Firefly Talk

Jewel Staite's Weblog

Note: this is an up-to-date backup of Jewel's active blog, with entries displayed in chronological order, for easier reading in sequence.

8 June 2004

Well, day three on the set of "Serenity" begins tomorrow. My day three, anyway. I think they're actually on day six or seven. Anyway. We're back in the desert, where we shot the majority of our exterior scenes for the series, and MAN!! does it get hot out there. It's the kind of hot where you open the oven door to check on dinner, and you just get that dry, stifling blast. I can't imagine anyone living in the desert. I'm outside for five minutes, and I'm already whining about how sweaty I am.

I only work two days this week, and then Matty and I are off to Florida for the DreamCon convention. I just got my itinerary from Ron, the guy who's throwing the convention, and it looks like I'm going to be alone (!) for the question and answer periods for the first time. I'm always worried that what I say doesn't make sense. I'm much better in writing. When you have hundreds of eyes glued to you, the pressure is really on, you know what I mean? For the Starfury convention, I did all of my Q&A periods with Summer Glau, so we could sort of look to each other if we didn't know the "correct" response to a question. Or if we couldn't understand what people were saying, because besides being echo-y in there, Scottish accents are difficult to understand—at the best of times. Trust me, I have relatives that are Scottish, and I'm like, "what did you just say?" But the highlight of the Q&A sessions was watching Nathan Fillion: that man is so great with audiences. They were riveted by him. Hell, I was riveted. He's just so relaxed, and so confident, and he made every fan feel very special. And he stood, instead of sat, on stage, which was a good choice. He was very "in control" of the room. I learned a lot watching him.

Anyway. Matty and I went out to sushi at our favorite Japanese restaurant in LA, called 'Hamasaku'. The guy who runs it, Toshi, is hilarious. We kind of go just for him, even though the food is fantastic. He was always bugging me to bring him a Firefly poster, and FOX never had any made, and all we had were these old publicity shots. So I brought him one of those, and he hung it up in the restaurant right ABOVE Christina Aguilera's picture that she had brought him. ABOVE. We'll definitely be going back.

Tonight, we're making ravioli and watching a movie, and then it's early to bed for me. My call time tomorrow morning is 6:30 AM, and it takes me an hour to get to the location. I'll write next week after my DreamCon experience and give you the dirt on all of that.

Happy Wednesday!

Jewel

20 June 2004

As of yesterday, I have two whole weeks off!! Yay! I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself, since I'm not used to having that kind of time off, but here I am. Lots of lying by the pool, reading my book, watching movies, cooking, and spending time with Matt, which are all of my favorite things to do. I have this obsession with watching the food network with a pen and paper at the ready, watching my favorite shows. Rachel Ray is the best. I have two of her cookbooks. All of her stuff is foolproof, and she has great "company's coming over" kind of recipes. I tell everyone I made the recipes up myself, on a whim, "threw this and this together". You should see their faces. I've never had a bad recipe with Rachel Ray.

I cook a lot of pastas. Italian is our favorite. It absolutely amazes me how many people are carb-conscious these days. NO ONE is eating carbs, especially here in LA. There is something wrong with completely cancelling something out of your diet like that. It just doesn't sound safe to me. Or healthy. Or fun. We have pasta at least twice a week, and bread all the time. How could you have a sandwich without any carbs? How could you give up sandwiches?

Anyway. DreamCon was an adventure (we went last weekend for three days). We met lots of great fans, and pumped the hell out of the movie. The Q&A sessions were my favorite, again. I was also invited to attend DragonCon at the end of August/beginning of September, which sounds like a blast. These conventions are the easiest thing in the world. You show up, sign some stuff, chat for a couple of hours, take some pictures, and collect your fee. It is literally the easiest way of making money short of robbing a bank. And sometimes I do feel like I'm robbing a bank in a sense, because I have so much fun.

I saw "Dodgeball" last night, Alan Tudyk's new movie. He was fabulous, of course. Alan is one of my favorite people. He filmed "I, Robot" in Vancouver for a few months in the summer of 2003. We hung out with him a lot, had lots of dinners out, took him to a few "hot spots", had some barbeques... He's such a great person. This year is going to be really incredible for him. Two movies coming out, back to back! It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

I'm getting new headshots taken tomorrow morning. Finally. My most recent ones are from four years ago, and I look a little different since then. They were taken in my "Just Deal" days, with the shorter, straighter, blonder hair. Taking new headshots is always fun. You get to be yourself (whoever that is) and wear what you want to wear, and do your own hair and make-up. You're not promoting anything (but you) and you don't have to listen to anyone else's ideas about how it's going to go. And you get to choose which pictures you want to use.

We're off to breakfast with some friends. Pancakes and croissants and all the carbs I can possibly consume in one sitting.

Jewel

8 July 2004

My two weeks of time off are over and I'm back to working twelve-plus hours a day. Still not complaining though. Every time I get to see some of our footage of the stuff we've already shot, I'm even more excited to come to work again the next day.

Filming on Universal is a real trip. My dressing room is really close to the Jurassic Park ride, so every four minutes or so, this song comes on to signify the end of the ride. The Jurassic Park theme song. I thought it was really cool for, like, the first eight times, and now I'm humming it in my sleep. The trams go right by my dressing room too, which is surreal. I leave my door open when I'm inside to get fresh air going through, and I'll look up and have tourists peering in at me like I'm some kind of lion at the zoo. And if I have sunglasses on, they'll take pictures. They don't even care to know who I am... they just think that if I'm wearing shades, I must be somebody. It's pretty hilarious. When I'm really bored, I wave at them like I'm the queen. They get really confused when you wave.

