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lonelybritI'm trying to write down as much as I can remember whilst I can remember it, so feel free to remind me/correct me of anything I've missed/got wrong.
Firstly - fabulous weekend. Huge thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rivier, flatlanddan, randommagic, cyberamanda, fairyd123, crystalshard and others whose company I thoroughly enjoyed even if I didn't quite catch your names - sorry! Honestly, I was expecting to be admiring Cardiff Castle, not much else, so you do own a good portion of my soul right now; thank you :)
So, things we enjoyed included...
Children in Need:
x. 'You were my Doctor.' Yes, there may have been the odd lump in the throat by the end of the seven minutes. All hail the Moffat. Great stuff.
x. 'He's not wearing stripes!' Despite the occasionally slightly painful note, John Barrowman's rendition of Your Song went down very well even if the general consensus was that it maybe wasn't the best song choice for him. Plus he's pretty, so frankly we'll forgive him anything.
The Point: The Event
The queue was opposite a pub and caused much puzzlement with the men gathered there for the rugby match. Eventually one of them came over to ask just what the hell we were all freezing our arses off for. We were duly mocked and laughed at when they realised it was a sci-fi geek thing, though mocked in a pleasant way. (Apparently one guess in the pub was that maybe we were all queuing for confession.) Not long after that, another chap came over to hand out his cards for his grave-tending business. Priceless.
The Point is a lovely venue, a nice size and once inside we happily positioned ourselves at the back near the bar, but still a very reasonable distance from the stage. There was a large screen showing AtS/BtVS/Torchwood fanvids. Special mention has to go to a Spike/Riley vid done to Grease's You're The One That I Want. Disturbing, wrong, and hysterical. And whilst most of the people clearly were there for James Marsters and knew nothing about Torchwood/GDL, you could hear interest being piqued in some quarters as repeated images of Gwen/Carys, Jack/Jack and Jack/Ianto flashed across the screen.
x. Photo Session - Originally both lads went up to the balcony area however it quickly became clear that majority of attendees wanted a picture with just James. Which left Gareth free to chat away to folks on his mobile whilst lurking by the balcony rail with his back to the main hall and generally offering a spectacular view to the TW fans waiting below due to the rail barrier being made of transparent perspex. By the end the area below the balcony was a small mass of ogling fans and bristling with several flashing cameras.
Anyway, we were amongst the last to go up being part of the few who wanted Gareth in our photo. Hats off to him, James was clearly making sure that every attendee got to feel they got their money's worth. He was very pleasant to all; you got a double-armed hug for the photo, nice smile and greeting, and a warm parting squeeze of the hand after the shot. Which was all very well except it was hard to politely say 'Could you please loosen your grip so I can also put an arm around the young Welshman to my left?' Needless to say both men came out very well in the final shot, although I do look a bit like a contented chipmunk due to the camera going off whilst I was mid-chortle.
x. Q & A: Gareth David-Lloyd - it was a good session, and yes he was lovely, and yes quite a few of the questions were about him and Jack. Oh, and yes, I did mainly just melt and enjoy the view so no my reporting unfortunately will not be very detailed. Anyway, the following has vague spoilers for the next series of TW, it's also mainly paraphrased so don't quote me exactly on these, my memory ain't fantastic.
Q: Will Ianto be getting more action in Season 2?
'Action as in driving the SUV, or action as in driving Jack?' In both definitions of the word, yes, Ianto will be getting more action, though GDL unsurprisingly refused to be exact as to whom exactly said action will involve.
"Torchwood is meant to be a sexy show, but the only pair of tits I've seen on-screen have been Ianto and Owen."
At the beginning GDL did used to try and keep up with what was online. Which, yes, included some ' rather dirty/naughty' fanfic, and also meant he saw some of the criticisms of his character. Did he get hurt at all by it? Not in the least, so long as the criticism was done with a sense of humour. He particularly liked the comment mentioned above, and also an alternative TW commentary he'd seen of Cyberwoman. (Ianto: I'm... Commenter: ...rubbish!) It's always good to see an actor who is happy to laugh at himself.
Did he get into acting via drama school?
'I don't see the reason to spend three months learning how to be a giraffe.' Seems he's been in various youth groups since teenage-hood. By the time he got the offer to go to drama school for three years, he realised he'd done most of what the syllabus entailed, so he skipped it and took a shortened one year course. He was on stage a few times, with his first TV role being opposite Stephen Fry in Absolute Power, which he said was great (I mean, dude, Stephen Fry). He also thoroughly enjoyed filming his part in The Genius of Beethoven as period drama is a different experience, and also the filming took place in Poland so hey! Road trip. It might have also been this role which meant that he wasn't able to take up a small role in a Doctor Who ep. In any case, he went for the audition of Torchwood, told nothing other than the character was semi-recurring. After three weeks of hearing nothing he assumed he hadn't got it, and then of course came the call.
Was he happy? 'Over the moon.' Not only did TW sound like an exciting project to get involved in, it also meant he could move back to Wales, closer to his home of Newport.
What was it like kissing John Barrowman?
'Smooth.' It had crossed his mind that maybe he'd have to worry about stubble, but nope, very very smooth.
His reaction upon learning that Ianto and Jack might have a thing going?
'Flattered.' To go from semi-recurring, originally meant to only be in 80%/90% of the series, to being a character the writers would consider as a possible love interest for the main male lead was 'very flattering.'
Place abroad he'd most love to visit?
