Xena Convention 2004, Burbank

Report by Sonja

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I live in Austria and am an addicted Xena fan ever since parts of the show were first aired in my country about one and a half years ago.  I attended my first Convention last year in Pasadena and for me it was an unforgettable event.  The Convention 2004 in Burbank was my 2nd Convention and I would never have believed that I could enjoy this one even more.  Though I have never been in Burbank before I am sorry to say that I didn't like this place as much as last year.  Pasadena was such a lovely old town and the Convention Center was really impressive with lots of space.  This year in Burbank everything was smaller than last year-the stage, the auditorium.  It seemed there were less fans around, only a few Xena look-alikes at the competition (although these were great!), even less Xena merchandise to buy...

But the Convention itself was just -fantastic!

Creation did an awesome job organizing this event and helping to make it such a unique experience for all of us.

Kudos to these guys, and especially to Sharon Delaney, who is such a kind lady and obviously really likes her work and the fans.
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The Convention

 

There were several fan favorites who attended this Convention:  the incomparable Hudson Leick, who opened the Convention by appearing first on stage this year, Victoria Pratt, who is just adorable and so
easygoing with the fans, and Danielle Cormack, who is ever so funny... and many more. There were also some guest stars who made their very first appearance ever at a Xena Convention including Bobby Hosea (Marcus), Charles Keating (Zeus) and Murray Keane (Hower). These guys were just awesome and
I do hope we will see them again!

The highlight for all of us, of course, was Reneé O'Connor's theatrical performance on Saturday afternoon with the best surprise ever--the appearance of our Lucy upon the stage dressed as a crazy Xena fan! This
was a moment I will never forget!  And Reneé 's performance was amazing. The thought of the intensity of her play is still giving me goosebumps. Only to watch this and to feel the special chemistry between Lucy and Reneé was all worth my flying half way around the globe. I would do it every time again...just for this afternoon.

 

The atmosphere among the fans was extraordinary as it was last year. Everybody was so nice and friendly. Xenites are great people and it is easy to make new friends, even for a foreigner like myself. Joining a Xena Convention is such an up-lifting event! My special thanks to those people who made this Convention really unique to me:  My friend Pat from New Jersey-it wouldn't have been half the fun
without you,  Lisa and Toni from Texas, Pat from New Mexico,  Mary from Illinois, Tracy from Wisconsin, Sandra and Sonja from Austria, Howard from Australia.  You all are great people and I am happy we met!

On Sunday I was already eager to sign up for next year-and, yes, it will be the 10th Anniversary of Xena!  I am sure even more surprises are awaiting us then and I would terribly miss the wonderful world of Xena
if I couldn't return to Burbank in 2005.

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Hudson Leick (Callisto)

I am sure that everyone who has ever been to a Xena Convention with Hudson in it knows: Hudson is a blast!  She knows exactly what her fans like and how to entertain them-and this year was no exception. She looked beautiful in her very sexy, blue-silver dress, actually a skirt and a crop top, which showed her perfect abs. She told us she had worked out a lot and wanted to show us the results.  Good idea, Hudson!  In her private life she said she would never wear clingy, revealing dresses like this one, but she enjoys going to those little dress shops and buy dresses like this one to wear at the Conventions.  Hudson went on to complain about the terrible traffic in Los Angeles (I can only agree with this!) and told us funny stories about her driving to Burbank.  She also told us that she probably will have her own TV show soon.

Hudson was asked by a fan to do Callisto's battle cry on stage like she had done last year. She promised to do it later but didn't unfortunately.  While talking to the audience Hudson was moving in a very seductive way, stroking her body up  and down with both hands. Plus, all the while chewing gum.  Obviously, Hudson enjoyed herself very much on stage.  Her dress was auctioned to a guy who had attended a yoga class with Hudson for $1000.

Asked by a fan how Hudson liked the idea of Callisto impregnating Xena , she told us that she liked this but actually found it a bit strange and confusing that she was not only the "father" but also the reincarnated child of Xena.      

At the "Villianous Happy Hour" in the early evening on Friday, Hudson and Charles Keating appeared as guests.  Hudson arrived in another hot dress, a black one this time.  She went from table to table, hugging her fans, sitting on their laps, and even crawling on one of the tables...moving and stretching seductively.  {By the way it was the table I was sitting at with some friends that Hudson had chosen for her little "table dance}.

Later in the evening, the "Merry Muses of Melodia Show" was hosted by Hudson as well.  Only this time she wore a short black wig which made her appear completely different.  She reminded me of a little French mademoiselle.  She could have been a chanteuse from Paris, maybe.  She even walked like one in her high heels. Her cute little dog joining her on stage for a while.

