Fedcon 2014 - Jay Acovone

[dieastra]

Jay Acovone has played Major Kawalsky in "Stargate" - a role, in which he died in already the second episode, which he loved to point out over the weekend ;) But he was back a few times in alternate universes. Nobody is really dead in sci-fi.

He also has been in so famous movies as "Terminator 3" and "Independence Day" and even though I recently watched "Cast Away" I did not realize that he was the pilot there. I need to check it out again.

I have met Jay Acovone once before, he was in Bensheim 2003 but sadly back then I took no picture with him. So I was very happy when he got announced for Fedcon. We both are 11 years older now but who cares.

He also said that he is not so much relying on the acting anymore now but is building houses. So at the autograph session, when I was the only one in line, I started to chat with him about building (I do drawings in an engineer's office). At first we needed to establish that I don't do the architectural stuff but we do more the concrete and reinforcement. And we talked about bracing walls which surely only is a fascinating topic when you know your stuff ;) It was really great to chat with him like that. And here's my picture:



Tweeted at 06.06.2014: https://twitter.com/dieastra/status/475021367788994560

Comments

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

Aw, that's so cool! The first thing I knew him from was as Joe Maxwell, Catherine's boss, in the 1987 Beauty and the Beast. :D

That's great that you were finally able to get your picture with him at last! :D ♥♥♥

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Back in 1989, after the Berlin wall had fallen down and we were able to watch TV series from Western German TV, we watched a LOT but somehow I always skipped Beauty and the Beast, as back then I was not interested in those kind of things. I mean, who would fall in love with a guy that looks like a lion? LOL

Yes, I'm shallow. My crush at the time was David Hasselhoff and Knight Rider. Sue me.

When I just looked Jay up on IMDB, I read it for the first time that he was in B&B. I should check it out then, he must have been very young back then?

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

I was always SUCH a big fantasy fan, I was interested in Beauty and the Beast as soon as I heard about it back in the '80s! The very first fantasy book I read, as a matter of fact, was Robin McKinley's "Beauty," which I remember checking out from my school's library because I thought it had an pretty cover, lol! ;) But I ended up really loving the book and that sort of kicked off my entire love of the fantasy genre. ;)

Ooo, I loooooooved David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider! I watched that show faithfully for him and KITT! ;)

According to my calculations, Jay was... 32 when BatB came on! :D I'm not sure how well the show would hold up nowadays, to tell you the truth. At the time, I thought it was the most romantic thing ever but now I'm kinda scared to go back and watch it and maybe think it's silly and dated. *blush* However, it might be worth checking it out if you get the chance, just to see Jay in it! :D (There might be some clips of it on Youtube, also, who knows? :D ;) )

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Youtube is an excellent idea! Usually my first place to go if I search for something, they have EVERYTHING.

See, I was (and still am) mostly not into romantically stuff. Must have to do with me bing asexual... So the whole premise of the show sounded boring to me. As well as "California Clan" and all the other soaps my friend was watching LOL

I was into reading the Sherlock Holmes books that time, and also Karl May, a German author who wrote about the Wild West and a friendship between Winnetou (Apache) and Old Shatterhand (a German) who fought together. So, I liked adventure stories.

We got that first Western TV in August 1989, so actually before the wall came down. Without it, we might actually have missed that the world was changing, as our own news carefully avoided the whole topic LOL

So, one afternoon there was a notification that we now have RTL. We searched for the channel and the first thing I ever saw was a car that drove without driver and talked. We had no idea what was going on but were hooked and then watched it every week. David also was very famous in Germany back then for his singing, I bought all the CDs (MCs back then) and all the magazines he was in with his wife and daughters. And he was in a lot of TV shows as well.

I also loved "Baywatch", at least in the beginning, when it still had good scripts and good actors.

I gradually stopped being a David fan for no apparent reason, just got interested in other things, and then the revealition about his drinking problem came out and that his wife had put up with a facade and that the happy family with beautiful daughters was all a lie. It hit me really hard, up to the point that when channelhopping and finding a bit of Knight Rider, I could not endure to watch it as my belly was churning. I was so disappointed. So, I really can't stand him anymore. I know that with John Barrowman such a surprise never will come to me, and I intend to grow old together with him ;)

The other series I really liked was "MacGyver" but after it ended I had no idea what Richard Dean Anderson was doing, I had no internet yet and thought he would never be seen again. Took me some time to find him in "Stargate" and then I watched only because of him, as I had no interest in sci-fi. Well, that has changed now, but still I pick my sci-fi shows. Still not interested in "Star Wars" or "Star Trek". And things like "Lord of the Rings" does not interest me. And I only read "Harry Potter" because I felt I need to be informed, as I started to not understand people anymore when they talked about weird things LOL

MacGyver looks dated now as well, with the clothes and the technical things like the first computers and the huge cell phones. That does not bother me at all when the stories are good.

