![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This is my and SororitySarah's entire Dragon*Con report complete with photos!
Fenderlove and SororitySarah Present: Phi Chi Goes Sci-Fi 2008: At Least We Still Have Our Dignity!
Friday:
We left Tennessee at 2AM. We had each had about two hours of sleep. Fender slept most of the way, which Sarah appreciated because scary mountains and darkness would have made Fender not a pleasant passenger. We learned something driving down to Georgia- All the South has are fireworks stands, adult bookstores, and Cracker Barrels... and they're all right next to each other. You can get your bottle rockets and your porno and your chicken all in one stop.
Photo-Ops (11:45AM): While we checked in to the convention and got our snazzy name badges, Sister Cuervo made a brave attempt to snag some dinner party/concert tickets. Sadly, none of us would be able to go. After we left the registration hall, we all met up in the long looong line to buy photo-op tickets for the rest of the weekend. We both purchased tickets for Saturday's photos since we had been in the car since 2AM and driven over four and a half hours and we were feeling... less than fresh. No one deserves that (especially not James).
JM's Solo Q&A (1PM): We came in a little late for the Q&A, probably fifteen minutes. We also had to sit near a crying baby that sounded like it was possessed by the devil or perhaps had swallowed a dying goat. James talked about being sort of fearless while filming Dragonball to impress his girlfriend with his daring deeds of highwire movie majick, but he learned during the filming of Moonshot that he did have a fear- the fear of being smothered to death. He said that the astronaut helmet came very close to his face and caused him to have some trouble breathing to the point where he would go back to his trailer crying and shaking, even having nightmares about being smothered. Some dude asked the unescapable question of "Who's a better kisser? SMG or John Barrowman?" with the excuse of "My girlfriend is making me ask this." James gave the same answer he always does so it bears no repeating here, but he did give some interesting commentary about when he, as the actor portraying Spike, fell in love with Buffy, the character, instead of SMG, the actor. He said that while filming Doublemeat Palace, he was watching how Buffy was continuing to be a pleasant conscientious employee to customers even after she had been traumatically raised from the dead and a host of other problematic things yet she carried on. He was so pleased to find himself loving this character that he started laughing. SMG haughtily turned to him and snapped, "WHAT?! It's the HAT, isn't it!?" He let her believe that. He talked about his signal to John Barrowman not to invade his personal space bubble was to cross his legs. We felt that he was crossing his legs in a very feminine way so that signal might have backfired when used on John. XD
James talked a little about the story of Dragonball and the good message that it provides to young boys that violence isn't as important as being strong emotionally. He said that it provided a lot of interesting conversations between him and his son. James also mentioned how he had always wanted to be a father and have children. He mentioned a study (probably something he saw on the Discovery Channel) about how men's cognitive ability goes up after they have a child and how he's worried that his son's going to be more mature than him. He mentioned how things drastically changed in a instant the moment that his son was born. "I was looking at my son on the warming table, and a voice, as if from God, said "Go to L.A.! Make money! Now!" Because I was sleeping in the back of my theatre with rats. So I thought, "This little one is not going to want to be poor like you. You're fine with it? He will not be!"" He continued about how he liked being able to play with toys and bubbles. He's worried that his son is getting too old for that kind of thing and will soon be like, "Dad, I don't wanna do bubbles." James was like, "Why not? It's bubbles!" LOL.
And then a very little boy in the audience asked a question, and he sounded like a mini-James. The whole audience was aww'ing over him. He was like, "Excuse me, Mr. Marsters, but I'm doing a scientific study about certain genetic traits..." and he asked if James could "drill" his tongue, so James got to the edge of the stage and leaned down and was able to make his tongue do a drilling motion. It was wholly innocent yet kinda creepy at the same time. James then went back up on stage and stuck his tongue out at the audience.
James had a bit of trouble hearing the question from the next audience member. She had to use her "teacher voice" and said something about James being naughty. It all dissolved from there. She asked if James could tell her what role from a book he would like to portray and if he could answer the question in his Spike voice and if he would call her "Blossom" while he was doing it. James didn't understand parts of the question, but he told her that she could have said the rudest thing to him because he still only understood a half of what she said. He went into his Spike voice (which has turned into a little more relaxed Cockney accent and is a little odd to hear) and started joking about how he doesn't do the accent anymore because he's an "artist." He went on with the accent for a bit and stopped. He said that he liked non-fiction books, which don't make good movies, but that he would love do something based on the book The End of America, which shows how a free democratic society can easily slip into a fascism. And then there was some Tempest recitation. The whole "Be not afeared..." Caliban thing but shortened.
James did his impersonation of David Boreanaz when James asked him how he managed being the lead in the show and how exhausting it must be. "Horse racing... Don't look right; don't look left; just run."
Someone asked if James would still go to conventions if he was not a celebrity guest. He talked about dressing up as Spock and going to Trekkie conventions back in the 70s with his blonde afro and his Spock ears and his soaped-out eyebrows. He even made his own communicator. He said something about people dressing up in costumes and being nerds, but at the same time everyone in Hollywood wears costumes- the playboy, the celebutant, etc. He proceeded to cross his legs again, put his shoulders back, and wriggle as though he was pretending to be Paris Hilton, which made Fender nearly snort soda out her nose.
After that, the Q&A was over (James made sure to grab his Red Bull off the table before he left the stage which made us giggle).
Autographs (2PM): The ballroom with the Walk of Fame was hotter than the ninth level of hell, but we managed to wade through it. Now, we will each tell our individual stories.
Fender: I gave James my comic on Friday. His mouth kinda hung open for a few seconds when he looked at it. He flipped through the pages, looking over the panels, and said, "You did this? This is wonderful. Oh, wow." I explained that it was his Spike movie idea with the shoes and the demon growing six times its original size. He looked as though he was trying to read it, and Steve made him put it with the other gifts so that we wouldn't hold up the line anymore. He told me that I had a lot of talent, and he kinda puffed up and grinned, "I guess I got my episode afterall!" I told him that his idea was really worth telling, and he said, "Some people thought it was silly, but I think it's really rather dear." I agreed, and he gave me my autograph and took my hand and thanked me again. I had to go take a few moments to compose because I really did not want to be the silly fangirl crying in the middle of the autograph room. And maybe it's a little silly to feel this way, but in that moment, I felt affirmed as an artist. My muse not only acknowledged my work, but thanked me and actually LIKED what he saw. I can now hold my head up high because I made his jaw drop the instant he had the book in his hands, and that's better than any feeling I've ever felt in my entire life. Click here to watch the video.
Sarah: The first autograph session was super exciting because I was able to make Steve happy. I mean really shouldn't that be a goal? I think so and for that I get a check mark on my list of things to accomplish in life. :lol: When I came to the table, I handed Steve my photo I wanted autographed he then took a closer look and realized that the woman in the photo, who was behind James, is one of the ladies who works at cons. It turns out that this woman does NOT like to photographed, and it was like a miracle that I was able to get her in the shot. He took the photo and started pointing it out to all those at the next table where Gareth was to show them the picture and when he passed it to James he pointed it out to him. James proceeded to explain why Steve found the photo so funny and said we needed to hide it since the lady had a black belt and is rather frightening. To see the photo in question, click here.
