Day 1
This was a travel day. I flew out of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One thing I have noticed is that whenever I wear some sort of Xena t-shirt, and I think most especially when Xena herself is on it, I get positive responses. Coming out of the restroom, a woman noticed my shirt and said, "VERY nice t-shirt". Of course I agreed.
It also becomes a badge by which con-goers recognize each other. When I changed planes in Minneapolis, a woman came up to me and asked if I was going to the Pasadena con. She knew, because of the t-shirt; she was also going, although she wasn't wearing a Xena shirt at the time. Oddly enough, she had never seen this shirt, even though it's been available for some time. I think I bought it two or three years ago. But not everybody is up to date on all the available merchandise.
After arriving in Pasadena, I waited around to early register. Having done that, I scoped out the Creation merchandise already there. They are selling a lovely powder-blue convention T with Lucy and Renee in the foreground and several scenes from various episodes over the seasons, such as Between The Lines, Endgame, Sins Of The Past, Past Imperfect, Locked Up And Tied Down and a few others. Behind these images is a list of all the episodes. It isn't easy to tell, but I think all the episodes from the 6 seasons are listed. If a person wanted something that encompasses a nice portion of the show, this would be a good souvenir.
After that, I turned to the collectibles table and finally escaped after spending some big bucks on some convention specials. I'm not into buying or getting autographed items, but these were signed by both Lucy and Renee and they seem like a good investment - depending on whether I can part with them or not. Over the course of the con, I spent many more big bucks, and will be paying for it in overtime for a long time to come.
Day 2
The convention opened with a World Premiere of "Coffee Talk" with Lucy and Renee discussing what happened during filming. They used the two newest Creation calendars as reference and it was fun to see. Some of what they talked about has been reported before. <<Spoiler Alert>> At one point, Lucy talked about playing Anthrax from Many Happy Returns, and said she tried to model the character after her brother Dan. Renee said Dan looked better and Lucy said "Better!?" in mock outrage. The other thing I found entertaining was when they brought Julius and little Miles in. Julius is chattering away as only a two-year-old can and Lucy casually slips a finger in the back of his diapers (not into potty-training yet) and checks them. It was a sign of how relaxed and informal the whole session was. Miles, at the time, was sucking on Renee's finger. They ended the bit, when both boys began to get fussy. <<End Spoiler Alert>>
Claire Stansfield was up next. I only recall a few points, but someone asked if she might consider acting again if a really good part came along. While she wouldn't say no, she indicated that her acting days are pretty much over and she is directing all her energies to directing and studying directing. Someone, who had directed in theater, asked for tips on how to get into directing film. And Claire described how she started. When she began, digital cameras weren't generally available, so she used video. She pointed out that video is different from film and so is digital. But she would have liked to have started out in digital, even if it is different from film. She was also asked what she thought of FIN. She said she thought it was beautiful and had a grand sweep to it; that it was a large story, filmed expertly. But she also noted that it didn't work in several points in telling its story and that was why it failed. Claire has had contact with the fans over the last year, and has received much positive response to Bat Morda's alternative FIN ending through the Triple XXX revue, so she knows the feeling against the episode is deep and strong.
Tsianina Joelson followed Claire, and she was as bubbly as last year, but with at least one of these cons under her belt. She talked a bit about auditioning and that she auditioned for a part as an Amazon, but didn't know she would get the part of Varia. She also talked about her fight with Renee in Path Of Vengeance. Most of what we saw on screen was the two of them, as has been previously reported and she praised Renee for being so good. She said she really enjoyed doing that particular fight scene and that it took about 7 hours to film. One of the tales she told was of working on the fight scenes in Coming Home. It was her first time on Xena and she was enjoying herself so much that she couldn't stop smiling. The director had to tell her to be serious because this scene was supposed to be serious. Last year, she was asked to flex and she mentioned it this year. But, as she pointed out, she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, to avoid being asked to do it again.