So many things are filming at Universal along with us. I wish I could go around and peek inside everyone's sound stages just to see what's happening. I'm pretty convinced that our sound stages are the coolest, especially "legendary" Stage 12 (don't ask my why it's legendary... I have no idea what's filmed there, but everyone uses the word "legendary" before they say Stage 12). Our whole ship is built in there. The whole first level—cargo bay, infirmary, bunks, etc. and the second level—engine room, aft deck, dining room, foredeck, and the bridge. I can't tell you how overwhelmed I was when I first walked on to that set, all lit up. It's like no time has passed. Well, the ship's gotten a little bit of a make over, but nothing too major—just a few special details added here and there. It all looks so great.

Today we were filming some special effects stuff, which always takes for-EVER. We had a lot of time on our hands, so we were all joking about how it would be funny if it was "Serenity: the Musical". We were all trying to determine who sang and who didn't. They call me the "closet singer" because I never, ever sing in hearing range of anyone. Joss was like, pointing a finger at me, "I know YOU sing, because I read it on your web site!!" I was like, "huh?" Joss reads my web sites? Is that weird? I guess if I read his, it's not. And I do sometimes. Just to see what he says about me. Ha ha. I'm joking. Well, not really.

Anyway, I'm back to work tomorrow. More special effects stuff. More Jurassic Park theme song. But life is good. Every day on this movie, I'm looking around really realizing that.

Jewel

23 July 2004

We are officially "more than half way" to finishing "Serenity". It's unbelievable that time is flying by this fast. And it's even more unbelievable that I still don't know my way around the Universal lot. I know where the Starbucks is, though. And I know exactly how much time it takes to get from my house to the front door of my trailer in the morning. I've timed this so I can sleep in as much as possible, which is kind of sad and stupid, because another eight minutes of sleep really doesn't make any kind of difference at all.

But you know what does? Snapple. I put a little bug in somebody's ear that I loved me an ice-cold lemon iced tea Snapple every once in a while, and someone planted two cases of the stuff in my trailer. So now I have an addiction. I have to drink all of it before the shoot is over, or all of those lovely little Snapple's will go to waste.

The dailies have been looking great so far. Every lunch hour, the crew and the cast (the ones that can stand to watch themselves on screen, that is) scurry into the viewing theatre next to our stage to see what kind of magic we've created the day before. They have lunch there for us, so we pile our plates in a hurry, and then settle into our seats to watch the footage. Problem is, once the lights go out, it is BLACK in there, and you can't see what kind of forkful you're getting, so it's always a surprise what lands in your mouth. I ate my butter packet yesterday, a nice big mouthful of foil and lard. So now I inhale my food before the lights go down and then suffer through indigestion for the rest of the lunch hour. Good times!

This Sunday is ComiCon, which we're all very excited about. Universal is flying us out there bright and early, and we're spending the day doing a panel and an autograph session. We've never done anything as a whole and complete cast convention- wise, so it'll be very cool. I've also confirmed my attendance at DragonCon during labor day weekend. Matty's birthday is September 4th, so his birthday party will have to be postponed until we come back. We've never been to Georgia, so we're pretty excited.

People on the Firefly/Serenity message boards are still chattering about my weight. I don't look skinnier. Just older. Because I am. And since I'm in my twenties, it's hard for me to keep weight on. I feel happy though, and healthy. When I'm hungry I eat, and when I'm full I stop. It's a perfect existance. The only times I go overboard is if there are cheeseburgers around, and the only times I go under-board is when there's corn or Thai food around. I hate corn and I hate Thai food. Hate. Passionately. But no, they're not adding weight to me in CGI, and no, Joss isn't force-feeding me every day at the craft service table. Kaylee will look like Jewel (unfortunately? fortunately?) because that's who's playing her. Thank God.

PS I saw I, Robot with Mr. Tudyk himself the other day and LOOOVED it. Yay, Alan!

Jewel

9 August 2004

I just got over the worst cold of my life. I had the shivers, the runny nose, the sore throat, the fever, no appetite, etc. The whole shebang. It sucked. I spent most of my weekend holed up in a hot bath and drowning myself with juice and taking lots of vitamins. FUN! To make matters a bit worse, I think I got Alan Tudyk sick, too. He came to work today with a fever and a stuffy nose. Whoops.

I'm still feeling a little weak, so I'm going to be taking it easy the next few days. We just did a loooong scene today where we're walking up and down these stairs. The whole scene took place on three flights of stairs, walking up and down and up and down, so that was interesting. My legs are going to be so sore tomorrow. We did get to work with a couple of "new actors" today, Yan and Raphael Feldman, who are the absolute shit, if you ask me. They are fantastic actors, look great, and fit right in with our usual on-set hyjinks. I can't wait to see this scene cut together.

Adam Baldwin has found a "rescue dog", a little collie mix with long ears and black spots. He's adorable. I almost wanted to ask him if I could have him. I fell in love. So now I'm not the only one that brings my dog to work, which takes some of the guilt off of me.... I hate to be a person to cause trouble, but I don't want her to be at home all day long by herself, and I can't help that if my husband's out of town. So she hides out in my trailer and we find inconspicuous pieces of grass for her to do her biz on. But I'm glad I'm not the only one now. I'm pretty sure dogs aren't allowed on the lot, too... so I hope no security personnel read this.

My last day of work is coming up soon!! What is up with that? What happened? Time literally flew by. They actually asked us what kind of music we wanted played at our wrap party the other day, which must mean we're nearing the end soon. That's going to be a sad day. Bittersweet, because I get to go home to Vancouver, but really, really sad to be leaving everyone. (until next time!!!)

My husband gets home tonight from Vancouver, finally. He's been gone just under a week, but that's still a little too long for me. I love that we've known each other for almost five years, and we still miss each other this much. I can't stand to be away from him. Even when I'm mad at him, I can't stand to be away from him.

Anyway, tonight I have HUGE plans. I've ordered a pizza and I'm going to give myself a manicure. Gee, the glamorous life of an actress. I should be doing the enormous pile of laundry waiting for me in the corner, or cleaning the bathrooms, but that all sounds really boring. The next time I write, it'll be after my "picture wrap".

