With this, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Tip Tot Tet, Kwazy Kwanzaa, and a solemn dignified Ramadan. And a Happy New Year. :) Also to James, in case he's reading. I would wish him Merry Christmas on Twitter, but sometimes I just get shy because he's really going to read it. I feel more comfortable writing silly things on the blog.
(I might or might not do a silly picture thing, but at the moment I don't have my James pictures to draw on, so I'll just be verbal.)
Once again, these are NOT real movies. I'm just being silly in the style of Awful Movie Database. Which, by the way, is hilarious and should update more often.
Ho Ho Holly
Scott (James Callis) is a typical dudebro. He has strong feelings for and against. For: hot chicks, beer, bros, giving wedgies. Against: ugly chicks, vegetables, hos, receiving wedgies. But Christmas gives him mixed feelings!! Especially when he falls for the hot Holly (Tricia Helfer), who wants to teach him the true meaning of Christmas - and it's giving and loving. He feels icky girl germs getting all over him - how will he fight this?! His bros Rock (Aaron Douglas) and Brock (Jamie Bamber) to the rescue. Who wins, bros or hos? Will Scott find the true meaning of Christmas? Who gives the final wedgie?
Dialogue sample:
Brock: Hey dude, wanna give the nerd next door a wedgie?!
Scott: Uh, I dunno. Holly says wedgies are mean and not fitting to the Christmas spirit.
Rock: You've changed, man.
Brock: Bros before hos, man!!!
(Rock and Brock give Scott a wedgie.)
Jingle (Wedding) Bells
Bobby (some no-name actor) and Stacey (Katherine Heigl) are about to be married! They are soo happy, and everything is full of joy and love, especially since it's December 21st. But right before the wedding can take place, Bobby is hit by a car and goes into a coma. Despite the tragedy, Stacey pulls herself together and tries to rejoice Christmas with the help of empathetic and sexy doctor Seth (James Callis). As it happens, Seth's family is far away in London, and Stacey invites him to their house for Christmas. Will Seth put up with her wacky family? Will Stacey and Seth fall for each other (duh)? What happens when Bobby wakes up from a coma right as Stacey and Seth are kissing?!!! Warning: this movie is not recommended for intelligent people.
Stacey's Grandma: You know, Seth, you are quite the fetching young man.
Seth: Uh, t-thank you, that's so kind of you. (blushes adorably)
Stacey's Grandma: Oh boy! I've been thinking of becoming a cougar, actually.
Stacey: Grandma!!!!
Seth: (alternately spits out his drink or squirts something)
Stacey: I feel like Christmas came for me after all.
Seth: It comes to everyone, Stacey. Always.
(kiss)
Bobby: Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing kissing my girlfriend!
Stacey: Bobby, you woke up!
Stacey: It's so great you understand, Bobby.
Bobby: I'm heartbroken. But I love you and want you to be happy.
(sob-story music)
Seth: You're a good guy, Bob. Here's something for your heartache.
Stacey: What did you give him?
Seth: Oh you know, just some extasy.
Stacey: SETHY!
Seth: What, did you want some too?
Santa Clones
Mick Hallis (James Callis) is an ordinary, slightly goofy family father. When Christmas morning comes, he finds a stray dog in the snow and brings him in as a Christmas gift for the kids. As the family rejoices, their neighbor Joaquin Phoenix (Joseph Fiennes) shows up to ask about his missing dog... In the spirit of Christmas sharing, Mick and Joaquin decide to get the dog cloned. Wacky inventor Hermes Rotschild (Tim Allen) makes a little mistake, and now, much to the dismay of Mick's sensible wife Elmie (Julie Delpy), there are two of Mick! What will become of Christmas, and their lives?!
Elmie: Mick, we don't know whose dog this is.
Mick: Oh I'm sure he's just a stray!
Elmie: Really? He looks remarkably well fed and trusting.
Mick: Who knows what old lady has been feeding him. I name him Belchy.
Elmie: Mick, I really don't think you should give him beer.
Generic children: What's this!!! Do we get to keep him!! He's sooo cute! We name him Chris, because he came at Christmas!
Mick: I prefer Belchy.
Joaquin: Howdy neighbor!
Mick: Howdy J-quin! How's life?
Joaquin: Not so good partner. Our dog Morby went missing.. Oh there he is!!!
Mick: Uh oh.
Hermes Rotschild: This is so exciting!!! *fiddles with 100 computers*
Mick: Are you sure this is safe, Inventor Rotschild?
(Sometimes the weaknesses of Google search cramp my titling style. The thing is, Google will not find this post unless I say James Callis in the title so...)
It's been quiet for a while, but yesterday we suddenly got TWO casting news in one day. Awesome!
Firstly the officially announced one: James will play jewel thief Dodger in Arrow. Here's the link from TV Guide, and here you can see the character. It's interesting when you have a visual idea, instead of just a description of what the character is like. I'm slightly dismayed to find that it's a long-haired British character. (Not that I object to long hair!!) Many people consider Baltar a villain, so a long-haired (dodgy!) villain in a sci fi/comics thing, well, slightly smells of typecasting. However, seeing the quote - "Big fan of your wars, and the telly" - gave me a joyful feeling. I can hear James say it, and I'm loving it. This might be just the role for him, with his comedic timing. Sadly it's one episode only, but hopefully an unforgettable performance! This show will air in January.
Secondly, this is not on the imdb page of the movie or any other official source, but so far two actors on Twitter have expressed their joy of working with James. So it's out there: James will be in British movie Dreck, a thriller about a near future dystopia where all recreational drugs are legal. The trailer certainly looks interesting. James posted a picture of himself on set with a rather.. different look. O.o Umm.. Eh.. It's n-not that I have anything against James aging, but I'm rather stunned by this. I think it's because when I imagine James older, I imagine this smiling, warm-eyed, perhaps round-cheeked man with lots of flowy white hair. This is some business tycoon hardass with a piercing look in his eyes and oddly silvery hair. He looks downright dangerous! This may give us some idea as to the character in the film.
I've lost the majority of yesterday's tweets in a sea of today's news about Arrow; Twitter is a great source for quick news, but terrible for repetition. So I can't say who it was who lauded James as an actor. Some guy affiliated with Dreck. Good stuff either way.
So, lots to look forward to in the coming year! :)
Entertainment Weekly offers us a first look at Austenland in the form of a very dapper promo picture. (Edit: the link has expired but the picture is here.) And honestly, those pants. Those pants! They are so tight! They.. so tight. This, that is.. unprecedented tight.
I promise that when and if I see Austenland, I will be able to focus on other OMG those pants.
Um, I'll just leave you with this and perhaps blog on another day when I'm not quite so.. preoccupied.
Yeehaw! (Is that right for Texas? I feel like such a phoney.)
James Callis has been announced as a guest for next year's Sci-Fi Expo in Dallas, Texas! (Hey, Dallas Texas, James Callis, it all ends with S's! Fitting.) The con will take place on February 9-10. The other announced BSG guests are Tricia Helfer (eeeee OTP gush), Edward James Olmos, and Sam Witwer.
And on this happy occasion, allow me to say that I wish they used some picture other than that one with the oily hair and the haunting/haunted look at the camera from 200-frakking-5. I don't think it does his handsomeness justice.
The con's page is here. More news/photos/gushery as it draws closer.
..Draws, or lassoes..? OK, I promise, no more jokes pertaining to the location of the con.
SPOILERS. I tried to avoid them in the Midsomer Murders episode, but in the end, do people really care whodunit in a British cop show?
Linkage: There's an interesting article here about typecasting and James' role here. As usual, I feel the need to mention that Gaius Baltar was more than just a villain, more than just a traitor, more than just... Well, he was more than any other character I've seen, and James has said before that he did so many things in that role, he may never get a similar chance again. So whatever he does from now on, it could be said to be typecasting in some way. It's inevitable. As such, I don't see this role as typecasting, even if he does some Gaius-like facial expressions. But it's an interesting read, and gives a better recap of the episode than I feel I have.
