My Ten Inch Hero Experience and associated travels
My Ten Inch Hero Experience and associated travels
Up, posted on LJ and out the door before 4AM. Couple hours driving, parked, got on the ferry, which for me as a born and bred Vancouver Island girl has always been synonymous with 'the start of an adventure', so YAY!
I rode the Queen of Coquitlam both ways (and those with dirty minds can spin whatever entendres from that your hearts desire.) On the way there there was a glorious sunrise that I tried to take many many photos of, so hopefully something will turn out from those. Here's the best two:
Got into a huge, long, fascinating conversation with a random person on the boat about Pre-Olympic economy, the Vancouver film industry, and a number of other topics of which I know very little but can spin a line of utter bull for days. Was fangirled (no seriously, they were freaking because I knew how to use "the Google") by her and her friends for having the bus schedule, maps and fares printed out and with me. Apparently I saved their life with this. *eyeroll*
Anyway, caught bus. It was a bendy bus! Like two buses joined together with an accordion. I've been on them before, but still think they're so cool. I was grinning like a moron every time we went around a corner. Went perfect with me gawping at all the tall buildings on the way through downtown and grinning at the building they used as the Phoenix Foundation headquarters in MacGyver. Talked to random people on the bus who talked with me. Yay for being social!
Bus transfer had me sprinting a Vancouver city block, which seriously is only about ten feet long so no big deal. More gaping at buildings. I am such a tourist. Few photos though, except one because the Canada Place Sails were visible at the end of the street at the transfer point. Might turn out, let's see:
Got to the theatre at 9:30AM. Arg. Also, no notice of the screening anywhere on the marquee, but this is apparently normal for a screening I found out later. Discovered a coffee shop 4 blocks away that did kick-ass iced mocha frappe things. Drank coffee and tried to beat Part 3 of Quantum Rock into cooperating. No luck there. Arg again. :-(
Went back at about 10:30AM and one other person was there, we chatted and milled around. She writes the reviews of Supernatural and Reaper on SyFy Portal and another one I missed the name of. She was very nice. Not part of the con, just there for the movie.
Other people showed up and I tried talking to some of the con people, but they were already kind of grouped off and I didn't want to butt in, so I just kind of hung back and hid. Also I apparently managed to hide from the online ticket purchasing list, as I wasn't on it. Always print out your receipts. I would've been quite annoyed about coming all that way an then not being allowed in. Proof is always good.
Theatre was very nice, kind of an old-style layout and a smallish screen. Apparently they were running Rocky Horror at midnight as well. Seats verrrry comfortable, and nice high backs so you can sit and lean back without displacing a vertebrae. Soft and squashy, with cupholders. More comfy than my squashiest furniture.
Got into a half conversation with another person not there by way of the con, she'd heard about it on the Ten Inch Hero myspace page. I say half conversation because in a room with a lot of background noise and sound absorbing furniture I'm pretty much useless at hearing anything unless I'm looking straight at a person and can see their lips move. Half the time couldn't even tell she was saying anything. She seemed nice though. I think she said she had something to do with TV Guide, but I have no idea.
Got some iced coffee from theatre concession (avoid!! is unpleasantly fruity...) and kind of started talking to people in the line up and one of them is a production assistant on Supernatural! She was very nice about getting fangirled and had an entourage from the con claiming her as theirs. She was also very, very good about not giving out any spoilers, since the cast and crew is apparently under strict orders not to share details. All she would say is "There's some beautiful shots coming up, but I can't say what for. You'll like them." I kind of scurried off then and hid some more.
Back into the theatre. Theatre was about half to a third full, definitely not just con people and SPN fans. About 20% of the audience was male, which I don't know why I found surprising, but I did. There were some suit-type people mixed in as well, so it was a bit of a variegated mix.
They set up a mike and speakers for the front. Then David MacKay (the director of Ten Inch Hero who I had no idea would even be there, so OMG!) came up and introduced the movie and said there'd be some Q and A later. o.O
Now, the movie.
ROCKED!!! OMG IT ROCKED!!! Seriously! I'm about the last person in the world who would be seeing or recommending a romantic comedy that didn't involve zombies, but this movie? Rocked. Ten Inch Hero is awesome and quirky without being all quirk and I highly recommend it to anyone. (Well, except mom, because there's kind of nudity and sex in it.)
