Megacon 2007 Report!
Megacon is a convention mostly displaying anime and comics, minimally show-casing scifi, but this year, was scifi heaven for me. This was my first convention and I'm now addicted. I just have to tell everyone about this con, and can't wait to meet future conners:D
Friday:Me and my friend, Frances, couldn't make it until 5:30pm, and the main show room closes at 7pm. I was mainly looking forward to the Farscape panel, which was from 5-6. I was happy to see even half an hour, because the setting was so intimate, that as soon as I walked in, I thought I was talking to them myself. And in 'them,' I refer to Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey, David Franklin, and Wayne Pygram.
Um, there is so much I could say, but I have to go for now. I REALLY wanted to post something, so here it is. And obviously, my default pic is of me and Jamie Bamber, which I want to talk so much about.
O, and totally non-related, but this http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/the-uns-new-international-radiation-symbol/ cracked me up...OMG!
Friday- My friend, Frances, and I, could only make it at 5:30 in the afternoon, and this was my first convention experience. I made it in time for half an hour more of the Farscape Panel, and O man, it was amazing!
I couldn’t really take any notes, because I didn’t want to make any sound getting out paper and pen, but I remembered snippets of questions and answers.
As soon as I walked into that room, a small room, mind you, I felt like I was talking to Gigi, Virginia, David, and Wayne, personally. My heart was beating so fast.
Somebody said "Welcome to Orlando."
And Virginia's response was hilarious, "Yeah, it's bloody freezing!"
Then we jumped to talking about how we hated the fact that Farscape had to end, and that the Peacekeeper Wars was great. Gigi commented on how the original script was so beautiful, but because of the budget and time, they had to cut a lot of important scenes, especially the background on how Chiana finally got her transplanted eyes.
There was also a comment on Wayne's flowery shirt. And how the character Harvey was created with flowery shirts, how one concept can lead to another and the keeping of Scorpius's clone. Wayne talked a lot, and he told us that the first time Harvey was created; the flowery shirt was taken off of Ricky Manning's back. Ricky Manning, being one of the producers/directors of the show.
I noticed David Franklin was drinking a lot of water, and was very quite. And he commented on how he only had 4 minutes of makeup each day, and everyone else's took 4 hours. Ginny said that at the end of everyday, she would want to rip that makeup off.
Someone asked whether Wayne liked that Scorpius was made into a somewhat sexual character. Wayne said that he could've done without it. "I can handle myself." We giggled for the innuendo.
And someone made a comment on how they were thankful that Rygel didn’t just take the easy way out and poison everyone every time he had a chance.
Saturday- I was not prepared for autographs. I had some white printer paper and a black sharpie. Luckily, there were two vendors for headshots. I changed my mind between Sean Astin, Wayne Pygram, Virginia Hey, David Franklin, and a cast photo of Battlestar: Galactica. Sadly, there were no pics for Gigi Edgley, which was disappointing. At first, I was eager to get Sean Astin's autograph, but I told myself, he wasn't the main reason I was at the convention. Long story short, I could only afford Wayne's and Ginny's autographs if I were to get Jamie's and Mary's, among other things. I wasn't thinking straight at the time, because the prospect of meeting these people was nerve-wracking. Anyways, I didn’t think to buy the cast photo of BSG, because I didn’t think I'd ever meet anyone else. In retrospect, I should've, because now I'm heading to Dragoncon for Katee's. Also, I bought a Stargate: SG-1 shirt at the vendor's. It was $25, but it was the only stargate item I would ever own, so I had to have it.
I went in line for Jamie's autograph first, because there wasn’t much of a line, which I found interesting. There was a definite line for Mary and she arrived half an hour before Jamie. When Jamie arrived, I was shocked to see him wearing a pink shirt, it looked very nice on him and accentuated his shoulders and pecs;p Anyways, while I was waiting, I met this lovely lady and we talked for an hour about how BSG was going and how Jamie used to die off quite rapidly in his other guest staring roles. She also told me about Dragoncon, which I am looking forward to. My friend, Frances, is the most gracious and kind person for waiting in line with me, even when she could be walking around the room, where her main interests are, and God bless her heart.
