Creation Con's Salute to Supernatural: Vancouver (Friday & Saturday)
Okay, a few things to preface what promises to be a monster entry. First, I'm using my wee mini laptop, upon which I do not type so well, so there will be typos. (I'll try to correct them when I'm back on my main laptop, back home.) Second, I will not be using LJ-cuts despite the length I'm sure this entry will soon have. Why? Because I will be using cuts for anything that might be the least bit spoilery for season 6. The actors are really adept at avoiding spoilers so I've got nothing major here, but I know I have some serious spoiler-phobes who ocassionally stop by this here LJ, so I'll put anything of that nature behind cuts. :) [I will, however, not be worrying about anything that's already aired in the US-- which is to say everything to the end of season 5.] AND I'm well aware that the pictures here are not great. I have a fabulous little point and click-- which just isn't enough for this kind of situation. I'm including them anyway, and took them anyway, because they're my experience, y'know? There are lots of better pictures out there from this con, though.
ALSO, for more in-depth information about the con, about panels and things, you should really visit all the information found at the round-up on SuperWiki here, as put together by Missyjack. So much web scouring clearly went into that compilation!
Also, since I'm making this a public, fandom entry, bits about my own travel will likely show up in other, friends only entries. Also, also, and, and, I assume for the purposes of this LJ entry that you know what the Yarn!chesters are. 'Cause I had 7 of them with me (8 if you include the second Castiel) and pretty much on display on my bag the whole time, so they come up a bit below.
So, the con!
FRIDAY
12:40pm Katherine Boecher (Lilith)
Which is to say, "comely dental hygenist" Lilith. Kathering Boecher was a wonderful guest. I believe she said this was her third con, and she was poised, funny and personable. She answered questions about her preparation for Lilith (she didn't want to imitate any of the previous incarnations, but rather did her own research on Lilith and her baby eating ways) and how she reconciled child!Lilith with adult/sexy!Lilith (she thinks that they're two facets of the same thing.) If she could have played any character on Supernatural other than Lilith, she'd have liked to have played Lucifer himself. She repeated her story (at a con-goer's request) from the NJ con (apparently) about her first meeting Jared on set. Evidently filming the bed scene was the first thing she'd ever done with them, and she had to pat the bed and be seductive, and then run her hand along Jared's leg. She was then afraid that somehow such a firm leg was goign to eat her hand. Also, she wanted more takes. :) If she weren't an actor, she'd want to be a stunt-person, although Jackie Chan (with whom she did a movie), told her not to, that she should do ballet instead, and she was all, "Oh... that's... badass..."
1:20 Supernatural Yes/No Game
Basically this was an elimination trivia game. I didn't play, but was gratified to realize I knew all the easy questions, most of the medium questions and some of the hard ones. I'd have been in any of the rounds a fairly significant portion (unless stage fright had gotten to me.) Twice contestants finagled their way into staying because the questions weren't specific enough.
1:55pm Matt Cohen (Young John Winchester)
To be honest, I'd not been all that interested in this panel originally, but I was happily mistaken. He was charming and sweet and funny (and a bit crazy.) Matt seems to be getting really into the whole convention thing, and thanked the fans a number of times. I will admit, too, that the short sleeved t-shirt-- which he wore because the fans at the Parsippany, NJ con told him he always ought to-- did rather nice things for him... :D He has a rather short hair cut at the moment because he just finished filming a spot on NCIS. He seems like a really interesting guy who takes acting seriously (but not too seriously), and I'll keep an eye out for future work by him. His comments about his work on show for teens called South of Nowhere was really interesting-- apparently he played an exboyfriend who really supported his exgirlfriend when she realizes she's gay, and he's gotten some fan feedback from that about how appreciative teens struggling with sexual identity were.
Between here we left the con for a wihle since the con activities were photos with Matt Cohen-- which none of us bought, private meet and greets with actors-- which none of us could afford, photos with Jason Manns-- which none of us wanted (or bought).*
3:50pm Aldis Hodge (Jake Talley)
Previously I had not understood what the draw for Aldis Hodge was-- at least for non-Leverage fans-- since he'd only been in two episodes and, y'know, stabbed Sammy in the second. But as it turns out, not only is he gorgeous and talented, but he's also really funny. He, too, admits he doesn't quite unerstand the fans-- he expected animosity for the guy who killed Sam!-- but we love him. Because he rocks. He got a few Leverage questions, about which I can tell you nothing since I don't watch the show, and some questions of the "If you could be any character other than Jake on Supernatural..." variety. (I think he said the YED.) There were some questions, too, about Jake's seeming change in motivation. Also, apparently Aldis geeks over watches, which is cool. Oh, and he did voice-over work for Grand Theft Auto and seemed tickled that someone recognized his voice.
4:30pm Richard Speight, Jr. (The Trickster/Gabriel)
I was looking forward to thsi one a lot, and he did not disappoint. This was his first con since his character died on the show, and he got an appropriate, "Awwww," from the audience. As well he should. He seems upbeat about the possibility of his coming back, but only in the vague, "No one on Supernatural is necessarily dead dead," kind of way. He started by hopping off the stage to inquire about who at the con was at one for the first time, and who'd come the farthest. (Australians are pretty much always going to win that one.)
When asked what the first thing he'd do if given the Trickster's powers, he said he'd make Jared Padalacki short for a day. He launched into an adorable pantomime wherein he got things off of a shelf for Jared, and then ruffled his hair. Next he'd make Jensen a New York Jew for a day-- so that for once Richard Speight could be more masculine than him. (I don't entirely approve of the traditional views of masculinity encoded in that statement, but I understand what he means, and it is amusing.) [Guest actors feeling short on the Supernatural set was a running theme.]
Oh! Richard Speight's theory on Trickster/Loki vs. Gabriel is that Gabriel has Loki locked up somewhere so that he could take the role. (And he thinks that Loki must be pissed.) If Gabriel had another chance, Richard Speight says he'd want him to kill Lucifer (because he' really botched that one) and let Loki out.
There was some speculation, but nothing even hinted at as definite, that Gabriel may, in some fashion, be back. We can only hope.
