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JENNY MOLLEN (Nina Ash)
As the grandfather clock in the Hyperion lobby magically struck noon on Saturday, the attendees in the Main Hall were all expectant for the very first UK appearance of Jenny Mollen, also known as Angel's love interest of Season five, werewolf girl Nina Ash. Jenny, being a longtime fan herself of both Buffy and Angel, was well aware of the loyal and faithful followers of the soul mated slayer and vampire, so she was a bit apprehensive about meeting the fans, for she so wanted them to like her. It didn't take long for fans to realize that Jenny was one of their own; a true devotee to the characters as well as her craft, she brought laughter and fun as well as intelligent insight to her talk. Having met fans the previous night and earlier in the day at her photo session, Jenny's shyness faded as she greeted everyone with a huge smile and the proverbial question, "Was everybody out to 4 in the morning? Raise your hands, how many people? Yeah, I didn't sleep at all," Jenny admits. "I'm excited to be here, I'm a little bit more relaxed; I'm not as nervous as before, I promise I won't run off the stage this time. I was a huge fan of the show from the beginning, so for me it was quite a humbling experience to be a part of Joss' brilliance." A particular audience member who has yet to see the final season of Angel wanted a recap of Jenny's character; and as Jenny said it best... "Well, I'm a girl who gets bitten by a werewolf and she sort of develops a crush on Angel because he is sort of her white knight, and she starts hanging out around the office trying to get his attention; he turns into a puppet, things get a little bit more complicated, they have breakfast, and then randomly they're in bed together," she laughs. In regards to being in werewolf makeup, Jenny had only one complaint, "The contact lens kill you, they're like this big and I don't wear contacts, and you can't see anything, so that was difficult." In preparation for the role, Jenny shyly admits that she did watch American Werewolf in London.
Most every fan will agree that Angel ended all too soon, and with new storylines such as Illyria and Nina and Angel's relationship fans wanted to know if there were plans for Nina had there been a Season 6. "We never really discuss it but I think that it would go further," Jenny explains, "Steve DeNight [Angel writer] and I have talked about it and we kind of felt they would continue the relationship in some capacity." But an eager fan raised the fact that Angel went off to Italy to rescue Buffy, "I thought it was funny because it was like I'm the rebound girl, but I felt that Nina sort of idolized him too, he was the night in shinning armor and pretty much the only person that she could relate to and find comfort in. So I think they were both using each other in a way," she explains, "I feel that Nina thought, 'I'm in love this guy,' but I think in reality it was more like an idealized, 'Oh, this would be so perfect,' type thing. For Angel it was let's move on, let's make an effort to close that chapter and I think that was what the whole union came down to." Yet, there was a moment of self respect as Jenny well knows, and Nina's lack of providing Angel with a moment of true happiness. "I was reading through this before I got [to the studio], the scene with David and I, thinking about Nina and her character and development of the relationship and my sister [Sam] walks in and I'm reading it for her and she's like, 'Dude, I don't know how you guys are going to have a relationship when he's so emotionally unavailable.'"
Before she can recover from laughing the question is raised about being in bed with David. "I had been working with him for awhile at that point," Jenny candidly begins, "and we didn't really have to do any scenes like that, certainly it'd been suggested that maybe we had been busy. But it was weird, because I talked to Joss the night before - Joss actually wrote both of Nina's scenes in episode 21 [Power Play] - and I said my dad saw Smile Time and then he went on the internet and reads, 'Did you see Nina's nipple?' and my family's like what's going on? And don't think these look bigger on screen, but it tripped me out a little bit, so I said to Joss, 'I don't want to be naked again, I don't think it is necessary.' He called over there and they typed in, 'They're naked in bed together,' and then it said, 'She is wearing a camisole,' so I got to wear a little tank top and I felt a little more at ease." The ladies in the audience were waiting for the next part of the story, "But when David took off his shirt and I had to lay on him, I felt as if maybe I was being presumptuous and too forward, but I'm trying to get into it, so I was playing with his skin. There was a line, 'And now the brow is back', and the first shot we did I grabbed his head, but he made me feel so comfortable because he knows that I speak German and French and he would say things to me with a think French accent to make me laugh." There were other interesting moments on set, as in the Smile Time episode and working alongside fellow actor who went by the name of Puppet Angel. Jokingly Jenny grumbles, "Everybody else got to laugh at him and have a comedic reaction when they saw the puppet and then I read the script and I have all these weird, intimate talks with the puppet. The puppeteers were so crass, I don't know if I should even tell you..." of course this prompted cheers of encouragement from the crowd and Jenny continued, "I'd be sitting there and all of a sudden I'll feel a little puppet hand on my boob, 'Hello?'"
