The 2012 Leo Awards took place Friday & Saturday May 25th & 26th at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
 
This was the 2nd consecutive year the historic Hotel Van housed the awards. Last year, they had the red carpet out on the very busy Georgia Street. While this was great for publicity for the awards, it was a major safety concern as traffic tends to zip by on there & there was several (including myself) instances last year of people needing to step out onto the street to walk by, thus risking their lives somewhat. The red carpet dominated about 4/5 of the sidewalk. This year, they went with a safer approach, which was too far in the other direction. They had the red carpet upstairs in a ballroom, 2 floors up... and while the public was allowed to wait around the check in counter outside the red carpet area, they were not allowed in this time to wait on the red carpet.....meaning, the ONLY red carpet pics this year, will be the very limited number that the very few reporters & bloggers who were accredited opt to put out there. This is IMHO a disservice to the nominees who often would appreciate any free press they can get, and the awards themselves.
 
For an event that has always been a very fan friendly event (even when those fans were protesting a show being cancelled, as was the case in 2007 with CBC series jPod), this was a small smudge on their image. Next year, I suspect they will need to work on a new design for how to have things. Even several of the nominees & presenters we chatted with seemed VERY dismayed and shocked at this turn of events.

The limited access this year however didnt stop the "in the know" people of the city, who figured out where we could go & made good of what we were given. When I got to the hotel, my friends from www.outlaw-hobbies.com told me the bad news & worse, 1 of my top 10 names that I wanted to get, was already in, Ben Cotton. I became a huge fan of the adult themed puppet mockumentary "Sunflower Hour" this past year when I saw it at the Vancouver International Film Festival. So I made a couple cast images to get signed, since most of them were expected to be there. But I had already missed Ben. I was then given the news "you can go upstairs, you just cant go inside... maybe he's hanging around up there" so I went up, didnt see him though. 
 
I returned to the lobby, JUST IN TIME to see the next celeb roll in. "Sanctuary" star (Winner - Best Lead Male in a Feature Length Film) Ryan Robbins was coming in. We got Ryans attention & he proceeded to sign for us, and enthusiastically talk about his other project "Falling Skies" & he was asked about if he was going to be on AMC's "Hell On Wheels" & he wasnt sure if he could talk about it much but said yes. He was terrific as always, and quite candid & open as he told us about a pretty serious accident he had on the set of Sanctuary this past year that left him not doing well for a couple weeks.
 
After that we went back upstairs to see who we missed as several people seemed to come in. I 1st managed to get another "Sunflower Hour" star (winner - Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Length Film) Johannah Newmarch. Upon seeing my cast item I was working on, she went inside & found Ben Cotton for me. Ben signed and chatted about the movie & how much fun it was to do. I asked him if he had any other projects on the go, and he told me not currently... so dear god, SOMEONE, give this brilliant acting specimen a regular gig. He was 1 of the few shining lights from Hellcats.

It didnt take long before things started rolling along at a pretty frequent pace. Next up was "Vampire Diaries" star (nominee - Best Lead Actress in a Feature Length Film - Hannah's Law) Sara Canning, now a member of Vancouver shot series "Primeval New World". She signed for me & the others there, and stopped to chat a bit with a couple people. She was 1 of the bigger people I was hoping for, so it was exciting to get her out of the way early on.
 
Then things became a scramble. I might have (some/much) of this out of order. At some point, I got "The Killing" star (nominee - Best Lead Actress in a Feature Length Film - Sisters & Brothers) Kacey Rohl. Like Johannah & Ben prior, she had just great things to say about doing the film Sunflower Hour and loved the pics I had. Around that same time, another "The Killing" & "SGU" star (nominee - Best Lead Actor in a Feature Length Film - Sunflower Hour ) came by, Patrick Gilmore. Mr. Gilmore was his usual jovial self. He willingly signed what we had and chatted with us for a bit. Sometime a little later a bunch of the cast of "Sunflower Hour" came back out & right towards where I was... seemed they were trying to help me get Ben Cotton's autograph, but I already had him. They then stopped and by this point a few other autograph collectors had made their way upstairs, and there was new people looking for autographs from the likes of Patrick Gilmore. While that was going on, I was introduced to Aaron Houston (nominee - Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Film - Sunflower Hour) and had him also sign my cast poster photo. I then asked him when it might get a DVD release, he said "soon" and I told him I have been impatiently waiting for it, as I have wanted to see it again. He promised it should be "in the next couple of months in the States, then up here" for a DVD release, which I was a tad disappointed to hear, but long as its out SOMEWHERE, I wouldnt groan too much where I got it from at this point. One of the last people I would get was Peter New (nominee Best Supporting Actor in a feature length film) to sign my Sunflower Hour item, leaving it completed by the main cast, minus Amitai Marmorstein (who was not there).
 
