Ask Wil Wheaton Anything (Part Deux)

A little over three years ago Slashdot interviewed Wil Wheaton, at the time best known for his role as Wesley Crusher on ST:TNG. Since then his blog WWDN has allowed him a creative outlet that has made the world sit up and take notice. Wil is now a regular participant in ACME Comedy Theatre, has published two books ( Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek ), has done voicework for video games such as GTA: San Andreas, cartoons such as Teen Titans, and speaks regularly at conventions such as Gnomedex and Linucon. Wil enjoyed the first Slash interview so much it appeared in Just a Geek, and we're glad to have him back for a second go-round. Feel free to fire away, one question per comment please. We'll post his responses once we get them back.

ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

Sorry for the Star Trek question, but it is something that I have wondered for quite a while. With your character in ST:TNG, he(/you) left the ship with 'the traveler' to do great and wondrous things. I always wondered when you were going to come back and save the ship from some otherwise horrible fate, it of course, never happened. At the time, did you see that exit for your character as an easy way to write you out of the script for good, or as a combination of plot advancement for your character, while still allowing you to work on other projects?

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

Apropos of nothing, I always thought that a much cooler thing to do with the Wesley Crusher character would have been this: Have him be so embittered by the whole Starfleet Academy thing that he and a group of fellow disgusted cadets stole a Starfleet ship and became pirates or mercenaries. Wesley Gone Evil would have been great - and probably would have been a lot more fun for Mr. Wheaton to play.

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

Wesley Gone Evil would have been great - and probably would have been a lot more fun for Mr. Wheaton to play.

Better yet, send him to Spring Break destinations with a ton of beads and call it Wesley Gone Wild.

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

> Sure, one ship against a whole fleet of pissed off starfleet officers.
>
>No matter how bright Wesley is supposed to be or how great Picards father-complex is, the fleet would have vaporized them in days.

Wes: "I reprogrammed the holodeck so it was possible to rescue the ship."
Q: "What?"
Picard: "He cheated."
Wes: "I changed the conditions of the test. I got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose."
Q: "Then you never faced that situation. Faced being written out of the series."
Wes: "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

Wesley Gone Evil would have been great

Add to this the rebel Riker's twin and the Data evil brother and we have a great beginning for an all evil crew.

//I know, they are both dead or something like that.

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

This is a great idea and everything, but it will never work.

No matter how hard I try, I can't grow a goatee.

Re:ST:TNG, Your charecter exit

Wil, can you test something out for me? Write some random offtopic post, and see if you get modded +5. Maybe even just write a bunch of odd letters. ;-)

The Horrendous Truth.

Wil, is it true that youre really the guy who makes all those Goatse posts?

It's worse than that. I have it on good authority that Wil Wheaton *is* the Goatse Man.

Either that, or Tubgirl, I forget which.

Dread Pirate Wesley

Let's see, he could be shanghaid by a rogue pirate who teaches him the trade while telling each night, "Have a good sleep, for more likely than not I'll kill you in the morning" and then retires, leaving Wesley the ship and crew.

Wesley could then return to Starfleet headquarters, looking for his true love (an upperclassmen he met during his brief time at the acadamy) only to discover that she has become betrothed to an evil planetary governor who, unbeknownst to her, has ambitions to take over neighboring star systems and start interstellar war.

After being left for dead after being tortured using an octopus like extra-terrestrial creature that attaches its tentacles to major nerve bundles by the governor's minions. The purpose of the torture was to gain the vital "warp energy" that Wesley has learned to harness so the governor's assassins, can more through space like ghosts. Wesley rebuilds his strength and storms the governor's stronghold only to find out that the governor is his long believed dead father.

In the climactic battle, Wesley defeats, but does not kill his father. Wesley's true love does kill Wesley's father in a pique at being used to draw Wesley in. In his dying breath, Wesley's father renounces his evil and Wesley gives him the full starfleet funeral that he deserves.