It was mentioned in the program and in preface to the Ares video that our thoughts were with Kevin Smith. Later someone asked Sharon Delaney if there was some way we could send a get-well card to him, and Sharon promised to look into it.
Friday had 2 episodes shown, Many Happy Returns and Send In The Clones. Sandwiched in between the episodes and a new Draco music video was Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Both talked about many things over the course of about 45 minutes on stage, some of which I can recall here. Ted is still directing music videos. Bruce talked a bit about his book - actually more about book signing and its promotion. He mentioned one interviewer who was a priest and also a journalist, who asked some insightful questions. At the other end of the spectrum was ending up on a local cable station in New York on a show with a local hooker. Bruce pointed to this as the weirdness of book promotion. That segued into a discussion of working with Tracy Lords and on Hercules, Xena, Jack Of All Trades and Ted's old show, Seaquest. One of the indications of a show on the skids when in syndication, Bruce noted, is the tendency to put a show in the late off-hours. That happened to JOAT, and certainly contributed to its demise.
They said they will be in Spiderman. Bruce also asked a question of the audience that I didn't expect. He wanted to know how many liked FIN and how many didn't. From where I sat, near the back of the Preferred seating section, about 4 people who liked it raised their hands. A huge majority who didn't like it raised their hands.
Bruce mentioned the re-release of Evil Dead 3 - Army Of Darkness and said that his film about the fans - Fanalysis, would be included in that DVD.
Finally the evening's entertainment closed the day. It began with Lucy's sister, Josie Ryan performing her one-woman play, Sister Wonder Woman. When it began, there were references to the big star, Rhonda Carter and her sister and most of the audience could see the parallels between Lucy and Josie. But it quickly diverged, so that those parallels were of no importance. Josie speaks in a North American accent, perhaps even better than Lucy. And she used a southern accent for Rhonda's sister, Sylvie, and father to provide separate voices. I thought it was quite good, but was marred by the sound system, which doesn't work well in that barn of a place. Josie looks much like Lucy, with her dark hair and the high cheekbones, but after watching her on stage, you can see there are big differences. I think Josie might be shorter than Lucy and has a much fuller torso (references in the play are made to Sylvie being fat). There is a resemblance between the two, but Josie looks like herself.
The highlight of the evening was Claire and Hudson, called the Hudson and Claire Show. Act I had Hudson and Claire dancing in front of the screen which was simultaneously showing Fred Astaire dancing with one of his early partners, probably a very young Ginger Rogers. Claire is dressed in a man's tuxedo and Hudson in a ball gown. They dance along with the film - and Hudson can really dance well. Then a male dancer, Forrest Walsh, comes out, taps Claire on the shoulder and dances with Hudson, putting her through some really great dance steps, to the point of flipping her over and over. About that time, Claire intervenes by knocking the guy out, with a pretty good right cross. The crowd cheered mightily here. Hudson gratefully went back to dancing with Claire.
The next part of their program was a part music video, part film by Claire of Callisto and Alti. If anyone has ever seen Claire and Alex Tydings perform L.N. James "Rigid Xena And Opposable Gabrielle", then you would be familiar with this short. In this case, it is Opposable Alti and Callisto. It revolves around bringing back a dead Xena, but in the end becomes much more than that. I found it hilarious and I hope Claire considers taking it around to other conventions, Creation or otherwise. . (I have since found out that Claire is offering the video for sale on her website, http://www.clairestansfield.com.)
The final part was a scene from David Rabe's The Boom Boom Room. Hudson and Claire come out as Las Vegas showgirls (and great looking they are) to the tune of Xanadu. This particular piece is about heterosexual and homosexual love and taking chances, with Hudson playing the part of the naïve, young showgirl and Claire as the older, experienced woman who has bedded both men and women. I won't describe it more than that, but I do hope we have the chance to see it again. This last piece was also plagued by poor sound, so that Hudson and Claire's lines were inaudible. Perhaps the next time they can do it in a venue agreeable to this kind of intimate play.
Day 3
It was an extraordinary day.
