Tag: Osric Chau

Osric Chau on New Show Dirk Gently and Why He’ll Always Be Available for Supernatural

Osric Chau on New Show Dirk Gently and Why He’ll Always Be Available for Supernatural

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I still haven’t managed to find the time to post my con wrap up for this year’s Supernatural NJCon – suffice it to say, it was a whirlwind weekend and the whirlwind hasn’t slowed down since. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was sitting down with one of my favorite people in the universe, Osric Chau. His amazing new show Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is on tonight, so I wanted to share our chat in celebration.

The first part of our interview, as often happens with me and my interviewees, was not an interview at all. I was flustered and rather miserable, since my beloved phone had died right smack in the middle of the Kim, Briana and Osric panel that day. In between trying to work the vendor table for the books and cover the panels, I raced to the nearest Verizon store, only to be told “oh yeah it’s broken.” NO KIDDING! The replacement would be delivered on Tuesday, which needless to say, did not help me at the con. So I wasn’t my usual upbeat self when I sat down with Os.

Gotta say, I feel very lucky that the Supernatural cast is pretty much the only cast I ever interview – because when you sit down with one of them and you look miserable, they are suddenly your friend instead of your interviewee. Osric is wise beyond his years, and empathic as any therapist I know (and that’s what I do, so I know a lot), which was lucky for me – he spent ten minutes calming me down, talking me through the remnants of my technology-failure-induced panic attack and just generally reminding me that the world won’t end because I can’t live tweet a convention. I don’t like feeling like I’m letting people down, but he also reminded me that the Supernatural fandom is a family, and that means everyone understands when bad shit happens to you.

Of course, he was totally right.

He then proceeded to fix my iPad, which was also malfunctioning that weekend. (You see why I was a bit panicked, right? Multiple technology failures in one afternoon? Too much for me!)

Fixing my ipad...
Fixing my ipad…

Interestingly, that’s not the first time Osric has had to fix my technology in the middle of an interview. Have I mentioned I feel lucky??

Lynn: Thank you for the therapy and fixing my technology. Ok let’s talk about Dirk Gently.

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Supernatural Comes to Atlanta!

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Supernatural was new to Atlanta, and so was I – this was my first trip to a city that was warm and welcoming (and had some fabulous food). I’m in the thick of work obligations and pulling together the new book, so this will be a drive by con report, but I wanted to share some of the photos and some of my favorite moments. So here goes!

This is Part 1, Friday and Saturday. Sunday coming up soon!

Briana Buckmaster and Kim Rhodes are always a great way to kick off a con, and this time was no exception. Briana talked seriously about how much she enjoyed playing Donna as a character who looks like her – “so I don’t have to hide”. She’s also not eager to have Donna get involved in another relationship if/when she’s back on the show, never mind how nice Brendan Taylor is. After all, Donna already found love – with Jody. It may not be a romantic love, but it’s definitely love.

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Toronto Con Supernatural 2016

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Now that Season 12 of Supernatural has premiered, there’s a sense of excitement in the fandom that’s absolutely exhilarating. I just finished my review of the premiere, so it’s time to sit down and try to remember what happened last weekend at Toronto con. Luckily, it was pretty memorable.

Warning: Long post ahead! With probably way too many pictures (or is that even possible when we’re talking about Supernatural??)

Torcon, as it used to be hashtagged, has been a special con ever since that time three years ago when Rob Benedict had a stroke near the end of the convention. His fellow Supernatural actors, along with fans and Creation staff and volunteers, were instrumental in saving his life that night – and nobody who’s at Torcon ever forgets it. I spoke with Rob a few hours before the premiere episode last week about his experience on the show at the end of last season, but we also talked a bit about the cons and how emotional they are. Especially this one, and especially the Saturday Night Special. We almost lost Rob, and that makes every time he takes the stage that much more special. Look for that interview here soon – and for Rob’s powerful chapter in our new book, Family Don’t End With Blood, which will be released in May. Until then, here are some of my favorite moments from this year’s Torcon, and lots of pretty pictures.

