San Diego Comic Con 2004 - Amber, SMG

[Rally]

Drinking coffee now, we went to Hamburger Marys last night and hung out most of the evening with the mermaids. A huge difference between this Mary's and the one in Vegas.



BRILLIANT!!! (sorry you would have to be here.)



So, we ended up having Robin Sachs stalk us yesterday. We stopped to have a card signed by him, I gave it to Storm to have signed so I could snap a few pictures.



After the chaos surrounding the Eliza signing, probably 300-400 fighting to get in line. It was ugly and not handled well by the con, which normally is very well organized. We bailed on it since Storm is recovering from ACL surgery and this was a mob scene.



We tried to stop by the other Buffy folks signing, Robia, Danny Strong, George Hertzberg, James Leary and a few others. Last year this similar group was not busy, for some reason, probably Eliza over flow, there was a line. So we bailed on that since they are all signing again today.



We headed over to meet our friend at Joes Crab Shack for some frosty beverages. We decided to get a cab back to the hotel and who do we run into at Joes, Robin Sachs. We then proceeded to keep bumping into him all over the place as we waited for the cab. We had a good chuckle about it, he probably thinks we are stalkers, but hey we were there first.



SMG is on tap for today and of course we need to try and bump into amber again. So with that we are off to the con shortly and probably not back to the hotel until late tonight. So probably will not post until tomorrow morning.

[Angela627]

i asked Amber about Global Frequency. She said she couldn't talk about it though, when I asked so if that meant there was still a chance, she gave a vague it's a great show and she would love to be part of it.



This leads me to believe that she still has a shot though, and things are still trying to get working out and such, cause if she didn't, she coulda simply said "i wont be in the show."

[Rally]

Hey we survived Saturday, called it an earlier night than we expected. We have something at the con we want to do early tomorrow, so brief recap.



SMG Rocked! She was incredibly funny and awesome, here is one pic, more later.



SMG for The Grudge



Of course we spoke with Amber, also spotted or interacted with, Lance Henrickson, Jude Law, Giovani Ribisi, Jason Behr, Alison Mack, John Glover, Matthew Fox, David Fury and the most boring waiter ever to work at Dicks Last Resort.



Quick pic of Amber and that will have to be it for tonight. More later.





Amber took off her jacket, hurrah!

[Angela627]

wow, howd u manage to do Lost & Smallville, chat with Amber, and still manage to get into Hall H?

[littlecrazy80]

@Rally thanks for the pics.



*lil´c*

"I am S-E-X-Y" Amber at the FedCon



Sweet Amber ~~~ Amber Board ~~~ Danielle Benson ~~~ Danielle Benson France ~~~ Danielle Board

[katydid0317]

I meant to post a summary last night, but I was just too tired. I got really lucky when it came to getting into Hall H and getting a good seat for the Grudge and SMG talk. I was able to get center section fifth row from the front. My pictures turned out great, but I can't use this computer to post them because of extremely limited memory. I will try to have them posted up tonight.



Amber was great again. She asked me to make her a copy of a certain picture and I did. But, like a stooge I forgot it at home. My roommate saw it and knew where I parked my car. He had to do a job down at Petco anyway, so he left them in my car and left me a message. He did that at almost the exact point that I realized I forgot them and asked Diane if they were going to be at the con Sunday for sure. She said as far as she knew, but she couldn't guarantee. She suggested I don't go home and get them and to just mail it. Two hours later when she saw me with them at first she thought I did go home, but I explained what my roommate did. She said he was very sweet about that. I gave the picture to Amber, got a picture and left. I may drop by today again, but I am not sure. But hey she did remember my name. It was still written on her arm and she showed me when I walked up. Otherwise I spent the day walking around. I went up the the autograph signing area because I figured it is free so why not. I got some of the Real World Las Vegas autos and the Buffy actors. One thing that really surprised me yesterday was the amount of comments on my tattoos. I have several of them, but the one that gained the most attention was the band on my arm with a sun in the middle. I like that one, but I get lots of attention because of it. Nearly every "celebrity" mentioned how great it looked and one even asked me the name of the artist. Come to think of it, Amber was the only one who didn't mention anything about it. lol



I will post my pictures sometime tonight hopefully. If not by sure tomorrow. I think my picture with Amber is horrid because I spent the prior hour in horrible stomach pain and I think I looked it. Amber said it was cute, so I will leave it to others to decide. Off to get ready for the final day of the con.