If I'd done my research last week, I would have known that Innocent Graves, part 2 aired the day after the first part. But I was too shocked by part 1 and probably wouldn't have watched it last week anyway.
The second part is a great relief for me, as it turns out Owen Pierce is... innocent. He's being set up, he's not a molester or a rapist either. There are some shocking, rough scenes, and for a moment there I was worried I'd have to watch James kill himself in character. That would have been horrible. But his character turns out OK and in psychiatric care. I'm so glad of how this ended. The murderer, as it happens, is neither Pierce nor the creepy boy who was the other suspect. Well played.
We begin on a sad note, as Pierce reports the vandalism on his house and gets the cops in - seven hours late. There's lots of tension between him and Banks, who says he will knock Owen's door first, no matter what crime is committed in Yorkshire. Great acting moment here. James' eyes look almost yellow in this light, transparent. His sadness and lonely desperation burn me.
Speaking of burning - Owen shows them what happened to him in prison: scalded with sugar water ."Sugar intensifies the burn. You did this to me."
Maybe I'm a horrible person or maybe it's a coping mechanism, because I can't stand to think of James scalded, I just can't. But look! He gets to show his belly a bit! I get so many "James Callis shirtless" searches, and here it is - James Callis at least partially shirtless. It's.. drool... gush... OMG... He's so beautiful. I just... Wow.
I mean, after all, the burn is not real. It looks bad but it's just makeup. We can just look past it and focus on all the sexiness going on. I do wish he got to be shirtless in a more positive (and longer) shot, but this still made me very happy.
Maddy, one of his students who was just telling the cops he likes rough sex, has been writing love letters to prison. She acts like they're going to be together after this. But I think us viewers know what she really wants: a scandal. My heart breaks again here, because all he wants is for someone to trust him, to love him. He's so desperate and she betrays her.
In the meantime, someone kills Ellie's best friend Becca, and the police find a destitute Owen in his home. Oh James, don't cry! We love you, we do. All is well. (Edit: Blogger went nuts because of my heart icons, so I'll just rewrite this bit. HEART HEART HEART.)
I can apparently tell James and the character apart, but only when it comes to overwhelming fetishes like his body, or how tiny he looks in a hoodie. But when he's crying like this, and all alone in the world, I just feel it's James there and my heart breaks for him. (Of course, they didn't show him being scalded - gah, now I thought of him being scalded in prison. This show is a mindfield. Um, minefield. A minefield for the mind? Nevermind.)
Luckily someone saw Owen with Maddy around the time Becca died. But then he sees the paper. Maddy has sold his love letters as "sick letters to Ellie".
And his world comes tumbling down. I can't even really think about how he must be feeling.
This scene was perhaps the hardest yet. Owen goes off the deep end and kidnaps Maddy, but the police find him in time.
He asks what it matters now, everyone thinks he did it, he might as well do this to Maddy. Banks tells him he'll have to live with a murder on his conscience. Also, Banks is so sorry for his doubts, and they caught the real killer now. In the end, Owen is able to drop the knife. James does some stellar work here. He does desperate, and pained, and even murderous.He blows me away here.
I thought he would do it. The suicide would have been even worse, but him spending life in prison, and me having to watch James kill someone in character - I'm so glad it didn't come to that.
In the end, Owen Pierce gets psychiatric help. We no longer see him, but he know he'll be OK, or at least better than he was. Not alone.
It strikes me that James may have spoken with his Yorkshire/Aerilon accent all through this. It's a show set in Yorkshire, after all. I didn't really notice, so maybe that means it was a really good, natural Yorkshire accent? I'm not a good judge of that.
Either way, amazing performance. This was a hard watch, but for the ending, and the shirtless bit, I feel like it was worth watching. Caution is still adviced to those of sensitive persuasion.
WARNING: This show disturbed me so it might disturb others. Murder, possible rape, really difficult to watch.
Wow, this really traumatized me. I've seen James in most of his roles, and I've usually been able to enjoy them in some way. But this... I just felt incredibly uncomfortable watching this. I can't hate this character because it's James, but I also can't like him very much because we aren't given much to go on. This is a two-parter, so he might turn out be the murderer. He might like rough sex with really young girls, or the girls may have set him up. He's weaselly and he's lying and there's something really off about him - but he may be innocent, and now his life is ruined. I give the show credit for not showing us the murder, like some shows do; we don't know who did it and why. There are two creepy main suspects, but it's not obvious who did it.
When I say it's James, just to clarify, I know it's just a character, and he said on Twitter that it was an "unwelcome" role. He's not this guy. But this guy looks like him. It's the same hairdo, and the same stubble, and even his clothes look like what James might wear. There are many Gaius Baltar mannerisms when he's obviously lying, and these are mannerisms I've come to know and love. He's done them in many Q&As to show what a weasel Gaius is. But now he's doing them here and he may have murdered a young girl, and I can't help but feel for him because it's James, but really I should probably hate him. My feelings are confused.
I did feel disgusted at Mason Duryea on Numb3rs, but Mason looked and acted nothing like James. He had a Southern accent, his hair was wild, his look was haggard and disturbed. He talked and looked like a madman. I applaud James for making that happen, but I don't really see James in that role, so it's not so disturbing. I was able to distance my fan feelings from him completely. Mason isn't really that attractive; he's too haggard and violent and awful to be admired or gushed over.
I find Owen Pierce attractive though, because I find James attractive. He has James' face, hair, and body. He has the sad puppy eyes at some bits, and the Gaius mannerisms. It's only when he yells at the female detective that she obviously hates men when his eyes obviously aren't James's. I see him as someone else there. But then we go back to troubled Owen, and hated Owen, and broken Owen, and that looks similar to the troubled hated broken Gaius Baltar. And I do hate when people see him only as Gaius Baltar, but there are similarities here that I can't overlook.
And I don't know, maybe this is just because I'm a fangirl and I have so many feels about James from over the years. Maybe I can no longer watch a performance of his without feeling something for him as the actor. Or maybe it's just too close for comfort.
I'm really not sure if I can rewatch the episode but here's a brief recap with pictures:
We open on lights going round and James telling someone, in his gravelly voice, to "show me your fear." But wait, he's only being a good drama teacher! He's not killing a young girl! Psych! A pretty powerful beginning. Also, chest hair, but I'm having trouble even drooling over him here.
Creepy face, but it's acting, so it's OK. I like this shot a lot, with the two young girls' profiles. It sets up a nie theme for the episode. (Although I have to mumble to myself that it's always attractive young girls who get killed in these shows.)
They burst into laughter and he's suddenly their buddy. We see how he tries to be one of them and wants to be liked. (Perhaps desperately?)
Ellie - our murder victim - is given friendly advice. Just the teacher's hand on the shoulder, it's not sexual. OR IS IT??
After class, various sexy young girls try to get his attention, but he's still staring at Ellie. It's creepy.
Also, even more creepily, he reminds me of a professor I had, who shall remain nameless. He was a sexy older* man, and he flirted with everyone, he even flirted with me. (Maybe I'm more attractive than I think, or maybe it's just some universal "I love women", I don't know.) It was flattering and I think many of us had a crush on him, although I don't know if he had any affairs with students. It strikes me that I see him as a good guy, but if someone accused him of rape or sexual harrassment - I'd probably buy it. That sort of attention with women can usually go both ways, and some girls weren't comfortable with it. If you don't know the person that well, and you felt sexual tension between him and you, there might be a feeling of fear that leads you to believe he did it. Someone could definitely abuse this underlying fear and lie about him. This thought makes this episode even more disturbing. (* = considerably older than James, but we were 20-25, not 15 like the girls here.)
Viewers, this guy is creepy. Please hate him and suspect him, OK?