Fender: After that, we headed for Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund's line. He was such a talkative man, very charming and charismatic. He was so friendly that, even though I had thought that I reconciled my separation between the thing that gave me nightmares as a kid with the actor portraying him, I found it hard to believe he could ever play such a fearsome character. When I went up for my autograph, he looked at my name badge and said, "What can I do for you, my little Fenderlove?" and I kinda fell in love with him. I had him sign a poster for a friend's boyfriend, and I told him that I had recently seen his Sci-Fi Channel original movie "Black Swarm" and that I enjoyed it. He said that the little girl in the film has a real future in horror movies because she was so fearless for being so young. I told him that "Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon" was the best movie I have seen in years. He told me that he enjoyed making it very much and that he thought that the actor who played Vernon was going to go places.
After that, it was back on the MARTA and off we went to Sister Cuervo's where much giggling was done and much Chinese food consumed.
Saturday:
JM/AL/GDL Q&A (that's a lotta initials!) (11:30AM): After some initial mic-checking (James was very adorable) and some feedback issues to burst our eardrums, the moderated part of the Q&A began. We think that this format is soooo much better than normal Q&As when more than two guests are involved.
They were first asked about their music, since each one is in a band or performs solo. James talked about being a solo act and how GOTR broke up after two years because they just got sick of one another. He talked about the musicians who helped out on his last album and his influences are Dylan, Springstein, Cobain, and Joni Mitchell.
The moderator asked the ever-present "What was it like to kiss John Barrowman?" question. Gareth and James began giggling, and Gareth responded, "After we answer this question, we don't answer it anymore!" James said that the reality of screen-kissing is that it's a nervous/embarrassing situation of something that is supposed to be intimate. He stated, "I am not a porn star" to which Gareth responded, "Unlike James, I actually am a porn star." Poor Anthony didn't know what it was like to kiss JB, so he could not participate, but he did like snogging Naoko.
They were asked if there was a difference to getting a job in the U.K. as opposed to here in the States. He said that he thought it was pretty much the same, but that the U.K. casting directors were a little nicer. Gareth said it was the opposite for him. He suggested that he and James switch for a little while. When asked if he would be back to Torchwood, James said he hoped so because he enjoyed being on the set and being around Gareth who "always hurts [him] really good." He said that he had the time of his life filming his episodes as Captain John. He told a story about the guy who played Grey in Exit Wounds and about how he was fresh out of drama school and "very serious about acting" and James made his "very serious act0ring" face. LOL. He said that the poor kid was trying to be such a serious actor, but that he was on the set with JM and JB which is just apparently a laugh riot. We'll provide a mini-transcript.
Gareth: *imitating John* Who wrote this shit?!
James: We were cracking dirty jokes and chasing each other around like twelve year olds and the guy is just like *makes a horrified expression* And I just went over to him and said, "You're going to run back to theatre and never return to television." And he was just like *with a various serious expression* "You're absolutely right."
And James went on to explain that the job of an actor is to have fun ("You go to see a play. You don't go to see a work.") and how JB demands that everyone be having fun.
James: *imitating John* WHAT'S UP, BITCHES!!!
Gareth: *again, imitating John* It's 9 o'clock! It's cocktail hour! Don't wanna work no more!
This was the point when Fender was laughing so hard she couldn't hold her camera up anymore. There was some talk about what type of scripts the actors liked. James gave a long drawn out answer about what types of scripts he liked to which Gareth responded, "I like scripts with lines." XD
They talked about deleted scenes from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in which Captain John is being divested of all his weapons. It was inspired by a scene in which Captain Jack is in a scene naked and pulls a gun from... somewhere, so they decided that Captain John should pull a gun out of somewhere similar. Gareth said that it wasn't so much how James pulled the gun, it was the way that JB held the gun like it was absolutely filthy and dropped it onto Ianto's tea tray. James said that it was all JB's idea, and Gareth happily said, "Let's talk about John's ideas, shall we?" Gareth talked about doing an episode where Jack and Ianto eating pizza. They started feeding each other pizza, and then John took Gareth's hand and put it on his crotch during a take. The producer came and talked to Gareth about "toning it back." Poor Gareth was like, "That wasn't my idea!" Anthony Lewis added a story about filming his sex scene on Torchwood, and Gareth said something about "All right, I've got her all loosened up for you now." Everyone in the audience was laughing, and he said, "I meant like her hamstrings! You Americans are sick!" XD
They were asked about their favourite curse words. James likes them all, but "fuck" is his favourite. "You can't beat a good fuck," so sayeth Mr. Marsters. Gareth said he was fond of "fanny-nugget" which none of knew was even a word until he said it. XD Anthony Lewis said he liked shite, and Gareth said that he found it weird when he heard an American woman at the convention say "shite." James said he hadn't heard any American say that ever (to which we were like, "We say it all the time!").
Next came the audience questions. Someone asked about what stage musical would each of the boys like to do. James said he would do anything that was done after 1975, and that he would like to do Jesus Christ Superstar (Fender squeed like a squeeing thing at that since JCSS is her favourite musical. "Be my Judas!" she cried out). He gave a little shout-out to Modesto. It was cute. Gareth said that he would ONLY do things that were made BEFORE 1975, but none of the Gilbert and Sullivan stuff.
Someone brought up the "captain sandwich toasted" line from the Rift and asked if there was any chance of it happening. After like twenty minutes of James and Gareth desperately trying to figure out what she was saying and then trying to figure out what exactly she was asking, Gareth said that it probably won't happen in the next series, but that it wasn't an impossibility. James said that he and Gareth were going to need to build a little more trust before that happened.
James talked about how he wanted to be on Torchwood especially after he was interviewed by the BBC when he was going back to the second episode and was told about "homophobic backlash." James got very excited and was like, "Oh my God! There's a homophobic backlash?" which was when he decided he wanted to be on the show as much as possible because he enjoyed being on a subversive television show. Gareth said that he enjoyed how the homosexual relationships on the show are represented as a non-issue. "People are gay. Get over it," he said, which received much applause from our little corner of the theatre (we heart our gay boys).
Someone asked if James would be on Heroes. James was very cute, looking over his shoulder and being fidgity. He said he would love to be on Heroes because he got to watch the first season when he was in the U.K. Apparently, everyone laughed at him because he thought it was a new show. Next, someone asked about stunts and getting hurt to which James responded, "I get hurt a lot." He said he got his tooth knocked out on Torchwood when Eve pulled him through the car with the handcuffs. He couldn't get his foot down in time, and he face-planted on the pavement, but he managed to save the take and run off to spit out his tooth.
