WonderCon Report February 19, 2005

WonderCon Report February 19, 2005
Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin and Joss Whedon

Friday

Mom loves San Francisco. So I convinced Mom that we needed a little trip up to San Francisco. We drove up from LA that morning and my sister Carol and I arrived at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Factory in plenty of time to meet up with other Browncoats for dinner. Mom and Dad dropped us off and went to do their own thing.

Saxon was already there. Before we rounded a corner Carol said, “I hear Saxon.” Sure enough I turn the corner and there she is. She was talking to 3 local Browncoats who post on the movie board. One of them recognized Carol from her website. We went to sit down and had a wonderful meal. There were several conversations going on and Carol and Ewok, both about the same age, were very happy to see each other again. After dinner we split up. Some folks went to watch a movie and we went back to Saxon’s place. It took a while to get through and by the time we arrived at Saxon’s we realized needed to get some sleep.

Saturday

It was raining. Mom and Dad dropped us off around 9:30am.  As we entered to go down the escalators Saxon and family arrived. They went to purchase their tickets and we headed downstairs. We headed to the room were the panel would be, and then we made our way to the Browncoat table. They had a lot of shiny prizes. Ray was dressed as Mal with the maroon shirt and tan pants, complete with boots, holster and gun, he was one of many Browncoats manning the fan table. Then we headed over to the lottery table for a chance to get an autograph. We met a lot of shiny Browncoats. After the autograph lottery I went to get some money and coffee. When I returned we saw a huge line forming for the room. The Serenity Panel was not scheduled until 1pm but in order to sit in the front we arrived at least 2 hours early. I was not in the center but facing the stage I sat on the right side, third row.

Finally Joss came out. I can’t remember everything he said. I decided to just focus on the experience. My favorite part was Joss strutting as we were cheering for him. He is so very funny. He called up John Cassaday to make an announcement. John was not sure what to say then Joss kind of starts making faces challenging him to do it. Then he shared there will be another season of Astonishing X-Men. Also regarding the prequel comic to Serenity, there will be 3 parts but nine variant covers. Joss clarified, “For those of you who don’t know that word, it means different.” Then the cast came out, clean shaven Adam, lovely Summer, and Nathan. Joss came out with a clear purple backpack so Adam picked it up like it had cooties and moved it. He said, “That’s better.” Summer came out and gave Joss a big hug. Finally its Nathan’s turn and he came out and greeted everyone.

Joss tried to be suave and cued to roll the clip but someone was not ready I guess so he started waving his arms around for rolling. Then they showed a clip of Serenity. I was very excited they showed us the scene I am in. It was just very surreal to see it for the first time. Joss started taking questions and I told Carol and Ewok to go up and take pictures up close. They ended up sitting on the floor in front of the panel the whole time. There were many questions. One statement I remember was from Adam about Nathan, “Nathan was always the leader and kept everyone’s spirits up when we were shooting the show. Even on the edge of cancellation he kept things fun.” Joss said that after they were cancelled it was Nathan who rallied the group, had dinners, kept in touch and did not negotiate a contract until everyone was on board. Nathan kept the crew together. Joss said that when Summer first auditioned, she performed a 3-page monologue in a Russian accent flawlessly, and then she said she prepared it in a British accent as well. Joss realized then that she would be able to do whatever he asked of Summer.

Nathan was just hilarious throughout. When asked what character he would like to play he said River then he could go Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo and shake my bag of marbles. He made funny faces and sounds. Adam said that Saffron was the inspiration for Jayne needing to touch things. Alan called in to make sure the shirts he donated for the raffle had arrived. It was perfectly timed. He is such a sweetheart.

The panels are always too short. They needed to go sign autographs. Adam called Ewok over to say hi. It was a quick moment. Then they were gone. I really hoped they would stop by the Browncoat meeting room but that did not happen. After 3 pm we went to the meeting room and it was almost full, finding a seat was difficult. It was quite warm as well. We decided to wander a bit on the floor and returned to the Browncoat table, and then went to see the autograph sessions but all we saw was the line. We returned to the meeting room but stayed in the hallway talking with other Browncoats, the room was full. It was around 5:30pm and I decided to go get some coffee and I walked off to the nearby Starbucks. While I am paying, Carol calls me and runs into Joss on the floor of the Con. She puts Joss on the phone. I can’t really believe I am talking to Joss as I am pouring cream into my coffee.

I rushed back to the con and find Carol and Ewok with Joss and John Cassaday. Poor Joss sounds terrible, he was really sick, but there he was signing autographs and taking pictures. He was swarmed. I shook his hand and Saxon took our picture. We invited him over to room 113 but left him to the rest of the folks. We walked back and not even 15 minutes later we saw John and Joss walking up the hall to our room. I made sure to let folks know Joss was coming and we cleared a path in front of the door. They entered and the room was now exceeding maximum capacity with a throng outside. I stayed outside so I did not hear anything he said. Joss Whedon is an extraordinary man. I am very proud of what he does and how down to earth he is. We think he is great but he is also a regular guy who really appreciates our efforts. After Joss left, the shirts Alan donated were raffled off. I wish I won that shirt.

The Northern California Browncoats did an excellent job organizing everything. They are a great team.