That Jason Quill Interview [Background] [Cutscene]

Excerpt from the interview "Growing Up Quill," in People Magazine, 7 August 2017 cover date  See end note. -------- Everyone watched young Jason Quill grow up on "The Adventures of Jason Quill," the Hanna-Barbera hit cartoon series of the early 10s. Though fictionalized, the story of young Jason, his brilliant father Dr. Byron Quill, his step-brother Amir, his spy-bodyguard Rusty, and his always-feisty corgi Brigand, thrilled children and adults alike. But children become adults, and young Jason arrived in Halcyon City a few years ago to finish up high school. Tragedy struck just months later, when his father and their bodyguard were lost in battle with their arch-nemesis, Dr. Achilles Chin. They saved the White House ... but Jason lost his only remaining parent, and a good friend. Now, a year later, Jason's a member of Halcyon's most interesting super-team, entering his senior year, and looking ahead to a promising future. We caught up with him at his home at the Quill downtown compound, where the air conditioning keeps out the Georgia heat and the blinking lights on every surface hint at technological wonders. The large, futuristic building feels empty, but Jason seems comfortable in the quiet. HOW'S SCHOOL GOING FOR YOU? (Shrugs.) Not bad. It's kind of neat having teachers who aren't computers, and having the most important deadline in the world be that paper that has to be turned in Friday, not a ticking antimatter bomb in Kuala Lumpur.  THE STRESS LEVEL MUST BE A LOT LOWER. Maybe. I think we bring our own stress around with us. I know if you ask any kid during finals week if they're stressed, you'd better step back quick. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT? (He rolls his eyes.) Everyone always expects that to be science. Some kind of science. Man, that stuff's hard. I mean, I learned a lot of science growing up, but more like cryptozoology and particle physics and , not basic valences and thermodynamics, y'know? I didn't inherit that science thing from Dad. I guess I kind of liked English lit last year.  YOUR DAD WAS PRETTY SMART. Smart? He was a genius. He was brilliant. He was the smartest man I've ever met. SMARTER THAN ACHILLES CHIN? (Silence.) Yeah. I think so. After all, we're all still here, aren't we? DID YOU INHERIT HIS GENIUS? (Laughs.) Man, I wish. I mean, I'm no dummy, I can probably get into any school I want, but I'm nowhere near my Dad's level. If I were, I could probably fix -- (He trails off.) FIX? --well, some of the stuff he left behind. A lot of it is self-repairing, but some of the crazy prototype stuff. Yeah, that stuff doesn't work right, it's way out of my league. NOTHING THAT'S GOING TO BLOW UP, I HOPE! No, nothing like that. AT LEAST YOUR'RE ALL SET FOR MONEY. Oh, yeah. I mean, I couldn't spend all the royalties that Dad's patents bring in. I've got an office of business management types all keeping track. Most of it goes to charity--animal shelters, orphanages, micro-loan organizations for the third world, water projects, that sort of thing. But I don't have to worry about the credit card bill at the end of the month, so that's nice. YOU HAVE SOME OF YOUR OWN INCOME, TOO. Yeah. Residuals on the cartoons. Royalties from toys from the cartoons. Whatever. THAT SEEMS TO MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. Well, it's kind of weird having a cartoon about yourself when you were a kid, you know? People know you from the cartoon, they think it's the real you. THEY CHANGED A LOT FOR THE CARTOONS? Well, the basic adventures kinda more or less are acccurate, but the dialog was all made up. I mean, my Dad get recordings, but they aren't nearly as exciting. And they changed a lot of