I'm not sure too many people are going to want the book before they've seen the film. I haven't tried to order it, so I can't be sure if it really is available now - is anyone going to order it so we can find out? And if it is truly out now (or in 21 days), how will we all avoid spoilers between now and then?

Questions? Comments?

LA Can't Stop The Serenity - watch Joss Whedon et al at CSTS

Watch the recorded livecast from LA

In case you (like me) missed the livecast from the LA CSTS today with Joss Whedon, Tim Minnear, Felicia Day, Jane Espenson and many more - you can watch it on GeekWeek on Justin.tv:


Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv

Joss Whedon to speak at the LA Can't Stop The Serenity (CSTS) event!

I'm already counting down the days until I attend the 6th Annual Vancouver Can't Stop The Serenity day at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC, on June 25th (11 am until 6 pm). It will my fourth year and I look forward to it for weeks in advance! CSTS is a global sci-fi charity event all about raising money and awareness for Equality Now and other charities.

Last year we had a great time and we made these videos:





We had a wonderful time, met friends old and new, and more importantly the BC Browncoats raised lots of money for Equality Now and the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre Foundation. Because that is what CSTS is all about - communities coming together to raise money causes we believe in - all while enjoying some high class entertainment with friends.

From the CSTS Press Release:
"Whedon has been outspoken in his support of the organization and gender equality. In 2006, Whedon was honored with a special recognition award from Equality Now. In his acceptance speech, he told a story of how he’s often questioned as to why he writes strong women characters such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His response:

“Because equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who is confronted with it.
We need equality. Kinda now.”

A very special announcement for the 2011 season is that Joss Whedon himself will be attending and speaking at one of the events: Can’t Stop The Serenity in Los Angeles on June 25th, hosted by the California Browncoats. Taking the excitement one step further, the event will be broadcast live via the web so people can enjoy the night from around the world. Using multiple cameras, the feed will show the live events from the stage, interviews with attendees and general footage to capture every moment from this unprecedented event. 

Now in its 6th year, Can’t Stop the Serenity has become a worldwide benefit movement in the name of Whedon’s beloved works. Browncoats are part of a global family that believes doing the impossible makes one mighty. The fight for basic human decency will continue for as long as there are people in need and those willing to answer that call. In trying to raise awareness for that call, Mr. Universe said it best, ”Can’t stop the signal.”

The last time I saw Joss speaking live over the Internet - at the 2009 Streamys

LA is about to be star-struck
Yes, you fall over stars and starlets on every corner in LA, but this year Joss Whedon himself will attend the LA CSTS. This is wonderful news and should mean even more money can be raised. I predict that tickets for the LA CSTS will be selling out right about now....[Edit: they are sold out in LA but check out all the CSTS events on the CSTS website] But that's ok, because we'll all be able to join in, live!

Not quite Joss...
We might not have Joss Whedon, but I know the Gayle and all the team have worked out a magnificent day for us all in Vancouver and will be putting on another brilliant day. We'll be there - and we have a very special announcement to make about what we will be doing there soon. But it might have something to do with our new webseries "Mind My Brains, Darling!"....More soon!

Dr Horrible: The Book (or 'How I got published with Joss')

This is all about me...
...so apologies about that. If you're looking for a review about the awesome new Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: The Book, then head over to PinkRaygun.com.

Earlier this year I sold a play. And now my name, and words, are in a book. A book all about Dr Horrible. That also has words in it from Joss Whedon, Felicia Day and a whole host of other people, all of whom are way up there in the list of people who have influenced me over the last few years.

If Dr Horrible hadn't happened I wouldn't have been researching the people involved and might not have stumbled across Season 1 of The Guild. Or started stalking following Felicia Day. Or get mixed up in the crazy, heady world of new media/webseries. I probably would have stopped blogging, and I wouldn't have joined sites like Twitter and Friendfeed. I certainly wouldn't have made a webseries in 2008, and all the things that have flowed from that (like the new webseries we have in production now).

