Note to readers: this is another series of articles that I’m going to write once in awhile about The L Word cast members and what are they doing now. The articles will consist of short updates and interviews, when possible.

By B&TF

Part I: Comic-Con, Twitter and the Internet

B&TF: What’s in it and why do you like it?

JG: Hm… green things? Well, they don’t actually tell you what’s in it, which is a bit suspect, but it’s yummy. There's pineapple… well that's not green but…(laughing).

B&TF: I’m having SOB. It’s an acquired taste but if you’re drinking it really fast and don’t pay attention to what’s in it, you’ll be fine (both laughing and slurping). Okay, let’s begin then. So you just came from San Diego Comic-Con…

JG: Oh, Comic-Con, how I love thee. This was the first Comic-Con I’ve been to. The first thing I did was a panel. I did a voice-over work on this massive project called Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. It’s very cool because it was combining science fact with science fiction and using it in an educational animated movie. They were taking all these data that NASA’s releasing, all of the mappings of Saturn and all these different planets. It has a crazy cast. It has both of the people who played Darth Vader [James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen], both of the Captain Kirks [William Shatner and Chris Pine], it has serious sci-fi royalty. It will be shown in IMAX Theaters, museums and such. So I did the panel and it was in ballroom 20. I don’t know if it has 3,000 or 4,000 seats but it was standing room only and it was in-saaaane. It was such a cool first Comic-Con experience for a geek.

B&TF: I saw some pictures that you posted on your twitter and there were so many people, crazy crowded. Is it always like that?

JG: Yep.

B&TF: So what’s usually happening at the Comic-Con? Do they have booths there? Do fans just meet other fans? Explain Comic-Con for people like me who’ve never been there.

JG: There are so many different aspects to it. The main floor is filled with booths like many other conventions. It has comic books sellers, video games, toys. Major studios have booths like Fox and Sci-Fi channel so they can promote their new projects. There is a huge atrium filled for autograph signings, and there are panels with speakers from different projects.

B&TF: I did see a line-up for different artists who were supposed to show up there, like the authors of different comic books and some famous people whose sci-fi or animated movies were presented. I saw an interview with Denzel Washington about his new movie, Book of Eli.

JG: Right, right.

B&TF: Did you see him there?

JG: No, I didn’t see him there but I saw many other people. Sigourney Weaver… It was intense; it was a great experience to be able to be part of the panel before I even let myself stretch my fan girl wings and fly (laughing).

B&TF: What’s your favorite animation, comic book or sci-fi movie?

JG: Battlestar Galactica is my favorite show.

B&TF: I liked it a lot, too.

JG: Alex [Kondracke] and Angela [Robinson], writers on The L Word, they were the ones who told me, “You have to watch Battlestar.” They are the ones who got me completely addicted to it. Edward James Olmos and Colonel Tigh [Michael Hogan] were there. I was standing there paralyzed in an “Oh my God,” state, like a total geek.

B&TF: You are just like the rest of us fans.

JG: Yes, absolutely. That’s the thing. I’m an actor but I completely allow myself to be a fan of certain things.

B&TF: You yourself have been in several sort of a sci-fi/space TV series, like Dollhouse, Stargate Atlantis. What attracts you to this kind of shows?

JG: I probably have a sensibility and unsaid understanding between me and the world of geekery that lands me these gigs.

B&TF: Do you search for them or they get offered to you?

JG: No, they just kind of show up and I do too.

B&TF: Dollhouse…they were supposed to show an unaired episode at the Comic-Con with you in it…

JG: I watched it, it was amazing.

B&TF: Wasn’t it supposed to be some sort of secret finale?

JG: Joss Whedon screened it at his panel and it was the first time I saw it, actually. It was the coolest Dollhouse episode of the whole season.

B&TF: It wasn’t shown on TV.

JG: Nope. I know I'm biased, but it's seriously the best episode of the season.

B&TF: But it’s going to be on the DVD.