Jewel

27 August 2004

Serenity is officially over. I'm going to the wrap party tomorrow night. We've packed up our stuff in boxes. My dressing room is cleared out. Kinda crazy that it went by so fast, but I knew it would.

The last two weeks (specifically my last week, which was second to last for the rest of the crew) was very, very hectic. We saved the most difficult stuff to the end, which I guess was a good idea, considering we had so much time (and so much fun) doing the nice stuff for the first two months. But all of the action stuff was tagged on at the end of the schedule, which means lots of scrambling to get our "days"... and by that I mean, lots of overtime. Some of us—and I won't say who because that would be saying too much—had so much stunt/wire work to do, they basically worked all day and then went straight to rehearsal (which we call Fight Camp), and then got up in the morning to work again, and so on. Whew.

I'm glad that we were so busy, though, because none of us could see "the end" coming so much. And when it did happen, it was very surreal. It was late at night, and everyone was fired up on caffeine (having slept probably about six hours the night before, if that), and ready to keep filming... and suddenly it was announced that we were wrapped. And not just any wrap... "picture wrapped". But it was a really lovely moment. Everyone was so exhausted, we literally collapsed into each other's arms for a hug and vowed to celebrate at the wrap party (so we didn't really have to say good-bye right then)... and that was it.

To be a part of something so special is incredibly gratifying. I can't wait to see the finished cut with all the special effects included. I can't wait to see people's reactions. It's going to an interesting 2005.

As will DragonCon, which is next weekend... That snuck up on me, too. Adam and Nathan are going, (as the whole world knows by now at this point) which is nice for me. I have my big bro's there to help me spread the word. It'll be a nice cap to a wonderful experience.

What a place to be in right now. I feel great. Tired, but great.

I'll write when I'm home in beautiful Van-city.

Jewel

21 September 2004

Now that my life is relatively back to "normal" (what is that?), I'm not sure what to write about. I guess I should just be honest and say what's on my mind. WORK. Work is a good thing. All of my friends are telling me to chill out, take a break, live life like a normal person (there's that word again), and just do the things that make me happy. But I think to be creatively happy, I have to be involved in something work-wise that I love. Which isn't the case right now. But I'm still content.

Lately I'm spending my days walking my dog, going shopping for sweaters and fall gear, catching up with friends over long lunches or cocktails at my favorite spots around the city... sleeping in and hanging out with my family, and doing errands I forgot about sixth months ago like getting my teeth cleaned. There are auditions, of course, which is nice... but it's hard to come off of something so wonderful, like "Serenity", and have to distance yourself just so you're not disappointed... if that makes sense. Nothing is ever going to be like that experience. That's just the way it is.

During our long drive home to Vancouver, Matty and I came up with a new, very addictive game called "Top Ten". I think up a category, like, "what's your favorite top ten vacation spots ever?" and he answers, then I answer... and then it's his turn to think up the next category (I think one of his was, "what were your top ten favorite songs that make you cry?") Anyway. I thought I'd apply my new favorite game here, and give you my top ten favorite things about Serenity, my top ten least favorite things about filming Serenity, and then finally... since some people are wondering about how DragonCon went, my top ten favorite things about DragonCon. So here goes: * these are in no particular order, either.. number one isn't any better than number five, and so on...*

TOP TEN THINGS I WILL MISS FROM FILMING "SERENITY":

1. The breakfast sandwiches every morning. Little egg, little bacon, little tomato, little processed cheese, little English muffin.... hello!!!

2. Sean Maher's laugh. I could listen to Sean laugh all day long. His nostrils flare slightly when he laughs. (shhh)

3. Watching the footage from the day previous every lunch hour. What an excellent breaking point to the middle of the day.... and how inspiring that was.

4. Giving Nathan the finger, more ways than one (hundred).

5. Nathan's parties at his house. And how the girls always won on game night. And yes, I said ALWAYS.

6. Joss-hugs.

7. The cakes and letters and other wonderful things delivered to us by faithful Browncoats.

8. Conversations with Morena. And Summer. And Gina. I miss them.

9. The hair and make-up team!!! I. LOVED. MY. HAIR.

10. This crew. And this cast. Actually, every single person who was involved in the making of this movie. I had the best time. It filled every expectation and then some. I am so proud I was a part of it.

And now...

TOP FIVE THINGS I DON'T MISS ABOUT FILMING "SERENITY": (cause I can't think of ten)

1. Getting indigestion from the breakfast sandwiches.

2. The smell of the toilets in the dressing rooms when they hadn't been emptied for a few weeks.

3. Walking in on political discussions involving I-won't-say-who.

4. The Jurassic Park theme song.

5. Saying good-bye.

And finally:

TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT DRAGON*CON:

1. The fans. Hands down. How much fun did we have? And thank you to everyone you showed us a good time at the Hyatt bar... you know who you are.

2. The Marriott Hotel. Which was beautiful.

3. Spending some time with "11th Hour" aka Susan, who rocks. What a brilliant woman.

4. The Q&A sessions. Those are always my most favorite, and I wish they lasted for three hours... not one. One isn't enough, people!!

5. The panel involving the true Firefly/soon-to-be Serenity fans in the Hyatt on Sunday night. Thank you for welcoming me and letting me interrupt your panel. You guys are awesome.

6. All the people dressed up as the Firefly crew, especially the "Kaylee's"... nice job!

7. Flipping Nathan the bird along with the rest of the Dragon*Con population.

8. The last-minute, absolutely wonderful birthday party thrown for Matty on his 25th birthday. Thanks for making him feel so welcome, as always.

9. All the "fabulous people" (you know who you are) I met in the VIP suite. Can't wait to see you again.

10. The food. No, just joking..... I would say, lastly, the amount of spirit I witnessed. There are a lot of people out there who care about this show, and about "Serenity", and it's future. Because of you, we may be able to do a few more movies... That's the goal, right? I can't express my gratitude enough to you people. Thanks for an awesome labor day weekend.