 The Dr Horrible Remote designed by P J Haarsma

I also wouldn't have thought to interview Felicia Day if I hadn't already interviewed award-winning author PJ Haarsma. He created the remote control Dr Horrible uses to steal the Wonderflonium. I knew of PJ because of Kids Need To Read, the charity he set up with Nathan Fillion. He was very generous with his time and his interview ranked in the top 10 posts on Whedonage consistently. That interview caught the eye of Titan books, the publishers of the Dr Horrible book, who then asked if they could republish some of it.

And that's how I came to be in a book with Joss.

Page 23. Tell your friends

P.S. Someone else you will certainly have heard of is also in the book. The One True b!X, photographer, blogger and twitterererer, has photos in the book, too. b!X has lots of Whedon-Geek-Guild-related photos on Flickr. You can also buy some via his website.

All roads lead to Joss and Jane...Billy Joel coming to Rock Band 3

Billy Joel image from Zmarter.com (modified from his Glass Houses album artwork)

I'M OLD!
The first time I realised this for sure was when watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I already had the feeling sometimes that perhaps I wasn't necessarily in the youngest target audience, but 'Band Candy' brought it home in spectacular fashion. It's one of my favourite episodes (6) from Season 3 of Buffy and it is written by Joss Whedon and Jane Espenson. It's funny, dark and sets up a great line in 'Earshot':  "...on the hood of a police car?!?"

In the ep, all the adults who eat the school's Band Candy start reverting and acting like irresponsible teens. The Scooby gang go to The Bronze to check out what's going on where they discover teachers, Snyder (the non-eaten-yet Principle) and various adults jumping around in a most uncomely manner. They can't understand what going on, so Willow delivers the killer line:


"Maybe there's a reunion in town or, or a Billy Joel tour or something." 

Hubby and me looked at each other with horror when we heard those words the first time. We had both enjoyed listening to Billy Joel in our teenage years and had several of his albums. Yep. WE WERE OLD!

Fast forward a few years...
Yesterday I read this article on zmarter.com called "Billy Joel coming to Rock Band 3 out of spite". It recounts the story of how Billy Joel came to license his music for the game, with this quote from a USA Today article:

"I've never allowed my music to be used in a game before," but an Entertainment Weekly review of NBC's The Office changed his mind. Alluding to an episode in which characters mention a Rock Band featuring Billy Joel, "the critic wrote something like, 'God forbid that ever should happen.' So I called my people and said, 'Get me (on) that Rock Band game.' Then I wrote the critic, saying that every time I get a check, I'll give him a little nod."

 :) you have to love that story! Good ole Billy. And, of course, it made me think of Buffy. And Joss. And Jane. Because, in the end, all roads lead back to them.

P.S.
Teen son was listening to some Country and Western music while lying on his bed the other day. I told him I understood, because everyone knew that it was the music of pain. He knew what I meant. It was a precious moment.

Browncoats:Redemption released at Dragon*Con: watch and buy your copy now!

Where were you on Saturday?
Both Dragon*Con and PAX have been on this weekend and it's been hard to choose between which one I wished I was at more! The Guild were at Dragon*Con, with Sean Becker leading the charge (while Felicia Day was attending to other duties) and their panels and signings have been as well-attended and received as ever. Another reason for wanting to be in Atlanta, though, was the fact that after two years of planning, plotting, and a metric butt-tonne of hard work - Browncoats: Redemption had its world premiere!

Only available online for a LIMITED TIME!
The panel for the premiere had queues out the door, such was the interest in the film. I wasn't in Atlanta but I still watched the premiere because they put it online at the same time as it was aired at the panel. it is available to watch online for a very limited time on Facebook and the website. I've embedded below but it'll only work until 7:00 PM EDT TODAY.


Browncoats: Redemption Online Premiere from browncoatsmovie on Vimeo.

Reactions have been very positive both at the panel itself and online - with Twitter all abuzz.  Great news because this fan-made film has a great dual purpose. Not only does it give fans a new taste of the Serenity/Firefly 'Verse, it is set to raise a lot of money for some very deserving charities. All the proceeds will be split between these charities - which is where YOU can get involved.

