Fan Expo 2013

Well, another Fan Expo has come and gone. Seriously, I was not planning to go this year. I thought hard about it. I considered going for just one day on Saturday for Gina Torres (loved her in Hercules and Xena. Yes, those shows and not Firefly), Karl Urban (Hail Caesar!) and Dean Cain (Superman!!).

Then...

Someone, with a week to go, decided to put a Q&A panel for... Lost Girl (what? again?), The Listener (WHAT??) and Covert Affairs (WHAT?!) - 3 shows that I have been watching only a weekly basis. I would have died if they had tossed in Once Upon A Time and Rizzoli & Isles!

Speaking of Rizzoli & Isles, I am so sad to hear about the passing of Lee Thompson Young. From what I read, he seemed to be genuine, loveable guy. And to hear that he was in a deep depression and took his own life is very tragic and shocking. Please, if you have any friends that are feeling depressed, talk to them or get them help. If you have no one to talk to, please go to Canada Suicide & Crisis Hotlines. You will be missed Lee.

Back to Fan Expo...

Skip ahead to

Lego
Lost Girl
The Listener
Covert Affairs

Once I saw the announcement for the 3 shows... and spread out over 2 days, I had to buy the tickets but which one to buy. I could get just Saturday and Sunday. Or I could get Deluxe for the weekend. Or I could get the Premium. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I ended up getting the Premium pass with a tshirt, reusable bag and a comic. Also, the premium pass allows me to use priority entrance and enter other Hobby Star events up to July 2014.

Interestingly, I could have attended Thursday but forgot my pass at home. So, I did not go after work. However, I did bring it with me on Friday, so I went after work and spend 2 hours and mostly looking for swags. And swag I did! I grabbed a bunch of posters over the weekend. It included Walking Dead, Call of Duty, God of War and some others then will likely be recycled... but the one that I got and wish I grabbed a few more of is this:

The unfortunately part is, after Friday, they did not have any of it left. Nor did they have Lost Girl or Covert Affairs poster available! Darn it.

Every year at the Fan Expo it's about the costumes but I guess I didn't care this time. It seems always be the similar things, the super hero, the cartoon anime and this year, there were a lot of Assassins... as in Assassin's Creed game series. I did see a Bomberman... and Chewy!

And Fan Expo wouldn't be the same without Legos... GIANT Lego pieces...

And now... Lost Girl

I get a feeling that Lost Girl will be returning 2014... because when I got there, there was already a line up. The Q&A did not start til 12 noon and luckily my friends were already waiting in line... at 10am... No joke.

I will just save typing and just give you the Q&A thanks to @Faenonymous However, I will share some photos cause they're fun. But the highlights of the Q&A?

- KC getting picked on... again
- Kris showing us how Rachel threw the boomerang
- Rachel coming back at Kris for "I am an animal" with kids around
- calling Zoie Palmer
- George Takei!

After that was autographs... they did a lottery system this year which kinda sucks... I did get something signed by Rachel :)

In the afternoon, it was off to The Listener but it's autograph first!

Rainbow is such a funny guy. He got out of his seat and decided to stand in the line pretending to be a fan and then yelled "Hurry up! I want my autograph!"

s There were highlights from the Q&A. The best part is the story twist to have Michelle get pregnant and the baby looking like Dev...

Unfortunately, it does not looks like anyone has a video of the Q&A... maybe picture helps?

After the Q&A, the cast did a bit more signing... I walked pass Lauren Lee Smith and said Hi again! She is so awesome!

So that ended my Saturday. I went out to dinner with fellow fae friends. It's always nice to see them again. You meet so many people and you build friendships with them. I now have friends in Boston, Montreal, and France. There was this one fan who came from Italy just for the Lost Girl. Yes, we definitely need to get a Lost Girl only con going! Go! Follow! Like!

For Sunday, it was Covert Affairs. It was really the only thing left to do. I recorded the Q&A... I should really invest in a tripod... I held my little camera for the whole 36min Q&A and yes, my arms were tired but it seemed they got more of a work out then anything...

Unfortunately, I was not able to get an autograph (lottery again)... I am not going to even get into it...

How about we end this post with some more pictures?

Does anyone need to make a phone call??

And "Standee Anonymous" or the Gathering of the Standees...

Well, 2014 will be 20th anniversary of the Fan Expo... I'm sure they're going to expand again... and possibly toss in Lost Girl (again)... and if that's the case, you can be sure I will be there.

Sex After Kids

Sex After Kids... really, it's not a topic that I have ANY experience about. But apparently, someone thought it would be a brilliant idea to make it into a movie. Who is this brilliant man? Some guy name Jeremy Lalonde.