Richard finds Mark Pellegrino "creepy." He says that Pellegrino is all method, and so he'll glower around on set, but it's disturbing. "There's something illuminating about having breakfast with Satan the morning after he's killed you. It doesn't make it okay, but it does soften the blow." heh.
When asked about the final moments of "Hammer of the Gods," he says, "I thought, damn right, give me porno, if you're going to kill me! Go out with a bang! ... My wife didn't share my enthusiasm."
To sum up, Richard Speight, Jr. was as personable and funny and fantastic as I'd been led to believe. I started (because I had the yarn with me) crocheting a Trickster.
5:40pm Phto Ops with Richard Speight, Jr.
Because he was so awesome, we went and got photo ops tickets for him. We bought two (for the four of us) and he was really awesome and was okay with all four of us in two shots. The first one was us all smiling nicely, the second we said, "let's be silly, what do we do?" and he said, "let's snap, that's a Trickster thing!" so we did, and both pictures turned out well. :D
6:55pm Autographs with Katherine Boecher, Matt Cohen, Aldis Hodge and Richard Speight, Jr.
They had Aldis Hodge on one side of the auditorium, alone, and the other three together, which kind of sucked for Aldis. He was awesome about it, though, even at one point having people in his line shout to prove that his side was having the better time. Going through the line you came to Katherine Boecher first-- while I was standing there, someone asked if this was her first convention and she said no, she'd started with Asylum (this was her third) and that there guests stayed for the whole time, so it was more exhausting. I made some sort of "trial by fire" comment (not sure what), to which she graciously smiled and agreed. Next was Richard Speight, Jr., and I honestly cannot recall what might have been said there/then... I think he might have been talking with Katherine? Catty-corner was Matt Cohen, to whom Spade told that his black t-shirt was doing nice things for him, and he blushed (aw!) and said again that the NJ con-goers said he must always wear black t-shirts to cons. I said something about fashion advice from fans and he said, completely serious, that this was our (fans') weekend, and they're there for us, and sure, he'll wear whatever we want. Then accross to Aldis, who had a very cool watch on, which makes sense given his hobby. He was very nice. I just thanked him, but Spade, who was ahead of me, said she wasn't quite caught up on Leverage but would be soon, and he said that was okay, at least that means she'd watched the first two seasons and wants to keep watching.
Then we went to find dinner and stuff. You'll have to read other reports to hear about the Jason Manns concert, as we didn't go. You'll have heard, I imagine, that someone fainted and was taken to the hospital, and was still there as of this morning at least, which sucks for her, but fortunately she'll recover. This did, however, push back the concert, and therefore the karoake. While waiting for the latter to start, Spade and D_i_ and I got drinks, for which we were berated for not paying by the bartender (although we had in fact paid.)
11:15pm Friday Night Karaoke Party
I'm not big on karaoke, but since the Friday guests were supposed to be there, of course I wanted to at least look in. We arrived in the middle of "Eye of the Tiger" to see Katherine Boecher crawling around on stage. The four actors were totally up on stage the whole time, dancing, singing, miming... it was pretty awesome. Alas, the hotel staff kicked everyone out at 1am, so there weren't that many songs (since the karaoke didn't start at 11:15.) Spade and D_i_ signed up for a song, but didn't get to do it. The four actors (and several con goers, don't get me wrong) doing "Love Shack" was ... amazing.
SATURDAY
9:25am Fredric Lehne (Yellow Eyed Demon)
Not quite awwake, we stumbled down to the first panel. Fredric Lehne asked how many of us still had friends up in the rooms sleeping off the karaoke party, and told us to text them and tell them that he (Fredric Lehne) was angry at them. Questions for Fred Lehne ranged from experiences on the SPN set to how he got his break in acting (which involved moving to NYC and auditioning a lot. Also, a sad story about how he got cast in hair, showed up for his first rehearsal and was told that the show was closing, but thanks for showing up anyway.) Apparently he used to consider himself a method actor, but now he mostly goes out there and has fun, like a kid playing. He said that "When kids are playing cowboys and indians they're thinking, 'what's my subtext?'", although he said he does still use some method tricks when things aren't going quite right.
One fan asked what he'd done in Vancouver other than shoot SPN and Fredric Lehne recommended the aquarium in Stanley Park. He then proceeded to demonstrate for us how beluga whales mate. In fact, and I quote him, "If you got nothing to do, I suggest beluga mating."
On working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Fredric Lehne said he was very tall, and that teh Supernatural set is a touch place for a short actor. He described the basement hospital scene as "Say something manacing, step forward, say something menacing, step forward, say something menacing, step forward and look up a long ways," and that as he got closer, Jeffrey Dean kept getting taller. He said that in some scenes he was standing on tip-toes, and in others he wanted (had?) apple boxes. This led to an interesting digressiona bout "Gilly Boards," which Gillian Anderson used on The X-Files, and trenches, and ways of shooting to make people look different heights.
Also, one thing he liked about playing the YED was that he "got to ham it up shamelessly without reprecussion, and that's always comforting."
If you want to see the YED again? Watch episode 6.01. That's all he said, all he woudl say...But Yay! This is probably the biggest spoiler I learned all weekend, probably, and it's already on IMDb, so it's not that new!
10:20am Rob Benedict (Chuck Shurley)
I was looking forward to this panel, but had no idea it'd be as awesome as it was. Rob Benedict is so awesome, you guys. So cute and awkward. I was so a-flutter after his panel that spade bought a ticket for us all to get our photo with him.
Somehow the con from "The Real Ghostbusters," came up and Rob Benedict said about the comparison between it and this convention, "It was much smaller and all guys and peopole were dying... this is much better." Which is a relief to know he likes ours better. :) He did agree that getting the girl (ie: Becky) was a nice touch for Chuck. He got a few questions about Alias, and one about being a vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When asked about the make-up he gave the usual answer about how long it takes to put on and off, but said that the make-up was "Awesome." Also he declared, "To be a vampire every day would be a lot of work... unless you were a real vampire. Then you don't need the make-up."
