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Hellcats season 1 Wrap Party - with a bit of fuzzy Tom Welling as well.

3/18/2011

So last weekend there was a wrap party for season 1 of the new CW cheerleader drama Hellcats at V Restaraunt in Yaletown. With only a few days left in their shooting schedule, this was the weekend they chose to have it on, as surely next weekend some or all of the cast may have dispersed.

Usually wrap parties see a handful of cast show up, but theres always some missing. The Hellcats cast was surprisingly full, with really only 2 notable secondary cast, Gail O'Grady (Wanda Perkins) & Gale Harold (Prof. Julian Parish). Everyone else I could think of made it.

The first cast members I saw show up were Sharon Leal (Vanessa) & Craig Anderson (Morgan Pepper). Shortly after Ben Cotton (Travis Guthrie) arrived & was willing to chat for a few minutes about the show, his character & his new pilot "Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome". Then came the primary cast. First up was Aly Michalka (Marty Perkins) followed shortly after by Ashley Tisdale (Savannah Monroe), Robbie Jones (Lewis Flynn), as well as Heather Hemmens & Matt Barr (Alice Verdura & Dan Patch) who came together. They all showed up within a couple minutes of each other, so there wasnt a lot of chance to interact with all of them. Jeremy Wong (Dawrin) & Alana Randall (Frankie) apparently arrived at some point as well, but I didnt notice them going in.

A couple hours would pass before anything would else would happen. It wasnt till a random Bronson Pelletier (Twilight Saga films) sighting walking by the restaraunt that things seemed to pick up a little. Shortly after seeing him out & about, Hellcats producer, and star of Smallville Tom Welling arrived with an entourage of 3 or 4 people which included co-star Justin Hartley.

Some time would go by again before we saw another random sighting. Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger came to hang out with a few friends at the restaraunt downstairs from the party, Earls Restaraunt, which added to a very random night.

First to leave was Ashley Tisdale, who was in a little more happy state coming out than she was going in. She signed for me, but refused to sign for my friend claiming her feet were hurting because of her shoes. I guess they didnt hurt 3 seconds before that???

More cast would slowly make their way out. Ben Cotton & Sharon Leal were next to depart (I cant remember in which order now). Then came the majority of the cast a little later, including Matt Barr & Heather Hemmens coming out together as they went in together.

In between that group and the final group, Chad Kroeger came back out & joked with us as 2 of us were taking his photo asking how thats possible when theres only 1 magazine in town & then saying he hasnt seen so many cameras here since his court case for DUI a few years ago. Then, him & his friends got into a limo (wise choice for a man with a DUI on his record, good to see him planning ahead) and rode off home.

It would be another 45 mins or so before the final batch would come down.
Aly Michalka came out with her sister who we never saw arrive, her mom, Tom Welling, Justin Hartley & another female friend.

Justin came out first to secure a taxi, and the cab driver was giving him attitude telling him he would only wait "a couple minutes to get out there". Justin went back & told the rest there was a cab there (called the cab driver a "dick" to his group..and rightfully so) only to have it taken from them after the girls insisted the taxi driver take a man who was bleeding profusely from the head to the hospital, after what can only be assumed was from some type of altercation just up the street. The cab driver was refusing to take the man, but the girls quite insisted & with 8-10 people telling him to, he begrudgingly took the man in more serious need of a ride than the rich celebs who then opted to walk home.

Up the street they passed a couple men who had clearly had more than too much to drink who were threatening to throw down right in the middle of the fairly abandoned street. Tom seemed unfased by it & more fascinated to see if they were going to infact fight or not. Justin seemed to be encouraging the girls to just keep moving, as was I. Aly looked quite upset to be seeing it. At that point, I let them go on their way...or so I thought. Little did I know they would get to the next block & stop there for a few minutes, and I would again cross paths with them 1 more time before our nights finally quit crossing paths.

