Hot Fudge #2

Day two of the LA convention saw some real good times.

We were spoilt right from the get-go: some excellent music videos (including one everyone needs to look for on You Tube: "The New Face of Sexy" by the brilliantly talented Lsketch42) followed by onstage Q&A with Richard Speight Jr. He shared wonderful anecdotes from 'Band of Brothers', the films he's made (and helped to re-write) and, for the benefit of those of us seeing him for the first time, he also shared his story of him and Jared's dogs ("So I walk into Jared's trailer and the first thing I think is 'oh God, I'm afraid of dogs!' and the second thing is 'this ain't Jensen's trailer!'"). His recounting of the great peanut campaign for 'Jericho' was hilarious, not to mention very interesting... He fielded all of his questions with great humour and grace, and it's easy to see why he's become a convention favourite.

Then came a very funny, very enjoyable 50 minutes as Charles Malik Whitfield (Agent Henrikson) took the stage. So very different from his on-screen character, he was laugh-out-loud good. He recounted filming experiences, told anecdotes, and shared his disbelief of being his demon captor exorcised via a toilet bowl of holy water in the episode 'Jus In Bello'. His description of the scene and how it was shot, as well as his desire to believe that Henrikson didn't actually die for good, kept all of us fans laughing and applauding. It was a real shame to see him go. And no, he didn't need CGI or black contacts for the time he was possessed - he's just that damned good...

Next guest: Samantha Smith (originial Mary Winchester). She shared her feelings on season four's in the beginning episode, including Young Mary and how the whole deal went down with the demon. Quieter than Malik and perhaps a little shell-shocked, nevertheless she was funny and brought a welcome difference of opinion to it all. She spoke about how they manage to set people alight on ceilings, on not kissing Josh Duhamel in 'Transformers 2', and how she got into acting from modelling. Engaging and relaxing, her hour sped by.

Next up was Jason Manns, singer/songwriter extraordinaire. He too was warm and funny, and much as I remember him from last year. You know when you meet someone and you have certain conceptions of what they're like, and then you see them again and they're nothing like that? Well he's not different at all - he's just the same and he's still ace. I managed to get a t-shirt and a new live CD by him, so I was happy (and yes, he signed it too).

A quick trip for a photo with Jason, and then autographs with Richard Speight Jr and Charles Malik Whitfield later, and we were in Champions sports bar eating proper cheeseburgers (and the only thing I eat when I'm out, apart from lasagne, a Philly Cheese Steak). It was just two hours till the combined Jason and Steve Carlson concert, so we had to get food and alcohol down us.



Ok, skip back to the concert featuring first Jason Manns and then Steve Carlson (so glad to see others dancing too, it wasn't just us!). It was excellent fun, and the whole thing sped by like Time was on rollerskates. After it started and finished late due to technical issues, we hurried round the corner to the next conference room to be seated for the dessert party.

It was Dean's Pie a la Mode Dessert Party, and we could sit wherever we like in the massive ballroom made for 500 patrons. We found our two favourite Buckets In Training, brand new ace friends, and sat together. Apple pie with ice-cream and Official Soupdragon High-Octane Fuel (vodka) was in abundance, and then the guests arrived. Richard Speight Jr, Samantha Smith, Jason Manns, Steve Carlson, Charles Malik Whitfield and of course the reason everyone had hared round so fast to get their arse in a seat: Misha Collins.

Like speed-dating with the stars, each guest had two minutes sitting at each table, chatting freely with guests. Everyone was exceptional: funny, personable, hot. And the funniest thing: when Misha Collins does a man-chuckle he scrunches his nose up. As if the man could not get any more edible...

And that was Saturday. It was getting up to one or even two in the morning before we crawled into bed, happy and tired.

I have few rules in my life, because I believe in as little stress as possible. Pretty much the only rules I have are as follows:

1) Do not drink blue drinks.
2) Do not eat the green wobbly bit.
3) If it won't give, kick it.
4) Do not brave a Sunday before at least noon.

The last rule was about to be broken; a breakfast including both Jensen and Jared was scheduled for 8am SUNDAY MORNING and I would just have to be there. Oh, but that's another post...