Wesley realizes that he has evolved beyond common man and despite his feelings for the girl resumes his wandering of the universe, looking for wrongs to right and balances to be restored.

Hey, it's better than anything Rick Berman has produced in the last 10 years.

myke

Thoughts on the future of Enterprise

Okay, let me start out by saying I'd understand if you don't keep up with the new Trek shows, and if that's the case you should chalk my question up to being those of a truly pathetic geek and possibly make "magic xylophone" [simpsoncrazy.com] jokes about it.

That said, if you do still follow Trek I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the progress of "Enterprise" given your status as someone framiliar with the entertainment industry (esp. as it relates to this particular line of shows).

I have been so impressed by the last two seasons (except the Nazi arc at the start of this season) that I'd go so far as to group them with some of the best episodes of season 3 TNG. The characters are finally starting to fill out, the plots have gotten away from the standard "it's the Borg again!" horseshit and they've even had relatively decent dialog.

I get the impression, however, that it's not going to be enough to save the series based on the timeslot it's been relegated to. While my TiVO stays in Fridays even though I don't, I can't believe that even Trek fans regularly stay home Friday nights in sufficiant numbers to save the show, not to mention all the people who stopped watching in season 1 or 2 and won't end up flipping past sometime to give it a second chance now.

Is "Enterprise" as doomed as I think it is?

Re:Thoughts on the future of Enterprise

I can't believe that even Trek fans regularly stay home Friday nights in sufficiant numbers to save the show

Too easy.

Re:Thoughts on the future of Enterprise

I'm hesitant to suggest that somebody got a clue somewhere, but yes, I've actually really enjoyed the last two seasons of Enterprise (except for the stupid alien Nazis, but what the heck, I'll throw in one for free). That's something I really can't say about any of the intermediate Treks. TNG was between good and awesome throughout its run (and I too never hated Wesley, come on, geeky kid who gets to hang out with the engineers of the Enterprise? It's an irresistable dream for those of us Trek fans nearly the same age as Wil.), but I never really got that into DS9 and Voyager.

First season Enterprise almost made me shut it off forever, too. Come on, how many "poke the alien, wonder why it killed you" episodes can we do? You know, the ones that follow these steps: find mysterious lifeform or situation and bother it until it gets incredibly pissed and tries to hurt us? You know, kind of like that Aussie guy with a similar show...

I'm glad to see that they've gone to longer, mini-arcs for episodes recently. The stories are well told and well thought-out, and there's enough time to do it without feeling hurried. Well done, well done.

acting?

In "Just a Geek" you pretty much ended the book by saying that acting (tv/movie, not ACME) is no longer a priority. Are you still looking for a Big Part or have you given up on that altogether?

Personal preference question

Do you use pepper spray, tear gas, or mace on people you meet on the street who call you Wesley Crusher?

Re:Personal preference question

Do you use pepper spray, tear gas, or mace on people you meet on the street who call you Wesley Crusher?

Oh I'll take this one right now:

Yes.

Re:Personal preference question

haha, how about this one; why don't you post in your /. journal anymore?

For a brief time, I toyed with the idea of putting all my computer-related thoughts here, my political thoughts at dailykos, and my los angles-related thoughts at blogging.la, but then I decided that it was stupid to do all that, when I could just put them all on my blog.

I still post to blogging.la from time to time, but other than that, I pretty much stay in my own yard at WWdN.

Oh, and I do *all* my goofing off at totalfark, and occasionally UltraFark.

Re:Personal preference question

*resists urge to mod -1 for showing off about access to secret societies* :-)

Re:Personal preference question

Dude. This doesn't work like a real "Ask Slashdot" if you're coming in here and answering the questions . Get the hell back on your side of the fence and wait for the selected questions to hit your inbox - and for gawd's sake... try to act surprised.

Sheesh.

