text:
The end of Nathan Fillion
August 3, 2012 in Nathan Fillion: It's complicated
I'm torn about even posting this but I think I owe it to Nathan Fillion to make sure that people on my blog and on twitter know that he finally responded to the eternal twine joke and that he declined publicly on reddit so we should just leave him alone.
A very sweet fan asked on reddit if he was aware of our request for a ridiculous picture of himself holding twine and he responded to her:
From Nathan:
Sigh. Please understand. I'm an actor. I act, tell stories, all for a living. My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet. I don't do those things because I don't feel it's right to ask. I don't ask those things of my gardener, the guy at the car wash, or the kid who bags my groceries. Why ask it of someone because they are an actor? Is that being fair? The argument could be made that its only one request, but then how many people would be unhappy that it wasn't their request I responded to? Not all actors care about things like this, but I do. It's just a product of my experience. The more people push, the meaner it gets, the more uncomfortable it is for me. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I hope we can all put it in the past with no hard feelings. I don't have any.
Hi. I'm the chick who asked for the twine picture a billion years ago (in internet time). Thanks so much for finally answering this question. Without a response I had no way of knowing if you were okay with me continuing to joke about it or not, but now that I know I can happily give up my ridiculous quest. Thanks for responding and I wish you luck in your fabulous career. Please know that I only chose you because you seem like a good sport, you're as active on twitter as I am and I've always loved your work.
Just to answer a few other questions brought up here in the comments, I did originally offer Nathan $750 for himself or for his charity to take the picture (because as an author I'm a big fan of his get-kids-to-read-charity). After that it just became a running gag that I thought wouldn't hurt someone of his stature from my little blog. When I go on book tour (leaving again in a few days) "Has Nathan Fillion ever held twine" is the number one question I get. People love you and so they want that connection with you and think it's easy to think that we all have a one-on-one connection with you.
On the other side of the coin, I'm asked for ridiculous things and pictures all of the time and try to do them because I only have 1/6th of the twitter audience that you have and so it's easier for me. Also, my only job is to be a storyteller so I have much more time to be ridiculous. (And I'm not referring to being a "famous blogger" which I would never classify myself as. I {surprisingly} have a book on the NYT list about all the ways that I have mortified myself. It's a very thick book.)
I do appreciate you taking the time to answer this and from now on when people ask if you've taken the twine picture instead of answering "I still have hope" I will say that you've respectfully declined and I'm sure my fans will just be happy that you responded.
Thanks for not having any hard feelings and good luck with all you do in the future!
In related news (and this is the last I will say on the subject out of respect for Nathan Fillion's feelings) my husband is my gardener, the guy who washes my car and the person who helps me with my groceries and he said he didn't really want to pose with a ball of twine either.
Point, Nathan Fillion.
576 thoughts on "The end of Nathan Fillion"
Kelly O'Sullivan says:
Gracious as always….but I am still going to hold out for an updated post soon. 😉
I think Nathan Fillion has a point but he is not so right about everything he says. He is just missing the point of what all this was, just a joke. Anyway, it's his loss. Fine by me
Vonnie says:
Awwwww – I can totally appreciate his perspective but I kind of wish he'd taken it in a little better humour. Ah well. I still love him (BUT TOTES LOVE YOU MORE).
Mandi McClure says:
You are so classy. Love you!
Neil Powell, Lord of Pickles says:
Would it make it better if posed for a picture holding twine? =0) Though infamous and boring…i do command a league of Pickle ninjas that are prepared to hold twine in your name.
On the (extremely) bright side? We'll always have Wil Wheaton's photobomb. Which, I submit, tops a Fillion holding twine any day of the week.
but he WOULD pose with twine if you really wanted him to, and that is why Victor will always be better than Nathan Fillion.
Haha! You are such a good person Jenny! 🙂 Can't wait to see you in Seattle!
I'll pose with a ball if twine if it will make you feel better. 😉
Boo.
Thank you for posting this. The whole "please hold twine!" thing was making ME uncomfortable, and I don't have hundreds (thousands?) of people asking me to do it.
khereva says:
Thank you and sa-lute (/hee.haw) for respecting the Feelliongs.
Wasser Buffel says:
Good response!
I also think he has a point, but on the other hand, if he had simply provided the picture of himself holding twine, this never would have gotten as big as it did, and he would look like a good sport. Instead, he seems like a petulant child. Just my two cents.
alaina says:
So which actor should we bother next?
Seanna Lea says:
I'm glad that you posted this. I saw something similar from NF on Twitter or a news-y site about how he doesn't interact in certain ways with the audience/fans/etc. It is always good to remember that actors are people to and that they don't have a job requirement to do everything we ask of them.
Or as I usually put it, the shyest (the one with the most restrictions for whatever reason) person wins.
Jennifer James says:
What's funny here is that he won't respond to your twine pic, but he'll happily promote his anti-swamp-ass agenda: http://youtu.be/OCf9M5GsDSs
Corey Q says:
Now the question needs to be raised – what is your next quest?!
Stina says:
I submit that becoming an actor puts one in the public domain and subjects one to all kinds of outlandish requests that one would never make of one's gardener, chauffeur, or grocery-shopping-helper. Such as the request for a signed photo. Would you ever ask your gardener for an autograph? Not much difference, is there. Unless Nathan Fillion also feels that he is "above" giving autographs.
The man is entitled to his opinions, however his logic is flawed.
Hayley says:
It's like the end of an era… maybe he'll start reading your blog and see how HILARIOUS you are, and he'll BEG for you to take this picture of him holding twine!! The ridiculous should be the thing that keeps us human… life gets TOO serious most times. Thanks Jenny!!! <3
Shrug. I didn't like Nathan Fillion before, and I don't like him now. Status quo.
Caroline Burau says:
It's too bad he took it that way, but yes, the best thing to do is respect him on this. Perhaps it's time to see if Sam Rockwell would consent to holding some twine. He's utterly delish.
El Guapo says:
Mostly, I was alternately amused and appalled by the comments on that thread.
I think both you and Nathan wrapped it up quite well and civilly.
gnat punkrockwhitetrash.com says:
I think this is brilliant. I respect his stance on the matter but I think if Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), Will Wheaton, and other celebs can take 2 second out of their day do fullfill a silly request that would gain him publicity and noteriety w/ fans then he could/should… its free advertising and promotion for himself… So I don't see why he wouldn't want to take a picture w/ a ball of twine. I now will forever carry twine w/ me in the off chance I meet him and can get a photo w/ him and I will hold the twine… Just for you Jenny cause in my head we are already bfffffff even though I have never met you I know we would be friends like if we lived in the same neighborhood or sent our kids to the same school or fought over the same metal chicken… you know whatever…
Well, the good news is that all the peeps over at reddit seemed to have a really good sense of humor about it. Oh wait…
Jae says:
Gracious and a good sports! Both you and Nathan! 🙂
For the love of God…just hold the damn twine, Nathan Fillion!
Great reply! The fact that you mix your hilarity with meaningful, humanitarian charity-efforts makes you more than just some crazed fan. Unfortunately, some people get your humor, others do not. Until then, we can continue loving Will Wheaton and his collated papers all the more.
T.J. says:
You. Simply. Rock. You are intelligent, funny, charming, compassionate, and an all around class act. Sadly, there will always be differences of opinion on humor. Yours tickles me pink! And when all is said and done, YOUR sense of humor is the one that made it to the to of the NYT bestseller list.
I want to see Neil Powell, Lord of Pickles, and his ninjas, hold twine. He's more funly, anyway.
Emily Haines says:
I am a ball of mixed feelings. I never knew twine was so controversial. But instead of focusing on the gaping hole left by Nathan "No Twine" Fillion, I will find comfort in Wil, Matthew, Jeri, Penn…
I'm sort of embarrassed to say this but until this twine thing started, I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was. So…this sort of introduced him to new fans, right?
CrazyBoredMommy says:
Does this mean I have to give up my fantasies of Nathan Fillion using a ball of twine on me in some weird scene of "50 Shades" … oh well, I guess many of us had fantasies die today.
Norita says:
What impressed me the most was how people twisted the whole thing. Unbelievable! You were classy through it all, Jenny as it should be. Answering him and still being the you that we (your readers) all love and appreciate. Hugs and kisses.
PS, #14, Diana– YES. Exactly that.
I'm glad to hear this is finally being laid to rest. Like Sarah, the pressure to make him hold twine was making /me/ deeply uncomfortable, when it was obvious quite some time ago that he wasn't interested in playing along.
Marisa says:
Class act Jenny…now, onto another unsuspecting victim…I would like to vote for Betty White. Just a suggestion. I am completely aware that taking votes was never even an option…just sayin.
It was a fun ride while it lasted. What shall we do next? I'm hoping for Craig Ferguson, myself 😀
Lori Beth says:
Nice. I'm glad he finally spoke up.
But the one thing I'm curious about is if he actually followed along the entire time. Did he at least get a laugh from all this?
Zombiegyrl says:
The hilarity that the entire saga provided was worth it. Great response, it's unfortunate that he doesn't share the awesome sense of humor that yourself and your fans do. 🙂
Amy P says:
Knowing that he does not have a sense of humor makes me like him less as an actor, I am not going to lie. But you were very respectful to him.. Also who would not want to take 2 seconds to earn $750 for their charity? Whatever.
Actually I'm going to stop following him on twitter because I really think he is coming off as an a-hole. He may be a super nice guy in real life. He may be a giant d-bag. I don't know. But it you can't just laugh and enjoy the silly things in life then you are taking yourself way too seriously. Just my opinion and I wish Nathan nothing but success in his career.
Speaking of career success – I think the Bloggess is doing very well in that category dear Reddit.
my favorite post on reddit…had to be from your followers 🙂
Come on man, this blogger is really at the end of her rope with this twine debacle.
Tempers are fraying.
I'd rather you guys knot start one of those threads
I think someone might cotton on to what we're talking about soon
We'll be fucked if this information gets released to the noose.
We'll have to pull the wool over their eyes
Leave Nathan Filament alone!
Am i in twine for a pun thread?
Weave all been waiting for you to arrive.
Well, there goes the touchdown dance I've been painstakingly working on for over a year now for when this finally happens. But, we'll just have to reflect upon how insanely cool Matthew Broderick with an unsolicited spatula is.
Bil Simser says:
Good to know he answered and good on him for that. It's always been the "why hasn't this jerk responded" or "what is Nathan Fillion doing with his time if he's not holding a ball of twine" or "Why do carrots make me scratch down there". We have an answer and for me that answer is good enough. I've stopped the daily delivery of singing telegrams to him and his agent now.
In related news, I am more than happy to pose with a ball of twine for you. You just have to get your ass to Calgary and come by for a BBQ. And bring your gardener, the guy who washes your car, and the one who helps with your groceries. We have a big backyard.
SarcasticNinja says:
No twine picture huh…at least he's not stringing you along anymore.
pagalina says:
My two cents worth: we all have our own code for what we will willingly do or say in a public context and I think, just as Jenny is doing here, we should honor those codes. There are folks who are more than willing to drop trou in public, for example. Please don't get mad if I don't follow suit!
Bluesabriel says:
I may be in the minority, but I respect him for being honest about this and I can see where he's coming from. Not every celeb is a Wil Wheaton, just like not all of us have enough the same personalities. I have to respect that. And, honestly, the longer this has gone on, the more uncomfortable I've gotten FOR him, because I have a very low tolerance for awkward and uncomfortable.
Gracious and funny at the same time. That's why we love you Jenny.
"I'm an actor, I tell stories," blah blah blah! You're an actor who isn't even mainstream, get over yourself! It was a funny pic and the money would have benefited a good cause, also- since you don't read minds and you don't control internet minions, there was no way to have known Sir Nathon Fillion has such a large stick up his regal ass, and that your requests annoyed him. It wouldn't have been hard to send A tweet declining your request. It wasn't difficult for other actors to oblige, -without a request, even! I think you're the epitome of class, and while I support YOUR continued support for The Duke of Sci-Fi, or whatever (I've only seen him in "Waitress" and he played a douche), *I* have just added to the part of my brain that classifies most actors as delusional, full of themselves, and essentially Nobodies without fans.
Long live the king, Wil Wheaton!
Stick with Will Wheaton- and his running feud with Sheldon. Mayby you can get Jim Parsons to hold twine. That would be made of awesome.
If only my in-laws felt this way about dealing with me. Perhaps I should ask them to hold a ball of twine and take a picture for me….hmmm….
Nathan can do (or not do) what he wants and I respect that. But I just saw him at a charity panel at Comic-Con in San Diego and he performed all sorts of strange requests for substantially less than $750. My guess is he feels he's been painted into a corner and now can't back down.
Elana says:
This is a little…disappointing, but whatever.
In completely unrelated news, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS: http://gawker.com/5931222/new-zealand-school-dresses-possums-in-breathtaking-finery-but-only-because-the-possums-are-dead.
It's like you are secretly in charge of this school: http://www.stuff.co.nz/lightbox/taranaki-daily-news/news/7375156/Pimped-up-possums?KeepThis=true
MA says:
I don't even know who Nathan Fillion is, but now we know he is a big party pooper!
Prop Widow says:
I will now be sad if, after reading your response (and finding that you are not exactly one of the zillions of unwashed fans), he decides to send you a picture of himself holding twine.
Brandon, The Ho from Idaho says:
I think a 'random celebrities holding random objects' should be your next book. I can see if I can get Cary Elwes holding a silicone spatula for you… if you'd like…
I am glad this was posted. It was a funny joke, but let's not beat a dead horse into the ground. Instead have it stuffed and displayed.
Classy. But I'm still holding out hope.
Aw, I was holding out hope for him. He's one of my favorites. I respect his choice, though.
Or maybe Emilio Estevez holding a waffle iron?
Egh! Whatever Nathan Fillion, we still have Wil Wheaton and his amazing photo bomb and that is all that matters!
Jessica G says:
I think that while he has a point, he clearly has NO idea that you are a benchmark for humor among the "actor" set, including actors with finer resume's than his. I mean, for donkeyballs sake, Ferris Bueller, Shaun of the Dead and 7 of 9 held kitchen items for you! You hang out with The Wheaton! Cool bands perform in your bathroom! This proves to me that (a) he does not have a fine tuned sense of whimsy (b) he takes himself way too seriously and (c) he is not a good sport. It is not like you were asking for a picture of him in his underwear. HOLD THE DAMN TWINE AND TAKE THE CHARITY MONEY. That is all I have to say.
