2002 Pasadena Xena Convention

DISCLAIMER: The following is a purely subjective view of what happened during the convention weekend. Most quotes are paraphrased or simply my own impressions of the moment.


My Report: Day 3 - final afternoon

Tim and Adrienne were first on hand. Adrienne came out with open arms, struttin' around with a big smile... quite adorable and inviting. Tim was his usual charming self. They were very cute together doing all kinds of silly poses for photo hounds. When they finally spoke, Adrienne introduced the pare, "And here we are... RELIGION." LOL! Tim commented that he had never done a Q&A with anyone before. Adrienne was like, "We'll help you through it. It's easy." They ended up having a great time on stage together. A lot of the talk was about their characters. Someone asked, had Eli and Eve actually met, what kind of relationship would they have had? Naturally, they played up an attraction possibility. "Oh yeah! He'd want her." "Those long robes... big turn on!" At one point, Tim confessed that in his mind, Eli always had a thing for Gab. Big surprise. I went up and complimented them both for putting so much into their characters, despite the fact that Eve was not at all written well and that Eli could easily have become a boring stereotype. However, Tim kept Eli complex and interesting and Adrienne did the best she could with what they gave her. We all agreed that Livia was a much better character. I then expressed regret that we didn't get to hear them both sing again this year and asked if they would each give us a song. Side note: I had expressed this to Adrienne while getting my picture taken with her at the breakfast and she offered, "Well I'll be on stage for a half hour. You never know what will happen." So, at least she was somewhat prepared for such a request. She sang a verse from her favorite spiritual... Wow! What a gorgeous voice!! Gave me chills. Then Tim sang a wonderful, snazzy love song made popular by Bobby Darin. Fabo!! Such multi-talented people in this family. Hubba hubba!

Let's see... what else did they talk about. Adrienne told the story of how in You Are There when Eve punches Nigel, Michael had them get a box for him to stand on so that he could through himself back onto the ground. She was amazed the way he flew through the air and landed several feet away like that. You Are There was definitely her favorite Eve ep. because she got to do all of that swearing. She also told us about her new TV series As If. She plays the fun loving "slut." It's about a group of young people trying to cope with the many issues of life and love... but in a real way, not all sugarcoated and resolved. They make them deal with the consequences of their actions. Sounds very promising. Tim told us that he will be back on Judging Amy. They're writing some juicier material for his character, which he's very excited about.

I'm afraid that's all I can remember... My mind has fizzled over a week's time. My general impression was that these are two very sweet and generous people who are grateful for how X:WP has impacted their lives and the wonderful connections they've made with colleagues and fans. Very gracious. I must say though that Adrienne has gotten sassier since last year. In a good way! She's on the verge of becoming more like Hudson... all sexy and playful. Of course, no one can do what Hudson can do, but Adrienne is certainly developing a fun rapport with her audience. I have great respect for her. Tim has a very dry wit, but not as acerbic as Bruce Campbell. More fun loving and playful. That's the dominant word for Tim and Adrienne, particularly while together on stage... Playful. I enjoyed them a lot.

Next we had Steve Sears who brought out a huge poster board with an early Xena publicity shot on it, which a writer's assistant or someone had found on the Universal lot in a dumpster. They had it mounted up on the wall in the writers' office during the run of the show. It's the shot of Xena standing outside, the wind blowing her hair, and she's poised for defense holding her sword up in front of her. As it hung on their wall, they had posted a dialogue bubble above it that said something like, "Who's the idiot that wrote this script." LOL! Anyway, he brought it in for the charity auction to help Kevin's family.

It was very interesting to hear him talk about the TV producing biz. He told us that Sheena has not been picked up for more eps, primarily because no one can find it. The stations keep jumping it around and showing it at odd hours. However, he's extremely hopeful for Hourglass. Everyone they've pitched it to has loved the idea. He noted that X:WP was the first show to have a dual female lead with no "Charlie" to back them up. There have been many female action heroines to hit the tube since X:WP, but most of them are ensemble shows. X:WP was unique, and that formula hasn't really been tried again. Which is why he thinks Hourglass might have a shot. The response you want when pitching a new show is that of, "That's never been done before." On the other hand, if it has been done before, then hopefully, the last incarnation was a hit, and the money people will gamble on a seemingly successful formula. Nevertheless, apparently Hourglass seems unique enough in its own right to be generating a lot of, "That's never been done before... Very interesting premise..." kinds of responses. So cross your fingers everyone! Another grrl/grrl show might be coming our way ... down the road ... at some point ...

