VanCon 2013: Friday Report
Aug. 26th, 2013 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreSorry these reports are a little late this year folks - as you'll be able to see by the reports (once I get them up) this year was busier than any other year at the con, and I've barely had time to sleep, let alone type up my notes.
Anyway...
FRIDAY!
This is the first con I've been to with Richard Speight as the MC. So, I was excited. He came on wearing this great 70s inspired shirt.
Richard: "Sometimes you pick your ensemble, sometimes your mustache does it for you."
Richard announced that it's going to be Porncover and everyone is going to be introduced by their porn names, which is your first pet and the street you grew up on. So, Richard is Cuddles Saxxon. He walked into the audience a bit, and found some ladies with "I (heart) Dick" on their shirts, which amused Richard. "You're a couple of dick loving broads."
He introduced Emily and Rob... I forgot to write down their porn names, but Emily was Fergie.
Emily Perkins and Robert Benedict
Rob explained that he had tweeted that he had "butterflies in my pocket" instead of "stomach" and a fan actually brought him a little package of butterflies for his pocket.
Emily told the audience about how there was an extra moment filmed between Becky and DJ in TFAW and it was cut. Rob acted jealous.
Emily: "I can't see you as a god, but maybe a lesser god."
They talked about how Becky was the type to not be able to see only one guy. Emily decided that Chuck had to be "not a god who needs to have himself be the only one worshipped."
Rob: "Polytheistic"
Emily: "Yes, POLYtheistic."
Rob: "Okay, now I know who runs the show."
Emily talked about the scene where she tied Jared up, and how it was hot. Literally.
Emily: "He had several fans brought in... like whirly fans."
...as opposed to fans of the show. The audience and Rob laughed their asses off.
Jared at one point said, "I think I'm going to actually have to take off my pants." Because he was under a bunch of blankets in a warm studio.
Becky was the highlight of Chuck's arc for Rob... this devolved into them discussing how God is a voyeur that makes the exhibitionists (ie: Becky.)
Emily was a little nervous about playing a fan to begin with, but when she started on the show, Jared actually took her aside and went on and on about how great the fans were. There's apparently a quilt that fans made hanging in the production office.
Rob explained about how he didn't know Chuck was God until he got to Vancouver and the crew told him. To him, Chuck is Kripke, when Kripke left he took Chuck with him. Chuck is a metaphor for the actual creator of the actual show (so meta!)
I think the highlight of the panel was when a fan asked Emily and Rob to design a spin-off for Becky and Chuck. Rob thinks they'd be like the odd couple. Chuck stays at home and Becky goes out all the time - and brings guys home, and Chuck just says "Becky!" all exasperated. Emily thinks they'd be private investigators, Chuck would stay at home and research and Becky would go out and be a badass. Chuck would drive a VW bug and Becky would drive a Porsche.
Then Rob started trying to think about a title "something about writing, and being a fan..." and then midway through the next question, Rob suddenly yells out "It's called FANFICTION!" and then he and Emily high-fived while the audience went wild.
The next person asked Emily if she thinks that Becky would enjoy LARPing and possibly meet Charlie that way. (Here is where the fans forget that the actors aren't necessarily fans - and therefore might not watch the show.) Emily took the question to mean "would Emily like LARPing" and Emily thinks she would.
The next person's question was about how although Sam/Becky is obviously Becky's "OTP", would Becky get behind the Dean/Cas OTP? (Again, people have to remember that not everyone knows what OTP means)... Emily didn't really hear the question that well though, so she answered about whether she'd like to see Becky get with Dean. Emily agrees that Jensen is sexy, so sure!
But the question did lead into something awesome, because then the person who asked said, "let's just say OT3" and Emily realized this meant a threesome and enthusiastically agreed. Then Rob had to clarify that it was HER and Jared and Jensen, because his initial reaction was that the threesome was Jared/Jensen/Misha.
Emily: Oh yes! that!
So it ended up being Becky/Jared/Jensen/Misha and then Rob joked that he wanted to be involved but probably wouldn't even be allowed in the room. And he'd have to watch from a hole in the wall, and then Becky said he'd film it and watch it later - to which Rob was dismayed that he wouldn't even be able to watch it as it was occurring. Then Emily requested that the fans write it for her.
Another fan asked a convoluted question about how there's a backdoor to hell in purgatory, and do you think the boys could use a similar backdoor to get into heaven next season. Because Rob doesn't watch the show, he distilled the question into "Do I think there's a backdoor to heaven? Yeah, they need a way out in case of fire!"
The next question was about how Rob named his band Louden Swain and what they're origin story is. Rob explained that they were just a group that hung around and played covers, and then Rob started bringing his own stuff. Then slowly other band members came on board. The name came from a Matthew Modine role - and then Rob told us that he had actually met Matthew Modine yesterday at a panel at a film fest, and he was able to tell him about how he had named his band Louden Swain. Then after the panel, he wanted a picture but was nervous to ask - but then Matthew's daughter approached Rob and revealed that she was a SPN fan and asked for a picture, so he was able to say "Sure! If I can get a picture too!" Then Rob looked up and said, "Thanks Chuck!"
They were asked a hypothetical - if you were on a desert island with the SPN characters, who would you ally with and who would you kill and/or eat? Emily argued that Jared and Jensen were too muscley. Rob was impressed with the amount of thought Emily put into it, and then admitted that he would probably be eaten - but if he had to choose, he'd eat Richard.
Rob: "I think he would be tasty."
Emily: "Salty"
Then my notes just say "Mark Sheppard" but I think it's because they decided to eat him, rather than ally with him. Rob thanked the questioner and then laughed about being asked which of his friends he would eat.
Rob was asked whether Louden Swain would be going on any tours. Yes, soon! They are going to the Pacific North West as a matter of fact.
Emily was asked whether she likes playing good or evil characters better. Emily likes variety, but likes projects that have a dark edge. She also really likes comedy, because it's a completely different skill. Becky isn't evil though, "she's just hyperbolic" and extreme.
Rob: "...okay"
Emily: "YOU created me!"
The next question was a canon question about how Rob thinks Chuck's books got published after his death, because we only saw them on his computer before he disappeared. Rob and Emily don't know (of course), but they decided to try to figure it out. Emily thought he uploaded them to the internet, and then followed through on that thought and decided that maybe God BECAME the internet.
Rob: "Okay, let's figure it out, we'll chew on that and then we'll reconvene tomorrow."
Rob was asked about his and Richard's ComicCon experience and what was the most interesting thing they saw. Rob thought the most interesting was the Society for Creative Anachronism. He explained how they have mock battles and just wail on each other, and then one of them will go down on one knee when beaten.
Emily: "I would never go down. I'd just never go down."
Rob: "...okay. ....I've got butterflies in my pocket!"
There was also a pirate ship in the bay at ComicCon and Rob thought that was really cool.
What was Becky's day job? Emily thinks that she was probably a blogger, or something very not social, which is why she's so pent-up. An audience member suggested data-entry.
Who would play Mistress Magda? Rob went to answer, but then an audience member yelled out that maybe THAT was Becky's day job, and Rob decided that was what he'd choose.
What would they do if they weren't actors? Emily would paint, or possibly be an editor, because she loves writing and reading. Rob would do nothing, because there's "nothing else I'm qualified to do!" In fact, that's what his movie Sidekick is sort of about - the premise is that there's these superhero sidekicks who are unemployed, and their only skill is to say stuff like "Watch out!" That being said, Rob loves kids and would probably be a teacher. Emily thinks that Rob could be a psychologist, because he did a webseries where he played one and he was really good at it.
Do they have any experiences with crazy fans? Emily had to get the authorities involved once, because there was this guy who didn't understand that she was married and not interested. The questioner (a cute young australian guy) then said "That was me" and Emily laughed and replied "Oh, you're kind of cute!"
She then went on to explain that the two guys that she had trouble with were from Texas and since then she's been afraid of Texas. She explained that there's a difference between the acting/celebrity culture in Canada and the US. She's used to Canada where "actors are just people" and they don't need security, or gated communities, or unlisted phone numbers. She's never had any problems with Supernatural fans though.
