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Re: Gellar felt "degraded" after sex scenes

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Morgoth's Curse <morgothscurse2002@nospam.yahoo.com>

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Aug 22, 2012, 12:11:56 AM8/22/12
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On 8 May 2004 11:36:01 -0700, him...@animail.net (himiko) wrote:

>"Jaime A. Cruz" <Spam...@Bite.Me> wrote in message news:<fF3nc.169277$Gd3.45...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>...
>> http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_948307.html?menu=
>
>Something definitely went on between JW, ME, and/or the cast of BTVS
>that resulted in hard feelings, but I doubt we'll ever quite know what
>it was. SMG has several times commented on this and on how Buffy in
>her final years wasn't a "good role model" for young girls. Heads up,
>SMG: Buffy never was a role model and BTVS never was a show for young
>girls.
>
>She is clearly trying to distance herself from this role, and possibly
>from adult entertainment altogether. She may be concerned about type
>casting, for which I can't blame her, and she may not realize (as the
>creators didn't) that SD did as well as it did because it wasn't
>entirely a kiddie show either; they're all still trying to figure out
>why SD2 didn't do so well.
>
>SMG doesn't seem stupid, but she's not the brightest bulb in the pack
>either. Or perhaps, to be more accurate, she is in no way
>intellectual. She doesn't seem to analyze or reflect much...or read
>much. She seems to have no awareness of the intellectual and artistic
>flurry BTVS created, no awareness of the fact that she was in the
>center of something that will go down in the history books: well, film
>and tv history anyway.
>
>She also seems to shy away from emotionality in acting. She is
>certainly no method actor. She does not immerse herself in the role
>and dredge up real emotions from her life to give a realistic
>performance, and I don't think she wants to "feel" her character's
>emotions. I think this is why she prefers light, fluffy roles,
>although she's capable of deeper performances. I think the things
>Buffy (and therefore she) went through in S6-7 scared the pants off
>her. And let's face it, even JM who revels in that sort of thing,
>founds some of the stuff he had to do deeply disturbing emotionally,
>and all of it emotionally draining. It would have had a much stronger
>impact on emotionphobic SMG. She should probably also never attempt
>any serious tragedy roles.
>
>She's not likely to. SMG strikes me as a star rather than an actress,
>a celebrity more than a serious artist. This does not make her evil
>or even bad at what she does; personally, I think S6 Buffy was the
>best acting she's ever done. But SMG sees acting as a career, not a
>craft. She wants to be popular and make a lot of money. Playing a
>dark, confused, kinky anti-hero is just not her schtick, and I don't
>think she understands why it would be anyone's.
>
>In short (I know, too late for that), she is not the best authority on
>BTVS or even Buffy. I'm sorry she feels degraded by these scenes;
>they were some of her best work.
>
>himiko

Himiko originally posted this in alt.tv.angel. I am crossposting it
now as I still consider it the best explanation of why SMG wanted to
leave Buffy. If nothing else, the seventh season proved that the
formula which worked so well during the first three seasons didn't
work anymore. The characters had to evolve or else the show would
degenerate into a predictable, boring series akin to, say, Married
with Children, Friends, Frasier, The Drew Carey Show, ER or any other
TV show that just lasted too long. Gellar wasn't interested in a
darker series because it required a greater dedication and a more
intense performance. She is a celebrity rather than a serious
actress.

There were, of course, other factors involved: The fact that Joss had
lost interest; an aging cast; et cetera. I doubt it would be possible
to choose any one factor as the most decisive. I do agree with those
who maintain that it simply wasn't a good idea to try to continue the
series any longer.

Morgoth's Curse

Madlove

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Aug 22, 2012, 1:14:28 PM8/22/12
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(The original archived article)

---

Gellar 'felt degraded' after sex scenes

Sarah Michelle Gellar says she was shocked by sex scenes in Buffy The
Vampire Slayer.
She claims some of the scenes were like a bondage movie, reports the
Daily Star.

