Behind the Scenes

SATURDAY ~ Bonbons, Tacos and Being Pantless?

Clare Kramer and Elizabeth Anne Allen

They work well together, and smile warmly at the audience. Elizabeth responds to a question about her perception of acting before she actually became an actor, "Well, naively I grew up in a small town so I thought everybody was out there lounging on the couch eating Bonbons waiting for their agent to call. It wasn't like that. We laugh when we're sitting around the set with little hand warmers trying to keep warm and there's somebody poking at you or sticking their hand down your drawers so that your underwear doesn't stick out", everyone laughs as she drolly states, "Oh the glamour of Hollywood! You kind of get a different perspective, it's hard work but there's so much fun to it." A member of the audience compliments them before she asks, "How much time do you go about getting into character and go about getting back into Elizabeth and Clare?" Clare answers first, "Glory was quite a character. Once I got her mannerism and stuff down it was really easy for me to slip into just the whole feeling and presence of her. Getting out of her was a little harder. My friends were like, 'You're awfully bitchy this year.' 'I'm sorry, it's my work.' But you just learn to let go of it and sometimes it takes a little longer than others." For Elizabeth it was a little easier, "For me, Amy is just part of my past now. I sort of integrate her as part of me and anytime I go there I know her history so personally now so when I went in there I had all the long years, she just comes to me. I don't channel her mind you. She just comes to me and when I leave, I leave her there."

Elizabeth jokes about her reappearance in Season 6, "Phew! One episode earlier and I would have been singing. That would have been a disaster. No, I'm a shower singer and not a very good shower singer." She was obviously relieved to have avoided Once More With Feeling! On the behaviour of Amy upon her initial return she is very philosophical, "Imagine being vacant for three years . . . so much has changed ... I'd be glued to the TV eating cookies too!" she dryly states as the audience are reduced to tears of laughter. Swoop takes the mic, "Drew Greensburg was responsible for the episode you returned in and we all know the that writers on Buffy are amazing, but simplicity at it's finest, personally in that episode one of the best scenes between Amy and Buffy was when they first realize each other is there. 'How are you?' 'Rat, you?' Dead.' 'Huh.'" Elizabeth agrees, "That was my favourite line, because the two of us just looked at each other and it was just so easy because it's exactly like, you know for me I had just actually walked out on set over our first scene and it was sincere, 'How are you?' You know rat, dead. It was so apropos. 'Well alright!' "

As for Clare, her favourite line is from the 100th Episode, "'You lost your hammer sweet cheeks, what are you gonna hit me with now?' And then she hit me with the wrecking ball, but that was one of my favourite lines. There's so many good lines, the writers are really generous with their words". And her favourite scene, "Although I was freezing!" Her favourite scene she says, "Would've had to have been the bathtub scene because it was just a lot of fun to have all the minions there and the drinking and the chocolates, which I was actually drinking and eating." This raises a cheer and some laughter. Someone comments about the great wardrobes that the girls had in the show, " I thought it was really cool that Amy just went straight out shopping". Elizabeth responds, "I like to think I just pilfered through Willow's wardrobe. I think their goal was to sex us up or something. I felt like Britney Spears in that one outfit." Part way through the session, Clare is just about to tell us if she thinks there is any chance of Glory returning to Buffy, when she gets handed a gold box with a pair of very brief items of underwear for her and Eliza [Dushku], which just goes to show that some con go-ers are more than a tad unhinged it seems.

"I think their goal was to sex us up or something. I felt like Britney Spears in that one outfit." ~ Elizabeth

Thankfully, she takes it all in her stride, "I have a feeling", beginning to answer, "ahhh!" and then, "Woo Hoo, I love them! Thank you, I will definitely pass the other pair onto Eliza and we will wear them out." Elizabeth exclaims, "Oh My God!" and then both the girls double up with laughter. As you can imagine there are plenty of hoots from the audience too!

Next comes the inevitable question to Clare, "You're one of the actresses of being in the very enviable position of putting James Marsters down on the bed and being on top of him, was it fun?" Clare is very sporting as she answers, "Oh yeah! I just wish I had more scenes with him. He's a really sweet guy to work with and he's hot so that never hurts. And that scene was a lot of fun and the director kept being like, 'Okay one more take' and I was like, 'That's fine'." The girls are asked their opinion on whether Spike should be having a relationship with Buffy. Elizabeth laughs, "Well yes! He's made his way around, when's he gonna get to me? For God's sake I need a little action, I've been out of service for 3 years. I'm not having any of that Rack." As she rolls her eyes, the audience is left reeling once again. She is also very cagey about her future in Buffy, she won't say if we will be seeing her again but, "I will say I took my cage with me." A little fun; someone in the audience asks, "Have you ever been asked any strange questions?" Elizabeth laughs, "Yeah, what utensil would I be? Fork ." So of course someone has to ask, "Clare, what's your utensil?" Her response, a mock glare and, "Fork", producing lots of laugher all round. As for future projects, Clare has a film coming out, the prequel to American Psycho called The Rules of Attraction, which will be out around September. And another film called The Mallory Effect. Elizabeth has just finished working on a show called Family Law and has been producing too!