Natalie the Singingfool says:
*Sigh*, he just confirmed what I always knew deep in my heart – he does not share our sense of humor. I almost feel sorry for him…
Erin_runs says:
Eh, I'm a huge fan of him but I agree that he totally missed the point. I guess his sense of humor isn't what I expected, so I must change my expectations of him. His loss. I'm happy that other "famous" people found your request to be hilarious and took pictures in the spirit of the asking(or the one-up-manship that Matthew started).
Here's the deal. I've met Nathan Fillion numerous times doing the job I do. He's not the nicest guy. He wants to think he's the nicest guy, but really, he's one of those Johnny Depp "I'm just an actor why do you think you have the right to ask me to do anything but act" types. He completely chooses to ignore the fact that he is a cult favorite and that disappoints me so so very much. His answer to the fan who asked about the twine was exactly what I expected from him, a pretty much douche response. Will I continue to watch all things Nathan Fillion, sure will, because he's good at his job. Will I be a "fan", not really. Because he annoys the shit out of me with his holier than thou attitude.
Poor, poor Nathan. His life must be extraordinarily difficult.
I wouldn't even know who he was if it weren't for Jenny's awesome blog! I'm still not entirely clear on that, actually . . .
He is NO Wil Wheaton, but then, who is?
Well…that's sorta silly of him. I'm pretty sure his gardener ISN'T a famous actor, which would explain why he doesn't get ridiculous requests on the daily. When you choose to be in the public eye, you sorta open yourself up to stuff like this. At least Wil Wheaton gets it.
DarthRachel says:
Is this when we start filling youtube with 'LEAVE NATHAN FILLION ALONE' vids while holding twine?
KIDDING.
i totally respect Nathan for the very nice way he said "i can't do all the things all the strangers ask me to do". BUT, I'm kind of shocked he never knew it was a joke? that is the impression I get, anyways.
it was always funny because nathan fillion was never going to send a picture of himself holding twine, because he is a famous actor and responding to random tweets would be ridiculous. which is also why the random tweeted pics to you from other famous actors holding objects is even more hilarious.
love you Jenny!
Karen Vasquez says:
I love the way you both handled it. I can only imagine what people might have asked him to hold in pictures. Maybe he was traumatized? But seriously: Well done, both of you.
I realize I could be permanently banned from reading your blog for saying this, but I have no idea who in the heck Nathan Fillion is. I DO know who Whil Wheaton and Matthew Broderick are and they are good sports. And also for the record, if I had a car washer or gardener or housekeeper I would totally ask them to pose for a photo with a ball of twine. So maybe next time he should pick a role in a comedy, study humor and then maybe he would understand that the funniest woman on the planet asked him to have some fun. PS: You are Classy McClasserson.
I still think you're the winner in this whole… thing. And I have a hard time trusting people who can't embrace the whimsy, so I'm still looking sideways at the Fillion. But not in a omg! I hate him! way. Because, seriously.
Chantel says:
I absolutely agree with Diana and Stina. We wouldn't ask it of the gardener because the gardener isn't famous. Unless, say, your gardener was Martha Stewart and then you might ask her to take a picture of herself with twine or in an orange jumpsuit or whatever. And instead of looking like a good sport, he looks like a snob. On the other hand, I never gave Will Wheaton a thought because as the youngest child I wasn't allowed to like Star Trek because it was my sister's favorite and she would beat me up if I did. It was her thing and I was to keep my nose out of it. But now I think Will Wheaton is absolutely the BEST. Anything he is ever in again, anything he does, I will be out there supporting him.
And anyway, his photo bomb picture was so, so much better than a picture of Nathan Fillion holding twine.
And…I bet if you asked James Marsters (Spike if Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or even Joss Whedon they'd do it. Pretty please? Can you?
Kellie says:
Would his gardener be interested in holding twine? Because I would definitely donate to that cause.
You're a very gracious lady, and this was very well done. Kudos!
Rev. Back It On Up 13 says:
I can't help but find him mildly douchey right from the initial "sigh" in the response. Like others here, I am way better than Nathan Fillion and I'm eager to pose with a spool of twine for you, but all I have is a big spool of embalming thread. I'm going to do this and hope it makes the world a better place.
I'm very disappointed. I thought he was more fun than that. An actor indeed, to make me project a much more fun and layered personality onto that pretty face. I just don't think Castle will seem nearly as charming and sexy next season. I'm a little heartbroken, really.
akaMonty says:
Nathan Fillion should be asking YOU to hold a ball of twine and send him a picture of it.
Also I've always loved him, I still do, but now I find Wil Wheaton is much higher on the AWESOME scale.
Although neither of them is at The Bloggess level yet.
Gracie Lace says:
Too bad Nathan Fillion won't play along.
But, in other news, check this out:
http://kansastravel.org/balloftwine.htm
Michelle Sneller says:
It only takes 5 mins to pose with a ball of twine, Mr. Nathan Fillion,
Niven says:
Whatever. Screw Nathan Fillion (meant in the nicest way possible). Matthew Broderick is on your side! I /honestly/ think that's better…
The Bloggess and Nathan Fillion…. never the twine shall meet…
Sadly, Mr. Fillion does not subscribe to Wheaton's Law.
And now we carry on to the next bit of utter ridiculousness, I'm happy that I'll be here to witness whatever it is!
ha, i don't understand why people think less of him for choosing not to do it. it's not like he was a dick about it, just a different kind of person. just like wil wheaton (thank goodness) is a different kind of person for thinking it's hilarious to do it. it's kind of like a thing that starts because it's random and ridiculous and awesome and if you spontaneously 'getit' then boom, Jeri Ryan and a spatula, if not then you get Jenny's hilarious photoshopped Fillion with twine. no matter what it's a win/win.
someone takes himself too seriously, you're a public figure so you're out there…sorry. He's just being stubborn and a spoilsport. I'm sure if you had a gardener with a sense of humor he would have posed with a piece of twine. Friggin Matthew Broderick did it, and I at least know WHO HE IS!!
No, you wouldn't ever ask your gardener or bag boy for a picture with twine but they don't make boatloads of money because they're famous. This is the price of fame… it's not like it's news. I'm sure he doesn't turn down better seating in restaurants and invitations to exclusive places that his gardener wouldn't even DREAM of getting. I didn't even know who Will Wheaton was until he took that picture and now I get giddy at even the mention of his name. Part of being famous is appreciating the people who make you famous. Will gets it. Nathan obviously does not.
Christa says:
Fair enough, but I wouldn't have known who Nathan Fillion was without having read about him here. So. I can understand his point, but really? Is he a big celebrity? WIth overwhelming fan requests? Maybe I'm totally out of touch, but I haven't watched a single item from his IMDB resume. His twine holding would have been my introduction to his supposed greatness! I understand his feelings, but yeah. It's all kinda off-putting, because it's hard not to feel like he's all ego and no sense of humour.
Whereas then you have Wil Wheaton, whose career I've never followed closely, but now I want too, you know? Because he's got a sense of humour about himself, and looks adorable collating paper.
Well, there's always Joe Manganiello.
Rakazan says:
I agree- we will always have Will's photo bomb. I'm gonna give old Nathan the benefit of the doubt. I bet he does have a sense of humor. But it probably gets old, having people recognize you everywhere you go, and because they recognize you, they feel a connection to you, so they interupt, barge in, say inappropriate stuff, make demands, etc. Heck, I get peopled out and I'm only dealing w/ about 300 FB friends and 10 peeps that want to hang out often. I don't know how famous people do it. Let's cut him some slack and be grateful for the celebs that enjoy our particular brand of fun! Derr!
—Abby Farle
Abby Knoblauch says:
I get this, I do, and I love Nathan Fillion anyway, but he does silly stuff with other actors all the time so it feels a bit disingenuous to say he doesn't think he needs to respond to the public in this way. and he's in the public eye in a way that gardeners aren't. He's chosen a profession that banks on him being adored by his public. I think one of the drawbacks is that the public wants a bit of interaction with his public persona. As we really have no actual access to him (and fame means that he gets paid buttloads for us to want some public interaction — that's what fame is based on), these are the sort of small requests that I just don't think it would hurt him to concede on.
I think ALL of your fans should send you pictures of us holding twine. It turns out we're not too famous to do so. Yet.
Marnie says:
That's a fair point that he makes. It has to be hard for a person to live in such a fishbowl especially when you're just trying to make a living. There are folks who take things like this too far.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have no idea who Nathan Fillion is. I mean, I know he's an actor and he's been in movies and stuff. But I've never seen any of his work. The only way I know his name is through this website.
It's kind of a hard thing all around. You kind of can't win no matter what you do.
I certainly respect his opinion though and his choice to not do it.
Can you try for Liam Neeson to do it? Mostly because I love him…..
I was thinking that he could have a better sense of humor about it but then I also realized that we Lawsbians / misfit minions are a big and rowdy bunch. I can't even begin to imagine what a PITA it must have been for him to see all the twine tweets he was getting. There were times when he must have gotten hundreds a day.
Now, this does not mean that I will not cackle with giddiness when it's written into a script for him to hold and/or discuss twine.
Also, his response just makes me love Wil Wheaton and his "Don't be a dick" mantra that much more.
Quoted for Truthiness
"Diana August 3, 2012 at 10:07 am
I think he kind of comes off as taking himself way too seriously here. Which is a huge turn off.
However, had he responded early on we wouldn't have gotten all the awesome pics from others.
Vaya con dios, Nathan!
Wil Wheaton probably wouldn't respond to my request to play a game of TIcket To Ride online, but the fact that he collated paper for you and photobombed the Nathan Fillion picture (with twine in his pocket), among all the other crazy awesome things he and Anne do for everybody all make it so I really, really don't care if my wish is granted. I'm not so selfish a person that I can't revel vicariously through others who get the privilege of having their dreams/mundane requests fulfilled by a famous person.
I understand you're trying to call off your army, Jenny, but really, who mentions their gardener in a post where they're trying to relate to the every people?
The moral of the story is this: Wil Wheaton is awesome. And Neil Gaiman too. You know why? Because they were kind to you because YOU'RE a human being.
Here here Katie! My sentiments exactly.
gorillabuns says:
I still don't like the "tone" in his note. He could have just said, "I won't and don't do these kind of things for you, anyone, my mom. Sorry."
Because you are an actor? Who pretends to be someone else? Let me guess, he doesn't grant "Make a Wish" requests as well. It might have to compromise his sense of inflated self. Boo!
@ Bill Simsel who said "… or "what is Nathan Fillion doing with his time if he's not holding a ball of twine" or "Why do carrots make me scratch down there". "
I know what you mean about the carrots. I had to stop putting them down there.
JullieU says:
Who is Nathan Fillion?
As a public figure who's very income depends on his having fans, he is quite ungracious.
He is at the edge of the "Dixie Chicks Syndrome"@ cliff. That's when famous people who depend on the public to watch their movies, buy their music, and purchase related items feel they have a right to say and do whatever they want to do just like any non-public figure. What they fail to realize is that non-public figures have to be responsible and accountable for what they say and do – they do not get a 'get out of jail' free card if what they say or do is offensive – they lose friends and possibly even their jobs. Public figures have a much larger group of 'friends' and if they are going to say or do things that offend those 'friends,' the 'friends' are going to leave them.
Wait! Nathan Fillion has a gardener? A lawn service? Sure, why not, who wants to cut grass but a damn gardener?
Shirley says:
I'll bet that he's got around 84 pictures of himself holding twine and couldn't decide which one to post and that's why he didn't do it. At least, that's what I tell myself to keep from crying.
GTGalbraith says:
I agree with #50, Shawn. I think Nathan just didn't realize that this wasn't something that would pass away quickly. Unfortunately, a simple "Sorry, but if I do that for you, where do I stop" right off the bat would have been so much better. But yeah, we all have our boundaries, and need to respect that. Love you Jenny.
Lace says:
Very well done. Everyone has the right to choose whether to pose with twine. Not everyone is cut out for it ya know? And I agree with everyone, Wil takes the cake with his photo. Hands down.
KB says:
I've got to agree with Diana (#14) and Elisabeth (#28).
It seems to me that 30 seconds to a minute of his time would have ingratiated himself on a host of fans and gained himself some new exposure. It just makes Wheaton, Broderick, Jillette, and Ryan look extremely gracious and generous, as well as loads of fun!
Char Vanderweel says:
Respectfully declined.
I shall promptly remove from my Pinterest account the picture of Juanita Weasel screaming "just hold the fucking twine!" at Nathan Fillion.
Ditto what Diana said. Until you mentioned him I'd never heard of this guy. Now thanks to him being uncooperative he as made himself quite a name among bloggers. Petulant child or clever marketing tactic? Who's to say?
Cyn says:
I think the name of your post should be "Declaration by someone who takes himself way too seriously.". Of course, this is comIng from someone who had to Google him.
I just think he should have sent the "yo, stop pestering me" message ages ago- then the joke would have gone before it got out of hand.
Dusti says:
Huh. I'd thought the whole twine thing had already been put to bed.
Kudos for your response, Jenny. Nathan's response puts him, for me, in the Shatner category.
Ive loved the unexpected celebrity responses you received over the whole matter, though. Yay silliness! It's been like a red dress made of varied kitchen items!
Cheney says:
Well, it was a great run of fun while that lasted, but yes, I suppose I understand his reasoning *even though I totally understand why so many other actors DID hold the twine for you (because of your awesomeness)*
I think the gardener wouldn't mind seeing as he using twine anyway, so you could catch him holding it unawares even.
How about asking Charlie Sheen, he loves publicity.
Classy all the way around. I hope that people will respect his feelings and leave him alone now. Jenny, if I'm able to get into your book signing in Tempe next weekend, and if I bring a ball of twine, would you take a picture with me and we could both hold the twine? 🙂
Carm says:
WELL…that came off just as pompous as I assumed it would. BUT – having had the same situation happen with me requesting the presence of one JENNIFER ARCHIBALD LAWSON at my dinner table, whilst she was on the last stop of her book tour, in SEATTLE…and being a complete and utter annoyance on The Twitter, the same Jennifer Archibald Lawson, politely and graciously declined my offer for my WORLD FAMOUS..OKAY IT'S JUST 55th STREET FAMOUS…PASKETTI DINNER (not to mention that my hubby was actually willing to bake her some of his BLOCKWIDE FAMOUS BREAD…). I hold no malice towards my Blog hero, however…for I realize that she's a busy son-of-a-bitch.
I think I've decided to DELIVER my PASKETTI – on the eve of her book signing. It'll probably be the BEST DINNER DELIVERY SHE'S EVER GOTTEN…EVER! So…just look for the chubby gal standing next to a GORGEOUS blonde – who just happens to be Jess from PNN (word up to my PNN peeps) – and my rather TALL, LANKY hubby. We will be giggly and will try very hard not to get arrested because we love you so much and will probably want to hug you and hold your hand and stuff.