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Supernatural Texas Style – DallasCon Saturday

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I only made it to part of Dallascon, thanks to a poorly scheduled department retreat (at least I thought it was poorly scheduled…) I flew in on Saturday afternoon, but luckily for me, Ben Bella (the publisher of our new book) is located in Dallas, so the production manager offered to pick me up. I had never met Monica, but she’s not only the production manager for ‘Family Don’t End With Blood,’ she’s a fellow Supernatural fan, so I was pretty sure we’d hit it off.

We did. In fact, we hit it off so well that we talked excitedly about the show and the boys and the book and the conversation was so scintillating that we missed our exit and ended up downtown. Oops. Scenic tour of downtown Dallas, and then we finally found the Westin. Not the Westin garage, which was hidden around a handily disguised U turn, however. A few more wrong turns (it was a theme of the day) and we finally made it into the garage, only to find large portions of it covered by stacks of building material and reams and reams of rolled up discarded carpets. Which meant very few parking spots. What the hell?

Eventually, in desperation, Monica proved her superior parking skills and parked the car sideways in several half-blocked spots with stacks of building materials in the other half. That wasn’t the only problem with the Westin, it soon became clear. The entire hotel was under construction – as in, the lobby was inaccessible and lots of men in hard hats standing on giant cranes were literally taking the place apart. With very loud drills and jackhammers and who knows what else. I repeat. What the hell?? Did they not remember they had booked a convention for thousands of people this weekend??

I was having flashbacks to my dismal hotel experience in Vegas last spring before long. There was only one restaurant open in the hotel and it was woefully understaffed and overwhelmed, which meant that there was no way to grab a quick bite when you have 45 minutes between panels. There were four elevators but at any given time usually only one or two were actually working, the others repeatedly getting stuck between floors and then taken out of commission. To add to the fun, they continued to do construction work on the escalators that took people from the ground floor to the convention floor, so there was literally no way to get between them but the already inadequate elevators. At times there were 100 people packed into the lobby entrance trying to get from the first floor to the second. Argh.

That said, the con itself was excellent. The seats were big enough and comfy (woohoo!), the stage was just the right height, and the guests were in great moods. Oh, and there were fangirls. Some of my favorite fangirls, who I hadn’t seen since Houston con a long long time ago – that went a long way toward forgetting just how awful the hotel situation was. (They did comp con guests one night, which I do appreciate).

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Supernatural Con Anniversary at Chicon!

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This is a quick Chicago con update, but I want to give Chicon some love because it’s special. It’s where it all began – the first Creation Supernatural con we went to many years ago (way way back in 2008). I still remember how incredibly excited I was, and how confused about how to get tickets. Kathy and I and two of our friends took turns monitoring (read stalking) Creation’s website, trying to literally have someone online at all times as we waited for tickets to go on sale and bit our nails to the quick. We were thrilled to snag Row B tickets, and guess what? We’re still there today! That first con, the hotel bar had purple nurples and Jensen and Jared didn’t stand up for photo ops and the rule was not only ‘no hugs’ but no touching at all! I remember gingerly inching closer to Jensen as I stood awkwardly next to him, hoping my shoulder might bump his before the photo was taken. Jared ignored the no hugs rule even at that first con and pulled me in, much to my shock (and delight). I think of the way they are in photo ops now, and all the wonderful stories of heartfelt fan encounters that happen, and marvel a little bit at how far we’ve come. From strangers to family, it’s been quite a journey.

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The Saturday Night Special Vancouver 2016

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To be honest, I missed Richard Speight Jr and his country-twang-ballhat-wearin-jammin-on-guitar portion of the concert. And I missed Gil McKinney singing some song that dripped with so much silky sexiness that it makes one feel weak in the knees. Yes, I missed those guys.

But the Saturday Night Special, at any convention, is always about Stephen and Mike and Billy and Rob. And, as always, they delivered one helluva show in Vancouver this year.