He did mention other places, but at the moment #1 on his wish-list would be South America and getting to walk the Inca Trail. (He said he does like 'to ramble.')
Most fun ep to film?
Countrycide, as they got to go to the Breacon Becons which are gorgeous and stay in a fabulous hotel.
Will we ever find out what he and Jack got up to with the stopwatch?
No. The stopwatch will make an appearance again, and other things may conspire between Jack and Ianto, but the exact events following that infamous scene will not be referred back to.
How will Ianto have changed?
Series 1 Ianto was more innocent/naive, and less experienced. In Series 2 he will have grown up a bit, a little older, 'and a little bit braver.'
Shows he enjoys watching?
He loved The Sopranos, is sad it isn't airing anymore. There was also another show whose name escapes me. Oh, and he used to love Star Trek - I may have gone 'Aww' at that point :)
x. Q & A: Cath Treganna, Gareth David-Lloyd, James Marsters - best Q&A of the whole day, and definitely one of the best I've been to for a while. Highly enjoyable. One of the first things that happened was that James informed us he'd just found out Ms Treganna was behind Ep 5 of TW series 2, and he promptly got down on his knees to pay homage to her. He thinks she, and TW, are the bee's knees :) As before, these are paraphrased, not exact.
Is there a show bible?
Cath - no, which is part of what makes writing the show such fun. The writer has to pitch their idea, and it's their opportunity to delve into a character's past and reveal a little bit of something new.
Gareth - he likes to have some backstory, but beyond being told he had a cyber girlfriend in the basement, he was told nothing about Ianto. So he came up with the idea that Ianto and Lisa worked at TW1, and after the battle Ianto smuggled Lisa to Cardiff. When he mentioned this to RTD, RTD looked at him and said 'I think that's for me to decide.'
James - Joss's reaction to actors voicing their ideas was 'Yes. And then there's me.'
Did James go to TW, or did TW come to James?
So James was in the UK and was intending to go out with a mate. Only said mate informed him to bring his own drink and to come to the flat as they were watching Doctor Who.
James turned up, watched the ep, and 'the first 15 minutes had enough plot to run a whole US TV series'. And it was the same for the next 15 minutes, and the next. By the end, James was on his feet and banging on his agent's door at some nasty hour of the night. 'Get me on Doctor Who!' Unfortunately there was no role for him on DW, however RTD and co did come back to him asking if he'd be interested in being in its spin-off; Torchwood. James' reaction was that so long as RTD was producing, he'd be in anything. And voilà! He got the part of Captain John.
His reaction to meeting John Barrowman?
James - first he wanted us all to understand that he does love the guy. But at the time he had to face up to his own latent homophobia. He thought he'd got rid of it, but first day on set and.... nurgh. He watched John playing with Naoko and her going 'Oh no, stoppit, I don't want to play.' He knew John was gay and didn't particularly want him playing with his bits. So in front of the whole cast/crew he gave Naoko various pieces advice about how to fell John in his tracks and stop the teasing. Upon which the entire cast/crew gave him the 'Whoah, freak alert' look, and John gave a look of 'Hmm... okay' and a small nod. And the next day John was totally professional and if anything, James felt like John was protecting him the whole time, checking with James how exactly he wanted to do each aspect of the scene (in particular the kiss). James ended the shoot thoroughly impressed by Barrowman, saying he was one of the best leading actors he's ever worked with. They managed to shoot their fight scene pretty much all by themselves, with the stuntmen only needed for two tiny moments, and when James did injure himself John was the one to discretely patch him up so that (a) they could continue shooting and (b) James didn't have to let the producers know.
James: I'd go to Hell for that man.
Gareth: He's gay?
Writing/acting for the show.
Cath/Gareth - As mentioned before, writers basically pitch their ideas and if they're lucky, their ideas get the go-ahead and off they go.
Oh, and no, the writers do not get any say in which actors play which characters. They write, and that's it, it's out of their hands. Which then also leaves a bit of leeway for the actors to change things a bit. So, for example, as in Out of Time, the writer/script can have a character say 'I know it' in response to the name of mental health hospital. However then the actor can, for e.g., deliver the line so as it means 'Oh yeah, I know where that is,' or 'I know it, I've been there.'
And then, in response, a few eps down the line, an actor might pick up a script and realise that, yes, the writers did pick up on the slight hint in their delivery and actually developed it hugely.
James - another reason he loves Torchwood: the writers know they have actors and use them rather than relying on special effects "unlike some other shows *cough*SMALLVILLE*cough*". Also, he said that there were very few shows where as an actor you feel like you are in a completely different world due to things just clicking and being so perfectly put together around you. He last felt it properly on Buffy, occasionally on AtS, and then he refound it when shooting Torchwood.
A lad called Gareth.
James and Gareth obviously really do get on well, it was very sweet watching them laugh and banter with each other.
Gareth is apparently one of the few people who have managed to 'get' James whilst shooting a scene. As in say a line in character so that James doesn't actually realise it is in character, he just thinks they're talking as themselves. On camera.
James: So I just said my lines, and then Gareth goes-
Gareth: Say that again.
James: And I think he can't hear me, so I repeat myself, and he goes-
Gareth: Say that again.
James: And I just don't realise that he's actually just feeding me my next line.
Gareth: And three hours later the film crew goes, 'Oh come on guys'...
How much time/importance is given to being word perfect with your lines?