Katie

--------
She practically had genuine molded plastic stamped on her ass.

[Rally]

Quote:

---

wow, howd u manage to do Lost & Smallville, chat with Amber, and still manage to get into Hall H?

---

Wellllll, timing is everything. We got to the convention a bit late that day and got in line for the Coreys signing for the 20th Anniversary Lost Boys DVD. The same security staff that screwed up the Eliza line also screwed up the Coreys line so a bunch of us got screwed.



With that we headed over to the Smallville panel, which was very good. We left that in time to head down stairs and get tickets for Lance Henrickson, who was signing for Aliens vs Predator. Once we got our tickets for that, I decided to snap some pictures of Amber while Storm went to smoke. As I was standing there, Matthew Fox, David Fury & Dominic Monahan (aka that guy from the Lord of the Rings), showed up. So I continue snapping pictures and once Lost started signing, we just decided to get in line for Amber. As we actually had the things we wanted her to sign with us, rather than the stuff we purchased for her to sign on Thursday.



While in line for Amber, Drew Goddard wanders by and he and Fury start chatting. As soon as we got to the front of the line, Amber excused her self and went over to go chat with DF and DG. Then on top of that, Camdon Toy wanders by and we basically have one of those moments you really have to be there for. More pictures ensued, Amber came back apologetic for interrupting because she had not seen Fury since her time on Buffy. We were like hey no problem. Once done there, it was time to get in line for Lance Henrickson.



We were near the front of the line for that, so finished fairly quickly, in time to get in line for Hall H. We came in just as the Team America trailer finished. Very happy that we did not miss Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Changed seats for Sky Captain, caught SMG after that and called a day well spent.



Today we were able catch the Dead Like Me panel and get everyones autograph. Jasmine Guy, Ellen Muth and Callum Blue. We also ran into a few other folks who shall remain nameless and caught a panel with a large cast visiting with their writer / director.



We tried to do some shopping but nothing really was jumping out at us saying buy me. We breezed by to see Amber for one last time before heading out. She was signing up until the very last minute and actually had quite a crowd waiting for her when we wandered by.



We told Amber and Diane that we would see them next year. We are now back in the hotel to start the second half of our vacation that includes a Padres / Giants game tomorrow night at the new ball park Petco Park in downtown San Diego. Then off to Laguna on Tuesday for some much needed rest from our vacation.

[helpful information perha]

great pics and reports all!

thanks





Rally, were you able to talk to Diane? any news on this pilot thing?

[katydid0317]

Alright...it is all over for me. My mini vacation for the year at least. I didn't spend much time at the con today because everywhere I went and everything I did got me yelled at by security today. I mean everything from walking into a bathroom to stopping near a wall to take a drink of water. I got pissed the last time and left...but on my way swung by the Inkworks booth to see if Amber was actually there. She was and the line was huge. I figured I got my moneys worth at this con and left. Security misunderstood something I did...and yelled at me again. This was the final straw and I walked away. I tend to lose my temper when I get yelled at for existing...lol Anyhow nothing to really report for today.



Here are the pictures so far. I haven't resized them so the pictures are huge.



SMG

Amber This one is of Amber right after she wrote Katie=Pretty Girl on her wrist.

Amber and Me I don't really care for this picture mainly because the lighting makes me look like I have one gigantic buck tooth. I have to edit it...but I don't have the time or the computer to do it. Oh well.



Thats it for now. Let me know if you all run acros any problems.



Katie

--------
She practically had genuine molded plastic stamped on her ass.

Edited by: katydid0317 at: 7/25/04 9:18 pm

[taralicious]

Katie,

Great pictures of you and Amber. Memories that shall last a lifetime of you pressing the Amberflesh and getting her to write your name on her arm.

[littlecrazy80]

@Rally and katydid0317 Thanks again for the reports and the pics.



@katydid0317 You look great with Amber. I hope you didn´t get to pissed off by the security.



*lil´c*

"I am S-E-X-Y" Amber at the FedCon



Sweet Amber ~~~ Amber Board ~~~ Danielle Benson ~~~ Danielle Benson France ~~~ Danielle Board

[Angela627]

The Pilot, if you're talking about Global Frequency, it ain't happening.

I wished Amber luck on GF on sunday and she shook her head and said "no." I said, "no...as in you wont be on it?" and she said "nope, it's not happening." Even she doesn't know the reason why, but regardless she wont be on the show.

It's sad cause it would have been great to see her on a weekly basis, but it's their loss to not have her, and I told her that.

