Hercules and Xena |
Hercules and Xena track at Dragoncon 1999 track report |
|
|
|
Hercules and Xena |
Hercules and Xena track at Dragoncon 1999 track report |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hercules and Xena Track at Dragon*con 1999 track report |
Special thanks to: 
for designing Xenite.org's graphics Contact Us! |
Reported by Ogami
The Fanfic author Ogami has graciously given us permission to use his convention report to help round out this site. 1999 Atlanta DragonCon Report by Ogami As a writer of Xena fan fiction, I had been invited to be a panelist at the Hercules/Xena track of DragonCon, which I was happy to do. Unless you're a real writer like Missy Good, this is probably the only public recognition a fan writer will receive. Well, I got a lot more out of this trip than that. It took 9 hours to drive from Orlando Florida to Atlanta Georgia, and I noticed that kudzu had taken over the forests along Interstate 75. Kudzu is a type of vine that was introduced into the United States from the Pacific, and it grows so fast that it covers entire forests, growing over a foot a day. Perhaps Georgia should consider making kudzu the State Plant. Georgia itself is a beautiful state of rolling hills and red earth, and I really enjoyed driving through it. The trip from my hotel to downtown Atlanta was interesting. There was a billboard on the highway that read "WHO'S THE FATHER?", with a number to call a DNA testing service. Perhaps the Jerry Springer show should broadcast from here. Another noticeable thing is that there is graffiti all over Atlanta, from the downtown area to the suburbs. If just one neighborhood instituted a graffiti clean-up program, these artists would soon learn to practice their art elsewhere. Being on the Xena track I spent most of my time there, but I managed to squeeze in some of the other events on my last day there Saturday. I'll save the non-Xena things for last. Please note that all of my quotes from the people I met at the convention are from memory. I was having too much fun to take notes! At this point I should thank track director Michael Martinez and his assistant Erin. He had canceled due to personal reasons and was suddenly able to attend at the last minute. If there were any hitches to his program, I couldn't see it. He even found a presentation board for Steven Sears to whip through the pages in creating a script. Erin had made at her own expense large posterboards of famous Xena and Hercules scenes. These were all hung up to make the room look really special, and a large portrait of Salmoneus was hung up behind the table to make Robert Trebor feel welcome when he came in. A classy production all around. The Xena fan videos were wonderful. These are not the ones that are shown at the official Creation Cons, and now I know why. They are much better! Although Joanna Sandsmark could not make it, someone brought her "Bitter Treat" musical, and it was perfect. I think she should do as Weird Al Yankovic does and secure permission from Studios USA to sell this parody, I know I would buy it if it were for sale. We also watched fan-made music videos. It was a toss-up for my favorite. A montage of scenes set to Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One" was phenomenal, with cuts from the show cued to the song lyrics. But my personal favorite would have to be a video set to Garbage's "#1 Crush". Maybe this song sounds sick and perverted by itself, but it felt so right married to scenes of Xena and Gabrielle "bonding" in various ways. It really moved me, which doesn't happen too often with music videos. I finally got to meet some of my fellow bards, such as Missy Good, BladeMaster, Gin, and Barry Marshall. (There was one more who joined us on the last day for the bard panel but I didn't get a chance to speak to her.) Missy Good got her own allotted hour to speak to her fans, and the rest of us were grouped together for general panels. That was okay, I think we all connected pretty well. I felt like a jerk for talking so much more than the others, but hey, this was my chance to talk to my readers, so off I went. The Merpups were out in force to see their hero. And Missy Good did not disappoint. She really made herself available to the fans, but then, that's because she's a fan herself. Xena's declining ratings resulted in a likewise smaller audience for the Hercules/Xena track at the DragonCon, but that worked out perfectly for us. It was so small that it was like a family gathering, really personable. (Just to give you an idea, our room was small enough that we didn't really need microphones.) I got a chance to question Missy Good about her stories, and asked about the movie rights to "Tropical Storm." I mentioned Harlan Ellison's troubles with how "The City on the Edge of Forever" was rewritten for Star Trek, and asked if something similar could happen with the movie for "Tropical Storm." Actually I naughtily asked if some executive could decide to replace Dar or Kerry with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and she said yes, it's possible. I was only gently teasing her, so if some executive is reading this, no you may not cast him! I got to meet the author of the Official Guide to the Xenaverse, Robert Weisbrot. He was very nice, and gave us a lot of anecdotes from his visit to the set when they were filming "The Xena Scrolls". You might be surprised to know that he was never the official choice of the Universal bosses to make this guide, just a dedicated fan who wanted to make it a reality. Remind yourself of that when you see this at a bookstore, anything is possible if you believe in it. (Okay, end of sermon.) Meeting Robert Trebor was a delight, and he made all the fans feel welcome. We got to chat about his work on films past and present, and of course his roles with RenPics. He also related humorous questions that he had gotten from young Xenites, such as a 9-year old girl who had asked "When is the next time you're going to be on Lucy Lawless?" Because he is still getting steady work, he refused to