Had a terrific dinner last night with the lovely April McIntyre of Monsters & Critics, her good friend and San Diego diva Monique Marvez, and Monique’s cousin, a charming Alabama native considering the move out west. We went to George’s at the Cove in La Jolla where I enjoyed some delicate ricotta ravioli with porcini mushrooms, peas, and shaved asparagus, chorizo-crusted seabass, and a warm chocolate tart with chocolate-espresso ice cream.
I got back to the hotel a little after 10:00 p.m. to find Amanda and Ben kicking back in the lobby. Apparently, their flights were late and they had just got in. Rob Cooper, who had flown in with them, had tried checking in only to be told the hotel had been overbooked and they didn’t have a room for him. Fortunately, they were able to sort things out and Rob eventually did get a room and avoided the possibility of having to bunk on my comfy-looking windowsill.
Well, today was the big day. I skipped the scheduled breakfast events to sleep in, get in a work-out, and then head downstairs to the lobby where I met Jewel, her husband Matt. and MGM’s Priscilla Pesci after which we all caught a ride to the convention center.
Alas, I don’t have time to go into detail (that will have to wait until tomorrow’s blog) but both panels went well. Not all that much in the way of hard-hitting questions with the exception of one that went Rob Cooper’s way: “Why do you hate doctors?” His response “I don’t hate doctors, just Scottish people” was met with a healthy chorus of boos. When it came time for the Atlantis panel, I made it a point to inform the gathering: “I’d just like to go on record and say I love Scottish people.” Cheers. “To all you Scots, please direct all hate mail to Robert Cooper. My inbox is full.
We hung around in the green room for a while, saw Rob Zombie (born Roberto Zombinski) who was there promoting his Halloween remake, and spoke to the press. As we were being walked out, a fan walked up to David and requested a pic. He kindly stopped for the snap. Then another fan hailed down Jewel and asked her for a pic op. She was gracious enough to make the time. “Now someone is going to stop me,”I joked. No sooner had I spoken these words than a fan asked me to sign his program. “Sure,”I said, and signed. He glanced down at my signature, then glanced up at me, clearly bewildered, and asked: “What’s your name again?” David Hewlett, loser!
While everyone else settled down to sign autographs, I cut out to head downstairs only to run into a bunch of fans. This group DID recognize me. I stopped to chat, pose for pics, and sign their autograph books with personalized messages like: “Sheila, the radish cake was delicious” and “Nevik, I can’t find the car” sincerely, Joseph Mallozzi.
I walked around the convention floor for a while, met comic book writer Joe Kelly and said hi (loved his run on Deadpool), snapped some pics, then joined Martin Wood and Ben Browder to make an impromptu appearance at the Stargate Offworld Fandom get-together, a small fan gathering.
It’s back to the hotel for an hour to type up what I can, and then off to the Sci Fi dinner at a restaurant called Candelas (seriously, how DO you pronounce it?).
Tomorrow, I’ll have more time for an update. In the meantime, I never had to check my List of Things Not to Talk About at Comic Con, so those particular spoilers remain safe and sound. But for the hell of it, I reprint my list here. Don’t tell anyone:
1. Sheppard battles evil Sheppard and gets his ass kicked all over the gate room – DO NOT DISCUSS
2. The big live-action Space Invaders sequence – DO NO REVEAL
3. The hidden replicator sub-routine, taking it to “the next step”, Teal’c and Ronon face off – DO NOT MAKE PUBLIC
4. The Return of Carson Beckett – SUPER TOP SECRET
Pics: Highlights of last night’s meal, riding in the style with Jewel, Matt, and MGM’s Priscilla Pesci, Rob Cooper raring to go, Martin Wood and Gary Jones kicking back before the panel, chatting to the press about SG-1, Ben and Chris, Claire from Sci Fi wearing the wrong t-shirt, Amanda and Chris on the big screen, waiting around for the Atlantis panel to start, the crowd!
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