Nice closeup though. I like the lines on his face. I haven't really seen them until the last couple of years, but they look like a friendly person's lines. Like his eyes have laughed a lot.
Talking to the cops, Owen tries hard to come off as totally normal. "She was always such a bright young thing! So... vital!" He sounds like he's thinking of her boobs, or their sex together, or something. He's doing a lot with his eyes here, trying to give a wide-eyed look of innocence.
Gaius lying faces!!! He ends up looking something like a frog when he does these faces. Maybe it's his bulging eyes and the mouth positions. My boyfriend didn't like Gaius based on screenshots, because "He's always bulging his eyes!!" But he did like Gaius then, when we were actually watching. He said it makes James look less attractive when he does these faces. I think it's rather adorable. Not really sexy but.. adorable.
Ribbit, ribbit. I think it's just his natural comedian coming out, trying to do something fun to a role that's about to get very dark.
And then it gets very dark and at this point, I may not be able to recap much longer.
Awww! James, don't worry!! We don't hate you! We love you! :* :* :* ..Um, fangirl mode kicks in.
Notably, he lies some more, nothing he says can be trusted, he's really arrogant and desperate, and "Let's just say I appreciate the female form". So dirty old man (although he's not that old), possible murderer, all kinds of icky. But also all kinds of desperate and sad and miserable. Then, when he's already lost his reputation and been beat up in prison, he's let go on a technicality - and finds his house wrecked. And then goes stalking another young girl, so did he do it? DID HE?! More next week.
Some pictures below. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, because I feel really awful. But it's a great performance from James. There are Gaius mannerisms, but that doesn't mean he's stuck in a rut and does them in every role. In fact, I haven't seen them since Gaius. The sad eyes, the misery - he does a lot with this character, and it couldn't have been easy.
Wednesday, October 31: Eeee Full Q&A!!!
I wasn't hoping for this anymore, but: someone's uploaded James' whole Sunday Q&A on Youtube!! Link here. Thank you so much! (Embedding is disabled for this video.)
I'm super busy today, it being the last day of the month and thus a day when you can still plump up your paycheck a little bit. I get very skinny paychecks, so I can't make a lot of commentary, but I will later. As a whole, the Q&A covers a lot of familiar ground. There are quite a few "on some level"s. ;) James appears very cutely bundled up, in the blue plaid shirt, cap, scarf, and leather jacket of con glee. (There are so many zippers on that jacket, including in the sleeves. I find it quite fascinating.) The audience seems a bit stiff and doesn't laugh at many of his jokes. WTF? Are Belgian people different when it comes to humor? This must be a cultural thing. He should come to Finland, we're all crazy.
Highlights:
-He apologizes for the French things he wrote in the autographs, some of which apparently weren't correct. Heee! But he used Google Translate to check, so maybe it was actually Google Translate that was wrong. He promises a new autograph to those who got something nonsensical. I'd hang onto a nonsensical French autograph, it's more unique.
-In one of my favorite con moments, he tells people it's Sunday so he will now conduct a religious service, please kneel. Nobody laughs. *facepalm* It was really cute though.
-Edward James Olmos and his warmth comes up again. His children call EJO "Uncle Eddie". Awww! He doesn't do his EJO voice, maybe because this audience doesn't seem to get his humor too well. Too bad.
-He talks a bit about Eureka and the science of the shows, how so much of it is based on real science. He seems fascinated by this aspect, as am I.
-He mentions Baltar being very recognizable, and he's happy about "stepping into a new avatar" soon. Hmm????!!! Does he mean a main role or something else that will be really recognizable? Commence the Dr Who etc. rumors. He can't actually give any news about future projects, but he is working on something.
-There's talk about the finale of BSG and how he doesn't even know what Baltar and Six were, and how it was more about the dangers of technology (he mentions being quick on your thumbs on Twitter - hee! But some of use an actual keyboard for tweeting, James.) He's worried about people reading books less, which might lead to losing some of our cultural inheritance.
I think that's the most important stuff that came up. More later, possibly tomorrow when it's the first of the month and my work motivation takes a sudden slump. Sunday, October 28
Hmm, I thought I made an update on Thursday but apparently I never published it. It's been a crazy week, but then there weren't that many updates anyway.
We have video! It's a bit of an answer about the old Battlestar Galactica. James watched it as a child and was shocked that they had to leave some people on the planet when it was destroyed.
"..with the idea that there's been a genocide on a planet. The one memory I have frmo being a kid is watching, Captain Apollo come down in his viper, and there's a sea of people who are refugees, but like he's only got two seats. And I remember thinking: Well they gotta save them, cos like it's a TV show, and it can't end badly, and whatever. I'm a lot older now and I still remember that one scene, because it really hurt! And we carried on that kind of legacy. The world has matured, not necessarily in a great way since the 70's. The thing that is interesting is in the 70's, after the world had been destroyed, they went to the disco planet, which we didn't do."
:D :D The disco planet! I wonder what he means about the world maturing, but not in a great way. Does he mean the world is less innocent? Or that it hasn't matured greatly or anything?
I don't think I've heard him say this stuff before. That's interesting. Shallow side note: his shirt is kind of insufficiently tucked in, so maybe his shirt, as well as his hair, has a life of its own.
And here's an article about him loving single malt! With two very.. awww-inspiring pictures, where he is qutite bundled up again! Apparently this guy sells the whiskey? And he ended up giving James some samples. That's - really kind of cool.
Edit: I need to brush up on my reading stuff properly before linking to it. This guy was responsible for driving him to the hotel from the airport, and whiskey just came up during the drive. And likes - the "peated malts from Islay". I have no idea what that even means, but cheers!
I don't know anything about such drinks, but apparently James is a TOSHAN MAN and that sounds so adorable I might start using this as his new nickname. (Why do I always love when he smokes, drinks, or eats anything? Ingesting things through the mouth = adorable?)
And - holy fucking cheekbones, Batman. The cheekbones seem to be making the form of a question mark, but the wrong way around. So he asks questions, but the other way around? He... thinks of stuff from a different angle? He.. Oh whatever, I'm trying to be deep and failing miserably. Time to call it a day and publish. Tuesday, October 22: Les Con Temps Sont les Bon Temps. Second Tuesday Update:
OMG - this is a really cool photo/drawing by *Boredman. The calm exterior hides a fanboyish interior, apparently. Awesome! I don't think anyone else has done this before. I hope James sees this, I think he'd appreciate the artistry.
Also, chest hair. But I'm trying to be slightly less gushy, because I just re-read the post and it seems a bit... dribbly. Bear with me, I have the flu. And stress. And he's just too cute. I've decided that I said "cute" too many times, by the way, so I will no longer use such a word in this post. (I'm not saying anything about the blog as a whole..)
Another adorable photo by kmeron. I like the faded tones, and this is a particularly nice shot of James's KindEyes. He does the delighted face, and it's one of those looks that just melt my heart. It's not a purely sexual thing, it's just that he looks so kind. His hair looks amusingly like it has its own life back there, which James may or may not be aware of.
On a more sobering note, a blogger says they felt very uncomfortable meeting James. This is always sad to read, especially since I worry about it happening to me - paying lots of money to meet him, looking forward to it, and then either making a fool of myself, or catching him on a tired day, or just feeling our chemistries don't match at all. And feeling sad, when everyone else is happy after meeting him. I don't know this blogger, but I got a feeling they might be like me, more comfortable observing than interacting. Half the time I don't talk to James on Twitter because I'm just so damn shy. And I've talked to him several times before, and he's talked to me. It's odd.
His Q&A later that day was inspiring. We got good background information, thoughts on acting and the techniques of the show, and some reflections on his identity as a Brit, and what that implied for the story arc in which Gaius was president.
Oo, that sounds fascinating. I hope there will be quotes and/or video. Am I too greedy? It's awesome that people are reporting anything at all.