"It became very S&M and I felt degraded as an actress," Gellar tells
this month's Elle magazine.

The 27-year-old actress says the series left her bruised and tired.

"It was exhausting - physically and emotionally," she says. "There were
at least two fight scenes
in every episode. I never wore skirts for years because of all the bruises."

John Briggs

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Aug 22, 2012, 2:08:08 PM8/22/12
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You do realise that The Daily Star is not a reliable source for anything?
--
John Briggs

Da Blue Guy

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Aug 22, 2012, 2:11:39 PM8/22/12
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Does she think people don't know that she had a stunt double?
[Rightfully so, of course, that's what the profession is there for.]

Madlove

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Aug 22, 2012, 3:03:37 PM8/22/12
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Morgoth's Curse <morgoths...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 8 May 2004 11:36:01 -0700, him...@animail.net (himiko) wrote:
>
>> "Jaime A. Cruz" <Spam...@Bite.Me> wrote:
>>> http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_948307.html
>> Something definitely went on between JW, ME, and/or the cast of BTVS
>> that resulted in hard feelings, but I doubt we'll ever quite know what
>> it was.

JW = Joss Whedon.
ME = ???

> If nothing else, the seventh season proved that the formula
> which worked so well during the first three seasons didn't work
> anymore.

Yes, IMO the 7th season was not as good as the earlier ones.
And the show was just starting to become repetitive. By this time
I think they did/fought everything that they could.

How many times can she save Sunnydale / the world from destruction before
it becomes a cliché.

> The characters had to evolve or else the show would
> degenerate into a predictable, boring series akin to, say, Married
> with Children, Friends, Frasier, The Drew Carey Show, ER or any other
> TV show that just lasted too long.

It was starting to go that route, but luckily they got out in the nick
of time.

> Gellar wasn't interested in a
> darker series because it required a greater dedication and a more
> intense performance. She is a celebrity rather than a serious
> actress.

I agree. She is not good at showing emotion, as was first evidenced to
me when
she "reacted" to Angel being a vampire.

> There were, of course, other factors involved: The fact that Joss had
> lost interest; an aging cast; et cetera. I doubt it would be possible
> to choose any one factor as the most decisive. I do agree with those
> who maintain that it simply wasn't a good idea to try to continue the
> series any longer.

The cast was too old to be playing kids fighting evil, and the only
thing left was
to either have them assume adult roles or to end the series. Whedon had
a story
to tell and he told it.

It was time to move on.

zeppo

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Aug 22, 2012, 3:20:50 PM8/22/12
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On Tuesday, August 21, 2012 9:11:56 PM UTC-7, Morgoth's Curse <morgoths...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:

>
("Himiko's long post snipped)
>

> Himiko originally posted this in alt.tv.angel. I am crossposting it
>
> now as I still consider it the best explanation of why SMG wanted to
>
> leave Buffy. If nothing else, the seventh season proved that the
>
> formula which worked so well during the first three seasons didn't
>
> work anymore. The characters had to evolve or else the show would
>
> degenerate into a predictable, boring series akin to, say, Married
>
> with Children, Friends, Frasier, The Drew Carey Show, ER or any other
>
> TV show that just lasted too long. Gellar wasn't interested in a
>
> darker series because it required a greater dedication and a more
>
> intense performance. She is a celebrity rather than a serious
>
> actress.
>
>
>
> There were, of course, other factors involved: The fact that Joss had
>
> lost interest; an aging cast; et cetera. I doubt it would be possible
>
> to choose any one factor as the most decisive. I do agree with those
>
> who maintain that it simply wasn't a good idea to try to continue the
>
> series any longer.
>
>


I agree with most of what you say, the exception being your accusation that Sarah
is/was unwilling to dedicate herself to her craft, or produce intense performances.
Was her acting in "The Body", "Passion", "innocence", or "Helpless" not intense enough
for you? It is true that Sarah has stated that she felt uncomfortable with some of the scenes
that she appeared in with James Marsters during S6. However, to the best of my recollection,
she did not reveal her feelings until the series was almost done. When she did speak about
these matters (Entertainment Weekly, March, 2003), her concern was that the actions in
question were not consistent with Buffy's character, and although she was capable of
playing the role in the way that was expected, she was uncomfortable with "Buffy"
participating in many of the interactions with "Spike" that took place during S6. FWIW,
I felt much the same way while S6 was being originally aired, and can recall asking
myself why I continued to watch a program in which he principal characters had
become so unlikable (at least to me). However, I kept going with the hope that it
would get better.