Steve also described, in great detail, a pitch he had for a new series called Jade. It's about a Korean American woman who's trained as a double agent working in Korea. She has this mad streak in her biology that causes her to have periodic fits, but she tries controlling it with medication and meditation. Therefore, she has a very dark, dangerous edge about her. She falls in love with and secretly has an affair with another agent, which is an agency no-no. Later, she's told of her next assignment - killing a trader within the agency... her lover! She refuses, saying that he couldn't possibly have done all the things they say he has, but they remind her that he's been trained to lie just as well as she has. So the next time the lovers are together, she kills him while they're making love. Then she finds out that she was set up. This sets her off and she finds out that there are 7 people responsible for ordering her lover's death. Her mission becomes that of tracking each one down and killing them. However, there's this underlying question that an eighth person is on the list... and it might be Jade, herself.

It was amazing to listen to Steve literally pitch this story right there in front of us. I was completely sold! However, his point in telling us this was that everyone loved the idea of the show. Then Sept. 11 happened and the interest went away because the show was suddenly considered too dark. My hope is that he doesn't give up on this idea and tries to sell it again in a few years' time. Who knows? That's the fickle fate of the biz.

Oh, one last thing I can think of from Steve. Someone asked how Gabrielle was created and who was the model or inspiration for her. He explained that RJ created Gab, so he doesn't know the initial inspiration, but that he (Steve) kind of grabbed on to her (at which point Steve grabbed the air in demonstration) and claimed her as his own, "This is my character... Mine! ... This almost got me fired, however. Especially since I was grabbing Rob's leg at the time." LOL! Too funny. He further explained that everything and everyone provides inspiration for him. However, his own experience can only take him so far. When writing female characters he can give the general emotional through-line and characteristic representation, but he often gives the scripts to a female friend of his and asks, "Ok, what am I missing." It was cool to hear him acknowledge the gender differences, and be sensitive to the needs of female characters and their audiences. I really appreciated that.

After Steve, they showed the "Calendar Girl" Gabrielle video. One I had never seen before. Great video!!! Then came the Charity Auction. I didn't stay for this, for I had to go rescue my belongings from the hotel room as Smsolo had checked out while I was at the Charity Breakfast that morning. However, I was back in my seat for the last few items, some of which were quite awesome. Someone had sent Xena's concubine costume from Royal Couple of Thieves, with half of the proceeds going to Kevin's family, half to the donor. Adrienne gave her Eve costume consisting of rap and sandals, with proceeds going to Kevin's family. In addition, someone gave Gabrielle's peasant costume, which looked its age - half of the money to Kevin's family and half to the donor. I must say, seeing Gab's peasant outfit got me pretty choked up. What memories! I so wanted to bid on that!! But alas, no money.

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This addition from Cath (courtesy of The Tavern Wall):

Also, ROC offered her autographed script for Love Letters to the charity auction with a special inscription/dedication to Kevin that was not read aloud. Proceeds went to Kevin's family. It sold for 900 dollars if I recall correctly. For the rest of my life I'll regret not maxing out my Mastercard to win that bid -- good cause and priceless item. I chickened out at 300 dollars -- dumb! dumb! dumb!

Michael gave his Love Letters script with autograph and inscription -- and a generous person bought it for 800 dollars.

****

Finally, they cleared the stage and let the gorgeous Jacqueline Kim come on. What a thunderous welcome we gave her! I tell you, that woman is loved. She seemed a bit surprised by the ovation, but accepted it with such grace and dignity you couldn't help but applaud even more. And that smile, that face... good god... I just melted! Several people that went up to talk to her didn't really have questions, they just expressed how much Lao Ma meant to them and all that she represented and just thanked her for giving us such a wonderful portrayal. JK made a point of saying that with great writing like that how could she go wrong. She noted that the idea of the balance between being soft and hard is at the core of being a woman. She seemed very proud and honored to have been given the chance to play such a beautifully crafted character. There were also a few, "You are so beautiful!" comments, which could have made it all seem corny and overly sentimental, but Jacqueline was just so gracious about everything, and genuinely accepting of everyone's love and affection for her and her work that it never got tiring or annoying.

