324.
PARSIPPANY'S SALUTE TO SUPERNATURAL 2010:
The con report, part Friday...
Let's not bring up how long it took me to write this damn thing, mmkay? Mmkay.
Yes, second weekend of July. A couple of days I won't soon forget. I never imagined I'd go to an SPN convention. After "The Real Ghostbusters", I wasn't entirely sure I ever wanted to, especially since the dorky cosplayers were likely to be replaced by tinhats and the terminally awkward.
I'm happy to say that wasn't 100% the case. The other fans I met were more interested in the show than the personal lives of the actors, or whether or not Dean and Sammy are into each other, if you know what I mean. They were bubbly, friendly and content with discussing their favorite episodes.
But let's be honest here. No one reads these tl;dr con reports for fan-to-fan interaction (unless someone happens to get stabbed in the friggin' eye). So, onto the actor's panels!
WARNING: S5 and possible S6 spoilers.
Alona Tal (Jo Harvelle)
She was the greatest motherfucker there, and I don't say that frivolously. I was never a fan of Jo's until her heartbreaking final episode. Most of my friends agree that Jo was not hunter material. She didn't have the physique nor the field experience, tips she heard from other hunters at the Roadhouse aside. She wasn't cut out for it, the end, and it rubbed many fans the wrong way when she foisted herself on the Winchesters.
However, Alona herself is a bonafide bro. Her panel was very entertaining; she knows how to work a crowd, and has since become one of my favorite actresses attached to SPN. In fact, I might rewatch her episodes after this bad boy gets posted.
Some highlights...
x Okay, might as well get this one out of the way. There was a 15 year-old girl at the convention, her first one, that went up to just about every single actor and asked a "two-part question" only to proceed to carry on conversations with them. By Saturday afternoon, people were so tired of her cutting into other fan's time that they told her to hurry up or groaned loudly when she went up to the mic.
So, yes. Her and Alona. The encounter. Fifteen year-old breathily inquired about the boys and if they were good kissers, yada-yada. Neither of her questions were directed at Alona, who asked, "Why don't you go to a convention where Jared and Jensen are gonna be?"
To which 15 year-old replied, "I can't afford it."
Then Alona, in a Crowning Moment of Awesome, shot back, "Get a job!" It was beautiful and people were chuckling or stunned into silence. Oh Alona, you are a champion of the people! ♥
x Speaking of kissing scenes, when Jo and Dean had their first and last, Alona claimed that Jared farted during each take. Stay classy, Padalecki~.
x When asked what other character on the show she'd like to be, she said she really liked Julie McNivens' character (Anna Milton); that she'd want to be an angel. Such an 'awww' moment.
x The only time Alona's been semi-seriously hurt was during the filming of "Good God, Y'all!" Jo was half-hanging out a window before Ellen roughly pulled her back and Alona slammed her arm down on the exterior of the building. There were an unusually high number of takes and she developed a large, arm-length bruise. Yeowch.
x Learned English (she's Israeli) through Disney movies, her favorite princess being Ariel. She even sang the opening bars to "Part of Your World" -- very cutely, I might add -- and says her husband asks her to sing it all the time (another 'awww' moment).
Fredric Lehne (Yellow-Eyed Demon/Azazel)
Dear God, where to start? Fred has tons of rogueish charm, is musically inclined and kept everyone at his panel in stitches. He's just an awesome guy. I described my first impression of him to zombifiers that he's your well-traveled black sheep uncle who intentionally tells inappropriate stories to the kiddies and doesn't afraid of anything.
Highlights...
x One delightful yarn he shared took place during the filming of a show in Utah. He rose early and was dying for caffeine, so he popped into the local Starbucks for a drink and continued on his way.
Moments later, he noticed he was on the receiving ends of some pretty hateful stares by other people in the vicinity. He didn't know what the hell until he realized he was on the grounds of the Mormon Tabernacle. For those who don't get the significance, Mormons ban, amongst other things, all caffeine from their diet, so it's a big middle finger via Fred even if it was by accident. He referred to himself as "a jerk-off from Jersey" for the incident.
x Another story comes from his stint on Firefly. He and Nathan Fillion were shooting a fight scene that began with Fred clipping Nathan on the jaw or something. They had done so many takes that Fred started screwing around at the beginning of each one, taunting Nathan in a low whsiper, and finally culminating in Fred slapping him across the face and calling him a pussy. Reportedly, Nathan was not happy.
This also happened on Firefly: his role on the show was as a skeevy and rich Old West-style dude, and while playing around in character he slapped one of the extras on her butt. She cried sexual harassment and he responded in the character's gravelly voice, "Not on my moon, honey." Something to that effect. But the extra was totes for real and ran to the producers to complain. Fred got a stern talking-to which he found unfair.