Regarding your comment concerning Joss's "lack of interest" in BTVS during the sixth
and seventh seasons, I agree that his lack of involvement (with the notable exception of
OMWF) during this time was also a contributing factor to Sarah's sense of discomfort,
especially when S6 was being produced. When interviewed in the spring of 2003, she
sometimes brought up the issue of Joss "rarely being on set" as something that had bothered
her.


Madlove

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Aug 22, 2012, 4:55:53 PM8/22/12
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Madlove wrote:
> (The original archived article)
>
> ---
>
> Gellar 'felt degraded' after sex scenes
>
> Sarah Michelle Gellar says she was shocked by sex scenes in Buffy The
> Vampire Slayer.
> She claims some of the scenes were like a bondage movie, reports the
> Daily Star.


John Briggs wrote:
> You do realise that The Daily Star is not a reliable source for anything?

But the internet is...

Marc Espie

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Aug 22, 2012, 6:05:58 PM8/22/12
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In article <k13ago$ugg$1...@speranza.aioe.org>,
Madlove <mad...@arkham.dc> wrote:
>Morgoth's Curse <morgoths...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On 8 May 2004 11:36:01 -0700, him...@animail.net (himiko) wrote:
>>
>>> "Jaime A. Cruz" <Spam...@Bite.Me> wrote:
>>>> http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_948307.html
>>> Something definitely went on between JW, ME, and/or the cast of BTVS
>>> that resulted in hard feelings, but I doubt we'll ever quite know what
>>> it was.
>
>JW = Joss Whedon.
>ME = ???

Mutant Enemy, of course ! didn't you ever look thru the credits at the end ?

Madlove

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Aug 22, 2012, 6:09:36 PM8/22/12
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Sure do. But I was expecting arguments between people, not between companies
and actors. I also think there were hard feelings on the set.

But that is all in the distant past.

Madlove

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Aug 22, 2012, 7:56:04 PM8/22/12
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And Jim M. said his attempted rape scene was very difficult to do,
and he would never do such a scene again.

Bet they got lots of angry letters over that scene...

Morgoth's Curse

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Aug 22, 2012, 10:24:49 PM8/22/12
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On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:20:50 -0700 (PDT), zeppo <rgi...@telus.net>
wrote:

>I agree with most of what you say, the exception being your accusation that Sarah
>is/was unwilling to dedicate herself to her craft, or produce intense performances.
>Was her acting in "The Body", "Passion", "innocence", or "Helpless" not intense enough
>for you? It is true that Sarah has stated that she felt uncomfortable with some of the scenes
>that she appeared in with James Marsters during S6. However, to the best of my recollection,
>she did not reveal her feelings until the series was almost done. When she did speak about
>these matters (Entertainment Weekly, March, 2003), her concern was that the actions in
>question were not consistent with Buffy's character, and although she was capable of
>playing the role in the way that was expected, she was uncomfortable with "Buffy"
>participating in many of the interactions with "Spike" that took place during S6. FWIW,
>I felt much the same way while S6 was being originally aired, and can recall asking
>myself why I continued to watch a program in which he principal characters had
>become so unlikable (at least to me). However, I kept going with the hope that it
>would get better.

No one disputes that SMG is occasionally capable of superb acting; the
question is whether she can do it consistently. In my humble opinion,
the answer is"No." I also think that, consciously or unconsciously,
Sarah recognizes this and deliberately chooses light, fluffy roles. To
a certain extent, I applaud that: I think Sarah has a gift for comic
roles ("Life Serial" is one of my favorite episodes) but lacks the
aptitude for dramatic roles.