DVD copies of the film are available to order now at the BrowncoatsMovie.com shop (where you can also pick up a cool teeshirt or two). I've already ordered my copy. I've been following Browncoats: Redemption for a long time and I'm very proud of the whole team for what they have done. Making a feature film in two years is a massive acheivement! The story takes you along and they have stayed true to the 'Verse that Joss Whedon created. It is a very enjoyable romp and I recommend it. Now go buy the DVD!

 Laura Matthews and the crew of 'Redemption'

If you want to read all the interviews I've done with Michael Dougherty, the co-producer (and writer) of Browncoats: Redemption about the process of making the film, they are here:

November 2008
April 2009
January 2010

July 2010

The Guild, Comic Con, Browncoats: Redemption...Mega-post!

Codex remains unconvinced by Bladezz suggestions, and suggestiveness

The Guild at San Diego Comic Con
Excitement is building about what is going to be revealed at Comic Con this year by The Guild. With Season 4, Episode 2 out this week, the Knights of The Guild CompanionCast out now and my review out soon on PinkRaygun, it's already a Guild-filled week.

But wait - there's more! Today PinkRaygun.com have published the first part of "Homecoming: The Guild at San Deigo Comic Con 2009". This is a chapter from my sadly as-yet unpublished book, "From Cheetos to Stripper Bus: The Ultimate Fanguide to how Felicia Day built The Guild Empire Level by Level", and is a great primer to what might happen at SDCC this week. Parts 2 and 3 will be out tomorrow and Friday.

The full schedule of The Guild activities is on WatchTheGuild.com. If you are lucky enough to be at SDCC then make sure you get to signings and the panel early because it is going to be BUSY!!

What do you do when you have too much to do?
Usually I panic for a bit, make a cup of tea, think about doing a list and then get on with the easiest bit. The whole 'eating a frog' thing is good in theory but I don't often practice it. And sometimes I do completely the opposite and invent more things to do because they are more fun. And this is what happens then: (Greg Benson from @mediocrefilms is to blame for this -and here's the proof).




There's so much to get through here that I'm keeping it as brief as possible!


Celebrate The Web at San Diego during Comic Con
Since Jenni Powell and Kim Evey organised the first Celebrate The Web event after The Streamys this year, the idea has really caught on and even after releasing extra tickets, the events are sold out. But never fear - there is a wait list. The Second CTW has been orgainsed by Jenni Powell, Taryn O'Neill and Stephanie Thorpe and is being held in San Diego on Saturday. It is jam-packed with web video goodness. Be sure to keep checking CelebrateTheWeb.com for updates!

Jeff Lewis 50-minute Comedy Hour during Comic Con
I received my invite to this event yesterday on Facebook and sadly I had to decline, but - wait! The Celebrate The Web even is being STREAMED LIVE so no one has to miss anything!

Article on Whedonage about Comic Con
Whedonage.com has been offline for a couple of days in preparation for....something :) They will be covering lots of Whedon-related happenings at SDCC and you can follow them on Twitter @whedonage. When the site is back up they'll be something from me on there, too.


Browncoats: Redemption interview with Michael Dougherty - who is at Comic Con
I had the very great pleasure of interviewing Michael Dougherty last week all about the upcoming film, Browncoats: Redemption. All the information and links to the videos are on PinkRaygun. I'm so excited for this film - thanks for a great interview, Michael!

Goodnight Princess and the Vimeo Awards
We submitted Goodnight Princess to the Vimeo Awards this week and we're hoping it will do well. I posted about it over at HigletFilms.com. If you've not seen out micro-shortform internet play yet then please do - we are very proud of what we acheived.


New Webseries - now in pre-production!
As I said, we're busy! It's all coming together really well and we'll be able to tell you more about it really soon.

Monetising my ELE videos
YouTube have told me I can make money from the Evil League of Evil webseries I did - I wonder if Joss will mind? So far no one seems to have a clear view either way - what do you think?

Whatever you are doing have a great week. I'll be back as soon as I get another minute!

Dear Joss, can I monetise my ELE Applications Office videos?

 My first webseries even won an award

...Or is it "...may I"? I always get confused about that one. 