Not to make this all about me, but I'm about 100 % sure I'd enjoy being in one of his Q&A's, even if - especially if - I wouldn't be asking a question. Maybe I identify too much with the meeting stories, like when someone has a good meeting I feel I had a good meeting, and vice versa. But maybe that's part of the fun - maybe part of the function? - of con posts. Hmmm.
First Tuesday Update:
(The con times are the good times - not sure if I got that right.)
Sorry for the day with no updates. I've been working hard while having the flu and it's.. my brain is totally hazy, so I apologize in advance for any weirdness. I mean, more weirdness than usual. Um.. nevermind, you probably can't tell the difference anyway.
James himself sounds like he had a blast! He praises Belgian beer and speaks French. I would have gone for Belgian chocolates myself, not a fan of beer. But then they say that Finnish beer is terribly sour, because when it first came here on ships, it got ruined on the way. So Finns began to make bitter, sour beer that Brits think is horrible. I wonder if I'd like the Belgian types.
And I love con times, because James always sounds so happy and benevolent to the whole world. He mostly does, but especially during and after cons. It's good to see how much he enjoys meeting the fans.
Merci Belgium - the beers here r beyond belief, name & number & the people whether they speak Flemish or French Sont super branchez! Merci x
"Branchez - connect". Hmm. OK. "sont super" = are super, so.. the people are super connect? I'm missing something here. I need to brush up on my French. There's a super cute picture of him with a beer, too, so check that out.
A cute pic here - he seems to be posing, so it's not a totally candid shot, but it looks self-deprecating. Heee. Also, it must be his Coke! How awesome is that! He drank Coke! I... I can be calm about this, really.
A better version of kmeron's Twitter pic, in black and white. Here you can also see his shadow. James has a lovely profile, really. I love his nose! The black and white gives a strangely old feel, like he's a professor in the 50's, telling the students about life, philosophy, and the joys of smoking. Actually, you can see TWO of this shadows, can't you? One is just wider. That's really deep and philosophical. Maybe that's the alternate reality James, who's much fatter. Either way, really cute hair tuft at the back.
And a cute - I should think of other adjectives but I'm too tired - one here of the signing situation. I'm getting curiouser and curiouser about that thing on his right wrist. Is it a con thing? Is it a watch? It kinda looks like leather. This is a mystery that needs to be solved. Also, COKE!!! This one's also from kmeron.
Here we learn that James was "chaleureux et accessible", chaleureux meaning warm or hearty. Awww. Also, one of his funniest autographs ever! (Note that Lee is also in the picture. Fanficcers alert!)
James Callis, at the photoshoot : "Hi Valerie, how are you". He basically just remembered my name from the autograph session the day be4 ♥
Awww, sweetie pie. He remembers people's names! Maybe he has some super strong memory, or maybe, if I go really fangirl here, the fans mean so much to him that he just revels in meeting each and every one of them and remembers it forever? The latter seems unlikely, but would be intensely flattering to all fans, so maybe I'll go with that one.
Also, someone tweeted that James was the best part of the con, but I can't find that one now. Either way, sounds like an awesome con.
And. I realized I could have gone. I mean, it's Belgium, it's really close to Finland compared to the US, the flights can be quite cheap. I could have been there and met James but I didn't even consider it. It came to my mind on Saturday, and I beat myself up a bit. There aren't that many cons in Europe, after all, and I may never meet James in person at this rate. But as it happens, a friend had her mother's funeral on Saturday, and my boyfriend's father had bypass surgery yesterday. I might have felt really bad to be far away from them at this time. So all is good. Sunday, 7:12 PM Belgian time. SNUGGLY PIC!!!
OK, I guess I can stop with the Belgian times because the con is almost over.
I just saw this picture, from Marie who is very lucky indeed. While my fan envy meter reached a new high, it's a lovely picture, and look how snuggly he is with her and how his hair is. And I do like the plaid, which is obviously much brighter than it looked in the earlier pictures. Also, this is the first picture that wasn't from Twitter, so I can start advertising my post on Twitter. I'm needed again! Ye!
Another lovely one from GregNoirfalise. James' face looks slightly burned. Maybe he burned it in the California sun, or maybe it's just hot in those photo op studios. (Or maybe he hugged too many girls?)
And from crossbowwarrior here. It's a bit blurry but I love that you can see an expression, as well as a hair-pression(?). (Why do I feel like all of my comments amount to "gush, his hair/outfit/etc."? Well, as long as we don't have any quotes, that's all I have.
*swoons in an embarrassing fashion* Sunday, October 21, 13:25 PM Belgian time. OMG Cute! :D:D
This just in: cutest outfit ever? It's cute because it's just so - James! Was he cold again? (Well, he did spend some weeks in LA according to his tweets. But I like the idea that he's just perpetually cold, it's very cute for some reason.) THE leather jacket! The cap! The scarf! He looks tiny and bundled up inside the protective clothing layer. Awwwww unbearably cute! Also, today it's blue plaid. I do like the plaid. Thanks to Radeon_sk for the photo!
Also: the cap again (C for Cylon?) and a bit of chest hair! Cheekbones ftw, btw. What strikes me about this picture is the red eyes - we seem to have two cylons here, one of them being James. Har har. Okay, old joke but still. Thanks to Greg Noirfalise!
And a signing picture - are those patched elbows? Ah, is that the coat he had on at "An Evening with James Callis", rocking the whole English professor look? I love his expression, it looks.. genuine. It's not a posing picture at all, which is why I love candid shots. And is that his Coke is that his Coke is that.. *calms down* OK, it's no big deal whether he drinks Coke or not, just because it happens to be my favorite drink. Ahem. I'm normal. Thanks to Robert (Rossert?) Leach.
It's a bit problematic that all updates seem to be on Twitter. I don't even feel like advertising this post on Twitter, because all people have to do is read the Twitter search for "James Callis" or "Gaius Baltar". I feel unnecessary. But then, Twitter search only pans for a couple of days, and then the updates are lost. So if I don't blog them now, they will be forever lost to those who don't follow the tweeters - right? I'm still doing the world a favor. I think. I will advertise when they no longer show in the search. Saturday, 20:24 PM Belgian time. First Photos!!!
Oo, we have our first photos!!!! We have our first photos. I'm calm. I'm still calm.
Look, he's wearing red plaid! I love that shirt. He's looking quite fabulous indeed and look at that hair, swoon.
A blurrier photo, but you can see - more hair. That's a lot of hair. Wow. Also, James seems to have one of his touched, friendly looks on. I wonder what he talked about.
A close up reveals that his hair is very long indeed! That is some thick, long hair. Luscious, thick, long hair. Dark, luscious, thick, long, oh you get the picture. GUSH!!!
Also, someone posted something in Dutch, but I think my dictionary-usage was of no help. I, uh, don't think James looked anything like a "matrimony battleship", so I must be misinterpreting. Saturday, October 20, 12:48 PM Belgian time.
Eee! So another con and another con watch post. This time, it's in Belgium, which is not a hundred hours behind Finland, so I might actually get some updates while still awake. But who knows? It's a smaller con, so there will be fewer updates, and some will not be in English. I'm trying to brace myself here. Also, while James seems delighted at puns like "F.A.C.T.S. are Gaius Baltar is coming to Belgium", I'm not so happy because when you search for "James Callis F.A.C.T.S.", it (Google) just gives you - James Callis facts. It's a little more frustrating than usual, but I think I will be bitten by the con bug all the same.
The schedule is here at the F.A.C.T.S. homesite. There will be two Q&As, as well as two photoshoots, and in addition James will be signing autographs. Or is signing, or has been signing, more aptly, since it started at 10 AM Belgian time.
Wow, Belgium is only ONE hour behind Finland! You see, we're at the top of the world and thus ahead of most other countries. A great place to be, except for the climate and distances. So James will be having his Q&A in approximately one hour. Eeee exciting!!!
