Now that 2011 has expired, it is time to look back at the year that was. I didnt travel too much this year, but that was ok, as elite names were roaming the streets of Vancouver throughout the year... now only if I had ran into some of them. 20 - Ellen Degeneres I managed to get the talk show icon twice on her trip to Vancouver, including the 1st autograph I got in which I had to run 4 blocks to get after being given up to the second info on where she was. Few if any autographs I got this year took more energy out of me than that 1st 1 I got from her. Next day, she signed again and was happy to do it. 19 - Axl Rose For a long time, I had heard nothing but horror stories about the lead singer for Guns N Roses. So I was not eager to go for him. However, this past time thru Vancouver, not only did the band actually play the show they came here to play, but Axl was even a willing signer. Pretty much anyone that went for him here got him. 18 - Simon Pegg While here for Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, Mr. Pegg was the most often seen of the films stars. Whether it was at the airport, his hotel or the movie theatre, the Hot Fuzz star signed whatever was asked more often than not. 17 - Henry Cavill The new Superman has been very good here so far. Although he is strict about limiting his autograph to 1 per person each time you see him, he has still been terrific in the interactions people have had with him. 16 - Cast of Sanctuary Never had a bad experience with this cast, this year was no different. Whether it was at the Leo Awards, the airport or a charity event, each member of the cast was exceptional. 15 - Cast of The Secret Circle This cast could have made the top 10, if it werent for 1 exceptionally bitter & sour life hating senior cast member of the show. That exception aside...the rest of the cast has been terrific with us. 14- Matt Barr & Aly Michalka I miss Hellcats. Not just because of the campy cheerleader drama storylines. But because 2 of the nicer celebs we have had in Vancouver in a long time left when the show did. While some other cast members were a lot less thrilled to interact with fans during the shows 1 year run, Matt & Aly were as accomodating & friendly as you can expect. Class acts. 13- Cast Of Supernatural Much like Ms. Torv from Fringe, the cast of Supernatural, whether its Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver or the recurring characters of the show have been quite good to us Vancouverites when we run into them. Long as the regulars respect the no asking them on set policy, they are more than receptive to signing and chatting with us away from set when we see them. 12 - Leo Awards This years award ceremony for BC film industry was not as spectacular as past ones I had hounded. Much of that was because of an unexpected change of venue & the loss of 1 or 2 shows since last year. Still, a list of names came out that made the effort worthwhile. 11 - Amy Adams I had heard that Ms. Adams was a very willing signer, but till I saw it for myself, I didnt understand just how good she was. She willingly signed for everyone till there was nothing left out there to sign. She did it too with a smile. Wish all movie stars could have that level of appreciation. 10 - Booboo Stewart, Myanna Buring, Julia Jones, Guri Weinberg This past year, the final installment of the Twilight Saga series, Breaking Dawn 1 & 2 was filmed here. In the years prior, some of the bigger names in the film were at times, pretty decent signers. This year however, there was VERY FEW great interactions with the cast. The names above were the very few I can say were outstanding. Considering how massive the cast was, its sad you can count the great experiences on 1 hand. Not to say ALL the others were terrible, but that they didnt neccesarily stand out as great. 9- Cast Of Fringe The cast of the hit FOX show Fringe is generally friendly (the occasional grumpy Mr. Noble encounter not withstanding) the true star from a fan interaction aspect is usually Anna Torv in past years. Despite seeing the regulars probably 100+ times combined over the shows run here, she still willingly signs for us, even at the absurd time of 5:30 AM. This season, Seth Gabel became a regular and skyrocketed up along side his Fringe co-star for terrific interactions. Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole & others are terrific as well. 8 - John Schneider Although from an excitement standpoint, getting Mr. Schneider wasnt overly high for me (I was a Dukes of Hazzard fan..but not a massive fan), it was how wonderfully personable he was each & every time that won me over. My 1st interaction with him was 1 of the rare "I wasnt expecting that" situations where we were at the airport for persons unrelated, and saw a sign for him there. Knowing he was coming in for an episode eventually, we waited to see if it was him, it was. He happily signed then. Seeing him 2 more times after, he was just as gracious each time after, even at the Smallville wrap party, where some of the bigger stars were nothing short of rude, Mr. Schneider was 1 of the ones that made the fans waiting out there happy. 