After a pause in the laughter, Jenny eagerly begins, "I'll tell you a funny story, in episode three [Unleashed], you know the end where David drives me home, back to my house? I guess he got called into work two hours early and he was upset because he had been sitting in his trailer, and when we got there they weren't ready for the shot. This is the second day I had ever worked with him, I didn't really know him it was sort of just a working relationship, and I'm sitting there in the passenger seat and he's upset with the AD, 'Why did you guys call me in so early, I'm just sitting here doing nothing.' He gets in the driver's seat of the car and he takes off, and I'm like, 'Where are we going?' We're leaving the camera crew and everything, we're driving through Pasadena, 'I'm just going to make them wait for awhile,' and I'm thinking, 'I've been abducted by TV's Angel and I'm never going to see my family again.'" Fans never realize that the actors can also be fans themselves as Jenny reveals when admitting to her favorite character, "I really like Darla, and I'm not saying that because Julie's behind stage. It's so funny because I didn't meet her until I was on the set for the Italian episode [The Girl in Question] that they were shooting. I had worked with this director [David Greenwalt] in Colorado and he was a mentor for kids with disabilities. He called me and we relayed one of his kids one night and I was talking to him, he was an Angel fan so he was out in L.A. and I never get any contact with fans. I'm so excited and my sister was laughing at me because I tried on a million outfits, 'I have to impress my fan, what do you think he would want me to wear?' And I picked him up and took him to the set. James was there, Juliet Landau, Julie and David and this kid was flipping out, but I was flipping out too because I love Darla, and I didn't want to tell her, 'Hey, I'm a really big fan of yours,' So they were signing things for him and the whole time I'm trying to play it cool, 'Yeah, I'm on the show too,' but the whole time I'm, 'It's Darla!'"
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"I'd be sitting there and all of a sudden I'll feel a little puppet hand on my boob."
~ Jenny on Smile Time Angel
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While endearing herself to the fans with her passion for the series to match their own, now Jenny had the chance to show the deeper side of her talent and interests when fielding a question about her one-woman show, of which she entirely wrote, produced, as well as performed. "It's basically about my family and my childhood and different characters in my life and I take on all of them. I think it was hard because my parents divorced when I was two and they both have different versions of what happened and I took those and meshed them into one. I remember I was playing my mom in this scene in front of all of UCLA and a bunch of people in Los Angeles and my parents were at the same show, in the same room and my mom was on one side, my dad was on the other side and I don't know how it happened but I ended up delivering it to my dad as my mother. It was really intense," she confesses, "the show was definitely a catharsis but I think afterwards my parents were about to kill me because I took liberties. It was darker than people had expected from me because I was perceived as being cheerful and my show was really dark. I think that's what I was really trying to say, I'm not a pretty girl, there's so much more that you are not seeing." In light of the fact that Jenny has had the writing and producing experience of her one-women show, it was asked if she could impart to the writers regarding her character on Angel. "I think that's why I was such a fan of the show because I do write and I think the writing on the show is just superb and there is a level of excellence that you don't find in even film that Joss tries to uphold. Several times I would say, 'This doesn't feel right,' but I didn't have to do that on this show, I was thrilled." Jenny laughingly admits, "I did this horrible independent film that I hope you guys never have to see and the writing was horrible so I went home and rewrote mot of my dialogue myself and they read it the next day and said, 'Okay fine.' On Angel I didn't have to worry about that, I was in very good hands." Her preference to writing or acting caused her to reflect a moment before admitting, "They are so different, the thing with writing is that it's so tangible and you can have a purgation of emotion and hold it in your hand and as a an actor, when things can be so ephemeral - just work in general - it's nice to have that as a foundation. I don't think I could choose between the two, but I think that I'm probably better at acting. Drew is a genius, and I was embarrassed to show him any of my work because it's intimidating, but I think the acting is what I do best."
