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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:18:11 GMT -5
Testing via iPhone. Tycho says I'm the writer and so I should get this epic saga going! Castlekat and I both took lots of notes and I'm sure that everyone else has stuff to contribute too. HOWEVER - before I go any further, I have to send a big shout out to Tycho and her husband who made the weekend so much more than any of us had even hoped for, by sharing their vehicle and driving us around town as well as Tycho being the media mogul and sharing picture files and posting information and getting the inside scoop on things at the convention. Teresa and John, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!! The teacher in me is wanting to tell this tale chronologically but with so many people contributing, I fear that will not really be practical. I think I'll start us off with a quick overview of the events and then people will have a sense of when things occurred as the details are added. Thursday - icaskett(Irma) arrived from London Friday - Barb arrived from Boise, Idaho then I arrived from the Twin Cities and around 2:30, Castlekat (Kriss) arrived. Our group grew as other strangers gravitated towards the crazy Castle fans who were laughing so much down in the lobby. A plan was made to go the Old Haunt for dinner! It's actually called Casey's and we had a ball soaking in the ambiance of being in Castle's bar! Saturday - The convention started at 10AM with an auction of signed items. Then we had a panel with Warren Bowman (editor), his wife Marta Evry (editor) and Christopher Brow (camera dollygrip). This was followed by an autograph session with the 3 of them. Next there were pictures with Penny Johnson Gerald and Tamala Jones and then a late lunch. Afterwards was the panel with Tamala and Penny and then autographs with them. The day ended with an optional Zumba class led by Penny and her own Zumba instructor. Saturday night we had supper at the hotel restaurant. Sunday - The convention started again at 10:00 with an auction and then a panel with the Bowman family. There was Rob (producer), his dad Chuck (director) and his brother Stephen (post production). That was followed by an autograph session with the 3 guys and Marta Evry came back just to hang out. Then Kriss and I had lunch with the Bowmans as well as Luke Reichle (costumes) and Armin Shimerman who had played the crazy scientist on The Final Frontier. After lunch, there were pictures with Armin. Then Luke and Armin did a panel and Luke appeared in one of the Nebula 9 costumes  Then the guys did autographs and the convention ended with a final session to thank everyone and announce that $35,000 had been raise to donate to a children's charity that was responding to the hurricane relief out East. Sunday night we gathered in Tycho's room and had pizza, watched a couple of episodes and reveled in all that we'd done. Monday - We first went to Grant Hope Park in downtown LA to see where the infamous swing scenes had been filmed. We chatted with a park policeman who told us that Castle had also filmed the dead weather woman in the fountain for Cloudy With A Chance Of Murder there and that we would also be seeing a dead Santa Claus there in the next episode! After the park, we drove by The Old Haunt in the daylight for a couple of quick pictures and then headed to Raleigh Studios. We hung around on the sidewalk by the well known gate entrance for a total of about 2 1/2 hours and we met Warren Bowman (again) and Nathan and L.T. (the cop in the precinct) and Robert Duncan who is in charge of the music. [Pardon me for a moment while I get my heart rate under control again.] Sorry, dream come true moment! After that we went to lunch along with kat's cousin who lives out there. We ate the famous Mel's Hollywood Drive In Diner. We split up after that for a bit. Kriss and Irma went with her cousin out to Santa Monica Pier and Teresa and John took Barb and I back to the hotel. Then the Tychos' left for the long drive back to Phoenix and Barb and I decompressed for a couple of hours. We had planned on a group viewing party but it didn't quite work out that way. We did all see most of the episode and were all together afterwards for a couple of hours reliving everything and fangirling a LOT about meeting Nathan! We parted company shortly after midnight. Tuesday - Irma and Barb left quite early to fly to Boise where Irma is spending the rest of the week with Barb. Then she'll fly back to London on Monday. Kriss left mid morning and I was the last to leave late morning. I know that this isn't any of the stuff you REALLY want to hear about, but it's at least a general framework so that you'll have a sense of when things occurred as everyone adds more details. I'll try to get back to add more later today and hope that all of the attendees will chime in as they're able. BEST. WEEKEND. EVER. So very awesome! I'm having coffee with Tycho and AZMCox on Friday, so I'll get to hear about it in person too, but it's great to have a general framework. Thank you! And Nathanfan, when I heard YOU were there, and you got to meet Nathan, well you probably heard by now, how I wondered how you'd survive the thrill! You should've faked a coronary, on the off chance he'd have performed CPR!  ;D I am so happy for all of you!!!!!!! What a great weekend! I was thrilled to find out that you met Nathan!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool to see the pictures of y'all with him. HE.IS.SO.HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NathanFan thanks for starting this thread. You gave us a nice overview of the weekend. I hope to keep this thread spoiler free so everyone can view it and not be worried about seeing spoilers. Ok, I'm going to cut right to the chase. I'm in the middle of doing some cooking, but I'm dying to get here! Nathanfan's overview is great! I know you all are dying to know about Nathan, so I am going to work backwards, for now, and post about Monday, first. I will come back to the convention later. Also, a note about the spoilers. There were some revealed this weekend about the season. I have already had Teel & Vicky wanting to know, and I have shared a couple with them on facebook. I know not everyone here is a spoiler junkie, but I agree, we need to keep this thread spoiler free. I do have spoilers that will be contained in my notes, but I think a separate thread is going to be in order for those. It is not much, but significant. I will do my best to not be a spoiler here. If I inadvertantly post something, I apologize in advance. I know there are gray areas in which people are spoiled, but, like I said, I hope nothing "spills". Ok, with that... off I go about Monday. I am going to enter this post, and start in the next reply box. One more thing.... I have SOME photos up on facebook, but not many from Monday. I will have my hubby post them to my facebook, and maybe Teel can pull them here and insert them when she has time, within the appropriate days/posts. If not, my attatchments will be those pathetic little boxes that you need to sign in and click on to see clearly. What would I do without my hubby and my buddy Teel. And, some of our photos are all similar, as we all shared experiences. I will apologize in advance here, if something of mine gets posted and you've already seen it. I have barely kept up with Twitter, so I do not know what is there other than the photo that Robert Duncan posted of us all. Ok, give me some time, as my post is going to take a bit to type up! People were asking for details of when we met Nathan. since Nathanfan was around the corner when he came out I will go ahead and start this one. I spotted what looked like Nathan in a Castle style coat walking around the trailers heading into one of the building. We thought that might be our "Nathan" moment. About 20-30 minutes later we spotted him again this time walking toward us at the main gates with another guy. As soon as we knew he was indeed coming our way Barb headed over to get NathanFan as she was sitting around the corner. As Nathan got to the gate I asked if he came to say "Hi"? He said "yes I did". He introduced the guy with him as "Spencer" a guest on the show. (I'm not sure if he was in 511 or 512 as they were finishing 511 that day and starting 512 the next day) He then came around the gate and walked up and shook each of our hands and asked who we were. Then he asked us if we wanted a picture? Well, everyone gathered around Nathan and I took 2 quick pictures of the group with Nathan. Then CastleKat was nice enough to say to Spencer, "would you like to get in the picture too?"He joined in the picture with the girls and Nathan. I took all of the cameras and started to take pictures. After they were all taken Nathan said "you need a picture". I said no that's OK but he came right up to me took my camera, as I had just given everyone else their camera back, stuck his arm out and did his famous Nathan shot of us. He actually took 3 pictures. the first one you can see me going no and then he just stuck his head next to mine and snapped a couple more. Too sweet I am glad he did because it is a nice picture.  I did tell him that I volunteer for Kids Need to Read, a charity that he does with PJ Haarsma. I asked him if he would ever get over to the Phoenix ComicCon? (the Phoenix ComicCon gives KNTR the charity money collected at the event) We had a short conversation about this. After the pictures Nathan and Spencer headed down the street to walk to lunch around the corner. You should be proud we didn't just run after them and go to lunch.  We were all just standing there amazed that we had just had a nice encounter with him  About 5 minutes later they came walking back. I said "Quick lunch" Nathan said "the restaurant was closed we will just have to eat craft services". But about 5 minutes later Nathan and Spencer came driving out to go to another place. They drove around the block and picked up a girl who was standing behind us. This was too funny because nathanFan was asking people about Nathan and how good he looked and felt etc. someone gave her a shake of the head and shush sign as we saw the girl. When Nathan showed up and she went with him we were laughing as we are sure she said something about the fan girls talking about him  too funny!!! Well that was the last Nathan sighting of the day. I hope this makes sense? (Please add things girls if you see something more to add.) Sunday evening, after pizza and Castle in Tyco (Teresa) & Mr. Tycho's room, we set the time to meet in the lobby at 8:30-9:00 ish. We all showed up, got our coffees at Starbuck's and yes, they were total gems carting our cabooses around all weekend! Anyway.... We set out first, to Grand Hope Park, where the swing set scenes (supposedly) were filmed for Rise and Always. The security guard there said what was already reported, about the fountain being the place for the Season 5 premiere murder, where Castle didn't bring Kate coffee! LOL! So, photo op, and Barb was being a victim (photo to come) and we were all taking in the essence that our beloved cast & crew had been there so many times! And yes, the Christmas episode was filmed here, too, and the guard pointed to the expanse of grass that was covered in snow a few weeks ago. More pics to come.... We spent a bit of time walking around here. After that, we piled back into Tyco's vehicle (with Irma sitting on all our laps in the back seat) and headed around the corner to get daytime photos at Casey's (Old Haunt). Along the journey, we saw the "Hollywood" sign in the distance. All this time we had been looking for "Brekie" (breakfast, said iCaskett -Irma - Style!), but we didn't see anything that looked appealing. So, off we kept going. Raleigh Studios, here we come! Let me mention, the traffic in L.A. really is something, as are all the different highways and byways, and it will make your head spin! Mr. Tycho was handling it very well! I would've been crying. Enough said. lol... Ok, we find it. Melrose, and VanNess. YES! We find a place to park, and get out, hoping for the best. A side note here, still no "brekie" and we all needed "the loo" - another Irma-ism. British, I know, but she was too cute! Despite being hungry, and needing the ladies' room, we wanted to see Nathan or Stana more! We are walking around the studio, trying to figure out where "the entrance" that we thinks looks like the one in photos/scenes. There are two Raleigh Studios buildings, and they are somewhat large. We keep walking around, and we find it! Ok, so. Business as usual there. We just kind of hang out, take it all in, and Teresa approaches security and asks them if we may use their restrooms. Nope. No can do. So, being one who can be tenacious or persistent, or not take no for an answer, I walk up to the gate and kind of hang there. I am watching the trailers as you can see all of them parked on the lot. People are walking around back there, and the big garage door like opening is open to the sets/sound stage, and there is sporadic activity. On top of that, people are coming & going in cars, and walking in & out of the main doors. I thought if I just hung there, "I might see somebody" and be able to ask if there is a restroom we can use. lol.... I'm there for a few minutes, and I spot someone coming out that I know. Yes, Warren Bowman. I met him over the weekend, and I start pointing, discreetly to the others that it's him, as I'm trying to get the other's attention, as they were hanging back a little bit on the sidewalk. Anyway, I didn't hesitate, and I approached him. Just a side note here, he is not related to Chuck, Rob or Steven. Just coincidence that their names are the same. Warren is married to Marta Every, and they are the main editors for Castle. Ok, back to my story. I approach Warren. I spoke to him, and told him we all were at the convention, and I met him during the autograph signing over the weekend. He recognized me! I proceeded to tell our sob story, that this was our last day in town, we came out to see the studios, and if we could possibly meet anyone, that the security guy wouldn't let us use their restroom, and was there anything he could do! LOL! He chuckled, and smiled, and said, "Sure, c'mon." Warren led us across the street to the other Raleigh building. We later found out that the construction department is over there, and they were building a set for episode twelve, I believe, which they were going to start filming the next day. Anyway.... We get to the restrooms, and he stays with us chatting. He apologized that he could not get us on set, or even into the building, but he got on his phone to look up the daily "call sheet" and confirmed that Nathan and Stana were scheduled to film today, and that they were indeed "on lot". They were there!!!!!!!!!!!! He says he's closed up in a dark room (editing) on a different floor, and doesn't always know what's going on. He proceeded to talk with us a little bit more, and promised to let Marta know we were here, as she goes to set more often than he. He made no promises, but we were grateful. Some time passed, and we were all just hanging out on the sidewalk talking, and I had texted my cousin to let her know we were there. She was going to pick me up. As we waited, Teresa & hubby were toying with what to do. They wanted to wait with me, as they didn't want to leave me alone while I waited for my cousin, but they needed to get back to Arizona. I told them I would be fine if they wanted to leave, but I honestly thought if we were patient, and acted calm, we "might get something". We were all pretty hungry, so she opted to just wait, and thought that my cousin could suggest somewhere to eat when she arrived. So, that was the plan. Wait for my cousin, hope for the best, and then go. At one point we did see Nathan cross the lot. He came from the trailers, was with two other guys, and he appeared to be in "Castle character". He had on black jeans and a dark sportcoat/jacket like he always wears. As he was walking he ran his hands through his hair kind of thing, causing some of us to swoon from afar. We were still waiting for my cousin...and hoping. People came & went, we chatted, waited, and Bobbie (nathanfan) and maybe a couple of others, went back over to check out the construction set. Not sure if I'm accurate on that, all I know is that Bobbie remained over there. She was writing in her journal, I think, as we waited. Anyway.... ALL OF A SUDDEN.... Irma says, "Is that Nathan - he's coming!?" YES! YES it WAS NATHAN! And YES, WALKING TOWARDS US! OH! MY! GOODNESS! The world stopped spinning! He was striding toward us! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!!! LOLOLOL! Black v-neck t-shirt, black jeans. He was with someone. Another guy. Nathan was closing in... He stopped at the security gate, started walking around the gate, and Teresa said, I remember quite vividly, "Nathan...are you coming to see us?" And HE SAID, "Why YES I AM!" ahhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Keep calm, keep calm, breathe, just keep calm! Someone said, someone needs to go get Bobbie! And Barb said, I'll go! She apparently darn near risked her life, because she said she ran in front of a car! NATHAN WAS FREAKING IN FRONT OF US! He introduced his friend, Spencer, another actor, we all said a polite "hello" back & forth, and Nathan said they were going to lunch and thought they would take a few minutes with us on their way! OMG OMG OMG OMG! I am DYING inside! But, I was calm & cool outside. I think. Nathan started with Irma, asking our names, shaking our hands, and OH MY! When he looked at me, and his voice.... THAT VOICE... HIS PRESENCE....OH. MY. GAWD!. NO WORDS! NO FREAKING WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As he shook everyone's hands and we had some small talk, I was trying to take him all in. He is SO MUCH MORE WONDERFUL in EVERY way than what he is on TV! He is handsome and real and his hair and skin - just beautiful! His voice! OH, his voice! OMG! He is tall, and lean (can we please put to rest, for anyone who has issue with this, the weight thing! please! - as I had my arm around his waist...there was nothing but trimness!!!) and handsome, and yes, fit, and just kind, and sweet and polite and gentlemanly, and amazing! It is no freaking wonder Stana was chomping at the bit to just grab him and make out with that gorgeous hunk of a man!! After four years of being with him every day, all day, every week and year... I can so imagine that she was at the end of her self-control-rope, but I digress. Yeah. Amazing. He then asked if we had our cameras and would like a picture! OMG! YES, PLEASE! I said, "If you have time, we would love that." and he said he did. Teresa volunteered to take all our photos. She got one with her photo, and I invited Spencer into the photo, and Nathan replied that that was an excellent idea! *squee* And so, the rest of our group photos include Spencer. He was very nice, as well. Anyway, yes. Holding onto Nathan's waist for the photos....OMG! I remember being very conscious of the situation. I kept telling myself to smile, but fully aware that I was holding on to him. I didn't get extremely close, I didn't want to freak him out, although I guess he's used to it. But, it was sheer delight to fell his side under my palm, let me tell you! Someone asked me what he smells like. I didn't notice anything in particular, other than fresh, like he had just showered. He looked, and sounded, and felt mighty fine!  We were telling Teresa to get in the photos and I said I'd take it for her. At that point Nathan took her camera and leaned his face next to hers, and got one of those cute close-up self-done pics that is now her avatar here. SO CUTE! We thanked him & Spencer for taking the time, they said goodbye, and they headed on off down the sidewalk for lunch. To be continued... gonna post this..... People were asking for details of when we met Nathan. since Nathanfan was around the corner when he came out I will go ahead and start this one. I spotted what looked like Nathan in a Castle style coat walking around the trailers heading into one of the building. We thought that might be our "Nathan" moment. About 20-30 minutes later we spotted him again this time walking toward us at the main gates with another guy. As soon as we knew he was indeed coming our way Barb headed over to get NathanFan as she was sitting around the corner. As Nathan got to the gate I asked if he came to say "Hi"? He said "yes I did". He introduced the guy with him as "Spencer" a guest on the show. (I'm not sure if he was in 511 or 512 as they were finishing 511 that day and starting 512 the next day) He then came around the gate and walked up and shook each of our hands and asked who we were. Then he asked us if we wanted a picture? Well, everyone gathered around Nathan and I took 2 quick pictures of the group with Nathan. Then CastleKat was nice enough to say to Spencer, "would you like to get in the picture too?"He joined in the picture with the girls and Nathan. I took all of the cameras and started to take pictures. After they were all taken Nathan said "you need a picture". I said no that's OK but he came right up to me took my camera, as I had just given everyone else their camera back, stuck his arm out and did his famous Nathan shot of us. He actually took 3 pictures. the first one you can see me going no and then he just stuck his head next to mine and snapped a couple more. Too sweet I am glad he did because it is a nice picture. I did tell him that I volunteer for Kids Need to Read, a charity that he does with PJ Haarsma. I asked him if he would ever get over to the Phoenix ComicCon? (the Phoenix ComicCon gives KNTR the charity money collected at the event) We had a short conversation about this. After the pictures Nathan and Spencer headed down the street to walk to lunch around the corner. You should be proud we didn't just run after them and go to lunch. We were all just standing there amazed that we had just had a nice encounter with him About 5 minutes later they came walking back. I said "Quick lunch" Nathan said "the restaurant was closed we will just have to eat craft services". But about 5 minutes later Nathan and Spencer came driving out to go to another place. They drove around the block and picked up a girl who was standing behind us. This was too funny because nathanFan was asking people about Nathan and how good he looked and felt etc. someone gave her a shake of the head and shush sign as we saw the girl. When Nathan showed up and she went with him we were laughing as we are sure she said something about the fan girls talking about him too funny!!! Well that was the last Nathan sighting of the day. I hope this makes sense? (Please add things girls if you see something more to add.) I was typing while you posted this. I will finish mine before reading this, as I want to finish and need to run! We were still waiting for my cousin, she lives in the valley, and was running late. Anyway, back comes Nathan & Spencer. The restaurant was closed! LOL! We chat a little bit more, and they said they would just eat on the lot. Then, a few minutes later, whoop. They changed their mind. They come driving out in Nathan's beautiful BMW SUV and wave. Wheee... two more Nathan sightings! WAIT! NO! THREE! Because he came back around the block to pick up a gal off the curb who was going to join them for lunch last minute, I guess. The funny thing is, she was standing behind Bobbie. Bobbie started talking about Nathan, and I said he's adorable, and I saw her turn to look at me & smile. I smiled back as Bobbie continued talking, and when she looked away I put my finger to my mouth to Shhhh Bobbie, because I had a feeling. Sure enough. Nathan pulled up to the curb across the street, she jumped in, and off they went! h ah ahaha.... she was probably proceeding to tell Nathan we were talking about him! Oh boy... lol.... At this point, we are all looking at each other and kind of affirming that *that* all just happened. We were grinning til our cheeks hurt and in a state of disbelief! Truly! LOL! I am going to quit here, and pick up later about two more guests coming out, before my cousin showed up, very fashionably late. It's already been told that it was L.T. and Robert Duncan w/his editor Amber. Those three were SO NICE and hung out with us for quite awhile. I need to run to the store to get last minute Thanksgiving items. Be back later... Queen.... I didn't forget about you! Will holler at you when I return!  I am frankly shocked there are only ten posts on this thread! I'm hanging on every word! I suppose they're all being responsible, getting ready for tomorrow. I'm sposed to be making stuffing and apple pie... but... Who cares? This is more fun! I am frankly shocked there are only ten posts on this thread! I'm hanging on every word! I suppose they're all being responsible, getting ready for tomorrow. I'm sposed to be making stuffing and apple pie... but... Who cares? This is more fun! ROFL! I know, right, Bren! I just told Teel I need another day! My hubby is going to post more photos to my facebook and Teel can pull them off there! I need to run to the store, drop potatoes at my mom's, write Queen, and I'm tired! But it's TOO FUN! This is how the weekend was! I think I didn't get enough sleep, but that can come later! I'll be back! It was such a beautiful weekend, and reliving the memories is just making it last! I think I looked through the photos three times on my plane ride home yesterday. Thank you for sharing in our enthusiasm. It's really sweet. I am so happy for all of you!!!!!!! What a great weekend! I was thrilled to find out that you met Nathan!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool to see the pictures of y'all with him. HE.IS.SO.HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes -- this!!! But mostly this... ;D Bren give them time, soon there will be hundreds of posts for us to laugh, grin, and be completely jealous over. ROFL This is the Best. Thread. Ever. I'm just grinning like a fool while reading these. Can't wait for the next installment. These stories are so amazing and I can honestly picture everything as it happened!! Thank you for sharing with all of us here and I'm so thrilled that you could cap off an amazing weekend-long experience with a personal meeting with Nathan! That is so incredible!! And CK, don't you worry, I'm in no hurry here!! Write me when you can, my friend, but I know this is a busy time for you so take your time and get whatever you need to get done... well... done. Lol. Yes -- this!!! But mostly this... ;D I couldn't have put it better myself!!! ;D Kriss -- your story -- so much enthusiasm -- it's contagious!! When the 12th Ladies+Nathan pics were posted yesterday, I showed them to my daughter, Steph (14 yr old) -- I knew she would totally appreciate the coolness of meeting Mr. Fillion!! She did think it was fantastic! I was late picking her up from school today because I was reading your account and I couldn't stop!!! When she got in the car, I handed her my phone and said, "Read -- this is why I was late!" She read and laughed and was so excited for all of you -- I was completely forgiven!! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:20:21 GMT -5
Kriss -- your story -- so much enthusiasm -- it's contagious!! When the 12th Ladies+Nathan pics were posted yesterday, I showed them to my daughter, Steph (14 yr old) -- I knew she would totally appreciate the coolness of meeting Mr. Fillion!! She did think it was fantastic! I was late picking her up from school today because I was reading your account and I couldn't stop!!! When she got in the car, I handed her my phone and said, "Read -- this is why I was late!" She read and laughed and was so excited for all of you -- I was completely forgiven!! Ha hahahahaha... well, what can I say other than THANK YOU, my friend! lol.... I am still so caught up int he magic that is Nathan. No other word will do for me, because trying to describe the feeling is impossible. Just magic. I'm so blessed and thankful to have experienced everything this weekend, and it is such a beautiful thing for those here that are eager to share in the excitement of it all with us. If I can share some of the experience, and give back a little bit of the love I feel here, then taking the time to share is worth it! SO HAPPY your daughter forgave you. Tell her I said that I'm sorry I made her momma late. I couldn't have put it better myself!!! ;D Yep. Pretty much sums it up. lol... Ok, gonna try to finish off the day, and caption my photos my hubby uploaded to my facebook, so Teel can pull them and post them here. Lots to share, Bren... hang with us. Here's a fun tidbit.... One of Penny's favorite things to say on set, if not her favorite.... "Missster CASTLE!" With the Mr. all drawn out, emphasis on Castle! Love that! Missssster Castle! If I ever write a fanfic with Gates and Castle, I'll be sure to use it! I'm trying to be patient, really I am, but I come in, and see there's one post since the last time I was here, then I come back 2 WHOLE HOURS later, and there's not one more post??? Did hurricane Sandy come back for an encore, hitting the whole world except Phx? That's the only reasonable explanation... And I know there were only the five ladies, and they have things going on, people to catch up with, that's not even what I'm complaining about, it's everybody else that's got me wondering! C'mon! I'm a lurker, and I can't stay away! Aw, anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all the American types, especially all those folks with a better developed sense of priority than I have, who are busy traveling, cooking, shopping and cleaning house! I know it's a busy day, but I still can't seem to quite wrap my mind around the fact that you're not just gaping in wonder at this opportunity for vicariousity! Alrighty. So, we left off with Nathan having gone to lunch. I think we were all a little concerned about Bobbie, and how she was handling things. She recovered quite nicely, but still had that glazed-over look in her eyes! LOL! She was leaning on a newspaper stand, and just kind of looking out at nothing in particular! I think she was having a moment! LOL! ..... Teresa again was toying with leaving. I told her to just wait - she is here, and we are here for a reason (still waiting for my cousin Lisa), and to just go with it. I said why leave when we COULD get Stana yet. (Yes, I was being greedy). I think she saw it my way, cuz she didn't make a move to leave. lol... Well, we didn't get Stana, but moments later, I hear Bobbie saying something and a little excitement was in the air, and there is L.T.!!! Wearing a blue turtleneck, with N.Y.P.D. embroidered in white on the collar! He was SUPER nice and hung with us for about thirty minutes and talking and signed all our stuff! He said Nathan is always so kind to him. He is one of the regulars in the police dept/ background on Castle. I have heard Nathan/Castle refer to him more than once. Anyway, he was very friendly, and seemed in no hurry to leave us. He eventually did need to go, and we were once again left with wondering where my Lisa was! LOL! We barely have a beat, and out from the studio comes a sweet couple, and I hear Teresa say, "Robert....?" I turn, look at him, and say, "Duncan?"