Felicia Day has been a mainstay at Comic-Con, well known for her quirky style as a writer, director and actor. From Supernatural to Dr. Horrible, The Guild and Buffy, she’s been a fan favorite.
She kicked off the third day of Comic-Con with an hour-long discussion on many things…except her TV and movie projects. That’s due to the SAG-AFTRA and Writer’s Guild strikes.
The panel started with a surprise: an Inkpot Achievement Award from Laura Jones of Comic-Con International
She revealed she’s been at the con since 2008, when she had to borrow a pass to advertise a little video called The Guild, Later, she also talked about the first time she got her own booth, and how another booth complained because the line from her booth was too long.
After trying to figure out what the award looked like, she talked about the importance of the two strikes. She points out not every writer and actor is rich in Hollywood. Most try to make ends meet, and just want fair residuals to reflect streaming and new media. “We’re just trying to set the scales back,” she says, “because I have a lot of friends who’ve had to move out of Los Angeles because they can’t afford to live.”
She also talked about how writers often have to do a lot of work to develop new projects for free, and their efforts don’t lead to anything. “I know people, they’re on staff and they still have to have a side job to pay their rent and to pay for their kids,” she said. “It’s really sad. So, that is another reason why (during COVID) I took the best of what those three years were, and like cutting the things that did not give me joy. The thing that give me joy is making stuff and releasing it, however that happens, however many people enjoy it. If you touch one person’s life, it’s worth it. I had forgotten that in my three or four years in kind of being in the system, but now I’m back.”
She also showed off her new t-shirt expressing her support for the unions.
Then, it became an enjoyable question and answer session.
She revealed her new Audible book, Third Eye, is the TV show she always wanted to make. She admitted it was tough having the project rejected by TV executives. When Audible said yes to the idea, it helped her creating process. “I was able to figure out a way to write with joy, and so this really is something I put my whole heart into,” she says.
The story is about a wizard who was meant to destroy a Great Evil…but didn’t. Ten years later, she tries to find redemption with the help of a sassy fairy, a chubby vampire, and a woman who seems to have the solution…maybe. The audio cast includes Neil Gaiman, Jonah Ray, Wil Wheaton, Weird Al Yankovic, Alan Tudyk and Sean Astin,
She also talked her two books, her favorite games, dad jokes, her daughter and why she’s “pure milk chocolate, bitches” thanks to good friends.
She also gave some writing advice: when you experience “creative constipation”, have “creative diarrhea” and just let your pen flow with words.
Later, she put it in a better way: “Always think about your characters and what they want, and have that kind of force their dialogue. Just write the most boring thing ever, and you will eventually get to the core of what you want”.
She ended the panel by inviting people to support the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, and check out her audio book.
Chapter one of Third Eye is available at audible.com/thirdeye. Future chapters are available with an Audible subscription starting in October.
