I’ve been on conference calls with actors, senators and even President Obama before, but this conference call with Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku takes the cake for some of the downright weirdest moments.  You had your typical questions about the show, about the characters and about how Eliza plays so many of these characters…

Then you had the writer from the one major Florida paper, who was probably the inspiration behind the Steve Carrell movie, The 40-Year-Old Virgin.  Here’s how the Q&A went between this guy and Eliza…

“Uhh, Eliza, I’ve seen the newest issues of Maxim and you look, umm, really hot.”

[Awkward pause for drool hitting telephone]

“I know you have tattoos, but I haven’t really seen them.  Are your tattoos covered up for the show?

Eliza: “A few, but they are all in places that can be covered with a swimsuit.”

[Creepy moan]

Then there was another guy whose name and affiliation I did not catch.  Before asking his question, he told Eliza that Buffy and Angel got him through the toughest time in his life, and that’s when his mom died… aka his roommate.  I mean, I’m sorry the guy’s mom died, but that’s not something you need to be sharing with Eliza and all the other people on a promotional conference call 5-10 years later.  Mail her an f’ing letter.

Anyway, on to the Dollhouse news from the conference call…

• It looks like most of the writers who called in really enjoyed the first three episodes of the show.  That’s what Fox mailed out to everyone and most seem to think it will be a hit.

• After one really good question, Eliza acknowledged that in his head, Joss already sees these characters five years down the line in Season 5 and sees the show having a 5-year run or so.

“The first show on Friday, we are super excited about it,” Eliza said.  ” I love Ghost.  I love Target, but the the thing about it is the show keeps getting better and better from there.  That’s the thing.  Joss needs chapters to kind of tell his story.  The show just goes so deep and it’s so exciting.”

“Look at how much we as human beings evolve in a day.  There’s constant evolution.  Think about how many desires and how many scenarios there are.  Apparently from day 1, Joss has had a 5-year plan for the show.  I think that’s one of the things — it’s so open for endless possibilities.  You’re dealing with so much.  It’s mankind and it’s thoughts and wishes and desires are, they’re by the millions, by the trillions.”

• Another writer asked Eliza an interesting question that was a little off-topic… check it out:

“I don’t know if you realize this, but you have a pretty big following in the lesbian community.  Do you know why that might be?”

Eliza: “I know a lot of people were reading into Faith and Buffy as having this deep down love for one aonther.  I don’t know.  I’ve been told in the past maybe it’s a sort of mixture.  I don’t know – I’m obviously very girly, but I grew up with a lot of boys.  There’s a tomboy in me.  I have a lot of lesbian fans up there and a lot of gay male fans who still do Bring It On cheers in the supermarkets.  I appreciate every individual who appreciates watching me.”

“Will there be any episodes that touch on the topic of homosexuality?”

Eliza: “To be honest, there is one that was pitched and somehow it didn’t make it into the first 13 episodes.  We’ve only told 13 stories.  That’s the thing, there are so many more stories to tell.  We’re so excited.  Joss said now that he hasn’t been in the writers room for a week, he’s already thinking up new episodes.  He can’t want to get back into the writers room.”

• The show has had its ups and downs.  One writer asked Eliza if the show has changed at all due to the rewrites and mandates from Fox:

“I think when you’re dealing with a lot of cooks in the kitchen, it’s maybe differed from how Joss originally wanted to set it up,” Eliza explained.  “But Joss and I both feel that where we came out was where we wanted to come out when we first sat down [at the famous lunch meeting where the show was first born.]“

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