There were actual questions asked of her, too. Someone asked her how she felt about creating such an endearing character, which is still remembered and loved so strongly, despite the fact that she was only in one episode, and so much time has past. She said it was an amazing experience and quite unique. She had a wonderful time working with LL, and thought their chemistry and the connection between the characters was the key to Lao Ma's longevity in the minds and hearts of the fans. She really enjoyed LL's generosity as an actor. Someone else asked her about the underwater kiss, and she laughed and was like, "It wasn't a kiss!" which made everyone laugh as well. She joked, "I think the editors prolonged the shot to make it look more like a kiss, but actually it was really quite brief." She explained that it was shot at the end of a long day. Time was running out, so they had to do it quickly. They were working in this disgusting, murky water, which LL had to sit in forever. She credits the whole thing to LL who told her, "Just close your eyes, go under the water and I'll find your mouth." This got quite a reaction from the audience, forcing Jacqueline to clarified, "Well, no. She said 'I'll find you.'" Nice distinction there, Jacqueline. Freudian slip? LL did indeed find her, they got the shot and that was that. Great story, and well told.

Actually, there weren't that many people who asked her questions. I think everyone was just perfectly content to sit and watch her. Unfortunately, she's not Hudson who can stand up on stage and be comfortable doing practically nothing while letting everyone gawk and stare. So to help her out (and to satisfy my own interests) I went up and told her that I was finally able to see her appearance on an ER rerun last month, in which she sang a beautiful lullaby. I was awed by her incredible singing voice, and asked if she had any plans of pursuing that talent more professionally. She said that in one of her new films she will be singing a song for the soundtrack, and that she does hope to do more singing in the future. Whoohoo!! Then several people in the audience shouted out for her to sing something. I told her I figured she would be too shy to sing, so I wasn't going to ask, but that I'd leave that to the rest of the fans. Therefore, I quickly thanked her and ducked back to my seat. But the audience insisted, and she was all, "Gosh, I don't know what to sing." So someone suggested the lullaby, and suddenly there was this lovely, heavenly sound coming through the speakers as she graced us with the song she sang on ER. OMG! I cried. Too beautiful for words.

In addition to sharing her thoughts and experiences on X:WP, she told us that she has 3 or 4 new films coming out, most of which are small, independent films. It's hard to find characters for Asian American women in mainstream films. It's especially hard to get casting directors to cast Asian actors in characters that aren't specifically written as Asian or with an Asian theme to the story. Moreover, someone brought up her appearance on West Wing, in a character that didn't have an ethnicity written into it. It was a character that could potentially have been played by anyone. She said that is very rare to find. However, she is having better luck in the independent film market. She has also written a script and wants to pursue writing as well as possibly directing. So she too is looking to take charge of her own career and create her own work. She is certainly intelligent and talented enough to do it. It's no surprise that I'm greatly in favor of more women doing their own thang in this industry. That's the only way we'll make any progress and headway. Therefore, I say... Good on ya, Jacqueline! ... and Alex, and Claire, and...

Finally, there were no more questions being asked, so Jacqueline bid us farewell and left the stage. *Sniff* They then set up the side table by the stage for the sold ticket holders' autograph signing with TO, AW and JK, while the rest of us watched a video salute to Iolaus and welcomed the great man himself, Michael Hurst!!

Oh, so many stories, so much love and affection and gratitude pasted between MH and the audience. Like he said, it was comforting for him to be with this family while he was separated from his family back in NZ during this emotional time. You could tell he was making the most of his experience. I tried to watch him as much as I could during the breakfast that morning, giving myself a crash course in lip-reading. So I'll try to include here all of my impressions of everything I recall him talking about that day.

First, he retold in greater detail the "Kevin doing the nude Haka in the rain" story (which I pretty much included in the Memorial report).

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Here's some info on the Haka (courtesy of the TW):

Ephan wrote: It's a Maori (the native New Zealanders) war dance that was performed before going into battle. The NZ Rugby team will do it before their games to get pumped up.

****

He told a very funny story about rehearsing Love Letters one night with ROC in his hotel. She was getting really emotionally into it when these people came into the room setting up for tea or something (they must have been in the dining room area or lounge or somewhere public). She completely ignored them and just kept going with it. To the point where she was getting all upset and everything and Michael's like, "Um, you might want to tone it down, Ren. I think these people think we're having a real lovers spat or something." He could see it coming out in the morning papers, "Actors having public break-up!" LOL! He raved about working with ROC and how well matched he thought they were to do this piece. It was actually Creation's idea to put them together in the play, so he and ROC had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, he thought it a great idea and was thankful for the opportunity.