details. I only had to worry about a woman doing my voice. Amir was really ticked off -- he was Moroccan, y'know, and they made him Persian -- not Iranian, Persian, which is, like, not even Arab, but they wanted to give him this magic carpet thing, right? Crazy. THERE WAS ANOTHER ENTERTAINMENT CONTRACT THAT DIDN'T QUITE COME TO FRUITION. Oh, God. Yeah. So Marvel is negotiating with Hanna-Barbera, right? And they want to do this space adventure thing with me as a grown-up, and there's this mess of paperwork and half the deal's done and stuff is getting signed and everything's mid-negotiation -- when Disney walks into the room, and everything goes to hell and Marvel pulls back and does their own thing, but they still have this character they have the signed-off right to call Jason Quill. And H-B, they threaten to sue, and Dad threatens to sue, and, for all I know, Dr Chin threatens to sue, and they end up renaming the Marvel character Peter Jason Quill, and doing him in the movie as a not a blonde. And that's how I almost got into the Guardians of the Galaxy, but didn't really. ARE YOU SORRY IT WORKED OUT THAT WAY? Not really. I get into enough trouble with people recognizing me from the cartoons of me as a kid. I really, really don't regret they won't make assumptions about me as an adult from a movie. Though the movies were cool. I don't think I'm quite that adventurous. SO YOU AREN'T THE HEROIC TYPE? I am. I guess. I mean, I dunno. I was a real danger junkie when I was younger, but that's easy when you're not aware of the danger, or when you have a genius dad or super-spy bodyguard to get you out of it. But -- y'know, what's a hero? I have abilities, y'know, even if it's not quite what Dad intended me to use them for. And so I have to do something with them, and if Halcyon City is in danger, or my friends -- well, you have to do something if you can. NO MATTER THE COST? (Silence for a moment.) I guess so. ANYTHING YOU MISS FROM THAT ADVENTUROUS LIFE YOU HAD AS A KID? My Dad, mostly. And my dog. And even Rusty, even if he always smelled like cigarettes. ANYTHING YOU DON'T MISS, OR THAT YOU'RE FREE TO PURSUE WHILE LEADING A MORE NORMAL LIFE? Girls, I guess. I mean, girls that I don't have to worry are secretly robots, or lizard women in disguise, or Russian agents. That sort of thing. Not that I have any girlfriend right now, but at least there are some normal girls around. Even some who aren't just looking for my autograph or some publicity. WHAT ABOUT ALYCIA CHIN? (He pauses.) What about her? WELL, SHE'S A GIRL. Yeah, but she's f*ing crazy, you know? I mean, a scientist, the mad kind. I don't think she's as smart as her dad, either, but thank God, because when she says she's going to kill me, kill everyone I love, destroy the city, all that, she's still way too smart for my comfort. HER FATHER WAS THAT WAY, THOUGH, WASN'T HE? Man, I never quite understood what was going on with Dr Chin. Of course, I was 8, but neither did Dad. Sometimes Chin was acting like a secret agent working for the Chinese government, y'know? Other times, he seemed freelance, trying to obtain some artifact or piece of techn for his own purposes. There always seemed to be a plan, though, even if you couldn't tell what it was. With Alycia -- with his daughter, not so much. She just seems cuckoo. YOU KNEW HER BEFORE HER FATHER DIED, THOUGH, DIDN'T YOU? Well, yeah. A few times. Those two, Dad and Dr. Chin, they were that old arch-villain nemesis foil-the-plans sort of relationship. Crazy stuff. Eventually killed them both, I guess. (Silence.) But, yeah, I ran into Alycia a few times back then. She was sometimes tagging along with her Dad. DID YOU FIGHT THEN? Well, yeah, though it was mostly, "Ha! I have a gun held on you! Now I will