Her personal interests as to what projects she would like to try next ran the gamut from her own work to classic heroine and comic book super hero. "I have a script right now, it's called: Let Her Eat Cake, and it's just not ready yet. I feel when you write, especially when you inevitably write yourself into the script, as an actor sometimes the best things to do is say, I shouldn't play this because I don't have enough distance from this to really approach it correctly. I hope this script will get made, I don't know that I would want to play a major role, I think it could be dangerous, (laugh) you can sometimes be too close to the work." In response to the now-in-demand Angel movie Jenny replies, "Definitely, I would hope that she would come back and kick some ass, personally. I don't know if they would be together but I think she and Angel would be cool with each other and be allies of some sort." Offering the fans a little bid bit she confesses, "There's actually a pilot on the WB that's not out yet that I have my eye on, but I don't know if it's even being made but it's based on the comic book, Global Frequency. I may be completely wrong, I don't know what they have in mind but I've been hounding them about that." And of course an invitation to the British boards of the West End would not be out of the question, "I would like to do maybe Desire Under the Elms, I would love to come over." As to what fans can see Jenny in next, "We're working on post-production for this film called, The Raven, which is an adaptation of Poe's The Raven and then also - which you'll probably see sooner - is D.E.B.S.. I play a German schoolgirl-slash-spy; you know those German schoolgirl-slash-spies, I like to go for all those realistic roles, werewolf I've covered." And covered it well, as by the end of the weekend, most everyone attending Hyperion was begging Sean for another appearance of Jenny Mollen with the Starfury list of regulars! Buffy who?
BRODY HUTZLER (Landok)
The memorable body and handsome face of Alaskan born Brody Hutzler once again graced the convention scene for Hyperion. Fast becoming one of the ladies favorites it was nice to see Brody again, albeit fully clothed this time. Brody, a fan of the UK, admits he loves spending time with the Brits and would have liked more time to tour about, Cornwall being one place he would like to visit. It became known that he is also a fan of Britain's sacred game of football or as we in the states know it 'soccer' and he has an extensive collection of soccer jerseys. On finding out more about the man himself Brody admitted if he could play any cartoon action hero it would be Captain America, "I would love to have my own action figure," he laughed, and when asked about Spiderman he teases, "Tobey Maguire is like 5ft 2, he is too short for Spiderman." He pauses and grins, "I should have been Spiderman." When it comes to what he likes to watch 28 Days Later, The Big Lebowski, Rushmore and Gladiator feature in his home DVD collection. Actors, he admires, include Jeff Bridges, Jude Law and Claire Danes fields the actress of his choice, although he would love to work with classic actors Robert De Niro and Sir Ian McKellen. Voiceover work is another avenue the Alaskan would love to explore mentioning Finding Nemo, however he admits to having a slight annunciation problem and feels this would hinder him not that anyone noticed it.