Who's Jeremy? He's a bubbly, lovable guy whose previous work was The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard. Wait... scratch that... He's a brilliant director/producer who realizes his friends has a huge following and knows they will do as they are command. The man sure knows his audience.

Who are these awesome friends of his? Let's see...
Mimi Kuzyk
Ennis Esmer
Kris Holden-Ried
Paul Roger Amos
Zoie Palmer
You *may* recognize some of these names from some Canadian shows, The Listener and Lost Girl
For full cast, click here

So, part of the funding for the movie was through indiegogo.com. It was a huge success and some of the perks included a private movie screening at The Royal in Toronto on January 10, 2013. That's where I come in.

There were a few of us (actually, it turned out to be a bunch of Faes) who met a little bit earlier at a cafe down the street. It was more of a small reunion for those who have previously met at other Lost Girl events. I found out that some fans were from out of town, LITERALLY. There was fans from Boston, Alabama and Texas.

I should give a shout out to my tweeps @Faenonymous, @The Televixen and @The Mind Reels

Click here if you just want to skip ahead to the review but you'll miss out on pictures!

Door finally opened and must not forget the poster!

The excitement just followed... then the stars arrived!

Yea, she got lucky and got a Vexon (Vex and Dyson) sandwich...

Well, I got MY photo with Kris and Paul!

Then we were rushed off to our seats for the show!

I'll do my best to not spoil anything.

The concept of the movie is interesting. I would say even a touchy subject for some people. The movie looks at how people's sex life changes after a baby come into their lives; for couples (gay and straight) and single parent. What made the movie worth while was the comedy. There were never a dull moments in the film. I found the film quite enjoyable and I don't think I've watch any other movie that made me laugh so much. I think my cheeks hurt after watching it from the laughing.

It's hard to pinpoint what I love; the comedy, the actors, the dialogue or maybe all of the above. At first, most of us really went to watch the movie because we were Lost Girl fans wanted to support our favourite actors. Who does love Zoie Palmer in her British accent?? Really, that, itself, is worth watching. Or a totally naked Kris Holden-Ried? But as the movie started, you began to love how the movie develops. Sure, a few of us were probably "Ok, show me Zoie and her accent!" but even when she's not on screen, the other actors were just as pleasing and funny.

After the movie was a short Q&A. Some questions included "How did you get the babies to work with you?" and "What they believe were the reason for a successful fundraising campaign?" and "Who's house and apartments were you filming at?" There were some interesting facts... The babies were natural actors! The houses did belong to the cast members.

We had a bit of an opportunity to mingle a bit more!

There was a small party at a pizzeria/pub down the street. Of course, I would never miss an opportunity to socialize with the stars. Here's an interesting fact... Canadians are SO DOWN TO EARTH. We are the fans but the most important thing is to respect the stars. I highly doubt you be able to go to Hollywood and hang out with those stars. But here, they're friendly and they're will to talk to you and talk about just daily life and there's a genuine "want to get to know you." Yes, they even remember my name. Yes, MY NAME! ;)

For example... Ennis Esmer remembers me from the previous wrap up party... I got excited and said "Yes! Ennis is my friend!" The conversation was quite funny. It went something like this:

Me: Oh, you remember me?
Ennis: Yes, I remember you from the wrap up party.
Me: Really? Cool, Ennis is my friend!
Ennis: Wait... just an acquaintance. Let's not jump to the next level just yet.

I thought that was funny and just laughed out loud.

Oh yes, I did grab a second opportunity to take ANOTHER photo with Zoie Palmer. I can't help it. I love her!

We chatted up with Paul and Kris. The girl, Carissa, on the right, forever known has #HalfNakedGirlWithZoiePalmer was carded by Kris AND got Paul to buy her a drink.

Myself on the other hand had Kris offer me a scotch... which I honestly told him, "if I drank that, I wouldn't be able to drive." So, I grabbed the rum and coke off his other hand! Thank you, Kris!

And what else did we do? Carissa and I were able to grab Kris' ass on a few occasions. I think he liked it ;)

I did have an interesting conversation with Kris. He spoke about how he enjoys working these long hours then taking a hiatus, like athletes. I asked him "I saw Untitled Works of Paul Shepard, why do you have to play such assholes?"

His answer?

"I love playing the bad guy." Well, he does certainly play them well. I'm not going to complain...

And did you know, he's a Leo? As am I! Probably a reason why I love Kris!

The evening wrapped out at about 1am. Luckily, I worked 11am the next day and didn't have to worry about going to work sleepy. But of course, I couldn't help but remember the fantastic evening. I left with a big smile that I don't think I have been able to wipe off my face.

If you get an opportunity, go and watch the film! They will be appearing at film festivals.

Directly from producer, Jennifer Liao

Go!! I command you! Go support Sex After Kids!