take you to my father!" We both did that a couple of times. Then something would happen, bodyguards would show up, the base would explode, whatever. THERE HAVE BEEN RUMORS ABOUT SOME TIME YOU SPENT WITH HER IN ANTARCTICA. (Silence.) Yeah. Not too long before -- well, yeah, but "in" Antarctica is right. We were trapped in the city of a buried civilization, under the Antarctic ice cap, in some death trap thing. You know, moving walls, spikes, the usual. TOGETHER? Yeah. She was holding a gun on me, then we got lost trying to get back to the others, then the trap. YOU GOT OUT, THOUGH. Obviously. And ended up on a raft on an underground river under the ice. So an ... under- ice river. YOU WORKED TOGETHER THEN? Well, yeah, I guess. To survive. We had to. DID YOU FEEL ANY ATTRACTION? No! Of course not. I mean, she had been holding a gun on me. SO YOU DIDN'T SLEEP TOGETHER? Jesus, no! Well, yeah, but only as in "we're both sleeping on this raft, which is in this endless dark river under the ice, and will probably end with a waterfall to our doom, and it's cold because it's under the ice , so we have to huddle together for warmth, and we fell asleep" sort of thing. Which happens. YOU WERE RESCUED? Yeah, by both our dads, go figure. They built together some sort of sun ray laser lens thing, carved down through the ice to the river following the tracking devices we both had. Then Rusty and that creepy silent bodyguard Chin always had swooped down and rescued us. And then both sides headed back to their jets and flew home. AND NOW SHE WANTS TO KILL YOU. Yeah, she blames her dad's death on mine, so I'm the designated target. DO YOU BLAME HER? No, of course not. I mean, not for Dad dying, or falling through a dimensional rift with my brother, our bodyguard, and my dog. I blame her father for that, and he paid for it by falling through, too. I do blame her for all the harm she's done since then. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY TO HER? Nothing I haven't already said. YOU'VE TENDED TO SHUN PUBLICITY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. Well, since Dad and Rusty -- well, there hasn't been all that much to talk about. I've gone to a couple of conventions, from the cartoon, but -- (He shrugs.) WHY SPEAK OUT NOW? My business manager said it was a good idea. (Laughs.) I'm sure when I read all this in print I'll be really embarrassed, but she said there had been enough rumors floating around around the tabloids, and I needed to protect the Quill "brand." Whatever that is. SO NO TRUTH TO THAT WILD WEEKEND WITH THE "SIX FOR SCIENCE" IN ZURICH? Those a*holes? (Shrugs.) I haven't been to Zurich since 2010. Didn't see much of the town then, either -- we were too busy dealing with some phantom Nazi general who was trying to recover these gold bars -- (Trails off.) Maybe I should travel more. See the world the way other people get to see it. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP? (He is silent for a while.) Well, assuming I survive long enough to graduate -- I dunno. I mean, I don't have to work. I'm never going to be half the scientist my dad was, so why even try. I thought about starting a band, but there was that cartoon movie where "I" did that, and I can't stand the thought of that coming back to haunt me. I dunno. If I survive, maybe just keep doing this hero thing. Or study Shakespeare. He's pretty cool. We'll pick up on more of Jason Quill next week, as he dishes dirt on his team mates, discusses his amazing "powers," goes over his exercise and diet regimen, talks about the Quill legacy, details his strained relations with his step-brother, and, just maybe, tells us about the new girl in his life. ------ Note: Minor edits in the above due to discussion below.