Hudson also joined the Charity Breakfast on Sunday morning, which was exclusively for the Gold Ticket holders, along with several other celebrities.  In her pink and very tight-fitting dress, she was obviously the focus of interest for most fans. She was very kind to everybody and paid even more attention to her shyer fans often caressing their blushing faces and offering hugs to those who seemed to need one which I thought was really nice of her.  We didn't hear Callisto's battle cry at the Convention but we did hear the famous Xena cry as performed by Callisto during the Breakfast!  Hudson did a fabulous job on this one! She also picked up a sword a fan had with her and showed us some of her fighting moves-WOW...did she look scary with the sword in her hand and that well-known Callisto look on her face.  Then she told us that Callisto really loved Xena, though she was insane, but she had a very big crush on Xena.  Asked about Callisto's feeling for Gabrielle ...Hudson only made a very disparaging gesture and said in a bored voice: "Oh...G-a-b-r-i-e-l-l-e".

Alison Bruce (Melosa/Talia/Kahina)

Alison looked much more fragile than I had thought.  She is very attractive and such a nice and natural lady.  She is from New Zealand, married and has two children, a boy and a girl.  Her little daughter who is only about two years old was too young for her mother to leave alone last year.  This is why Alison did not attend and had cancelled last year's appearance at the Convention in Pasadena 2003.  She told us how much she liked working with Lucy and Reneé and how nice they both had been to her and everybody on the set.  Especially, Lucy who took care of everybody personally who was new to the team. They were like one big happy family.

Alison's favorite character was Melosa because the Amazon queen was the strongest woman she had to portray.  It was lots of fun and very uplifting to play a good fighter and warrior.

We also met Alison at the "Amazon Happy Hour" early Saturday evening which really was an unforgettable event! Allison was so natural and took her time with everybody who was there.  She is such a kind and pleasant person.

Missy Good

I was very curious about Missy because I had read before that she had been a Xena fan herself and then later became a script writer for the show.  Plus, I do like Missy's fanfic very much.
In fact, she wore a Xena T-shirt on stage. It was a beautiful art shirt, created by Lucia, picturing Xena and Gabrielle riding on a horse. They sold these very shirts outside in the convention lobby.
As Missy is working in Germany, I guess she suffered from jetlag.  At least she looked a bit tired.  I do know what you went through, Missy, having made a similar flight the day before. In spite of her being obviously tired she was friendly and cordial to everyone.

She told her audience a humorous story that really happened. While working for the cruise industry, Missy became friendly with some Philippine workers.  They invited her to their quarters aboard one of the ships.  Upon entering their sleeping room she couldn't believe what she saw.  They had lots of Xena posters on their walls.  Mostly all were of Gabrielle. Probably because they are short men themselves and they prefer blonde women.  Of course, the real kick of this story was these guys had no idea who Missy was.

Danielle Cormack (Ephiny)

After a very well done salute video with lots of dramatic scenes with Ephiny in them, Danielle came on stage.  She has always been a fan favorite and obviously likes to have fun with the audience.  Like last year, she seemed to be totally relaxed and natural.  Watching Danielle on stage is just one of the Convention highlights.

Danielle looked just great with her hair now longer and dyed darker. This gives her a rather different and more mature look indeed. When asked by a fan why she had dyed her hair she told us-  In New Zealand everybody would say," Well, the aggressive look with blonde, wild hair---that's Danielle!!! But aggressive with long dark hair---that's Lucy Lawless!!!"

So that was reason enough for her to change her hair color.  She told us that she now has a homepage of her own created by a guy who has always been a fan of the Amazons. Somebody asked her to sing and she reacted rather shyly. She said she would sing at the performance later in the evening.

Unfortunately, there were photo ops with other actors during the same time so a number of us were unable to view the rest of Danielle's performance. At the "Merry Muses of Melodia Show" later that evening, Danielle sang two songs for the audience.  One was a disco number from the 90's, a great song to dance to, though I forget the title.  She encouraged us to sing this song with her and it was really fun to do so.  Danielle actually has a pretty voice.  I met Danielle again at the "Amazon Happy Hour" on Saturday evening together with Victoria Pratt and Alison Bruce.  She was sweet to everybody and looked just fantastic.  

Adrienne Wilkinson (Livia/Eve)

 

Though I would have loved to see Ted Raimi, I was just as delighted that Adrienne agreed to attend the Convention as a replacement.  Not only is she a wonderful person, she is the only actor who really talks about Xena most of the time while she is on stage.  She obviously likes to share her memories from her work on Xena with the audience. As Xena is the reason to attend these conventions I appreciate this very much.  I can only hope Adrienne will make it again next year.  I would terribly miss her and her stories regarding Xena and the show.  She was asked by a fan in a Livia costume to do Livia's battle cry.  Adrienne shared with us how in the past some people had told her that her battle cry wasn't done right.  But it was done right this time.  Actually, Adrienne's cry was quite impressive.