Thora says:
You should become a role model for Nathans around the world and pose with a ball of twine.
Lizz says:
If he had just posted this part,
"The argument could be made that its only one request, but then how many people would be unhappy that it wasn't their request I responded to? Not all actors care about things like this, but I do. It's just a product of my experience. The more people push, the meaner it gets, the more uncomfortable it is for me. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I hope we can all put it in the past with no hard feelings. I don't have any."
…I would totally respect him. The first half, however, makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a sharp stick.
Arthemise says:
I'm a big fan of Nathan Fillion. Huge. But I have to say that his lack of being a good sport in this has dulled the shine a tad. You have a hysterical blog, and Wil Wheaton got this. Nathan Fillion didn't. Makes me sad. No nerd idol is perfect, I guess.
Audrey at Barking Mad! says:
Well hell! What a party pooper.
Twine makes me feel sad now, and I don't even know who Nathan Fillion is. I've heard of gardeners, though. They do good work.
Alternate Post Title: Nathan Fillion: Too Big For His Bitches.
Char (#102),
That's the first thing that anyone has ever said that made me want to check out Pinterest. Hilarious!
Victoria Hudgins says:
I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was, so finally, today, I googled him. He looks familiar, but nothing specific comes to mind. Does he have a wildly successful blog?
You know what Nathan Fillion says is fair enough BUT it occurs to me that I've seen him do a behind-the-scenes video, probably on the set of Castle, where he was hilarious but undoubtedly obnoxious to the whole crew, on camera. He definitely put them on the spot and filmed it and the Castle producers released it, and from the way the crew were acting he might not have asked permission beforehand. I'm just saying, he's been on the other side of this particular coin. Just because those people are crew members for a tv show rather than gardeners doesn't require them to dance like monkeys for him either.
Cindy Reed says:
Oh Victor. Now we will have to harass you mercilessly.
I think you handled it beautifully! As a fan of NF, I was sad to see his response, not because he refused to do it, but the way he reacted to it. He could have made a joke out of it, or he could have contacted you privately and simply asked you to stop. Furthermore, found it very condescending and think your response was awesome!!!
A classy way to end this whole thing, but I think the only thing NF accomplished was making himself look like a stick in the mud. I have to be honest I was thinking about catching up on Castle on DVD but now I'm conflicted as to whether or not that is how I want to spend my money.
If you had asked him to take a picture of himself hanging upside down by his toes, naked, over an open firepit in Laredo, eating a popsicle and reciting the preamble to the Constitution, I could see him respectfully declining. Holding a ball of twine and taking a picture falls just a smidge short. And really, if you don't have a sense of humor that extends to something like that, then I'm afraid I don't have the time to watch your shows or otherwise support your career in any way. I'll stick with my Bloggess, and her compassion, empathy and beautifully warped sense of humor. Jenny, from one not-so-good-little-Texas-girl to another, you rock. *hugs*
It's official. Nathan Fillion has absolutely no sense of humor.
ellemichelle says:
but you do have a picture of nathan fillion holding wil wheaton's wife. if you could only get her to change her name to "twine."
Joseph Camann says:
I've been a big fan of Nathan Fillion since finding Firefly years ago. That said, I agree with most of the comments here and on the Bloggess's Facebook link. Although I can see his point, I think he's being petulant about this…no sense of humor. Would Wheaton handle it the same way?
Jenny, your response is, as always, elegant and classy.
I can't imagine. I would pose with twine for you.
I have found this rather amusing. the whole time though, I have been asking, "Who is Nathan Fillion?" Obviously I did not care enough to look him up. I still do not know who he is, and REALLY do not care now. Seems very much a jerk. You may take a high road if you please, but his response was pious and egotistical. I see a future where no one is asking him for a picture, sans twine or otherwise.
(Totally different Diana than #14) It's too bad that he didn't decide to take a photo with twine, when there were so many others who were willing to join in on the fun. However, having said that, I totally understand why he didn't do it. As a celebrity, and one who is so active with his fans as he is, he has to be able to draw a line somewhere in terms of what he will do to accommodate his fans and it's not up to us to decide what he should and shouldn't do.
I still love Nathan and I probably love Jenny a little bit more, they both handled this with class, and if they ever met and provided us with a picture of them together (with or without twine), it would be a little bit like heaven. But for now, I'll take them separately and love them separately. And with feeling. 😉
I second the suggestion to write a book that's pictures of famous individuals holding things. Pictures by celebs, words by Jenny. Let us know when you're done, we know you already have a head start. Okay. Go.
Can I just say that while I totally respect his right to deny some or all fan requests, and even to make a policy of it, I find it leaving a bad taste in my mouth that he thinks it is unfair that fans even ask, and that he has to respond? He has a job based on being popular. Being admired by and asked for things by strangers is part of the territory. He may not like that part of his job, but who likes every part of theirjob or every thing that goes with their job? If he has a policy of not respondhe just had to say that (in the public forum he uses to feed his popularity, an appropriate place to ask) and it would have been dropped. Getting offended by it is kind of pathetic and lowers my opinion of him. (Sorry for anytypos, phone being weird)
Ladypoppe says:
Until recently reading your posts on Twitter about this, I had NO clue who he was, what Reddit was, or what an AMA was. Admittedly, I still kind of don't. But anyway, tthis will make for a great story when you're on Ellen!! 🙂
I'm now going to ask my gardener, car-washer and grocery-bagger to let me take pictures of them with twine.
Wait, do people really HAVE those kinds of employees/indentured servants/ect?
David Cutler says:
The beauty of TheBloggess's humor is how wonderfully quirky, off-beat, unique, and truly original it is. Those of us reading here, for the most part, appreciate, enjoy, adore, GET that humor. No humor is universal, though. Her's is perhaps a little less universal than many. If you "get" the twine request, it is funny and charming and harmless. Wil Wheaton, Matthew Broderick, and almost everyone reading here gets it. If you do not see the inherent fun, silliness, adorableness of the humor, Nathan Fillion's response is both fair and appropriate. Without "seeing" the humor, the twine request is demeaning and frankly mean. He also couldn't possibly respond to everyone with a similarly embarrassing request. What we find in Nathan Fillion is pretty simply. He doesn't get Jenny's humor. Oh well. We do. His lose. If he did get it, he'd play along. He doesn't, so given that he doesn't ge the humor, leave him alone and let him continue to do what he does best… act.
I came late to the Nathan Fillion/Twine party, but I still, totally don't see what the big deal is about holding a ball of twine. I respect his opinion, but I don't understand how it could possibly hurt him to do it. It's silly and it's fun and it would have made a lot of people giggle, which we all need so much more.
I say boo to him.
P. S. You are too good for him!
I hate to admit that I had no idea that this whole thing was going on until I read this post. I saw him mention something on Twitter about Reddit earlier but I'm still not sure what's happening. I'm part of the crew that hopes that once he reads your extremely intelligent response that he'll do it. Hope I won't be let down.
Suebob says:
If everyone had his position on ridiculous requests, I would have zero red stapler pictures.
Muse of Fire says:
Jenny, you're awesome. Sorry you had such a crappy week, and I hope your next week is amazing and totally makes up for this one. I'll always be a Nathan Fillion fan thanks to Firefly, but I'm definitely disappointed (and surprised) he didn't appreciate the spirit of this request. I think we need to get Joss Whedon to hold twine, just because I bet he'd do it. So, to sum up: you're awesome.
In an age in which you can take a photo of yourself and immediately upload it to the Internet, I don't appreciate Nathan Fillion's position at all and I think he's being an incredible snob. How many celebs DID respond to your request for ridiculous pictures? Even Matthew Broderick did, and I would have judged him snobbier than NF back before this all began–no particular reason, I just got that vibe from him. The fact that he was willing to take half an hour (if that) of his busy life and be silly for all of us says a lot of good things about him. (I don't like absolutely everything about him even now, but I do appreciate his sense of humor.)
This is going to affect my willingness to follow anything NF does in the future. As an actor and entertainer, the very essence of his life is all "LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME!", yet when we ASK to look at him, he balks? That makes no sense. The simple fact is that he's afraid of looking stupid. And he could have seen for himself the amount of adoration poured upon every other celeb who went along with your meme, and discovered otherwise. If he had wanted to be bothered.
Mad props to you for being such a good sport about this. I probably wouldn't have been. But then that's why you're famous and I'm not. My penchant for being butthurt over stupid things like this tends to repel people. 🙂
(I say "stupid things" in the sense of "it's stupid to get hurt over something this minor." I still thought it was awesome the way you took a silly spam message and went out of your way to make fun of it in the most surreal manner possible. And hey, all the hilarious celeb participation, in the end. Epic. Win.)
Jenny, I think you've handled his response very well. That being said…
Nathan Fillion wrote:
"I'm an actor. I act, tell stories, all for a living. My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet."
That is basically saying, if you're not paying me to do something as part of my trade, or not a member of my group of friends, I want no involvement. What if someone asks him for an autograph? Does that means he won't give it unless it's at an appropriate signing event because he might get overwhelmed by the requests to follow?
Had he taken the time to see the humor involved and then, those following participants in the twine saga (Simon Pegg, Matthew Broderick, Wil Wheaton, Penn Jillette, Jeri Ryan, Sean Maher and for the love of all that is holy – Brian Boitano) he would have ponied (not a dead pony) up a picture if he had the mildest sense of humor. I mean, Ferris Fucking Beuller showed you a spoon, spatula and a brown egg for Odin's sake!
Nathan Fillion further wrote:
"I don't do those things because I don't feel it's right to ask. I don't ask those things of my gardener, the guy at the car wash, or the kid who bags my groceries. Why ask it of someone because they are an actor? Is that being fair?"
There are definitely some questions that aren't right to ask. Like asking a random Asian person where in China they're from (when they're actually Korean). Like asking a black man in a business suit if he's got any weed on him to sell. Like asking a homeless person if he can break a $100. Those questions are wrong on all levels.
Then there are questions and requests that are often harmless, require minimal thought and potentially provide humor. Don't wanna do it? Fine. But his response just oozes pretentiousness, lightly frosted with a plea for privacy.
I harken back to your lexicon:
Throwing a Simon Pegg: Being an excellent sport even when completely baffled, because there's simply no reason not to do something random and silly to bring joy into the lives of others.
Nathan Fillion is the Anti Simon Pegg.
Adam Lipkin says:
Sigh. And the Reddit comments in response to your comment remind me why I hate Reddit with a screaming passion.
I almost cried a bit while reading this… I can't believe he's not willing to play along. I love Nater-Tater and all of his work but geez!! Have a bit of fun. It can't all be serious acting. Yes, it's his job to act and tell stories but still, any job that I've ever had, I still had a bit of silliness along the way. I'm truly disappointed by this post. I have twine in my car so, if on the off-chance I ever run into him, I'll have a good photo op available to me… May even slip a piece of it on his shoulder or something… WIN! HAHAHA!!! And I love the one comment where they called him Nathan "No Twine" Fillion! LOL!!
tollyfaye says:
I am so with Kara (#90) when it gets written into the script, on the show where he, as an actor, plays an author, that pretends to be a detective, has to hold twine, because an author, with a NYT bestselling book, secretly has a unicorn club controlling the universe, I too will CACKLE.
til then bottoms up to Wil Wheaton and Matt and everyone else with my best of box wine!
I agree with DarthRachel: the whole thing was funny because it was a lost cause. I have some sympathy for NF, though, because once your army was mobilized, I bet they sometimes harrassed him in a way you never would have.
Su Brunjes says:
I wish everyone could relax and play but I guess it's that diversity that makes the world go 'round. Your response was lovely. You are lovely. I'm sure we can find someone else to play along.
mayahimeg says:
I agree with others that it seems perhaps Mr. Fillion has missed the point, and it's a bummer because something so fun/lighthearted could have been even more awesome by a different response on his part. Nothing against him, I guess I just don't like the tone of this post. I agree wholeheartedly with Jessica G's comment 🙂
Stace says:
Twine schwine. I'd take Wheaton on a pony any day. Wait. That sounds wrong.
Okay, I'd take Wheaton on a pony with twine.
Much better.
You were classy and gracious, despite some of the unkind posts on reddit. People who don't know who you are, shouldn't comment about you.
I'm still a big Nathan Fillion fan. But i find my opinion of him diminished by his lack of whimsy. Nathan is a guy whose shows I watch. Wil Wheaton is my hero.
wloescher says:
+1 to Nathan for clearly stating his postition.
+1 to you for clearly stating yours.
I propose a new ImageQuest (TM): David Tennant mowing the lawn.
I would love to see James Franco with a ball gag of twine stuffed in his mouth…you think you could persuade him?
I think that the story is great, just the way it turned out. NF demonstrated that he has class, even in his turning you down, and you showed (yet again) that you have class. If more people in the world can respond the way you two did, this might just become a fun place to live again!
Daryl says:
I'm going to side with the people on Nathan Fillion's side on this one. I agree he could have, maybe should have, sent Jenny a note a while back letting her know he wasn't interested in the joke, but I was another one who was feeling like it had gone way too far. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable just seeing it constantly going on and I was just watching. I think it's been obvious for a while that he wasn't laughing and also wasn't going to do it. Personally, I wouldn't want people constantly bugging me to do goofy things either. I think he's actually being fair saying he won't do this stuff for anybody instead of making an exception for people here and there and having some people hurt or angry because they didn't rate.
People, he's human and obviously likes his privacy. As somebody who gets anxiety attacks I can definitely understand his wanting that. Besides which, I'd bet most of the people saying he should have done the picture get a little creeped out by somebody they don't know walking up and asking them for change. How would you feel if people were constantly coming at you from nowhere begging for your picture or who knows what? Especially people coming off a little bit stalker-ish.
Meh. It would have taken MUCH less time just to send his picture with the dang twine. Somehow I think less of him now, I prefer my stud actors have a sense of humor.
Claudette Turdici says:
You know when you first found out the truth about Santa Claus? That's how this makes me feel. Completely let down that he is not as cool and easy going as I thought.
He is too cool to take a picture (for charity even!), but had enough time to write a novella about why he's too cool to take the picture. No happy him.
I think that if Nathan Fillion had taken a moment to google you — which it seems he might have done after the gazillions of twine comments he's apparently gotten in the past couple years — he probably would have realized that you are someone with a large following and that playing along with this tiny, silly request would cement his place in the hearts of many, many fans. Instead, we're all a little disappointed.