Gareth - obviously if it's a big scene with a lot of dialogue, he'll take the time to make sure he knows absolutely every word perfectly and stick to it. However, normally whilst he and the others will know their lines, for the more casual throwaway sentences, they'll be happy to stray a little bit from what's written or improvise a tad.
James - it's tough because as a guest star/character, you get a lot of dialogue in comparison to the other actors. So, the sample was...
James: Blahblahblah blah blah, blad-di-blah-di-blahblah, blahblahblahblahblah. Blah.
Gareth: Yeah?
James: Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah, blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blahblah, blah blaaah blah blah-di-blah.
Gareth: That's cool.
Did Cath get to do everything she wanted in Captain Jack Harkness?
Yes. Absolutely. She basically started off with the idea of that kiss, and then worked back from there, wanting to build a linear, believable love story so that when the kiss finally came it would really mean something. She was very, very happy with how the episode finally turned out, the moment Jack turned back she knew it had worked. (Incidentally, the whole audience, or at least those who knew the ep, were nodding and going 'yeah' in response to everything she was saying.)
What does she like to do in her stories?
She likes to take the characters and put them to extremes, make them see/realise parallels of themselves. (She phrased this better than I can, obviously). So in episode five, she gets to take two characters and show them/us just how different they could have turned out if their lives had gone different ways.
James - plus, Burn just ate his scenes.
James has seen episode five and thought it brilliant, worthy of a movie, indeed his only complaint was that it was too short. His advice to the audience was to buckle down, and get ready, as Torchwood is about to take-off.
How did Cath get into writing?
She actually started out as an actress. And then realised it wasn't what she wanted to do. Back then the BBC used to run this scheme, sadly no longer existent, where you could get selected to go on this type of course with talks and advice about writing for TV given by well-known writers and other experience professionals. At the end you got to submit your ideas. Hers was one of those accepted, and consequently she was given a chance to write and ep or two of some TV series whose name I'm afraid I can't remember. The rest, as they say, is history.
ETA: Another word on how Series 2 will have changed.
Cath - there'll be a lot more linearity with the characters and the storylines.
A few of us in the audience may have gone 'Thank f**k'.
How do they explain how Jack apparently changes into the Face of Boe?
Cath/James - don't know anything about it, haven't seen that ep, is it a Doctor Who thing?
Gareth - Jack falls on some railway lines and gets run-over by a train and is decapitated. 'And then Ianto, out of love', takes the head and puts it in a jar (by this stage the audience was dying from laughter) and nurtures it with MiracleGro, and the head grows and lo! there is Face of Boe.
But wait? How do they explain Boe having kids?
Gareth - 'Well, Ianto donates his seed-' and then no I don't remember any more because by that I honestly couldn't hear above the laughter.
Gareth - in conclusion, MiracleGro.
Has James been giving Gareth any advice on how to handle fame/fangirls/the press/etc.
Gareth - 'Er, yes, though I don't know if it's good advice as I've now got five girlfriends.'
Yes, James is very grateful to his fanbase for staying behind him even when his TV work had a period of the doldrums. That was his main advice to Gareth, be grateful to the fanbase as they'll keep actors going.
If you could bodyswap with any character, which character would it be?
Gareth - well we found out he definitely be a breast man. He'd swap with Naoko except he'd never stop playing with them and probably never leave his trailer.
Will James come back to Torchwood?
Gareth - 'I haven't decided yet.'
If they'll have him, James would love to return, and apparently the way things end Captain John returning is something that could definitely happen should the writers and RTD will it.
Can James answer using the accent captain John will use?
We got treated to a Russian accent for a while, but I think (can't remember very well) James either decided that he couldn't pull the accent off, or that it just didn't suit the character, Russian was too classy. So Captain John will have a low-class English accent. Rather like Spike in sound, but nothing like Spike in character.
James as John: Oh, what's that- who's she- who's he- oh what's THAT!
James as Gwen: That's a poodle.
Spike was a romantic, a one-chick, monogamous guy. Whereas John would just laugh and go 'Gay? Straight? Hah, you child!' Captain John will do anything with a postcode, (boy/girl/poodle/tree/etc) and by the end of the shoot in fact James Marsters and John Barrowman were equalling each other in being able to say innuendos filthy enough to get the crew/cast rolling their eyes. (ETA: Just been reminded byfairyd123's report that also at some point Captain John does call Ianto 'eye-candy'. James also mentioned that he did regret not getting more screentime with Gareth and the rest of the cast. One scene they do have together apparently involves Ianto not at all happy with Captain John and attempting to threaten him.)
Final word on John Barrowman. (SPOILER)
James really was full of praises for him. He asked us if we all know that John does like to get his whanger out? (Audience: Yeeeesss.) Well obviously after the initial start, all of that side of on-set shenanigans was put on hold. But then James had to shoot a scene that he really wasn't getting a hold of. (Captain John has to greet Captain Jack after thinking he has caused Jack's death). They kept on shooting, the director kept on going, 'no, try again'. Eventually John looked at James, went 'right' and just unzipped and there it was. (Apparently it's definitely bigger than a poodle.) James explained that actually that kind of action does leave you very vulnerable in many many ways to those around you, and the fact that John was prepared to effectively risk that in front of him left James feeling a lot closer to John as a result. The next take he nailed the scene, and afterwards he went up to John to thank him.
x. Q & A: James Marsters - very nicely done, good range of questions. As before, these are not exact quotes as I'm going solely on a rapidly failing memory.
With regards to Torchwood...