I had no inkling prior to my arrival at the center. I hadn't hopped on the Internet the night before, so I didn't know. But on the entrance doors and in our chairs in the exhibition hall were flyers that began with these words: "It is with great sadness that we share the news with you today that Kevin Smith, our beloved Ares of Xena and Hercules, has passed away due to injuries sustained in an accident in China.
"We find comfort in the fact that all of us are joined together today to share thoughts of this man who made so many friends here in America and around the world.
"There is no doubt that he was top of the list most friendly, easiest to work with, and incredibly talented performers we've been honored to present over the past 30 years."
I won't replicate the rest of the statement here, but it went on to say that Creation was planning a memorial for Kevin at 7 that night. Shocked, I went in to my seat and waited for the first guest. At the time, there wasn't very much information about what had happened. I think most of us were aware he had been badly injured before we came to the convention, but details were scarce.
At the beginning of the day, it was announced that a fund was being set up for Kevin's family (more details to follow) and that items were going to be auctioned off. Ted Raimi came out and auctioned off Josie Ryan's donation, a lovely floral basket, which Lucy and Rob had given her for her appearance at the convention. That went for $180. Following that item, a woman donated for the fund one of the real Jett costumes she had purchased. That one went for $2,000, if I remember correctly.
The program began with an airing of When Fates Collide, followed by an appearance by Katherine Fugate. Some of what she talked about has been mentioned at other conventions, but still might not be generally known. Her episode originally had been discussed to be the series finale and was to be a two-parter. But it was decided that the show shouldn't end in an alternate world. She talked about getting the opportunity to write for the show - "You're a feature film script writer and you want to write for a television show?" She was able to prove that she knew the show and could write for it. A question was also asked about the jail scene and was a kiss intended to be there? She responded that at one point a kiss had been written in, that it was a full, real kiss and was intended to be clear that these were two people who loved each other. She also pointed out that that scene was a natural place for a kiss. However, it was pulled in favor of FIN. Ms. Fugate was also asked about working with Lucy and Renee. With Renee, she felt they had a connection as Americans and that working together had developed a close friendship between the two of them. With Lucy, it was a bit different. Lucy would come up to her and ask questions about the script. Finally she confessed to Lucy that, although she had been smiling and responding to Lucy's comments or questions, she hadn't understood a word she said for the whole week! It was a cute story.
Ms. Fugate has a film coming out, called CAROLINA, that has a scene containing a line which any Xena fan would recognize as either coming from or relating to the show. She said she made the scene critical to the story so that it can't be cut. This sounds like a wonderful homage to the show.
Katie Stuart (Genia) was next. Much to my surprise, she said she was only seventeen. It's not that she doesn't look her age, she does. But she's done a lot of work for someone so young. Going to work in New Zealand was a trip of a lifetime for her because the country is so beautiful. She had watched the show, so that simply primed her for going. Katie also said she had been singing a lot recently and was working on finding her own voice and style, in hopes of starting a recording career.
William Gregory Lee (Virgil) followed Katie Stuart. He was the first actor to appear that day who had worked with Kevin and he was visibly shaken and sad. He spoke about how his thoughts and prayers with Kevin and his family and friends. On a lighter note, he announced he had just gotten engaged. For those who are interested, the wedding is planned for August 4. Probably two items dominated his time on stage. One was his work on Dark Angel. I had wondered why the character of Zack seemed to have been written out of the show (although Zack did come back in the early part of this season). The production people, including James Cameron, liked what he was doing but executives at higher levels didn't. So Zack had to go. He charged it off to "creative differences" between the creative staff and the studio execs and to business reasons. The creative differences are also what changed the direction of that show - and not necessarily for the better, to my mind, although I really like some aspects of it. He also told us that the ratings for the episodes where Zack died and again when he was brought back went up, so I think he felt vindicated.