You'd think we were doing the William Shatner interview again. And no - you can't ask yourself questions.

;)

Re:Personal preference question

And no - you can't ask yourself questions.

Sorry, but I can't resist ...

Will, if you could ask yourself one question in this interview, what would it be?

Only important TNG question

Deanna Troy or Dr. Crusher?

Now that you are a fully grown man

Are you disappointed that you did not turn out to be that hunk that Q turned you into as an adult, then changed you back by your request?

Re:Now that you are a fully grown man

Having just finished reading the previous /. interview and some of the ensuing comments, I ran across the same question, worded surprisingly similarly, and, more importantly, answered [slashdot.org] by señor CleverNickName [slashdot.org] himself.

Changing Attitudes

I never had any of the disdain that seems to paint your detractors, Wil, yet I also never found myself admiring you until I began to read your blog.

What has your newfound share of fans and admirers taught you? Was it always your intention to, via the internet, change people's minds about who you are and what you've been trying to accomplish?

Marina Sirtis

So was Marina Sirtis as much of a complete hottie as she was on the show? She's what got me into ST; up until I saw her I wasn't much of a fan.

Women et. al

I know this is one of those things that was asked to Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade, but as Ashley Judd's first on-screen kiss, do you have any advice on finding women? ;)

On that matter, what do you think priorities should be in looking for that sig. other?

Re:Women et. al

Hahaha, I got an offtopic moderation in an "Ask / Talk about anything thread..." SCORE!

Looking back...

Looking back from where you are today, Mr. Wheaton, what would you consider your greatest achievement that you take the most pride in? Your work as an actor? Your widely-acclaimed blog? Or maybe your published memoirs?

And, on a related note, are you anywhere close to where you expected you'd be by now?

Actor to Actor

Wil,

You talk alot on your blog about your experiences, not only in your personal life, but also your professional life.

Now with two books under your belt, has anyone ever pitched the idea of writing a 'Acting in Hollywood for Dummies'?

Basically what to expect in the process of agenting, casting calls, marketing yourself, how to deal with rejection, overcoming fears, etc.

I think with your writing style, this would be a fun book to read, and accessible to non-actors who would be interested in what the 'real' Hollywood life was about.

What about the flip side?

In your response to a comment titled "Usenet," from the previous interview, you make it quite clear that people hating you for being Wesley pisses you off. Do you have anything in particular to say to the people who like you for being Wesley?

Re:What about the flip side?

Do you have anything in particular to say to the people who like you for being Wesley?

I think he's covered most of that in the restraining orders. ;)

Child Actors

Would you let your own children enter the tv/film industry? Why or why not?

the question on everyones mind.

Will you ever put a leech on your nuts in another movie?

Please say yes.

It's a vital plot point in my screenplay.

Blog Comments

I know from reading your blog that you've had to deal with some sticky issues reagarding people leaving comments to your posts. My question is: In your opinion, what do you feel would be a better way of having people comment on a story without having the moderation power of a Slashdot type site at your disposal? Or is this even feasible given the way most blog type scripts are designed.

What pays the bills?

It's a serious question. What keeps the roof over your head?

A lot of my favorite actors (you're included in there) will work for a little bit and then disappear for a great length of time.

A good example is Bruce Campbell. You see him in a small film like Bubba Ho-Tep or a quickie walk-on like in Spider Man, and then he disappears from the face of the earth. And I always wonder, what pays the grocery bill meanwhile?

How do you manage it? And please feel free to ignore this if it's too personal.

Residuals

Actors get a certain amount of money from DVD sales, rebroadcast rights, etc, dictated on a sliding scale by the Screen Actors Guild. Eventually if an actor gets enough work, the residuals alone can (almost) pay the bills - assuming of course that you get enough roles to start getting a decent amount of income.

I can't speak for Wil, but I'd imagine having a reoccurring role on one of the most popular TV series ever probably generates a decent amount of income from residuals. Certainly for someone like Bruce Campbell, who's done tons of work over the years, he's probably decently well off.