He was asked if ROC had come to him for directing advice while directing her X:WP eps, and he said that she had. They had several conversations about it, but her biggest dilemma was the time - getting the day's schedule completed. That was her greatest worry. She had all the other stuff down - working with the actors, the technical knowledge, etc. Then someone commented about how several of his S6 eps which he directed were Gabby focused eps. They asked him if that was do to his own interest with developing the character or was it just coincidence. He said Who's Gurkan? was a non-action ep with a lot of drama, so TPTB thought he would be the best director for the job. With To Helicon & Back, he was just told that Rob wanted Saving Private Ryan Xena style. This made him go, "Ok... no bombs, no guns... riiiight! Piece of cake." Then someone told him that they could have exploding fire or something, "OooKay..." So it wasn't any personal desire of his to work on the character of Gabrielle. Those were just the eps given him. He said it was interesting, however, to see them develop Gab's struggle with killing. He pointed out that Xena's line at the end of To Helicon & Back, "War's tough on the soul, Gabrielle," was what that ep was all about. His job was to show the truth of that statement.

He will be starting work on Waiting for Godot soon. He just finished directing and staring in a film with his wife, Jennifer - he plays her sleazy, balding husband - in addition to another film where he plays a sleazebag. Someone commented on how amazingly versatile he is and he explained that in New Zealand, it's such a small show biz community that they all end up having to do everything and anything in order to work - from street performing to theatre to TV and film; acting, directing, singing, etc. If the bigwigs have a problem with him directing himself in his own film, that is their problem. There's no reason why he can't if he's able, so... (Big cheers!)

Another person asked him how his life has changed since Hercules went off the air. He explained that his life changed completely when he got the gig on Herc in the first place. Here he was this local Kiwi actor, not known to anyone out side of the Southern hemisphere and now he is known and has connections all over the globe. Therefore, he's enormously grateful to the show. He announced that he just finished working on Andromeda in a guest spot. That should be coming out by the end of this season maybe. He's hoping he'll be asked back. He and Kevin Sorbo enjoy working together. They were on set one day goofing around and talking, and then he hears the AD calling for him to get in place, but they already were - standing side by side just like old times.

At one point, he tossed out a little bit of the Widow Twanky, which set everyone into hysterics. Unfortunately, he didn't do any more of her, but he did mention that he's working on another show featuring the Widow T. I'm thinking it's a stage production but I can't remember. Oh and he told the funniest story about how when Rob T. first come down to NZ he misunderstood the phrase "Good on ya!" and thought they were saying "Get on ya!" So he went around chumming up to everyone with "Get on ya, mate." They thought it was so funny that they just let him go on with it for a long time before finally correcting him. LOL!

I ended up not going up to ask him anything. There were plenty of questions being offered, and he was being very talkative on his own, sharing all kinds of stories... just because he wanted to... that I was perfectly content just sitting back and enjoying the show. I could watch him for hours. What an amazing man!

Of course, the big topper was Michael performing the Haka. What an overwhelming experience that was. One I will never forget... ever!

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Here's more Haka info from the TW:

Sensei Craig wrote: A Haka? How cool! Now that's how you honor a person's memory ... a haka is more of a ceremonial dance than specifically a war dance (as I recall). There are lots of haka around (my high school had its own, for example), although the most famous one is that performed by the All Blacks, known as the 'Ka Mate' (Ma-te) haka. No doubt that was the one performed by MH, not least because most Kiwi rugby fans (i.e. all of us ) only know that one.

It was written by/for Te Rauparaha (I'm not sure on the spelling there, but that'll be close), a revered (and brutal) Maori war chief from the 1800's who was basically the Genghis Khan of the Maori, and the words basically mean we're going to kill and eat you and take your women and children.

Most appropriate, for Ares at least .

Oops, I've missed a key phrase, namely that the 'Ka Mate' haka itself doesn't mean we're coming to get you, that's just what Te Rauparaha did!

****

I have seen this done on TV in documentaries and stuff on NZ, so I knew what he was talking about when he told the Kevin story, and could easily see big, dark, hunky Kevin doing it.

I believe someone had asked Michael at the breakfast to do it for us while he was on stage Sunday afternoon. Therefore, before he left the stage, he put down the mic and performed the most amazing thing I've ever seen... "This is for Kevin," he said.

I kid you not... It was the most awesome sight I've ever seen in my life. I've got tears in my eyes now just thinking about it. The raw, primal energy and passion...Oh my! Michael honored Kevin so fully in that moment, I just burst into tears on the spot! For me, more than any story or moment or silence or applause, that was the most powerful tribute to Kevin throughout the whole weekend.

And as I told Michael while he was signing my picture later, while watching him do it I was also visualizing Kevin doing it... WOW!...