Rob hasn't had any problems with fans either. It's always been good experiences.
Questioner: "I must have had the wrong address."
Rob: "HA! I like that guy!"
Rob was asked about his role on Psych. He said it was awesome and that the two leads actually improvise about 50% of their dialogue. Rob had to play the straight guy and not laugh or try to be funny with them. While he was filming Psych, he ran into Jensen. Rob acted out the conversation between them, it's hard to capture in words, but basically...
Jensen: Are you...*gestures behind him*?
Rob: No, I...*gestures behind him*
Jensen: Oh! *nods*
Did Rob bring his guitar? No, but he will from now on.
The next question was about the fan theory that Charlie might be God in a new body.
Rob: "Who's Charlie?"
Rob then explained that they don't actually watch the show, but he decided that perhaps Charlie WAS the new God. He thinks Felicia Day would be good at it. If Charlie were the new God, that would mean that if Chuck came back, he'd just be a normal guy - and that was Rob's favourite part of 5x04 The End - the fact that Chuck was just the guy checking the supplies and staying behind while everyone went off to fight.
Emily was asked about touching Jared's chest. She said it's like a rock. She was nervous about it beforehand, because she didn't know if she should do it in the rehearsal or not. This caused Emily and Rob to joke about her doing it longer than necessary, or outside of rehearsal too.
Rob *as Jared*: "Emily, we're at lunch!"
Emily said that there's a definite barrier there that you have to talk yourself through, because it's just not normal to reach out and touch someone's chest like that.
Rob then launched into a story about a gig he did where he had to touch a woman's boobs, and how the woman he was touching was just really relaxed about it, but Rob was nervous.
Emily: "Then she's at the craft service table - 'You want to practice?!' - that'd be me."
Rob laughed.
Richard came back on at this point to end the panel, but before he left he told us that Emily had mentioned she owned a school-girl outfit and was wondering if she should drive home and pick it up for karaoke. Richard insisted that she do so, and then told the audience that Emily is secretly the dirtiest person at these conventions.
Emily and Rob photo-op!
I got a photo-op with them, because they were adorable. I interacted mainly with Rob when I walked up, because it's hard to interact with two people in one second. My hair got in my eye though, so I was kind of freaking out about that when the dude took the picture. I was really worried it wouldn't turn out, but when I picked it up the next day, it wasn't actually that bad. Actually, I look a little like I'm too cool for school, and a LOT less deranged than I look in my Felicia Day photograph.
Chad Lindberg
They played the "Sexyback" vid of Ash before Chad's panel. I love that vid. It's so well put together and entertaining.
Chad came out filming the audience and then instragramed it.
Chad brought his parents to this Con, because he just lives in Washington State in Mt. Vernon.
Chad is really into paranormal investigations these days, and so he brought his ghost hunting things. I didn't get their names, but it was a metal rod that made noises when things got close to it and a "spirit box" that makes noise but sometimes words.
He talked about his role in Alex Cross (Disclaimer: I may get things wrong in these reports, because I haven't heard of everything and don't know every single thing the actors have done - I do my best though.) In Alex Cross, Chad got his butt kicked by Tyler Perry. He was bruised. "I do my own stunts... sometimes."
He was asked about The Cape, and whether it would ever be resurrected.
Chad: "The Cape is gone." Some shows, like SPN, find amazing followings, and some don't.
Is Chad coming to karaoke dressed up for the theme? Chad usually goes against theme. Richard had given up telling him the theme.
How does he think Ash died? Can he act it out?
Chad: "Have the actor act!" *mimics making the monkey dance*
Chad thinks Ash should have gone out in a blaze of glory, the mullet burning... "or maybe the mullet survives."
He was asked about his history with Ghost Adventures - Chad once wrote a three page handwritten letter to the Ghost Adventure dude - Zach, and he gave it to his ex-agent to give to him, and he never heard back. Then years later, he tweeted Zach and told him he was interested in being on the show. The Ghost Adventure dudes are Supernatural fans too, so they were happy to have him. He was on the show, and now it's become a huge part of his life.
He was asked about his role on Criminal Minds, because the questioner found it quite shocking. Chad explained that it was a guest spot, so he wasn't ther for the full shoot. They were very nice people and had great craft services (Personal sidenote here: This is how "background performers"/extras rate productions, so I loved this comment.)
Questioner: So you just went in to stab people for hours.
Chad: A couple of takes, that's a days work for me.
Chad says the first question his friends ask when he gets a gig is "do you die?"
What would Ash do if he encountered a bear?
He'd throw his weapons away and wrestle the bear with his bare hands.
Chad: "My money's on Ash."
Is Ash going to kick Metatron's butt?
Chad doesn't watch the show, but he would love to come back. It was the fans who brought Ash back in S5, so it's really up to us and the writers.
Chad: "I always think Ash and Castiel would be funny, because they're so weird... they'd just look at each other. Just give each other looks."
Most terrifying paranormal encounter? He had a light fixture fly at him. He had a spirit tell him that it was a demon, and he got "scratched".
Chad: "Whatever scratched me had claws like a velociraptor." It made him feel like a badass.
What do you think Ash did when his computer (the one that tracks what the angels are saying) went dead silent?
Chad thinks Ash is just kicking back and relaxing. Chad laughs and re-iterates that he doesn't watch the show. He does have a vision for Ash returning though - he thinks that Ash should save the boys from something. The boys are in some situation and Ash busts open the door, comes in with his crossbow, shoots everyone, saves Sam and Dean, doesn't say anything, walks out. In Chad's audition for Ash, he wore a sleeveless flannel shirt, and then when they told him to go, he turned around so that his back was to them, unbuttoned his flannel shirt, and then turned back around and just went for it.
If he were on a desert island with the SPN characters, who would he ally with and who would he eat/kill? He'd ally with Sam Ferris. He'd kill or eat Misha.
Chad: "Tell him and shoot me a text."
His favourite character that he's ever played?
Chad: Besides Ash? He'd say NCIS because he thought his audition was terrible, but he got the part. His character was named Joey Peanuts. His most memorable job was on Buffy, because it was his first job. His second job was also great because it was ER and his mom is a huge George Clooney fan. He got to give Clooney the finger in that episode, because Clooney's character resuscitated Chad's character against Chad's character's wishes. The job on the X-files was also memorable, because he was stuck in a mud pit with David Duchovny just after lunch and Duchovny kept burping - "sorry, I had curry for lunch." Supernatural, though, has brought him so much love.
Chad: "There's a real life after death for me on this show" because he still gets to interact with the fans at conventions.
He was asked about I Spit on Your Grave. Chad gave the history of the movie, and the plot/character synopsis for people who didn't know. It was actually his most favourite film experience, because it was so disturbing and interesting to work on.
Part way through the conversation about Spit on Your Grave, the little box Chad had put on the stage lit up, and Chad brought out the "talk to ghost thing" to try to talk to the spirit, but he got nothing.
How does SPN compare to "real" paranormal experiences? Chad says there's some truth to what Supernatural does, and Chad's used salt circles before.
What did his mom think of Spit on Your Grave? She liked it, but Chad told her when to cover her eyes and plug her ears. Chad went over to his mom in the audience, and she confirmed that it was her favourite thing he's ever done, because he was so good in it.
He was asked about finishing Sam and Dean's beers and if they had switched out bottles during the take, because backwash is gross.
Chad: "When the camera's rollin, i will do anything. I do anything and then think about it later."
What's Ash's biggest fear?
Scissors - losing the mullet.
If you weren't an actor what would you be? A paranormal investigator! Chad says that he thought he would be a police officer when he was younger, because his dad is a police officer and he wanted to be like him. But then he realized that he couldn't shoot a gun. Then he took an acting class and fell in love with acting.
Has he ever had a fangirl moment? Yes, when Zach from Ghost Adventures tweeted him back. Chad explained how he ran into the room to show his mother, "Ma! Zach tweeted me!"
The next questioner asked about his opinion on a paranormal experience she had when she was young. She and her friends had been using a Ouija board for fun, and it spelled out "Angela Death" and then a week later her friend Angela committed suicide. She wondered if the message had been a warning or a threat... Chad told her that he also had a friend named Angela that killed herself, and that maybe getting Chad and her to meet was their friends way of saying hello from beyond. He then gave the questioner a hug.