I'll be keeping in touch.... Can't wait for you guys to see that first trailer!!!!

Love Jewel

8 October 2004

I thought I'd write since some things have come into play in the last few weeks. First of all, I've landed a role in a great project called "Widow on the Hill". It's a Lifetime movie, which means it'll air on TV and then go to DVD, most likely, but the script is really wonderful. And my character is very dark and troubled, which is a nice change. It's a very dramatic, suspenseful story about a... well, I can't tell you. I can say this: James Brolin plays my beloved Daddy, and Natasha Henstridge is also starring.

"Widow" is filming in Toronto, and for a month, so my husband has decided to join me here to keep me company. Thank God it's worked out so when I'm working, he's not, and vice versa. It's so nice to have a little bit of family with you when you're away from home so much, you know? And he's my best friend, so I can tell him anything and do anything. I can laugh till I'm crying or cry till I'm laughing, and he never judges me.

So it looks like once we get home, we're off to Maryland for another convention, this one called Galaxy Con. I hear it's smaller than the "Biggies", like DragonCon, but the people involved seem real nice, and we have to spread the "Serenity" word, right? AS MUCH as possible.

A little birdie just told me the film may be cut together already. I hear it looks AMAZING. I am very jealous that this little birdie got to see it before me, but those are the breaks when you're living far away. But it's still very exciting to know that Serenity is past yet another stage, and is now probably going through special effects stuff and what-not. I cannot WAIT to see this movie!

And I know I've said that a million times already.

This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, but we're spending it doing wardrobe fittings, rehearsals, cast readthroughs, and a cast dinner... all the stuff we must do to "prep" before a movie starts actually filming. We go to camera on Tuesday (the 12th). Wish me luck, and I'll keep in touch.

Off to be dramatic and troubled,

Jewel

1 November 2004

I'm writing to you from my "office" at the Grand Hotel, which I share with all the rest of the guests in the hotel. This eight-or-nine year old boy is always here, playing computer games and talking to himself. Where are his parents? I dunno.

"Widow on the Hill" is almost finished... exactly four days to go, and then it's over. Funny how as soon as you start to get attached to these things, they just melt away. You don't even see it coming. The character I've been playing is the most complex I've ever played, even more so than Daisy from "Higher Ground". There is so much that this person (her/my name is Jenny) goes through. She is emotionally wrenched around, from every direction, and she has so many personal demons she has to face at the same time as facing the outer obstacles in her way. I feel like all I've been doing in this movie (on screen) is crying and losing my mind. I love this role; it's a beautiful role. But also very difficult.

I guess part of the reason I'm writing is because today I received this wonderful message from Joss Whedon, on my cell phone. He sounded really gleeful, which isn't terribly normal for Joss. He doesn't act extremely excited unless it's worth it.. and he just sounded so happy, and so positive. It's the kind of message you get that you play over and over, whenever you're moody or tired or pissed off for some reason.. or you just haven't eaten. I think I like listening to it because he has such wonderful things to say about Serenity. I had such a love affair with Serenity. And I know I wasn't the only one.

Aside from all that, I can say I'm looking forward to being back in rainy Vancouver again, with my dog, and my friends, and my family. And after Christmas comes January, and then February... and eventually April. We get to go to the UK again in April, my wedding anniversary is in April, and the best BDM is opening in April, so it's pretty much going to be one of the most wonderful months of next year.. for me.

I hope to see some faithfuls at Galaxy Con, and for the rest of you, I hope your Hallowe'en was awesome. I'll write again when I have more news.

Take care

Jewel

24 November 2004

Okay.......

So I know there's a bit of panic and disappointment in the air, re: the delaying of the premiere of "Serenity".... but this isn't such a bad thing! The delaying, I mean.

I can say completely honestly that I am not shocked that there would be a delay. This is Hollywood. This happens all the time. And it's for good reason, too. From what I am told, Universal is very excited about this movie. They love everything they've seen, and what they HAVE seen is without most of the special effects, which is saying a lot. Perhaps they came to some realizations about what needs to be done to market our movie properly. Or maybe they just want to make sure that it has the best opening weekend it can. They really do care. They're not doing this to be assholes. They're doing it for business reasons. Studios like to make their money back—trust me. Don't worry. Just think of it this way: by the time the movie actually opens, you will be peeing your pants with anticipation (hopefully), and you'll want to see it triple the times you were planning to see it in the first place!! (right?)

And also, this just gives us (meaning us as in actors and us as in the rest of you, the devotees as I proudly like to call you) more time to seek new converts. More time to buy your friends those DVD box sets. More time to get the word out about the film, so it can open successfully and so we can do a couple more. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING happens for a reason. I am a firm believer in that.

In the mean time, we will continue making appearances at conventions, as long as we are invited and are able. There is news of one in February that a lot of us may be attending, and a lot of you know about the one in the UK in late April of next year. We are spreading the word as best we can!

For non-Serenity news, my movie I wrapped not too long ago, Widow on the Hill, will be airing on the Lifetime network at the end of January. And as far as I know, THAT has not been pushed. Ha ha. Not that funny, I know.

It will all work out for the best. And that's not a comment from my faith. It's just simply a fact.

Now, go watch your Firefly DVDs again!

Jewel

5 December 2004

I know I just wrote not too long ago, but I have some news.

I just saw Serenity.

What to say about this without giving too much away? I was moved. I was proud. I was excited and breathless and open-mouthed and tearful. I still can't believe we were able to do this, to make this movie and to work with each other again. We got another shot, and I think we made the most of it. It's just the right amount of shocking and just the right amount of "Firefly" goodness... but it does stand on its own.

I have faith in this thing. I cannot wait until the rest of you get to see it. I can't wait to see your reactions and hear what you have to say. I hope you love it as much as we do.