When asked about his own most challenging role he explains it's more the auditions for parts then the parts he got. He entertains the audience with his funny tales of audition experiences from juggling to the part he did get for dancing about with a bucket on his head. Brody is also questioned on the hot topic of Reality TV and if he feels that viewers have been saturated by it to which he replies, "There is a place for Reality shows. I do watch The Osbornes, he admits." Luckily the increased reality scheduling hasn't affected him directly. When referring to his time on Angel, Brody mentions how different Landok was as a character to play and the added experience of makeup. At one point, he incurred an ear infection when makeup remover was left in his ear, although he is quick to point out that fellow guest Dayne Johnson was not the responsible party. He laughs as he continues to tell the story of how he once saw Charisma Carpenter in a local car park months after his appearance on the show. He recalls going over and tapping on her car window to say, 'Hi,' Charisma, it's me,' only to have Charisma think he must be a strange fan and not realize who he was. Brody laughs that he wasn't able to explain that he was Landok without makeup and how Charisma probably to this day still doesn't know who it was. Brody is currently in the Days of Our Lives soap opera playing the role of Patrick Lockhart with a work schedule of 6 hours a day, 3 to 5 days a week, Brody needless to say is enjoying his current 3-year project. However his many credits include the Batman franchise Birds of Prey, Ally Mcbeal, 7th Heaven and even Charmed to mention a few. Brody confesses he likes playing the bad guy, "Girls don't like good guy's right?" he asks with a devilish smile. Although on Ally McBeal he did play a sexually harassed employee "Story of my life, happens all the time." This prompts the question of stalkers and is it a concern for Brody; he flashes a broad smile and then goes on to joke about how he was quite disheartened that even after adding his name to the local phone book he got no stalkers. Even though many attendees were happy to offer their 'stalker' services for the weekend, and who could blame them, with his piercing blue eyes and melting smile he is a firm Starfury favorite.
BE ONE WITH THE QUEUE
For Hyperion, this Mantra was well and truly a thing of the past. Throughout the course of the weekend the Autograph sessions were separated into 2 groups; the first featured Amy, Julie, Sarah and Claire, and the second Andy, Vincent, Jenny, Dayne, Brody and Sparky. Amy also tried to get in as many fans through her autograph line as possible before she had to leave on Sunday but they were not rushed by the duel-role actress as Amy had pleasant greetings and a giggle for everyone she met. The sessions were held each evening, and with effective use of ticket numbers and white boards, the queues moved along at a reasonable pace. At this, a relatively smaller (by Starfury standards) event, the guests each took the time to say, 'Hi' and have a small chat with each of the attendees. Julie Benz's husband John Kassir was also on hand to chat with attendees. Happy to share what he has been up to, he told CoA that he'd just completed work on a new TV film entitled, Reefer Madness. The movie is a musical satire of the 1930's film that told of the evils of smoking marijuana. John plays the part of Ralph and along actors Alan Cumming, Steven Weber and Neve Campbell who gets to show off her dancing prowess for the film, John boasts it is probably the most fun he has ever had on a set. Some of the chitchat which passed between fans and guests while going through the autograph queues ranged from Sarah Thompson's partner mentioning that they had done as much as they could touring wise in England considering the short time they were there, Clare said she enjoyed her recent visit to Paris and then asked how they knew she had gone to Paris and it happened she bumped into someone in the toilets at Manchester airport after Fusion. Julie was told it was always a pleasure to see her in the UK, that an event wasn't the same without her and that all the girls hated her because she is so beautiful; Julie joked back that it was all a mask, that she just slips it on in the morning other than that she looks really rough! Jenny had brought along her sister, Samantha, who was happy to be her personal steward for the weekend when she wasn't off shopping in London, but also keeping Jenny company was a photo of her dog, safely taped to the top of her autograph table so she could keep a watchful eye on her much missed pup.
As with Fusion, Photo tickets went on sale promptly at 3pm at the start of registration with sales continuing through until Saturday night giving attendees ample opportunity to get a snap with their idols. The sessions were also well-organised if not a little busy and with the one-off opportunity to have a group shot of all the assembled guests, who can blame attendees for queuing up nearly an hour in advance. The Photo session, as always, ran well even though Vincent's ever present 'cup of coffee' was a continual moment of distraction as it was taken out of frame. Of course, the group shot was not the only opportunity to get a permanent reminder of your time with the guests. The shoots ran through both Saturday and Sunday morning offering single shots and parings from Pylean duo Andy & Brody and mother & son (Darla & Connor) with Julie & Vincent. All in all, throughout both the Autograph and Photo sessions, the guests were ready with a laugh and smile. Special consideration and appreciation should be given out to fan favourite Andy Hallett. He really gave his all in his various appearances, which only helped more in making this event another truly memorable experience. On particular attendee had quite the experience with the 'Boys of Hyperion', as CoA met Sonya from Cardiff in Wales at her first Starfury Convention. "Day 2 has been brilliant, my feet are really aching," Sonya confessed, "I've never queued so much in all of my life. Favorite guest, I think, was Vincent Kartheiser because he's totally bombed, very-very funny, very entertaining. And all the girls have been really sweet as well, Julie Benz was lovely, she had personal comments for everyone who was queuing." Sonya had to take her group photo twice due to a little distraction, "All the girls were laughing at me because I was told to stay still and I looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights apparently. Brody was just out the corner of my eye, leaning over these chairs with his shirt slightly undone and his hand in his jeans, " she explained, "and I really didn't know where to look, what to do. I was very, very side tracked from what I was supposed to be doing, but it pleasant."
