Friday, November 16, 2012

Reminder: Last day to sign up for the Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap!

If you'd like to join this year's 5th anniversary of our beloved Whedonverse themed ornament swap, follow the instructions below before midnight tonight! We'll be sorting the groups immediately and you'll receive your list of recipients over the weekend.

If you're not sure what this is about, read full details here. To sign up for the swap, send an email with the subject "MERRY WHEDON" and the following information to buffyfest@aim.com before midnight tonight PDT:

- name
- address
- whether your are willing to ship internationally

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Spoliers - Live Twitter #EspensonChat Recap

Well, last night's live twitter chat with Jane Espenson was hard core! And we're happy to report that the hashtag became a trending topic later in the night. Fandom in full effect.

During the chat, we were lucky enough to have special guests Drew Z. Greenburg of Whedonverse fame and Husband's co-creator Brad Bell (aka Cheeks) on board as well! For anyone who missed it, please see a full recap below of all questions that were answered:

**Please be warned. There are a slew of spoilers on here for all types of things including, but not limited to: Husbands, Warehouse 13, Buffy, Buffy Season 9 and a LOT of Once Upon a Time discussion. If you want to remain spoiler-free for any of those titles, we'd strongly suggest diverting your eyes for this one.**






Hello tweeps! Please give a warm welcome to Whedonverse greats &  and  of 'Husbands' fame 

CHAT! Ask me,  &/or , but use the hashtag  We'll respond directly to you, so search the tag to see all.

To refresh --  wrote Buffy, Warehouse 13, and writes Buffy comics with me including today's new "Billy issue".

Hello, all. I am ready for my . Which I assume is where we talk about French cats who resemble . cc

Are we  ing? I was on a writing sprint. Talk to me lovelies. How does the evening find you?





Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Wednesday: Live Twitter Chat with Jane Espenson! #EspensonChat

**UPDATE please note new time and hashtag**

Got questions for Jane Espenson? Well you're in luck! We're happy to annouce that tomorrow night, Wed, Nov. 14th at 7 PDT/10 PM EST, Buffyfest will be hosting a live Twitter Chat with Jane courtesy of Dark Horse Comics! Whether you're wondering about her hit web-sitcom Husbands, the Billy the Vampire Slayer arc currently taking place in the Buffy Season 9 comics or something from deep in her past.

Jane has been writing for the Whedonverse stories since 1998 with some of the best episodes of the show under her belt ("Pangs", "Superstar", and "A New Man"...just to name a fabulous few) and has written a slew of comics for Dark Horse. She has also written and produced for over a dozen hit TV shows including Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Tru Calling, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Torchwood, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time and many more. But you knew that!

So gather your questions and join us tomorrow at 9:30! Make sure to use the hashtag #EspensonChat to join the fun.

'Browncoats Unite' was a Ratings Darling - More Firefly in the Future?

Not only did it bring us all to tears, but it looks like Firefly: Browncoats Unite was a huge winner for the Science Channel! They scored their highest ratings ever among coveted ages 25-54. Shiny! Now go ahead and be good boys and girls, Sci Channel, and get some new episodes made. We've been very, very patient and it's about time now isn't it?

Until then, don't worry if you missed the event...Sci Channel is showing Browncoats Unite again almost every day this week. So check your local schedule.

See below for the full official press release:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCIENCE CHANNEL’S SPECIAL EVENT FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE
SKYROCKETS TO OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD RATINGS ON SUNDAY NIGHT

--1.2 Million Unique Viewers P2+ Tuned-In to the FIREFLY 10th Anniversary Special--
-- The Night Was the Network’s Most-Watched Sunday Ever among P25-54--

(Silver Spring, Md.)—FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE–Science Channel’s long-awaited 10th anniversary celebration of the cult hit series FIREFLY–earned stellar ratings on Sunday night at 10PM/ET, and was the network’s most-watched Sunday night  ever among P25-54. FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE garnered 1.2 million unique viewers across the evening and was the network’s second-highest-rated telecast of 2012 among P25-54 and M25-54. The special delivered a 0.7HH rating and a 0.5 rating among P25-54. 

