Rise 'n Shine report - Part 2
And here's the next part. In case you happened to miss the first part it's here
This part got pretty long but tried to include as much details from the talks as I could remember as well read from my notes. There are also quite a few pictures. I hope you enjoy!
PLEASE!!! Do not take any of my photos and post them elsewhere without asking me first!
Woke already before my alarm went off. I guess I was slightly nervous about what the day was going to bring. Noticed that my throat was a bit achy but hoped it would pass soon. Did have to yell quite a lot during the Pub evening so it was no wonder. Got ready and made sure I had everything I might need during the day with me. I had no plans of returning to the hotel before evening so did need some stuff with me. Then I made my way to the convention hotel. There wasn’t anything going on yet so I just spent my time wandering around and talking with some people. When they opened the registration desk I went and bought tickets to get my photo taken with Harris and Robert. They had made such an impression on me the previous night that I just wanted to get a photo with them.
Then I joined the people who were waiting to be let into the hall. I’ve gotten used to at least relatively neat queues with previous conventions I’ve done but the group waiting there was nothing like that. I did situate myself near the front of the group since according to my understanding Loft tickets were supposed to be let into the hall first. After some waiting (beyond the time they were supposed to start the official program) we were allowed to move a bit forwards. Next we were stopped right at the doors to the actual hall. We were told that they were still working out some technical things. The group standing in front of the doors was quite mismatched. There was no order in it. I had some people with Woody’s tickets standing in front of me. People were pressing forwards from behind and I was very glad I don’t have problems with big crowds and small spaces.
Suddenly one of the staff realized that they were supposed to let the Loft tickets into the hall first and asked all Loft ticket holders to come to the front. Slightly hard to do at that point when there were several hundred people already pressing forwards. Did manage to get myself at least pretty close to the front. After some more waiting, they finally let us in and there was almost a stampede when people tried to get to the best seats. I knew I was going to get a seat from the first row since it was reserved for us but there is difference if you sit near the middle or at the edges. We were told not to run and I listened. Some people didn’t *g* Still managed to get an okay seat six seats from the middle on the left side.
Then there was some more waiting and I amused myself by talking with the people around me. Had some people I knew in the row behind me. It did take a while before the program started. We were quite a lot late already at that point but of course being late is completely normal in conventions.
Finally the moderators got on the stage and said their hellos. I sort of expected that they would have played some music from the series in the beginning but there was nothing. They told us that there were people from 29 countries in there and then called every country and the people from that country were supposed to cheer and wave their flags.
The moderators and the flags
Then they introduced Elke and exchanged a few words with her. Next they brought Scott onto the stage to tell about the process of getting the convention together. And then it was finally time to bring out the rest of the guests.
Elke with the moderators
Scott and Elke
They started with Scott. They went through his whole history which was a bit unnecessary since I’m sure everyone knew most of it already. Then they started the next introduction and Peter ran on the stage. Too bad he was too early since they were supposed to go through the whole work history before actually calling the actor on stage. Peter did a quick retreat and then came out again at his cue. They went through the whole cast the same way. It took quite a while since they all have been doing so many things and pretty much everything was mentioned. I found it quite unnecessary since I’m sure most of the audience was very familiar with the work the actors have done. And if they aren’t they can always research it. *g*
Peter and Scott at their table
Gotta love this pic!!!
There was a lot of cheering for every cast member. Hal wasn’t happy with the applause he got so he kept encouraging people to clap more...
When all the guests were on stage they were asked some pretty basic questions, among which when they had arrived to Cologne and if they had come straight from the US or had they been somewhere first. The moderators had the impression that Scott had been the first in the country but Sharon then commented that her plane had landed at least five minutes before Scott’s did. Randy had gone to Paris first and gotten to Germany a few days before. Robert and Michelle had also been to Paris and had caught up with Randy there. Can’t remember when Harris and Thea had got in. Hal told us that he had gotten in quite at the last minute and had been very jet lagged in the press conference. He said it had felt almost like he was drunk because he was so tired. Then he said something in the lines of "Well, at least I made it." This can be taken as a crack against Gale not being there or he might not have meant anything with it. Thea was asked about his German skills and asked to recite a poem she had written in German. Couldn’t understand a word of it but sounded good. At one point all the actors were brought glasses of beer since there seems to be a tradition in Cologne to have a nine o’clock beer (it was closer to ten at that point, though *g*).
There was a few words said about the press conference that was held the previous day. It was seriously arranged in a place called Babylon badehause which means bathhouse. And what was even funnier was that the place was still in use. A few of the guests commented that it had surprised them a little when men in just their towels walked around the place in a few occasions.
Hal was asked why his sun glasses were hanging on his back. He replied that it was easier to hug people and they wouldn’t get smashed in between. Good reasoning *g*
There might have been some other talk as well but my memory fails now. Then they decided to take a few questions from the audience. When they asked if anyone had any questions I had my hand up immediately and the moderator going around with the microphone happened to be just in front of me so he gave me the turn. He made me stand up so that everyone could see me (YAY?). Then I had to tell them my name and where I was from. There was a guy going around with a videocamera for the convention DVD and he came and sticked the camera right into my face. Felt quite nervous all of a sudden. Somehow managed to get my question out. Had it on paper since it had been provided to me by a friend.
It must be nice to know that, even after so long since Queer As Folk was aired, there are so many fans who still love the series. This is something very special, it doesn’t happen to all TV shows. What do you think made QAF stay in its fans’ hearts?
Hal was the first one to answer the question. Can’t remember everything he said but he talked about how there had been lots of firsts in the series and how that might have caught peoples’ interest. He also said that their series had been said to be the gay version of Sex in the City. He didn’t quite agree with that since he didn’t remember seeing HIV positive people in SitC or people getting bashed or many of the other subject matters that were handled in their show. Peter put it all together really nicely by saying that people came for the Queer but stayed for the Folk. Also Robert said something to that but unfortunately can’t remember what it was. Maybe it’ll be on the DVD.
Next there was a question about the LGBT-community and how it has expanded in recent years to include even more people and different groups. Peter talked about how things are changing really fast at the moment and how media certainly has had its part in it. He does hope the progress continues to go forward. Robert added that it is no way a bad thing that the concept of LGBT-community is expanding. There used to be clearly different camps which didn’t mix with each other but now it’s more laid back. Hal threw in his two cents by saying that it’s all about of being who you are and about getting back to partying as soon as all the laws get sorted out.
Harris was asked about joining the series. He admitted to being quite worried how people would react to his character. Being an underage HIV positive guy who had been forced to prostitution by his mom. He was worried he wouldn’t be accepted. Hal added that they had had a trouble with the age of consent. He even talked about how on the first season they had filmed everything for the pilot where Justin was revealed to be 17 years old but then some people had come to them and said that it was possible they wouldn’t be able to show it due to legal issues. However, since in Pennsylvania the age of consent is sixteen they were in the clear. Hunter was originally fifteen but turned sixteen pretty quickly. There was also some talk from Hal about working in close contact with Robert which made Robert raise his eyebrows in a pretty suggestive manner. They also mentioned that this issue was again one thing that had never been addressed in any TV show before, a gay male couple adopts an adolescent boy.
Next question dealt with coming out and the actors were asked to give advice to young people thinking about coming out. I’m sorry to say but this was the point where I started to get annoyed by Mr. Sparks. The moderators sort of tried to imply that maybe one of the people who hadn’t answered anything yet, could field the question. Randy was already raising the microphone to answer when Hal talked over him. He started talking about some running buddies of who two had been gay and how they had only come out after they moved away from the area. He said that in some parts of the US it can be hazardous to your health to come out. Peter countered that with saying that on the other hand it’s better when it’s out in the open. He quoted Brian by saying “No apologies, no regrets” and got a huge cheer for that. And then the moderators cut the Q&A because they needed to get started with the autographs.
All Loft ticket holders were told to get in the line. There we then stood and watched while they prepared everything. I did my best to get organized so that I wouldn’t waste time with juggling with my stuff when it was my turn. Finally all the actors were ready and the first ones were let through. Then it was my turn. Immediately noticed an interesting thing. All the guests had their pictures there and they were already pre-signed. They just personalized them there and then. Not a bad idea in a situation where they mainly just have one type of pictures to sign. Probably saved their wrists a little. They must have been signing them in preparation already earlier.
The first one up was Harris. Said my hellos and then asked if he was having fun. He did say that he was enjoying himself. I told him that I was glad that he had made it and he agreed with me and added that it had been a bit short notice obviously. Asked him what he had thought about the arrival to the party with everyone cheering and yelling. He did thought it had been a slightly surreal experience. He certainly hadn’t expected it. Commented about him staying there quite late. He said that he wanted the chance to talk with everyone. Didn’t mention that since he mostly stayed at the other end of the VIP area, it wasn’t like he actually interacted much with fans, except in the beginning when we were still allowed on that area. *g* Had him sign a picture of him and then my Season 4 poster. Okay, he’s not actually on it but he was in most of the episodes, so a big part of the season anyway.
Then it was Robert’s turn. Complimented him about being so open and friendly towards people at the party and how I liked the way he initiated contact by coming to talk with us and shake hands. He seemed to get a bit flustered by that. Did talk about some random other things as well. Got him to sign a picture as well as the poster too.