At the same time, Nathan Fillion is probably a busy guy, and we don't really have the right to expect him to research every person who sends him a ridiculous request, picking out which ones are well-known humor bloggers and which ones are just crackpots (or which ones are both!). Hey, at least you finally got a response.
I still love Nathan Fillion, but I love you a little more. 🙂
NF's response kind of makes me see him in a new light. I'm pretty disappointed by his response, to be honest.
Molly Dugger Brennan says:
Nathan's response is perfectly reasonable however dull it might be, and it makes me love Wil Wheaton all the more for his willingness to goof. If given the opportunity to have a beer with one of these two, I'd take Wil every time over Mr. Serious Actor. Who do we solicit next for silliness?
Ciara says:
Ugh. Nathan Fillion has ruined Nathan Fillion for me. Who knew he was such a pompous bore? He takes himself way too seriously. It's going to take the sheen off Castle for me. Maybe that's silly but that's how I feel. Castle would totally have held twine for his fans.
TehTimmah says:
Funny how serious some people take things. I am pleased that he responded politely, and you, in your own unique way, where just as gracious (it is a very thick book, but very good too)
I agree that Betty White should be next!! I think she'd look fantastic holding a ball of twine. Can't wait to see you in Seattle!!!
Kind of sad he wouldn't do it for charity… Indeed, no Wil Wheaton.
Chris Dean says:
OK, goodbye Nathian. Personally, I'd rather see Jean Luc Picard with twine anyway….And I totally think he'd do it!
Emily L says:
I do agree he has the right to say no – I just don't respect his reasoning. If you offered $$ for a charity, I fail to see why that would be seen as an outrageous ask…after all, there is a video on YouTube of said NF getting into the spirit of things for a lady who paid $$ to have a kiss from said NF. Why he couldn't get into the 'string' of things for this…seems a bit hypocritial of him.
That being said, it is over for me.
Wow! Just realized Nathan "no twine" Fillion, could also be Nathan "not wine" Fillion, if you weren't paying attention. But then, that goes without saying because wine DEFINITELY has a better sense of humor than he does.
And Dana post #145, nodded my head all through your entire post!
I think we should have a good humor wine party (could be wine and ice cream) and talk about celebrities who have a better sense of humor and a lesser sense of self importance than NF, which, of course, would be ALL of them.
Korinthia Klein says:
That's too bad. I kind of see his point, but honestly the celebrities who have always impressed me are the ones who do take the time to respond to their fans. I remember waiting in line after a Joshua Bell concert and was amazed that a world renowned violinist would sign every CD and talk to every person no matter how long it took. It made me adore him as a person and not just for his craft. I think especially since you offered to give money to his charity (which would in turn draw attention to that cause) he should have used it as an opportunity to have some fun and do some good. (I'll still enjoy watching Firefly reruns, but I will admit to being disappointed that he's not the kind of guy that could find the fun in playing along.)
I get his response. Yours was very classy and well written. It was a funny joke. Oh well…
Yeah, I think Nathan Fillion is a bit of a whiner. "If I hold twine for ONE person, then EVERYONE is going to want me to hold twine!!!!" Really? Do you really think that? And, as an adult, you certainly have a right to pick and choose which request you fulfill. Fulfilling one certainly doesn't obligate you to another.
And… if I had a gardener, I would ask him to hold all kinds of things for me. Because F*CK YEA, I HAVE A GARDENER!!!!!
Honestly, this seriously makes me like him a little less.
Seriously, it's a picture with twine. It takes you two seconds to do.
Marchelle says:
Good god, people. He doesn't want to do it, he was polite enough to respond. He doesn't OWE it to people to do either, and the whole, "I didn't even know who he was until now" responses – just as douchey. It would have been nice if he did, but he didn't want to, so let it go.
As an individual, of course he has the option of saying no, but I still think he's a spoil sport. I hate celebrities that are too full of themselves and this makes me feel less of him. Dang, Nathan Fillion and his lame excuse. Someday I hope to meet him, ask to take a picture with him AND happen to have twine in my purse I can pull out and take a surprise picture of Nathan Fillion with twine. Of course I don't carry twine with me regularly so even if this random encounter happens I probably won't have the twine, but I can dream.
Nemukins says:
I still think his fans were acting as douchey as they claim WE are.
Nothing against Nathan, just those self-righteous c*nts.
#56 Shawn – exactly!
While I understand the idea of Mr Fillion's principle, and I agree with it, I just don't agree that iwas/is his driving principle. I have noticed (mostly on twitter & YouTube) that he has been known to act in the exact opposite manner. I feel he picks and chooses (and rightfully so) to respond to only that which amuses him. Just don't ask me to believe he's not doing a twine pic because he doesn't respond to requests. Bottom line, the original requesit didn't amuse him – so he deleted it and moved on. Chances are he most likely had no inkling of the size of the "iceburg" he chose to ignore. When he did it was way too late to change course. So he stuck to his original script and looks way more foolish doing that than he would holding twine.
Too bad, over the years I have found I have a great love for people who don't take themselves too seriously. I found it endearing, humanizing and relatable when I saw celebs being silly. It is like Hollywood has been peeled away a little and you get a glimpse of the real person inside.
bob-o says:
sra. bloggess,
Lookit. I love Nathan Fillion and everything, but are we REALLY supposed to believe that he is SO INUNDATED with requests to do wacky stuff that it's becoming a burden and he's had to draw the line for his own sanity?
Puh-lease.
Get a sense of humor, NF. We aren't JUST ANYONE. Jeez.
Seems kind of self-important and lacking a sense of humor to me. And honestly, it's not like you're just some random girl on the internet. You've got a fair amount of fame yourself, lady, so I think you asking him to post a twine picture is a bit different than me asking him to do it, you know? Whatever. He's a big, important actor with big, important stories to tell, so we'll bother him no longer. (But lest he get too self-important, I knew who the Bloggess was long before I'd ever heard of Nathan Filion.)
And hey! AT the end of the day, you got the TOTALLY awesome Wil Wheaton with paper, and Matthew Broderick with a frying pan 😉
Good show, lady!
Himbokal says:
Indeed, I can understand Mr. Fillion's grave conundrum: How many people would have been inconsolable, nay crestfallen! if he didn't respond to their request? The human suffering caused by honoring this request over another would have been immeasurable and long-lasting. How many Twitter followers would have grown despondent and ceased to Tweet? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It is unfair for us to put such a burden on one man's hunky shoulders.
And, friends, I must admit this hits a little close to home for me.
I, for one, would have been enraged had he chosen your request for a picture with twine over my own request for him to go buy a cup of coffee and then tweet "That coffee was delicious." He has, thus far, refused to do so (He is a thespian, not a trained monkey) despite my feverish tweeting. But now I have insight into the harsh realities and complex moral quandaries of life as a famous actor. Kudos to you Mr. Fillion for your brave intellectual stance. It is a rare breed that is able to navigate the treacherous waters of novelty picture-taking with such aplomb.
I think what Nathan Fillion fails to recognize is that in order for him to be successful in his chosen career, addressing the public and gaining fans come part and parcel with such a field. Just like crappy pay, the risk of becoming irrelevant, and living off of Tang and Ramen (not that there's anything wrong with Tang and Ramen) come along with my chosen field, journalism. If he didn't want to be a television actor for a living, I'd agree with him. But it's a side effect; along with getting paid a ton of money. Suck it up and hold the twine, Nathan.
Betty White holding twine would be excellent. There's a lady who has class and a beautiful sense of humor.
Two other awesome scenarios:
1. As Kara(#90) said, to have the writer's write Castle holding a ball of twine in to their story line. How fun would that be?
2. Everyone chipping in a few bucks each and paying Nathan Fillion's actual gardener to take a picture of himself holding a ball of twine. I'm willing to bet he wouldn't mind at all.
PS – I'm not so sure Jenny wouldn't ask the gardener, the guy at the car wash, or the kid who bags her groceries to take a picture holding twine. So it's clear he has nooooo clue who was asking.
Carla (@chickmae) says:
Somebody needs to do a video like the, "Leave Britney Alone" video. Except they are crying and yelling, "Leave Nathan Fillion alone!"
This whole thing makes me sad. I love Nathan Fillion, but I am so disappointed by his response. I don't have a gardener or a chauffeur (because I am not a rich famous actor) but if I did, I can guarantee that I would ask them to do silly things from time to time, because that is how I roll. And I am pretty sure they would do it, not just because I paid them. (As an aside, pretty sure you get your money from your fans too, Nathan Fillion.) Anyway, I expect that the people who would work for me would be silly because it would make me happy, and usually, people like to make other people happy. Nathan Fillion made me sad. I still love him, but I am disappointed in him. 🙁
I'm sad. I've always thought of NF as a really down-to-earth, funny, irreverent guy with a big sense of humor. I guess he must be REALLY good at his acting job because that's how he comes across. Finding out he doesn't get the joke is disappointing. I bet he wasn't so humorless after Firefly, before he did anything mainstream that got him some name recognition. Bet he would have been happy to send a twine pic to a hugely popular and funny blogger who happens to be on the NYT best seller list.
I realize that NF is a busy guy who probably gets tons and tons of requests, but how often does he get a request of this magnitude, involving thousands and thousands of fans, both people who've watched him for years and people who only know who he is because of the twine joke???
For me, he's lost his sparkle.
Didn't Simon Pegg take the picture because it was trending and he had no idea why or where the request was even coming from? THAT is a man with a sense of humor and a kick ass personality. And every movie he's ever made is ten times better than anything NF has ever done. I think. I've never seen him in anything, so I'm just guessing. Anyway, NF is not Robert fucking DeNiro so maybe he should relax a bit. It must be so exhausting taking yourself so goddamned seriously all of the time.
Now, NPH would probably wrap his whole body in twine if you asked nicely….
It would have taken Nathan a lot less time to just take the darn picture than to write that lame-ass reply. I used to like him, but now he has revealed himself to be an uptight, too-cool-for-school douche. Blerg. 🙁
The next time you buy an ethically taxidermied animal, you should name it Nathan Fillion. Then you can take pictures of it posing with whatever you want.
Lisa Victoria says:
Oh Nater Tater, if you are reading all the comments (because I would bet that you secretly ARE), sorry you didn't play along. We pinky-swear to all leave you alone now, but you gotta admit it was all quite funny…Well, at least WE laughed our asses off for post after post of really good material. Chill buddy – the best shit in life is the laughter.
This is the most depressing thing I have ever read on your blog.
P.S. Can we start a Twitter trend where we all ask our respective gardeners/grocers/car washers/etc. to take pictures with twine and tweet them at Nathan? PLEEEEAAAASEEEEEEE.
Turtle says:
So he is more like his character Cliff in "Blast From the Past" than his nicer character in Castle.
I completely understand why Fillion responded the way that he did. While he may not be famous in a Brad Pitt kind of way, he has a lot of fans that put the "fanatic" in fan. I'm certain that he gets bombarded with requests constantly and he doesn't want to set a precedent of giving in to intense badgering. Yeah, he could "just hold the twine" and then what of the bazillion other requests for his time and attention? Rewarding the internet equivalent of screaming in his ear with a megaphone just means that everyone who wants something is going to bring a megaphone and start screaming and expect results.
Some of the responses here sound like the fucked-up justifications given by the paparazzi. Just because someone chooses to be an actor doesn't mean they have to open a door into their life for the public to parade through at will. The people here saying shitty stuff about Nathan Fillion are just obnoxious. I love you Jenny, but I'm not so much loving a lot of your readership today.
Damn Nathan Fillion and his need for privacy! WHY WON'T HE SUCCUMB TO THE PRESSURE?!?!
Actually, I kinda get where he's coming from. It's not like he owes his fans anything. And yet, you'd think he'd do this just to show his appreciation of his fanbase. No matter how absurd we are.
Regardless, he's Canadian, so I have to support my fellow polite, poutine-eating, beer-drinking, ice-skating Canadian.
He better know how to fucking skate.
Count me among the "never heard of NF before the twine request" crowd. I did, however, know of Wil Wheaton and Matthew Broderick (and others) before their item-holding pictures. Coincidence? Unlikely. Perhaps "really and truly famous" = "more willing to hold stuff in photos", and in years to come, "holding photos" will become the most accurate gauge of how famous a person is.
Or not. I'd take a photo holding just about anything, but it would be useless since I can't figure out how to upload the photos from my phone.
GaLilbit says:
Personally, the holy grail of twine holding pictures for me is Neil Patrick Harris. I thought you were aiming too low with Nathan Fillion. Now that you are Ms Big Muckitty Muck of the Blogosphere, aim higher and work on Dr Horrible.
zenthia hiser says:
Dear most bootious Bloggess,
I do not know if it was what you were feeling, but I felt some very serious disappointment in your response! SO, this is going to happen. It will not happen soon, but it will happen as of October 2013.
I am dressing my husband up as Cap'n Mal for our wedding. There will be pictures of him holding twine. I know it isen't the same, but I hope it eases your disappointment at least a little bit!!
I love you very much, you got me through a lot of hard times during my last two hospitalizations and it is the least I can do (I was going to buy you a dead animal but goddamnit they are EXPENSIVES)
Seana says:
Honestly, the pic of Fillion with Will Wheaton photo bombing is FAR better than any visible twine pic we could have gotten. Thanks for being who YOU are Jenny. We love you for it.
Rev Jess says:
I absolutely one hundred percent agree with the request that we move on… to Sam Rockwell! Yes! Holding… a handful of buttons!
Christie Buchanan says:
Don't get me wrong I adore Nathan. I think his talent, though widely appreciated, is still somewhat underestimated. A situation I see correcting itself in the coming years. However, as his star continues to rise I urge him to remember that it is we (the thousands of twitter accounts and nameless fans) that help to keep that star hurtling through the entertainment galaxy. Nathan's humility and sense of humor are a large part of what attracted many of us to him. As his career and options expand, I hope that he tries very hard to retain his humility and sense of humor… and to stay shiny.
Sure, he's entitled to his opinion and feelings. But I'm in agreement with just about everyone else on here in saying, it's just a stupid silly picture holding a piece of twine. Get over yourself Nathan Fillion! I mean, thanks for responding in what was a decidedly condescending response, but seriously. At least this draws this to a close? Yea.
Someone around here takes himself a little too seriously…and I'm not going to point fingers, but I'm looking RIGHT at your husband.
Debra L says:
I'm kind of disappointed the light-hearted joker he plays on Castle doesn't seem to come from him at all. I will still enjoy watch Castle, re-watching him in Firefly and Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog, but he's off my list of famous folks I'd like to meet.