So then, what's this all about?

If you can cast your mind back over two years ago, I was busy writing about Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in several places (this blog, the Official Dr Horrible Fan Site and Whedonage), and re-watching it with abandon. I was also following Felicia Day and The Guild closely, amazed at what she had achieved. In August 2008 I was thinking about how Billy kept applying to the Evil League of Evil and not getting in, and my mind turned to just what the form was like and who processed it.



And so the Evil League of Evil Applications Processing Office was born.

From idea to video
I wrote the first three scripts then recorded the first one using my webcam and my dead laptop. It was harder than I thought it would be and a hundred times the fun. I told a few Guildies I had met on Twitter and Guild chat about it and waited to see if anyone would either watch or like it. And thank you now to all the people (you know who you are) who took the time to watch, comment and support me - I am still very grateful!



A six-part webseries, plus extras
I wanted all the action to be framed around the timeline of Dr Horrible because then I could incorporate plot points. It expanded from three to six episodes plus EvilWorldofHiglet's application to the ELE, and one for Felicia Day, too.


People are still watching them
The videos on the EvilWorldofHiglet channel on YouTube have over 116,000 views between them. Last year one of my interviews with Felicia Day became eligible for YouTube partnership and after getting permission from Felicia it now now has adverts on it. A couple of weeks ago YouTube contacted me again and said Acts 1 and 3 of ELE Application Processing Office are also eligible (they have over 25,000 view between them). So, do I need permission from Joss? And if so, how would one go about asking him? Maybe I could @motancharoen, @jedwhedon or @zdubdub on Twitter and ask them?

What's a gal to do?
Does anyone else have any ideas? Let me know and I'll keep you posted :)

CSTS Vancouver 2010 report. Summary: shiny!

On June 26th 2010 the 5th Annual Can’t Stop The Serenity was held in Vancouver, BC to raise money for Equality Now and the BC Women's Hospital. The BC Browncoats put on a great day’s entertainment and both Hubby and me had an awesome time. We made a short video:



Since we couldn't capture everything on the video, here's some highlights from the day:


Introduction and Joss videos
Gayle and Serena spoke about why we were all there for the 5th year of CSTS, the money that has been raised so far and the power of the Browncoats. We then watched some videos including Joss' Equality Now acceptance speech and his Serendipity Speech, which really got everyone in the mood for the day.

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, sing-along
I missed the beginning because of costume competition duties, but as soon as slipped in I was singing along.  It was a heart-warming experience and I thoroughly enjoyed singing, laughing and gasping along with everyone else. ("..The hammer is my penis." and "...I meant Ghandi.." were among the favourite lines!).


Evil Laugh Contest
I was surprised at how many of my fellow Browncoats possess evil laughs! There must be a coach in the area…. The competition was fierce and it went to a laugh-off between the last three.

The Masked Roger - unmasked?

The Masked Roger Marathon
This was definitely a highlight. The Masked Roger webseries is funny, smart and full of cool effects. Alan has a great sense of humour and it’s worth watching them a few times to make sure you get all the jokes. It was great to see it on the big screen and it went down extremely well with the crowd. Alan also gave a very good speech about the inspiration behind The Masked Roger and how he came to make a webseries. I wish I had managed to record it. He talked about how Dr Horrible and the ELE competitions started it off, how Felicia Day and The Guild spurred him along and how the feedback and encouragement from the BC Browncoats helped to keep him going. Now, Alan, when can we expect the next episode…?

 The Costume Parade (and Hubby's bare knee :))

Costume Contest Parade and Prizes
Hubby had his knees on display, dressed as he was as Fawkes (from The Guild Season 3 and soon-to-be 4). There was an array of costumes from Firefly and the Whedonverse, with the Bad Horse Chorus also putting on a great display (and yes, they did the song, too!). It was very hard to do the judging but there were some very worthy winners.