And then it was Hal. Tried to come up with something to say to him as well. Did comment on the party and how he left quite early. He repeated what he had said on stage about being really jet lagged and also that it had been too noisy in the club. According to him he had done his time hanging out in clubs all night around. Again a picture and poster signed. Also got the Rage comic for him to sign. Opened the comic from the first page where there are the names of the "authors". Thought that he could sign beside "Michael Novotny". Instead he turned a page and signed on a strip where Zephyr is. Doesn’t really matter but felt a bit annoyed any way since I thought I had quite clearly indicated that I wanted him to sign the first page.
And on to Michelle. She immediately complemented me on my question and said that it had been a very good one. Talked with her about arriving to the party as well. She had been quite surprised by the reaction too. Definitely hadn’t expected it.
Thea: Also talked about the party and how great it had been. My memory really isn’t the best one.
Peter: He also complemented me about my question. Told him how great it was to meet him. Then we just talked about the party and the reception they had gotten.
Scott: Told him how glad I was to meet him as well. While he was signing the poster he told me that it was originally shot differently. His head had been on Sharon’s lap but at the end product his head had ended up really close to the bottom corner and he didn’t like it. The picture was then digitally changed so that he was laying next to hear instead but he did say that there were still also the original ones around.
Randy: He remembered seeing me in Paris and almost remembered my name too. Was quite impressed since it was over 1½ years ago after all. Ended up babbling about the T-shirt I had been wearing there and how I treasured the autograph he had written then with the text "Pia, You ARE a fucking princess." I saw him writing something more than just his name on the poster but didn’t see what it was. Said my thanks and moved on.
Sharon: She obviously remembered talking to me the previous night since she immediately commented that now she could hear me much better than the previous night. She asked me where I was from and when I said I was from Finland she was all amazed that I had made the trip that far. Considering there were people from Japan and Australia in the convention, Finland really isn’t that far. I did sort of say that it wasn’t actually that far away. She was all surprised and then just said that she had flunked geography in school. Told her that it was just about a four hour flight. Had heard somewhere that she hadn’t felt well the previous night and had therefore left the party early. She denied that and just said that it had been too noisy for her. She said that she can’t really be in a place where she needs to yell to be heard since he can’t afford to lose her voice. Told her about Scott’s comment about the poster and how it had been shot differently originally. She did give me a few other comments about the poster too, e.g. that Thea’s leg seemed to be a really weird position. She didn’t make much progress with the signing because we just kept talking and she needed to ask my name a few times. When I apologized for distracting her she just said that there was no need and that she was genuinely interested in what I had to say. What a nice thing for her to say. *happy sigh*
Then I returned to my seat to get organized again. At that point I noticed that I had forgotten to ask Randy’s autograph to the Rage comic. Feeling quite embarrassed I joined the queue again and went to him to get that signed as well. He sort of gave me this half smile when I explained about forgetting it. He signed on the first page where I wanted and then I was all done.
The poster I got them all to sign
A close up of Randy's autograph. It says: Pia, Great to see you again. Princess Pia! Randy Harrison
Remained sitting in the hall and watched other people getting their autographs since I really didn’t have anything else to do. Snapped some pics of the guests as well since that was obviously allowed. Was right across from Peter and Scott but they moved around too much so that my photos didn’t succeed too well *g*
Probably managed to get the wrath of Scott’s and Peter’s PAs upon me since I kept going to them and talking about different stuff while they had no one in front of them getting an autograph. Also had some Finnish chocolates with me and offered them some. They seemed to like it. Peter seemed to have trouble sitting still and when I asked him about that he said that it’s a sign that he’s tired. It’s his way of keeping himself awake. I told him that I had been pretty much forced to dance around a little on the previous night because my feet were hurting so much that I couldn’t keep my weight on them for long periods of time. That made him chuckle a little. Did try to offer some chocolate to Randy as well but he politely declined.
Peter also kept sticking his feet from under the table and some people bumped on them when they moved to stand in front of his table. I guess his legs were too long to be held comfortably under the table for long periods of time.
At some point went and talked with this one woman I had met in LA as well. She had written a book about Queer as Folk with a special section about Gale in it. She was selling the book at the convention. It seemed the books were selling pretty well. Talked with her for a while and bought my own copy of the book. There’s actually one part in the book which was contributed by me about meeting Gale in LA.
Then just hung around in the hall until a member of staff came to say to us that they were serving lunch in the restaurant. With my ticket I got a free lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday it was a nice buffet table. The warm foods were nothing special but they had some very nice salads and just heavenly cream of asparagus soup. Could have just eaten that. The dessert table was great too. The only funny thing was that coffee wasn’t included in the lunch. Sort of craved some but decided to skip it since I would have had to pay it myself.
After lunch it was back to the hall. The first panel was supposed to start but the guests were still signing. Photo shoots were supposed to start as well but those were delayed too. Finally they announced that Randy’s photo shoot was going to start soon and people were told to queue. I didn’t bother going to the queue yet since I thought Loft tickets had queue priority. Found out later that I was wrong. But any way sat on my seat until Randy actually left his table and headed upstairs. Only then I walked towards the queue and went to pretty much the front of it. Some people probably thought me as a huge bitch but we had been promised queue priority and knowing that the panels might start soon, I didn’t want to end up missing anything. For some weird reason they also said that Thea, Michelle and Robert were going to the photos as well but they just kept sitting there and signing away.
It did still take a while before they started letting people in. When it was my turn, Randy called me by name. Had bought two photos with him. Wanted a normal pose and then had decided to try for a huggy one. The photographer snapped the first shot but didn’t stop to ask if I wanted to change the pose. However, got my hand up just in time to tell him that I wanted another pose, a huggy one. Only then I realized that I probably should have asked Randy first that he was alright with it so I turned to him and asked. He just nodded so I wrapped my arms around his waist. However, he just did this half hug thing but anyway, I’m quite happy with the pic.
Made it back to the hall before the first panel started. It was supposed to be Scott and Peter and I didn’t want to miss them. Of course they couldn’t start the panel before all the actors were done with the autographs since they were in the same room.
By the time the panel did start, they were behind the schedule almost two hours. The moderators came on stage and talked about random stuff. Then they called Scott and Peter onto the stage. At first they walked there in a normal way but then suddenly turned around and went to hide behind the curtain. Then they peaked in from around it. Got a lot of cheers from the audience. Then they took their seats.
The first question was about the crystal meth story arc from the moderators. Peter mentioned something about it being an epidemic in the US. He had loved doing those scenes and was very proud of them. He thought they both did some of their best work there. Scott got a lot of letters from people who were struggling with or had managed to get rid of their addictions. They also shared that originally they were both just supposed to be Michael’s friends but Scott and Peter had such instant chemistry between them that it was changed so that they were good friends as well. And of course later started dating.
Someone from the audience asked about the Emmett and Drew story line. This sprung some discussion about openly gay athletes and how there still aren’t that many of them. Athletes only come out once their careers are already over. Peter’s overall comment about how their story ended was “Emmett got the shaft and not in the hot way.” He also admitted that he sometimes thinks Emmett and Drew together while he’s alone in his bed. In his opinion they got back together after a year or two. He thinks Drew came to Emmett and said something on the lines of "You were always the one." Cue huge "awwwwwww" from the audience. At few occasions Peter pretty much tried to swallow his mic in a very lewd way...
Peter got asked if his wardrobe was in anyway similar to Emmett’s and did his wardrobe change during the series. Peter said that his wardrobe got less fabulous while the series was on. He also shared with us that the first outfit we see Emmett in (the orange leather pants and a see through shirt) was an outfit he saw in a dream and shared with the costume designer. The pants were from a clothing line by Tom of Finland and when the pilot was filmed they weren’t available yet. They were given a prototype of the pants to use. Scott said those pants had made him thirsty for some orange juice.
Scott shared that when he first came for some costume fittings, he was given these really small leather shorts and a tight tank top. He just remembers that his exact thoughts were, "this is not the character I auditioned for". He says there’s a Polaroid picture of him in those clothes somewhere but he doesn’t know where. Peter said that they’d had a different costume designer for the pilot than for the rest of the series. It seemed the original costume designer had been to one Pride and seen some people dressed in small tight leather shorts there and decided that all gays dressed like that. In original plans she had Emmett wearing all these big flowery hats and such but Peter had put a stop to that.