7 - Cast Of Once Upon A Time Usually when new TV shows roll into town, odds are someone on the cast thinks more of themselves than they actually are. Not so with the cast of the new ABC fantasy drama Once Upon A Time. Each & every cast member I have met has been terrific with interacting with the fans & the pros. It was the overall attitude of this cast that made me hope for it to do well...I'm glad it is succeeding, this cast deserves it. 6- Sharlto Copley The District 9 star is simply, awesome. How awesome is he with fans? After a flight that was the better part of a day, he stopped, chatted with fans at the airport, did photos with, and even cracked a few jokes. So awesome he did an autograph session for a local African import store "African Breese Imports" just because they asked...and at the autograph session, he had no qualms signing stacks for fans, collectors or dealers alike. One guy plopped down 30 or so photos, Sharlto went thru the entire stack, not once groaning about doing it and thanked the guy for coming afterwards. 5- Callum Blue
Being a huge Dead Like Me fan, I still get a bit excited when I meet any of the cast. This past year, I had a 4th (or 5th?) chance to meet Callum Blue. He was in town reprising his Smallville role as Zod. What made this meeting stand out more than others prior though was how it went down. I first learned he was going to be coming back..I then contacted him thru a site I knew he was a member of that I too was a member of. He replied back with when he was coming. I then tried, several times, but without success, to cross paths with him naturally. So I gave him another message & he told me what day he would be off. So I tried that day, called his room & he answered & came right down. In the pouring rain, he stood, signed, and chatted with my friend & I for several minutes. 4- Chloe Moretz At 2010 TIFF I had Ms. Moretz high on my list of people to get...but she cancelled. This year however, Hit Girl was there, and made up for the year long wait. One of the best signers at TIFF. Even with volunteers telling her she had to go, she still kept signing. 3- TIFF - The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival Individually, several of the events from Tiff could make this list, and a couple I did list individually. But for the mostpart, the entire event of the Toronto International Film Festival falls under 1 event for me. So thus, why it is going here. This years fest was certainly my most successful from a star power aspect, and total wise, it was close to my best. Stars like George Clooney, Megan Fox, Madonna, Nicolas Cage & Ryan Gosling made the event quite successful for me. It was the newer names I wasnt as faimiliar with before going that made some of the more cool moments though, like Chris Pratt, Ezra Miller, Dominic Monaghan and Sarah Bolger who all made me fans of them with the way they handled their attention. 2 - Tom Cruise While I did get a disappointingly low total of 2 autographs from someone I was told "signs everything", a lot of that wasnt any fault of his or really mine either. It was just dumb luck. Still, I managed to get 2 from him, which was still 2 more than most hounds in Vancouver got from him. The 1 and only night outside the trade & convention center unfortunately turned out to be the 1 and only chance Vancouverites got to get the Mission Impossible star. He made the waiting worth it though, as Mr. Cruise strolled over to a crowd of 20-30 people (which swelled to 75-100 when extras & crew came over too) around midnight & did a 20-30 minute meet & greet with fans, taking photos & signing autographs. Each interaction he made feel special, he asked fans to make sure their photos turned out and even acknowledged autograph requests with a level of respect, and not just a "ugh, fine" mentality to it. 1- Madonna No disrespect to Mr. Cruise, but at the end of the day, a rare, hard to obtain signature is a bigger deal on average than a classy, easier to obtain star. Anytime you get someone of Madonna's level of fame, its probably going to make your best list. The Material Girl has been known for quite awhile as, at best, an unwilling signer. However, when you are promoting a movie you directed & has been panned by many critics, you are on your best behaviour. That is what fans in Toronto got when the pop icon was there to promote W.E. this past Summer for TIFF. Madonna signed probably 75-100 autographs on the red carpet, and signed at dinner a bit later after her event as well. Some honorable mentions should go out to the likes of Patrick Gilmore, Rose McGowan, Daniel & Henrik Sedin, Ben Cotton & Lyndsy Fonseca. So, that concludes 2011. Some amazing successes for me. Granted, there was some downright failures as well. I somehow never got Matt Damon despite him being here for 2-3 months. All my Saoirse Ronan autographs were ruined by an ugly fading silver sharpie. I missed Robert DeNiro AGAIN by mere inches, and same with Brad Pitt this time. Who will grace the list at the end of 2012? Going into 2011, there wasnt a lot of "sure things" I could see making the list. To be honest, most of the list is a complete surprise, simply because I didnt know going into 2011 these people would cross my paths.
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I apologize in advance to the actor playing the large man (Mr. Golds bodyguard) with Robert Carlyle in these scenes, but I never found out your name. Just that they referred to the towering man with a voice as deep as Andre The Giants as "John". I take that to be his real name as they usually refer to actors by their real names on set.