When asked about the final scenes of "Swan Song" and whether there was a body under the robe on the couch, he said no there wasn't, but he loved that idea, that god had borrowed Chuck's body. And that there'd be a detail only visible to viewers that subtly.
When asked about what he's done in Vancouver when not filming, he talked about taking a run through Stanley Park and taking a shortcut-- which put him in an area where one might generally find male prostitutes. Evidently a member of the crew saw him running out of that area, and asked him about it later. And yeah, the panel ended on that note!
11:05am Photo Ops with Rob Benedict
So... this was the first photo op where I took a yarn!chester-- specifically the Chuck doll, which makes sense. I was all a-giddy and nervous-- giddy because he'd been so amusing and awesome during his panel, and nervous because this would be the first time that an actor would be confronted with one of my yarn creations of his/her character. So the four of us come up to him (he was fine with this) and I asked him, all nervously, "would you hold this for the photo?" and hand him the doll. He was tickled. "This is my robe!" He seemed really taken by the doll. In the picture, he's holding ami!Chuck and pointing at him, which makes me happy. It's a cute picture, and he was very nice.
We didn't go to the second Matt Cohen panel because we were in the photo op. Also, we opted for lunch over Clif Kosterman's panel. We were not one of the "TEN lucky fans" for the Misha Collins meet and greet, either... so next up wasn't 'til 1:10...
1:10pm Fredric Lehne Autographs
Fred Lehne's autographs weren't included in the package we bought (nor were Clif Kosterman's, Brock Kelly's or Demore Barnes's) but I bought a ticket for it anyway because, DUDE, Fredric Lehne! Also, I had ami!YED with me, and ... yeah. So this autograph was up in the vendors area (most were in the main theatre/ballroom) and it was fine waiting in line and all that. Spade and I talked with some other awesome people, including one of the volunteers we'd run into first in an elevator, and who was often stationed by our seats, and with some of the other fans in line. When we got to the front, Fredric Lehne asked if I had sock puppets, and I said, well, they were crocheted characters, including of the YED, and he took the ami!YED and seemed pleased. He was all, "You even got the jacket right!" and sort of half undressed the doll. I pointed out it wasn't easy, because the show is so dark. I said this partly because I'd had a hell of a time figuing out what color hair to give teh ami!YED and I think I went too gray (I was always worried that I had.) It was cool, though-- he showed the ami to the handler next to him and everything. Unfortunately, this autograph session did mean that we missed Samantha Smith's panel. :(
2:25pm Photo Ops with Misha Collins
Because we had two tickets for the four of us, they let us take two pictures of all four of us again. I think we may have scared Misha for several reasons. First, we were all wearing the same shirt-- the Team Free Will shirts that Spade had designed, and second, we came at him somewhat en masse (entirely unintentionaly. We four try/tried very hard to be not scary fans.) Third, I asked him to hold ami!Castiel (which he did-- he put it on his own shoulder), which was awkward for me not only because, HULLO, it's a famous actor to whom I am handing a small, potentially creepy seeming, figure, but also because Misha Collins has referred to these dolls (not mine specifically) as voodoo dolls. And fourth, because he himself had tickled Opal, one of our peeps, at the NJ-con, we decided (without Opal knowing) that the silly picture of us four would be everyone tickling Opal-- which was probably somehwat disturbing for the poor man, too, although he joined right in, and was still holding the doll at the itme. Heh. I thanked him and he seemed oddly reluctant to return the little ami!Castiel-- and even pulled the coats (the new one has a suit jacket as well as a trench coat) up and made him look a bit like he's flying. It was very amusing, as I'm sure you can tell!!
4:05pm Misha Collins (Castiel)
If you're reading all of this, you've probably read other con reports (if not of this con then of others) and you already know that Mr Collins is, and I say this with all the love and respect in the world, utterly insane. He came out with a fruit adn cheese plate from the green room and offered it to the front row, then put it on the stage for anyone to come up and take some. Then he auctioned off a signed, used band-aid to help raise money for the guest who fainted at the Jason Manns concerty (because she needed $500 for train fare home as the doctors said she couldn't fly.) Good cause, disgusting concept. He prefaced the whole auction thing with "I had a bandaid on my finger which I signed and I thought, No one is that disgusting. And then I thought... are they?" He started the auction at a dollar, got up to $50, and then was all, "75 dollars? 75 dollars? please don't bid 75 dollars." When the woman who won came up to claim it, he wouldn't let her touch it with her bare hands. When asked what she was going to do with it, she said she didn't know, and he was "Well, of course you don't, you just got it." When someoen said she might clone him, he shrugged this off and said no, but she'd likely be able to tell what diseases he had, and if so, she should let him know.
Misha Collins really does spend his panels doing his best to confuse people. He even said, "That I enjoy watching people's confusion? True. That's true." (He was doing a true/false thing.) One girl had written her question down because she was so nervous and he told her she couldn't cheat and read it. And when she asked her question several times, he told her it didn't make sense. (It did-- it was about Castiel and how he'd feel if it were true that Chuck was god, and he'd not known it.) She finally gave up and asked him what his favorite scene to film was.
Someone asked about pranks and he told this story about Jared sending him a loooooong text message one letter at time. Misha is apparently with AT&T which costs, in CAnada, according to him, a second mortgage. So he starts getting these messages in the middle of the night (he said it was a happy birthday message), and he was all, "Oh god, how do I make it stop?! Can I turn it off? Flush it downt he toilet??" because each incoming text costs $.50. He was, however, pleased to later realize that each outgoing text costs that, too, so Jared also had to pay because he'd picked up his wrong (non-Canadian) phone.**
Someone asked who of the cast of Supernatural he'd "shag, marry, kill." His first answer was, "well, I've always wanted to fuck myself... you are talking about sex, right, and not the carpet?" The rest of the decision was evidently difficult, what with having to decide who you'd want to grow old with, and who'd be around longer. (Big guys, according to Misha, die faster, so Jared was out.) Choosing was apparently difficult, and, as I jotted down in my notebook, at 4:22, Misha Collins informed fandom that both Ackles and Padalacki are good in bed. Oh yes, he did. Also, he decided he'd marry Jensen and kill Jared, and yes, the Js were informed of this the next day.
