continued from previous page...
|
*** CoA Awards ***
|
 MOST GENEROUS:
Marti Noxon:
Marti is 3 months along to having a new Angel addition, but this didn't stop her from signing autographs for over an hour and a half!
 MOST OUTGOING:
Danny Strong:
He's the antithesis of Jonathan; Danny is a party animal!
 BEST SMILE:
MarkLutz:
Lucky for all those fans, flashing these pearly white comes quite naturally to this cutie!
 MOST INCOGNITO:
Tim Minear:
Wouldn't you know it'd be the man behind killiing off all those characters!
 BEST DRESSED:
Mere Smith:
She wins this award for the second time as she wore a slinky black dress and curly 40s styled hair with glittering eyelashes that made her look ravishing!
 MOST CHEERED:
Amy Acker:
When this girl walked into the room, not only did countless cameras go off, but on stage the Buffy/Angel fans cheered loudest welcoming her into the PBP!
 SURPRISED SWAMPED AWARD:
Jeremy Renner:
A crowd formed around Jeremy that caused a major people jam for over 30 minutes. He was well worth the wait.
continued on next page... |
Saturday Night PBP Party ~
The PBP2002, much like it's predecessors, was a whirlwind of activity to report on, but it can basically be broken into two main segments. The first was the party away from the main stage, where VIP's made appearances, fans socialized, and delicious food and drinks were made available. The other was, of course, the on stage presences of bands, entertainment, and speeches. CityofAngel was well represented in both areas, observing and mingling throughout the night.
CoA PR Rep. Lilian with
Buffy writer, Steve DeKnight
|
We were lucky enough to run into many of the great Buffy and Angel writers. New Angel writer Jeffery Bell was out and about, as were Buffy fan-favorites Steve DeKnight, David Fury, and Drew Greenberg. CityofAngel was lucky enough to talk with the extremely sweet and always kind Jane Espenson. She talked with us about Joss' new upcoming series Firefly, "I, as well as the other Buffy writers, am going to be writing on Firefly next season. We'll all be given an episode of Firefly, probably more than one because we should be the writing staff for the first season. They may bring in some outsiders, but they're hoping that we will all write a lot of Fireflys for the first season." The double-duty will be taxing, but there are sure to be rewards, "Well, I think we're going to get paid a lot more," Jane joked, so, not that hard. Still, Firefly will offer Jane and other writers more opportunities to write, "There's a lot of down time between Buffy scripts so it should keep us all writing more. I only got to write three Buffys this season. (2 and 2 halves) So I'm hoping to write more."
Angel writer, Mere Smith,
goes glamand we love it!
|
Also wandering around was the extremely beautiful Mere Smith, complete in 1940's glamour gal-Marilyn Monroe gown and hair with sparkling eyelashes to match. The party was so raging that all we could get out of her was a staccato of friendly comments, "No you have to ask me a question, I'm so lame right now," she laughed. When we prodded her for some words we got a nice "Ohhh!" However, we were able to jog her mind enough to talk about her latest Angel episode, "Yes, I wrote episode 15 which will be airing not this Monday but the one after it, which is what -- March 5th maybe? Somewhere around there. And that's gonna kick off (dramatic pause) a hell of a lot. After my episode don't plan on taking a breath anytime soon." Part of the added beauty and horror of the evening was courtesy of Angel Make-up Supervisor Dayne Johnson and Head Hair Stylist Diana Acrey who supplied The Comedy Demon from Waiting In The Wings and a classic Vampiress to mingle with the fans and VIPs. They were undoubtedly the most photographed couple of the evening! Said demons Edward Brendekamp and Lynne Thurmond has a hell of a good time. "It was a real treat. Dayne is one of the sweetest people I've ever met," said Lynne. As far as the multitude of questions from fans went, "I was burdened by enormously grotesque vampire teeth that hindered my ability to speak. I let Edward do all the talking," she laughed.
Early in the night, Bronzers hung around taking time to explore the vast, historical gothic building. One popular area was the centrally located bar. Here one could get a drink and check out the selection of books on display by Brentano's. It was here that a few surprise VIPs managed to slip by temporarily unnoticed, such as the stunning
Fan favorite, Robia LaMorte -
back from the dead & loving it!
|
Robia LaMorte. Once people realized Jenny Calendar was standing by the bar there was a swarm of attention! She was extremely polite and very receptive to the all fans. Jeremy Renner, who played Angel's vampire son Penn, also hung around entertaining an unexpected amount of fans. He was very happy to talk with us again, "I've seen all these faces now that I should know, the faces of voices is great, I love it." Despite being his first PBP, he was unfazed by the wildness and had a great time, "What a great turnout. I was really apprehensive, I'm like, 'I don't know if I should go.' It's ended up being great. It's a good experience. Everybody's really cool and nice." Finally, if there was one man you could find around the bar area it was Matthew James who played Merl on Angel. Without his makeup, he surprised fans, much to their enjoyment. Three young female fans looked on in bewilderment not sure if we really were introducing them to Merl, until of course he spoke, then their faces turned to immediate delight. Matt was a one-man party, entertaining both fans and VIPs alike.