The large man (Mr. Golds bodyguard) and Robert (Mr. Gold) filmed a couple scenes, first 1 where the large man lets Mr. Gold out of his car. While this scene was being filed, 1 crew member decided he reallllllllly wanted to be in my blog. Continually stepping infront of my MY camera (a very novice looking camera compared to the 3-4 more professional cameras out that day) and moving along with me. So "Steve" (heard someone calling you that I think), congratulations... you are now in my blog. Perhaps this newfound fame will help you get a friend? Sorry about your photo going last....my blog refused to put it ahead of any of the REAL photos. Anyways, there was little to this scene. Just the guard letting Mr. Gold out of the car & Mr. Gold starting to walk down the street. Best part of this for me was, when the scene was done they said "ok, kill the car" meaning, thats a wrap on the car, take it away, Robert reacted to the comment by pretending to smash the cane over the hood....unfortunately, I didnt catch him in full swing, just only as he was pulling the cane back away. Later they moved across the street to the autoshop. I left while they were still working on this scene, but it again had Mr. Gold and his guard walking across the street towards a man working near a towtruck. During the wait for the set to be perfectly ready to shoot Robert was visited by a woman with a baby. Robert took a liking to the toddler and was quite fascinated with him for a few moments. Like I said in an earlier blog, this cast has been GREAT with fans, hounds & photographers. A final bonus... a couple close up pics of Mr. Gold's cane while it was sitting on the props cart between takes. My 2nd day of filming started off seeing 2 people I hadnt seen in awhile, Lana Parrilla (Mayor Regina/Evil Queen) & Robert Carlyle (Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin).
The scene involved Mr. Gold walking across the street to where Regina was standing. They exchange a breif dialogue & then Mr. Gold goes on his way as Regina stares at himf rom behind for a lengthy time. Later in the day I saw more scenes with Mr. Gold, which will come up in my next blog.... along with a nice close up look at his cane. In this blog, I want to make note of how awesome the cast has been with fans & professional photographers & autograph hounds alike. I saw each member on the 2nd day (Carlyle, Parrilla, Goodwin & Dallas) all stop to take photos with fans who literally were walking right thru the set (during breaks obviously) as well as their willingness to sign for me. The crew has been, not withstanding a couple individual cases of "I Wanna be a noticed-itis" that were nothing more than small nuisances, terrific. They rarely object to fans or photographers being around long as you give them a little room to work when they need it (and still more often than not give you space to see the scenes being shot). It is terrific to see this appreciation. Only other set I have ever had this level (again with the exception of 1 or 2 rogue crew members) acceptance has been on the Fringe set. Usually, theres 4-5 crew members that feel its their lifes mission to alienate fans & photographers on sets, unaware what harm they are actually doing to a show. This show is (so far) understanding of the fans curiosity & the photogs/hounds desire for a result & dont purposely try to step on toes... too often. Below is a few pics from the scenes with Parrilla and Carlyle, as well as a few of them just hanging around waiting. If you do NOT want any spoilers about the show DO NOT read on or view the photos!!
So my 2nd day on the set generated another semi-spoiler. After yesterdays Emma driving the Sheriffs car shock, another interesting shock was about to be seen by those watching the scenes being shot with Ginnifer Goodwin (Mary Margaret Blanchard) & Josh Dallas (John Doe/David Nolan) The scene involves Mary leaving Grannys diner and David meeting up with her. The pair walk down the street, engage in a chat a couple stores down, and then the spoiler..... David goes in for a kiss, and does Mary accept his advances??? No, she backs away from his attempt. Of course, when you watch filming you only catch a short blip of a storyline, but from this quick shoot it is clear that David will pursue Mary more later this season & our school teacher appears unwelcoming of the attention. Of course, the fairy tale world characters this pair play, Snow White & Prince Charming were seen recently acting as if they knew nothing of each other. Will there be a twist down the line that David kissing Mary will somehw re-unite the fairy tale couple? Who knows. The couple is up for "favorite couple" in the Best Of TV 2011 Awards on our site, could Mary & David be contenders for next years awards? Below is a few photos from the scene and the pair hanging out between scenes. If you DO NOT want any spoilers of the show.... DO NOT READ ON OR VIEW THE PHOTOS!
