From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V2 #87 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Thursday, April 4 2002 Volume 02 : Number 087 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] FIN DVD [cr ] [chakram-refugees] Xena CD on Sale [] [chakram-refugees] FIN DVD ["M. Cornwell" ] [chakram-refugees] CON 2002 Day 2 Part 4 [KTL ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 00:21:09 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] FIN DVD On Wednesday 03 April 2002 11:41, KTL wrote: > Details, spoilers b > e > l > o > w > > > > I REALLY wish they had shown the backs of Lucy's, Rob's and Renee's > > > three little heads in the lower right corner of the screen like MST3 > > > doeS. That woulda been neat. > > > > Heh, I thought that from your description, even before you said it. ;) > > Except in my version, the little heads in the corner of the screen woulda > > been KT and friend. > > It coulda been me, my honey and Xena's stunt head from the "Give me her > head!" scenee. > 'course, I get the impression the three in MST3000 aren't too bright.... but then I couldn't help noticing that you weren't having one of your most intellectually dazzling nights, going from your description ;) > They laughed over shooting that scene--how Lucy had to wear a green outfit > so they could cut her body out of the shot later. Renee called it her > "Kermit the frog suit." That head on the bench was her, apparently. > Which is interesting, since It's a Wrap sold off the beheaded Xena head, I > believe. It did cross my mind to wonder about that - Xena's head did look remarkably lifelike in the episode. Maybe they made a plastic Xena head as a backup, then found they could use Lucy. Or possibly they were going to show Gabs picking up the head, then decided it was too gruesome. > > > acting and also with the way some of the shots showcased her less > > > flattering side-mainly her butt during the fight scenes. > > > > What does she know? There is _nothing_ wrong with Lucy's butt! > > She asked Rob if he could cgi (computer generated images) her butt smaller > next time. Rob didn't answer--I think he's more in your camp than in hers > regarding her butt. Damn! Now I'm going to have to watch FIN all over again, just so I can check out Xena's butt size. Ah well, any excuse..... ;-) Thelonius ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 10:17:22 -0500 From: Subject: [chakram-refugees] Xena CD on Sale I was over at the Django site and at the sale site they had the first Xena CD on sale. So I thought I would let the list know if any was interested. CherylA http://www.djangomusic.com/treasure_hunt.asp?lt=X ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 10:40:09 -0500 From: "M. Cornwell" Subject: [chakram-refugees] FIN DVD I had pre-ordered the FIN DVD from Barnes and Noble.com when presale first started.. The DVD finally arrived this morning. I can't wait to watch it after work today... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero Mary - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:51:19 -0900 (AKST) From: KTL Subject: [chakram-refugees] CON 2002 Day 2 Part 4 Hudson went overtime. This happens a lot at cons. But this time there was no concern over it. Nobody rushed around trying to get things back on schedule. There was a real feeling that each person who got on stage would take the time they needed to grieve Kevin, to talk about him some, to share around their feelings of loss and sorrow. And possibly to do something in his memory for his family. And then maybe just to kid around with us a little. Whoops, I forgot one thing that really cracked me up that Hudson did. Someone asked about Intimate Strangers, when Hudson played Xena in Callisto's body and Lucy played Callisto in Xena's body. And the comment was about how well they each portrayed the other's characters. And Hudson looked at the questioner for a moment and then started to laugh and said something along the lines of, "You should have seen Lucy trying to do the 'fingers'". You know how Callisto moves her hands, points her fingers, plays with her hair, she just gestures a LOT with her hands in a specific way that has become emblematic and typical of Callisto. And Hudson said, "Lucy was all like this", and struck this weird pose with her fingers held close to her belly and breast, pointing towards her face and all crabbed up into a very uncomfortable looking, just untidy batch of fingers. They were like all asymmetrical, one pointing one way, one pointing another, just claw like and stiff. And Hudson laughed really hard and said it was just a riot to watch Lucy trying to "get" how Hudson used her hands. Then she said, "And all I had to do was: ", and she just shot up into a ramrod stiff pose, held her face stony and absolutely stoic, hands straight down at her sides, no piece of her body so much as twitching. It was totally hilarious to see her snap into being tough, stolid old Xena. "That's all I had to do!" __________________________ It had been announced during one of the earlier breaks that there would be a memorial service for Kevin that night. And when Hudson was done at about 7:15-7:30 or so, the Creation staff began to prepare the stage. It was a pretty open secret that Lucy had been scheduled from the very beginning to call in and talk to us during the con that night, even before Kevin had died and the memorial was planned. It was printed up on the program as "A Special Something". I thought that was a very nice gesture on her part. She had just opened in the Vagina Monologues in New Zealand and the first days of a new show have to be very energy and time consuming, especially when one is about 7 months or so pregnant. And yet she was going to take the time to call the fans and talk to us for a bit. I'm sure she realized how disappointed many of us were that she wasn't there. I thought it was very