Tag: Shoot

I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 5

I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 5 (ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont.)

This is part five of my ClexaCon 2018 adventure. April 4-10, I went on a trip to Las Vegas for ClexaCon, all the way from The Netherlands. Let me tell you, it was so worth the jetlag! You can find part one, part two, part three, and part four here. In this ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. blog, I will tell you all about the Shoot and Hollstein reunions. Sarah and Amy came to the press room after their panel. I was also present at the red carpet event before the Cocktails for Change party. That means there will be much backstage footage this week! ClexaCon Saturday gave me such an adrenaline boost that despite the jetlag, the Ascension Party was no problem at all.

PS If you need more info about what ClexaCon is, you should read my blog post ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGBTQ Women and Allies.

‘I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 5’ This ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. blog is about the Hollstein and Shoot reunions, about the red carpet, and about the Ascension party. There is also much backstage footage this week. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/ClexaCon20185

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. – fifth panel: Shoot reunion

Ok, I am going to come clean in this ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. blog and say that I have never watched Person of Interest. What?! I know, I know…

So, yes, this was not the panel I absolutely had to attend because I love the show so much. However, this was my chance to finally see Sarah Shahi because, helloooo, Carmen…. I cannot tell you much about the POI stuff; all I can tell you is that that the view from the front was very, very nice.

 

Sarah and Amy’s press room visit

Amy and Sarah came to the press room after the panel. They shared a few laughs when posing for the photos and after that, they both sat down at a table to answer some questions. They stayed for quite a while actually, which was really nice of them. Naturally, the first question was about the L Word reboot.

I also asked a question, the same I asked Dot-Marie Jones: if they were able to pick any award they could win, what would it be and why? Sarah jokingly named a few awards from countries abroad so that she could travel to beautiful places but when I asked her about awards for personal causes, she said that children and the LGBTQ community had a special place in her heart. Watch the interview material in my vlog (and subscribe to my YouTube channel)!

Want to watch Person of Interest? You can find it on iTunes or buy the DVDs and Blu-ray at Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Zavvi or Bol.com.

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. – sixth panel: Hollstein

I am going to be honest again and confess that the Hollstein panel was my biggest reason for coming to ClexaCon. I started following this web series right before the second season dropped and so I was lucky enough to be able to binge watch the whole first season. As I had not told my wife about it, she was not really aware of this show.

Then the second season came and subsequently, the third season came. And then there was talk about this movie. And then there was a crowdfunding campaign. Oh, and then I backed the campaign. And then the release date of the movie was getting closer and I got really excited.

That is when I told my wife about Carmilla and how happy I was to see this movie soon. I watched it by myself (my wife had to work a lot around at that time, so she could not watch it with me). I told my wife how awesome it was. Naturally, she wanted to see the movie too but when we watched the movie together, she told me she did not get it and wanted to watch the series as well. NO problem at all, ha ha! So, we binge watched the three seasons and the movie. I love her…

On stage

I thought it was so cool to see them on that stage! This panel was my little fangirl moment. My big fangirl moment came a few hours later when I was able to talk to them on the red carpet, although I did my best to hide my excitement. Go watch the red carpet vlog and let me know how good or bad I was at hiding the fangirl in me!

 

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. – red carpet

I had to leave the Hollstein panel early as I wanted to secure a good spot at the red carpet event. It was my mission to record an awesome YouTube trailer at ClexaCon and this event was my best shot at getting amazing content. Want to see the result? Here it is.

Yup, leaving early meant that I completely missed the announcement that Natasha and Elise are coming to ClexaCon London…

As I was told that we were only allowed to talk to guests about thirty to sixty seconds, I figured I asked the guests to pronounce my name first and then see whether there was still some time to talk about anything else. I ended up being able to ask Natasha Negovanlis how Clairevoyant is going, Nicole Pacent about her two panels in the morning, Rachael Hip-Flores when she is going to record another video with Nicole, and Tamara Duarte how (un)comfortable it is to shoot a show while being pregnant. Oh, and the Happy Wife, Happy Life cast and Christin Baker pretty much interviewed me 😉

 

Press collaborations

On my left was Immy and on my right was Jessica (see previous blogs for explanations) and since the place was crammed, we had to work together to get our interviews. I think we had a nice system going.

