Month: November 2015

It’s A Beautiful Sunday! Article #3 on Salute to Supernatural Denver, Colorado

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The day begins early on Sunday mornings for any Salute to Supernatural convention, and this one is no different. My roommate for this convention was one of my closest friends, Katy; although we had an alarm set for 7:30, we were awake at 7:00, full of nervous energy and excitement, and did I mention nerves? I’m so thankful that she was there with me for the weekend – as she ate her bagel, she gently, quietly suggested that I eat a little bit of cereal before I left the room, reminding me just how full the day was going to be, reminding me that I really need to eat at least a little bit, that it would calm my stomach. I did manage to swallow a few bites of Cheerios.

It’s Sunday. It’s the Jared and Jensen Gold Panel at 10:00. Then it’s off to so many photo ops. And a panel with Mark Pellegrino. And the afternoon panel with Jared and Jensen. And then more photo ops. And another panel with Mark Sheppard. And then autographs with Jared and Jensen. Oh, and in all of that, yes, I had my first Meet & Greet with Jensen.

 

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Closing out 2015 with Pascon – Friday and Saturday

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Like I said, Pascon was special because it was the last Creation con of 2015 – and because it’s where Louden Swain first played for a con (and sort of the start of Rob and Rich’s epic friendship). It was also just a helluva lot of fun.

Flying all the way across the country from east coast to west isn’t a picnic, and I was worried that I wouldn’t get there in time for Friday panels. I grabbed a cab, miraculously hit no traffic on the freeway, no line at registration, stored my bags at the hotel and ran into the ballroom – literally just in time to hear most of Richard’s rendition of Rules and Regulations! Phew! And Rob’s shaker dance. He looks like some sort of exotic dancer, doesn’t he?

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Scary Good! Sheriff Donna Returns in Supernatural ‘Plush’

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

It took me a few days to be able to actually LOOK at the caps from last week’s Supernatural episode, ‘Plush’, without cringing. Damn, I somehow forget just how scary and creepy this show can be! I am totally with Sam in his fear of clowns, and weirdly almost-realistic deer head costumes or entirely sinister court jesters are right up there too. Not to mention bloody giant bunny heads stuck on some hapless innocent! Those eyes!!

Jared played it perfectly when Sam is trapped in the elevator with that ohmygodsocreepy clown – I may have screamed while Sam closed his eyes to steel himself for what was to come. You could almost hear him internally saying, ‘Really? Clowns??’

By that time, I was as terrified as Sam. The image of the clown carrying that knife, drops of blood slowly dripping onto the hospital floor as he walks down the hallway? OMG. Poor Sammy!

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The SPNFamily Business… Article #2 on Salute to Supernatural in Denver, Colorado

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The Salute to Supernatural conventions are always entertaining, but there is another word that describes these events: Family. Although the venue for the convention in Denver was small, it felt right. The smallness created an atmosphere of closeness and of camaraderie. While each of the celebrity guests spoke passionately about a variety of causes, they also spoke about the bond, the sense of community and family that is our fandom.

Before I get into those details, I think it is important to recognize the non-cast people, the people directly connected to these conventions. The first group is all of the wonderful people from Creation Entertainment. Co-founders Gary Berman and Adam Malin spend countless hours planning and preparing these events, events that allow us the opportunity not only to meet the cast, but also to meet our fellow family members. Mr. Berman and Mr. Malin, along with their staff and their volunteers, continue to pour their heart and soul and passion into making these events something special, whether it is in Denver or Las Vegas or any other city on the circuit. They go to great lengths to make sure lines move quickly, to have water coolers filled and ready to go inside the theater, to answer our questions with enthusiasm and smiles – they really do want us to have a good time! They have also recently launched Creation Stands, allowing us the opportunity to buy merchandise through their website which supports the various charities near & dear to the hearts of our favorite cast members. Without the unwavering passion and commitment of Mr. Berman, Mr. Malin, and all of the Creation staff, these conventions simply would not exist.

 

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This. Is. Entertainment. Post #1. Salute to Supernatural – Denver

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I first met the authors of Fangasm, Lynn and Kathy, in Chicago. In the year since then, we have forged a friendship built on a mutual love for this show, but also one built upon respect for one another’s work, and I am quite sure they are sick of hearing me say thank you a gabjillion times. We had discussed the idea of me acting as their photographer at a few conventions (see their posts on Vegas) and when the Denver convention came up, and they would not be attending but I was attending, and oh my Chuck – here I am, writing this for them. I am forever grateful for this opportunity.