I have not seen 1 single second of filming for the ABC smash hit "Once Upon A Time" since they filmed scenes for the pilot in downtown Vancouver more than 7 months ago. http://canadagraphs.weebly.com/1/post/2011/03/jennifer-morrison-filming-scenes-for-abc-tv-pilot-once-upon-a-time.html At that time it was an unproven pilot & most people didnt think much of it in the local celebrity spotting circles. Now, it has become a massive hit for ABC & looks headed to a 2nd season barring some type of curse by the Evil Queen. Since then, finding the fairy tale based show has been nearly impossible because they dont need the downtown core for their show & I rarely venture past the dt area to find filming. The show is set in a small town in Maine. The show is filmed in smaller cities around the area like North Vancouver, Ft. Langley & Steveston, a small tourist nook at the far southwest corner of Richmond. Mostly known for its fishing industry, Steveston is very welcoming of the film industry & is used often by productions, and this year its primary tennants have been the cast & crew of Once Upon A Time. So earlier this week a friend & I went out there determined to see something. We got a late start on Monday & got out there a little late to catch scenes out on the beach, as we showed up, I went out there to see where they were filming only to find the set being torn down & Jennifer Morrison & Jared Gilmore strolling by me back to the trailers. It was exceptionally windy on this day & the cast & crew alike were doing all they could to stay warm, and so were we. We looked around & found their next location shortly after. It was in a private dock area and luckily, had a small area right where the scene was being shot to shoot pics of them filming it thru a fence about 200 feet away. The scenes included Jennifer Morrison's character Emma Swan showing up in a Sheriffs car to interact with Jared Gilmore's character Henry. I find it interesting that Ms. Swan is driving the Sheriff car. In the last episode we see her get hired as a deputy, now driving the sheriffs car?? The scene itself I Later on scenes were done with them & another man who my friend originally thought was Jamie Dornan, the sherriff. I have looked at those photos (sorry, didnt have them in time to edit for this blog...maybe later on?) since then & am not too sure, will have to watch a few scenes with him over again to be 100%, but my first look at them on a big screen has me uncertain. Below is a few photos from that scene. Best Of TV 2011 Awards FINALISTS - Best comedy, action/drama, sci-fi, animated, and new programs11/9/2011 The finalists for the TV programs in 5 categories have been decided.
Below is a break down of the voting in each category. Photos of the final vote tallies are at the bottom. Like last year, the 1st group I went thru had quite low totals. I gotta learn from this, have smaller categories 1st, THEN bigger categories like best shows.... anyways, the results/ BEST ANIMATED (bold = finalist) (vote total - red) FAMILY GUY 35, FUTURAMA 14, THE SIMPSONS 14, SOUTH PARK 10, BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD 6, PHINEAS & FERB 1 (write in vote), AMERICAN DAD 0, THE CLEVELAND SHOW 0 BEST COMEDY THE BIG BANG THEORY 26, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 24, COMMUNITY 21, PARKS AND RECREATION 16, CHILDRENS HOSPITAL 14, 30 ROCK 12, ITS ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA 12, PSYCH 12, GLEE 10, LOUIE 10, COUGAR TOWN 6, BEING ERICA 5, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM 5, MODERN FAMILY 5, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 1, HAPPY ENDINGS 1 (write in vote), UP ALL NIGHT 1 (write in vote), THE MIDDLE 0 BEST ACTION/DRAMA DEXTER 20, CRIMINAL MINDS 17, HOUSE 17, BURN NOTICE 15, LEVERAGE 15, JUSTIFIED 13, GOSSIP GIRL 11, COVERT AFFAIRS 10, BREAKING BAD 9, CASTLE 9, HAWAII FIVE-O 8, BONES 7, FLASHPOINT 7, GREY'S ANATOMY 7, CSI 6, LAW & ORDER SVU 6, SONS OF ANARCHY 6, MAD MEN 6, THE MENTALIST 6, HEARTLAND 4, WHITE COLLAR 4, THE LISTENER 3, BLUE BLOODS 2, NIKITA 2, SUITS 2, BOARDWALK EMPIRE 1, BODY OF PROOF 1, IN PLAIN SIGHT 1, PRIVATE PRACTICE 1 BEST SCI-FI SMALLVILLE 77, SUPERNATURAL 48, FRINGE 28, THE WALKING DEAD 17, SANCTUARY 13, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 13, TRUE BLOOD 10, LOST GIRL 6, EUREKA 2, TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL 1, WAREHOUSE 13 1, DOCTOR WHO (write in vote) 1, BEING HUMAN 0 BEST NEW SHOW BREAKING IN 931, GAME OF THRONES 344, ONCE UPON A TIME 167, GRIMM 124, THE SECRET CIRCLE 117, PERSON OF INTEREST 106, REVENGE 86, UNFORGETTABLE 79, THE KILLING 77, ALPHAS 69, TERRA NOVA 67, HOMELAND 65, NEW GIRL 46, AMERICAN HORROR STORY 44, BREAKOUT KINGS 44 (write in votes), 2 BROKE GIRLS 40, A GIFTED MAN 35, HELL ON WHEELS 22, UP ALL NIGHT 22, PAN AM 20, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS 18, HARRY'S