Browncoats: Redemption Screening
Vancouver was one of the few CSTS events to see the full rough cut of Browncoats: Redemption. I’ve been following progress of the film for a long time now. I’m writing up some detailed feedback for the producers but I can tell you that even though the screening was of a rough cut, I can’t wait to see the finished film. Hubby and I were both impressed with it, and the solid base of the film looks really good. The full premiere at Dragon:Con will be a packed event, I’m sure! I will be writing more about Browncoats: Redemption soon, so look out for that.

I didn’t manage to get a ticket for the Whedon-Works Trivia Bingo but there were some happy winners and some tricky questions, so I took the opportunity to check out the bids on the Silent Auction. There were some amazing items, from signed photos of Jewel Staite, a signed copy of The Guild DVD, genre books, games, models, a knitted dalek….The bidding was pretty fierce for some of the items!

Serenity
What can you say about this film? It represents so many things but, at its heart, it is simply an excellent film full of laughter, tears, action, adventure and a passion that runs through everything. A passion for life, friends and doing what is right. If you’ve never seen the films in the company of fellow Browncoats then I heartily recommend that you do. It is a moving experience.

 Cowboy!

Door Prizes and Silent Auction winners
The winning didn’t stop, and there were some amazing door prizes given out after the screening. We didn’t win a door prize but we did win an item on the Silent Auction which has been a very welcome addition.

To Gayle, Serena and everyone else who worked so hard to make the event run smoothly – thank you for making it such an enjoyable day!

Happy Jossmas!

 Joss is so lucky he even met Dani at SDCC 2009! (from maxsummer's Flickr account)

June 23rd, 1963
And so it came to pass, in those balmy days of summer, that a pink, squirming babe - fair of skin and sparse of hair - burst into the world of man. Swaddled in cloths of brown, he was laid in a crib of finest unicorn bone, his head resting on the softest panda fur available to man. After his first taste of the world, Joseph Hill Whedon slept and dreamed...

June 23rd, 2010
And so it came to pass, in those balmy days of summer, that a pink, bearded man - fair of skin and sparse of hair - still resided in the world of man. His followers swaddled in coats of brown, he was laid back in his crib. The finest unicorn bone resting on his head and the softest panda fur was always available to this man. After so many years spent tasting the world, Joss was ready.....

How do you celebrate a guy like Joss?
It's hard to know, isn't it? He has everything - a glittering career, a wonderful family and a list of friends as long as your arm. AND he's met Felicia Day! He is a lucky, lucky man. Forget the years of work, the disappointments and rejections. Joss has it easy. He is Mr Easy of 125 Easy Street. Wherever he goes people flock to him, asking for autographs, eager to hear his tales of working with people like Neil Patrick Harris and that Canadian dude. And not a day goes by without his name being linked to a film, comic book or sequel - how exciting that must be!

Luckily he has a blog to keep him straight. Updated by faithful minions, Joss never needs a fancy phone or planner because all he needs do is check in one site. If he's ever unsure as to whether he's supposed to be dismissing rumours of a Serenity sequel or ignoring claims that his latest project has been cancelled all he needs to do is log onto the Internet and go to Whedonesque.com. And one day soon he'll be able to manage that himself without Jed. Exciting times indeed.

The other white meat
Of course, you could celebrate Joss' birthday in a more traditional way and join in your local Can't Stop The Serenity (CSTS) event. Now in its FIFTH YEAR, this celebratory screening Joss' masterpiece, Serenity, is a great way to meet new people and raise money for charity. And today I have an interview on PinkRayun.com with the person who started CSTS in 2006 - The One True b!X. It's an insight into how the whole thing started and is very interesting. B!X didn't sit around wondering how to celebrate, and now neither do you. Check out where your nearest CSTS is and buy a ticket or three. Hope to see you there.

No cake?
Last year I did a "Gratuitous Cake Post" for Joss' birthday - there's lots there so knock yourself out :)

Can't Stop The Serenity (CSTS) 2010: where are YOU celebrating?

 

CSTS 2010 poster

It's that time of year again!
Time to dust off your Jayne hat, polish up your space boots, and don your Browncoat - 'tis the season to be mighty! This year marks the FIFTH annual Can't Stop The Serenity global sci-fi charity event. If you've never heard of it before then 1) Where have you BEEN for the last 5 years??? 2) It is an annual charity screening of Joss Whedon's film, Serenity, in multiple cities across the globe which raises money for the charity, Equality Now. 3) It's a great way to get out and meet new folks.