nice of her to "remember" us. One rumor that made the rounds was that the plan had been to have a birthday cake brought out on stage for Renee whose birthday was the day before the con started, I think it was. And that Lucy was going to sing Happy Birthday to her. (Presumably, someone would pay the royalty to the Boy Scouts.) While that is certainly possible, it is also true that any con that Renee is at, the rumors fly that she is going to be present at something other than just her stage appearance. Last year it was rumored that she would be at the charity breakfast, the bard's brunch, a fan run evening party (Sears was going to bring her to that one), etc. etc. etc. Everywhere you turned, someone was saying that Renee was about to appear. She didn't anywhere. One of my friends who was at that con last year is a MAJOR Gab fan and she'd run off to all these things absolutely breathless and red-faced with excitement, expecting to see Renee. And then she'd come back and say sadly, "No...no, she wasn't there". We Xena fans are far more fatalistic and figure we'll just see Lucy on stage. Period. Although I must admit, I did have some hope last year that she would sing at night with Kevin. My hope however went unfulfilled. I was sitting in the back again visiting with the ancillary friends. They had had no idea that Kevin had even been hurt, so they were totally shocked by his death. So the crew set a table up on stage and then the cast members began to come onto the stage. A slide of Kevin wearing white leather as the God of Love from the Hercules episode, Strangers in a Strange Land was projected behind the cast. (Herc eps always had those clever titles.) And I can't remember exactly who announced what, but we were informed that Lucy would be joining us by phone. The cast formed a line behind the table with the phone equipment and then they piped in the phone call from Lucy. I don't remember a lot of details of what people said that night. People spoke from their hearts and what I remember more than their words were their feelings of sorrow and grief laced with the joy of having had Kevin in their lives. Everybody who spoke mentioned what a great guy Kevin was and you could feel a real sharp sense of loss among these, his friends. Everyone mentioned how full of life and joy he was, what a marvelously funny and generous friend he was. Someone talked about him as a loving father. And some mentioned the loss to the New Zealand acting community, how he was a major star in New Zealand and how he was gaining world-wide recognition in his career and had been scheduled to begin filming a movie in Hollywood. Lucy spoke first and she started off by saying something along the lines of how this was not what we had expected to be doing that night. And she said she had jotted some things down so that she wouldn't forget anything she wanted to say. It was very hard to hear what she said. She was emotional and sorrowful, and talking like "Lucy" of course, not like "Xena", and she was speaking over her phone line which was being shunted through the speakers into the auditorium. She said something about how Kevin treated everybody the same, be they the president or somebody with a much less important job. She talked about him being a real Kiwi and about what a great guy he was to know and to work with. (Note: She had worked with Kevin in the New Zealand soap opera Marlin Bay many years ago.) She also talked about how modest he was about his gifts. She said that they had had a moment of silence for him at the Vagina Monolgues performance the night before. Michael talked next. He spoke lovingly about what a great guy Kevin was, how full of life, how vibrant and alive he was. He talked about him running out of a bar naked (though the next day, the story was changed to just topless, grin) into the street to dance a haka when New Zealand beat South Africa at rugby. Michael said, "So here's Kevin, doing the haka in the middle of the street, holding up traffic, just celebrating like mad." Alex begam to speak. But after about three sentences, I suddenly realized that "Alex" was actually Renee who had also dyed her hair dark-though her hair was more auburn than brown. After realizing that woman who was speaking was Renee, I scanned the stage and found the brown-haired Alex off to stage left, standing with Vicki Pratt. Renee talked about Kevin and began to get overwhelmed with emotion. She had a hard time controlling her voice, she was having trouble finishing her sentences. Ted was standing next to her and I believe he put his arm around her. When she finally did finish, Lucy said, "Good on ya, Ren." It was the only time Lucy commented on what someone else said. It was a sad but sweet moment-it was so apparent how much these guys care for each other. That not only were they dealing with their own grief, but they were grieving over their friends' grief also. It was obvious how close knit these guys are. Lucy and Ted were reaching out to Renee to comfort her in the midst of their own grief. Those three are particularly close (as any viewing of any year's bloopers will show-they are usually helplessly laughing whenever they're together, just from the sheer enjoyment of each others' personalities.). It was a very heart-touching moment. I think that Alex, Hudson and Stephen Sears also talked. But as I say, I don't remember many of the details. I did jot down a note that the folks on stage were Bruce, Ted, William Gregory, Alex, Claire, Renee, Michael Hurst, Alexis Arquette, Vicki Pratt and Steve Sears. And you know, as I looked at the con cast on stage there, I suddenly thought about just how just how fitting some of the folks on the stage were as representatives of exactly what this show that Kevin was such a big part of was like. Hudson was still wearing her sexy, audacious Marilyn Monroe dress, Alexis Arquette was in drag, passing comfortably