As for Virgil, he felt a lot of regret for not being able to bring the character to resolution. But because of his commitment to Dark Angel, they could never coordinate schedules to be able to bring Virgil back to Xena. He enjoyed his work on the show. He also mentioned that he believed Virgil is closer to his own personality and Zack was not very much like himself. Someone asked how a child of Joxer's could fight so much better than his father. I think he was a bit stumped by that one, but he said that there was a bit of Joxer in Virgil but Virgil was his own man and that was where the ability could come from. He talked about Lucy and Renee both welcoming him into their little "family" down under and you could see it meant a lot to him.
After a break and a music video, they brought Victoria Pratt out. She gave away autographed (on the spot) pictures to those who could answer questions about her shows. Although I have watched them all, I'm not well-versed in them, so I found I was generally stumped by the questions. Most of her discussion was about her current show Mutant X, but she did talk a bit about Sin Trade. She is amazed that an appearance in one two-part episode could generate such interest and support for her and her other work. She too, discussed the reasons why Cleopatra 2525 was cancelled. She said it came down to Tribune paying out the money but not getting its return on investment, at least not like it can for its own produced shows. That may spell a long life for Mutant X, since Tribune produces the show, unless Fox wins it lawsuit.
Someone asked a question about why she and Gina Torres have been able to continue to get visible work as opposed to others. She felt that both she and Gina can do action women and there is currently a market for that type of actor. Jennifer Sky is more a comedic actress and those are the type of parts she will probably get.
At the end of her talk, she called her husband, T. J. Scott, up on stage. For some reason, my mental image of him was older and taller than he is. She's Canadian and he's an American, but that hasn't made it any easier for her to get her green card. She spoke about the process of getting a green card and that part of it is holding "parole" papers. Apparently she missed the Orlando con because her parole papers had expired and she couldn't get them renewed in time.
Alex Tydings was next, and she came out in tears. She is one of about 5 actors from Xena and Hercules who have worked with Kevin the most and she was having a hard time. She told us that being out on stage with us was helping her. She brought along part of her Aphrodite costume and auctioned that off. I can't recall for certain how much it went for, but I think it was $5,000. The person who bought the item came up on stage and it was obvious both she and Alex were in tears. Once the questions moved away from Kevin and the mini-auction, Alex began to get control of her emotions. She even began to smile.
For some reason, I can't remember all that she talked about, perhaps because a lot of it was hugs and comments from people and some picture taking. Alex did say that Steve Sears had become a partner in Claudia Christian's and her Hourglass project. I think this is a good sign, since Steve has much experience in the business side of television shows, and his creative contributions should be valuable, too. Someone asked about including subtext in Hourglass, such that it would be maintext. Alex said she was a big fan of subtext and her intent was to put as much of it in the show as she could manage.
Alexis Arquette followed Alex Tydings, and he put on quite a show. He came out dressed in drag - and was a good-looking woman, too. Some of his patter was really racy, but I doubt little kids would have understood what he was talking about. Much of it was in the form of double entendres. In The God You Know, he talked about how Lucy and he (at Lucy's inspiration) did the scene between Xena and Caligula. Xena is working to persuade Caligula to do something (I'd have to watch the episode again to recall what it was) and Alexis said they decided to do it as a tango and that he really enjoyed that kind of creative freedom. Someone - I think it was Sharon - asked if Lucy really bit his lip. He worked the crowd a bit and said what we saw was the tamest take that they did. I don't know if that is totally true, since he joked a lot during his appearance, but I don't recall that he said it wasn't. All in all, I think he was a success with the audience.
Hudson Leick was the last to appear prior to the memorial and she dedicated it to Kevin. Hudson is another actor who worked the most with him and I'm sure she was also hit hard by his death. She was more subdued than in other appearances and she didn't do what I call the lesser Callisto sex-kitten routine. She talked about the last time they had appeared together at a con (Dearborn, I think) and that while preparing for their reading of Love Letters, they spent two hours just talking about everything from September 11 to spirituality. She asked us to observe a moment of silence for him.