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

Youtube really is fantastic for finding little clips of things like that. I can waste hours and hours hopping from one thing to another there, lol! ;)

Oh, I know a lot of people who are more interested non-romantic things, so you're in good company! :D It's weird for me because I have absolutely no interest in dating in real life, haven't been on a proper date in so many years I can't even guess and I don't miss it a bit.

My favorite types of movies are action-adventure, things with big explosions and car-chases, not the more usual "chick flick" things like romantic comedies and such. But at the same time, nothing can suck me into a fandom like finding a pairing that interests me. Like with Arrow, I started watching it for the type of story that it was (I read a lot of comics back in my day ;) and I've always loved superhero stories) but what sent it from "a show that I enjoy" to "a show that is really one of My Fandoms" which I want to write and vid for, was falling in love with Oliver and Felicity. That's usually how it goes with me, I don't even know why. Almost every fandom that I've truly LOVED has a ship in it that really hooked my interest and cemented my love for it.

Ugh, I know what you mean about learning things about actors that then end up affecting your enjoyment of their characters/shows. :( Often I'm pretty wary of learning too much about actors for that very reason, I don't want to stumble across them saying something really offensive or learning some deep, dark secret that colors my previous love of the character they play. :( Sometimes it's better to leave the mystery, lol! ;)

Hee, I love the old computers and cell phones and such in MacGyver, they seem so charming to me or something, lol! ;) I guess it all depends on the show and, as you said, how good the stories are. Then something will hold up no matter how many years have passed since it first came on! :D

♥♥♥

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

You did not start to watch Arrow because of John Barrowman? That's my excuse ;) I am a Superman fan, especially when it comes in the adventures of "Lois & Clark" - now THAT was a romantic comedy series I enjoyed! Because I loved that Clark was a nice young man, and not as clumsy as in the Christopher Reeve movies. And it was interesting to see which effects his Superman persona had on their relationship. Not easy for Lois to share him with the world. If you haven't seen that, I can highly recommend it! (also a bit dated, from the Nineties, they have huge desktop computers in the Daily Planet instead of flatscreens).

I also love Batman, just because of this mansion and the butler ;) Totally romantic. But I never ventured much more into the superheroes world. It was pretty much Stargate (and Torchwood and Doctor Who later) only in the recent years.

In August 2012 John was actually on vacation in his house in San Diego after a busy year, when he got the phone call that they want him and he said yes immediately. The day the official announcement came, he already arrived in Vancouver for the first bit of filming. It was a surprise to all of us. I committed myself to watch the whole series, to know what was going on, as opposite to only watch his scenes. But I cannot count how often I watched the trailer, waiting for October to arrive, the trailer alone blew me away in a way I hadn't expected. Because I love the whole "as realistic as possible" approach and hope they won't introduce too many superpowers.

I thought the pilot was quite entertaining but the second episode was too much of a repeat and I wondered if it would get boring soon with this formula and the list. But then the third episode came around, with that tattoed guy, and suddenly I was hooked ;) It's one of those things you can't explain, just a feeling in your belly. I always love a bit of humor with my action. While waiting for the next episode, I watched and re-watched the first three and four several times, I never do that actually but just couldn't stop. I love Moira and again, we have a mansion, LOL Well and of course once Malcolm joined in, it became even more awesome. I really missed him in season 2, as entertaining as it was. Loved the last couple of episodes where he was back. Can't wait for season 3 where he will be a regular with hopefully more screentime!

Did you ever find time for my Arrow fics? I would love to hear what you think about them! My muse returned big time as well, after many dry years. I used to write a lot in Stargate, but not much in DW and TW. Malcolm has changed all that. At the end of season 1, I really had managed to not see "my" charming JB anymore, as he totally convinced me and I only saw this poor tortured (dark twisted) man. Never have seen his eyes as cold as here in the finale. Amazing.

But I WANT to know everything about my favourite actor. Some don't want to share like David Tennant and that is fine, but I love how JB tells us everything and posts videos and pictures. They bring sunshine in my day. I rather hear it from himself than paparazzi. I also want to watch all old movies, have you seen "Shark Attack III"? Great fun ;)

Youtube is evil ;) That first night when I discovered that JB also sings I spent till 4 AM as I could not stop watching. Whenever I had seen one twenty more turned up.