James: Yes, I'd definitely pick kissing John Barrowman over kissing Sarah Michelle-Gellar.
How was it filming whilst wearing a dress in Chance?
Not a good experience.
James was full of praise for the production as a whole. He was very impressed with how professionally and how tightly run the departments were, particularly when it was all done for a dime. However as he mentioned earlier, as an actor you do leave yourself rather vulnerable at times, particularly to the crew. It was part of why he was so moved when John was prepared to expose himself in front of everyone. In any case, apparently for all other scenes the Chance filming crew were fine, but when James was in the dress they continually were teasing and making fun of him. Till in the end he was getting very annoyed and responding with 'Look, do you think just because I'm in a dress I can't kick your arse.'
Andromeda?
James really like the lead guy (Kevin somethingorother?), but in the end the show just wasn't for him. Not to mention the fact he had to wear a purple costume. So he felt bad, but he didn't want to go back even though they did ask him.
ETA: Did he miss dying his hair blonde?
NO. There is no way to describe the pain that went with having to try and keep roots to a minimum. Part of the reason he went on TV and had it all shaved off was the sheer joy of being able to say to himself 'Thank god that's over.'
Though he did admit, he did like that 'it looked very cool.'
First rule about Dragonball, don't talk about Dragonball.
Actually I'm not sure that's the name of the film he's just landed a key part in, but in any case he wasn't allowed to talk about it bar the bare minimum due to legal contracts. He was rather annoyed by this, as he pointed out we could go out and get the comics/cartoons and find it all out anyway.
He is absolutely thrilled to have got the part of Piccolo (?) He and his son love the cartoons/comics, but they both see Piccolo as a very big, beefy character. So when he heard he got the part, he called his son...
James: The good news is they're making a film of Dragonball, and I'm going to be in it.
Son: Yay, fantastic!
James: Yeah, but I'm going to be Piccolo.
Son: ... Yeah, Dad... that's not cool...
Torchwood again.
He loved filming it, and was full of respect for the actors and crew. Apparently the actors nail their lines every time, they get a take every time, he's never seen such professionalism. ETA: Again, he referred to the fight scene between Captain John and Captain Jack, in that he got to drag JB's face through 'glass', and likewise JB got to smash a bottle over James' face, and it looked fantastic and there wasn't a single injury. Unlike on Smallville where he'd already managed to break some fingers. (He held up the splintered digits for our inspection.)
However the show doesn't make it easy for itself, and the reason there are so many takes is down to the filming crew, not the actors.
Apparently the norm on other shows is to have brilliant lighting, everything lit up, as it'll give you a very deep/large field of view wherein things will be in focus for the camera. So the cameraman can effectively be asleep and still get a good shot. However on TW, they like to do really individual, atmospheric lighting, which has a very small/narrow field of view. The cameraman has to really be on his toes to make sure the shot stays in focus.
Why 'Like a Waterfall' as an album name?
Originally it was going to be called 'Girl with Feathers' as a tribute to James' current lass, who takes the view that people are like birds, with the pride and the strutting and the beauty, etc. James loves this take on how to see the world and so after much thinking rung up his manager with what he was convinced was a winner of a title - it meant something, it was pretty, it was deep.
Manager: Yeah... Tell you what, think about it, and call me back tomorrow.
Certain that he wasn't going to change his mind in the space of just 24 hours, James rung up the lady in question to tell her what he was planning to do. She thought for a moment, and then asked him what the cover of the album was going to be. Wasn't it going to be a close-up of his face? Yes it was. Well, did he want a big picture of his face, with the large caption 'Girl with Feathers'?
James called back the manager to agree that, yes, they did need another title. In the end he went back over the lyrics of his songs, most of which were about or inspired by the same lady. He chose the line 'Like a Waterfall' as that is the way her hair falls around her face.
Audience: Aww...
ETA: sadly I have no photos, but other were better equipped. For reports on questions I forgot and some lovely pics I recommend the following:
fairyd123 - report/photos; jhava - report & photos; loreley_se - gig photos
Firstly - fabulous weekend. Huge thanks to
rivier, flatlanddan, randommagic, cyberamanda, fairyd123, crystalshard and others whose company I thoroughly enjoyed even if I didn't quite catch your names - sorry! Honestly, I was expecting to be admiring Cardiff Castle, not much else, so you do own a good portion of my soul right now; thank you :)So, things we enjoyed included...
Children in Need:
x. 'You were my Doctor.' Yes, there may have been the odd lump in the throat by the end of the seven minutes. All hail the Moffat. Great stuff.
x. 'He's not wearing stripes!' Despite the occasionally slightly painful note, John Barrowman's rendition of Your Song went down very well even if the general consensus was that it maybe wasn't the best song choice for him. Plus he's pretty, so frankly we'll forgive him anything.
The Point: The Event
The queue was opposite a pub and caused much puzzlement with the men gathered there for the rugby match. Eventually one of them came over to ask just what the hell we were all freezing our arses off for. We were duly mocked and laughed at when they realised it was a sci-fi geek thing, though mocked in a pleasant way. (Apparently one guess in the pub was that maybe we were all queuing for confession.) Not long after that, another chap came over to hand out his cards for his grave-tending business. Priceless.