So...

What was your experience with the editor of 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of D&D?

Fatherhood

How many different places in your life do your tech-side and parent-side collide? I'm curious if, for you, there are more rather than fewer places than Joe-Sixpack-With-An-iMac -- video editing, family pixel-mashing, that sort of thing.

Moderation totals

Do you think you'd get modded +5 nearly as much if you weren't Wil Wheaton?

And a follow-up question

Do you find your celebrity here on Slashdot creepy at all? What are your thoughts on cults of personality in general in the geek world?

celebrity poker

Hey Wil,

I'm a longtime reader of WWDN and I know you're big into poker.
Is there any chance of you making an appearance on Celebrity Poker on Bravo?
It'd kick ass to see you on there in action ;)

What do you think of Stargate?

What do you think of Stargate (SG-1/Atlantis)?

A true geek?

You claim to be a geek/nerd, but yet you have a 6 digit slashdot userid (129189). How do you explain this discrepency?

Re:A true geek?

Pft, where do *you* get off questioning someone's cred based on user ID, newbie?

Re:A true geek?

Yeah, what he said! Only with one order of magnitude more significance!

Who remembers Chips & Dips? And the glorious Meept? And goatse (the first time)? Aaah.... those were the days....

Re:A true geek?

It's real easy...make any comment about how someone's user-ID is way too high for them to be saying what they're saying, and all the folks with crazy low UID's will come out of the woodwork. It's like slashdot catnip...they can't resist.

Creating Your Own Geek Culture

Do you find it interesting/annoying/strange/etc. participating in the geek culture (i.e. being a geek), while at the same time being such a recognisible influence or member of that same culture? For example, say you go to a ST convention. What does it feel like to sort of admire or follow such a phenomenon, but at the same time you are thinking "Yea, I remember when Pat Stewart and I did that scene." I guess it just seems that you might have a different experience than most of us /.ers, in that we are more observers than contributors.

Hope that makes sense. Cheers for responding to the /. community!

I dig your Mom.

I think the whole world wants to know..... any Oedipus action with Gates McFadden? (C'mon Will, surely you at least thought about it.)

Politics and Hollywood - from WW's perspective?

Wil,

We in the non-Hollywood scene see a fair number of outspoken individuals on one side of the political spectrum, a few on the other, and it *always* gets press anytime anyone on either side speaks out about any political issue.

Having seen it from the inside, how pervasive is politics in the workplace in the projects you've been involved in? Is it something that comes up every once in a while, like the rest of us, during office discussions... or is it something more "tangible", where you basically know where everyone around you stands - and you'd better hope you either stand the same way or don't say much?

Have you ever felt pressure from someone with regard to politics? Have you ever felt that your political viewpoint would affect your chances of working on a project?

Thanks!

The air up there...

So, how does it feel to be one of the few that get asked to do a SECOND interview with Slashdot?

(I think i speak for a lot of us here that take great pleasure in watching your continued successes, keep up the outstanding work.)

Alright then.

So what is sex like?

Geek code

When you were compiling your geek code, did you get a kick out of the fact that you could put a $ after "t"?

I Got One

Since you read Slashdot regularly, why do I need an askslashdot to ask you a question? Can't I just ask you a question in the forums or via E-Mail? Is this some sort of Slashdot version of the Daily Show's "Interviews I Could Get"?

Oh by the way, my room mate was dissing on you the other day. I told her that you were really cool because you read slashdot, but she remains unconvinced for some reason. Are you doing something else that I can point her at that will improve your street cred in her eyes?

Clever Nick Name

How did you come up with such a clever nickname?

Simple question... don't be PC

Seven of Nine
or
Uhura

Re:Simple question... don't be PC

Dude! You forgot T'Pol aka '36 of D'.

Your future?

