ShowTimeCon 2013 (english version)
This is a little late because I was in bed with flu for a week. Later I couldn’t post it with the work and the Easter holidays. But I had to let you know about my experience at the Showtime Con. Sorry I can’t be very precise about the questions during the panels, M&G and others. My memory isn’t very good. But I recommend you go to @DontGoWendy on twitter (she was tweeting during the convention), mytearsinheaven, or begok for great reports.
On Friday I flew from Madrid with begok and arrived very early in Bilbao. When ebo_loves_bk came, we took a walk around the old part of the city and ate some “pintxos” very typical food of the city. Later in the afternoon we visited the river. I loved Puppy, the flower dog of the Guggenheim Museum. I must say that I loved the city. It’s the first time I visited it, and I left with a very nice memory. They know how to combine old and modern art very well.
Something very curious; there are elevators that take you from the bottom to the top of the city. That evening we used it to go back to the hotel because Bego and I had to prepare us for the VIP dinner.
We did not know where the VIP dinner was going to be. We were taken by bus and found out that it was at the Guggenheim museum. All the guests were directed to their tables. Gale was accompanied by his sister Ann and his manager, Michael. Bego and I sat in front of Gale and his sister. This was the first time I saw Gale in person, I will say that yes, he is gorgeous. And indeed I was surprised. It's true that people have always said he was a dork, but you don’t really know it until you actually meet him. As soon as he sat down, he wanted to play a game. He started by wanting us to guess where every person came from, but if we knew it, we should say it wrong deliberately. Then he wanted to know names and how many of the attendees’ names began with "a" or "b", etc. He changed the game or rules of the game every second.
Halfway through dinner he wanted to play “teléfono escacharrado” (something like “broken phone”). He asked my friend Begoña to start it. The game is to tell your partner a sentence in the ear. Gale wanted it to be in Spanish. My friend said to me, “El chocolate está bueno" (The chocolate is good). It was very amused by the different nationalities, kept coming back to Begoña as “Nala Late es bueno.” His reaction was very funny. He jokingly blamed his sister for the bad translation of the sentence.
When he went out to smoke, some fans also took the opportunity to do it, and there they discovered what it’s like to see Gale do a handstand. Really, he's such a dork.
On the way back he sat near us. First, he wrote the name of a fan on a napkin with vinegar, then he decided that we should play hangman in English. Here we found out that he had damaged his finger playing football. The night was finally over, and we had to go back to the hotel, but before we left, he joked, telling us how we had to lay off. Seriously, this man is crazy but in a very good way. That night Begoña and I tried to explain to our friend how much of a dork Gale is. Then we fell asleep right away.
The opening was early on Saturday and we had the opportunity to see the three guests together. Christian Kane and Steve Carlson started saying things in Spanish, not making much sense, and Gale replied “Qué lastima” (What a pity!) It was very funny.
After that, it was the first M&G and ebo_loves_bk went to that one. Then, there was the first panel. As I said before, I don’t remember all the questions very well so I will just say what it comes to my mind. He spoke about how Brian was a “top” in every way. He was asked about his new projects but he didn’t want to talk about it. He couldn’t give details. He explained why he supports "It gets better," saying that even though he didn’t have those bad experiences as a teenager, his own heroes did, and he wanted to give his support to young people who have a hard time. He explained how Brian saw himself reflected in Justin in the scene when Justin leaves his parents' house with Brian. It was very funny when he began to mention the differences between Brian and himself. Someone asked if he received the photo of the Rise’n’Shine closing ceremony that Scott had taken. He said he did and that Scott was very good documenting everything.
About Brian&Justin’s end, he thought that Brian would have a broken heart for a long time (I still think that when we ask him about that we should never tell him Randy's version. Randy has one idea and Gale has another. It’s just my personal opinion about it). He said that Justin was special because he happened at the right time. Brian wanted to get rid of him but couldn’t because something in his mind and in his heart wouldn’t let him. Brian expressed himself through sex.
If he didn’t play Brian, he wanted to be Gus, but then he said that he wanted to be Brian... or Debbie. It was a lot of fun as he explained how hard it was to constantly kiss people with tongue as soon as you met them. Everyone ended up laughing. I really like how he answered the questions. You could see that he was intelligent and funny at the same time.