charge for autographs, joking that he might be doing that in 10 or 15 years, but not yet. I should also mentioned that in the autograph room, his was the longest line, stretching to the end of the room. Just goes to show that he was never a side-character in the eyes of his fans. I told him that I hoped he would be on X:WP's 5th season every three episodes, and he said to contact StudiosUSA to make this a reality. So all you Salmoneus fans, get those letters out! USA Studios may be contacted at: Mr. Barry Diller USA Networks Studios 100 Universal City Plaza Building 500 3rd floor Universal City, CA 91608 Mr. Jim Benson USA Networks Studios 100 Universal City Plaza Building 500 3rd floor Universal City, CA 91608 Steven SearsSteven Sears is the Co-Executive Producer of Xena: Warrior Princess (or at least for another two weeks), and it was a privilege for me to actually meet him in person. I don't know about his future convention schedules, but I considered this a rare opportunity to speak to him as he is leaving this show and moving on to produce the new series Sheena. I got much more than I bargained for! Let me set up for you the momentousness (for me) of this contact. I am known as subtext-fan Ogami, writer of romantic Xena and Gabrielle fan stories. As a fan, I know that X:WP would never have been the show it was without his scripts. Episodes like Dreamworker, Hooves & Harlots, The Greater Good, Intimate Stranger, The Quest, and especially The Price are (pardon the phrase) priceless to me. They are essential to the mythos of Xena and Gabrielle. I am also known as the Ogami who has written scathing reviews of post-Rift episodes on Xena, some of them authored by Mr. Sears. I have been no fan of the Rift story arc of the 3rd season, and of the 4th season in general. As most of the other Rift-haters have stopped watching the show, this sort of makes me the High Apostate of the Rift-haters. So when I sat down to talk to him, I introduced myself along with my penname, and then heard what no Rift-hater wants to hear: "Ah Ogami, I've heard of you." I smiled, and then quickly pointed out that unlike certain people, I have never personally attacked him, the actresses, or the rest of the production staff. I explained that I felt such attacks made worthless any arguments that person had. I then made the distinction that while I disagree with the direction the show has taken recently, I would never stoop to personal attacks. He thanked me for that distinction, and over the course of three days, I spent around 3 hours total just talking one-on-one with the Executive Producer of Xena: Warrior Princess. My head's still swimming a little, but I can safely say this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You could say I got my money's worth out of my $60 DragonCon pass! During his panel, Steve showed us some dailies from "Endgame", showing us all the camera angles that had to be filmed for a particular scene. These were Reneé's big scenes with Brutus, and she really came across as an intent professional, always ready for the next take, over and over again. We also saw a scene from "Between the Lines", where Alti was choking the life out of a hapless prisoner. That poor extra got choked at least a dozen times before the director was satisfied. About Steve's manner to the fans... One would expect a writer to be somewhat introverted, and let his printed words speak for him. Well Steve worked the crowd like a pro, always ready with a quip or a thread to pursue. Maybe it was just his experience from the Cons, but I think we were getting a glimpse at how he is at script-writing sessions. What can I say, he was with it. He went into great detail about his new series, Sheena. He talked about how Gena Lee Nolin was cast, and how they worked on creating this role. He also described how he wanted the show to never cast Sheena as a victim that needed to be rescued by some male lead. They are trying to overcome decades of action-hero stereotypes with her character, just like a certain Warrior Princess. That's what they hired him for, and that's what we should expect from the series. I don't know how many people there had planned to watch Sheena before he talked about it. But after listening to Steve explain what was going into the show, I think everyone who heard him will tune in to see it. On the third night, Steve was scheduled to explain for an hour how a Xena episode is made. For this, he conscripted myself, Missy Good, and Blade to serve at the writer's table, and he would act as producer. He took us through the opening Teaser, and then the four Acts of the episode. We started with an unlikely premise (Xena dying), and then had to work at it from there. We ended up with a sequel to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" where Bacchus teamed up with Callisto to steal Xena's soul. This was a Xena-lite script, with lots of gripping scenes between Gabrielle and Callisto. In the end, Callisto would die, but would have redeemed herself for her crimes. (Or at least some of them.) In the end, Missy Good got the storyboard, although I threw in so many suggestions that I think it would make an middling episode. He showed us some things he found while cleaning out his desk at RenPics, one of them being the original 5-page character bible for the then-brand-new Xena series. He got a lot of laughs as he marked off "do's and don'ts" from the list, such as "X:WP will never have a battle between the gods" and "Xena only kills in self-defense", and so forth. Here are some of the questions I asked him over the course of three days, in no particular order:
