Brad Altman responded on behalf of Mr. Takei and invited me
to call him on Friday night after the pair landed in
On Friday night I called up Brad Altman to discuss the details of our meeting; he seemed stressed out because there was some commotion at the convention he was trying to sort out so we decided that we could discuss the details on Saturday afternoon at the convention: “You do have press credentials, right?” “Of course,” I lied.
After some fancy footwork with my producer and the
convention staff, I had verbal confirmation that I would have credentials — my
first ever — waiting for me! I arrived at
the convention center at about
I went into the main hall but the booth to meet George was very crowded — probably the most crowded at the convention. I couldn’t get up to see him with the line so busy — nevermind I was very nervous — so I went to talk to Nicholas Brendon (Xander from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and then to Brad Beyer (Stanley from "Jericho"). They were both very gracious and even agreed to appear in my vlog of the event! I may have creeped out Brad Beyer though when I invited him out for drinks after the convention; he declined politely but I could tell he was weirded out; I was just trying to be friendly! Oh well.
I was wrangled in by Mr. AdamOver four celebrities met, but I still hadn’t seen George. I finally worked up the courage to get in Mr.
Takei’s queue-line when he walked away (potty break). Now I know how it feels
for all of those children at Disney when Pluto or the Mad Hatter have to take
their breaks! Though he was gone, I
walked up to his booth to talk to Brad Altman. Brad asked that I come back at
Two hours of waiting was worth it! I met George Takei!!! We talked politics, sex, and liquor — check out the video interview; he is an amazing person and my first successful celebrity interview! Too bad, New Kids, it could have been you.
Now for the final numbers:
Numbers of Celebrities Met: 7 (this really depends what you consider “celebrity”)
Number of times I mispronounced a celebrity’s name: 4
Number of times I mispronounced George Takei’s name: 3
Number of times I creeped out a celebrity: 8
Number of Pepsi’s drank: 2
Number of dollars spent: $14
Number of times I was hit on by a celebrity: 0 (this really depends on what you consider “celebrity”)
Number of co-workers seen at the convention: 1
Number of times I ripped off my friend Gonzoe’s “final numbers” format: 1
Final note: Saturday,
January 26, People and Access Hollywood ran stories on NKOTB — I beat them to
it! I’m amazing like that. I still haven’t heard from the New Kids or anyone associated with them,
but I’d still love to sit down with them. If you know of a celebrity, B-rated or otherwise, or know of a great
party or event, send me the details, I’m in search of them all!
Joshua can be reached at jwoodman@metromix.com