There are a lot of people in Hollywood who are excellent judges of
talent - their livelihood depends on it - and I think it is
significant that SMG has never been offered any major roles. Even as
the star of Buffy, she required a strong supporting cast; she simply
isn't capable of carrying a series on her own (as she recently proved
with "Ringer.") She's obviously not a bad actress, but she will never
be in a class with such legends as Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn,
Meryl Streep or Jodie Foster.

Morgoth's Curse

Paul Hyett

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Aug 23, 2012, 3:04:35 AM8/23/12
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On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 at 20:56:04, Madlove <mad...@arkham.dc> wrote in
alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer :

>And Jim M. said his attempted rape scene was very difficult to do,
>and he would never do such a scene again.
>
>Bet they got lots of angry letters over that scene...

That scene didn't seem credible to me. If it were an un-chipped evil
Spike, it would have made sense - but not when he is supposed to love
her...
--
Paul 'Charts Fan' Hyett

David

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Aug 23, 2012, 3:48:12 PM8/23/12
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"Paul Hyett" wrote in message news:8y1KxVeD...@blueyonder.co.uk...
{I was thinking pretty much the same thing. }

Madlove

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Aug 23, 2012, 5:50:43 PM8/23/12
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David wrote:
>
>
> "Paul Hyett" wrote in message news:8y1KxVeD...@blueyonder.co.uk...
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 at 20:56:04, Madlove <mad...@arkham.dc> wrote in
> alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer :
>
>> And Jim M. said his attempted rape scene was very difficult to do,
>> and he would never do such a scene again.
>>
>> Bet they got lots of angry letters over that scene...

> That scene didn't seem credible to me. If it were an un-chipped evil
> Spike, it would have made sense - but not when he is supposed to love
> her...

It wasn't. JM said it was thrown in to make people hate him...

"And the problem with Spike was that we kept doing stuff that was
supposed to offend
you guys and you didn't care! That's why it was such a dramatic kind of
instance of
Spike being a monster, that's why they had to throw in that bathroom
scene at the end
of season six.

They had me going after victims, cattleprodding Buffy to show my love?"

http://www.jamesdb.com/index.php?c=3&s=24&q=956

Paul Hyett

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Aug 24, 2012, 2:53:46 AM8/24/12
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On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 at 18:50:43, Madlove <mad...@arkham.dc> wrote in
alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer :
>>
>>> And Jim M. said his attempted rape scene was very difficult to do,
>>> and he would never do such a scene again.
>>>
>>> Bet they got lots of angry letters over that scene...
>
>> That scene didn't seem credible to me. If it were an un-chipped evil
>>Spike, it would have made sense - but not when he is supposed to love
>>her...
>
>It wasn't. JM said it was thrown in to make people hate him...

Still didn't really work though, as people surely just assumed it was
the demon inside him, rather than the human part of Spike's personality.

What about the end of S6, when Spike went on his quest 'to give Buffy
what she deserved' - we're supposed to reconcile the angry way he said
that, with knowing all along the his plan was to get his soul back?

David

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Aug 24, 2012, 6:40:12 PM8/24/12
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"Paul Hyett" wrote in message news:wA7pdKq6...@blueyonder.co.uk...
{{I thought he was going to get the chip removed somehow. Never even
considered he was going to get his soul back.}}

Madlove

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Sep 23, 2012, 4:32:18 AM9/23/12
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I just saw a clip from "Dead Things" on YouTube where she tells
the director (right after Spike has taken her from behind):
"Dude, there is way too much sex on this show."

I thought the scenes showed her character maturing from an
innocent child to a messed-up adult.

How did she feel after those scenes in "Cruel Intentions"?
She didn't seem to have a problem frenching Selma Blair.

Or offering herself to her step-brother.

ML
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