ATX TV Festival Re-Cap: Day Two

I don't know what anyone has heard about the 1st Annual ATX TV Festival, besides that it was awesome - which is absolutely true - but here's my first hand experience...

Day Two

Day two, Saturday, was the first official day of screenings and panels and we had three things on our agenda: Friday Night Lights panel, One Tree Hill panel, and the Friday Night Lights outdoor screening event. And of course, because we were expecting rabid fan girls, we had a plan of action.

Our first panel, FNL, was at 11:30, so we made sure we secured parking, coffee and breakfast before making our way to the Stephen F. Austin hotel – at 9 am. Yes, we were that early. Again. But like I said, we are both so used to the over-enthused ‘it’s cool we like the same thing but I will shank you if you dare cut in line’ fan girl mentality, that we couldn’t figure out why there was no one else was already there and lined up. I mean, it’s the FNL cast. In Austin. The line should’ve been wrapped around the building. But I digress.

So we get there, sit in “line” (aka – by ourselves) for two hours before other fans start showing up. The cast line up was meant to be – Matt Lauria (Luke Cafferty), Scott Porter (Jason Street), Gaius Charles (Brian “Smash” Williams), Michael B. Jordan (Vince Howard), Alicia Witt (Cheryl – Becky’s mom), Louanne Stevens (Grandma Saracen), Jesse Plemmons (Landry Clark) and Brad Leland (Buddy Garrity). Unfortunately, Brad and Jesse didn’t make it. However, the rest of the cast was great. They all talked about their audition process, how the way that FNL is shot is unlike any other film or serialized show they’ve ever worked on.

Some notable anectdotes from the panel:

• Gaius Charles – who is a night and day difference from Smash – had to study phonetics and how to twist vowels (his words, not mine), in order to sound like Smash. Dude is a total brainiac. A nerd in the best sense of the term.

• When Matt Lauria read for Luke, Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins) read for Becky, and was dressed in boots, a wig and a short skirt.

• Louanne Stevens told her audition story and how she pretended she was really from a little shack in Texas where she had “nothing left but the sunsets”. I was pretty sure Scott was going to fall off the stage he was laughing so hard.

• Gaius and Matt hadn’t met until 15 minutes before the panel started and I think Matt was a little starstruck.

Afterwards, all of the guys and Louanne stuck around to take pictures and sign autographs. Louanne, bless her heart, was just pleased as pie to be there and actually printed out what had to be at least a hundred 4x6 pictures of her and Zach Gilford and of the whole cast and was passing them around to fans – to keep. She was precious.

Scott Porter, who we’d already met and taken pictures with, came up to us as we were staking our claim in the One Tree Hill line (two and a half hours early, mind you) and just started a conversation. And he’s so easy going and friendly. He asked what we were waiting for next, what actors were in the panel, and then asked if we knew whether Austin Nichols was going to be there or not. Talking OTH with one of our FNL guys? Definitely going down in the book as one of the coolest moments ever. After we chatted, Scott asked if he’d see us tonight at the screening, gave us a beautiful goodbye smile, and left. He’s perfect, you guys.

Much like for FNL, we were first in line for OTH, and after watching Lindsey, James, Eve and Mark walk by, we grabbed front and center seats. Now, after talking to the ATX people via twitter, I knew there would be some kind of behind the scenes type screening, so I’d prepared myself – and Emily – for the buckets of tears I might have cried. Fortunately, it was just the extra piece from season 8, so I only teared up a little. The moderator was Jordan Levin, who was the CEO of the WB when One Tree Hill first aired. And, while it was nice to have a moderator who was genuinely interested and invested in the topic, he did dominate the panel a little more than I would have liked. But, to be honest, I would’ve been, and was, quite content to just sit there and look at James for 45 minutes. Not a bad way to spend one’s time.

They – being Mark and Jordan, mostly, but also James when he felt compelled to speak – talked mostly about how much One Tree Hill struggled and fought to get picked up, and then to stay picked up for nine years. They referred to it time and time again as a family, which just makes me all warm inside, because it was, we were and are and always will be, the OTH family.

