Well, Father Geek here with the ever lovely GRENDY and her wrap-up of this year's DRAGON CON in Atlanta... sounds like she had a ball...
Hi guys, Grendy here, and here's part two of Dragon Con, or... How I Met Gary Anthony Williams from Malcom In The Middle.
So when last I left off, it was Friday. I left DragonCon in the evening to go to a theater I am affilated with, called Dad's Garage Theater Company (www.dadsgarage.com). We do plays as well as improv comedy. Once a year we hold a tournement with improv teams from all over the world coming to 'play' with us for 4 days and 8 shows. This "World Domination Tournement" always falls on DragonCon weekend, so I end up splitting my time in the evenings.
So Friday night, Team Smyrna was to play Team Toranto. On stage was a guy that looked very familar. Just couldn't place him. I'd met a buncha new people Wednesday night, at the first show, but I didn't know if this was one of them, he just looked SO familar. (you can go to this link if you don't know who he is. (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Williams,+Gary+Anthony)
So after the show, in which he was hilarious, I was talking to him on the porch of the theater. He intro'd himself as Gary, and I cleverly said, "Didn't I meet you Wednesday?" and he said "No, I just got in last night." As we talk some generic small talk about the show, etc, I hear someone behind me whisper, "He's that guy from Malcom in the Middle, you know, Stevie's dad." And suddenly, NOW I get it. No wonder he's familar. He's in my living room most sunday nights. Damn! "Didn't I meet you before?" How lame was that?!? Ahhh well. He didn't seem to care. I didn't mention it, and I ended up sitting next ot him during the 10:30 improv show. Afterwards, we have a live talk show called The Lucky Yates Show. Lucky's the host, and he had on NPR and Creative Loafing writer Hollis Gillespie, Blender (a Canadian hip-hop duo, comprised of Kevin and Josh from Team Edmonton), Ronnie the Topless Intern from a local radio station and as a special treat, Gary Williams. So during the course of his interview, he invited the whole audience to come to his house for a visit. When the show was over, I said "Next time I am in LA, you know I'll be knocking on your door looking for a couch to crash on!" He responded with "Sure, that would be fine." I told him he better mean it, as I sure the heck WILL do that next time I'm there. He said he did. We'll see. If next time I'm in LA, I post from Gary Anthony Wayne's house, you'll know he's legit. Either way, he's a really funny guy, expecting his first child soon; tune in Sundays to see him.
Saturday at Dragon Con...damn..what the HELL did I do? I mean, I got back to the hotel at like 2:30 am...slept and then, ummm oh yeah, took a bunch of pics of people. getting permission and names to post to the site. Will try to include them in next post, as my cd-rom's on the fritz right now. Oh yes..that's it, I saw Virginia Hey. She played Zhaan on Farscape. You know, that bald and blue woman priest. She's shall I say; 'salty'. She has a great dry sense of humor. She talked about an incident in which she was running to hug a cameraman named Bubba, she decked a crew person, knocking him backwards about 6 feet due to physics. This was told in order to show how in the scene where she and Criton (Ben Browder) are in bed, and she has to turn over and lay her arm/hand on his twig and berries, the force in which she did it...well, we'll go with "It took six takes, and he was not happy with any of them." She also remarked that the consensus of women involved with FARSCAPE think that Ben Browder's butt looks like, and I quote: "...like two home backed loves of bread." (HAHAHA) When someone aksed why she shaved her head for the role of Zhaan, she answered with "Well, it was my biggest acting challange, and it would piss off her parents! No matter how old you are, you still want to do that, ya know?" She's been taking American language lessons as well, and stumbling over words like Thaw and trying not to call it Thar. Said probably the only way she could say that word is if she was drunk. So, if you see her, buy her a drink and ask her to say Thaw for you.
I also saw the CRY FOR DAWN costume contest. For those who don't know, CFD is a comic by Joeseph Linsner. Since Dawn is a 'warrior-goddess' type, she's often portrayed in skimpy outfits with swords. Just the sort of thing that a 15 year old boy wants to see. And man, with something like 12,000 people there to see the contest, they were all a howling and cheering-on the women. The contest was hosted by Ted Raimi and Traci Lords. Lords got something on an order of magnitude more applause then poor Ted. But, he did manage to hold his own. When asked how he got talked into hosting the contest, he said sometihng about $800 in gambling debts. When Lords told him the prize was $1,000 cash, he quickly excused himself. There was then an announcement about one last contestant named Theodora Ramini. He came out in a cloak, wig and bad makeup, looking terrible. After Lords booted him offstage, the contest began. It was fun, and there were some really nice and well made costumes. I do think that the near-requirement to have ass-baring outfits was a little silly, but then, I didn't create the comic, so oh well.
Went back to my theater for the final shows of the Tournement, got back at like 6:30 am, so there was no early morning ANYTHING for me. Got moving about 2 pm. Went and saw Lani John Tupu. He is also a FARSCAPE actor, as well as in the indie sleeper film LANTANA. More later on that. My notes from that are on my brother's Palm Pilot (man, those little keyboard attachments are handy hell, let me tell ya. You can set up with feet on a chair, and type away without being loud) and I have to have him send them to me still.