Hot Fudge #1

A quick on the spot report from LA, where the Soupdragon is currently vacationing. Y'know, taking in the sights (Winchesters and angels), listening to the stars (Tricksters, back-stabbing Jakes and innocent Obi-Wans/Andys) and general photo-taking, autographing and shopping mayhem.

It's the LA SPN convention: day one.

A quick squiz round the vendors' room to make sure we have autographing material later and we're queueing for Gabriel Tigerman autographs. He's a bouncy wee soul, very Andy-ish behind his desk. We bounce off to catch Julie McNiven (Anna Milton, A.K.A. Anna the angel) on stage. Very sweet and amusing, she was finally asked the question everyone really wanted to ask but were afraid to: "what was it like to make out with Jensen?"

"He was a perfect gentleman about it, and he just made sure I was as comfortable as possible the whole time." The first inkling she had that perhaps kit-shedding was on the cards for her character was when she was told by the wardrobe department that she would need to be fitted for underwear. But hey-ho, that's the job.

Later in the day we saw Alona Tal (Jo Harvelle), and she was hilarious. She was definitely up for sharing and dishing, and very funny and personable to boot. She talked about her dark scene with possessed Sam ("Born Under A Bad Sign") and her enjoyment of the whole danger of what the scene could have turned into. She was quizzed on her work on Veronica Mars too, and it was clear she loved sharing info on the shows she's been on and the stars ages worked with.

Autographs from Gabriel, Julie and Alona later and it's time for a cup of tea!

The late night Purple Night karaoke party went ahead apparently without a hitch - as the sounds of people stumbling back to their rooms on our floor will atest.

Next post: Saturday's guests, tea, famous people, tea, laughs and more tea. Promise.

And hopefully, I'll be able to add some pictures at some point! When I can find a way to get them from my phone / camera over here...

SPN'ised, dude!

Yeah, dude, the Soupdragon totally got, like, Supernaturalised. And just 3 weeks, 1 day and 16 hours before she gets to the SPN Los Angeles Convention (can you say: ‘way too excited!’ yet?)


So if you happen to be in LA around the end of March and see a European English bird that fits this description (and answers to ‘TozaBoma’), shake my hand and we’ll buy each other several pints/beers/Purple Nurples.

Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Tags:
convention ~ Supernatural

Asylum - Day Three (11.05.08)

They felt the love of 1200 people.

The 3rd day started of bad as I had missed the fact that Steve and Jason were performing live on Saturday night and since I was commuting to the event I wasn't around to see them.
Apparently the sound was really bad though and no one could understand what they were saying between the songs.

Wow, well, were to begin. Well, autographs session turned out to be a real pain for the actors and it was like factory work it seemed. Would have been easier to put the fans on conveyor belts and have them slowly swoosh past. My friend V was the last to get an autograph signed by Travis, the new hero of the crowd, and he looked so exhausted, I felt bad when I had to take one last photo of him and V for her, but, this can be said that he tried to keep his game face on right up to the very last minute.

But well before this, AJ and Travis had a Q&A session together and not only did they spoil us with their great slo-mo walk, but also some cool lines from Ghostfacers. So what's the deal with those webisode? Are they really going to happen CW? What are your plans, hm?


Also a precious moment: This little girl had a question and AJ & Travis invited her to come to the stage and she became part of the show; it reminded me a little bit of Sesame Street - anyone else thought that?

The rest of the afternoon was really just filled with the autograph hunt and I decided to get at least a couple since I had not much else to do - I got Steve Carlson and Jason Manns (also bought a CD which is fantastic stuff!) and even got AJ's who said he was feeling fantastic, a bit like an insane and broken record, especially funny because I don't remember having asked him how he was. I said " I bet you do" and smiled.

I must say, up close all these guys are just normal guys. I never felt intimidated or weak round the knees and since they are sort of my age it just feels like I could have been to school with them at some point in a very weird and twisted universe.

A memorable moment, for which I took no pictures (yet many others have and the pictures will surely be popping up on the net over the next few days) was the closing ceremony. It felt like the actors were saying goodbye after they had finished their first successful play in front of an eager British and very thankfull audience.

