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By Christopher Moshier
April 15, 2007 - 09:00
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Ultimately, Sarah somehow fell into the realm of uber-geekdom, moved to Southern California and started cosplaying at anime conventions in 1997. Her dream is to one-day cosplay as a piece of sushi, and thusly bring her life full-circle.
COMIC BOOK BIN (through Christopher Moshier): How did you meet up with 3rd Floor Productions eventually being a co-host for their recent property, Geek Week I know you specified in October you found Jack through the “intermanet”.
SARAH BEATTIE: I met those wacky (yet charismatic!) 3rd Floor Productions guys through Jack, who I did indeed meet through the intermanet, which is a sub-level of The Internet reserved for people who like to talk on message boards about dressing up as cartoon characters and have issues with their parents. We referred to Jack as the “Worldly and Wise Father” of our little message board cosplay group, as he was by far the oldest and the wisest in many worldly ways. He took me under his cyber wing and showed me a whole new land of possibilities that lay beyond the intermanet. This land being 3rd Floor and a town filled with crazy homeless people and bad air quality (L.A.).
CBB: Reading the GW boards I get the vibe that the entire concept took a
step backwards from the last episode in San Diego. Jack admittedly indicated - in his case anyways - a little too much party time. Has the entire cast and crew reevaluated the show and what changes are
coming?
SB: Jack’s drinking is definitely a HUGE problem. His attitude is bad enough as it is, but when he’s had a few dozen drinks...man, he’s just impossible. One time we were trying to shoot the news and he insisted that tiny, invisible elves were inside the camera. He went on and on, saying that if we didn’t feed them some Cheetos and Tab they would make sure he looked fat on film. That one definitely took a few hours out of shooting time. Man. Anyways, we’ve got him down to one bottle of rum a day and already he seems to be perking up a bit. Thank god.
As for other changes, let’s just say that soon Geek Week fans will be able to see what their favorite Geek Week folks have been up to during this hiatus. It should be fun times.
CBB: Also in relation to GW. Any news on the pitches to the various cable outlets for the show?
SB: The gang decided to nail down our own format before we go back out and try to sell it to others. We've also been asked to do exclusive web content for a few big sites, but first we need to get back to doing what we love and giving our fans what they expect. Then people can start throwing money at us.
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I would have a whole new segment called “Sarah Sits and Pets Cute Animals Corner”. Unfortunately, the other guys keep saying things like “That’s impossible!” to me. Whatever. People said the same thing about a woman running for president and it looks like that’s about to happen. Nothing’s impossible, Hilary. Nothing.
CBB: If I throw your name in a Google Search I get lots of Cosplay links. How did you get into the whole Cosplay phenomena? For those who don’t know can you tell us what exactly is Cosplay? Can you send along a pic or two of your bestest, favoritist costume?
SB: As in my bio, Japanese food had a lot to do with that. That stuff is like cocaine to me, except in fish and rice form. I thought, well, if the food’s good, the cartoons and comics must be awesome. And I was right. Then I discovered conventions where it was actually NORMAL to dress as your favorite characters. And that’s pretty much the definition of cosplay (which comes from the Japanese/English connection of the words “costume play”). There are some people out there who take cosplay pretty serious, and it can be almost an art form to them, taking elaborate photo shoots and working insanely hard on making the recreation of beloved characters as accurate as possible. These people are RAD.
My favorite costume is definitely my Faye Valentine (from Cowboy Bebop) that I cosplayed a few years back. It was my most popular costume mainly because I think people really like the color yellow.
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I also liked my Lum (from Urusei Yatsura) because it landed me the cover to the book Otaku in USA, and even though it came out in Japan, it unfortunately didn’t keep my parents from stumbling upon it in a bookstore. I can now say that my father’s seen me in a furry bikini. That’s pretty messed up.
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CBB: Are you involved in 3rd Floors “The Midnight Men”? What is that all about or is it top, double dangerous secret?