On the whole, he was very enthusiastic about the potential for the 5th season. He admitted that Xena's ratings had dropped sharper in the 3rd season than any other syndicated series, but was positive that things will turn around. And I would say that the audience, myself included, agreed with his optimism. Here's to a better 5th season! The Rest of DragonConSaturday was my day to explore the rest of DragonCon. I had wanted to see Peter Jurasik (Londo Molari), but his room was packed to the doors by the time I got there. But there was a lot more going on. Peter David: Peter David has many credits, but I asked him about his Star Trek novel, "Q-in-Law". He explained the delays he had to go through to get this novel approved, until Majel Barrett Roddenberry was shown the manuscript. When she saw the tentative cover with her on it, that was all it took, and the book finally got released. I was glad it did, and I told him I consider it like getting an extra Next Generation episode, that's how good it was. John De Lancie: Known to fans as Q from Star Trek, John has had many roles since his Star Trek days. He was also struggling with a bad cold, but managed to field all the fan questions. You could actually see him fighting off his illness so that he could answer fan questions fully. He didn't give very long answers to Star Trek questions, but I think this was because he is a busy man. He has had so many projects in film, theater, and Alien Voices that you couldn't blame him for giving short shrift to Star Trek. It wasn't his character, and he has done a lot since then. By the way, he was 12 minutes over his allotted time and still answering questions when I had to leave. He was there to make the fans happy, cold be damned. That's dedication, folks. Wayne Alexander: Wayne Alexander has played several characters on Babylon 5, such as Lorien. My favorite was as the Vorlon Inquisitor, Jack. When I got his autograph, I mentioned how I wished they had made the Inquisitor a Ranger after the Vorlons left. Then they could have had a scene where Sheridan looks at him in disgust saying "They made *you* a Ranger?" and then he would say something humorous and wave his cane at him. Wayne thanked me for that, and said he had hoped they would have Jack return to the past to perhaps investigate some of the Jack the Ripper copycat crimes that occurred after the Vorlons had picked him up. At which I suggested that Jack shouldn't also solve his own crimes, and he laughed at that. A very charming actor, and a real pleasure to meet him. Babylon 5 Women's Perspective: This was a panel headed by Na'toth, the ISN news anchor, Mira Furlan (De'lenn), and Claudia Christian (Ivanova). Mira Furlan in person took me totally by surprise. When I saw her come in, I thought she was some pretty assistant to the others. I didn't recognize her without her Minbari headpiece! She had a blazing smile while answering questions, and she spent her off moments chatting inaudibly with Claudia. (Now that would have been interesting to hear.) I asked Claudia Christian a question, actually a comment, and you bet it's a softball, but it was the fastest one I could think up: Q: In the B5 movie "In the Beginning", you have a flashback to when you were a young woman who was saying good-bye to her cosmonaut brother. I just wanted to say that you really looked 18 in that scene! A: Will you marry me? (audience laughter.) She thanked me for the compliment (this is my true opinion of that scene, by the way), and described how they were trying to cast young women as her for that scene. But none of them worked out, so they had to cast her as herself, she said laughing. Speaking of Claudia, on Friday I located her autograph booth and bought a picture for her to sign. I know that some fans have trouble separating an actress from her character, but I am not one of them. Of course, making this difficult was that she had her hair in the ponytail from the TV series, but somehow I managed. Then it occurred to me to ask to take my picture with her. She leaned over the table and I found myself being hugged by the Lieutenant Commander herself, as her assistant took our picture. The next day I wore my "IVANOVA IS GOD" T-shirt, and decided, you know, I should have another picture like that. So I went through her autograph line that day, bought another picture for her to sign, and got another hug for a second picture together. As you might expect, I was pretty happy from this. I returned to the Xena track, feeling my weekend was over. I had been hugged by Claudia Christian twice, and I felt pretty complete, thank you very much. A few more hours, and the convention would be over for me. I came late to Robert Trebor's fan session, and the room was packed to the door, so I sat down in the opposite hallway to listen to him. Steven Sears came by and sat down next to me, and we just chatted. It was a surreal scene, me and the Executive Producer sitting in the hallway. I told him about the autographs I had gotten from Claudia Christian, and he mentioned that he was a friend of hers. He and the stars of Babylon 5 were going to be going out to dinner that evening with their mates, and he said he didn't think Claudia had a dinner date, so he would check on that for me. As he left, the implications of this washed over me. Imagine me having dinner with Steven Sears and the stars of Babylon 5! The next two hours were a long wait for me, but alas, he said Claudia was bringing someone, so it was not to be. (If I had been quicker-thinking, I would have grabbed Erin and said that I had a date, also. Drat!) One last thing. On my way out of the convention, I spotted Steven Sears and his girlfriend. They were about to go out to dinner with Wayne Alexander (Lorien, the Inquisitor), Claudia Christian (Ivanova) and their spouses. He stopped me and introduced me to Claudia, who was very charming. He then had her hug me to take my picture. Steve almost took a shot, and then Claudia noticed the lenscap was still on. As he worked to take off the cap, Claudia rubbed her knuckles into the small of my back while we waited. My breath caught, but I had the presence of mind to smile for the picture and not act like a petrified fan. I somehow mumbled a thank you to her and shook Steve's hand, and then was on my way. What can I say, wow. Now that's the way to end a convention! Ogami |
Dragoncon is a trademark of Dragoncon, Inc. This page provides supplementary information about the Hercules and Xena fan programming track only. |