Note: meeting starting in a minute, so I haven't read this yet, but two things I thought of last night: 1. I feel like it would be fun/useful/cool if your half-Morracan friend didn't get vanished with your dad, since he'd probably be off to higher education also. That way he's a touchstone right now? 2. Also: mom?

Both those thoughts have crossed my mind. 1. Part of me really wanted Amir to have survived, but the idea of Jason being totally isolated (except for the team) had more appeal. Still ... that opens a couple of other opportunities. If he wasn't on that final mission, either, I see him as ...  a. Estranged from Jason for some reason. Resentful that he didn't get some wacky power from Dr. Quill (oh, Amir, if only you knew). Or maybe money (the trust pays Jason more for some reason -- that could even be part of some plot to intentionally  separate them, though Jason almost certainly gets more in residuals from the cartoon.) Maybe Amir just got cheesed at how Muslims are treated in the US and went back home to Morocco. Nah, that's too real-world. But he may have been cheesed at how people / fans pay more attention to Jason than him (not that Jason's that interested in that), and simply moved to the Quill home/lab in Los Angeles. b. Regardless, he would then be an obvious key to foiling Jason's nemesis, Alycia Chin.It could be some secret he knows. It could be merely that Jason needs his help on something.  c. Heck, Amir can probably use the "sanctuary" resources without "doom track" issues -- he would certainly have had access. So there may be some point where Jason has  to draw on Amir as a resource to solve some problem to deal with Alycia.  d. Alternately, If Amir did go on that last mission, and he was the only one to survive ... that might mean that it's Jason who's resentful/angry at him for not saving his dad (and his dog). It might mean that Amir knows something (knowingly or not) that could ultimately mean rescuing Dr. Quill and Dr. Chin -- which, then, would potentially "defeat" / defuse that whole nemesis situation. (There could even be some wacky Jason / Amir / Alycia love triangle thing going on -- and that could be drawn in a number of directions.) More to ponder. 2. She died. No, it's something that should be addressed, but the classic JQ answer is that she died when Jason was much younger. (Other speculation has it that her death was what actually ruptured the relationship between Drs Quill and Chin, but I haven't pondered the implications of that mythological mix quite yet.) Also, in answer to another question your raised last night: 3. It was recently revealed (in the far-too-awesome "Future Quest" comic series, uniting all of the classic H-B cartoons from JQ to Space Ghost to the Herculoids, etc.) that Dr. Zin's first name was "Archimedes." Thus, "Achilles" Chin, which seemed a much more aggressive name if just as classical. Though the inadvertent idea that "Achilles Chin has a glass jaw" has a certain pulp appeal to it. ... So, based on that (particularly #1, maybe in passing to #2), the interview above would need to be revised, but not drastically. Good questions!

Hmm. Maybe Amir was at the event at the White House, wasn't sucked through the dimensional rift, but is like... in a coma or something? So maybe he has answers, but they're locked away? Something we can use to complicate things as the game progresses. I also have thoughts about his more grown-up relationship stuff too, so that's cool.

I'm still liking that estrangement idea -- but the thought that maybe he was badly injured in that incident, maybe even crippled .. So we have this conflict between the two of them ... ... a long history of considering each other brothers, shared adventures and experiences, etc. Best of friends. except now ... ... Amir resents Jason because he's a paraplegic, but because he didn't get the nifty nanobot thing, all he gets is a fancy high-tech wheelchair, and now Jason is a hot-shot hero on his own, etc. And he's dependent on the Quill trust fund (and because he still gets lower residuals from the cartoons and toys than Jason). ... Jason resents Amir because he survived and his dad didn't. Also because he feels guilty about feeling that way. Also because Amir resents him, and he shouldn't, because he's an orphan, too, dammit. Jason needs Amir because ... ... Amir can actually use the more sophisticated systems in the Quill facilities without potentially destroying his sanity. ... Amir may actually know something (unconsciously? unwittingly?) about the incident that might help get folk back out of the rift.

Just throwing this out there, but what if his dad and Rex arranged for a close friend to be their surrogate for Jason? Might explain why they adopted Amir as well. Hard to ask such a big favor twice. (Thank/blame Canton Everett Delaware III for this idea.)

(After reading that through about eight times, starting to answer twice only changing my mind as to what you were suggesting ...) Are you suggesting, viz the Mom, that Dr Quill and Rusty (Rex? (Race?), as a couple, arranged for a surrogate mother in order to have Jason? (And, later, adopted Amir?) I think  that's what you're suggesting, which is an acceptably fun idea, though I'm not sure it answers more questions (whatever happened to Jason's mom) than it raises (so was Rusty actually a bodyguard, a life partner, both? and whatever happened to that surrogate mom and when does she step back into the picture?).

Sorry if I got the bodyguard/life partner's name mixed up. :) But yeah, that's what I was suggesting. And surrogate mom not being in the picture but still potentially AROUND raises more questions than it answers - I consider that a value-add. :) I dunno, it just seemed like a fun spin on things overall, and an interesting take on the perpetually all-male family. (In this scenario, 'my wife tragically died when the boys were very young' is just a cover story for the public.)

Completely legit idea, on all counts. I'm fine with rolling it in. I'm going to presume Jason knows (given the amount of time he's spent in company with the two of them, even if they were trying to keep it hidden he would likely have figured it out (he's not a Byron-class genius, but he's not entirely dim).  That said, I'm also going to assume they were closeted, if for no other reason that it addresses why Rusty was kept on by his agency as the bodyguard over Byron. And, as you say, it adds another character to the cast who might pop up unexpectedly.  I'm sure that's the furthest thing from the GM's mind, but just in case ... 

