Ultim'Art Convention organized, for the second time in two years, an event for the fans of two of the most popular American gay-themed TV shows, PLanet BabyLon. The guests initially announced were Rachel Shelley (Helena Peabody - The L Word), Randy Harrison (Justin Taylor - Queer as Folk) and Kate Moennig (Shane McCutcheon - The L Word).
Since Moennig canceled only a week before the convention, Laurel Holloman (Tina Kennard - The L Word) accepted to make the trip to Paris and spend the Halloween weekend as a special guest of the event. While Shane's fans were disappointed with the unforeseen change, Tina's were on cloud nine.
The convention lasted for three days (Oct 30th - Nov 1st) and had a full agenda: Q&As, photo shoots and autograph sessions with the three TV stars, analytical conferences on both shows (with the only downside that they were held in French), a HalloQueen party on Saturday night and many other surprises. The lucky winners of VIP PASSes got the chance to join the three guests for a VIP dinner on Sunday night.
David Halphen, the president of Ultim'Art, and his team proved they can be great entertainers too, mixing together singing and dancing moments in between photo shoots, Q&As and autograph sessions. Yaele Simkovitch, who co-moderated the Q&As with Halphen as a translator and held some of the analytical conferences alternatively with Halphen, can also sing and dance very good.
The key moments of the convention were obviously the Q&As with the actors. In the morning ones only one guest was on stage answering Halphen and Simkovitch's questions. The afternoon sessions were more laid back, with two of the TV stars participating and taking questions from the audience. At the end of the three days each actor had one Q&A each day.
Day 1 - morning Q&A's with Rachel Shelley
The convention "opener" was a short film of an interview with Rachel Shelley from March 2009 (her last visit in Paris). The film was done by Ultim'Art and covered a few aspects of her character in The L Word, memories from the show and she even said a few words in French.
After being introduced on stage, Shelley, humble and genuine, talked about how she got to work for The L Word, which was a quick process once her audition tape was viewed in LA. Usually cast in Mary Poppins type of roles, being the arrogant bitch in The L Word was a first. As a newcomer into a well established show that had been picked up for a second season, she found the idea of shooting with Jennifer Beals intimidating, nevertheless this drove her on to be more forceful with portraying Helena Peabody in season 2.
About Helena's transformation from season 2 (the bitch) to season 3 (the woman with feelings), Shelley said that her character couldn't have stayed the same, as it would have been no longer interesting to watch. She tried to bring a softer element and a certain degree of sensitivity into it, especially in relation to her romance with Tina and furthermore in season 3 when she ends up falling in love with Dylan Moreland, played by Alexandra Hedison.
She thinks some of the storylines, like Dana's cancer, could have turned into something positive and uplifting for a woman as fit as Dana was. She agreed the show had a weird ending with Jenny's death. However, she would have loved to see Leisha Hailey's spin-off The Farm (a show set in a women's prison with Alice Pieszecki as the lead character, in which she is convicted for Jenny Schecter's murder). Had it been picked up, it would have been a great chance for Hailey to add even more value to her character.
Day 1 - afternoon Q&As with Laurel Holloman and Randy Harrison
Both actors although jet-lagged looked relaxed and happy to come talk with their fans. Holloman satisfied the fans' curiosity when asked whether she was still in touch with her co-star, Jennifer Beals (Bette Porter - The L Word). Her answer was positive, acknowledging - like a few times in the past - that Beals is "like a big sister" to her.
Then they talked about the scenes which were most difficult to shoot. Holloman went back in time to the last scene at the end of season 1, the fight/love scene she had performed with Jennifer Beals. Although very choreographed, it was very draining to play, both physically and emotionally. It is a scene that both actresses take pride in how it ended on the small screen and never forget to give credit to Tony Goldwyn, who directed that episode as well as a few others of The L Word.
Harrison gave the audience an insight of the Brian-Justin break up.
Reffering to Tina's interrogation tape which was screened prior the Q&As, Holloman said that despite the lack of her character's family background, she didn’t know the incest story would come up. It was shocking indeed and disappointing for the fans, but the story with her sister though helped explain Tina’s co-dependancy in the first two seasons.
Holloman said most of the cast would be glad to come on board of an L Word movie. And if there was a movie, it would most probably be shot in NYC.
At the end of the Q&A's both actors were asked to impersonate a character from their shows while the audience was supposed to guess who the character was. Holloman did an excellent version of Shane, while for Queer as Folk fans, Harrison presented an impression of Ted.
Summary of Day 2 of the convention - coming up next.
Anca Dumitru - A Romanian native, Anca has been living and working in different European countries for a long time. With over 16 years of corporate life ...
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