Some notable anecdotes from the panel:

• Mark told the TRL story (if you haven’t heard it, then you obviously live under a rock, but I’ll summarize anyways – mid season 1, the core five made a visit to TRL, and mark and the other producers/powers that be watched in the lobby of their office – because they didn’t have cable – and when the limo with the cast pulled up there was a mob of fans waiting and Mark says he didn’t know what show people were watching. “That’s my show, but that’s not my show.” Because the ratings were so low and everyone was so negative about it, they were all surprised how popular they were.) Anyways, James starts talking about how the limo with the five of them pulls up and they were confused by the crowd of people and assumed there was a concert. When they realized the crowd was for them, James – who was only 17 at the time – looked around at his castmates, smirked that oh-so-loved smirk, and stood out of the moon roof and pumped his fists in the air. Precious man tells precious stories.

 Okay, I’m just going to warn those light of J/L&N/H loving heart – this is going to make you swoon. It might be best for you to find a secure seat before reading. You’ve been advised. 

• A fan asked Mark if he ever felt like they went too far with storylines in the way of craziness – i.e dog eating hearts, psychos!galore, etc – and Mark said he really felt like the crazy started in season one with Nathan and Haley’s surprise marriage. The question was kind of handed over to James who said, and I’m obviously paraphrasing here:

• “I was so young at the time, I really didn’t have an opinion, I was just excited to be acting! I remember when we got the scripts for that episode, Joy came up to me and was like ‘Did you see the script?!’ and I was like ‘Um, yeah.’ And she was like, ‘Isn’t it crazy?!’ and I was kind of like, ‘Uh, I guess.’ (insert adorable James laugh after an all too perfect Joy impersonation) I was just happy to be there! You want to marry me? Cool, I won’t complain! (insert yet another perfect laugh).”

(Still breathing after that breath of fresh adorableness? Hold on. There’s more.)

• After James says this, Mark starts talking about how James was the youngest cast member and tells a story about James and the 1.22 rain kiss scene:

• Mark:  “James was so young, and in 1.22 I wrote in the script for that scene ‘and now they kiss, preferably with tongue’ (yes, I quoted along as he said it. He didn’t judge me and neither should you.) And James walks up and says ‘Uh, it says here ‘with tongue’ so um, am I supposed to do this?’ and of course, I was just screwing with him, but I said, ‘I don’t know, go talk to Joy about it.’ And he did! So he goes up to Joy and is like, ‘So did you see the script? It says with tongue, so like, what –‘ and Joy just looks at him, shrugs her shoulders and goes ‘Eh, whatever!’ And they did it! And I was totally just screwing with them.”
• James: “Hey, it worked!”

(I’ll give you a few seconds to collect your thoughts, hearts and inhalers…)

After the panel, fans all but flooded James, who so graciously lead them all to the lobby bar for pictures and autographs. There is no sweeter man than James Martin Lafferty. I’m sure of it.

While we were waiting for James’ crowd to disperse, we hung back to talk to Mark (who’d told me the night before he’d kick my ass if we didn’t come say hi at the panel) and to take pictures with him. As we stood there with him, I asked him how they managed to sneak Craig (Keith Scott) into 9x11 with, literally, no one knowing. He got a pretty good laugh out of it (I guess when fans find out so many spoilers, it’s nice when you pull the wool over their eyes, especially when it’s such a big surprise.) He said Craig came in and only shot for one day and he kept a very low profile.

After grabbing a group picture, autograph and another dozen thank you’s from James, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the FNL outdoor event. 

And that, my friends, was only the first half of Day Two...

ATX TV Festival Re-Cap: Day One

I don’t know what anyone has heard about the 1^st Annual ATX TV Festival, besides that it was awesome – which is absolutely true – but here’s my first hand experience…

Day One

It was by total fate that I found out and was able to attend this event. A friend on twitter randomly asked if I knew James (Lafferty – in case you live under a rock and need clarification) was going to be in Austin…I totally didn’t know! So, needless to say, I wrangled in a friend who is as much of a TV!Nerd as I am, and we bought or badges and waited (im)patiently for June 1^st to arrive.

The Festival had so many screenings and panels that we wanted to see, but some overlapped, so we had to strategize. We ended up reserving four events – Friday Night Lights panel, One Tree Hill panel, Once Upon a Time screening/panel, and Parenthood screening/panel. Along with these events, because we had industry badges, we were also invited to the exclusive opening night red carpet event, the USA premieres of Suits and Royal Pains, and the Opening Night after party.