[tyche]

WireImage have 2 more pics of Amber at Comic Con (one pic features Danielle too.) Here's the link again:

www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=CLB&str=142&styp=clbi&nm=Amber%20Benson&nbc1=1

If you think this world is bad, you should see some of the others.- Philip K. Dick

[helpful information perha]

bummer - thanks for the info Angela627 - well its WB's loss for sure!

[Rally]

I chose not to bring it up on Sunday, as Angela had already asked about it. We did overhear however on Sunday that Amber was being scanned for some type of new action figure. So the news about this and the new Chance distributor are good tidings indeed.

[Angela627]

Rally, you saw me asking Amber about GF?



When I told Amber that i'll see her next year then went "wait, you are coming back next year, arent you?" she said "no. i think i need a break." so then i said "well you deserve it, you've been coming to these things for 4 years straight." and she was like "nah, i think people are tired of seeing me" and i was like "no no, we'll never get tired of seeing you!" So hopefully Amber will be back next year.

[tyche]

buffy.nu have some larger versions of the earlier WireImage photos:

www.buffy.nu/article.php3?id_article=5758

If you think this world is bad, you should see some of the others.- Philip K. Dick

[Alia16]

I got back from San Diego yesterday. It was my very first time going to SDCC and also my first time seeing Amber Benson.



I tried to see her early friday, but when I arrived she was trying to get away on her cell phone. I felt so bad for her.



Anyway, so we went back later in the afternoon and got in line. I was suprised how short it was, lucky us...heh.

I almost fainted when I just saw her there, almost like I didn't expect her to be. They were playing this horrible song over and over at the inkworks booth. We asked Danielle if it ever got annoying and she said that she's heard it so much it has just become a part of her...so she just bops her head heh...



I felt so sick when it was my turn to see her and I almost started crying. I don't know what my problem was. She said hi, how are you...and I told her I was nervous. She asked why and I said that I have wanted to see her for so long and that I rode 27 hours on on bus from portland just to see her. She said, "aw, sweetie come give me a hug" ahh I got a hug from Amber Benson! =) she asked, "and what is your name lovely lady" and for some reason I couldn't answer right away...I told her I wasn't all there. She said it was okay because she wasn't either. She said she needed to put a sign up that said amber's brain gone, be back in a hour or so heh



but yeah she told us that we came from a cool city (portland) and said something about a movie there? i was so nervous I didn't hear half the things she said. She said she likes powells books, so that made her extra cool. She said it was nice to meet you and that it meant a lot to her. I've read stories and things, but I never thought someone could actually be so nice, especially to someone like me who can barely talk haha...she is the sweetest.



Here are some really horrible pictures...

amber photos

I would have taken more but I didn't want her to think I was strange.

i feel pretty, oh so pretty!

[xita]

aww that's a sweet story and lovely pictures, thank you!

- - - - - - - - - - -
"Trust is a risk masquerading as a promise."

[littlecrazy80]

That was a lovely story and great photos. It´s always great to read reports about meeting Amber for the first time.



*lil´c*

"I am S-E-X-Y" Amber at the FedCon



Sweet Amber ~~~ Amber Board ~~~ Danielle Benson ~~~ Danielle Benson France ~~~ Danielle Board

[taralicious]

AMber does have that effect upon people meeting her for the first time and she reaffirms ones faith in the fundamental goodness of people since she understands and appreciates the relationship between an actress and her fans like no one I've met or even heard of.

Great photos, sweet first meeting story and you got to press the Amber flesh.

[DaffyQDuck]

Thanks for the reports all. Here's a blurb from TVGuide.com



Snarkiest Duo

After avoiding Comic-Con during her years on Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar turned up to promote her new horror movie, The Grudge, along with costar Jason Behr (Roswell). They must be pretty confident in their flick's box-office potential, because neither was shy about poking fun at the audience. When one guy asked if Gellar would work with "Josh Whedlon" again, she replied that she would answer that question if he got the name right. Ouch!

It wasn't our world anymore, they made it theirs and they had fun - Willow

[Alia16]

I'm glad she poked fun. why would you get up and say your a big fan if you dont even know his name!?



i thought sarah was great.

i feel pretty, oh so pretty!

[frumpycat]

Actually I sat very close to that fan. She was obviously terrified when she went up to ask her question and her voice was cracking. She didn't just get the name wrong once she got it wrong several times once SMG started saying "no, you have to get his name right." The crowd laughed at first and then it got uncomfortable as SMG kept stating "no, no". The girl finally staggered back to her seat where her boyfriend gave her a hug.

