Tag: Mike Borja

Supernatural Phoenix 2022!

Supernatural Phoenix 2022!

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The Supernatural Phoenix con was special this year – a lot of my friends were there, which always makes it extra wonderful. A bunch of us talked one of our friends into coming to this con, and then surprised her with friends coming in from all over since this would be her last con – yes, she’s over 80, but honestly she’s 80 plus years young! It was so wonderful to see how surprised she (and half of our other group of friends) was to see the other half, and to make sure that the guest of honor enjoyed every second of what will probably be her last SPN con (not that she’s going anywhere, but this is the local one for her!) It got me thinking that someday I’ll have my own “last Supernatural convention” and that made me need tissues. But it was also so much of what cons and fandom are about, making friends from all over who support each other all year long.

In fact, there are only a few “Official Supernatural conventions” left, including this weekend’s Nashville one and the long-postponed San Francisco con in 2023. It feels weird that the rest of the 2023 cons are not called Supernatural conventions, even if we’ll have Jared, Jensen and Misha at all of them and many of the ‘regular’ guests that we know and love. Change is inevitable, I know, but I don’t have to like it – or at least I get to be ambivalent about it! I am excited to meet the casts of Walker and Windy and The Winchesters and The Boys and Big Sky of course, I just want everyone who I know and love to stick around too. Good thing I’m not in charge of conventions, they’d have about a million guests…

Friday was a short day for me because I spent most of it either flying or having lunch with my friends. The hotel had an outdoor patio with trees and water and cornhole and it was absolutely lovely, so we grabbed a big table out there and just caught up. I made it into the convention center in time to catch some of Adam Fergus’ panel and hear his story about being scared of everything as a kid, including the werewolf he was sure he saw at night that turned out to be a hat and coat on the bannister.

Adam talked about how on Supernatural, Jared was surprised to find out he was Irish. He also said that recently he had to do a Texas accent for a role and wanted it to be believable – so he called Jensen! (Actually that was a joke – he said he always has a voice coach when he has to do an American accent)

Someone asked about his favorite episodes and he said that one of the reasons that Supernatural was on for so long was the great writing and the way they took risks, like Baby and Scoobynatural. So agreed!

Speaking of writing, Adam wrote a chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done all about his time on Supernatural and his appreciation of fandom that’s really interesting, if you haven’t checked it out yet.

Jason Manns was busy as the Friday emcee, and it was nice to see his smiling face.

Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster also did a panel, which started out with Briana channeling her inner Stephen Norton… Shhhh, don’t tell him!

Kim and Briana always have something inspirational to say, and this panel was no exception.

Kim: I am fucking allowed to feel good about myself!

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Creation Supernatural Convention Kansas City 2022

Creation Supernatural Convention Kansas City 2022

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It’s been a busy couple of months! It’s almost Thanksgiving as I write this, and I’m finally trying to catch up on Supernatural convention posts – first up, Kansas City Con!

Three days after getting back from the Supernatural convention at Denver, I headed blearily to the airport again on Thursday night to fly to the next one in Kansas City. I’d never been there, and there had never been a convention there, so that was exciting – enough to keep me awake at least. My lovely roommates had a delicious burger and fries waiting for me, so that helped too. So did a good night’s sleep!

I am rarely able to be at a con on Friday morning, so it was a treat to get to see Gabe Tigerman’s panel. Gabe has a chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, and he’s also part of our earliest books, both Fangasm Supernatural Fangirls and Fandom At The Crossroads, so it made me all kinds of happy to catch up with him.  A fan asked what he would do if he had mind control like his character, Andy?

Gabe: I’d do the same thing he did – steal Baby!

Favorite line?

Gabe: I have an evil twin! Though I wish it was identical twins so it could be like me fighting me with a mustache.

Like so many guest actors on the show, Gabe said that Supernatural was his favorite job.

Gabe: As guest actors on that show, we really got to act – and then do these conventions!

He wishes Andy didn’t have to die, because it made so much sense for Sam and Dean to just take Andy’s van and go hunting with him.

I was extra thrilled to hear him tell the infamous 5-legged steer story, about the time he and some buddies went to see the world’s largest groundhog and found it stuffed – and then were chased by a cow with a whole ass extra leg hanging off its side!

He also told the story of him fanboying Michael C Hall at a restaurant, and taking out his Invisalign at the exact moment that Hall walked by and said hello, so that Gabe looked up at him with a spit string attached to his Invisalign hahaha.

Gabe took an informal poll of how many times people in the audience had watched Supernatural start to finish – the winner was 35!!

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Julian Richings too – only in the Supernatural fandom does Death exuberantly take the stage like this!

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Supernatural Comes to DC – Jared, Jensen, Misha and Lots of Friends at DCCon 2022!

Supernatural Comes to DC – Jared, Jensen, Misha and Lots of Friends at DCCon 2022!