Alright, show of hands. Who wouldn't mind a little squeeze from this guy?
x He mentioned this I believe after a fan asked if he had any regrets during the course of his career. Fred said the last thing he'd want to cross his mind on his deathbed was, "I should've", so he's made it a point to to live life to the fullest. A surprisingly touching sentiment.
x The Azazel contacts completely robbed him of his sight, so he often had a grip holding his hand off-camera to lead him to his markers during filming. He didn't account for the sticks and rocks that were in his way, however.
x If he could be any other character on Supernatural, it would be Bobby. The audience went nuts.
x And perhaps the most exciting news from his panel. A fan asked about Azazel or whether he'd ever return to the show, to which he said he was flying to Vancouver that Wednesday. The room went silent for a moment and then broke out in excited whispers. When pressed for more information, he said, "I cannot confirm nor deny." Eee!
Matt Cohen (young John Winchester)
Look at that face. Just look at it. Flawless. I was completely in awe the entire weekend because Matt is literally the most beautiful man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting in person. On top of perfect physicality, he's also humble with an incredibly warm personality. He was completely floored by all the people that showed up for his panel, and he expressed immense gratitude for the great shows he's been able to do and the people he's worked with as well as all the support he gets from fans.
He's such a sweetie-pie I can't even. Matt's another cast member whose appearance you should not miss at a convention. Not only is he a joy to listen to, but he got into the habit of giving out big hugs, starting with zombifiers and over a dozen other people, including myself. ♥
Highlights...
x Parsippany was his first US convention. How lucky were we?
x In "The Song Remains the Same", he enjoyed yelling at Jared and Jensen so much that he'd purposely flub lines so they'd have to do the scene over and over again. "I know you have good hair, shut up!"
x In 2007, Matt had a bricks-shitting role in Boogey Man 2. zombifiers and I are a teensy bit in love with that movie -- especially the ending -- and we both asked him questions about his experience on set. Hopefully without giving too much away, he told us he starved himself for about three days and didn't sleep at all for the final scene; and, oh, it showed. The climax is really intense and it's all due to his dedication to make an otherwise generic gore-fest into something unforgettable.
x He would play Mary or even work for free to get back on Supernatural. You could tell his time on the show was a very positive one, so I'm definitely pulling for him to do a few episodes in S6. Whether or not that comes to pass is another story. Leave me with my hopes and dreams!
x Admitted he has a rough time with rom-coms and playing the "nice guy". It's funny because he plays them so well in spite of his protestations. Take young Papa Winchester for instance. Sweet, idealistic, polite to a fault and head over heels in love with Mary. Much different than the stony and oftentimes neglectful older John we're introduced to early in the series. The differences are glaring, but at the same time it's not a stretch to think such a kind guy totally devoted to his wife and family could become bent on revenge after her awful murder.
Matt Cohen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan just kick inordinate amounts of ass, amirite?
x Speaking of young John, Matt believes S6 should be a John and Mary spin-off. Everyone cheered at the idea. How cute would that be? He also mentioned that his agent is totally in love with JDM. Whoever they are, they have excellent taste.
x During the autograph signing, wherein Matt signed zombifiers' SPN anti-possession tat, he told us a story about how he designed a tattoo for an ex with the date of their anniversary in Roman numerals, which also cleverly hid his name amongst the numbers. She broken up with him a week later, but he laughed a sly laugh and said that she'd always have a reminder of him, regardless of the fact they were no longer together. Awesome.
From zombifiers' journal: I approached the microphone to ask him a question. I'd already asked Fredric Lehne a question, so I hadn't expected to be nervous, but the second Matt said "Hi" to me, I started to feel it.
I told him: "I'm a little nervous."
He smiled at me and said, "Don't be nervous. I'll take all your nervousness away."
I laughed a little bit and replied, "That just makes me even more nervous."
He laughed, too, then. He said, "Okay, then what if I did this?" and jumped down from the stage and ran at me, stopping right on the other side of the microphone stand, mere inches away from where I was standing.
Alona Tal on the Dean/Jo pairing.
Unfortunately we weren't present for the karaoke because we wanted to get back to Toms River before it got too late. Thankfully this video was posted!
There aren't any good Fred videos floating around aside from his Saturday panel, which I'll post when I type up part two of my report. It'll be up within the week with the third and last part following shortly thereafter. Pictures taken by zombifiers should be coming soon, too. That weekend I played journalist while she played paparazzi.