When it was finally my turn, I was happy to know that the autograph was only going to be $20 and $5 for the pic.
Jamie is SO nice! I'm not sure if he was new at signings, but he really took his time to personalize stuff and really acknowledge you as a fan. I really had no clue what to say or how to act, so I merely said I loved the show. I feel like such a dufus, because of course, people love the show, that's why their here. He nods as he signs his headshot, "To Anna, with love, -Jamie Bamber, Lee Apollo."
He's like "Yeah, it's a great show." And hearing his British accent up close is personal is really cool, lol.
So while he's still writing, I say that I've only seen season 2.
And he asks, "Only season 2?"
And I fumble with my words, "Well, I've seen season 1 too, but I haven’t seen season 3."
He nods. "Ah yes, Season 3 is great, and we're looking forward to season 4. I'm sure you'll catch up with season 3 once it comes out on dvd, vhs, or whichever."
I nod, and ask one more question, "Are you guys still shooting?"
"Nope."
I don't know how we've managed to talk this much over the amount of time it takes for him to sign the pic, but I shyly ask for a pic with him when he's done. He's so kind and friendly and says, "Yeah, sure."
He gets up and wraps his arm around me, and wow, I don’t know what happened, but all I could do was pray the picture turned out all right, lol.
At the end, I think he might've said 'Take care,' while I said 'Thank you.' And I recall hearing, not the precise words, but with just great sincerity, that he has become my favorite actor to meet.
I met Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and Virginia Hey (Zhaan) earlier, but it wasn’t as I had imagined. Wayne merely signed the pic and didn’t even ask to personalize it or anything. Maybe that's what happens when you age in the industry. I expected Ginny to be more like Zhaan, but she's still cool. She drew hearts all over the pic of Zhaan, and personalized it. She told me about her yoga session in the next day, but I wouldn’t be there, and I felt like she was advertising herself far too much…Gigi Edgley (Chiana) and David Franklin (Cpt. Braca) were right next to them, but I didn’t have anything for them to sign, and as I said, could not afford. Perhaps some other time, hopefully. Farscape was one of my favorite shows, second only to Stargate, so meeting them was wonderful.
Later, I waited in line for Mary McDonnell's autograph, which lasted about an hour, and I met this man with his kids from Massachusetts. Mary wasn’t taking any pics with anyone, because it took too much time. When it was my turn, I asked her how she felt working with Eddie, and she said it was great. And I tried asking her about shipping, but she didn’t understand the terminology, so I was trying to explain, but someone from press approached her, and she's trying to tell him she's not taking pictures for anyone. I left with a mere thank you, and some disappointment. I still think Jamie Bamber was the nicest, hopefully Michael Shanks and Chris Judge will not disappoint at Dragoncon. It's not that I expect to become friends with them, but at least take a little time with the fans, we are paying for your autographs. Is it too much to ask?
Gosh, that was surreal.
BSG Panel- In order to get a good seat, most people stayed for the panel before, which was on how to make props out of everyday, common objects. It was 50 minutes long, but it was pretty interesting and worth it. Before Jamie and Mary arrived, I was chatting with a few people next to me. The couple on my left was from Minnesota, and on my right was a young lady from Michigan; they came far to Orlando to see BSG. Wow (I believe this will become my life when I am older). It was about 5 minutes after 5pm when the Megacon volunteers announced that they needed to add and extra room due to all the people waiting for the panel. The guard almost scared us when they said that, because it meant they might shift the stage from which we were directly in front. But fortunately, (thank the gods) they didn’t. The only obstacle for me was peoples' heads in front of me, because I am short.
We finally see Jamie and Mary standing in the back waiting for everyone to get settled, and as they walked towards the stage, everyone clapped.
Now I must state that I couldn’t write down everything verbatim, but I did write down some interesting and funny things. I also wrote it in sharpie, so I didn’t want to write for too long in case people were getting annoyed with the fumes.
While Jamie and Mary were reorganizing around with their chairs and microphones, someone shouted, "So say we all."