... he smiled with a full-tooth smile at me, and nodded/spoke "yes". I was like whoa nelly! This is AMAZING! LOL! I then asked who the lovely gal was, and she said her name is Amber, and is Robert's assistant/music editor! WOW! THEY WERE AMAZING TOO! We chatted it up with them, they signed our stuff, Teresa was in HEAVEN! They talked music for a LONG time! And when it was time for them to leave, after getting misc. photos with him, he asked if we could get a group photo with his phone! He, a bit later, posted it to his TWITTER! SO humbling! I couldn't believe it! That he would think enough of us to want a photo with us, and yet post it! INCREDIBLE! He said he isn't at the studios all that much and that they were there for a meeting. What a lucky draw, huh? lol... I told him the video of him in the junk yard was fantastic, and that the music he gives Castle is brilliant! I also complimented him on his music for Last Resort. It really is a beautiful piece. Anyway, I hope we gave him enough love. He deserves it. Not long after Robert & Amber left us, VOILA! Up to the curb pulls my cousin Lisa in her snappy little blue car! We were all on cloud nine and all she could do was giggle at us! LOL! We were like, Lisa! You're LATE, and we are SO GRATEFUL! The UNIVERSE DID ITS THING and we are HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY CASTLE FANS! With that, we briefly told her of the excitement, and said we were hungry as wolves, and could she please just lead the way to some good food! LOL! Off we went, together, to Mel's Diner. We had some burgers, and onion rings, and fries, and milkshakes and cokes and conversation and we all were trying to chill and my cousin was taking the reins and chatting it up with us all! LOL! She was somewhat entertaining, and made us all laugh, and she said she truly enjoyed meeting every one of you! She said if she had a van or station wagon, she would've taken all of you with us! We soon parted, with Teresa and John needing to head back to Phoenix, but not before "Flo", our waitress, who's real name is Piper, got a photo with us. Teresa and hubby took Bobbie & Barb back to the hotel, and Irma came with Lisa & me. Since she came so far, from London, Lisa thought she might enjoy seeing some things. As truth would have it, she wanted to take Irma back to the vintage dress shop that Irma drooled over a few blocks back, while waiting at a stoplight, on our way to Mel's Diner. And, can I just say, parking at Mel's was OUTRAGEOUS! Ten dollars for TWO HOURS! YowSA! Lisa said, "That's Hollywood for ya!" Sheesh... lol... We stopped at the vintage dress shop, and headed towards Santa Monica. Lisa informed us that we were going to have dinner at a lovely place, and little did we know that it would be on her and her beau. Irma and I were treated to a beautiful dinner, and I had my first martini. It was fantastic. We did not have time to go down to the Santa Monica pier, but we could see it all lit up from the restaurant. As it was, dinner took quite awhile, Lisa & Irma had a great deal in common, the conversation and food flowed, and when we were ready to leave, the waiter brought out dessert! Irma and I were supposed to be back to watch Castle by 10pm, with Barb & Bobbie. We exchanged an uncertain look, but what could we do! We had to eat it, it was sitting in front of us! lol... As it was, we didn't get back until about 10:15. We all caught back up in my hotel room, finished watching Castle, and ended up talking about Castle, and other things, well into the night, before saying our final good-byes. It was bittersweet, and it was hard to fight back the tears. Goodbye is one of the saddest words, especially when you don't know when you will meet again. These are truly some of the sweetest people I've ever known! It was fabulous meeting Teresa and John, Barb and Irma, and seeing Bobbie again. I could not imagine nicer people! Truly! I was so worked up, that I couldn't sleep. I went down to see about my hotel bill, made a cup of tea, started to pack, and probably slept four hours until the alarm went off, and I got ready and headed to the airport. I cried more while looking through photos, reading through notes, making more notes, and reliving the weekend, while waiting to board. It was a blessing to meet so many new people, to experience everything Castle, including meeting new Castle fans, and of course, all the awesomeness that went down at the studio. And, I hadn't seen my cousin in two years, and seeing her for not-long-enough, was very hard. Such a circle of emotions, and I am so thankful to my dear husband for being so kind, generous, and gracious with me, and allowing me this experience! I will relive the memories often, and remember it ALWAYS! With that, I will post at some point tomorrow, with the beginning, since I have just posted the ending. Hopefully Teel will be able to figure out which photos to insert where. She's jedi like that. Ok, my friends... until tomorrow..... Love that! Missssster Castle! If I ever write a fanfic with Gates and Castle, I'll be sure to use it! I'm trying to be patient, really I am, but I come in, and see there's one post since the last time I was here, then I come back 2 WHOLE HOURS later, and there's not one more post??? Did hurricane Sandy come back for an encore, hitting the whole world except Phx? That's the only reasonable explanation... And I know there were only the five ladies, and they have things going on, people to catch up with, that's not even what I'm complaining about, it's everybody else that's got me wondering! C'mon! I'm a lurker, and I can't stay away! Aw, anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all the American types, especially all those folks with a better developed sense of priority than I have, who are busy traveling, cooking, shopping and cleaning house! I know it's a busy day, but I still can't seem to quite wrap my mind around the fact that you're not just gaping in wonder at this opportunity for vicariousity! LOL! I love it! Thanks, Bren! Just finished up the day for Monday's events. Will try to get to some good stuff from the convention tomorrow. You did hear who writes the Nikki Heat books, right? SPOILER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Andrew and a friend of his. They are the ghostwriters. I've had a crazy day, trying to share the story of this experience with so many people! Before I head off to bed, I just want to add a couple of details to the narrative of Monday that kat has so wonderfully provided. As we were posing for the picture with Nathan and his friend, I looked up at him and said, Thank you so much for taking your time to do this." He answered, "Oh no, this is just fine!" He was so gracious and patient! And did I mention that the whole time the pics were being taken he had his arm over my shoulders? It truly is a wonder that I lived to tell about it and kat is right that I needed SEVERAL moments afterwards to wrap my head around it all! L.T. is his real name, or initials I should say. He told me his last name but I didn't catch it. He was so excited that I recognized him. It was cute! I thought he'd been with the show since the very beginning and he confirmed that when I told him he was easy to recognize.He wanted to know where we were all from and said he'd grown up on a farm in Kentucky, I think. He joked about watching the crops grow for excitement. When I said I was from Wisconsin, he mentioned cheese curds and said he liked how they squeaked At that point I put my hands on his shoulders and told him he REALLY knew his cheese curds! They squeak in your mouth when they're really fresh. He was headed home for lunch to let the dog out but chatted with us for at least 10 minutes and did both autographs and pictures. For my autograph, he wrote "Thanks for RECOGNIZING me!" After Teresa made the initial connection with Robert Duncan and they talked for a few minutes, someone asked him if he had time to do autographs and he said, "Really? You want MY autograph?" He seemed genuinely humbled by the attention we paid to him. He took time to personalize each autograph and did pictures with each of us. The most telling thing was that he asked US for a picture at the end. I have always believed what so many other people in the business have said, that the Castle people are the nicest around and that being on their set is a very special experience, but after this weekend, I'm ready to shout it out to the world that they are indeed a special group of people. Did I mention BEST. WEEKEND.EVER. A little tidbit, and I must go. Will be back later today to add more of the Convention experience. For now, from Marta Every, editor... Regarding the kiss - Always ending. We, the audience, saw everything. There was no other filming that wasn't showed. They gave us all of it. A little tidbit, and I must go. Will be back later today to add more of the Convention experience. For now, from Marta Every, editor... Regarding the kiss - Always ending. We, the audience, saw everything. There was no other filming that wasn't showed. They gave us all of it. but she did say for the Knockdown kiss they had them do it again as they needed more close ups Poor Stana and Nathan had to do it 2 times. A little tidbit, and I must go. Will be back later today to add more of the Convention experience. For now, from Marta Every, editor... Regarding the kiss - Always ending. We, the audience, saw everything. There was no other filming that wasn't showed. They gave us all of it. In fact, she also said that if you watched very carefully, she used a couple of bits of film twice! but she did say for the Knockdown kiss they had them do it again as they needed more close ups Poor Stana and Nathan had to do it 2 times. I thought they have to do things over and over... Ah well. I'm sure the rehearsals made it worth it. ;-) I just love how when asked what it's like working with Stana, Nathan answers, it just keeps getting better and better! I'll just bet: regular make out sessions, topless scenes... scenes in bed together.... yeah. The whole weekend sounds like such an amazing experience. Now I wish I could've gone. I still can't believe there aren't more people chiming in, but y'know. You all have a Happy Thanksgiving! I probably won't be back till tonight, and if I don't get off NOW I won't get my shower, sooo... One of my highlights of the weekend was getting to meet and talk with Robert Duncan. I was able to talk compositional techniques that he uses and the great color of sound he uses. He did confirm that Caskett does have a theme, he will continue to use it from now one. I was just surfing his web site and found a link where you can hear the original theme used in Always. You can vote for it as your favorite. Looks like Robert's music is blowing the competition out of the water. popwatch.ew.com/2012/10/22/castle-once-upon-a-time-scandal-music-theme/Hey all... is everyone's tummies stuffed with turkey??? lol... I hope you've all had a glorious time with family and friends! Things are settling down over here, so I'm going to post about the weekend. I am going to go out of order, one more time, as I want to post about the lunch on Sunday that Bobbie & I were able to attend with the Bowman family and Luke. I have minimal notes in my notebook on this, and I want to get this part posted while it's still fresh in my mind. Ok, as being a gold ticket holder, we were able to have lunch and chat sessions with the panel guests. We were at round tables, and Chuck, Rob & Steve Bowman were there, as well as Luke (costumes/wardrobe) and Armin Shimmerman. He's the one who played the mad scientist in "The Final Frontier" who invented the "Thorian Blaster"! ROFL! He also was in Star Trek, and is super nice! Totally enjoyed him! Alrighty, off I go... BOBBIE.... HELP ME WITH THIS, PLEASE! I may not remember everything, or exactly correctly. ;D We were all able to choose our seats, so Bobbie & I sat with Jan, from Australia, and Amy, from Atlanta. We had a buffet style lunch, and it was delicious. Lots of yummy chicken, pizza, finger foods, and fruit! We got our plates, sat down and were chatting amongst ourselves, and each of the guests picked a table and sat down. We got Rob first. I don't remember how the conversation started, but talked about casting Castle, and how they got Stana. Rob said she was number 130-something, out of 140 gals. By the time they got to her, they were pretty tired, and unenthused about what they had seen so far. They were trying to get through it, and were getting tired. Nathan sat in on every interview/audition. Stana was in front of them, and Nathan threw out a line that she was supposed to play off of. The line he threw out, he said as "Castle" and not Nathan. Rob said Stana interpreted it as Nathan talking to her harshly, and all of a sudden threw back a line at him that pretty much let Nathan know that she wasn't going to take that kind of tone/crap/attitude from him. Rob said everyone kind of woke-up/perked-up and were like "whoa"... lol.... She had a unique enough response, with the verbal sparring with Nathan from the get-go, that they were interested. Chuck reported that he was on set that day. That he didn't have much going on, so he went down to see how the auditions were going. He and Rob were talking about the casting and that they had three girls lined up for a screen test. Stana took the screen test, and was number three. Chuck asked Rob which one he liked, and Rob told his dad that he was kind of interested in number two, but Chuck said he told Rob, that before he makes his decision, to watch it through the lens. Watch the film back. Chuck liked what he saw in Stana. He again reiterated to Rob to just watch the film before deciding. The next day, Chuck said he got a call from Rob. All Rob said to him was that they just signed "her" - implying/meaning Stana! Chuck said he was thrilled. He felt they had their gal! And OH! YES! I think we all agree! Rob went on to talk about Stana on set. And yes, his time with us was up, but he kept talking. We got him for two sessions *giggle* and loved every minute! Let me just say... Rob's passion for Castle, and what he does OOOOZES out of him! He LOVES his job, and he LOVES Castle and he didn't get to be where he is without working hard! That man eats, lives, and breathes his job, and I will report more on this when I share the notes with you all that I took during the panel discussion/Q&A. Anyway, Rob was saying that Stana was somewhat inexperienced, but she had that something. He said he, among others, had been working with her on screen, to develop her role as Kate Beckett, and in her coaching was to be commanding of the interrogation room. To where if you're in the Oval Office at the White House, the President is in charge. He wanted her to be the BOSS of the interrogation room. He said with very little coaching, she was nailing it! In the second or third episode of Season One, he said she was to interrogate the "suspect" which was a VERY seasoned actress. She was going up against somebody with big acting chops! He said she blew them away! She held her ground, and didn't blink for THREE MINUTES and OWNED that scene! He said she BLEW THEM AWAY! And Stana Katic was on her way to being one Bad-Ass Kate Beckett! I could just SQUEEE I felt the excitement and passion as we were all sitting there listening to Rob about this! He was directly to my left and reached over and even touched me a few times in his excitement about her, and what a beautiful break it was that they got her as a co-star for Nathan! They are extremely pleased with their cast, and it was such an amazing experience listening to him! I know I could've listened to him for the entire day! It was time to share the wealth, and let Rob move on to other tables. We enjoyed Chuck as well, and he had joined Rob at one point which is where he inserted his take in about casting Stana. Chuck joined us again, and we talked about "The Blue Butterfly". He said he was adamant about having people just the way he wanted; in period clothes, the scenes, backgrounds, locations, etc. for authenticity. The colors had to be right the music, the air of the film, all of it. He is extremely proud of how the entire episode turned out. I believe I have more in my notes about this as well, and will share when I post the panel discussion section. Bobbie.... do you remember anything else Chuck said at lunch? Steven Bowman also joined us for his rotation, and we talked about his job in post-production about how he puts in all the scenery. Whatever we see on screen, that is not people, he does. He says he spends HOURS scouring footage of authentic New York skyline, architecture and places to make the feel of Castle be New York. At one point they talked about filming this, too, about using lens techniques/zoom ins, to avoid getting palm trees in the scenes, etc. Luke and Armin Shimmerman joined us, but it seemed rushed at that point, and I don't remember much of what we talked about with them. Bobbie? Anything? Ok, I'm going to end this post, and if I think of more, I will add it. I also have panel/Q&A notes from these people, and reading through those may trigger other things discussed with them at lunch. Hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday today with family and friends. I am blessed to be a part of this family. Starting from Friday afternoon when I arrived. I was the last to arrive, and had called Irma from the airport when I landed. She said they were all waiting in the lobby. As I got off the shuttle, and was walking toward the doors, they opened for other guests, and I saw Bobbie from a distance! I lit up, she saw me, and she lit up, and I RAN into the lobby and everyone got up and it was a HUGE hug-fest! LOL! WHAT A RUSH! OMG! It was amazing to see Bobbie again, and I totally LOVED meeting Teresa, Barb and iCaskett! Just a TOTAL thrill! I cannot describe it! We all just met and got acquainted and chatted and talked about our flights, and how excited we were, and some of us headed over to Starbuck's (in the lobby) and got a "Beckett"! It was awesome, by the way. We sat down with our coffees and just talked and talked and talked, and laughed and laughed from the get-go! We all got along just beautifully! Barb & I started with the giggles within the first ten minutes of meeting, and I don't think we stopped all weekend! She was definately my laughing buddy, as was iCaskett! ;D We were full of wonder and expectation of what the weekend would bring. Birgit from Germany joined us, and we visited for quite awhile. We also met some other fans from other States. It was great! Later on, we were getting hungry, and Teresa (Tycho) had looked up the directions to Casey's Irish Pub, which is "The Old Haunt!" We decided we would go there for dinner! The traffic! OH! The traffic! LOL! Bobbie & Birgit got a cab to the restaurant, and the rest of us piled into Tycho & her hubby John's, little SUV. With Tycho's phone GPS giving us trouble, and the traffic, I am thinking John was ready to cuss! We had trouble finding the place, only because the GPS wouldn't sync up to our location, but, being the Direction-Jedi Wonders that John and Teresa proved to be, they got us there, albeit a little late! I tried to call Bobbie on her cell (after I called her poor husband for her phone number as I didn't have her cell in my phone!) to tell her we were running late, but she had turned her phone off! We had made reservations and we were worried they wouldn't save our table, so I called the restaurant and they were super sweet and said not to worry! As it was, when we arrived, the place was hoppin' with people, so they were very kind to honor our reservations! Anyway, we got some photos outside, I ran down to tell Bobbie & Birgit we were there while Irma and Barb waited upstairs for Teresa and John to find somewhere to park. It was CRAZY in that pub! They were carding at the door (I didn't get carded, darn! *giggle*) and the longer we were there, the more busy it became! On one side is the restaurant area, on the other is the bar, and the back room is there where some of the filiming from Sucker Punch went down. The bar area is JUST like it looks in Last Call and Sucker Punch, with the exception of Castle's photo missing. I was bummed, cuz I wanted a photo of us looking at Castle's photo, and I wanted to caption it, "He was so cute back then...but he's killer handsome, today!" ;D But, no could do. Bummer. But, the place is cool, old-time Irish pub-looking, and yeah, looks just like the "Old Haunt". And we could "see" Beckett up at the top of the stairs "popping one more button".... Sigh.............................TOO COOL! Some of us got a drink, we all got food, and my Guinness stew and Irish Soda Bread was fabulous! I ate EVERY drop! YUMM-O! Now, the ride back. The ride back will go down in history. Just sayin'. Gonna post this and get some tea. And I will give the little story of the ride back. ;D Barb..... you there? You need to chime in here... ;D Oh boy.... I've never laughed so much or so hard in my life. I am certain. lol..... Great information Kriss!! I am loving it!! Great information Kriss!! I am loving it!! I'm so happy you are. Thank you, my friend! Makes all my effort with it! I'm just getting a chance to catch up now and I'm loving these stories!! I can so easily imagine everything as it played out and I'm so happy that you're sharing these stories with us!! Oh I am lovin' this!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:22:32 GMT -5
I've got a few things to add to what Kriss said about the lunch on Sunday. As she mentioned, there were 4 of us at our table and there was one empty chair for the guest. The organizers were moving chairs around and making the cluster around several other table twice as large, but for some reason, they left us alone so we had the fun of just having the 4 of us with each guest! It was special! As Rob Bowman was starting to tell the story about Stana's audition, he prefaced it by saying that this was a very high stakes audition for all of the women because to land the lead in a network primetime show, had the potential to really change your life and career. In fact, he said the problem that they were seeing with many of the actresses was that they were just trying too hard. He also said that quite a few of them would just kind of melt when Nathan delivered his flirtatious lines. Stana came in and dished it all right back at him and they loved her for it! Another story that Rob told was actually told at the table next to us but I was close enough to hear most of it. After lunch, I asked someone at that table to tell me the whole story. As you know, Rob directed this season's premier, After The Storm, and he said that the ending in the script simply called for Castle and Kate to leave in the elevator. That bugged him because he thought it needed to be more memorable than that so he was wracking his brain to come up with a good ending. He said that he wanted it to get across 2 messages to the audience. The first is that this season was going to be a fun one. That premier had covered the whole gamut of mood with romance, slapstick comedy and dark, heavy drama, but he felt it was important for the final beat to be a funny one. The second thing he wanted people to realize is that this season it's not just Castle chasing Kate. She is going to be chasing him too. So Rob came up with the idea of having Kate "pick Castle's pocket" as the elevator doors close - his exact words He took the idea to Andrew who objected loudly saying we can't do that! Rob said he had to talk Andrew down and reassure him that he was only going to shoot the scene from the elbows up and that it would all be implied, and he finally convinced Andrew to go with it. He said he explained it to Nathan and he quickly assured him that he had the perfect response And so we got that hysterical groping scene thanks to Rob! The only thing I can think to add about Chuck Bowman was that he specifically demanded that somewhere in The Blue Butterfly, he wanted Stana in a Casablanca hat, and he got his way. I asked Luke Reichle (costumes) how long they have to make the costumes and he said generally, 2 - 4 days. I also asked him if they took shortcuts on costumes to put them together quickly rather than do a lot of finishing work. He said it's just the opposite. The costumes have to be very durable. Any given episode covers 2 or 3 days of time in the story. That means that the characters have to wear the same clothes for however many days it takes to shoot all of the scenes that involve that day. He also said that every night, the costumes are dry cleaned and the actors have them on for 14 - 16 hours some days. He said they can really take a beating. I've got lots of other things that were said but I think most of them were from the panels so I'll wait until Kriss posts those and add to them if I need to. Now I'll add a few things to Kriss' post about Friday. Irma (icaskett) was supposed to be the welcoming committee in the lobby because she arrived on Thursday but we had failed to discuss any way of recognizing each other. So when I arrived, they said that my room wasn't ready yet and I sat down in a chair against a wall to watch the lobby and see if I could see someone who might be Irma. I'd been sitting there for about 15 minutes when a woman walked by carrying a Castle tote bag exactly like mine so I watched where she went and I saw her go sit down with another woman. I decided they were my best bet so I walked up to them and sure enough, it was Barb with the tote bag and Irma. It already felt like old home week! We spent at least a couple of hours in the lobby and during that time, we interacted with several other fans. There was April who had been to a location shoot and was sweet enough to share her personal pictures, and Sue who was there with her husband and mother and then Birgit who ended up hanging with us for the weekend. Everyone was so very friendly. I really have to share the funny story that had us all in near hysterics and wetting our pants that afternoon. Kriss was telling the others that I make quilts and she was trying to convince me to post pictures. She also said that I should make a quilt for Nathan. I said, "Don't think I haven't thought about it!" Then someone said - rather suggestively - you should make him some bed sheets! At that point I made a split second decision to share something I honestly had fantasized about doing. DON'T JUDGE ME I have envisioned appliqueing a life sized print of Nathan's body onto a bottom sheet on one side of the bed and his head onto a pillow case. He would be lying on his back. Then I would use a quilting technique known as trapunto to carefully stitch an outline around selected areas, which you then stuff with batting to create DEPTH. I looked right at Kriss and she had this confused look on her face like she was trying to make sense of what I was explaining so I said, "You know, specifically chosen areas!" I waited another beat and all of a sudden she SHRIEKED and covered her mouth, exploding into a fit of laughter! That got all of us going and Teresa kept reminding her to breathe. We all laughed until the tears came and our stomachs hurt But now come on ladies - how many of you would like to have a sheet like that on your bed? ? Now I'll add a few things to Kriss' post about Friday. Irma (icaskett) was supposed to be the welcoming committee in the lobby because she arrived on Thursday but we had failed to discuss any way of recognizing each other. So when I arrived, they said that my room wasn't ready yet and I sat down in a chair against a wall to watch the lobby and see if I could see someone who might be Irma. I'd been sitting there for about 15 minutes when a woman walked by carrying a Castle tote bag exactly like mine so I watched where she went and I saw her go sit down with another woman. I decided they were my best bet so I walked up to them and sure enough, it was Barb with the tote bag and Irma. It already felt like old home week! We spent at least a couple of hours in the lobby and during that time, we interacted with several other fans. There was April who had been to a location shoot and was sweet enough to share her personal pictures, and Sue who was there with her husband and mother and then Birgit who ended up hanging with us for the weekend. Everyone was so very friendly. I really have to share the funny story that had us all in near hysterics and wetting our pants that afternoon. Kriss was telling the others that I make quilts and she was trying to convince me to post pictures. She also said that I should make a quilt for Nathan. I said, "Don't think I haven't thought about it!" Then someone said - rather suggestively - you should make him some bed sheets! At that point I made a split second decision to share something I honestly had fantasized about doing. DON'T JUDGE ME I have envisioned appliqueing a life sized print of Nathan's body onto a bottom sheet on one side of the bed and his head onto a pillow case. He would be lying on his back. Then I would use a quilting technique known as trapunto to carefully stitch an outline around selected areas, which you then stuff with batting to create DEPTH. I looked right at Kriss and she had this confused look on her face like she was trying to make sense of what I was explaining so I said, "You know, specifically chosen areas!" I waited another beat and all of a sudden she SHRIEKED and covered her mouth, exploding into a fit of laughter! That got all of us going and Teresa kept reminding her to breathe. We all laughed until the tears came and our stomachs hurt But now come on ladies - how many of you would like to have a sheet like that on your bed? ? OHhhhh my goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... I am in complete HYSTERICS reading this again! ROFL....! LOLOLOL...............THIS is what started the afternoon (and EVENING...AND WEEEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) of hysterics! We were dying laughing, and I could NOT stop! Just the word picture in my mind, and Bobbie talking about this...well, I was dying! ROFL! OMG! WHO KNEW!!! BOBBIE! ROFL! PRICELESS MOMENT! PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it was TERRIFIC to experience it! I LOVED it! ;D ;D ;D Knowing Bobbie and Kriss very well....I AM NOT SURPRISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Everyone who has expressed appreciation and thanked us for these stories so far, THANK YOU! Just saying you love it, appreciate it, enjoy it is enough! You're welcome. Ok, I am going to finish up with Friday night! The car ride home from "The Old Haunt" aka Casey's. Bobbie & Birgit had to pay a fortune for the taxi ride downtown to the pub. Teresa thought we could all just pile in, to save anyone the money in taking a cab back! Who knew the cost would be THAT high!? Anyway, Teresa said we could pile in, and we were all looking at each other as to who would pile in the back! It came down to me & Barb. Irma and Barb are the tiniest, but lucky Irma, being in a dress saved her! I was the lucky one to ride IN THE BACK OF THE CRV WITH BARB!!! OH, MERCIFUL HEAVENS! WHAT A HOOT! Just getting the two of us IN the back was an event! ROFL! We had little space, and had to compete with blankets, a 24 pack of water bottles, our purses and tote bags, and who knows what all! ROFL! Just getting us IN there caused a fit of laughing hysterics! Ok, Teresa closed the door on us, and we were left in a state resembling the contortionist in the safe in Home is Where the Heart is. Not lying. ;D We were bouncing and bouncing and bumping and cramped and squished and our legs were stuck around each others and we just kept laughing and giggling at the hysteria of the situation. Ok, I am laughing even typing this up! ;D At one point, I said, "Barb, my left butt cheek is asleep, I need to reposition." OH, what a sight we must've been. Barb took her shoes off to make more room, I coulnd't reach one of my feet to take mine off as it was "somewhere" and trying to move my other leg over Barb's to reposition put us over the edge! We couldn't stop laughing! And we had to use the ladies' room! OH WHY OH WHY didn't we do that at the pub? .... I'll never know! Needless to say, one of us would settle down, and the other would keep giggling and on it went. We were trying to hard to distract ourselves from our entangled state, the bumping up & down, hoping the sides of us didn't meet a bumper from another car, and so we started making names up for this "situation".... rofl! The words "Operation", "Pandora", "Bedpan (cuz we had to go potty)" all entered the scene! OH ME! We were laughing SO HARD we couldn't breathe! We were trying to be quiet so Mr. Tycho could hear Teresa's directions to get back to the hotel, and we were just a cruzin' on down highway ten or 110 or whatever it was with cars whizzin' by, and hoping we would just get to that darn hotel! ROFL! FINALLY! We see the airport, the hotel is on the horizon! We start to breathe a sigh of relief! Someone else said something and we started laughing all over again. We're talking serious stomach pain from laughing so hard laughing! ;D Mr. Tycho pulled up under the canopy to let us out, and I coudln't move! Seriously! I couldn't move! My legs, feet, and bum were asleep and I couldn't move! I was laughing so hard, Teresa came around they were all trying to help me out and I couldn't move! I was laughing so freaking hard! A few guys from another car came around and were trying to help me out, and all they could say was how drunk I was! SO FUNNY, cuz I didn't have a DROP of alcohol! OH, what a sight we were, all laughing! Anyway, the girls each took an arm, and helped pull me out! Mr. Tycho pulled away to park, and we all just kept laughing trying to walk back into the hotel lobby! WHAT A SIGHT we must've been! Ok, I have tears rolling down my cheeks from laughing as I type this! And Barb, Barb is the type to keep giggling when you're done laughing. So she would finally stop, and I would make the mistake of looking at her, and so it would begin all over again! ROFL! OH! WHAT A NIGHT! ROFL! I hadn't laughed so much in who knows when! I LOVED it! Alrighty, the rest of you smarty pants who were in the car... chime in! ;D Oh I can't BREATHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS SO HYSTERICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I can't BREATHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS SO HYSTERICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D I am wondering if my cranberry juice was spiked and I didn't know it? ;D Oh honey, you don't need anything to help you laugh and be funny. You just are! ROFL I really can't add anything but I was watching the guys who approached the vehicle to try to help and when they turned to come back towards the sidewalk, the one guy gave a Beckett-worthy  and said, "She is REALLY drunk!" Moral of the story - Kriss and Barbara in a confined space is a recipe for laughter and near disaster! When we found out that the cab ride was $52 for the 17mile ride we decided to try and stuff in the Honda CRV. I was really missing our old Tahoe.. I think it might have been better to put 4 in the back seat. Kriss Birgit did volunteer to ride in the back but you went instead? Yeah my challenge was to try and be the navigator sitting in the backseat with these 2 ladies in the very back laughing so hard. Poor Mr. Tycho missed a couple of my directions but we did all make it back to the hotel in one piece. Yeah I wondered Kat if that drink had a little more zip than you thought... Fun night Convention, November 17th ~ Day One This day opened with registration from 8:30 – 9:30, and getting started about 10:00 a.m. with the welcome and news. There was then a charity auction, where many lovely items were auctioned off! The prices that some things brought was incredible! I can make a separate post at some point about what was auctioned off, and the prices they brought. I documented this for both days. Let me know if any of you are interested in this information. After the welcome, news and auction, we had a nice bit with Jason Palmer. He began in the comic book industry in 1990 painting covers for Star Trek. He’s worked as an illustrator for TV shows, story boards, etc., including advertising and packaging art for companies such as Paramount, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios. He also recently did illustrations for Star Wars, and the package art for Indiana Jones Blue Ray set, among other things. He has developed a popular series of licensed Firefly/Serenity art with Universal Studios, and now, his first official CASTLE TV poster newly licensed by ABC!!!! He was offering the finished product/poster to us at the convention, signed, for $35.00! Of course, I bought one! Beautiful work! His side banners that he used to advertise his booth at Comic Con last year were auctioned off this weekend, and I believe I have a photo of those in the photobucket link Teel provided. They sold for $225.00! Ok, off we go with the first panel Q & A which was editors and camera. Warren Bowman and Marta Every, editors, and Christopher Brow, the camera grip. Christopher is the one responsible for the camera dolly and rolling during action shots! Marta and Warren are married, and are the main editors. Warren shares the name Bowman with Chuck, Rob & Stephen, although they are not related. Alrighty, anyone who wanted to ask a question was to line up and they would get their turn at the microphone. The first question was about the kiss in Always. Marta said we saw everything that was filmed, and yes, Bobbie eluded to her using a clip or two more than once. They gave us what they had; there was nothing that was not used or saved for something else. Warren was responsible for the editing until Castle opened the door; Marta took from the door opening through the end. Marta revealed that she did NOT know the ending of this episode, but she knew that when there was a kiss, SHE WANTED TO EDIT IT! She was SO HAPPY she got to do the kiss! She said she rarely reads the scripts, as she likes to be surprised, too, and likes to edit with feeling/using her emotion as she watches what happens play out. She said she enjoys experiencing the emotion while she watches just as we would. She lets her emotions guide her editing. She & Warren talked about the Knockdown kiss being the most difficult of the kisses with editing, and Christopher said it was more difficult to film than the Always kiss. They had to get close-ups on the kiss, and didn’t do that the first time, so they had to call Nathan and Stana back to get close-ups on the kiss for the second shoot. Darn! Having to do the make-out scene twice! THAT must’ve been hard! Lol… He also said that they did the close-up shoot on the back lot, whereas the one where we see them drunk and walking and the other farther away shots, were shot on-location. The next question was about ad-libbing, and Christopher said, “That is why you hire Nathan Fillion.”