Thanks for reading! :D
The con report, part Friday...
Let's not bring up how long it took me to write this damn thing, mmkay? Mmkay.
Yes, second weekend of July. A couple of days I won't soon forget. I never imagined I'd go to an SPN convention. After "The Real Ghostbusters", I wasn't entirely sure I ever wanted to, especially since the dorky cosplayers were likely to be replaced by tinhats and the terminally awkward.
I'm happy to say that wasn't 100% the case. The other fans I met were more interested in the show than the personal lives of the actors, or whether or not Dean and Sammy are into each other, if you know what I mean. They were bubbly, friendly and content with discussing their favorite episodes.
But let's be honest here. No one reads these tl;dr con reports for fan-to-fan interaction (unless someone happens to get stabbed in the friggin' eye). So, onto the actor's panels!
WARNING: S5 and possible S6 spoilers.
Alona Tal (Jo Harvelle)
She was the greatest motherfucker there, and I don't say that frivolously. I was never a fan of Jo's until her heartbreaking final episode. Most of my friends agree that Jo was not hunter material. She didn't have the physique nor the field experience, tips she heard from other hunters at the Roadhouse aside. She wasn't cut out for it, the end, and it rubbed many fans the wrong way when she foisted herself on the Winchesters.
However, Alona herself is a bonafide bro. Her panel was very entertaining; she knows how to work a crowd, and has since become one of my favorite actresses attached to SPN. In fact, I might rewatch her episodes after this bad boy gets posted.
Some highlights...
x Okay, might as well get this one out of the way. There was a 15 year-old girl at the convention, her first one, that went up to just about every single actor and asked a "two-part question" only to proceed to carry on conversations with them. By Saturday afternoon, people were so tired of her cutting into other fan's time that they told her to hurry up or groaned loudly when she went up to the mic.
So, yes. Her and Alona. The encounter. Fifteen year-old breathily inquired about the boys and if they were good kissers, yada-yada. Neither of her questions were directed at Alona, who asked, "Why don't you go to a convention where Jared and Jensen are gonna be?"
To which 15 year-old replied, "I can't afford it."
Then Alona, in a Crowning Moment of Awesome, shot back, "Get a job!" It was beautiful and people were chuckling or stunned into silence. Oh Alona, you are a champion of the people! ♥
x Speaking of kissing scenes, when Jo and Dean had their first and last, Alona claimed that Jared farted during each take. Stay classy, Padalecki~.
x When asked what other character on the show she'd like to be, she said she really liked Julie McNivens' character (Anna Milton); that she'd want to be an angel. Such an 'awww' moment.
x The only time Alona's been semi-seriously hurt was during the filming of "Good God, Y'all!" Jo was half-hanging out a window before Ellen roughly pulled her back and Alona slammed her arm down on the exterior of the building. There were an unusually high number of takes and she developed a large, arm-length bruise. Yeowch.
x Learned English (she's Israeli) through Disney movies, her favorite princess being Ariel. She even sang the opening bars to "Part of Your World" -- very cutely, I might add -- and says her husband asks her to sing it all the time (another 'awww' moment).
Fredric Lehne (Yellow-Eyed Demon/Azazel)
Dear God, where to start? Fred has tons of rogueish charm, is musically inclined and kept everyone at his panel in stitches. He's just an awesome guy. I described my first impression of him to zombifiers that he's your well-traveled black sheep uncle who intentionally tells inappropriate stories to the kiddies and doesn't afraid of anything.
Highlights...
x One delightful yarn he shared took place during the filming of a show in Utah. He rose early and was dying for caffeine, so he popped into the local Starbucks for a drink and continued on his way.
Moments later, he noticed he was on the receiving ends of some pretty hateful stares by other people in the vicinity. He didn't know what the hell until he realized he was on the grounds of the Mormon Tabernacle. For those who don't get the significance, Mormons ban, amongst other things, all caffeine from their diet, so it's a big middle finger via Fred even if it was by accident. He referred to himself as "a jerk-off from Jersey" for the incident.
x Another story comes from his stint on Firefly. He and Nathan Fillion were shooting a fight scene that began with Fred clipping Nathan on the jaw or something. They had done so many takes that Fred started screwing around at the beginning of each one, taunting Nathan in a low whsiper, and finally culminating in Fred slapping him across the face and calling him a pussy. Reportedly, Nathan was not happy.
This also happened on Firefly: his role on the show was as a skeevy and rich Old West-style dude, and while playing around in character he slapped one of the extras on her butt. She cried sexual harassment and he responded in the character's gravelly voice, "Not on my moon, honey." Something to that effect. But the extra was totes for real and ran to the producers to complain. Fred got a stern talking-to which he found unfair.