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

It was such an awesome surprise to learn that JB was going to be on Arrow! :D My mom and I both were so happy when we heard that. It's so cool when an actor you love joins a show you were already watching! :D

"Lois & Clark," squee! I loved that show so much, we watched it faithfully every week. Dean Cain did such a great job as Clark/Superman! I really loved how they looked at the Superman story from the angle of their relationship. :D

I agree, too, about the "realistic" angle that Arrow takes. I don't mind super-powers and all that but it's kind of refreshing where that's not really the emphasis (yet, anyway *keeps fingers crossed* ;) ). It makes me more harrowing, IMO, that Oliver doesn't have super-strength/healing/speed/whatever and even the more "super-powered" elements, like the Mirakuru, are based more in science.

Did you ever find time for my Arrow fics? I would love to hear what you think about them! My muse returned big time as well, after many dry years.

I'm so sorry, no, I'm still reallllly behind on my reading, sad to say. :( I've still got them bookmarked, though, and they're at the top of my "to-read" fic list! I'm always glad to hear when a muse returns; I know what that's like when you go through a long dry spell, that's miserable. :(

Hee, I haven't seen all of "Shark Attack III" but I've seen clips of it on Youtube! ;) Oh, I hear you about YT keeping you up until insane hours of the morning, watching "just one more!" ;) That's happened to me more than once, that's for sure! ;) ♥♥♥

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

On IMDB I read a funny thing: Someone wrote "OMG John Barrowman is going to be on Arrow" - when he already had been in several episodes. The girl just hadn't recognized him at all! LOL I mean, yeah, he looks a bit different in suit and with the hair, but not THAT different?

Dean Cain was really great. I thought he looked better with glasses than without them! And I loved Clark's apartment. Also his parents, they were really nice. And Perry. It was a show that really warmed your heart (after they found their feet, they changed a lot after the first season). As for Lois, having a husband who can put up wallpapers in five minutes, or doing the dishes in record speed? What more to ask? LOL
I loved the scene where she wished for some Swiss chocolate and he flew around the world and got it, but that's not what she meant. She wanted to travel there as a couple, the slow way. Not that he jumps and brings her everything. So they both had to work on it. Also the episode where they were on that island and he was forbidden to use his Superman skills. Just them camping together (well, before they were captured, anyway). I should do a re-watch of this series too. For a while I also watched other Dean Cain movies, but then he only made B- and C-movies and I lost interest. Recently I stumbled about him again on youtube, he was doing a tour through his house (which actually is his father's house) and he still looks pretty much the same, even though he is almost 50 now.

As for the "It's so cool when an actor you love joins a show you were already watching!" - did you ever see John as a bad guy in "Desperate Housewives"? That's where I squeed loudly. I watched this show right from the beginning and loved it, and then it was announced that John was going to be in it. He had met up with Marc Cherry, who is a big Torchwood fan, and he wanted to write him into a couple of episodes. John himself is a huge DH fan and was over the moon, in interviews from that time he can barely stay on his seat when talking about it, so excited. Must be heaven if you can work with all the actresses you only know from TV! And he was also a great bad guy there. If you don't know this one of the scenes in my "Arrow" fics (where Malcolm is indeed Jack) will not make sense to you.

My stories are really short though. I write in the 1,500 word category. Done in 10 minutes ;) I mean, read in 10 minutes, not written. Nothing compared to that long "Green and Black" fic by Bloodsong I sent you.

I got the "Shark Attack" DVD for very cheap money from ebay ;) The sellers must wonder why this one sells so well Heh. Have a look here, there are screencaps with hilarious comments, I love it (this is page 1 of 5): http://ceefax-the-sane.livejournal.com/11743.html

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was the same, I loved the way Dean Cain looked as Clark, the glasses were a great look for him! :D

Aw, I'd forgotten about those moments from Lois & Clark! I really did enjoy that show so much. :D I saw that Youtube house tour thing, too! ;) He really does look pretty much the same (and I agree about his other movies, oyyyyy, lol! ;) ). :D

I did see JB in Desperate Housewives, though I wasn't watching the show, just his clips from it (thanks to good old Youtube again ;) ). :D

I'm hoping to get to start your fics tonight before CampNaNo begins at midnight tonight (50,000 words to write in one month). I'm doing my best to catch up at least a bit before I lose what little free computer time I've had lately to doing all that writing. I wanted to be sure to have time to comment when I read, which is why I haven't done it before now. :D

Hee, thanks so much for the Shark Attack screencap link, they're so funny! :D ♥

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I'd never could do writing under pressure, I want to do it in my own time, when I have ideas and not when I must. Doesn't sound like much fun to me? I know a lot people do it, but it is not for me.

As for Desperate Housewives, have a look into your e-mail ;)

[sharp2799.livejournal.com]

This is terrific! I would have been on line with you!

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Hehe! I would have loved to wait in line together with you! It is so much fun chatting with people. We chatted to a lot of people we didn't know.