Gareth was asked if he thought Ianto could speak Welsh and it turned into James talking about getting confused in grocery store about the signs being in Welsh. He had a blonde moment and didn't realize that the English was on the other side. James said that he loved Newport (Gareth's hometown). Gareth said that he thought James was the first person to ever say that. Gareth took James out on the town, and they pissed on the courthouse. He then apologized for badmouthing his hometown but he thought that having James "fucking love it" made up for it.
They were asked what role would they love to play. James said that he wanted to play a disillusioned starship captain in an original Star Trek series, but that Enterprise stole his thunder. He described a storyline that apparently sounded exactly like Stargate (or so a whole lot of people in the audience screamed out). Gareth said he would like to play Macbeth ("Sorry, James.").
There was a woman who had gotten Anthony and Gareth to drink from some sort of flask the day before, and she wanted James to also drink from it. The audience was like, "No!" because everyone had been told at the beginning of the Q&A that this was not the place to make comments or to give gifts or try to have personal contact with the panelists. Gareth also said that he and Anthony got a "good bollocking" for doing that the day before (sounds like something Stev would do *slurp*, so sayeth Fender). When asked if they read fanfiction on the internet or just things about themselves, Gareth said that, he "read the internet from time to time." James said that the nice things people say go too easily to his head, and Gareth added that at the same time that the bad things can be crushing. He said that a reviewer said, "What happened to Torchwood being sexy?... The last time I saw a pair of tits on screen was when Owen and Ianto were in the same shot." He said that he found it funny, but that if he were a sensitive person, it would have been crushing. James thought that people in the U.K. take taking the piss out of one another to a new art form.
James was asked how he played that kind of psychotic love/hate Captain John had for Captain Jack. He said that he blew a stunt early on.
Gareth: Blew a WHAT?
James: *giggling* Blew a STUNT!
And then he told the story of how John had taken care of him when he got that gash on his thigh after one of the first stunts when James had been too embarrassed to tell the crew that he had been hurt. He said that he came to love JB as a human being. There was talk of JB possibly putting salves on JM's thigh... and Fender's mind went to horrible mental places.
Dealer Rooms (... sometime...): Fender bought a Spike logo patch, a DVD of old 80s cartoons, and some Japanese toys. Sarah got a wall fan, a bento box, a Steampunk style leather journal, a John Barrowman calendar (it's not a real calendar and it's not licensed by JB... it's only a JB calendar because saying the words John Barrowman describes the cotents within), a set of Bettie Page playing cards and some stationary.
Photo-Ops (4PM): We saw a lot of people from the various internet boards. Salchli entertained quite a bit by showing us his photos from the day before; they were great! The photo-ops at the con were done differently than last year. Last year, we went into the room one at a time, but this year, the line went into the room and you could watch as others got their photos taken, which is kinda weird and a little embarrassing.
Sarah: This was the first of three photo-ops that I had during the Con. I was kinda embarrassed because I asked James if I could have a "huggy" picture. I was unsure if he would do it because the girl who was a few places in front of me asked for a very specific pose (she even brought a picture of it from a magazine). When she showed it to James, he stepped back and was like, "Whoa!" and he told her he couldn't do it with all the people in the room. When I asked him for a hug, he was very sweet and told me "Of course, love," and we set up the pose. Froggy told us to wait a moment, and James told me, "You get a real hug" to which I responed with a very loud and high piched "yay!"
Fender: This was my first of two photo-ops for the weekend. When I walked up to James, he took both my hands and squeezed them and pulled my arms around his waist. I took this as a sign that he wanted a hug. I asked him if he enjoyed the comic, and he said, "Yes, very much." He told me that he got to read it Friday night before he went to bed. The thought of James handling my artwork while possibly in bed... possibly nude was enough to send me into a James!fog. He said, "I'd give you a kiss, but I think I can't with all these people in line." Froggy gave him a look like, "Don't you dare." James smiled and said, "I hope a hug is okay." I think I said, "Sure, I understand," but I might have just nodded. We hugged, and the picture was snapped while James was still trying to talk. I started to walk away and he pulled me back and told me that he really wanted to see the rest of the comic when I finish it and that I had a lot of talent. I walked out of the room sorta in a daze. Suddenly I realized I forgot where my hands were in the photo. I thought to myself, "Where the hell were your hands? Dear God, please tell me that I didn't have my hands where they shouldn't be." Luckily for me, They were on the middle of his back and not any lower. XD
Sarah: After seeing my photo-op, I liked it because it was cute, but I really wanted to do a Spike and Drusilla headtilt kind of photo and I decided to get another one with James and Gareth.
Fender: I really didn't like how my photo turned out. Sister C, Cindy, Berry, and Sarah all liked it, but I didn't think that it looked like me. I like the memory I have of it, but not the photo itself. Blast you, James, for trying to get me to talk to you the entire time! And blast Froggy for not giving us warning before taking the photo! >__<
Sunday:
JM/MR Q&A (11:30): We lined up like an hour early, and these D*C staff members kept thinking that we were all Browncoats getting in line like three hours early. No matter how many times we kept saying, "We're here for the Smallville panel!" they just kept yelling at the Browncoats as if there was no way that someone could be in line for Smallville and then get BACK in line for Firefly.
Michael and James spent a good portion of ten minutes just getting each other and talking. It was adorable. Michael was amazed that James went to bed so early the night before after his party/concert thing and was up first thing in the morning signing autographs. James was like, "I was being a good boy." XD Michael brought his friend Chris with him and he was sleeping backstage. James thought that Chris was the boy who had played Clark's best friend in the first season of Smallville, and MR gave him a hard time about just how wrong he was. "I didn't watch Season One!" James protested. Neither one of us remember much about this panel as we were both standing in line to ask questions so we didn't get any video to refresh our memories.
Michael talked about karaoke, and he and James sang some Michael McDonald song (we think it might be "What a Fool Believes" or maybe it was a Doobie Brothers song). James said that he would like to be back on Smallville, and MR said he'd put in a call for him. Michael stuck his foot in his mouth right off the bat (it's that story about the lady who was the cancer survivor that Fender posted earlier). Some very small boy asked if MR and James liked playing bad guys. We kinda thought that James might give some "Please think of the children" answer, but he just said that he enjoyed very much. Then they had a long conversation about the General Lee which makes Fender wish for a new Dukes of Hazzard TV show starring James and Michael as Bo and Luke Duke (Fender volunteers to play Daisy. Kissing cousins is just fine). They talked about how they thought reality television shows sucked because those kinds of shows are cheap to make. Michael said that he would do a live comedy reality show with himself and James. James described his plan for energy conservation which utilizes both hydrogen power and solar power (basically using solar power to enhance the generation of hydrogen to make it more cost efficient). We were both surprised that it didn't sound like something that was rehashed or misheard from the Discovery Channel. Michael presented James with some sort of Peace Prize in the form of a vitamin energy water bottle. James talked about "injecting Lex with some sort of primary coloured fluid" and how neither one of them received motivation or were told what exactly their characters were after (though Michael took the injecting line and had to lay his head down). And now Fender will describe her experience asking MR and James the final question of the Q&A:
Fender: I was already really nervous. Asking a question a Q&A was the last thing I had left to experience at a convention, and it didn't help that I both needed to piss and had a severely dry throat at the same time. While the person before me on the other side of the room was getting their question answered, the staffer who was holding the mic asked me what my question was. I told him, and he just stared at me. He said that if it had been just James or just Michael he wouldn't have let me ask that, but since they were already acting goofy I could ask it. My nervousness expounded when Michael and James kept talking about the ridiculousness of the eight million dollar water ripple effect in Jurassic Park. When I finally asked "How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?" I was pleasantly surprised that most people laughed. James's expression was priceless (it made it all worth it). James gave the answer I hoped he would, which proves his nerdiness, which is "What's the point of surviving a zombie apocalypse? Even if you survive you're still in a zombie apocalypse."