The Point is a lovely venue, a nice size and once inside we happily positioned ourselves at the back near the bar, but still a very reasonable distance from the stage. There was a large screen showing AtS/BtVS/Torchwood fanvids. Special mention has to go to a Spike/Riley vid done to Grease's You're The One That I Want. Disturbing, wrong, and hysterical. And whilst most of the people clearly were there for James Marsters and knew nothing about Torchwood/GDL, you could hear interest being piqued in some quarters as repeated images of Gwen/Carys, Jack/Jack and Jack/Ianto flashed across the screen.
x. Photo Session - Originally both lads went up to the balcony area however it quickly became clear that majority of attendees wanted a picture with just James. Which left Gareth free to chat away to folks on his mobile whilst lurking by the balcony rail with his back to the main hall and generally offering a spectacular view to the TW fans waiting below due to the rail barrier being made of transparent perspex. By the end the area below the balcony was a small mass of ogling fans and bristling with several flashing cameras.
Anyway, we were amongst the last to go up being part of the few who wanted Gareth in our photo. Hats off to him, James was clearly making sure that every attendee got to feel they got their money's worth. He was very pleasant to all; you got a double-armed hug for the photo, nice smile and greeting, and a warm parting squeeze of the hand after the shot. Which was all very well except it was hard to politely say 'Could you please loosen your grip so I can also put an arm around the young Welshman to my left?' Needless to say both men came out very well in the final shot, although I do look a bit like a contented chipmunk due to the camera going off whilst I was mid-chortle.
x. Q & A: Gareth David-Lloyd - it was a good session, and yes he was lovely, and yes quite a few of the questions were about him and Jack. Oh, and yes, I did mainly just melt and enjoy the view so no my reporting unfortunately will not be very detailed. Anyway, the following has vague spoilers for the next series of TW, it's also mainly paraphrased so don't quote me exactly on these, my memory ain't fantastic.
Q: Will Ianto be getting more action in Season 2?
'Action as in driving the SUV, or action as in driving Jack?' In both definitions of the word, yes, Ianto will be getting more action, though GDL unsurprisingly refused to be exact as to whom exactly said action will involve.
"Torchwood is meant to be a sexy show, but the only pair of tits I've seen on-screen have been Ianto and Owen."
At the beginning GDL did used to try and keep up with what was online. Which, yes, included some ' rather dirty/naughty' fanfic, and also meant he saw some of the criticisms of his character. Did he get hurt at all by it? Not in the least, so long as the criticism was done with a sense of humour. He particularly liked the comment mentioned above, and also an alternative TW commentary he'd seen of Cyberwoman. (Ianto: I'm... Commenter: ...rubbish!) It's always good to see an actor who is happy to laugh at himself.
Did he get into acting via drama school?
'I don't see the reason to spend three months learning how to be a giraffe.' Seems he's been in various youth groups since teenage-hood. By the time he got the offer to go to drama school for three years, he realised he'd done most of what the syllabus entailed, so he skipped it and took a shortened one year course. He was on stage a few times, with his first TV role being opposite Stephen Fry in Absolute Power, which he said was great (I mean, dude, Stephen Fry). He also thoroughly enjoyed filming his part in The Genius of Beethoven as period drama is a different experience, and also the filming took place in Poland so hey! Road trip. It might have also been this role which meant that he wasn't able to take up a small role in a Doctor Who ep. In any case, he went for the audition of Torchwood, told nothing other than the character was semi-recurring. After three weeks of hearing nothing he assumed he hadn't got it, and then of course came the call.
Was he happy? 'Over the moon.' Not only did TW sound like an exciting project to get involved in, it also meant he could move back to Wales, closer to his home of Newport.
What was it like kissing John Barrowman?
'Smooth.' It had crossed his mind that maybe he'd have to worry about stubble, but nope, very very smooth.
His reaction upon learning that Ianto and Jack might have a thing going?
'Flattered.' To go from semi-recurring, originally meant to only be in 80%/90% of the series, to being a character the writers would consider as a possible love interest for the main male lead was 'very flattering.'
Place abroad he'd most love to visit?
He did mention other places, but at the moment #1 on his wish-list would be South America and getting to walk the Inca Trail. (He said he does like 'to ramble.')
Most fun ep to film?
Countrycide, as they got to go to the Breacon Becons which are gorgeous and stay in a fabulous hotel.
Will we ever find out what he and Jack got up to with the stopwatch?
No. The stopwatch will make an appearance again, and other things may conspire between Jack and Ianto, but the exact events following that infamous scene will not be referred back to.
How will Ianto have changed?
Series 1 Ianto was more innocent/naive, and less experienced. In Series 2 he will have grown up a bit, a little older, 'and a little bit braver.'
Shows he enjoys watching?
He loved The Sopranos, is sad it isn't airing anymore. There was also another show whose name escapes me. Oh, and he used to love Star Trek - I may have gone 'Aww' at that point :)
x. Q & A: Cath Treganna, Gareth David-Lloyd, James Marsters - best Q&A of the whole day, and definitely one of the best I've been to for a while. Highly enjoyable. One of the first things that happened was that James informed us he'd just found out Ms Treganna was behind Ep 5 of TW series 2, and he promptly got down on his knees to pay homage to her. He thinks she, and TW, are the bee's knees :) As before, these are paraphrased, not exact.
Is there a show bible?
Cath - no, which is part of what makes writing the show such fun. The writer has to pitch their idea, and it's their opportunity to delve into a character's past and reveal a little bit of something new.
Gareth - he likes to have some backstory, but beyond being told he had a cyber girlfriend in the basement, he was told nothing about Ianto. So he came up with the idea that Ianto and Lisa worked at TW1, and after the battle Ianto smuggled Lisa to Cardiff. When he mentioned this to RTD, RTD looked at him and said 'I think that's for me to decide.'