. He proceeded to say say that he just cracks up during filming. That he & Stana can just be hilarious. Chris went on to talk about Swan Song and said so much of the scenes were not scripted, especially the ends of scenes in this episode. They had a lot of freedom in filming this one and this is why you hire these kinds of remarkable actors. Going to post this....there is more.... The next question had to do with cutting room stuff. Where does it go? The negatives that are left go to Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania, where ALL unused negatives are archived for EVERY TV show! Interesting! They stay there indefinately. Til the end of time, I guess... Next question was about which scene or episode any of them found particularly hilarious. Marta answered first, with Swan Song, and that she "fell out of her chair laughing"....remember, she said she doesn't read scripts ahead of time. She works with her material/film that is in front of her, and edits with her emotions. So she thought all the hamming it up was hysterical! She especially found the scene with Ryan and Espo in the car to be exceptionally funny! Warren answered a question on shooting a show. He said it's very hard to get it just right, at the right time and the right way. For Swan Song, it was a particularly fun episode for everyone, because the actors were somewhat free to do what they wanted to always do. They had free reign to have fun. Christopher went on to say about shooting Swan Song, that there was no dolly - the camera men were holding everything, and instead of running a dolly, he helped to make the camera men comfortable and then he took the day off. LOL! Warren said the most challenging episode to shoot and to cut was Always. He also said that he was as ready for *THAT* to happen as we were. He was also extremely excited for this episode, because he said it was the first time he was able to cut anything that Rob directed. The most challenging episode for Marta was the end of Season 3. When Beckett was shot, and Monty died. Remember.... she doesn't read the scripts..... She saw the footage she needed to edit and said she it was heart-wrenching. She also went on to say, "Nobody was acting"...they were all experiencing heart-wrenching emotion that Monty had died - everyone was upset in the hanger. Very true-to-emotion scene for all of them. Marta also said, that for personal reasons, cutting the funeral scene was gripping for her. Marta also commented on Swan Song. She said that they had to cut these scenes keeping in mind that no music would be used throughout the episode, as there is no music in documentaries. It's the documentarians point of view that they had to portray. She said she depends on the music to help tell the point of view, and that it is difficult to cut without the help of music. ( I found this very interesting. ) In this episode, the voices, actors, and camera men were the ones depended on to tell the story. For Christopher, his most challenging time was first season. He said they shot the show differently in Season One. He said the murder scenes were HUGE, and the woman in the oil, in Ghosts, was the most challenging from the camera shots point of view. He also said that, for example, in Probable Cause, the bridge scene - big scenes like that are "murder" LOL! My pun, not his. ....He said it was a huge deal to film at night, with that bridge, and that it had to do its thing. It wasn't in the plan to have the bridge go up. It just went up, and they had to deal with hit. lol...The logistics with stopping traffic, logistics in filming, safety issues is a really big deal in preparation for these kinds of filming shoots and they are usually extremely busy due to the number of people involved. i.e. people to stop traffic, safety guys have to be near, etc... The shooting is overall the easy part, it's the logistics and these other technical things that make it a big deal. The Tigers...shooting Cuffed. Interesting tidbit ---- from Marta. Stana and Nathan were never in the same room with the tigers! It was too dangerous. She had to do "composite shots" to make it look like they were, and they had to act like they were! Talk about needing some acting chops! Overall, shooting with the tigers was a lot of fun, but there was only a handful of people on set for safety to get the shots of the tigers. The tigers needed to be safe, and the people needed to be safe. A couple of people were on top of that container with the cats below and dangling meat to make them jump up and paw at them. They said it was a fun challenge. Sure... lol... I hope they rewarded those beautiful cats with their meat when they did what they were supposed to do! Ok, someone begged for a spoiler on the Christmas episode. Teel... you asked me. I don't have one. The editor who happened to do that episode wasn't there, and they didn't share what they knew. All Christopher would give us is, "It was awesome!", a lot of fun to shoot, and that we are gonna love it! Sigh..................................................................................... lol................................. Ok, gonna post this. I have two more pages of notes yet on these three to post yet, but it's near midnight. I will pick back up in the morning with this and finish off Marta, Warren and Chris's Q & A session. I should also be able to finish out the first day tomorrow, as I only have one page of notes on Penny & Tamala. Go figure. They were funny as can be, and adorable to listen to, but I don't have a lot of information. I will say, that I do have something significant in the spoiler arena to post from Penny, so I will start a little spoiler thread tomorrow. Alright then... Hope you all had a lovely holiday, to those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving, and a lovely day to those of you who didn't. Until tomorrow..... AH MAN! I saw a tweet that he said that but I was hoping he gave you guys a little more info than that! LOL EXCELLENT INFO!! Keep it comin sista! Well, my Thanksgiving is now officially complete! This has been an amazing story to read. Kriss, I cannot thank you enough for the time and attention to detail you've taken to bring this experience to life for those of us who couldn't be there. I feel like I was standing next to you the whole time! And Nathanfan, your perspective on the same events just rounds out the whole "bird's eye view" that I feel like I'm getting. No detail is too minute for me! Speaking of which, I'd be interested in knowing how much the elephants went for at the auction. There is more I want to say, but it's almost 1 a.m., and I have to be up early. I can't wait to come back for more tomorrow! First off - we all need to send Kriss HUGE virtual hugs for the time she's taking to share all of these details! You are indeed a Wonder, woman! On Sunday, Marta Evry came back to the Con and was just hanging out in the autograph room when the Bowman guys were signing. She said she had to come back to, "see my boys!" I took the liberty to approach her and ask if she'd mind a few more questions. She was happy to oblige. I thought this might be a good place to share what we talked about since Kriss was just telling about her panel. Kriss mentioned that Marta doesn't really have an editing style as some evidently do. She uses her own emotions and gut feelings to guide her decisions. She said that for any given episode, she makes about 1500 cuts! That's 1500 decisions that determine how the story plays out to the viewers. I asked her if gender seemed to play any role in editing. Because she relied on her own emotions and was a woman, did that mean that she was better suited to do things like the kiss scene in Always. She laughed and said, "No, in fact in my family, it's just the opposite. Warren is the one who wears his heart on his sleeve and he likes doing the more emotional episodes. I tend to like the action stuff." I found this insight especially interesting after we interacted with Warren again at the studio. He admitted that he was shy and had only spoken to Nathan twice in 4 years. He said he never goes on set but Marta loves to hang out with the cast and take pictures. Another question I asked Marta was what happens to them when Castle ends its run. She said they all start looking for new work because they are, essentially, freelancers. However, she said that this business is all about relationships and when you have a good fit, you tend to stick with the same people. For her, it's Rob Bowman, She said she'd been working with Rob for something like 15 years and she would most likely go along to whatever his next project is. It was very obvious that she GREATLY admires him. I also asked Rob a similar question at lunch. I asked if it was likely that Stana and Nathan would have other offers waiting for them when Castle ended. He assured me that they would because, having been leads in a successful network show, they could bring and established fan base to their next project. HOWEVER, he asked us to try to name 5 actors who had had back to back successful series. He had a hard time naming 5 himself. He pointed out that despite them having offers, there's certainly no guarantee that they will choose one that will turn out to be a hit. He said there were so many other factors beyond their control that the odds are stacked against that happening no matter how good they are. He said that the wise thing for an actor to do if they have a successful run, is to put away the majority of their money for leaner times in the future. I remember an interview with Nathan a while back where he said his dad had preached the same thing to him. He said that as he's had some successes, he's allowed himself a small improvement but hasn't gone wild with his money. One time, he said that all he did was buy a fancy watch! Another time, he was able to buy a new car. It was only after the second season of Castle and a pick up promise for the third, that he finally bought a house. Please bear with me if I repeat myself! This weekend was definitely circuit overload with information and I'm trying to make sure we share as much as possible with everyone. First off - we all need to send Kriss HUGE virtual hugs for the time she's taking to share all of these details! You are indeed a Wonder, woman! On Sunday, Marta Evry came back to the Con and was just hanging out in the autograph room when the Bowman guys were signing. She said she had to come back to, "see my boys!" I took the liberty to approach her and ask if she'd mind a few more questions. She was happy to oblige. I thought this might be a good place to share what we talked about since Kriss was just telling about her panel. Kriss mentioned that Marta doesn't really have an editing style as some evidently do. She uses her own emotions and gut feelings to guide her decisions. She said that for any given episode, she makes about 1500 cuts! That's 1500 decisions that determine how the story plays out to the viewers. I asked her if gender seemed to play any role in editing. Because she relied on her own emotions and was a woman, did that mean that she was better suited to do things like the kiss scene in Always. She laughed and said, "No, in fact in my family, it's just the opposite. Warren is the one who wears his heart on his sleeve and he likes doing the more emotional episodes. I tend to like the action stuff." I found this insight especially interesting after we interacted with Warren again at the studio. He admitted that he was shy and had only spoken to Nathan twice in 4 years. He said he never goes on set but Marta loves to hang out with the cast and take pictures. Another question I asked Marta was what happens to them when Castle ends its run. She said they all start looking for new work because they are, essentially, freelancers. However, she said that this business is all about relationships and when you have a good fit, you tend to stick with the same people. For her, it's Rob Bowman, She said she'd been working with Rob for something like 15 years and she would most likely go along to whatever his next project is. It was very obvious that she GREATLY admires him. I also asked Rob a similar question at lunch. I asked if it was likely that Stana and Nathan would have other offers waiting for them when Castle ended. He assured me that they would because, having been leads in a successful network show, they could bring and established fan base to their next project. HOWEVER, he asked us to try to name 5 actors who had had back to back successful series. He had a hard time naming 5 himself. He pointed out that despite them having offers, there's certainly no guarantee that they will choose one that will turn out to be a hit. He said there were so many other factors beyond their control that the odds are stacked against that happening no matter how good they are. He said that the wise thing for an actor to do if they have a successful run, is to put away the majority of their money for leaner times in the future. I remember an interview with Nathan a while back where he said his dad had preached the same thing to him. He said that as he's had some successes, he's allowed himself a small improvement but hasn't gone wild with his money. One time, he said that all he did was buy a fancy watch! Another time, he was able to buy a new car. It was only after the second season of Castle and a pick up promise for the third, that he finally bought a house. Please bear with me if I repeat myself! This weekend was definitely circuit overload with information and I'm trying to make sure we share as much as possible with everyone. Awww... you're too sweet, my friend! Thank you! It is my pleasure to share, as everyone here is deserving of everything/anything we can bring/share. I know if I didn't have the honor and privilege to go, I would want to know as much as possible, too. I am happy to do it. It does take time, so if everyone can hang with me, I will get it all documented here as soon as I can. And, THANK YOU for this post, Bobbie! I KNEW there was more at lunch with Rob, and your post about Nathan & Stana getting work after the run of Castle (which I don't even want to THINK about...! lol....) is what was missing. We (all) make a good team. Well, my Thanksgiving is now officially complete! This has been an amazing story to read. Kriss, I cannot thank you enough for the time and attention to detail you've taken to bring this experience to life for those of us who couldn't be there. I feel like I was standing next to you the whole time! And Nathanfan, your perspective on the same events just rounds out the whole "bird's eye view" that I feel like I'm getting. No detail is too minute for me! Speaking of which, I'd be interested in knowing how much the elephants went for at the auction. There is more I want to say, but it's almost 1 a.m., and I have to be up early. I can't wait to come back for more tomorrow! You're quite welcome, my friend! Regarding the elephants, there were a few sets. I will provide the details, as there were three sets of the arched ones, and one set of free standing ones. They all went for good money. The arched set, the last set auctioned off on Sunday, was signed by Nathan, Stana, Jon, Seamus, Penny, Tamala and Rob. It sold for.... *drumroll* $850.00!!! Yes, yes it did. I will consult my notes and will go ahead and post all the auction items and what they went for when I'm done posting all the other convention information. I really wanted those elephants, and considered bidding up to $300.00, but it went way past that before I even had a chance. lol.... I find all the behind scenes stuff with the crew fascinating! Thanks so much for adding more info about Marta,Nathanfan! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:24:23 GMT -5
CK and NathanFan, thank you SO much for doing this!! I love reading these stories and getting to hear what everyone said during their panels as well as all of the fun experiences that you all had in between. I truly believe I would have been in heaven around all of these crew members, but getting to read about them and the information they shared with all of you is definitely a great consolation prize! Lol. I know this must take a great amount of effort, especially in taking such detailed notes and then typing everything out here, and I'm sure I can speak for all of us here when I say that it is so very much appreciated that you have gone through all of this trouble just to share all of this with us here. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! I am just LOVING this! Thank you all so much for sharing with those of us who couldn't go. Makes it almost feel like we were there. Except, I know I wasn't, because I didn't get to meet Nathan! :-( Thanks to all of you sharing these cute, funny (sometimes hilarious), and insightful stories! It's much appreciated! Ok, here we go. Got hung up with my youngest at the pool, or I would've been here sooner! Regarding flashbacks - specifically, in After the Storm, when Kate was running to find the senator. Warren said, of any episode, it "is up to us to make it cool"...They are responsible for the state of mind montages for the emotional journey. Those flashbacks were not scripted. He went on to say if they (the editors) have an idea, the directors/Andrew will let them run with it. Putting those flashbacks in that were playing through Kate's mind as she sought out her target, were Marta's idea. According to Marta, this was Kate's state of mind - Kate was responding (in Marta's mind) to what must've been running through Kate's head, making her all the more determined to find the senator. He, and his cronies, had put her, and then Castle, through hell, and her eye was on the prize. This movie playing through Kate's mind fueled her fire! Personally, I say YAY MARTA! Cuz that TOTALLY worked and brought the emotion home, for me anyway! The next question had to do with cutting scenens. Are they forced to cut any? Warren said that it was very rare, and Marta said "nope".. lol... the only one Warren talked about was the deleted scene with Kate's father and Castle. They really only cut that down do to time, and felt that what they had worked better, and wanted more time with what they did show, and because that scene didn't really further the characters in any way. It was a nice "sideways moment", but felt it was one they could "put away". They said if they are unsure about a scene, they will go back to the director and ask them (not usually the writers) what their intent was for a certain scene. If it's huge, or furthers character development, they make sure it's in. They are so good, that they ususally only film what's needed. Not a lot of extra stuff. Most of what is filmed makes it to the cutting room floor. If it doesn't, it's because something else was shot better to convey the scene/what they are trying to show. It takes eight days to shoot an episode, one day for "insert" shooting (things they missed, re-dos), four days in studio with directors/producers, then the directors cut goes to sound (a week to 10 days here), music, mix (two days here to make sure sound is right with motion of film), editors then again take just a few hours to tweak it all and then send it for air date. Takes four to five weeks total to make and prepare one show to air date! WOW! They also said that this is why they need a week here & there without a new episode. Things happen, there is a delay for whatever reason, and they were all saying how sometimes they are wondering on the Thursday or Friday before an air date if they are going to make it and have it ready for that Monday to air! CRAZY! Marta is VERY picky about sound, and one of her favorite things was the Creaver shriek at the end of The Final Frontier. LOL. She thought that was fun! Warren said he watches when the show airs. Absolutely! He wants to make sure it airs and captures all the effects, emotions, etc. as they had intended. Even for things like color, sound, if their lips are out of sync - quality control reasons. They also want to see it how the fans see it. Marta has been working with Rob since 2006. Christopher and Rob are childhood friends. He started working with Rob on "Daybreak". They all said that they enjoy tweeting, and tweeting with us, and are encouraged to do so. Their main concern is spoilers, and spoiling anything for us! They get excited too, but have to be careful. lol... Marta loves to take pictures, and said it is SO HARD for her not to share the photos with us, but that too many of what she takes is spoiler material. She said once something airs, she will share the photos. Christopher said it's EXTREMELY hard for him not to share, because while he's filming he thinks, "OH! They're gonna LOVE this!" LOL! Bless him! hah ahaha....And he sited on example in particular, that he was blown away when Stana was so beautiful in her blue dress from The Blue Butterfly! It was all he could do not to share/tweet a photo of her! LOL! Andrew is a huge geek, especially for the original Star Trek, and was so thrilled to be able to do The Final Frontier. That is the ending of the notes I have during the panel Q & A for these three remarkable guests! They were SO much fun to listen to. VERY down to earth and I loved Christopher's enthusiasm. He smiled a lot. LOVED it! After this, those of us who had paid for autograph sessions went down to get those from this awesome panel, and there was Castle trivia going on in the conference room. I have to make a note here....I was sitting on the center aisle seat, third row. Next to me was this lovely, sweet young lady running the power point presentations, which consisted of slides/stills from the show, and in between panels, music/fan videos. Her name is Yasamine, and she is from Persia. She is a HUGE Castle fan, and she has a remarkable story. Much like Kate's. Back in 2009, she was in a hit & run accident. A car hit her, and left her for dead. She missed two years of school during her recovery time due to the surgeries and rehab needed to get her back on her feet again. She said she was bedridden much of the time, and Castle helped to get her through. She has met Stana three times, all three quite by accident and coincidence, and Stana remembered her each time! She said she was just amazed at how kind Stana always was/is to everyone around her, and that she values her as the kind of role model young girls need these days. She said she is so impressive on a personal level, and not just as a fabulous actress. This is another reason that she loves Castle so much. I totally enjoyed sitting next to this lovely lady. She had more to say with her story, but that is the gist of it. It just confirms what many of us have heard and know about Stana to be true. I am thankful that Yasamine was so gracious to share her space with me, as I used her table for some of my things at times, and took the time to speak with me in between sessions, when she could've been visiting with her friend who was there. I have a couple of photos of her, one of which is in my phone with her wearing a "Shut The Front Door" t-shirt. My phone was acting wonky earlier as I tried to upload 16 photos from this weekend to my facebook page. I will try again. Anyway, Yasamine's story is one to think on with fondness with our beloved show. It makes a difference in people's lives in so many ways. We are all proof of that. One other thing I want to say is about the powerpoint presentations that played throughtout the two days. As I said, they were stills/clips from epsiodes. But, the fan-vids were the best of the lot on You Tube. AND, imagine my delight as I'm carrying on in between panels, and I hear Celine Dion's "I Know What Love Is"... My mind stopped for a beat, looked at the screen, and sure enough! It is one of Queen's most recent fan-vids, and just SO HAPPENS TO BE THE ONE SHE DEDICATED TO ME! HOW is THAT for meta! Just another SIGN from the UNIVERSE that I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! LOL! I just looked up and smiled. And then I texted Teel to let Q know she was "there" with us. I'll be back with more shortly. CK and NathanFan, thank you SO much for doing this!! I love reading these stories and getting to hear what everyone said during their panels as well as all of the fun experiences that you all had in between. I truly believe I would have been in heaven around all of these crew members, but getting to read about them and the information they shared with all of you is definitely a great consolation prize! Lol. I know this must take a great amount of effort, especially in taking such detailed notes and then typing everything out here, and I'm sure I can speak for all of us here when I say that it is so very much appreciated that you have gone through all of this trouble just to share all of this with us here. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Always, my friend. Always. I am just LOVING this! Thank you all so much for sharing with those of us who couldn't go. Makes it almost feel like we were there. Except, I know I wasn't, because I didn't get to meet Nathan! :-( I am happy I can help you feel the magic in some small way! Trust me! I know how you feel, and I wish for you to get to meet one of our beloved stars one day, too! Thanks to all of you sharing these cute, funny (sometimes hilarious), and insightful stories! It's much appreciated! You're QUITE welcome! Happy to know you're enjoying! AH MAN! I saw a tweet that he said that but I was hoping he gave you guys a little more info than that! LOL EXCELLENT INFO!! Keep it comin sista! ;D I WISH I had more for you with this! Just know that everyone sure tried to pry info out of him! LOL! When we found out that the cab ride was $52 for the 17mile ride we decided to try and stuff in the Honda CRV. I was really missing our old Tahoe.. I think it might have been better to put 4 in the back seat. Kriss Birgit did volunteer to ride in the back but you went instead? Yeah my challenge was to try and be the navigator sitting in the backseat with these 2 ladies in the very back laughing so hard. Poor Mr. Tycho missed a couple of my directions but we did all make it back to the hotel in one piece. Yeah I wondered Kat if that drink had a little more zip than you thought... Fun night ;D Did I ever tell you & John that I was sorry that we carried on so terribly... lol.... if not, I AM SO SORRY! I KNOW we were somewhat out of control, and we were TRYING to behave back there, really, we were.... ;D ;D ;D THANK YOU and please give John a big SO SORRY and THANK YOU hug from me, just IN CASE I may have neglected to say or do any of these things. You guys were AMAZING! THANK YOU again for EVERYTHING!  Alrighty, after autographs with the crew and the trivia in the conference room, next was the photo session time with Penny & Tamala, and the Q & A with them would be after lunch! Anyway, I was still downstairs talking to a group of friends, when I decided I had time to run upstairs to grab a coffee. I was waiting by the elevators to go up, the doors opened, and there was Irma (iCaskett), and I proceed to speak to her, when I noticed who she was with! IT WAS PENNY and her MOM! After briefly looking at Irma and being ready to speak to her, it was such a rush to realize that it was Penny & her mom that was really there and rode down in the elevator with her, and, "OH HI PENNY!" just came flying out of my mouth! LOL! It was TOO funny! She said, "Hey! Do you know where I'm supposed to go?" hahahaha... and I was like 'little 'ol me?' know wher Penny is supposed to go? lol... I said I had an idea that it was right through that door. I asked Penny's mom, "Are you Penny's mom?" and she said yes, and I told her it was lovely to meet her. She said likewise, and followed Penny through the door. Irma and I were left staring gape-jawed at each other and then laughed in disbelief! ROFL! We then fangirled (quietly) for a moment, chatted and I left her to go up & get that coffee! I needed it! ROFL! As it was, Tamala was running late from L.A. traffic ( I TOTALLY believe it!) and so we had a few more minutes. I was drinking my coffee and looking at the table of goodies to buy, and I saw this tall lady with a cap on approach the lady next to me, she pulled her scarf down from her mouth, and asked what room she was to be in. It was Tamala! I nearly let out a squeak, but restrained myself just in time! LOL! What a rush to see her when we hadn't set eyes on her yet, and I had just had the encounter with Penny downstairs! TOO FUNNY! I was dying! LOL! I think I tweeted (tried to with the stupid internet connections!) or opted to text Teel. I can't remember. Anyway, such a rush! Ok, we head down for photos with Penny & Tamala! They were both SO friendly and gracious and fun and energetic and I just could not get over that I was so close to them, and that they were talking to me personally, when it came to be my turn. WOW! The whole weekend was CHOCK FULL of mind-blowing moments! Hard to put into words, let me tell you! Anyway, I was up with Tamala second, so I finished with Penny and turned the corner into Tamala's room, and she was adorable! I blurted out, in my excitement, "TAMALA!!!!!" and she replied, "GIRRRRRLLLLLL! GET over HERE!" and scooped me into this lovely hug! It was SO amazing! LOL! We chatted briefly, got our picture taken, she told me she loved my energy, and I told her I had hoped we could meet again sometime, as I thought she was adorable! Anyway, another unbelieveable moment. After the photo session was lunch. Q & A with Penny & Tamala after that, with the autograph session of them to follow. THEN, it was ZUMBA with PENNY! She brought her instructor with her, and they "set up shop" in the conference room as the last activity of the day for those that wanted to ZUMBA WITH PENNY! LOL! She was trying her best to recruit every one of us during the photo session. Bobbie & I had opted to have lunch with the VIP's that would be there on Sunday, so we joined our friends for lunch in the lobby with a salad or wrap, and another "Beckett". It was a lovely time chatting it up, and sharing our excitement of the day so far. I will be back in a bit to post about the Q & A with Tamala & Penny, and will start a spoiler thread. Hang tight. So... I have to go back to the "riding in the back-back of the CRV" story.... I saw that very CRV today... I opened the door, saw the space and laughed outloud!!! 2 women back there on the CA freeways?!?! Oh. My. Gosh!!! No wonder you were laughing and loopy and stiff as a board -- you should have had a drink AFTER that ride!! You both DESERVED a drink after that ride!!! Ok, back to your regularly scheduled lives... Alrighty, after autographs with the crew and the trivia in the conference room, next was the photo session time with Penny & Tamala, and the Q & A with them would be after lunch! Anyway, I was still downstairs talking to a group of friends, when I decided I had time to run upstairs to grab a coffee. I was waiting by the elevators to go up, the doors opened, and there was Irma (iCaskett), and I proceed to speak to her, when I noticed who she was with! IT WAS PENNY and her MOM! After briefly looking at Irma and being ready to speak to her, it was such a rush to realize that it was Penny & her mom that was really there and rode down in the elevator with her, and, "OH HI PENNY!" just came flying out of my mouth! LOL! It was TOO funny! She said, "Hey! Do you know where I'm supposed to go?" hahahaha... and I was like 'little 'ol me?' know wher Penny is supposed to go? lol... I said I had an idea that it was right through that door. I asked Penny's mom, "Are you Penny's mom?" and she said yes, and I told her it was lovely to meet her. She said likewise, and followed Penny through the door. Irma and I were left staring gape-jawed at each other and then laughed in disbelief! ROFL! We then fangirled (quietly) for a moment, chatted and I left her to go up & get that coffee! I needed it! ROFL! As it was, Tamala was running late from L.A. traffic ( I TOTALLY believe it!) and so we had a few more minutes. I was drinking my coffee and looking at the table of goodies to buy, and I saw this tall lady with a cap on approach the lady next to me, she pulled her scarf down from her mouth, and asked what room she was to be in. It was Tamala! I nearly let out a squeak, but restrained myself just in time! LOL! What a rush to see her when we hadn't set eyes on her yet, and I had just had the encounter with Penny downstairs! TOO FUNNY! I was dying! LOL! I think I tweeted (tried to with the stupid internet connections!) or opted to text Teel. I can't remember. Anyway, such a rush! Ok, we head down for photos with Penny & Tamala! They were both SO friendly and gracious and fun and energetic and I just could not get over that I was so close to them, and that they were talking to me personally, when it came to be my turn. WOW! The whole weekend was CHOCK FULL of mind-blowing moments! Hard to put into words, let me tell you! Anyway, I was up with Tamala second, so I finished with Penny and turned the corner into Tamala's room, and she was adorable! I blurted out, in my excitement, "TAMALA!!!!!" and she replied, "GIRRRRRLLLLLL! GET over HERE!" and scooped me into this lovely hug! It was SO amazing! LOL! We chatted briefly, got our picture taken, she told me she loved my energy, and I told her I had hoped we could meet again sometime, as I thought she was adorable! Anyway, another unbelieveable moment. After the photo session was lunch. Q & A with Penny & Tamala after that, with the autograph session of them to follow. THEN, it was ZUMBA with PENNY! She brought her instructor with her, and they "set up shop" in the conference room as the last activity of the day for those that wanted to ZUMBA WITH PENNY! LOL! She was trying her best to recruit every one of us during the photo session. Bobbie & I had opted to have lunch with the VIP's that would be there on Sunday, so we joined our friends for lunch in the lobby with a salad or wrap, and another "Beckett". It was a lovely time chatting it up, and sharing our excitement of the day so far. I will be back in a bit to post about the Q & A with Tamala & Penny, and will start a spoiler thread. Hang tight. Awesome Sauce! I so pictured Lanie saying Girrrrrlllllll! GET over HERE! So awesome! I've been a Tamala fan since the 90s and a Penny fan since the 80's when I was a young thing! So awesome you got.to meet them! How did you guys last the weekend without bursting from excitement?! Keep up the great job with the recaps! Thanks for all the stories and fun tidbits. It's almost like we were there except without the accompanying real giddiness of meeting Nathan and everyone. I've been giddy in a living-vicariously-through-you-all kind of way. What an unforgettable time! Look forward to more! Thanks for taking your time from turkey leftovers and shopping and family to keep us up to date! Thanks for all the stories and fun tidbits. It's almost like we were there except without the accompanying real giddiness of meeting Nathan and everyone. I've been giddy in a living-vicariously-through-you-all kind of way. What an unforgettable time! Look forward to more! Thanks for taking your time from turkey leftovers and shopping and family to keep us up to date! Yay! Glad you're enjoying, Sassy! Happy to do it! Awesome Sauce! I so pictured Lanie saying Girrrrrlllllll! GET over HERE! So awesome! I've been a Tamala fan since the 90s and a Penny fan since the 80's when I was a young thing! So awesome you got.to meet them! How did you guys last the weekend without bursting from excitement?! Keep up the great job with the recaps! LOL! I do think there was more than one moment where it was all could do to not self-combust from the hysteria! Yes, indeed! LOL! So... I have to go back to the "riding in the back-back of the CRV" story.... I saw that very CRV today... I opened the door, saw the space and laughed outloud!!! 