Richard came on at this point and wanted Chad to try the spirit box thing again. Richard joked that the spirit was like Michigan J. Frog, because when you wanted it to perform it didn't. There were a couple of sounds that sounded like words though, and Richard decided he was creeped out and would be sleeping on the floor of Chad's hotel room that night.
DJ Qualls
DJ started the panel by starting a game of Telephone. "The british call it Chinese Telephone, because they're racist." (I call it Broken Telephone - yay Canada). DJ said it would be a southern phrase, and we had to repeat it in the same accent that he used.
DJ apologized to his Meet and Greet for how terrible he looked this morning. Ty had taken him out and and got him wrecked. It was payback for when DJ did it to him just before a flight to/from Prague.
He was asked about Legit and how it was acting with people with Down Syndrome. DJ said he was uncomfortable with it at first, because the show is "edgy" with its humour and it makes fun of everyone.
He then digressed and told us that it was actually the SPN fandom that saved Legit. Legit needed better ratings on one particular episode or the network was going to cancel it, so DJ put out a call to arms on twitter. He said the rating went up 250% in women aged 18-35.
The next questioner referenced the Simple Plan video that DJ did by talking about "Garth and five guys" and DJ was confused and then relieved when she explained about the Simple Plan video.
DJ: "I came across some fanfic and so when you said 'Garth and five guys, I was like 'where is this going'?"
Pranks on set? Jared took him out for shots at lunch and then when they got back to set, DJ realized that Jared was done for the day, but DJ still had 2 more scenes.
DJ told us that Garth is coming back. Adam Glass (writer) told him he could tell Jared, but DJ isn't going to see Jared this trip. "Could you guys tell Jared?... watch me get fired."
DJ doesn't get drunk. If he drank a beer though, he'd probably puke. He did chug that bottle in Party On, Garth, but it was ginger ale.
He was asked about acting (I didn't write down the question, my notes just say "Acting" and then his answer...really helpful there, self. But I think there was also some comment in it about how Garth and one of his other characters are similar, because DJ objected to that.)
DJ: "All you have to do is be vulnerable and not afraid to fail." ... "Two types of people are good actors: Stupid people who don't know they can fail and really intelligent people who are" analytical and self-aware enough to not be afraid to fail.
DJ: "You should check out my other work, I'm versatile." He played a serial killer on Criminal Minds. "I'm a chameleon!"
If he were on a desert island, who would he ally with and who would he eat/kill? Bobby would be his ally, and he'd eat Jensen because he prefers lean meat.
If Bobby came back, how does DJ think he'd feel about Garth taking his place? DJ doesn't know, but the storyline coming up is mindblowing! Also, "I took his hat, I did not take his shoes - I'm filling in, not replacing!" DJ went onto explain about how the CW tweeted that Garth was the new Bobby and it was DJ that got all the hate, and he tweeted back and yelled at them about it.
The next questioner corrected DJ about the british term for Broken Telephone - it's "Chinese Whispers". DJ said that it was still racist. Then he told us that apparently the British call the wave (as in the thing crowds do at sports games) the "Mexican Wave"
DJ: Racists.
What would Bobby think of the way Garth is handling things?
DJ: He'd be quiet on the subject. He's dead.
He thinks Bobby would be proud of Garth, because they had that kind of relationship. DJ sites the phone conversation in S6 as proof of this.
What would he do if he weren't an actor?
DJ: Are there children in the room?
Questioner: Not what would you be doing right now...
DJ: What, do you think I'd be in my room having a go at myself?!"
DJ has always wanted to be an actor. What he could have done is chased money and stuck with Teen Comedies, but he didn't want to do that.
What would Garth do if he encountered a bear? DJ laughed and explained that he, himself, would probably clap in excitement, because his first thought in those situations is always "I'm going to haunt you after you kill me!" But Garth would probably run, or clap..."I think he'd clap."
Question: For real?
DJ: For realz.
What monster would DJ be if he were a monster on SPN?
DJ doesn't watch SPN, because he can't watch things with his friends in them.
DJ: "I've seen you naked and crying in my bathroom, I can't buy you as this character!" It ruins it. DJ actually refused to go back to Breaking Bad, because if he did any more work on the show than what he's already done, then it would ruin it for him. Then DJ realized that he should be the monster that you can only see when you're drunk.
How was working on the Big Bang Theory?
DJ didn't like it. He doesn't agree with Charlie Sheen's behaviour, but he agrees with Charlie Sheen's point about a "certain person" who runs those shows. Also, DJ can't do the multi-camera thing. The actors have to memorize 40 pages in a day, and DJ can't do that either. DJ was good on the show out of spite.
He was asked about... Vincent D'onofrio or perhaps the show he was on. DJ explained that Vincent had a breakdown, and people were afraid to come on the show. DJ went on anyway, and Vincent was a nice guy. Vincent explained everything - how he was feeling - alienated from his family, etc. They've since done movies together.
If Garth were on the cover of a Supernatural novel (or pulp fiction novel)? DJ can't see Garth with long flowing hair and his chest out. He'd probably be anime... "or you know what, give him long flowing hair and have his chest out."
Who was in DJ's bathroom naked and crying? DJ didn't lie about that. It was a movie star that he won't name, but they've done a couple of projects together.
Typecasting came up, and DJ told us that he complained about it once upon a time to Amy Smart, and she told him that "the best part about being typecast is being cast." DJ has cornered the market on "this" *gestures to himself*. When he does mainstream stuff, he tries to find a way to make each character different, then he tries to do independent films to get away from the mainstream stuff. Television comes with more variety than films.
The next person at the mic had a broken arm. DJ asked what happened, and she explained that she had just gotten surgery on a nerve in he arm. DJ shuddered and explained that he hated "body stuff" and it was why he'd never have kids.
DJ: "If my kid ever broke a finger, I don't know what I'd do - I'd probably just have to give it away."
He was asked about a show that I didn't catch the name of (Memphis?)...it had Alfrie Woodred in it. Anyway, he was sad that it ended. He had moved down to wherever it was shot. He got offered the Legit part on the day it was cancelled. It got cancelled because the demographic was too old. DJ knows it's "oprah crap" but he believes in saying things outloud, and he asked for a path on the day that he was offered Legit. He actually turned it down 5 times though, because he thought the lead was a jerk and the pilot called for DJ to be naked and he didn't want to be naked in front of a jerk.
DJ: "I was wrong. I was naked in front of him and it was great."
DJ then got into talking about how goodlooking people have a different syle of acting, and how that's what Jared and Jensen do. He was thrown by it at first, until he realized why. For instance, DJ uses his real talking voice when he acts, Jensen does not.
DJ: "It's a lot of acting with these muscles" *indicates his jaw* The audience laughs.
DJ: "I had never seen it before, but I understand why they do it." He then told us not to tell them he said that.
Tips for memorizing?
DJ's short-term memory has been terrible lately. He says he told some directors that "I'm an actor, anyone could parrot these lines. I feel stifled" just to cover for the fact that he can't remember his lines. His tips for memorizing though - read before bed. DJ reads Agatha Christie and then a heavier book. He wants to get through all of Agatha Christies books.
What would be his personal theme song? Wild Boys by Duran Duran, or possibly Tubthumping.
What was it like coming from the southern states up to Canada? DJ got beat up when he first came to Canada, but everyone knows that story. He's been out of the South for a while, so he didn't get culture shock. The questioner obviously didn't know about the beating up story, because she asked if it was at least a polite beating - no, it wasn't.
If DJ did a play, what play would he do? The Elephant Man.
DJ: "Something easy, lighthearted."
There was a question about facial hair? (Again, my notes, just say "facial hair") - DJ's facial hair is sad. He can't grow a full beard. He's also terrible at shaving, to the point where the make-up artists have asked him to stop shaving himself.
Has he seen the Men of Letters set? No.He does know the reason Garth was away though, and it is awesome.