It occurs to me that you're not much older than I am, and probobly younger than most people on Slashdot. Do you ever find yourself wondering, "What will I do with the rest of my life"? Do you have a plan for your life, or are you just making it up as you go along?

Does having had a career and achived fame(at least among us geeks) at a young age give you a different outlook on life than the rest of us young folk, who are just getting out of school and looking to start a career? And any advice to us geeks seeking a family and job would be appreciated : )

Oh, and on a lighter note - you may be a famous actor and author, Wil Wheaton - but I still have a lower Slashdot ID than you! Take that! : )

How to be a "real" actor/writer/speaker/artist?

Hi Wil. I know you're not about dwelling in the past when it comes to your acting career, but I did want to say that I think "Young Harry Houdini [imdb.com]" is an oft-overlooked film that you should be very proud of. Okay, so maybe I was only like 10 when I saw it, but as an amateur magician it really had an effect on me, and I thank you for your role in it.

A related question then: What advice can you give (beyond saying "be born with raw talent") to folks like yourself who see themselves as creative types with an interest in acting, writing, speaking - the public arts, if you will - but who also don't want to tread the over-worn path of mainstream media and every other Hollywood actor-wannabe? You seem to have done an exceptional job being a part of the underculture - sci-fi TV, self-publishing, blogging, small theater, etc., so it would seem you have some insight into how to participate in these arts without becoming corrupted by the process of getting involved.

Thanks!
Silas

Appear as character other that Wesley Crush

Have you considered appearing on Enterprise as a character other that Wesley Crusher? An alien with plenty of makeup. Klingon anyone.

Dealing with Internet hatred

When I read Just a Geek, I was struck by the similarity between the reaction to your 25 August 2001 WWdN post (A Look Inside My Mind) and the reaction to the Slashdot and Fark stories about my TRON costume. The 26 August 2001 post (My Velouria) was something I could have written, at least in tone if not in details, if I were half the writer you are.

What would you tell the anonymous, average geek who has Internet fame suddenly dropped on him? How would you help him get through the flood of negativity and get to the point where he can ignore the naysayers and just have fun?

Re:Dealing with Internet hatred

Interesting question, but it probably won't make the cut. Makes for interesting discussion though, so as someone who gets flamed hard about three times per week in multiple venues, I can offer these points:

1. The angry corrector. Sometimes the flamers tell you something you need to know, like when you say something that is wrong. For this reason, you should read as many comments as you can unless they're obvious trolls.

2. Special needs posters. The people who sling nasty personal attacks are mentally ill and in search of attention. Think "toddler tantrom," if you have any child experience. Best to give them a time out by ignoring them.

3. The perfessers. Some people just want others to think they are smart, so they find one little point somewhere in what you've written and they pontificate about how this tangential fact ruins the whole article, and much they know and you don't, etc. etc. -- basically this is article envy. They're pissed that you have the attention and they do not.

4. Ugly Americans. American culture encourages people to tear down those in the limelight, those who shine brighter, those with more money, etc., even if these properties are only perceptions. In other words, if you envy, attack. (Yes I am an American, no I do not hate America; this is merely an observation of one of the negative points of the society I live in).

After you start recognizing the archetypes of online trolls/flamers/lusers/etc, they seem much less intimidating. Write what you would want to read, post what you would want to comment on, and ignore the idiots of the world. Do more costumes and if you really enjoy it, the joy of creating a good costume, documenting it, winning awards, and getting positive comments far outweighs the mild frustration of reading the negative comments.

-Jem

Diplomacy question

Can US foriegn policy be reconciled with the prime directive?

Outer Limits appearance and Wesley

Was your appearance in Outer Limits as the space cadet (or something like that) who ended up not so much saving the day a conscious contrast for Wesley? Was it fun playing havoc with that expected typecast?