At some point Misha realized that his overshirt was on inside out-- and that he'd been wearing it this way for hours. He berated us for not telling him, and in fact for all of us getting our pictures with him, standing beside him and not telling him. So he took off the inside-out shirt. Someone in the audience promptly yelled that the next shirt (and he was wearing at least two more) was inside out, and he started to take that one off too, but only for a second, and was all, "Wait a minute!" It was adorable, of course. Then he managed to spill his water on himself (he sat down on it and the cap wasn't tight). "This is like those dreams you have when you're eight. I'm going to be ina school assembly adn standon stage and my clothes will be inside out adn I'll look like I pissed my pants!"
Then there was some talk of what to do in Vancouver, which included getting on a ferry (which of course sounds like "Fairy" particularly in the context of whatever it was that Misha was previously talking about) and riding it as far as you can...
5:05pm Demore Barnes (Raphael/Donnie Finnerman)
I'll admit that I wasn't paricularly enthused about this panel-- but I ought to have learned from previous ones! Demore Barnes was awesome. He showed up and immediately informed us that he was a virgin-- a con virgin. He was sweet and funny and nervous, but had also clearly gotten coaching from Misha before hand. He did a great job, and I now plan on seeking out his other work (and hoping that Raphael returns to SPN!) I did not, however, jot down any notes, and I'm tired and can't think of anything specific he said (but he did dance for us!!) He told us he'd gotten the part because he actually has wings, and he took a fan backstage to "see his wings." There was much rumpling of curtains.
5:40pm Russ Hamilton, location manager
I'd love to get to go on the location tours (or explore Vancouver with a local) but did not get to. Alas, this panel ought to have been quite interesting (and there was some good stuff) but I think I was getting tiiiired and hungry by this point, so I can't really tell you much about it...
6:30pm Autographs by Samantha Smith, Misha Collins and Rob Benedict
Samantha Smith was nice, but she was distracted by the person next to her***. Rob Benedict was awesome-- he took a hold of ami!Chuck again and played wit the robe. He told me it's *just* like the one he actually wore, and that it even felt like the same material. I was very happy. :D He personalized my autograph and put a little heart. :D Since Spade was ahead of me, and she was getting a sketch signed, talk with Misha was about that. He seemed reallyimpressed with the image (it was *very* cool, especially since she'd done it spur of the moment!!) Opal (who had been tickled) got her own back at this point, though, and told him that Spade had traced it. Heh. Misha nodded fake- seriously and said it was great work, and he personally knows how hard tracing is. I thanked him for allowing yarn!Castiel into the picture earlier and Misha said it was his pleasure he was glad that he (yarn!Castiel) could make it. He signed my poster with a heart, too, and personalized it, and instead of signing over his picture pretty much signed through Jensen and Jared's chests. (This'll be important later...) Oh! And D_i_ told him about how the day before his banner had auctioned for $535, while the Js' banners only went for $300. He was all, "Ha! As well it should be! But theirs shouldn't evne get $300!" And he thanked D_i_ for telling him. :D
Demore Barnes was also signing, and I'd have liked to have gotten his autograph, but I'm sooo broooke.
Then we ate dinner and got changed for the dessert party.
10:15 Saturday Night Creation Supernatural Dessert Party
Overdressed, but knowing we would be, we got to the party a few minutes late and just as Demore Barnes and Matt Cohen showed up. We sat at an empty table, and were joined by two other fans (fayemeadows and rhythmsextion), both of whom were very awesome. Also, I got a cosmopolitan. The actors all came around (with handlers) for a few seconds each (okay, it was probably 3minutes?) which was, actually, really awesome. Demore Barnes was first, and for some reason I'm blanking on what we talked about (presumably because he was first). Although either Spade or D_i_ asked him if he was enjoying his con deflowerment. (He said yes, and that he was on his last two petals. D_i_ offered to take care of that, and Demore said they'd have to go back behind the curtains. Spade suggested under the table, but apparently Demore is not that flexible! We said we wanted to see more of Raphael on the show and Demore hinted that it was happening. His words were open to interpretation, though. Spade heard them as he'd like to. I heard them as he is. So. Dunno.
There was a long time before Matt Cohen, having started on the opposite side of the room, got to us. He was incredibly sweet-- you could tell he honestly loves talking to fans! He asked about the dolls-- I had yarn!Mary and yarn!Chuck with me-- and picked up Yarn!chuck. Spade told him that I'd made them, and when I poo-pooed my "skills," both she and Matt Cohen wouldn't let me!! :D He was exhausted from doign two days (he'd sat down with a sandwich and Gremlins on tv, and fallen asleep after one bite). He said that's why he was doing cons, so he could get the feedback. I'd wanted to ask him then about theatre work-- where an actor gets immediate feedback!-- and whether he'd done any, or if not, had thought about it-- but his handler came along and tapped on his shoulder. Matt said he had to move on to the "next speed date." We told him to get some rest (he apparently had a 5am flight) adn some food!
Poor Samantha Smith and Rob Benedict finally got to arrive-- coming straight from the autographs that haed started at 6:30. They came around to the tables as a pair, in the interst of time. But this actually worked out for me because it was clear that Rob Benedict had told Samantha Smith about the yarn!chesters, and since I'd had yarn!Chuck and yarn!Mary with me, she got to see her analog. :) She seemed charmed (and not creeped out, thankfully.) Then there was talk about Samantha Smith's hair (it's adorable and short. When she cut it, the SPN make-up people took it and made a wig out of it for when she plays Mary.) Rob asked Samantha if she was still alive on SPN and everyone at the table, including Samantha! was all, "She died in the pilot!" And she had to explain that when she comes back she's a ghost, a hallucination, etc.
Exhausted, after Rob and Samantha had to move to their next table, we left adn headed for bed.
And speaking of bedtime, I think it is again. So I'll get to Sunday (Jensen and Jared day) sometime soon-- maybe tomorrow at the airport. And when I'm back at my usual computer, I'll see if I can't do something better with these-- and all of my-- photos.