Amy Acker and J. August Richards

They arrive on stage to the theme music from Angel and yet once again, Amy gets an enormous round of applause and cheers! J is quite happy to pass the stage to Amy and he decides to tell us a little behind-the-scenes tale, "I'm going to start this tale the day that miss Amy Acker came in for her first screen test. Are there any recording devices in here?" Amy blushes and with a shy giggle asks, "What are you going to do?" J decides that it would not be fair to embarrass Amy and tells us a shortened version of the story, "We did this very interesting scene that Joss had written and Alexis and I were there and we were told we were screen testing with a possible new addition to the show. We show up on the set that day and we met Amy who, as you know, is obviously beautiful and when she did the first rehearsal of the scene which was a very interesting scene that sort of foreshadows I guess what happens at the end of season three that we were just stunned by her talent and knew right away that is was all going to work out so obviously joined the show and doesn't she do a great job?" The audience cheer to show their agreement! Amy will not be outdone though and as she is asked if J is a good kisser she admits, "Yes. Very." Then slyly follows, "And I'll leave it at that." As J nonchalantly states, "I try!" the audience is laughing again. Oh these two are good!

J. displays his impression of Amy singing on set

An audience member comments on Fred and Gunn's relationship and how its sweetness has brought light to what can otherwise be a dark show. Amy agrees, "I think it's really neat that in the middle of all this stuff that's going on, I know some people were like, 'How can they get together when all this bad stuff is going on?' But it seems like a lot of times in real life tragedy brings people together and in the show we're always surrounded by these big kinds of tragic events. And it's great when we get to work together, even our working relationship is so, the scenes it's just a nice refreshing thing to have your scene with J. And when Fred and Gunn get to do scenes it's always - they get to be outside in the sunlight, it's cool." And was it a surprise that the Angel and Amy 'thing' didn't develop? Amy reveals her thoughts on this, "I think Joss is always about timing people so I think he made people think that Angel and Fred might have something so that he could throw Cordelia in there." On the subject of Cordelia, someone asks about the 'Oh Angel', 'Oh Buffy' scene that Cordelia and Wesley enacted. Amy recalls, "I remember that scene, I don't remember how many takes that was. I think we we're having a little bit of fun with that so they were willing to go there on the first take. I don't remember it taking too long because David was there so Alexis was getting a kick making fun of him kind of to his face. I've never met Sarah so I don't know if Charisma -- she seemed like she was having fun too. The cool thing about not knowing everything going on and I haven't all of the Buffy's from day one, I've seen some so when Fred learns things sometimes I'm learning them at the same time."

All the cast members do get on well together and Amy talks a little about her relationships on set, "It's great. We were talking earlier about how we have a really special relationship with each person on the cast. J is like my best friend, we share a trailer together, we sit outside and talk all the time about going dancing and drinking. And David's kind of like a big brother type person, he's always tripping me and tickling me and playing jokes on me--which are funny sometimes--we each have such a special relationship with all of the different people and they're all so different. I think that this season that you kind of see that in the show, there's been a real part of the show that you see how people get along with each other and react to each other and I think that has a lot to do with the way we click as a group." When asked if there have been any pranks on set, J grins and he begins the story, "Well, somebody did a whole scene without their pants on behind the desk. And we couldn't get through a single take. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. He's not going to appreciate me telling you." As he goes to turn off the camera Amy shouts, "I'll tell them", to which she receives tumultuous applause and cheers. She continues, "It was during one of my close ups so I was the one didn't get through any of them. It was Alexis. And so now we told him every time he's behind the desk he has to do the scene with no pants on."

"Everyone else can keep a straight face but if anything funny happens, I die laughing." ~ Amy

Now there is a surprise, someone without clothes on set and it's not David! J tells us about an extra, in the episode Fredless, that no matter how many takes he did he kept on bumping into a plant on set and they could not stop laughing! Amy admits, "I am the worst one about laughing. Everyone else can keep a straight face but if anything funny happens I die laughing." J continues, "Alexis is the best, he won't break character. The whole world could be going to pot and Alexis would still be acting." Amy adds, "And David is the one who tries to make you laugh the most!"

A lady in the audience asks if they would have considered doing an All Singing, All Dancing episode or even the humorously fan requested All Naked, All Gay episode. J rolls his eyes and quips, "Oh we did that, you all just haven't seen it!" The audience are reduced to hysterical laughter and Amy shouts above the cheers, "I think Joss's ballet episode was our musical." It is then revealed that the extra scene in the script for Waiting In The Wings, the dream sequence, was actually filmed. Amy laughs as she reveals, "Alexis is kind of putting life threats on Joss I think but Joss thinks he might put it on the DVD's. I'll just say, 'Men in tights', that's another." J agrees that, "The scene is hilarious." Amy explains how the whole episode came to be, "It's funny because the reason Joss wrote that episode is one time I told him that I wanted to be a ballerina when I was younger and I studied ballet for 14 years. And so he was like, 'Really?' and like a week later he was like, 'Here's the episode we're doing next week' and I was like, 'Wait, you didn't ask me which 14 years, I haven't danced in 7 years' and he was like, 'Well get you point shoes out'. He wrote this episode which was great because I don't think he was even planning on directing an Angel and he was like, 'I love the ballet, I've got to write one about it', and it's the most magical episode, everyone had the most amazing time and that was a very special scene and hopefully one day you'll get to see it because you'll laugh."