Why was he beat up when he first came to Canada? He lies first and says it was because he didn't dance well. Then he tells us that's a ridiculous reason and of course that wasn't it... it was a "misunderstanding between me and a man of the law" but "I was in the right! I wasn't charged! I was detained, but not charged!"
If he had a superpower? DJ wouldn't want to be invisible, because then you'd see hot people picking their noses. When he was a kid, DJ used to get night terrors, and he went to a doctor about it, and the doctor helped him... and now whenever he has a bad dream, he just does the backstroke in his dream and starts flying away.
He was asked about Garth's safehouseboat. DJ thought it was funny.
Another questioner tries to get him to talk about his upcoming return to SPN. DJ tells us to write down our addresses and he'll kick all our asses if he gets fired. He then warned us not to smoke pot as children, because it affects your memory.
DJ: "I tell you that I can't tell you a plot point and then I tell you."
Then there was a question about bringing back Bobby that was a bit convoluted... basically, how would Garth bring back Bobby if he could? DJ guesses with a weird seance and some batteries. Or, if you put salt on people to keep them dead, if you pepper them do they come back?
And with that metaphysical question, DJ's panel ended.
Alex Zahara
Next up was Alex Zahara who was on that episode about magicians back in S4. It's always a highly contested thing when Creation adds a guest that played a very very small role, was not a fan-favorite character, and no one really knows. Most people left after DJ Qualls, taking the opportunity to get a coffee or a break... which, you know, makes me feel bad for the person on stage, because they just see everyone leaving. Most of the time, Creation adds people that have been at their other conventions - ie: people who have had a lot of rolls on OTHER shows. Corin Nemec was on such guest at VanCon 2011, and he turned out to be one of the most entertaining guests at the Con - though admittedly, not very many people have stories that involve Klingons challenging them to fights in hallways.
Anyway, Alex Zahara kept his cool about everything and he just started talking as soon as he hit the stage, basically answering the questions that people weren't lining up to ask.
He's played more creatures on StarGate than any other actor. He's currently up for another part on SPN, but he doesn't know if he got it yet. He has a film called Faith, Family, Love and Sasquatch.
He told the story of how he died on the show. Like many actors, Alex makes his living dying on TV. He's died 37 times. He's been shot, stabbed, hung, nuked, and he's died of smallpox. In SPN, he was supposed to be stabbed by 12 invisible knives. It was shot on Hasting St, which isn't the best neighbour (to put it lightly). He had wires attached to blood packets in his shirt. He had to walk forward and act as though he'd been stabbed. It took 1 take. And the whole time, there was a drunk guy yelling "Hey! Somebody help that guy. He's not going to make it!" At the end of the shoot, Alex had blood in his shoes.
Jared and Jensen are of course very nice, and Alex was thrilled to work with Barry Boswick.
He's done 100s of shows. He was in 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas and Omar Sheriff. He played one of the vikings that didn't go on the adventure. He didn't have to cut his hair, because he already looks like a viking - which he's chosen to take as a compliment. He didn't recognize Antonio Bandaras because Antonio Banderas was so short. He looked like a short teenager.
Richard came back on the stage then to commiserate about working with tall Jared and Jensen, and how having the actors be taller than you thought they were is the opposite of what usually happens.
Richard then asked about Alex's prosthetic work - what was the longest/worst experience? The first full body prosthetic that he had to where in StarGate. It took 4.5 hours of make-up, 2 hours for the body cast. It was glued to his face. He fell asleep while they put it on, and when he woke up, he was a lizard. Getting out of it was worse though, because they had to use alcohol to dissolve the glue on his face and the make-up person slipped and got alcohol in his eye. He had to do it for 10 days. Richard thinks it probably would have lost it's novelty by the second day.
The next question came with an apology for the massive leaving that took place before his panel. The questioner asked what Alex's actual opinion of Criss Angel was, given the title of the episode he was in. Another audience member yelled out about how Neil Patrick Harris had gone to see one of this shows and Angel had failed one of his tricks and had cut the show early. The story is on the first Nerdist podcast with NPH. Alex hasn't seen Angel's show, but he's a big fan of Houdini. He doesn't think anyone can hold a candle to Houdini.
Is he a local? Yes, he lives in Burnaby, which he pronounces as though it were a french word, because he thinks it sounds like a nicer place to live that way. Has he been on the viking boat that they have here in Vancouver? Yes. Has he been to Cons? Yes, he went to a Gundam Con (?) and there were 6500 people out in full costume. It was really cool.
Any bad experiences with fans? No, but Harry Dean Anderson had a stalker from Austria who was crazy, and tried to get Alex to get her closer to him (either to his hotel room or address or back stage or something).
What would he do if he weren't an actor? He'd be running a swimming pool. He's always been into acting. He did puppet plays as a kid, watched old movies, recited the dialogue from old movies when he was only four. He got into swimming as a teenager though and worked as a lifeguard, swimming teacher, and managed swimming pools.
How does his fair skin stand up to the massive amounts of make-up he wears at work? The make-up artists use rescue cream and it does wonders. They take really good care of him.
Is he a fanboy of anything? He's a huge Star Trek fan. He grew up in Northern Alberta - Grand Prairie. And it was 40 below in the winter. The coldest was 45 below, and that's the temperature where car-tires go flat. "I stayed inside a lot!" Their television got CBC and nothing else, but occasionally, when the clouds were right, he could get a channel that aired Star Trek and it was wonderful.
Autographs
It was just Rob, Emily and Chad signing. True to form, I didn't know what the hell to say to people as they signed stuff. So, with Rob I just smiled and said thank you. With Chad I told him that I liked his nails though, because he had done them in white, black, and grey, and they were cool.
With Emily, I told her that I really liked her on the show Hiccups, which was a short-lived Canadian sitcom. (It was short-lived because Emily's character was the ONLY character that I liked on it.) Emily was floored and told me that I was the first person to say that to her, and then she kind of put two and two together and said, "you must be from here" and I said, "yeah, I'm local" and smiled and thanked her again.
Friday Night Shenanigans and Karaoke
So, after the autographs, I booked it to Main St/Science World Skytrain station, because John Marcynuk. from the crew was giving a walking locations tour on the DL for a very limited number of people, and I had scored myself an invite. (Commence even more people hating me than when they realized I had dinner with Kevin Parks... sigh.) Anyway, I ran off and then walked all over Chinatown and Gastown for 2 hours listening to John. It was very interesting. John is also a very nice guy and was always conscious of where everyone was and whether we were going to get hit by cars.
I'll post pictures of that separately from the report in another entry dedicated to locations.
Did you notice that I haven't talked about lunch breaks or eating ONCE in this report? That's because I didn't have a lunch break nor did I eat anything. By the end of John's tour, my legs were killing me and I was about to pass out from hunger. I also was itching to have some control back in my life - so I apologized to my friends and power-walked back to the hotel, just so that I could feel in control for 10 minutes. I made it back about 5-10 minutes before them and managed to scarf down a sandwich from Tim Horton's.
Then it was off to Karaoke. First though, I got to meet Lynn from Fangasm - which was cool for me, because I really like her book and I've been looking forward to her next one. I had been told that she was at the Convention, so I brought in the book to have her sign it. Yay! I also changed into my Truman Bombers polo before Karaoke, so that I matched the theme this year, which was "Class of 2013"
Karaoke itself was fun, but not as good as last year. I think they set the bar way too high last year. But Ty Ollson dropped by briefly. DJ Qualls and Chad Lindberg ended up dancing on chairs right behind me. Matt ended up in the audience right in front of me for a brief second and I was able to objectify him for a moment... so yeah, it was still a good time. There was no Carry On My Wayward son though, which really surprised me. I found out the next day that it was because the DJ didn't have it, and apparently no one behind the scenes was impressed with that either. They DID do Bohemian Rhapsody though, which I'm required by law to sing along to. So that was fun.
The other funny guest to show up was the First Nations dude that played the hotel manager in the Great Escapist. He was awesome, and sang Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics. He also let down his hair and did his scowly disapproving walk across the stage. I thought it was funny though, because the whole night I was dancing and singing in the audience next to the guy who played the Shadow Orc that Felicia Day hit with the bean bag, and he at least had lines in the show! (Also, he does a REALLY good Love Shack)! Hahaha... but I think Hotel Manager dude was actually just at the Con as a fan, and I thought that was really neat.