All the characters were fascinating to watch. I'd forgotten the actress who plays Julia, the little girl, is now playing Molly Walker on Heroes and she is such a talented little actress! She's astounding and just so damned cute! I hadn't known one of the character's love interests was played by the same actress who played the Borg Queen in one of the Star Trek movies that didn't suck, so I was a little distracted by that because I'm an idiot, but she was really good too. Also, Elisabeth Harnois is just as cute as a bug's ear! I want a pocket-sized version of her to keep in my desk drawer and feed Cheetos.
Okay, maybe that's a little creepy. Sorry.
I'll avoid plot-specific details, but the basic theme of the movie: If you judge people by appearances and the front they present, you will never truly know them. Something more people should take to heart. *nods*
It was funny, and touching, and awesome, and I found even the occasional "oh really?" plot-twist acceptable because it was tremendous fun. I got that nifty time-dilation effect from it (where it feels like you've been watching the characters for weeks and getting involved in their lives, not just watching two hours of mindless entertainment). To me, this is a sign that it got my focussed attention with little effort, and that is something that not many movies or TV shows can do, absorb me in the world that fully.
ETA: I've posted some detailed gushing about Jensen Ackles' performance in the movie here, if anyone's interested.
Applause at the end, which was cool because the guy who made the movie was right there to hear it.
He gave a great rundown of a bunch of stuff that happened during production, and some cute anecdotes about the van and this crane, which I think got reported on when it was going through the festivals. The way he talked about Jensen Ackles' enthusiasm to make the movie, even after a couple years of delays and setbacks was awesome. I like that Jensen's so enthusiastic about his work and projects that interest him and it makes me really look forward to stuff he'll do in the future.
David MacKay also gave a great, long, rambling and thoroughly awesome account of how he got into the film industry that I think, again, other people at previous showings have mentioned. It could easily be a movie in itself. It'd be funny as hell.
He did say progress was being made towards distribution and things were looking 'optimistic' so cross your fingers, Ten Inch Hero may get a wider release yet. When it comes out on DVD, whenever that might be, I'm totally buying it.
Anyway, couldn't stick around for the $10 open party thing at the con due to time window rapidly closing, so started the 6+ hour trip home. No kick-ass sunset on the boat on the way back, just a plain one, so no pics of that. Just some of the dock area and the coast mountains behind the boat.
And now I'm home! And passing out at the keyboard here, so I'm going to go sleep before I have to drive another 4 hours tomorrow. :-)
Up, posted on LJ and out the door before 4AM. Couple hours driving, parked, got on the ferry, which for me as a born and bred Vancouver Island girl has always been synonymous with 'the start of an adventure', so YAY!
I rode the Queen of Coquitlam both ways (and those with dirty minds can spin whatever entendres from that your hearts desire.) On the way there there was a glorious sunrise that I tried to take many many photos of, so hopefully something will turn out from those. Here's the best two:
Got into a huge, long, fascinating conversation with a random person on the boat about Pre-Olympic economy, the Vancouver film industry, and a number of other topics of which I know very little but can spin a line of utter bull for days. Was fangirled (no seriously, they were freaking because I knew how to use "the Google") by her and her friends for having the bus schedule, maps and fares printed out and with me. Apparently I saved their life with this. *eyeroll*
Anyway, caught bus. It was a bendy bus! Like two buses joined together with an accordion. I've been on them before, but still think they're so cool. I was grinning like a moron every time we went around a corner. Went perfect with me gawping at all the tall buildings on the way through downtown and grinning at the building they used as the Phoenix Foundation headquarters in MacGyver. Talked to random people on the bus who talked with me. Yay for being social!
Bus transfer had me sprinting a Vancouver city block, which seriously is only about ten feet long so no big deal. More gaping at buildings. I am such a tourist. Few photos though, except one because the Canada Place Sails were visible at the end of the street at the transfer point. Might turn out, let's see:
Got to the theatre at 9:30AM. Arg. Also, no notice of the screening anywhere on the marquee, but this is apparently normal for a screening I found out later. Discovered a coffee shop 4 blocks away that did kick-ass iced mocha frappe things. Drank coffee and tried to beat Part 3 of Quantum Rock into cooperating. No luck there. Arg again. :-(
Went back at about 10:30AM and one other person was there, we chatted and milled around. She writes the reviews of Supernatural and Reaper on SyFy Portal and another one I missed the name of. She was very nice. Not part of the con, just there for the movie.
Other people showed up and I tried talking to some of the con people, but they were already kind of grouped off and I didn't want to butt in, so I just kind of hung back and hid. Also I apparently managed to hide from the online ticket purchasing list, as I wasn't on it. Always print out your receipts. I would've been quite annoyed about coming all that way an then not being allowed in. Proof is always good.
