Confessions of a Grown-Up Fangirl

Day 2 of Dragon*Con did not begin so well for me. Saturday morning was the first time I’ve ever lamented not having a hotel room for the con, because I missed the parade!

Since I live in the Atlanta area and it only takes me approximately 10-15 minutes to get downtown, I usually drive back-and-forth to the convention every year. Since my first Dragon*Con in 2007, I’ve never been able to attend the Dragon*Con parade, and I had made plans to attend this year. However, my Blackberry had different plans, as it decided to reset itself sometime during the night, and I awoke on Saturday morning late, and to a white error screen instead of an alarm tone. I was SO. UPSET. that I’d missed the parade yet again, but I consider it a lesson well learned: I definitely plan to stay downtown next year, even if only for Friday night.

Moving right along, I got to Dragon*Con just in time to see the True Blood panel for the second day in a row. This time – in addition to previous guests Sam Trammell, Kristin Bauer van Straten, and Nelsan Ellis – Michelle Forbes joined the panel. I’m assuming the stars were able to get some rest, because they seemed more lively on Saturday than they did the previous day. I also think that the questions that were asked were better, and with Michelle joining the panel there was more variety on topics that were discussed, since fans could now ask questions about the whole Maenad storyline.

One of the sweet things about the panel was Kristen speaking of the “father/daughter” type relationship that we’ve seen evolve between Eric and Pam over the past couple of episodes; she actually began to choke up while speaking of it, and it seemed to be an emotional moment for her. There were lots of sighs in the audience, and I think it spoke to the strengths of the writers that she could be so touched by a scene like that.

After the True Blood panel, my friend Ashley and I went to grab lunch at the Metro Cafe (which was not as crowded as the more popular restaurants and the food was probably better), then we had planned to go to separate panels at 2pm. Her – to see Sean Astin (“Samwise Gamgee” from LOTR), and me – the Twilight panel with Tyson Houseman (Quil), Chaske Spencer (Sam) and Daniel Cudmore (Felix). Needless to say, due to the huge crowds and ridiculously long lines, neither one of us made it to the panels. I would have been very upset, but since I’d had a chance to see/meet all three of them at separate Twilight events earlier this year (Tyson and Chaske at the New Moon DVD launch party and Daniel at Twilight Night), it was okay. Also, did I mention that I ran into Tyson and Chaske in the food court? Yeah, my friends were jealous! Anyway, Ashley and I decided instead to travel down to the large vendor room in the Marriott.

The vendor room is a very fun place to visit, especially if you have plans to shop during Dragon*Con. T-shirts, toys/collectibles, trading cards, art, props, videos – you can find all of that and more in the vendor room. My friend Kat – who had joined us by this time – took me to her trading card dealer, Tony of Triangle Cards. I added the recently released “Heroes and Villains” trading card binder and card set to my collection, but struck out trying to purchase the Half-Blood Prince trading card binder, which I still do not have.

That evening, I participated in my very first Dragon*Con panel: “Freaks and Geeks in Harry Potter“. My co-panelists were: Racheline Maltese, MB Weston, and Davey Beauchamp. Racheline is the author of “The Harry Potter Book of Trifles, Trivias and Particularities“, and I’ve known her since I attended one of her DC panels on Adult Fan Fiction (very fun discussion!) at my first Dragon*Con back in 2007. MB Weston is a fantasy writer, author of the fantasy series, “The Elysian Chronicles”. Davey is best known for the “Writers for Relief” anthology series. Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of HP geeks to break my panel virginity with.

Our panel was scheduled to begin at 7pm, and people started coming into our panel room around 6:30. Ten minutes later, the room was full. We were all surprised! I guess the YA Lit people underestimated how popular that topic would be! We talked about Luna and Neville and all of the other “weird” and “unusual” characters in the series. Lots of audience participation, and a fun topic! I had a great time, and hope to have a chance to do it again!

me, Racheline Maltese, MB Weston, and Davey Beauchamp

After the HP panel, I tried to go to a panel for season 6 of “Supernatural”. However, I’m very much a spoilerphobe for that show, and the agenda for the panel was full of spoilers!! I practically ran out of the room! Decided to hang out with my friends, and people-watch, take photos, act silly and basically have a great time. I got to see some old friends, and got a chance to meet some online friends in person, which is always a fun thing for me. Needless to say, my day ended a lot better than it began!