(I liked the episode, by the way ;)

what kind of hard core non treckie fans do you get

Do you get drunk white trash from stand by me? Cause thats scarier than a treckie any day.. or what about latin american freedom fighters stalking you? Toy soldiers was my favoritte movie growing up? Honestly, I'm guessing that you probably have a huge number of people on the street come up and ask if you were Wesley Crusher, but do people come up and recognize you from other movies?

A personal question

Wil, can you lift the restraining order? Please? I just want to talk. I've been on my meds this time.

Homegrown Desktop Video

Hi Wil,

In the last episode of Ask Wil Wheaton, you said that you were hoping to produce some of your own video stuff with a tool like iMovie. I'm interested if there's any progress on that front, but that's not my question, really...

Recently, my hometown was host to a Tromafest [tromadance.com] of local filmmakers strutting their sometimes trashy but always dedicated homegrown video and film projects. Some were feature-length opuses, others were short flash animations or sketch comedy types. I was really impressed with the quality that went into some of the projects, especially since everyone was professional at heart if not in portfolio.

So the question is: Do you get approached to work on video projects of the independant, micro-budget stripe? What kind of considerations do you.. um... consider... if/when such a project comes your way? Any thoughts you may have about independent filmmaking's strengths and weaknesses on the production side of the equation would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

OS Preference...?

Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X?....

LCARS...?

Bigshot Actor to Bigshot Author

In the book I reverently refer to now as JAG, you speak of getting off your "Hey, I'm an actor! Get me a scone!" high-horse and being... JAG. Now that your books have hit a noteable success, have you had any close encounters with turning into Mr. "Hey, I'm an author! Get me a crumpet!"?

Are your friends, fans, and family helping you keep a level head?

So here you are...

There's not a lot of questions that someone could ask that a stroll through your blog archives wouldn't answer. You're a family man, you've gone through some really harsh, but introspective good times and you've created a career where you get to be creative, filling your geek quota and doing what you started out doing - entertaining.

There are probably just as many people in acting, as well as in any job, that struggle with identity, like you did. They struggle with expectations, they struggle with defining who they are or struggle with exceeding/overcoming definitions that have been put on them. You've answered this in several ways in your book, but if you could summarize - just what the hell did you learn - and if you could be a mentor like Stewart/Frakes were to you - what would you share/teach the budding actors/actresses/geeks/geekettes?

What do you want your legacy to be? And how will you share it?

Is there a Lars Ulrich of TV and Movies?

There isn't as vocal of an opponent to movie and TV show filetrading as Lars Ulrich of Metallica was during the Napster heydays (music filetrading). What's the general attitude among actors and other peons of the industry towards filetrading? Are they worried about their jobs as the MPAA wants us all to believe (filetrader and non-filetrader alike)?

Hollywood

You've done work for the EFF and digital rights. What if anything has Hollywood done to let you know the "error" of your ways?

Self-Doubt

Wil, I suppose my question for you is: although I recognize that most all of us are prone to it, why does self-doubt seem to still be an especially strong theme in your psyche, at least as I perceive it through your writing?

You seem to doubt yourself a lot, yet you have (at least IMO) strong talents in writing, acting, and comedy, and, most importantly, an extremely loving wife and an amazing relationship with your stepchildren.

As depicted in Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, you seem to have already come far in your battle against your inner doubt, yet it seems (again, just through my perception of your writing) that very often minor defeats set you back a considerable ways.

I suppose to those of us who go through life without some of the incredible good fortune you've had (and I speak not of your acting past, but of your loving family and your recognized writing and comedic talents), it is hard to understand why your inner demons appear to still be so strong.

For those of us who aren't familiar with Star Trek

Could you kind of sum it up for us, thematically and plot-wise? Also, did the show ever achieve popularity?

Not sure I should ask this...

...but my wife say's you're sexy. How much to take her off my hands? :)

Fame and accessibility to the public

While many celebrities try to isolate themselves from the public as much as possible, except for talk show visits and the like, you've taken the route of being much more responsive to your fans and the world at large - openly posting to sites like Slashdot and Fark, blogging, and all the while being very open and honest about your opinions.