Alright, show of hands. Who wouldn't mind a little squeeze from this guy?
x He mentioned this I believe after a fan asked if he had any regrets during the course of his career. Fred said the last thing he'd want to cross his mind on his deathbed was, "I should've", so he's made it a point to to live life to the fullest. A surprisingly touching sentiment.
x The Azazel contacts completely robbed him of his sight, so he often had a grip holding his hand off-camera to lead him to his markers during filming. He didn't account for the sticks and rocks that were in his way, however.
x If he could be any other character on Supernatural, it would be Bobby. The audience went nuts.
x And perhaps the most exciting news from his panel. A fan asked about Azazel or whether he'd ever return to the show, to which he said he was flying to Vancouver that Wednesday. The room went silent for a moment and then broke out in excited whispers. When pressed for more information, he said, "I cannot confirm nor deny." Eee!
Matt Cohen (young John Winchester)
Look at that face. Just look at it. Flawless. I was completely in awe the entire weekend because Matt is literally the most beautiful man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting in person. On top of perfect physicality, he's also humble with an incredibly warm personality. He was completely floored by all the people that showed up for his panel, and he expressed immense gratitude for the great shows he's been able to do and the people he's worked with as well as all the support he gets from fans.
He's such a sweetie-pie I can't even. Matt's another cast member whose appearance you should not miss at a convention. Not only is he a joy to listen to, but he got into the habit of giving out big hugs, starting with zombifiers and over a dozen other people, including myself. ♥
Highlights...
x Parsippany was his first US convention. How lucky were we?
x In "The Song Remains the Same", he enjoyed yelling at Jared and Jensen so much that he'd purposely flub lines so they'd have to do the scene over and over again. "I know you have good hair, shut up!"
x In 2007, Matt had a bricks-shitting role in Boogey Man 2. zombifiers and I are a teensy bit in love with that movie -- especially the ending -- and we both asked him questions about his experience on set. Hopefully without giving too much away, he told us he starved himself for about three days and didn't sleep at all for the final scene; and, oh, it showed. The climax is really intense and it's all due to his dedication to make an otherwise generic gore-fest into something unforgettable.
x He would play Mary or even work for free to get back on Supernatural. You could tell his time on the show was a very positive one, so I'm definitely pulling for him to do a few episodes in S6. Whether or not that comes to pass is another story. Leave me with my hopes and dreams!
x Admitted he has a rough time with rom-coms and playing the "nice guy". It's funny because he plays them so well in spite of his protestations. Take young Papa Winchester for instance. Sweet, idealistic, polite to a fault and head over heels in love with Mary. Much different than the stony and oftentimes neglectful older John we're introduced to early in the series. The differences are glaring, but at the same time it's not a stretch to think such a kind guy totally devoted to his wife and family could become bent on revenge after her awful murder.
Matt Cohen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan just kick inordinate amounts of ass, amirite?
x Speaking of young John, Matt believes S6 should be a John and Mary spin-off. Everyone cheered at the idea. How cute would that be? He also mentioned that his agent is totally in love with JDM. Whoever they are, they have excellent taste.
x During the autograph signing, wherein Matt signed zombifiers' SPN anti-possession tat, he told us a story about how he designed a tattoo for an ex with the date of their anniversary in Roman numerals, which also cleverly hid his name amongst the numbers. She broken up with him a week later, but he laughed a sly laugh and said that she'd always have a reminder of him, regardless of the fact they were no longer together. Awesome.
Click to viewFrom zombifiers' journal: I approached the microphone to ask him a question. I'd already asked Fredric Lehne a question, so I hadn't expected to be nervous, but the second Matt said "Hi" to me, I started to feel it.
I told him: "I'm a little nervous."
He smiled at me and said, "Don't be nervous. I'll take all your nervousness away."
I laughed a little bit and replied, "That just makes me even more nervous."
He laughed, too, then. He said, "Okay, then what if I did this?" and jumped down from the stage and ran at me, stopping right on the other side of the microphone stand, mere inches away from where I was standing.
Alona Tal on the Dean/Jo pairing.
Unfortunately we weren't present for the karaoke because we wanted to get back to Toms River before it got too late. Thankfully this video was posted!
There aren't any good Fred videos floating around aside from his Saturday panel, which I'll post when I type up part two of my report. It'll be up within the week with the third and last part following shortly thereafter. Pictures taken by zombifiers should be coming soon, too. That weekend I played journalist while she played paparazzi.
Thanks for reading! :D