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*I'm certain that Jason Manns is a talented musician and a nice guy. We just didn't have any interest, either here or for his concert. It's not my kind of music... I really ought to give it/him a more fair listen, but I don't particularly enjoy concert-settings for a first listen anyway.
**If this story amuses you, be sure to read about Breakfast on Sunday at which point Jared tells his version of it.
***The actors signed for so freakin' long on Saturday (and we were at the beginning of it) that I don't blame her at all. And we got a few seconds with her at the dessert party.
ALSO, for more in-depth information about the con, about panels and things, you should really visit all the information found at the round-up on SuperWiki here, as put together by Missyjack. So much web scouring clearly went into that compilation!
Also, since I'm making this a public, fandom entry, bits about my own travel will likely show up in other, friends only entries. Also, also, and, and, I assume for the purposes of this LJ entry that you know what the Yarn!chesters are. 'Cause I had 7 of them with me (8 if you include the second Castiel) and pretty much on display on my bag the whole time, so they come up a bit below.
So, the con!
FRIDAY
12:40pm Katherine Boecher (Lilith)
Which is to say, "comely dental hygenist" Lilith. Kathering Boecher was a wonderful guest. I believe she said this was her third con, and she was poised, funny and personable. She answered questions about her preparation for Lilith (she didn't want to imitate any of the previous incarnations, but rather did her own research on Lilith and her baby eating ways) and how she reconciled child!Lilith with adult/sexy!Lilith (she thinks that they're two facets of the same thing.) If she could have played any character on Supernatural other than Lilith, she'd have liked to have played Lucifer himself. She repeated her story (at a con-goer's request) from the NJ con (apparently) about her first meeting Jared on set. Evidently filming the bed scene was the first thing she'd ever done with them, and she had to pat the bed and be seductive, and then run her hand along Jared's leg. She was then afraid that somehow such a firm leg was goign to eat her hand. Also, she wanted more takes. :) If she weren't an actor, she'd want to be a stunt-person, although Jackie Chan (with whom she did a movie), told her not to, that she should do ballet instead, and she was all, "Oh... that's... badass..."
1:20 Supernatural Yes/No Game
Basically this was an elimination trivia game. I didn't play, but was gratified to realize I knew all the easy questions, most of the medium questions and some of the hard ones. I'd have been in any of the rounds a fairly significant portion (unless stage fright had gotten to me.) Twice contestants finagled their way into staying because the questions weren't specific enough.
1:55pm Matt Cohen (Young John Winchester)
To be honest, I'd not been all that interested in this panel originally, but I was happily mistaken. He was charming and sweet and funny (and a bit crazy.) Matt seems to be getting really into the whole convention thing, and thanked the fans a number of times. I will admit, too, that the short sleeved t-shirt-- which he wore because the fans at the Parsippany, NJ con told him he always ought to-- did rather nice things for him... :D He has a rather short hair cut at the moment because he just finished filming a spot on NCIS. He seems like a really interesting guy who takes acting seriously (but not too seriously), and I'll keep an eye out for future work by him. His comments about his work on show for teens called South of Nowhere was really interesting-- apparently he played an exboyfriend who really supported his exgirlfriend when she realizes she's gay, and he's gotten some fan feedback from that about how appreciative teens struggling with sexual identity were.
Between here we left the con for a wihle since the con activities were photos with Matt Cohen-- which none of us bought, private meet and greets with actors-- which none of us could afford, photos with Jason Manns-- which none of us wanted (or bought).*
3:50pm Aldis Hodge (Jake Talley)
Previously I had not understood what the draw for Aldis Hodge was-- at least for non-Leverage fans-- since he'd only been in two episodes and, y'know, stabbed Sammy in the second. But as it turns out, not only is he gorgeous and talented, but he's also really funny. He, too, admits he doesn't quite unerstand the fans-- he expected animosity for the guy who killed Sam!-- but we love him. Because he rocks. He got a few Leverage questions, about which I can tell you nothing since I don't watch the show, and some questions of the "If you could be any character other than Jake on Supernatural..." variety. (I think he said the YED.) There were some questions, too, about Jake's seeming change in motivation. Also, apparently Aldis geeks over watches, which is cool. Oh, and he did voice-over work for Grand Theft Auto and seemed tickled that someone recognized his voice.
4:30pm Richard Speight, Jr. (The Trickster/Gabriel)
I was looking forward to thsi one a lot, and he did not disappoint. This was his first con since his character died on the show, and he got an appropriate, "Awwww," from the audience. As well he should. He seems upbeat about the possibility of his coming back, but only in the vague, "No one on Supernatural is necessarily dead dead," kind of way. He started by hopping off the stage to inquire about who at the con was at one for the first time, and who'd come the farthest. (Australians are pretty much always going to win that one.)
When asked what the first thing he'd do if given the Trickster's powers, he said he'd make Jared Padalacki short for a day. He launched into an adorable pantomime wherein he got things off of a shelf for Jared, and then ruffled his hair. Next he'd make Jensen a New York Jew for a day-- so that for once Richard Speight could be more masculine than him. (I don't entirely approve of the traditional views of masculinity encoded in that statement, but I understand what he means, and it is amusing.) [Guest actors feeling short on the Supernatural set was a running theme.]
Oh! Richard Speight's theory on Trickster/Loki vs. Gabriel is that Gabriel has Loki locked up somewhere so that he could take the role. (And he thinks that Loki must be pissed.) If Gabriel had another chance, Richard Speight says he'd want him to kill Lucifer (because he' really botched that one) and let Loki out.
There was some speculation, but nothing even hinted at as definite, that Gabriel may, in some fashion, be back. We can only hope.
Richard finds Mark Pellegrino "creepy." He says that Pellegrino is all method, and so he'll glower around on set, but it's disturbing. "There's something illuminating about having breakfast with Satan the morning after he's killed you. It doesn't make it okay, but it does soften the blow." heh.
When asked about the final moments of "Hammer of the Gods," he says, "I thought, damn right, give me porno, if you're going to kill me! Go out with a bang! ... My wife didn't share my enthusiasm."