Jessa says:
Lame. It is not like you just requested it for your own amusement, you offered compensation to him, or a charity on his behalf. Is he too good to help others by doing something so simple? I think he should at least donate $750 of his own money to a charity in your name to show that the decline was about the picture, and not because he is above helping others. If he can do a stupid PSA skit on Swamp Ass, he could post a pic of himself holding twine (maybe he's confused as to what twine is and is too embarrassed to admit it). Why so serious? I would totally post a pic of me with twine to raise money for charity, but I don't get those kind of offers being a non-celebrity. I definitely won't be in any kind of hurry to see any of his work, unless someone writes it into a script for him to hold a ball of twine.
This only makes me love Wil Wheaton more for having such a great sense of humor as well as Matthew Broderick and all the others! I will definitely support any of their upcoming films, like any loyal fan would! 😉
Clearly, some just cannot handle your awesomeness! Thanks for being so caring, funny and real!
Ew, Nathan Fillion. I didn't realize you were such a pompous asshat.
Sigh. I'm a mom. My job is not to watch any more movies or television shows starring pompous asshats.
He totally doesn't know you or he would know you would ask random non-celebrities to do random stuff like take a picture while holding a ball of twine.
Grocery baggers get asked to do some weird shit, so I don't think he should generalize with his whole "you wouldn't ask {x job} to do that" because someone out there will. And if it isn't an offensive request, most people will do it in good humor. (Who has seen a scavenger hunt in a mall or park or something lately? Yeah, us nobodies are asked to do silly things for pictures too.)
Anyway, his whole "I'm a story teller" argument…he was asked to be part of a silly story involving twine. It's a story, he's a public figure, how is this not his wheelhouse? If he didn't want to, he could have nicely declined, saying he can't honor all of these requests, in the beginning. He's just a douche.
I showed Nathan's response to my husband and he commented "Exactly." It's like I don't even know him. 😉
Some people are silly and some people aren't and isn't that all just awesome.
I guess we all know who won't be playing Victor in Jenny's BLOCKBUSTER film titled, "Let's Pretend This Never Happened and That Nathan Fillion Actually DID Pose With Twine".
I bet you could get a pic of Kevin Bacon holding Bacon…
Kelly at Cibatarian says:
Can we still call him Nater Tater? Because that's just fun. And requires no effort on his part.
I love you people. Seriously. I was having a shitty week and you made me laugh. Thank you.
Also, for those of you who have never heard of Nathan Fillion before I highly recommend watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog or Serenity as they are both awesome.
Kwinterr says:
Do you suppose he really is such a snobbish wet blanket in real life? How dissapointing. But…it goes to show that just because an actor plays a charming character with a sense of humor…doesn't mean he is anything like that in real life…it's just a job to him apparently.
But without the wet blankets in this world…we might not fully appreciate the awesomeness of those that chose to play along. And for that NF…I thank you.
He is humorless. That's fine. We still have Will Wheaton.
Kadesh says:
I see this as a loss for Fillion, though I feel that I've lost him, too. I used to be a huge fan … and I didn't so much get mad at him as just feel this huge disappointment that he had no sense of humor.
Otherwise, the TWINE SAGA has been WIN-WIN-WIN (not sure what the count should be.) Because I gained Wil Wheaton. I giggle at him now through Twitter. And that great outpouring of support by all the OTHER actors — and the resulting photos? Priceless. And ultimately WAYWAYWAY better than one picture of Nathan Fillion with twine.
It's been a fun ride. Totally his loss. We've had all the fun. As we always do. After all, everywhere we go — #THISISSPARTA !!!!
Dana L says:
Has Nathan Fillion been done in wax at a museum yet?? If so, Just put some twine in the wax Nathan's hand and take a pic. You never stated it had to be the REAL Nathan, right? Plus, you could squeeze his tush without having to go to jail.
The end of Nathan Fillion indeed….. your reply makes me love you even more!
I'm totally not famous, or even particularly interesting, but I will hold anything you like and have my husband snap a pic of me with Whatever, to make up for this disappointment. Also, I second (third?) Neil Patrick Harris. 😀 (Lemme know about the holding-whatever-to-make-up-for-it! I *could* be famous someday, and then you'll be in on the ground floor of having another famous-person-holding-stuff photo to add to your collection.)
You know, I really want to be OK with his reaction. It just has this tinge of elitism that I can't shake. A simple google would have told him you have ongoing interactions with a number of reasonably well known people and a fair following, so treating this as "if I do for one fan, I have to do for all" seems really disingenuous. If I had asked, sure. But you're a well known author who actually, you know, sells what she writes.
I don't really want to think of the Captain as either being too big for his britches or having really poor research skills, though, so… OK.
Massielita says:
Well there you go, I un-followed NF (on twitter) a long time a go, (I am sure he noticed and wept) but I kept thinking, if he just hold the twine, he would instantly had gotten more than a quarter of a million followers and adoration galore! I mean, he was all "can we get to a million (followers)" and shit (on twitter). He asked for people to tell other people to follow him (ugh) anyway.
Hope next week is better for you Jenny, Glad Haley is doing better and don't feel bad and stuff, it's just NF….
that makes me super sad…. I figured he was a comic type guy who wouldn't have a problem doing this.. guess not.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me to hold Twine for a Twitter picture, I would have a dollar. Ironically, that is the same amount Nathan Fillion would have.
Whatevs. You clearly have many celebs who think you are the bee's knees! 😉
I wish I had a gardener. Or twine.
Lesson learned: Some celebrities take their "storytelling" way too seriously. This is a guy who had to beg his way into a special cameo on The Guild (his own admission), and heads to panels at Comic-Con.
The shine is off Castle for me. Oh well.
Dan #146 said it pretty well for me. Fans get that celebs don't have time to do everything requested of them and the ones that don't need to understand. While I totally understand his reasoning, he sounded so condescending. Sorry but he's being a bit of a dick here. Many celebs do silly things like this on occasion because 1) it takes like 2 minutes of their time and 2) that short amount of time buys good will with fans. He's in a profession that counts on fan's good will. He should have said something PR friendly right at the start and been done with it. Let him go with his fellow celeb friends and feel all better than you. We know differently 🙂
sarina says:
While I'm glad that you finally got an answer, and I respectish (my new word for the day) his position, boo. But that's okay Wil Wheaton is a million times cooler than Nathan Fillion anyways.
He certainly doesn't have to do it. He doesn't even have to respond at all. But to suggest that it's offensive to ask? That's a bit rich. His life, and his career, are not normal. Not by a long shot. And you can't really separate the "I get paid a huge amount of money and attention because I'm a famous actor" from the "I get asked weird shit by random people all the time because I'm a famous actor" because they're kind of the same thing.
There's a big difference between making an appeal for civility and to be left alone and suggesting that it's offensive for fans to act like fans.
Both of you were kind and generous and respectful in this "end of" post. Thank you!!
Mary, QoE says:
Nathan Fillion's response is respectful and articulate. He has a point regardless of whether any of us agree or not. Each of us have things we simply don't want to do, as well as myriad personal reasons why we don't want to do them. I can respect that. I'm glad he responded, because before this, I thought he was just being a dick.
Your response to him is also respectful and articulate and that is why so many fans love you – it's not JUST because you are funny as hell!!
wonkafonka says:
I do love that at least he finally answered, and your response was so genuine and wonderful. 🙂
XLMIC says:
Someone should just photoshop an image of him and twine for you. If I had any skills in that department, I'd do it. But I don't.
What a nice exchange, though.
I do like him as an actor, but found his response to the twine debacle extremely douchey. I mean, come on….really? It's that much of a tragedy to take a photo with twine, especially for some charity dough? I used to really not be a fan of Wil Wheaton at all, but his antics with you have really changed my mind…..along with his harassment of Sheldon on BBT of course. Fillion needs to grow a sense of humor and take a lesson from Mr. Wheaton's rule of thumb…."Don't be a dick".
Is that really your #1 question? I would've though it would be something…else. Of course I can't think of what I would ask you instead. I guess I'd choke and be all "Wait, I can ask about Nathan Fillion!" Though I guess I think more about Beyonce. And taxidermy.
This is sad, but I get where he's coming from. Anyway, funnily enough I just started listening to John Scalzi's novel Redshirts on audiobook, and it's read by Wil Wheaton. I have indeed been picturing him collating paper as he reads. (It's awesome by the way – go get it!)
Keith Craker says:
Wow. Okay, there are way too many people complaining about our beloved Nater Tater being "a pompous bore." "It's just a picture – what's the big deal?"
In my day job, I'm a freelance graphic/web designer; on weeknights, I teach wine appreciation classes; on the weekends, I'm lead singer of a classic rock band. And there isn't a month that goes by that I'm not turning down a good friend or family member who asks if I'll design them a logo, draw them a picture, lecture to their book club, come talk at their party, perform at their company conference, or entertain at their backyard BBQ, and always for free and always because I love what I do so much. And I do love what I do, just as I love them, and in my heart I'd love to do these lovely people this one little favor. But if I do the one favor, what right do I have to turn down the other favor requests that come in? How do I explain to the passing acquaintance that I had the time and energy to do free work for our mutual friend, but not them? ("Because I like them better" is not going to be well-received.) And if I just go ahead and do every freebie I'm asked to do, how am I supposed to pay my bills? Worse, how is the wine shop I represent or my fellow bandmates suppose to pay their bills? I'm giving away all of their services when I give away mine. So month after month, I make the same explanation: "while I will do pro bono work for charities (when time and finances allow, on a case by case basis), I don't do "favors" – it's not fair to the others who depend on me to just give away my work. Sorry."
While Mr. Fillion's explanation wasn't as footloose and fancy-free as some would have liked, it was still perfectly reasonable and remarkably professional – as he points out, he's an actor: his face and voice are part of his stock and trade, and being asked to donate a photograph of himself doing something specific is the same as asking him to appear in a commercial free of charge. And don't kid yourself – he got the joke (just look who he's friends with – of course he got the joke); in this and all related instances, he's just made the decision to treat the request like a professional: with a courteous but firm "No" – he doesn't set a precedent he then has to walk back at a later date.
His was a reasonable answer, jenny's was a classy response – lets everyone else follow their example and be just as reasonable and classy.
His response made me CRY (could be the mutant PMS). His tone was scolding and offensive. Someone said he's human, but I don't think he is. And, he missed the very point you were trying to make. You were not asking him to endorse a product or do something to further a money-making scheme. The twine is an anti-endorsement. The exact thing he claims that he is against – all the many requests for people to exploit themselves at his expense. His response might have been okay months ago but coming this late in the game, it was obnoxious. Okay, so he's above twine. And, he likely doesn't even write his own tweets – he has a guy for that too. He clearly doesn't know how to use a computer or he would have read your blog and your fabulous book and seen that your motives are pure and that fun is your goal. Your response was so genuine and elegant and classy, even though I know you wanted to cry because I could feel that. Not because he doesn't want to play along, but because he accused you of being a bully and hurting his feelings. Which was never your intention and was caused in large part by his complete lack of any response one way or another. All he had to do was say no thank you 800 years ago. Plus, he was with Wil Wheaton so we KNOW that he knows what the deal is and that you are not a crazy stalker bent on ruining his life.
I just figured it out. He is TERRIFIED of twine from some twine incident in childhood or a past life and he doesn't want his fans (if he has any left) to know what a scaredy cat he is that the sight of twine puts him in a fetal position, sucking his thumb, and wetting his pants. Well, he can hold a spatula or a fireplace poker. Twine is his kryptonite. Who knew?
Unfortunately, I think the truth is that Nathan Fillion is an Ass Waffle.
Lindseh says:
On one hand I respect his desire to not be a puppet to the masses. On the other hand I think he was being an ass to not just do it for his charity int he first place. On my third mutant hand, I can understand, after the first no, to not cave in to people asking repeatedly because of a stubbornness thing. On my fourth robotic hand, a twine photo would have rounded this game off quite nicely and given it a satisfying conclusion.
In summary I respect his decision to be stubborn and slightly and ass, and like happy endings. In books, not the other kind.
Actually, if we can't have a twine pic, will you take us all out for Happy Endings?
Lisa S. says:
See, this backfires on him, because now he has to make a concerted effort to ensure that anytime anyone ever takes a picture of him for the rest of his life that there is no ball of twine in frame. How exhausting…
Christine G. says:
I know who Wil Wheaton is. I know who Matthew Broderick is. But Nathan Fillion? Totally had to Google him. The twine picture could only be a step in the right direction for him, career wise.
rottenkitty says:
He's not your monkey. Why do people not get this? He's not a trained monkey to do your bidding because you want him to. He's an incredibly decent guy and this stunt of yours was about YOU not him and now your idiotic stunt has put him in an untenable position. Way to go.
And for those people who are criticizing his pre-autographs at ComicCon, have you BEEN there? I have. Roughly 130,000 people attend. He has to have security there just to walk to his panels because otherwise he'd be mobbed.
And he is a household name, otherwise this whole wouldn't have meant a damn thing. Nice smearing the reputation of one of the really nice guys in the business.
Marisa #38 – I love Betty White! I'm sure Jenny could think of something really fantastic for her to do 🙂
While I respect Nathan's point of view it is most important to not take one's self to seriously. Actors are only a famous as the people who make them famous. You are a gracious woman.
XrayChicken says:
As others have said above, at first I didn't have a clue who he was. When I looked him up, he was vaguely recognizable as someone who had been on several failed television shows. Now he just seems like a pretentious prick who wants all to understand that he's too much of an artist to joke with us. Remember Drive Mr Fillion? That show you starred in that was so horrible it only last 3 episodes? Yeah that's art!
I would also LOVE to see Jim Parsons step in and hold some twine. Then we could all move on happy.
Gwenifire says:
You've got to give yourself so much more credit, woman. After reading through that thread, I don't think I could have come up with such a classy, respectful reply – I would have just crawled into bed! People can be so mean, and especially on the Internet, where they don't have to see the reactions to their meanness and name calling. It's easy to hide behind a keyboard and call someone a dbag, and I'd wager they'd be too chicken to try it to anyone's face!
That being said, I'm sure you've got a slight sting of hurt feelings, but know that you've got oodles of respect and admiration from your fans! (Fans that would know better than to name call)!
My first feeling was disappointment in one of my favorite actors. While I respect his right to say no, he sounded whiny about it. You on the other hand were classy in every way. I guess it just goes to show that what an actor plays can be nothing like the person.
