Wednesday, April 20, 2011

shining like a supanova

A few weekends ago, I attended the pop culture expo in Melbourne; Supanova. When I first found out about it I’d signed up as a volunteer, as I wasn’t told I was a volunteer until a week before the event, I purchased a weekend pass so I wouldn’t miss out.

On the Friday night, I got my tokens (highly suggested by staff as the lines on Saturdays are always ridiculous) for autographs & photos with Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia in Buffy & Angel), Clare Kramer (Glory in Buffy), Tahmoh Pinneket (Helo in Battlestar Gallactica) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter).

On the Saturday I was rostered on for a shift in the information booth. I helped out for a few hours until the Charisma Carpenter Question & Answer Panel. She is extremely beautiful in person. Very tall and slim with amazing curly blond/brownish hair.
I was going to ask her a question (mostly about the whole Connor/Cordelia storyline –which I hated with a passion)., but someone else jumped in first. Apparently that’s a favourite question people like to ask her.
It was interesting to hear her thoughts on the story and the way her character panned out. She also said she had no idea she was not going to be in Season 5 of Angel. She was doing guest spots on the show “Miss Match”at the time and was eventually asked to do the 100th episode. She said she would do it on the premise she would not be killed off. She signed the contract after they promised and didn’t find out what would happen until she got on set. Obviously, she was devastated (like us all –I think I cried for ages about that!) but she did say she loved the story and thought the way they got rid of Cordelia was good closure for them and the rest of the season.

The q & a panel for Clare Kramer was just as great. It was cool hearing how she got the role of Glory. She was nothing what I thought she would be in person. On the show she seems a lot bigger than she actually is and in person she is stunning. She is very petite and delicate. She’s super chatty! For some reason, I found I was more comfortable being around her than Charisma.

On the Sunday, I wasn’t working so I was able to spend my entire day getting photos and autographs. I spent the day jumping back and forth from lines. It was pretty intense! As I was there on Saturday, I was knew how long the lines would be and where to go, so I got there at the insane times of 8.30am. Yes, on a Sunday. I was really really worried I wouldn’t make the photo session for Tom Felton. I was in the Ticketmaster line so we all had to wait until 10am for them to open. I was worried once we got our ticket they would make us go into the wristband line which was ridiculously long. But they didn’t! As soon as I was in, I bolted for the photo booth section. all day I was extremely lucky to be up at the front for every single photo session I wanted. Another form of good luck was each session I had was right after each other (except for one which meant bathroom break heehee) so I was literally bouncing from one line to the other.

I think because it was my first convention in years, I lost all my nerve and was completely stunned when I met Tom Felton. He is a beautiful beautiful man. Very tall and slim. Super nice. First time in my entire life I’ve ever been rendered into silence. I hope next time (if I’m that lucky!) I will not be a twat and actually speak to him properly.



After Tom I got my autographs from Charisma and Clare. I just babbled like an idiot to Clare about how lovely Tom was and thanked her for her autograph. When I got my autograph from Charisma I was super nervous, having been a huge fan of her character from day one. I knew what I wanted to say but it came out rubbish. So embarrassing! I know they are regular, normal people, just like us, and acting is just their job, but when you’ve been watching them for the past 10 years and are so invested into those characters you get pretty star struck!

When it came to the photos, for some reason Charisma was very late. We weren’t told she was running late at all which we were all rather annoyed about. But then someone had the great idea of having Tahmoh have his pictures taken until she got there. Some people had dressed up in Battlestar outfits which were pretty damn cool! Tahmoh is amazing. He is very solid, well built and strong. I like that a lot. He was very warm and sweet. I wish I could’ve asked him for a hug. But nooooo, I had to be an over excited, yet shy 14 yr old girl.
Charisma ended up having her photo after him and she is so nice. Very very pretty in person.

What I found interesting is that they look so different from how they do in there shows. I know it’s all makeup and lighting and things but seriously, they look completely different. I almost didn’t recognise them!

I had a great day that day. I am glad I went through the event guide with a fine tooth comb, highlighting everything I wanted to see etc as that makes the day a whole lot easier. Especially when there is so much you want to see! However - next time I will be bringing a pair of balls and some food to snack on during the ques. I would also try to dress up in costume for the next one!




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