Jamie and Mary laughed along with us. Then, to start off, Mary explains that they are "good techies." Something about not needing assistance when they are at panels. And to prove that statement, they speak into their mikes.
MM: Testing one, two…
JB: Three, four.
Somehow, Mary started saying, "Baby, it's cold outside."
JB: Isn't that a song?
And then Jamie goes on about now they have to leave.
No one really got the joke, so he asked, "Isn't that a part of the lyrics?"
JB: Well, I guess we're here to answer questions.
MM: Yeah, that's what I was debriefed for.
Q: This is for Jamie. It seems that you have mastered the American accent. Do you ever find yourself slipping between accents?
JB: You're very kind. No, it's still a challenge and sometimes, I can hear myself slipping, but sometimes, I don’t really concentrate/notice it.
Q: Mary, what would you have described between Roslin and Adar?
MM: It was interesting. There is a power struggle especially between people in high places. I would it was an affair, and in the end, I'm not how it would've ended, so I'm glad that it ended the way it did.
Q: What do you miss about the first season?
J/M: We're no longer in scenes together.
Now, I should bring up, that they have been playing on the Lee/Roslin ship. And they're just getting close to each other and putting innuendo in what they say. Very amusing.
Q: What is your favorite line.
JB: I love Laura. (The crowd goes wild) It's all subtext. You gotta roll the hard 6, whatever the means.
Q: What drew you to BSG?
MM: I was actually at lunch with my agent in California, which is truly a rare occasion, but my agent told me about this script. Originally, I couldn’t get myself in that world.
JB: Nobody made me an offer (fakes hurt and indignant). I think when I got the part, there was a sphincter-contracting movement.
MM: I think I might've had something to do with that. "I like that man, might we get him?"
JB: And I was wearing a Dominoes pizza cap. To be honest, I thought the miniseries was slow, but it's good to be slow, because later we go quickly into action.
Q: How do you feel about Apollo being constantly shoved into corners, conflict with dad and Kara, and getting fat *laughs*
JB: Yeah, getting fat, that was my fault. *laughs* Well, the beauty of the character is that they are grey, not black, not white.
There was a fat suit. My facial fat resembled something like flounder. We actually used Grace's pregnancy belly. There were actually two preg bellies, one of during the pregnancy, and one for after the pregnancy. Well, I was wearing the after-preg belly, but we shot some scenes and it felt heavier. One day, I saw Grace's after-preg belly hanging somewhere, and I asked, "What's that?"
Someone told me, "Oh, it's Grace's other belly."
"Other belly?! I want that belly."
So I grew.
MM: Well, have you noticed they haven't asked any of the women to get fat? *laughs*
Somehow, we started talking about Lady Presidents and comparing Hillary Clinton vs. Laura Roslin.
MM: We're totally different; Hillary hasn’t thrown anyone out of the airlock. I'm just teasing. *laughs* But my character had a real sense of unpreparedness…where is power inside ourselves?
Q: Do you find yourself saying 'frak' in real life?
JB: Frak no! Fraking A!
Q: How much of your characters' reactions are now, and do they include implications of what may happen in the future?
JB: The characters are so much reacting to the present, so I don’t want to think much about the future.
Q: How do you feel about the quadrangle?
JB: Fantastic. (I couldn’t write down everything, but it was something about having to deal with that relationship in the episode, "Taking a Break from all your worries." Mary made a comment on how that was a really ironic title and how long it was, but it's an amazing episode.)
Q: Mary, How do you feel about your relationship with Adama?
MM: Which one? (Said with stoic face and moves closer to Jamie and attempts to pop kiss him on the cheek).
JB: I think I blushed.
Q: Admiral Adama.
JB: One day, I'll be admiral. Just you wait. (fakes threatening to overtake his father).
MM: And I'll be 90.
Q: If you don't kill each other first.
MM: If we haven't ended up killing each other by now, we probably won't.
Q: How is your shooting schedule?
JB: BSG is more of a movie in terms of the way and time it takes to shoot it, because while guest starring on Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer, I knew they have a much quicker pace, 2 weeks compared to 2 months.
MM: You'll be competing with yourself on tv time slots. *laughs*
Q: What is your favorite episode, least?