2 women back there on the CA freeways?!?! Oh. My. Gosh!!! No wonder you were laughing and loopy and stiff as a board -- you should have had a drink AFTER that ride!! You both DESERVED a drink after that ride!!! Ok, back to your regularly scheduled lives... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D I will help poor Kriss. After she saw Penny, she texted me...when she stood beside Tamala, she texted me! And she was TOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! ROFL Alrighty! We are back from lunch, and on to chat with Tamala and Penny! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOOT! They are just TOO CUTE! They are adorable separately, but together.... like dynamite! The buzz in the room was totally fun! I would just LOVE to hang out with the two of them for a day! And Penny was STILL trying to get recruits for Zumbaaaaaa!!!!!! ;D Everyone settled in, and the first question was of Penny. What is the best part of Castle for her? She didn't miss a beat, and said, "The people!" She went on to say what we've all heard over and over again, like family, get along great, etc.... Tamala was then asked about her friendship with Kate, and why they jumped right into the Lanie/Beckett moment in Probable Cause indicating to the audience that Lanie already knew about her & Castle. Tamala confirmed that Andrew is bypassing the fact of showing Lanie reacting to Caskett on screen, because, "Lanie already knew." As Kate's best friend, of course she did. Tamala went on to say that there is a "Really nice moment" with the two of them in After Hours. Someone asked of Penny, about her character. What is Captain Gates like. Penny answered that Gates must be married to someone with a sense of humor, she has two children - a daughter and a son, and, gathering a hearty laugh from the crowd, she said, "I didn't know I love dolls!" They both discussed how they don't get a lot of info on their characters; that they often learn about "themselves" as they go along. Tamala's wish for Castle is to have Pam Grier to be guest cast, and she would like to know why Lanie doesn't want to get married. Penny said she would like to see the rest of the characters, besides Castle & Beckett, fleshed out more, i.e. with Gates at home, would be fun. Penny said that one of her favorite things are the scenes with Castle. She said her favorite thing to say, is "Miiiiister CASTLE!" and that yes, Gates "respects the heck out of him". YEAH! *double-fist-bump* There was a LOT of chatter in between the questions with these two, and a lot of laughter and joking around. There was one more question that I'm going to post in a separate thread, as it is a spoiler of sorts, and kind of a significant one. The session was ended with a guest requesting that Tamala sing "Comes Love" for us. She happily did so. What FUN those two were! Autographs with both of them occured after that, and then Zumba with Penny! We all went back to our rooms to freshen up, change clothes, and get ready to meet for dinner. We ate dinner in one of the hotel restaurants, and it was a terrific time! TONS Of laughter, recapping the day, and wonderment of what would occur on Sunday! We hung out in the convention center lobby after dinner and read the boards, Tycho tried to update/post on the boards a little bit, we reviewed each other's photos, chatted and laughed....! Ok, heading to a new spoiler thread. I had no doubt Lanie would be fun!!!!! BAHAHAHAHA I will help poor Kriss. After she saw Penny, she texted me...when she stood beside Tamala, she texted me! And she was TOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! ROFL Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... and SO IT WAS! THANK YOU! A girl fan-girl needs some help every now & then! ROFL! There you go... Thanks for having my back, girlfriend! ;D |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:26:20 GMT -5
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... and SO IT WAS! THANK YOU! A girl fan-girl needs some help every now & then! ROFL! There you go... Thanks for having my back, girlfriend! ;D Always! ;D Did I ever tell you & John that I was sorry that we carried on so terribly... lol.... if not, I AM SO SORRY! I KNOW we were somewhat out of control, and we were TRYING to behave back there, really, we were.... ;D ;D ;D THANK YOU and please give John a big SO SORRY and THANK YOU hug from me, just IN CASE I may have neglected to say or do any of these things. You guys were AMAZING! THANK YOU again for EVERYTHING! Just happy to help out with a car. John is a trooper and goes with the flow. I am so lucky to have a best friend as the love of my life. He is also a Castle fan but not the OCD fan I am. I will help poor Kriss. After she saw Penny, she texted me...when she stood beside Tamala, she texted me! And she was TOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! ROFL I THINK I texted you when we met Nathan, too... did I? lol... Just happy to help out with a car. John is a trooper and goes with the flow. I am so lucky to have a best friend as the love of my life. He is also a Castle fan but not the OCD fan I am. If EVER I've seen anyone "go with the flow".... JOHN DID! LOL! He's awesome! I THINK I texted you when we met Nathan, too... did I? lol... YES YOU DID! LOL and So did a few other people...DID YOU SEE KRISS MET NATHAN?! You also posted that as your status. ROFL I'm feeling the hysteria from the last week all hit me, and then coming home from L.A. into Thanksgiving...Yeah, I feel like I'm crashing. I'm going to actually go upstairs with my laptop and watch After Hours as I've yet to see the first twenty minutes. If I feel re-energized, I will come back down and post some more. If not, I will pick up at some point tomorrow with Sunday morning of the convention, where we start with the Bowman Family Panel. Happy to know so many of you are enjoying this. YES YOU DID! LOL and So did a few other people...DID YOU SEE KRISS MET NATHAN?! You also posted that as your status. ROFL ROFL! Facebook me and tell me who said what! LOL! Ahhhh, too fun! Going upstairs - I'll have my laptop & phone. i have short story about Penny's Mom. As I was watching the door for badges I saw people who were in the back of the room. I saw Penny's Mom and started asking her how her knee was doing. Penny had tweeted earlier in the week about her Mom needing knee surgery. she said how much Penny loved working on the show and was really hoping for at least one more year. then she told me about a doll she bought Penny when she was a little girl. It would even cry. She said that was the thing that got Penny into acting was that little doll. Her Mom was so sweet. I was talking with her Step-dad and asked if he thought I could take a picture of Penny's Mom. He said she would love it! So I then asked her if it would be ok to take her picture. I told Dad to step in also. I did tweet that picture I think? So... I have to go back to the "riding in the back-back of the CRV" story.... I saw that very CRV today... I opened the door, saw the space and laughed outloud!!! 2 women back there on the CA freeways?!?! Oh. My. Gosh!!! No wonder you were laughing and loopy and stiff as a board -- you should have had a drink AFTER that ride!! You both DESERVED a drink after that ride!!! Ok, back to your regularly scheduled lives... Yes this morning the Phoenix Castle group me so I could give them all the stories and pictures in person. We even got the lady sitting at the table behind us to start following the 12th. She said she was a Castle fan too and when she heard what we were talking about and saw the big picture of Nathan and me on my iPad she was really hooked into our conversation. And yes I had to show them the space in the back of the car that you two crammed into and they all just laughed. ;D i have short story about Penny's Mom. As I was watching the door for badges I saw people who were in the back of the room. I saw Penny's Mom and started asking her how her knee was doing. Penny had tweeted earlier in the week about her Mom needing knee surgery. she said how much Penny loved working on the show and was really hoping for at least one more year. then she told me about a doll she bought Penny when she was a little girl. It would even cry. She said that was the thing that got Penny into acting was that little doll. Her Mom was so sweet. I was talking with her Step-dad and asked if he thought I could take a picture of Penny's Mom. He said she would love it! So I then asked her if it would be ok to take her picture. I told Dad to step in also. I did tweet that picture I think? I saw the pic! Her mom is beautiful! Thanks for the story! I'm hoping for at least 2 more seasons of Castle! I can see this being a 7 season show. I'd love even more seasons as long as the writing remains strong, but don't want this show to die a slow death as a lot of shows tend to do I just can't seem to keep up with Kriss! I have a couple of stories that go back to taking pictures with Tamala and Penny. As Kriss said, Penny was working hard to promote the Zumba class so as I approached her for my picture, she asked me if I was going to participate. I think most of you have seen my picture somewhere here on the board and would know that I am a BIG woman! I said to Penny, "Look at this body! Does it look like I Zumba???" She cracked up and proceeded to tell me that actually, the "big" women can really get it going. I answered that if I 'got it going' it would not be a pretty sight! She urged me to try a hip move and demonstrated swinging her hips around so I did too and we all cracked up. We got ourselves under control and then had the picture taken but as I stepped away, she said that she better see me there for the class. Such a fun lady! I also wanted to note that I became a firm believer in the adage that the camera adds 10 pounds after seeing Penny. She is really much thinner in person than she looks on the show. Then I stepped into the adjacent room for my picture with Tamala and she immediately said, "Do I know you? You look familiar." I thought to myself that that was a pretty cheesy line but I chuckled and assured her that she didn't know me since I came from rural Wisconsin and had never even been to LA. However, later in the afternoon, when I was getting her autograph, she stopped and looked at me for a few seconds saying again that I really seemed familiar and I must look a lot like someone she does know. At that point, I felt she wasn't just laying a line on me. She seemed very genuine. That whole autograph session with Tamala and Penny took quite a while because both of them took time to interact with each person and Tamala kept jumping up to hug people! The two of them were just a hoot together, which I find a bit surprising because their characters have never even interacted on the show. That's wonderful Bobbie!! Just one more funny little comment from Penny. As she was talking about what she knew of Gates' back story, she said that she figured out the family situation (married with a son and daughter) because there's a picture of these people in her office! She said, at least she thought they must be hers! I also wanted to mention something Tamala shared at the panel about the remarkable scene between she and Stana in Probable Cause. She said that Stana came into the room already in some kind of zone and she managed to stay there throughout the entire filming time. She said Stana's nose was red and her eyes were rimmed. They kept the set very quite and both Tamala and Stana stayed right there while they repositioned cameras and lighting for various takes. Tamala really admired the way Stana could get herself into Kate's emotional mindset and then hold it for so long. For many of us, that was a favorite scene because it felt so genuine and it sounds like Tamala was pretty moved also! I'm taking my time reading through all of your posts and just wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU to all of you who are sharing your stories with such detail. Even if I couldn't attend, at least I get to live vicariously through you. Your time and enthusiasm are much appreciated. I thought I'd jump in here with the story of an experience that only I had. Some of you may remember a few weeks ago that we saw tweets and photos from Nathan of a lunch with a fan and some other stars. It was the result of a charity auction for the LA organization called Food On Foot. The gal who won it bid around $10,000 and she and her husband came from Australia to have lunch with J.R. Bourne, Michael Trucco (Demming) and Nathan. The gal and her husband are Sandra and Tim Tucker and she mentioned in a tweet that they were also going to be at the Castle Con so I had hoped that I'd get a chance to talk to them and hear more about this incredible lunch! I first connected with Sandra as I was waiting in an autograph line Saturday and she was just finishing. I asked her if she'd mind sharing more and she was more than willing to talk and show me some of her personal pictures. She said all of the guys were incredibly nice and they had a fantastic time but she said the most moving part of it all was the following day when she and her husband helped distribute meals with the organization in downtown LA. She said they were moved to tears by what they saw and they encouraged everyone to support the charity. We were sort of blocking the hallway so she said she'd be happy to sit down again later and she moved on. I didn't really see her again at a time when I could ask her to talk but Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the lobby by myself, waiting for the final session to start and her husband, Tim, walked right by me. I asked him if he had time to talk and he was more than happy to sit down and visit. He said he was bored! Tim gave me a little bit of background on them. They own a welding company in Australia and have about 8 employees. He and Sandra have been coming to the US 3 or 4 times a year for the past several years and usually stay about a month when they do. They're looking to buy some property somewhere so they can build a house and have a home base here. It was pretty obvious that the welding business must be doing well! He said that Sandy was the die hard Castle fan and she's the one that did the bidding. He told a cute story about the day that Sandy found out she'd won the lunch and she was trying to get in touch with him at work. He also told about how he got drawn into watching the show. He said Sandy had seen it a couple of times and kept bugging him to watch it but he likes to just sit and relax in the evening with his bourbon and doesn't really watch much tv. But he was sitting there one night when the show was on and instead of nodding off to sleep, he got caught up in it. He told her it was pretty darn good and made sure to watch the next week. The rest is history, as they say! Anyway, the lunch was on a Saturday about 3 weeks ago now. They were picked up in a limo by the 3 guys and they went to the first restaurant for wine ($100 a bottle) and hors d'oeuvres. They went on to a second restaurant for the main course and Seamus Dever joined them. Nathan had asked him to come. The third and final place was for dessert and Alan Tudyk (Firefly and Suburgatory) who is one of Nathan's closet friends, joined them. Tim said that all 5 of the guys were amazing and so down to earth. He said that they never even talked about their shows. The conversation was just about normal subjects. Tim particularly enjoyed listening to them talk politics. They talked about the charity and he said that Nathan really peppered him with questions about welding. Nathan taught himself to weld a couple of years ago and I guess he's really enjoyed finding ways to use his skill. Tim also said that throughout the day, Nathan was the apparent leader of the group. He was always the one that initiated transitions and made some decisions. Tim said that Michael Trucco REALLY loves his wife (Sandra Hess) ! He said that Michael talked in glowing terms about her. He also said that Michael had been in a serious car accident about 5 years ago and had to have steel plates put in his back. He said he has a scar that goes from his neck down nearly to his waist. Nathan and Michael really enjoy hiking up in the Hollywood hills together. He didn't say anything about the other guys but he did show me all of the pictures that he had on his phone. He also said that when they got back to the hotel, the guys signed a bunch of things for them and took time to meet some friends of theirs. Nathan even made a phone call to one of Sandy's friends back in Australia as a special surprise. Tim echoed what Sandy had said the previous day about the time spent with the charity on Sunday being a very moving experience. He, too, said he'd been moved to tears and he was also very proud that their company is the first international sponsor of the charity. I also wanted to mention something Tamala shared at the panel about the remarkable scene between she and Stana in Probable Cause. She said that Stana came into the room already in some kind of zone and she managed to stay there throughout the entire filming time. She said Stana's nose was red and her eyes were rimmed. They kept the set very quite and both Tamala and Stana stayed right there while they repositioned cameras and lighting for various takes. Tamala really admired the way Stana could get herself into Kate's emotional mindset and then hold it for so long. For many of us, that was a favorite scene because it felt so genuine and it sounds like Tamala was pretty moved also! Yes, and someone asked, I believe, how one gets to that "zone", and the response was that they need to mentally take themselves to a place in their own life, or recall a memory that brought them great sadness. Truly, there are times when I recall something sad or heartwrenching, or the grief of missing a loved one, in my life, but to "go there" and remember "on demand".... and to be able to get, and stay, in that zone in front of people, and cameras, for an indefinate length of time....seriously? WOW! Another tidbit I found in my margin about Penny, was that someone had asked them about auditioning experiences. How do they feel when they are auditioning? Penny answered by saying that no, she no longer gets nervous. She is to the point in her career, where she will not audition any more. She said all one has to do is put in a DVD of her work, and see what she can do. She is beyond that auditioning hysteria. Tamala, on the other hand, yeah, nerves abound! LOL! Ok, going to get some coffee and throw a load of clothes in the dryer and I will be back to start us off with Sunday. I want to get the convention weekend documented here by the end of tomorrow, as I am up for the scene x scene for After Hours last week and havne't even taken one note on it yet! Forgive my delay in that, but I DO want to do it, am up for the challenge, and am looking forward to it. My head is spinning with coming off the trip, going into Thanksgiving, having my son home from college this weekend, and now Christmas decorating. This is fun though, so bear with me! Thank to to EVERYONE for all your kind comments and remarks! It makes it easier to keep going, when I have a million things to do. I do want to be here, and love to be here! It's a time-juggling challenge! lol...This must be how the actors feel when they have their fans gush over them. It's truly humbling and makes the efforts all worth it that you all are enjoying and so appreciative. You all are so sweet in saying so. I will be back! Promise! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:28:23 GMT -5
Tamala was then asked about her friendship with Kate, and why they jumped right into the Lanie/Beckett moment in Probable Cause indicating to the audience that Lanie already knew about her & Castle. Tamala confirmed that Andrew is bypassing the fact of showing Lanie reacting to Caskett on screen, because, "Lanie already knew." As Kate's best friend, of course she did. Tamala went on to say that there is a "Really nice moment" with the two of them in After Hours. I wonder if that means Kate told Lanie because they are such great friends and she needed to share her happiness with somebody, or if Lanie saw the signs and put the pieces together on her own. Either way is fine, but I do kind of like the idea that Kate trusted Lanie enough to tell her and that Lanie was a good enough friend to keep the secret. But what do you mean about a nice scene in After Hours? Did I miss something? Wouldn't be the first time! I also wanted to mention something Tamala shared at the panel about the remarkable scene between she and Stana in Probable Cause. She said that Stana came into the room already in some kind of zone and she managed to stay there throughout the entire filming time. She said Stana's nose was red and her eyes were rimmed. They kept the set very quite and both Tamala and Stana stayed right there while they repositioned cameras and lighting for various takes. Tamala really admired the way Stana could get herself into Kate's emotional mindset and then hold it for so long. For many of us, that was a favorite scene because it felt so genuine and it sounds like Tamala was pretty moved also! And yes, that scene was so incredibly moving, due entirely to how well Stana owned Kate's heartbreak. Abslutely nothing was anything less than authentic in her performance. It's still one of my favorite scenes. Again, thanks for the details. I am loving all of this info! I wonder if that means Kate told Lanie because they are such great friends and she needed to share her happiness with somebody, or if Lanie saw the signs and put the pieces together on her own. Either way is fine, but I do kind of like the idea that Kate trusted Lanie enough to tell her and that Lanie was a good enough friend to keep the secret. But what do you mean about a nice scene in After Hours? Did I miss something? Wouldn't be the first time! And yes, that scene was so incredibly moving, due entirely to how well Stana owned Kate's heartbreak. Abslutely nothing was anything less than authentic in her performance. It's still one of my favorite scenes. Again, thanks for the details. I am loving all of this info! Angie! After watching After Hours last night, I wondered that very thing, myself! Last night was the first time I had scene After Hours in its entirety, and, as I'm watching, I was waiting for the lovely scene between Lanie & Kate that Tamala spoke about. I didn't see one. I went back to my notes, and I copied it here correctly, and I'm pretty sure I wrote it correctly as Tamala told us. This makes me wonder if Tamala meant in Secret Santa, and not After Hours... hmmm..... so yeah, I with you, Angie. I guess we will have to wait & see. If the scene is not in Secret Santa, then I have no idea. LOL! It's awesome to consciously realize that they're just like us - human in every way, and prone to err. lol... I love your eagle-eyes & brain, Angie. * I'm lookin' at you * ;D Tamala meant to say Probable Cause because she said in another interview several weeks ago before Probable Cause aired that she did a special scene with Stana. She was singing Stana's praises because she stayed in the zone for so long even between takes and Tamala stayed with her. I think she was on a radio program that was video taped and I watched it. Tamala meant to say Probable Cause because she said in another interview several weeks ago before Probable Cause aired that she did a special scene with Stana. She was singing Stana's praises because she stayed in the zone for so long even between takes and Tamala stayed with her. I think she was on a radio program that was video taped and I watched it. But Probable Cause had already aired. She was referring to another scene coming up, is how she implied her response. Why would she have said "Lanie has another really nice scene with Kate"...? lol... Anyway, we shall see. We may or may not get another one. Maybe someone else who was there can help us with this. My impression/the way I wrote it down, was that in addition to the scene in Probable Cause, there was another one coming up. I could be mistaken. But Probable Cause had already aired. She was referring to another scene coming up, is how she implied her response. Why would she have said "Lanie has another really nice scene with Kate"...? lol... Anyway, we shall see. We may or may not get another one. Maybe someone else who was there can help us with this. My impression/the way I wrote it down, was that in addition to the scene in Probable Cause, there was another one coming up. I could be mistaken. Oooooh Well she said almost the same things for the Probably Cause scene as well. CASTLE CONVENTION ~ Day 2 ~ November 18 We started the morning again, with another registration, welcome, announcements, and another auction. There were some "to die for" things being auctioned off, and many of us were pining away at trying to win some of them. Nathan, Stana, Seamus and Jon were very generous at taking the time to sign so many things! Penny and Tamala added their signatures to many things yesterday, as well. Ok, so, the morning then proceeded with the Bowman Family Q & A Panel. Chuck, Rob and Stephen were all there! Talk about a rush! Fantastic! Rob was talking about how he & Stephen grew up with a love for movies and film from their early years. Having the legendary Chuck Bowman for a father, how could you not! They grew up living it and learning the industry. The questions started and someone asked about filming in L.A. while trying to make it look like N.Y.C. Rob was talking about the architecture in L.A. being very similar, downtown, to NY. He said the precinct was inspired by an old building in NY that had been lovingly restored when Rob & Andrew went out there to see about things. He said they were looking for a place with character and charm and old NY feel. They felt this particular building had an affectionate and respectful treatment of restoration for an old NY building, and felt it would make a great backdrop for the precinct. They emulated this for the 12th. With downtown L.A. looking like NY in building architecture and style, and layout even, he said they just add "blue color" in editing as NY has a lot more darks and blues in effect - they dress in lots of blues and blacks and then they reduce the vision field when they film outdoors to avoid showing the palm trees or arid mountains in the background. Rob went on to say how Marlowe writes some killer scripts, and Rob tried to just make them better. It's like this little competition they have - Marlowe writes to challenge Rob to see if he can "make it happen" and Rob refuses to let it beat him so he rises to the challenge! He says some days there is just too much action, too many moving parts, too many people, too much emotion, and he just kicks it in and makes it happen! He says that the this usually happens with the two-parters as it's always tricky because of the extra casting and he says with the finales, every time it feels like they barely pull it off! A great deal of pressure on everyone! I cannot imagine the energy that must be flying around when they shoot some of those intense scenes, or ones that are filled with tons of extra people, or challenging sites... wow! He gave an example of in Knockout. Very challenging scenes are when there are three different "moves" with three different parts going at the same time. In the precinct, Beckett knew Lockwood was after her - he had to capture that and the incredibly complex and emotional crisis to film and to be able to convey Castle's concern for her at the same time, and yet while they were all moving around. They weren't just sitting and looking at each other. A great deal of a challenge to capture the moving parts while trying to capture the intense emotion. Not only that, they have to move forward from that scene into the next idea with accurate transition - called "chaptering". Rob said that Marlowe and Amann write very challenging scripts. He went on to say that the editors have to have their pulse on the spectrum of the show. They have to cut without omitting the humor, darkness, ridiculous - the whole spectrum of what Castle is - to make the broad range of tone in an episode. They have to keep Castle, Castle. If that makes sense. They need to be able to move from one tone to the next so that we get it; the tone of Castle is kept. Rob used After the Storm as an example. It started out serious to convey that they were indeed serious - they were in a relationship, on the same page, the night before was amazing, but then they went to the humor that is Castle, with uh-oh! Martha's home! And the hilarity ensued. A delicate balance at conveying the serious, but keeping the humor. Chuck made a comment in here and said the filming and editing of Knockout, at the cemetary, was brilliant. It remains his favorite scene. There was a question about post-production. Stephen's territory. As a side note, I don't remember where here, but I think Teresa mentioned that Stephen was named after Stephen Cannell. Ok, regarding epsiodes, they write 'em, shoot 'em, cut 'em, and then air date. That is a brick wall that doesn't move. There is a point where you can't change the cuts or the score, but yet there are things they are not happy with that need to be changed. Sometimes the producers just want to change things after the episode is all set. Stephen is part of that "make it happen" crew. Everything has to be perfect, and if it isn't perfect before air date, Stephen & his crew make it so. The color timing, the music/sound mix, lip sync, backgrounds, timing of credits, everything has to be timed just right. Stephen assures that this all is in place. The episode is sent to the ABC studio on the Thursday or Friday before it airs. Sometimes they are down to the wire; they barely make it! LOL! Stephen is also responsible for getting the film, immediately after filming, to get developed, 70 DVDs made of the director's cut, and then distributed to everyone who needs them. He is also responsible for adding all the scenic and special things you see in the episode that are not the cast. Like the New York Skyline shots, and the places/scenes that are put in that make the backgrounds look authentic. Stephen said he scours for hours and hours looking at authentic NY footage and that he is the one who found the actual 1940's authentic footage that we saw in "The Blue Butterfly". Going to post this, and will pick up with more on The Blue Butterfly from Chuck and some other fun things. I want to add one more story that came out of the panel with Tamala and Penny. As Kriss said, a question was asked about auditioning and Penny said she just doesn't do it anymore, but she also told about an audition that she went to years ago. The role called for a black actress and so she went in and read the scene. The people there kind of hesitated and asked her if she'd do it gain but maybe put a little more of a southern spin on it. She did it again with a bit of an accent and afterwards, the people were still struggling to communicate to her what they wanted her to do. Penny was starting to get the picture and she was determined that she was going to MAKE them come right out and tell her that they wanted a stereotypical black lady. After a third try and them fumbling around some more, she confronted them by asking if they meant - and then she started acting out this crazy black chick with a heavy accent and the audience broke into hysterics and applauded her! She ended the story by saying that she walked out of that ridiculous situation! You go girl! I want to add one more story that came out of the panel with Tamala and Penny. As Kriss said, a question was asked about auditioning and Penny said she just doesn't do it anymore, but she also told about an audition that she went to years ago. The role called for a black actress and so she went in and read the scene. The people there kind of hesitated and asked her if she'd do it gain but maybe put a little more of a southern spin on it. She did it again with a bit of an accent and afterwards, the people were still struggling to communicate to her what they wanted her to do. Penny was starting to get the picture and she was determined that she was going to MAKE them come right out and tell her that they wanted a stereotypical black lady. After a third try and them fumbling around some more, she confronted them by asking if they meant - and then she started acting out this crazy black chick with a heavy accent and the audience broke into hysterics and applauded her! She ended the story by saying that