The Small Convention

After the usual driving around in Sacramento for an hour, I finally found the Scottish Rite Temple and was very pleased to find ample parking, some even in the shade on this 100-degree day.

This is what you call a small convention. So small that a lot of people seemed to know each other. I checked in to will call -- same person who sold tickets, gave out information, everything -- and went into the darkened hall. I left a bunch of my new blog business cards on the table in hopes people will check out my blogs.

I knew that, since it had taken me so long to get there, the noon panel was about to start, so I tried to figure out where that was. There are only four rooms, so it wasn't a problem. I passed by Doug Jones and Aaron Douglas, who were signing for fans and having their photos taken, and found the room.

I joined the other six people in the middle of Erin Gray's talk. (I didn't realize it, but all the rest of the people at the convention were in the room next door, watching a video of a Buffy episode.) To her right was the guy who played Twiki the Robot with her on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (movie and T.V. series). Erin was telling us how she had broken into show biz.

She was 15 at the time and her mother's boyfriend was an enterprising man who suggested she try out for modeling. It had to pay more than the Macy's job she had just gotten for the summer. So he went to the yellow pages, picked out photographers, and spent all day calling them. He weeded out the ones that did weddings and landscapes, and focused on the ones that did headshots for models. They noticed that they all clumped in neighborhoods, so they picked out some neighborhoods on Robertson and Santa Monica in L.A., and just went into their offices one day.

After they found a photographer, they asked for references to agents. This is all in the same day.

They were usually met with a cold eye, but one secretary took notice. "Nice smile!" she said. "Turn around. Nice legs." And then she put her in contact with the agent there who sent her out on two calls. "Then go back to high school and call me when you graduate."

Erin went to both appointments and ended up befriending the photographers and directors for the commercials, because that's just who she is. When she got back home that afternoon, the agent called her and asked, "Where have you been?! You have to get back here before 5 to sign contracts." She had gotten both jobs. And thus her career began.

Felix Silla, on the other hand, immigrated to the U.S. in his teens and was immediately hired by the circus in the '50's. He traveled all over the U.S. in the circus, but got tired of the transient life. He eventually got into acting when someone needed a little person for the job. He said that on Buck Rogers, they often treated him like furniture, forgetting he was stuck in the robot costume on long breaks.

Erin and Felix left, and Doug Jones came in. The crowd to see him was almost capacity. After all, Doug's resume is voluminous, including the academy award-winning Pan's Labyrinth, both Hellboy movies, and the recent Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (he being the Silver Surfer). Jones's roles mostly consist of those characters that are weird, behind masks, or layered with makeup.

Besides his resume, Doug is an engaging speaker. I had seen him once before, last April at the Grand Slam, but being only five feet away while he's talking was a big plus. As he talked, he would put a piece of Kit-Kat bar in his mouth and chew, an action that never slowed him down. He mostly talked rather than taking questions, because that's what he does.

He said he met Guillermo del Toro, his favorite director, on a set of one of del Toro's movies, and they sat together during lunch while del Toro grilled Doug on his film credits. Doug mimicked Guillermo's raspy voice for us during his recreation of the event.

He cleared up one thing about being the Silver Surfer: he was physically there during filming. While wearing a motion-capture suit, he still was in the suit and on set in the scenes.

As for another Fantastic Four film, one just about the Surfer, since del Toro is tied up with The Hobbit, which he is currently writing, he won't be directing the movie any time soon. So Doug didn't know if or when that was happening.

Doug told us he has been nominated for a role on Spike.com, and made us all promise to vote for him on their Scream awards. I nodded and wrote it down.

After Doug left, I sat still and waited for the main reason I had traveled all this way: the Battlestar Galactica panel. While I've seen Richard Hatch many times, I have only seen Aaron Douglas once. And having both on stage at once to play off each other, especially at a small convention like this, seemed like a dynamic idea.

I really don't remember what was said. Contrary to Erin and Felix and Doug, they didn't go down their list of credits. Everybody was there for one reason: Battlestar. They did talk a little about what directors they liked, and especially (but not by name) the ones they didn't like and why. There were some very funny bits, especially by Aaron Douglas. His double-take is priceless.

Aaron did tell us that BSG stopped filming in July. It's all over. He refused to answer questions about who was the final Cylon, who lives, who dies. "I can't tell what they're going to edit," he said, completely dodging all questions. Apparently he is in a new series called "Blood: A Butcher's Tale," but didn't tell us anything about it. And he's in the new Keanu Reeves movie, a remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

I knew Wil Wheaton was next but I didn't stay for that. I knew all he'd do was to read from something he'd written.

So I went out in search of something to eat. I finally found food at a little corner of the big dealer's room, where they sold hot dogs and drinks. I dodged the tail of a large Alien creature (yeah, yeah, a guy in a large costume roaming the convention), as I wolfed it down.

I took a quick look around at the dealer's room and found nothing I wanted. Lots of people were engaged in conversation with each other, so it was an exercise in dodging them and moving around the clumps of people while looking. I saw Erin Gray in a corner with all her photos, and no one in front of her. With her tai chi classes, her stable of actors for whom she's an agent (Heroes for Hire), I kind of wonder why she does conventions like this.

I went back to the panel room to see what Wil Wheaton was doing, and found it was crammed full of people, even to the point of people standing in the doorway. I could see his goateed head as he read from one of his novels -- and left.

Nice convention. Now for the long ride home.