That said, (a) Do you ever regret doing so? and (b) Do you think it's fear of unstable people, overwork, or a holier-than-thou attitude toward the proles (or a combination of the three) that keeps other celebs from being as visible, open, and honest?

I say this because I'm amazed at the down-to-Earth nature of those like yourself, J. K. Rowling [jkrowling.com], and others who aren't afraid to speak out for what they think and feel. With technology, one may wonder why others might not do so.

Like your blog, btw. Good to see you back on /.!

Something Awful

In the Somethingawful.com vs. Fark.com Photoshop contest a while back, why did you rule in favor of Fark, despite the fact that Farkers displayed extremely poor aptitude at Photoshop and made wide use of annoying cliches like Admiral Ackbar?

What kind of movie would you make?

Let's say that you come into posession of a large ( $100,000,000) stack of money and you have a burning desire to make a movie that you know your fellow geeks would enjoy; what would it be?

What is missing in most movies today, if anything? Is it possible to make a geeky movie that has a chance of commercial success? Are we stuck importing Japanese anime?

Are people intimidated?

People are often intimidated to ask famous people/actors/model/beautiful people to just talk. I don't mean interview style, I mean just talk.

Are you less likely to sit down and have a beer with someone because they might turn out to be a trek-crazy, or is that more of a problem for the more famous?

Readings from LaForge

Did Jordi ever start reading his lines, then stop and say "You can find out what happens by reading this script. So blast off to your local library today." pissing everyone else off?

Clever Nick not so clever anymore?

Out of some curious notion, I did a web search for your /. nick (CleverNickName [slashdot.org]) just to see where else you might be posting. Turns out you have a lot [google.com] of imitators. How does that make you feel? Where you aware that people are trying to imitate the real you and not the old Crusher character?

Netcom and MMOGs

Wil,

We used to have your autographed picture up on the wall at Netcom back when you had them as an ISP.

I'm curious if currently play on any MMOGs?

Bruce
PS - Bonus question: What did you take away from your experience with Furry fandom?

Ashley Judd? Bootytown?!

Just run that by me again?

Child Actor Prodigy Success

It seems that most child actors end up growing up to be crack-heads, drug-dealers, low class porn actors/actresses, and/or dead from bullets or drugs.

How did you avoid all that mess? Was it easy or hard to avoid? Was there a point in your life where you had to make a conscious choice? What would you say to other child actors to help them avoid the pitfalls of early fame?

--jeff++

The effect of movie piracy on the actors

Ok I've been itching to ask this to a real actor who also happens to be a geek.

You know MPAA's been suing left and right claiming downloading movies are damaging to the industry as a whole. As an actor in probably the most popular science fiction series ever, how does piracy or file sharing affect you and your bottom line?

Does what the studios say about piracy is total bull? Or is it the truth?

The Trek Welfare Check

You wrote recently on your site about the doors Trek opens and the doors Trek shuts. Some actors have turned the convention circuit into their entire livelihood, perhaps for lack of other opportunities (you know the type and I'm sure you've shared the stage with one or two). They know they will never act again, and some have let their looks go. Acting for them is the occasional commercial endorsement. They mainly depend on the trek fan base for their living.

How much fear is there that the party is ending and that the fans have had enough? Do they talk privately about how trek has run out of gas and it's only a matter of time before there is no demand for another version?

TechTV

As you have co-hosted the show and been a guest numerous times, are you as disappointed in the quality of that show as I? Two events, Leo's departure, the move to LA. Listening to the new hosts (I know one is not exactly new) they are high on the dB scale and low on the payload/filler ratio.

Hedley

You play D&D, right?

Since you're a writer and an actor - do you find you have a flair for being a DM?