We had a chance to have dinner with Nathan (who put us up in his home while we were in town... since we live in Vancouver—for the moment) and the rest of the cast, and Joss afterwards. It was so nice to see everyone, and to share my first "screening" with the rest of the troops. I felt unbelievably proud of everyone.

Anyway, I just had to share. The wait, I hope, will be worth it. If you liked Firefly, you'll love this! And not just 'cause it's, like, three times the size and two hours long!!

Love, Jewel

16 January 2005

Happy 2005!

So far this year, I've done nothing but be irresponsible, which is always fun. We just got back from a vacation/not-so-much-of-a-vacation in Cancun. If anyone's ever been there, you know what I'm talking about. It's not exactly the type of place where you relax and read a book, you know? After morning water aerobics, there's tequila vollyball, "crazy hour" (where people make serious asses of themselves in the pool), "happy hour", and then shuttles that leave from your hotel to various nightclubs around town. I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. We usually go to Maui every year, around February, and it's worlds different from Cancun. In Maui I go through about three novels, sleep on the beach all day, have incredible food for dinner (the best sushi ever), and then watch the stars before going to bed nice and early. I don't know what I was expecting from Cancun, but it's NOTHING like Maui. We still had fun, though.

As for what's next, the insanity that is pilot season is starting soon, which means work, work work and about a million meetings and auditions. I feel like I'm in the eye of the storm right now or something. It's about to get hectic, I can feel it! OH! and Widow on the Hill is airing January 24th at 9pm, both eastern and pacific. I still haven't received my copy from the network yet, so I can't tell you much about it. It IS based on a true story, though... The reason why they say "inspired by real events" is because if they implied any more than that, the real people... meaning the real woman that Natasha Henstridge plays... would get pretty angry. Lawsuits kind of angry... so that's why they say that. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. I had a ball filming it.

Conventions seem to be springing up all over the place, so I'll let you know when that stuff is finalized. And please keep that momentum up for "Serenity". I promise the wait will be worth it, okay?

I love reading your posts and I love hearing your thoughts.

Take care and be safe...

Jewel

18 February 2005

Spring has sprung! It's still damn cold, but I see cherry blossoms, so I've convinced myself that pretty soon the winter jackets will have to be stored away. Then again, come February, isn't everyone slightly delusional that spring has arrived? Unless you're lucky enough to live somewhere where it's warm all year round?

I am SO excited to be going to New York at the beginning of April for I-Con. We're trying to stay for a few more days in Manhattan somewhere, just to feed that New York craving a little bit. My husband's never even been there, and it's kind of indescribeable (pretty sure I spelled that wrong), so I'm hoping that works out. I am also hoping there's a BIG turnout for the convention, since now's the time to get the buzz generating for "Serenity". I'm hoping it will build higher and higher and higher, so when the movie actually opens, the theatres will be packed to the brim with people.

We're all pretty thrilled with the responses the movie has been getting at the 'test screenings'. I wish I could be there, hiding in the back, just to hear those reactions. They need to do one in Vancouver!!

Oh, Happy belated Valentine's Day. We had "tandem" massages (that's the couples massage where you're side by side with two masseuses... spelled that wrong too, didn't I?), and pink champagne, and went to dinner at our favorite restaurant. The massage was very good, but I was really sore the next day. I made the mistake of telling my (male) masseuse that I could handle a lot of pressure, because I'm cocky like that... and the next day I had trouble putting my shirt on, I was so sore. I feel great now, though. I think it sort of pays off a few days later.

I think I've done enough blah-blah-blahing for right now. Will report again soon.

Take care...

Jewel

22 March 2005

I'm trying to do this once a month, religiously and regardless of how busy I am. And since I'm, like, not busy at all right now, I figured it was time to spew some more pointless nonsense. Yipeeee!

Just got back from Wizard World in LA. Such a tease.... I was only in town two days and had no time to visit my favorite restaurants, coffee shops, shoe stores, clubs, etc. I didn't even feel like I was really in LA at all until I experienced the rush hour traffic on the 10 heading to the airport on my way home. Something I definitely don't miss. Anyway, a good time was had by all, as usual. Got to see some cool little Mal-and-Jayne action figures (and even got to see them kiss), some sketches of what some of our characters are going to look like all comic-booked out (cooooool), and got to see a clip with a few added special effects from the movie. My what's-Serenity-going-to-look-like-once-it's-done cravings are somewhat curbed... for the moment.

I know I've said this before, but let me shove it down your throat again, cuz I can. I am absolutely FLOORED at how much support we have from our fans. I just found out that there's actually a Vancouver Firefly meetup group... it's just too tempting not to find out where they're meeting next. What do they talk about at these meetup groups, I wonder? What goes on? Is there drinking?

What else is new? Um, not much. I'm feeling very domestic lately. I'm cooking a lot, but that's not new. Just bought my fourth pair of shoes in one month, which is disgusting. They only had one size left, a half size smaller than what I really am, but I'm too ashamed to say anything about it and have continuously paraded around the house, limping around in them, insisting that they have to be "stretched out, that's all". What else? OH and I've been playing Pac-Man. Yes, life is truly exciting.

It's so funny because whenever I'm working, I'm dying for vacation time or time to just goof off and do whatever... and when I'm not working, I'm antsy and feeling guilty because I'm doing nothing. I've actually started going to the gym, which isn't right, so it's clear that I have way too much time on my hands. Enjoy it while it lasts, though, right?

I'm singing at a friend's show in a couple of weeks, at a bar here in town called the Oasis. Just a couple of songs, as a favor, really. He's a "real singer" so I might regret this, but who cares? Something to do, and my husband's emceeing it, so yet another excuse for me to participate. It'll be fun. Hey, you Vancouver meetup people, come to my friend's show! It's on April 3.

That's the latest.

Jewel

3 May 2005

Serenity Con...... whoa. Just got back from a whirwind in the UK with the best, most enthusiastic Firefly fans I have probably ever met. What a response! What costumes! What debauchery with them and my fellow crazy castmates! Seriously, it was incredible.