Next Scott was asked if the drug addiction was based on some real stories. He admitted that he had tried ecstasy at one point in his life but had stopped there. The experience had been a way too good one and he didn’t want to experience a bad one. In preparation for the story line he did go to meetings and talked with people to find out about their experiences. Scott and Peter both said that while they are proud of the work they did, it had been very difficult for them. They had gotten used to being there for each other during the series but suddenly they really couldn’t. They said it wasn’t possible for them to goof around with each other one moment and then say all those awful things to each other the next. They didn’t talk much while that arc was on. Scott said he had hard time during the arc because going through all that stuff made him quite miserable. That made Peter share that when you pretend to be someone else for 16 hours a day, it changes you. Since Emmett was the character that he was, he was mostly upbeat for the whole duration of the series, while Scott quite often felt miserable when Ted was being miserable. (A/N: Poor guy *g*)
Next question was about Ted going blond in season five. Scott wanted to make it clear right in the beginning that he did not bleach his pubes during that arc. Cue cheers and laughter from the audience. He told us that the whole bleaching thing had been quite excruciating for him. They changed filming technique that season and didn’t want to end up messing up the pilot in case the new system didn’t work. That’s why they filmed the second episode of the season first. Because his hair was so dark, it needed to be bleached twice to get the desired effect. But then he needed to go back to his natural color when they filmed the first episode and then back to blond for the third episode. He said that his hair was bleached three times in just a few weeks when you are only supposed to bleach your hair once every three months or something. He told a story about how he had been petting his cat and had also ran his fingers through his hair. When he looked at his hands, he noticed that both had about the same amount of hair in them. Obviously didn’t do good for his hair *g*
As a final question they were asked about taking the part. They both said that they had been slightly scared when reading the script for the first time but they were very happy that they had taken the part and gotten to be part of the great experience.
I was in the queue to ask a question as well but they cut the Q&A just when it was going to be my turn. *pout* Oh well, my own fault for joining the queue too late. Although, in my opinion the Q&As were way too short anyway. Every Q&A was just reserved 30 minutes which is like nothing.
After a small break Hal, Robert and Harris came on stage. First there was talk about if it had been challenging to get a HIV+ story line into the show. It was mentioned that of course the show already had Uncle Vic in it but his case was slightly different. He already had AIDS and had almost died from it a few years back but this was all told in the backstory. The producers wanted a story line where a healthy male has relationship with a HIV+ male. There was some backlash towards the producers and actors when Ben got rejected by Michael. However, at that point everyone on the inside already knew that they were going to end up together anyway, since they had already filmed the episodes.
They were asked if they kept any of the props from the set. Hal and Robert had kept their rings. Hal talked something about how when they got married his original ring was way too big for him and needed to be taped to his finger so that it didn’t fall off. On the fifth season he had a ring that actually fit. Harris had kept the swimcap and goggles he used during the scenes where he swam for the school’s swim team. He also said he was still using them. He had also taken one of the toy robots that Michael had. Hal had also snagged a busted silver clarinet that for some reason was hanging in the apartment. Robert admitted to taking Ben’s glasses, one of the brown leather jackets as well as two paintings from the apartment.
Hal got asked about how it had been to do the role as a straight male. He said that it had had its positive and negative sides. His parents saw the first episode only almost a week after it was originally aired because something always came up. Hal’s father had a friend who had been his friend for decades. He had a problem with Hal’s role in the series and that friendship ended there. They never spoke again. Hal did claim he has lost some work due to his role but also that he had no desire to work with people who had a problem with his previous work.
I stood up to ask a question next. I asked Harris and Robert how it had felt to come to the series slightly later than rest of the established cast. They both said that it had been relatively easy. Everyone had been very welcoming and nice. They both also had nude scenes right on their first day on set. Made things relaxed right from the beginning *g*
Part of Michael’s comic book obsession came from Hal because he was familiar with them. They had originally planned Michael to be a Trekkie (in the UK version Vince was a Doctor Who fan) but it was changed to comics after Hal’s input. They had to use some smaller titles because not all the big comic houses were that enthusiastic about them being linked with an openly gay series. DC really wasn’t open to them being used in the series whereas Dark Horse and Marvel were quite alright with it.
Next Hal was asked if it was difficult for him to sing false notes when Michael performed that song to Ben since he can actually sing. He replied that all the dialogue and singing in that scene had been done with ADR. Can’t remember why that was, though. Next he of course was asked to sing, which he did.
Then there was a question about what their future looked like since when the series ended they were quite a happy family. Robert immediately said that Ben will live until he’s 110. Hal was quick to add that Ben will probably be the healthiest of them since Michael has put on some weight from all the crap he eats. Harris was on the same lines with Hunter’s addiction to Captain Crunch.
They’d had had no trouble to work with each other. Had felt like family right from the beginning. Robert even said that now that he saw Harris for the first time in years, he got slightly emotional to see "his boy" all grown up.
That was the end of the panel. I immediately joined the queue to get my photo done with Harris. After some waiting it was my turn. I was planning on asking for a huggy photo but only got out the part "Can I have a hug-" before he totally bear hugged me and squeezed me really tight. I was so surprised by it that I probably froze for a few seconds. That probably made him realize what I had been about to say and said: "Oh, you wanted a hug photo?" I mumbled something to that. He still held me quite tight while the photo was taken. I was quite happy to be there.
When I returned to the hall the next panel had already started. The panel dealt with homophobia and they had Peter, Robert and Michelle on stage together with the moderators and two members of the staff. That panel was probably the most serious one of them all because of its subject matter. When I got to my seat, Peter was saying how everyone can do their part. He has been involved in some projects of which one of the most recent ones has been meeting some gay right activists from China. He can see things changing even if the progress is very slow.
Robert told about his family’s reaction when he decided to come out in the middle of filming QaF in a magazine article. He told that his mom had actually said: "Why don’t you just shoot us in the heart instead?" That’s an awful thing to say. Even if it has been years, Robert still got slightly emotional about it.
Michelle is also very active in different projects and in politics. She has been in Washington to help people being heard.
Robert told us how amazed he has been by the number of people who have told him that they’ve discovered the series only a small while ago and how it still influences people so much.
There was some talk about the series affecting their work and Robert said that he has gained some and lost some job opportunities because of being involved with QAF. And for some roles it hasn’t made any difference. He tries to focus on what works. Peter said that he has lost some roles because casting agents don’t want him in the role because the character isn’t gay. He has gotten this treatment from even gay casting agents. One of them said that gay casting agents can actually be very homophobic when it comes to casting roles.
Next Scott’s photo was up. Got a nice cuddly one with him but don’t like my expression in the photo. He made me laugh with some comment so I look all weird *g*
Got back to my seat a bit after the next panel started. According to the program there was supposed to be a panel with Robert, Peter and Randy but I guess due to time constrains they decided to skip it which was a pity. Or maybe it was sort of combined with the homophobia panel. So it was Michelle’s and Thea’s turn on stage. They were asked if playing a lesbian has made a difference on their career. Thea said that in parts it has had a positive effect since she now gets offered roles he wasn’t even considered for earlier.
They were also asked about the Sam story line. Michelle commented that Mel felt quite betrayed by it all and also made her wonder if she wasn’t enough for Lindsay anymore. Thea talked about how throughout the whole series Lindsay was torn between Brian and Mel.
Thea was asked if the animalistic nature of the relations with Sam had been difficult to go through. She did say it had been but the actor playing Sam had been a complete gentleman. She also said that it had been a lot harder to do the threesome with Leda for some reason. She said that the energy had been completely different.
Next they talked about the scene where Lindsay fertilizing Mel with Michael’s sperm. They both said it had been quite an emotional scene to make.
They were both asked which memory they would pick out from the series. Thea said it would have to be Granny Faye’s letters. Michelle picked the wedding scene when Mel and Lindsay get married. It had been quite emotional too with walking down the aisle.
Thea was asked about her music and she said that she doesn’t have a record out but hopes to have one in the future. She’s also trying to get a cabaret show together.
Lindsay’s relationship with her parents was discussed as well. In Thea’s opinion in that relationship lies the core of Lindsay’s dilemma and the whole thing is quite heart breaking. Her parents are in complete denial. Handling an issue like this was also one of the ways where QAF broke down walls. It showed that sexuality is messy.
I got up to ask from Thea about her work with Free2Luv. It was quite obvious it was an important subject matter for her. Did say that I thought she was doing some very important work with spreading the word and working towards bullying. Did say that the cause is close to my heart too since I was bullied in school. In general she thought that only through educating and making people aware of the issue progress can be made. However, she did also say that sometimes bullying has to be met with bullying and get the message through that way. They ended their panel by kissing and of course got a huge cheer.
Right after that panel I hurried to get my photo done with Peter. Once more got a nice cuddly photo. Since I knew they were going to start taking photos with Robert soon too, I stayed up on the balcony so that I could join the queue right when it was formed. Knew that the next panel was going to be Randy and Sharon and didn’t want to end up missing it. Listened the beginning of the panel from the balcony then since they started before Robert was ready for the photos.
Sharon’s first words on stage were that she was Gale Harold, in drag. Got a huge cheer from the crowd. In some way Randy referred to Debbie as Justin mom. That sprung a discussion about how Justin had had a cool mom but a dick for a father. Sharon said Justin was Debbie’s sunshine. That got a very “Sunshine” like smile from Randy. She also said that she had really enjoyed the role she had as everyone’s mother. However, they were both of the opinion that Debbie is quite cool when she’s not actually your mother. Michael never went for her for advice but others did.