Why?
Good question. There are many answers but the overriding one is to raise funds for Equality Now because the work they do is more relevant now than ever. Their mission statement:


"Equality Now works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure." (from their website)
Joss Whedon tells us why it's important:




"...Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this Earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part if the human condition, it's life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now...." (Joss Whedon, Equality Now awards ceremony, 2006).

VANCOUVER CSTS!
This Saturday, 26th June, Vancouver is holding its charity screening of Serenity event and what a fun-packed day it will be! There is a silent auction will amazing items from signed DVDs of The Guild, knitted Daleks, signed photos of Jewel Staite and many, many awesome items! There is also a costume competition, a screening of Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog AND an exclusive screening of first part of Browncoats: Redemption film. If that wasn't enough there is also the world premiere screening of the lastest episode of The Masked Roger, a comedy webseries by our awesome friend @alalcoolj. I hear the voiceover is amazing... :) Oh - and we get to watch Serenity, too. It will be shiny.

If you live in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland (or Bellingham, Seattle, West coast...) then pick up your tickets now at Happy Bats Theatre or buy them online. I'll see you at the MacMillan Space Centre on Saturday!

If you are not within reach then check on the CSTS website to see if there is a screening near you. There are 42 cities across the globe celebrating in one way or another in the coming weeks, so make sure you don't miss out.

Here are two videos from last year's event:



And Joss...



Y'all have your pretty floral bonnets ready, now don't you?


PS
How did CSTS come about anyway? For that we can thank @theonetruebix, since it was all his idea in the first place. I guess that's why we should never accept substitutes.

HOT NEWS JUST IN: I will be interviewing the one and only b!X about CSTS soon for PinkRaygun.com, so look out for that! In the meantime you can check out his rather fantastic photography site and maybe snag yourself a competitively-priced print. Or two.

The Streamys 2010: What can we expect tonight?

Felicia Day accepts (one of) her Streamy Award in 2009

They say you always remember your first time...

...and I certainly remember the First Streamys. It was a dark and stormy nig....er, no, that's not quite right. It was a highly exciting night. No one was sure of what to expect. Who would be there? Who would win? Who would scream the loudest if the live stream didn't work?

Sandeep Parikh and Felicia Day kick off the action in 2009

Breathlessly waiting

Like many people gathered on Twitter and WatchTheGuild chat room, I anxiously waited for the live feed to finally start. After a couple of small hiccups we were thrust right into the heart of the Streamys. Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh set the ball in motion and the awards came thick and fast. For a great summary read this article from Tubefilter. It was an uplifting evening.

Jane Espenson (we are not worthy) tells us that BSG is like chopped liver in her 2009 Streamys acceptance speech

So many winners, a few surprises and lots of hard work rewarded. It's a bit of a blur but I managed to remember enough about it to cobble together a blog post. So what will we see this year?

Joss Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen accept the Dr Horrible Streamy in 2009

Vanity Fair gives us a taste
Surprisingly (to me, anyway), the only place I've seen any real hint of what's going to happen on the night has been in this article. No real spoilers except that Keanu Reeves will be there....and no word if NPH will sneak along just for the heck of it (we can hope).

Neil Patrick Harris thrills at the Streamys 2009 with tales of Nathan Fillion's junk

Submit to a night of web history
There will be winners and losers but we can all share in the experience of seeing the future of web entertainment blossoming before our very eyes. The red carpet pre-show starts at 3:30 PST and the ceremony itself starts at 5:30 PST. Make sure you are locked onto http://www.streamys.org/ to be a part of history and I'll see you there (and on Twitter)! I'll be adding pictures from the ceremony on my Flickr account as quickly as they will upload.

The Guild looked fabulous last year but....

Who hopes that The Guild will show up in their Avatar costumes?!?

And the Streamy Nominations are....

Dr Horrible screenshot from Streamy Awards Nominations live webcast this morning

Online excitement this morning!

