Last night's "Wolfram & Hart" event was AMAZING. Only about 300 people, maybe, and tons of Angel cast, crew, and staff (plus a few others).

Just for fun, I have to show off my chosen outfit:



First off, let me talk about the auction. TONS of scripts, plus shirts, posters, props, and, of course, one of Angel's leather coats (not sure what it finally went for, but it was a LOT) and Spike's amulet (went for $2,500). Most thing went for a few hundred, even the autographed scipts... but I got something, a VERY cool something, and it was a STEAL because the actual item was in a totally different room - decorating the stage, in fact. More on that later. Anyway, here's the jacket and amulet as they were displayed.



Since there weren't a ton of people there (maybe 300, tops?) everybody got to meet and talk to everybody. With almost everyone, there were actual conversations... this event was really fantastic.

First "sighting" was David Fury.



He was there early and stayed the entire time. I think I talked to him more than anyone else, sometimes as part of a knot of people, and sometime one-on-one. Here are some interesting tidbits from our conversations that I thought you'd all be interested in:

• He chuckled about some of the internet rumors about what happened with the cancellation. Here is what he said REALLY happened. Joss went to Levin and basically said... look, don't leave us hanging until after we wrap the season this time. If you're canceling us, tell us so everybody can find other work. If not, tell us so we can start working out next season. Levin agreed that he was right, they deserved to know one way or the other, since they'd been around for so long, they deserved that. The next day, they were told that they were canceled. They were NOT expecting that. Jaws dropped. He said that they were all shocked, especially after all the recent good press. So... that's it, that's how it happened.



• The show isn't going to be saved, no matter what campaigns pop up (not that the campaigns aren't appreciated). Contrary to popular belief, Angel is one of the cheapest dramas on network t.v., despite the production value and effects. They do a lot with a little. However, the cancellation is still a money issue - a drama is more expensive than a reality show or a sitcom. Cable channels and the "netlets" really can't afford to take it on. The major networks and HBO and their ilk won't either. They might have had a shot with an HBO if the show was only two or three years old, but after five seasons? Won't happen.</il>
  
  
• A lot of people are sending in postcards saying "Don't have Buffy end up with Angel" or "Don't have Buffy end up with Spike." These people are wasting their money. This issue will not be resolved. "Sarah is not gonna appear on the show," and even if she did, they wouldn't resolve it.



• He doesn't know what he'll do after Angel wraps - take some time off, probably, and then maybe write a movie or come up with a new television show. Or, he'll work for some "crappy" show that's on now.

I also met Julie Benz before Darling Violetta performed, but she wasn't there before an was mainly there to take photos with people. She liked my necklace, though!



Darling Violetta performed from 8-9p, and they were fantastic! Seriously, go get their CD. It's worth it.



After the show, more Angel people began wandering through the crowd - writers, actors, crew, staff, all sorts of people. A non-Angel person, Ron Glass (yes, we had Firefly representation!), was there, mainly because the charity that was benefiting was his pet charity. As I was checking out the auction items and the current prices, he walked up next to me to see how it was going. I asked him about the movie (slated for 2005! Squee!), and he said he could not "officially" say that he was going to be in it. And then he smiled. He was so appreciative of the event benefiting his pet cause, and was very talkative about what the center does and how it helps teenagers.

Cool moment - there were about five of us talking to Tim Minear - about dogs, believe it or not, not sure how that got started - and Jeff Bell walked up. Tim turned to him and said how sorry he was that thew show was canceled. Jeff agreed about how much it sucked. They hugged, and I was just standing there thinking.. Wow, this is one of those Real Moments, the former producer and the current producer commiserating... I can't really describe it, but it was very cool. Oh, Tim Minear's new show, Wonderfalls, premieres next month, and EVERYONE MUST WATCH IT!!!

Jeff Bell was also incredibly nice. He doesn't know what he'll do after Angel wraps - the joke by the end of the evening is that all of the writers are going to work for Tim Minear. We were talking about this past week's episode, "Smile Time", and he could say enough nice things about Ben Edlund and the work he did on that episode. He also gave huge props to the gentleman who created the puppets, Scott Johnson. The "Vampire Angel" puppet moment was a VERY expensive effect, he said, because not only did they have to morph it, but they had to have an entire new puppet made for it, but they couldn't not do it. He is writing & directing the final episode of the series because Joss will be too busy with the Firefly movie, which he was already committed to.



