April 26, 2009

• Paley Fest – Battlestar Galactica Caprica (April 20, 2009)

  

  

  No one can accuse me of being a Sci-Fi geek as I’ve never watched one episode of the new Battlestar Galactica before walking into this room.  The fact is, TV is one of the major things missing in my life.  I watch zero of it.  I really wish I could watch a lot TV but I just always seem to be doing something else.  I feel a little lost at dinner when the topic turns to TV shows.  Lost?  Nope.  Heroes?  Nope.  Family Guy?  Nope.  The Office?  Nope (but I have seen all of the British ones).  Friends?  Nope.  Dancing With the Stars?  Nope.  American Idol?  Nope.  It’s sad.  But all is not lost.  Instead, I’ve watched many series commercial free via DVD, including near complete collections of Seinfeld, Sopranos, 24, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Sex and the City. 

  I still think it’s fun to go to these things and after seeing the one episode they showed, it really enticed me to see the past three seasons.  For Paley Fest, they screened the Caprica 1 hr and 40 minute premiere episode for the first time in public.  It’s a prequel set 58 years back of where the current/just concluded TV series finished.   This panel discussion was a combo event. It was a send off for Cylons “6″ and “Boomer” and introduced us to Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, and others from the new series. 

  The night’s host and moderator was Seth Green.  Sporting a purple rope-like mohawk, Seth exhibited his Battlestar geekiness by asking well thought out questions.  The only problem… they were too well thought out.  Most of his questions were of this type… ”I saw the scene and when she walks through the green lit door and looks to the left, does the green signify the next life?  Why does she look to the left?”  We all have what if questions for our favorite shows, but when the moderator asks about 10 of those questions, it becomes overbearing.   He was very funny and lively, but he dominated the discussion, instead of letting the creators and actors talk more.  It wasn’t until the audience Q&A time that we got to finally hear from the actors. 

  We learned things like…

  • Most of the new actors didn’t know too much about the Battlestar series. 
  • Eric Stoltz was sent a copy of the script by his agent while he was filming something in Provo, Utah.  It sat on his hotel room dresser cabinet unread as it wasn’t a priority.  The moment he realized he would be part of something big (not big as in big, but as in it has a cult following) was when his agent called him to ask if he had read the script and he couldn’t find it because his cleaning lady had stole it.  She must’ve mentioned that it was sitting there to someone she knew and they paid her to steal the thing so that they could have the top secret screenplay. 
  • Lacy Rand (Magda in the Caprica series) couldn’t hold her pee.  She had to run off stage in the middle of discussion for a tinkle break. 
  • Seth Green talks too much. 
  • Caprica is going to be more of a sci-fi drama.  The executive producers stated that even though it ties into Battlestar, they wanted it to be a stand alone series, where someone who hadn’t watched Battlestar before could pick it up and not feel like they needed to have seen the previous Battlestar series. 

  Other things I learned…

  

  Tricia Helfer, 6, is stunning in person (she used to be an Elite Model!).  She must be about 5’10″ in height.  In her online photos she looks a little makeupy, but in person, she’s the real deal, nearly six feet tall with an athletic bod and just naturally and strinkingly beautiful. 

  My friend John “Beano” Wang has a crush on Grace Park that I didn’t know about.  He’s just happy to be in the picture.  Why are they both doing the eyebrow thing?   

  

  The goal of the night was to get this picture signed…

  

  At the end of the night this is what I had…

  

  SCORE!  The IT guys at my office, Battlestar nerds, were beyond jealous. 

  And one last picture for you…

  

  Fact of the day:  Grace Park and Tricia Helfer were both Maxim models and are both the same age as me. Tricia Helfer has also appeared in Playboy before.  Unfortunately, I don’t subscribe to Playboy.   I know, it’s only $12 for an annual subscription.  

  What a fun night! 

  • 10:41 pm
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