Having grown up in Edmonton we were always aware of the community minded and supportive Fillion clan. Nathan's brother was a teacher and Nathan would go into his class to draw pictures for the kids ( a friend of mine still has one and he's 20 now!) I worked with him at a karaoke company when he was just starting out getting really into the acting biz. I will always remember him singing Beyond the Sea and sliding down a banister in his performance at a Boston pizza. He was an extremely hard worker and always as generous as he could be, so I know that if he felt it was something he could do- he would. He's paid more dues than anyone realizes so I applaud him for speaking his mind. I will always be a supporter of Nathan and his work as an actor. At least he replied to you! That's more than a lot of actors do these days!!
I respect his opinion. I don't agree and I think his logic and his examples are flawed. You handled this with more grace than I could have mustered!!!
He lost major coolness points with me now!
Pink chef shoes says:
I have to say I think his answer was ridiculous. You are Nathan Fucking Fillion, not Brad Pitt (who totally would have posed, because he is fucking funny). I didn't even know who he was, other than that actor on that show I will never watch. I'm going to chalk this up with the fact that some people just have zero sense of humor. Kind of like my mother in law, who thought my husband and I were crazy for watching 'Dinner with Schmucks". She said, "is Hollywood dumbing down movies because of America's stupidity?". By the way, her favorite show? Castle.
I'm in no way disappointed that he isn't going to do this. Because of twine we had Matthew Broadrick and Brian Boitano one upping each other in pictures. That is the gift that goes on and on. Thank you Jenny.
Kim D. says:
I'm glad that he finally acknowledged the Twine Saga like a grown-up instead of huffing and puffing like I can imagine some celebrities doing, but I am definitely a bit disappointed that he couldn't just be a good sport and play along. Does one have to take themselves that seriously all the time? Where is the fun in that? Especially considering that just by being a good sport for five minutes, he'd raise $750 for charity. I don't make that much in a week! 😛
A few other fun things to note-
A) I had also never heard of him before this, so I'm with Christine G. on this one too.
B) I wholeheartedly support Jim Parsons as the next celebrity/inanimate object endeavor. He seems like such an awesome human being that I can't imagine him declining.
C) Or Neil Patrick Harris. He's a good choice too.
D) I kinda think we should create a flickr pool and all submit pictures of us holding twine for Jenny. I mean….no Nathan Fillion, but come on- we could totally get like, thousands of pictures. That's a lot of twine in one place.
E) I think if somehow a ball of twine could magically photobomb a pic of Nathan Fillion, that ball of twine would win the internet.
F) This comment is so ridiculously long and I am sorry but I needed to share all of these things.
Getting his wife to change her name to 'Twine' is the best comment so far, IMHO. Well played I-Already-Forget-Your-Name-Because-I'm-High-And-Too-Lazy-To-Scroll-Back-Up! Well played, indeed.
He started it with "sigh!" Like this was such a huge pain in his ass. I don't know if I will ever appreciate Castle again!
You are much classier than I would have been! Good for you!
It took him longer to type the message than it would have taken to take a picture with some twine. *smh* You have the best sense of humor and I'm so glad you have this blog and you wrote your book!! Want to help me name a metal goat that my husband is adadamantly opposed to me buying?
Um never heard of the guy until you started begging him for twine. Now I'm glad I didn't. He seems like a pompous @ss. Which is precisely where he can shove the twine. Some people just suck. Love your blog. Love your humor.
Jen W says:
This is a sad day for browncoats. Even sadder than the day I admitted to myself that "Castle" kind of sucks.
P.S. I sometimes ask unfamous middle-class peons (like me) to do weird stuff. They usually chuckle and oblige happily.
Susan D. says:
I don't have a gardener. Or a car washer. Or dish washer. Or even a dog walker. I do all those things myself. But I do have an awesome "proud to be gay" hair stylist. Next time I get a haircut I am totally going to ask my beloved Reggie to let me take his picture holding twine and send it to you. But I think it will have to be an over-the-shoulder type pose. Because he's got really gorgeous, long hair. And it deserves to be seen.
And by the way, I'm with Marisa on getting Betty White to hold something. But SERIOUSLY, let's make it a vibrator, okay? I bet she'd do it. Maybe she could even have twine in one hand and the vibrator in the other. I can just see her sly grin now….
I love Nathan, will always love nathan. Have loved him since 2 guys and a girl. He seems like a kind and generous individual with a good sense of humor. I think his repsonse was polite and honest. I also think Jen's repsonse was fantastic as well. Entertaining as always, both of you.
Mayor Gia says:
SIGH. But you have the exact right attitude about it, lady.
Sorry, I think he's a twat, and poor sport. Honestly, if he gave more face, and showed some kindness to his fans, then more people might know who he is. ie; Matthew Broderick, Simon Pegg, Rick Gervais, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc.
We've wasted too much time on him anyways…on to the next ;o)
Sorry, but he sounds like an ass. An ass that I can't recall ever seeing in anything I've watched. Now I suppose I'll go IMDB or Wikipedia him and waste two minutes of my life.
Don't get me wrong – he has every right to not want to hold twine, but really: is he so famous that he's that bombarded? The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, who is arguably busier and a lot more famous, took time to make a joking video for Betty White, but Nathan Fillion (WHAT has he been in?! Driving me crazy) takes exception to participating in a joke that doesn't require more than two minutes or his presence and is hardly going to inspire other bloggers to ask him to hold, I dunno, yarn, because WE'D NEVER HEARD OF HIM until you brought him up. But whatever. Sorry for the run on sentence; this is why you have a best selling book and I have rejected Word documents that tell rejected stories. 😀
Deanna, I can't help name your goat but I do know that if I had one I'd have to proudly display him (her?) in my pepper patch. Just so I would have the occasional opportunity to point at it and say that something is "hotter than a goat's butt in a pepper patch."
KellyBundysEvilTwin says:
Crestfallen…………sigh……..
Post Wikipedia:
And he's CANADIAN? Aren't they supposed to be the most friendly and accommodating people on the planet? Do they have New Yorkers in Canada?!
Well, that's that. I was on the fence about Mr. Fillion, but his pompous response pushed me over into the "I don't like him cause he's a douche and had to throw it in there that he has a gardener and someone to wash his car territory". I hate it when that happens.
You should go after Joss Whedon… if they ever make Dr Horrible 2, have the director have him hold twine as part of a scene… BINGO! You get the twine and form a long lasting friendship with the creator of Buffy
He has a gardener, a bagboy, and a car washer? I wonder if they would like to hold some twine.
mousebert says:
Some take things way to seriously. There is no evil here. Now everyone go play nice.
Mort says:
Kathy McC says:
I'm sorry, but he needs to remove the stick from his rear end. Silly fun is just that. Fun. If I was this serious all the time, I'd never have any friends. We recently asked the handyman at a friends house to go in on a prank with us to "flock" the yard of our friend. Basically putting 24 pink flamingos in the yard while she wasn't home. Not only did he comply, but he kept his lip zipped and never told her that we were the culprits. This is all in good fun. Too bad Nathan has lost sight of that.
@ rottenkitty (#244)
While I do agree some people might be taking this a bit too much to heart, I think you're missing the point a lot of people are making. It's not about that he didn't do it. It's not even about the past dismissiveness on his part pertaining to the whole twine thing – that was actually entertainingly funny. It was his reddit response.
Nathan may very well be a stand-up all-around good guy to those he knows. He may attend the meet & greets and do all the right things on a schedule for the public presentation. But he obviously views himself as an entity that cannot participate in a random act of humor because, "My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet" and "how many people would be unhappy that it wasn't their request I responded to?" had he chosen to respond to the twine incident.
So Nathan chooses to not interact with his fan base outside of scheduled events. That's his prerogative. It doesn't make him any less douchey for how he responded though.
Again, the Anti Simon Pegg.
There are different things I hope for…
I hope that we all appreciate we don't know what or how many different requests Nathan Fillion gets.
I hope that either he, or an assistant, will answer sooner and graciously decline if he doesn't want to do something.
I hope he gets someone to help him with how he publicly responds to these types of questions. I understand the need for setting limits on what he will or won't do (we all have our limits – famous or not), but I also see how off-putting his response is to so many of us.
I hope, in parallel universes, that all the Jennys got their pictures.
But, mostly I hope that your baby is feeling better, you week will end much better and that you are feeling the love from your fans.
Jen N says:
I completely understand his point of view and wish that he were a better sport. I know, for you, that it was all in good fun.
With that being said, we should get in touch with the folks at Entertainment Weekly. Next time he does a photo shoot for them, they should have him hold a ball of twine. Then he can't complain about it because he's being paid to do it. I know the folks over at EW like you, so we might have a chance with that.
And yes, I'm totally kidding. (Kinda) 🙂
Thank god that at as a 40 hour a week + employee, I never have to deal with outlandish demands for my job.
Yeah,right.
Laurie F. says:
I know, I know, I'm a Libra and have two opinions on everything. However, the guy does have a point and now he loses in every way. I thought the whole thing was hysterical and wanted to see the photo too even though I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was…BUT, while I would have liked him to have a sense of humor and basically, man-up, call off his gardeners etc. to pose, HE CAN'T WIN. Because the blog has made him the "person that didn't want to have fun with our Jenny." Hard to believe, I know, that anyone would refuse The Bloggess but he did. Maybe you want a photo of me with twine? or my dog Lexi with it? We would say yes. And we don't have gardeners either. Love, your friend, Laurie F.
His response just shows how much classier a human being Wil Wheaton is. It wouldn't have killed Nathan to send you the damn photo, for crying out loud. I'm sorry, I know lots of people here are fans, but to me, he comes off like a douchebag with his response.
Long live Wil, the king of the internet!
M.Amanda says:
Meh. It would have awesome if he had done it, like almost on the level of Wil Wheaton collating papers, but not quite because who could be as awesome as Wil…
But I respect that he came out and explained it just was not something he felt comfortable doing. Whatever, we all have our things and maybe fulfilling a silly request that comes out of the blue from hundreds of strangers on the internet felt not-quite-right to Nathan. He may be famous, but he is still just a guy.
"I'm sure my fans will just be happy that you responded."
NO! No we're not! Okay, NO! This one is not. Just hold the fucking twine for crying out loud!! Quit being a douche!
I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was before this. Now all I know is that he turned down a chance to raise money for his charity. If I was that charity I would be finding a new "celebrity" to support my cause. Just sayin'.
Cynthia W says:
You know – I was a big Nathan Fillion fan, although Castle has kind of brought that down a notch already. I mean – yay, for getting a gig with more exposure, but – boo, it kind of sucks.
I even get that he doesn't want to do this and that's cool, too. I can even see that he didn't see the humor in being asked about it all the time. However, he does try to project the persona as being fun-loving and there for the fans. But I guess he only does that when he's being told to at Comic-Con as part of his job; fine – that's also his right, but he doesn't have to be so condescending about it. Really – if he had sent half of that response, it would have been way cooler and less pretentious.
And, for the people who obviously only showed up here to harass Jenny and aren't regular readers – the people who were just playing along with the whole twine thing were doing it in fun, not realizing that NF was annoyed by it and were assuming that he appreciated the absurdity that the whole thing had become (and, no, I wasn't one of them, because I was enjoying all the other famous people who joined in way too much). Also, Jenny had already told everyone that she wasn't upset at NF and that she actually was glad that he hadn't held the damn twine because so many cool things happened just because he didn't do it – so you can all stop being such jerks about it and grow a sense of humor.
It seems like some twisted Doctor Who plot, in order to save the universe they need a picture of Matthew Broderick holding a spoon. So, you ask Nathan Fillion for a picture holding twine… How wonderfully non-linear!
BTW, if you google "nathan fillion matthew broderick" the top links you get are all the Bloggess. Ain't the interwebs great…
ya know y'all… all this really makes me wanna do is go to where he's doing a signing (or something of that nature) and totally nonchalantly lob a ball of twine at him to have him catch it… only for my ninja like reflexes to catch it all mid air with my wonder papperatizi camera! Alas… my sucky camera phone can't even get my dog or kids without blurring.. 😛 well that and I'm stuck in the boring Midwest… but one of you wonderful Bloggess followers are so right on to try this… HINT HINT HINT!
He's being a cheeseball about this, but that is totally his prerogative….He obviously doesn't get that twine, yeah, okay, goofy request, would be a major investment in his fandom. DUH. Wil Wheaton? My gollies, I'd pay good cash money to see that man, not just because I've heard other great things about him, but because he's a lovely person who laughs with his fans, and doesn't see twine or paper collation (::swoon::) as something equivalent with a demand from his grocery bagger to suddenly twirl a water pistol and be all Captain Tightpants. I thought your running gag was hilarious, Jenny. I loved the Brian Boitano and Matthew Broderick interjections, and the madness of spatulas, ice cream sandwiches, and tongs. I'm sad that NF doesn't get the joke, but that's his loss, and if I suddenly ran into him in the grocery store (not the mostly likely event, but you never know), for your sake, Jenny, I'd be frosty but polite. I should start carrying twine around in case this really happens….I would look at him coldly, glance meaningfully at my twine, and then stalk off in the direction of the ketchup. Take THAT, Nathan Fillion.
Meh. I figured that the longer he went without responding, it was because he didn't want to dignify the request with a response. Too bad, it would have been fun. I do feel bad that he has gotten asked about it so often he is this exasperated by it. That probably get really annoying.
I'm glad we have so many celebs that HAVE played along, though. They get massive cool points in my book.
Maris M says:
For the record, I didn't even know who Nathon Fillion was when this all started (actually, I'm still not real sure).
Goatamus Maximus says:
He's a fucking idiot. "I'm a very important actor, you see. I have no time to devote to my fans, you see. I wouldn't want people to ask anything of me, you see. I am just too important and busy." Good response, Jenny!
Eri says:
It disappoints that he never held twine! But alas! I'll live.
While he could have toned down the whole "y'all don't know how hard it is to be a celebrity" thing a bit, I can kind of see where he's coming from. He's most famous for starring in a sci-fi program, so think about how many bizarre requests he must get, both by mail and in person. And think about how aggressive some of his fans pursue those requests, and how angry they get when he has to decline them. I know quite a few sci-fi/"Firefly" fans, and some of them are, pardon my French, fucking crazy. There are a lot of people who believe once you're famous you're obliged to cater to your fans at all times. Look at how nasty fans get on Twitter. I would imagine that, even for the nicest, most generous celebrities, that gets old and wearying sometimes.
I will agree that he could have saved himself some trouble and just either taken the picture or declined it months ago. Now it just seems like he's refusing out of misplaced spite.
you know what would totally be super fun???