James thought that he would make a hot zombie and even made a little zombie face (Michael coined the term "hombie" in response). MR said he would need a hot zombie chick because he would get tired masturbating every day. "Gee, Marilyn's been looking at me all day! I know she's all bloody and veiny and gross, but..." It was quite amusing, especially MR's "Zombies are jerks" line. As I was walking back to my seat, I had a few angry responses of "That was a stupid question!" but I didn't care because at least they'd never been asked that before. Now if only I could stop people from asking the same questions about kissing JB or SMG, I'd have done my job. Get creative, people! XD Click here for video of this (I did not take the video. My question starts at 2 minutes 43 seconds in).
Autographs (12:30): We both got Michael Rosenbaum's autograph. Here be the tale.
Sarah:When I walked up to MR, he said, "You are so cute!" He gave me my autograph and I told him that my favourite movie of him was "Sorority Boys" and that my sorority sisters and I always watch it. He turned to his friend Chris, "More than half the people I met here tell me that they loved me in that movie!" And I told him that I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing, but he said it was a good thing. He was very sweet and shook my hand.
Fender: I was actually going to get MR's autograph for a friend, but I wound up getting it for myself. I thanked him for asking my zombie question, and he said, "That's the best question I've been asked. You can always go with the funny stuff." He asked for my name, and I told him that it was Savanna. He smiled and said, "Savanna? Like that movie Savanna Smiles?" And I told him that that was the movie that I had been named after. He turned to his friend Chris and said, "Man, I love that movie!" He was very sweet.
Photo-Ops (4PM):
Sarah: Dru is my very favorite character from BtVS and Angel, so I really wanted to do the Spike and Dru head tilt. When I asked, James said we could. He started to grab my hands but I stopped him since I didn't know what to do with my glasses, and I really didn't want to wear them. James told me to put them upstage and grabbed my hands. Then he leaned his head down so that our foreheads could touch. He put his feet apart and shook out his shoulders and went into full act0ring mode. The room, which had been somewhat noisy, went completely silent. It was like magic, and I totally felt like we were the only people in the room. He told me to look into his eyes, and then he said we would slowly turn towards Froggy and we would stare at him like we wanted him dead. right. now. There was no cue from James; it was just instinctual. We turned, and the photo was snapped. I was totally in the moment and everything got fuzzy. After the photo was taken, he shook my hand, and he thanked me. It was nice, and I felt like all the other people who had worked with James who rave about working with him were not exaggerating about him making you step up your A-game. Click here to view the photo.
Fender: Since my last photo on Saturday didn't look that great, I promised myself that I would talk as little as possible. When he saw me, he did the same thing as before and took both my hands and wrapped them around his back. Boobs meet chest, and then James!fog ensued. I asked him if I could have one of the hug-from-behind poses since I had all of the others in his repertoire. He laughed and said, "Of course, you can, sweetheart." He put his hands on my waist and maneuvered me around so that he could stand behind me. When he brought his hand up to wrap around my shoulder, he kinda... grazed my left tit... He leaned down next to my ear and was like, "Oh, I'm sorry." I think I might have just nodded, but I might have said, "It's okay." The James!fog is powerful with this one. After the photo was taken, he squeezed both my hands really tight, and he actually broke one of my fingernails. I didn't realize it until I left the room. I was kinda grossed that my broken fingernail might be on his shoe or something or that I might have scratched him. Ick. Click here to view the photo.
Sarah: For my last photo-op, I got one taken with both James and Gareth. I had to run back into the line after my James-only photo. When I came in, James grabbed my hands and said, "Hello again, love." Gareth shook my hand and said hello. I explained to them that I was in a sorority and if I could do my sorority handsign with them. Gareth seemed confused, and James wanted me to repeat what I said. After I repeated myself, James said, "Sure, what is it?" I demonstrated it to both of them. James did it right off, but Gareth held up both hands and said, "Two hands or one?" I told him just one, but he was still confused but he went with it. I thanked them after the picture, and they shook my hands. Click here to view the photo.
And now for the explanation of the "rude gesture!", aka our sorority hand gesture. Our sorority hand gesture was created twelve years ago by the Founding Sisters of Phi Chi. We've been kind of a laughing stock amongst our local Greek Life community because our hand gesture is also known to be a way to judge how long a gentleman's genitalia is. From the tip of a man's middle finger to the tip of the thumb when the two are held at an L-shape is supposedly the way to determine this. Last year at Dragon*Con we made James the official Big Brother of our sorority, so we thought that him doing the hand sign would be a cute memento, but at the same having him do such a gesture leaves an important opportunity that we could not pass up. We couldn't help but wonder if the smirk on James's face means that he knows what it means. Using Sarah's hand as the constant in the ratio, we first measure the tip of her middle finger to thumb which measured 4.5 inches, so in the photo we knew the ration would be 1 : 4.5 inches. Next we measured the distance between James's thumb and middle finger and came up with approximately 1.5 and Gareth had 1.25, so if we do a little math, we come up with the measurements of 6.75 inches and 5.625 inches. Take that as you will. Click here to view our scale model... of pervertedness.
Monday: We were heading home on Monday, but we stopped by the con just before we left to get a few last autographs. Fender got Brad Dourif's for the friend that she was supposed to get the MR autograph for, and Sarah had James and Gareth sign the sorority picture.
Sarah: When I went to get my autograph with James, I wanted to ask a question that I couldn't ask at the MR/JM Q&A on Sunday. James very willingly listened to my question which was, "At a lot of conventions, you get asked to recite Shakespeare, and I wanted to know if you ever felt the need to go over the lines or do you just know them by heart that well?" James explained that he did not have to ever go over the lines because in his studies as an act0r, they had been ingrained in his minds. He said it was all so receptive, and that he found Shakespeare very easy to memorize, that once he had learned it the first time he never forgot it. All of a sudden he starts to recite from Hamlet Act III Scene I the "To be or not to be..." bit. This is as far as he got:
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause..."
Or at least that's where I remember he stopped. I kind of started giggling because he was being so cute.
