THURSDAY: (OPENING NIGHT) Insert Producers joke here.
Opening night was a screening of the Complications pilot- premiering June 18 on USA from Matt Nix (Produce or Burn Notice), starring Jason O' Mara (show killer, star of Vegas and Terra Nova), Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl), Beth Reisgraf, and Lauren Stamile.
Complications started strong with a heart pounding opener that almost felt like it slapped me awake. Jason and Jessica play a doctor and a nurse, respectively, but this is NOT Grey's Anatomy. Things did NOT go how I expected and the last scene was a little weird. All in all, not exactly for me but I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot.
Tell me this though- what sort of DOCTOR and FATHER leave an loaded pistol in his doctor's bag on a table in his home? This was gun safety at it's worst. And yes, it's the little details that bother me.
FRIDAY: DAY ONE
Bunheads- Alamo Drafthouse
According to Adina and many other past attendees, not having a fast pass has almost never stopped people from getting into an event. We knew that the Alamo was small and that the festival sold out so we showed up and hour and a half early. (They had recommended 20-30 minutes officially.) To our surprise, there was already more than 100 people on line. We did not get in, but were karmically rewarded by meeting Sutton Foster, Kelly Bishop, and Amy Sherman-Palladino later that same day.
EW Presents The Final Finale w/ Graham Yost, Ron Cowen, Dan Lipman, and Marta Kauffman- Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel
This was probably the most disappointing of the panels I went to. Henry Goldblatt (The Editor in Chief of Entertainment Weekly) honestly wasn't the greatest moderator. His questions were predictable, and he had each panelist answer before he moved on to the next answer, even if it felt like the panelist was squeezing that answer out. Each questions related only to the panelist's specific show and their successful finales. There was no general discussion of finales and they gave the briefest of moments to touch on bad finales. (Maybe 20 seconds- tops, and I didn't find that acceptable with the enormous amounts of discussion HIMYM ALONE could have provided.) My highlight was finding out that Marta is hilarious.
Boy Meets Girl Meets World- Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel
Luckily, they let those with fast passes to this panel (like A-Squared) stay in the room after the Finale panel so we had kick-ass seats and were perfectly poised to score selfies with Ben Savage afterwards. I have met Danielle Fishel at BookCon, and we had already gotten a photo with Rowan and Sabrina with a bonus Michael Jacobs photobomb at Complications, so I wanted to complete my little Matthews family experience. After seeing this panel, I'm super excited that Adina is lending me the complete series of Boy Meets World to marathon, and I strongly recommend people to keep watching Girl Meets World. This show is going to keep getting better as it tackles everything from Maya's relationship with God to Shaun's relationship with Angela.
Friday Night Lights Tailgate
BA-NANAS. Go if possible. I fulfilled my festival goal of a photo with Adrianne. I experienced the EXTREME privilege of being front row at a Hep Alien Concert.
And despite the fact I've never seen an episode of Friday Night Lights in my life, I was definitely able to enjoy myself. Plus the location of the event meant was finally able to try the famous Amy's ice cream, where we met AMY FUCKING ACKER. I COULDN'T EVEN DEAL. I superman'd a parking lot full of lawn chairs for the privilege.
SATURDAY: THE BIG DAY
Coffee with Amy Sherman-Palladino- Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel
Having learned from the Bunheads debacle, Adina showed up 2.5 hours early for this panel and STILL couldn't get in. We were quickly learning that anything Gilmore related was drawing a mob. Saturday was particularly there because ALL the Gilmore fans showed up and the 1698 fans needed to fill their day until the panel.
A Conversation With Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec- Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel
Fully frightened now, I got in line for this panel 2 hours early and it was absolutely worth it. This panel was another festival highlight for me. Carina Mackenzie was an excellent moderator, and since the three of them were friends and colleagues for so long, the conversation was casual, fun, and incredibly interesting. Julie could probably make a case that she's responsible for Kevin's career. I had no idea that she'd started as Wes Craven's assistant. I wish she'd explained how she'd gotten the job, but I got to have a special moment with her after the panel where I was able to tell her how her work has changed my life. Julie, if you're reading this- I'd do anything to be YOUR assistant. I'd be the happiest coffee fetcher in the land to learn from you!