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DC Con is one of my “home cons” – that means I can drive there instead of flying. I hate driving, but it’s still better than spending a fortune to fly, so I started down I95 on Friday and actually managed to navigate to Crystal City without any major mishaps – until I got to the parking garage that is. I then drove around for a ridiculous amount of time to find ZERO spots. Finally, in desperation, I inched my Honda into a spot that it barely fit into, and then went through some truly disturbing acrobatics to inch my way OUT of the car. Not fun!

I cheered up when Carrie Genzel came by my vendor table soon after I got set up. It was SO good to see her again and have her at a con – I sadly didn’t get parked in time to catch her actual panel on Friday with Nate Torrance, but hugging her made up for it a little. Carrie wrote a powerful chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done and is an inspiring person in so many ways. Follow her on social media if you don’t already!

Friday night was a rare tourist excursion while at a con, joining friends for a tour of DC with our tour guide extraordinaire Smiley. The bus stopped for us to get ice cream too, and I got to catch up with some SPN Family friends I hadn’t seen in far too long, and get to know some new ones a little better too.

Saturday I caught some of the Matt and Rob panel. Rob and Rich are watching the show from the beginning for the Supernatural Then and Now podcast, and Matt is also watching the show – it’s been interesting to hear all their takes on this show that I’ve watched from pretty much the start.

Matt: I was impressed that Jensen Ackles was the same badass in early seasons as he was in Season 15.

Someone asked Matt, if John Winchester picked a theme song for Supernatural, what would it be?

Matt: Miley Cyrus, I Came In Like A Wrecking Ball.

Rob: If Chuck chose the theme song, it would be What If God Was One Of Us.

Also Rob: It’s all fun and games until I actually get to Heaven and God’s like, oh no, not you, I watched the show…  I’ve actually signed some bibles – I’m like oh, I’m glad that you liked my book…

Rob said he did his first con right after The Real Ghostbusters aired, and he was scared shitless, then thought OMG this is exactly how I felt in the episode!

(When I live tweeted that it apparently said he was scared shirtless and now I’m laughing at my own mistakes – no shirts were frightened off)

The conversation turned to that time Benedict Cumberbatch was being interviewed by Matt for EW and pronounced him “hot”.

Rob, apropos of nothing: If I married Benedict Cumberbatch, he’d be Benedict Benedict.

Lol

Matt: I just interviewed David Boreanaz and he was like, why are you not ON the show, you look like a SEAL!

I mean, accurate…

It was nice to have Matt a a con again (Matt, Rob, Kim and Briana all wrote chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood too).

Saturday also had an awesome ladies of SPN panel with Carrie Genzel, Samantha Smith, Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster.

Carrie got some props for being amazing at karaoke the night before, which I missed due to playing tourist with friends (and Smiley).

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Supernatural Orlando Con 2022!

Supernatural Orlando Con 2022!

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The Creation Supernatural convention tour returned to Orlando for the first time in a long time last month, in a new hotel with a very lovely pool and lots of palm trees. I got there just in time to catch some of David Haydn-Jones and Adam Fergus, David looking very Florida indeed. Without any context when I arrived, Adam was saying to David, “you like to go deep!” and David was agreeing. They like to joke that their panels are mostly innuendo, but I for one enjoy that thoroughly.

Someone asked who their characters were closest to on the show, and Adam said that there was a special bond between Mick and Sam – but that Mick also wanted Dean’s approval.

David said that Dean and Ketch grew close – after all, “I’ve tended Dean’s wounds…”

Kim and Briana were up next. Kim said she’d started watching Supernatural again and was up to season 4.

Kim: I forgot how much I loved the Ghostfacers!

What was the first time they met Jared and Jensen like?

Kim: The first time I saw them, they were riding mini bikes around the set playing catch with each other.

She thought oh god, they’re not going to be helpful at all when she had to do a big emotional scene after Jody lost her family, but the boys surprised her.

Kim: But when my scene started, they were both like, “what do you need?”

Briana: Jared and Jensen are amazing hosts. They’re so aware that they’re only as good as the people they work with.

Briana: I was introduced to Jensen and I just kept on walking because I saw his face and said, uh oh, that’s pretty…

Understandable.

Kim: For some reason, Jensen makes my upper lip sweat and all I hear when he’s around is mmmmmmm.

Also understandable.

Briana: Phil Sgriccia told Jensen that I was a professional comedian, so he took it as a challenge to try to make me break in the donut scene.

He failed.

Kim said that her character Jody had a special bond with Sam, because he saved her from having to shoot what had been her son.

Kim: That was the foundation of her trust in those boys. She would have died for Sam.

They both talked about how knowing the Supernatural fandom taught them that being on the ‘celebrity side of the fence, they still saw fans as loving – and that, for Kim, let her feel okay about loving Neil Gaiman as a fan herself.