Asking all of his co-workers on Castle for picture's of THEM holding twine…tee hee! This can go one of two ways…
1. either they give you picture's and word gets out that they did send you p[ic's of them being silly and he looks like a turd
2. they don't and it gets out that your now cyber stalking them all… all because of him! and he looks like a turd…
win win! 😉
Dan Coffey says:
He probably had just read an old review of White Noise 2 before he sent you that note.
Noooooooooooooooooooo!
Jenny! You did not just tell people to watch Serenity WITHOUT TELLING THEM TO WATCH FIREFLY FIRST!
Sorry if I am over stepping by calling you by your first name, oh great bloggess, but this is Serious Business.
K says:
I think it's more fun if there were never a response, because it sustains the humor. I'm sorry to see it go, and I'm sorry that Nathan Fillion and others of fame have to deal with it, because honestly, couldn't we have continued the joke without bugging him when it's patently obviously that he chooses not to participate. Just as I have my own reasons for enjoying the joke, he has his own reasons for not. Fine with me.
Windy says:
TEAM WHEATON.
JoesMama says:
Nathan Fillion: 0
Wil Wheaton: 1+ a bazillion gazillion
I get what he's saying, but honestly I think he's being kind of whiny about the whole thing.
Joules says:
Victor = the new Fillion. Give us twine, V.
Monroe Charles says:
I kind of lost some respect for him. Being silly is half the fun of getting to be famous. You don't have to do every demand, but when a big one comes through that unites tonnes of people in a quest of happiness, shut up & hold twine.
I think you were both very classy about it, but point to Jenny. Fillion just came across as whining.
PS. As a participant of GISHWHES, I have asked ordinary people do to a lot of stupid things for my camera (IE. "Can I cover you in cotton candy & take a photo?" "Can I squirt this cheez whiz into you mouth from 40 feet up & take a photo?") No gardener or barista is safe.
Heather C. says:
Well, since people are giving suggestions, I totally second the votes for Betty White, Jim Parsons and Craig Ferguson.
Having discovered beyonce the chicken the week before you came to Atlanta….and we literally heard … Hey it's beyonce the chicken when we were buying it for my friends mother's day present ( we chose medium beyonce)…. I wasn't up on the twine joke when some one asked about it at your book tour. Your explantation was fantastic and it made me love the photo i had seen of will collating even more. I mean I get he wants to be fair he is an actor…..but I still think the ball of twine…..rock star.
Got to respect his answer though.
Also- Hey, I was part of GISHWHES too! ^^
KatG says:
And when NF gets paid what his gardener and car washer are paid, I'll begin to feel sorry for all the demands on his time that we, his fans, place on him. I really wanted to think he was a cool guy. Damn.
It's often so disappointing to hear an actor speak when the words aren't written for them. 😉
Even when he's being rejecting, he's classy.
I think I love him even more now.
But from a distance.
hilljean says:
Ok, ok. Everyone's saying he's classy. I suppose that's somewhat true. But you are SO much classier! And how the heck do you manage to be hilarious while being classy and kind? You rock and you are a world famous blogger that we all adore. I haven't read your book yet, but this weekend I am going to physically go buy it from a bookstore cause I want to keep it for myself. I almost checked it out at the library–you're in a library! But then I thought better of it. It'll be a keeper fo sho.
He might have a point in a certain respect, but the way he wrote the answer complete with the "sigh" is what came off as pompous.
He's got a right to treat his fame as how he sees fit, just as I have a right to judge said fame because as a member of the viewing public, that's how it works. And I've decided he's either a bit of a douche or , giving benefit of the doubt, having a douchey day. At the very least, he may have put 'his people' onto some research and perhaps found a few more fans by either doing the picture, doing an even sillier one (thus showing his fun side but still not fulfilling a request) or replying in a way that doesn't make me, as unknown as a gardener, feel like he thinks himself above me. Its not as if one of us lowly unknown plebs asked him something ridonkulous. He might've become less unknown to so many. Though, I guess he seems to feel that he has enough fans and fame. And regardless, now he's got attention, doesn't he? Because how's the saying go about any publicity being good publicity? I personally didn't and don't care if he ever did the twine pic. Never gave it a second thought, but the response was poor enough to make me doubt the guy and what I thought of him.
And as for these extra pictures that he "signs" at the cons. Are people so damn sure that that's his actual-omg-he touched the pen to my picture autograph and not something done by minion or stamp? See? I'm a skeptic of him now.
What I do thank him for is for unintentionally creating some interesting discussions on the responsibilities of fame. It's been thought provoking. I've decided that my ideas are different than his, but such is the power of choice. The Cult of Celebrity is a strange beast. And while I'm not agog at celebrity, I certainly have a different sort of respect for those who have it and use it wisely, graciously and with class toward all of us 99%ers.
You know, if NF doesn't feel comfortable with the twine, it doesn't make me think any less of him. I don't like when people try to tell me what I should be doing, either. But, I love all the more Wheaton, Matthew Broderick, Jeri Ryan, et. al. for their silly pictures.
The attitude I've seen at times (never by you, Jenny) that anyone owes anybody anything besides basic human decency, even something as trivial as twine holding, is ridiculous to me.
Love you, Jenny. It's all ok.
New acronym…WWWD. What Would Wheaton Do?
MattyJ says:
NF seems a little full of himself. Actors need fans or they cease to exist. Some people get that.
He also misunderstood the fact that the picture wouldn't be for one person, it would be for hundreds, if not thousands of fans.
Unless he employs a wold-famous, recognized gardener, he's missed the point about fame.
Smokeynall says:
I'll hold your freaking twine. Twine me up. Where do I twine? I'll even freaking corpse with it. http://beingsmokey.blogspot.com/2012/07/corpseing-its-awesome.html
Erin (#285)…HOMYGAWD funny! Frosty but polite. I saw we all agree to be "frosty but polite" when we meet Nathan Fillion.
Also, does anyone else have an issue with hearing Sheldon on BBT saying Wil Wheaton's name whenever they read it? See, it happened again.
Trish West says:
#17: Jennifer, so agree with you there!
Maybe he could have done it right away — but once it rapidly turned into repeated pleas and an army of harassment, there was no way. It's been a lost cause since the first time Jenny upped the ante on the request, because while it was funny at first it wasn't funny once people went stalkerish, and nobody with fans can afford to let anyone think that stalking and harassment pays off. The other celebrity-with-weird-stuff pics were spur of the moment, not stalker responses.
Worth noting that the quoted response, complete with Sigh, wasn't to Jenny but to yet another person bringing it up. I start swearing the third time I get the same soliciting phone call, so I think he's been very polite.
Marie P says:
I like the suggestion about putting out a book full of celebs holding random items.
And hey, if you want to add quotation marks around "celebs", I have a couple friends who've been on reality shows that I'm SURE I could sucker into holding something ridiculous for a photo…. 😀
Katy Bug says:
To those who say "I wish he'd taken it with better humor" and whatnot, I think his attitude is fairly understandable.. I can imagine that most people, including Mr. Fillion, would initially respond like this: "Haha, that's just silly. Oh dear, I'm late for an appointment." And then rush off to his theoretical appointment and promptly forget about the entire twine dealy. Our dear Bloggess meant it in good humor from the start, I'm sure. No big deal on either side. But if fans of someone as popular as Nathan Fillion get too rabid about something, I'll bet they can take things like the twine joke to ridiculous heights. Can you imagine what it would be like for him to come back to the internet world after his theoretical appointment and sees that he's been bombarded with fans requesting he take the freaking picture already? Or meeting lots of fans in person who want him to take the picture? That might be… Well, weird and a bit annoying. I'd say nothing's wrong on either Jenny or Nathan's part, but I'll bet Nathan got a little exasperated about rabid fans bugging him on twitter and elsewhere on the internet about the twine. While it was meant as a simple joke, some people can push jokes, even those originating from another person, waaay too far. So, yeah. The joke was fun while it lasted. Nathan has politely requested it come to an end, so let's live and let live. No biggie. 🙂 (And wow, what a novel I wrote.)
Well played my dear 🙂 I suppose we must all give the poor guy his desired "space" In related news, I am almost positive I can find several people who will pose for a picture with twine. Sadly, none of them are famous actors, but it could still be fun
Aww, cut Nathan Fillian some slack, people. He (probably) just doesn't want to publicly admit he's allergic to twine – it might hurt his acting job prospects.
Brilliant ending XD
amgoodnight says:
So the boyfriend from 2 Guys a Girl & a Pizza Place is NOT holding twine? Well, shit. Maybe one of the "2 Guys" will. Please oh please Ryan Reynolds! Or maybe the girl. But, seriously, if you get Ryan Reynolds, please in the name of all that is holy & cherished in this world, make sure he is only partially clothed.
Tippi says:
I think he handled that very graciously. I love that thebloggess has so many awesome celebrity fans (hey WW!), but it was starting to get out of hand. He shouldn't be made the bad guy for choosing not to do something silly for the internet masses. He seems like a down-to-earth guy who just wants to live as normal a life as possible.
Jessalee says:
You know what I think? I think he's out of touch, and I think he's kind of douchey. I totally agree that he can play along or not play along, but if he's willing to do the Reddit deal, and if he's so super active on Twitter, he could have taken 20 seconds out of his busy super important actor life and said, "Not my thing, and I won't do it. Sorry." End of story. Next.
I think you were classy in your response, Jenny.
Kermonk says:
Never read your stuff before, but that was beautifully put.
And Fillion is an asshat, not because this perhaps, but in general his replies suggest a very selfish person.
Still doesn't change the fact that I can't watch Firefly without thinking 'why can't he just hold the damned twine'. Most Canadians are way cooler than Nathan Fillion.
Rea says:
Well, now what? I mean, no Fillion ball of twine pic…ever? Seems like we need a new target.
I must agree with Jessalee… he really does sound kinda "douchey." I don't understand why it would be so difficult. It's meant to be FUN and he's taken it much too seriously.
You are a very classy woman. We all knew that. And you were just having fun – and ANYONE with a sense of humor knew that as well. Unfortunately, he came off exasperated and whiney about how hard it is to have so much expected of him. Yeah, cry me a river, my friend. Honestly, he doesn't deserve the publicity he got from you. You are awesome. And well, I will reserve what I think of him…
kcbswift says:
Seriously? People who MAKE MONEY from having an AUDIENCE ought to be a little more flexible with silly, harmless fan requests! NF should chill out, have a donut, shrug off some of that thespian haughtery!
Some of your readers are totally batsh$t crazy, did you know that? 🙂
I am very glad this matter has been put to rest, N.F. may be a saint, he may be a sinner, but the unrelenting "twine twine twine twine twine" meme was getting very very old. Leave the guy alone, and hopefully, the next season of Castle will be better than this past season…
Some people take themselves far, far too seriously.
Obvi this man needs more fun in his life. You're a class act, he's a douche. Lighten up Fillion.
Carole says:
We'll always have Parade. (brave misty-eyed smile)
I stilll love Nater and his rugged handsomeness.
People, if I can quit smoking, you can give up the twine. Of course you enjoy it, sure you're not addicted to it, at first you'll feel horrifically uncomfortable, but don't let that stop you. Let. Go. Of. The. Twine. Think of all the other things there are in life we could be doing! (Seriously, think! I used everything I got in this comment.)
I mean I get his point, but I think its kind of absurd also. You asked him to take a picture with twine. In fact hundreds of people (thousands??) have asked about him holding a piece of twine. It'd take 10 seconds for him to do and it'd be funny and worth it. But everyone is entitled to hold or not hold twine. Clearly he's of the latter kind of people.
It really could have done without the 'Sigh.' at the beginning of his response, but at least he finally responded. He didn't have to fulfill the request, a simple decline would have ended this a long, long time ago.
I still say it's a pretty high handed attitude for someone who played a character that boinked everyone on One Life to Live.
You Love Oreos says:
Lighten up Nathan!! It's just for fun…….thank God Matthew Broderick doesn't take himself so seriously…
Dark Matter Fanzine says:
Morena Baccarin worked with Nathan Fillion: Morena was Inara on Firefly before V and Homeland. Apparently Nate used to come up to her, gush about her acting ability, yadda yadda, then finish off with '- if you like shit.' Apparently she's not the only one he's done this to, leading to THE EVENT where another actress got the entire audience to simultaneously flip Nathan Fillion the birdie.
Nate was in Firefly and Dr Horrible, now he's in Castle which riffs off Firefly as often as possible to keep the Browncoats engaged. If you'd asked for a photo of the Serenity with string, perhaps he would have obliged. Better still, ask for a photo of JOSS WHEDON with something silly. He's absolutely awesome and he might even consent – he loves supporting charities.
His point is if he holds the ball of twine then someone else is going to ask him to juggle ducks. It wont ever end and because he did the twine thing he'll get internet reamed when he declines the other stuff. Though the offer/requirement to donate to charity for ridiculous requests should filter out most of the duck juggling…
I can't believe the backlash against him! "Douchey"?
He doesn't feel like he's in on the joke, and he doesn't get it. So why pressure him to do something he doesn't want to do? The game is much more fun when people are excited to be a part of it!
Maia says:
Being the kind hearted person you are maybe you could collect $750 from your readers for Nathan Fillion and tell him to go buy himself a sense of humor. It would be the least we could all do for having the audacity of trying to include him in our twine fun which resulted in annoying him instead.
TheFeelGoodDepot says:
Well, the way I see it… like it matters in the slightest…. it really is his loss.
While I do enjoy his work as an actor, he had an opportunity to probably get even more fans with a lil silliness.
I can respect his decision and right to say "NO" but I think he kind of missed the boat of this one.
How do they not get the humor in twine? It's twine! You, on the other hand, were all class. Thank you for always providing a healthy dose of ridiculousness to cheer me up and remind me not to take life so serious. At least he finally replied so you can move on to the next unsuspecting celeb.
JustThe10 says:
I sorta get his point, but when I look at his statement all I see is "The Gardner is not my friend, he is hired help, that makes him a robot that can not be funny or associate with me on a personal level"
I was fucking *over the moon* happy the day you gave me a follow back on twitter. Knowing that you probably don't really keep track of my tweets about my 8 kids doesn't bother me in the least. I was more focused on the fact that I was a real person to you, someone you *may* want to check in on from time to time.
I'd totally give you some twine pictures, but then I might have CPS after me (I joke, the kids are TOTALLY NOT tied up with it) You let me know if some twine-age would make you happy. 🙂 I'll go and wrap our gigantic fish fountain in our village for ya. 🙂
Brigette says:
First off, Erin #287 – LOVE the idea of snubbing NF in the grocery store. Hilarious.
I'm in the camp that feels like he really just comes off like a pompous ass. Too bad for him, I will retain that impression going forward. While he might not care all that much, for someone who works in an industry that requires FANS to keep you in business, it seems like a mis-step. But whatever, I'm over him now.