After the panel we had nothing, so we went downtown to eat. On the way back in the afternoon, we had the second panel. It was as funny as the others. He was asked if he was glad to see Randy again in the future (at the Rise'n'shine LA Convention) and if he and Randy were friends during filming. It’s a question that took him time to answer because he kept playing with the fan who was asking. He answered that absolutely yes they were friends because they had many tastes in common, and were very fortunate to be so connected because otherwise they might have killed each other. LOL!
I have to thank the fan, although she had a hard time because he didn’t stop playing with her, but it was a very funny moment. He also talked about whether or not Brian influenced Justin&Ethan’s relationship. It was another funny moment. He said he didn’t believe that Justin would leave NY. He messed around a little with the names Justin/Randy.
After the panel, we had our first photo shoot. Yes, I was very nervous. But he was lovely and I love the picture:
The next thing was the autographs. I brought two photos which Randy had signed at other conventions. When Gale saw the SLS pic he said in a very funny way, "Hahahaha," smiling all the time. It was nice. I was sorry for him because it was very difficult to write with his finger bandaged. Bego and I took the time to give him our gifts. He thanked us, saying he would open them that night.
Then there was the cocktail party. Bego and I went to the hall. Besides us, there were Italian, French, and Spanish fans at our table. The first to come to the table was Christian Kane. He was very cheerful. He told us that his father is from Sicily. I asked him about "Angel" the tv show, and he told us he was a close friend of David Boreanaz. He left saying that our table was the best. I’m sure he said that about all the tables ;)
The next to arrive was Steve Carlson. He was lovely. A much as he could, he spoke in Spanish. He told us about his upcoming shows and projects and he expected to play in Madrid and Barcelona.
Finally it was Gale’s turn. One of the French girls had her camera in hand and Gale asked if she was filming. We saw that he was uncomfortable so Bego and I started talking to him, asking if he brought us another game. Then we asked if he had been in Spain before and if he was enjoying Bilbao. He told us that he had seen a little and loved it and on Monday, he expected to see more. Ah! He recommended visiting “La Alhóndiga.” We did on Sunday, and he was absolutely right. It's beautiful.
That night we tried to explain everything to our friend. It was a very fun night and we could not stop laughing.
The last day arrived. For us, it started a little later because we didn’t have the “Coffee Break." So the first thing for us was the panel.
We had another fun time because Gale didn’t stop playing with the fan who asked about not making sacrifices when you love someone. She asked that because Brian and Justin didn’t want to sacrifice their lives for love.
Our friend told him what Randy said in Paris about his co-stars: that he would choose Michelle as producer, Peter as director and Gale as screenwriter. He joked, "You don’t know how much I paid him to say that." Everyone laughed. He was asked about the line, "For my Prince." The fan who asked the question thought it was OOC. He explained that maybe for some people it would be OOC, but it was actually a way of being more open to show his feelings to Justin because Brian wasn’t romantic. He talked about the prom and how he felt about the scene and also how “Randolph Harrison” (that’s what he called him) was a very good dancer.
At the end of the panel, Gale’s PA informed us that for the next panel we could write our questions on a paper and put them in a box and they would read the questions.
I went straight to my M&G. The atmosphere was more serious than in the other panels because there were less people, but there were also funny moments. Some Italian fans showed him a video of how he was dubbed in Italian. He told us that he’s never seen the whole “QAF” series. When he’s in hotels, he sometimes catches episodes on tv.
He was asked if he was a rebel or a nerd as a teenager. He answered jokingly that he thought he was a rebel. He told us about his musical tastes and that he likes to act, to be another character.
He talked about the differences of television vs live theater. He said in the theater, we know what the ending is, but in a tv show, that could change. The subject came up because of the change in his character on "TSC."
He told us that his expectation is to not do things that he doesn’t want to do. I asked him if he preferred stage or film. His answer was, “now film,” but that he can’t really choose because sometimes he preferred theater. So he really has no preference. I also asked him if he was a method actor. He said not necessarily because if you take it to an extreme, you can be very damaged. He advised me to watch Marlon Brando’s performance in “Last Tango in Paris." He said it’s very uncomfortable to watch because the actor did take it to the extreme, but that it was an awesome performance.
