Aaron writes...

<<1. What are my options?

The truth is, I've seen so FEW movies this year, I'd be a lousy judge. Why don't we wait until the nominees come out,
then ask me again.

(And did we do this last year? I have no memory.)>>

Yes, I think Aris asked last year.

Anyway here goes: (Apoligies in advance for the length)

Here's a quick look at the big races:

Best Picture:
Chocolat
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Erin Brockovich
Gladiator
Traffic

Best Actor:
Russell Crowe (Gladiator)
Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls)
Tom Hanks (Cast Away)
Ed Harris (Pollock)
Geoffrey Rush (Quills)

Best Actress:
Joan Allen (The Contender)
Juliette Binoche (Chocolat)
Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)
Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me)
Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)

Best Supporting Actor:
Jeff Bridges (The Contender)
Willem Dafoe (Shadow of the Vampire)
Benicio Del Toro (Traffic)
Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich)
Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator)

Best Supporting Actress:
Judi Dench (Chocolat)
Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock)
Kate Hudson (Almost Famous)
Frances McDormand (Almost Famous)
Julie Walters (Billy Elliot)

Best Director:
Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot)
Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich)
Ridley Scott (Gladiator)
Steven Soderbergh (Traffic)

Best Original Screenplay:
Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous
Lee Hall, Billy Elliot
Susannah Grant, Erin Brockovich
David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson, Gladiator
Kenneth Lonergan, You Can Count on Me

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Robert Nelson Jacobs, Chocolat
Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus and Tsai Kuo Jung, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Stephen Gaghan, Traffic
Steve Kloves, Wonder Boys

I know you're probably not pleased by 12 nominations for Gladiator, but if it's any consolation, I have figured out why Senator Gracius (sp) isn't executed by the Praetorians. He just told them he was the reincarnation of the Emperor Claudius, and they let him go. ;)

matt writes...

when the clan moves into the clocktower, the clock doesn't work and later on it does, i'm assuming because Lex fixed it like he said he could. what did the people of New York think when suddenly the clock was working again, wouldn't someone go up there to investigate at least?
i realize its another stupid question, but i figured i'd ask anyway...

Tom writes...

Why in genisis undone wasn't Elisa there?
I mean surely Delilah would have needed some of her D.N.A. to stay alive. Or wasn't she there because she hasn't met Delilah yet and you were trying to keep it to a one episode show?

Anne writes...

I am currently undertaking restoration work on an internal wall afresco which depicts an animal with the body of a horse and the tail of a lion. The head is missing. Could you direct me to something on the internet concerning mythological animals at all. The building is a historical home (castle) which dates back to 1529 in Tuscany Italy.

many thanks

Yttrium writes...

Could you please give up a short overview of what HOBGOBLIN OF LITTLE MINDS would have been about?

---Ytt

matt writes...

hey Sapphire, great questions, but couldn't you have grouped the ones of homosexuality together, geeez...

in 1996, in the garg universe, what is everyone's view on homosexuality?

hehehe, sorry for picking on you, Sapphire :)

jesster writes...

would gargoyles also be known as "stone protectors"?
have they been known as such in the past ( an alias?)
i dought it, but i can only ask!:-)
THIS IS NOT A SUGGESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }>]

clarissa r writes...

have you ever thought of a Dune and gargoyles crossover?

Sapphire writes...

According to legend demons are adraid of gargoyles. Is this same concept true in the gargoyles universe?

DrFaust writes...

Idle question from idle fingers: how many of the original Beatles were alive at the time of "Hunter's Moon"? For that matter, how many were there to begin with? Inquiring minds (all right, just my mind) want to know!

Chelsea writes...

Did you know Dave Anchors?

Jim R. writes...

How long would a gargoyle last in college? And would he be able to afford it? :)

Corrine Blaquen writes...

Just out of curiosity and no other reason, how do you feel about crossovers?

Jim R. writes...