So, updates later! In the meantime, I want to link to this: James appeals for Mexican playwright Legom. Donate if you can - you can help save someone's life. More videos for Legom here. The website with more details here.
More con news so soon! James will appear at the F.A.C.T.S. convention in Belgium, October 20-21! :)
Info on the con here, and James also announced this today on his Twitter! It's a smaller con, so there might not be as many updates as with say Dragon*Con, but we had some good stuff from Italy and Germany, so I'm hopeful.
The guests are listed here. James gets first billing! :)
Oh, I'm gonna be con-high all fall now! Eeeeeeee!!!
And in case I forget to say this later, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has shared pictures, videos, and reports. Us who can't go to cons really really appreciate it. You guys rock!
Tuesday, 11th of September: The ultimate BSG photoshoot!
There's a big gallery of photos here from the BSG photoshoot of cosplayers at Dragon*Con. James, as we know, joined in and took a bunch of photos with them. This is awesome!
I particularly love the Chief/Cally/Nicky cosplayers. Also, Roslin apparently got quite emotional at seeing Gaius again - but the feelings weren't altogether warm!
Monday, 10th of September: Tardy but HUGE update!
Wow, long break! I had a couple days of really frantic con update-searching, and then I had to take a few days off to stay sane. Because James is, frankly, gorgeous and amazing and there were just too many good updates. I haven't been this fan-gleeful since... I don't know when. I actually couldn't sleep one night because I was just so GLEEFUL.
I think I'll make another post with transcripts of what James says in the videos. Look below, nearly the full panels are on YouTube by now (eeeeeeeee!!!!). I might even include what all the others are saying. But since I'm doing transcripts for a living now, I have to prioritize that. (Sigh.)
Nicole's getting her report together, here's the squeeful day one with the first James meeting. Awww, James! *totally lives vicariously through Nicole and thus avoids a terrible fit of jealousy* Also, LOL at the drink. It looks so cute. That link also contains many details about the first BSG panel James was not in, esp. with Jamie Bamber. And here's day two, with the second BSG panel! This post, too, contains many things that were left out of the James-centric report she gave me (see last Tuesday's update), so be sure to check it if you're a BSG enthusiast!
Bamber also talked about excitement of getting new scripts, and then inevitably getting furious about something and needing to call Ron so he'd talk them down or even change something. (Totally noticed James grinning/nodding in agreement here.
Have made a decision that BSG actor personality-wise, JamesCallisis my favorite. (Hogan is a close runner-up.)
Lots of new photos at Flickr! OMG that grey shirt is so... it's so... *stares*
A couple of fan photos from Twitter, here and here. I get additional glee every time a fan kinda looks like me.
A fan's photo with James and Jamie. There's been some discussion about James' choice of scarf. I'm going to say that this time, all of the outfits I've seen so far, I've liked. I love that scarf, or handkerchief, or whatever. I think it's a beautiful color and it just looks really good on him. Maybe I'm biased to see all his clothes as good because his hair is so dreamy. He looks like, this is like best case scenario James in terms of hair and stubble and... everything. Swooon!!!!
Three hot men and a lady. This one's taken at the bar, and it seems they were good sports about having pictures taken on their off time too. Jesus that shirt! The evil cap amuses me still. If it's the same one as in 2006, James has taken good care of it.
JamieBamberNews has a lot of really good panel videos, featuring James, and there are also several Monday panel ones! Awesome, awesome, awesome! So I'm going to link to them all at once here. Again, transcript with commentary is coming. James and Jamie look tired in this panel, like they partied all night every night (and apparently they did!).
A long video with the first 24 minutes of Sunday's panel! :) Good quality, though it cuts off in the middle. With all these panel videos, it's almost like I was there myself. I haven't even watched them all yet, I'm savoring. James! *gets goosebumps*
And one of those slightly messy con videos where you can see James interacting with someone and being very interested in their tattoos. But you can't really hear most of the conversation. It's kind of "did he know he's being filmed". But you know, James' hair and smoking and the evil cap! Too cute to not link to.
Wednesday, 5th of September
There's a link here to BIG galleries of all the BSG panels. With massive thanks to eserei27!
I'm seeing quite a few photos and quotes floating around Tumblr, so shall we agree I'm reblogging those to the Fuckyeah James Callis tumblr?
Just a couple of my favorite quotes from Nicole's report yesterday, and some comments:
A woman asked both James and Michael Trucco what it was like to be in the 'milky substance', i.e. tub of Cylon goo (Sam with the Hybrid tub and Baltar with his dream sequence of resurrecting). James said he thinks it's the same stuff they make McDonald's milkshakes with. He didn't understand why there was a person there with a hose, he thought it was gonna slide right off him - nooo. He said he got this "biblical" idea into his head where he wanted it to be like a baptism and come out of the water (oh James), so he stupidly put his head under, at a time when he had a thick beard. XD Tricia and Grace had tried to warn him but couldn't prepare him, he was still washing it off after multiple showers.
:D :D :D He did look really immersed in the goo in the episode, and full of sticky material all over. BUT, since Tricia had to dunk his head under, he would have gotten it on his beard anyway, right? Or did they ad lib that dunking because they figured he was already gooey? Either way, too cute. Also, I'm not sure I'll eat a McDonald's shake ever again.
Another random moment, someone sneezed in the audience and James pointedly went "God bless you" at them in a Church of Baltar-y way. And I *think* Aaron tried to correct him as 'gods', and James corrected him back that Baltar's thing was the One True God. Just a bit of didn't-you-watch-the-show? joking.
He was asked about filming the occasional parts of HeadSix scenes where she wasn't actually there and he was just with air, and he said that was hard at first. "Tricia was my life and my crutch" through the series (OMG AWWW) and so he was "lost without her". Especially early on, if he was pretending to be kissing no one, he felt very exposed, and plus there are 20-25 crew people around.
Oh, Jamie Bamber had mentioned James' wife Neha at one point while talking about his own wife, and how both of them were part of the BSG family.
Awww, nothing to add, just a huge awww on both counts. <3 br="br" nbsp="nbsp">
He said that he notices in different places people respond to different aspects of the show - Germans like the military themes, Italians the sex & women. XD For him the politics is his favorite thing, and the idea of a civilization going from its "halcyon days" to dealing with limited resources, which may happen in our lifetime. So smart.
Ah, that's fascinating! For me, it's probably the psychological aspects of guilt, hiding who you truly are, and not being able to trust others. Which probably comes from my own issues, but it's how I initially got into Baltar. Also the women on the show tend to be strong, even if it's not a perfectly feminist portrayal. I have no idea what the average Finnish person would like. Tho I saw someone saying how Baltar's "tedious play with Six is luckily left with less attention" in season 2 or was it 3, and I was like OMG STFU. So I hope that's just one Finn.
That bit happened that you saw the video of where neither James or Katee could remember the Kara/Baltar bathroom scene (but he did remember the Felix one). Actually my favorite line was cut off from the end of that -- after they'd been through this whole thing about not remembering it, Michael Trucco joked: "The cast of Battlestar Galactica will be out here shortly." XD
:D :D! I still can't believe neither of them remembered it! I remember it perfectly well, even if my rewatch of season 4 has been lacklustre, so I've seen most episodes only once. They were actually THERE! I wonder if James remembers the Felix scene because it was such a hugely emotional Baltar moment, and also quite early on in the series (some of the first episodes where he interacted a lot with AJ, was it?) It was also a calmer scene - the one with Felix was just crazy and silly, and maybe he appreciates that sort of humor. I could imagine.
So you've also seen the DIRK BENEDICT/MARS GOD OF WAR ON VIOLINS STORY. Oh my god, dying. And my other favorite part (also on the video) was talking about the opera house scene as a Baltar/HeadSix wedding, because that's how I always read it. :))
It's just the funniest thing ever, I can't! :D I think the wedding idea is lovely, and one I've also thought of. It's also sort of poignant how they just find the baby there - Six doesn't give birth to it, it's just miraculously there and then they kiss forever, OMG. Imagine that with Mars Bringer of War and the violin... O.o I wonder what sort of fan videos we'd have of that.