I had my back to Immy, so I had the right camera angle and she had room to interview people. Jessica would stand straight when interviewing guests and when I was interviewing people, she would move her shoulder away so that she would not be in my shot. It was quite funny.

This way, we gave each other room but we also ended up in each other’s interviews as guests just started talking to the two of us (me with Immy or me with Jessica), depending on where they were standing. It made our interviews more fun and it helped us greatly if one of us was not so very familiar with the guest standing in front of us 😉

 

Are you kidding me?

This event was THE thing that made me most nervous before ClexaCon so I was really happy with how it all went down and how chill some of the conversations were. One moment I particularly cherish is when Holly, co-founder of ClexaCon, was told to move forward on the red carpet but decided to walk back to me, touched my arm, and thanked me for being there, coming all the way from The Netherlands. Are you kidding me? Thank YOU for ClexaCon and having me!!

 

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 – Ascension party

Because of my jetlag, I had only slept for five hours. So, that morning, I expected I was not going to be very energetic at the Ascension party. Who wants to miss a party like that though? Luckily, I was so pumped from the red carpet that I had an abundance of energy!

Also, a Dutch/American couple had contacted me on Instagram because they had seen me walking around in my Meemoeder.com T-shirt. They were going to the party and I wanted to meet them. That means missing the party was not an option. I loved talking to them. Apparently, I take terrible selfies (note to self: try not to take selfies when a real photographer is present).

What a great party! At 1 AM, though, I had been awake for twenty hours so it seemed best to go to bed. I mean, I had to put my face in front of the camera the next day. I wanted to look reasonably okay…

ClexaCon 2018 Day 3 (Sunday)

That means the end of this ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. blog. Next week, you will read all about the final day of ClexaCon. That means you can read about the following panels: YouTube 2.0 – reaction videos, Doccubus & Valkubus, and Shethority. Also, you can see me being a tourist in Las Vegas. If you sign up for my newsletter, you can be sure you will be the first one to read it. You can find the sign-up form on the top right of this page or in the footer. Again, do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel! Thanks for reading this ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Cont. blog!

I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 4 (ClexaCon 2018 Day 2)

I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 4 (ClexaCon 2018 Day 2)

This is part four of my ClexaCon 2018 adventure. April 4-10, I went on a trip to Las Vegas for ClexaCon, all the way from The Netherlands. You can find part one, part two, and part three here. In this ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 blog, I will tell you all about the following panels: Anyone But Me, Bisexual Representation, WayHaught, and Swerve.

Next week, you can read all about the rest of this day: the Shoot and Hollstein reunions, the red carpet event before the Cocktails for Change party, and the Ascension Party.

PS If you need more info about what ClexaCon is, you should read my blog post ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGBTQ Women and Allies.

‘I had my mind blown at ClexaCon 2018 – Part 4 (ClexaCon Day 2)’ This is part four of my ClexaCon 2018 adventure. In this blog, I will tell you all about the following panels: Anyone But Me, Bisexual Representation, WayHaught, and Swerve: http://bit.ly/ClexaCon20184

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 – first panel: Anyone But Me

It has been ten years since Anyone But Me first aired. Rachael Hip-Flores and Nicole Pacent reunited in this panel and yes, there was as much laughter as you can imagine.

They talked about the growth of the show – from a guerilla-style type of shooting (they had no permits when they started filming, Tina Cesa Ward confessed) to shooting with an entire crew – and playing LGBTQ characters after The L Word had just ended.