Yes, yes, yes! Dragon*Con officially began yesterday, and I was so exhausted last night that I did not get a chance to write about it! But here I am, taking a break from the massive crowds I just experience in the vendor area, so I can gather my thoughts and blog about what a great day I had on yesterday.

My Dragon*Con began yesterday morning with the True Blood panel. Kristin Bauer, Nelsan Ellis, and Sam Trammell all took the stage (to thunderous applause) for a Q&A session with the fans. The room was completely filled, and the panel was well-paced. Kristin and Sam seemed to be the more boisterous of the three, making lots of jokes and very talkative. Nelsan, however, is a very shy guy – quiet and laid back, but also very funny once he gets going. All three actors had a lot of great things to say about their co-stars and their experiences working on the show.

Panel number two for the day was for the Weasley twins!!! James & Oliver Phelps returned to Dragon*Con after a three year absence, and it was great o see them again. They looked great, and at times seemed a little overwhelmed with the size of the crowd. I had fun at the panel, although I heard a few people complain that they didn’t enjoy it. For me, the only problem that made the panel “good” instead of “great” was some of the questions that were asked. I consider myself a HUGE HP fan, so there are things that I feel like I’m supposed to know. So questions like “have you ever met J.K. Rowling?”, “have you been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter yet” and “which twin plays Fred and which plays George?” – when those questions have been asked and answered over and over and over again in the past – seem a little redundant to me and takes away from other, quality questions that could have been asked. But that’s just my opinion.

The third panel I attended on Friday was the “Vampire Diaries” panel. I will be honest: with the guest cancellation of Paul Wesley, I did not expect to enjoy this panel as much as I did. I mean, VD is at the height of it’s popularity, and the only person for the panel was an actor whose character (supposedly) got killed in the season finale? How interesting would that be? Let me say it now: that Vampire Diaries panel with Robert Wade Pralgo (Mayor Lockwood) was one of the best panels I’ve been to. This man knows his craft, and loves it. His panel was interesting from start to finish, and you could tell from his demeanor that he was really glad to be there, and was having a great time.

After those panels, my friends and I hung out on the ballroom level of the Marriott Marquis (one of the host hotels) and just people-watched and took photos – which is one of my favorite ways to pass the time at Dragon*Con. This year, the costumes really impressed me, because there were some really original ideas walking around the convention. Also, there seemed to be a lot more children there than I can remember in past years, and their costumes always inspired a chorus of “Aw!!” wherever they went. The really cute ones were the kids who really got into their character! These kids are being raised right!

I am still in the process of getting my photos posted on Photobucket, and my videos on YouTube, but there are a couple more Dragon*Con posts that I need to write, so maybe I’ll stick a few in my other Dragon*Con posts

Dragon*Con in Atlanta doesn’t officially begin until 10am tomorrow morning, but as I have for the past two years, I went down today to pick up my badge and also attend the Media Relations pre-con party, due to the fact that I have a chance to attend this year as press for Hollywood News (covering the attendance of James and Oliver Phelps, who are the HP guests this year).

The media relations party was basically a chance for the press to mingle with each other and some of the stars. Gil Gerard (“Buck Rogers”), Richard Hatch (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Daniel Logan (Boba Fett, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) were all there, having fun and shooting pool, enjoying the food and drinks with the rest of us. If was a fun party, and I got a few good photos.

The convention officially begins tomorrow, and during the course of the weekend, I may have the opportunity to schedule interviews with some of the stars. So here’s what I need to know: take a look at this year’s guest list, and if there’s a star that you’d like me to ask a question to, let me know who and what the question is. I will definitely be asking for interviews with the Phelps twins, and possible the stars from Twilight and True Blood, if I can manage it.

Photos from Dragon*Con will be posted on my Photobucket page, and any Harry Potter-related coverage will be posted at my Hollywood News page.

Do I even need to do a full post? I’ll just link you to Stan’s Dragon*Con bio, which tells you more than I ever could.

Yes, you read that right, “Dallas” lovers! 80′s icon Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing in the popular prime time soap opera “Dallas”, has now been added to the Dragon”Con guest list. Hagman, who also had a starring role in the 1960s series “I Dream of Jeannie”, was one of the most popular actors on one of the most popular shows in the 80′s; the “Dallas” episode where it was revealed who shot his character had over 350 million viewers, in 57 countries.

This DragonCon guest list is getting better and better!!