Unfortunately, my cameras batteries were on deaths door, so I was being extra picky about taking shots & was really only shooting when I was sure I had a chance for a shot...to top it off, the flash refused to work 3 or 4 times, thus why I have no good Ashley pics, and the Tom pics are quite fuzzy & blurry.. since I had to resort to shooting him without my flash.
Pics below of Ben Cotton, Matt Barr, ly Michalka, Heather Hemmens and the Loch Ness Monster, or is it Tom Welling?

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My Best autograph ventures of 2010 20th thru to 11th

12/30/2010

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20- Getting Jerry Seinfeld two nights in a row

TV icon & comedian Jerry Seinfeld came to Vancouver for a couple shows this past summer on his current tour.

I have gotten Mr. Seinfeld before, and really, if it were not for hearing a few horror stories from around the continent, I likely wouldnt be including him in my top 20 for this past year.

Jerry had 2 shows here & it was night & day for how he acted after each show. Going in he told us "get me after the show". So we came back after the show & Mr. Seinfeld signed a moderate handful, but got far from everyone. Many went away empty handed as the funnyman signed for a handful before leaving. I managed 1 that night but was hoping for more. So I went back the 2nd night.

The encore night was much better, as Mr. Seinfeld stood outside for about 5 minutes signing, and everyone ran out of items. Another 3 for me the second evening took away the disappointment of the day prior.
It was after me reporting on getting him that I was made aware that several people had been shut out by him in other cities recently. He has apparently been elusive at venues where the option to get in unconfronted is an option. I heard from others at the city right after here, this was the case there as well.... which made me all the more thankful that he played a venue with only outside entrances.

With 2011 just around the corner, a new batch of bests should arise by the end of the year. With the likes of Mission Impossible 4, Twilight Breaking Dawn, Underworld 4 & Superman already slated for here, and the rumour that part of Die Hard 5 might come here, big names will certainly be in stock in Vancity in 2011. But, just like this past year many stars were here, its rarely the case of the big names that garner the best attention. The few times they do, they are worth noting though.

19- Benji & Joel Madden of Good Charlotte at the airport.

This past summer, the brother from Good Charlotte came to Vancouver for some hanging out time.

For a long time they were considered terrible signers, and we had not heard anything recent about them, so we prepared for the worst. My friend who got the tip of them coming in was hesitant to get too many things (which for him is rare), but I hastily raced to various used CD stores to get stuff for them.

Total, there was 5-6 hounds there all with CDs at the ready. All with blue sharpies, and proof cams at the ready. The old GC I had heard about would have snapped at such a scenario. I have heard on multiple occasions in multiple cities, the band arguing & even being physically aggressive towards hounds. So we were prepared for the worst.

Instead, we got a friendly, meek & personable Benji & Joel. They not only signed, they did multiples without complaint. A situation NONE of us expected, but were all happy to partake in.

18 - Getting 3X Olympic Gold Medal winner Hayley Wickenheiser at her tournament

Sure, I know, I got like a dozen Hayley's at the Olympics. So whats the deal with getting her 1 more time thats so special?

Well, first, theres the fact that it was after Olympic photos were out, thus giving us a good chance to get autographs from her on items from the 2010 games. The games that will, because of where they were, always be the most special to me. Second, it is 1 of my favorite athletes of all time, so I am always finding new things I want to get done.

But what topped that was how cool she was about it & how she essentially held up her speaking engagement to sign for the group of us. She had an autograph session in a hotel that was housing her & some of the teams playing in her tournament. It was open to the public, so a handful of us went. Hayley the day prior had told 2 of the hounds to "bring everything tomorrow" & they did. I only came with 5 items and soon felt grossly underprepared as I watched my friends roll about 20 & 50 items each on her.

Hayley did it all, said she didnt care what they were doing with it & even suggested she hoped they got good $ for it, and chatted at length with us in between piles. She took photos with my friends & their kids with her Gold medal.

At the end, my friends both gave her collections, 1 in CD form, and 1 in actual print form of many of her greatest moments. She had apparently told them the day before that she had not seen much or any of the items they had... so they both did different things to show their appreciation to her. As you can imagine, she was thoroughly impressed & thankful.

I dont know how many sports you can find where the undisputed best player of all time in that sport would sit down & sign 50 items for someone, without complaining and expecting nothing back.

