News from the Heroes Gala in Singapore
Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Ali Larter from the TV series Heroes were in Singapore from August 30 to September 2, 2007 as part of the Heroes World Tour. As one of the sponsors on Star World's Heroes broadcast in Asia, we had a chance to attend the gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday. For more details on the other tour events, visit this earlier recap.
COCKTAILS & DINNER
The gala started off with a cocktail reception, where we received a beautifully bound, hard cover colour compilation of the Heroes online webcomics and were invited to write down questions for the cast Q&A session later. While waiting for dinner to start, guests were treated to Channel (V)'s AMP artist, Nathan Hartono, and polaroid opportunities with life-sized mock ups of the cast.
After an hour or so, we were ushered into a ballroom decked out like New York City at night, with a band stand, four comfy chairs for the cast and the Heroes World Tour banner up front, wide screens at each corner (yup, videos ahead!) and customised place settings for each guest. Each of the four cast members were "randomly" seated around the room, and one of our colleagues ended up with Ali Larter. We couldn't bribe him to swap tables.
After much anticipation, all four cast members entered at the same time through different doors. Since Ali was the first in AND she walked right by our table, I caught her entrance on video. It's a bit shaky - we were drooling!
Q&A, PREVIEWS & PHOTOS
In between courses and performances by Clarissa Monteiro, we tried to roam the ballroom to chat up the cast. It was tough as each of them had minders who'd very firmly turn folks away or rush us once lines started to form. After the customary thank yous, the night wrapped up with Q&A with the cast (only one question each, picked from the box), a multimedia montage of the Singapore tour thus far, an S2 preview similar to what was shown at the San Diego Comic Con ... and FINALLY, photos - where we were basically told "keep moving, no talking!"
Cast highlights: If anyone remembers anything else, feel free to add as these are just my own hazy recollections and impressions.
Masi: Humble, positive and obliging, but less outgoing than I expected, perhaps due to him being in the constant center of attention. How has this series impacted your personal life? As a single child, Heroes has brought him a great family ... and a whole new experience!
Sendhil: Very warm, sex in glasses. How do you feel about being the only one with no powers? After joking that we reopened old scars just when he finally came to grips with this, Sendhil suggested that Mohinder plays a unique role as the narrator, through whose eyes we see the stories unfold. Masi interjected here to say that Sendhil's smile is amazing - it always lights up the room!
Ali: Even more gorgeous in person but most reticent among all of them, probably as she got the worst of the mob earlier that day. What's it like playing a dual role such as Niki/Jessica? It's great to be able to explore such constrasts: from law-abiding single mom to this superpowered, psychopath killer. Also, when the cast was presented with souveniers, Ali seemed really delighted at getting a gold-tipped orchid - "I was told about this and really wanted one. Thank you!"
Greg: Gregarious, funny, talkative, 110% crowd pleaser. Before the question was asked, Greg was asked to put his telepathic skills to use and answer it. His mind reading predicted the remarkably predictable question - What superpower would you want in real life? Supermetabolism! This was also where Greg quipped: "Your malls are very crowded in Singapore." Hah.
All in all, it was a fun night. The cast were great sports, given what must have been a tiring Asia tour, and especially after the mobs at their all-too-brief appearance in Vivocity earlier in the day.
COCKTAILS & DINNER
The gala started off with a cocktail reception, where we received a beautifully bound, hard cover colour compilation of the Heroes online webcomics and were invited to write down questions for the cast Q&A session later. While waiting for dinner to start, guests were treated to Channel (V)'s AMP artist, Nathan Hartono, and polaroid opportunities with life-sized mock ups of the cast.
After an hour or so, we were ushered into a ballroom decked out like New York City at night, with a band stand, four comfy chairs for the cast and the Heroes World Tour banner up front, wide screens at each corner (yup, videos ahead!) and customised place settings for each guest. Each of the four cast members were "randomly" seated around the room, and one of our colleagues ended up with Ali Larter. We couldn't bribe him to swap tables.
After much anticipation, all four cast members entered at the same time through different doors. Since Ali was the first in AND she walked right by our table, I caught her entrance on video. It's a bit shaky - we were drooling!
Q&A, PREVIEWS & PHOTOS
In between courses and performances by Clarissa Monteiro, we tried to roam the ballroom to chat up the cast. It was tough as each of them had minders who'd very firmly turn folks away or rush us once lines started to form. After the customary thank yous, the night wrapped up with Q&A with the cast (only one question each, picked from the box), a multimedia montage of the Singapore tour thus far, an S2 preview similar to what was shown at the San Diego Comic Con ... and FINALLY, photos - where we were basically told "keep moving, no talking!"
Cast highlights: If anyone remembers anything else, feel free to add as these are just my own hazy recollections and impressions.
Masi: Humble, positive and obliging, but less outgoing than I expected, perhaps due to him being in the constant center of attention. How has this series impacted your personal life? As a single child, Heroes has brought him a great family ... and a whole new experience!
Sendhil: Very warm, sex in glasses. How do you feel about being the only one with no powers? After joking that we reopened old scars just when he finally came to grips with this, Sendhil suggested that Mohinder plays a unique role as the narrator, through whose eyes we see the stories unfold. Masi interjected here to say that Sendhil's smile is amazing - it always lights up the room!
Ali: Even more gorgeous in person but most reticent among all of them, probably as she got the worst of the mob earlier that day. What's it like playing a dual role such as Niki/Jessica? It's great to be able to explore such constrasts: from law-abiding single mom to this superpowered, psychopath killer. Also, when the cast was presented with souveniers, Ali seemed really delighted at getting a gold-tipped orchid - "I was told about this and really wanted one. Thank you!"
Greg: Gregarious, funny, talkative, 110% crowd pleaser. Before the question was asked, Greg was asked to put his telepathic skills to use and answer it. His mind reading predicted the remarkably predictable question - What superpower would you want in real life? Supermetabolism! This was also where Greg quipped: "Your malls are very crowded in Singapore." Hah.
All in all, it was a fun night. The cast were great sports, given what must have been a tiring Asia tour, and especially after the mobs at their all-too-brief appearance in Vivocity earlier in the day.