I've made minor edits in the article (for the record), reflecting some of the above (mostly about Amir not having died).

Oh, I'm sure Jason knows. I figure it's just one of those things where friends know, and the public can pound sand.

Oh, Jason's also probably ticked off on some level with Amir because Dad didn't make him  go off to high school, the result of which was that Jason wasn't there to save his dad. Which isn't necessarily rational, but, hey, emotions.

Oh, Amir has Brigand, the (by now very aged) corgi, too. Which probably doesn't help matters.

Excerpt from the interview "Growing Up Quill, Part 2" in People Magazine, 14 August 2017 cover date Last week we sat down with one-time child science adventurer Jason Quill at his home in Halcyon City to talk about life, cartoons, and the complicated relationships one has with an arch-nemesis. The interview continues: YOU LOST YOUR FATHER AND YOUR BODYGUARD TO DOCTOR CHIN'S FINAL PLOT. WAS THAT ALL YOU LOST? (Jason is silent for a few moments.) You mean, Amir. YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN WITH HIM MUCH SINCE THEN. (He shrugs.) YOU TWO WERE LIKE BROTHERS. Well, that was the cartoons again. People assume things were the way they were in the cartoons. SO YOU WEREN'T THAT CLOSE? No, no, it's not that. It's just -- well, real life is more complicated. (He pauses.) I'm glad he survived. BUT CRIPPLED FOR LIFE. Well, he's gotten the best care the Quill Foundation could find for him. And will continue to, right? I mean, he was an adopted member of the family, right? He's my adopted brother. Of course he gets looked after. He's got the house down in Florida, at Quill Key, you know. And he has Brigand [Jason's pet corgi] with him, too. He's all set. No, that didn't sound right, I know he's -- but I don't know what else I -- we can do for him. WAS IT HARD THAT HE SURVIVED AND YOUR FATHER DIDN'T? What the hell kind of question is that? I mean, Jesus, really? Excuse me. (Jason leaves the room for several minutes. After he returns, he says he wants to make a statement.) Look, I love Amir. I'm sure he did everything he could to save Dad, and Rusty. I'm really sorry he got hurt. I'm sorry -- sorry I wasn't there, instead of here. That's all that I have to say on the subject. Anything else, you'll need to ask him. Next question. EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NOT A SCIENCE EXPLORER ANY MORE, YOU'VE STAYED FIT. WHAT'S YOUR SECRET? (Jason looks at the interviewer for several moments, then shakes his head.) I'm afraid it's good old-fashioned working out. Rusty drummed daily exercise into us, and I've never gotten into the habit. And, of course, running around fighting crime here in Halcyon City -- that burns the calories, too. SO NO SECRET QUILL INVENTION THAT MELTS AWAY THE POUNDS? If there is, I haven't found it yet. BUT YOU DO HAVE SOME OTHER AMAZING POWERS OF YOUR OWN. (He shrugs.) The nanobots? Yeah, I guess they are pretty amazing. Dad gave them to me, as protection when I got -- was sent here to school. HOW DO THEY WORK? Man, I wish I knew. (He gives a wry chuckle.) I mean, they're Dad's invention, not anything I understand. As far as I know, nobody else in the world can figure them out. But how they work -- well, basically, when they're at rest, they're just wrapped around me like a black t-shirt. (He gestures to himself.) When I give them a command, they can move, form shapes, make new forms around me, lift me in the air, that sort of thing. ALL THROUGH THE CONTROL OF YOUR MIND. Yeah. Crazy, huh? (A black tendril forms from what seemed to be his shirt, reaches out, picks up a glass of water beside him, and holds it up for him to drink from, then puts the glass back down and vanishes.) I guess I could get pretty lazy if I wanted, so a good thing I still do all that exercising. DO YOU THINK YOUR FATHER WOULD HAVE APPROVED OF YOU USING HIS INVENTION TO BE A SUPER-HERO? Well -- I wish he were here to see me, that's for sure. FOR ALL THE LOSS IN YOUR LIFE, YOU SEEM TO HAVE GROWN UP PRETTY WELL ADJUSTED. Dad's only been gone for -- it'll be two years ago next month. I was pretty broken up -- never did do my sophomore year actually in school the way we planned. But time heals all wounds, they say. YOU LOST YOUR MOTHER, TOO, SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH. I never knew her. DID YOUR FATHER TALK ABOUT HER MUCH? Not really. It wasn't something that came up in conversation around the dinner table often. Actually, we didn't eat at the dinner table often. I know they were really good friends. YOUR FATHER NEVER DISCUSSED HER IN INTERVIEWS, AND THE RECORDS AROUND YOUR BIRTH ARE SEALED. Yeah, that was some sort of security measure. You'd probably need to talk to AEGIS or something. GROWING UP IN A HOUSEHOLD WITHOUT A WOMAN AROUND -- Yeah, well, it wasn't a normal household in a lot of ways. I mean, robots to do the sweeping up way before anyone invented a Roomba. Next question? THERE HAVE BEEN RUMORS FOR A WHILE THAT YOUR FATHER AND -- Next. question. We'll be back next week with the conclusion of our three-part very special interview with Jason Quill. What does he think about his heroic team mates? What exotic young lady has he been seeing a lot of? And what is his greatest fear for the future?

