Sci-Fi Summit Report: James Marsters on ‘Spike’ Movie and ‘Buffy’ Reunion
[EDITOR’S NOTE: You’re about to read our special ComicMix report on the James Marsters panel and Q&A session at this year’s Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit in Burbank, CA. If you’d like to know more about the convention, we also have a general roundup of the Sci-Fi Summit and a special report on the Star Trek panel and Q&A session, featuring "A Tale of Two Spocks." -RM]
Saturday at last weekend’s Sci-Fi Summit featured an appearance by popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor James Marsters (Spike), who also appears as Braniac on the television series Smallville, and is featured in a recurring role on the hit series Torchwood. Marsters will also be playing the role of villain Piccolo in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the anime classic Dragonball.
“From my side, it was kind of a letdown, really. There were a lot of smart people on that show and really good questions being asked by the audience, but I felt like nobody really talked about anything interesting," said Marsters. "We didn’t say anything or bring anything nearly dangerous. I felt like we weren’t trying to prove something anymore, but trying to protect something — and I thought that was total bull. I left the stage thinking, ‘We didn’t get it, we didn’t give it to them. The audience was ready and we weren’t.’”
“She discovers he’s a vampire, is disgusted by it and kicks him out forever,” the actor explained. He went on to explain that later a monster would appear, and thinking that he could win her back by being the hero, Spike hunts the monster. However, once he gets into the fight, the monster grows to six times its original size and Spike runs away in fear.
Spike would then come across an old antique shop that he remembered from 150 years earlier. Spike had helped some people rob a bank and hid the money in the store.
“So he spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out how to get the money from the couple that own the store without hurting them, because he’s supposed to be a good guy now,” Marsters continued.
“So he loses the girl, gets his butt kicked by a monster and gets a new pair of shoes,” the actor said, summing up his idea.
Marsters mentioned that at the
He stated that he would rather be fired for not doing what the producers wanted than not do justice to the character.
When asked how faithful the film is to the anime, Marsters said, “We changed a few things, but I think we did it right”. He also expressed that, due to the large amount of VFX shots in the film, a lot of the quality of the movie rides on how much money Fox gives post-production for the special effects.
For more on the convention, see our Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit XVI Report here on ComicMix.
I'm remembering the TV Guide blurb (and accompanying photo)announcing that Angel was being planned for the upcoming season (part of its annual "What's Going to be Cancelled Quickly" … errrr … "Great New Shows for Next Season" feature), and i'm sure that i recall that it said that both Spike and Dru were going to be part of the Angel cast….
I liked the shows and I liked the character but this guy has lost it! If you were so into the character Spike at the end of Buffy and felt he should have died why did you take the job with the Angel show? I guess being close to 40 and having a steady income is a bit more important. Also, I do hope the idea for the Spike movie was a bad joke. Let Joss Wheldon do the character development and story writing if you want to stay in the Spike game.Tomsouthside_park@sbcglobal.net
i love spike! i wish the could of done more with BtVS
Wish you would do another Buffy season and all so a Spike Movie