The highly anticipated announcements for the 2010 Streamy Awards came this morning in a live broadcast on uStream (with a simultaneous broadcast on Justin.tv). The show started with a montage from last year's award ceremony and the acceptance speeches from Felicia Day and Joss Whedon. By that time the chat was raring to hear the nominations and what a lot of categories!

Calendars cleared for April 11th 2010
The Award ceremony is on April 11th and you can find a full list of the nominees on streamys.org but here's some noms of interest:

The Guild
SEVEN nominations this year:

• Best Comedy Web Series
• Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: Sean Becker
• Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: Felicia Day
• Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series: Sandeep Parikh
• Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series: Felicia Day
• Best Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Web Series: Vincent Caso, Felicia Day, Jeff Lewis, Any Okuda, Sandeep Parikh, Robin Thorsen
• Best Guest Star in a Web Series: Wil Wheaton

Legend of Neil

THREE nominations this year:

• Best Comedy Web Series
• Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: Sandeep Parikh
• Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: Tony Janning, Sandeep Parikh

...and Nathan Fillion is up for Best Guest Star in a Web Series for PG Porn (against Wil Wheaton, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Courteney Cox and Chris Hardwick).

The Crew, Epic Fu, How It Should Have Ended, Happy Tree Friends, Buck Hollywood, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, Auto-tune The News and many others were also nominated, so check out the complete list and see if your favourite is up for an award!

People's Choice - coming soon...

It's not all down to the International Academy of Web Television. WE get to vote in the People's Choice Award - and that will be announced shortly. I tweeted @MarcHustvedt asking him when we'll find out and this was his reply:

Lots to look forward to in the coming weeks!

Joss was ahead of his time...Serenityday and Google Waves!

[Edit: This is already been discussed on Whedonesque (in May) and the feeling is that yes, Google is full of Firefly fans. Shiny! - thanks to Dani for the link)]

We all knew Joss was a visionary
But this is different - this is....technology!!! More proof that art imitates life imitating art (or something) has been occurring all over my interwebs yesterday and today, and probably yours, too. But you don't need to take my word for it - Google Wave made the front page of slashdot and my good friend, Louis Gray gave his first impressions on his blog (interesting but noisy. Google wave, not Louis. Although....) So, what's the the hubbub about? Louis explains:


"...Google released a waterfall of 100,000 invites to the Google Wave preview over the last day or so, giving bleeding-edge early adopter and information addicts a new playground to exchange conversations in real time..."


Er, so what?
Yes, good question! It's okay, I am not about to launch a new techblog - the market is pretty much tapped and I prefer to read what other, more thrusting people, have to say. No, the interesting thing for me is that this is real-time communication over a network and it's called a wave. Any Browncoat will tell you this is only a (webcam) step away from that envisioned by Joss in the Firefly/Serenity 'Verse. Which means nothing, of course, because most people could predict that at that stage in our future such technology would exist. And the fact that Google released it on and around Serenityday (Serenity was released in US cinemas on September 30th, 2005) is a pure coincidence. Unless Google is inhabited by Browncoats...What? Nerds loving Joss Whedon?? What are the odds....

But - a wave? Seriously?
That doesn't stop me from smirking to myself over the choice of terminology, though, particularly because Joss is such is technophobe that he will likely never know about it, or even care if he did. It isn't ironic, but it made me smile. We all remember he recent comment on Whedonesque where he exhorted people to buy 'Date my Avatar' and spread the word:


"And I'm hobbled here, peeps. I don't twitter (I occasionally Glitter and Be Gay, but that's it), can't digg, or favorite, or friend... In fact I don't understand why my typewriter has a TV on it. I'M NOT SAVVY."


All this gives me a great opportunity to post a clip from Serenity. And I would have done that if I could have found a decent one (like Mal/Inara and the trap), but my YouTube foo gave up on me. But you know the drill. Can't stop the Signal. Just pop in the DVD instead and enjoy. Meet you on the Cortex.


And perhaps watch this video from Browncoats: Redemption, too. Yes! Our first glimpse of the crew!