Theatre was very nice, kind of an old-style layout and a smallish screen. Apparently they were running Rocky Horror at midnight as well. Seats verrrry comfortable, and nice high backs so you can sit and lean back without displacing a vertebrae. Soft and squashy, with cupholders. More comfy than my squashiest furniture.
Got into a half conversation with another person not there by way of the con, she'd heard about it on the Ten Inch Hero myspace page. I say half conversation because in a room with a lot of background noise and sound absorbing furniture I'm pretty much useless at hearing anything unless I'm looking straight at a person and can see their lips move. Half the time couldn't even tell she was saying anything. She seemed nice though. I think she said she had something to do with TV Guide, but I have no idea.
Got some iced coffee from theatre concession (avoid!! is unpleasantly fruity...) and kind of started talking to people in the line up and one of them is a production assistant on Supernatural! She was very nice about getting fangirled and had an entourage from the con claiming her as theirs. She was also very, very good about not giving out any spoilers, since the cast and crew is apparently under strict orders not to share details. All she would say is "There's some beautiful shots coming up, but I can't say what for. You'll like them." I kind of scurried off then and hid some more.
Back into the theatre. Theatre was about half to a third full, definitely not just con people and SPN fans. About 20% of the audience was male, which I don't know why I found surprising, but I did. There were some suit-type people mixed in as well, so it was a bit of a variegated mix.
They set up a mike and speakers for the front. Then David MacKay (the director of Ten Inch Hero who I had no idea would even be there, so OMG!) came up and introduced the movie and said there'd be some Q and A later. o.O
Now, the movie.
ROCKED!!! OMG IT ROCKED!!! Seriously! I'm about the last person in the world who would be seeing or recommending a romantic comedy that didn't involve zombies, but this movie? Rocked. Ten Inch Hero is awesome and quirky without being all quirk and I highly recommend it to anyone. (Well, except mom, because there's kind of nudity and sex in it.)
All the characters were fascinating to watch. I'd forgotten the actress who plays Julia, the little girl, is now playing Molly Walker on Heroes and she is such a talented little actress! She's astounding and just so damned cute! I hadn't known one of the character's love interests was played by the same actress who played the Borg Queen in one of the Star Trek movies that didn't suck, so I was a little distracted by that because I'm an idiot, but she was really good too. Also, Elisabeth Harnois is just as cute as a bug's ear! I want a pocket-sized version of her to keep in my desk drawer and feed Cheetos.
Okay, maybe that's a little creepy. Sorry.
I'll avoid plot-specific details, but the basic theme of the movie: If you judge people by appearances and the front they present, you will never truly know them. Something more people should take to heart. *nods*
It was funny, and touching, and awesome, and I found even the occasional "oh really?" plot-twist acceptable because it was tremendous fun. I got that nifty time-dilation effect from it (where it feels like you've been watching the characters for weeks and getting involved in their lives, not just watching two hours of mindless entertainment). To me, this is a sign that it got my focussed attention with little effort, and that is something that not many movies or TV shows can do, absorb me in the world that fully.
ETA: I've posted some detailed gushing about Jensen Ackles' performance in the movie here, if anyone's interested.
Applause at the end, which was cool because the guy who made the movie was right there to hear it.
He gave a great rundown of a bunch of stuff that happened during production, and some cute anecdotes about the van and this crane, which I think got reported on when it was going through the festivals. The way he talked about Jensen Ackles' enthusiasm to make the movie, even after a couple years of delays and setbacks was awesome. I like that Jensen's so enthusiastic about his work and projects that interest him and it makes me really look forward to stuff he'll do in the future.
David MacKay also gave a great, long, rambling and thoroughly awesome account of how he got into the film industry that I think, again, other people at previous showings have mentioned. It could easily be a movie in itself. It'd be funny as hell.
He did say progress was being made towards distribution and things were looking 'optimistic' so cross your fingers, Ten Inch Hero may get a wider release yet. When it comes out on DVD, whenever that might be, I'm totally buying it.
Anyway, couldn't stick around for the $10 open party thing at the con due to time window rapidly closing, so started the 6+ hour trip home. No kick-ass sunset on the boat on the way back, just a plain one, so no pics of that. Just some of the dock area and the coast mountains behind the boat.
And now I'm home! And passing out at the keyboard here, so I'm going to go sleep before I have to drive another 4 hours tomorrow. :-)