Off of the bar room was where both the much-anticipated auction and the computers were set up for fans to post on the Internet to their friends who were not able to attend. Much, "You can't believe who I just met!" ensued. Outside the room Buffy producer Marti Noxon was swamped for over an hour! Last time we talked to her she mentioned that 'screenwriting is like childbirth.' Now, three months pregnant, her statement holds less truer, "Yeah!," she laughs, "I think I'm going to have to amend myself in about six months, you know? I'll have to say that 'screenwriting is not as hard as childbirth.'" She is looking forward to her family addition, "more than anything." For a writer who is known for writing tragic episodes, her life is getting continually happier, "From your mouth to God's ears. Yeah, you know what? I have a lot of tragedy to draw on from the past. Fortunately I don't think it's necessary but I'll keep writing tragedies," she promised. We weren't the only ones not sitting still! We met up again with Kitty from the Succubus Club who stated as she ran around madly, "We're having a great time and we're trying to get pictures, but we love CityofAngel." We also reunited with one of our favorite Bronzers, Claris, who we never know what she is going to say or do but tonight she was waiting to give a special gift to Joss; a picture of 'Absolute Buffy' with the inscription: "For Joss, the man who taught us, not only, that evil is fun but sometimes it's just so damn easy."
Darling Violetta's Jymm,
always a Darling!
|
The auction was extremely large this year, offering many unique items and props. Quite a few VIPs, such as Jeff Mariotte and Maryelizabeth Hart, blended in with the mass of people around the tables. Some of the more notable items were a Wolfram & Hart briefcase, and Jymm Thomas' guitar from Darling Violetta which went for over $500. We caught up with Jymm who was representing DV at a table in the room, peddling some of their new wares. He explained that DV is heading out east, "We're recording our new CD. It's called Parlour with a 'U' because we like the way it looks and we are going to be back East - 'back' if you're in California, but East if you're in the east, where you are. We're gonna be back there in June and we're gonna do some dates on the East Coast." He added one more little comment, "And we love CityofAngel!" Robert Kral, Angel composer, also gave us a few minutes humorously recalling his quotage from last year, "This went really badly last time. This things probably been on for the last twenty-minutes hasn't it," he joked. Last year we chatted with both him and Tim Minear. "I thought he [Tim] was being rude and then I made fun of him and then I realized what he said was something really nice. So I felt like a real dork," Rob said with a laugh. He is really excited about the rest of the season and confided, "It gets better and better and better and better. Episode 11 onward, fantastic stuff, it's cool!"
Michelle gets a fan hug
from J. August
|
A plethora of actors from both Buffy and Angel made appearances this year. The crowd exploded when Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof made their entrance. We talked with Alexis who had nothing but praise for his co-workers, "Oh we're having a wonderful time this year. All the writers and the crew and the actors, it's just all pulled together and I think we're going to a really good place with the show. There are a lot of great story lines, great scripts are coming in. There's good tension between the characters this year and just more and more excitement to come." He left us with a very cryptic warning about Angel, "Hang on for the end of this season because it's going to be a wild ride." Amber Benson who also arrived looking extremely pretty despite feeling a little sick was extremely outspoken and confident. We managed to catch her momentarily and obtain a small gem of wisdom, "I think we should all be happy and treat each other with respect and compassion and life is very, very short. It's all how you treat your fellow man." Her spirit is definitely one-of-a-kind! "That's how it is."
Michelle and friends
begin to party
|
Michelle Trachtenberg came with her two good friends, Christina and Lori. We talked with her briefly before she went upstairs to the masses, "I'm heading up there after I get my 'water, no ice,' " she joked. She is truly enjoying this season of Buffy and was flattered by our compliments on her acting, "Oh, thank you very much," she said smiling. Bailey Chase, the initiative soldier Graham from Buffy, crept around unnoticed for a bit, masked by a baseball cap. Yet when the girls spotted his unmistakable smile his cover was blown! Speaking of styling guys J. August Richards attended looking extremely sharp! He complimented us on the site as well! Fellow vampire hunter Jerrod Crawford was also talking with the fans and Mark Lutz, the Grooselugg, made his appearance, much to the liking of the ladies. CityofAngel managed to get an in-person follow-up interview with the champion. Still, it was the gorgeous newcomer Amy Acker who stole the crowd. She was extremely overwhelmed by the massive response from the fans that just adored her. Despite the large crowd she was very polite and sweet,
signing many autographs and taking time for pictures with every fan who asked.