After that, she played with the audience as she usually does and we were having a great time. She fielded a lot of questions, but the highlights of her appearance was the auctioning off her dress, which went for $3,150 (for her charity, the James Ellis Foundation) and raising money for Kevin's family. At first it was asked if she would auction off a kiss. She made everyone laugh by claiming this would make her a whore and she ran with that conceit, calling Anita Ellis, who handles fundraising for the James Ellis Foundation, her pimp. It was great fun. After we got into the auction, it was changed to sell a kiss for a thousand dollars. She sold only 6 kisses, but buyers definitely got their money's worth - each kiss lasted a long time. In all, Hudson raised $6,000 for Kevin's family, which is great.
Finally it was time for the memorial. Sharon Delaney hadn't been seen much, but that was probably because she was working on arranging the memorial. All of the actors who had, or were appearing that day came out on stage. They had placed a call to Lucy, in New Zealand, so that she could take part in the memorial. So on stage there was Katherine Fugate, Bruce Campbell, Steve Sears, Michael Hurst, Lucy by way of telephone, Renee, Ted Raimi, Hudson, Victoria Pratt and Alex Tydings. (I've since found out that Sharon and I think Gary Berman were also on stage, but both were stationed behind Renee and Ted, so I didn't have a clear view of them.)
Lucy spoke first, saying that the performance had gone well the previous night (I found out later that it had been opening night of The Vagina Monologues and that they had observed a moment of silence for Kevin). She mentioned that Danielle Cormack (also appearing in the play with Lucy) had been a great friend with Kevin. Much of the rest of what she said I either can't remember or didn't quite understand, but I'll have a bit more on that shortly. Michael spoke next, about how Kevin, when the All Blacks had won a game, would race out into the street and perform the haka. Michael also spoke about his sense of humor and fun. Renee spoke next and toward the end of her eulogy, her voice began to quaver. Steve Sears told a little story about how Kevin blushed when being told how much of a hunk he was, and how unassuming and self-effacing he was. Hudson spoke last, saying that she knew he was all right now. These were the only people to speak and I think many of the others may have felt too emotional to talk. It was a very emotional moment. Michael closed the memorial by reading a bit of Shakespeare. It was a most fitting piece, I think. During Michael's talk Sunday I found out that the piece was Shakespeare's Sonnet 30. I'm including it here:
"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought"
WHEN to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear times' waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd and sorrows end.
The memorial was moving and beautiful. I am so very grateful that they included the fans in the memorial. Kevin Smith will be missed by anyone who knew him personally or had seen his work.
Finally, Michael asked the audience to give Kevin a standing ovation, which we gladly did. It was a long ovation, lasting at least a minute, probably more. Then the actors filed out off the stage. We were still applauding and as the applause died down, Lucy started talking again. I think everybody had forgotten about her or assumed she had hung up with the applause! What she said is still mostly a mystery to me. Part of that is due to talking over phone line, which was amplified by a microphone. And sometimes my aging brain doesn't process some speech as fast as it ought to. People will talk to me and my brain will finally puzzle it out later. This time my ears may have failed me, as well. I think she spoke a bit about the love his friends and the fans had for Kevin, because someone in the audience shouted out "We love you, too, Lucy". Sharon returned to the stage while Lucy was still speaking, but Lucy may not have understood she was back. At any rate, Lucy completed what she wanted to say and hung up.
Renee has gone auburn, folks. No more golden locks and her hair is longer, it seems to me, done is a modified pageboy.
After that, they returned to the schedule and we got to see "The Making Of Who's Gurkahn Part 2". Then after about an hour's break, Renee and Michael read Love Letters. In a way, this was anti-climactic. But I believe this is more a problem of the play or the format they use here. Both Michael and Renee were excellent. But my attention began to flag as we drew near the end. It probably could have used some fight scenes. I had seen Kevin and Hudson do Love Letters in Dearborn and someone asked me how that performance compared to this one. I think they didn't have as much time to prepare. Hudson mentioned that they only had gotten together the same day of the reading to work through the material.