((I will confess that my housemates have been harassing me over how much fun I'm having with this.))

I am loving these interviews. No joke. "Next. Question."

Double checking: the event that took Quill's family away was 1 or 2 years ago?

Hrmph. I am painfully aware I've used both numbers. I was hoping that wouldn't be noticed.   Let's say .... June 2016 : Quill family returns to Halcyon City after a length string of adventures in Antarctica. The intent is for Jason to stay in town and enroll in Kurtzburg Academy in the fall [a fairly prestigious private school in Halcyon City; while many of its students are from well-to-do families, a number of "out" supers have their kids in attendance there, and the school has a robust merit program, funded in part by the Quill Foundation, to bring in kids from all walks of life]. Paperwork has all been filled out and arrangements made.  July 2016 : Dr Quill, Rusty, and Amir jet off to South Africa; the next thing anyone knows, they are in battle with Dr Chin in Washington, DC, in front of the White House. In the ensuing event, Chin opens up a dimensional rift (which was supposed to happen inside White House, it is speculated); Dr Quill and Rusty are sucked in, as are Dr Chin and Chin's silent bodyguard / assassin, Samar. Amir, Jason's adopted brother, manages to barely escape, but is rendered a paraplegic from the dimensional stresses. (Amir also saved Brigand, the corgi, from being lost.) August 2016 : The school year begins, but Jason opts out. Not even his business manager / trust manager, Barbara Josephs, thinks to insist upon it. Jason studies on his own. October 2016 : Jason's first public appearance representing the Quill Foundation. January 2017 : Jason's first forays as a "super-hero" in Halcyon City. Today - (X+1 month) : The first attack in the city / on Jason by Alycia Chin (who makes no bones about it being her, and why). Today - X : The Team First Comes Together. (I'm thinking this has been 2-3 months, but it hasn't been discussed. If it's further back enough to push into the dated events, we can push those back.) Today : People Magazine article, his first real media interview aside from some questions thrown at him in more formal settings, Foundation Press Conferences, etc.  Jason is scheduled to start classes in a few weeks. (All with wiggle room, obviously, esp. moving forward.) [Added note. Barbara Josephs, and her partner, Hannah Williams, are the Quill family business managers, over see the trust that looks after Jason, and play a role in the management of the Quill Foundation, which basically turns the profits of Dr Quill's patents into charitable works and directs licensed technology to ensure its proper use. One question that just came up in my mind is, who has legal guardianship of Jason. Is he emancipated? Does Josephs have that added to her duties as well? I'll ponder this, but any thoughts that add interesting complications are certainly welcome.]