Fenderlove and SororitySarah Present: Phi Chi Goes Sci-Fi 2008: At Least We Still Have Our Dignity!
Friday:
We left Tennessee at 2AM. We had each had about two hours of sleep. Fender slept most of the way, which Sarah appreciated because scary mountains and darkness would have made Fender not a pleasant passenger. We learned something driving down to Georgia- All the South has are fireworks stands, adult bookstores, and Cracker Barrels... and they're all right next to each other. You can get your bottle rockets and your porno and your chicken all in one stop.
Photo-Ops (11:45AM): While we checked in to the convention and got our snazzy name badges, Sister Cuervo made a brave attempt to snag some dinner party/concert tickets. Sadly, none of us would be able to go. After we left the registration hall, we all met up in the long looong line to buy photo-op tickets for the rest of the weekend. We both purchased tickets for Saturday's photos since we had been in the car since 2AM and driven over four and a half hours and we were feeling... less than fresh. No one deserves that (especially not James).
JM's Solo Q&A (1PM): We came in a little late for the Q&A, probably fifteen minutes. We also had to sit near a crying baby that sounded like it was possessed by the devil or perhaps had swallowed a dying goat. James talked about being sort of fearless while filming Dragonball to impress his girlfriend with his daring deeds of highwire movie majick, but he learned during the filming of Moonshot that he did have a fear- the fear of being smothered to death. He said that the astronaut helmet came very close to his face and caused him to have some trouble breathing to the point where he would go back to his trailer crying and shaking, even having nightmares about being smothered. Some dude asked the unescapable question of "Who's a better kisser? SMG or John Barrowman?" with the excuse of "My girlfriend is making me ask this." James gave the same answer he always does so it bears no repeating here, but he did give some interesting commentary about when he, as the actor portraying Spike, fell in love with Buffy, the character, instead of SMG, the actor. He said that while filming Doublemeat Palace, he was watching how Buffy was continuing to be a pleasant conscientious employee to customers even after she had been traumatically raised from the dead and a host of other problematic things yet she carried on. He was so pleased to find himself loving this character that he started laughing. SMG haughtily turned to him and snapped, "WHAT?! It's the HAT, isn't it!?" He let her believe that. He talked about his signal to John Barrowman not to invade his personal space bubble was to cross his legs. We felt that he was crossing his legs in a very feminine way so that signal might have backfired when used on John. XD
James talked a little about the story of Dragonball and the good message that it provides to young boys that violence isn't as important as being strong emotionally. He said that it provided a lot of interesting conversations between him and his son. James also mentioned how he had always wanted to be a father and have children. He mentioned a study (probably something he saw on the Discovery Channel) about how men's cognitive ability goes up after they have a child and how he's worried that his son's going to be more mature than him. He mentioned how things drastically changed in a instant the moment that his son was born. "I was looking at my son on the warming table, and a voice, as if from God, said "Go to L.A.! Make money! Now!" Because I was sleeping in the back of my theatre with rats. So I thought, "This little one is not going to want to be poor like you. You're fine with it? He will not be!"" He continued about how he liked being able to play with toys and bubbles. He's worried that his son is getting too old for that kind of thing and will soon be like, "Dad, I don't wanna do bubbles." James was like, "Why not? It's bubbles!" LOL.
And then a very little boy in the audience asked a question, and he sounded like a mini-James. The whole audience was aww'ing over him. He was like, "Excuse me, Mr. Marsters, but I'm doing a scientific study about certain genetic traits..." and he asked if James could "drill" his tongue, so James got to the edge of the stage and leaned down and was able to make his tongue do a drilling motion. It was wholly innocent yet kinda creepy at the same time. James then went back up on stage and stuck his tongue out at the audience.
James had a bit of trouble hearing the question from the next audience member. She had to use her "teacher voice" and said something about James being naughty. It all dissolved from there. She asked if James could tell her what role from a book he would like to portray and if he could answer the question in his Spike voice and if he would call her "Blossom" while he was doing it. James didn't understand parts of the question, but he told her that she could have said the rudest thing to him because he still only understood a half of what she said. He went into his Spike voice (which has turned into a little more relaxed Cockney accent and is a little odd to hear) and started joking about how he doesn't do the accent anymore because he's an "artist." He went on with the accent for a bit and stopped. He said that he liked non-fiction books, which don't make good movies, but that he would love do something based on the book The End of America, which shows how a free democratic society can easily slip into a fascism. And then there was some Tempest recitation. The whole "Be not afeared..." Caliban thing but shortened.
James did his impersonation of David Boreanaz when James asked him how he managed being the lead in the show and how exhausting it must be. "Horse racing... Don't look right; don't look left; just run."
Someone asked if James would still go to conventions if he was not a celebrity guest. He talked about dressing up as Spock and going to Trekkie conventions back in the 70s with his blonde afro and his Spock ears and his soaped-out eyebrows. He even made his own communicator. He said something about people dressing up in costumes and being nerds, but at the same time everyone in Hollywood wears costumes- the playboy, the celebutant, etc. He proceeded to cross his legs again, put his shoulders back, and wriggle as though he was pretending to be Paris Hilton, which made Fender nearly snort soda out her nose.
After that, the Q&A was over (James made sure to grab his Red Bull off the table before he left the stage which made us giggle).
Autographs (2PM): The ballroom with the Walk of Fame was hotter than the ninth level of hell, but we managed to wade through it. Now, we will each tell our individual stories.
Fender: I gave James my comic on Friday. His mouth kinda hung open for a few seconds when he looked at it. He flipped through the pages, looking over the panels, and said, "You did this? This is wonderful. Oh, wow." I explained that it was his Spike movie idea with the shoes and the demon growing six times its original size. He looked as though he was trying to read it, and Steve made him put it with the other gifts so that we wouldn't hold up the line anymore. He told me that I had a lot of talent, and he kinda puffed up and grinned, "I guess I got my episode afterall!" I told him that his idea was really worth telling, and he said, "Some people thought it was silly, but I think it's really rather dear." I agreed, and he gave me my autograph and took my hand and thanked me again. I had to go take a few moments to compose because I really did not want to be the silly fangirl crying in the middle of the autograph room. And maybe it's a little silly to feel this way, but in that moment, I felt affirmed as an artist. My muse not only acknowledged my work, but thanked me and actually LIKED what he saw. I can now hold my head up high because I made his jaw drop the instant he had the book in his hands, and that's better than any feeling I've ever felt in my entire life. Click here to watch the video.
Sarah: The first autograph session was super exciting because I was able to make Steve happy. I mean really shouldn't that be a goal? I think so and for that I get a check mark on my list of things to accomplish in life. :lol: When I came to the table, I handed Steve my photo I wanted autographed he then took a closer look and realized that the woman in the photo, who was behind James, is one of the ladies who works at cons. It turns out that this woman does NOT like to photographed, and it was like a miracle that I was able to get her in the shot. He took the photo and started pointing it out to all those at the next table where Gareth was to show them the picture and when he passed it to James he pointed it out to him. James proceeded to explain why Steve found the photo so funny and said we needed to hide it since the lady had a black belt and is rather frightening. To see the photo in question, click here.
