Cleveland, Ohio was the venue for the latest Buffy and Angel convention where stars such as Tony Head, Nick Brendon, Mercedes McNab and Mark Lutz gathered to meet and greet fans. One lucky staff member at Buffy-vs-Angel joined the army of fans who lined up with various pieces of Jossverse memorabilia, but our trepid reporter, Lisa Apana went one step further – she partied with the stars:
Saturday was somewhat of an early day. The photo shoot for Mercedes McNab was to start at 9:30am and Tony's was to start at 10am. Mercedes showed up late (9:50am). She was very nervous and felt awkward. What is done at these photo shoots is they herd about 40 people into a room and take the photo one at a time with these onlookers watching. When it was my turn, Mercedes mentioned that it was awkward having all these people staring at her. I asked her if she was nervous and she replied "yes". I thanked her, told her what a wonderful job she did for Angel this season and sat back down. The photo session ended at 10:15am.
The stunning but nervous Mercedes McMab
Tony arrived at 10:10am. Let me tell you, I was truly nervous and excited for this shoot. I took his CD, "Music for Elevators" with me. When my turn came, I asked him for a hug (I truly melted on that one) and he happily obliged. I then asked him if he had a good flight and he said yes. I also asked him if we could use a prop and he looked puzzled. I showed him the CD cover and he was genuinely happy to see someone had purchased it. He held it up with his arm around me as the picture was snapped. I asked him if we could expect another CD anytime soon. He told me he was hoping to release another, but he wanted to make it an accoustic album and use the guitarist from Seal. He also said he needed to do some writing and clean out the spiders from his studio. I thanked him for his broad spectrum of work and gave him another hug.
A delighted Tony Head
After the photo session, it was time to move toward the autograph session. It was slated to begin at 11:00am. It didn't start until 11:25am. Of all people to show up late...........Mercedes showed up late. Tony was there at 11:15am so, he entertained us with some stories of Alyson Hannigan. We were done with our autograph session at 1:30pm.
The convention had an auction that we attended. They has ome neat things there like a 100th episode small swiss army knife given to the cast and crew--signed by everyone (except Charisma)-$550.00; "Waiting In The Wings" episode transcript signed by Joss Whedon-$575.00; banquet dinner tickets at Nick Brendon's table-$425.00, and banquet dinner tickets at Tony Head's table-$6100.00.
Stunning Firefly star Morena Baccarin
The first presentation was slated to begin at 2pm with Firefly star Morena Baccarin, followed by Robia La Morte at 2:30pm, 3pm Mercedes, and at 4pm Tony. Once again, Mercedes was VERY nervous. Marc Lutz arrived one day early and to be a true gentleman, went up on stage with her to ease her nervousness. Talk about a comedian! He pretty much ran the stage, which eased Mercedes stress. She told us a particularly funny story about David Boreanaz and Andy Hallett. It seems they got locked in a limo and David felt it would be humorous to pass gas the entire time. Poor Andy! And, then the question was asked, "Do you like unicorns?", because Harmony has a collection on her desk. She responded "NO" and told us that David would make a game of turning them all around so they were staring at her. She seemed quite relieved when her time on stage was up and quickly exited.
Mark Lutz puts Mercedes McNab at ease
Tony was the next presentation. He was hilarious and a true sport! There's a movie coming out in the UK. He said it is a British comedy and wasn't quite sure that it would be released in the US. Overall, he said he was trying to catch his breath from how busy he'd been. He and Sarah (his partner) have a rabbit sanctuary on their land that they have also been trying to raise money for. I also found out that Tony is a vegetarian.
After Tony's presentation, they drew banquet raffle tickets to sit at a star's table, right next to the star. They drew my name twice, so I had to choose between Robia La Morte and Marc Lutz. I chose Marc Lutz.
It was a tough choice between Robia LaMorte and....
...Mark Lutz
Dinner was slated to begin at 8:00pm. Let me say, this was the most unorganized part of the whole convention. We didn't even get seated until 8:25pm. But to compensate, our table was right in the middle of the stars. I had George Hertzenberg right behind me, Tony next to me, and Robia's table across from me. Nick and Mercedes were behind those tables. Marc and George showed up a little late (8:40pm). Marc had no clue where to go, so my husband graciously went up to him and lead him to the table. By that time, the six of us at the table were hungry and had went to the buffet! So, Marc was working on a salad when we were working on our main course. Marc is a great guy, really sweet. He is from Montreal Canada and loves hockey. I asked him what it is like to work with Charisma. He didn't even hesitate on stating that she is the sweetest and nicest person to work with. And by watching his facial expression, I'm sure that he means it. He's going to be working on a film next week about BMX biking. He's not sure of the title of the film. He and his brother wrote a story about a Canadian swimmer. He is hoping that they will produce it in the fall. The title is Hector or Victor (it was a little hard to hear). The stars mingled during dinner. Tony didn't, but I believe for the $6100.00 the auction people paid, they had better gotten their money's worth! Instead, he performed on stage. It was brilliant.
Tony Head in his element - entertaining the guests on stage
There was a dance at 10pm. It started at 10:30pm. We went down at 11pm and rode in the elevator with George, Marc, Mercedes and Robia. They were all staying on our floor! The dance was fun and no cameras were allowed. All I gotta say is what happens at the Bronze stays at the Bronze! But I will say that George is a dancing machine!
George and Lisa before they hit the dance floor
Well, I'm going to wrap up with Friday and Saturday. Sunday's festivities will come soon. Sunday is mainly about Nick Brendon so if you're a fan, be sure to check back soon to find out what he thought about the Buffy finale, Chosen.
Written by Lisa Apana at Buffy-vs-Angel.com
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