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Here is Cath's reaction to MH's finale and Kevin's passing - beautifully spoken:

Michael gave us an impressive, gut-deep display -- quite a salute to his pal and fellow actor.

Even my relatively non-Xenite family members were shocked and saddened at the news about Kevin. Most had been forced (by me -- their crazy sister/aunt) to watch at least one ep with him in it. And one of my friends who thought he was the best thing about the series says she still can't get over the news about his loss.

Events, gestures, and kindnesses do make waves and ripples -- more than we'll ever know.

****

Immediately after the Haka, Michael left the stage to go sign autographs for gold ticket holders in the Annex. By which time they were sending gold patrons through the first set of signers (JK, AW, TO) who were set up next to the stage. Needless to say, while the costume contest was going on, I was in line for autographs and missed the whole thing. Darn it. (Sarcasm alert!) I thanked JK and AW for singing and thanked TO for coming (or some such thing, I don't remember as we were being rushed through so Michael could catch his plane). I then went into the Annex for Michael's autograph and made my comment about the Haka. To which he responded humbly, but proudly, "Every red-blooded Kiwi male knows that!"

By the time I returned to my seat, they were having the clearance auction of Creation merchandise, followed by the premiere of "The Making of A Friend In Need" documentary from Fan Kit #5. I was completely fascinated by the sequence they showed of part of the 'Xena getting shot with arrows' scene. I had always wondered how they shot the arrows without accidentally hitting her. I knew there had to be a trick to it, cause I could tell it was not computerized or cutting of shots. My curiosity was finally satisfied. They shoot the arrows down wires! Aaaahhh! Why didn't I think of that? Then to see LL having to redo the shot of Xena pulling out the arrow in her arm, over and over again... great stuff! At one point LL is trying to convince Rob that it would be easier, as well as more affective, if she gets shot at a certain point in the shoulder, not the leg as he had intended. She points out that she could sell the shoulder better since both of her hands have arrows in them. The leg would need an extra hand grabbing it in order to sell that hit. They had plenty of other opportunities to do the leg bit he wanted, for this was just the beginning of the whole sequence. You really had a chance to see what Alexis was talking about in terms of LL's commanding presence on set - both in this documentary as well as the Who's Gurkhan? video. This one also showed LL rehearsing part of the final fight with Yudoshi, followed by the filming of it (Very cool!), as well as how they shot ROC "hanging" on the cliff. This was very impressive (and nerve racking) considering she was 3-4 months pregnant. ROC even joked with Rob about him sending a pregnant woman off a cliff. And there's a cute moment where their getting ready to shoot X&G coming out of the water to enter the village, and ROC's already in the water egging LL on, who's reluctant to enter the cold wetness. Even when she's finally in, ROC has to drag her under. LOL! Very cute. There was less voice-overing done with this M-T-S's video than the other two. It was much more of just showing everyone in action. Well done!! The only disappointment for me was not getting to see any footage of filming the kissy of life. A great sadness for many of us, I'm sure.

Finally, the last event of the Convention was a series of video montages created by a fan - one for each season, with an added one at the end of just FIN clips. They were all very well made, very touching, and full of wonderful memories. I had to note to myself that when put back to back like that, the first two seasons are very much a series of single eps, but starting with S3 there are these huge story arcs. These videos reflected this in that the first two jumped all over the place throughout each season, but the order of clips for S3 onward were pretty set to the timeline and order of the eps. Very interesting.

That completes my humble report of my overwhelming experience at the 2002 Pasadena Convention! I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Peace!


ps. Afterward, Penny, Kelly (the two ladies who sat in front of me all weekend) and I went to join some of Hudson's fan club members at the California Pizza Kitchen, where we ate, discussed, and shared our thoughts and feelings about the weekend, Hudson, and the show. We met several of the HLOFC team leaders and I was very impressed at the time and devotion (not to mention all the money) they have put into following and supporting the goddess Hudson.

I'm feeling now that since I've been to 3 cons already and have met most of the actors, I would really like to get more involved in helping with the events themselves. It's fun to sit back and passively experience these amazing people, but being a creative person, I need to move on to a new level. I need to participate more. So I've decided to start volunteering whenever I can and try to be more active in the conventions and the charity efforts these beautiful people support. What I've learned the most from so many tragic events in the last 6 months or so is that life is too short and one person can make a difference.

Here's to making a difference! Salute!!

~Sarah

Copyright - Sarah Mears, 2/23/02; Edited: 3/4/02
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