The excitement for FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE also was seen on Twitter with the network’s "Flock to Unlock" campaign, where fans had a chance to unlock deleted scenes and cutting room floor footage from the special. On Sunday, Firefly ranked tenth in Twitter TV Ratings in Cable (according to SocialGuide) with more than 25,000 tweets generating 26 million impressions. 

The FIREFLY grassroots movement began this past July, when Science Channel’s reunion panel became the most-buzzed about television event at San Diego Comic-Con.  This was followed up by Nathan Fillion’s surprise appearance at New York Comic-Con this past October, which accompanied a sneak preview of footage from the special.

On air, Science Channel’s FIREFLY extravaganza began Sunday morning with an all-day marathon of the series. That evening, at 8PM ET/PT, the final two episodes were enhanced and presented as FIREFLY: SPECIAL EDITION where executive story editor Jose Molina gave fans unique insight into the inner workings of the series by revealing FIREFLY facts and behind-the-scenes info. FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE premiered at 10PM ET/PT.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Today's the day! Call it a "Fireflyfest" if You Will...

Rise and shine! It's November 11th. And in about 5 minutes, starting at 7 a.m. EST, the Science Channel will begin airing a marathon of all 14 glorious "Firefly" episodes to mark the 10th anniversary of the show. Following the 'thon they will air the hourlong special "Firefly 10th Anniversary: Browncoats Unite" at 10 p.m. EST tonight!

From the Press Release: 
"Science Channel reunites Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion and the entire renegade crew of the Serenity for the first time ever to provide the complete oral history on the franchise that continues to explode in popularity — despite meeting its end a decade ago. The 60-minute special includes secrets from the set, exclusive cast interviews, and footage from this year's colossal Comic-Con panel that dominated the pop culture conversation."


So get up and get ready! in 5...4...3...2...

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The 5th Annual Whedonverse Ornament Swap!

Happy Holidays, crafty people! We're so happy to announce the 5th anniversary of our Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap. We love this event and every year we are reminded of the fantastic creativity of this fandom. See for yourself the several hundred photos of festive craftiness from years past:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap/

Aren't they amazeballs? If you're just hearing about this for the first time, the event entails creating ornaments with a Whedonverse theme and sending them to 4-6 different recipients. In return you will receive 4-6 completely different handmade ornaments from around the world. As you can see from the photos, you really can make them out of anything: Wood, knit, sew, paint, draw, sculpt, paper craft, recycle old ornaments (earth friendly!) And you'll have a much more Whedoney Holiday time.

If you'd like to join us, sign-ups begin right now and will end next Friday, November 16th at 11:59 PM U.S. EST. And pretty please make super sure you're willing to go through with this entire process before signing up! Deadbeats ruin the holiday fun. Here are the guidelines in 6 easy steps:

1. Sign up by sending an email with the subject "MERRY WHEDON" and the following information to buffyfest@aim.com by Friday, November 16th.
- name
- address
- whether your are willing to ship internationally*

2. On November 17th you'll receive an email from us containing the addresses and email addresses of 4-6 swap participants for you to send your ornaments to. Since you'll have each other's personal info, please contact each other with any questions, disputes or praise.

3. Design and create the multiple Whedon themed ornaments! You'll have 3 weeks to make them.

4. Package your ornaments well (especially if you create something fragile) and send one ornament to each person on the list of swap participants in your group by Saturday, December 8th.

5. Sit back and relax as you wait to receive 4-6 lovely Whedonverse ornaments in the mail!

6. Then don't forget to share photos of the ornaments you make and receive by uploading to the swap flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap. You will need a flickr account to upload photos, which is easy to set up.