Highlights? Getting in nice and early Thursday so we had all day Friday to bomb around London with the gang. Chris Buchanan had spent a fair bit of time in London a few years back, so he knew where to go, what to eat, where to shop, etc. The weather was perfect, and it was really nice to see everyone and just hang out before the convention started. I have to say that the costume competition (they call it "fancy dress" in the UK) was another huge highlight. I'm usually super thrilled when, like, ONE person dresses up as Kaylee, let alone three or four. And they were all so good!!! The best of the evening, though, was the "Wash-o-saurus", which was essentially Wash riding a t-rex, complete with Hawaiian shirt and sideways grin. The mask, the dinosaur, everything was just out of this world. We gave her (yes, a she-Wash) first prize. Another highlight was the group Q&A, which we all did on Sunday together. It was really cool. We don't get to do those often, and it worked out really well. Except for the part where Summer started crying when she was asked to talk about the cast... which got Ron Glass crying, which got Morena and me crying... and we were all pretty much a mess. When Summer cries, it's kind of hard to ignore it.

So whew, here I am back at home, but not for long. There's some test screenings going on this week all over the US of A, and I was originally supposed to be a part of the Seattle screening... and then I booked a guest star on Stargate: Atlantis, that basically shoots at the exact same time as I'm supposed to be doing three hundred thousand other things. When it rains, it pours! Anyway, I will unfortunately have to miss this first batch of screenings, but for the next batch, if and when that is, I am SO THERE. Also, somehow this weekend I'm going to fit in a trip to LA for photo shoots and publicity stuff with the cast, then back at work for more Stargate next week.... How this will happen smoothly, I really don't know, and how I will sleep and actually look presentable for said photo shoots, I also don't know... but life is interesting, right? Interesting is good.

I guess everyone's heard about our DragonCon confirmations, which is awesome. It looks like there's going to be quite a few of us, yay! Also, another convention in LA in December, with a lot of us there as well... at the Century Plaza Hotel, which is a gorgeous hotel (that's where I stayed when I flew down to audition for Firefly, which is strange). There will be many chances to meet browncoats and spread the word, as well as par-tay with my buddies and have a laugh, also yay!

Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who turned up in Heathrow. You were all so incredibly welcoming and cool, and had such intelligent questions and things to say. Thanks for the goodies, too! (my hand-sewn "Serenity" pillow matches my house's decor perfectly!)

Until next time, take care..

Jewel

PS. OF COURSE I went shopping.. how could I go to London and not buy anything? The newest edition to the family is a gorgeous pair of tortoise Chanel sunglasses... fabulous! I wore them to bed last night, I love them so much.

31 May 2005

Ahhh June.... My favorite month. It's warm, it's my birthday, the beach is packed, it's not too hot, it's my birthday, all the summer clothes are finally out in the stores, the barbeque is getting good use, and it's also my birthday! The big 2-3 this year. Almost time to start acting responsibly, but not quite. I've managed to stretch the bday into two days this year: a lovely dinner out with my family and bestest friends on the Thursday, and an all-nighter party-hardy on the Saturday (yes, bought new dress—it's cashmere and green—HOTNESS). Hopefully the weather will hold up and it'll be fantastic. Even if it doesn't, champagne is also nice to drink indoors as well.

We just did another batch of screenings for "Serenity", as some of you know, and my city was Denver, which is an awesome place. Very friendly people, beautiful mountains, etc. Wish we had more time to bomb around when we were there, but we were literally in town for 24 hours or something. Anyway, the response from the audience was fabulous and warm and intelligent and dedicated... my favorite words to describe any Serenity-seeing audience.... so it went off without a hitch. I realize that some of you are getting a wee bit nervous that we're doing too many of these things. But here's something to consider: the movie's not finished yet! This is just a preliminary version. There will be some changes. Not a lot, but some. I'm hoping these audiences are interested in seeing the changes, or just really liked the movie the first time around and want to see it again. So never fear. The people at Universal are professionals, man! They know what they're doing! You can trust them! Okay? Okay.

Also, the comic books are going to be coming out soon. I saw that our comic likenesses have been already posted online, and most of you are as excited about them as we are. I am so psyched about these drawings. I think Mal looks absolutely friggin fantastic, so does Wash, so does River, so does Book (his eyes are just so perfect)... I could go on. I really like mine too, even though people are going off about how skinny Kaylee looks. AGAIN. People, seriously. Stop saying I'm too THIN!!! Whether you're talking about the illustration, or the real me... this is the way I am, naturally. I am really, really hoping that Kaylee is Kaylee, regardless of weight. And for all of you naturally skinny people out there, being petite is just as sexy as "meat on the bones". If that's the way you look no matter what you eat, then so be it. You know what they say: closer to the bone, sweeter is the meat! ha ha. That's kind of gross. Sorry. Anyway, being you is best. As long as you feel good and you're healthy and happy and satisfied, then it's all good.

Enough for now. Have fun.

Jewel

5 August 2005

I'm afraid this is long overdue, but time seems to have flown by. I have never traveled so much in my LIFE these past couple of months... lots of airmiles racked up for jaunts to Maui, hurrah! I just got back today from doing a shoot for Interview Magazine (one of my favorite magazines) for the October issue, shot by Amanda Friedman in LA. It was a blast, lots of fancy dresses to wear and Kate Spade heels (with faux fur!), lounging on patios in the sun. The downside was that I was sick as hell. Hacking, sneezing, bleary-eyed kind of sick where my skin looked like poo and I felt like I was carrying a load of bricks on my back. Of course, now that said photo shoot is over, I feel back to normal again—isn't that funny?