Fender: After that, we headed for Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund's line. He was such a talkative man, very charming and charismatic. He was so friendly that, even though I had thought that I reconciled my separation between the thing that gave me nightmares as a kid with the actor portraying him, I found it hard to believe he could ever play such a fearsome character. When I went up for my autograph, he looked at my name badge and said, "What can I do for you, my little Fenderlove?" and I kinda fell in love with him. I had him sign a poster for a friend's boyfriend, and I told him that I had recently seen his Sci-Fi Channel original movie "Black Swarm" and that I enjoyed it. He said that the little girl in the film has a real future in horror movies because she was so fearless for being so young. I told him that "Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon" was the best movie I have seen in years. He told me that he enjoyed making it very much and that he thought that the actor who played Vernon was going to go places.
After that, it was back on the MARTA and off we went to Sister Cuervo's where much giggling was done and much Chinese food consumed.
Saturday:
JM/AL/GDL Q&A (that's a lotta initials!) (11:30AM): After some initial mic-checking (James was very adorable) and some feedback issues to burst our eardrums, the moderated part of the Q&A began. We think that this format is soooo much better than normal Q&As when more than two guests are involved.
They were first asked about their music, since each one is in a band or performs solo. James talked about being a solo act and how GOTR broke up after two years because they just got sick of one another. He talked about the musicians who helped out on his last album and his influences are Dylan, Springstein, Cobain, and Joni Mitchell.
The moderator asked the ever-present "What was it like to kiss John Barrowman?" question. Gareth and James began giggling, and Gareth responded, "After we answer this question, we don't answer it anymore!" James said that the reality of screen-kissing is that it's a nervous/embarrassing situation of something that is supposed to be intimate. He stated, "I am not a porn star" to which Gareth responded, "Unlike James, I actually am a porn star." Poor Anthony didn't know what it was like to kiss JB, so he could not participate, but he did like snogging Naoko.
They were asked if there was a difference to getting a job in the U.K. as opposed to here in the States. He said that he thought it was pretty much the same, but that the U.K. casting directors were a little nicer. Gareth said it was the opposite for him. He suggested that he and James switch for a little while. When asked if he would be back to Torchwood, James said he hoped so because he enjoyed being on the set and being around Gareth who "always hurts [him] really good." He said that he had the time of his life filming his episodes as Captain John. He told a story about the guy who played Grey in Exit Wounds and about how he was fresh out of drama school and "very serious about acting" and James made his "very serious act0ring" face. LOL. He said that the poor kid was trying to be such a serious actor, but that he was on the set with JM and JB which is just apparently a laugh riot. We'll provide a mini-transcript.
Gareth: *imitating John* Who wrote this shit?!
James: We were cracking dirty jokes and chasing each other around like twelve year olds and the guy is just like *makes a horrified expression* And I just went over to him and said, "You're going to run back to theatre and never return to television." And he was just like *with a various serious expression* "You're absolutely right."
And James went on to explain that the job of an actor is to have fun ("You go to see a play. You don't go to see a work.") and how JB demands that everyone be having fun.
James: *imitating John* WHAT'S UP, BITCHES!!!
Gareth: *again, imitating John* It's 9 o'clock! It's cocktail hour! Don't wanna work no more!
This was the point when Fender was laughing so hard she couldn't hold her camera up anymore. There was some talk about what type of scripts the actors liked. James gave a long drawn out answer about what types of scripts he liked to which Gareth responded, "I like scripts with lines." XD
They talked about deleted scenes from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in which Captain John is being divested of all his weapons. It was inspired by a scene in which Captain Jack is in a scene naked and pulls a gun from... somewhere, so they decided that Captain John should pull a gun out of somewhere similar. Gareth said that it wasn't so much how James pulled the gun, it was the way that JB held the gun like it was absolutely filthy and dropped it onto Ianto's tea tray. James said that it was all JB's idea, and Gareth happily said, "Let's talk about John's ideas, shall we?" Gareth talked about doing an episode where Jack and Ianto eating pizza. They started feeding each other pizza, and then John took Gareth's hand and put it on his crotch during a take. The producer came and talked to Gareth about "toning it back." Poor Gareth was like, "That wasn't my idea!" Anthony Lewis added a story about filming his sex scene on Torchwood, and Gareth said something about "All right, I've got her all loosened up for you now." Everyone in the audience was laughing, and he said, "I meant like her hamstrings! You Americans are sick!" XD
They were asked about their favourite curse words. James likes them all, but "fuck" is his favourite. "You can't beat a good fuck," so sayeth Mr. Marsters. Gareth said he was fond of "fanny-nugget" which none of knew was even a word until he said it. XD Anthony Lewis said he liked shite, and Gareth said that he found it weird when he heard an American woman at the convention say "shite." James said he hadn't heard any American say that ever (to which we were like, "We say it all the time!").
Next came the audience questions. Someone asked about what stage musical would each of the boys like to do. James said he would do anything that was done after 1975, and that he would like to do Jesus Christ Superstar (Fender squeed like a squeeing thing at that since JCSS is her favourite musical. "Be my Judas!" she cried out). He gave a little shout-out to Modesto. It was cute. Gareth said that he would ONLY do things that were made BEFORE 1975, but none of the Gilbert and Sullivan stuff.
Someone brought up the "captain sandwich toasted" line from the Rift and asked if there was any chance of it happening. After like twenty minutes of James and Gareth desperately trying to figure out what she was saying and then trying to figure out what exactly she was asking, Gareth said that it probably won't happen in the next series, but that it wasn't an impossibility. James said that he and Gareth were going to need to build a little more trust before that happened.
James talked about how he wanted to be on Torchwood especially after he was interviewed by the BBC when he was going back to the second episode and was told about "homophobic backlash." James got very excited and was like, "Oh my God! There's a homophobic backlash?" which was when he decided he wanted to be on the show as much as possible because he enjoyed being on a subversive television show. Gareth said that he enjoyed how the homosexual relationships on the show are represented as a non-issue. "People are gay. Get over it," he said, which received much applause from our little corner of the theatre (we heart our gay boys).
Someone asked if James would be on Heroes. James was very cute, looking over his shoulder and being fidgity. He said he would love to be on Heroes because he got to watch the first season when he was in the U.K. Apparently, everyone laughed at him because he thought it was a new show. Next, someone asked about stunts and getting hurt to which James responded, "I get hurt a lot." He said he got his tooth knocked out on Torchwood when Eve pulled him through the car with the handcuffs. He couldn't get his foot down in time, and he face-planted on the pavement, but he managed to save the take and run off to spit out his tooth.