[frumpycat]

Whooo, another fun ComicCon come and gone. On Thursday and Friday I met with licensees and partners. Saturday and Sunday I had to myself. So Saturday I ended up in hall H with some friends for what felt like forever. (they kept announcing “if you leave your seat there’s a ton of people outside waiting for it, there’s a great chance you won’t be able to get back in.).Hence I ended up becoming one with my seat. And the panels where all so good. I started at the Star Wars one and ended at SMG’s.



Quick snippets:



-Star Wars – Cool panel overall but I’m not that thrilled when someone states “We have the longest sword fight ever filmed!”. Great.



-Sin City – Mickey Rourke as Marv? But holy smokes, when you saw him in the film clip with the prosthetics he looks just like him! Very cool! Also, Rodriquez…cool guy.



-Sky Captain – The best panel of all. I can’t wait for this movie. And Gods Jude Law is hot. And cool. And soo freaking hot. Raaaa. This movie looks amazing, the only one I saw that made me go “bring it on now!” This thing rocks. Jude Law was great too (“I’m on holiday!”). I loved it when someone asked him “I hear you were up for the part of Superman!” Jude Law answered “Superman? I’m SKY CAPTAIN!”



Personally I came out of the SMG Q&A with the impression that SMG is professional, prepared, beautiful, intelligent and most likely not a very nice person in real life. Out of all the people on panels SMG seemed to be the one who took it the most seriously and was the most prepared. It helped b/c this was the most unstructured panel I’ve ever seen. Basically they threw her and Jason Behr onto the stage and abandoned them. No moderator or anything. SMG had to ask “what do we do?” “Hello?” whereupon people from the audience just started asking her questions. Kudos for her for being able to go with the flow. She stated she was nervous at the beginning and really seemed to come into her own as the Q&A continued. (She’s a pretty snarky gal.)



Some snippets I remember from the Grudge Q&A:



The audience was initially pretty cool towards SMG. It warmed up somewhat by the end of the Q&A but upon leaving I could overhear a lot of people stating things to the effect of “that went pretty much as I expected” and not in a nice way.



I was bummed by how lame the questions were for SMG, especially compared to questions asked at the previous panels. (“I just wanted to say you’re the best ever SMG! Now, how did you feeeeeel when you played Buffy?”). Gaaa. Because I got the impression she thought we were lame fans I was hoping she wouldn’t get lame fan questions. And a bummer b/c I got the feeling that the mass of the audience was divided whether to love her or not. A couple were original. One asked if she could have super powers what would they be? She answered basically a super charged version of SMG. Also some fans were not holding back. The first question was “why haven’t you met the fans before?” She was uber prepared with a top 10 Letterman list. She had been obviously coached on comic book lore. While she read them off the audience was pretty quiet. Dammit…we wanted a serious answer. She also stated that she would attend next years ComicCon (some movie called Phantom Zone?). Another question asked “Your panel mate (Jason Behr) and other big name celebrities are doing signings, why not you (and why be the only celebrity to announce they would not do signings in advance)?” She hemmed and hawed at that one and stated “we have a big surprise for you at the end that we’ll announce later!” (it was the giveaway pack that everyone received a ticket for who was in the auditorium. Like the one for Sky Captain).



The aforementioned fan who got up and totally lost it when asking “Would SMG work with Joss Whedon again?” . She was so scared she would say “Josh Whedon” get corrected by SMG (who stated “you have to give props to him, you have to get his name right”), then say “Joss Wheldon”, (Sarah was all “no, no that’s not it..”) “Joel Whedon”…people around me started to really sympathize with the girl, stating “aw man” “just answer the question”. Gods, I wanted to hug that girl myself. SMG finally jokingly did answer the question: she stated that Joss didn’t give her a phone call when he decided to cast Serenity and jokingly asked Jason had he received a phone call.



One thing I was just waiting for during the SMG Q&A: someone addressed their question as “Buffy, I…” whereupon SMG snarled “Sarah!” before he could finish. (don’t blame her for that…heh)



Another line I was anticipating for SMG to say also came out: When one fan asked her something to the effect of “During your day to day activities are there traits from the Buffy character that you draw upon?” SMG answered “You know it’s just a TV show right?” She did answer the question tho.



Jason Behr- Totally not impressed. Between his attitude and his constant chewing of his gum with his mouth open (ew) this guy came off as a total nonentity for me.