After the M&G, we had another photo shoot. This time I took one picture with Gale and another one with him and Begoña.
After lunch, Begoña had her M&G (go to her lj to read it) and we waited for her in the room. On her return, she told us about her experience.
Then it was the last panel, and they read the questions. Again he was asked about his future projects and again he didn’t answer. He doesn’t think there’s a chance for a QAF film. It would depend on too many things. The next question was one of ours. We asked why he thinks the producers changed the main storyline from Brian&Michael to Brian&Justin. He said he thought it was always the plan. (Here I remember Randy, at one of the conventions, saying that there was a change). He doesn’t regret working on QAF. His only regrets are about some choices of clothes and that Corvette. LOL!
He was asked what he remembers about his audition for QAF and said he remembers someone was scared of kissing.
A great moment was when he answered one of our questions: "If he has a personal or professional goal" to which he replied that he had to organize his closet. He thought for a moment and then said "physical closet." Of course, everyone laughed and applauded.
He knows nothing about "50 Shades of Gray" (only what he has heard) and jokingly said that it’s his favorite book. He would love to have lived in the 1920s.
His most embarrassing moment was when he got a perm when he was little and said jokingly that his mother forced him.
He wouldn’t like to be a woman for a whole day, maybe only for half a day. He doesn’t think that Brian was his greatest role. He’s still waiting for the special one. He can’t choose a special role to do in theater because there are so many.
It was funny when he tried to say a word in Basque. He’s well aware that it’s very complicated LOL.
He loves Bilbao, although in two days he couldn’t see much.
I was very happy to see that they read the note I had written. I thanked him for his work as Brian Kinney and asked that since he had lot of scenes with Randy, “how was it working with him?” He answered that it was great, that they were very lucky that they saw many things in the same way. He repeated “great” several times.
He told us about sticking Peter’s cell phone to the table.
In his free time he looks for work. A fan asked his family’s reaction to QAF. He replied that he couldn’t answer for his family. His favorite QAF episode is the one that we have never seen. Really, I love the way he answered ;)
The next was the autographs. This time each guest was at a different table. First, Begoña and I went to Gale. He was nice as always. This time I gave him a photo to sign that I like very much. I asked about the gifts. He promised he would open them that night, that he couldn’t do it before. The next to sign was Chris Kane, I thanked him for coming to Bilbao. Steve Carlson was also very kind, speaking in Spanish.
After a little bit of waiting came the closing. The organizers thanked everyone who made the convention possible and apologized that the guests couldn’t come to say goodbye. This was a small disappointment. But I do have a very good memory of this convention. Zarata Events did an amazing job. Thank you very much. I hope they can do a QAF Convention next year. I'll be there.
We did more sightseeing and as Gale suggested, went to “La Alhóndiga.” It was as wonderful as he said. We laughed a lot during dinner and then returned to the hotel because the next day we had to travel back home.
Girls, begok and ebo_loves_bk , I love you! Thank you very much for everything. It was an amazing weekend.
I took with me a very good memory of Gale. He seems very intelligent and knows how to answer questions. Following this convention I am more Gandy than ever. Don’t think of it as bad. I don’t mean the shipping. I could never choose between Gale and Randy even though others have their favorite. For me they are two very good actors, and they both have charismatic personalities. They are very different and yet very similar, more than people realize, so I can’t choose and I am more Gandy ;)
I can’t go to the Rise'nShine convention in LA. I hope that if you can go, you enjoy it a lot, as I have done with this one and the other cons I’ve attended. They were all wonderful.
To view the photos click on them, and for more click here:
Day 2 Panel-0 Opening in the morning, Day 2 Panel-1 In the Morning, Day 2 Panel-2 In the Afternoon, Day 3 Panel-3 In the Morning & Day 3 Panel-4 In the Afternoon.
I hope that in some way I’ve helped you experience, even a little, how great the convention was. Thank you so much for reading.
Bekie ♥
P.S. -> I want to thank someone special that has helped me with my horrible English. You know who you are, thank you very much for EVERYTHING from the bottom of my heart ♥
begok thank you so much for the beautiful banner ♥