Adrienne is rather short (5 feet 5) and very delicate in appearance. No doubt she liked playing the part of Livia more because for her it was a challenge and it was more fun to play an aggressive warrior.  It was though even more difficult to play Eve because this character had to be passive and still not accept any form of defeat.  She did not like this change.

At the time of her being cast as Livia/Eve everything about this new character was kept top secret.  She only knew they were seeking a new enemy and opponent for Xena.  She had no idea that they wanted her to portray Xena's daughter.

As preparation, she got lessons in fighting skills. But only had to fight Lucy's stunt double to avoid the risk of any injury. But Lucy frequently watched her while fighting and would cry out words of encouragement like: "Great kick" or things like that.  Livia's amazing jumps were made by a stunt double as well. Adrienne only had to jump up a little bit and then they would only show her feet hitting the ground. So that was easy for her.  She never got hurt but the stunt doubles often suffered serious injuries like broken shoulders and arms.  Her own fighting double as Livia did her stunts even when pregnant and only a few weeks before childbirth. Adrienne thinks these people get a "kick" out of doing dangerous things.

 

Adrienne remembered how much fun they all had while working on "You Are There" with Michael Hurst as director.  Michael was so funny and had lots of great ideas. It was his idea that the curious reporter should get a heavy blow from Eve which sent him flying halfway cross the room.  Adrienne said Michael loved this scene a lot.  He just loved to overdo things.

She also told us that the whole atmosphere was unique.  She has never had so much fun during work.  They laughed most of the time. Especially with Lucy who loved to have fun with everybody and tried to keep everybody close. Especially new members to the cast.   Reneé was very kind and funny as well.  During the last scene she had as Eve in "Path of Vengeance", after Eve was caught and bound again by the Amazons, her character had to say a tearful good-bye to Xena and Gabrielle.  Eve was about to depart for Chin.  This scene was meant to be very dramatic and sad, but all three of them had a hard time keeping a straight face and not blurting out with laughter. Though if you give a careful second look you will see them all grinning on screen...Adrienne told this story in such a funny and dramatic way it was almost like being on the set with her. These are the reasons fans come to conventions...just to hear these kind of loving little stories.      

She was also asked to sing a song on stage and agreed.  Adrienne is a good singer and has a lovely voice. I hadn't known this before.  She sang later during the "Merry Muses of Melodia Show" and did a fabulous job with this, too.

Victoria Pratt (Cyane)

The salute video which welcomed Victoria was actually a colorful mixture of very fast running cuts from her different roles in TV shows, including Xena. Victoria is another fan favorite, very entertaining, a talented actress and just adorable.  Like last year, she wore a sleeveless top that allowed us to see those perfect shoulders and arms.  Wow! This woman is in very good shape!

First, she asked us questions about her show "Mutant X" and had compact discs as gifts for those people who knew the right answers. A young woman, who belonged to the Creation staff and obviously had become a friend of Victoria joined her on the stage. Many questions were asked later and Victoria always responded in a very funny way actually seeming to flirt a lot with the audience.  For example, a woman raised her hand to ask a question and Victoria in a very flirtatious voice answered her with "Is there anything I can do for you-lady?" followed by a very long and loud purring into her microphone sounding like a big cat (close to the character she plays in "Mutant X").  She actually purred a lot on stage.

Somebody asked her whether she has a cat because she is obviously able to portray this animal so well.  Victoria told us she has a dog now, but used to have a cat some years ago.  She is Canadian and-no, she has no kids so far.  Of course, she had thought about having children already, but she actually has problems in imagining child birth and how it works...no, she probably won't have any babies.  Victoria, I do know exactly what you mean!
A fan asked whether she had seen Lucy Lawless in the nude on the set of Xena.  Oh, yes, she knows how Lucy looks naked.  "How did she look?" was the obvious question.   Victoria seemed to be enjoying these questions and laughed a lot before finally answering..."Oh, she looks goooood!"
She told us that during the production of "Adventures in the Sin Trade" they had really awful weather conditions in New Zealand.  It was not only raining all the time, but also very cold and freezing.  It was so cold that the actresses had really bloody knees just because they had to crawl on the floor or go down on their knees during a fight scene.  She remembered that Lucy didn't like the nude scene because she knew everybody so well on the set which made it embarrassing for her. Victoria on the other hand didn't know anyone during this time so it was much easier for her.

Then finally, Victoria introduced her good friend, Gina Torres.

Victoria also attended the "Amazon Happy Hour" later that evening.  She arrived late because she had patiently written personalized autographs to everybody.  Still she was in a good mood and very friendly to all of us.  There were probably hundreds of pictures taken with her.  She enjoyed hugging her fans or sitting on their laps for photographs.

Continued - Part 2  

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