Gareth was asked if he thought Ianto could speak Welsh and it turned into James talking about getting confused in grocery store about the signs being in Welsh. He had a blonde moment and didn't realize that the English was on the other side. James said that he loved Newport (Gareth's hometown). Gareth said that he thought James was the first person to ever say that. Gareth took James out on the town, and they pissed on the courthouse. He then apologized for badmouthing his hometown but he thought that having James "fucking love it" made up for it.
They were asked what role would they love to play. James said that he wanted to play a disillusioned starship captain in an original Star Trek series, but that Enterprise stole his thunder. He described a storyline that apparently sounded exactly like Stargate (or so a whole lot of people in the audience screamed out). Gareth said he would like to play Macbeth ("Sorry, James.").
There was a woman who had gotten Anthony and Gareth to drink from some sort of flask the day before, and she wanted James to also drink from it. The audience was like, "No!" because everyone had been told at the beginning of the Q&A that this was not the place to make comments or to give gifts or try to have personal contact with the panelists. Gareth also said that he and Anthony got a "good bollocking" for doing that the day before (sounds like something Stev would do *slurp*, so sayeth Fender). When asked if they read fanfiction on the internet or just things about themselves, Gareth said that, he "read the internet from time to time." James said that the nice things people say go too easily to his head, and Gareth added that at the same time that the bad things can be crushing. He said that a reviewer said, "What happened to Torchwood being sexy?... The last time I saw a pair of tits on screen was when Owen and Ianto were in the same shot." He said that he found it funny, but that if he were a sensitive person, it would have been crushing. James thought that people in the U.K. take taking the piss out of one another to a new art form.
James was asked how he played that kind of psychotic love/hate Captain John had for Captain Jack. He said that he blew a stunt early on.
Gareth: Blew a WHAT?
James: *giggling* Blew a STUNT!
And then he told the story of how John had taken care of him when he got that gash on his thigh after one of the first stunts when James had been too embarrassed to tell the crew that he had been hurt. He said that he came to love JB as a human being. There was talk of JB possibly putting salves on JM's thigh... and Fender's mind went to horrible mental places.
Dealer Rooms (... sometime...): Fender bought a Spike logo patch, a DVD of old 80s cartoons, and some Japanese toys. Sarah got a wall fan, a bento box, a Steampunk style leather journal, a John Barrowman calendar (it's not a real calendar and it's not licensed by JB... it's only a JB calendar because saying the words John Barrowman describes the cotents within), a set of Bettie Page playing cards and some stationary.
Photo-Ops (4PM): We saw a lot of people from the various internet boards. Salchli entertained quite a bit by showing us his photos from the day before; they were great! The photo-ops at the con were done differently than last year. Last year, we went into the room one at a time, but this year, the line went into the room and you could watch as others got their photos taken, which is kinda weird and a little embarrassing.
Sarah: This was the first of three photo-ops that I had during the Con. I was kinda embarrassed because I asked James if I could have a "huggy" picture. I was unsure if he would do it because the girl who was a few places in front of me asked for a very specific pose (she even brought a picture of it from a magazine). When she showed it to James, he stepped back and was like, "Whoa!" and he told her he couldn't do it with all the people in the room. When I asked him for a hug, he was very sweet and told me "Of course, love," and we set up the pose. Froggy told us to wait a moment, and James told me, "You get a real hug" to which I responed with a very loud and high piched "yay!"
Fender: This was my first of two photo-ops for the weekend. When I walked up to James, he took both my hands and squeezed them and pulled my arms around his waist. I took this as a sign that he wanted a hug. I asked him if he enjoyed the comic, and he said, "Yes, very much." He told me that he got to read it Friday night before he went to bed. The thought of James handling my artwork while possibly in bed... possibly nude was enough to send me into a James!fog. He said, "I'd give you a kiss, but I think I can't with all these people in line." Froggy gave him a look like, "Don't you dare." James smiled and said, "I hope a hug is okay." I think I said, "Sure, I understand," but I might have just nodded. We hugged, and the picture was snapped while James was still trying to talk. I started to walk away and he pulled me back and told me that he really wanted to see the rest of the comic when I finish it and that I had a lot of talent. I walked out of the room sorta in a daze. Suddenly I realized I forgot where my hands were in the photo. I thought to myself, "Where the hell were your hands? Dear God, please tell me that I didn't have my hands where they shouldn't be." Luckily for me, They were on the middle of his back and not any lower. XD
Sarah: After seeing my photo-op, I liked it because it was cute, but I really wanted to do a Spike and Drusilla headtilt kind of photo and I decided to get another one with James and Gareth.
Fender: I really didn't like how my photo turned out. Sister C, Cindy, Berry, and Sarah all liked it, but I didn't think that it looked like me. I like the memory I have of it, but not the photo itself. Blast you, James, for trying to get me to talk to you the entire time! And blast Froggy for not giving us warning before taking the photo! >__<
Sunday:
JM/MR Q&A (11:30): We lined up like an hour early, and these D*C staff members kept thinking that we were all Browncoats getting in line like three hours early. No matter how many times we kept saying, "We're here for the Smallville panel!" they just kept yelling at the Browncoats as if there was no way that someone could be in line for Smallville and then get BACK in line for Firefly.
Michael and James spent a good portion of ten minutes just getting each other and talking. It was adorable. Michael was amazed that James went to bed so early the night before after his party/concert thing and was up first thing in the morning signing autographs. James was like, "I was being a good boy." XD Michael brought his friend Chris with him and he was sleeping backstage. James thought that Chris was the boy who had played Clark's best friend in the first season of Smallville, and MR gave him a hard time about just how wrong he was. "I didn't watch Season One!" James protested. Neither one of us remember much about this panel as we were both standing in line to ask questions so we didn't get any video to refresh our memories.
Michael talked about karaoke, and he and James sang some Michael McDonald song (we think it might be "What a Fool Believes" or maybe it was a Doobie Brothers song). James said that he would like to be back on Smallville, and MR said he'd put in a call for him. Michael stuck his foot in his mouth right off the bat (it's that story about the lady who was the cancer survivor that Fender posted earlier). Some very small boy asked if MR and James liked playing bad guys. We kinda thought that James might give some "Please think of the children" answer, but he just said that he enjoyed very much. Then they had a long conversation about the General Lee which makes Fender wish for a new Dukes of Hazzard TV show starring James and Michael as Bo and Luke Duke (Fender volunteers to play Daisy. Kissing cousins is just fine). They talked about how they thought reality television shows sucked because those kinds of shows are cheap to make. Michael said that he would do a live comedy reality show with himself and James. James described his plan for energy conservation which utilizes both hydrogen power and solar power (basically using solar power to enhance the generation of hydrogen to make it more cost efficient). We were both surprised that it didn't sound like something that was rehashed or misheard from the Discovery Channel. Michael presented James with some sort of Peace Prize in the form of a vitamin energy water bottle. James talked about "injecting Lex with some sort of primary coloured fluid" and how neither one of them received motivation or were told what exactly their characters were after (though Michael took the injecting line and had to lay his head down). And now Fender will describe her experience asking MR and James the final question of the Q&A:
Fender: I was already really nervous. Asking a question a Q&A was the last thing I had left to experience at a convention, and it didn't help that I both needed to piss and had a severely dry throat at the same time. While the person before me on the other side of the room was getting their question answered, the staffer who was holding the mic asked me what my question was. I told him, and he just stared at me. He said that if it had been just James or just Michael he wouldn't have let me ask that, but since they were already acting goofy I could ask it. My nervousness expounded when Michael and James kept talking about the ridiculousness of the eight million dollar water ripple effect in Jurassic Park. When I finally asked "How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?" I was pleasantly surprised that most people laughed. James's expression was priceless (it made it all worth it). James gave the answer I hoped he would, which proves his nerdiness, which is "What's the point of surviving a zombie apocalypse? Even if you survive you're still in a zombie apocalypse."