To sum up, Richard Speight, Jr. was as personable and funny and fantastic as I'd been led to believe. I started (because I had the yarn with me) crocheting a Trickster.
5:40pm Phto Ops with Richard Speight, Jr.
Because he was so awesome, we went and got photo ops tickets for him. We bought two (for the four of us) and he was really awesome and was okay with all four of us in two shots. The first one was us all smiling nicely, the second we said, "let's be silly, what do we do?" and he said, "let's snap, that's a Trickster thing!" so we did, and both pictures turned out well. :D
6:55pm Autographs with Katherine Boecher, Matt Cohen, Aldis Hodge and Richard Speight, Jr.
They had Aldis Hodge on one side of the auditorium, alone, and the other three together, which kind of sucked for Aldis. He was awesome about it, though, even at one point having people in his line shout to prove that his side was having the better time. Going through the line you came to Katherine Boecher first-- while I was standing there, someone asked if this was her first convention and she said no, she'd started with Asylum (this was her third) and that there guests stayed for the whole time, so it was more exhausting. I made some sort of "trial by fire" comment (not sure what), to which she graciously smiled and agreed. Next was Richard Speight, Jr., and I honestly cannot recall what might have been said there/then... I think he might have been talking with Katherine? Catty-corner was Matt Cohen, to whom Spade told that his black t-shirt was doing nice things for him, and he blushed (aw!) and said again that the NJ con-goers said he must always wear black t-shirts to cons. I said something about fashion advice from fans and he said, completely serious, that this was our (fans') weekend, and they're there for us, and sure, he'll wear whatever we want. Then accross to Aldis, who had a very cool watch on, which makes sense given his hobby. He was very nice. I just thanked him, but Spade, who was ahead of me, said she wasn't quite caught up on Leverage but would be soon, and he said that was okay, at least that means she'd watched the first two seasons and wants to keep watching.
Then we went to find dinner and stuff. You'll have to read other reports to hear about the Jason Manns concert, as we didn't go. You'll have heard, I imagine, that someone fainted and was taken to the hospital, and was still there as of this morning at least, which sucks for her, but fortunately she'll recover. This did, however, push back the concert, and therefore the karoake. While waiting for the latter to start, Spade and D_i_ and I got drinks, for which we were berated for not paying by the bartender (although we had in fact paid.)
11:15pm Friday Night Karaoke Party
I'm not big on karaoke, but since the Friday guests were supposed to be there, of course I wanted to at least look in. We arrived in the middle of "Eye of the Tiger" to see Katherine Boecher crawling around on stage. The four actors were totally up on stage the whole time, dancing, singing, miming... it was pretty awesome. Alas, the hotel staff kicked everyone out at 1am, so there weren't that many songs (since the karaoke didn't start at 11:15.) Spade and D_i_ signed up for a song, but didn't get to do it. The four actors (and several con goers, don't get me wrong) doing "Love Shack" was ... amazing.
SATURDAY
9:25am Fredric Lehne (Yellow Eyed Demon)
Not quite awwake, we stumbled down to the first panel. Fredric Lehne asked how many of us still had friends up in the rooms sleeping off the karaoke party, and told us to text them and tell them that he (Fredric Lehne) was angry at them. Questions for Fred Lehne ranged from experiences on the SPN set to how he got his break in acting (which involved moving to NYC and auditioning a lot. Also, a sad story about how he got cast in hair, showed up for his first rehearsal and was told that the show was closing, but thanks for showing up anyway.) Apparently he used to consider himself a method actor, but now he mostly goes out there and has fun, like a kid playing. He said that "When kids are playing cowboys and indians they're thinking, 'what's my subtext?'", although he said he does still use some method tricks when things aren't going quite right.
One fan asked what he'd done in Vancouver other than shoot SPN and Fredric Lehne recommended the aquarium in Stanley Park. He then proceeded to demonstrate for us how beluga whales mate. In fact, and I quote him, "If you got nothing to do, I suggest beluga mating."
On working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Fredric Lehne said he was very tall, and that teh Supernatural set is a touch place for a short actor. He described the basement hospital scene as "Say something manacing, step forward, say something menacing, step forward, say something menacing, step forward and look up a long ways," and that as he got closer, Jeffrey Dean kept getting taller. He said that in some scenes he was standing on tip-toes, and in others he wanted (had?) apple boxes. This led to an interesting digressiona bout "Gilly Boards," which Gillian Anderson used on The X-Files, and trenches, and ways of shooting to make people look different heights.
Also, one thing he liked about playing the YED was that he "got to ham it up shamelessly without reprecussion, and that's always comforting."
If you want to see the YED again? Watch episode 6.01. That's all he said, all he woudl say...But Yay! This is probably the biggest spoiler I learned all weekend, probably, and it's already on IMDb, so it's not that new!
10:20am Rob Benedict (Chuck Shurley)
I was looking forward to this panel, but had no idea it'd be as awesome as it was. Rob Benedict is so awesome, you guys. So cute and awkward. I was so a-flutter after his panel that spade bought a ticket for us all to get our photo with him.
Somehow the con from "The Real Ghostbusters," came up and Rob Benedict said about the comparison between it and this convention, "It was much smaller and all guys and peopole were dying... this is much better." Which is a relief to know he likes ours better. :) He did agree that getting the girl (ie: Becky) was a nice touch for Chuck. He got a few questions about Alias, and one about being a vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When asked about the make-up he gave the usual answer about how long it takes to put on and off, but said that the make-up was "Awesome." Also he declared, "To be a vampire every day would be a lot of work... unless you were a real vampire. Then you don't need the make-up."
When asked about the final scenes of "Swan Song" and whether there was a body under the robe on the couch, he said no there wasn't, but he loved that idea, that god had borrowed Chuck's body. And that there'd be a detail only visible to viewers that subtly.
When asked about what he's done in Vancouver when not filming, he talked about taking a run through Stanley Park and taking a shortcut-- which put him in an area where one might generally find male prostitutes. Evidently a member of the crew saw him running out of that area, and asked him about it later. And yeah, the panel ended on that note!