Where’s Justin in 2012? Randy tried avoiding answering the question and went on about how it’s a fictional character and anything he comes up with is as valid as what we can come up with and how he’s more interested in hearing our versions. Someone from the audience yelled "read fanfiction" which was met with a few laughs and a few “no!!!” shouts. Randy did go on to say that he thinks Justin is still in New York and that he really took to New York. The person who asked the question commented that “people don’t want to hear that.” Randy immediately replied that he knows people don’t want to hear that and that’s why he didn’t want to answer the question. He believed in Justin’s decision to go and thinks he became a success since that’s what he wanted. Sharon asked if Randy thinks Justin ever fell out of love with Brian, to which Randy replied that if Justin really stayed in New York that long, the relationship obviously changes. People weren’t happy with that. He tried to go on saying that change is inevitable and it’s not always of the bad. Poor guy looked all frustrated with trying to answer the question the way he saw things even if he certainly knew it wasn’t what people wanted to hear and people protesting.
Then they were asked what their favorite scene together was. They both agreed that it had definitely been their first scene together where Justin meets Debbie and gets his nickname. Randy said that he had been very nervous because of that scene, it was Dame Sharon Gless after all.
At that point they called Robert’s photos so went to take that. Once more asked for a cuddly photo and definitely got one. I guess I was way too comfortable there since I kept closing my eyes in the photos. I think the photographer took about five shots to get one with me my eyes open.
Then it was back to the hall and the talk. Got back there just when Randy was asked about doing a lot of artistic roles. He feels that it’s easy for him to relate to those roles. He went on for quite a while about how the most important thing for him is to understand the art the character is trying to create. He also shortly returned to the Justin/Brian relationship by saying that his reason for believing that Justin stayed in New York because he wants him to be successful and in his opinion that can only happen in New York.
When Randy finished his answer Sharon just looked at him and said: “Isn’t he just amazing? This is why I love him.” And of course everyone cheered. Randy obviously felt a bit bashful about the whole thing. He reached for Sharon’s hand and gave it a kiss.
Sharon was asked about Debbie being a work-a-holic. Sharon replied that she wasn’t entirely sure Debbie was a work-a-holic but she herself definitely is. She said something about working keeping her young. Sharon had a theory about Debbie’s past. She thinks she wanted to open a beauty salon. That’s what all the wigs and make up were for. Sharon said that she originally had 17 wigs but in the end they only let her use one. Getting pregnant made her give up the beauty salon dream but she still made the most of her life and concentrate on being a mother, first to Michael and later to all the boys.
Next question was about the dildo scene where Ted and Emmett share some secrets. Sharon said that the only day her husband decided to visit the set during the whole duration of filming the series, was that day. She also admitted that even if the scene was cut right when she was leaning down, she did actually go down on that dildo. According to her it had been very difficult to keep a straight face while doing that scene.
Randy was asked about the final scene with Chris Hobbs. He said that it had been a very difficult one to do. He could remember feeling extremely relieved when he was walking away. He has also given some thought to what could have happened if Justin hadn’t walked away.
Then there was a question about Randy’s thoughts about the open relationship between Justin and Brian. He said that every couple is different and that for some people such an open relationship works and for some it doesn’t.
Sharon talked about how she had wanted the part from the moment she heard about it. She called Showtime and told them she wanted the part of Debbie and who did she need to fuck to make it happen. It seemed Showtime thought she would bring class to the series but they couldn’t have been more wrong since that definitely wasn’t what Sharon wanted. She felt the series could be trouble and she wanted to be part of it.
Had gotten up to ask a question but once more they cut the Q&A just before it was my turn. *pout*
Sharon got all emotional while giving her thanks. She said that the love people have shown her and the others hasn’t gone unnoticed. I’m pretty sure there were quite a few people who got slightly misty eyed when she said that. People gave them a standing ovation. At one point Randy got on one knee in front of Sharon to "worship" her.
Then it was time for me to head to get my photos sorted. They had this weird system of you needing to queue to get your photos sorted into a folder according to your badge number. It was a veeeery slow process. There were quite a few people before me. I could have of course stayed in the line already after my last photo but I didn’t want to miss the panel with Sharon and Randy. So there I stood for quite a while. It was around eight in the evening at that point and after a while I started wondering if I’d make it to the party on time. The queue advanced very slowly. By quarter to nine I hadn’t gotten much anywhere. I do suspect some people cut the line since first there were people behind me and suddenly there wasn’t *g* Anyway, since it looked like it would still take a while I decided to make a run to my hotel to change my clothes and then leave straight after getting the photos sorted to the party.
So half ran to my hotel, go changed, put on some more make up and hurried back. I hadn’t had time to eat anything after lunch so I grabbed a small bag of cheetos and that was my dinner. Very healthy, I know *g* When I got back to the convention hotel, the queue hadn’t gone much forward. One member of the staff did come and apologize the situation. He gave all the people who were still in the queue tram tickets to get to the party as well as stamps that would get them into the VIP area in the party. That stamp wasn’t much use to me since I was going to be allowed there anyway. Still it was a nice gesture on their part.
Finally I got myself sorted and was ready to go. It was around 9:50pm at that point. Met my friend in the lobby and we took a cab to the club where the party was held. Got there about quarter past but the doors weren’t open yet. After some waiting we were allowed in and directed downstairs where the VIP area was supposed to be. My first look of the VIP area caused this WTF?!? feeling. Earlier it had been stated that Loft tickets were going to have a VIP section again and so were the Diner tickets. However, the area where we were shown was barely big enough for the Loft ticket holders since there were just about ten seats and a little standing room and we wondered where they were going to put the guests. However, the VIP area for the Diner ticket holders was even more ridiculous. It only had one sofa and maybe room for a few dozen people. There were around 100 Diner tickets if I remember correctly. There was a lot of confusion what was going on.
In the end the areas were combined and it was only for the Loft ticket holders. I’m sure the Diner ticket holders were pleased when they didn’t get the promised VIP area after all. Hung around the area and sipped my one complimentary sparkling wine glass. Talked with some familiar people. Wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to stay in the party since was feeling quite tired and also cranky about the photo thing. Had hoped to have a chance to rest for a while before coming to the party but obviously that didn’t happen. However, around the time I started to think about maybe heading home the guests once more saved the day by arriving to the club. They were shown into the same area where we were and suddenly the place felt really crowded. I ended up standing right next to Harris and Scott. Was actually so close to them that I was afraid I was going to bump into them if someone bumped into me. Clinked glasses with them and talked about random things for a while.
Scott moved on after a while but I stayed talking with Harris. There was one other girl standing there as well. Harris talked about swimming and told us how he had hired a swimming coach to help him with the swimming scenes in the series. He had wanted to do the scenes himself. They had had a double for him but they didn’t need to use him since Harris was able to swim so well himself. He also said that he had really enjoyed the day. It had been interesting meeting everyone, hearing their thoughts and opinions.
Then it was time for some dance entertainment. I missed some of it but apparently Robert had wriggled into a cage they had beside the dance floor and danced there for a while. Then the show was moved upstairs where they had a platform that came a little on top of the dance floor. Robert and Michelle were having great time dancing there. At the same time Scott and Peter were having their own show a small distance away. From my place I didn’t see them too well but they got a lot of cheers. Next Peter moved to dance on the platform with Robert for a while. They really seemed to enjoy themselves. Robert wiped sweat from his forehead on his T-shirt and at the same time showed a very nice six pack. (me shallow? what makes you think that?) Then it was time for Scott and Peter to put on a show. Peter kept ripping Scott’s shirt open and then pretending to be all innocent about it. I’m sure Scott regretted wearing a button up shirt just then. Then Robert joined them as well and all three danced there together. In the end Peter leaned towards people and sort of performed a hug towards everyone. Scott also gave a small bow and then the show was over.
I returned to the VIP area. It was a lot emptier. However, it didn’t take long before the guests were back there and it was again slightly crowded. They didn’t stay long, though. They just came to stand there for a few minutes before leaving. Randy and Harris stayed behind. I wanted to exchange a few words with Randy but he was quite efficiently surrounded by staff and security. Should have probably taken a hint but tried to approach him anyway. Asked a staff member very politely if I could exchange a few words with Randy. He told me that he didn’t really have a voice so he wasn’t talking with people. Accepted that and just said that I had just wanted to tell him that I appreciated him being there and it was great seeing him again. The guy asked for my name and relayed my message to Randy. He did look my way and gave me a small smile.
A dancer at the club
A while later found myself standing close to Harris again and got talking with him some more. Commented something about it being fun that they were playing the music they were playing since I had never gotten to dance to it in a club before. He looked me a bit stangely and just said something about it being dance music. Said to him that I had gotten to the series so late that I hadn’t caught the songs played anywhere. At that point a light bulb went on over his head and he asked if the music was from the series. When I replied affirmatively, he said he hadn’t known. Just commented on that that Hunter had been so young that he had never been to Babylon. He chuckled and agreed with me.
Someone else came to talk with him so I discreetly moved away. After a while Randy and Harris left as well and almost immediately the VIP area pretty much emptied. I stayed talking with some people a while longer before going for a walk around the club to see if I saw any familiar faces. There were a few.
Did stay dancing for a while before deciding that it was probably best that I headed back to my hotel. Knew that I needed to be up pretty early. Walked to the tram station and just saw a tram leaving. The next one only came 20 minutes later. Looked at the cabs and decided that I didn’t want to pay the cab all by myself. Started walking towards my hotel. Yes, not one of my brightest ideas to walk around in a strange city around 2am. However, made it back to my hotel without incident. Was asleep almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.