she walked out of that ridiculous situation! You go girl! Oh, good for her! Too many performers/actors capitulate to roles that perpetuate those stereotypes and negative representations. And far too often, that's their only choice if they want work. We need more actors like Penny and Tamala (who recently shared her own story of being a black actress in Hollywood), and we need far more positive roles like Gates and Lanie. So kudos to Castle & co. for their efforts to challenge the status quo! Agreed, Angie! The audience gave Penny resounding support too. Agreed, Angie! The audience gave Penny resounding support too. Ditto all! That was a GREAT story! I have read some of this so far, and it sounds like all of you ladies had a blast! Alrighty, the next question was..... WHEN WILL BECKETT SAY "THE" WORDS......... Rob's answer....... "DON'T HER ACTIONS SAY IT? ?" and we were all like, UGGGGGGGHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! LOL! He told us he'd tell Stana to dial up the "I love you eyes".... And then, he brought up the handshake and asked us if it wasn't the best handshake ever! OF COURSE we all agreed, and there was some applause! Rob went on to say that the writer Terrance invented it, John Terlesky directed it, and that he was TOTALLY jealous! LOL! He said there was a lot of moments and finessing with that handshake scene to "GET IT RIGHT"! Next, Chuck talked about directing "The Blue Butterfly". He said he was THRILLED to be asked to direct it, and he loved that they wanted to harken back to the noir era. He said the one request he had, was for Stana to be in a Casablanca hat! He KNEW she could wear it, wear it well, and said he insisted on it! He also said they gave him free reign to do whatever he needed to do, whatever it would take, to bring it. He was allowed to be creative. He said he LOVED the music, and the first shot of that episode was on a Friday afternoon, with all the extras in the Pennybaker, with Robert Duncan at the piano. I LOVED that they included Robert and allowed him to make a cameo! He said that shot all night that night, as he wanted the night/noir feel, the white linens, the period clothes, the small tables and the lighting needed to be right. It was essential. Chuck went on to say by 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, he felt that he could've gone another 12 hours as he was so energized by all of it! He said he had a fantastic time with it, and it was all Chuck. He had no help directing. Terence wrote the episode, Chuck directed, and Stephen "fan-boyed" throught it all! LOL! Chuck and Stephen were also giving props to Tony, in post production, as he is the guy who does the color and it was really cool to see how he finshed the show with the look in color for the era. They are very proud of this episode! And, in my opinion, they surely should be! I thought it was a beautiful episode in every respect! I even thought the ending was awesome with the blue butterfly necklace front & center, the flames behind, and the "The End" for the finish! Outstanding! The next question was in regards to the Richard Castle/Nikki Heat books, coffees, and all the other "stuff" that is sold... is it a result of the show, how did this happen? Rob said it was kind of "reverse engineering", where the books and other items came after the show. It was like, "wait a minute"....we have a writer, we GOTTA have the books! And so it goes, and one thing led to another. Regarding on-location shoots, when they have the idea in the script of where they need to be for a location, they need one-two weeks to find the "on-location-places". They don't start looking for these places until they have the full script so they know what they need. They need room for all the trucks, room for an "office" set up, and all their stuff. He said once they they get a place secured, it all happens very fast. Everyone kicks into gear to get their stuff loaded up and to the location. The next question was about the mix-up/change-up in airing dates for the episodes. Why the change from the order in which they filmed? All three of them were explaining this. With the Castle opening scene, at 10:01 EST, they can loose eight million viewers in 30 seconds. If the audience doesn't see the dynamic duo, or one of them, within the first 30 seconds, people MIGHT not know it's Castle, and will change the channel. With Swan Song, this is the reason they changed air dates. They did not want people to think it was a "Pepsi commercial" or something other than Castle. They had to move Swan Song to a time when it was sure the audience would hang with it, and that has something to do with what show it follows. The next question was about Kate and her eating on set. lol. The question asker thought it was cute and authentic how she was eating grapes; eating constantly throughout Murder, He Wrote. Rob said that yes, she was hungry, and he picks his battles with her! That he goes round and round with her sometimes, in a fun way, and she wanted to EAT! LOL! Rob said Kate was on vacation, she was annoyed with the murder, it was getting in the way of her plans; all she wanted to do was relax, leisurely eat, and go upstairs with Castle! LOL! He went on to talk about the mission of Kate in this episode and she was annoyed with the goofy cop, and just wanted to solve this murder, and get back to Castle! ;D Rob went on to say about Murder, He Wrote, that they wanted to portray this episode as an elongated, drawn-out magical romantic get-away in the Hamptons for them. They were going for the unusual flow for an episode with the cinematic effects hoping to portray the romance. There was a significant spoiler in the next conversation, and I will post that in the spoiler thread when I am finished here. A little bit about Molly. She was 13 when Rob met her, and Chuck went on to say that Molly is an extremely bright young woman. Rob and Andrew have protected her from this industry and she and her parents are grateful to them that she had Rob and Andrew as these other "parents" on set and while she's been on Castle. They also touched on the fact that Nathan is the same way with Molly. They are all very protective of her. They lastly touched on Stana. They raved about their beautiful leading lady, and said she gives them wonderful choices! She can do so much in her acting abilities. They say that they ALWAYS make sure that we, the audience, sees the finest of what she does! They show off the best in her. Chuck said that she was concerned in The Blue Butterfly, that she wanted them to make her look pretty! He thought they did a pretty magnificent job! And I wholeheartedly agree! In my opinion, Stana could rock a paper bag. But, I digress. That is all for this panel, except for what I will be adding in the spoiler thread for Tinseltown. I'll come back in a bit with words from Luke Reichle and Armin Shimmerman. I just wanted to add that someone on here wanted us to ask about more Nikki Heat books since, technically, Castle's contract is up. I asked Rob about it and he simply said that as long as they keep selling, they'll keep them coming. However, he did not offer any timeline for when they'll deal with that issue on the show. The autograph session with the Bowman Family was next, and there was trivia in the conference room for those who were not going down for autographs. Then, lunch with VIP's followed, and Bobbie and I have already posted on what went down during lunch. Next, Q & A with Luke Reichle (wardrobe/costumes) and Armin Shimmerman. Alfred Sole was supposed to join us, but he came down with Strep Throat, and was home sick. He expressed his sincere regrets at his absence. I was really looking forward to talking to him, as he and his crew have had some rockin' sets! But, that is okay. Alrighty, Luke and Armin were a delight! Luke entered the room dressed in a Nebula 9 costume that he designed for Final Frontier. Previously, he was dressed in a camo shirt, a blue jacket, cranberry pants, and striped socks! Such a hoot! LOL! Anyway, the room burst into glee when he paraded across stage in that costume! SO funny! And he is tall! The first question had to do with costume "fixes". Is there wardrobe malfunctions, or regular problems with clothing on set. Luke reported that there is little time on set for costume "fixes" and that it's $150.00 PER MINUTE to "hold camera" for costume adjustments! He must have his ducks in a row, with everyone all set to go, by the time they roll. He said IF he needs to make adjustments, it's for those scenes that have held a lot of action, and there is damage or adjustments that need to be made do to the nature of what had just been filmed when going from one take to another. Next question...their clothes are about helping to tell the story. Usually that the day is different on set. He also needs to "marry the clothes with the mood of the dialog". When the mood is forlorn and dark, he's not going to dress Kate in white. The color values and hues are darker in a more subdued episode. He has to be careful to not let the clothes get in the way of telling the story. Then, he said with some spunk in his voice, "Exept Susan! She's in a galaxy of her own!" LOLOLOL.....That she likes to wear bright colors as a rule in her role as Martha. Luke uses 2-4 costumes/episode, or every 4-5 days. He does re-use and recycle. He says it keeps the characters real and authentic. He is not above dressing them in clothes repeated times. He also said he buys from Target, on up to high-end clothing stores, vintage, and custom made tailors. Regarding vintage clothing, it depends on the episode and the character. He said Molly rocks period vintage clothes. He likes to mix vintage with contemporary, and utilizes hi-low shopping, and LOVES Beckett in Burburry! Seamus does his own ties, and tie-knots, and they have a little fun with each other when it comes to Seamus's ties! LOL! He also uses the principle of character-driven dressing. Power-suits for Penny. With her following Montgomery, she had to make a statement. He clothing helps to define her role. Nathan's clothes - 90% of them are custom-made. Suits are made in Italy or by his Hollywood tailor, and his shirts are by Beverly Hills. Even his shoes are custom made. As a side note, during the autograph session, I commented to him that I appreciated the detail to Nathan's clothes, such as the top-stitching to some of his jackets, and that I especially loved the "RC" embroidered on his shirt cuffs. He expressed his appreciation to me that I notice such minute detail on television, that it's there, and loves when people notice. Anyway, he went on to say in the panel that Luke gives them only a week to make Nathan's clothes, but sometimes as little as two days! The average is four, but they rock it out when the need is within two days! Amazing! More to come.... I was just scrolling trough some posts, and geezer's banner reminded me of something. Bobbie, anyone who was there.... Didn't Rob say something about the way in which the beautiful Always kiss was backlit with that gold light? I KNOW he talked about that, but I neglected to write in my notes about it. Ok, just throwing this out there! And, we're back with more from Luke & Armin! Luke designed the Nebula 9 costumes. Since he was wearing one, he captioned this by saying that Spandex is forgiving, and he didn't realize how hot they could be! LOL! For costumes/clothing, fit doubles are used. It's 36 hours to two days for some costumes to be made, and they usually cut 2-3 of each costume "just in case." Talking about The Final Frontier, he said they pre-fit half the background people (about 30 people) for "central casting" of costumes for that episode, and other people brought their own. They had to be careful about copyright. For the "Heros & Villians" episode, Luke was in collaboration with Marvel Comics as they wanted to harken to a variety of superheros when developing Lone Vengeance, so that Castle could pick out the similarities of each on screen. The guy who worked on The Avengers is the one who worked with Luke to design Lone Vengeance. They also had several of these costumes to make, as they had to fit for the stunt man, the actors and actress (Ann Hastings) and it had to be able to look good on all of them. Mind you, they cut 2-3 costumes for each person who needed one! Wow! Regarding The Blue Butterfly costuming, Luke said at first, he panicked! He knew it had to be "film noir" and that the interpretation must be from that period. The second dress Kate wore, he said he designed from iconic BaCall images - the dress with the bow at the waist. He said his inspiration came from fabric or buttons as well as these iconic images. He said he used the same plaid in the costume that Molly wore in The Blue Butterfly, as what is in her school uniform skirts, only in a different color. He said there is a whole room (somewhere in Hollywood) with a room full of dressforms for every actress! Wouldn't THAT be something! I would LOVE to see those, with my love of vintage and fabrics, and buttons! When finished with costumes for the entire run of a show, they all must be turned over to ABC. They maintain a large costume place and they become the property of ABC's general costume dept. The actors/actresses/crew on a particular show used to be allowed the option of buying one of the outfits/dresses/costumes that may be a favorite of theirs that they had worn on a show, but that is no longer the case. Nobody can buy or obtain anything they wore for any reason. I am kind of surprised they let "The Blue Butterfly" necklace go that Kate wore in the episode. Someone asked about hair and wigs. Luke said that wigs come under the hair department. The LOOK of the wig/hair however, are developed by the costume department. The clothing budget - there is a pattern that Luke follows per episode. Stunt people cost them more, believe it or not! The total budget for Luke's dept, per season, is $3 million. He said he tries to balance clothing for current episodes as well as for upcoming ones. He needs to particularly keep an eye on color filming in the precinct, and needs to be careful of tans and browns in the precinct. That is all I have from Luke. The entire time Luke was answering questions, there were little tidbits that Armin threw in, especially during the conversation concerning the Nebula 9 costuming. Armin was a total delight and played off and joked with Luke constantly. Quite an enjoyable duo they made! That does it for my notes on the panel discussions and Q &A's. After this session with Luke & Armin, it was time to go down for autographs with them, and then there were closing announcements. It was a fantastic time, and much work and effort was evident by everyone! The volunteers were kind, helpful and friendly, and one of the biggest things that came as somewhat of a surprise to me, is that I am NOT a super fan! LOL! There were some SERIOUS Castle fans there! In talk, in dress, in money to spend on Castle items, in enthusiasm in conversation, in the questions and comments people had, just the overall buzz surrounding the convention - tote bags, buttons, pins apparel, you name it, it was there! It was indeed CASTLE INTOXICATION, and IT. WAS. WONDERFUL! LOL! I will continue in this thread to post about the auction items and that will do it for me. Unless I remember something else along the way. I have to thank my most gracious, kind and loving husband for allowing me this experience! This was a gift of all gifts, and I don't know how I could ever thank him enough for letting me spend the money to go, and for taking vacation time from work to be Mr. Mom. He is an amazing man, and I will never cease to appreciate him! He loves Castle too, and the friends we've made and experiences we've had because of the show have been an enjoyment to him, as well. Ok, later tonight, I will come back an post on the auction items and their going prices. Hope you've all enjoyed this. It was my pleasure to share with you. Auction ~ Day One Flowers For Your Grave Script ~ Two of these, signed by Andrew W. Marlowe, $175.000 each. Castle-Grip T-Shirt ~ Autographed by Nathan, Stana, Jon & Seamus, $200.00 Signed "Dud" Poster (not high enough quality for "official" use) Of Season 5 Cast ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus & Jon, $500.00 Onion Goggles ~ Signed by Nathan, $110.00 Fake Drivers License of Nathan from TV show "Drive", $90.00 Signed Cast Photo of Seamus ~ Signed by him, $30.00 Signed Jose Malina (he was a writer for Firefly) Firefly Book, $65.00 Signed "OCD" Tote Bag ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus & Jon, $150.00 Beckett's elephants, arched, as on her desk ~ $200.00 Castle Season One DVD ~ Signed by Seamus and Juliana Dever $35.00 Two "Dud" Cast Season 5 Posters ~ Signed by whomever attended the Convention weekend, $85.00 each. Jason Palmer Print ~ Signed by whomever attended the Convention weekend, $250.00 Castle 2013 Calender ~ Signed by Nathan $150.00 Season 2 Poster ~ Signed by Terri Miller & whomever attended the Convention, $55.00 Castle Cast/Crew Columbia Fleece Hooded Jacket embroidered with Castle Logo, $280.00 Wedding photo of Seamus & Juliana Dever ~ Signed by them, $50.00 Coffee Cup - A plastic replica of their "to go" cups that Castle uses to bring Kate coffee ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon and Signed further with "Always" and a smiley face by Stana! I bid on this. Didn't win it. It went for $350.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Region One, Season 4 DVD Set w/Paley Media Arts Bonus Footage, March 2012 Version - Rare! $90.00 Seamus photo taken at last year's Castle Convention ~ $25.00 Onion Goggles ~ Signed by anyone whom attended the convention, $35.00 AUCTION ~ DAY TWO ~ 2 Sets of Elephant Sets - they are all separate, but the same material as Beckett's elephants on the arch ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana & Penny, $205.00 EACH SET Castle-Grip T-Shirt #2 ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, $65.00 TV Guide w/The Final Frontier on the front ~ Signed on the front by Nathan, Stana, Seamus & Jon, $105.00 Castle Calender Mini 2013 ~ Signed by Everyone except Seamus, $150.00 Season 4 DVD Set w/Paley Disc ~ Signed by Everyone, $150.00 Silver Castle Travel Coffee Mug w/"ALWAYS" on it ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, & Rob Bowman, $130.00 Another White Travel Plastic Coffee To Go Cup ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Penny & Tamala, $240.00 Large Durable-Coated Caskett Poster ~ Signed by Penny, $65.00 Another of these posters ~ Signed by Penny, Tamala, and everyone else who attended the Convention on that day, which would've been the Bowman Family, Luke & Armin, $75.00 Castle "OCD" Tote Bag ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Penny, Tamala, $110.00 ***I LOVE THIS*** a 2013 Calender, with TWO signatures of Nathan - one on the front, another on HIS BIRTHDAY!!!, and signatures also from Stana, Seamus, Jon, Penny & Tamala, by their photos WITHIN the calender!, $350.00!!!!! "GEEK" Magazine with Nathan on cover ~ Signed by Nathan, Seamus, Jon, Penny & Tamala, $265.00 There is more... going to post these! CastleKat you actually spoke to Nathan !! I didn't realize that you even opened your mouth. Nice to notice his clothes and let him know. Yes,, I remember Rob talking about the back light for the kiss as one of the only lights they were using. He wanted a certain look and feel to that scene. I did ask Rob while he was walking down the hall. I said I had a request...could they PLEASE put SOMETHING in the coffee cups! He said they do put coffee in them sometimes. I said the scene in After the Storm when Beckett walks out in the white shirt with the coffee cups and raises them up to say "I brought you coffee" real coffee would have been all over the shirt. I asked if they could put water or something to give the cup weight as it was obvious when they were empty. Who knows if anything will change but I did get to talk to him about it. Continuing on with Auction ~ Day Two Elephants on the arch, as on Beckett's desk ~ Signed by Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Tamala, Penny & Rob Bowman ~ $850.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Black "CASTLE" Tote bag ~ Signed by Nathan. A bag that he had made up during Season One to give as gifts to cast & crew. He gave it to the coordinator, Beth, of this Castle Convention, and she donated it to the auction. Sold for $210.00 Onion Goggles ~ Pink. Signed by Nathan, Tamala, Penny, and whomever else was attending that day, $35.00 Jason Palmer's Comic Con Side Posters ~ He used these on the sides of his booth at Comic Con from last year - they are like vertical banners of the first print available today for CASTLE ~ $225.00 Mosaic Poster/Print of Nathan & Stana ~ To be signed by anyone who was attending that day, $70.00 Mosaic Poster/Print of Nathan as Captain Mal in Sepia Tone ~ $80.00 Mosaic Poster/Print of Nathan & Stana bed scene from the EW Photo Shoot, $100.00 Mosaic Poster/Print of Nathan as Green Lantern (face shot), $65.00 Mosaic Poster/Print of Nathan as Green Lantern, head & chest shot with Green Lantern T-Shirt & Logo, $35.00 Lunch with Andrew and Terri for Two ~ $600.00 Script of Pilot, Flowers For Your Grave ~ Signed by Andrew W. Marlowe and Rob Bowman, $230.00 Castle Carboard Cut-Out by ABC ~ Signed by Penny & Tamala, $100.00. I had this at $75.00. At last "going", someone shouted $100.00 *tears* ANNNNNNDD..... *That's a Wrap!!*CastleKat you actually spoke to Nathan !! I didn't realize that you even opened your mouth. Nice to notice his clothes and let him know. Yes,, I remember Rob talking about the back light for the kiss as one of the only lights they were using. He wanted a certain look and feel to that scene. I did ask Rob while he was walking down the hall. I said I had a request...could they PLEASE put SOMETHING in the coffee cups! He said they do put coffee in them sometimes. I said the scene in After the Storm when Beckett walks out in the white shirt with the coffee cups and raises them up to say "I brought you coffee" real coffee would have been all over the shirt. I asked if they could put water or something to give the cup weight as it was obvious when they were empty. Who knows if anything will change but I did get to talk to him about it. ROFL! I talked to Luke, Tycho! I said those things to LUKE! LOL! BUT, I DID talk to Nathan only briefly, in telling him how much I loved the show. Nothing significant, just in passing before he & Spencer were walking away for lunch. He turned back to me & smiled, and said, "You have excellent taste." I smiled back, as I was rendered speechless. ;D That's all she wrote. It was super sweet. I'll never forget the way he looked back at me smiling and saying that. It was awesome. |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:29:52 GMT -5
I Absolutely loved every post!! Thank you so much Kriss for taking the time to write all of this up. And Nathanfan is putting icing on the cake with her little stories!! LOVED IT ALL!!!!!!! I can't wait until the other gals chime in! I Absolutely loved every post!! Thank you so much Kriss for taking the time to write all of this up. And Nathanfan is putting icing on the cake with her little stories!! LOVED IT ALL!!!!!!! I can't wait until the other gals chime in! You're welcome, my dear friend! Just got finished reading about the amazing time you all had!! Thanx so much for posting all of your stories!! One of the gals who posts on the ABC board asked Luke about putting in Nathan in less clothing. She used an example of the LA episode where Stana was in a swimsuit and Nathan was layered with long jeans, a shirt and a jacket on top of that. Luke's answer was that she should talk to Mr. Marlowe about that. Luke said it was a decision that is above his pay grade! I also want to say a special "THANKS" to Kriss for taking so much time away from her family this weekend to get all of these notes posted. I know it was a labor of love but it was still a sacrifice. As I told you out there - you're one of a kind! Just a quick shout out to Kriss,Bobbie and Teresa: you gals have done an amazing job recapping our amazing LA experience!!you've pretty much covered it all but I will add my little contribution early next week when I'm back in London. Miss you all!! You are the best !! Wow guys... just wow! I finally got over here to read all this and I'm just ecstatic for you! I'm literally all tingly after reading all this! Simply AMAZING! Every time I think we've covered it all, I remember something else! It really was a case of circuit overload out there! Someone asked Penny if she really was pursuing a law degree. She said that she got the job on Castle the day after she started law school! She's about 1 year into it and is committed to accomplishing her goal. She said she has to be diligent about setting aside time every week for her studies. I think she said she spends about 30 hours a week on her schoolwork. She mentioned being 50 years old. . She also told about an accident at her house fairly recently, when she fell out of a tree and got a concussion. She said that before the fall, she had a photographic memory, but now it's gone. Nevertheless, she must be one very motivated woman! Stephen Bowman is really into the Renaissance time period and he uses an antique 1937 Singer sewing machine to make his own period costumes. He admitted to being a huge GEEK Some closing thoughts from me, as I THINK that I've added everything I can remember! The overwhelming thing that I learned from all of this is that this amazing show is the product of countless dedicated professionals who love it and nurture it with their talents. Every single detail is worthy of someone's attention and they are all extremely committed to putting out the very best show that they possibly can. It's a very collaborative atmosphere and a caring family one too, where people can perform at their highest levels because it feels good to come to work. The level of respect that I have for these people is off the charts now and I encourage everyone to take any opportunity that presents itself to let them know that we appreciate and admire their work. They all said how much they love getting feedback. I can't help but think that the BEST feedback of all right now would be a sweep of the 3 People's Choice Awards that they're up for. Since it's determined by fan voting, it's a direct statement from us to them. So let's keep up the high level of voting and bring this amazing Castle team the recognition they deserve! What an amazing experience you ladies had!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us!! It has been delightful to read your stories and to feel your excitement and gratitude for the experience. Thank you again, ladies, for caring enough about our family here to share all of this with us!! Thank you so much, CK, Nathanfan, Tycho, iCaskett--I've loved every second that you've shared!!! Am thrilled for you with your experiences--all of them--the convention; meeting the cast and crew at the convention; your exploring and discovering sites; your meeting Nathan; your fun and time together!!! Thank you for taking your time to share "deets" and photos!!! I also want to say a special "THANKS" to Kriss for taking so much time away from her family this weekend to get all of these notes posted. I know it was a labor of love but it was still a sacrifice. As I told you out there - you're one of a kind! How sweet of you to say! THANK YOU, my friend! We had a remarkable time; it was a tremendous blessing to share the weekend with you, Teresa, Irma and Barb! We definately left our mark, I am certain! I will remember it always! Just a quick shout out to Kriss,Bobbie and Teresa: you gals have done an amazing job recapping our amazing LA experience!!you've pretty much covered it all but I will add my little contribution early next week when I'm back in London. Miss you all!! You are the best !! I can't wait! And I miss you more than you know! Just a few more quick tidbits.... Teel has posted a link to her Photobucket where she has pulled some of my photos. They are from my camera, as well as my phone, and some she pulled from my facebook. I am not certain if they are all there, but there is more than one page. When you click into her Photobucket, it appears that it's only one page, like only twelve or something, of photos, but there are actually like 76 or 96...gah. Can't remember. But there are more. Anyway, I think there is an area on the left where if you hover, you can see a place to click to get into the next pages. We had hoped to pull the photos from my camera and load them into the posts here, where pertinent, but Photobucket was not cooperating. And, I have just posted a link to the Castle Convention site where you can read the official report and view photos there. There are some wonderful close-ups of the panel, and the crowd. A couple more tidbits I remembered while lying in bed last night: I missed my photo session with Armin, as I was chatting. Imagine that! LOL! Anyway, when I went through the line to get his autograph, I mentioned I had missed it with him, and he stopped what he was doing; stopped the autograph line, to get a photo with my on my camera. It is in the Photobucket link from Teel, and it turned out rather nicely. Only one person that day noticed, but I was wearing apples & cherries on my jewelry. My husband and boys had bought me the necklace/bracelet set for Mother's Day last year from Swarovski. The necklace is a red apple, the bracelet is a red apple, cherries, and a lemon. Bobbie noticed right away in the morning. OCD lives in her! LOL! Another little tidbit I have to share, is during our lunch session with the VIP's. Chuck was at our table, and he was talking about dressing Stana for "The Blue Butterfly". He was about to get up, and was saying what a remarkable gal she is. I was not shy, and in that moment, I said how we all wish we could meet her, that I think she is just adorable, and would he please hug her for me! LOL! Chuck gave a giggle at me, a bright smile, and he said, "You bet I will!" I was over the moon! I hope he will remember! It was a super sweet moment for me, even if he does forget to hug her for me. lol.... Thank you all for your kind notes to me. A couple of you have texted me in the past 24 hours to tell me how much you love and appreciate this thread. That means more to me than you know. I am delighted to know that my efforts mean so much to you. Many of the pictures are the ones that Marta took on Sunday. To the Ladies from LA (that's my name for you now): Thank you so very much for sharing all of your experiences with us. It has been such a delight to read about them and live vicariously through your words and pictures. What an incredible weekend! Thanks for all the time you've put into this and your attention to all the details (none of which is too small for us with OCD). Your reports are just more confirmation that Castle is absolutely, positively the Best. Show. Ever. Here's hoping it survives for several more seasons. Thanks again for sharing with us all. It's been wonderful! CK, you must be exhausted!!! I have no idea how you fit your amazing CASTLECon accounts into your RL--but I'm realllly appreciative that you did!!! Love and enjoy every single bit!!! Can you relax with your family now?! Re-watch CASTLE?! Again, thank you!!! CK, you must be exhausted!!! I have no idea how you fit your amazing CASTLECon accounts into your RL--but I'm realllly appreciative that you did!!! Love and enjoy every single bit!!! Can you relax with your family now?! Re-watch CASTLE?! Again, thank you!!! Hah ahaha... how did you know, friend? I sure am quite tired, yes! LOL! My past as an ICU nurse serves me well, as I am pretty good at multitasking when the need arises. I just made sure that when I updated here, I was either waiting on something to finish cooking somewhere in the kitchen, or that my boys were knee-deep in a video game together, or not home at all, so as not to miss too much time with them. I have to admit, I am tired. I'm looking forward to watching Revenge tonight, and then finishing up the decorating for Christmas tomorrow, and starting my scene-by-scene for After Hours. Our oldest just left to go back to college, and our youngest one spends three hours at the pool after school every day, so I will have time this week to hopefully get all my ducks back in a row and get back into a routine. I will have the memories of L.A. and of Nathan though. Always. Thank you for your kind words, CastleFanGran. I appreciate them so much! To the Ladies from LA (that's my name for you now): Thank you so very much for sharing all of your experiences with us. It has been such a delight to read about them and live vicariously through your words and pictures. What an incredible weekend! Thanks for all the time you've put into this and your attention to all the details (none of which is too small for us with OCD). Your reports are just more confirmation that Castle is absolutely, positively the Best. Show. Ever. Here's hoping it survives for several more seasons. Thanks again for sharing with us all. It's been wonderful! LOL, that is a FINE name! Thank you for your kind words, and expressing your gratitude! It makes all my efforts worthwhile! And I'm so happy you've enjoyed reading about all the excitement! I agree! BEST. SHOW. EVER! I knew it before, and this trip just solidified in my mind what I knew to be true all along. Hopefully, we'll get two more seasons, at least. As long as they continue to tell a story that works, is organic, and isn't forced, I think all will be well. I wanted to see Rick & Kate together, I believe they will never break up, and I got to meet one of of our darling duo, and then some. I am a very, very, VERY happy, thankful and grateful Castle fan! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:31:13 GMT -5