James - Joss's reaction to actors voicing their ideas was 'Yes. And then there's me.'
Did James go to TW, or did TW come to James?
So James was in the UK and was intending to go out with a mate. Only said mate informed him to bring his own drink and to come to the flat as they were watching Doctor Who.
James turned up, watched the ep, and 'the first 15 minutes had enough plot to run a whole US TV series'. And it was the same for the next 15 minutes, and the next. By the end, James was on his feet and banging on his agent's door at some nasty hour of the night. 'Get me on Doctor Who!' Unfortunately there was no role for him on DW, however RTD and co did come back to him asking if he'd be interested in being in its spin-off; Torchwood. James' reaction was that so long as RTD was producing, he'd be in anything. And voilà! He got the part of Captain John.
His reaction to meeting John Barrowman?
James - first he wanted us all to understand that he does love the guy. But at the time he had to face up to his own latent homophobia. He thought he'd got rid of it, but first day on set and.... nurgh. He watched John playing with Naoko and her going 'Oh no, stoppit, I don't want to play.' He knew John was gay and didn't particularly want him playing with his bits. So in front of the whole cast/crew he gave Naoko various pieces advice about how to fell John in his tracks and stop the teasing. Upon which the entire cast/crew gave him the 'Whoah, freak alert' look, and John gave a look of 'Hmm... okay' and a small nod. And the next day John was totally professional and if anything, James felt like John was protecting him the whole time, checking with James how exactly he wanted to do each aspect of the scene (in particular the kiss). James ended the shoot thoroughly impressed by Barrowman, saying he was one of the best leading actors he's ever worked with. They managed to shoot their fight scene pretty much all by themselves, with the stuntmen only needed for two tiny moments, and when James did injure himself John was the one to discretely patch him up so that (a) they could continue shooting and (b) James didn't have to let the producers know.
James: I'd go to Hell for that man.
Gareth: He's gay?
Writing/acting for the show.
Cath/Gareth - As mentioned before, writers basically pitch their ideas and if they're lucky, their ideas get the go-ahead and off they go.
Oh, and no, the writers do not get any say in which actors play which characters. They write, and that's it, it's out of their hands. Which then also leaves a bit of leeway for the actors to change things a bit. So, for example, as in Out of Time, the writer/script can have a character say 'I know it' in response to the name of mental health hospital. However then the actor can, for e.g., deliver the line so as it means 'Oh yeah, I know where that is,' or 'I know it, I've been there.'
And then, in response, a few eps down the line, an actor might pick up a script and realise that, yes, the writers did pick up on the slight hint in their delivery and actually developed it hugely.
James - another reason he loves Torchwood: the writers know they have actors and use them rather than relying on special effects "unlike some other shows *cough*SMALLVILLE*cough*". Also, he said that there were very few shows where as an actor you feel like you are in a completely different world due to things just clicking and being so perfectly put together around you. He last felt it properly on Buffy, occasionally on AtS, and then he refound it when shooting Torchwood.
A lad called Gareth.
James and Gareth obviously really do get on well, it was very sweet watching them laugh and banter with each other.
Gareth is apparently one of the few people who have managed to 'get' James whilst shooting a scene. As in say a line in character so that James doesn't actually realise it is in character, he just thinks they're talking as themselves. On camera.
James: So I just said my lines, and then Gareth goes-
Gareth: Say that again.
James: And I think he can't hear me, so I repeat myself, and he goes-
Gareth: Say that again.
James: And I just don't realise that he's actually just feeding me my next line.
Gareth: And three hours later the film crew goes, 'Oh come on guys'...
How much time/importance is given to being word perfect with your lines?
Gareth - obviously if it's a big scene with a lot of dialogue, he'll take the time to make sure he knows absolutely every word perfectly and stick to it. However, normally whilst he and the others will know their lines, for the more casual throwaway sentences, they'll be happy to stray a little bit from what's written or improvise a tad.
James - it's tough because as a guest star/character, you get a lot of dialogue in comparison to the other actors. So, the sample was...
James: Blahblahblah blah blah, blad-di-blah-di-blahblah, blahblahblahblahblah. Blah.
Gareth: Yeah?
James: Blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah, blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blahblah, blah blaaah blah blah-di-blah.
Gareth: That's cool.
Did Cath get to do everything she wanted in Captain Jack Harkness?
Yes. Absolutely. She basically started off with the idea of that kiss, and then worked back from there, wanting to build a linear, believable love story so that when the kiss finally came it would really mean something. She was very, very happy with how the episode finally turned out, the moment Jack turned back she knew it had worked. (Incidentally, the whole audience, or at least those who knew the ep, were nodding and going 'yeah' in response to everything she was saying.)
What does she like to do in her stories?
She likes to take the characters and put them to extremes, make them see/realise parallels of themselves. (She phrased this better than I can, obviously). So in episode five, she gets to take two characters and show them/us just how different they could have turned out if their lives had gone different ways.
James - plus, Burn just ate his scenes.
James has seen episode five and thought it brilliant, worthy of a movie, indeed his only complaint was that it was too short. His advice to the audience was to buckle down, and get ready, as Torchwood is about to take-off.
How did Cath get into writing?