Met some other actors who were wandering... two I'd met at ComicCon, Mark Lutz and James C. Leary (yes, I know that he's not on Angel, but he was having fun there anyway). Also, they had a few wanderers in full makeup. Photos to be added soon, I promise, including one of me and the slave I temporarily had. *giggle* Rob Hall (eep, hope I got his name right, it was a quick introduction), who works on prosthetics and make-up on the show, was there as well, and is just so proud and happy with the work that he's done on the show, and seems so grateful that it appreciated by so many.





Yes indeedy, my Sekrit Boyfriend was there. Drew Goddard looks even more nummy now than when I met him last summer, and is still just as funny and nice.



He had a gaggle of girls surrounding him for most of the time, but I did actually get to talk to him later in the evening, mainly about "Lineage". He could say enough about how amazing Alexis Denisof was during the filming of that episode, and that while they filmed the final scene with Wesley on the phone, it was so powerful that Drew was crying while he watched the scene. Wow.

BUT - I now have a second Sekrit Boyfriend. Hilarious, total sweetie-pie, cuter than I'd ever realized, and just all around fun. I now just adore him beyond words. His name? Jonathan M. Woodward. He dressed as Knox for the occasion, just to get into the spirit of it all. He gathered a group of people to flip off the camera at one point (many people took pictures of that - including press-types, so if that picture surfaces somewhere, somebody PLEASE let me know!). Anyway, that's how I got over there by him, and then that devolved into a random discussion about methods for flipping people off and other assorted strangeness. Then, we thumb-wrestled! I'm not kidding! He won, but he kind of cheated (*giggle*). I threw my camera at someone so I could catch that Kodak Moment, and then he nabbed my camera and held it at arm's length to get a picture of us both!



Not a bad photo for him just holding it out and snapping, eh? Oh, and he let a spoiler slip, which most of you likely already know, but I'm not allowed to mention it anyway. 'Cause he said so.

Back to the auction... so, there were items galore, as I'd mentioned, but there was one item nowhere near the rest. It was decorating the stage in the other room - a huge poster prop (actually in the episode) from "The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" I'd noticed it earlier in the evening, and them realized it had autographs (with goofy notes) and such all over it. I thought, "Hey, cool, that's probably in the auction. Wow, that'll be expensive." Later, as the auction was about to close, I did a sweep through and noticed that clipboard looking rather empty. I threw down a bid with a few minutes to go, figuring, "What the heck - if I get it, it's not too much at all, and if not, that's okay..." and I won it! Seriously, I don't think people even noticed it there, considering that autographed scripts went for 3-10 times what this did. Anyway, it's mine now! It is SO cool. It's canvas-y, and it's just really nifty.



All told, the event goal was to raise $10K, and they raised 15K. Hooray! Ron Glass was thrilled. The whole group went on stage for the check presentation, and several people also said a few words of thanks to the crowd.



One VERY late arrival was Andy Hallett. He didn't get a lot of time to mingle, but he performed at the end of the night, which was a fabulous treat. Wow, that guy has incredible range and fantastic stage presence. He just lights up the room.





They'd already turned on the lights and were trying to clear us out when I got a chance to meet him. Also, he's a sweetie, but so ADD-like as far as being distractable. It was very funny.



Another randomly cool conversation was one I had with a guy named Victor, who runs a camera for the show. He LOVES the show and what he does there, and he loves the support the fans have given to it. It was so neat talking to a guy who loves what he does that much.

Yet another cool conversation I had was with Camden Toy and his wife (he was one of the Gentlemen, Gnarl, the UberVamp, and - to my surprise, because I hadn't realized that it was him - the Prince of Lies from "Why We Fight"). He loved that he was finally able to do a comedic character with the Prince of Lies, and had a blast doing him. I was a little fangirly and complimented him on how amazingly creepy his characters have been, makeup notwithstanding - unsurprisingly he has a hefty theater background, and he brought up how the work he's done on Buffy and Angel was a lot like Commedia dell Arte and its use of masks. This brought out my inner theater geek, and so talking theater history with them? VERY cool. For a guy who can be so creepy (the cast and crew of Buffy let out a collective "Ew!" when he was filming a scene as Gnarl, something he's very proud of), he was incredibly nice.



It was just a fantastic evening for a little Whedonverse fangirl like me.