Eye-Con Report and Photos
Eye-con went very well, the convention staff has done an admirable job of re-arranging the schedule to fit around the last-minute change of schedule.
Friday night was pretty much devoted to a Ten Inch Hero screening. The film really surprised me, it did a very good job developing a good number of characters and making them very believable and endearing. Jensen was just adorable in it, and apparently the kilt was all his idea! The film overall has a very sweet tone and feels good without underestimating the audience's intelligence or attention span.
Jim Beaver (Bobby Singer) started off the day with a Q&A session. After a little while he stood up and began opening up his shirt. He said "A fan gave me this last night but I don't know what it means."
His shirt said "I Read John/Bobby." He's full of it though, he knows exactly what it means, he later said he has read one fanfiction, where an author fleshed out Bobby's backstory from "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and enjoyed it. He also said that he would enjoy some Bela/Bobby. He mostly talked about identifying with Bobby's Character, Hats, Writing, and the family atmosphere of Supernatural.
To be perfectly honest I started writing up this post Saturday night but I was so exhausted I couldn't finish it, so I'm continuing to write it up now, and I'm still exhausted, so it will be mostly photos. The "Roadhouse" panel came up after Jim's, Samantha, Chad and Alona were great to watch interact but I can't remember much of what they talked about.
I've got to say though, that I really respect Chad for dealing with all the crap he put up with this weekend. Out of everyone, I'd say he had the most trouble with fans, between them shrieking at him and being overly grabby I'm really surprised he took things as well as he did and still constantly hang around in fan areas to talk, take pictures and drink with everyone. Actually everyone was very fan-friendly. It was really remarkable too how much fun they had just hanging out with us, and how (for the most part) respectful the fans were. Apart from a few particular fans, everyone pretty much was very respectful and managed themselves well.
Sandy is not just a very lucky lady, but also incredibly sweet and modest. Jared's lucky to have her. I don't know what else to say, she's just so darn cute!
Out of every guest at the convention though, I had the best experiences with Gabriel (Gabe) Tigerman. It was his very first convention, but you'd never know because he handled everything like a real pro and had a great time doing it. He was not to shy to answer any question even those involving (slash) fanfiction, which he discovered at his mother's house! He's also just a nice guy.
I bought my ticket late so at the banquet I didn't get to sit at a table with one of the guests. But as soon as we broke the ice, we really had a great time talking to each other about everything from driving and anthropology to animal training methods and the natural history of killer whales. Apparently we were having so much fun that Gabe had to come over and see just what we were discussing, and he spent the rest of the banquet with us listening to stories from the girl getting her anthropology Master's and studying large primates to my crazy stories about whales, dolphins, and their wacky sex lives. He was quite entertained.
The platinum party was just a blast. Samantha, Jim, Chad and Gabe were all there and just hanging out and getting drunk with fans. Gabe played Guitar Hero for the very first time against Chad and lost by quite a lot, but he did really well for the first time he'd every even played the game. The party was WAY more popular than expected and they had to chop it short in order to fit in the Steve Carlson concert at all, which is a shame because I really wanted a chance to show off my left-handed guitar playing without the lefty flip.
I did take photos of the concert, but they suck so much they make the photos above look good. It was really the first time I've heard his music but he has a great voice and some really good music to play. I was dead on my feet and super-hormonal but he probably would have made me cry even at my most stable.
I nearly missed Jared's Q&A. It started at 9am and I rolled over and glanced at the clock at 8:40. I still can't believe that damn clock never went off. But I made it and I'm really glad I did. I gotta say, I really really admire this guy for what he did for us. The original plan was for him to come down on Friday night, spend Saturday at the convention and leave on Sunday. But they needed him on set for Friday. Instead of canceling he came down really late Saturday night crashed for a few hours and was up in time to have breakfast with some really rich fans who could afford to spend obscene amounts of money at 7am do a Q&A at 9, Photo shoots to 1:30 and then sign autographs for another two hours before getting on a plane back to Vancouver so that he can film again tomorrow. All that and according to Sandy his original plan was to surprise us all and get Jensen to come with him but they needed Jensen to work the weekend. This is a guy who really, really appreciates his fans. And yes, the accent really does come out when he's tired Y'all. :3
It was bound to happen sooner or later. (Or I live in a cave and missed this) Someone asked him about fanfiction. Specifically Wincest. He was very good about it, he really likes the idea of fanfiction in general and RPG's because he loves that people get to have fun and be creative in the Supernatural world. But Wincest screws with his head.("Wait... Jensen? Eeeeeew!") I really wish people wouldn't ask. If they want to bring it up themselves (Gabe did) that's one thing, but they probably don't even want to think about it, let alone explain how they feel about it to you. Just because you (or I) like slash doesn't mean you can abandon all concept of tact and freaking PRIVACY, of both the actors and the fans, to bring it up in front of a couple hundred people. Please just don't.
I gave Jared the phone numbers for SeaWorld here in Orlando and in San Antonio, his home town and let him know how he could do that awesome VIP thing that "stars" get to do for PR. He was pretty excited about it, he said when he was a kid he always got the annual passes to SeaWorld, "but he always had to sit in the audience" So he'd love to go behind the scenes. He's also Huge.
That was really the end of the scheduled events but Gabe, Samantha, Steve Carlson and Chad were still hanging around in the vendor's room chatting, signing autographs and doodling insulting things on each other's photos.
I usually leave conventions feeling like a complete dork, and out of place. This was different. I left feeling confident, and even a little cool. Like I have something worthwhile to contribute if I only get confidant enough to actually well, act confidant!