JB: Right now, an upcoming episode, "Taking a break from all your worries."
My least was "Black Market." (I concluded it was because he didn’t like his character sleeping with a prostitute).
MM: No, really. There is a part in upcoming episode that he is literally spewing his guts out, and there is phenomenal acting. I mean, something that's never been seen on tv. It's so raw. Eddie actually came up to me and threatened that if I didn’t give it everything I've got, he'd walk away. It pushed all of us.
But um, my favorite episode is "33," (clapping) because for me, that was really what gave our show momentum, and really showed all of the original crew, and I don’t have a least favorite episode.
(missing stuff)
JB: I'm amazed Eddie didn’t die of a heart attack in boxing.
Q: How do you feel remaking Richard Hatch's character, and then working with him?
JB: I was totally prepared to work with someone who's bitter, because he tried so hard to get his show back, but it never happened. I try not to think; I don’t think the Apollo now as re-imagined.
MM: Plus Richard Hatch had a guy buddy.
JB: And Lee has a girl buddy.
MM: That used to be a guy.
JB: Really? Oh, and he had better costumes.
Q: What's up with the pink shirt?
JB: My mum bought it for me, and I'm very confident in pink. I think it brings out the blues in my eyes.
(some question)
JB: James(Callis, Gaius) and I are like an extended cult/tribe; we're both young families.
MM: We hangout, we watched the World Cup together in my trailer. Actually, there's an outdoor flat screen on my trailer.
JB: Yeah, it's at the tire level. Why would someone put a flat screen tv on outside, tire level of a trailer? People could take you out on the freeway.
Jamie and Mary both routed for the Italian, and something about loving the French, but can't stand for France to win again…idk.
Q: You're in your third season of BSG, and by now, some others actors can direct and write. Are you desperate to do either?
JB: I am desperate to direct and write.
MM: I'm not desperate.
JB: It'd be a benefit to the show if we didn’t.
Q: Are there any practical jokers on set?
MM: Ya know, that's a good question. (looks at Jamie) I don't think we do. The crew is our joker. They put geatine(sp) in the back of shots.
Q: Would you want your character to be a cylon?
MM: I don’t know, how could I throw myself out the airlock?
*laughs* O, I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this.
JB: Well, there is an upside to being unkillable, and they get to wear great clothes.
Something about an upcoming trial, and someone asked if J/M were going to be the prosecutor or defendant, and Jamie in turn, asked the audience what we think, and there were split answers, so he's like, 'Nope, we're gonna wait and let you see.'
MM: I just noticed there seems to be a fragmentation every season, but I think near the end of this season, everyone is back on Galactica.
Q: Is there a possible spin-off called "Caprica?"
J/M: Nope/I don't know.
MM: It's supposed to be about 50/30 years in the past?
JJ: Well, I'm obviously not gonna be in that.
Q: Do you have conflict with your morals and your characters' morals?
JB: I'll give that to Mary, because that doesn’t apply to me.
(long answer that I couldn’t catch)
Q: We really wish you could continue for a few more years.
JB: What? I thought we were only staying for two days? (feigns bewilderment)
MM: I just want to say that, even with all your being star-struck or nervous about meeting us, you've all been a gentle crowd, so thank you.
(we clap, whoop, take final pics, and leave).
O, yeah, I was going to ask a question, but I couldn’t get up the nerve, plus I didn’t think it was a great question:
"Do the producers know the entire plot and have everything already planned out for your characters, or do they also look at fan reaction and do changes accordingly?"
Eh, well. If they had to pick on me, they'd either have to say "Yes, you the young lady in front…or if they noticed, "Yes, you in the Stargate shirt." And then they'd probably give me a look, because they seem to be rivals at times, lol.
I remembered watching a youtube video of Michael Shanks at a Q&A, and when someone mentioned "Double Jeopardy," someone yelled out, "he's a cylon!"