Sunday
This part got pretty long but tried to include as much details from the talks as I could remember as well read from my notes. There are also quite a few pictures. I hope you enjoy!
PLEASE!!! Do not take any of my photos and post them elsewhere without asking me first!
Woke already before my alarm went off. I guess I was slightly nervous about what the day was going to bring. Noticed that my throat was a bit achy but hoped it would pass soon. Did have to yell quite a lot during the Pub evening so it was no wonder. Got ready and made sure I had everything I might need during the day with me. I had no plans of returning to the hotel before evening so did need some stuff with me. Then I made my way to the convention hotel. There wasn’t anything going on yet so I just spent my time wandering around and talking with some people. When they opened the registration desk I went and bought tickets to get my photo taken with Harris and Robert. They had made such an impression on me the previous night that I just wanted to get a photo with them.
Then I joined the people who were waiting to be let into the hall. I’ve gotten used to at least relatively neat queues with previous conventions I’ve done but the group waiting there was nothing like that. I did situate myself near the front of the group since according to my understanding Loft tickets were supposed to be let into the hall first. After some waiting (beyond the time they were supposed to start the official program) we were allowed to move a bit forwards. Next we were stopped right at the doors to the actual hall. We were told that they were still working out some technical things. The group standing in front of the doors was quite mismatched. There was no order in it. I had some people with Woody’s tickets standing in front of me. People were pressing forwards from behind and I was very glad I don’t have problems with big crowds and small spaces.
Suddenly one of the staff realized that they were supposed to let the Loft tickets into the hall first and asked all Loft ticket holders to come to the front. Slightly hard to do at that point when there were several hundred people already pressing forwards. Did manage to get myself at least pretty close to the front. After some more waiting, they finally let us in and there was almost a stampede when people tried to get to the best seats. I knew I was going to get a seat from the first row since it was reserved for us but there is difference if you sit near the middle or at the edges. We were told not to run and I listened. Some people didn’t *g* Still managed to get an okay seat six seats from the middle on the left side.
Then there was some more waiting and I amused myself by talking with the people around me. Had some people I knew in the row behind me. It did take a while before the program started. We were quite a lot late already at that point but of course being late is completely normal in conventions.
Finally the moderators got on the stage and said their hellos. I sort of expected that they would have played some music from the series in the beginning but there was nothing. They told us that there were people from 29 countries in there and then called every country and the people from that country were supposed to cheer and wave their flags.
The moderators and the flags
Then they introduced Elke and exchanged a few words with her. Next they brought Scott onto the stage to tell about the process of getting the convention together. And then it was finally time to bring out the rest of the guests.
Elke with the moderators
Scott and Elke
They started with Scott. They went through his whole history which was a bit unnecessary since I’m sure everyone knew most of it already. Then they started the next introduction and Peter ran on the stage. Too bad he was too early since they were supposed to go through the whole work history before actually calling the actor on stage. Peter did a quick retreat and then came out again at his cue. They went through the whole cast the same way. It took quite a while since they all have been doing so many things and pretty much everything was mentioned. I found it quite unnecessary since I’m sure most of the audience was very familiar with the work the actors have done. And if they aren’t they can always research it. *g*
Peter and Scott at their table
Gotta love this pic!!!
There was a lot of cheering for every cast member. Hal wasn’t happy with the applause he got so he kept encouraging people to clap more...
When all the guests were on stage they were asked some pretty basic questions, among which when they had arrived to Cologne and if they had come straight from the US or had they been somewhere first. The moderators had the impression that Scott had been the first in the country but Sharon then commented that her plane had landed at least five minutes before Scott’s did. Randy had gone to Paris first and gotten to Germany a few days before. Robert and Michelle had also been to Paris and had caught up with Randy there. Can’t remember when Harris and Thea had got in. Hal told us that he had gotten in quite at the last minute and had been very jet lagged in the press conference. He said it had felt almost like he was drunk because he was so tired. Then he said something in the lines of "Well, at least I made it." This can be taken as a crack against Gale not being there or he might not have meant anything with it. Thea was asked about his German skills and asked to recite a poem she had written in German. Couldn’t understand a word of it but sounded good. At one point all the actors were brought glasses of beer since there seems to be a tradition in Cologne to have a nine o’clock beer (it was closer to ten at that point, though *g*).
There was a few words said about the press conference that was held the previous day. It was seriously arranged in a place called Babylon badehause which means bathhouse. And what was even funnier was that the place was still in use. A few of the guests commented that it had surprised them a little when men in just their towels walked around the place in a few occasions.
Hal was asked why his sun glasses were hanging on his back. He replied that it was easier to hug people and they wouldn’t get smashed in between. Good reasoning *g*
There might have been some other talk as well but my memory fails now. Then they decided to take a few questions from the audience. When they asked if anyone had any questions I had my hand up immediately and the moderator going around with the microphone happened to be just in front of me so he gave me the turn. He made me stand up so that everyone could see me (YAY?). Then I had to tell them my name and where I was from. There was a guy going around with a videocamera for the convention DVD and he came and sticked the camera right into my face. Felt quite nervous all of a sudden. Somehow managed to get my question out. Had it on paper since it had been provided to me by a friend.
It must be nice to know that, even after so long since Queer As Folk was aired, there are so many fans who still love the series. This is something very special, it doesn’t happen to all TV shows. What do you think made QAF stay in its fans’ hearts?
Hal was the first one to answer the question. Can’t remember everything he said but he talked about how there had been lots of firsts in the series and how that might have caught peoples’ interest. He also said that their series had been said to be the gay version of Sex in the City. He didn’t quite agree with that since he didn’t remember seeing HIV positive people in SitC or people getting bashed or many of the other subject matters that were handled in their show. Peter put it all together really nicely by saying that people came for the Queer but stayed for the Folk. Also Robert said something to that but unfortunately can’t remember what it was. Maybe it’ll be on the DVD.
Next there was a question about the LGBT-community and how it has expanded in recent years to include even more people and different groups. Peter talked about how things are changing really fast at the moment and how media certainly has had its part in it. He does hope the progress continues to go forward. Robert added that it is no way a bad thing that the concept of LGBT-community is expanding. There used to be clearly different camps which didn’t mix with each other but now it’s more laid back. Hal threw in his two cents by saying that it’s all about of being who you are and about getting back to partying as soon as all the laws get sorted out.
Harris was asked about joining the series. He admitted to being quite worried how people would react to his character. Being an underage HIV positive guy who had been forced to prostitution by his mom. He was worried he wouldn’t be accepted. Hal added that they had had a trouble with the age of consent. He even talked about how on the first season they had filmed everything for the pilot where Justin was revealed to be 17 years old but then some people had come to them and said that it was possible they wouldn’t be able to show it due to legal issues. However, since in Pennsylvania the age of consent is sixteen they were in the clear. Hunter was originally fifteen but turned sixteen pretty quickly. There was also some talk from Hal about working in close contact with Robert which made Robert raise his eyebrows in a pretty suggestive manner. They also mentioned that this issue was again one thing that had never been addressed in any TV show before, a gay male couple adopts an adolescent boy.
Next question dealt with coming out and the actors were asked to give advice to young people thinking about coming out. I’m sorry to say but this was the point where I started to get annoyed by Mr. Sparks. The moderators sort of tried to imply that maybe one of the people who hadn’t answered anything yet, could field the question. Randy was already raising the microphone to answer when Hal talked over him. He started talking about some running buddies of who two had been gay and how they had only come out after they moved away from the area. He said that in some parts of the US it can be hazardous to your health to come out. Peter countered that with saying that on the other hand it’s better when it’s out in the open. He quoted Brian by saying “No apologies, no regrets” and got a huge cheer for that. And then the moderators cut the Q&A because they needed to get started with the autographs.
All Loft ticket holders were told to get in the line. There we then stood and watched while they prepared everything. I did my best to get organized so that I wouldn’t waste time with juggling with my stuff when it was my turn. Finally all the actors were ready and the first ones were let through. Then it was my turn. Immediately noticed an interesting thing. All the guests had their pictures there and they were already pre-signed. They just personalized them there and then. Not a bad idea in a situation where they mainly just have one type of pictures to sign. Probably saved their wrists a little. They must have been signing them in preparation already earlier.
The first one up was Harris. Said my hellos and then asked if he was having fun. He did say that he was enjoying himself. I told him that I was glad that he had made it and he agreed with me and added that it had been a bit short notice obviously. Asked him what he had thought about the arrival to the party with everyone cheering and yelling. He did thought it had been a slightly surreal experience. He certainly hadn’t expected it. Commented about him staying there quite late. He said that he wanted the chance to talk with everyone. Didn’t mention that since he mostly stayed at the other end of the VIP area, it wasn’t like he actually interacted much with fans, except in the beginning when we were still allowed on that area. *g* Had him sign a picture of him and then my Season 4 poster. Okay, he’s not actually on it but he was in most of the episodes, so a big part of the season anyway.
Then it was Robert’s turn. Complimented him about being so open and friendly towards people at the party and how I liked the way he initiated contact by coming to talk with us and shake hands. He seemed to get a bit flustered by that. Did talk about some random other things as well. Got him to sign a picture as well as the poster too.
