A Long time ago, I used to be a good blogger, but I haven't updated lately at all... (Okay, let's get real. I've never been the steadiest of bloggers, but it seemed a cutesy way to segue into the fact that this blog entry is FIVE MONTHS overdue).
Yes! The Veronica Mars premiere did happen! And I was there!! And then the moment I got home I flew into a flurry of last-minute-preparations-for-six-months-of-living-abroad-and-the-blog-entry-kind-of-fell-through-the-cracks.
But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff.
March 11th, 2014. I arrived in Los Angeles about 9-ish pm. local time, the night before the event. My date for the duration, the lovely and talented Diana Peterfreund, picked me up at the airport. We went back to the hotel, got some late dinner, and promptly crashed-- two east-coast girls in California after a long day. What can you do?
By virtue of the same, however, we were up about 6:00 the next morning (even though we didn't need to be), and killed the time just chilling and talking everything from religion to Star Wars handmaidens. It's always, always so much fun getting to know new nerds.
The Also-Lovely-and-Talented Margie Stohl invited us to her home in Santa Monica for brunch, and that's exactly what we did. I haven't gotten around to reading any of Margie's books yet (READING LIST-- TOO LONG!! ¡Qué imposible!!) so it was kind of an unusual experience, getting to meet her beforehand. Fun, but backwards from how I usually meet authors. (Then again, Diana and I met in the Dairy Queen line at Dragon Con when all I'd read of her work was the prologue to For Darkness Shows the Stars, so maybe it wasn't that unprecedented). Sadly, I was very lazy and didn't take any pictures of our brunch experience. Suffice it to say, it was a gorgeous, mail-order California day. Everything you could hope for in kicking off one's California vacation.
Yes! The Veronica Mars premiere did happen! And I was there!! And then the moment I got home I flew into a flurry of last-minute-preparations-for-six-months-of-living-abroad-and-the-blog-entry-kind-of-fell-through-the-cracks.
But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff.
March 11th, 2014. I arrived in Los Angeles about 9-ish pm. local time, the night before the event. My date for the duration, the lovely and talented Diana Peterfreund, picked me up at the airport. We went back to the hotel, got some late dinner, and promptly crashed-- two east-coast girls in California after a long day. What can you do?
By virtue of the same, however, we were up about 6:00 the next morning (even though we didn't need to be), and killed the time just chilling and talking everything from religion to Star Wars handmaidens. It's always, always so much fun getting to know new nerds.
The Also-Lovely-and-Talented Margie Stohl invited us to her home in Santa Monica for brunch, and that's exactly what we did. I haven't gotten around to reading any of Margie's books yet (READING LIST-- TOO LONG!! ¡Qué imposible!!) so it was kind of an unusual experience, getting to meet her beforehand. Fun, but backwards from how I usually meet authors. (Then again, Diana and I met in the Dairy Queen line at Dragon Con when all I'd read of her work was the prologue to For Darkness Shows the Stars, so maybe it wasn't that unprecedented). Sadly, I was very lazy and didn't take any pictures of our brunch experience. Suffice it to say, it was a gorgeous, mail-order California day. Everything you could hope for in kicking off one's California vacation.
(This is us waiting to make a left turn onto Sunset Boulevard.
Yes, it was a very steep red light).
Yes, it was a very steep red light).
From there, it was on to mani-pedis and getting our hair done for the big evening. The hair place, called The Dry Bar, was really fun. They specialized in shampoo and blowouts only, and all the styles on their "menu" are named after cocktails. I got the Straight Up. OH YEAH, and we go mimosas!! (er, real ones, not cocktail-inspired hairstyles).
And can I just say, wow, my hair after the professional blow-out was spectacular! I felt just like a heroine on a CW show must feel the first three seconds after she tumbles out of bed each morning! And no, I do not have a picture that showcases just my beautiful hair. Sorry. But here's one of Diana's beautiful hair being prepared:
After that, we were T-minus two hours to the red carpet. For dinner, we opted for In-n-Out, and scarfed everything down in a tizzy before getting dressed. I'm glad I got to go to In-n-Out as part of my general California experience. Evidence:
Since the hotel we were staying at was within spitting distance from the Chinese Theater, we had originally planned to cut through the mall between them and take the piano stairs down into the theater plaza area. Only to find out that this route is closed off for premiere events (whoops-- it does make sense though), so we had to double back and go around the long way. HOWEVER, it ended up being totally worth it because we were passing this candy shop in the mall and I noticed the signage and made Diana stop so we could get this picture:
Best. Serendipity. Ever.
(For my non-VM friends, fans of the show are called "Marshmallows")
(For my non-VM friends, fans of the show are called "Marshmallows")
We made it to the correct entrance, picked up our tickets, and I inadvertently took the following selfie when I thought I was taking a picture of the theater:
Hey, I was new to the iPhone! But there's something really endearing about that selfie, so I thought I'd throw it in there. I did get things turned around, however, and take the picture I meant to take, which is the one at the beginning of the blog entry.
Being the OCD rule-follower I am, (the email instructions said to proceed as soon as possible to our seats!!), we didn't spend any time outside near the red carpet, sadly. Some fans were bolder and got great pics of the cast coming in, but we just... found our seats. And did some squeeing. Evidence:
Being the OCD rule-follower I am, (the email instructions said to proceed as soon as possible to our seats!!), we didn't spend any time outside near the red carpet, sadly. Some fans were bolder and got great pics of the cast coming in, but we just... found our seats. And did some squeeing. Evidence:
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Being settled early, however, did give me the chance to briefly meet Rachel Caine and some other YA authors. I had no idea when I first embarked on this adventure that there would be so many authors involved! I have since learned the reason-- Rob Thomas got his start in YA-- but it was still a very welcome perk. (Later, at the after party, Rachel signed my copy of Prince of Shadows, one of many of the evening's highlights).
The movie was a lot of fun. I most enjoyed watching it in a giant room full of super-fans, who know every last detail, every last inside joke. I haven't actually gotten to see it again since then, though my sister (who is the true die-hard VM fan of the family) did help herself to my DvD copy whilst I am in Chile.
Then the movie was over and it was time for the after party!! But not before a quick snapshot in front of the theater once we were back outside.
The movie was a lot of fun. I most enjoyed watching it in a giant room full of super-fans, who know every last detail, every last inside joke. I haven't actually gotten to see it again since then, though my sister (who is the true die-hard VM fan of the family) did help herself to my DvD copy whilst I am in Chile.
Then the movie was over and it was time for the after party!! But not before a quick snapshot in front of the theater once we were back outside.
I had an amazing time at the after party. Which is really saying something, because I do not typically like loud, dark, pulsey parties. I think maybe because I had a year in advance to decide that "I will have fun at this party!!" And so... I did.
Like I said, early in the evening I got my book signed by Rachel Caine. Shortly thereafter, Diana and I got to meet Rob Thomas. We made a couple "turns about the room", by which I mean elbowed our way through all the other elbows. We ran into Ryan Hansen, who I think in many ways just plays himself on Veronica Mars. Diana complimented some of his other shows and I mentioned seeing him in a Caitlin Crosby music video, which earned me an enthusiastic LOL for obscurity points.
I had this tentative goal of, at some point during the evening, shaking Enrico Colantoni's hand and say something eloquent along the lines of "OMG GALAXY QUEST SQUEEE!!" and lo and behold, whilst Diana and I were turning about the room the first time, we suddenly found ourselves very near the man himself. He was conversing with a lady we didn't know. We hovered at a polite distance, and when it seemed he was about to wrap up his conversation, I made ready to pounce (in a non-scary, polite fan way, of course).
ENRICO COLANTONI: [hugs and cheek-kisses LADY he's been talking to] Nice to see you, Diana.
[LADY leaves]
DIANA P [to ENRICO COLANTONI]: Oh my God, was that Diane Ruggiero?!?!?!
ENRICO COLANTONI: Yes.
DIANA P: Okay, thanks! Bye!!! [dashes off in pursuit]
It was so funny that I couldn't help it-- I left Enrico Colantoni standing there and followed. We caught up to Diane Ruggiero (co-writer and co-producer of the movie) and proceeded to have a wonderful ten minute conversation with her about the show and writing and stuff. I mostly listened, but I loved every second. Diana P's enthusiasm was infectious. The whole "blow off the movie star because THE WRITER just walked by!!!" moment will always be one of my favorite memories from the entire night.