At any rate, there were a couple of cute flubs that Michael and Renee did. At one point Michael read something, then said "Oh, that's yours," meaning it was Renee's character's lines, which caused much laughter in the audience. And Renee didn't like the way she did one of her lines, so she stopped, much like it is done in film and said, "Let's try that again." Afterward, only Michael briefly stepped out to talk for a minute with a few fans. He wasn't there very long and I know this is very hard for all of the actors who knew and worked with Kevin. The day was over, so we left.
As I said, it was an extraordinary day.
Day 4
Today was the day to begin preparing to return as well as attend the last day of the convention. I checked out where I could ship my purchases back home, then headed to the Pasadena Center. I had promised a co-worker I would try to get Hudson's autograph, so the that was the first thing to do. Hudson and Alex were signing for the first hour of this last day. Over the evening I had conceived the mad plan to offer her copies of the photos I took of Kevin at Dearborn, which I think was his last convention. When I asked, her fan club president told me to e-mail the photos to him. As I turned away, I overheard her say to him, "I'd like that." Now I have to make sure these photos are better than I think they are - I forgot to get them developed, so I'm not sure how they turned out. I'm hoping that a friend who has the full-blown version of Photoshop can clean them up.
I missed the first part of Adrienne Wilkinson and Tim Omundsen's appearance, but when I came in, Adrienne was talking about how she was not happy with Eve. She felt Eve was too weak, but when she tried to make her more forceful, Rob Tapert kept saying, "Too strong, too strong." Someone asked if she thought Eve and Virgil would have gotten together after a time. She pointed out there was a little item in the way - that Eve had killed Virgil's father and that might prevent any kind of relationship.
Adrienne fielded some questions about You Are There. She said she really liked Eve in that episode, because she wasn't so weak. It was brought up that some markets had edited her swearing scene. She was aware of the editing, though. She added that she was startled when she read the script, not believing they would actually put those words in there. Adrienne also mentioned Michael Hurst's stunt in that same scene. When Eve socks Nigel, knocking him several feet backward, she said that was all Michael. For those who are familiar with his gifts and career, that kind of stunt work is the same kind of thing he has done on Hercules. Nevertheless, she was quite in awe of his abilities.
She also discussed her upcoming new series on UPN, As If. Apparently, the show is an import from England but built on American characters. I've seen it advertised, but the way UPN is marketing it right now is surely turning me off. I'll try to give it a go, though. Tim also talked about trying to make Eli more forceful, and thought he was more successful than Adrienne. He is also about to become a dad, in about 3 weeks from the date of the con.
Steve Sears was next. One of the first issues he dealt with was A Friend In Need. No mention was made of whether he has seen the finale, but he told us he had his own vision of how to end the show and it was a bit like what was done. He would have had Xena dying to put Gabrielle at the head of a new world order. He talked a bit about his involvement in Hourglass. A good portion of the time was spent in discussing the business aspect of the industry. He described one series he pitched and said that at the time he made the pitch, the studios execs loved it and were ready to offer a contract that day. Two days later, everything had changed and the project went nowhere. In the wake of September 11, syndication has taken a hit. Apparently television executives are afraid to give syndicated shows as much of a chance. It has apparently killed Sheena off. They have 35 episodes in the can, but no orders for more. It had the same problem as Xena did toward the end of its run; it was shown at all the weird times of the day and night - as with my local station, 2 or 3 AM. Steve mentioned that whenever Sheena went head-to-head with Andromeda, it many times would beat it in the ratings. But more often they weren't given the chance. He also mentioned one piece of advice Rob Tapert had given him about bringing a series concept into reality - that it takes forever.
Syndication has given producers a lot of flexibility, which is one reason it has been popular. Networks give them numbers (of viewers) but syndication has latitude. Steve once asked Rob if the studio (either Universal or Studios USA) ever interfered and Rob said there were only a couple of times. I think this has been reported in other places.