The most bizaare event of the evening, and if it were not for Robin Dunne dropping his pants on Georgia Street last year, I would suggest strangest moment in my history at the Leo Awards, Patrick Gilmore signed the stomach of 1 of the local autograph hounds after they chatted about his tattoos, which included 1 from a Harlem Globetrotter who had signed his arm & he had it tattooed over. Patrick even had Ben Cotton photograph the event while his guest/date this evening, the often entertaining in her own right, @KeepinltLeal (1/3 of the entertainingly odd "music" group "Coupla Hot Chicks...Maybe 3") stood by probably regretting getting dressed up for such an affair as she witnessed Patrick sipping champagne while signing a guys body. In typical Gilmore fashion, it became of course, a tweet of his https://twitter.com/PatrickGilmore/status/206546263917862912  in the documentation of his evening that he tweeted that evening (Seriously, if you dont follow him on twitter.... do it, more often than not, entertaining tweets) as he showed the world the adventures he was having (really, Patrick is 1 of twitters best celebrity tweeters 93.5% of the time). Only at the Leo Awards would you see a nominee for Best actor in a feature movie sign the chest of a male fan while drinking champagne & then have that said actor boast about it on twitter... this is why the Leos are 1 of my favorite events annually.
 
As the evening went on, eventually we would nab several of the "Sanctuary" cast as they showed up for the shows big last hurrah at the awards. Outside of Ryan Robbins, we also got Christopher Heyerdahl (Winner - Best Performance in a Youths or Childrens Program - The Haunting Hour) to sign, and he said he's really enjoying working on the AMC series "Hell On Wheels". Robin Dunne (nominee - Best Actor in a Drama Series) would come by a bit later, and although he seemed rushed (he was 1 of the awards hosts as well as nominee) stopped to sign for those there.  Emilie Ullerup (nominee - Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Arctic Air) also took the time to stop and sign (finally) which was a big relief for me, after I tried to get her at a fan expo not that long ago but was told from her she cant sign there for free, and I suggested how about the Leo Awards & she said sure if she is nominated. So in the end, it all worked out. One of the last people to show up was Amanda Tapping (nominee - Best Actress in a Drama Series) and she still had the time to stop & sign for everyone. Agam Darshi was also there, but I had nothing for her and watched as she signed for a couple other people who did have things for her.
 
With "Hiccups" being nominated for a few awards, former "Corner Gas" stars Brent Butt & Nancy Robertson were there of course. Butt seemed a bit hesitant to sign at first, but eventually stopped and did so, while Nancy stood there for the mostpart watching her husband sign for everyone till 1 of the other hounds came up with a Hiccups photo. Shortly after, I got wedged my way by Brent (we were standing in a very crowded confined space near a wall) to go get Nancy as well. She was so amazed by my "Dead Like Me" photo I had she almost forgot to sign it. Everytime I have pulled a DLM photo on someone, they have been amazed by them.
 
"Arctic Air" had several reps there, besides Ullerup, Carmen Moore (nominee - Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series) was asked by a few fans to sign & she did so happily, while I tracked down Stephen Lobo (nominee - Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series & Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Length Film). Sadly, Kevin McNulty, the only cast member I actually needed (on my Robson Arms cast items) wasnt there. Somehow, we never saw Pascale Hutton, even though she was apparently there.
 
I saw "Once Upon A Time" cast members "Blue Fairy" Keegan Connor Tracy (nominee - Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series) & "Hansel" Quinn Lord (nominee - Best Actor in Short Drama Film - Last Christmas) there as well, but I had nothing for Keegan, and didnt see Quinn till it was too late.
 
I saw "Robson Arms" & "Once Upon A Tiime" star Gabrielle Rose. I asked her for an autograph & she was willing to sign, but it was going to take me a few moments to figure out where the item was (by this point, things had been pulled out of my binder, moved, misplaced etc) and said I would get her after she checked in. UNFORTUNATELY, they sent her along the table till she was right at the door, and once out of sight, I was also out of mind, and missed my chance. I saw "The Killing" star Tyler Johnston as he was heading in & didnt have time to get him to sign the item I got for him. I saw another "The Killing" star Brandon Jay McLaren show up, but had nothing for him sadly, although I wish I had the "Tucker & Dale VS Evil" photo 1 of the others had.
 
All in all, almost 40 autographs at this years Leo Awards made it a venture worth my time. my nearly complete Sunflower Hour poster photo (gonna have to track down Amitai Marmorstein now) being my favorite item of the evening.
I will do a report on the actual winners (actors and films/shows... and maybe a couple others) soon.
 
Here is some of the pics of the evenings successes and adventures.

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.

Last night was the Gala event for the 13th annual Leo Awards. The best of British Columbia's TV & movie industry gathered to hand out their top awards. This years event was held at the Hotel Vancouver, after a scheduling change prevented them from holding it at their usual place, the Westing Bayshore. With the change in venue came a few challenges.
 