Scientists say that if humans survive for a couple thousand more years we could evolve to be taller, our fingers longer, and our brains larger. We could sort of resemble the alien from the episode 'Sentinels". What would gargoyles evolve to become or look like thousands of years from now (thinking chronologically and evolutionary) ?

Code Name: Heero Yuy writes...

What is your general views on clipshows? I know when you worked on Starship Troopers, they did a few to make up for the slow production and episodes airing in the wrong order?

Aaron writes...

Hope this gets through in time. The annual ritual of consulting Greg's Oscar picks.

So, who do you like for Best Picture? Actor? Actress?

Anonymous writes...

Going over various lists of voice actors, writers, producers and such for various TV shows, as is a hobby of mine... And under listings for "Captain Simian and the Space Monkies", there is a writer named Marlowe Weisman. Relation or just a coincidence?

Anonymous writes...

Were you or Disney aware that one of the villains in a new Star Wars novel is called Xanatos? Is this legal?

Jim R. writes...

Why did Goliath never attempt to unmask that weird hunter guy in the episode "Generations"? You know, that guy that had the cool, stealth-cloaking suit...Who was he? And what was your reasoning for leaving the audience in suspense by not telling us who he was?

matt writes...

what is the one thing you wished you could have kept a secreat about longer in the series?

Joxter writes...

Seeing as how its December when I write this (who know when you'll see it tho...) I thought I'd ask...

What do you think of fruitcake? (The "food")

Duncan Devlin writes...

I liked the proto-names people came up with. Will I get into any trouble if I use the names that didn't nake it for some of my general fiction (which may make it into publication).

Aris Katsaris writes...

Concerning Zot! you said:
<<I'm just sorry that it's over. Do you know if he has any plans to continue? >>

Just today, Scott McCloud wrote the following in the Zot! Message board:

Haven't worked out the details yet, but check back here and on the Zot! Main Page occasionally during the next week or two for announcements regarding further Zot! Online stories.

It is a distinct possibility!

<<It's also too bad that you never got to see the original color and Black & White Zot comics. They're amazing! >>

Yeah, too bad... I also have to wonder: Seeing how Scott McCloud is able to use the potential of a pageless online comic, it might seem weird to me to see him restrained into a normal page-by-page comic. Heh...

Sapphire writes...

You said that a gargoyle in the past has converted to a human religion, what religion did that gargoyle convert to?

Demona Taina writes...

Hello, Greg!

I was wondering which side of Goliath's brain is dominant.
If it's the left side, then Goliath is right-handed.
If it's the right side, then Goliath is left-handed.
If it's both, then Goliath's ambidextrous.

Which one is it then? I wonder because I've seen him punch with the right fist, but at times I see him punch with the left. Sometimes he even punches with both fists with equal ease.

I realize that this has a lot to do with the animators. If it's easier to use one hand instead of the other, then the animators use it, not minding which side of the brain is dominant, if not both.

Some animators do mind little details like these, so they animate according to what the creator has established.

So. Which side is it, if not both?

Thank you for your time. :)

Maria writes...

How would the clan react to Christmas? Would they have like it once they were able to understand it better through Elisa? Would they enjoy sharing the holidays with her?
Thanks.

Aris Katsaris writes...

Something I had forgotten to do, but which needs doing:

Thank you, THANK YOU, for the link to Zot Online! In these last few weeks I've fallen in love with the comic, and I think that Scott McCloud has become one of my favourite creators.

Let me just give the link again:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/zot/

and for that matter:
http://www.scottmccloud.com/

Sapphire writes...

Is the god that christians, jews, and muslims worship exist in the gargoyles universe?

Ed writes...