As geeky as it sounds - if I were going to a con (like penguincon) I think it would be tres cool/geeky to have a door prize/charity auction/whatever of you running a D&D session. :)

Aqualad

Since you are doing the voice of Aqualad on Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, how different is that experience (voice acting) compared to in-the-flesh acting? Are all the other actors voicing their characters at the same time you are? Is there a lot of experimentation, ad-libbing?

And did you have a choice of characters to play? If so, Aqualad? I mean, come on, his power is to swim and talk to fish. :)

Wesley Crusher and Punky sitting in a tree...

Using their foreheads to CRUSH BREWSKis!
/attention-getting-but-not-too-funny-pun

Wil, A couple of months ago, at three in the morning, I caught the movie you starred in with Soleil Moon Frye, The Girls' Room. [thegirlsroom.net] I enjoyed it a lot--not least because of your perfectly delivered line about why we don't call fraternities "frats."
I've heard that exact same line from a lot of actual Greeks, and it was impressive to see such a non-stereotyped portrayal.
But for all that it's a fun, interesting, and smart movie, with a unique role for you, it seems odd that you chose to make a film with another former child actor..?
Or was it?

You've come to terms (mostly?) with your early roles and their "residual" effects...Did you and Soleil discuss this?
Kid around about how you're the ones that made it?
Or did you just give her the cold shoulder because she no longer has that certain something? [killoggs.com]

Starfleet IT

One of the things that fascinated me about Star Trek: The Next Generation was the attention to detail in set design. I'm aware that Michael Okuda [startrek.com] was responsible for a lot of the design work, like the LCARS [wikipedia.org] interfaces for example (also referred to as "Okudagrams"). There was just an underlying subtle feel of logic and innovation behind it all that appealed to the computer nerd in me.

The touch screen interface standard was one; touch screens are an ideal graphical user interface because you don't need an indirect input device to manipulate the interface. I've actually read somewhere that NASA considers it to be a useful idea for manned space missions because it allows a user to access a whole range of controls with a simple touch screen, saving on space and weight when compared to the equivalent in physical controls. The PADDs [wikipedia.org] were also a novel concept, resembling current PDAs and tablet computers. The LCARS interfaces also had recurring elements, like a round one I've read was nicknamed the "spinner", that looked like a control for 2D or 3D manipulation, kind of like arrow keys on a keyboard.

I also noticed that everything - devices, bulkheads, panels, containers, etc - all had the same kind of labels on them. They seemed like a standardised system for doing things like handling inventory, like barcodes. And there was a consistency across the board, the way they were also used as signs on doors and also appeared as LCARS interface elements. I've noticed that they've used them in the Star Trek: Enterprise series as well. (I've also read that they sometimes had jokes [ex-astris-scientia.org] on them visible only to the cast during filming.)

Since you were working on the set, you must have had a lot of exposure to what went on behind the scenes with regards to the design process. And as a self-confessed geek [amazon.com], you must have had some interest in that part of the production. Was there an actual working concept behind LCARS as a real graphical user interface? What can you say about the fictional LCARS that would be applicable to real operating systems and graphical user interfaces? And what about those labels- were they based on a realistic system of organisation and management? What kind of concepts were the set designs based on, and how much detail did they get into regarding those concepts? I was just wondering how much of it all was just aesthetic and how much of it was based on real logic.

One and a half questions

A lot of the questions posted have focused on either your two books, or on your Star Trek career, so I diverge. What can you tell us about working on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas? I realize that as a VO source, you aren't exactly writing storyboards (unless, of course, you are) but I am curious nonetheless

In an unrelated note, have you seen any improvement from WFS since Dancing Barefoot?

Your books

Hi Will, I just wanted to ask you about your writing.

Would you please describe what you hope to achieve through your books and your writing in general. Which authors have influenced you? How did you find yourself writing in the first place? Are you working on anything at the moment?

an immodest proposal

Will you move with me to a jurisdiction where it's legal, and marry me?