And thus ended my Friday. I got home, and managed to fall asleep just after 2am.
Anyway...
FRIDAY!
This is the first con I've been to with Richard Speight as the MC. So, I was excited. He came on wearing this great 70s inspired shirt.
Richard: "Sometimes you pick your ensemble, sometimes your mustache does it for you."
Richard announced that it's going to be Porncover and everyone is going to be introduced by their porn names, which is your first pet and the street you grew up on. So, Richard is Cuddles Saxxon. He walked into the audience a bit, and found some ladies with "I (heart) Dick" on their shirts, which amused Richard. "You're a couple of dick loving broads."
He introduced Emily and Rob... I forgot to write down their porn names, but Emily was Fergie.
Emily Perkins and Robert Benedict
Rob explained that he had tweeted that he had "butterflies in my pocket" instead of "stomach" and a fan actually brought him a little package of butterflies for his pocket.
Emily told the audience about how there was an extra moment filmed between Becky and DJ in TFAW and it was cut. Rob acted jealous.
Emily: "I can't see you as a god, but maybe a lesser god."
They talked about how Becky was the type to not be able to see only one guy. Emily decided that Chuck had to be "not a god who needs to have himself be the only one worshipped."
Rob: "Polytheistic"
Emily: "Yes, POLYtheistic."
Rob: "Okay, now I know who runs the show."
Emily talked about the scene where she tied Jared up, and how it was hot. Literally.
Emily: "He had several fans brought in... like whirly fans."
...as opposed to fans of the show. The audience and Rob laughed their asses off.
Jared at one point said, "I think I'm going to actually have to take off my pants." Because he was under a bunch of blankets in a warm studio.
Becky was the highlight of Chuck's arc for Rob... this devolved into them discussing how God is a voyeur that makes the exhibitionists (ie: Becky.)
Emily was a little nervous about playing a fan to begin with, but when she started on the show, Jared actually took her aside and went on and on about how great the fans were. There's apparently a quilt that fans made hanging in the production office.
Rob explained about how he didn't know Chuck was God until he got to Vancouver and the crew told him. To him, Chuck is Kripke, when Kripke left he took Chuck with him. Chuck is a metaphor for the actual creator of the actual show (so meta!)
I think the highlight of the panel was when a fan asked Emily and Rob to design a spin-off for Becky and Chuck. Rob thinks they'd be like the odd couple. Chuck stays at home and Becky goes out all the time - and brings guys home, and Chuck just says "Becky!" all exasperated. Emily thinks they'd be private investigators, Chuck would stay at home and research and Becky would go out and be a badass. Chuck would drive a VW bug and Becky would drive a Porsche.
Then Rob started trying to think about a title "something about writing, and being a fan..." and then midway through the next question, Rob suddenly yells out "It's called FANFICTION!" and then he and Emily high-fived while the audience went wild.
The next person asked Emily if she thinks that Becky would enjoy LARPing and possibly meet Charlie that way. (Here is where the fans forget that the actors aren't necessarily fans - and therefore might not watch the show.) Emily took the question to mean "would Emily like LARPing" and Emily thinks she would.
The next person's question was about how although Sam/Becky is obviously Becky's "OTP", would Becky get behind the Dean/Cas OTP? (Again, people have to remember that not everyone knows what OTP means)... Emily didn't really hear the question that well though, so she answered about whether she'd like to see Becky get with Dean. Emily agrees that Jensen is sexy, so sure!
But the question did lead into something awesome, because then the person who asked said, "let's just say OT3" and Emily realized this meant a threesome and enthusiastically agreed. Then Rob had to clarify that it was HER and Jared and Jensen, because his initial reaction was that the threesome was Jared/Jensen/Misha.
Emily: Oh yes! that!
So it ended up being Becky/Jared/Jensen/Misha and then Rob joked that he wanted to be involved but probably wouldn't even be allowed in the room. And he'd have to watch from a hole in the wall, and then Becky said he'd film it and watch it later - to which Rob was dismayed that he wouldn't even be able to watch it as it was occurring. Then Emily requested that the fans write it for her.
Another fan asked a convoluted question about how there's a backdoor to hell in purgatory, and do you think the boys could use a similar backdoor to get into heaven next season. Because Rob doesn't watch the show, he distilled the question into "Do I think there's a backdoor to heaven? Yeah, they need a way out in case of fire!"
The next question was about how Rob named his band Louden Swain and what they're origin story is. Rob explained that they were just a group that hung around and played covers, and then Rob started bringing his own stuff. Then slowly other band members came on board. The name came from a Matthew Modine role - and then Rob told us that he had actually met Matthew Modine yesterday at a panel at a film fest, and he was able to tell him about how he had named his band Louden Swain. Then after the panel, he wanted a picture but was nervous to ask - but then Matthew's daughter approached Rob and revealed that she was a SPN fan and asked for a picture, so he was able to say "Sure! If I can get a picture too!" Then Rob looked up and said, "Thanks Chuck!"
They were asked a hypothetical - if you were on a desert island with the SPN characters, who would you ally with and who would you kill and/or eat? Emily argued that Jared and Jensen were too muscley. Rob was impressed with the amount of thought Emily put into it, and then admitted that he would probably be eaten - but if he had to choose, he'd eat Richard.
Rob: "I think he would be tasty."
Emily: "Salty"
Then my notes just say "Mark Sheppard" but I think it's because they decided to eat him, rather than ally with him. Rob thanked the questioner and then laughed about being asked which of his friends he would eat.
Rob was asked whether Louden Swain would be going on any tours. Yes, soon! They are going to the Pacific North West as a matter of fact.
Emily was asked whether she likes playing good or evil characters better. Emily likes variety, but likes projects that have a dark edge. She also really likes comedy, because it's a completely different skill. Becky isn't evil though, "she's just hyperbolic" and extreme.
Rob: "...okay"
Emily: "YOU created me!"
The next question was a canon question about how Rob thinks Chuck's books got published after his death, because we only saw them on his computer before he disappeared. Rob and Emily don't know (of course), but they decided to try to figure it out. Emily thought he uploaded them to the internet, and then followed through on that thought and decided that maybe God BECAME the internet.
Rob: "Okay, let's figure it out, we'll chew on that and then we'll reconvene tomorrow."
Rob was asked about his and Richard's ComicCon experience and what was the most interesting thing they saw. Rob thought the most interesting was the Society for Creative Anachronism. He explained how they have mock battles and just wail on each other, and then one of them will go down on one knee when beaten.
Emily: "I would never go down. I'd just never go down."
Rob: "...okay. ....I've got butterflies in my pocket!"
There was also a pirate ship in the bay at ComicCon and Rob thought that was really cool.
What was Becky's day job? Emily thinks that she was probably a blogger, or something very not social, which is why she's so pent-up. An audience member suggested data-entry.
Who would play Mistress Magda? Rob went to answer, but then an audience member yelled out that maybe THAT was Becky's day job, and Rob decided that was what he'd choose.
What would they do if they weren't actors? Emily would paint, or possibly be an editor, because she loves writing and reading. Rob would do nothing, because there's "nothing else I'm qualified to do!" In fact, that's what his movie Sidekick is sort of about - the premise is that there's these superhero sidekicks who are unemployed, and their only skill is to say stuff like "Watch out!" That being said, Rob loves kids and would probably be a teacher. Emily thinks that Rob could be a psychologist, because he did a webseries where he played one and he was really good at it.
Do they have any experiences with crazy fans? Emily had to get the authorities involved once, because there was this guy who didn't understand that she was married and not interested. The questioner (a cute young australian guy) then said "That was me" and Emily laughed and replied "Oh, you're kind of cute!"
She then went on to explain that the two guys that she had trouble with were from Texas and since then she's been afraid of Texas. She explained that there's a difference between the acting/celebrity culture in Canada and the US. She's used to Canada where "actors are just people" and they don't need security, or gated communities, or unlisted phone numbers. She's never had any problems with Supernatural fans though.