*stalking off to the ketchup with Erin.*
I can understand him not wanting to respond to these things. I can understand him thinking the joke had gotten out of hand. But I can't stop thinking that if he had said all of this at the outset, he would have looked a lot better. I also feel like he could have written this out in much less condescending tone.
I like Nathan, I love Firefly, I'll still watch Castle. But Nathan, you're definitely less cool than I thought. You bucked a chance to get some notoriety and donations for your charity. You treated a fan like a nuisance by letting a joke get out of hand and then reacting to it as if you were asked to carry sandbags across a desert.
I'm now suitably chastened; I know not to ever ask for an autograph should I ever meet you.
downfromtheledge says:
Chr*st. Put on your big girl panties and snap a 2-second twine picture, for crying out loud. Apparently the days spent avoiding a good-natured joke, coupled with the time wasted composing that pompous rant , was more worthwhile than gaining fans?!. Excellent way to market yourself as a major DB.
PennyDreadful says:
Wow. I have to say… I've lost some of my Nathan Fillion love after his response. Not much, mind you, but still.
I think andrea summed it up for me (a few comments up) pretty well here -Mr. Fillion's refusal to take a moment of his time and do something so very simple was lame. His response and the question "is that fair?" is even more lame.
Yes, it IS fair to ask you to do something that simple to connect with the people who have supported your acting and projects for years now. He has passed up the opportunity to provide money to his charity by snapping a quick photo of himself with an inanimate object: something that none of us has the power to do because we are NOT famous actors.
So yes, it was perfectly fair and frankly AWESOME of you to ask it of him and he is less awesome for being all hoity-toity about it. I don't care if I spelled that wrong. I'm only a Journalism major, it's not FAIR to ask me to use words that are actually recognized by the English dictionary. /eyeroll
It must've taken a while to create such a gracious response to Nathan Fillion. Dude needs to learn how to act like person who has a sense of humor.
I like Nathan Fillion, and I respect his feelings on the subject. Besides, I'd rather see Victor holding twine. Or Hugh Jackman. Your choice…
I think it's Nathan Fillion's loss, but I am with you when you say that his decline resulted in Matthew Broderick with a spoon, and really, you can't get much better than Ferris Bueller with a spoon. (Not to mention the awesomeness of Simon Pegg and Jeri Ryan and both the Wheatons.) You come out on top, and all I've ever said to Nathan Fillion on the subject is "Cap'n." That's apparently all he wants from his fans.
Nikki Nicholas Mohamed says:
I see Nathan Fillion as one who takes himself just a little too seriously now….
and I now have a greater respect for Will Wheaton collating paper.
Sigh. When people write something starting with "Sigh.", what follows is sure to be self important and pompous. Jenny, your response was gracious. Nathan, it's too bad that you still can't see past your own ego to see what this was and how your reaction made you look. It's his loss. I might add, if you don't want attention directed at you by crazy people Nathan, then perhaps Redit probably was a poor choice of venue for your months tardy response.
Now…paula, I like the way you think! Hugh! Jackman!
Kande says:
First of all, I apologize on behalf of all Canadians. And am grateful you will still visit our country. If I could figure out a way to have all of us meeting you holding twine I would. Secondly did anyone read through the whole reddi thread? At one point someone asked "What is your favourite product placement on Castle" and Nathan Fillion replied "I don't pimp out products if i don't use them". Or words to that effect. So – perhaps the real issue is not him posing with something in general, but that ou chose twine, which he has no use for? Though that is slim I know – my vote is more for number three. Which is – thirdly – get over yourself Nathan Fillion. You're hardly needing to worry about fulfilling the request to hold twine and then forevermore be swamped by paparrazi whereever you go – Justin Bieber you are not – who now gets WAY more respect coming his way from me, as someone who shows regularly that he appreciates his fans, doesn't just take them for granted and realizes that a small thing, even an inconvenience for him, is a big deal to someone else so will take the time to make the effort. Shame that a pop star teenager has more grace and gratitude than an aging actor.
i think we all need to take photos of ourselves with twine and post them on the internet or send them to you Jenny, or nathan fillion, and be all like "TWINE SOLIDARITY!" and as a subtle message, "hey look nathan fillion, all these people could take time out of their lives to snap a picture holding twine…so you can too, jerkface." er, not that i think it's really weird of him or anything. (it is really weird of him not to play along.) this second i am going to twine on my blog and the facebook. let's also somehow make this into a charity thing. twine for orphans! twine against illiteracy! twine for the twineless!
Samael7 says:
Both of you were totally polite, and we can all live with the outcome. I still think he's a pleasure to watch in the roles he's played.
I can't help but feel, though, he's miscalculating. Yes, he's an actor; yes, he tells stories. But . . . for whom does he act and to whom does he tell stories? I mean, if he's doing it for the paycheck, or his own satisfaction, and it ends there, then his reaction makes total sense.
But, although I won't attempt to read his mind specifically, I don't think any actor does it purely for themselves, or they wouldn't be drawn to the profession to start with. The whole point of acting is to go in front of as many other people as you can and perform, presumably to make them happy (or sad, or impressed, or whatever, just something plus). A ridiculously large number of people would have been made happy by the small gesture. But perhaps there would be no challenge in it for him (being rewarded for just being himself), and that's a turn-off.
I'm sure he gets a bunch of strange requests all the time, and that probably won't ever stop (although, someday, it might, omnia mutantur). It's reasonable to wonder if, by giving into one request, "where would it end?" Of course, it ends when you want it to, but it's also worthwhile to wonder what would be lost by never even starting.
Mrs. Odie says:
I think he wants to be able to decide what he does or doesn't endorse. Like someone already said, posing for this photo is the equivalent of doing a commercial for the blog. Broderick and sexy Star Trek girl doing the photos of their own accord makes them look cool and hilarious, and maybe they don't like NF and wanted to rub it in a little. Or they were fans already. Who knows? Fame is currency and NF clearly thinks the Bloggess can't afford him.
See, now before this I just thought he was being dismissive. Now I think he's a holier-than-though piece of crap. I, too, lack a gardener and car washer (I do those things for myself, thanks, I have a GREAT sense of humor), but I do like to joke around with my grocery baggers, who seem to appreciate a little levity to their workday…as opposed to a sanctimonious bag of hot air who would prefer to get on with his day without making eye contact with the help. There are much bigger actors who jumped in on the fun. Seems he needs to get over himself lest he find himself lacking any requests for appearance, no matter how seemingly mundane. 🙂 (end rant)
Chris J says:
Well, I've learned several things today.
While I still love Nathan Fillion as an actor (I'll watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog *anytime*), I'm so disappointed to learn that he apparently has no real sense of humor, and does not follow Wheaton's Law. I'm confused by his reference to asking his gardener to do something like pose with twine for charity, unless his gardener is Eminem or someone else famous. Although, I'll admit, while in Vegas, my best friend and I did carry our autographs around and when we ran into famous people, we would run up to them and give them OUR autograph…so maybe he would ask his gardener for a photo.
I learned that you, Jenny, are super classy as well as hilarious. It's no wonder Wil, Matthew, and all the others sent you pictures! Maybe Nathan will figure out one day what exactly he missed out on.
I hope someone fun (Craig Ferguson? Neil Patrick Harris? Jim Parsons?) will pose with something good for you!
Oh sigh my ass. He's a famous guy because of the fans. So really? Why so stuffy? He says he's an actor and he is in the public domain-so the argument about the gardener etc doesn't fly with me. That being said, if someone asked me, their nurse, to do some crazy twin holding gig for them, hell yeah I'd do it. I'd do it for Will Wheaton and I'd do it for Matthew Broderick, but I am not sure I'd do it for Nathan Fillian.
In my humble opinion, Matthew Broderick is WAY more famous and sought after for requests than Nathan Fillion and he joyfully participated in the silliness. Nathan came off looking like an egotistical arse. I'm glad he at least admitted he basically has no sense of humor because he just has sooooo many requests all the time….sigh is right.
Attic Crazy says:
Some celebrities are lovely, wonderful and charming people who are gracious when they meet their fans. You know, celebrities like Wil Wheaton, John, Stamos, and Rob Lowe.
Some celebrities are not and, instead, are pretentious and rude and treat you like you are dog poo they have just stepped in. Even when they say that their motto is something like, oh, I don't know, "It costs nothing to say something kind. Even less to shut up altogether."
I was calm and quiet and polite when I met all four of the celebrities I've referred to here. I approached them at events where they were making public appearances. Three of them chose to be human beings in response.
You are a gem, Jenny, and obviously a gracious human being as well!
OMG LET'S DEMAND SOMETHING FROM BRUCE CAMPBELL. ANYTHING. PAPER CLIPS. RUBBER BANDS. DENTAL FLOSS. DREIDELS. A STAPLER. MULTIPLE STAPLERS. READING FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. 😀
Andrea V says:
I think Nathan has a complex about being Joey Buchanan. Going out of his way to be a "serious"actor. Whatevs. Glad you got some closure, just a bit disappointed.
Well, this makes me respect you and Wil Wheaton a hell of a lot more.
I get where Fillion is coming from, definitely. And I'm sure it gets annoying having to deal with the volume of followers he deals with. However, I feel like his response is akin to teachers' standard rule "if I bend the rules for you, I'd have to bend the rules for everyone". This "rule", simply put, is kind of just political speak for "I don't care enough to put time into this". It's dismissive, and kind of a horrible rule of thumb. Every situation is different. Of course, Fillion is entitled to do and think whatever he wants – but for those that choose that route, keep in mind that you'll probably be treated the same way in return.
JLR says:
It's not that he doesn't have a sense of humor. It's that he doesn't have our sense of humor. And that is totally and completely fine.
I knew a guy in college who kept asking out this really pretty girl who was way out of his league (not because of looks but because he was a d-bag and she was gorgeous, funny, smart, and usually kind and therefore could choose to date non-dbags). She would say yes and then stand him up. And he'd just keep asking her out. I asked him once why he kept doing it when she clearly had no interest in him, and he said, "I'm going to *make* her tell me no." Yes, she should have just turned him down. But he had his answer. She wasn't interested. So after awhile, his behavior was as inexcusable as hers because he was trying to force her to respond in the way he believed he deserved.
We have no right to make people respond in the way we want them to. If someone has been asked to do something many, many, many times and he never does it, he *has* said no even without using those words. He's not waiting until he's been asked 500 times. He's not interested. And yes, he's an actor, and he's in the public eye, but it's still just a job, and even public figures aren't required to submit to every small favor asked of them, or to be good sports about being asked about it over and over again. Yes, it was a small favor, but you can imagine that actors get asked to do small favors by fans all the freakin' time.
In my job, we have to reject applications/requests people file with our department when they don't exactly comply with specifications. I'm sure the people on the outside would think we're being too picky and we should just fix the small errors, because to them, they think it's a tiny thing. But we get so, so many filings with these tiny errors, so if we did that, we'd have very little time to actually do our job and process the filings that were done correctly. My point is that what seems like a small request from our perspective may not be so small from his.
I don't like that he started his post with "Sigh," because that comes across as obnoxious, but I'm guessing he's just really, really, really tired of being asked about this. I thought it was hilarious at first, but after awhile it had started to seem like harassment, or at least like that non-funny person at the party who won't stop trying to be funny when has lost his audience. I'm glad it's finally over.
dawni says:
I'm with everyone who thought NF's response was self-important. While I certainly agree that he has the right to decline or accept whatever he wants to, and didn't personally care whether he posed with twine or not (and had in fact, managed to forget about it almost completely in the time involved), the *way* he declined was far less classy than it appeared. Sighing over the phone or in person is one thing, but when you are communicating over the internet, you generally take the time to think about the words you're using. You don't type "sigh" unless you intend to make a point with it; and frankly, it's pretty rude. I might type "sigh" to someone who *themselves* asked me the same question six times, but not simply to the sixth person who asked the question. And it certainly wasn't just the sigh, the whole tone, given the words he chose, rankled.
I agree that probably the twine requesters went a bit overboard and were probably becoming very annoying, and that that wasn't fair to him; but there's no reason for such a condescending and self-important response. It's certainly not unfair to ask a public figure to pose for a picture, especially not when done with a(n arguably) substantial financial gain attached. As someone else pointed out, it's not at all like asking a homeless person to break a $100 – which, yes, would be unfair.
And to the person who said it was like asking him to do a commercial for free, you seem confused. A fan offered him $750 for him/a charity of his choice, to pose with a bit of twine. That certainly doesn't equate to "for free", and "a fan" is not the same as a commercial venture. Your analogy is as full of holes as your claim that we are/Jenny is "smearing the name of a good actor".
I'll continue rewatching Firefly, and any other shows I find that I like that happen to have him in them, but I've lost any real desire I had to meet him now, which is a shame. Although as my opportunities to meet him are probably minute, given my income and locale, not as much of a shame as it might otherwise be.
On a final note, I want to add my support to everyone suggesting Joss Wheedon, David Tennett, Sheldon (whose actor name I know not), NPHarris and Betty White for twine pictures. Also BW & the vibrator AND twine picture.
KG says:
Nathan Fillion is an actor. For God's sake, AN ACTOR. Please respect that.
You can't go around bothering Oscar-winning artists with your inane requests.
melaniek says:
I always wished he would pose with twine because I love Fillion and I can honestly see where he is coming from too…
As things go, a request for a picture holding some twine isn't that heinous. You can do it. You can say no. You can ignore it entirely. But getting offended because somebody asked seems a bit precious.
I mean, it's not like when I asked Susan Sarandon for a picture of herself doing my taxes.
Who the heck is Nathan Fillion?
You know, I get what Nater Tater's saying, I just am saddened at the way he said it. This was all in fun. It makes me sad when celebrities take themselves too seriously. I mean, c'mon – they earn ridiculous amounts of money by *pretending* for a living! NF himself said his brother told him that he can't believe he gets paid to act like himself. (Paraphrasing there.)
But then I read Rev. back It On Up's (#121) comment and totally snarfed my ice blended mocha chip. Thanks for that, Dude!! :
Nater Tater, you chuted. Bloggess you totally laddered and your fans love you more!
keaven neely says:
It never fails to amaze me what a gracious, poised woman you are. How were you ever able to respond in such an awesome way? I never would have been able to do that. But maybe one day. We love you. And we love all your quirkiness and love being that way with you. He's just one man. And yeah, I'm a bit disappointed he's not as quirky as us, but remember that you have a TON of people around who are! Love love love!
Just for you! http://t.co/Z4A34KW5