We arrived in Austin at 9 am…two hours before we could register and five before we could even check into our hotel. Yes, we are over-achievers, but we’re used to dealing with crazed fan-girls who camp out over night for events such as this! We easily made friends with some of the Festival volunteers/workers which made the event all the more fun and comfortable.

Anyways. I know you guys are like – yadda, yadda, get on with the good stuff, Kristen – okay. I’m getting there.

So, Friday we get ready for the Red Carpet event and arrive at the Stephen F. Austin an hour early – we were obnoxiously early to everything, but it paid off every time – and made more Festival friends and watched as Jason Ritter casually strolled into the lobby. This was the first of many sweet smiles and waves we received from this adorable man. And then, there was James. You know in the movies, when the princess comes down the stairs and people see her beauty for the first time? Well, that’s what this was like…minus James in a ball gown. Because we were sitting with Festival workers/volunteers, he walked up to us, leaned on the back of my  chair, and asked where to go. I don’t know where it came from, but I managed to sit there, calmly, share a smile with him, and then turn back to my conversation with Emily without my body spontaneously combusting. Don’t ask me how I did it. I still don’t know. He’s beautiful, you guys. B-e-a-utiful. Oh, and Mark was there, too. He’s a cool guy, but at the time, all I could think about was James’ hand being so close to my body.

So then, we walk down to the red carpet shortly after James is escorted and watched James and Mark do their thing on the red carpet. Then we just kind of hung out until the USA premiere screenings of Royal Pains and Suits – shows I’ve never seen, but it was cool.

After that, we went back to the hotel for the after-party: and this is where the adventure truly begins. We were the first ones there – shocking, I know – grabbed some drinks and a table and just watched. The first actor we saw was Scott Porter – so gorgeous. We didn’t meet him, but I stood next to him so close at the bar that I could smell him. And I did. Good times, you guys, good times. Then, we met Lindsey McKeon, who I still affectionately refer to as Hurricane Taylor. She was a sweetheart, and we grabbed a picture with her. After that, we had encounter number two with Jason Ritter, who is just the sweetest of sweethearts. His genuine smile and gorgeous blue eyes light up a room, and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t look just like his daddy who I’ve loved since I was a little girl. We met him out on the terrace later, and got a picture with him, and his exact words were “We’ve been seeing each other all night, it’s great to finally meet you.” Uh, dude, I’m supposed to be saying that to you. Instead my response was, “duhhhhhh…” and then I giggled. Eloquent, I know.

We spotted Matt Lauria, Michael B. Jordan, Mae Whitman, and a few celebs that looked familiar but I couldn’t tell you their names. I turn around to see if Matt Lauria had detached himself from his wife long enough to snag a picture with him – he hadn’t – and spotted James, Mark and Eve out on the terrace and I knew this was my chance. But by the time I’d made it to the terrace doors, I’d completely psyched myself out. I didn’t want to be that fan girl, not with James. I wanted to be cool and calm and tell him how much I respect and admire him. So, we sat patiently, and waited for the flock of “press” girls around him to disperse. In the mean time, we met Mark, and I finally got to tell him thank you like I wanted to in Wilmington. I also let him know he walks faster than anyone I’ve ever met in my life – it’s apparently, his “director” walk. For those that don’t know, when I was in Wilmington, we saw Joy. Didn’t meet her, but we saw her. And we referred to her as our unicorn. So, when I told Mark we saw Joy he said, and I quote – “That’s hard. Seeing Joy is like seeing a freaking unicorn.” My. Thoughts. Exactly. Schwahny.

After that, Emily and I sat and hung out for another half hour – watched James get his foot stuck in the railing of the terrace (that memory will always make me laugh) – and just enjoyed the warm, Texas night. When I felt like the timing was right, I went and introduced myself to James – with Mark standing over my shoulder saying, “She’s Awesome!!” (Thanks Mark!) – told him I’d been watching since I was 15, and that I grew up with him and the show. You guys. He was so sweet. So gracious and so genuinely flattered to have meant to so much to a fan. He thanked me several times, snapped a picture with us, and told us he looked forward to seeing us at the panel the next day.

We went back to our hotel, blasting “Shake It Out” through our windows – high on life and the adrenaline of being so close to those we love and admire.

And this was just day one, you guys.