James-Gazing at the San Jose Wizard World Comic Con
As promised! A report about my first convention experience that's all about James Marsters. :) I would've posted this A LOT sooner, except I took SO MANY PHOTOS that after two days of conventioning (yeah, I'm totally verbing that), I dozed off at my computer waiting for a full media card to finish uploading at night. It seemed wise to go to bed then, except as it turned out I was too wired to sleep, with visions of James dancing in my head. Some of the hot, hot Spike fanvids that came out in the last few days didn't help either.
Which meant I woke up tired the next day.
ANYWAY, because sharing is caring, may I present, for your viewing pleasure, lots of photos of James:
James at his booth.
Doesn't he look great in a gray v-neck t-shirt? Lemme tell you--it was super soft. Like fluffy kitten, sleepy bunny, cotton candy, double rainbow soft. He's the nicest guy (confirmed by every fan who's met him and every volunteer I talked to at the con), but somehow that textual feedback left the strongest impression on me. #^_^#
Fellow fans, I have some unfortunate news to share, though. He'll drape his arm on your shoulder for a photo op, but apparently hugs are no longer given. "I can't hug pretty girls anymore," he said, with an exaggerated pout, and managed to be charming even when he was saying "no".
The many faces of Jame during his Q&A session.
And posing with a fan who makes a fantastic Illyria. Wow! She is just spot on!
As someone who had combed through YouTube and fanblogs for JM interviews, I didn't get a whole lot of new info from his Q&A session. No matter. He's ridiculously fun to watch. (In fact, when I approached a convention volunteer for directions to JM's Q&A room, and the volunteer didn't know either, with only James' name I managed to convince the volunteer to go on the room quest, then attend the Q&A, with me. One more down for James. Hee. James draws in fans like a magnet. Also, it's possible I'm a bad influence. It was only afterwards that I found out that the volunteer was supposed to have been, well, volunteering. Oops. #sorrynotsorry)
James Marsters Q&A Session (Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDJB4ALDxRo)
James opened the floor by once again challenging fans to come up with a question that'd embarrass him. I don't think any fan managed to unlock that particular achievement this time, not for lack of trying, though.
JM shared some by-now-familiar anecdotes such as:
1) Wrestling with Angel the puppet (fun; stuntman did the hard work);
2) His early-season jealousy of DB (girlfriend at the time, possibly jealous of the rapport between JM and costar Julie Landau, confessed to/maybe fabricated a crush on DB);
3) Method acting is good for film/stage, not so for long-running TV series. Trying to hold on to a persistent state of self hatred in order to get into Spike's head for BtVS Seasons 6 and 7 landed him in therapy for depression;
4) Obligatory Cockney accent performance because a fan asked if he still got to use it;
5) JM sang a few lines of "Dangerous" and told the audience that it was about MT and written when she was 15 (thus the title). That always provoked a good fan reaction.
(Let me know if you want more details for any of the above.)
A couple of things were new to me:
1) JM's belief that it was a mistake for the comics to have Spike living on a spaceship with alien bugs. (No arguments from me there!) He said writers for BtVS (or any TV show, for that matter) had to work within the constraints of the medium: the budget, limits of special effects, scheduling, etc. whereas for a comic book, the sky's the limit. For a writer coming from TV to comics, who for years had to abide by the limitation of making television and suddenly found themselves free of that restriction, it was very tempting to do the most outrageous thing possible, and they did. He said he always tried to limit himself to the same set of TV production rules in comics, and he wrote "Into the Light" such that it could be easily adapted to TV.
2) The church scene in S7 "Beneath You", one of my favorite episodes (where Buffy learns of Spike's newly ensouled status), as originally written and shot looked really bad, so much so that Joss rewrote the whole scene and had them reshoot it. (I was aware of the rewriting by Joss, but I'd always imagined the final draft of the script to have been completed before any shooting had taken place. To have Joss insist on having all that work redone spoke volumes about the importance of that scene.)
The only question he refused to answer asked for his "darkest secret". Yeah, kinda a no-brainer that it was a no-answerer.