17- Vancouver actors going to & coming back from Comic-Con

Every year a variety of Vancouver based shows send a few of their cast to San Diego for the annual Comic-Con event.

This gives Vancouver autographers a good chance to clean up on some of the more elusive of casts. Shows like Smallville, Stargate Universe & Sanctuary, who primarily shoot in studios are easier to find when there is only 1 flight in & out of town (granted some did take connecting flights thru other places.)

A literal plethora of action happened going in & coming out. From Smallville, we got the likes of Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, Justin Hartley, and Tower Prep/Smallville cutie Elise Gatien. From Fringe we got Anna Torv, Blair Brown, Lance Reddick & Jasika Nicole (also saw Josh Jackson & John Noble, but neither were too receptive on departures). Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles & Jared Padalecki were terrific on departures, as was Sanctuary star Amanda Tapping returning. We also saw a few others from shows I was not prepared for like Eureka & Psych.

There was plenty to get, and often, you would miss 1 person getting another as they would come & go in groups. But in the end, it was still worth the effort, as there are no less than 5 people from that weekend that I got that I have not been able to get since.

16- Getting Lady Gaga after a show

Lady Gaga did 2 shows in Vancouver this past summer. The first night, she signed for everyone outside after the show.

I am not going to sit here & tell you I was "really excited" or "thrilled" to get her, or even that she was coming. Personally, I think shes grossly overhyped. That being said, I really had to respect the P.R. job she did after her first show here. She signed, signed some more & didnt care what the item was or who was handing it to her.

With the venues security actually trying to prevent me from getting an autograph, she reached for my item with a seeming purpose as to say "I dont care. Just hand it to me". She signed without hesitation for several minutes, and didnt shy away from the flashes of cameras.

Although she was less willing to sign the 2nd day, the 2 time Grammy Award winning artist was still a willing signer the day after her show & the night of the 1st show. For someone of her status, at the peak of her career, to sign 2 out of 3 days is pretty decent.

With 2 autographs on the trip, I consider her trip to Vancouver a success.

15- Getting Tom Welling... TWICE

In the 10th season of Smallville I have gotten Tom Welling to sign TWICE. In the 9 seasons prior- ZERO.

Long regarded as the worst signer in Vancouver, Welling this season has quite literally gone into a signing frenzy.... if you count about 8-10 autographs this season a frenzy. Prior to this season I only knew 2 people who had got the current Clark Kent in this town. Suddenly, this year I know of 4 people who have gotten him now... funny enough, each of us have got him on multiple occasions.

My first epic shocking moment came back in late July, only a week earlier Mr. Welling had outright denied me... as he had many times prior over the years. So I was not expecting a change in results...but this time, there was a good luck charm in tow I didnt know about. See, Tom was coming back from a trip to L.A. with Matt Barr, a cast member from the TV show Hellcats that Tom produces. Matt as I will tell you later, is quite chummy with us. So when I saw him with Tom, I was hopeful that maybe Matt's persona would rub off on Tom.

I broke the ice with "will you sign TONIGHT Tom" *emphasising the tonight to remind him that just a week earlier he turned me down standing in practically the same spot* with a somewhat unimpressed roll of the eyes, he reached over, grabbed the pen & signed. I was in shock for a minute or two. I walked over and snapped a quick photo of Matt & Tom going their seperate ways, then joked with Matt as he left that he was my good luck charm. I got him on a magazine that i had, no joke, carried with me on & off for TEN YEARS.

Proof Matt is my good luck charm would come a bit later in the summer/fall when at an event for the Smallville's 200th episode party, Matt was in attendance and wouldnt you know it, Tom signed for everyone that waited it out that night...all 4 of us. It was without a doubt, the largest "autograph session" Tom has done for any experienced autograph hounds in Vancouver ever.

14- Jensen Ackles, almost any given weekend.

When the biggest star of a hit TV show comes thru an airport, they expect some level of notoriety. Some handle it poorly, some handle it well.