Steve also brought along a couple of items to be auctioned off for Kevin's family. One was a large early Xena poster board, which had been in the writers' office; the other was a picture of Caesar and Brutus on the beach from Destiny, with an off-color remark written by Karl Urban. Later, both went for nice prices. Tim Omundson popped out about then and offered a picture of Kevin and him that had been taken the last time Kevin had been in the US. Tim said he and Kevin had become very close and he had sent a copy of the picture to Kevin. He auctioned it off on the spot, with the proviso that the only other copy would be with Kevin's wife and the one on his hard drive, which would remain unavailable to anyone else.
Creation followed Steve and a music video with a charity auction. The auction was to benefit Hudson's charity, the James Ellis Foundation and Lucy's Safe and Sound Appeal, but pieces were also auctioned off for the benefit of Kevin's family. I missed a bit of the first part, but it seemed to me that of the items auctioned off, most went for Kevin's family, which was really nice.
Jacqueline Kim discussed her current project - writing a film script - and how hard it is for Asian-American women to get regular work in the industry. She noted that there are a few actresses, Lucy Liu and Ming Na, who are examples of the progress of the industry. And she has read a study that shows some indications of improvement. But she pointed out, "I can't wait for things to get better."
She was in New York, 3 blocks from the World Trade Center, and saw it after the collapse of the South Tower. One of the things that most everyone outside of New York doesn't get is how much that experience has marked those still there. The rest of the country has moved on, for the most part, but she pointed out that those people who were there or are still there are still living it.
Someone asked about the air-sharing kiss, which she insisted wasn't a kiss at all. She described the conditions around that scene, in which Lucy was sitting in dirty, tepid water and how the director of photography and the director were getting concerned about the time. Lucy finally told Jacqueline to simply put her head in the water and Lucy would find her - and she did, quite admirably.
A couple of questions dealt with Jacqueline's appearances on ER, one of which was about an exploration of singing projects. She said she had no plans to do anything in that realm. Then she was asked to sing something (she has a lovely voice), so she sang the lullaby she sang in ER. And brought down the house. While she isn't currently working on any film projects, she does have 4 films coming out, none of which I can recall the names. The last one, though, is a documentary or docudrama, which may air on Bravo or A&E, perhaps in the next year.
Michael Hurst followed Jacqueline. I was looking forward to his appearance because I always liked Iolaus and the Widow Twanky. He opened by telling a great Kevin Smith story, about how Kevin got him terribly drunk where Michael ended up locked out of his house standing on the front step, napping in between arriving and Michael's wife opening the door. He also told another story that filled out his eulogy from Saturday night. Michael and Kevin were in a bar when the All Blacks won the championship over the South African rugby team. Kevin ran out into the street and stopped all the traffic by doing the haka, right in the middle of the street.
There were many Hercules questions. One fan asked what his favorite Hercules episode was. He said he had favorite moments. One episode he did like a lot was King For A Day, which I think is the Prisoner Of Zenda homage. That is one my favorite Herc episodes, bar none.
He was complimented many times for his range of talents (which is true) and he described how, in an industry as small as New Zealand's, actors had to be able to do a wide range of things, from singing and dancing to acting and directing in theater, film or television. Specializing just isn't possible there. So he made a pact to himself that he would do one theatrical play a year and everything else would be scheduled around that.
He was asked about the Dahok storyline and killing Iolaus off. Rob Tapert came to him and said he was going to spike up the ratings by killing Iolaus. They would make everybody mad at them. Although Michael didn't say so, I think he thought that was the end of Iolaus on the show. But he said he loved playing the goodness of Iolaus getting tainted by the evil of Dahok. Then, of course, they did the return of Iolaus II and the original Iolaus. A questioner asked if Michael was aware of the anger over the storyline. I believe he said he knew about it, but pointed out that producers and directors always try to manipulate the audience. It is the nature of the beast.