LAW 15, PRIME SUSPECT 14, WHITNEY 12, FALLING SKIES 10 (Write in votes), HAPPY ENDINGS 10, LUCK 9, CHARLIES ANGELS 6, RINGER 5 (write in votes), HART OF DIXIE 2 (write in votes), PLAYBOY CLUB 1 (write in vote), SUITS 1 (write in vote) The finalists for actors, actresses and other categories will be coming soon. The voting for the winners and finalists will start sometime in the 2nd week of November. The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival begins later this week, and we will again be there. Last year, I gave you a list of 20 people I wanted to get. http://canadagraphs.weebly.com/1/post/2010/09/my-top-20-wants-at-tiff-2010.html I managed to see 15 of them, only managed to nab 8 of those 20 though for autographs, but I did get my #1, so that was a victory. This year, I have pushed the list to 30. So here it is....my top 30 want list for TIFF 2011. 1 Chloe Moretz - Didnt get Hit Girl last year at film fest when she cancelled for a family birthday party. This year, shes committed to coming. Must get. 2 Hugh Laurie - Last year it was Dexter. This year its Dr. House. My must get TV person. 3 Antonio Banderas - Puss In Boots. If he wasnt PIB, I wouldnt even care he was there. 4 Madonna - Really? Are you even remotely shocked? Its Madonna. Theres few names in the entertainment universe as big as this. 5 Saoirse Ronan - She was terrific in Hanna. An Academy Award nominee at just 13 for Atonement. Must get IMO. 6 Maggie Gyllenhaal - Loved Secreatary, loved The Dark Knight. 7 Brad Pitt - Normally, a guy dumb enough to leave Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie I would assume has bad decision making skills...but he seems to make blockbuster movies despite this severe retardation. 8 Michelle Williams - Huge Dawsons Creek fan. Actually got her autograph way back when she was still on DC, but was working for someone else at the time & despite asking for 1, never got 1. Chance to rememdy that now. 9 Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Huge Supernatural fan, always looking to add new things to my collection. 10 Jason Statham - Its JasoN Statham, nuff said. 11 Neil Young - Hes ahead of U2 and Pearl Jam simply because I've somehow never got him before. 12 Elena Anaya - Never knew who she was till I found some hot pics of her from a movie she did. 13 U2 - If you havent heard of them, its ok. They might be big someday. 14 George Clooney - In 2007 I literally missed getting him by less than 3 ft. Chance for redemption. 15 Julia Maxwell - Key figure in season 6 of Supernatural was Eve. Played by this hot specimen. 16 Kyle MacLachlan - The Captain on How I Met Your Mother. Nuff said. 17 Keira Knightley - Hopefully redemption for not getting her in 2007. 18 Gerard Butler - Its Gerard Butler. Nuff said. 19 Alison Pill - She was the only character in Milk I liked. 20 Gael Garcia Bernal - In 2007 I was naive enough to think "ah I'll just walk right up and get this guy. No one cares about him". Now I am sart enough from my prior experience to know "I NEED to get him". 21 Nicholas Cage - Got his autograph before when he filmed Ghost Rider, but it was on a Colorado Avalance team card because I wasnt expecting him. Never seen him since. Chance to finally get the photos I printed back then done. 22 Jennifer Lawrence - Even though I know nothing about The Hunger Games, I also am smart enough to know from my Twilight experiences, dont poo-poo these book driven series. 23 Pearl Jam - Despite having got them more times than I can recall, I will always want more. 24 Viggo Mortensen - Funny enough, I got him in 2007 and didnt really know who he was then, since then I've seen him in Eastern Promises and A History Of Voilence, so now I WANT to get him. 25 Ewan McGregor - Star Wars. Nuff Said. Got him in 2007. 26 Jennifer Garner - should have got her 4 yrs ago at my 1st film fest, but some deaf hounds ruined it for everyone when they disregarded her demand to not push. Fingers crossed I get to her this time before they ruin it again. 27 Lily Cole - Dont know anything about her except she looks hot, and isnt opposed to being naked. 28 Sarah Silverman - She was 14th on my list last year, and I got her. Thus why shes not too high up this year, but still someone I hope to get again. 29 Liana Liberato - Had photos for her last year, but missed out. Second crack, maybe this time I'll get her. 30 Robin Wright - I am really assuming she will be much nicer than her ex, Sean Penn. Others I would be happy to find.... Selma Blair, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Gosling, Leighton Meester, Chris Pratt, Scott Speedman, Rachel Weisz & Anton Yelchin. Hoping they show up - Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Hugh Jackman, Ashley Greene, Eric Peterson, Alicia Silverstone, Nicole Kidman, Ed Helms, Jason Segal, Bryan Cranston |
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