He does think Baltar was pretty much just out for himself and using the idea of the 'greater good' to just get what he wanted. He gave this weird, funny analogy about a guy he once saw on a set who was complaining to catering like, "I don't really care, but a lot of people are upset there was no apple crumble." And obviously that guy did care, he was the one who really wanted the apple crumble, but he was acting like it wasn't about him. So that's how he sees Baltar, lol. Though he did mention the scene in S4 when he's beaten up in the hallway and then makes the whole "love yourself"/you're all perfect speech as a moment where he hit on something sincere. But other than that he was usually - I quote - "a self-serving douche."
But what about Gina?! Someone needs to ask him how that ties in with all of it because that was the first moment I saw him as empathetic. Of course, it was someone who looked like his love (lust?) Caprica, and it was also a situation he ruined by almost raping her and giving her the nuclear warhead.. So I guess he did have some self-servation issues there.
Geez, this is a deep topic. It's hard to tell, even with the cult, because he seemed to have some genuine compassion, and he did go on that guilty monologue about how he despises the women in the cult when they've given him everything. I dunno really. Very interesting.
And LOL at the apple crumble! :D (I'll put that on my list of 'foods James has mentioned'. Milkshakes, apple crumble.. OMG I just realized something: he is not drinking Coke in any of the photos O.o Has he abandoned our dark master?!)
They weren't there at the same time - James was earlier - but Jamie had known of him from his reputation, he was considered one of the stars of his class. James said his favorite memories about theater school were people yelling backstage about glitter and JAZZ HANDS! (He did jazz hands!! while imitating this, it was adorable.)
<3 -="-" also="also" bro="bro" complimenting="complimenting" god.="god." james="james" jamie="jamie" love="love" my="my" nbsp="nbsp" p="p">
Nicole had this to add on Twitter:
OH I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING ELSE, I'd completely forgotten until just now. In the bit about Jamie/James and the theater school, James talked about how the movie "Speed" had come out while he was there and everyone was obsessed with Keanu Reeves. They'd be doing Shakespeare and backstage they were all *makes gun with his hands, does Keanu Reeves voice* "You have a hair trigger aimed at your head, what do you do?!"
LMAO!!! :D I guess this happened again when I was a teenager, with The Matrix. OMG I hope someone puts this video up! I want to see his jazz hands and Keanu impression.
So he talked a bit about 'the crying' and that he wanted to show that he felt compassion, and also maybe he just thought it would make the audience care about him. Baltar was sometimes written in a more smooth and weaselly way but he didn't want to play a character like that. He added that he doesn't see much of Gaius' weakness in himself, in real life he tries to stand up for things he believes in. (I think he quoted this old saying, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything".) But he also mentioned the "not on anybody's side" line in the miniseries and tied that in somehow, that that gave him power in a way?
I think you can see in his Twitter conversations that he doesn't shy away from conflict. You know where you stand with him, and he manages to be kind without sucking up to people. I wish I were more like that.
Does the crying make the audience care more about Gaius? I think he's right in that. In general, I'd say that characters who cry get my sympathy more easily than ones who don't. But then I'm a very touchy-feely person. (Maybe James is too?)
Michael Trucco went on a big crowd-pleasing rant about the Syfy channel at one point and when he mentioned the name change to S-Y-F-Y, James visibly rolled his eyes. XD
Didn't we all. Or "so say we all"? Honestly, SYFY. It looks so ugly to a Finn because of the way we pronounce Y. *shudders* Tuesday, 4th of September "I suppose I'm quite hairy". :D :D :D Nicole Anell, longtime James aficionado and a friend of mine, sent me an awesome panel-quickie-report, and promised I can use it on the blog. (She also had some great experiences of meeting him on the Walk of Fame, but she'll write her own report later in her own blog, so I'll link to that then. Short version: he was a total sweetheart eee fan glee!)
I can't do all the details justice right now because I'm in a hurry to work more, but I KNOW RIGHT about the shirt. And he has been asked about crying before - I think in the MegaCon new and old BSG panel - but he clearly appreciates how you had thought a bit further on it. Also, "I suppose I'm quite hairy" goes on my hall of fame, favorite self-deprecating quotes EVER. (Although I recall a conversation with M where she linked to a picture of Hogan's furry chest and belly, and pointed out James has no hair whatsoever on his belly, so he's not THAT hairy.) And I love how he just DOVE into the resurrection goo head first.
And he loved doing Portlandia! I loved Portlandia! OMG. Too much joy.
Actually someone wrote the tanning quote from Aaron on Tumblr. Here it is. (Hee! It must be a British thing, like "The sun is shining for once, let us rejoice.")
So here's some awesome details from Nicole!
Friday: James was not on the BSG panel but the Eureka one instead. I didn't take any notes because I was SO INCREDIBLY DISTRACTED by the thin shirt and chest hair situation that was going on... I assume you've seen pictures. He didn't talk much though.
Saturday: Ha, I forgot about the "University Challenge" line until I saw it on your blog. Apparently that's a British quiz show, and I forget what the question was, but the joke was that they were all whispering among themselves trying to figure out what to say or maybe remember something they'd forgotten, the way contestants on that show work out problems in a group.
Katee didn't show up to this panel (a snafu with her not getting the schedule or something) and Aaron crashed it, so it was James, Jamie, Trucco, Richard Hatch, Aaron Douglas. This was James' first BSG panel of the con and he got a TON of questions, to the point where he was being all self-deprecating about how much he was talking and going "Now someone ask someone else a question." <3 div="div">
He was asked about the various roles he played in the fleet and which he liked best. (I feel his answer to this has changed a lot depending on when he's asked, he was sort of thinking it over at the moment.) He said the politics storyline, he liked the seriousness of it and the question it raised about rigging the election.
He also talked about the cult and I really liked what he had to say. He asked RDM at one point early in that story, like, "Does Gaius really believe this? Do you really believe it?" And Ron's answer was not really, not always, but he might find some conviction through it. (Like a lot of things with Baltar? Which fits my view of that arc.)
A woman asked both James and Michael Trucco what it was like to be in the 'milky substance', i.e. tub of Cylon goo (Sam with the Hybrid tub and Baltar with his dream sequence of resurrecting). James said he thinks it's the same stuff they make McDonald's milkshakes with. He didn't understand why there was a person there with a hose, he thought it was gonna slide right off him - nooo. He said he got this "biblical" idea into his head where he wanted it to be like a baptism and come out of the water (oh James), so he stupidly put his head under, at a time when he had a thick beard. XD Tricia and Grace had tried to warn him but couldn't prepare him, he was still washing it off after multiple showers. I think - if my notes are correct - he also briefly brought up the attempted eye-clamp thing from "Taking a Break" that he's talked about before, on the theme of suffering for his art. Edward James Olmos wanted him to put these steel things in his eyes, and he was like "You know what? I'll act that." LOL.
Someone asked him about the Jesus beard and how long it took him to grow it, and he said in this sheepish voice - I quote - "I suppose I'm quite hairy." It didn't take him long to grow at all. I feel like he's talked about this before maybe, but he was saying how it was something he really wanted and pushed for with the character, even from the beginning he wanted him more stubble-y. The late Harvey Frand in particular was against it because he was worried about it causing continuity problems (like if they had to reshoot a scene and it was a different length). But it was right around the time Saddam Hussein had been found in that foxhole with the beard -- the audience laughed here for a second but he was like "No, I'm serious" -- he felt it showed a lot about Baltar having been tortured and exiled and "how far he'd gone from himself."
At some point, I forget how it came up, but Aaron Douglas was teasing James about how he was always outside tanning and he was too tan to be on a spaceship.