Rob hasn't had any problems with fans either. It's always been good experiences.
Questioner: "I must have had the wrong address."
Rob: "HA! I like that guy!"
Rob was asked about his role on Psych. He said it was awesome and that the two leads actually improvise about 50% of their dialogue. Rob had to play the straight guy and not laugh or try to be funny with them. While he was filming Psych, he ran into Jensen. Rob acted out the conversation between them, it's hard to capture in words, but basically...
Jensen: Are you...*gestures behind him*?
Rob: No, I...*gestures behind him*
Jensen: Oh! *nods*
Did Rob bring his guitar? No, but he will from now on.
The next question was about the fan theory that Charlie might be God in a new body.
Rob: "Who's Charlie?"
Rob then explained that they don't actually watch the show, but he decided that perhaps Charlie WAS the new God. He thinks Felicia Day would be good at it. If Charlie were the new God, that would mean that if Chuck came back, he'd just be a normal guy - and that was Rob's favourite part of 5x04 The End - the fact that Chuck was just the guy checking the supplies and staying behind while everyone went off to fight.
Emily was asked about touching Jared's chest. She said it's like a rock. She was nervous about it beforehand, because she didn't know if she should do it in the rehearsal or not. This caused Emily and Rob to joke about her doing it longer than necessary, or outside of rehearsal too.
Rob *as Jared*: "Emily, we're at lunch!"
Emily said that there's a definite barrier there that you have to talk yourself through, because it's just not normal to reach out and touch someone's chest like that.
Rob then launched into a story about a gig he did where he had to touch a woman's boobs, and how the woman he was touching was just really relaxed about it, but Rob was nervous.
Emily: "Then she's at the craft service table - 'You want to practice?!' - that'd be me."
Rob laughed.
Richard came back on at this point to end the panel, but before he left he told us that Emily had mentioned she owned a school-girl outfit and was wondering if she should drive home and pick it up for karaoke. Richard insisted that she do so, and then told the audience that Emily is secretly the dirtiest person at these conventions.
Emily and Rob photo-op!
I got a photo-op with them, because they were adorable. I interacted mainly with Rob when I walked up, because it's hard to interact with two people in one second. My hair got in my eye though, so I was kind of freaking out about that when the dude took the picture. I was really worried it wouldn't turn out, but when I picked it up the next day, it wasn't actually that bad. Actually, I look a little like I'm too cool for school, and a LOT less deranged than I look in my Felicia Day photograph.
Chad Lindberg
They played the "Sexyback" vid of Ash before Chad's panel. I love that vid. It's so well put together and entertaining.
Chad came out filming the audience and then instragramed it.
Chad brought his parents to this Con, because he just lives in Washington State in Mt. Vernon.
Chad is really into paranormal investigations these days, and so he brought his ghost hunting things. I didn't get their names, but it was a metal rod that made noises when things got close to it and a "spirit box" that makes noise but sometimes words.
He talked about his role in Alex Cross (Disclaimer: I may get things wrong in these reports, because I haven't heard of everything and don't know every single thing the actors have done - I do my best though.) In Alex Cross, Chad got his butt kicked by Tyler Perry. He was bruised. "I do my own stunts... sometimes."
He was asked about The Cape, and whether it would ever be resurrected.
Chad: "The Cape is gone." Some shows, like SPN, find amazing followings, and some don't.
Is Chad coming to karaoke dressed up for the theme? Chad usually goes against theme. Richard had given up telling him the theme.
How does he think Ash died? Can he act it out?
Chad: "Have the actor act!" *mimics making the monkey dance*
Chad thinks Ash should have gone out in a blaze of glory, the mullet burning... "or maybe the mullet survives."
He was asked about his history with Ghost Adventures - Chad once wrote a three page handwritten letter to the Ghost Adventure dude - Zach, and he gave it to his ex-agent to give to him, and he never heard back. Then years later, he tweeted Zach and told him he was interested in being on the show. The Ghost Adventure dudes are Supernatural fans too, so they were happy to have him. He was on the show, and now it's become a huge part of his life.
He was asked about his role on Criminal Minds, because the questioner found it quite shocking. Chad explained that it was a guest spot, so he wasn't ther for the full shoot. They were very nice people and had great craft services (Personal sidenote here: This is how "background performers"/extras rate productions, so I loved this comment.)
Questioner: So you just went in to stab people for hours.
Chad: A couple of takes, that's a days work for me.
Chad says the first question his friends ask when he gets a gig is "do you die?"
What would Ash do if he encountered a bear?
He'd throw his weapons away and wrestle the bear with his bare hands.
Chad: "My money's on Ash."
Is Ash going to kick Metatron's butt?
Chad doesn't watch the show, but he would love to come back. It was the fans who brought Ash back in S5, so it's really up to us and the writers.
Chad: "I always think Ash and Castiel would be funny, because they're so weird... they'd just look at each other. Just give each other looks."
Most terrifying paranormal encounter? He had a light fixture fly at him. He had a spirit tell him that it was a demon, and he got "scratched".
Chad: "Whatever scratched me had claws like a velociraptor." It made him feel like a badass.
What do you think Ash did when his computer (the one that tracks what the angels are saying) went dead silent?
Chad thinks Ash is just kicking back and relaxing. Chad laughs and re-iterates that he doesn't watch the show. He does have a vision for Ash returning though - he thinks that Ash should save the boys from something. The boys are in some situation and Ash busts open the door, comes in with his crossbow, shoots everyone, saves Sam and Dean, doesn't say anything, walks out. In Chad's audition for Ash, he wore a sleeveless flannel shirt, and then when they told him to go, he turned around so that his back was to them, unbuttoned his flannel shirt, and then turned back around and just went for it.
If he were on a desert island with the SPN characters, who would he ally with and who would he eat/kill? He'd ally with Sam Ferris. He'd kill or eat Misha.
Chad: "Tell him and shoot me a text."
His favourite character that he's ever played?
Chad: Besides Ash? He'd say NCIS because he thought his audition was terrible, but he got the part. His character was named Joey Peanuts. His most memorable job was on Buffy, because it was his first job. His second job was also great because it was ER and his mom is a huge George Clooney fan. He got to give Clooney the finger in that episode, because Clooney's character resuscitated Chad's character against Chad's character's wishes. The job on the X-files was also memorable, because he was stuck in a mud pit with David Duchovny just after lunch and Duchovny kept burping - "sorry, I had curry for lunch." Supernatural, though, has brought him so much love.
Chad: "There's a real life after death for me on this show" because he still gets to interact with the fans at conventions.
He was asked about I Spit on Your Grave. Chad gave the history of the movie, and the plot/character synopsis for people who didn't know. It was actually his most favourite film experience, because it was so disturbing and interesting to work on.
Part way through the conversation about Spit on Your Grave, the little box Chad had put on the stage lit up, and Chad brought out the "talk to ghost thing" to try to talk to the spirit, but he got nothing.
How does SPN compare to "real" paranormal experiences? Chad says there's some truth to what Supernatural does, and Chad's used salt circles before.
What did his mom think of Spit on Your Grave? She liked it, but Chad told her when to cover her eyes and plug her ears. Chad went over to his mom in the audience, and she confirmed that it was her favourite thing he's ever done, because he was so good in it.
He was asked about finishing Sam and Dean's beers and if they had switched out bottles during the take, because backwash is gross.
Chad: "When the camera's rollin, i will do anything. I do anything and then think about it later."
What's Ash's biggest fear?
Scissors - losing the mullet.
If you weren't an actor what would you be? A paranormal investigator! Chad says that he thought he would be a police officer when he was younger, because his dad is a police officer and he wanted to be like him. But then he realized that he couldn't shoot a gun. Then he took an acting class and fell in love with acting.
Has he ever had a fangirl moment? Yes, when Zach from Ghost Adventures tweeted him back. Chad explained how he ran into the room to show his mother, "Ma! Zach tweeted me!"