The most notable challenge was the red carpet set up on Georgia street. In the past, at the Bayshore, the carpet was set up along a very quiet and spacious sidewalk along side the hotels convention centre. This set up was great for everyone involved, as it was spacious & well lit with natural light when it is sunny. This year however, the red carpet was set up on the sidewalk of a mains treet that dozens of people use every minute. The carpet itself took up about 2/3 of the sidewalk, leaving a slim 3-5 ft ledge for fans & onlookers, uncredited media, autograph hounds & passer bys to navigate, with a lane of a busy thoroughfare just behind them. Thankfully for the awards there was no incidents with traffic hitting any people, despite many people, myself included, occasionally using the 1st lave of the street to walk in.
 
The cast of "Sanctuary" was the front & centre draw of the television side of the awards for the mostpart. With the loss of "Stargate Universe" this year, the gang from Sanctuary made up a lot larger portion of this years TV representation. SGU did have 1 representitive there, Jennifer Spence, a nominee for Best supporting actress in a drama, but failed to win, losing out to Lucia Walters from "Life Unexpected" in their 1 & only nomination as well. Ryan Robbins did bring home a solo award for the Sanctuary cast in the Best Supporting male category.
 
Many of the more notable Vancouver based shows won some awards as well. Fox sci-fi hit "Fringe" lead all TV shows in wins with 3 (tied with Sanctuary) for Cinematogray, Production design & best guest actor for Michael Eklund. "Supernatural" won for best visual effect. "Smallville" won for best program in its final season. "Human Target" won for best stunt co-ordinator.
 
Smaller shows like "Blackstone", wich won 2 awards walked away with the more notable awards for TV acting. Carmen Moore won the best actress award. The best actor went to Callum Keith Rennie from "Shattered"
 
In the movie side of the awards, "Gunless" walked away with 4 awards including best prgraom, cinematography, production design & stunt co-ordinator. "Altitude", "Transparency" & "Fathers & Sons" won 2 awards each, the latter taking home best supporting actor Jay Brazeau. Several movies snagged 1 award each, including "Life, Above All", "Amazon Falls" which April Telek took best lead actress, "Tucker And Dale VS Evil" which Tyler Labine took best lead actor & "Repeaters" which Alexia Fast took best supporting actress for.
 
Other notable winners were Paul McGillion for best lead actor in a short drama movie "A Fine Young Man" (which lead the way with 4 wins in that section..including best program), Shirley Broderikc for best actress in a short drama "The Closer You Get To Canada". "Mighty Jerome" won 4 awards, including best documentary program. "The Haunting Hour" won 4 awards as well in best youth or childrens program, including best show & best performance for Richard Harmon.
 
"Hiccups" had 5 wins, including best comedy program & best performance for Nancy Robertson, that was the most of anyone at the awards.
 
Below are some pics of the presenters, nominees & winners as they arrived for the awards.
Pictured  "Blood & Chrome" & "Hellcats" star Ben Cotton. "The Listener" star Lauren Lee Smith, "Robson Arms" star Gabrielle Rose, "Intelligence", "Smallville" & "Alice I Think" star Michael Eklund, "Tucker & Dale VS Evil" & "Reaper" star Tyler Labine, "The Killing" & "Tucker & Dale VS Evil" star Brandon Jay McLaren with "Whistler" & "Tucker & Dale VS Evil" star Jesse Moss, "Wolf Canyon", "Harpers Island" & "Health Nutz" star Ali Liebert, "90210" star Dustin Milligan, "Smallville" star MacKenzie Gray, "Robson Arms", "Supernatural" & "Amazon Falls" star April Telek, "Stargate Universe" & "The 4400" star Jennifer Spence with "Kingdom Hospital" star Ben Ratner, "Twilight Saga Eclipse" "Kingdom Hospital" & "Dead Like Me" star Jodelle Ferland, "Charlie St Cloud" & "Whistler" star Amanda Crew, "Sanctuary" "Stargate SGI & Atlantis" star Amanda Tapping,  "Sanctuary" "Dawsons Creek" & "Dead Like Me" star Robin Dunne, "Sanctuary" & "Dan For Mayor" star Agam Darshi.

The cast of Sanctuary were in full force for Saturday nights 12th annual Leo Awards. With the sci-fi show leading all nominees at 17, there was a lot for the cast to be excited about.

Below is a few photos of various cast that walked the carpet, including Chrstopher Heyerdahl (WINNER- Best Supporting Performance by a male in a Dramatic series), Ryan Robbins (NOMINEE-- Best Supporting Performance by a male in a Dramatic series), , Robin Dunne (WINNER- Best Lead Performance by a male in a Dramatic Series), Agam Darshi (NOMINEE- Best Supporting Performance by a male in a Full Length Drama), & Amanda Tapping (NOMINEE- Best Lead Performance by a female in a Dramatic series), .

The cast was all class. Each cast member signed willingly for the small group of fans & dealers that were along the red carpet.