The big movie opens soon, so the anticipation is heavy in the air and my palms are all sweaty. Still lots of traveling to do, yet... back to LA next weekend for the launch of the Teen People young Hollywood issue (should be on newsstands now, even though it's nowhere to be found in the great white North as of yet). Then we're off to Scotland with the cast of Serenity for a film festival, and some international press. Then to Atlanta for DragonCon, then back to LA for press and... what???? the premiere!!!!!! I can't believe it's here already. And then in October, possibly, a small re-lax, and then to London for another one of Sean Harry's fabulous conventions. Did I mention airmiles? Holla!

What else? Oh, lets talk about IMDB. Someone brought to my attention something that was said about me and my character on one of the message threads at the bottom of my info page. So I went and read it... and I was shocked at what people say! Hey, I can take people saying I'm a bad actor... I say it myself when I watch certain things, so that doesn't bug me. But saying I'm a bigot? whoa whoa whoa.... Normally, I would leave this jazz alone, but I absolutely have to say something (lets just say I'm having a Nathan Fillion/comic book guy moment). Never would I use the term "fag" to refer to a homosexual, especially not on a public commentary, people! I'm wanting to listen to mine and Alan's commentary for "The Message" again, just to see where this confusion would arise from. If you know me personally, you'll know that most of my closest friends are gay, much to my husband's friends' chagrin. These friends are my confidants, my support system, and my stylists, if need be. I may have a dirty mouth from time to time... or sometimes more often than time to time... but I'm not a bigot. By a long, long shot. So you IMDB message boarding peeps, go ahead and say how much I suck, or how you don't like my picture, or how you heard me fart on a bus once, or whatever, but please listen to that commentary again. Or I'll tell Nathan. And then you'll really be sorry!

Okay enough ranting. Thanks to all who are supportive and wonderful. One of the best things about this job is reading those sweet things you say, and knowing that you're behind me. You guys rock.

Anyway, put your party shoes on: there's lots of celebrating to be done soon.

Love Jewel

4 October 2005

So, it's happened: Serenity has made it's debut. The first weekend is over. I dragged nearly everyone I knew to it and made them sit through it, no bathroom breaks allowed—they might miss important plot points and sweet fight sequences! And some of them even went to see it again, and again, and then again (and no, I'm not counting my parents, here, because they're already asking me for their own personal copy of the DVD and poster and role playing book—I REALLY hope my Dad doesn't want to play Inara). Yes, my family and my friends are devoted and very proud of even the silliest of things that I do, but I knew by their slightly sheepish faces on being caught with not one, not two, but THREE Serenity movie passes in their wallets on only the third day of it opening that they loved this movie.

I am so pleased by this. I've always vowed to never get too close to a project and to never, ever fall in love with it, but I did that with Firefly, and I did it again with Serenity. I couldn't help it. It's special to me. It stands out. And to know that it stands out for other people too, people that love it because it's intelligent and funny and so original, it makes me happier than anything. Joss is right when he says that none of the usual industry rules apply to this movie, because they really don't. There's no predicting what will happen. We don't know what's coming, and we don't know what our ultimate fate will be. It's virtually impossible to know. We are different. We always have been. It's just what makes us even more special.

Above all else, we opened this weekend to the tune of 10.1 million dollars, and we're the number one "new" movie in the country. That says a ton. I know my theatre was packed to the brim with browncoats, and when I see it again this weekend coming up, I know it will be the same, because you don't give up. We have something that bikini-clad treasure-hunting Paul Walker-kissing peeps don't, and that's the most dedicated, most wonderful fan base in the world. (know how good that feels?)

It's of course, far from over. The second weekend means even more than the first. We need this film to stay in theatres for as long as possible to give ourselves the opportunity to make some cash so we can keep going, keep flying, and keep making movies. And those people saying shitty things, saying that you don't matter and that it's over? They don't get it. No big deal. Ignore that kind of stuff. There are NO RULES here. No accurate predictions. Anything is possible. Just know that everything you do, every ten bucks you spend on a ticket, every friend you bring to the theatre with you, all of it helps. Lets show them how mighty we can be.

I am so proud.

Jewel

PS If you're reading this Dad, I was just kidding. You can play Inara. Just not Kaylee, k?

28 December 2005

Happy belated holidays!

Now that the madness is over, I have a chance to sit down and write, finally. What a year. I feel like everything has flown by, and here I am doing my year-end taxes again—how did that happen?? And more importantly, how did I spend that much money on retail?! We're taking our Christmas tree down today, mostly because it's a fire hazard since we always jump the gun and buy one on the first of the month and by Christmas it's totally brittle and dead... Kind of sad to see it go, but at the same time, I'm always excited to let go of one year and start another afresh. Especially when my year's going to start with a trip to Mauiiiiiiii!!! I have to wait until Valentine's Day, because my husband's putting on a show (all you Vancouverites, visit www.classholes.com and come see the show on Granville Island) but the wait will be worth it! Soon I will be lounging in the waves and drinking pineapple wine!

A lot seems to have happened as of late. My sister-in-law Claire had a baby girl in September, named Mica, who is all big blue eyes and is already hamming it up for the camera... and a month later, my sister Tiffany ALSO had a baby girl named Sierra, who we call Siesta because all she does really is sleep. So this Christmas has been full of baby-cuddling and lots of picture-taking, which has, of course, been quite nice. I have been puked on, pissed on, drooled on, and had clumps of hair ripped out of my head, but other than Matty's usual antics, Christmas was a success (that was a joke... he's not allowed to touch my hair). Now we move on to New Years Eve, which we are going to use as an excuse to get out of the city and visit our friends in Kelowna, a beautiful little town in the interior of British Columbia for a little R&R and a little champagne-popping, before we actually have to hunker down and start doing that work-thing again.

I'm hoping everyone's got their copy of the Serenity DVD, which came out just before Christmas, but also makes the perfect New Years, Valentine's Day, and even St. Patty's Day gift (there is green on that cover somewhere!). But if you're reading this, I'm hoping you're loyal enough to have bought the damn thing already. Speaking of loyal, I also wanted to say how much fun I had with the UK browncoats in November—so much fun, in fact, that I've already signed up for not one but TWO events for next year in the UK. The Flanvention in December was also a blast, especially since almost all of us cast were there together, which doesn't happen that often and is always really special and fun, and even more so when Nathan remembers to take a shower.