Also…anyone else who was there…what was the mini skit between SMG and Jason Behr about? The one where they play acted “what was your favorite Buffy season?” SMG was all “Season 2, b/c Angel is soooo hot!” From her performance it seemed she was mocking fans. (on a side note she did mention her favorite episode was The Prom). Behr and her got off on this weird tangent about her favorite character on BTVS S2 being the one with the tumor. Was this some in joke? Was Behr on the show as some tumor guy?



My highlight of the ComicCon: Meeting Amber Benson. Wow. She really rocks. And she is soooo beautiful. So much more so than any show or film I’ve seen her in. The line at the Inkworks booth was pretty short when I went to see her. I got to speak at length with her and her mom. What a great person. Wow. I got all tongue tied which I didn’t around other celebrities. While speaking with her and her mom I realized to my shock I really wanted her to like me. (blush. I felt so fannish, dammit, which I am). During our conversation I thanked her for taking a role that possibly could hurt her chances for future work. She grabbed my wrist (swoon) and stated “I would not have done anything differently given the choice.” Later, to my utter shock, when I came by with some friends from LucasFilm and Gentle Giant (I was like, you have got to meet her…) she REMEMBERED my name and called us over. WOW. Wow. I’m a fan for life and so are they. Gods someone has to hire her. Like right freaking now.

[littlecrazy80]

@frumpycat Thanks for the report!



SMG doesn´t sound that great to me. And Jason Behr? I never liked him.



And Yay!!! for Amber!!!!!!



*lil´c*

"I am S-E-X-Y" Amber at the FedCon



Sweet Amber ~~~ Amber Board ~~~ Danielle Benson ~~~ Danielle Benson France ~~~ Danielle Board

[DaffyQDuck]

frumpycat--I just looked up "Lie To Me" & yes, brain tumor boy Billy Fordham was played by Jason Behr. I wasn't too keen on the actor from that epi... Thanks for the report.

It wasn't our world anymore, they made it theirs and they had fun - Willow

[Puff]

You know I never went to the convention and I never meet SMG. However, I saw her on Ellen and she came across as a really nice person, she may sound brash but she does speak freakishly fast ALL the time. Also conventions are not often the nicest of atmospheres for 'stars' to be in. When I meet Charisma it took her pretty much the whole day to warm up to the convention and she was MUCh nicer the second day. Finally both Aly and Amber (Especially Amber) have commented on SMG and what a nice person she is. Frankly that is good enough for me

---

It's a moo point. It's like a cow's opinion. It's moo.
Words of wisdom from 'Friends'

[urnofosiris]

Yes Puff, Amber has been pretty clear in her opinion about SMG and it has always been very positive. It is obvious not everyone shares her opinion and probably never will, but then there are people who do not like Amber.

Quote:

---

One thing I was just waiting for during the SMG Q&A: someone addressed their question as “Buffy, I…”

---

That may be why she does not do fan things. Anyway, if I say anymore I shall be getting off topic fast.

Thanks for the report.

Cartman: Mom--Kitty is being a dildo.

Mrs. Cartman: Well, I know a little kitty who is sleeping with Mommy tonight.

[katydid0317]

You know I completely took the SMG panel a different way than most people. I am from the east coast of the US, and we all kinda talk that way. She was sarcastic and I thought was as nice as she could be under the circumstances. I agree that they should have moderated the Q&A a little bit, but I think it went off without a hitch. The only time I think SMG made any kinda of snarky comment was at the girl who couldn't get Joss Whedon right. I think she should have maybe corrected her and went on with it instead of pushing her onward. One of the girls sitting right in front of me, who obviously came to the comic con only for seeing SMG, did get kinda booed by the audience. She was really hurt and she and her friends left almost immediately afterward. But, SMG did what she could do. I liked the top 10 list idea because to me it showed that she did actually think of something before the panel. I have never met SMG in person, but from people who have I have only been told good things. I think maybe people just have to think of things in her situation. I saw nothing more than friendly banter with Jason Behr. I didn't like the gum chewing right in the microphone, but maybe he didn't realize he was doing it. But as I said in the beginning of this post, this is only my opinion of how it went.



Glad to hear that everyone who went had a pretty good time. I haven't decided yet about next year, but since I live here in San Diego I will most likely go. Next year I might actually try to meet up with some kittens. I am sure I talked to a few but didn't really ask.



Katie

--------
She practically had genuine molded plastic stamped on her ass.