Friday night was pretty much devoted to a Ten Inch Hero screening. The film really surprised me, it did a very good job developing a good number of characters and making them very believable and endearing. Jensen was just adorable in it, and apparently the kilt was all his idea! The film overall has a very sweet tone and feels good without underestimating the audience's intelligence or attention span.
Jim Beaver (Bobby Singer) started off the day with a Q&A session. After a little while he stood up and began opening up his shirt. He said "A fan gave me this last night but I don't know what it means."
His shirt said "I Read John/Bobby." He's full of it though, he knows exactly what it means, he later said he has read one fanfiction, where an author fleshed out Bobby's backstory from "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and enjoyed it. He also said that he would enjoy some Bela/Bobby. He mostly talked about identifying with Bobby's Character, Hats, Writing, and the family atmosphere of Supernatural.
To be perfectly honest I started writing up this post Saturday night but I was so exhausted I couldn't finish it, so I'm continuing to write it up now, and I'm still exhausted, so it will be mostly photos. The "Roadhouse" panel came up after Jim's, Samantha, Chad and Alona were great to watch interact but I can't remember much of what they talked about.
I've got to say though, that I really respect Chad for dealing with all the crap he put up with this weekend. Out of everyone, I'd say he had the most trouble with fans, between them shrieking at him and being overly grabby I'm really surprised he took things as well as he did and still constantly hang around in fan areas to talk, take pictures and drink with everyone. Actually everyone was very fan-friendly. It was really remarkable too how much fun they had just hanging out with us, and how (for the most part) respectful the fans were. Apart from a few particular fans, everyone pretty much was very respectful and managed themselves well.
Sandy is not just a very lucky lady, but also incredibly sweet and modest. Jared's lucky to have her. I don't know what else to say, she's just so darn cute!
Out of every guest at the convention though, I had the best experiences with Gabriel (Gabe) Tigerman. It was his very first convention, but you'd never know because he handled everything like a real pro and had a great time doing it. He was not to shy to answer any question even those involving (slash) fanfiction, which he discovered at his mother's house! He's also just a nice guy.
I bought my ticket late so at the banquet I didn't get to sit at a table with one of the guests. But as soon as we broke the ice, we really had a great time talking to each other about everything from driving and anthropology to animal training methods and the natural history of killer whales. Apparently we were having so much fun that Gabe had to come over and see just what we were discussing, and he spent the rest of the banquet with us listening to stories from the girl getting her anthropology Master's and studying large primates to my crazy stories about whales, dolphins, and their wacky sex lives. He was quite entertained.
The platinum party was just a blast. Samantha, Jim, Chad and Gabe were all there and just hanging out and getting drunk with fans. Gabe played Guitar Hero for the very first time against Chad and lost by quite a lot, but he did really well for the first time he'd every even played the game. The party was WAY more popular than expected and they had to chop it short in order to fit in the Steve Carlson concert at all, which is a shame because I really wanted a chance to show off my left-handed guitar playing without the lefty flip.
I did take photos of the concert, but they suck so much they make the photos above look good. It was really the first time I've heard his music but he has a great voice and some really good music to play. I was dead on my feet and super-hormonal but he probably would have made me cry even at my most stable.
I nearly missed Jared's Q&A. It started at 9am and I rolled over and glanced at the clock at 8:40. I still can't believe that damn clock never went off. But I made it and I'm really glad I did. I gotta say, I really really admire this guy for what he did for us. The original plan was for him to come down on Friday night, spend Saturday at the convention and leave on Sunday. But they needed him on set for Friday. Instead of canceling he came down really late Saturday night crashed for a few hours and was up in time to have breakfast with some really rich fans who could afford to spend obscene amounts of money at 7am do a Q&A at 9, Photo shoots to 1:30 and then sign autographs for another two hours before getting on a plane back to Vancouver so that he can film again tomorrow. All that and according to Sandy his original plan was to surprise us all and get Jensen to come with him but they needed Jensen to work the weekend. This is a guy who really, really appreciates his fans. And yes, the accent really does come out when he's tired Y'all. :3
It was bound to happen sooner or later. (Or I live in a cave and missed this) Someone asked him about fanfiction. Specifically Wincest. He was very good about it, he really likes the idea of fanfiction in general and RPG's because he loves that people get to have fun and be creative in the Supernatural world. But Wincest screws with his head.("Wait... Jensen? Eeeeeew!") I really wish people wouldn't ask. If they want to bring it up themselves (Gabe did) that's one thing, but they probably don't even want to think about it, let alone explain how they feel about it to you. Just because you (or I) like slash doesn't mean you can abandon all concept of tact and freaking PRIVACY, of both the actors and the fans, to bring it up in front of a couple hundred people. Please just don't.
I gave Jared the phone numbers for SeaWorld here in Orlando and in San Antonio, his home town and let him know how he could do that awesome VIP thing that "stars" get to do for PR. He was pretty excited about it, he said when he was a kid he always got the annual passes to SeaWorld, "but he always had to sit in the audience" So he'd love to go behind the scenes. He's also Huge.
That was really the end of the scheduled events but Gabe, Samantha, Steve Carlson and Chad were still hanging around in the vendor's room chatting, signing autographs and doodling insulting things on each other's photos.
I usually leave conventions feeling like a complete dork, and out of place. This was different. I left feeling confident, and even a little cool. Like I have something worthwhile to contribute if I only get confidant enough to actually well, act confidant!