She actually started out as an actress. And then realised it wasn't what she wanted to do. Back then the BBC used to run this scheme, sadly no longer existent, where you could get selected to go on this type of course with talks and advice about writing for TV given by well-known writers and other experience professionals. At the end you got to submit your ideas. Hers was one of those accepted, and consequently she was given a chance to write and ep or two of some TV series whose name I'm afraid I can't remember. The rest, as they say, is history.
ETA: Another word on how Series 2 will have changed.
Cath - there'll be a lot more linearity with the characters and the storylines.
A few of us in the audience may have gone 'Thank f**k'.
How do they explain how Jack apparently changes into the Face of Boe?
Cath/James - don't know anything about it, haven't seen that ep, is it a Doctor Who thing?
Gareth - Jack falls on some railway lines and gets run-over by a train and is decapitated. 'And then Ianto, out of love', takes the head and puts it in a jar (by this stage the audience was dying from laughter) and nurtures it with MiracleGro, and the head grows and lo! there is Face of Boe.
But wait? How do they explain Boe having kids?
Gareth - 'Well, Ianto donates his seed-' and then no I don't remember any more because by that I honestly couldn't hear above the laughter.
Gareth - in conclusion, MiracleGro.
Has James been giving Gareth any advice on how to handle fame/fangirls/the press/etc.
Gareth - 'Er, yes, though I don't know if it's good advice as I've now got five girlfriends.'
Yes, James is very grateful to his fanbase for staying behind him even when his TV work had a period of the doldrums. That was his main advice to Gareth, be grateful to the fanbase as they'll keep actors going.
If you could bodyswap with any character, which character would it be?
Gareth - well we found out he definitely be a breast man. He'd swap with Naoko except he'd never stop playing with them and probably never leave his trailer.
Will James come back to Torchwood?
Gareth - 'I haven't decided yet.'
If they'll have him, James would love to return, and apparently the way things end Captain John returning is something that could definitely happen should the writers and RTD will it.
Can James answer using the accent captain John will use?
We got treated to a Russian accent for a while, but I think (can't remember very well) James either decided that he couldn't pull the accent off, or that it just didn't suit the character, Russian was too classy. So Captain John will have a low-class English accent. Rather like Spike in sound, but nothing like Spike in character.
James as John: Oh, what's that- who's she- who's he- oh what's THAT!
James as Gwen: That's a poodle.
Spike was a romantic, a one-chick, monogamous guy. Whereas John would just laugh and go 'Gay? Straight? Hah, you child!' Captain John will do anything with a postcode, (boy/girl/poodle/tree/etc) and by the end of the shoot in fact James Marsters and John Barrowman were equalling each other in being able to say innuendos filthy enough to get the crew/cast rolling their eyes. (ETA: Just been reminded by
fairyd123's report that also at some point Captain John does call Ianto 'eye-candy'. James also mentioned that he did regret not getting more screentime with Gareth and the rest of the cast. One scene they do have together apparently involves Ianto not at all happy with Captain John and attempting to threaten him.)Final word on John Barrowman. (SPOILER)
James really was full of praises for him. He asked us if we all know that John does like to get his whanger out? (Audience: Yeeeesss.) Well obviously after the initial start, all of that side of on-set shenanigans was put on hold. But then James had to shoot a scene that he really wasn't getting a hold of. (Captain John has to greet Captain Jack after thinking he has caused Jack's death). They kept on shooting, the director kept on going, 'no, try again'. Eventually John looked at James, went 'right' and just unzipped and there it was. (Apparently it's definitely bigger than a poodle.) James explained that actually that kind of action does leave you very vulnerable in many many ways to those around you, and the fact that John was prepared to effectively risk that in front of him left James feeling a lot closer to John as a result. The next take he nailed the scene, and afterwards he went up to John to thank him.
x. Q & A: James Marsters - very nicely done, good range of questions. As before, these are not exact quotes as I'm going solely on a rapidly failing memory.
With regards to Torchwood...
James: Yes, I'd definitely pick kissing John Barrowman over kissing Sarah Michelle-Gellar.
How was it filming whilst wearing a dress in Chance?
Not a good experience.
James was full of praise for the production as a whole. He was very impressed with how professionally and how tightly run the departments were, particularly when it was all done for a dime. However as he mentioned earlier, as an actor you do leave yourself rather vulnerable at times, particularly to the crew. It was part of why he was so moved when John was prepared to expose himself in front of everyone. In any case, apparently for all other scenes the Chance filming crew were fine, but when James was in the dress they continually were teasing and making fun of him. Till in the end he was getting very annoyed and responding with 'Look, do you think just because I'm in a dress I can't kick your arse.'
Andromeda?
James really like the lead guy (Kevin somethingorother?), but in the end the show just wasn't for him. Not to mention the fact he had to wear a purple costume. So he felt bad, but he didn't want to go back even though they did ask him.
ETA: Did he miss dying his hair blonde?
NO. There is no way to describe the pain that went with having to try and keep roots to a minimum. Part of the reason he went on TV and had it all shaved off was the sheer joy of being able to say to himself 'Thank god that's over.'
Though he did admit, he did like that 'it looked very cool.'
First rule about Dragonball, don't talk about Dragonball.
Actually I'm not sure that's the name of the film he's just landed a key part in, but in any case he wasn't allowed to talk about it bar the bare minimum due to legal contracts. He was rather annoyed by this, as he pointed out we could go out and get the comics/cartoons and find it all out anyway.
He is absolutely thrilled to have got the part of Piccolo (?) He and his son love the cartoons/comics, but they both see Piccolo as a very big, beefy character. So when he heard he got the part, he called his son...