And because it was JM, there were a number of particularly memorable moments of humor:
1) Q: What's your favorite Taylor Swift song? A: All of them!
2) Q: Do you like bacon? A: I love bacon! (Some bacon-related discussion ensued. JM's perfectly cooked slice of bacon is one where when you hold it up on one corner, it remains straight all the way across. All righty! No flappy bacon for him, lol.)
I'm sure I'm forgetting some questions. I was taking too many pictures to bother taking notes. Undoubtedly Indeed someone has uploaded the whole Q&A to YouTube by now (link here).
Back to the exhibit hall. There were other celebrities, too, but I was too smitten with James to pay much attention to them. :P (I kind of regret not taking the opportunity to talk to Bruce Campell, though, who in a baby-blue blazer looked ready to perform and to charm. He seemed to be having a great time interacting with fans. Maybe next time. And Dean Cain, who I will always think of as superman from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was in the next booth. (Any man who could pull off the neon-colored tights look, and still managed to look masculine and heroic, had to be super. Also, a Superman actor who was part Asian? Even cooler!) Wow, at the sight of him a lot of my teenage memories came rushing back, faster than Superman at full speed. For quite a few years, that show used to be our Sunday after-dinner regular spot with my parents. I can't believe I still remember that. That was *mumbling* years ago!) ;)
Comic artists were well represented, too! See photo evidence:
Comic legends Marv Wolfman and Phil Ortiz. Both of them were extremely nice and accommodating to a stranger waving a camera in their faces. Both seemed surprised to be asked to have their photo taken, in fact.
And one cannot attend con without talking about the cosplay. It was off the charts! I had to sidestep quite a few menacing aliens and super villains, a Batman on the move, and one 6-foot-tall hobbit in the exhibit hall. One Spiderman had a backpack that looked like it was made of spider silk. See photos below for just a small selection. (I tried not to bother people who looked like they were obviously in the middle of something.) The Tardis below, BTW, had an operating door, and was big enough for someone to stand inside. Pulling off some of the costumes required a tremendous amount of dedication, especially considering it was 80 degrees on one of the days. Kudos to the lady with the full leather outfit.
Well, that was a blast! I'm hooked on the convention experience! *Checks JM's con schedule* When's he going to be back? :)
(Let me know if you have any questions! Anonymous comments will be screened, but any non-spammy question will be unscreened and answered.)
Which meant I woke up tired the next day.
ANYWAY, because sharing is caring, may I present, for your viewing pleasure, lots of photos of James:
James at his booth.
Doesn't he look great in a gray v-neck t-shirt? Lemme tell you--it was super soft. Like fluffy kitten, sleepy bunny, cotton candy, double rainbow soft. He's the nicest guy (confirmed by every fan who's met him and every volunteer I talked to at the con), but somehow that textual feedback left the strongest impression on me. #^_^#
Fellow fans, I have some unfortunate news to share, though. He'll drape his arm on your shoulder for a photo op, but apparently hugs are no longer given. "I can't hug pretty girls anymore," he said, with an exaggerated pout, and managed to be charming even when he was saying "no".
The many faces of Jame during his Q&A session.
And posing with a fan who makes a fantastic Illyria. Wow! She is just spot on!
As someone who had combed through YouTube and fanblogs for JM interviews, I didn't get a whole lot of new info from his Q&A session. No matter. He's ridiculously fun to watch. (In fact, when I approached a convention volunteer for directions to JM's Q&A room, and the volunteer didn't know either, with only James' name I managed to convince the volunteer to go on the room quest, then attend the Q&A, with me. One more down for James. Hee. James draws in fans like a magnet. Also, it's possible I'm a bad influence. It was only afterwards that I found out that the volunteer was supposed to have been, well, volunteering. Oops. #sorrynotsorry)
James Marsters Q&A Session (Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDJB4ALDxRo)
James opened the floor by once again challenging fans to come up with a question that'd embarrass him. I don't think any fan managed to unlock that particular achievement this time, not for lack of trying, though.