Just got finished reading about the amazing time you all had!! Thanx so much for posting all of your stories!! Thank YOU for taking the time to read! And for saying so! I'm so THRILLED you enjoyed! Makes my time and efforts worthwhile! Wow guys... just wow! I finally got over here to read all this and I'm just ecstatic for you! I'm literally all tingly after reading all this! Simply AMAZING! ;D ;D ;D Thanks, Debo! Every time I think we've covered it all, I remember something else! It really was a case of circuit overload out there! Someone asked Penny if she really was pursuing a law degree. She said that she got the job on Castle the day after she started law school! She's about 1 year into it and is committed to accomplishing her goal. She said she has to be diligent about setting aside time every week for her studies. I think she said she spends about 30 hours a week on her schoolwork. She mentioned being 50 years old. . She also told about an accident at her house fairly recently, when she fell out of a tree and got a concussion. She said that before the fall, she had a photographic memory, but now it's gone. Nevertheless, she must be one very motivated woman! Stephen Bowman is really into the Renaissance time period and he uses an antique 1937 Singer sewing machine to make his own period costumes. He admitted to being a huge GEEK Circuit overload is an understatement! ROFL! CASLTE INTOXICATION! THAT'S what it was! And it. was. AWESOME! ;D What an amazing experience you ladies had!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us!! It has been delightful to read your stories and to feel your excitement and gratitude for the experience. Thank you again, ladies, for caring enough about our family here to share all of this with us!! You betcha, azm! Glad you enjoyed and shared in our excitement! I'm still on  , honestly! LOL! I have read some of this so far, and it sounds like all of you ladies had a blast! Thanks, Mandier! We did, indeed! We wished everyone could've fit in our tote bags! You were all there with us in spirit! Truly! I'm taking my time reading through all of your posts and just wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU to all of you who are sharing your stories with such detail. Even if I couldn't attend, at least I get to live vicariously through you. Your time and enthusiasm are much appreciated. Thank you so much for saying! Everyone here deserves to know as much as we could bring! Happy to share with all of you! I thought they have to do things over and over... Ah well. I'm sure the rehearsals made it worth it. ;-) I just love how when asked what it's like working with Stana, Nathan answers, it just keeps getting better and better! I'll just bet: regular make out sessions, topless scenes... scenes in bed together.... yeah. The whole weekend sounds like such an amazing experience. Now I wish I could've gone. We wish you would've gone too, Bren! Yes -- this!!! But mostly this... ;D YES! HE! IS! *SIZZLE* These stories are so amazing and I can honestly picture everything as it happened!! Thank you for sharing with all of us here and I'm so thrilled that you could cap off an amazing weekend-long experience with a personal meeting with Nathan! That is so incredible!! And CK, don't you worry, I'm in no hurry here!! Write me when you can, my friend, but I know this is a busy time for you so take your time and get whatever you need to get done... well... done. Lol. And again.... I will write you back soon! LOL! I can't keep up! I'm trying... It's hard being me these days, but OH! so much fun! And thank you! A very big virtual hug to castlekat, tycho, nathanfan and icaskett for taking the time and effort to share with us all of your wonderful memories and pictures.  Reading your posts with so many details has been almost like being there with you: ThanK you, girls !!!  A very big virtual hug to castlekat, tycho, nathanfan and icaskett for taking the time and effort to share with us all of your wonderful memories and pictures. Reading your posts with so many details has been almost like being there with you: Thank you, girls !!! Ditto 100% THANK YOU ALL for a very informative and entertaining thread. The pics were fabulous. A very big virtual hug to castlekat, tycho, nathanfan and icaskett for taking the time and effort to share with us all of your wonderful memories and pictures. Reading your posts with so many details has been almost like being there with you: ThanK you, girls !!! Hug gladly taken, felt, and appreciated! Thank YOU! Ditto 100% THANK YOU ALL for a very informative and entertaining thread. The pics were fabulous. Thank you, Arky!!!! SO glad you enjoyed! A very big virtual hug to castlekat, tycho, nathanfan and icaskett for taking the time and effort to share with us all of your wonderful memories and pictures. Reading your posts with so many details has been almost like being there with you: ThanK you, girls !!! Thanks ! This was the whole idea about doing the posts and twitter feed. We wanted everyone to have at least some of the experience as not everyone can just zip out to LA for the weekend. A big thanks to all of your thank yous! Tycho thank you so much for emailing me pictures and being so informative while there! I really had a ball getting your emails! Don't forget we need to work on that banner! LOL I just got caught up on my reading and I want to also thank you ladies for all of your hard work and dedication to sharing these stories with all of us here. I'm so happy that you were able to have this wonderful experience, as you all so very much deserve that, and I'm so glad that you were thinking of us the whole time to make sure that you took good notes and captured the memories for us as well! I have one more thought, as I was putting away my Castle things from last weekend. I did tell her in person, and she probably doesn't know who I am from Adam, but I wanted to publicly thank Beth, from CastleTV.net, the coordinator/chairperson of the Castle Convention. It is evident she put a great deal of work into last weekend, and from Australia, no less! It turned out to be quite a successful occasion, and I'm sure not without countless hours of hard work and headaches on her part. Her partner in crime, I believe is Dwight, from the California Browncoats, and I want to thank him, as well, as he was instrumental in helping me with a couple of things, and I know he put in a ton of time, and hard work as well, as I believe he handled a lot of the financial aspect from the convention. If there is Castle Convention 2013, I would highly recommend trying to attend. It's like nothing you can imagine, and everything and more than you can. Being surrounded by all things Castle was quite an invigorating experience. I would do it again in a New York minute! THANK YOU BETH & DWIGHT and everyone else who helped to make the convention a total blast! I am late to this party!!!! But, I have literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD and cried from the pain of laughing so hard. The entire thread is beyond what any of us 12th-ers could possibly have hoped for. So much loving detail that has gone into every post from each of you..... amazing!!!!! I am certain each reader wishes they had attended but the wonderful play by play has transported us to each shared moment. A huge thank you from me and all those who have read and so enjoyed your adventure!!!! I am late to this party!!!! But, I have literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD and cried from the pain of laughing so hard. The entire thread is beyond what any of us 12th-ers could possibly have hoped for. So much loving detail that has gone into every post from each of you..... amazing!!!!! I am certain each reader wishes they had attended but the wonderful play by play has transported us to each shared moment. A huge thank you from me and all those who have read and so enjoyed your adventure!!!! You are SO welcome! And I'm SO happy you enjoyed! ;D I did add information about a conversation with Rob Bowman in my thread about the Michael Connelly book signing. |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:32:59 GMT -5
OK, adding some more personal snippets to our LA experience. Part one as it goes. Part two to come Meeting Penny Saturday Nov 17. I was looking for Kriss and got in the elevator on the lobby level, and someone just rushed in and behold, I am staring at Penny and an elderly lady (Penny’s mom). My reaction was an instant “Penny! Hi!”, before the doors closed. (and wow did she look amazing!) She looked at me smiling and just asked “Where are you from?” I said: “London, all the way from there to see you. Dedication that is”. She just smiled. And then “I think Tamala is running late” I could have kicked myself for saying that though.lol. But then the doors opened as we went down only one floor and there’s Kriss going to me “Where were you? Been looking all over for y…” and then she registers who I’m with and starts giggling. Seriously comedy gold moment. Oh and “do you know each other?” and me jokingly saying “Yep, we’re old friends” More laughter. I just remember Penny asking where should go and Kriss and the other two girls with her pointing out to the ‘green room’ next door and off they go. Kriss and me just stare at each other and then start giggling uncontrollably. Meeting Tamala Saturday Nov 17. After the photo shoot with Penny, I was almost about to leave the room(Penny and Tamala were shooting pics in two separate rooms) when one of the organisers said to me : “You’ve got a shoot with Tamala next door”. “Oh, Ok”, I said, and headed to the room next door. Tamala looked absolutely adorable in her white ribbed top, jeans and brown dogtooth cap, and I remember entering the room and going “Tamala!”, she extended her arms and said” Love your dress!” She then then asked if I had a card and about how she loved my style and proceeding me to do a little twirl, she said how she’d been looking for clothes like that. I also commented on her style and how lovely she looked and needless to say I was pretty flattered by her comments. Funny thing is that photographer guy goes: “Are you ladies ready? You look awesome” lol. We had a bit of a girlie moment .heh. At the autograph session, I got to hand in my biz card to Tamala (with a little help from Teresa), they were supposed to sign for only one thing but I had a poster and the pic with her, so she signed both. Day made☺ . Meeting Stephen Bowman Sunday Nov 18. Kriss was again looking for me and was determined for me to talk to Luke, so she grabbed me and we went downstairs to the ‘Green Room”, and when we got there, Stephen, Beth (Castle con admin and event organiser) and another person were down there and Kriss proceeded to introduce me as the dressmaker from London. What caught me off guard was Stephen Bowman’s question: “ SO which sewing machine do you use”? I said “Elna” and he goes to me “ I’ve got a vintage 1930s Singer”. Connection made.LOL. He then tells me that he does re-enactment. I told him that he does have this 1500 -1600 look about him(with his long hair and tasch) He then told me that he’s been trying to convert his partner onto the case but she’s not really into it. He also said that ladies wear from the era is more difficult to make. I can relate. We had a few more words there before they had to leave. Oh my! So much respect for a fellow creative soul! Lol. He was so sweet☺. Meeting Rob Bowman Sunday Nov 18. Autograph session was a bizarre experience. I’ve been a fan of his since the X-Files and getting face to face with him got me a bit flustered. He asked me where I was from and shook my hand. I then proceeded to tell him how much I admired his work since the X-Files . The thing is , that I,in a strange zoned-out moment missed, was that he was complimenting me on a dress I was wearing(and one of my own creations), so obviously didn’t reply back. Only learnt about the comment later on by Barb and Birgit (my other two partners in crime), and was just mortified.lol. He must have thought I was a bit rude,heh. Not really lol. On retrospect, wish I did though, I think I would have been in my element.heh. Meeting Luke Sunday Nov 18 Again, come the autograph session another long line ahead of us, but once I got there, there was Luke complimenting on my dress so I told him it was one of mine, and we proceeded to talk shop. He was a really sweet guy and I again managed to hand in my card. I just remember him being so detail-conscious and complimentary. It’s funny as I had a completely different impression of him previously, but I was so pleasantly surprised. This guy is someone who works so hard and knows what he’s doing. I also loved how he told me “Good luck”. Before I moved in line. Such a nice man. OK, adding some more personal snippets to our LA experience. Part one as it goes. Part two to come Meeting Penny Saturday Nov 17. I was looking for Kriss and got in the elevator on the lobby level, and someone just rushed in and behold, I am staring at Penny and an elderly lady (Penny’s mom). My reaction was an instant “Penny! Hi!”, before the doors closed. (and wow did she look amazing!) She looked at me smiling and just asked “Where are you from?” I said: “London, all the way from there to see you. Dedication that is”. She just smiled. And then “I think Tamala is running late” I could have kicked myself for saying that though.lol. But then the doors opened as we went down only one floor and there’s Kriss going to me “Where were you? Been looking all over for y…” and then she registers who I’m with and starts giggling. Seriously comedy gold moment. Oh and “do you know each other?” and me jokingly saying “Yep, we’re old friends” More laughter. I just remember Penny asking where should go and Kriss and the other two girls with her pointing out to the ‘green room’ next door and off they go. Kriss and me just stare at each other and then start giggling uncontrollably. Meeting Tamala Saturday Nov 17. After the photo shoot with Penny, I was almost about to leave the room(Penny and Tamala were shooting pics in two separate rooms) when one of the organisers said to me : “You’ve got a shoot with Tamala next door”. “Oh, Ok”, I said, and headed to the room next door. Tamala looked absolutely adorable in her white ribbed top, jeans and brown dogtooth cap, and I remember entering the room and going “Tamala!”, she extended her arms and said” Love your dress!” She then then asked if I had a card and about how she loved my style and proceeding me to do a little twirl, she said how she’d been looking for clothes like that. I also commented on her style and how lovely she looked and needless to say I was pretty flattered by her comments. Funny thing is that photographer guy goes: “Are you ladies ready? You look awesome” lol. We had a bit of a girlie moment .heh. At the autograph session, I got to hand in my biz card to Tamala (with a little help from Teresa), they were supposed to sign for only one thing but I had a poster and the pic with her, so she signed both. Day made☺ . Meeting Stephen Bowman Sunday Nov 18. Kriss was again looking for me and was determined for me to talk to Luke, so she grabbed me and we went downstairs to the ‘Green Room”, and when we got there, Stephen, Beth (Castle con admin and event organiser) and another person were down there and Kriss proceeded to introduce me as the dressmaker from London. What caught me off guard was Stephen Bowman’s question: “ SO which sewing machine do you use”? I said “Elna” and he goes to me “ I’ve got a vintage 1930s Singer”. Connection made.LOL. He then tells me that he does re-enactment. I told him that he does have this 1500 -1600 look about him(with his long hair and tasch) He then told me that he’s been trying to convert his partner onto the case but she’s not really into it. He also said that ladies wear from the era is more difficult to make. I can relate. We had a few more words there before they had to leave. Oh my! So much respect for a fellow creative soul! Lol. He was so sweet☺. Meeting Rob Bowman Sunday Nov 18. Autograph session was a bizarre experience. I’ve been a fan of his since the X-Files and getting face to face with him got me a bit flustered. He asked me where I was from and shook my hand. I then proceeded to tell him how much I admired his work since the X-Files . The thing is , that I,in a strange zoned-out moment missed, was that he was complimenting me on a dress I was wearing(and one of my own creations), so obviously didn’t reply back. Only learnt about the comment later on by Barb and Birgit (my other two partners in crime), and was just mortified.lol. He must have thought I was a bit rude,heh. Not really lol. On retrospect, wish I did though, I think I would have been in my element.heh. Meeting Luke Sunday Nov 18 Again, come the autograph session another long line ahead of us, but once I got there, there was Luke complimenting on my dress so I told him it was one of mine, and we proceeded to talk shop. He was a really sweet guy and I again managed to hand in my card. I just remember him being so detail-conscious and complimentary. It’s funny as I had a completely different impression of him previously, but I was so pleasantly surprised. This guy is someone who works so hard and knows what he’s doing. I also loved how he told me “Good luck”. Before I moved in line. Such a nice man. OH! MY FRIEND! HOW you have ME GIGGLING OVER HERE! OH, and I am almost crying reliving the bittersweet memories of our time! AND, I can hear your British accent in EVERY WORD! OHhhhhhhhhhh, you MUST come to the states often! You could move here even, yes? The next time you head to this part of the world, I hope you'll make a pit stop in OHIO and stay with us for a few days! We could even maybe have another Castle meet here again at that time! WhOoot! Part two: Meeting Warren Outside the Raleigh Studios, where we arrived around noon, suddenly a familiar figure appears through the gates, he waves at us,and Kriss approaches him. She tells him that we’re kind of in need of a toilet break and that we were not ‘allowed’ at the main area, so Warren, being the lovely man that he is, says to us to follow him, and we cross the street to the crew restroom area (and also where they are constructing set pieces, as we got a glimpse of for 5.12)and we get to do our thing. As Kriss asked him about shooting schedule, Warren checked on the ‘call sheet’ on his mobile and said that Nathan and Stana were on th lot even before shooting. Kriss told him to pass on the word that a few fans were about and he said he’d do the best he could (Interesting thing was that he said that he’s only spoken to Nathan a couple of times, in the last 4 years and was a bit shy to interact but hat his wife , Marta was more hands on and interacting with the cast. (I was kinda surprised as he came across like such an easygoing character, but the again he said he’s pretty much stuck in the editing room most of the time) Meeting Robert Duncan When Robert came out, it was a complete surprise for us and him, both ways.When Teresa started to talk to him and talking shop it was just one of those things that you’d have to experience to see how passionate they both were talking about something they love. Robert was there with his lovely assistant, Amber , who proceeded to take some lovely pics of us. And the best thing was that Rob himself asked if we could pose for a pic for him too on his camera. Needless to say, that pic taken by Amber, turned out to be the most amazing pic of the lot! Fantastic times! Meeting Nathan Standing outside the Raleigh Studios, with the beautiful clear blue skies would have been anybody’s dream, but little did we expect, about 45 minutes in after our arrival, seeing a certain tall, jean and jacket wearing figure across the lot, flipping his hair(!!), coming toward us a few minutes later. A very familiar figure, as I spotted from the distance, was approaching us, with someone else, and I just remember going to the girls, “It’s him, he’s coming our way, are you ready..” and the girls variously going funny. As he was approaching, Teresa went “So Nathan , are coming over to see us?”And he said “Oh I am”. Pretty much of a crazy girlfan experience followed suit. He then went on to shake all of our hands(!!!- hello-kiss from Nathan;)!!) and asking where we were from,and the proceeded to introduce his friend Spencer (Garrett, a guest star, possibly from 5.11), We then got a bit star struck and he asked if we wanted any pics taken and we sais yes, so gorgeous Mr Ruggedly Handsome Fillion posed for us, and then we got his mate Spencer in the pics as well(who was super funny! Was joking with him about London. They guy’s been in a few things by the way, pretty famous) All beautiful ops over they are over for their lunch break, on foot. Then ten minutes later they return, and I think Barb goes, ‘Well, that was a quick one (lunch), to which Nathan just laughs and says the restaurant closed. They the proceed to hop on Nathan’s BMW and grabbing an unknown blond(standing next to us and possibly a guest star) go to lunch.And he did wave from his car☺. I think after everything we were just gobsmacked! Nathan looked seriously hot, fit, you name it!!In his black v-neck and jeans..A few of us females had to be scooped of the pavement.lol. At least Bobbie. Who bless her, had to lean something solid after the meeting.lol. I’m still trying to put my finger on what was so special about him and kind of come to the conclusion, was his general aura, a very special at that. You really would have to be there to experience it. He’s one very amazing guy. Period . OH! MY FRIEND! HOW you have ME GIGGLING OVER HERE! OH, and I am almost crying reliving the bittersweet memories of our time! AND, I can hear your British accent in EVERY WORD! OHhhhhhhhhhh, you MUST come to the states often! You could move here even, yes? The next time you head to this part of the world, I hope you'll make a pit stop in OHIO and stay with us for a few days! We could even maybe have another Castle meet here again at that time! WhOoot! Oh, hun, such great times !! I will absolutely would love to come over very soon. Kind of gutted can't make it to your January meet but hey, I think I will be over earlier than you think . Ironically enough, had a chat with my dad, and he was so pro my moving over there. How about that? heh, what are teh odds . Oh I loved reading your view icaskett!!! Thank you, icaskett, for adding to the awesomeness of this thread and all the experiences you had. Such fun to read! Oh and almost forgot this: Meeting LT We were still on high for meeting Nathan, when LT just walks out. My instant reaction was to shout “LT!”. He then stopped and proceeded to talk to us. He’s a really lovely guy and we learned that his name is actually LT(or his initials anyhow)and he told us he was about to go walk his dog. I was telling him how much we loved him on Castle and that how we would love him to have more speaking parts(and that we would start campaigning for it), he just laughed . Bobbie and him were talking where the were from and the ‘passion’ for cheese, where I just jumped in saying that I hate it,and if he was ever to invite me to a fondue eve, I’d recline the invite.He just laughed and said, “but what if it was chocolate fondue”, I said, “oh well, I guess that would be OK, as it is kind of like cheese cake that doesn’t really taste like cheese”lol. He just laughed. He then said goodbyes to us and when he passed by on his car a few minutes later, he waved through the window. What a lovely guy . Thank you, icaskett, for adding to the awesomeness of this thread and all the experiences you had. Such fun to read! Thanks, CL66, glad you liked Oh I loved reading your view icaskett!!! Thanks Teel .It was certainly very special! Hope we can make it joint thing next year !! Oh, hun, such great times !! I will absolutely would love to come over very soon. Kind of gutted can't make it to your January meet but hey, I think I will be over earlier than you think . Ironically enough, had a chat with my dad, and he was so pro my moving over there. How about that? heh, what are teh odds . SWEET! You can come stay with us anytime! Ok, I wasn't going to add this, but I have to. You all haven't lived until you've heard iCaskett, in her British accent, with such intensity, say, "sh*t!" Seriously. It's THE FUNNIEST THING, EVER! OH! I laugh SO hard when she says that! ROFL! Sorry! I had to! ;D Ok, I wasn't going to add this, but I have to. You all haven't lived until you've heard iCaskett, in her British accent, with such intensity, say, "sh*t!" Seriously. It's THE FUNNIEST THING, EVER! OH! I laugh SO hard when she says that! ROFL! Sorry! I had to! ;D Haha, you couldn't resist, could you ;D?? You my friend, were so easily amused, it just cracked me up!LOL Didn't you just love it when I called you and first thing I said was: "sh*t! Wrong number" I can still hear you laughing hysterically, "I can't breath!!!", which in turned cracked us up, in that elevator with that young guy slightly baffled and us doing some floor hopping up and down, missing my 12th(!) floor!!LOL. And that he went' that was the best elevator ride ever"! Wouldn't it be just?? Bet he had some fun stories to tell his buddies ;D! So.much.fun!!! SWEET! You can come stay with us anytime! Thank you, schucks, very sweet of you Here`s this Birgit from Germany Castlekat was talking about in her post #35 on page 3. Finally I got me to register in here and I just wanted to say "Hello" to the crazy bunch of ladies I spent the CastleCon-weekend with . You are so right everyone: BEST.WEEKEND.EVER!!!I first have to get used to the layout of this web-site. It`s all very new to me and I`m still a little confused by where I find everything. But I promise to look for it and learn so I will get used to it. So, when I`m finally finished with reading this thread some day, I will go for discovering more. I will head out for now but not before telling you ladies that you all made this weekend for me. I`m not really shy but I`ve come to the Convention all on my own, so naturally I was kind of guarded and reserved . But this feeling disappeared immediately when I was meeting you, ladies! Thanks for letting me in on your "inner circle" and giving me such a warm welcome ! Thanks for letting me have such an awesome weekend with you. Birgit WooHoo! Hi Birgit! It's so good to hear from you and that you're officially a member of the 12th now. Welcome! We very much enjoyed your company in LA! The more Castle fans the better I just wish you'd been able to be with us on Monday at the studio when we met Nathan. It was such a thrill! I look forward to hearing all that you have to say! Here`s this Birgit from Germany Castlekat was talking about in her post #35 on page 3. Finally I got me to register in here and I just wanted to say "Hello" to the crazy bunch of ladies I spent the CastleCon-weekend with . You are so right everyone: BEST.WEEKEND.EVER!!!I first have to get used to the layout of this web-site. It`s all very new to me and I`m still a little confused by where I find everything. But I promise to look for it and learn so I will get used to it. So, when I`m finally finished with reading this thread some day, I will go for discovering more. I will head out for now but not before telling you ladies that you all made this weekend for me. I`m not really shy but I`ve come to the Convention all on my own, so naturally I was kind of guarded and reserved . But this feeling disappeared immediately when I was meeting you, ladies! Thanks for letting me in on your "inner circle" and giving me such a warm welcome ! Thanks for letting me have such an awesome weekend with you. Birgit Birgit! How FANTASTICLY WONDERFUL to "see" you here! It was a delight having you hang out with us all weekend! I am so thrilled you found us worthy! Please keep in touch and post often here! And THANK YOU for your lovely words! Here`s this Birgit from Germany Castlekat was talking about in her post #35 on page 3. Finally I got me to register in here and I just wanted to say "Hello" to the crazy bunch of ladies I spent the CastleCon-weekend with . You are so right everyone: BEST.WEEKEND.EVER!!!I first have to get used to the layout of this web-site. It`s all very new to me and I`m still a little confused by where I find everything. But I promise to look for it and learn so I will get used to it. So, when I`m finally finished with reading this thread some day, I will go for discovering more. I will head out for now but not before telling you ladies that you all made this weekend for me. I`m not really shy but I`ve come to the Convention all on my own, so naturally I was kind of guarded and reserved . But this feeling disappeared immediately when I was meeting you, ladies! Thanks for letting me in on your "inner circle" and giving me such a warm welcome ! Thanks for letting me have such an awesome weekend with you. Birgit Yeah you found us. glad the link worked that I sent you! Welcome to the 12th!! ;D iCaskett, thank you for sharing with us your experiences. It was great to read another point of view of your awesome week end in L.A. Gracias, guapa !!! Here`s this Birgit from Germany Castlekat was talking about in her post #35 on page 3. Finally I got me to register in here and I just wanted to say "Hello" to the crazy bunch of ladies I spent the CastleCon-weekend with . You are so right everyone: BEST.WEEKEND.EVER!!!I first have to get used to the layout of this web-site. It`s all very new to me and I`m still a little confused by where I find everything. But I promise to look for it and learn so I will get used to it. So, when I`m finally finished with reading this thread some day, I will go for discovering more. I will head out for now but not before telling you ladies that you all made this weekend for me. I`m not really shy but I`ve come to the Convention all on my own, so naturally I was kind of guarded and reserved . But this feeling disappeared immediately when I was meeting you, ladies! Thanks for letting me in on your "inner circle" and giving me such a warm welcome ! Thanks for letting me have such an awesome weekend with you. Birgit Welcome to the 12th! iCaskett, thank you for sharing with us your experiences. It was great to read another point of view of your awesome week end in L.A. Gracias, guapa !!! De nada, hija, it was a pleasure ! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:34:20 GMT -5
So, now I`m finally finished with reading what everyone posted in here. Puh! It`s kind of exhausting because I`m usually in castletv.net. And there are two or three threads I`m constantly following (means: reading a lot and posting there) so this kills most of my free time. But I made a promise to look in here and read and so I will do. I do not intend not keeping this promise even if it means that I have to read even more. Thanks go especially to Nathanfan, Castlekat, Tycho657 and icaskett for posting almost every detail about this weekend here! I was so overwhelmed with everything that I actually forgot to take notes. So reading this weeks later triggers some lovely and exciting memories . Can I just say I miss a certain British accent saying "What?" or asking "Really?" and looking kind of disbelieving of what I just said ;D ? If Kate Beckett were British, she would be you 1:1, icaskett! And I envy you all for meeting Nathan at the studios the day I had to leave. I promise I will stay a day or two longer if there is a CastleCon 2013, so that I won`t miss such a chance again. But, ladies, in all your hilarious outbreak of fangirl-dom, I think you all forgot to mention about the fact Tamala told us about Nathan`s lips. The secret of why they`re so soft (and nice to be kissed ): Nathan uses Nivea-creme to care for his lips to stay as soft as they are ! It`s not really essential to know this .... but I guess it`s good to know, right ? So, now I`m finally finished with reading what everyone posted in here. Puh! It`s kind of exhausting because I`m usually in castletv.net. And there are two or three threads I`m constantly following (means: reading a lot and posting there) so this kills most of my free time. But I made a promise to look in here and read and so I will do. I do not intend not keeping this promise even if it means that I have to read even more. Thanks go especially to Nathanfan, Castlekat, Tycho657 and icaskett for posting almost every detail about this weekend here! I was so overwhelmed with everything that I actually forgot to take notes. So reading this weeks later triggers some lovely and exciting memories . Can I just say I miss a certain British accent saying "What?" or asking "Really?" and looking kind of disbelieving of what I just said ;D ? If Kate Beckett were British, she would be you 1:1, icaskett! And I envy you all for meeting Nathan at the studios the day I had to leave. I promise I will stay a day or two longer if there is a CastleCon 2013, so that I won`t miss such a chance again. But, ladies, in all your hilarious outbreak of fangirl-dom, I think you all forgot to mention about the fact Tamala told us about Nathan`s lips. The secret of why they`re so soft (and nice to be kissed ): Nathan uses Nivea-creme to care for his lips to stay as soft as they are ! It`s not really essential to know this .... but I guess it`s good to know, right ? Hey, my new friend over there on the other side of the world!!!! SO HAPPY to "see" you here! SO glad you read through our thread, and as you were a delightful part of our group, it IS fitting that you read and contribute, you know... It was GREAT to have you hang out with us all weekend! And yes, I am only sorry you were unable to remain with us through all of Monday, as it was incredible! None of that leaving early business next time.... lol... You just never know what can happen! And I, for one, wasn't leaving without TRYING, and our efforts were rewarded! I am thankful you are here now, so as to be in any planning scoop that would take place if another convention is held next year. I cannot promise that I will make it, but if so, it would be lovely to see you and hang out with you again! And you are not *that* far away from iCaskett! You COULD make something work one day! I plan to get over to your neck of the woods at some point, and I enjoyed your accent, as well. But yes, iCaskett's delightful British-isms won the prize! I couldn't agree more! Please don't be a stranger over here! Our tales and memories from L.A. must live on! I want to go back. That is all. I want to go back. That is all. I do it in my mind more times than I care to mention! I want to go with you. That is all! I want to go with you. That is all! When would you like to leave? ;D I probably shouldn't leave before Christmas, right? ;-) I probably shouldn't leave before Christmas, right? ;-) Or, if we left now, we could get back by Monday night... lol..... We have to wait until Jan 2 because they don't go back to work until then. LOL OH yeah. Right. lol... Teel, my voice of reason. What would I do without you. ;D OH yeah. Right. lol... Teel, my voice of reason. What would I do without you. ;D …… possibly hop on a plane and head to much warmer weather? Definitely keep her around!! Or hop the plane to me!! I'm in definite warmer weather. 70° today -- it was delightful. :-) …… possibly hop on a plane and head to much warmer weather? Definitely keep her around!! Or hop the plane to me!! I'm in definite warmer weather. 70° today -- it was delightful. :-) We didn't make it out of the single digits today up here in Minnesota. I am hoping Castle gets invited back for the Paley Festival this March. We can make plans for that hopefully. We will know by Jan 9 th. We didn't make it out of the single digits today up here in Minnesota. I remember those days from when we lived in Montana. Frozen ice trees, drifts that were taller than my children and frozen car doors! I only miss the big blue sky, the sunset at 10:30 pm and the 70° all summer. OH yeah. Right. lol... Teel, my voice of reason. What would I do without you. ;D You'd be spending a few weeks in LA looking for Castle's cast. ROFL You'd be spending a few weeks in LA looking for Castle's cast. ROFL ;D …… possibly hop on a plane and head to much warmer weather? Definitely keep her around!! Or hop the plane to me!! I'm in definite warmer weather. 70° today -- it was delightful. :-) Don't tempt me.... as I'm sitting here freezing cold right now, with gloomy skies in Toledo.... But, I'm thankful. Always something to be thankful for. Me & iCaskett outside of Casey's Irish Pub ~ aka "The Old Haunt" in Downtown L.A. You need to walk down the steps and have a hot Irish coffee, with all of the snow and nasty stuff in your part of the world today. Stay warm and safe. By all means CastleKat, you need to have an Irish Coffee. If this imbibing is due to the cold and snow fall, then, I will most assuredly join you. Its not good to drink alone. <eg> |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:35:58 GMT -5