Regarding the points raised by Sapphire and Todd regarding a 'Buffy' crossover: although I'm not massively well-versed in 'Buffy' stuff the biggest problem (and quite a big one at that) strikes me as the difference in views of good and evil. 'Buffy', as I see it, takes the footing that there's good and there'd bad, so you kill the bad guys and have a nice day. 'Gargoyles' always picked up on shades of grey though - 'there is good and evil in everybody' being, I suppose, the obvious quote. I don't know if this is misrepresenting 'Buffy' - or even 'Gargoyles'. Greg?

The only characters who strike me as really being evil for the sake of it are Jackal, Hyena, Wolf and maybe Iago. Demona is bad, but we saw her capable of goodness in 'THE RECKONING' and to an extent in 'CITY OF STONE'. Or at least we saw her reasoning. But even the above four characters seem evil by circumstance - Jackal and Hyena seem to be motivated by money and thrills, Wolf by action and the 'thrill of the hunt', and Iago by lust (love?) for Desdemona. But these aren't presented as evil simply because they're demons and that's what they do.

Greg, do you think there is a race that is innately evil?

Todd Jensen writes...

Note to Sapphire about the "Gargoyles/Buffy" crossover possibility:

While my thoughts on this one probably count less than Greg's (he's the creator of the series; I'm just one of the fans), I do think that such a crossover, while in some ways more feasible than, say, "Gargoyles/Batman" or "Gargoyles/Superman", does have a few snags to be overcome. One is legal ownership (Disney owns "Gargoyles", WB "Buffy"). Another is geography (Buffy and Co. live on the West Coast, the gargoyles on the East Coast).

(Of course, there's no danger as yet of "Gargoyles Universe" vampires being incompatible with the Buffyverse, since all that we know about "Gargoyles Universe" vampires is that they're vulnerable to silver - Princess Katharine mentions this in "Ill Met By Moonlight" - which doesn't contradict any statements about vampires in "Buffy").

But as I said, I don't view such a crossover as something all that likely for the near future, myself.

Sapphire writes...

If you were to do any crossovers between Gargoyles and another show what will they be?

If Gargoyles were to come back I would like to see a Gargoyles/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover

Todd Jensen writes...

A rather silly question, admittedly, but:

What has been the impact of Goliath and his clan in Manhattan (particularly Bronx) on the pigeon population in the city?

Joxter writes...

Semi-personal question for you Greg... Have you ever seen the series Robotech or Starblazers? If you have, what did you think?

Weirdwolf writes...

1.Does Wolf have any problems with fleas?

2.What about the Mutates at the Labyrinth?

3.Cagney?

Revel writes...

Hi, this is something that just recently started bugging me. Did you and the others make up the term "By the Dragon"
just for a figure of expression or does it have historical reference? (Just one of those things that get stuck in your head and your not happy till you figure out why, you know?)

BS writes...

What would the gargoyles think of the likes of Britney Spears and all that other pop music?

LSZ writes...

Are there any non-magical 'traditional' ESP/psychic powers in the Gargoyles universe?

Siren writes...

In another sense of voting...
1.) In the gargoyles universe, could they fight for citizenship?
2.) Could they vote for a govenor or even a president?
3.) Could they run for office?

Todd Jensen writes...

In "Vendettas", after Vinnie creams Goliath with his pie, he walks off humming the theme music to "Gargoyles". How does he know the tune? After all, I think that we can safely assume that the television program doesn't exist in the universe that it creates.

Emmlei writes...

do you know of the poem Tam Lin?

Todd Jensen writes...

Just read your last ramble (the one posted a few minutes ago about deciding to make Goliath one of a species rather than a human turned into a gargoyle) and thought that I'd ask this: What is "Zot!"? I can't recall hearing of it before.

Todd Jensen writes...

In the opening sequence to "Gargoyles", Goliath talks about how his clan was "betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect". One thing that puzzles me a bit about that line, however, is that only one human in the community of Castle Wyvern took part in the betrayal of the castle to the Vikings - the Captain of the Guard. Which makes the use of "humans", plural, a bit puzzling. How does it fit in? Is Goliath in the opening speech refering to the unfriendliness and ingratitude of Princess Katharine and her subjects as well as the Captain's deal with the Vikings? (The former is a bit of a stretch as "betrayal", admittedly).