JM shared some by-now-familiar anecdotes such as:
1) Wrestling with Angel the puppet (fun; stuntman did the hard work);
2) His early-season jealousy of DB (girlfriend at the time, possibly jealous of the rapport between JM and costar Julie Landau, confessed to/maybe fabricated a crush on DB);
3) Method acting is good for film/stage, not so for long-running TV series. Trying to hold on to a persistent state of self hatred in order to get into Spike's head for BtVS Seasons 6 and 7 landed him in therapy for depression;
4) Obligatory Cockney accent performance because a fan asked if he still got to use it;
5) JM sang a few lines of "Dangerous" and told the audience that it was about MT and written when she was 15 (thus the title). That always provoked a good fan reaction.
(Let me know if you want more details for any of the above.)
A couple of things were new to me:
1) JM's belief that it was a mistake for the comics to have Spike living on a spaceship with alien bugs. (No arguments from me there!) He said writers for BtVS (or any TV show, for that matter) had to work within the constraints of the medium: the budget, limits of special effects, scheduling, etc. whereas for a comic book, the sky's the limit. For a writer coming from TV to comics, who for years had to abide by the limitation of making television and suddenly found themselves free of that restriction, it was very tempting to do the most outrageous thing possible, and they did. He said he always tried to limit himself to the same set of TV production rules in comics, and he wrote "Into the Light" such that it could be easily adapted to TV.
2) The church scene in S7 "Beneath You", one of my favorite episodes (where Buffy learns of Spike's newly ensouled status), as originally written and shot looked really bad, so much so that Joss rewrote the whole scene and had them reshoot it. (I was aware of the rewriting by Joss, but I'd always imagined the final draft of the script to have been completed before any shooting had taken place. To have Joss insist on having all that work redone spoke volumes about the importance of that scene.)
The only question he refused to answer asked for his "darkest secret". Yeah, kinda a no-brainer that it was a no-answerer.
And because it was JM, there were a number of particularly memorable moments of humor:
1) Q: What's your favorite Taylor Swift song? A: All of them!
2) Q: Do you like bacon? A: I love bacon! (Some bacon-related discussion ensued. JM's perfectly cooked slice of bacon is one where when you hold it up on one corner, it remains straight all the way across. All righty! No flappy bacon for him, lol.)
I'm sure I'm forgetting some questions. I was taking too many pictures to bother taking notes. Undoubtedly Indeed someone has uploaded the whole Q&A to YouTube by now (link here).
Back to the exhibit hall. There were other celebrities, too, but I was too smitten with James to pay much attention to them. :P (I kind of regret not taking the opportunity to talk to Bruce Campell, though, who in a baby-blue blazer looked ready to perform and to charm. He seemed to be having a great time interacting with fans. Maybe next time. And Dean Cain, who I will always think of as superman from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was in the next booth. (Any man who could pull off the neon-colored tights look, and still managed to look masculine and heroic, had to be super. Also, a Superman actor who was part Asian? Even cooler!) Wow, at the sight of him a lot of my teenage memories came rushing back, faster than Superman at full speed. For quite a few years, that show used to be our Sunday after-dinner regular spot with my parents. I can't believe I still remember that. That was *mumbling* years ago!) ;)
Comic artists were well represented, too! See photo evidence:
Comic legends Marv Wolfman and Phil Ortiz. Both of them were extremely nice and accommodating to a stranger waving a camera in their faces. Both seemed surprised to be asked to have their photo taken, in fact.
And one cannot attend con without talking about the cosplay. It was off the charts! I had to sidestep quite a few menacing aliens and super villains, a Batman on the move, and one 6-foot-tall hobbit in the exhibit hall. One Spiderman had a backpack that looked like it was made of spider silk. See photos below for just a small selection. (I tried not to bother people who looked like they were obviously in the middle of something.) The Tardis below, BTW, had an operating door, and was big enough for someone to stand inside. Pulling off some of the costumes required a tremendous amount of dedication, especially considering it was 80 degrees on one of the days. Kudos to the lady with the full leather outfit.
Well, that was a blast! I'm hooked on the convention experience! *Checks JM's con schedule* When's he going to be back? :)
(Let me know if you have any questions! Anonymous comments will be screened, but any non-spammy question will be unscreened and answered.)