And then it was Hal. Tried to come up with something to say to him as well. Did comment on the party and how he left quite early. He repeated what he had said on stage about being really jet lagged and also that it had been too noisy in the club. According to him he had done his time hanging out in clubs all night around. Again a picture and poster signed. Also got the Rage comic for him to sign. Opened the comic from the first page where there are the names of the "authors". Thought that he could sign beside "Michael Novotny". Instead he turned a page and signed on a strip where Zephyr is. Doesn’t really matter but felt a bit annoyed any way since I thought I had quite clearly indicated that I wanted him to sign the first page.
And on to Michelle. She immediately complemented me on my question and said that it had been a very good one. Talked with her about arriving to the party as well. She had been quite surprised by the reaction too. Definitely hadn’t expected it.
Thea: Also talked about the party and how great it had been. My memory really isn’t the best one.
Peter: He also complemented me about my question. Told him how great it was to meet him. Then we just talked about the party and the reception they had gotten.
Scott: Told him how glad I was to meet him as well. While he was signing the poster he told me that it was originally shot differently. His head had been on Sharon’s lap but at the end product his head had ended up really close to the bottom corner and he didn’t like it. The picture was then digitally changed so that he was laying next to hear instead but he did say that there were still also the original ones around.
Randy: He remembered seeing me in Paris and almost remembered my name too. Was quite impressed since it was over 1½ years ago after all. Ended up babbling about the T-shirt I had been wearing there and how I treasured the autograph he had written then with the text "Pia, You ARE a fucking princess." I saw him writing something more than just his name on the poster but didn’t see what it was. Said my thanks and moved on.
Sharon: She obviously remembered talking to me the previous night since she immediately commented that now she could hear me much better than the previous night. She asked me where I was from and when I said I was from Finland she was all amazed that I had made the trip that far. Considering there were people from Japan and Australia in the convention, Finland really isn’t that far. I did sort of say that it wasn’t actually that far away. She was all surprised and then just said that she had flunked geography in school. Told her that it was just about a four hour flight. Had heard somewhere that she hadn’t felt well the previous night and had therefore left the party early. She denied that and just said that it had been too noisy for her. She said that she can’t really be in a place where she needs to yell to be heard since he can’t afford to lose her voice. Told her about Scott’s comment about the poster and how it had been shot differently originally. She did give me a few other comments about the poster too, e.g. that Thea’s leg seemed to be a really weird position. She didn’t make much progress with the signing because we just kept talking and she needed to ask my name a few times. When I apologized for distracting her she just said that there was no need and that she was genuinely interested in what I had to say. What a nice thing for her to say. *happy sigh*
Then I returned to my seat to get organized again. At that point I noticed that I had forgotten to ask Randy’s autograph to the Rage comic. Feeling quite embarrassed I joined the queue again and went to him to get that signed as well. He sort of gave me this half smile when I explained about forgetting it. He signed on the first page where I wanted and then I was all done.
The poster I got them all to sign
A close up of Randy's autograph. It says: Pia, Great to see you again. Princess Pia! Randy Harrison
Remained sitting in the hall and watched other people getting their autographs since I really didn’t have anything else to do. Snapped some pics of the guests as well since that was obviously allowed. Was right across from Peter and Scott but they moved around too much so that my photos didn’t succeed too well *g*
Probably managed to get the wrath of Scott’s and Peter’s PAs upon me since I kept going to them and talking about different stuff while they had no one in front of them getting an autograph. Also had some Finnish chocolates with me and offered them some. They seemed to like it. Peter seemed to have trouble sitting still and when I asked him about that he said that it’s a sign that he’s tired. It’s his way of keeping himself awake. I told him that I had been pretty much forced to dance around a little on the previous night because my feet were hurting so much that I couldn’t keep my weight on them for long periods of time. That made him chuckle a little. Did try to offer some chocolate to Randy as well but he politely declined.
Peter also kept sticking his feet from under the table and some people bumped on them when they moved to stand in front of his table. I guess his legs were too long to be held comfortably under the table for long periods of time.
At some point went and talked with this one woman I had met in LA as well. She had written a book about Queer as Folk with a special section about Gale in it. She was selling the book at the convention. It seemed the books were selling pretty well. Talked with her for a while and bought my own copy of the book. There’s actually one part in the book which was contributed by me about meeting Gale in LA.
Then just hung around in the hall until a member of staff came to say to us that they were serving lunch in the restaurant. With my ticket I got a free lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday it was a nice buffet table. The warm foods were nothing special but they had some very nice salads and just heavenly cream of asparagus soup. Could have just eaten that. The dessert table was great too. The only funny thing was that coffee wasn’t included in the lunch. Sort of craved some but decided to skip it since I would have had to pay it myself.
After lunch it was back to the hall. The first panel was supposed to start but the guests were still signing. Photo shoots were supposed to start as well but those were delayed too. Finally they announced that Randy’s photo shoot was going to start soon and people were told to queue. I didn’t bother going to the queue yet since I thought Loft tickets had queue priority. Found out later that I was wrong. But any way sat on my seat until Randy actually left his table and headed upstairs. Only then I walked towards the queue and went to pretty much the front of it. Some people probably thought me as a huge bitch but we had been promised queue priority and knowing that the panels might start soon, I didn’t want to end up missing anything. For some weird reason they also said that Thea, Michelle and Robert were going to the photos as well but they just kept sitting there and signing away.
It did still take a while before they started letting people in. When it was my turn, Randy called me by name. Had bought two photos with him. Wanted a normal pose and then had decided to try for a huggy one. The photographer snapped the first shot but didn’t stop to ask if I wanted to change the pose. However, got my hand up just in time to tell him that I wanted another pose, a huggy one. Only then I realized that I probably should have asked Randy first that he was alright with it so I turned to him and asked. He just nodded so I wrapped my arms around his waist. However, he just did this half hug thing but anyway, I’m quite happy with the pic.
Made it back to the hall before the first panel started. It was supposed to be Scott and Peter and I didn’t want to miss them. Of course they couldn’t start the panel before all the actors were done with the autographs since they were in the same room.
By the time the panel did start, they were behind the schedule almost two hours. The moderators came on stage and talked about random stuff. Then they called Scott and Peter onto the stage. At first they walked there in a normal way but then suddenly turned around and went to hide behind the curtain. Then they peaked in from around it. Got a lot of cheers from the audience. Then they took their seats.
The first question was about the crystal meth story arc from the moderators. Peter mentioned something about it being an epidemic in the US. He had loved doing those scenes and was very proud of them. He thought they both did some of their best work there. Scott got a lot of letters from people who were struggling with or had managed to get rid of their addictions. They also shared that originally they were both just supposed to be Michael’s friends but Scott and Peter had such instant chemistry between them that it was changed so that they were good friends as well. And of course later started dating.
Someone from the audience asked about the Emmett and Drew story line. This sprung some discussion about openly gay athletes and how there still aren’t that many of them. Athletes only come out once their careers are already over. Peter’s overall comment about how their story ended was “Emmett got the shaft and not in the hot way.” He also admitted that he sometimes thinks Emmett and Drew together while he’s alone in his bed. In his opinion they got back together after a year or two. He thinks Drew came to Emmett and said something on the lines of "You were always the one." Cue huge "awwwwwww" from the audience. At few occasions Peter pretty much tried to swallow his mic in a very lewd way...
Peter got asked if his wardrobe was in anyway similar to Emmett’s and did his wardrobe change during the series. Peter said that his wardrobe got less fabulous while the series was on. He also shared with us that the first outfit we see Emmett in (the orange leather pants and a see through shirt) was an outfit he saw in a dream and shared with the costume designer. The pants were from a clothing line by Tom of Finland and when the pilot was filmed they weren’t available yet. They were given a prototype of the pants to use. Scott said those pants had made him thirsty for some orange juice.
Scott shared that when he first came for some costume fittings, he was given these really small leather shorts and a tight tank top. He just remembers that his exact thoughts were, "this is not the character I auditioned for". He says there’s a Polaroid picture of him in those clothes somewhere but he doesn’t know where. Peter said that they’d had a different costume designer for the pilot than for the rest of the series. It seemed the original costume designer had been to one Pride and seen some people dressed in small tight leather shorts there and decided that all gays dressed like that. In original plans she had Emmett wearing all these big flowery hats and such but Peter had put a stop to that.