The caption: weapon of choice or sex toy?

I’ve been watching too much of the boys, so my instant reaction was: both??

Friday night I had dinner in the outdoor courtyard under the palm trees and then joined a bunch of other fans in the ballroom to watch the Supernatural pilot. It was so much fun to watch it all together, everyone clapping at all the iconic moments. Damn, I love this Show.

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Back To Where It All Began – Supernatural Chicago 2022!

Back To Where It All Began – Supernatural Chicago 2022!

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Chicago was the very first Supernatural convention, way back in 2007. I was there, overcome with anticipation to see both Jared and Jensen together and to be in a room full of my fellow Supernatural fans. Kathy and I, along with our friends Laura and Karen, had stalked the Creation website for weeks to get the best possible seats, and we couldn’t wait to all be together to celebrate the show that was already changing our lives.

It’s 15 years later, and so much has changed. Kathy, my partner in crime who I went to all the early cons with, and to the Supernatural set, and who I wrote the first four books with, passed away unexpectedly several months ago. Going back to Chicago, where this unlikely fifteen years and counting adventure began, without her was emotional. I felt lucky to have so many of my friends there to remind me how much love I have in my life and what incredible friends I have still here with me. I’m so grateful.

Chicago con always seems special because it’s the site of so many memories. Even though this year’s was in the convention center instead of the familiar hotel where so many cons have been held, I still stayed in that hotel so the nostalgia was real. It’s also the con where I met or became closer to some of my best fandom buds, and making new memories with them this year felt extra special.

Also Jared was back and that was something to celebrate for sure – he missed the last convention in New Jersey after his very serious car accident. He’s still on the mend, but it was wonderful to see for ourselves his smiling face and have his banter with Jensen back to normal. It felt healing to all of us, I think.

Chicago had a great line up of guests, and I caught most of their panels since I flew in at a ridiculously early hour. Free shuttle to the hotel, yay!

DJ Qualls was back for the first time in a while – I always enjoy his panels, and he’s incredibly friendly. All weekend long, every time I walked by his autograph table in the vendor room to get to my book table, he was happily chatting and selfie-taking with fans and enjoying it immensely.

DJ: Jensen is good at everything. For the dance number that we did, he had like a 15 minute head start and knew it all.

A fan asked what his craziest dream was, and DJ started to laugh.

DJ: Heh heh, no. I had one after Jared’s accident…I think I was worried about him… and it was like fan fiction…

So no, he didn’t share it!

I enjoy hearing DJ talk openly about things like gender roles and the pressures of masculinity. He said that he got hurt every single time he did some stunt work on Supernatural, but the expectation was that you just “walk it off” so he did.

Next we had what for me was a real treat – a panel with Katie Sarife and Joy Regullano, who played Marie and Maeve in the Supernatural 200th episode, Fan Fiction. It’s one of my favorite episodes and they were brilliant in the parts. I had coffee with Joy in Vancouver years ago and so enjoyed our chat – it’s linked below if you want to get to know her a little.

Joy identifies as a fangirl herself, wanting to represent fans as “smart people with a passion”, and Katie said that her ex-boyfriend was a huge Supernatural fan. He’s the reason she already knew “Carry On”, in fact.

Since they are Vancouver based actors, they knew the show – and Joy had auditioned before.

Joy: The first role I auditioned for was K Tran – which became the character of Kevin!

Both said they loved the episode and the way it ended, except that they would have loved to come back. Understandable.

What was the most fun working on Supernatural?

Joy: Well, Jared is like 6 foot 15, so it was fun being able to boss him around and like, be mean to him.  (In the show!)

She also had a scene in which she adlibbed to Jared (Sam): “Look with your eyes and not your mouth” but unfortunately it got cut. I would like to have seen Jared’s response!

Katie: I learned a cool trick from Jensen, of crossing my eyes and the moving just one of them.

(This made me cringe because Jensen has done that to me to tease me and it’s the only time I have ever run away from him lol)

They also enjoyed the comedy in the episode, right down to the “you can’t spell subtext without S-E-X.” Classic Robbie Thompson.

Joy and Katie were asked if Jared and Jensen pranked them, but they said no.

Katie: I think because we were playing teenagers, there were no pranks. Jared and Jensen were really sweet. And not creepy.

I love that everyone who ever worked on the Supernatural set has nothing but praise for the main cast.

Joy: It was like a master class in acting, watching the experienced actors just snap into character like that.

(I’ve witnessed it too, and to a non-actor it is nothing less than amazing!)

Friday also had a great trio panel of Gil McKinney, Adam Fergus and David Haydn-Jones. They joked that it was the “grumpy old men of letters panel”!  It was Pride month, and David had on his Yasssss Queen shirt given to him by a fan and some truly awesome rainbow socks.

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