as a woman and Steve Sears had on his Indiana Jones hat. And I thought-there it is right there-the combination of celebration/exploitation of strong, beautiful women and their bodies(and sometimes men, notably Kevin, grin), the easy-going and good hearted acceptance of gender bending and breaking of stereotypical sex roles, and an iconic symbol of chop-schlocky B grade movies. What a perfect collection of images and symbols of XWP to have attending this memorial service for one of its biggest stars. I think Kevin probably would have enjoyed that collection of characters attending his memorial service very much. Then I believe it was Michael Hurst who asked us to join in a standing ovation for Kevin. We all stood and applauded and the cast applauded also. Renee turned and looked up at the slide of Kevin as she applauded and then one by one the rest of the cast also turned and faced his picture as they gave their ovation. Later in a note to Creation that is posted on their web site, Lucy wrote that she and Rob stood in their living room and joined in the standing ovation also. I don't think there were many dry eyes in the house by that time. They then all left the stage and we all stood around for a second or two and then people started to discuss their plans for the evening. And suddenly Lucy's voice came over the speakers again. She didn't have a visual link, so she had no idea the service was over. Sharon Delaney came out through the curtain laughing and said something like, "Hello Lucy". A ripple of amusement ran through the auditorium as folks realized that everybody had walked off and kind of left Lucy literally hanging there. Lucy then thanked us for letting her be there with us at the memorial service. And I remember being so touched by her humility and her gratitude both for us being there with them and for us "letting" her join us that night. And then the service truly was over. The last thing for day 2 was an evening reading of the play, "Love Letters" by Ar Gurney, "starring Renee O'Connor and Michael Hurst" as the program said. What the heck kind of name is Ar? The play is a bitter-sweet comedy/drama about two people who write to each other all through their lives. The female comes from a rich family, but she's a "poor little rich girl" character who grew up not feeling any love from her family. The male lives in the same town and is from a much more modest background. I think they are like five years old when the play starts and they get in trouble in school together. And the boy has to write a note to the girl apologizing for what happened. And this is the beginning of a lifelong exchange of letters. The play continues through their histories, she marries and becomes a mother but doesn't do well at creating and sustaining love in that role either. She begins to drink a bit too much. He goes off to an excellent school and becomes a politician and ultimately a senator. There is obviously a very strong and powerful connection between them as revealed in their letters to each other, but each time one is ready to become a partner to the other, the other isn't. The other is either married or running off to some other part of the world or... There are years where they don't write to each other but they always pick it up again eventually. Finally, they do physically consummate their relationship, but since the guy is a married senator, he is too concerned with his career to give up his wife and children for a fully out and committed relationship with her. Things end badly. I liked it, I was glad I went. I always enjoy live shows, watching people act with just one chance to get across what they are trying to do. I don't think I'd go see it again though, except OF COURSE, if Lucy played one or the other of the parts. The set was just two podiums and Sharon announced the actors, Miss Renee O'Connor and Mr. Michael Hurst. So they came out from behind the curtain and took up their positions. And began reading. I've always considered Renee a very good comedy actor. She has excellent comedic timing. She has also acted some beautifully rendered dramatic scenes on Xena. (The SHOW, I mean, you gutter-minds) And of course she has a lovely and expressive voice. She did a very good job here, just using her voice to capture the flavor of each emotion being expressed in the letters. She conveyed being sarcastic and excited, angry and demanding, happy and effusive, somber and disappointed, filled with happy expectation and filled with bitter regrets. All put over just with shifts in tone and timbre of her voice. Very nice job. Michael, I guess Michael just can't stop acting no matter what. Although it was just supposed to be a "reading" he changed the way he stood as the story unfolded. So at the beginning, he was definitely the impulsive and bursting with energy school kid. And when he was a teenager, lonely and away at school, he was brash and dramatic in the way he tossed his head and shrugged his shoulders. And when he was a senator, he stood with a calm and privileged gravitas. There were two "Outside the box" moments. Once they were going along and Michael said a line. And then silence hit the stage. I looked at Renee who was just staring down at her script. And continued to stare down at her script. And then suddenly Michael burst out with, "OH! That was YOUR line." And they both started laughing, as did we. Then Renee read a line and immediately said, "Wait! Let me try that again." And again we all laughed. I remember thinking, "So much for 'one chance to get it right'", as I grinned to myself. But it was okay to do that with that audience. You know, it's just us. So the play ended and the actors left the stage. I believe that Michael came back out and talked for a little bit. And that was the end of day 2. (FINALLY) KT ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V2 #87 *************************************