11:05am Photo Ops with Rob Benedict
So... this was the first photo op where I took a yarn!chester-- specifically the Chuck doll, which makes sense. I was all a-giddy and nervous-- giddy because he'd been so amusing and awesome during his panel, and nervous because this would be the first time that an actor would be confronted with one of my yarn creations of his/her character. So the four of us come up to him (he was fine with this) and I asked him, all nervously, "would you hold this for the photo?" and hand him the doll. He was tickled. "This is my robe!" He seemed really taken by the doll. In the picture, he's holding ami!Chuck and pointing at him, which makes me happy. It's a cute picture, and he was very nice.
We didn't go to the second Matt Cohen panel because we were in the photo op. Also, we opted for lunch over Clif Kosterman's panel. We were not one of the "TEN lucky fans" for the Misha Collins meet and greet, either... so next up wasn't 'til 1:10...
1:10pm Fredric Lehne Autographs
Fred Lehne's autographs weren't included in the package we bought (nor were Clif Kosterman's, Brock Kelly's or Demore Barnes's) but I bought a ticket for it anyway because, DUDE, Fredric Lehne! Also, I had ami!YED with me, and ... yeah. So this autograph was up in the vendors area (most were in the main theatre/ballroom) and it was fine waiting in line and all that. Spade and I talked with some other awesome people, including one of the volunteers we'd run into first in an elevator, and who was often stationed by our seats, and with some of the other fans in line. When we got to the front, Fredric Lehne asked if I had sock puppets, and I said, well, they were crocheted characters, including of the YED, and he took the ami!YED and seemed pleased. He was all, "You even got the jacket right!" and sort of half undressed the doll. I pointed out it wasn't easy, because the show is so dark. I said this partly because I'd had a hell of a time figuing out what color hair to give teh ami!YED and I think I went too gray (I was always worried that I had.) It was cool, though-- he showed the ami to the handler next to him and everything. Unfortunately, this autograph session did mean that we missed Samantha Smith's panel. :(
2:25pm Photo Ops with Misha Collins
Because we had two tickets for the four of us, they let us take two pictures of all four of us again. I think we may have scared Misha for several reasons. First, we were all wearing the same shirt-- the Team Free Will shirts that Spade had designed, and second, we came at him somewhat en masse (entirely unintentionaly. We four try/tried very hard to be not scary fans.) Third, I asked him to hold ami!Castiel (which he did-- he put it on his own shoulder), which was awkward for me not only because, HULLO, it's a famous actor to whom I am handing a small, potentially creepy seeming, figure, but also because Misha Collins has referred to these dolls (not mine specifically) as voodoo dolls. And fourth, because he himself had tickled Opal, one of our peeps, at the NJ-con, we decided (without Opal knowing) that the silly picture of us four would be everyone tickling Opal-- which was probably somehwat disturbing for the poor man, too, although he joined right in, and was still holding the doll at the itme. Heh. I thanked him and he seemed oddly reluctant to return the little ami!Castiel-- and even pulled the coats (the new one has a suit jacket as well as a trench coat) up and made him look a bit like he's flying. It was very amusing, as I'm sure you can tell!!
4:05pm Misha Collins (Castiel)
If you're reading all of this, you've probably read other con reports (if not of this con then of others) and you already know that Mr Collins is, and I say this with all the love and respect in the world, utterly insane. He came out with a fruit adn cheese plate from the green room and offered it to the front row, then put it on the stage for anyone to come up and take some. Then he auctioned off a signed, used band-aid to help raise money for the guest who fainted at the Jason Manns concerty (because she needed $500 for train fare home as the doctors said she couldn't fly.) Good cause, disgusting concept. He prefaced the whole auction thing with "I had a bandaid on my finger which I signed and I thought, No one is that disgusting. And then I thought... are they?" He started the auction at a dollar, got up to $50, and then was all, "75 dollars? 75 dollars? please don't bid 75 dollars." When the woman who won came up to claim it, he wouldn't let her touch it with her bare hands. When asked what she was going to do with it, she said she didn't know, and he was "Well, of course you don't, you just got it." When someoen said she might clone him, he shrugged this off and said no, but she'd likely be able to tell what diseases he had, and if so, she should let him know.
Misha Collins really does spend his panels doing his best to confuse people. He even said, "That I enjoy watching people's confusion? True. That's true." (He was doing a true/false thing.) One girl had written her question down because she was so nervous and he told her she couldn't cheat and read it. And when she asked her question several times, he told her it didn't make sense. (It did-- it was about Castiel and how he'd feel if it were true that Chuck was god, and he'd not known it.) She finally gave up and asked him what his favorite scene to film was.
Someone asked about pranks and he told this story about Jared sending him a loooooong text message one letter at time. Misha is apparently with AT&T which costs, in CAnada, according to him, a second mortgage. So he starts getting these messages in the middle of the night (he said it was a happy birthday message), and he was all, "Oh god, how do I make it stop?! Can I turn it off? Flush it downt he toilet??" because each incoming text costs $.50. He was, however, pleased to later realize that each outgoing text costs that, too, so Jared also had to pay because he'd picked up his wrong (non-Canadian) phone.**
Someone asked who of the cast of Supernatural he'd "shag, marry, kill." His first answer was, "well, I've always wanted to fuck myself... you are talking about sex, right, and not the carpet?" The rest of the decision was evidently difficult, what with having to decide who you'd want to grow old with, and who'd be around longer. (Big guys, according to Misha, die faster, so Jared was out.) Choosing was apparently difficult, and, as I jotted down in my notebook, at 4:22, Misha Collins informed fandom that both Ackles and Padalacki are good in bed. Oh yes, he did. Also, he decided he'd marry Jensen and kill Jared, and yes, the Js were informed of this the next day.
At some point Misha realized that his overshirt was on inside out-- and that he'd been wearing it this way for hours. He berated us for not telling him, and in fact for all of us getting our pictures with him, standing beside him and not telling him. So he took off the inside-out shirt. Someone in the audience promptly yelled that the next shirt (and he was wearing at least two more) was inside out, and he started to take that one off too, but only for a second, and was all, "Wait a minute!" It was adorable, of course. Then he managed to spill his water on himself (he sat down on it and the cap wasn't tight). "This is like those dreams you have when you're eight. I'm going to be ina school assembly adn standon stage and my clothes will be inside out adn I'll look like I pissed my pants!"