(This isn't the exact video, but it's in a series of them, that I totally recommend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEATk_QXzx0&mode=related&search=
And I remember listening to director's commentary on BSG's "Home Part ½" and he said, "Gosh, if this was Stargate, we'd be shooting people by now." I laughed, and was kind of offended, but :)
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the report:) Have a lovely week:)
Friday:Me and my friend, Frances, couldn't make it until 5:30pm, and the main show room closes at 7pm. I was mainly looking forward to the Farscape panel, which was from 5-6. I was happy to see even half an hour, because the setting was so intimate, that as soon as I walked in, I thought I was talking to them myself. And in 'them,' I refer to Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey, David Franklin, and Wayne Pygram.
Um, there is so much I could say, but I have to go for now. I REALLY wanted to post something, so here it is. And obviously, my default pic is of me and Jamie Bamber, which I want to talk so much about.
O, and totally non-related, but this http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/the-uns-new-international-radiation-symbol/ cracked me up...OMG!
Friday- My friend, Frances, and I, could only make it at 5:30 in the afternoon, and this was my first convention experience. I made it in time for half an hour more of the Farscape Panel, and O man, it was amazing!
I couldn’t really take any notes, because I didn’t want to make any sound getting out paper and pen, but I remembered snippets of questions and answers.
As soon as I walked into that room, a small room, mind you, I felt like I was talking to Gigi, Virginia, David, and Wayne, personally. My heart was beating so fast.
Somebody said "Welcome to Orlando."
And Virginia's response was hilarious, "Yeah, it's bloody freezing!"
Then we jumped to talking about how we hated the fact that Farscape had to end, and that the Peacekeeper Wars was great. Gigi commented on how the original script was so beautiful, but because of the budget and time, they had to cut a lot of important scenes, especially the background on how Chiana finally got her transplanted eyes.
There was also a comment on Wayne's flowery shirt. And how the character Harvey was created with flowery shirts, how one concept can lead to another and the keeping of Scorpius's clone. Wayne talked a lot, and he told us that the first time Harvey was created; the flowery shirt was taken off of Ricky Manning's back. Ricky Manning, being one of the producers/directors of the show.
I noticed David Franklin was drinking a lot of water, and was very quite. And he commented on how he only had 4 minutes of makeup each day, and everyone else's took 4 hours. Ginny said that at the end of everyday, she would want to rip that makeup off.
Someone asked whether Wayne liked that Scorpius was made into a somewhat sexual character. Wayne said that he could've done without it. "I can handle myself." We giggled for the innuendo.
And someone made a comment on how they were thankful that Rygel didn’t just take the easy way out and poison everyone every time he had a chance.
Saturday- I was not prepared for autographs. I had some white printer paper and a black sharpie. Luckily, there were two vendors for headshots. I changed my mind between Sean Astin, Wayne Pygram, Virginia Hey, David Franklin, and a cast photo of Battlestar: Galactica. Sadly, there were no pics for Gigi Edgley, which was disappointing. At first, I was eager to get Sean Astin's autograph, but I told myself, he wasn't the main reason I was at the convention. Long story short, I could only afford Wayne's and Ginny's autographs if I were to get Jamie's and Mary's, among other things. I wasn't thinking straight at the time, because the prospect of meeting these people was nerve-wracking. Anyways, I didn’t think to buy the cast photo of BSG, because I didn’t think I'd ever meet anyone else. In retrospect, I should've, because now I'm heading to Dragoncon for Katee's. Also, I bought a Stargate: SG-1 shirt at the vendor's. It was $25, but it was the only stargate item I would ever own, so I had to have it.
I went in line for Jamie's autograph first, because there wasn’t much of a line, which I found interesting. There was a definite line for Mary and she arrived half an hour before Jamie. When Jamie arrived, I was shocked to see him wearing a pink shirt, it looked very nice on him and accentuated his shoulders and pecs;p Anyways, while I was waiting, I met this lovely lady and we talked for an hour about how BSG was going and how Jamie used to die off quite rapidly in his other guest staring roles. She also told me about Dragoncon, which I am looking forward to. My friend, Frances, is the most gracious and kind person for waiting in line with me, even when she could be walking around the room, where her main interests are, and God bless her heart.
When it was finally my turn, I was happy to know that the autograph was only going to be $20 and $5 for the pic.