Siren writes...

What would Lexington think about this whole Napster deal?

(it's late...insomnia makes me think of strange things)

LSZ writes...

Who, in your opinion, is the most dangerous villain in the Gargoyles universe in the epic sense?

Matthew Smith writes...

Regarding Mr. Freeze:
Well, I don't read much batman comics, but I do recall one that I did read where Batman mentions he originally fought mr Freeze as Mr Zero. So, i think that Freeze and Zero are in fact the same person.

Kelly L Creighton / Kya White Sapphire writes...

re: klingons
i never read it but a friend has a book on all the ins and outs of the trek universe. he said that the original series klingons were a sub race created by the ridge headed klingons to infiltrate the humans. or something to that extent.

Ray Kremer writes...

Clearing some things up:

"One question: I saw a scene in the preview that I don't think was in the movie. The villain is cut in half and then mends himself immediately."

Here's a quote from the movies.ign.com review of Endgame:
"(Oh, and if you were going to Endgame to see the cool effects from the trailer -- Kell splitting himself in two, or stopping a sword in mid-air -- then you might want to know that those bits aren't in the movie. I've heard that the effects stuff was cut because they didn't want the big villain to be "super-powerful" -- if Kell could beat Duncan and Connor early on with his superpowers, why not at the big climax? By making Kell simply an immortal that had killed more immortals than anyone else, it levels the playing field and doesn't give him the cop-out of superpowers, but means that Duncan and Connor have to simply be more skilled (their combined effort) to defeat him, not suddenly come into some superpowers. I liked that they changed it, actually, as it makes him a much more believable villain.)"

"And Mr. Freeze, was , by the way a creation -- i'm pretty sure -- of the Adam West Batman series."

I don't remember where I saw it, but on some sort of Batman documentary (webpage? book? TV show?) they showed the cover of the comic with Mr. Freeze's first appearance. He wasn't even Mr. Freeze, he was called Mr. Zero (Captain Zero? Something like that). So I think he does predate the Adam West series. But even then it looks like the cold thing was originally just a gimmick like you said.

Vashkoda writes...

I was wondering if there are different implications in your answers--"maybe" and "not saying". The former, at least to me, seems to imply that you may not have worked out the answer yet. Then again, rather than "not saying"--which clearly states that you don't want to reveal the answer because it's information that you want to keep secret--saying "maybe" could be your way of hiding the significance of an answer. You don't want to say "not saying", because then the fan will become suspicious that the answer might reveal more than originally thought.

So are there different meanings behind the two answers? I was just wondering because they seem to follow most of my questions of late. =P

Todd Jensen writes...

In reference to the Lloyd Alexander question that you got and your own answer to it:

Yep, the Disney movie "The Black Cauldron" was based on Lloyd Alexander's books - the first two books in his "Chronicles of Prydain" series.

Kayless writes...

Some more Highlander discussion. (I must be on the wrong board or something)

"But I kinda liked endgame. I just thought the villain's motivation was beyond feeble. O.K. for a tv episode. But not nearly potent enough to cause the end of Connor."

Agreed. Clancy's Kurgan reigns supreme as the series best villain.

"One question: I saw a scene in the preview that I don't think was in the movie. The villain is cut in half and then mends himself immediately. Did you see that or am I imagining things?"

As far as I know that was from Highlander 3.

"And also I saw something in the preview that wasn't"

??? This appears to be an unfinished statement… Or a rather disjointed thought. Either way some clarification would help. (HA! When was the last time one of us got to say that to you?)

Okay, how about a question? (Or two, counting this one) Why do my questions appear so eloquent when I write them, yet seem to exasperate you when you read them? On second thought, this is probably best left to introspection. Or sarcasm. ;)