He was asked about his directing work on Xena. Apparently he was brought in to direct Who's Gurkhan because there were no fight scenes in the episode. He talked about the one scene that Sharon Delaney put in her first Making Of Gurkhan video, but didn't make the final cut in the episode. It was a scene in which one of the harem women was trying to prevent Gabrielle from getting to Xena. He said Renee really tore into the other woman, so well that he felt sorry for the other woman.
He was also asked to direct To Helicon And Back. Rob wanted to do Saving Private Ryan Xena-style. Michael pointed out there were no explosions, no tanks, no artillery; and Rob "No no, we can do explosions." According to Michael, Renee had some real problems with the terrible decisions Gabrielle had to make to save the Amazons. He illustrated it with the scene where Gabrielle has to send the one young Amazon to be blown up. In his original cut, those lines came across much harder and harsher. But he softened it later to what we saw (I think it was a longer scene, so he cut some dialog to help achieve the softening).
There was a question about Nigel in You Are There. He was asked where his inspiration came from for Nigel. He said there was no particular source, but that he just played him as a pompous, stuffy reporter. I wouldn't be surprised if he has run across that kind of interviewer over the years as an actor and director, especially American reporters. They can be pretentious and pompous, I think, precisely as Nigel was.
Michael also talked a bit about Renee's and his preparation for the play, which I think occurred after they found out about Kevin. They were in the Sheraton doing the reading and Renee was swearing (for those who have never seen it, her character does a LOT of swearing) and crying. He was convinced that anyone who saw them would think the two of them were having a relationship crisis.
Finally, Michael had a request to do the haka. When I was in New Zealand, I saw one performed and it is very dramatic. I won't describe it here, but if anyone is interested, I found a brief description on this site: www.nzrugby.co.nz/history/history_haka.html. The haka ends with the warrior poking his tongue out and down. I've been told that, depending on the circumstances, the final gesture can be interpreted as either an insult or a challenge. Michael dedicated it to Kevin. I thought it was very moving. He added that Kevin is considered a national hero and that when he goes back to New Zealand, he expects it will be a huge, national outpouring of affection and a celebration of Kevin's life during the funeral.
After that was the costume competition. I took the opportunity to talk to Steven Sears, who was still wandering around the exhibition hall. I'll include his remarks in another, separate post from these. The competition was followed by another auction, most of which went to Kevin's family. But before I talked to Steve, I took a turn through the Huckster's area. On one table, there was a sign that said When Fates Collide script was sold out. Katherine Fugate had made it available for her autograph. It's not surprising it was sold out, given the popularity of the episode.
The con ended up with a showing of The Making Of A Friend In Need, which is part of the latest fan club kit. It was interesting, but it will be better seen at home because the circumstances of the hall are not very conducive to watching any film.
The final, last function was seven music videos, one for each season and one for the finale. That was it. We pulled the stickers off our seats and departed.
It certainly wasn't the con I expected, but despite the terrible circumstances, I was glad I could be there. I hope that the fans were a comfort to everyone who knew Kevin and worked with him. At the end of the con, it was announced that more than $25,000 had been raised for Kevin's family. All that in just two days. It was amazing and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go.
I want to conclude with a few comments about Kevin Smith. I only saw him in one con, the Creation con in Dearborn. He was asked many of the same questions he has been asked before, such as what was it like to work with Lucy and Renee and what was it like to kiss Lucy. He fielded them all graciously and talked a bit about his family, especially his boys, and his interest in sports, most especially rugby. When Hudson asked him to exchange clothing with her, he went along with it and was such a good sport about it. He also raised a lot of money for Hudson's charity by wearing her gown and allowing people to come up for a hug for $20. He was such a gentleman.
I think it will be very sad, at least for me, watching those Xena episodes he was in because I know there won't be any more television or films with him in them. But we have what we have and he will always be young and in his prime. I can take pleasure in that. He will remain my favorite Ares, God of War.
or Go To: Tribute to Kevin Page 2, Get Well Kevin Page 1, Get Well Kevin Page 2,
Old Kevin Smith Page, ALWheaties Tube Watch