*A note on international shipping: Please only select international shipping if you are willing to ship at least 2-3 of your ornaments overseas. Take the cost of shipping into account when you design your ornament. Lighter and more compact ornaments are cheaper to ship, but chances are you cannot send any food or plant life.

Any questions? Email buffyfest@aim.com

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Exclusive Interview: Scott Allie Talks 'Willow' at NYCC 2012

Willow: Wonderland, the 5-part mini series by Dark Horse Comics comes out today. There is a bit of time travel involved here, as we discussed all things Willow with Scott Allie a few weeks ago at New York Comic Con. That seems like a lifetime ago now! Prior to Hurricane Sandy, Daylight Savings and the Election...but we called one thing right, it's definitely freezing in New York right now.

It was still seasonable then, so take a walk back in time with us and check out part 2 of our interview with Chief Allie below, with bonus suprise guest appearance by Angel & Faith artist Rebekah Isaacs around the 10:00 mark!





Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Happy Election Day!

Who are you voting for today? I think we know who Joss Whedon is voting for at this point. In his words:

"Mitt Romney is a very different kind of candidate. One with the vision and determination to cut through the business as usual politics and finally put this country back on the path to the zombie apocalypse."

"Romney's ready to make the deep rollbacks in healthcare, education, social services and reproductive rights that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpolulation disease and rioting. All crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland." - Joss Whedon



Monday, November 5, 2012

Buffyfest Chills Out with Jane Espenson

New York Comic Con is now but a memory but we still have a few treasures from NYC's wackiest weekend of the year. For instance, we had the enormous pleasure of sitting comfortably amidst all the chaos in a cozy VIP room with writer extraordinaire Jane Espenson. We talk everything from her career, her critically acclaimed web series (and upcoming comic book) Husbands, ABC's Once Upon a Time and of course all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Thanks so much, Jane!






Sandy the Beachtown Slayer

Well it's been crazy, to say the least. Last week here we planned on posting our interview with Jane Espenson and kicking off the Holiday season by starting our annual Whedonverse Ornament Swap but that plan went to hell when as you know by now, we got our asses kicked by Hurricane Sandy. Hopefully we'll get to that other stuff this week.

I can't complain too much, my family and friends are safe and I feel I was given a big break. For those that follow us on Twitter you prolly saw my bitching and moaning about not having power for 4 days and I definitely was starting to crack. Blow-drying my hair in the morning with the car's heating vent while charging my phone at the same time, using multiple coolers (unsuccessfully) as a refrigerator and listening to 1010Wins AM on an old walkman every night to get news by candlelight with 3 blankets on. But these things seem almost silly compared to the total devastation others went through. I feel guilty even sitting here with a computer now. It's really bad out there and just getting colder by the day, all of a sudden. Today we brought some clothes, blankets and food to the people displaced in Hoboken and you should've seen the long line of people freezing outside that just lost everything. Sucks. If you're in the area and want to get over there, that donation center is at Hoboken High School on 8th and Clinton, Hoboken NJ. We also added a link on our right sidebar, if you have the means to donate.

From the awesome Shore to Staten Island, to the small harbortowns just ruined by water, to the Breezy Point fire of 100+ homes and two massive oil spills in the region, not to mention the hundreds of huge trees down everywhere and of course all the people who have died....any single one of these news stories would be the biggest of the week, but there are so many at the same time that it's hard to keep track. I don't know how it is for the rest of the country, but the hurricane news is on 24 hrs a day here on some channels. And there are still *so* many people without power. I have someone staying with me now because they STILL don't have electricity or heat and they live right across the street! Man I am sure counting every one of my lucky stars tonight.

This bitch Sandy.  Don't remember her?
She got sired by VampWillow and bit Riley for kicks.
Can't really blame her for the destruction of the North East,
but I feel like taking it out on someone...so since it's Buffy,
this girl is gettin' it. Sorry actress Megan Grey.