James thought that he would make a hot zombie and even made a little zombie face (Michael coined the term "hombie" in response). MR said he would need a hot zombie chick because he would get tired masturbating every day. "Gee, Marilyn's been looking at me all day! I know she's all bloody and veiny and gross, but..." It was quite amusing, especially MR's "Zombies are jerks" line. As I was walking back to my seat, I had a few angry responses of "That was a stupid question!" but I didn't care because at least they'd never been asked that before. Now if only I could stop people from asking the same questions about kissing JB or SMG, I'd have done my job. Get creative, people! XD Click here for video of this (I did not take the video. My question starts at 2 minutes 43 seconds in).
Autographs (12:30): We both got Michael Rosenbaum's autograph. Here be the tale.
Sarah:When I walked up to MR, he said, "You are so cute!" He gave me my autograph and I told him that my favourite movie of him was "Sorority Boys" and that my sorority sisters and I always watch it. He turned to his friend Chris, "More than half the people I met here tell me that they loved me in that movie!" And I told him that I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing, but he said it was a good thing. He was very sweet and shook my hand.
Fender: I was actually going to get MR's autograph for a friend, but I wound up getting it for myself. I thanked him for asking my zombie question, and he said, "That's the best question I've been asked. You can always go with the funny stuff." He asked for my name, and I told him that it was Savanna. He smiled and said, "Savanna? Like that movie Savanna Smiles?" And I told him that that was the movie that I had been named after. He turned to his friend Chris and said, "Man, I love that movie!" He was very sweet.
Photo-Ops (4PM):
Sarah: Dru is my very favorite character from BtVS and Angel, so I really wanted to do the Spike and Dru head tilt. When I asked, James said we could. He started to grab my hands but I stopped him since I didn't know what to do with my glasses, and I really didn't want to wear them. James told me to put them upstage and grabbed my hands. Then he leaned his head down so that our foreheads could touch. He put his feet apart and shook out his shoulders and went into full act0ring mode. The room, which had been somewhat noisy, went completely silent. It was like magic, and I totally felt like we were the only people in the room. He told me to look into his eyes, and then he said we would slowly turn towards Froggy and we would stare at him like we wanted him dead. right. now. There was no cue from James; it was just instinctual. We turned, and the photo was snapped. I was totally in the moment and everything got fuzzy. After the photo was taken, he shook my hand, and he thanked me. It was nice, and I felt like all the other people who had worked with James who rave about working with him were not exaggerating about him making you step up your A-game. Click here to view the photo.
Fender: Since my last photo on Saturday didn't look that great, I promised myself that I would talk as little as possible. When he saw me, he did the same thing as before and took both my hands and wrapped them around his back. Boobs meet chest, and then James!fog ensued. I asked him if I could have one of the hug-from-behind poses since I had all of the others in his repertoire. He laughed and said, "Of course, you can, sweetheart." He put his hands on my waist and maneuvered me around so that he could stand behind me. When he brought his hand up to wrap around my shoulder, he kinda... grazed my left tit... He leaned down next to my ear and was like, "Oh, I'm sorry." I think I might have just nodded, but I might have said, "It's okay." The James!fog is powerful with this one. After the photo was taken, he squeezed both my hands really tight, and he actually broke one of my fingernails. I didn't realize it until I left the room. I was kinda grossed that my broken fingernail might be on his shoe or something or that I might have scratched him. Ick. Click here to view the photo.
Sarah: For my last photo-op, I got one taken with both James and Gareth. I had to run back into the line after my James-only photo. When I came in, James grabbed my hands and said, "Hello again, love." Gareth shook my hand and said hello. I explained to them that I was in a sorority and if I could do my sorority handsign with them. Gareth seemed confused, and James wanted me to repeat what I said. After I repeated myself, James said, "Sure, what is it?" I demonstrated it to both of them. James did it right off, but Gareth held up both hands and said, "Two hands or one?" I told him just one, but he was still confused but he went with it. I thanked them after the picture, and they shook my hands. Click here to view the photo.
And now for the explanation of the "rude gesture!", aka our sorority hand gesture. Our sorority hand gesture was created twelve years ago by the Founding Sisters of Phi Chi. We've been kind of a laughing stock amongst our local Greek Life community because our hand gesture is also known to be a way to judge how long a gentleman's genitalia is. From the tip of a man's middle finger to the tip of the thumb when the two are held at an L-shape is supposedly the way to determine this. Last year at Dragon*Con we made James the official Big Brother of our sorority, so we thought that him doing the hand sign would be a cute memento, but at the same having him do such a gesture leaves an important opportunity that we could not pass up. We couldn't help but wonder if the smirk on James's face means that he knows what it means. Using Sarah's hand as the constant in the ratio, we first measure the tip of her middle finger to thumb which measured 4.5 inches, so in the photo we knew the ration would be 1 : 4.5 inches. Next we measured the distance between James's thumb and middle finger and came up with approximately 1.5 and Gareth had 1.25, so if we do a little math, we come up with the measurements of 6.75 inches and 5.625 inches. Take that as you will. Click here to view our scale model... of pervertedness.
Monday: We were heading home on Monday, but we stopped by the con just before we left to get a few last autographs. Fender got Brad Dourif's for the friend that she was supposed to get the MR autograph for, and Sarah had James and Gareth sign the sorority picture.
Sarah: When I went to get my autograph with James, I wanted to ask a question that I couldn't ask at the MR/JM Q&A on Sunday. James very willingly listened to my question which was, "At a lot of conventions, you get asked to recite Shakespeare, and I wanted to know if you ever felt the need to go over the lines or do you just know them by heart that well?" James explained that he did not have to ever go over the lines because in his studies as an act0r, they had been ingrained in his minds. He said it was all so receptive, and that he found Shakespeare very easy to memorize, that once he had learned it the first time he never forgot it. All of a sudden he starts to recite from Hamlet Act III Scene I the "To be or not to be..." bit. This is as far as he got:
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause..."
Or at least that's where I remember he stopped. I kind of started giggling because he was being so cute.
Tags: