StarCon ’95 was another success for the now formally organized Denver Star Conventions. The activities room added a few new features like a sign-up table for folks who want to join the fan organization Starfleet, and a massage table for the weary of body. UPN 20 (Denver’s local UPN affiliate) had a table, as well as the Mountain Man Fruit and Nut Co. (yummy!) and Orion Press. Unfortunately I did not get time to check out the Orion Press table, much to my sincere chagrin. They have published some stories penned by some dear friends – and I missed it. Next time, ladies, I promise. I did manage to get a picture of our own Larry Kiefer in the Stargate, another new feature that just adds ambiance to the room.
The dealer room continued in its expanded space this season, making shopping a delight compared to the tight squeezes of previous years. The selection of dealers changed somewhat, but many of the tried-and-true dealers we’re used to were ensconced in their usual spots. Lots and lots of head-shot photos out there this time around, compared to the pitiful selections I’ve seen in years past. There were several more video dealers (but I still shop with Paul Magwood’s Soundtrack – good quality, good selection and good prices), particularly one who dealt in “adult” video products. Don’t worry folks, it was placed strategically in an area with less traffic and guarded at all times. The most impressive new dealer was a guy who sells authenticated autographed stuff; and quite the eclectic collection it was! Everything from popular 60s sitcoms, cult shows, and complete Trek cast stuff to obscure autographs like Brigitte Bardot and William Tecumseh Sherman (!). I picked up very little for myself this season, just a Babylon 5 soundtrack CD and a video compilation of TNG actors’ appearances at previous StarCons & StarFests.
The scheduled, and confirmed I might add, guest was supposed to be Kate Mulgrew, but she pulled out at the last minute to do a dedication thing in Dallas (and Denver Star Conventions was told to like it or lump it) but she’s reconfirmed for StarFest next April. Our guests were no third-class citizens though! Michael “Worf” Dorn, Ethan “Neelix” Phillips and Claudia “Susan Ivanova” Christian were the replacements. Claudia signed all day Saturday and Sunday, and Ethan signed for all comers once per day as well. Our other guests included Famke Janssen, better known as Kamala from Next Generation’s The Perfect Mate. She was there to promote the new Bond film, GoldenEye, in which she’s the villainess. She also spoke on what it was like filming Lord of Illusions with Scott Bakula and Clive Barker. (One day she apparently stood around drenched in stage blood, 50 gallons all told, and the scene got cut!) And Penny Juday, Herman Zimmerman’s assistant art coordinator and personal assistant. And of course, there were Jeff, Dave and Terry. That would be Dave McDonnell, editor of Starlog magazine and the Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager magazines; Terry Erdmann, a very good unit publicist on such films as Star Trek IV, Encino Man and What’s Love Got to Do With It; and Jeff Walker, a marketing consultant and film journalist on a list of films so long it would take a week to type them all in! These guys always contribute tremendously to the enjoyment of Denver conventions and it was a true pleasure to see them again this season.
Now, to those wonderful guests! Claudia Christian appeared first. She is a bubbly and “up” kind of woman, not very much like Susan Ivanova. On Saturday she was wearing a silver silk blouse and a nice pair of dark slacks; Sunday it was white blouse, black Armani jacket and black jeans. She started off by saying that she had an autographed cast photo for the person who asked the most unique or original question. She also said that she didn’t want to answer questions about her hair! She wouldn’t say what it is that she uses to keep it so gorgeous (and it is!) but she would say that Ivanova keeps hers tied back while on duty so as to keep it the heck out of her way. She has a great sense of humor. She teased the Trek franchise about its political correctness, but when asked what show she’d most like to direct, her response was “Voyager.” (Gales of laughter from the audience.) She has directed stage productions, done cartoon voices (Hyperman was mentioned), she sings and has done a great many films. When pressed, she said her role in Never On Tuesday was one of her favorites and she thought Maniac Cop 2 was the worst. She hated her role in the TV show Dark Justice as well. She claims not to watch TV, but I never got a chance to ask her what she reads and no one else did either. When asked about pets she responded that there is “Juan the love slave in the closet…but I don’t think he counts.” She really doesn’t have the time for a pet right now but claimed to be a dog person. She used to be a bat girl (didn’t say for which team) but she got booted when they found out she was stealing the balls and selling them. She was playing with the microphone cord for a while and then began to use it like a whip. When she jokingly asked for S&M volunteers from the audience, she got several! She says she doesn’t really take time to shop a lot because all her spare time is taken up with her Renaissance fair habit. (Renaissance is an assumption of mine; she didn’t specifically say it, but those are the only kind of “fairs” I can think of at which one dresses up.) She likes to go to fairs and dress up like a man, which apparently tends to aggravate Joe (Straczynski) and get her in trouble on the set. She shops for clothing at a store her mother owns and at the Gap. Oh, and she agreed with the crowd that Windows 95 sucks, but she says she can’t even program her VCR so she was just agreeing with the majority. She and the emcee agreed that it’s a miracle Babylon 5 even has a following considering how difficult it is to find it on the TV schedule.
As for Babylon 5, there are a lot of new things going on. This season Ivanova is doing the voiceover for the intro. She said they’re getting new outfits, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s everyday uniforms or informal wear. She said she worked with Walter Koenig last week, so we can look forward to Bester’s return. The Minbari have a new war cruiser that is “really cool”. When asked about Ivanova having a latent telepathic capability, Claudia clammed up real quick. This is a definite possible character twist that everyone should watch out for. She said that the sex scene with the ambassador played by Paul Williams was Joe’s way of punishing her for leaking a bit too much info at one of her fairs. She was completely embarrassed about having to say those lines (“Boom shaka laka laka!”) and insisted that only the necessary crew be on the set when she did it. When at one point she flubbed a line in this dialogue, Paul Williams leaned over to her and said, “Y’know, I’m gettin’ a woody,” and cracked the entire crew up. After that she said it was much easier to finish. She said Bruce Boxleitner is quite the change from Michael O’Hare. She respected O’Hare very much for his acting ability, but she says the set has lightened up a lot since Bruce came on the scene. I guess Bruce spends a lot of time worrying about keeping his job because he really likes this one and is worried that he can be replaced as easily as O’Hare was. He’s like a big kid on the set, and they have a lot of fun teasing each other about their acting. If Claudia flubs a line, Bruce will lean over to her, extend his hand and say, “Hello, I’m Bruce. And you are?” All in all, she was a very good guest and a good time was had by all. Oh, and the cast photo she’d promised? It went to a little kid who told her a knock-knock joke! Geez, if only I’d known, I’d have brought my brats!
Ethan Phillips was the next guest, and a more nervous and frenetic person I’ve never seen. He was pacing back and forth and sweating like mad. He came out and did some really bad Henny Youngman jokes. (Anyone who doesn’t know who Henny Youngman is should ask their mother to change their diaper!) He started by saying that he loves his job – “I’m short, stout and bald…and I got the girl!” He was wearing a Tuvok t-shirt, to the great approval of the crowd. He refused to identify a favorite anything – role, episode, character…anything. He said he’s just happy not to have to look for work for a while and loves the fact that he can say anything he likes to con audiences and get applause. He’s glad his character injects some humor into the shows. When asked how he likes having a female captain he responded by saying that he was raised by his mother and grandmother along with his 5 sisters, so he’s got no problem taking orders from women! He’s Catholic and from New York originally and went to prep school in Brooklyn. He says he got started acting when he joined the football team but couldn’t get off the bench, so he decided to take drama classes instead. His first play was Macbeth. A priest told him he was very good so he decided to continue on. He watched the original Star Trek when it was on and subsequently Next Generation. He drinks Diet Coke and just read a book called Virtual Commuting. He’s married and doesn’t cook, but then, neither does his wife. His hobbies include reading, hiking, bird watching and identifying wildflowers. He has had a varied career and has enjoyed much of it. He admitted to liking Spam. When asked about other work with other Trek actors, he said that he and Robert Picardo have read for a lot of the same roles; Picardo read for Neelix and for the Pete character on Benson. He sees Rene Auberjonois all the time since he’s just across the street. When asked the idiotic question of “If you had a box of 64 crayons and were asked to eat one, which color would you choose?” his reply was a green one because it would be like a vegetable. He asked the kid to answer in kind and the guy chose maroon. Ethan then told him he thought that was a weird choice because you don’t often eat maroon-colored food. By the way, Ethan was cast in Platypus Man two days before he got the role on Voyager. Talk about serendipity…
As far as Voyager info goes, he was very tight-lipped. (Berman and Piller must have something good on him!) He said it takes three hours to put on the makeup and an hour and a half to take it off. It gets very hot to work in, especially around the burners in the kitchen set. “But when it comes off, it’s…orgasmic!” The stove he works with is a real rocket burner and the food he works with is real. Some of it is from strange far-away places and some is just unusual, like ostrich eggs. No one actually eats much of the food, but it is all real. He loved doing the food fight stuff in Projections, and when asked what kind of a director Frakes is, his response was “a nut.” When asked if he doesn’t think it’s a little weird that Neelix dates a two-year-old, Ethan’s response was that she’s not really TWO, it’s more like doggie years and she’s more like 14. The audience loved this! He hates Neelix’s outfits because they’re literally made out of upholstery. He would really like it if they weren’t made of such heavy material, but that’s the stuff they need to use to make his costumes look like they do. Some fool asked him if he realized that Neelix’s nose looks like a penis (huge crowd reaction) and he said it actually is. (Hilarious!) Ethan doesn’t think Kes & Neelix will marry, but he says that as soon as he makes statements like that, the producers prove him wrong. He dissed the Kazon big time. Neelix hates those guys and will do anything to get at them. He said that Seska will be back soon! Ethan thinks Neelix & Kes would probably go back to the Alpha Quadrant with the Voyager crew for the experience of it. He’s glad to have the job and enjoys the company of the fans very much.
Michael Dorn came on much later in the evening, later than I am used to. It’s not that I didn’t mind not being Mommy for another few hours, but it did make for a very long day.
But when he came on, it was to a huge ovation. He launched right into the Q&A. He told us that he keeps the stuff that fans send him, but begged for no more prune juice. He hates prune juice! One time his mom was snooping around in his fridge and came across about 6 bottles he’d just received. He was then grilled on whether or not there was something wrong with him! The only hobby he mentioned was, of course, his flying. He said a lot of technical stuff, but I’ll write what I’ve got…he’s rated LOA, for single and multi-engine aircraft, Lear jets, T-33s and others I didn’t quite catch. Hope that makes sense to the pilots out there! He says he feels distinctly spiritual while flying; as a matter of fact, he flew himself into Denver. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear if anyone asked him what he thought of DIA (Denver’s Idiotic Airport). Worf is by far his favorite role, but he mentioned his other roles in CHiPS, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing. He was a fan of the original Trek. He wouldn’t sing when requested and knows very little Klingon beyond “nuQ’neH.” He enjoys being with his family because they “keep me in check”. He still hangs a lot with Marina and her hubby, but hates it when she tries to fix him up with dates. When asked if Klingon food gives him gas, Michael glared at the guy and told him to “just walk away.” He does a passable Patrick Stewart imitation and told of how they loved to “assassinate” him on the set every week. Stewart would then crack the entire crew up by dying in various overdramatic ways. One time he started from the captain’s chair, died all around the horseshoe of the bridge and finally croaked in his chair. Michael was cracking up and gesturing grandly the whole time he was relating this story. He still likes to terrorize Marina’s dog and called it a “hairy cockroach.” He also thinks there’s plenty of sci-fi to go around and didn’t encourage or discourage loyalties when it comes to the current crop of shows.
As far as DSNine goes, he’s very happy to be back at work with Trek. He still hates the makeup, but it’s worth the chance to play his favorite role. He talked about how it took forever to talk the producers into giving Worf the pony tail; he finally explained to them the cost-effectiveness of just pulling it back and suddenly it was a good idea. He hated the Qpid costumes because he thought it made Worf look like a “Klingon pimp.” That was a stunt double breaking down the doors in Genesis, but he loved doing the big belch. He called Gates McFadden a “tyrant” director, with a smile of course. January ’96 is when the filming of the next TNG film begins and it looks like a late fall/early winter release. He did make a crack about women drivers in reference to the demise of the Enterprise-D. He stated flatly that Worf will not get beat up again! When asked how it is that Worf will be back on the Enterprise when he’s stationed on DS9, he said that’s they’ll find an excuse. After all, he’s just going to be a Federation-Klingon liaison person on DS9 and not taking the position of anyone else already there. In Way of the Warrior, DS9′s season premiere show, he had a line about he and Deanna’s relationship being over, but it was edited out, so that possibility is still there. Apparently Marina is talking to the producers about a guest shot on DS9. Michael thinks the women on the show are “cute, really cute.” He said the premise of Worf’s return is that the Klingons have been at peace way too long and are getting restless. Alexander is going to be returned to his grandparents because Worf just isn’t a good dad. Nana Visitor has a “new outfit” – and Michael says he likes to peek at her when she passes his trailer. Rene Auberjonois has directed an episode for this season. He’s enjoying his work on DS9 very much.
Michael was quite gregarious and absolutely gorgeous. It’s a shame he has to hide that handsome face behind all that makeup. Everyone enjoyed his appearance. Just before he left the stage an audience member’s cellular phone rang. He told her to send it up and chastised the caller (jokingly) for interrupting his appearance. The caller was this person’s mother, and she apologized profusely! He was really sweet to her and it just topped the appearance off nicely.
Now to the new movie news and reviews: Terry, Jeff and Dave were quite excited about the new crop of offerings on TV and in the theaters. They began with some promo footage of Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures. It’s a new cartoon series based on the 60s series. The animation is film quality and the show will include expanded storylines about virtual reality, space villains and alien beasties. The characters from the old series are all the same, but a female child character (Jessie) has been added. It is slated to premiere in the fall of ’96 on the Cartoon Network, TBS and TNT. There’s also a live action Jonny Quest film being talked around right now, so that’s a real possibility. Also on the cartoon front is a feature film called Balto about a half-dog/half-wolf and his adventures. The big screen live action Flipper feature is slated for release in the summer of ’96.
An interesting looking film we saw the promo for was Dragonheart, starring Dennis Quaid and Julie Christie. It’s a live action film but the dragon in it is completely computer generated. The voice of the dragon will be done by Sean Connery. Another promo we saw was a childrens’ ensemble piece called The War of the Buttons, from the people who brought us Chariots of Fire and Local Hero (one of my personal favorite films!) It looks very amusing.
Eddie Murphy is back at the studios again, and we get two offerings from him soon. First, Vampire in Brooklyn, scheduled for release on October 27, in which Eddie plays a vampire. The film also stars Angela Basset and is directed by Wes Craven. The guys said that the promo we saw pretty much included all the humorous scenes and that it isn’t really a comedy vehicle for Eddie. Apparently it’s quite a serious part with a little humor tossed in. Eddie looked fantastic in the makeup. Next spring we get Eddie as The Nutty Professor, in a remake of the Jerry Lewis film. It looks kind of goofy, like the original, but the makeup is by Rick Baker so that should provide some interesting moments. Instead of turning into the suave Buddy Love, I guess Eddie’s character goes from grossly obese back to his regular self…
There are a lot of action films on tap for this fall! Already being promoted are Fair Game, with William Baldwin and Cindy Crawford in her film debut. This is a Joel Silver production. Seven, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman; Terry called this film “very intense”. And Jade, David (NYPD Blue) Caruso’s film debut. This film also stars Linda Fiorentino, Michael Biehn and Richard Crenna, slated for release October 13th. Also on the schedule for October is a serial killer story called Copycat. The killer copies other serial killer patterns and terrorizes a TV or radio (can’t remember which) psychologist played by Sigourney Weaver. Holly Hunter stars as a policewoman and Harry Connick as a psycho looking guy who we’re led to believe is the killer. This one looks pretty intense to me as well. Another October release being promoted now is Assassins, with Sly Stallone, Julianne Moore and Antonio Silver…need I say more? Also slated for later this fall is a Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle called Sudden Death. The plot involves an ice hockey game, the kidnapping of the vice-president and a time limit. Powers Boothe stars as the bad guy. Jeff described this film as “Die Hard on ice”.
Among the recommended films the guys talked about are Devil In A Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals. Everyone on the panel said Denzel’s bound to be going back for another Oscar nomination with this one. They also agreed that Nicole Kidman’s role in To Die For is an Oscar-caliber performance. This movie also stars Matt Dillon and should open within a week of the convention. (I’m going to go see it because the screenplay is by Buck Henry.) Terry very strongly recommended the newest variation of Les Miserables, a film he termed as “epic”. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
In December we get Cutthroat Island, a good old-fashioned swashbuckling pirate film starring Geena Davis, Matthew Modine and Frank Langella. Renny Harlin directs. The promo looked fabulous! Here’s a film I will go see. Another interesting promo we saw was for Robin Williams’ next role as a father playing a very realistic game with his kids in a film called Jumanji. The computer animation & graphics in this movie looked very realistic; there’s a shot of an elephant crushing a car that was completely computer generated but as realistic as any I’ve ever seen. Also stars Bebe Neuwirth (aka Cheers’ Lilith Crane).
The newest Bond film is called GoldenEye and stars Pierce Brosnan (of course) and Famke Janssen. Terry did some work on the film and brought along a very rough cut of scenes he had managed to put together just before flying out to Denver. Thr expected release date is around Christmas but could be moved to November; the film was shot in London. Famke’s character’s name is Xenia Onatop (she pronounced it oh-na-tope), Bond’s boss is now a woman, there’s a new Moneypenny, and the original Q returns. The guys said it has more of a serious Connery-Bond feel as opposed to a more comedic Moore-Bond feel. In the promo, some words come up on the screen and the Bond silhouette shoots them out until it says 0 0 7, then Pierce comes up to the camera and says “It’s about time.” (I loved that part!) The movie promises lots of action and Pierce Brosnan really looks the part. He was born for this role.
The movie that turned my head the most is the new Terry Gilliam film, 12 Monkeys. It stars Bruce Willis in a complete departure role. It was difficult to tell just exactly what the plot of the film is, even though we got to see a very lengthy trailer. It has the feel of a cross between Brazil and Metropolis. The guys said it will be a cult fiction type of movie and highly recommended it. Other stars include Madeline Stowe, Christopher Plummer, Brad Pitt (in a role the likes of which we’ve never seen before – he bares his backside for us ladies!) and Frank Gorshin. I didn’t hear a release date, but I would encourage anyone who seems remotely interested in this movie to watch carefully for it. It looks like a film that may get relegated to art theaters as opposed to a wide release. I plan to bolt to the theater as soon as it comes out!
We saw a promo for a film called Joe’s Apartment, apparently based on a series of short films about a guy named Joe and a bunch of computer animated singing and dancing cockroaches. I’ve never seen the shorts, so the storyline took me a bit by surprise. But it looks cute! Stars Jerry (Sliders) O’Connell and Robert Vaughn – wearing women’s underwear! Slated for release in April ’96. Other newsworthy tidbits include the fact that Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the producers of StarGate, are readying for a film called Independence Day, a science-fiction story to be released around July 4 of ’96; and the news that the Star Wars theatrical rerelease is apparently slated for February of ’97 and then the Clone Wars series (as they’re referring to it in Hollyweird) should begin in the theaters shortly after that.
The last bit of information I have is about the first feature-length fully computer animated film, Toy Story. We saw a lengthy trailer of this film, including an interview with its creator (gads, I didn’t get his name!) and a bit of history about the genesis of the technology. It’s a Disney inspired and produced creation and stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim “Ernest” Varney, Don Rickles, John “Cliffy” Ratzenberger and Wallace “Grand Nagus Zek” Shawn. Randy Newman did the scoring and the film is slated for a November 22 release. It looked like a very original film with a tried-and-true storyline. Toys come to life when no one’s in the room and interact with each other. Tom Hanks is the voice of Woody, a cowboy marionette-like toy and Tim Allen is the voice of Buck, a space guy character who is the newest toy competing for the affections of the boy who owns them. It looks like a picture people of all ages can enjoy.
And that’s it! Whew! Next time: Captain Kate.
Cindy Hill
theLogBook.com Correspondent