Jamie is SO nice! I'm not sure if he was new at signings, but he really took his time to personalize stuff and really acknowledge you as a fan. I really had no clue what to say or how to act, so I merely said I loved the show. I feel like such a dufus, because of course, people love the show, that's why their here. He nods as he signs his headshot, "To Anna, with love, -Jamie Bamber, Lee Apollo."
He's like "Yeah, it's a great show." And hearing his British accent up close is personal is really cool, lol.
So while he's still writing, I say that I've only seen season 2.
And he asks, "Only season 2?"
And I fumble with my words, "Well, I've seen season 1 too, but I haven’t seen season 3."
He nods. "Ah yes, Season 3 is great, and we're looking forward to season 4. I'm sure you'll catch up with season 3 once it comes out on dvd, vhs, or whichever."
I nod, and ask one more question, "Are you guys still shooting?"
"Nope."
I don't know how we've managed to talk this much over the amount of time it takes for him to sign the pic, but I shyly ask for a pic with him when he's done. He's so kind and friendly and says, "Yeah, sure."
He gets up and wraps his arm around me, and wow, I don’t know what happened, but all I could do was pray the picture turned out all right, lol.
At the end, I think he might've said 'Take care,' while I said 'Thank you.' And I recall hearing, not the precise words, but with just great sincerity, that he has become my favorite actor to meet.
I met Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and Virginia Hey (Zhaan) earlier, but it wasn’t as I had imagined. Wayne merely signed the pic and didn’t even ask to personalize it or anything. Maybe that's what happens when you age in the industry. I expected Ginny to be more like Zhaan, but she's still cool. She drew hearts all over the pic of Zhaan, and personalized it. She told me about her yoga session in the next day, but I wouldn’t be there, and I felt like she was advertising herself far too much…Gigi Edgley (Chiana) and David Franklin (Cpt. Braca) were right next to them, but I didn’t have anything for them to sign, and as I said, could not afford. Perhaps some other time, hopefully. Farscape was one of my favorite shows, second only to Stargate, so meeting them was wonderful.
Later, I waited in line for Mary McDonnell's autograph, which lasted about an hour, and I met this man with his kids from Massachusetts. Mary wasn’t taking any pics with anyone, because it took too much time. When it was my turn, I asked her how she felt working with Eddie, and she said it was great. And I tried asking her about shipping, but she didn’t understand the terminology, so I was trying to explain, but someone from press approached her, and she's trying to tell him she's not taking pictures for anyone. I left with a mere thank you, and some disappointment. I still think Jamie Bamber was the nicest, hopefully Michael Shanks and Chris Judge will not disappoint at Dragoncon. It's not that I expect to become friends with them, but at least take a little time with the fans, we are paying for your autographs. Is it too much to ask?
Gosh, that was surreal.
BSG Panel- In order to get a good seat, most people stayed for the panel before, which was on how to make props out of everyday, common objects. It was 50 minutes long, but it was pretty interesting and worth it. Before Jamie and Mary arrived, I was chatting with a few people next to me. The couple on my left was from Minnesota, and on my right was a young lady from Michigan; they came far to Orlando to see BSG. Wow (I believe this will become my life when I am older). It was about 5 minutes after 5pm when the Megacon volunteers announced that they needed to add and extra room due to all the people waiting for the panel. The guard almost scared us when they said that, because it meant they might shift the stage from which we were directly in front. But fortunately, (thank the gods) they didn’t. The only obstacle for me was peoples' heads in front of me, because I am short.
We finally see Jamie and Mary standing in the back waiting for everyone to get settled, and as they walked towards the stage, everyone clapped.
Now I must state that I couldn’t write down everything verbatim, but I did write down some interesting and funny things. I also wrote it in sharpie, so I didn’t want to write for too long in case people were getting annoyed with the fumes.
While Jamie and Mary were reorganizing around with their chairs and microphones, someone shouted, "So say we all."
Jamie and Mary laughed along with us. Then, to start off, Mary explains that they are "good techies." Something about not needing assistance when they are at panels. And to prove that statement, they speak into their mikes.