I am still somewhat happy that the 2 J's weren't there, the whole event had such a cosy comfy feeling to it. At one point Katie and Laura stood next to me at the door of the Q&A room and I didn't realise it at first...everything got to a certain point where everything was just normal.
Then suddenly AJ talked to my friend V as we passed them in the corridor and it again just felt normal, and later, when another new friend I made had a chat with Jason and Steve I just sat there, again taking it all in.

Oh, and big Kudos to Jim. He stayed behind in the Lobby still signing autographs and talking to some hardcore fans while AJ & Travis (with girlfriend?) were hiding behind the bar getting their well deserved drinks.

I hope those fans let you go eventually, you are such a nice guy. Hope you have some great remaining holidays in the UK and get to see lots of cool things. Don't forget to blog about it.

And in case anyone needs to know: There will be another convention next year.

I now need to rest my weary head and tomorrow I am off to Birmingham again, to see Jason Manns, Steve Carlson and the Life of Riley live at the Opal Lounge; I'll have to post something about that then, won't I.


-posted by Nana (near death)-

Asylum - Day Two (10.05.08)

It's day two and I am overwhelmed, yet I wonder by what.

First things first: I overslept this morning as I only had 4 hours sleep last night and as I went to fuel up my hungry car I noticed that I had no cooling fluid left (weird) so I had to buy a bottle, fill it all in and was on my way to Birmingham again.

While driving on the M6 I was having my breakfast, just a sandwich, no cereals, it's awkward to eat with a spoon whilst driving.

When I arrived at the Hilton there was no nice guy this time to help with the ticket so I had to lean half way out the window today…fudge, nearly fell out.

Of course I arrived late to the 1st Q&A with Sterling & Jim, which I was looking forward to the most, but managed to find a free seat pretty much at the front which was nice. My new friend V was nowhere to be found in the crowd, so I sat there listening to the first guests of the day telling their stories.

The Q&A was very interesting and funny. When someone asked Jim what ever happened to the dog (Rumsfeld) he smirked and said he ate it. Now that’s the spirit.

I had my doubt about Sterling, because I really don't like Gordon, but it turns out Sterling is a really funny guy in real life as opposed to the character, which makes him an excellent actor I guess.

In a way it was almost nice that none of the J's where here, it gave the other guys much more of a deserved chance to shine.

After the Q&A I tried to find my friend and found myself buying rather spontaneously a coffee lounge ticket with Jim for 15 quid (another 1,75 went to the Hilton for the unplanned use of their cash machine, dammit).

(coffee lounge with Jim Beaver)

Before the coffee it was Sam Ferris turn at the Q&A though and although she complained about airplane hair(whatever that means, I missed the beginning of the session) she was strangely what I expected: A cool woman who uses the word "hot" to describe guys. Many questions were asked if she and Dean would get together...oh yes the questions...there were so many of them...their Freudian value rather disputable though. I am still not sure what the small kids where doing there - is that the age range Supernatural should attract?

My friend had a photo shoot with Chad and complained about the outcome but I think it looks great. I reminded her that all these actors know "how" to look for the camera and that every common schmuck like us will look just weird next to them (my reason for not booking a shoot, I need not to be depressed about my looks even more).

The coffee lounge was fun (though I missed Chad's Q&A) yet there was no coffee (I am not impressed with the Hilton, not to mention the water stains on the ceilings everywhere in the Hotel and electric faults in the rooms) - I kept quiet during the intimate 20 people gig with Jim Beaver and just enjoyed taking it all in. A feisty German girl with a distinguishable accent sitting next to Jim lay into him with the questions; am I the only one who gets a little embarrassed by some fans?
Jim's PA was really kind and we ended up having a photoround and now I have my picture taken with a star anyways and I look as ridiculous as expected. I'm such a schmuck, dammit.

Next was a lunch break and V had a club sandwich for 13 quid which is outrageous considering that she had to wait nearly half an hour for it, I had my coffee this time.

After lunch it would have been AJ Buckleys turn but to this minute I am not sure if he even made it to this country yet, or ever will, so to bridge the gap they showed the episode "Born Under a Bad Sign" on the convention screen and I must say the Winchesters are certainly suited for the big screen and the surround sound was awesome! Exorcism can be so cool!