I went to go to something presented by THEONERING.NET guys about THE TWO TOWERS, but I started getting this terrible migraine, and ended up downing 4 asprin and watching the Masquerade costume contest on the closed circut TV in the room and feeling crappy. It was hosted by the MST3K guys. (see below)
On to Sunday. I went with Brooks and Maria to see "After The Sattelite of Love". It was Kevin Murphy and Mike Nelson from MST3K. Here's some excerpts from their talk.
Q: what have you been doing since the show ended, Mike?
Mike: I've been invloved in projects, most of which I can't talk about, which just makes me sound like a big loser, but the lawyers won't let me. Mostly I've been sitting around drinking. No, I'm kidding."
Kevin's recently finished a new book called: A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey. It's out on Harper Collins publishing.
When asked if they ever got flak from someone that they'd made fun of, Kevin answered "Joe Dante was cheesed off about making fun of MAROONED, he said he was gonna stop watching the show." "Well, tough nipples, Joe.", was his response.
Something was said about Barry Diller being the Devil, "you know, the Father of Lies" by Kevin.
Q: What shows do you guys watch?
Kevin: The show I tune in to watch, THE SIMPSONS *audience cheers at this*
Mike: The show I watch...? SAVED BY THE BELL *massive audience groans*
Q: Why do you thing so many horrible films get made?
Kevin: It's simple, really. Nobody gives a shit! I mean, f they really cared those would not happen. *off on a tangent about TOWN AND COUNTRY, that it cost $100 Million dollars and was horrid* -- I mean, look at lumpy old Warren Beatty trying to act like a sexy 30 year old! EEEWW! I don't think I'd work in the studio system again, it was so distasteful.
Q: Mike, I thought you did just a great Jack Perkins impression, did you ever meet him, or come to fisticuffs?
Mike: No, but I did have a bit of an email conversation with him. He didn't mind me doing it, but he hated the SNL parody of him done after that.
Q: Did you guys like Fellowship of the Ring? Or Star Wars?
Kevin: I saw Fellowship like 100 times.
Mike: I don't like waiting in line for movies, but this was an exception. I had such a huge crush on Aragorn! Oooh, then Legolas showed up. I had to split my attention.
Kevin: Oh! Leggy... I loved him!!
*audience cracks up at teen girl behavior*
*note also; neither of them mentioned Attack of the Clones, hmmmm*
Kevin: on topic of bad films getting great reviews, and still being shitty...For god's sake don't go to the opening weekend of any movie. You're playing into their hands. Does FEARDOTCOM look good?!? No! So don't go to it.
Mike: I saw MASTER OF DISGUISE opening weekend. *sheepish* Kevin: Oh mike! Do you know what you've done!?
Q: What do you guys look to for good reviews?
Kevin: I like independant film review publications, Film Comment, New Republic and the NY Times.
Q: Do you accidently MST something when you're at home?
Mike: Mostly I watch baseball. I'm scared of anything else. But if you do it yourself, you should be in a hospital.
Q: Are you guys going to the West at all, seems you mostly stay East.
Kevin: Perhaps before the fall is over, to go to a bookstore in LA called BOOK SOUP. It's a great bookstore. And maybe, Denver.
Q: Mike, you?
Mike: I have to mow the lawn.
At this point, a guy stands up to ask something; starts off with "Because of you, I've been banned from several theaters in Mobile Alabama."
Mike: I hope it wasn't a Paul Reubens-type theater. *hue laughs from this*
Q: No, not at all. *embarrased* I just wondered, have you guys have ever been asked to be on Space Ghost Coast to Coast?
Kevin: We filmed an episode in Atlanta, with Tom Servo, but it never aired.
Mike: For SOME reason.
*damn the man!*
It's now 4:25 Monday afternoon, people are milling around, some are hung over. Most have this wistful sad look. Maria said "It's almost like the last day of school, you're all going away." I went to the Closing Ceremonies for the convention, where they honored some of the especially hardowkring crew, and the long-timers who've been there 15 years with no pay. That's something. They come every year, get little sleep, eat crappy snack foods all weekend to make a good show for 20,000 equally sleepy and nutrition-deprived people. The chairman of Dragon Con did let the crowd know that Judd Winick would definatly be back next year, as would Peter David. The MST3K guys were asked back, and said 'most likely'. He couldn't announce very many of the definates yet, but he did say that one confirmed guest is to be JAMES MARSTERS. He then said, "Oh man, I told Peter David that, and he said "You people don't don't what you're getting into with that!""
And, with that, I am off. It's now 12:46 am, and I am a tired girl. I have to work 14 hours tomorrow at my two jobs, Anyone want to reach me, email me at
GrendelKhan@aintitcoolmail.com
~Grendy, out~