James: The good news is they're making a film of Dragonball, and I'm going to be in it.
Son: Yay, fantastic!
James: Yeah, but I'm going to be Piccolo.
Son: ... Yeah, Dad... that's not cool...
Torchwood again.
He loved filming it, and was full of respect for the actors and crew. Apparently the actors nail their lines every time, they get a take every time, he's never seen such professionalism. ETA: Again, he referred to the fight scene between Captain John and Captain Jack, in that he got to drag JB's face through 'glass', and likewise JB got to smash a bottle over James' face, and it looked fantastic and there wasn't a single injury. Unlike on Smallville where he'd already managed to break some fingers. (He held up the splintered digits for our inspection.)
However the show doesn't make it easy for itself, and the reason there are so many takes is down to the filming crew, not the actors.
Apparently the norm on other shows is to have brilliant lighting, everything lit up, as it'll give you a very deep/large field of view wherein things will be in focus for the camera. So the cameraman can effectively be asleep and still get a good shot. However on TW, they like to do really individual, atmospheric lighting, which has a very small/narrow field of view. The cameraman has to really be on his toes to make sure the shot stays in focus.
Why 'Like a Waterfall' as an album name?
Originally it was going to be called 'Girl with Feathers' as a tribute to James' current lass, who takes the view that people are like birds, with the pride and the strutting and the beauty, etc. James loves this take on how to see the world and so after much thinking rung up his manager with what he was convinced was a winner of a title - it meant something, it was pretty, it was deep.
Manager: Yeah... Tell you what, think about it, and call me back tomorrow.
Certain that he wasn't going to change his mind in the space of just 24 hours, James rung up the lady in question to tell her what he was planning to do. She thought for a moment, and then asked him what the cover of the album was going to be. Wasn't it going to be a close-up of his face? Yes it was. Well, did he want a big picture of his face, with the large caption 'Girl with Feathers'?
James called back the manager to agree that, yes, they did need another title. In the end he went back over the lyrics of his songs, most of which were about or inspired by the same lady. He chose the line 'Like a Waterfall' as that is the way her hair falls around her face.
Audience: Aww...
ETA: sadly I have no photos, but other were better equipped. For reports on questions I forgot and some lovely pics I recommend the following:
fairyd123 - report/photos; jhava - report & photos; loreley_se - gig photos
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Date: 2007-11-19 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 12:44 am (UTC)And sadly no. Firstly I do look like a hamster with a Cheshire-cat smile, and secondly it would require a scanner which I don't have. There are other reports, though, which have some very nice pics of JM and GDL from the Q&A and the gig. (
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Date: 2007-11-19 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 12:27 am (UTC)I'm not cackling. No, I'm not.
:D
That all just sounds brilliant! Will we get to see the lovely pictures?
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Date: 2007-11-19 12:46 am (UTC)Sadly I didn't have a camera on me, but these guys have posted some pics which are very pretty:
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Date: 2007-11-19 12:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 12:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 01:29 am (UTC)BTW, did they change the name of the album in the UK? Because here it's called "Like a Waterfall."
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Date: 2007-11-19 11:29 am (UTC)I really am ready for Torchwood to start up again, it's been too long! :)
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Date: 2007-11-19 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 11:35 am (UTC)Ianto doesn't generally get that much screentime in Series 1, both he and Tosh were sorely underused in my opinion, Tosh possibly more so as at least Ianto got the line of maybe being someone who caught Jack's eye a bit.
And yes, the lack of character/plot continuity was a serious short-coming that was often commented on. What happened in one ep might be referred to again or at least seen to have consequences, but it could also be brushed under the carpet and any character reconciliation/development was left offscreen until the audience was suddenly presented with the end product. The biggest example, I agree, was Cyberwoman.
Which was why we were all very happy when Cath Treganna said that there would be more linearity with the characters and plots from ep to ep next season. (I think my exact words were 'Thank f**k' ;) )
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Date: 2007-11-19 08:09 am (UTC)Nice to hear that Gareth has a brilliant sense of humor.
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Date: 2007-11-19 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2007-11-19 11:44 am (UTC)I was half-planning on going to see Beowulf at some point. Thoughts?
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Date: 2007-11-19 09:34 am (UTC)Which left Gareth to generally chat away to folks on his mobile whilst lurking by the balcony rail with his back to the main hall and generally offering a spectacular view to the TW fans waiting below due to the rail barrier being made transparent perspex.
I am gonna raise my hand and say I was one of them girls stood there! We kept having to glance away at times, cause Gareth would catch us all looking! :P lol
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Date: 2007-11-19 11:42 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2007-11-19 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 05:33 am (UTC)ROFLMAO!
Gareth: He's gay?
it's really a good thing I wasn't drinking when I read this.
thank you! I wish any of them would come over to the US and do something like this.
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Date: 2007-11-20 09:43 am (UTC)Apparently Torchwood (or the premiere anyway) is doing really well in the US, James mentioned it being more successful than Doctor Who, so I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the actors do wind up visiting a con or two on your side of the pond :)
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Date: 2007-11-21 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-23 12:15 pm (UTC)Yep, it is good that James is honest with what he acknowledges are his own personal issues, and it was also nice to see that it really had all ended well for all concerned despite the initial awkwardness. And Gareth's comment did make the whole hall giggle :)
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Date: 2007-12-05 01:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 11:05 am (UTC)