As life works out, I went to a wee little convention called RizzlesCon this weekend. My friends Liv and Joy have been the brains behind it and I was the webmaster and general support person. It was, yes, a convention for people who like a TV show, and it worked out … Well…
Okay, here’s the thing. I went to see my friends. I didn’t care about the stars of Rizzoli & Isles so much (though yes, Sasha is way hot), and it was just an excuse to be in Anaheim with people I’ve known for years but never met, like DrumChick (Erica, she kept her promise!), and meet others I’ve known vaguely, like Lynda M and TheSaxyOne. This is probably the thing I do that my parents hate, meeting you Internet freaks, but honestly, I wouldn’t have the ability to apply for some of the jobs I want without you, so they can shut up.
Having a con where people show up, important TV people, you know that sometimes their real life steps up. That said we had a lot of cast and crew coming, like Sasha Alexander, Lorraine Bracco, Bruce McGill, Michael Massee, and more. Until sometime last week, they were all stoked about coming, and I was getting excited, since as the webmaster, I could see our press releases first. You did notice I said ‘until sometime last week’ right?
Last week we got bad news, Lorraine got her production work sheet for the week, and was booked. Couldn’t come. That’s okay, we love you anyway, thank you for trying, we appreciate the video you’re sending. But wait, then some of the boys are backing out… And then Sasha … And the day before the convention WB emails and says that no one from the cast is permitted to come. No one. None. Zip. Nada.
Joy fronted the money for this convention herself, and from what I can tell, is in the hole for it. All the tickets we had available weren’t sold, and with the cock block from WB, now they had a ton of angry people. WB won’t tell anyone why. We’ve all sort of made our own conclusions, since Lorraine and Sasha sent us apology videos, and Janet Tamaro (the show runner) sent a really cool prize package for us, which Liv and Joy are giving away. But man, it sucks. Some people are, rightly, pissed. Others are being inappropriate, in my opinion, saying Liv and Joy were scam artists. Those people are idiots.
I am just the webmaster and a volunteer. I did not organize, though I am moral support, and I’ve probably had much more of an insiders view of this convention planning than anyone outside Liv and Joy (and their spouses, you get the idea, you’re smart people). When I tell you this, I speak as one who got a phone call from Liv freaking out, becuase her girlfriend was at work, and she had to tell someone that Charles Hoyt (Michael Massee’s serial killer character) had just called her. Okay? I’m not inner circle, but I know Liv and Joy as good, honest , people.
They scammed no one. They were even more fucked over than you were about this, and they are gutted that it worked out this way. Months were spent planning, organizing, and yes, contacting TNT and the WB about this. WB knew from at least January on that this was happening, and that some of the stars were in. They have spent money, time, and sweated blood getting this ready, and to wake up the day before to learn everyone was being WB blocked just slapped them in the face. It was a dick move.
There is a bright note. This went from a Rizzoli & Islesconvention into a law enforcement/writing one. In fact, the insanely awesome Tess Gerritsen, who wrote the books the show is based on, has been our biggest hero, sticking around extra hours, coming up with ideas, giving away stuff like hats and books. Her assistant, Angie, is made of cool, and when I told her that one of the staff at the hotel was enamored of Tess, made sure they got to meet. The staffer was so delighted she said she was coming to drink with us that night. We’ve exchanged emails for when she comes to Chicago later this year.
I ended up sitting at Tess’s table for lunch, and we talked about everything from why I thought Janet Tamaro was so touchy about the fans and their fan fiction, to the tsunami in Japan and how their nuclear power issues are a huge result of their culture. Her husband thought I was pretty level headed, and I admitted I’m often seen as too reasonable to be a ‘real’ fan. Tess was encouraging of our photographer, Crystal, and said she should look into going back to school to be a crime scene photographer, and marry her love of art and crime. She took photos with anyone who asked, and was just downright nice. Tess and Angie found people to fill in the empty time slots where the cast was supposed to be, and even spent extra time with us, deferring her DisneyLand trip, to see one of the speakers. There were extra raffles/prizes, and I now have three pairs of boxer shorts and four of her books (my mom’s reading The Apprentice this very minute). Tess and Angie (and Jacob, Tess’ husband) are officially my new favorite famous people.
With the exception a couple debbie downers, and really I do understand why they’re pissed, this worked out amazingly well. We made friends, we learned things, and everything went better than you might have expected. I had a great time, and while I may never do something like this again, I am forever glad I did it. And forever glad it happened.
Oh and if you were there, I’ve made a Flickr Group: RizzlesCon 2012. Please upload pictures, videos, and everything else to http://www.flickr.com/groups/rizzlescon2012/ and I’ll put them up on the site.
Now… Did we ever find out who ‘killed’ Shay?
Edit: Jenna killed Shay (which I guessed, but did not enter since I felt it’d look back if I won). Also read Hawthorne’s post on what transpired at the con.