The next questioner asked about his opinion on a paranormal experience she had when she was young. She and her friends had been using a Ouija board for fun, and it spelled out "Angela Death" and then a week later her friend Angela committed suicide. She wondered if the message had been a warning or a threat... Chad told her that he also had a friend named Angela that killed herself, and that maybe getting Chad and her to meet was their friends way of saying hello from beyond. He then gave the questioner a hug.
Richard came on at this point and wanted Chad to try the spirit box thing again. Richard joked that the spirit was like Michigan J. Frog, because when you wanted it to perform it didn't. There were a couple of sounds that sounded like words though, and Richard decided he was creeped out and would be sleeping on the floor of Chad's hotel room that night.
DJ Qualls
DJ started the panel by starting a game of Telephone. "The british call it Chinese Telephone, because they're racist." (I call it Broken Telephone - yay Canada). DJ said it would be a southern phrase, and we had to repeat it in the same accent that he used.
DJ apologized to his Meet and Greet for how terrible he looked this morning. Ty had taken him out and and got him wrecked. It was payback for when DJ did it to him just before a flight to/from Prague.
He was asked about Legit and how it was acting with people with Down Syndrome. DJ said he was uncomfortable with it at first, because the show is "edgy" with its humour and it makes fun of everyone.
He then digressed and told us that it was actually the SPN fandom that saved Legit. Legit needed better ratings on one particular episode or the network was going to cancel it, so DJ put out a call to arms on twitter. He said the rating went up 250% in women aged 18-35.
The next questioner referenced the Simple Plan video that DJ did by talking about "Garth and five guys" and DJ was confused and then relieved when she explained about the Simple Plan video.
DJ: "I came across some fanfic and so when you said 'Garth and five guys, I was like 'where is this going'?"
Pranks on set? Jared took him out for shots at lunch and then when they got back to set, DJ realized that Jared was done for the day, but DJ still had 2 more scenes.
DJ doesn't get drunk. If he drank a beer though, he'd probably puke. He did chug that bottle in Party On, Garth, but it was ginger ale.
He was asked about acting (I didn't write down the question, my notes just say "Acting" and then his answer...really helpful there, self. But I think there was also some comment in it about how Garth and one of his other characters are similar, because DJ objected to that.)
DJ: "All you have to do is be vulnerable and not afraid to fail." ... "Two types of people are good actors: Stupid people who don't know they can fail and really intelligent people who are" analytical and self-aware enough to not be afraid to fail.
DJ: "You should check out my other work, I'm versatile." He played a serial killer on Criminal Minds. "I'm a chameleon!"
If he were on a desert island, who would he ally with and who would he eat/kill? Bobby would be his ally, and he'd eat Jensen because he prefers lean meat.
If Bobby came back, how does DJ think he'd feel about Garth taking his place? DJ doesn't know, but the storyline coming up is mindblowing! Also, "I took his hat, I did not take his shoes - I'm filling in, not replacing!" DJ went onto explain about how the CW tweeted that Garth was the new Bobby and it was DJ that got all the hate, and he tweeted back and yelled at them about it.
The next questioner corrected DJ about the british term for Broken Telephone - it's "Chinese Whispers". DJ said that it was still racist. Then he told us that apparently the British call the wave (as in the thing crowds do at sports games) the "Mexican Wave"
DJ: Racists.
What would Bobby think of the way Garth is handling things?
DJ: He'd be quiet on the subject. He's dead.
He thinks Bobby would be proud of Garth, because they had that kind of relationship. DJ sites the phone conversation in S6 as proof of this.
What would he do if he weren't an actor?
DJ: Are there children in the room?
Questioner: Not what would you be doing right now...
DJ: What, do you think I'd be in my room having a go at myself?!"
DJ has always wanted to be an actor. What he could have done is chased money and stuck with Teen Comedies, but he didn't want to do that.
What would Garth do if he encountered a bear? DJ laughed and explained that he, himself, would probably clap in excitement, because his first thought in those situations is always "I'm going to haunt you after you kill me!" But Garth would probably run, or clap..."I think he'd clap."
Question: For real?
DJ: For realz.
What monster would DJ be if he were a monster on SPN?
DJ doesn't watch SPN, because he can't watch things with his friends in them.
DJ: "I've seen you naked and crying in my bathroom, I can't buy you as this character!" It ruins it. DJ actually refused to go back to Breaking Bad, because if he did any more work on the show than what he's already done, then it would ruin it for him. Then DJ realized that he should be the monster that you can only see when you're drunk.
How was working on the Big Bang Theory?
DJ didn't like it. He doesn't agree with Charlie Sheen's behaviour, but he agrees with Charlie Sheen's point about a "certain person" who runs those shows. Also, DJ can't do the multi-camera thing. The actors have to memorize 40 pages in a day, and DJ can't do that either. DJ was good on the show out of spite.
He was asked about... Vincent D'onofrio or perhaps the show he was on. DJ explained that Vincent had a breakdown, and people were afraid to come on the show. DJ went on anyway, and Vincent was a nice guy. Vincent explained everything - how he was feeling - alienated from his family, etc. They've since done movies together.
If Garth were on the cover of a Supernatural novel (or pulp fiction novel)? DJ can't see Garth with long flowing hair and his chest out. He'd probably be anime... "or you know what, give him long flowing hair and have his chest out."
Who was in DJ's bathroom naked and crying? DJ didn't lie about that. It was a movie star that he won't name, but they've done a couple of projects together.
Typecasting came up, and DJ told us that he complained about it once upon a time to Amy Smart, and she told him that "the best part about being typecast is being cast." DJ has cornered the market on "this" *gestures to himself*. When he does mainstream stuff, he tries to find a way to make each character different, then he tries to do independent films to get away from the mainstream stuff. Television comes with more variety than films.
The next person at the mic had a broken arm. DJ asked what happened, and she explained that she had just gotten surgery on a nerve in he arm. DJ shuddered and explained that he hated "body stuff" and it was why he'd never have kids.
DJ: "If my kid ever broke a finger, I don't know what I'd do - I'd probably just have to give it away."
He was asked about a show that I didn't catch the name of (Memphis?)...it had Alfrie Woodred in it. Anyway, he was sad that it ended. He had moved down to wherever it was shot. He got offered the Legit part on the day it was cancelled. It got cancelled because the demographic was too old. DJ knows it's "oprah crap" but he believes in saying things outloud, and he asked for a path on the day that he was offered Legit. He actually turned it down 5 times though, because he thought the lead was a jerk and the pilot called for DJ to be naked and he didn't want to be naked in front of a jerk.
DJ: "I was wrong. I was naked in front of him and it was great."
DJ then got into talking about how goodlooking people have a different syle of acting, and how that's what Jared and Jensen do. He was thrown by it at first, until he realized why. For instance, DJ uses his real talking voice when he acts, Jensen does not.
DJ: "It's a lot of acting with these muscles" *indicates his jaw* The audience laughs.
DJ: "I had never seen it before, but I understand why they do it." He then told us not to tell them he said that.
Tips for memorizing?
DJ's short-term memory has been terrible lately. He says he told some directors that "I'm an actor, anyone could parrot these lines. I feel stifled" just to cover for the fact that he can't remember his lines. His tips for memorizing though - read before bed. DJ reads Agatha Christie and then a heavier book. He wants to get through all of Agatha Christies books.
What would be his personal theme song? Wild Boys by Duran Duran, or possibly Tubthumping.
What was it like coming from the southern states up to Canada? DJ got beat up when he first came to Canada, but everyone knows that story. He's been out of the South for a while, so he didn't get culture shock. The questioner obviously didn't know about the beating up story, because she asked if it was at least a polite beating - no, it wasn't.
If DJ did a play, what play would he do? The Elephant Man.
DJ: "Something easy, lighthearted."
There was a question about facial hair? (Again, my notes, just say "facial hair") - DJ's facial hair is sad. He can't grow a full beard. He's also terrible at shaving, to the point where the make-up artists have asked him to stop shaving himself.
Has he seen the Men of Letters set? No.
Why was he beat up when he first came to Canada? He lies first and says it was because he didn't dance well. Then he tells us that's a ridiculous reason and of course that wasn't it... it was a "misunderstanding between me and a man of the law" but "I was in the right! I wasn't charged! I was detained, but not charged!"