JG: Yes and I think they are airing it in the UK because Jo, one of the volunteers from the Blackpool Convention, told me about it. Seriously, they tell me all the things I’m going to be in before I know it (laughing). They tell me details about my projects before I know about them.

B&TF: You can find a lot of things on the Internet these days, which brings me to twitter. All of a sudden it became so popular, especially among the celebrities. What do you really think about twitter and why do you think it’s so popular?

JG: Ok, I’ve been twittering since 2007 and I’ve known about it forever. Actually, I was one of the first actors who started twittering. It's kinda cool, because they use to send out these emails to everyone because it was so small at that time. It was a newsletter that said “Look who’s twittering: Ms. Dewey.” So I was doing it before everyone and their mother started doing it. I’m like a twitter O.G. (laughing).

B&TF: Why do you think it’s so appealing, especially to celebrities?

JG: Well, the celebrities get to promote their projects and have a direct line of communication to their fan. For me, I started twittering just to be able to remember what I did yesterday and I want to remember cool little moments. When you live life really fast and fully you can’t remember everything; I certainly can’t (laughing).

B&TF: Sometimes it’s kind of hard to get into it and it’s not for everyone.

JG: Well it's an opt-in experience. Twitter and social networks and the whole ever-changing universe of the Internet… You make it what you want it to be. It’s a completely individual experience. I’ve plenty of actor friends who have tried twitter because they feel like they are supposed to be doing it and I tell them, “You do not have to do any of it. If it doesn’t fit into your life, if it does not feel valuable to you, if you’re not connected to it emotionally in any way, don’t do it.”

B&TF: There are also a few imposters who are trying to impersonate some celebrities…

JG: Actually, there was a "Jennifer Beals" there today and I emailed her today and I was like, “Is this you?” She was like, “Um, no, not so much.”

B&TF: Good because there are things on there that she would never said.

JG: Actually I’m going up to the Twitter headquarters next weekend to go visit everybody there, in San Francisco.

B&TF: Yeah, tell them about this.

JG: Already emailed ‘em (laughing). [Note: the fake account was removed a few days after this interview.]

B&TF: Great. Well, since we are on the subject of the Internet, I checked your website, which is under construction, but it has a really cute picture up front.

JG: Thank you!

B&TF: Did you take it just for that purpose?

JG: Sure did. It’s all under construction now (making a lot of slurping sounds while finishing her smoothie and making unrelated comments about her new friend, an interrogator, and terrorists and how to break them). I'm really lucky to be working with some seriously talented friends who've become the creative team for this website. I did a massive photo shoot for it in the 5000 square-foot photo studio with Konstantin Golovchinsky. Actually, when I leave here I’m going to work with him on the final pictures. And then one of the pictures we did was that cute little picture for the main page. The guys who are designing and programming, I call them “The Babies”, they put up what’s there now (http://www.estunt.deviantart.com and http://www.dan14lev.deviantart.com). Everything is changing. I’m a huge fan of this amazing artist in India, his name is Archan Nair, who’s become a friend of mine and he’s going to do art work for it. I’m choosing a flash animator right now, even though we probably will use Java Script instead. I don't know, we'll figure it all out as we go along.

B&TF: When are you planning to launch it?

JG: Ask the Babies! (laughing) As soon as possible. I also recently set up fan page on Facebook, which I was hard pressed to do. It feels weird to me. It’s not who I am. I like to have a personal connection with people who watch my work because I’m so grateful to them. Facebook only allows you to have 5,000 friends and I’m about to hit that. I didn’t know what to do so I started a fan page last week.

B&TF: Can you have unlimited fans that way?

JG: Yes, it’s unlimited but it just doesn’t feel the same. I can’t post the way I want to. You can’t message me through there and it’s really annoying because I feel that people can’t get connected the way they do on a friend’s page. So I’m not so thrilled with that but, I have no choice! Well, there is one cool thing that the fan page has. The fan picture section. So all of the pictures from Blackpool can be posted there of us together. There’s actually a place for it there now. So together, we'll make the fan page as personal as the friend page.

(Go to Part II where Janina is talking about her latest projects and appearances).