Starfury's Serenity LA Convention
(click here to find photos from this event)By Jim Quon
November 7, 2007
A bit of U.K. hospitality was brought over to the U.S. in the form of the Serenity LA convention. Sean Harry and company brought Firefly fans the chance to meet and mingle with their favorite Firefly actors in a setting that was fun for actors and guests alike. This was Starfury’s first outing to the U.S., and for the lucky guests who attended they were treated to something really special.
One thing that is the mark of Browncoats is their sense of community. Adam Baldwin stated in the closing ceremonies how the fans and actors are all working together to continue the legacy of the show from the point where the show was canceled, to the campaign to bring it back. Starfury conventions are also known for catering to the fans, and the combination of the two really lead to a very enjoyable weekend. This really hit the sweet spot of Firefly convention goodness.
The whole atmosphere of the convention was geared toward making things entertaining for everyone present. The convention was held at the Element night club in Hollywood. This is one of the most popular clubs in Hollywood and is a hangout spot of many stars. If you walked outside and onto Hollywood Blvd, you could see the walk of fame with all the stars along the sidewalk. There were stretch limousines cruising down the street, someone playing the drums, and other interesting characters to be found in this exciting area.
There were around 150 attendees at the convention, seated at several large round tables that encouraged the guests to interact with one another. All the seats were good. There was bar service as well as nice restaurants around the area. Paid parking was readily available right across the street. The stars present included Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Christina Hendricks, Nectar Rose, Mark Sheppard, Ron Glass, Jonathan Woodward, Yan Feldman, and Dayne Johnson.
One thing that was noticeable was the casual pace of the convention. There was never a sense that things were being rushed, it had more the feeling of a fan organized party where people would just get together and have a good time. The Starfury employees seemed to be having as much fun as the fans, and would hang out and chat with us. You could get autographs and photos with the actors and the lines were not long. Also, the photos turned out were really high quality and it was great having the opportunity to take a group photo with all the actors appearing at the convention.
The actors were very relaxed, and it felt like we were hanging around someone’s living room just joking around. They were able to joke around and say anything on their mind. Jewel and Morena’s talked about everything and spent a lot of time poking fun with each other. They talked about good and bad dates, gossiped about the other actors and talked about how they liked or didn’t like their costumes. All the ladies looked very beautiful as always. Morena was sporting her new short hair which looked very smart.
Adam and Mark’s panel was interesting and Mark talked a lot about Battlestar Galactica and his return in the upcoming final season, while Adam answered questions about his current show Chuck and other projects he has been working on. Even though Mark has played so many roles, Badger was still has favorite, and Romo Lampkin is his current love. It sounds like we will see a lot more of the Romo character in season four of Battlestar Galactica.
Yan was there but his recently married brother couldn’t make it. He talked about the benefits and challenges of being twins with a brother who is also an actor. It seemed that having a brother was nice because they had a competitive relationship, but Yan noted that sometimes it was hard because they were recognized as a package instead of two individual actors. Yan also demonstrated some his talents which included some very funny impressions of other actors.
Other interesting panels included Dayne Johnson’s makeup demonstration. He spent a couple of hours demonstrating how he would apply makeup in Buffy and Angel. It was amazing to see how quickly he was able to work and create great results. The lucky guy that got done up attended the La Cantina party in full makeup which was fun to see.
The QMX guys were around to show off their latest creations including a prototype of a model of the Serenity ship. The model displayed was half the size of the actual model which should be out by the spring or summer. The working model will have glowing engine lights and other cool features as well. They also talked about their Serenity blueprints, and other great products that they produce.