I think... that X is about 2 or 3 weeks, give or take. Both Jason and Ghost Girl have been in the city a little more a year. (Well, in the city and also cognizant, in GG's case.) I'd put the magazine article back like... a week. I want it out there when the game starts. :) Or maybe it's a coming out in three consecutive weeks, so the first interview was like a day before the first team-up, and they called for follow-ups after that news hit? Something like that?

Well, those sorts of interviews certainly can run multiple issues. I (Dave) was holding off on having Jason discuss the team or Ghost Girl until after we'd actually played. :-) That said, it makes fine sense for a follow-up to be scheduled once the Derby thing happened. He really did this interview only because Josephs suggested it ("Better to set up rumors and gossip with your own agenda, than wait for someone else's"), and was hoping that would be the only one for a while (which is why I pictured it at one sitting). So it might well have been something along the lines of "We were going to run the next of the questions next week -- but with your adventure this past Sunday, we have some follow-ups that we're sure our readers would want to hear from you, rather than speculations from the tabloids ..."

Yeah, the timing on that is, I think, pretty good. So a one-sitting interview, with a rush of follow-up questions after the Derby thing. It can wait til after we play, though. :)

Excerpt from the interview "Growing Up Quill, Part 3" in People  Magazine, 22 August 2017 cover date We're back with teen science adventurer and heart-throb Jason Quill. Jason has been in the news quite a bit lately, with the Halcyon Derby Heist, a new teen team forming, and an upcoming major motion picture from Universal. We spoke to him at the Quill Foundation in Halcyon City. THERE'S A LIVE-ACTION MOVIE IN THE WORKS. So I'm told. ARE YOU DIRECTLY INVOLVED? Well, I'm supposed to say I'm in close consultation with everyone, but most of what I see are documents from the lawyers for me to sign. There might be some more people I talk with once it gets into production, and the Foundation has some sort of veto power on the script so I might get to see that before they begin shooting, but that;s about it right now. HAVE YOU MET THE DIRECTOR? Stephen Sommers? Yeah, he came and looked around here when he got signed on. I dunno -- I liked his movies growing up, but it's kind of weird having some guy who made stuff before I was born making a movie about me as a kid, y'know? HAVE THEY CAST ANY OF THE ROLES? Not that I'm allowed to tell anyone. Though I kind of was hoping they went with Russell Crowe as my Dad. I think he could pull the role off. Maybe. He's a little old, I guess. WHO DO YOU WANT TO HAVE CAST AS YOU? I don't get to make that decision. Probably just as well. I'm not much into who's who in young actors these days. I used to know all the ones on the Disney Channel -- the cool thing about satellite communications is we could watch Disney Channel in the Congo, the Antarctic or Tibet. ARE YOU PLANNING ON PLAYING A CAMEO? God, I hope not. YOU DON'T LIKE THE LIMELIGHT? I can handle it. I've been handling it since I was 7, after that thing in Sao Paolo. But -- well, look, if it's a great movie, people will think my being in it is just ego. If it's a crappy movie, people will think I pulled it down with a cameo. So -- yeah, it's not likely. YOU'RE MORE COMFORTABLE NOT BEING A PUBLIC SPECTACLE. Let's move on from all that. OKAY, HOW ABOUT THIS NEW TEAM YOU'RE ON? What about it? DO YOU HAVE A NAME YET? Yeah, every time we start talking about names, it gets pretty shouty, so, no, no name yet. Somethign will come up, or the Foundation will send it to the PR Department or something. ARE YOU FORMALLY PART OF THE QUILL FOUNDATION? No! No, but since i'm involved, they tend to get involved in stuff. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR TEAM MATES. Well -- WHAT ABOUT LINK. WHY DOES HE COVER HIMSELF UP IN THAT ARMOR? Well, duh, because it protects him in battle. THE AETHERNAUT HAS ARMOR, BUT HIS HEAD IS CLEARLY VISIBLE IN HIS BUBBLE HELM. DON'T YOU THINK PEOPLE GET UNCOMFORTABLE WITH WHEN SOMEONE'S HIDING THEIR FACE? Well ... there are a lot of heroes who still go around masked. The White Knight. Nemesis. Hyena. BUT THOSE ARE ALL SO-CALLED HEROES WITH SOMETHING TO HIDE. SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW. Well, speaking as someone who's life has been ... well, very public, I can understand not wanting everyone to know who you are. It can get kind of complicated. It doesn't mean -- well, it doesn't necessairily mean you have something bad to hide, just that you don't want to share your entire life. SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT VIGILANTES NEED TO OPERATE AS FULLY IN THE OPEN AS POSSIBLE, TO GAIN PUBLIC TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Yeah, I can kind of get that. But -- well, maybe that's what teams are for. Accountability with -- privacy. SO YOU KNOW LINK'S IDENTITY. (Jason shrugs.) HE MUST BE VERY SMART, IF HE INVENTED THAT ARMOR. Yeah, he's pretty smart. AS SMART AS YOUR FATHER? (Jason looks at the interviewer.) Really? BUT SMART. Smart. And that's a good thing for the team. BUT THEY HAVE YOU. (Jason shrugs.) EVERYONE HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT CONCORD. HE WAS NAMED "MOST ADORABLE NEW HERO" IN A TEEN VOGUE POLL. Concord is a serious hero. All of this "adorable" and "cute" and cheek-pinching -- stuff -- is -- well, it's disrespectful. IT SOUNDS LIKE HE'S A GOOD FRIEND OF YOURS. Well, we haven't spent enough time together to become good friends, and he's a lot younger, but -- well, I respect him. He's got a heavy burden to bear. IS HE LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO YOU? I think I just said we haven't spent that much time together. But I respect him, and want to protect him, just like anyone else on the team. HIS POWERS SEEM AMAZING. Yup. Watch out, bad guys. IS SOMEONE THAT YOUNG CAPABLE OF WIELDING POWERS SO REMARKABLE? (Jason pauses for a moment.) Maybe that's another reason to be on a team. SPEAKING OF A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY ON A TEEN-AGER -- MERCURY. Yeah, he's cool. HE REPRESENTS QUITE A LEGACY. Yeah. I feel for him, too. IT REMINDS YOU OF YOUR OWN LEGACY? Yeah. I mean, "Jason Quill, son of Byron Quill, the world's smartest man, science adventurer, two-time Nobel science winner, plus a Nobel Peace Prize, plus an entire room here at the Foundation for other awards and certificates and scrolls and trophies." YOU SOUND A BIT DAUNTED. No. I can't compete there. BUT YOU FEEL THAT SAME WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS. (He shrugs.) Duh. So, yeah, I know what Mercury feels there. And -- well, his parents are around. Which is cool, don't mistake me, that's the best problem to have, y'know? Hashtag #NonOrphanProblems. But if having a legacy is heavy, having that legacy there at the dinner table and at the other end of the text chat -- that's tough. IS HE UP TO THAT CHALLENGE? Well, that's another team thing -- to help him get there. AND THEN THERE'S GHOST GIRL. Let's skip talking about her. AS THE ONLY GIRL ON THE TEAM, THERE MUST BE SOME COMPETITION -- I said, let's skip this. OKAY. AND WHAT ABOUT YOU? What about me? WELL, THIS TEAM WITH NO NAME YET -- IS IT REALLY YOUR THING? What do you mean? YOU'VE BEEN SOMETHING OF A LONE WOLF. Well, not voluntarily. BUT YOU'VE CHOSEN TO END YOUR OWN SELF-IMPOSED EXILE TO JOIN THESE OTHERS. I -- don't know if I would call it that. I mean, that's -- just because I was -- you know what, forget this, I don't need this. (Jason leaves the interview.)

"Yeah, every time we start talking about names, it gets pretty shouty, so, no, no name yet." :D

We need to get this kid a girlfriend.

Heh.

Bill G. said: We need to get this kid a girlfriend. That sure seems to have been a theme. Unfortunately (except for our studio audience) it hasn't presented as just "a".