Dragon Con - Day 4

The last full day of Con - OH NO!!!

We actually spent a lazy morning recovering from Saturday, heading late to the host hotels, back down the Sheraton, to see Terry Gilliam.
Yes.
Terry Gilliam.
Of Monty Python, 12 Monkeys, Brazil, Fisher King..BRILLIANT filmmaker!

We expected the line to be long, and it was - but we got into the hall to see him, and he said quite a few memorable bits of advice. A sampling:

Don't fail for other's mistakes; fail for your own.
You make rules for your life in order to break them. What other reason would there be for having them?

WELL worth the time and effort - charming, gracious to the questioning audience members, he likely would have stayed for hours but the Con limited him to the allotted time.

Our best view - since the hall was full, we were waaaaay back.

Then off to the Marriott to listen to Gil Gerard - Buck Rogers from the TV show - and for a small panel (only Gil and the audience, and the show was a bit of a cult show, being cancelled after only a season-and-a-half) VERY entertaining. Gil answered questions about the show, of course, and told stories about his involvement in the industry and his perception of the show:
Question: Did you ever feel threatened that you were co-starring with a robot (Twiki)?
Answer: No, because it was my show. Buck Rogers, that was me.

He had good advice for people wanting to get into the industry: don't look like you want it. He was cast as an extra in Love Story (after being a successful chemist for NASA - yes, this man was a rocket scientist!), and a buddy told him NOT to look at the casting director, to look at the buddy and talk to him, like he didn't care whether he got the part or not. Well, he got the part. Then they held another casting, and he did the same thing, and got THAT part. Then they were looking for a small speaking part, and he did it AGAIN, and it worked AGAIN.

Excellent panel, and if you get a chance to see him, go do it because who knows how long he'll be doing these cons!

Finally, before dinner, we decided to go to a Battlestar Galactica panel: May the Gods Watch O'er Us, a discussion of faith and religion within the reimagined BSG. You want to talk about an all-star panel - okay, so last year there was James Edward Olmos, but this year you had Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek in the new and Apollo in the classic BSG), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), and Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh). WOW! You had the head of the government, the semi-loyal opposition, two of the 'hidden' Cylons, and THE indelible image/voice of the show.
Deep discussion, very thoughtful - and while I am a fan, my partner isn't (or maybe I should say, WASN'T) and she was interested too.
Unfortunately, very far back from the panel again. So not great photos.

L to R: Hogan, McDonnell, Vernon, Hatch, Helfer

Of course, there was plenty of cosplay:

She made this. BY HAND.

Genderbent 5th Doctor

Judge Doom, Jessica Rabbit, Eddie Valiant

Amy Pond as the Kiss-O-Gram

Steampunkers

We avoided the restaurant they visited

Genderbent 5th Doctor and Queen Nefertiti

Sixth Doctor

You may have noticed a plethora of Doctor Who characters - that's partly because it's my primary fandom, partly because Colin  Baker (Sixth Doctor) was there, and partly because we found an interesting panel on Saturday night, one that we hadn't planned on attending: Doctor Who Costumes & Prop Designs - with Robert Allsopp, one of the designers and costume makers for both the classic Doctor Who and the new series.
This was the ONLY panel in which he was the primary panelist - hell, he was the ONLY panelist! And there were SO many goodies that he brought along, interesting tidbits from both versions of Who. Plus there were the item he brought along:

Armor from Time Lord soldiers, 50th anniversary special

Time Lord Soldier helmet, 50th Anniversary Special

And then there was this - not an actual prop, but something almost better. You see, he designed the headpieces for the Time Lord High Council, the very ornate Gallifreyan script that reached from the front, around the back of their neck, and down the other side. He kept one, of course, but couldn't bring it across the pond, so he laid it on a piece of paper and did a quick spray paint.

I have one more photo of that, but it's something REALLY special which I plan to turn into a t-shirt for next year.

That's about it for Sunday. One more day of Con (OH NO!) and then it's back to the real world.