Another random moment, someone sneezed in the audience and James pointedly went "God bless you" at them in a Church of Baltar-y way. And I *think* Aaron tried to correct him as 'gods', and James corrected him back that Baltar's thing was the One True God. Just a bit of didn't-you-watch-the-show? joking.
He talked about doing Portlandia! :) He thought Ron Moore was the funniest, acting like this guy who'd never seen the show. EJO might have actually scared them with his deadpan glaring thing. XD It was a lot of fun, even the cameramen were trying not to crack up as they were filming it.
He was asked about filming the occasional parts of HeadSix scenes where she wasn't actually there and he was just with air, and he said that was hard at first. "Tricia was my life and my crutch" through the series (OMG AWWW) and so he was "lost without her". Especially early on, if he was pretending to be kissing no one, he felt very exposed, and plus there are 20-25 crew people around.
Oh, Jamie Bamber had mentioned James' wife Neha at one point while talking about his own wife, and how both of them were part of the BSG family.
I *think* this was the panel, I might be wrong, the moderator asked James a question about the sex on BSG. He said it was an adult show, and - as I've seen quoted a lot on twitter - he ended with a joke about how sex is great, "I hope you all get to experience it one day." (Which btw, I didn't take as a joke about all the con-goers being virgins, more like some of them were.)
Richard Hatch while defending Zarek said something half-jokingly like "Baltar killed millions of people, and I just did this one little thing..." and James interjected "It's not a competition, Richard." *g*
Sunday: This is the panel that you saw mentioned on twitter with his resources comment. (It was a question they all really liked about what they thought the most "enduring themes" of BSG would be.) He said that he notices in different places people respond to different aspects of the show - Germans like the military themes, Italians the sex & women. XD For him the politics is his favorite thing, and the idea of a civilization going from its "halcyon days" to dealing with limited resources, which may happen in our lifetime. So smart.
That bit happened that you saw the video of where neither James or Katee could remember the Kara/Baltar bathroom scene (but he did remember the Felix one). Actually my favorite line was cut off from the end of that -- after they'd been through this whole thing about not remembering it, Michael Trucco joked: "The cast of Battlestar Galactica will be out here shortly." XD
(This isn't specifically about James, but that moment actually came up again later on in the panel. They were talking about how, as they get further away from the show, there are sometimes episodes or scenes they catch on TV that they'd totally forgotten about, they can't even remember that they shot them. Jamie Bamber was saying there are things they get asked about all the time so they're used to telling the stories about them, and that's what they end up remembering the most. It helps when they're on a group panel together and can bounce off each other and remind each other of things. So then of course Katee and James were like, "Do you remember the bathroom scene?")
So you've also seen the DIRK BENEDICT/MARS GOD OF WAR ON VIOLINS STORY. Oh my god, dying. And my other favorite part (also on the video) was talking about the opera house scene as a Baltar/HeadSix wedding, because that's how I always read it. :))
And the thing about how he'd wanted Gaius to die, yeah. I did like and write down the part about how it was "cruel in a way [RDM] didn't want to write" and the darkness to show the light, etc.
Monday: There should be videos of this one coming soon because I know two people who were filming it. This was Callis, Bamber, Trucco, and Richard Hatch. They all talked about celebrities they'd met and been 'starstruck' by, but I missed James' answer to this since I was lining up for my own question.
I basically got up and said that Baltar cried more than any other character on the show (that got a laugh from the audience and panel *g*) and as an actor he was ironically fearless in portraying a not very brave or strong character, conjuring up those kind of emotions. (I meant to add something in there about it being rare for a male actor/character specifically, but I think I forgot to hit that point.) It's... apparently something he hadn't been asked about before, 'cause he was like "I never thought of it that way." *thinks about answer* So he talked a bit about 'the crying' and that he wanted to show that he felt compassion, and also maybe he just thought it would make the audience care about him. Baltar was sometimes written in a more smooth and weaselly way but he didn't want to play a character like that. He added that he doesn't see much of Gaius' weakness in himself, in real life he tries to stand up for things he believes in. (I think he quoted this old saying, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything".) But he also mentioned the "not on anybody's side" line in the miniseries and tied that in somehow, that that gave him power in a way?
Of course I wrote this down, I think in context of praising the writing on the show - "What's Baltar without Number Six? Not very much, not very interesting."
Jamie and James were asked about being at the same theater school (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), and there was a lot of great stuff talking about that. They weren't there at the same time - James was earlier - but Jamie had known of him from his reputation, he was considered one of the stars of his class. James said his favorite memories about theater school were people yelling backstage about glitter and JAZZ HANDS! (He did jazz hands!! while imitating this, it was adorable.) They also talked again about meeting while both playing characters who died on the Scarlet Pimpernel (Jamie: "Except I had about six lines, James had 600 lines." James: "That's not true." Hee.) but became really close friends while doing BSG, Jamie called him one of his best friends I think.
There were actually multiple times at this panel Jamie complimented James, it was sweet. He said he was surprised to find out he was playing Baltar and (out of the rest of the cast) he was probably the furthest away from how the writers originally imagined his character and adapted it to him, the humor he brought to it and how that humanized him.
They talked on a few panels about how collaborative the show was and the input they gave the writers. At one point there was some joking about things they pitched to the writers. Jamie Bamber was like "I suggested space. It was originally going to be in Colorado." Then James did his joke about how he wanted it to be "Baltarstar Galactica" but they didn't go for it. (Big laugh from audience.)
Someone asked James about how Baltar was a selfish character but always ended up in these serving-the-people roles -- scientist, president, religious leader -- so was there an altruistic part of him that really did care about the greater good or was it all to advance himself? He gave an interesting answer in that I don't totally agree with it. ;) He does think Baltar was pretty much just out for himself and using the idea of the 'greater good' to just get what he wanted. He gave this weird, funny analogy about a guy he once saw on a set who was complaining to catering like, "I don't really care, but a lot of people are upset there was no apple crumble." And obviously that guy did care, he was the one who really wanted the apple crumble, but he was acting like it wasn't about him. So that's how he sees Baltar, lol. Though he did mention the scene in S4 when he's beaten up in the hallway and then makes the whole "love yourself"/you're all perfect speech as a moment where he hit on something sincere. But other than that he was usually - I quote - "a self-serving douche."
He was asked about the torture scenes in "Taking a Break" and covered stuff he's said before - about knowing in the current wars there really are people being tortured, but also all the funny stories about Edward James Olmos wanting a shark in the tank. :)
Michael Trucco went on a big crowd-pleasing rant about the Syfy channel at one point and when he mentioned the name change to S-Y-F-Y, James visibly rolled his eyes. XD Monday, 3rd of September (Quick update at night):
There's another BSG panel happening soon, but I'm not sure if James is there or not. Either way, lots of awesome panel fun already :) The con videos are all behind this link, if you want to watch on Youtube. Part 3: James can't remember the scene.
LOL! Asked about the bathroom scene where Kara starts to talk to Baltar, James doesn't remember it happened. Oh James. I remember instantly! This is the funny part about seeing BSG cast interviews, because it seems like for a fan, the scenes are burned into our memory, and then someone who was frakking there doesn't remember. But he does remember the much older scene with Felix Gaeta in the bathroom. Hee!
Of general interest: Katee talks about what Kara was (she doesn't know), while James strokes his hair and does many other cute thinking poses.
Again thanks to quackytelly, whose videos are really good quality too. You can really see them. I know this depends on the seats and equipment used, but still, thank you so much!
And another pic from the BSG cosplay thing - Gaius with Six and.. Three? Or two Sixes? And a slightly different sexy pose here. James seems to have no trouble coming up with several slightly different but equally sexy poses. Maybe that comes with being an actor. I'm not sure I could pull off a whole day of photo ops. Part 2: God playing electric guitar, Gaius on the lead violin.