On a more serious note, the guests are asked about the episode Billy and Amy's thoughts about the scenes Fred had with Gunn and Wesley, she sets the scene as she explains, "Both of them are such wonderful actors and we were in this hotel that I really probably the scariest place in the world anyway. It's this old hotel in Los Angeles that I think must be haunted. So I was already scared because it's like 4:00 in the morning and we're wondering through this hotel which is all torn down except for where we are shooting and they're like, 'Don't go in that room, don't go in that room', and then to have Alexis who's an amazing person to work with, chasing you around with an axe - it was very scary, I don't feel like I was even acting that much, it was mostly real." Amy is asked how difficult it was to come down form the 'axe scene'. She is thoughtful, "Everyone was really proud that they really went there with that episode, they took it to the darkest place they could. Alexis and I kind of talked about it afterwards, we just didn't want it to be okay in the next episode. We tried to carry it over into the next episode, we were okay with it but there was still some sort of tension. But it was a really big deal what happened."

As they are asked about how they relate to their characters, J. is quick to jump in, "Can I tell them that you eat a lot? Like Fred does, she eats a whole lot." They both laugh as Amy admits, "I do eat a lot and I do love tacos. I wish I were as smart as she is. And I'm a lot more shy I think than she is, she tends to talk a lot." She turns to J., "You're not that much like Gunn." J ponders this before answering, "When is comes to our scenes, that's like the real J coming out. But I think it's cool because I think that that's just underneath everything that we've ever seen about my character. I've always felt that about my character, even in the scenes that were intense or like when people were saying to me a lot of times, 'You seem very angry' or I always felt underneath was like a really huge heart of a person so I think maybe we do have that in common." J is asked to talk about his role in The Temptations and enthuses, "I love it man; I had such a great time doing that movie. The funny thing is right before that I did a movie called Why Do Fools Fall In Love, if you're thinking about going to get it to see me in it, I'm not in it all that much. I played a character who was in a group called The Teenagers, which was Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers and they were around in the 50's and then I did The Temptations, which were the 60's and 70's so now I'm figuring I've got to end my trilogy and I've got to do The New Edition Story, and I'm gonna play Bobby Brown." As he smiles, Amy teases him and calls to the audience, "You should actually make J sing because he sings that all the time." More cheers and laughter ensue and J has a little joke of his own, "There's one on the set that Amy likes that goes something like this": he starts to sing, "I used to think I had the answers to everything", he laughs as he admits, "I'm joking! For those who don't know it's called, I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman."

Amy once starred in Shakespeare's The Tempest, and upon being asked if she sees any parallels between Fred and Miranda she reflects, "There's so many parallels between our show and Shakespeare it's quite funny, we do - Joss has members of the cast over to his house like once a month usually and we read a Shakespeare play and have drinks and eat food. I think that after every time we read one, well first of all we're like, 'okay, when are we doing this for an audience?' and then - you just notice that there's storylines or plots or something is going to happen in Angel or has happened that kind of correlates with Shakespeare, it's pretty cool." According to J, the next play they are due to enact at Joss's is King Lear and he is pleased by this, "I'm going to get to play Edmond and I want to play that part, it's going to be fun." Amy's choice, "I think probably Helena from A Midsummer's Night Dream would just be a blast. We read it at Joss's but I've never done the whole production." We have come to the end of our hour and we have been thoroughly entertained by J and Amy who have a great rapport but despite all the jokes about kissing, both are well and truly taken. Amy talks about J, "J has a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend named Tangi [Miller] who is great and she is the lucky girl who gets to go home with him and kiss him." And J follows with, "And unfortunately Amy has a boyfriend named James, and I'm saying unfortunately for any young men out there who might be interested cause who wouldn't be but he's a really wonderful actor and good guy." He laughs and sighs, "Ahh it's just a love-fest up here!"

Anne McBride and Darryl Curtis of Titan Magazine

Mark Wyman of VisiMag.com stops by to chat with CoA

And there endeth Saturday's talks, so we make room a bit of time for socialising as we run into Darryl Curtis and Anne McBride from Titan Magazines. It's introductions all round between the CoA Team and the Titan Crew and instantly everyone is getting along famously. We also run into Mark Wyman from VisiMag.com and Paul Condon from the BBC who takes care of their Buffy chatroom who we swapped media horror stories with. Seems everyone works as hard as we do, so it's nice to know all the hard endeavours are worth it! It's nice to finally meet up with all these wonderful folk who help make CoA such a great site and who offer in their own mediums outstanding fodder for all the Buffy and Angel fans. As we all return to our respective responsibilities we are told that the theme for the night has been changed to a surprise birthday party for Julie Benz, whose birthday it was the Wednesday before. So we all queue to sign a huge birthday card for her, and also one for David and Jamie (his wife) congratulating them on the birth of their son.

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