From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   http://www.metro.us/things-to-do/boston/eliza-dushku-boston-comic-con   
      
   Eliza Dushku talks Boston Comic Con, 20 years of 'Buffy' and if she'd play   
   Batgirl   
   The Watertown native opens up about the groundbreaking series, her favorite   
   Seaport haunts and more.   
      
   Eliza Dushku will get the chance to celebrate 20 years of "Buffy the Vampire   
   Slayer" right in her backyard when Boston Comic Con returns to the Seaport   
   this summer.   
      
   The Watertown native, who portrayed the badass slayer Faith in the hit   
   series, will make appearances at the convention on August 12 and 13 along   
   with her former co-star James Marsters, aka the always moody vampire Spike.   
   The 36-year-old actress is pretty pumped for her geeky homecoming.   
      
           "Boston is my home," Dushku says. "My favorite city, place and   
   people anywhere."   
      
   Before the fun kicks off at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center later   
   this year, we chatted with the "Buffy" star about the show's legacy, her   
   favorite spots to check out in the Seaport and if she'd ever team up with   
   Joss Whedon again for the upcoming "Batgirl" solo flick.   
      
           "I’ve just only recently moved home, and the Seaport district is   
   certainly booming these days! LoLa 42 is new and delicious, and badass   
   Southie homegirl foodie goddess Barbara Lynch's restaurants, Menton (fancy)   
   and Sportello (fun) are great. I’m reading Barbara’s book, “Out of Line:   
   A   
   Life of Playing with Fire” now and she’s just fantastic. My friends tease   
   me   
   for how much I eat and joke that my three brothers and I must have   
   tapeworms. We really put food away, with joy."   
      
   Cosplaying is a big part of the whole comic con experience. If you ever got   
   the chance to dress up for an event like this, which character would you   
   choose, and why?   
      
           "I love dressing up as my "Buffy" character Faith, fans who know her   
   and identify with her are the best, in my humble opinion. Not that I’m   
   biased or anything. The question remains if I’d still be able to pull off my   
   "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" diamond thief catsuit at 36 years old. I   
   kinda think so."   
      
   Your “Buffy” co-star James Marsters will be making an appearance at this   
   year’s Boston Comic Con as well. How excited are you to celebrate 20 years   
   of the show with your old pal in Boston?   
      
           "20 years, my gosh, it’s still so hard to believe it’s been that   
   long! I’ll never forget running to Contempo Casuals at the Arsenal Mall in   
   Watertown, at 17 years old, to buy a Faith outfit and a bag of silver punk   
   jewelry for my audition tape. I had no idea, of course, at the time that   
   would be the beginning of something that has been such a defining part of my   
   life. James/Spike is great, the rapport he has with fans is electric and   
   heartwarming at the same time. The fans love their bad boys and girls from   
   "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," that’s for sure! But Faith and Spike were just   
   written out so beautifully in the series. The arcs, twists and turns. They   
   were at once evil and so relatable. I have thousands of fans who tell me   
   Faith saved their lives, shaped their identities, helped them understand who   
   and what they were and are. It’s extraordinary."   
      
   As we watch more and more powerful female characters take to the screen, do   
   you think Faith and Buffy helped play a part in setting the stage for   
   "Wonder Woman," "Black Widow," "Supergirl" and "Captain Marvel"? What do you   
   want Faith’s legacy to be?   
      
           "It’s become clear to me across my 25 plus years in Hollywood,   
   reading female roles, watching what’s out there, that Joss Whedon and "Buffy   
   the Vampire Slayer" definitely helped set the stage for the powerful female   
   roles and characters we’re seeing today. I was never really the   
   ultra-feminine nor girl-next-door (to say the least), and it could be   
   confusing to see only that portrayed in film and TV during my adolescence. I   
   love that my teenage niece can find Wonder Women out there today, I’m going   
   to try and get her to watch "Buffy" with me someday soon too. Faith’s legacy   
   just is, and depending on who you ask, she empowered people by way of being   
   her. With her past, her scars, her wounds, her M.O. and all"   
      
   Speaking of powerful female heroes, Joss Whedon is said to be helming the   
   "Batgirl" solo movie. Would you be down to play her opposite your fellow   
   Bostonian and brooding Batman, Ben Affleck?   
      
           "I’d say I’m officially a woman, not a girl today, guys."   
      
   In a battle of Boston superheroes, who wins: Ben Affleck’s "Batman" or Chris   
   Evans’ "Captain America"?   
      
            "Boston loyal, I don’t throw people under the bus, sorry."   
      
   Last year, your documentary on Albania debuted on PBS. Any upcoming plans to   
   get back into documentaries or other projects you’re working on?   
      
           "Our documentary, "Dear Albania," has been one of the things I’m   
   proudest of in my career. We’ve had an incredible (and still ongoing) run on   
   Netflix worldwide, and Albanians everywhere (including our father, Philip   
   Dushku!) know that my brother, Nate, and I devoted those years of our life   
   to make that one-hour special, about our father’s homeland, the best   
   representation of our people, our history, our culture, we possibly could.   
   Every time I watch it my heart swells. Our father and his siblings grew up   
   in the South End, Albanian immigrants, most people didn’t have a clue where   
   their parents and ancestors came from or what their culture was like. Today,   
   as Albanians, have something to point to with "Dear Albania" - other than   
   the terrorists in the "Taken" movies - and be proud of. And the fact that I   
   was able to orchestrate it, fills me with the sense that I’ve done something   
   especially important in my life, for my Albanian ancestors, family and   
   people."   
   David   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)