Then there was some talk of what to do in Vancouver, which included getting on a ferry (which of course sounds like "Fairy" particularly in the context of whatever it was that Misha was previously talking about) and riding it as far as you can...
5:05pm Demore Barnes (Raphael/Donnie Finnerman)
I'll admit that I wasn't paricularly enthused about this panel-- but I ought to have learned from previous ones! Demore Barnes was awesome. He showed up and immediately informed us that he was a virgin-- a con virgin. He was sweet and funny and nervous, but had also clearly gotten coaching from Misha before hand. He did a great job, and I now plan on seeking out his other work (and hoping that Raphael returns to SPN!) I did not, however, jot down any notes, and I'm tired and can't think of anything specific he said (but he did dance for us!!) He told us he'd gotten the part because he actually has wings, and he took a fan backstage to "see his wings." There was much rumpling of curtains.
5:40pm Russ Hamilton, location manager
I'd love to get to go on the location tours (or explore Vancouver with a local) but did not get to. Alas, this panel ought to have been quite interesting (and there was some good stuff) but I think I was getting tiiiired and hungry by this point, so I can't really tell you much about it...
6:30pm Autographs by Samantha Smith, Misha Collins and Rob Benedict
Samantha Smith was nice, but she was distracted by the person next to her***. Rob Benedict was awesome-- he took a hold of ami!Chuck again and played wit the robe. He told me it's *just* like the one he actually wore, and that it even felt like the same material. I was very happy. :D He personalized my autograph and put a little heart. :D Since Spade was ahead of me, and she was getting a sketch signed, talk with Misha was about that. He seemed reallyimpressed with the image (it was *very* cool, especially since she'd done it spur of the moment!!) Opal (who had been tickled) got her own back at this point, though, and told him that Spade had traced it. Heh. Misha nodded fake- seriously and said it was great work, and he personally knows how hard tracing is. I thanked him for allowing yarn!Castiel into the picture earlier and Misha said it was his pleasure he was glad that he (yarn!Castiel) could make it. He signed my poster with a heart, too, and personalized it, and instead of signing over his picture pretty much signed through Jensen and Jared's chests. (This'll be important later...) Oh! And D_i_ told him about how the day before his banner had auctioned for $535, while the Js' banners only went for $300. He was all, "Ha! As well it should be! But theirs shouldn't evne get $300!" And he thanked D_i_ for telling him. :D
Demore Barnes was also signing, and I'd have liked to have gotten his autograph, but I'm sooo broooke.
Then we ate dinner and got changed for the dessert party.
10:15 Saturday Night Creation Supernatural Dessert Party
Overdressed, but knowing we would be, we got to the party a few minutes late and just as Demore Barnes and Matt Cohen showed up. We sat at an empty table, and were joined by two other fans (fayemeadows and rhythmsextion), both of whom were very awesome. Also, I got a cosmopolitan. The actors all came around (with handlers) for a few seconds each (okay, it was probably 3minutes?) which was, actually, really awesome. Demore Barnes was first, and for some reason I'm blanking on what we talked about (presumably because he was first). Although either Spade or D_i_ asked him if he was enjoying his con deflowerment. (He said yes, and that he was on his last two petals. D_i_ offered to take care of that, and Demore said they'd have to go back behind the curtains. Spade suggested under the table, but apparently Demore is not that flexible! We said we wanted to see more of Raphael on the show and Demore hinted that it was happening. His words were open to interpretation, though. Spade heard them as he'd like to. I heard them as he is. So. Dunno.
There was a long time before Matt Cohen, having started on the opposite side of the room, got to us. He was incredibly sweet-- you could tell he honestly loves talking to fans! He asked about the dolls-- I had yarn!Mary and yarn!Chuck with me-- and picked up Yarn!chuck. Spade told him that I'd made them, and when I poo-pooed my "skills," both she and Matt Cohen wouldn't let me!! :D He was exhausted from doign two days (he'd sat down with a sandwich and Gremlins on tv, and fallen asleep after one bite). He said that's why he was doing cons, so he could get the feedback. I'd wanted to ask him then about theatre work-- where an actor gets immediate feedback!-- and whether he'd done any, or if not, had thought about it-- but his handler came along and tapped on his shoulder. Matt said he had to move on to the "next speed date." We told him to get some rest (he apparently had a 5am flight) adn some food!
Poor Samantha Smith and Rob Benedict finally got to arrive-- coming straight from the autographs that haed started at 6:30. They came around to the tables as a pair, in the interst of time. But this actually worked out for me because it was clear that Rob Benedict had told Samantha Smith about the yarn!chesters, and since I'd had yarn!Chuck and yarn!Mary with me, she got to see her analog. :) She seemed charmed (and not creeped out, thankfully.) Then there was talk about Samantha Smith's hair (it's adorable and short. When she cut it, the SPN make-up people took it and made a wig out of it for when she plays Mary.) Rob asked Samantha if she was still alive on SPN and everyone at the table, including Samantha! was all, "She died in the pilot!" And she had to explain that when she comes back she's a ghost, a hallucination, etc.
Exhausted, after Rob and Samantha had to move to their next table, we left adn headed for bed.
And speaking of bedtime, I think it is again. So I'll get to Sunday (Jensen and Jared day) sometime soon-- maybe tomorrow at the airport. And when I'm back at my usual computer, I'll see if I can't do something better with these-- and all of my-- photos.
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*I'm certain that Jason Manns is a talented musician and a nice guy. We just didn't have any interest, either here or for his concert. It's not my kind of music... I really ought to give it/him a more fair listen, but I don't particularly enjoy concert-settings for a first listen anyway.
**If this story amuses you, be sure to read about Breakfast on Sunday at which point Jared tells his version of it.
***The actors signed for so freakin' long on Saturday (and we were at the beginning of it) that I don't blame her at all. And we got a few seconds with her at the dessert party.