I have attended two Salute to Supernatural conventions prior to Denver, first in Chicago in 2014 and then in Las Vegas in 2015. Upon entering the hotel in Denver, I was immediately struck by the smallness of the location; I wondered how this would go, given the number of fans about to descend upon the site.

 

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Last Con of 2015! Pascon Jensen Ackles Meet and Greet Excerpts

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I feel like I start lots of con reports by saying ‘this con was special,’ but oddly, it seems like many of them do have something that sets them apart. Pascon is the successor to Burcon, which is the successor to LACon, which first happened way back in early 2009 (I think). That was the second Creation con that Kathy and I went to, and our (mis)adventures there are chronicled for posterity in a chapter of “Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls”. We got to know Richard Speight a lot better at that con, after meeting him at Chicon and enjoying our interview so much that we just kept talking, leaving the green room and going to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I’m sure exactly no one is surprised that Richard was that much fun to talk to.

Afterwards, there was a band playing a concert at the con, which was something Creation has done from the start of SPN cons. That night, it was Louden Swain, fronted by Rob Benedict, who Kathy and I had met briefly on our second Supernatural set visit (That chapter is a lot more MIS than adventures…). We were still talking to Richard, so we brought him with us to the concert, the three of us sitting in the back of the auditorium. We were all blown away by Louden Swain.

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THIS Is Season 11?? Supernatural Just Keeps Getting Better with Our Little World

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

Season 11 is off to a fantastic start. It strikes me as I write this what an unusual thing that is to say. Season 11 and the word “fantastic” aren’t often used in the same sentence. Many long-running shows, even ones who are beloved by fans, often take a downturn in quality as they go on. It has to be difficult to come up with fresh story arcs and keep characters interesting over such a long span of time. Even real people aren’t quite as fascinating after you’ve known them for a decade – how can there possibly be nuances still to discover about fictional characters? How can we possibly still care about fictional characters enough to sustain a weekly television show in its eleventh year?

I’d be the first to say that Supernatural has had its ups and downs. Not every season is stellar and not every episode is breathtakingly awesome. But I still find something to love about this show every time I watch a new episode, and I’m enjoying Season 11 almost as much as I did the early seasons that first drew me into this decade-long love affair. That’s pretty damn amazing!

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Supernatural Welcomes a New Writer with ‘Thin Lizzie’

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

It was always going to be difficult to follow Robbie Thompson’s ‘Baby’, which left me smiling for an entire week. Show was gutsy in giving the follow-up episode to a brand new writer, Nancy Won. But guess what? She pretty much pulled it off! The episode wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty damn good.

Good things? It was SCARY. Old school Supernatural scary. Creepy music and big haunted-looking mansion full of creepy dolls and Lizzie Borden paintings that evoked ‘Playthings.’ Filmed in classic horror movie fashion, so that a simple walk down the basement stairs had me wanting to cover my eyes. That moment when Dean discovered the mark on one of the papers in Len’s house? Truly chilling. I gasped out loud! Love when Show can make me do that.

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Happy Halloween Weekend! Trading Ghost Stories With Supernatural Ghost Stalker Chad Lindberg

Happy Halloween Weekend! Trading Ghost Stories With Supernatural Ghost Stalker Chad Lindberg

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We had the great pleasure of catching up with Supernatural and Ghost Stalker’s Chad Lindberg at this year’s DCCon. We’ve known Chad for a long time, since he was one of the first people we interviewed while we were writing ‘Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls’ and ‘Fandom At The Crossroads.’

We’ve explored New Orleans and Bourbon Street together, and hosted film screenings in Philly with Chad and My Big Break director and producer Tony Zierra and Elizabeth Yoffe, who were instrumental in talking us into making Fangasm the true story it is.

So it was extra special to have a chance to chat again after all this time.

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Chicon Friday People, Saturday Night Special, Misha and More!

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One more post from Chicon before the new week begins, and with it a new episode and a new con. We really are a lucky fandom.

I really enjoyed Misha Collins’ panel (as I always seem to). This one was a mix of funny and emotional, with some awkward moments thrown in because it wouldn’t be a Misha panel without them.

There was Misha telling a rather hilarious story about taking his meet and greeters to a nearby woods and sitting on a log…which ended up with him smelling like poop and trying to clean off with a towel in a hapless Creation volunteer’s hotel room.

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