Hyperion, as well, was no different than any other Starfury convention by providing the quantity and quality of their Dealer's Room to the fans who could take a break from the action of the Q&A talks in the Main Hall, or queuing for photos and autographs and peruse the mass amounts of Angel and Buffy merchandise on sale, as well as other favorite sci-fi series that were on hand. Anything and everything was available by the Vendors presents: The Who Shop International, StarFeatures.com, as well as TV & Film Memorabilia at CultTVandFilm.com just to name a few. Products ranging in every spectrum from Angel action figures, t-shirts, sculpted busts of Buffy characters, novels, magazines with the latest articles and interviews, trading cards and mouse pads, to DVD's, tapes, collector albums, autographed photos, coffee mugs and the favourite Spike posters. But CoA had a few items we were eager to part with for a price of our own while being able to spend some quality time chatting with the fans and allowing them to partake in a little CoA fun over the weekend with the, "Hmm, Bite me!" Raffle. Prompted by this famous Darla quote, although by the end of the weekend we perceived we should have chosen, "I've been hitting the half-breed. He makes noise," fans were required to hunt-down and seek-out members of the CoA staff and repeat the infamous quote. In return, they received a handful of free goodies that included: Inkworks Trading Cards, Darkhorse Comics pop-out character, CoA stickers and lanyards (which found their way around attendees necks all weekend), and more, plus a raffle ticket (oddly, also free) which put everyone in a drawing for Sunday morning. The winning ticket numbers were announced during the Q&A talks and 7 happy fans walked away with the Angel series finale and 100th episodes shooting scripts, 100th episode celebratory t-shirts and the new Angel novel, Monolith autographed by John Passarella.
Hanging at the bar with fans Saturday night found the CoA staff belly up with Angel fan, Brett Walker from Walsall who was happy to share with us the fan response to virgin Guests: Sarah Thompson and Jenny Mollen. "I was really looking forward to meeting Sarah as I'd seen her in 'Cruel Intentions 2'," Brett began, "and when I met her in the signing room she was a very nice lady and very polite. But Jenny was just the best ever; she was really funny and great. When I met her at her signing table there was a little confusion about the photo of her dog; it looked a little like a mushed-up hairy thing," he confessed, "so she explained to me what it was and how much she loved him. It was real cute, the things she was saying about him, so I thought Sarah was a great guest but Jenny just ruled." Brett even offered up a great story about Jenny, "It was on Saturday and we were dancing when Jenny came up and started dancing with us. She did a little sexy back dance with Brody and Al (EDno.2) and then carried on dancing with Jamie, my other mate, who was with us. Then we were all smoking and she wanted a ciggie so I gave her one, then we started talking; so now the convo turned to 'Donnie Darko' and she was saying how much she like Maggie Gyllenhaal and that they were good friends," Brett recalled. "Then we were talking about 'Kill Bill' and Quentin Tarantino, me and Al were just loving it because we love QT, he just rules. We were chatting and dancing and having a laugh, it was a great night and I came away loving Jenny, she's great. My mate Jamie came from the Con with a new obsession with her, 'tis so funny. I think that every one loved jenny, I mean everyone I spoke to over the weekend told me they would like to see her at more Cons. Jenny really was one of the best guests that weekend, and she made the Con that little more special, she rules," and Brett confessed he, "would love to meet her again!"