Next Scott was asked if the drug addiction was based on some real stories. He admitted that he had tried ecstasy at one point in his life but had stopped there. The experience had been a way too good one and he didn’t want to experience a bad one. In preparation for the story line he did go to meetings and talked with people to find out about their experiences. Scott and Peter both said that while they are proud of the work they did, it had been very difficult for them. They had gotten used to being there for each other during the series but suddenly they really couldn’t. They said it wasn’t possible for them to goof around with each other one moment and then say all those awful things to each other the next. They didn’t talk much while that arc was on. Scott said he had hard time during the arc because going through all that stuff made him quite miserable. That made Peter share that when you pretend to be someone else for 16 hours a day, it changes you. Since Emmett was the character that he was, he was mostly upbeat for the whole duration of the series, while Scott quite often felt miserable when Ted was being miserable. (A/N: Poor guy *g*)
Next question was about Ted going blond in season five. Scott wanted to make it clear right in the beginning that he did not bleach his pubes during that arc. Cue cheers and laughter from the audience. He told us that the whole bleaching thing had been quite excruciating for him. They changed filming technique that season and didn’t want to end up messing up the pilot in case the new system didn’t work. That’s why they filmed the second episode of the season first. Because his hair was so dark, it needed to be bleached twice to get the desired effect. But then he needed to go back to his natural color when they filmed the first episode and then back to blond for the third episode. He said that his hair was bleached three times in just a few weeks when you are only supposed to bleach your hair once every three months or something. He told a story about how he had been petting his cat and had also ran his fingers through his hair. When he looked at his hands, he noticed that both had about the same amount of hair in them. Obviously didn’t do good for his hair *g*
As a final question they were asked about taking the part. They both said that they had been slightly scared when reading the script for the first time but they were very happy that they had taken the part and gotten to be part of the great experience.
I was in the queue to ask a question as well but they cut the Q&A just when it was going to be my turn. *pout* Oh well, my own fault for joining the queue too late. Although, in my opinion the Q&As were way too short anyway. Every Q&A was just reserved 30 minutes which is like nothing.
After a small break Hal, Robert and Harris came on stage. First there was talk about if it had been challenging to get a HIV+ story line into the show. It was mentioned that of course the show already had Uncle Vic in it but his case was slightly different. He already had AIDS and had almost died from it a few years back but this was all told in the backstory. The producers wanted a story line where a healthy male has relationship with a HIV+ male. There was some backlash towards the producers and actors when Ben got rejected by Michael. However, at that point everyone on the inside already knew that they were going to end up together anyway, since they had already filmed the episodes.
They were asked if they kept any of the props from the set. Hal and Robert had kept their rings. Hal talked something about how when they got married his original ring was way too big for him and needed to be taped to his finger so that it didn’t fall off. On the fifth season he had a ring that actually fit. Harris had kept the swimcap and goggles he used during the scenes where he swam for the school’s swim team. He also said he was still using them. He had also taken one of the toy robots that Michael had. Hal had also snagged a busted silver clarinet that for some reason was hanging in the apartment. Robert admitted to taking Ben’s glasses, one of the brown leather jackets as well as two paintings from the apartment.
Hal got asked about how it had been to do the role as a straight male. He said that it had had its positive and negative sides. His parents saw the first episode only almost a week after it was originally aired because something always came up. Hal’s father had a friend who had been his friend for decades. He had a problem with Hal’s role in the series and that friendship ended there. They never spoke again. Hal did claim he has lost some work due to his role but also that he had no desire to work with people who had a problem with his previous work.
I stood up to ask a question next. I asked Harris and Robert how it had felt to come to the series slightly later than rest of the established cast. They both said that it had been relatively easy. Everyone had been very welcoming and nice. They both also had nude scenes right on their first day on set. Made things relaxed right from the beginning *g*
Part of Michael’s comic book obsession came from Hal because he was familiar with them. They had originally planned Michael to be a Trekkie (in the UK version Vince was a Doctor Who fan) but it was changed to comics after Hal’s input. They had to use some smaller titles because not all the big comic houses were that enthusiastic about them being linked with an openly gay series. DC really wasn’t open to them being used in the series whereas Dark Horse and Marvel were quite alright with it.
Next Hal was asked if it was difficult for him to sing false notes when Michael performed that song to Ben since he can actually sing. He replied that all the dialogue and singing in that scene had been done with ADR. Can’t remember why that was, though. Next he of course was asked to sing, which he did.
Then there was a question about what their future looked like since when the series ended they were quite a happy family. Robert immediately said that Ben will live until he’s 110. Hal was quick to add that Ben will probably be the healthiest of them since Michael has put on some weight from all the crap he eats. Harris was on the same lines with Hunter’s addiction to Captain Crunch.
They’d had had no trouble to work with each other. Had felt like family right from the beginning. Robert even said that now that he saw Harris for the first time in years, he got slightly emotional to see "his boy" all grown up.
That was the end of the panel. I immediately joined the queue to get my photo done with Harris. After some waiting it was my turn. I was planning on asking for a huggy photo but only got out the part "Can I have a hug-" before he totally bear hugged me and squeezed me really tight. I was so surprised by it that I probably froze for a few seconds. That probably made him realize what I had been about to say and said: "Oh, you wanted a hug photo?" I mumbled something to that. He still held me quite tight while the photo was taken. I was quite happy to be there.
When I returned to the hall the next panel had already started. The panel dealt with homophobia and they had Peter, Robert and Michelle on stage together with the moderators and two members of the staff. That panel was probably the most serious one of them all because of its subject matter. When I got to my seat, Peter was saying how everyone can do their part. He has been involved in some projects of which one of the most recent ones has been meeting some gay right activists from China. He can see things changing even if the progress is very slow.
Robert told about his family’s reaction when he decided to come out in the middle of filming QaF in a magazine article. He told that his mom had actually said: "Why don’t you just shoot us in the heart instead?" That’s an awful thing to say. Even if it has been years, Robert still got slightly emotional about it.
Michelle is also very active in different projects and in politics. She has been in Washington to help people being heard.
Robert told us how amazed he has been by the number of people who have told him that they’ve discovered the series only a small while ago and how it still influences people so much.
There was some talk about the series affecting their work and Robert said that he has gained some and lost some job opportunities because of being involved with QAF. And for some roles it hasn’t made any difference. He tries to focus on what works. Peter said that he has lost some roles because casting agents don’t want him in the role because the character isn’t gay. He has gotten this treatment from even gay casting agents. One of them said that gay casting agents can actually be very homophobic when it comes to casting roles.
Next Scott’s photo was up. Got a nice cuddly one with him but don’t like my expression in the photo. He made me laugh with some comment so I look all weird *g*
Got back to my seat a bit after the next panel started. According to the program there was supposed to be a panel with Robert, Peter and Randy but I guess due to time constrains they decided to skip it which was a pity. Or maybe it was sort of combined with the homophobia panel. So it was Michelle’s and Thea’s turn on stage. They were asked if playing a lesbian has made a difference on their career. Thea said that in parts it has had a positive effect since she now gets offered roles he wasn’t even considered for earlier.
They were also asked about the Sam story line. Michelle commented that Mel felt quite betrayed by it all and also made her wonder if she wasn’t enough for Lindsay anymore. Thea talked about how throughout the whole series Lindsay was torn between Brian and Mel.
Thea was asked if the animalistic nature of the relations with Sam had been difficult to go through. She did say it had been but the actor playing Sam had been a complete gentleman. She also said that it had been a lot harder to do the threesome with Leda for some reason. She said that the energy had been completely different.
Next they talked about the scene where Lindsay fertilizing Mel with Michael’s sperm. They both said it had been quite an emotional scene to make.
They were both asked which memory they would pick out from the series. Thea said it would have to be Granny Faye’s letters. Michelle picked the wedding scene when Mel and Lindsay get married. It had been quite emotional too with walking down the aisle.
Thea was asked about her music and she said that she doesn’t have a record out but hopes to have one in the future. She’s also trying to get a cabaret show together.
Lindsay’s relationship with her parents was discussed as well. In Thea’s opinion in that relationship lies the core of Lindsay’s dilemma and the whole thing is quite heart breaking. Her parents are in complete denial. Handling an issue like this was also one of the ways where QAF broke down walls. It showed that sexuality is messy.
I got up to ask from Thea about her work with Free2Luv. It was quite obvious it was an important subject matter for her. Did say that I thought she was doing some very important work with spreading the word and working towards bullying. Did say that the cause is close to my heart too since I was bullied in school. In general she thought that only through educating and making people aware of the issue progress can be made. However, she did also say that sometimes bullying has to be met with bullying and get the message through that way. They ended their panel by kissing and of course got a huge cheer.
Right after that panel I hurried to get my photo done with Peter. Once more got a nice cuddly photo. Since I knew they were going to start taking photos with Robert soon too, I stayed up on the balcony so that I could join the queue right when it was formed. Knew that the next panel was going to be Randy and Sharon and didn’t want to end up missing it. Listened the beginning of the panel from the balcony then since they started before Robert was ready for the photos.
Sharon’s first words on stage were that she was Gale Harold, in drag. Got a huge cheer from the crowd. In some way Randy referred to Debbie as Justin mom. That sprung a discussion about how Justin had had a cool mom but a dick for a father. Sharon said Justin was Debbie’s sunshine. That got a very “Sunshine” like smile from Randy. She also said that she had really enjoyed the role she had as everyone’s mother. However, they were both of the opinion that Debbie is quite cool when she’s not actually your mother. Michael never went for her for advice but others did.