SB: I’ve heard some things about Midnight Men, but I’ll keep it under wraps for now as I’m not sure on the secret level (orange? red?) of that certain project. I will say that it sounds completely awesome, tho. Awesome like dinosaurs and rainbows on a sunny day with a puppy.
CBB: The Comic Book Bin is focusing on “Women” all month. The world of “Geek” has always been aimed more towards the male species of this planet. Since the birth of the internet that misconception seems to be apparent. Why are so many “girls” flocking to all that is Geek? Have they always been there, but in the closet so to speak? What drew you into this mystical world and what do you think can be done to draw more women to comics, video games, animation, etc?
SB: When I first got into comics, I didn’t realize it was a “guy” thing, mainly because one of my female friends introduced me to them. Then later, I would go to conventions, and notice that not only was there a lack of women, but also, the dudes were pretty stinky. Maybe girls don’t want to like geeky stuff because then they have to hang out with stinky dudes. So, guys, stop stinking. For us.
The realm of anime has definitely hooked a lot of girls, however, thanks to all the female-based books and shows that Japan constantly churns out. This leads to manga sections in bookstores being crowded with pre-teen girls sitting in the middle of the floor, reading romance manga and blocking my way to the Ultimate Spiderman graphic novels. So that sucks. One day, maybe they’ll look across the aisle and wonder, “What’s Runaways? Should I read that?” and not worry about the stink from male geeks any longer.
CBB: Being on GW do you have the acting bug now or are you just happy
with doing that?
SB: I actually never had any acting experience before, so when the 3rd Floor guys were all “Stand in front of the camera and say stuff”, I was pretty confused.
I mean, it’s a boxy thing with a bunch of wires and metal and plastic stuff. I wasn’t going to TALK to it like it was a human! Preposterous! They insisted, and I figured it out eventually - I guess.
The whole acting thing is pretty fun, actually. I don’t think I’d ever go out and do auditions or anything, seeing as how I suck, but I definitely would never turn down a part in a horror film as a scantily clad victim or a zombie. Those have been my dream roles right there since I was like - 13!
I know, I know, I aim for the top.
CBB:Is it true that everyone in California is an actor, writer, and/or director, or a waiter wanting to be an actor, writer, and/or director?
SB: Everyone is L.A. is a wannabe actor/model/writer/director who’s actually a waiter. It’s ridiculous. If you order a hamburger in Hollywood, expect a monologue about how you want your meat cooked.
CBB: Is it true that the California infrastructure is actually made up with plastic legos?
SB: Legos? More like EGGOS! (haha, stole your joke, Jack)
CBB: Is it true that the Governor of California is actually an actor in large rubber suit being played by that same guy who portrayed Godzilla?
SB: The Governor of California is ... wait, what? Who told you that? Obviously, information is being leaked. SECURITY BREACH! GO TO FULL LOCK-DOWN!!
CBB: OK! What books (comics) do you currently read, video games played, and anything else Geek you most enjoy and why?
SB: My favorite books right now are Fables, Hack/Slash, Gen 13, Chronicles of Wormwood, anything with “Ultimate” in the title, anything by Joss Whedon, and of course, my girly book, Spiderman Loves Mary Jane.
Friday the 13th is awesome as well, but I heard it was just canceled. I blame George Bush.
As for video games, I just got a Wii for my birthday and am currently giving myself constant arm injuries playing various sports and party games on that.
CBB: What kind of reaction do you receive when talking to someone outside the Geek realm to the fact you host a show about comic books and action figures with a bunch of guys in their 30’s?
SB: Mostly just blank stares. I try to explain it for a few minutes, then give up and hang out by the cheese tray.
CBB: Anything else away from “GEEK” you would like to share? Any exciting projects coming up or something you’re currently working on?
SB: Wait, talk about something non-geeky?? Whaa...??? Um... I...like...tennis.
Other than getting more Geek-Week out there soon, I plan on writing the Great American Novel, which will focus mainly on someone purchasing me a pet bunny for Christmas. (Don’t ask, just do it.)
If you have any suggestions for articles or want your fan film spotlighted on these here pages or just want to say hello please email me at christopher@comicbookbin.com.
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