Jensen Ackles, for the mostpart, handles it quite well. The man who plays the sharp tongued Dean Winchester on Supernatural has been quite good about the growing attention this past couple years. For the first 4-5 yrs here, him & his castmates came thru Vancouver with little to no attention on them most days. now, any given weekend, odds are, there will be at least 1 person out there waiting for them.

To top it off, the recently crowned "Best Lead actor in a drama" on the highly popular SpoilerTV polls is not just willing with signatures & photos with, but he is quite willing to give an opinion on most anything if asked. In fact, I have on multiple occasions have opted not to post things hes said, because I didnt know if its something that might come back to bite him in the ass later if the wrong people in the wrong position were to read it.

It was the attitudes of Ackles & his co-star Jared Padalecki that have made me a fan of the show. I started watching it because of them, and found it to be one of the best shows on....but I never would have given it a chance, if it werent for their off screen actions.

13- Steven Segal signing day after day

A lot of actors who are iconic names tend to be grumpy as their star fades. Steven Segal is not one of those people.

The action icon has been in Vancouver for awhile doing a show/series of movies. In the early days of shooting, he was staying at a local hotel, and would be seen at least once or twice a day on average. Every time, he would willingly sign for whoever asked. Even those who he knew he had already signed for.

Since moving to a permanant residence, he has not been seen around much, but for his efforts in the early days of shooting here, Segal earns a spot on the list.

12- The cast of Hellcats around town.

Sure, Ashley Tisdale is a bit unfriendly at times, but she does show flashes of niceness. Her aside, the cast of the new CW show Hellcats is pretty great.

Aly Michalka (along with her now guest starring sister AJ) is the real star of the show, and her off screen personality is absolutely spectacular. With the exception of 1 evening recently, she always seems up to the task of signing, chatting or taking photos with whoever is asking, regardless how many times she knows shes seen them.

Matt Barr has been elusive in the past few months, but when he is seen around, he is a willing signer & chatter. Barr is one of the few stars who if he sees a hound or pap will make the effort to give a head nod or a hello before you see him. He also holds the distinction of being at the same place on BOTH occasions where I got Tom Welling this past year.... so hes also a good luck charm it would seem.

Heather Hemmens is quite pleasant. Says alot about her acting that she can pull of the ruthless Alice character after you meet her. Sweet & friendly, Hemmens has been known to be so nice that she was still signing for me, while a driver (not even HER personal driver, but a hired one by Ms. Tisdale) was grabbing at her arm trying to make her go.

Robbie Jones seems to always be all smiles. Recently upon returning from California, he was spotted by a larger than usual group & willingly signed for everyone & joked about how cold it was here & that he wasnt used to the weather.

As a unit, this cast has been great. The few minor souring experiences with Ashley are more than made up for by Michalka, Barr, Hemmens & Jones.

11- Getting Misha Collins on the set of Supernatural

There is an unwritten, enforced rule on the set of Supernatural. Dont ask people for autographs there.

While this rule is predominantly enforced on the regulars for the shows two top stars Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles, its implied on everyone with the rest of the cast as well.

So I was more than excited when I had the lucky break of being able to get Misha Collins, who plays the angel Castiel on the show, on set, in wardrobe. It was my first time meeting Collins with items to get signed. I had met the man 1 time prior, the season before, but was not yet aware of who he was, since I hadnt got to that point in the show yet.

Another hound broke the ice, by encroaching into the area where Misha was, and with approval from Mr. Collins, we were allowed to wait for him as he came out of a tent to sign for us. After he signed, he chatted for a bit, and took a photo with me, in his Castiel wardrobe, then went back to the set.

A couple of unamused glares from the security on the set mostly rolled off me as I was sincerely excited to get the 1 main cast member from the show that had eluded me to that point.

Since then I have gotten him a couple more times, but that first meeting with him was the most memorable for the situation & how he dealt with it.

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A few pics of Hellcats stars Matt Barr, Robbie Jones, Aly and AJ Michalka, Heather Hemmens and Ashley Tisdale

Last set of Hellcats photos I shot

Hellcats season 1 Wrap Party - with a bit of fuzzy Tom Welling as well.

My Best autograph ventures of 2010 20th thru to 11th

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