Apparently, Nicole was a bit nervous about acting with Rachael before the shooting started, given the fact that she is bisexual and Rachael is not. Also, apparently, Anyone But Me made Rachael realize that women have boobs. As mentioned, there was much laughter 😉

On a final note, Nicole and Rachael, when can we expect that video about the letter?

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 – second panel: Bisexual representation

Did you know you can own the three seasons on DVD? Try Amazon or eBay!

I was only present at this panel for a little while. That little while made me learn a thing or two, though! The first thing that was amazing to see was how the room was too small for the audience. The place was packed so clearly, we want more bisexual representation.

Another thing I learned was when Nicole Pacent said something about The L Word that I had not realized when it happened. You see, when The L Word first aired, I had only recently come out and I was still figuring out my own identity as a lesbian woman; at the time, I apparently had no brain cells available for all the other letters in our beautiful community.

Nicole told the audience about how offended she was by the Alice storyline, who started out as a bisexual woman, only to look back at it in later seasons as something of a mistake or even joke. I feel stupid for realizing only now how much of a relief it must have been for many women to see an out and proud bisexual woman and how much that storyline must have hurt later on. I guess we are never too old to learn…

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 – third panel: WayHaught

You know, a second chance to see WayHaught up close is never a bad thing 😀 It is so endearing to see how invested Dominique Provost-Chalkley and Kat Barrell are in both this couple and the LGBTQ community.  The tears and emotions were real 😉

They talked about the relationship surviving (Dana: “You have always found your way back to each other. Why do you think that? Dominique: “Have you seen her?”), about what their WayHaught relationship means to the community (Dana: “You have been vocal fans of your fans.”), about the Rosita kiss, and about the whole oh-yeah-I-have-a-wife situation.

A big moment

For me, a big moment was this: as you can read in my previous blog and see at the end of my vlog, I was somewhat emotional realizing after the first day of ClexaCon how easily available LGBTQ content is nowadays as opposed to when I was growing up. After about 19 minutes, Kat starts talking about LGBTQ people who are older now but did not have that representation growing up, and she starts tearing up. I think my mouth dropped open. It truly did something to me to hear that acknowledgment from someone like her and to see her get emotional about it.

Wynonna Earp not available on your Netflix? Try Amazon! Want to own it on DVD or Blu-Ray? Try Amazon, eBay or Bol.com. Want to read the books? Try Amazon, eBay, Barnes & NobleSanity or Bol.com

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 – fourth panel: Swerve

Another panel that I was really excited about was Swerve the web series. You may wonder why I love this show so much. Indeed, after every episode, I have to go to the comment section to figure out what I have just seen. That is precisely the beauty of it. The show does not spell everything out; you are left with questions that make you want to watch the next episode and season.

Sharon Belle and Winny Clarke were on the panel with Sheila Allen and Kisha Tapangan. An area that this show specifically touches on is mental health issues. You could tell that showing the topic in an honest way means a lot to Sharon and Winny. Emotions seem to be a common theme at ClexaCon; both actresses were tearing up at some point during this panel. 😉

It was not all sad though. At one moment, it was revealed that nobody knew what was going to happen in the next season because Jason Armstrong never lets anyone know beforehand. Winny asked the room to tweet him all at the same time. I bet he had a buzzing phone for a while.

Swerve teaser season 3

Then, they dropped the teaser for season three. At first, they could not get the laptop to work on the big screen. So the entire room got up and stood around the laptop, and the panel watched us watch the teaser. That was another fun moment to be a part of. After the panel, Sharon asked to see the teaser because she had not seen it yet. It was cool to watch Sharon watch her work and see how proud she was.

ClexaCon 2018 Day 2 Continued

Next week, I will talk about the rest of ClexaCon 2018 Day 2. That means you can read about the Shoot and Hollstein reunions, the red carpet event, and the Ascension Party! Yes, that includes a lot of backstage footage. If you sign up for my newsletter, you can be sure you will be the first one to read it. You can find the sign-up form on the top right of this page or in the footer. Also, do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGBTQ Women and Allies

ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGBTQ Women and Allies

In April 2018, the second edition of ClexaCon will take place in Las Vegas. I am going to be there and in this blog, I will tell you what you can expect. Who knows, you may become as excited as me and get a ticket yourself. If so, let me know, so we meet! But first, let me tell you why I find a convention like ClexaCon so important.