I never did get to Galaxy Quest!Squee at Enrico Colantoni, but I did get to see him dancing to "Single Ladies" later in the evening, which, really, was just as good. Maybe better.
We got our pictures taken with Jason Dohring, who was very sweet, mild, and reserved (basically NOT Logan Echols in the slightest). I more or less carried Diana away on a stretcher for whatever it was we did after that, until her knees were sufficiently able to hold her up again.
Like I said, early in the evening I got my book signed by Rachel Caine. Shortly thereafter, Diana and I got to meet Rob Thomas. We made a couple "turns about the room", by which I mean elbowed our way through all the other elbows. We ran into Ryan Hansen, who I think in many ways just plays himself on Veronica Mars. Diana complimented some of his other shows and I mentioned seeing him in a Caitlin Crosby music video, which earned me an enthusiastic LOL for obscurity points.
I had this tentative goal of, at some point during the evening, shaking Enrico Colantoni's hand and say something eloquent along the lines of "OMG GALAXY QUEST SQUEEE!!" and lo and behold, whilst Diana and I were turning about the room the first time, we suddenly found ourselves very near the man himself. He was conversing with a lady we didn't know. We hovered at a polite distance, and when it seemed he was about to wrap up his conversation, I made ready to pounce (in a non-scary, polite fan way, of course).
ENRICO COLANTONI: [hugs and cheek-kisses LADY he's been talking to] Nice to see you, Diana.
[LADY leaves]
DIANA P [to ENRICO COLANTONI]: Oh my God, was that Diane Ruggiero?!?!?!
ENRICO COLANTONI: Yes.
DIANA P: Okay, thanks! Bye!!! [dashes off in pursuit]
It was so funny that I couldn't help it-- I left Enrico Colantoni standing there and followed. We caught up to Diane Ruggiero (co-writer and co-producer of the movie) and proceeded to have a wonderful ten minute conversation with her about the show and writing and stuff. I mostly listened, but I loved every second. Diana P's enthusiasm was infectious. The whole "blow off the movie star because THE WRITER just walked by!!!" moment will always be one of my favorite memories from the entire night.
I never did get to Galaxy Quest!Squee at Enrico Colantoni, but I did get to see him dancing to "Single Ladies" later in the evening, which, really, was just as good. Maybe better.
We got our pictures taken with Jason Dohring, who was very sweet, mild, and reserved (basically NOT Logan Echols in the slightest). I more or less carried Diana away on a stretcher for whatever it was we did after that, until her knees were sufficiently able to hold her up again.
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Ah! That's right. After that we finally decided to wait in line for the photo booth, where Kristen Bell had been patiently stationed the entire night. I think she was there three hours straight at least, with various members of the cast at any given time. When we finally made it to the front of the line, Ryan Hansen and Martin Starr were also there. I showed Kristen our "Marshmallows" picture from earlier in the evening and Diana told her how much her 3-year-old loved Frozen and then we asked if we could do Charlie's Angels for our photo. To which Kristen Bell responded by lighting up her whole face excitedly, turning to her cast mates, and announcing 'Charlie's Angels! Charlie's Angels!" like she'd passed a former life as a stage manager.
We got three pictures, but I was still trying to figure out what to do with my phone and didn't quite make the pose in time for photo #1, so this happened:
We got three pictures, but I was still trying to figure out what to do with my phone and didn't quite make the pose in time for photo #1, so this happened:
To which both Kristen and Ryan were like, "Oh, no, your purse! Do it again! Do it again!"
We got it right the second time around.
We got it right the second time around.
And #3, all smiles. I stuck with Charlie's Angels. Mostly because it all happened really quickly.
Also, they must have been using some kind of patented "Hollywood Glow" camera and/or lighting because, dang. I do not recognize my skin in those photos. LOL
Bit by bit, the crowd began to thin, enough that there was enough of a dance floor for people to actually dance on. I love dancing. I kind of wish parties such as this would mix it up a bit more, though, and play something other than pulsey club music. The kind of dancing I enjoy is less banal grinding and more goofball jumping around, more like you see at weddings. Nevertheless, I made do and had some goofball fun on the dance floor.
(*mini-rant-- a dubstep sounds cool, but how do you dance to it?)
As it turns out, another person with a goofball style of dancing is Rob Thomas himself. And how do I know that, you may ask?
It was getting on about, oh, one-o-clock or so, which to Diana and I felt like four, so I informed her that, unless she had any objections, I was ready to start winding it down for the evening. So she said, okay, but can we take one last turn about the room? I said, sure, I'm not quite gone yet, just starting to begin to think of bed.
So turn about the room we did. As we passed the dance floor again, she pointed out that Rob Thomas was in the mix and we thought, hey, what a fun way to end the night, so we jumped in for one last go. But the best was yet to come.
There we were, having a fun, goofball time, when out of nowhere comes a juggernaught human-esque cannonball in the shape of Chris Lowell (who plays Piz in Veronica Mars). And then he danced with me and Diana for, oh, at least a minute or two. There was goofballness galore! And a Piz sandwich! No, I have no photographic evidence.
At that point we decided that the high note had been achieved, and giddily made our way back to our hotel under the bright Hollywood street lights.
The fun wasn't quite done-- the next day we met up with my friend Rachel at Disneyland who played perfect Disneyland hostess, just as she did for me four years ago in my first visit to her fair state. I bought a fabulous Star Wars t-shirt. (You can also still kind of see the fabulousness of my hair, which carried over somewhat into the following day).
Bit by bit, the crowd began to thin, enough that there was enough of a dance floor for people to actually dance on. I love dancing. I kind of wish parties such as this would mix it up a bit more, though, and play something other than pulsey club music. The kind of dancing I enjoy is less banal grinding and more goofball jumping around, more like you see at weddings. Nevertheless, I made do and had some goofball fun on the dance floor.
(*mini-rant-- a dubstep sounds cool, but how do you dance to it?)
As it turns out, another person with a goofball style of dancing is Rob Thomas himself. And how do I know that, you may ask?
It was getting on about, oh, one-o-clock or so, which to Diana and I felt like four, so I informed her that, unless she had any objections, I was ready to start winding it down for the evening. So she said, okay, but can we take one last turn about the room? I said, sure, I'm not quite gone yet, just starting to begin to think of bed.
So turn about the room we did. As we passed the dance floor again, she pointed out that Rob Thomas was in the mix and we thought, hey, what a fun way to end the night, so we jumped in for one last go. But the best was yet to come.
There we were, having a fun, goofball time, when out of nowhere comes a juggernaught human-esque cannonball in the shape of Chris Lowell (who plays Piz in Veronica Mars). And then he danced with me and Diana for, oh, at least a minute or two. There was goofballness galore! And a Piz sandwich! No, I have no photographic evidence.
At that point we decided that the high note had been achieved, and giddily made our way back to our hotel under the bright Hollywood street lights.
The fun wasn't quite done-- the next day we met up with my friend Rachel at Disneyland who played perfect Disneyland hostess, just as she did for me four years ago in my first visit to her fair state. I bought a fabulous Star Wars t-shirt. (You can also still kind of see the fabulousness of my hair, which carried over somewhat into the following day).
Then, after that, it was back to Ohio, and the whirlwind of preparations to come to Chile.
About a month later, I was sitting in a café in Valparaíso, chatting with some girlfriends I made from my time there as a student. I hadn't seen them in a really long time, and due to the constraints of distance and language, we hadn't really been in day-to-day touch for a while. At one point the conversation turned to TV shows and they asked, "Did you ever watch Veronica Mars? Have you gotten to see the new movie?"
At which point there was much chuckling. And pulling out of iPhones.
The end.
About a month later, I was sitting in a café in Valparaíso, chatting with some girlfriends I made from my time there as a student. I hadn't seen them in a really long time, and due to the constraints of distance and language, we hadn't really been in day-to-day touch for a while. At one point the conversation turned to TV shows and they asked, "Did you ever watch Veronica Mars? Have you gotten to see the new movie?"
At which point there was much chuckling. And pulling out of iPhones.
The end.
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