At said convention, I was given a copy of Done the Impossible, a documentary of the Firefly/Serenity journey that was produced by browncoats, featuring browncoats, and it really blew me away. I think the actors and the crew from the show have always viewed the experience as something else, something that was special to us because of the people we met, the trips we've all taken together, the highs and lows we've experienced as a team, and our faith in the project is so strong because we really do love each other and want this to be able to live on. Without the fans, we wouldn't have been able to keep going, in more ways than one, and that's why you're all so important to us. But to hear what you all had to say, and to hear the way YOU viewed the experience, was really eye-opening for me. You fell in love with something that inspired you to do whatever it was you had to do to keep it in the air, and in doing that, you met new friends and had your own experiences because of the show. It's hard to word all of this and actually make sense, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, in a lot of ways, I realized that in the big picture, in the big scope of things, we've all gotten so much out of this. I can't describe it to people who don't understand, and I can't even describe it to people who DO understand, but I just wanted you to know that I get it. It's not something that I'll ever take for granted, because this kind of thing hardly ever happens twice.

I'm hoping 2006 will be full of surprises, the good kind, and lots of inspiration. And new shoes. But most of all, I hope I can take all the lessons I've learned and apply them in what I do. To strive for perfection is boring and pretty much unattainable, but to strive for your own happiness is what living, for me, is all about. My plan is to live well to live long! I want to be eighty and swimming in the waves, drinking pineapple wine!

Here's to a wonderful year to come and many blessings for everybody.

Love Jewel

12 April 2006

Here I am! I'm still alive! Just lazy and afraid of reporting the monotonous, like more traveling and more shopping. But then I realized, if you're reading this, chances are you've read my other letters to poor Roj and absolutely love the inanity of my shopping expeditions and are very interested in knowing how many air miles I plan to accumulate!

So here goes. Maui, back in February/early March, was wonderful, warm, relaxing, beautiful, etc etc. Two weeks spent lying on the beach, contemplating life, love, and where the best mai tai can be had (the Front Street Bar, in Lahaina, serves the BEST one on the island—trust me, I know: I tried several). What's funny about Maui is that you get so relaxed, so comfortable, so blissfully care-free, that you actually start looking to create problems just so you can feel normal again. The guilt sets in after week one, when you've done everything there is to do on the island, you've eaten yourself glutinous, you've shopped, you've sailed, you've whale watched... I got that itch in me that told it me it was time to work again, time to use up some of those creative juices and get the ball rolling. So the minute we got home, we planned a trip to LA to get back into the swing of things (sick of cliches yet?) and set off for a month.

But, work wasn't all that was on my mind, of course. LA is one of my favorite places to eat out, to go out, to see the people I never get to see anymore, so a lot of it was just more vacationing. Funny how I manage to work a vacation into everything I do. We ate at Hamasaku, that sushi place I'm always raving about, and on their new menu is a new roll named after yours truly! It's called something like the Great Canadian Jewel, which sounds like a cruise ship, but whatever. I love cruises, and the roll is awesome. We also saw Alan Tudyk for a night out, who always manages to give me the worst hangover of my life the next day but I love him, and we saved Santa Monica (life guard tower was on fire, we called 911, we're heroes). We had a great lunch with Gina Torres and gossiped over pinot and omelettes at the Chateau Marmont, which was my second home last year any time I was in town promoting Serenity—they have great fries. And we saw Morena (Baccarin) several times, once for a wine tasting and an amazing Italian dinner in Los Feliz, once for steaks at Taylor's in Korea town (AWESOME cheeseburgers), and once she even cooked us dinner and baked a cake, and it was actually edible and we didn't die from it. Anyway, it was really nice to see everybody who was in town, but now I kind of miss them all over again.

On to the work side of things: I've signed on to do a movie called The Tribe, and how they're pitching it is Lost meets Predator. Kind of weird, I know, but the script is great, and I get to do lots of action sequences and fun stuff like getting chased by scary things in the jungle (won't tell you what scary things). It's going to be probably the most demanding thing I've ever done; I'm in literally every scene except a couple, which I haven't done yet, and there's a ton of stunts and running for my life... but I'm always up for an adventure, so it should be a lot of fun. The next time I write will probably be from my hotel in Costa Rica, where the film will be shot, and I'm sure I'll have all kinds of stories to tell you by then. Hopefully not about snakes in my toilet or anything. Not so wild about the snakes.

Also, I'm sure this is floating around the internet somewhere, but for those of you who don't know, I've signed on to do a convention called Armageddon in Wellington, New Zealand, on the 29th of April, and another one called The Hub in Sydney, Australia on May 6th and 7th. After that, I literally fly straight to Costa Rica to begin filming, which means I'll be out of my mind with jetlag and wondering where the hell I am at that point, but I am SO excited to be going 'down undah' finally, and meeting a whole new group of Browncoats. I'm also going back to the UK for the next Starfury convention in September, and I can confirm that I'll be back in LA for the Flanvention in December as well. So get your party shoes on!

And for all of you Stargate: Atlantis fans, I just found out I've been nominated for a Gemini for my episode "Instinct". The Geminis are sort of the equivelant to the Canadian Golden Globe, and I'm absolutely thrilled. (so far, this month has rocked the socks)

To top it all off, on the 25th, Matty and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary. I don't think we're at the point where we should be giving out marital advice, but I will say this: when he decides to make you a grilled cheese and he never cooks, let him... and even though it's the worst damn grilled cheese you have ever had, and he's put mayo and mustard and God knows what else on it and it's greasy and weird and stinks? Kiss him and say thank you.

Have a great rest of the month, and I'll write again soon.

Jewel

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