This blog was originally written in Dutch for my Dutch readers. Most of these shows are from America and Canada, so I explained quite a few things in it because not every one of my readers knows these shows or ships. Maybe you already know all of these things because you are from these countries or you have visited the first ClexaCon edition; if so, just skip them!

‘ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas: The Media and Entertainment Convention for LGTBQ Women and Allies’ In April 2018, the 2nd edition of ClexaCon will take place in Las Vegas. I am going to be there and in this blog, I will tell you what you can expect. But first, let me tell you why I find a convention like ClexaCon so important: http://bit.ly/ClexaCon18

Lesbian movies, TV shows, and web series

I first fell in love with movies, TV, and theater when I was a little girl. When I was a teenager, I joined an amateur drama club and those Wednesday evenings were my way of surviving high school. I found my inner peace there and I was able to understand myself as “only gay in the village” even though at the same time, I did not completely realize it yet (and, of course, I was not the only one!). You know, that whole confusing puberty thing…

When I was getting my bachelor’s and master’s degree in American Studies, my minors were Film and TV Studies and Gender Studies. These subjects continue to fascinate me and because I have no colleagues in my office (yet), I love discovering lesbian movies, TV shows, and web series during my breaks. We all need distractions 😉 I also like contributing to crowdfunding campaigns that enable web series and movies with LGBTQ themes, such as recent campaigns for Carmilla, Couple-ish, Clairevoyant, and Swerve.

‘ClexaCon in Las Vegas: Hét media- en entertainmentcongres voor LHBT+ vrouwen’ In april 2018 is het zover. Dan vindt de 2e editie van ClexaCon plaats in Las Vegas. Ik ga erbij zijn en ik vertel je in deze blog wat je allemaal kunt verwachten. Maar eerst laat ik je weten waarom ik een congres als ClexaCon zo belangrijk vind. http://bit.ly/ClexaCon2018

Finding your identity in movies, TV shows, and web series with LGBTQ themes

Actually, I have been looking for queer movies, TV shows, and web series since right before I came out. I honestly knew nobody else who was non-heterosexual. Therefore, I had to find SOMETHING or SOMEONE to learn what that whole non-heterosexual thing meant. I was panicking and analyzing myself from top to toe. You see, I thought it would be terrible if people immediately knew I was a lesbian. Whatever that “looking like a lesbian” meant. Now I can laugh about it, but I will never forget that suffocating and disheartening feeling.

And that is exactly why movies, TV shows, and web series with LGBTQ themes are important to our community. You want to see yourself reflected on the screen: your life, your thoughts, and your feelings. Not being the norm in society can be quite confusing, especially if you are just finding out about it. You can probably imagine how happy I was the year I came out when I heard there would be a show on TV called The L Word

Unhappily ever after

Fortunately, our society is changing. Here specifically, I am speaking as a woman from the Netherlands. It seems as if things are easier for the generations after me than they were for me in my coming-out period. I know very well that things were already so much easier for me than for generations before me!

Luckily, the quality of the movies, TV shows, and web series with LGBTQ themes has also improved greatly. Also, one can find much more diversity, especially on YouTube and Netflix. You can now find more LGBTQ themes in mainstream shows, like Orange is the New Black. Still, many lesbian women on screen end up unhappily ever after one way or another.

ClexaCon: meet the actors, creators, and other fans

The latter is precisely the reason why ClexaCon was founded. ClexaCon wants to celebrate the representation of the LGBTQ community in media and entertainment. ClexaCon understands that sometimes, you just want to enjoy two ladies falling in love with each other. Sometimes, you want to see that your superhero is a kick-ass lesbian. We want this without having to worry whether these lesbian characters die or end up sad and lonely. That is why they have started bringing together actors, creators, and fans to network and support each other.