Where’s Justin in 2012? Randy tried avoiding answering the question and went on about how it’s a fictional character and anything he comes up with is as valid as what we can come up with and how he’s more interested in hearing our versions. Someone from the audience yelled "read fanfiction" which was met with a few laughs and a few “no!!!” shouts. Randy did go on to say that he thinks Justin is still in New York and that he really took to New York. The person who asked the question commented that “people don’t want to hear that.” Randy immediately replied that he knows people don’t want to hear that and that’s why he didn’t want to answer the question. He believed in Justin’s decision to go and thinks he became a success since that’s what he wanted. Sharon asked if Randy thinks Justin ever fell out of love with Brian, to which Randy replied that if Justin really stayed in New York that long, the relationship obviously changes. People weren’t happy with that. He tried to go on saying that change is inevitable and it’s not always of the bad. Poor guy looked all frustrated with trying to answer the question the way he saw things even if he certainly knew it wasn’t what people wanted to hear and people protesting.
Then they were asked what their favorite scene together was. They both agreed that it had definitely been their first scene together where Justin meets Debbie and gets his nickname. Randy said that he had been very nervous because of that scene, it was Dame Sharon Gless after all.
At that point they called Robert’s photos so went to take that. Once more asked for a cuddly photo and definitely got one. I guess I was way too comfortable there since I kept closing my eyes in the photos. I think the photographer took about five shots to get one with me my eyes open.
Then it was back to the hall and the talk. Got back there just when Randy was asked about doing a lot of artistic roles. He feels that it’s easy for him to relate to those roles. He went on for quite a while about how the most important thing for him is to understand the art the character is trying to create. He also shortly returned to the Justin/Brian relationship by saying that his reason for believing that Justin stayed in New York because he wants him to be successful and in his opinion that can only happen in New York.
When Randy finished his answer Sharon just looked at him and said: “Isn’t he just amazing? This is why I love him.” And of course everyone cheered. Randy obviously felt a bit bashful about the whole thing. He reached for Sharon’s hand and gave it a kiss.
Sharon was asked about Debbie being a work-a-holic. Sharon replied that she wasn’t entirely sure Debbie was a work-a-holic but she herself definitely is. She said something about working keeping her young. Sharon had a theory about Debbie’s past. She thinks she wanted to open a beauty salon. That’s what all the wigs and make up were for. Sharon said that she originally had 17 wigs but in the end they only let her use one. Getting pregnant made her give up the beauty salon dream but she still made the most of her life and concentrate on being a mother, first to Michael and later to all the boys.
Next question was about the dildo scene where Ted and Emmett share some secrets. Sharon said that the only day her husband decided to visit the set during the whole duration of filming the series, was that day. She also admitted that even if the scene was cut right when she was leaning down, she did actually go down on that dildo. According to her it had been very difficult to keep a straight face while doing that scene.
Randy was asked about the final scene with Chris Hobbs. He said that it had been a very difficult one to do. He could remember feeling extremely relieved when he was walking away. He has also given some thought to what could have happened if Justin hadn’t walked away.
Then there was a question about Randy’s thoughts about the open relationship between Justin and Brian. He said that every couple is different and that for some people such an open relationship works and for some it doesn’t.
Sharon talked about how she had wanted the part from the moment she heard about it. She called Showtime and told them she wanted the part of Debbie and who did she need to fuck to make it happen. It seemed Showtime thought she would bring class to the series but they couldn’t have been more wrong since that definitely wasn’t what Sharon wanted. She felt the series could be trouble and she wanted to be part of it.
Had gotten up to ask a question but once more they cut the Q&A just before it was my turn. *pout*
Sharon got all emotional while giving her thanks. She said that the love people have shown her and the others hasn’t gone unnoticed. I’m pretty sure there were quite a few people who got slightly misty eyed when she said that. People gave them a standing ovation. At one point Randy got on one knee in front of Sharon to "worship" her.
Then it was time for me to head to get my photos sorted. They had this weird system of you needing to queue to get your photos sorted into a folder according to your badge number. It was a veeeery slow process. There were quite a few people before me. I could have of course stayed in the line already after my last photo but I didn’t want to miss the panel with Sharon and Randy. So there I stood for quite a while. It was around eight in the evening at that point and after a while I started wondering if I’d make it to the party on time. The queue advanced very slowly. By quarter to nine I hadn’t gotten much anywhere. I do suspect some people cut the line since first there were people behind me and suddenly there wasn’t *g* Anyway, since it looked like it would still take a while I decided to make a run to my hotel to change my clothes and then leave straight after getting the photos sorted to the party.
So half ran to my hotel, go changed, put on some more make up and hurried back. I hadn’t had time to eat anything after lunch so I grabbed a small bag of cheetos and that was my dinner. Very healthy, I know *g* When I got back to the convention hotel, the queue hadn’t gone much forward. One member of the staff did come and apologize the situation. He gave all the people who were still in the queue tram tickets to get to the party as well as stamps that would get them into the VIP area in the party. That stamp wasn’t much use to me since I was going to be allowed there anyway. Still it was a nice gesture on their part.
Finally I got myself sorted and was ready to go. It was around 9:50pm at that point. Met my friend in the lobby and we took a cab to the club where the party was held. Got there about quarter past but the doors weren’t open yet. After some waiting we were allowed in and directed downstairs where the VIP area was supposed to be. My first look of the VIP area caused this WTF?!? feeling. Earlier it had been stated that Loft tickets were going to have a VIP section again and so were the Diner tickets. However, the area where we were shown was barely big enough for the Loft ticket holders since there were just about ten seats and a little standing room and we wondered where they were going to put the guests. However, the VIP area for the Diner ticket holders was even more ridiculous. It only had one sofa and maybe room for a few dozen people. There were around 100 Diner tickets if I remember correctly. There was a lot of confusion what was going on.
In the end the areas were combined and it was only for the Loft ticket holders. I’m sure the Diner ticket holders were pleased when they didn’t get the promised VIP area after all. Hung around the area and sipped my one complimentary sparkling wine glass. Talked with some familiar people. Wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to stay in the party since was feeling quite tired and also cranky about the photo thing. Had hoped to have a chance to rest for a while before coming to the party but obviously that didn’t happen. However, around the time I started to think about maybe heading home the guests once more saved the day by arriving to the club. They were shown into the same area where we were and suddenly the place felt really crowded. I ended up standing right next to Harris and Scott. Was actually so close to them that I was afraid I was going to bump into them if someone bumped into me. Clinked glasses with them and talked about random things for a while.
Scott moved on after a while but I stayed talking with Harris. There was one other girl standing there as well. Harris talked about swimming and told us how he had hired a swimming coach to help him with the swimming scenes in the series. He had wanted to do the scenes himself. They had had a double for him but they didn’t need to use him since Harris was able to swim so well himself. He also said that he had really enjoyed the day. It had been interesting meeting everyone, hearing their thoughts and opinions.
Then it was time for some dance entertainment. I missed some of it but apparently Robert had wriggled into a cage they had beside the dance floor and danced there for a while. Then the show was moved upstairs where they had a platform that came a little on top of the dance floor. Robert and Michelle were having great time dancing there. At the same time Scott and Peter were having their own show a small distance away. From my place I didn’t see them too well but they got a lot of cheers. Next Peter moved to dance on the platform with Robert for a while. They really seemed to enjoy themselves. Robert wiped sweat from his forehead on his T-shirt and at the same time showed a very nice six pack. (me shallow? what makes you think that?) Then it was time for Scott and Peter to put on a show. Peter kept ripping Scott’s shirt open and then pretending to be all innocent about it. I’m sure Scott regretted wearing a button up shirt just then. Then Robert joined them as well and all three danced there together. In the end Peter leaned towards people and sort of performed a hug towards everyone. Scott also gave a small bow and then the show was over.
I returned to the VIP area. It was a lot emptier. However, it didn’t take long before the guests were back there and it was again slightly crowded. They didn’t stay long, though. They just came to stand there for a few minutes before leaving. Randy and Harris stayed behind. I wanted to exchange a few words with Randy but he was quite efficiently surrounded by staff and security. Should have probably taken a hint but tried to approach him anyway. Asked a staff member very politely if I could exchange a few words with Randy. He told me that he didn’t really have a voice so he wasn’t talking with people. Accepted that and just said that I had just wanted to tell him that I appreciated him being there and it was great seeing him again. The guy asked for my name and relayed my message to Randy. He did look my way and gave me a small smile.
A dancer at the club
A while later found myself standing close to Harris again and got talking with him some more. Commented something about it being fun that they were playing the music they were playing since I had never gotten to dance to it in a club before. He looked me a bit stangely and just said something about it being dance music. Said to him that I had gotten to the series so late that I hadn’t caught the songs played anywhere. At that point a light bulb went on over his head and he asked if the music was from the series. When I replied affirmatively, he said he hadn’t known. Just commented on that that Hunter had been so young that he had never been to Babylon. He chuckled and agreed with me.
Someone else came to talk with him so I discreetly moved away. After a while Randy and Harris left as well and almost immediately the VIP area pretty much emptied. I stayed talking with some people a while longer before going for a walk around the club to see if I saw any familiar faces. There were a few.
Did stay dancing for a while before deciding that it was probably best that I headed back to my hotel. Knew that I needed to be up pretty early. Walked to the tram station and just saw a tram leaving. The next one only came 20 minutes later. Looked at the cabs and decided that I didn’t want to pay the cab all by myself. Started walking towards my hotel. Yes, not one of my brightest ideas to walk around in a strange city around 2am. However, made it back to my hotel without incident. Was asleep almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.
Sunday