Next up was Travis and I have forgotten his last name now. Sorry Dude, I'll look you up in my pamphlet. He started of a little shy but soon became the highlight of the afternoon and a very entertaining stand-up comedian. Dude, your rendition of the Ghostfacers theme tune was AWESOME! What can I say? Travis isn't as geeky as his character Harry Spengler and he has an excellent timing for comedy and if his action figure does one day go into production, I'd buy it - after I have seen him do the special moves I am convinced.

Towards the end of the day it was the girls turn, Katie and Lauren and I must say I was quite surprised how high pitch their voices are compared to how they sound on the show.
Someone has asked Katie about her high heel boots which she bought in Atlanta....there was more, but I admit I forgot, as I was watching the clock. If I managed to leave the car park in just under 8 hours I'd only have to pay 8 pounds as oppose to 12.

Now, for tomorrow I have the chance to get my autographs but after seeing all these lost souls littering the halls, waiting in endless never shifting cues awaiting their turn while the rest had fun at the Q&A's, I am not so sure I want to get into the waiting line for hell just yet. I guess I'll make my mind up spontaneously tomorrow - I can't really say that someones signature tickles my fancy, at least not as much as the girl that actually started jumping with excitement screaming "squeee" after Jim had signed something for her after the coffee lounge.

All in all it was a great day and all of the guys from the show seem to be wonderful people and enjoy what they are doing - even this convention- although to them it's probably just another gig answering the same old questions over and over again.

I am certainly looking forward to tomorrow.



-posted by Nana (just another number in the crowd)-

Asylum - Day One (09.05.08)

Fresh from the Asylum 2008 in Birmingham...

Today was registration day. People from all over (I think even the USA; don't they have enough conventions of their own?) arrived by the bucket load.

The Met Hilton was easy to find by car and the friendly guy at the gate helped me with the ticket since my left hand drive (the only real drive) isn’t made for British gates...I usually put the car in neutral an climb over but at the Hilton the ticket machine is almost a mile away form the window, all leaning out in the world didn't help.

Once inside the Hilton the first thing that hit me was the noise, triggering an instant reaction of wanting to run away. I haven't come to the convention to meet up with friends, although a few days ago I contacted one of my before unknown myspace friends who happened to attend this Convention on her own as well, taking the train up from London, so we decided to join our demon hunting forces and met up...not an easy task in this crowd.

Her train was late and my calls went to voice mail, so I grabbed my Convention pass and the brochure and placed myself in one of the very comfy lobby chairs near the reception, reading the pamphlet and watching people meet and greet and hug and scream.

I spotted some very exciting outfits, though the warm summer temperatures made people wear tank tops and flip flops already.

Registration day wasn't really that exciting I thought and finally my phone rang. It was my new friend V who had arrived but I could not hear a word she was saying, as the reception area was still filled with noise equal to an airport or busy train station. I asked her what she was wearing but couldn't understand her. A few minutes later I got a text saying that she was near the door, which was more or less behind me, so I looked around and leaning forward to look past a bunch of teenage girls that had shifted to my right and there I spotted a girl that looked like it could be V. She was talking on the phone and as she saw me leaning forward I put a questioning look on and said V's name silently and probably overdoing it a bit. She smiled back and nodded and that's how we met.

Not really Supernatural but kind of funny as it reminded me of the scene in Provenance when Dean lent forward into the frame.

Next thing we knew we had time to kill and had a drink in the lobby, which may I say was fudging ridiculously overpriced with 4 quid for a glass full of ice and the remaining space filled up with Coke, and I kept saying to V. that I am not financing Paris Hilton's lifestyle with this. Even the cash machine charged me 1.75 for 10 Pounds! I was surprised that the soap in the toilets was free after all.

We had a great chat; V. is good fun to talk to. Behind us were a group of girls from Scotland I believe and they suddenly started shouting and screaming "Ash" - we both shuddered and frowned and felt quite embarrassed since the lobby was filled with lots of suits and business men. What must they be thinking of us?

I then said to V that these girls would be easy to work up and that we should have some fun tomorrow and start pointing and shouting "oh my god, there is xxx!" - and they would probably believe it and start screaming like hell.

We will see.


Well, that was basically it for Day One, not much else to report. On my way out I had to pay 5 quid parking which will amount to 12 quid tomorrow for a full day on Saturday and again on Sunday.

What have I done!




-posted by Nana (very tired)-