OMG, OMG. This is a hilarious must see thing. They were going to have the Opera house scenes with God playing electric guitar and James as Gaius playing lead violin on "Mars Bringer of War". LOLOLOL! I'm so glad he said no to that! This is actually something completely new, as well. I never heard this particular anecdote before. The audience is in stitches, as am I. Jesus.
And here on the desired alternate ending; James wanted Gaius to die. I always wanted him to have redemption though, it's interesting that James' sense of justice says he must die and suffer. Of course, he caused a lot of evil but really he was just a pawn, have mercy on him James.
Actually, I recently had this dream where James was interviewed about Gaius, and it was an alternate reality where Baltar died. And James was told his character is going to die, and he said, "Oh god yes! I've been waiting for this so long!" So maybe that dream meant he was going to say this in a panel. Because if I'm going to have dreams that predict the future, they're bound to predict James' future statements about BSG. (Or maybe it's because I'd seen him say something like this before, but what's more BSG than a premonition?)
Again with thanks to quackytelly!
Part 1: LOL, Eddie. Hilarious video from the last BSG panel. Eddie was very excited about the idea of sleep deprivation and murder/suicides. OMG. Jamie does a great Eddie impression. Thanks to quackytelly!
James is apparently wearing a blue scarf under the white shirt. Maybe he was cold when no one else was? I love the color blue, so I take this as a sign that we're twins separated at birth, etc.
JamesCallis is incredibly well-spoken and thoughtful. He thinks the most enduring theme of BSG is mankind living with fewer resources.
Ah! Actually that makes a lot of sense. I'd be curious to hear the full quote.
Sunday, 2nd of September Part 3: One more for the road.
I'm probably off to bed soon, but the BSG panel is probably only ending now, so I'm expecting to find more info tomorrow when I get up! In the meantime, Michael Trucco posted a photo of James and Jamie in the panel:
Oo, and this! James, Jamie Bamber and Michael Trucco. Hot City, population three. VERY sexy pose from James there.
It was a good day for updates, even if the con is still going on. I'm a very happy little bunny! Part 2: A very Baltar pose.
OMG, this is too cute! Apparently there was a cosplaying photoshoot for BSG, and James just walks up there and poses very Baltar-like.
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Also yay for the open-necked white shirt with rolled up sleeves. Love.
Also, a couple of shots of the autograph table! Touching his shirt - too cute. I dunno why James touching his clothes is always so cute to me, but it is. Also writing an autograph, which is a very serious business, judging by his expression. Part 1: Awww!
Kevin Grazier has generously provided this photo of James on Facebook. Thanks, Kevin! But why does James look so sad? That is too cute. Comes close to a sad Baltar moment. He seems to be sporting a sideburns-beard, which on him looks good, even if I'm not always a fan of this style. Look how luscious his hair is, too. Longer than I thought from the other pictures. Awesome.
And another cute panel shot here, James looking pondersome or relaxed. They say hands behind your head and leaning back signals confidence, but what does scratching your bearded chin signal?
A panel report tells us James took on quite many questions, but it doesn't sound like there were any new tidbits for a die-hard fan(tm). That's to be expected of course, and I'll still enjoy it if we get to see him answer the questions.
And speaking of panel videos, a video from the Eureka panel! James talks at about 0:22-0:49. I'm having some trouble hearing it, but it's about Niall Matter having some gadget, and James was disappointed that it didn't actually go up to the sky for real. The props guy told him, "You're on a TV show. No, it doesn't go up." :D Aww, James the big kid.
There was also a link I saw, but stupidly closed, and now I can't find it anymore. But it discussed James greeting the audience before the Eureka panel and letting people take pictures with him, which is so sweet.
Ah, con times, you are good times. Everybody loves our boy. Saturday, 1st of September
part 2: It's still Saturday in Atlanta.
It's actually Sunday in Finland now, but Finland is just too ahead of its time, so let's put this under Saturday. You had me at python. Too cute. The python looks huge, so it's quite a commitment, carrying that around all day. No wonder it caught James' eye!
Gaius with several ladies. He's looking quite tanned, as was expected after India. His shirt shows a nice array of chest hair, but it's really loose on him. Maybe that's intentional. I just hope he doesn't have a parasite again. But the white shirt looks smaller, so maybe he's just going for the "stare at my chest hair, ladies" effect. Which I must say I like, a lot.
James is currently doing a BSG panel, and I'm quite intrigued to hear what was said. A little bite:
JamesCallis just compared a question they got to University Challenge.
I don't know what University Challenge is, but I can imagine it's a tough question!
And in the below link, I think James is in the middle, in the white shirt.. Again, a picture from afar, but I'm fairly confident we'll have close-ups and possibly video of the panels later. It's just good to know he was there. Also, I'm hoping for some Aaron/James bro-love. And James/Jamie bro-love, coming to think of it.
BSGpanel. @theaarondouglas showed up to add comic mayhem as always. :-)
part 1: Feeling hot hot hot
OMG sexy sandwich picture! OMG look at them! I would sleep with all of these people and I don't care if that's inappropriate to say.
Observations: James is wearing a lovely loose shirt that shows off the chest hair, so I'm guessing he knows what the fans like to see. His hair is... wow. His cheekbones and stubble.. guh. Also, is that a new coat? That is one sexy coat.
A slightly blurrier photo here, but more chest hair! It bugs me that I can't see what the thing on his shirt is, but I'm sure it's nothing important. He looks a bit tireder here, but his hair looks fluffier.
I really didn't think I'd be this excited, now that I've seen him on Twitter and talked to him and all that, but OMG my fan heart, it beats like a drum. Life is good. More later! Friday, 31st of August 2012 part 2: possibly James talking, maybe.
I think what we have here is a picture of James talking in the Eureka panel. I'm guessing by facial shapes and general posture. Unfortunately you can't see anyone's face too well, but see it might be James talking, and I am excited.
Confusingly, here's another picture with James possibly listening to someone. But his shirt looks the opposite color from the other picture, and in fact if he had a beard, the second guy from the left might be James. But again, going by shape and posture, I'd say James is on the far right.
More mysterious photos and logic puzzles later.
part 1: Um, I suppose that's James...
I should remember that it's still early in the States and nothing's probably happened yet, but I was sort of expecting to find something. Well, here's what I found: a blurry photo of what appears to be a short slender man carrying a mug of coffee. The man doesn't know he's being photographed. He looks, based on his physique and hair, like James Callis, but without seeing his face from upclose, even I can't be sure if it's him.
EDIT: There's a bigger version here, and yeah, that's him alright. It's his expression. Still, a rather amusing photo. I wonder what it would be like if people took photos of me carrying my coffee and musing to myself.
James was apparently in the Eureka panel, as tweeted by both himself and Jamie Paglia. There are no notes about the Eureka panel anywhere as far as I can tell.
In a not entirely proud moment, I had to provide a captcha for Google, because "we've detected unusual traffic from your computer". Maybe I should stop refreshing my "James Callis+Dragon*Con" search for now, and go to sleep. Ahem.
Thursday, 30th of August, 2012
So it's that time of the year again! As usual, I'll be your friendly con report gatherer, and this will be the post to bookmark. The official Dragon*Con page is here. For some reason, I'm having trouble finding the schedule on there, but it seems like there will be at least photo ops on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And a panel at least on Sunday? Ah, great! Um, I already lost that link in the Tumblr Dragon*Con tag which is blowing up right now. But I'll use my mad Google skillz to find the best linkz.
So, the con begins tomorrow, and James tweeted earlier today that he was flying to the US. So we'll probably get some reports starting tomorrow. This year, I have a life, so I won't be checking for updates every five minutes. *frantically checks for the schedule all over* Um, or I might be caught by the con bug again. We'll see!
Other BSG guests this year include James' BFF Jamie Bamber, as well as Katee Sackhoff, Michael Trucco, and Richard Hatch. Other Eureka guests are Colin Ferguson, Tembi Locke and Niall Matter.