If he had a superpower? DJ wouldn't want to be invisible, because then you'd see hot people picking their noses. When he was a kid, DJ used to get night terrors, and he went to a doctor about it, and the doctor helped him... and now whenever he has a bad dream, he just does the backstroke in his dream and starts flying away.
He was asked about Garth's safehouseboat. DJ thought it was funny.
DJ: "I tell you that I can't tell you a plot point and then I tell you."
Then there was a question about bringing back Bobby that was a bit convoluted... basically, how would Garth bring back Bobby if he could? DJ guesses with a weird seance and some batteries. Or, if you put salt on people to keep them dead, if you pepper them do they come back?
And with that metaphysical question, DJ's panel ended.
Alex Zahara
Next up was Alex Zahara who was on that episode about magicians back in S4. It's always a highly contested thing when Creation adds a guest that played a very very small role, was not a fan-favorite character, and no one really knows. Most people left after DJ Qualls, taking the opportunity to get a coffee or a break... which, you know, makes me feel bad for the person on stage, because they just see everyone leaving. Most of the time, Creation adds people that have been at their other conventions - ie: people who have had a lot of rolls on OTHER shows. Corin Nemec was on such guest at VanCon 2011, and he turned out to be one of the most entertaining guests at the Con - though admittedly, not very many people have stories that involve Klingons challenging them to fights in hallways.
Anyway, Alex Zahara kept his cool about everything and he just started talking as soon as he hit the stage, basically answering the questions that people weren't lining up to ask.
He's played more creatures on StarGate than any other actor. He's currently up for another part on SPN, but he doesn't know if he got it yet. He has a film called Faith, Family, Love and Sasquatch.
He told the story of how he died on the show. Like many actors, Alex makes his living dying on TV. He's died 37 times. He's been shot, stabbed, hung, nuked, and he's died of smallpox. In SPN, he was supposed to be stabbed by 12 invisible knives. It was shot on Hasting St, which isn't the best neighbour (to put it lightly). He had wires attached to blood packets in his shirt. He had to walk forward and act as though he'd been stabbed. It took 1 take. And the whole time, there was a drunk guy yelling "Hey! Somebody help that guy. He's not going to make it!" At the end of the shoot, Alex had blood in his shoes.
Jared and Jensen are of course very nice, and Alex was thrilled to work with Barry Boswick.
He's done 100s of shows. He was in 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas and Omar Sheriff. He played one of the vikings that didn't go on the adventure. He didn't have to cut his hair, because he already looks like a viking - which he's chosen to take as a compliment. He didn't recognize Antonio Bandaras because Antonio Banderas was so short. He looked like a short teenager.
Richard came back on the stage then to commiserate about working with tall Jared and Jensen, and how having the actors be taller than you thought they were is the opposite of what usually happens.
Richard then asked about Alex's prosthetic work - what was the longest/worst experience? The first full body prosthetic that he had to where in StarGate. It took 4.5 hours of make-up, 2 hours for the body cast. It was glued to his face. He fell asleep while they put it on, and when he woke up, he was a lizard. Getting out of it was worse though, because they had to use alcohol to dissolve the glue on his face and the make-up person slipped and got alcohol in his eye. He had to do it for 10 days. Richard thinks it probably would have lost it's novelty by the second day.
The next question came with an apology for the massive leaving that took place before his panel. The questioner asked what Alex's actual opinion of Criss Angel was, given the title of the episode he was in. Another audience member yelled out about how Neil Patrick Harris had gone to see one of this shows and Angel had failed one of his tricks and had cut the show early. The story is on the first Nerdist podcast with NPH. Alex hasn't seen Angel's show, but he's a big fan of Houdini. He doesn't think anyone can hold a candle to Houdini.
Is he a local? Yes, he lives in Burnaby, which he pronounces as though it were a french word, because he thinks it sounds like a nicer place to live that way. Has he been on the viking boat that they have here in Vancouver? Yes. Has he been to Cons? Yes, he went to a Gundam Con (?) and there were 6500 people out in full costume. It was really cool.
Any bad experiences with fans? No, but Harry Dean Anderson had a stalker from Austria who was crazy, and tried to get Alex to get her closer to him (either to his hotel room or address or back stage or something).
What would he do if he weren't an actor? He'd be running a swimming pool. He's always been into acting. He did puppet plays as a kid, watched old movies, recited the dialogue from old movies when he was only four. He got into swimming as a teenager though and worked as a lifeguard, swimming teacher, and managed swimming pools.
How does his fair skin stand up to the massive amounts of make-up he wears at work? The make-up artists use rescue cream and it does wonders. They take really good care of him.
Is he a fanboy of anything? He's a huge Star Trek fan. He grew up in Northern Alberta - Grand Prairie. And it was 40 below in the winter. The coldest was 45 below, and that's the temperature where car-tires go flat. "I stayed inside a lot!" Their television got CBC and nothing else, but occasionally, when the clouds were right, he could get a channel that aired Star Trek and it was wonderful.
Autographs
It was just Rob, Emily and Chad signing. True to form, I didn't know what the hell to say to people as they signed stuff. So, with Rob I just smiled and said thank you. With Chad I told him that I liked his nails though, because he had done them in white, black, and grey, and they were cool.
With Emily, I told her that I really liked her on the show Hiccups, which was a short-lived Canadian sitcom. (It was short-lived because Emily's character was the ONLY character that I liked on it.) Emily was floored and told me that I was the first person to say that to her, and then she kind of put two and two together and said, "you must be from here" and I said, "yeah, I'm local" and smiled and thanked her again.
Friday Night Shenanigans and Karaoke
So, after the autographs, I booked it to Main St/Science World Skytrain station, because John Marcynuk. from the crew was giving a walking locations tour on the DL for a very limited number of people, and I had scored myself an invite. (Commence even more people hating me than when they realized I had dinner with Kevin Parks... sigh.) Anyway, I ran off and then walked all over Chinatown and Gastown for 2 hours listening to John. It was very interesting. John is also a very nice guy and was always conscious of where everyone was and whether we were going to get hit by cars.
I'll post pictures of that separately from the report in another entry dedicated to locations.
Did you notice that I haven't talked about lunch breaks or eating ONCE in this report? That's because I didn't have a lunch break nor did I eat anything. By the end of John's tour, my legs were killing me and I was about to pass out from hunger. I also was itching to have some control back in my life - so I apologized to my friends and power-walked back to the hotel, just so that I could feel in control for 10 minutes. I made it back about 5-10 minutes before them and managed to scarf down a sandwich from Tim Horton's.
Then it was off to Karaoke. First though, I got to meet Lynn from Fangasm - which was cool for me, because I really like her book and I've been looking forward to her next one. I had been told that she was at the Convention, so I brought in the book to have her sign it. Yay! I also changed into my Truman Bombers polo before Karaoke, so that I matched the theme this year, which was "Class of 2013"
Karaoke itself was fun, but not as good as last year. I think they set the bar way too high last year. But Ty Ollson dropped by briefly. DJ Qualls and Chad Lindberg ended up dancing on chairs right behind me. Matt ended up in the audience right in front of me for a brief second and I was able to objectify him for a moment... so yeah, it was still a good time. There was no Carry On My Wayward son though, which really surprised me. I found out the next day that it was because the DJ didn't have it, and apparently no one behind the scenes was impressed with that either. They DID do Bohemian Rhapsody though, which I'm required by law to sing along to. So that was fun.
The other funny guest to show up was the First Nations dude that played the hotel manager in the Great Escapist. He was awesome, and sang Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics. He also let down his hair and did his scowly disapproving walk across the stage. I thought it was funny though, because the whole night I was dancing and singing in the audience next to the guy who played the Shadow Orc that Felicia Day hit with the bean bag, and he at least had lines in the show! (Also, he does a REALLY good Love Shack)! Hahaha... but I think Hotel Manager dude was actually just at the Con as a fan, and I thought that was really neat.
And thus ended my Friday. I got home, and managed to fall asleep just after 2am.
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Date: 2013-08-27 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-27 06:49 pm (UTC)