It is an annual event. You will find panel sessions, workshops, signature sessions, meet and greets, and a film festival. This year, there is also room for an afterparty, two afternoons at the swimming pool, and Speed Friending. So, you can quickly find some buddies if you are going by yourself. All this will take place at Tropicana, where you can book a room at a discounted rate via the ClexaCon site (based on availability, of course).

‘ClexaCon in Las Vegas: Hét media- en entertainmentcongres voor LHBT+ vrouwen’ In april 2018 is het zover. Dan vindt de 2e editie van ClexaCon plaats in Las Vegas. Ik ga erbij zijn en ik vertel je in deze blog wat je allemaal kunt verwachten. Maar eerst laat ik je weten waarom ik een congres als ClexaCon zo belangrijk vind. http://bit.ly/ClexaCon2018
A number of guests of ClexaCon 2017

The pictures above belong to ClexaCon

Guests at ClexaCon 2017

I learned about the event on YouTube when I suddenly saw videos of Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis (Laura and Carmilla in Carmilla), Zoie Palmer and Rachel Skarsten (Lauren and Tamsin in Lost Girl), Dominique Provost-Chalkley and Katherine Barrell (Waverly and Nicole in Wynonna Earp), Gabrielle Christian and Mandy Musgrave (Spencer and Ashley in South of Nowhere, with Aasha Davis playing Chelsea), Amy Acker and Sarah Shahi (Root and Shaw in Person of Interest and hellooo, Carmen 😉) and Elizabeth Keener (Dawn Denbo in The L Word with her lover Cindi). Pretty amazing guest list, right?

Guests at ClexaCon 2018

Currently, they are still adding names to the guest list but there are already quite a few cool names on it: Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis (Laura and Carmilla in Carmilla), Dominique Provost-Chalkley and Katherine Barrell (Waverly and Nicole in Wynonna Earp), Anna Silk, Zoie Palmer, and Rachel Skarsten (Bo, Lauren, and Tamsin in Lost Girl), Dot Marie Jones (Coach Beiste in Glee), Christin Baker (CEO of Tellofilms), Katherine Brooks (director of Loving Annabelle), Elizabeth Keener (without lover Cindi), allrounder Bridget McManus, Whitney Mixter (The Real L Word), and Dutch YouTuber Elke.

Enough ships to see “IRL,” as last year’s sticker shows. By the way, that is also where the name of the convention comes from. The Clexa ship is about Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) in The 100, in which Lexa eventually dies.

‘ClexaCon in Las Vegas: Hét media- en entertainmentcongres voor LHBT+ vrouwen’ In april 2018 is het zover. Dan vindt de 2e editie van ClexaCon plaats in Las Vegas. Ik ga erbij zijn en ik vertel je in deze blog wat je allemaal kunt verwachten. Maar eerst laat ik je weten waarom ik een congres als ClexaCon zo belangrijk vind. http://bit.ly/ClexaCon2018

Hmm. If I am taking a moment to dream, who else would I like to see on ClexaCon? Well, how cool would it be if the organization was able to have some actors from OITNB or PLL? Who knows, the actors of the recent movie Below Her Mouth? Or the cast of Starting From Now? The organization still has about six months, so I am going to let them surprise me 😉

What will I do at ClexaCon for you?

I am going to try to describe ClexaCon to the best of my abilities. I hope you will feel as if missing the convention is not the worst thing in the world. That’s hard, I know…

Indeed, such a convention is an excellent opportunity for more ways than just blogging. Therefore, I will add photos and videos/vlogs. Who knows, I may be able to hold interviews with guests.

Please subscribe!

Follow me!

In the meantime, you can share this blog post with all of your friends, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay informed of all my plans. I have also created a YouTube account for amazing videos!

© 2023 Meemoeder.com

webdesign door www.lindavanzomeren.nl