Dawson's Creek Writer's Room- State Theater
I had a fast pass for this panel as well. Honestly, I've seen maybe a dozen Dawson episodes in my life, but the writers all went on to be incredibly successful show runners of other shows and I wanted to hear them. (Rob Thomas! I adore you! Thank you again for Logan's dress whites in the Veronica Mars movie! #MarshmallowForLife)
Gilmore Girls Reunion Panel- Paramount Theater
Quick shout out to the Amazing Anne, an honorary A Team member who held our places in the line while we went for food.
Some people went into this a little upset since a great deal of the stars only did press and didn't really interact with the fans. (Lauren, Alexis, Jared, Milo, Matt, etc. only did press. Melissa McCarthy did not attend.) Outside, it was hot as balls. Parts of the line smelled like Satan's asshole. Multiple people passed out and were taken away by ambulance. Jared sweat through his jacket! The event started 45 minutes late! And NONE of that matters because we met Genevieve Padalecki. If I was hit by a bus immediately after, I would've died happily.
The panel was extremely touching, especially with the tribute to Edward Hermann and hearing how he had been the first cast member to RSVP for the reunion. They left a chair on stage for him and I absolutely couldn't handle it.
Apparently, when Amy did the first edit of the tribute, it was two hours. I'm fairly sure the entire room would've been openly sobbing.
Also notable- Jared is Team Jess, Milo is Team Dean, and Matt is Team Jess. No one like Logan since he was a dick.
*Pulls out soapbox. Shuffles notecards. Rips off jacket to reveal a Team LOGAN shirt underneath.
Logan was ALSO funny, adventurous, handsome, charming, well-read, and rich. He challenged her. He loved her. I loved him. Everyone else is an idiot. Do we not remember how mean Jess was to Rory and her loved ones ALL THE TIME? Do we not remember how he crashed her love car from Dean? Logan may have been a dick, but Jess was an asshole. A very smart, handsome ASSHOLE.
Anyway, for those interested here is Entertainment Weekly's coverage of the panel
SUNDAY: CLOSING DAY
Suits- State Theater
Now completely full of fear due to the insane amount of people who couldn't get into the GG panel, I showed up more than 2 hours before the Dawson's Script Pilot reading. (They were promising a surprise cast and I knew it would be epic.) Luckily for me, the Suits season 5 premiere screening was in the same location beforehand. ATX decided to give us queue cards to hold our spots in the DC line and let us go inside to watch Suits. Having seen maybe 2 episodes of Suits ever, I was was surprised to find I could follow the episode and it was really good. Considering it was a drama, I laughed a lot. Note to self- plan a Suits binge watch.
Dawson's Creek Script Reading- State Theater
I wanted to see this one so bad, I ditched my final fast pass to Teen Wolf: Watch Your Pack, which I had picked solely for Shelley Hennig and Holland Roden. The women on that show are fierce.
The reading was even more epic than I imagined. I hope to God it's online somewhere for posterity. I want to download it to my iPod for when I'm having a bad day.
Mae Whitman as Dawson. Patrick J. Adams as Joey. Kerr Smith as Jenn. Abigail Spencer as Pacey. Arielle Kebbel as Tamara, and more. The whole cast was phenomenal. I was howling in my seat! I'm planning a Dawson's Creek marathon now, and my reasoning can be directly linked to this event.
By the time I got to the Teen Wolf brunch four minutes after it started, they were already out of food. This was a blessing in disguise. I went to hang out in the hall and met Shelley Hennig and Tyler Posey! Then, like the amazing best friend she is, Adina tipped me off that Christopher Eccleston had been added to The Leftovers panel and I was able to meet him too. This was a special moment for me because it allowed me to cross #20 off of my bucket list. (Meet the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors.)
ATX TIPS FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS ONLY BEEN THERE ONCE:
1. Read the Situation. Don't chase the celebs. Don't interrupt them in private moments or interviews. BE COOL. BE POLITE. They are people too, and they are NOT obligated to be in your selfie.
2. Hydrate. There is ice water everywhere, often flavored with fruit slices. Take advantage whenever possible. Try and eat. Preferably BBQ. (I can recommend Stubbs and Blue Ribbon.) We were running around a lot, and skipped quite a few meals.
3. Sunscreen. Trust me.
4. Go to the FNL Tailgate. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Not both.
5. Carpe Diem. You are in a unique situation. Do not be afraid to seize your moments since they may never happen again.
That's probably the last I'll bring up ATX for now, but we have a lot more stuff coming up. Follow me on Twitter @AJ_The_Fangirl!
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