MM: Testing one, two…
JB: Three, four.
Somehow, Mary started saying, "Baby, it's cold outside."
JB: Isn't that a song?
And then Jamie goes on about now they have to leave.
No one really got the joke, so he asked, "Isn't that a part of the lyrics?"
JB: Well, I guess we're here to answer questions.
MM: Yeah, that's what I was debriefed for.
Q: This is for Jamie. It seems that you have mastered the American accent. Do you ever find yourself slipping between accents?
JB: You're very kind. No, it's still a challenge and sometimes, I can hear myself slipping, but sometimes, I don’t really concentrate/notice it.
Q: Mary, what would you have described between Roslin and Adar?
MM: It was interesting. There is a power struggle especially between people in high places. I would it was an affair, and in the end, I'm not how it would've ended, so I'm glad that it ended the way it did.
Q: What do you miss about the first season?
J/M: We're no longer in scenes together.
Now, I should bring up, that they have been playing on the Lee/Roslin ship. And they're just getting close to each other and putting innuendo in what they say. Very amusing.
Q: What is your favorite line.
JB: I love Laura. (The crowd goes wild) It's all subtext. You gotta roll the hard 6, whatever the means.
Q: What drew you to BSG?
MM: I was actually at lunch with my agent in California, which is truly a rare occasion, but my agent told me about this script. Originally, I couldn’t get myself in that world.
JB: Nobody made me an offer (fakes hurt and indignant). I think when I got the part, there was a sphincter-contracting movement.
MM: I think I might've had something to do with that. "I like that man, might we get him?"
JB: And I was wearing a Dominoes pizza cap. To be honest, I thought the miniseries was slow, but it's good to be slow, because later we go quickly into action.
Q: How do you feel about Apollo being constantly shoved into corners, conflict with dad and Kara, and getting fat *laughs*
JB: Yeah, getting fat, that was my fault. *laughs* Well, the beauty of the character is that they are grey, not black, not white.
There was a fat suit. My facial fat resembled something like flounder. We actually used Grace's pregnancy belly. There were actually two preg bellies, one of during the pregnancy, and one for after the pregnancy. Well, I was wearing the after-preg belly, but we shot some scenes and it felt heavier. One day, I saw Grace's after-preg belly hanging somewhere, and I asked, "What's that?"
Someone told me, "Oh, it's Grace's other belly."
"Other belly?! I want that belly."
So I grew.
MM: Well, have you noticed they haven't asked any of the women to get fat? *laughs*
Somehow, we started talking about Lady Presidents and comparing Hillary Clinton vs. Laura Roslin.
MM: We're totally different; Hillary hasn’t thrown anyone out of the airlock. I'm just teasing. *laughs* But my character had a real sense of unpreparedness…where is power inside ourselves?
Q: Do you find yourself saying 'frak' in real life?
JB: Frak no! Fraking A!
Q: How much of your characters' reactions are now, and do they include implications of what may happen in the future?
JB: The characters are so much reacting to the present, so I don’t want to think much about the future.
Q: How do you feel about the quadrangle?
JB: Fantastic. (I couldn’t write down everything, but it was something about having to deal with that relationship in the episode, "Taking a Break from all your worries." Mary made a comment on how that was a really ironic title and how long it was, but it's an amazing episode.)
Q: Mary, How do you feel about your relationship with Adama?
MM: Which one? (Said with stoic face and moves closer to Jamie and attempts to pop kiss him on the cheek).
JB: I think I blushed.
Q: Admiral Adama.
JB: One day, I'll be admiral. Just you wait. (fakes threatening to overtake his father).
MM: And I'll be 90.
Q: If you don't kill each other first.
MM: If we haven't ended up killing each other by now, we probably won't.
Q: How is your shooting schedule?
JB: BSG is more of a movie in terms of the way and time it takes to shoot it, because while guest starring on Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer, I knew they have a much quicker pace, 2 weeks compared to 2 months.
MM: You'll be competing with yourself on tv time slots. *laughs*
Q: What is your favorite episode, least?
JB: Right now, an upcoming episode, "Taking a break from all your worries."