Tycho says I'm the writer and so I should get this epic saga going! Castlekat and I both took lots of notes and I'm sure that everyone else has stuff to contribute too. HOWEVER - before I go any further, I have to send a big shout out to Tycho and her husband who made the weekend so much more than any of us had even hoped for, by sharing their vehicle and driving us around town as well as Tycho being the media mogul and sharing picture files and posting information and getting the inside scoop on things at the convention. Teresa and John, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!! The teacher in me is wanting to tell this tale chronologically but with so many people contributing, I fear that will not really be practical. I think I'll start us off with a quick overview of the events and then people will have a sense of when things occurred as the details are added. Thursday - icaskett(Irma) arrived from London Friday - Barb arrived from Boise, Idaho then I arrived from the Twin Cities and around 2:30, Castlekat (Kriss) arrived. Our group grew as other strangers gravitated towards the crazy Castle fans who were laughing so much down in the lobby. A plan was made to go the Old Haunt for dinner! It's actually called Casey's and we had a ball soaking in the ambiance of being in Castle's bar! Saturday - The convention started at 10AM with an auction of signed items. Then we had a panel with Warren Bowman (editor), his wife Marta Evry (editor) and Christopher Brow (camera dollygrip). This was followed by an autograph session with the 3 of them. Next there were pictures with Penny Johnson Gerald and Tamala Jones and then a late lunch. Afterwards was the panel with Tamala and Penny and then autographs with them. The day ended with an optional Zumba class led by Penny and her own Zumba instructor. Saturday night we had supper at the hotel restaurant. Sunday - The convention started again at 10:00 with an auction and then a panel with the Bowman family. There was Rob (producer), his dad Chuck (director) and his brother Stephen (post production). That was followed by an autograph session with the 3 guys and Marta Evry came back just to hang out. Then Kriss and I had lunch with the Bowmans as well as Luke Reichle (costumes) and Armin Shimerman who had played the crazy scientist on The Final Frontier. After lunch, there were pictures with Armin. Then Luke and Armin did a panel and Luke appeared in one of the Nebula 9 costumes Then the guys did autographs and the convention ended with a final session to thank everyone and announce that $35,000 had been raise to donate to a children's charity that was responding to the hurricane relief out East. Sunday night we gathered in Tycho's room and had pizza, watched a couple of episodes and reveled in all that we'd done. Monday - We first went to Grant Hope Park in downtown LA to see where the infamous swing scenes had been filmed. We chatted with a park policeman who told us that Castle had also filmed the dead weather woman in the fountain for Cloudy With A Chance Of Murder there and that we would also be seeing a dead Santa Claus there in the next episode! After the park, we drove by The Old Haunt in the daylight for a couple of quick pictures and then headed to Raleigh Studios. We hung around on the sidewalk by the well known gate entrance for a total of about 2 1/2 hours and we met Warren Bowman (again) and Nathan and L.T. (the cop in the precinct) and Robert Duncan who is in charge of the music. [Pardon me for a moment while I get my heart rate under control again.] Sorry, dream come true moment! After that we went to lunch along with kat's cousin who lives out there. We ate the famous Mel's Hollywood Drive In Diner. We split up after that for a bit. Kriss and Irma went with her cousin out to Santa Monica Pier and Teresa and John took Barb and I back to the hotel. Then the Tychos' left for the long drive back to Phoenix and Barb and I decompressed for a couple of hours. We had planned on a group viewing party but it didn't quite work out that way. We did all see most of the episode and were all together afterwards for a couple of hours reliving everything and fangirling a LOT about meeting Nathan! We parted company shortly after midnight. Tuesday - Irma and Barb left quite early to fly to Boise where Irma is spending the rest of the week with Barb. Then she'll fly back to London on Monday. Kriss left mid morning and I was the last to leave late morning. I know that this isn't any of the stuff you REALLY want to hear about, but it's at least a general framework so that you'll have a sense of when things occurred as everyone adds more details. I'll try to get back to add more later today and hope that all of the attendees will chime in as they're able. BEST. WEEKEND. EVER. OK, so I don't get how to quote someone in the same post as a reply. I'm the novice here--oh, well. I wanted to start "at the beginning" and say thanks to nathanfan for starting the LA thread and reiterate how much fun we all had together in LA, with Tycho and Mr. Tycho being the best ever group leaders. I have read the first 4 pages of this thread and have laughed and beamed the afternoon away. I decided to just respond to each post as I had thoughts, instead of just posting "my version" of the Convention weekend, plus the shiny part with Nathan. And I kept thinking, wow--how did you post everything so quickly after the event, even with Thanksgiving? Of course, icaskett came to visit, and we were having a blast together. It was a nice way to lengthen the magic time, as we didn't have to say goodbye to everyone all at once, like castlekat and nathanfan sadly had to. SO, on to more posts, and I'll try to figure out this quote a post thing. I'll add here that I had met icaskett (Irma) in London this summer, and we had such fun together, the time just flew! So I knew her, and Bobbie spotted my Castle tote when I came back down to the lobby of the Marriott after checking into my room. She came over to our table, and when I look back, I had no idea how much fun our group was going to be, but it started off so nice and it stayed sweet and friendly and hilarious and amazing. I look forward to you adding your take on the posts. Kriss was on one side of Nathan for our photo, but I was on the other side, and can confirm every word she said about putting an arm around a special guy's waist. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that memory is burned in my brain (and arm) forever. And being so close to him when he spoke-- the air simply vibrated!! I listen for that resonating quality in his voice now when I watch an episode. IT IS THERE!! And he was as glowing and handsome and kind as anyone can imagine. I keep thinking his momma would have been so proud of him for being so generous with his time and treatment of this group of fans. Oh, and when we grouped for the photo, he said, "Little ones in front." I latched onto his waist, to the side, and only days later realized he probably meant for us to stand in front of him, since he towered over everyone. When Spencer joined us, I think I said, "Tall ones in back." The photo of that moment is pretty funny as I'm sure Nathan was smirking. Oh, yeah. I did almost get hit by a car when I raced across the street to get Bobbie. As soon as we knew Nathan was actually going to stop to talk with us, I knew I had to go get her. We didn't know how nice he was going to be to us, to spend some of his lunch break stopping for pictures and such. I dashed into the street without looking, and a kind California driver waved me across. I did look both ways on the way back, and there was Nathan ready to greet me and Bobbie, asking our names and where we were from. (I've since thought of a ton of things I would have liked to ask, but I'm glad we let him take the lead, and just enjoy the moment.) The way I remember the camera pass-off was, I had Teresa's camera so that she could be in the photo with everyone, but Nathan took it from me to do his self-portrait with Teresa. It all happened so fast, but I do remember being across from the group when Nathan moved out. And the "what??" moment when he took the camera, and then just snapped away, while we all stood amazed at what had happened. Teresa deserved to have a one-on-one photo with Nathan, as she was so selfless taking photos of all of us with him. When Nathan and Spencer Garrett came back from the closed restaurant, we all must have responded. Teresa said her thing, and I said, "That was fast." We were all still stunned about our wonderful encounter. But it quickly became fun to see him in his SUV a couple of times, too. It is so great that we were able to stay and hang around and see LT and Robert Duncan and Amber Funk, his assistant, as well. PERFECT DAY!!! Ah, the tote bag. It has 12 autographs on it now from the Convention plus LT, Robert, and Amber on Monday. I wish it had 13 - with Nathan's on it, but not one of us thought to have him autograph anything. I think we were letting Nathan take the lead on everything, but it's still amazing to me that we didn't produce the 100 items we had with us that he could have signed (including body parts, right, eh?) I had my tote bag, and an 8x10 photo of him from ebay, and Convention items. But it didn't even occur to us, so entranced we were with his presence. At the Convention auction on day 2, I did win a sterling silver coffee mug signed by Nathan, Stana, Jon, Seamus, and Rob Bowman. I got caught up in the excitement, and bid against someone in the back. Turns out it was Mr. Tycho, and he saw who he was bidding against, and let me win it. (I have offered to let him have visiting rights and joint custody.) I was upset that Stana's signature was a little smudged, but it turns out she did it herself. So all is well. Makes it unique. Everyone who has expressed appreciation and thanked us for these stories so far, THANK YOU! Just saying you love it, appreciate it, enjoy it is enough! You're welcome. Ok, I am going to finish up with Friday night! The car ride home from "The Old Haunt" aka Casey's. Bobbie & Birgit had to pay a fortune for the taxi ride downtown to the pub. Teresa thought we could all just pile in, to save anyone the money in taking a cab back! Who knew the cost would be THAT high!? Anyway, Teresa said we could pile in, and we were all looking at each other as to who would pile in the back! It came down to me & Barb. Irma and Barb are the tiniest, but lucky Irma, being in a dress saved her! I was the lucky one to ride IN THE BACK OF THE CRV WITH BARB!!! OH, MERCIFUL HEAVENS! WHAT A HOOT! Just getting the two of us IN the back was an event! ROFL! We had little space, and had to compete with blankets, a 24 pack of water bottles, our purses and tote bags, and who knows what all! ROFL! Just getting us IN there caused a fit of laughing hysterics! Ok, Teresa closed the door on us, and we were left in a state resembling the contortionist in the safe in Home is Where the Heart is. Not lying. ;D We were bouncing and bouncing and bumping and cramped and squished and our legs were stuck around each others and we just kept laughing and giggling at the hysteria of the situation. Ok, I am laughing even typing this up! ;D At one point, I said, "Barb, my left butt cheek is asleep, I need to reposition." OH, what a sight we must've been. Barb took her shoes off to make more room, I coulnd't reach one of my feet to take mine off as it was "somewhere" and trying to move my other leg over Barb's to reposition put us over the edge! We couldn't stop laughing! And we had to use the ladies' room! OH WHY OH WHY didn't we do that at the pub? .... I'll never know! Needless to say, one of us would settle down, and the other would keep giggling and on it went. We were trying to hard to distract ourselves from our entangled state, the bumping up & down, hoping the sides of us didn't meet a bumper from another car, and so we started making names up for this "situation".... rofl! The words "Operation", "Pandora", "Bedpan (cuz we had to go potty)" all entered the scene! OH ME! We were laughing SO HARD we couldn't breathe! We were trying to be quiet so Mr. Tycho could hear Teresa's directions to get back to the hotel, and we were just a cruzin' on down highway ten or 110 or whatever it was with cars whizzin' by, and hoping we would just get to that darn hotel! ROFL! FINALLY! We see the airport, the hotel is on the horizon! We start to breathe a sigh of relief! Someone else said something and we started laughing all over again. We're talking serious stomach pain from laughing so hard laughing! ;D Mr. Tycho pulled up under the canopy to let us out, and I coudln't move! Seriously! I couldn't move! My legs, feet, and bum were asleep and I couldn't move! I was laughing so hard, Teresa came around they were all trying to help me out and I couldn't move! I was laughing so freaking hard! A few guys from another car came around and were trying to help me out, and all they could say was how drunk I was! SO FUNNY, cuz I didn't have a DROP of alcohol! OH, what a sight we were, all laughing! Anyway, the girls each took an arm, and helped pull me out! Mr. Tycho pulled away to park, and we all just kept laughing trying to walk back into the hotel lobby! WHAT A SIGHT we must've been! Ok, I have tears rolling down my cheeks from laughing as I type this! And Barb, Barb is the type to keep giggling when you're done laughing. So she would finally stop, and I would make the mistake of looking at her, and so it would begin all over again! ROFL! OH! WHAT A NIGHT! ROFL! I hadn't laughed so much in who knows when! I LOVED it! Alrighty, the rest of you smarty pants who were in the car... chime in! ;D I shared this crazeeeee car ride with the gang, and the back end with Kriss. WHY didn't we use the restaurant toilet first? ?? Yes, it was the most hilarious car ride ever, and I have not laughed like this since I was a kid, hanging out with my siblings. I guess any parody of a Castle episode title was funny to Kriss, so I just kept it up. Wish I had a recording of that ride. One of the ideas was something about "To Laugh and Die in LA." Woot! I figured out how to quote and post!! One more post from me tonight, and then I'll regroup and read some more. There are 14 pages here, ladies, so lots to read and revel in. Thanks to everyone who has written and read and shared and loved the adventures of the Monday Magic Mates. At the convention Penny wanted as many people as possible to join the Zumba class. I went because I know some dance moves, but this was intense! I didn't know these moves, and Penny was BUFF!!! She knew the moves, but she was also having fun and working it!! I made frequent runs to the water station, and did my best to survive. Penny's mom and stepdad and husband were in the back of the room, sitting and observing. Penny's mom said to me at the end, "You did the whole thing?" I laughed and admitted, "No. Didn't you see me back here taking breaks?" That was sweet of her to be encouraging though. I ended up talking to Penny's stepdad for a bit too about the upcoming Thanksgiving, and he was very sweet. Penny announced to the room that she wasn't going to leave until she had hugged each and every one of us for participating. I tell you, my admiration for her grew 100 times that day. She was energetic and friendly and outgoing. I totally respect her devotion to excellence, which really makes sense in her role as Captain Gates. Fun time!!! Woot! I figured out how to quote and post!! One more post from me tonight, and then I'll regroup and read some more. There are 14 pages here, ladies, so lots to read and revel in. Thanks to everyone who has written and read and shared and loved the adventures of the Monday Magic Mates. At the convention Penny wanted as many people as possible to join the Zumba class. I went because I know some dance moves, but this was intense! I didn't know these moves, and Penny was BUFF!!! She knew the moves, but she was also having fun and working it!! I made frequent runs to the water station, and did my best to survive. Penny's mom and stepdad and husband were in the back of the room, sitting and observing. Penny's mom said to me at the end, "You did the whole thing?" I laughed and admitted, "No. Didn't you see me back here taking breaks?" That was sweet of her to be encouraging though. I ended up talking to Penny's stepdad for a bit too about the upcoming Thanksgiving, and he was very sweet. I didn't know you did the Zumba class. Wow! Her step dad is sweet. Glad you got to chat with him too. I don't even remember giving you my camera? I thought it was on my wrist when Nathan came over. Guess we were all kind of in a blurr... Penny announced to the room that she wasn't going to leave until she had hugged each and every one of us for participating. I tell you, my admiration for her grew 100 times that day. She was energetic and friendly and outgoing. I totally respect her devotion to excellence, which really makes sense in her role as Captain Gates. Fun time!!! ;D Did I ever tell you & John that I was sorry that we carried on so terribly... lol.... if not, I AM SO SORRY! I KNOW we were somewhat out of control, and we were TRYING to behave back there, really, we were.... ;D ;D ;D THANK YOU and please give John a big SO SORRY and THANK YOU hug from me, just IN CASE I may have neglected to say or do any of these things. You guys were AMAZING! THANK YOU again for EVERYTHING! Please let me add my apologies too!! We were crazy back there, but when we tried to stop laughing, we'd try to just breathe, and then we'd lose it again. Contagious stuff. My stomach hurt so much, but we just somehow set each other off. Thanks for driving us everywhere while we drove you crazy. It's great to read your comments, b4castlefire! We've missed you! I'm loving every possible reason to relive the awesome LA experience! More please Alrighty, after autographs with the crew and the trivia in the conference room, next was the photo session time with Penny & Tamala, and the Q & A with them would be after lunch! Anyway, I was still downstairs talking to a group of friends, when I decided I had time to run upstairs to grab a coffee. I was waiting by the elevators to go up, the doors opened, and there was Irma (iCaskett), and I proceed to speak to her, when I noticed who she was with! IT WAS PENNY and her MOM! After briefly looking at Irma and being ready to speak to her, it was such a rush to realize that it was Penny & her mom that was really there and rode down in the elevator with her, and, "OH HI PENNY!" just came flying out of my mouth! LOL! It was TOO funny! She said, "Hey! Do you know where I'm supposed to go?" hahahaha... and I was like 'little 'ol me?' know wher Penny is supposed to go? lol... I said I had an idea that it was right through that door. I asked Penny's mom, "Are you Penny's mom?" and she said yes, and I told her it was lovely to meet her. She said likewise, and followed Penny through the door. Irma and I were left staring gape-jawed at each other and then laughed in disbelief! ROFL! We then fangirled (quietly) for a moment, chatted and I left her to go up & get that coffee! I needed it! ROFL! As it was, Tamala was running late from L.A. traffic ( I TOTALLY believe it!) and so we had a few more minutes. I was drinking my coffee and looking at the table of goodies to buy, and I saw this tall lady with a cap on approach the lady next to me, she pulled her scarf down from her mouth, and asked what room she was to be in. It was Tamala! I nearly let out a squeak, but restrained myself just in time! LOL! What a rush to see her when we hadn't set eyes on her yet, and I had just had the encounter with Penny downstairs! TOO FUNNY! I was dying! LOL! I think I tweeted (tried to with the stupid internet connections!) or opted to text Teel. I can't remember. Anyway, such a rush! Ok, we head down for photos with Penny & Tamala! They were both SO friendly and gracious and fun and energetic and I just could not get over that I was so close to them, and that they were talking to me personally, when it came to be my turn. WOW! The whole weekend was CHOCK FULL of mind-blowing moments! Hard to put into words, let me tell you! Anyway, I was up with Tamala second, so I finished with Penny and turned the corner into Tamala's room, and she was adorable! I blurted out, in my excitement, "TAMALA!!!!!" and she replied, "GIRRRRRLLLLLL! GET over HERE!" and scooped me into this lovely hug! It was SO amazing! LOL! We chatted briefly, got our picture taken, she told me she loved my energy, and I told her I had hoped we could meet again sometime, as I thought she was adorable! Anyway, another unbelieveable moment. After the photo session was lunch. Q & A with Penny & Tamala after that, with the autograph session of them to follow. THEN, it was ZUMBA with PENNY! She brought her instructor with her, and they "set up shop" in the conference room as the last activity of the day for those that wanted to ZUMBA WITH PENNY! LOL! She was trying her best to recruit every one of us during the photo session. Bobbie & I had opted to have lunch with the VIP's that would be there on Sunday, so we joined our friends for lunch in the lobby with a salad or wrap, and another "Beckett". It was a lovely time chatting it up, and sharing our excitement of the day so far. I will be back in a bit to post about the Q & A with Tamala & Penny, and will start a spoiler thread. Hang tight. I saw Tamala coming out of the convention lobby area with one of the Browncoats who was co-hosting the event. Tamala said she was really stressed as she passed by to head downstairs for photos, and I had one of those moments too, about overhearing something private from a celebrity. But I also knew from hanging around earlier with others that she was stuck in traffic, and she had tweeted something about "I'm coming, my Castle babies." Hmmm, that doesn't sound right now, but nothing else (alternatives) does either. LA traffic would stress anyone out, so what she said, I knew, wasn't because of anything we as fans had done. In fact, I heard that she loved the convention last year, and really wanted to come this year too. (Penny also said she'd be back next year for sure!) I'm sure it's a kick for them, and we cherish the time they give us. When I went in to get my photo with Tamala, I said, "You are loved!" It was totally spontaneous, but also because my instinct was to thank her for coming, and to relieve her stress a bit. Later, when I got her autograph, she got up from the table and came around it to give me a hug. "Now there's someone I need to give a hug to, " she said. I can only think that she remembered me from earlier. Wow. That was cool. ;D Yes this morning the Phoenix Castle group me so I could give them all the stories and pictures in person. We even got the lady sitting at the table behind us to start following the 12th. She said she was a Castle fan too and when she heard what we were talking about and saw the big picture of Nathan and me on my iPad she was really hooked into our conversation. And yes I had to show them the space in the back of the car that you two crammed into and they all just laughed. ;D I have to say that I notice CR-Vs wherever I go now. Hehe! And I love the banner that you have. I'm proud to be in a couple of your photos--one of the gals! It's great to read your comments, b4castlefire! We've missed you! I'm loving every possible reason to relive the awesome LA experience! More please I'll do my best. I actually want to watch more eppys of Castle from the early part of this season. ABC is having the marathon of all 9 available, and since I don't have a DVR. . . Thanks again for starting this thread--I guess from my perspective I don't mind that I'm a month late. It is fun to re-live it all!! I just can't seem to keep up with Kriss! I have a couple of stories that go back to taking pictures with Tamala and Penny. As Kriss said, Penny was working hard to promote the Zumba class so as I approached her for my picture, she asked me if I was going to participate. I think most of you have seen my picture somewhere here on the board and would know that I am a BIG woman! I said to Penny, "Look at this body! Does it look like I Zumba???" She cracked up and proceeded to tell me that actually, the "big" women can really get it going. I answered that if I 'got it going' it would not be a pretty sight! She urged me to try a hip move and demonstrated swinging her hips around so I did too and we all cracked up. We got ourselves under control and then had the picture taken but as I stepped away, she said that she better see me there for the class. Such a fun lady! I also wanted to note that I became a firm believer in the adage that the camera adds 10 pounds after seeing Penny. She is really much thinner in person than she looks on the show. Then I stepped into the adjacent room for my picture with Tamala and she immediately said, "Do I know you? You look familiar." I thought to myself that that was a pretty cheesy line but I chuckled and assured her that she didn't know me since I came from rural Wisconsin and had never even been to LA. However, later in the afternoon, when I was getting her autograph, she stopped and looked at me for a few seconds saying again that I really seemed familiar and I must look a lot like someone she does know. At that point, I felt she wasn't just laying a line on me. She seemed very genuine. That whole autograph session with Tamala and Penny took quite a while because both of them took time to interact with each person and Tamala kept jumping up to hug people! The two of them were just a hoot together, which I find a bit surprising because their characters have never even interacted on the show. Yep - I got hugged! And Penny "approved" that I was signed up for Zumba. It was cute. There were a LOT of young people at the convention, and they were the ones really keeping up with her during the Zumba session. She was surrounded by the young-uns, and they loved being with her. (Some of them were taking breaks, too, though, like me. I don't think Penny ever did!!) It's great to read your comments, b4castlefire! We've missed you! I'm loving every possible reason to relive the awesome LA experience! More please OMG! INDEED! I am sad I am just now seeing all these wonderful additions, but thrilled at the same time! Sad that I didn't get to enjoy them sooner, but happy I now have something to look forward to to relive the magic all over again! Castle Con and meeting Nathan is timeless! OH, how I wanted to just HUG him. Man alive.... yowsa. By all means CastleKat, you need to have an Irish Coffee. If this imbibing is due to the cold and snow fall, then, I will most assuredly join you. Its not good to drink alone. <eg> Well, I just had Bailey's in my coffee this afternoon. Does that count? Were you having a cup of coffee this afternoon, CXQ? How 'bout you, tycho? OK, so I don't get how to quote someone in the same post as a reply. I'm the novice here--oh, well. I wanted to start "at the beginning" and say thanks to nathanfan for starting the LA thread and reiterate how much fun we all had together in LA, with Tycho and Mr. Tycho being the best ever group leaders. I have read the first 4 pages of this thread and have laughed and beamed the afternoon away. I decided to just respond to each post as I had thoughts, instead of just posting "my version" of the Convention weekend, plus the shiny part with Nathan. And I kept thinking, wow--how did you post everything so quickly after the event, even with Thanksgiving? Of course, icaskett came to visit, and we were having a blast together. It was a nice way to lengthen the magic time, as we didn't have to say goodbye to everyone all at once, like castlekat and nathanfan sadly had to. SO, on to more posts, and I'll try to figure out this quote a post thing. Saying goodbye to tycho & John after lunch was sad, but wasn't as hard, because I had my cousin for the afternoon/evening, and iCaskett, nathanfan, and b4Castlefire were still there. But after we finished After Hours in my hotel room, we chatted for a bit, and then it came time to say good-bye. That was really hard. We all bonded so fast and furiously from the get-go, and well, good-bye is never easy. The worst part was not knowing when I would see any of them again. That is the hard part. Good -bye is indeed one of the saddest words ever. I probably cried on and off for two hours. I watched HGTV and went down to see about my hotel bill, to distract myself. I think I finally fell asleep about 3am. Almost as sad leaving the hotel alone for the airport, and knowing the wonderful time we all had would have to live on in our memories. It was really something. I'd do it all again in a New York Minute. I saw Tamala coming out of the convention lobby area with one of the Browncoats who was co-hosting the event. Tamala said she was really stressed as she passed by to head downstairs for photos, and I had one of those moments too, about overhearing something private from a celebrity. But I also knew from hanging around earlier with others that she was stuck in traffic, and she had tweeted something about "I'm coming, my Castle babies." Hmmm, that doesn't sound right now, but nothing else (alternatives) does either. LA traffic would stress anyone out, so what she said, I knew, wasn't because of anything we as fans had done. In fact, I heard that she loved the convention last year, and really wanted to come this year too. (Penny also said she'd be back next year for sure!) I'm sure it's a kick for them, and we cherish the time they give us. When I went in to get my photo with Tamala, I said, "You are loved!" It was totally spontaneous, but also because my instinct was to thank her for coming, and to relieve her stress a bit. Later, when I got her autograph, she got up from the table and came around it to give me a hug. "Now there's someone I need to give a hug to, " she said. I can only think that she remembered me from earlier. Wow. That was cool. ;D THAT is SUPER COOL! I have to say that I notice CR-Vs wherever I go now. Hehe! And I love the banner that you have. I'm proud to be in a couple of your photos--one of the gals! Me too! I love it when tycho or nathanfan posts, because I get to see us and am reminded of our epic time! |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:38:11 GMT -5
