Oh yeah, I had a great time! There's so much that happened, I don't
know where to start...
Possibly the biggest event there was the world-premiere screening
of "Dark Redemption," an unofficial, fan-made half-hour film set in
the Star Wars universe, including having Boba Fett as a major character.
Even though it was unauthorized, it was so well-done that George Lucas
gave it his blessing (I don't know whether that "blessing" involves
anything more than not suing, though). I don't know whether this is
going to get any kind of widespread distribution...I guess we'll just
have to wait and see. (There's probably some intense discussion about
it on Star Wars newsgroups already, but I don't particularly feel
like looking at the moment.)
I met and chatted with a lot of the stars who were there. There were
many Babylon 5 stars, including Mira Furlan, who played Delenn. (Even
if you don't watch B5, you've seen the character if you're a Drew
fan...remember that episode where Lewis went to a B5 convention dressed
as G'Kar? The girl he met there was dressed as Delenn.) A very charming,
friendly lady...and unlike her serious-minded character, she laughs
a LOT. One delightful moment: She was giving a panel, discussing the
show and answering questions. In the middle of talking about something
(I forget what exactly), she looked out at the audience and said "I
see a baby! Hello, baby!" Then she invited the mother to bring the
baby up to the front. She asked the child's name, how old she was,
and then talked a little bit about her own young son. Then she went
back to the original topic without missing a beat.
There was also a panel on "The Women of Babylon 5," featuring Furlan,
Claudia Christian, Julie Caitlin Brown, and Maggie Egan. Two highlights
of the panel: When asked what their favorite moment from the show
was, Brown replied "Kicking Sarah Douglas' ass"--because she had been
Douglas' stand-in on "Falcon Crest"! Also, discussing current and
upcoming projects, Claudia Christian mentioned she'd be in an upcoming
issue of Playboy: "I did it to show that small-breasted women are
okay! [hoots and applause] Okay, so I just needed the cash."
I have another little anecdote I thought you might appreciate...
If you like, you can use it on your site as well.
On Thursday, I asked Mira to sign a couple of photos from "When Father
Was Away on Business." She was amazed to see somebody bring up some
of her early, non-B5 work, and asked me where I'd gotten them. I explained
that I collected movie presskits. Looking at the pictures, she remarked
to her assistant, "I had so much more weight then." I asked her if
she'd ever worked with her countryman Dusan Makavejev (I apologized
for mangling his name, but at least I learned the proper pronunciation
from her). She said that she hadn't, then asked me if I'd ever seen
any of his films. I answered "Yes...a very unique director." She replied
with a laugh, "VERY unique!" As I left her table, she thanked me for
taking an interest in her work apart from Babylon 5.
Erich Mees