They opened the show with “Reunion,” from their Sky Alive album. Then they played for us a new song, called “Present Time,” from their upcoming album. I don’t know who’s more excited for this new album to be released, the band or the fans. I know a few die-hard Swainers who would argue that they are more excited for its release than the band, that they need this new album like they need air to breathe. Yet as I sat there and listened to the guys play this new song, I am pretty sure they too are pretty excited about this new album and can’t wait to share it with us. And if I haven’t used the word pretty enough, then can I just say the boys of Louden Swain are just so freakin pretty? Yep, pretty. (insert sighs here)

(Side note: there is not an official release date yet. So I guess we’ll all just wait here then.)

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Supernatural Vancon 2016 – Friday and Saturday

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I wrote an article on this year’s Vancouver Supernatural convention for MovieTVTechGeeks that you can check out over there (link at the end), but wanted to add my own more personal moments (and the 5,298 photos I couldn’t include in that article…). Vancouver is one of my favorite places in the whole world. It’s where the Show I love is made, which makes it special already. It’s a gorgeous city that takes my breath away with its beauty every time I come back (especially this time, because the weather was five days of perfection!). And it’s where some of the best experiences I’ve ever had have happened on the set of Supernatural.

I don’t even mind the twelve hours of flying, because once I walk outside and realize where I am, I’m wide awake and smiling, brimming with memories of all the good times. Vancon is one of my favorite cons for another reason too – fangirls. SO MANY FANGIRLS! It was one of the first Creation cons, and there are still many people who came to that first one and have come back every year since, me included. So Vancon means lots and lots of socializing – there’s nothing like being with fellow Supernatural fans to make you feel like life is just plain GOOD.

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Supernatural Minncon 2016! Friday and Saturday

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Minncon still feels new to me, added years after the first cons were already established. It’s a city I had never been to before Creation decided to do a con there, and that I probably never would have visited otherwise. (Not that I’ve seen a lot of it other than the convention center and the Hyatt…) The weather there is apparently problematic often enough that connecting corridors between buildings are advisable; they’re like human habitrails, and I admit to being glad for them when it was raining. When the weather was nice, I walked outside instead, since it was a lovely walk through a park. The park even had its own version of our beloved Moose – this one was gigantic, and interactive. When you pedal the bike beneath him, the Moose tells you a story. If you pull on the giant rope attached to him, he’ll move his head up and down in a truly impressive manner. I can’t believe nobody got Jared to go do that!

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The boys were advertised on the convention center’s sign, which amused me every time I walked past. Everyone knows I don’t like convention centers, so walking back and forth to my hotel every time I needed to charge my phone or change my clothes or put my damn feet up from so much walking wasn’t much fun. On the other hand, at least I had the habitrail for the late night walks. Last year, Misha was mugged at Minncon, and everyone was a bit on edge this year because of that. Luckily, I didn’t hear about any incidents this year.

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Richard and Louden Swain kicked off the con, as they do every con (unless they’re filming something, in which case we miss them like crazy) – which includes the band’s incredible music and Rob’s traditional shaker dancing.

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Happy Spring! Supernatural DCCon Friday and Saturday

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The first half of con season in the US closes with DCCon in the midst of cherry blossoms and spring-like weather (closely followed by the season filming wrap). After the boys get a little bit of well deserved hiatus rest (and most likely grow some hiatus beards), the European con season will kick off. Never a dull moment in Supernatural fandom – we seriously are the luckiest of all fandoms!

DCCon was a bit smaller and more intimate, with all the con activities taking place on the same level, literally right as you walk in the door to the hotel. I had my partner in crime with me, and since Kathy lives outside DC, we didn’t stay at the con hotel to save money. That meant every time there was a break in the action, we raced over to the one restaurant and grabbed some outlets to recharge our phones and iPads. That meant we drank more wine than usual too. As you do.

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Seacon 2016 – Friday and Saturday Highlights

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Seacon started off appropriately – for an SPN con, that is. Richard came out in a shirt featuring a red cock – a rooster, people! Which set the stage for lots of talk about worshipping at the #HolyChurchOfDick. In honor of Seattle, he sang rules and regulations as Kurt Cobain and spent a lot of time ‘warning’ us about how dirty this con was likely to be. Pretty sure no one ran for the hills. Maybe grabbed their cameras.

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