I'll add here that I had met icaskett (Irma) in London this summer, and we had such fun together, the time just flew! So I knew her, and Bobbie spotted my Castle tote when I came back down to the lobby of the Marriott after checking into my room. She came over to our table, and when I look back, I had no idea how much fun our group was going to be, but it started off so nice and it stayed sweet and friendly and hilarious and amazing. Yes. I don't know which one word is the strongest - sweet, friendly, hilarious or amazing. It was all of them, and not one more than the other. Super cool. The hilarious parts were pretty hilarious though. OMG. ;D Kriss was on one side of Nathan for our photo, but I was on the other side, and can confirm every word she said about putting an arm around a special guy's waist. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that memory is burned in my brain (and arm) forever. And being so close to him when he spoke-- the air simply vibrated!! I listen for that resonating quality in his voice now when I watch an episode. IT IS THERE!! And he was as glowing and handsome and kind as anyone can imagine. I keep thinking his momma would have been so proud of him for being so generous with his time and treatment of this group of fans. Oh, and when we grouped for the photo, he said, "Little ones in front." I latched onto his waist, to the side, and only days later realized he probably meant for us to stand in front of him, since he towered over everyone. When Spencer joined us, I think I said, "Tall ones in back." The photo of that moment is pretty funny as I'm sure Nathan was smirking. Oh, yeah. I did almost get hit by a car when I raced across the street to get Bobbie. As soon as we knew Nathan was actually going to stop to talk with us, I knew I had to go get her. We didn't know how nice he was going to be to us, to spend some of his lunch break stopping for pictures and such. I dashed into the street without looking, and a kind California driver waved me across. I did look both ways on the way back, and there was Nathan ready to greet me and Bobbie, asking our names and where we were from. (I've since thought of a ton of things I would have liked to ask, but I'm glad we let him take the lead, and just enjoy the moment.) The way I remember the camera pass-off was, I had Teresa's camera so that she could be in the photo with everyone, but Nathan took it from me to do his self-portrait with Teresa. It all happened so fast, but I do remember being across from the group when Nathan moved out. And the "what??" moment when he took the camera, and then just snapped away, while we all stood amazed at what had happened. Teresa deserved to have a one-on-one photo with Nathan, as she was so selfless taking photos of all of us with him. When Nathan and Spencer Garrett came back from the closed restaurant, we all must have responded. Teresa said her thing, and I said, "That was fast." We were all still stunned about our wonderful encounter. But it quickly became fun to see him in his SUV a couple of times, too. It is so great that we were able to stay and hang around and see LT and Robert Duncan and Amber Funk, his assistant, as well. PERFECT DAY!!! Perfect, amazing, unbelievable, epic, speechless, wonderful, incredible, humbling, astonishing, surprising, joyful... how many adjectives can I find; synonyms for these words... I don't know. But one thing's for sure. They would ALL apply. It's really amazing when you stop to think that these stars are people. Just like you & me. And really, that's how they act. The ones we encountered, anyway. Not one of them acted like a star. Not one of them acted too cool for words, too important for us, or like we weren't deserving of their time. I can honestly say, the word humble would apply to each and every one of them. And L.T. and Robert, Amber, too, were all downright un-assuming. Robert and L.T. almost couldn't believe we recognized them. That we wanted to see them, and visit with them, and wanted them to sign our stuff, if they would. Of course, we didn't think to do this with Nathan - that's how in awe of him we were... and you could tell he did this often and knew what to do. He took the lead, and asked us if we had our cameras and I remember telling him that if he had time we would LOVE photos with him, and he said that sure, he had time. It was incredible. Ah, the tote bag. It has 12 autographs on it now from the Convention plus LT, Robert, and Amber on Monday. I wish it had 13 - with Nathan's on it, but not one of us thought to have him autograph anything. I think we were letting Nathan take the lead on everything, but it's still amazing to me that we didn't produce the 100 items we had with us that he could have signed (including body parts, right, eh?) I had my tote bag, and an 8x10 photo of him from ebay, and Convention items. But it didn't even occur to us, so entranced we were with his presence. At the Convention auction on day 2, I did win a sterling silver coffee mug signed by Nathan, Stana, Jon, Seamus, and Rob Bowman. I got caught up in the excitement, and bid against someone in the back. Turns out it was Mr. Tycho, and he saw who he was bidding against, and let me win it. (I have offered to let him have visiting rights and joint custody.) I was upset that Stana's signature was a little smudged, but it turns out she did it herself. So all is well. Makes it unique. You mean, "stainless steel", my friend. Not sterling silver. I fear for your china cabinet if it were a sterling silver mug signed by Nathan, Stana and the gang. Whew-whee that would be worth more of a fortune than we care to talk about. I shared this crazeeeee car ride with the gang, and the back end with Kriss. WHY didn't we use the restaurant toilet first? ?? Yes, it was the most hilarious car ride ever, and I have not laughed like this since I was a kid, hanging out with my siblings. I guess any parody of a Castle episode title was funny to Kriss, so I just kept it up. Wish I had a recording of that ride. One of the ideas was something about "To Laugh and Die in LA." I am laughing just reading this. I am re-living it, and I cannot tell you how much hysteria this created. No further words. Is there something stronger or funnier than hysterical...? I don't know. But if so, it would apply... ;D Heavens to Betsy it was funny......  You mean, "stainless steel", my friend. Not sterling silver. I fear for your china cabinet if it were a sterling silver mug signed by Nathan, Stana and the gang. Whew-whee that would be worth more of a fortune than we care to talk about. You're right--we'd have a laugh about that mistake!!! I remember typing that and saying, what is it? And then I just moved on. Thanks for the correction. Oh, and I think I will just have the mug gold-plated and diamond-studded in the form of each person's autograph. Nice picture in my mind of that, eh? Uhhhh. . .diamond encrusted??? Where's my wordsmith, Kriss. . . .Why was I thinking of a diamond stud??? Well, I just had Bailey's in my coffee this afternoon. Does that count? Were you having a cup of coffee this afternoon, CXQ? How 'bout you, tycho? I did try to make another latte art design this morning. Lemon cello this evening.[/quote] Uhhhh. . .diamond encrusted??? Where's my wordsmith, Kriss. . . .Why was I thinking of a diamond stud??? ROFL! I have no idea.... ;D ha hahahahahaha................................................ Well, I just had Bailey's in my coffee this afternoon. Does that count? Were you having a cup of coffee this afternoon, CXQ? How 'bout you, tycho? I did try to make another latte art design this morning. Lemon cello this evening. Keep practicing, my friend! And may every cup you make have cooperative foam. Ok, I want some lemon cello. lol......[/quote] Sunday evening, after pizza and Castle in Tyco (Teresa) & Mr. Tycho's room, we set the time to meet in the lobby at 8:30-9:00 ish. We all showed up, got our coffees at Starbuck's and yes, they were total gems carting our cabooses around all weekend! Anyway.... We set out first, to Grand Hope Park, where the swing set scenes (supposedly) were filmed for Rise and Always. The security guard there said what was already reported, about the fountain being the place for the Season 5 premiere murder, where Castle didn't bring Kate coffee! LOL! So, photo op, and Barb was being a victim (photo to come) and we were all taking in the essence that our beloved cast & crew had been there so many times! And yes, the Christmas episode was filmed here, too, and the guard pointed to the expanse of grass that was covered in snow a few weeks ago. More pics to come.... We spent a bit of time walking around here. After that, we piled back into Tyco's vehicle (with Irma sitting on all our laps in the back seat) and headed around the corner to get daytime photos at Casey's (Old Haunt). Along the journey, we saw the "Hollywood" sign in the distance. All this time we had been looking for "Brekie" (breakfast, said iCaskett -Irma - Style!), but we didn't see anything that looked appealing. So, off we kept going. Raleigh Studios, here we come! Let me mention, the traffic in L.A. really is something, as are all the different highways and byways, and it will make your head spin! Mr. Tycho was handling it very well! I would've been crying. Enough said. lol... Ok, we find it. Melrose, and VanNess. YES! We find a place to park, and get out, hoping for the best. A side note here, still no "brekie" and we all needed "the loo" - another Irma-ism. British, I know, but she was too cute! Despite being hungry, and needing the ladies' room, we wanted to see Nathan or Stana more! We are walking around the studio, trying to figure out where "the entrance" that we thinks looks like the one in photos/scenes. There are two Raleigh Studios buildings, and they are somewhat large. We keep walking around, and we find it! Ok, so. Business as usual there. We just kind of hang out, take it all in, and Teresa approaches security and asks them if we may use their restrooms. Nope. No can do. So, being one who can be tenacious or persistent, or not take no for an answer, I walk up to the gate and kind of hang there. I am watching the trailers as you can see all of them parked on the lot. People are walking around back there, and the big garage door like opening is open to the sets/sound stage, and there is sporadic activity. On top of that, people are coming & going in cars, and walking in & out of the main doors. I thought if I just hung there, "I might see somebody" and be able to ask if there is a restroom we can use. lol.... I'm there for a few minutes, and I spot someone coming out that I know. Yes, Warren Bowman. I met him over the weekend, and I start pointing, discreetly to the others that it's him, as I'm trying to get the other's attention, as they were hanging back a little bit on the sidewalk. Anyway, I didn't hesitate, and I approached him. Just a side note here, he is not related to Chuck, Rob or Steven. Just coincidence that their names are the same. Warren is married to Marta Every, and they are the main editors for Castle. Ok, back to my story. I approach Warren. I spoke to him, and told him we all were at the convention, and I met him during the autograph signing over the weekend. He recognized me! I proceeded to tell our sob story, that this was our last day in town, we came out to see the studios, and if we could possibly meet anyone, that the security guy wouldn't let us use their restroom, and was there anything he could do! LOL! He chuckled, and smiled, and said, "Sure, c'mon." Warren led us across the street to the other Raleigh building. We later found out that the construction department is over there, and they were building a set for episode twelve, I believe, which they were going to start filming the next day. Anyway.... We get to the restrooms, and he stays with us chatting. He apologized that he could not get us on set, or even into the building, but he got on his phone to look up the daily "call sheet" and confirmed that Nathan and Stana were scheduled to film today, and that they were indeed "on lot". They were there!!!!!!!!!!!! He says he's closed up in a dark room (editing) on a different floor, and doesn't always know what's going on. He proceeded to talk with us a little bit more, and promised to let Marta know we were here, as she goes to set more often than he. He made no promises, but we were grateful. Some time passed, and we were all just hanging out on the sidewalk talking, and I had texted my cousin to let her know we were there. She was going to pick me up. As we waited, Teresa & hubby were toying with what to do. They wanted to wait with me, as they didn't want to leave me alone while I waited for my cousin, but they needed to get back to Arizona. I told them I would be fine if they wanted to leave, but I honestly thought if we were patient, and acted calm, we "might get something". We were all pretty hungry, so she opted to just wait, and thought that my cousin could suggest somewhere to eat when she arrived. So, that was the plan. Wait for my cousin, hope for the best, and then go. At one point we did see Nathan cross the lot. He came from the trailers, was with two other guys, and he appeared to be in "Castle character". He had on black jeans and a dark sportcoat/jacket like he always wears. As he was walking he ran his hands through his hair kind of thing, causing some of us to swoon from afar. We were still waiting for my cousin...and hoping. People came & went, we chatted, waited, and Bobbie (nathanfan) and maybe a couple of others, went back over to check out the construction set. Not sure if I'm accurate on that, all I know is that Bobbie remained over there. She was writing in her journal, I think, as we waited. Anyway.... ALL OF A SUDDEN.... Irma says, "Is that Nathan - he's coming!?" YES! YES it WAS NATHAN! And YES, WALKING TOWARDS US! OH! MY! GOODNESS! The world stopped spinning! He was striding toward us! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!!! LOLOLOL! Black v-neck t-shirt, black jeans. He was with someone. Another guy. Nathan was closing in... He stopped at the security gate, started walking around the gate, and Teresa said, I remember quite vividly, "Nathan...are you coming to see us?" And HE SAID, "Why YES I AM!" ahhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Keep calm, keep calm, breathe, just keep calm! Someone said, someone needs to go get Bobbie! And Barb said, I'll go! She apparently darn near risked her life, because she said she ran in front of a car! NATHAN WAS FREAKING IN FRONT OF US! He introduced his friend, Spencer, another actor, we all said a polite "hello" back & forth, and Nathan said they were going to lunch and thought they would take a few minutes with us on their way! OMG OMG OMG OMG! I am DYING inside! But, I was calm & cool outside. I think. Nathan started with Irma, asking our names, shaking our hands, and OH MY! When he looked at me, and his voice.... THAT VOICE... HIS PRESENCE....OH. MY. GAWD!. NO WORDS! NO FREAKING WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As he shook everyone's hands and we had some small talk, I was trying to take him all in. He is SO MUCH MORE WONDERFUL in EVERY way than what he is on TV! He is handsome and real and his hair and skin - just beautiful! His voice! OH, his voice! OMG! He is tall, and lean (can we please put to rest, for anyone who has issue with this, the weight thing! please! - as I had my arm around his waist...there was nothing but trimness!!!) and handsome, and yes, fit, and just kind, and sweet and polite and gentlemanly, and amazing! It is no freaking wonder Stana was chomping at the bit to just grab him and make out with that gorgeous hunk of a man!! After four years of being with him every day, all day, every week and year... I can so imagine that she was at the end of her self-control-rope, but I digress. Yeah. Amazing. He then asked if we had our cameras and would like a picture! OMG! YES, PLEASE! I said, "If you have time, we would love that." and he said he did. Teresa volunteered to take all our photos. She got one with her photo, and I invited Spencer into the photo, and Nathan replied that that was an excellent idea! *squee* And so, the rest of our group photos include Spencer. He was very nice, as well. Anyway, yes. Holding onto Nathan's waist for the photos....OMG! I remember being very conscious of the situation. I kept telling myself to smile, but fully aware that I was holding on to him. I didn't get extremely close, I didn't want to freak him out, although I guess he's used to it. But, it was sheer delight to fell his side under my palm, let me tell you! Someone asked me what he smells like. I didn't notice anything in particular, other than fresh, like he had just showered. He looked, and sounded, and felt mighty fine! We were telling Teresa to get in the photos and I said I'd take it for her. At that point Nathan took her camera and leaned his face next to hers, and got one of those cute close-up self-done pics that is now her avatar here. SO CUTE! We thanked him & Spencer for taking the time, they said goodbye, and they headed on off down the sidewalk for lunch. To be continued... gonna post this..... Okay, finally getting a chance to catch up on some of this - much more to read but can I say - "...as I had my arm around his waist...there was nothing but trimness!!!) and handsome, and yes, fit, and just kind, and sweet and polite and gentlemanly, and amazing!" - just kill me dead. You darn lucky girls! Such an amazing time you had! Bumping for @kurlyuu1 I'm going to quickly scan and see if I can find the exact post, K-Man! I don't remember how the conversation started, but talked about casting Castle, and how they got Stana. Rob said she was number 130-something, out of 140 gals. By the time they got to her, they were pretty tired, and unenthused about what they had seen so far. They were trying to get through it, and were getting tired. Nathan sat in on every interview/audition. Stana was in front of them, and Nathan threw out a line that she was supposed to play off of. The line he threw out, he said as "Castle" and not Nathan. Rob said Stana interpreted it as Nathan talking to her harshly, and all of a sudden threw back a line at him that pretty much let Nathan know that she wasn't going to take that kind of tone/crap/attitude from him. Rob said everyone kind of woke-up/perked-up and were like "whoa"... lol.... She had a unique enough response, with the verbal sparring with Nathan from the get-go, that they were interested. Chuck reported that he was on set that day. That he didn't have much going on, so he went down to see how the auditions were going. He and Rob were talking about the casting and that they had three girls lined up for a screen test. Stana took the screen test, and was number three. Chuck asked Rob which one he liked, and Rob told his dad that he was kind of interested in number two, but Chuck said he told Rob, that before he makes his decision, to watch it through the lens. Watch the film back. Chuck liked what he saw in Stana. He again reiterated to Rob to just watch the film before deciding. The next day, Chuck said he got a call from Rob. All Rob said to him was that they just signed "her" - implying/meaning Stana! Chuck said he was thrilled. He felt they had their gal! And OH! YES! I think we all agree! Rob went on to talk about Stana on set. And yes, his time with us was up, but he kept talking. We got him for two sessions *giggle* and loved every minute! Let me just say... Rob's passion for Castle, and what he does OOOOZES out of him! He LOVES his job, and he LOVES Castle and he didn't get to be where he is without working hard! That man eats, lives, and breathes his job, and I will report more on this when I share the notes with you all that I took during the panel discussion/Q&A. Anyway, Rob was saying that Stana was somewhat inexperienced, but she had that something. He said he, among others, had been working with her on screen, to develop her role as Kate Beckett, and in her coaching was to be commanding of the interrogation room. To where if you're in the Oval Office at the White House, the President is in charge. He wanted her to be the BOSS of the interrogation room. He said with very little coaching, she was nailing it! In the second or third episode of Season One, he said she was to interrogate the "suspect" which was a VERY seasoned actress. She was going up against somebody with big acting chops! He said she blew them away! She held her ground, and didn't blink for THREE MINUTES and OWNED that scene! He said she BLEW THEM AWAY! And Stana Katic was on her way to being one Bad-Ass Kate Beckett! I could just SQUEEE I felt the excitement and passion as we were all sitting there listening to Rob about this! He was directly to my left and reached over and even touched me a few times in his excitement about her, and what a beautiful break it was that they got her as a co-star for Nathan! They are extremely pleased with their cast, and it was such an amazing experience listening to him! I know I could've listened to him for the entire day! Is this what you were looking for? Hey all... is everyone's tummies stuffed with turkey??? lol... I hope you've all had a glorious time with family and friends! Things are settling down over here, so I'm going to post about the weekend. I am going to go out of order, one more time, as I want to post about the lunch on Sunday that Bobbie & I were able to attend with the Bowman family and Luke. I have minimal notes in my notebook on this, and I want to get this part posted while it's still fresh in my mind. Ok, as being a gold ticket holder, we were able to have lunch and chat sessions with the panel guests. We were at round tables, and Chuck, Rob & Steve Bowman were there, as well as Luke (costumes/wardrobe) and Armin Shimmerman. He's the one who played the mad scientist in "The Final Frontier" who invented the "Thorian Blaster"! ROFL! He also was in Star Trek, and is super nice! Totally enjoyed him! Alrighty, off I go... BOBBIE.... HELP ME WITH THIS, PLEASE! I may not remember everything, or exactly correctly. ;D We were all able to choose our seats, so Bobbie & I sat with Jan, from Australia, and Amy, from Atlanta. We had a buffet style lunch, and it was delicious. Lots of yummy chicken, pizza, finger foods, and fruit! We got our plates, sat down and were chatting amongst ourselves, and each of the guests picked a table and sat down. We got Rob first. I don't remember how the conversation started, but talked about casting Castle, and how they got Stana. Rob said she was number 130-something, out of 140 gals. By the time they got to her, they were pretty tired, and unenthused about what they had seen so far. They were trying to get through it, and were getting tired. Nathan sat in on every interview/audition. Stana was in front of them, and Nathan threw out a line that she was supposed to play off of. The line he threw out, he said as "Castle" and not Nathan. Rob said Stana interpreted it as Nathan talking to her harshly, and all of a sudden threw back a line at him that pretty much let Nathan know that she wasn't going to take that kind of tone/crap/attitude from him. Rob said everyone kind of woke-up/perked-up and were like "whoa"... lol.... She had a unique enough response, with the verbal sparring with Nathan from the get-go, that they were interested. Chuck reported that he was on set that day. That he didn't have much going on, so he went down to see how the auditions were going. He and Rob were talking about the casting and that they had three girls lined up for a screen test. Stana took the screen test, and was number three. Chuck asked Rob which one he liked, and Rob told his dad that he was kind of interested in number two, but Chuck said he told Rob, that before he makes his decision, to watch it through the lens. Watch the film back. Chuck liked what he saw in Stana. He again reiterated to Rob to just watch the film before deciding. The next day, Chuck said he got a call from Rob. All Rob said to him was that they just signed "her" - implying/meaning Stana! Chuck said he was thrilled. He felt they had their gal! And OH! YES! I think we all agree! Rob went on to talk about Stana on set. And yes, his time with us was up, but he kept talking. We got him for two sessions *giggle* and loved every minute! Let me just say... Rob's passion for Castle, and what he does OOOOZES out of him! He LOVES his job, and he LOVES Castle and he didn't get to be where he is without working hard! That man eats, lives, and breathes his job, and I will report more on this when I share the notes with you all that I took during the panel discussion/Q&A. Anyway, Rob was saying that Stana was somewhat inexperienced, but she had that something. He said he, among others, had been working with her on screen, to develop her role as Kate Beckett, and in her coaching was to be commanding of the interrogation room. To where if you're in the Oval Office at the White House, the President is in charge. He wanted her to be the BOSS of the interrogation room. He said with very little coaching, she was nailing it! In the second or third episode of Season One, he said she was to interrogate the "suspect" which was a VERY seasoned actress. She was going up against somebody with big acting chops! He said she blew them away! She held her ground, and didn't blink for THREE MINUTES and OWNED that scene! He said she BLEW THEM AWAY! And Stana Katic was on her way to being one Bad-Ass Kate Beckett! I could just SQUEEE I felt the excitement and passion as we were all sitting there listening to Rob about this! He was directly to my left and reached over and even touched me a few times in his excitement about her, and what a beautiful break it was that they got her as a co-star for Nathan! They are extremely pleased with their cast, and it was such an amazing experience listening to him! I know I could've listened to him for the entire day! It was time to share the wealth, and let Rob move on to other tables. We enjoyed Chuck as well, and he had joined Rob at one point which is where he inserted his take in about casting Stana. Chuck joined us again, and we talked about "The Blue Butterfly". He said he was adamant about having people just the way he wanted; in period clothes, the scenes, backgrounds, locations, etc. for authenticity. The colors had to be right the music, the air of the film, all of it. He is extremely proud of how the entire episode turned out. I believe I have more in my notes about this as well, and will share when I post the panel discussion section. Bobbie.... do you remember anything else Chuck said at lunch? Steven Bowman also joined us for his rotation, and we talked about his job in post-production about how he puts in all the scenery. Whatever we see on screen, that is not people, he does. He says he spends HOURS scouring footage of authentic New York skyline, architecture and places to make the feel of Castle be New York. At one point they talked about filming this, too, about using lens techniques/zoom ins, to avoid getting palm trees in the scenes, etc. Luke and Armin Shimmerman joined us, but it seemed rushed at that point, and I don't remember much of what we talked about with them. Bobbie? Anything? Ok, I'm going to end this post, and if I think of more, I will add it. I also have panel/Q&A notes from these people, and reading through those may trigger other things discussed with them at lunch. Hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday today with family and friends. I am blessed to be a part of this family. @kurlyuu1 :::::::: HERE! THIS IS IT! YAY! @kurlyuu1 :::::::: HERE! THIS IS IT! YAY! And A HUGE THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to java for finding this thread for me in that incredible Jedi way that he does things! WOWSERS! Is this what you were looking for? YES, MARTMAR! YES! LOL! THANK YOU! I didn't see your post! How did you find this? It was partly my thread, and I couldn't remember where it was!!! I feel so silly! lol..... @kurlyuu1 :::::::: HERE! THIS IS IT! YAY! Thanks CK. This is a wonderful article. I had never seen this before. Our girl Stana is pretty special. I bet when they got to her that first day that Nathan had had enough. What a pleasant surprise that must have been for everyone. We see this in baseball. Sometimes, when you least expect it, you see the diamond in the rough. And we never turn our heads away from someone who impresses. We want to watch more to see if it was a fluke. Obviously, Stana is no "fluke". She is the real deal. Thanks CK. This is a wonderful article. I had never seen this before. Our girl Stana is pretty special. I bet when they got to her that first day that Nathan had had enough. What a pleasant surprise that must have been for everyone. We see this in baseball. Sometimes, when you least expect it, you see the diamond in the rough. And we never turn our heads away from someone who impresses. We want to watch more to see if it was a fluke. Obviously, Stana is no "fluke". She is the real deal. She is a diamond indeed, K-man. Brilliant, multi-faceted, and shines bright as the sun! I love her! And yes, you are correct. Rob and Chuck both said that they were all exhausted, Nathan was becoming exasperated, and they all had grown frustrated. And along she came. When they least expected it. The real deal, indeed. Chuck said that Rob was ready to pick the second one after the screen test, but he reminded his son to view it all through the camera/lens, and not just what was in front of them. He saw the spark and potential in Stana right away, and knew if Rob had not made a decision based on first impressions, he would make the right choice. It was so incredible to have them sitting right next to me/us and hearing this first hand. Just amazing to be with them. I still need to pinch myself to be reminded that it all had happened. Thank you for reading. I still don't know why this is posted on the General Board, and why I hadn't saved it. I'm going to see about moving it to our meeting area, and I'm even thinking about printing this entire thread. I have my journal from the trip, but having everyone's comments and thoughts here is priceless. Glad you enjoyed, my friend. I thought I would bump this thread back up. This was last year at this time. For those who are new to the boards you might enjoy reading our tale? This was one of the most incredible experiences I've had in my life! It's hard to believe a whole year has passed because it seems so very fresh and is still exciting to reflect on. I'm so thankful that I was able to share it with the likes of Kriss, Teresa, Irma and Barb because they enriched everything we shared. Meeting Nathan was the absolute highlight for me but all of the other wonderful people we met and the background knowledge gained about the show, all contributed to make the LA trip a true mountain top experience! You bumped this, T??? FANTASTIC! I think, on this, our anniversary of meeting Nathan and our epic weekend we shared last year indulging in all things Castle, and collectively engaging in an immeasurable amount of shenanigans, that bumping this post was indeed in order. Nice!!  |
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:39:32 GMT -5
I had to add this new picture from our visit. b4Castle sent LT a package of pictures asking if he could get them signed and he was kind enough to sign them and also had Nathan sign the nice picture of the girls and him. He is what it looks like. I love the blue signature.  I don't mind admitting that I about lost it when I got this news this morning!!!!!!! I was shaking and had tears running down my face! To think that's I'm going to have my own autographed picture with Nathan and another with LT is just beyond my wildest dreams. LT even personalized the autographs! This incredible surprise is a gift from Barb and right now, she's my favorite person in the whole world!!!!!!!! I know that I've said it before but sometimes it's hard to even comprehend all of the happiness that this TV has brought into my life. I will try again for the LT picture. It didn't show up in the last post.  Rapid heart rate! Irregular breathing! Hives popping out! Muffled squeals! Welcome to my morning. Rapid heart rate! Irregular breathing! Hives popping out! Muffled squeals! Welcome to my morning. And you are bringing them to lunch tomorrow, right? Sorry, ML, they're still in Idaho but we'll have to have lunch again when they do get here! Can't wait to see you tomorrow! Ummm, yeah. Completely, unequivically, unquestioningly, and affirmatively still on the "Giddy Train of CASTLE Madness"................... I told Barb I could kiss her, and she told me to go ahead and kiss the screen! ROFL! I surely would've probably done damage to her sweet little neck had she been in front of me with these, because trying to restrain myself from wanting to hug the blazes out of her surely was the only thing on my mind! I ADORE surprises! But more importantly, I adore the people Castle has brought into my life, and I am continually astounded by the love, thoughtfulness, and joy so many of them bring me. You all know who you are. I would give anything to attend another Castle Convention. I certainly hope Beth, from CastleTV.net will be willing to take on the migraines, political red tape, and enormous efforts that putting one of these together can bring, because it was an experience like no other, and brought me a lifetime of memories and joy. And the love from that weekend goes on and on....and my mind is blown over and over again. Barb -- I mean it! You made my decade! SO MUCH LOVE TO YOU! And Bobbie.... I'm so happy your husband was nearby in case you needed CPR after reading our thread. Because I knew you would lose it when you heard the exciting news about the photos, my friend! And L.T. ~ He is a DELIGHT! LOVED meeting him and hanging out with him talking outside of the studio! Next order of business is tracking down Robert Duncan. He & his assistant Amber are the third members of the team we had the pleasure of meeting that day. And he wanted our photo with him, which he immediately put on his facebook page. We were blown away that he would do that! Need to get those printed and see if he would be so gracious to sign those. I'm envisioning a trio of framed, signed photos on my wall. Life is about being and doing and sometimes, doing ridiculously awesome things. I'm so thankful I made the efforts required to allow me this experience. It was back in November 2012, and I remember it as if it were yesterday. And I still haven't washed that white sweater I was wearing when I had my arm around Nathan's waist ******DANNNNNNNNNNNNNG****** Seriously people... if there's a Castle Con in the future.... it is so worth going! I had to add this new picture from our visit. b4Castle sent LT a package of pictures asking if he could get them signed and he was kind enough to sign them and also had Nathan sign the nice picture of the girls and him. He is what it looks like. I love the blue signature. Oops, meant to put a reply in with this photo and Tycho's comment. I am so glad Tycho is on the left side with Nathan in this post with the photo of the rest of us. She's the one who took the picture. It puts the whole scene together for me. Now I think she needs to get her selfie signed! |
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Post by tycho657 on May 8, 2015 10:45:07 GMT -5
Wow thank you! I spent hours saving some of this post. Glad we have an archive here now of this post.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using proboards
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Post by java on May 8, 2015 10:49:36 GMT -5
I know there's a couple of duplicates due to the software I'm using and I might go back and clean them up but I really don't want to tempt fate and screw things up.
No, I don't know for sure if the quotes will disappear once the 12th is gone. Since this is a quote and not a photo link back to the 12th, we should be okay. I think. I could be wrong.
if someone goes through the entire thread and notices anything missing, let me know the date of the missing post. Thx.
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Tycho says I'm the writer and so I should get this epic saga going! Castlekat and I both took lots of notes and I'm sure that everyone else has stuff to contribute too. HOWEVER - before I go any further, I have to send a big shout out to Tycho and her husband who made the weekend so much more than any of us had even hoped for, by sharing their vehicle and driving us around town as well as Tycho being the media mogul and sharing picture files and posting information and getting the inside scoop on things at the convention. 
NathanFan thanks for starting this thread. You gave us a nice overview of the weekend. I hope to keep this thread spoiler free so everyone can view it and not be worried about seeing spoilers. 
Ok, I'm going to cut right to the chase. I'm in the middle of doing some cooking, but I'm dying to get here! 
This is the Best. Thread. Ever. I'm just grinning like a fool while reading these. Can't wait for the next installment.
Then the guys did autographs and the convention ended with a final session to thank everyone and announce that $35,000 had been raise to donate to a children's charity that was responding to the hurricane relief out East. Sunday night we gathered in Tycho's room and had pizza, watched a couple of episodes and reveled in all that we'd done.
;D 
We were all just standing there amazed that we had just had a nice encounter with him 
and said, "She is REALLY drunk!"
, honestly! LOL!