My least was "Black Market." (I concluded it was because he didn’t like his character sleeping with a prostitute).
MM: No, really. There is a part in upcoming episode that he is literally spewing his guts out, and there is phenomenal acting. I mean, something that's never been seen on tv. It's so raw. Eddie actually came up to me and threatened that if I didn’t give it everything I've got, he'd walk away. It pushed all of us.
But um, my favorite episode is "33," (clapping) because for me, that was really what gave our show momentum, and really showed all of the original crew, and I don’t have a least favorite episode.
(missing stuff)
JB: I'm amazed Eddie didn’t die of a heart attack in boxing.
Q: How do you feel remaking Richard Hatch's character, and then working with him?
JB: I was totally prepared to work with someone who's bitter, because he tried so hard to get his show back, but it never happened. I try not to think; I don’t think the Apollo now as re-imagined.
MM: Plus Richard Hatch had a guy buddy.
JB: And Lee has a girl buddy.
MM: That used to be a guy.
JB: Really? Oh, and he had better costumes.
Q: What's up with the pink shirt?
JB: My mum bought it for me, and I'm very confident in pink. I think it brings out the blues in my eyes.
(some question)
JB: James(Callis, Gaius) and I are like an extended cult/tribe; we're both young families.
MM: We hangout, we watched the World Cup together in my trailer. Actually, there's an outdoor flat screen on my trailer.
JB: Yeah, it's at the tire level. Why would someone put a flat screen tv on outside, tire level of a trailer? People could take you out on the freeway.
Jamie and Mary both routed for the Italian, and something about loving the French, but can't stand for France to win again…idk.
Q: You're in your third season of BSG, and by now, some others actors can direct and write. Are you desperate to do either?
JB: I am desperate to direct and write.
MM: I'm not desperate.
JB: It'd be a benefit to the show if we didn’t.
Q: Are there any practical jokers on set?
MM: Ya know, that's a good question. (looks at Jamie) I don't think we do. The crew is our joker. They put geatine(sp) in the back of shots.
Q: Would you want your character to be a cylon?
MM: I don’t know, how could I throw myself out the airlock?
*laughs* O, I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this.
JB: Well, there is an upside to being unkillable, and they get to wear great clothes.
Something about an upcoming trial, and someone asked if J/M were going to be the prosecutor or defendant, and Jamie in turn, asked the audience what we think, and there were split answers, so he's like, 'Nope, we're gonna wait and let you see.'
MM: I just noticed there seems to be a fragmentation every season, but I think near the end of this season, everyone is back on Galactica.
Q: Is there a possible spin-off called "Caprica?"
J/M: Nope/I don't know.
MM: It's supposed to be about 50/30 years in the past?
JJ: Well, I'm obviously not gonna be in that.
Q: Do you have conflict with your morals and your characters' morals?
JB: I'll give that to Mary, because that doesn’t apply to me.
(long answer that I couldn’t catch)
Q: We really wish you could continue for a few more years.
JB: What? I thought we were only staying for two days? (feigns bewilderment)
MM: I just want to say that, even with all your being star-struck or nervous about meeting us, you've all been a gentle crowd, so thank you.
(we clap, whoop, take final pics, and leave).
O, yeah, I was going to ask a question, but I couldn’t get up the nerve, plus I didn’t think it was a great question:
"Do the producers know the entire plot and have everything already planned out for your characters, or do they also look at fan reaction and do changes accordingly?"
Eh, well. If they had to pick on me, they'd either have to say "Yes, you the young lady in front…or if they noticed, "Yes, you in the Stargate shirt." And then they'd probably give me a look, because they seem to be rivals at times, lol.
I remembered watching a youtube video of Michael Shanks at a Q&A, and when someone mentioned "Double Jeopardy," someone yelled out, "he's a cylon!"
(This isn't the exact video, but it's in a series of them, that I totally recommend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEATk_QXzx0&mode=related&search=
And I remember listening to director's commentary on BSG's "Home Part ½" and he said, "Gosh, if this was Stargate, we'd be shooting people by now." I laughed, and was kind of offended, but :)
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the report:) Have a lovely week:)