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Well, I am still here in Colorado at
The Stanley Hotel. It's been a great SCI FI filled day!
{sidebar id=1}We spoke with cast and crew from
SANCTUARY, DESTINATION TRUTH, SCARE TACTICS, GHOST HUNTERS, CHASE and
ESTATE OF PANIC. So needless to say, we got a ton of really great
information to pass on to you, our readers.
Staying here are the haunted Stanley
Hotel has been great fun. I didn't sleep well last night, but it
wasn't because of ghosts. We went to a wonderful dinner in the
McGregor Room here at the hotel hosted by Dave Howe, the president of
SCI FI Channel. And afterward, I couldn't stop myself from watching
the Presidential debate being replayed on C-Span since I missed it
the first time. So I stayed up too late with that (you can't just
watch the debate and not the commentary afterward!) and then arose
way too early at 5am. My night of sleep wasn't a good one. Although I
guess it was better than being woken up by something a bit more
sinister considering my location!
Anyway, the dinner was great fun and I
spoke with a lot of really interesting people. But, it was only a
precursor to today where we had the opportunity to speak with cast
and crew from the slate of SCI FI reality shows including two that
have yet to premiere.
In a few days, IESB will have video,
photo and audio coverage from the day. Until then, I did a quick
write up of each Q&A session below.
We started off with breakfast with
Amanda Tapping (what better way to start your morning?). She was as
gracious and funny as ever. She talked about leaving Samantha Carter
behind and moving on to a new venture, Santuary where she plays a
women, Dr. Helen Magnus, who is roughly 150 years old, who was born
in the Victorian Age. And through some sort of accident or
experiment, she cannot age. Tapping promises that we'll find out what
happened to her and the reason she cannot age in an upcoming episode
entitled The Five.
As the lead actor and executive
producer on Sanctuary, Tapping definitely has her plate full! She
talked about how she preforms that balancing act as well as mother to
her 3 year old daughter and wife. Amanda gave us a great insight into
the new show, and why she thought it was good enough to pull her away
from Samantha Carter, a character she's been playing for over 10
years.
Next up, Destination Truth with Josh
Gates. Gates was on hand to explain to us why he does the things that
he does. We found out what makes him crawl into those caves, drudge
through the mud, climb mountains in the snow and not only live to
tell about it but make a very entertaining television series as well!
Josh talked about how they use the local news shows and eyewitness
statements to choose which creatures, monsters and myths they will be
following each week. What was his more challenging show? Which was
the best? You'll find out when we post the entire Q&A session
shortly.
Scare Tactics was next on the scene.
Travis Draft, Gabriel Pimentel and producer Scott Hallock were here
to answer all of our questions about the hidden camera reality show
that has its victims scared out of their minds. How far to they go
with a gag? How do you determine when to pull the plug and do the big
reveal? These guys told us everything from their vetting process for
participants to some upcoming scares that will take them on a
memorable ride!
The stars of the weekend, the Ghost
Hunters themselves, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, sat down with our
group to talk about investigating ghosts, becoming a team, personal
experiences and more! Jay and Grant were very open and honest about
what they do, how they do it, and what got them here. Do they still
work for Roto Rooter? How do they feel about being the face of SCI FI
reality and did they ever think the show would be as successful as it
is? Yes, in their down time - they don't think they are no and
they still feel like Average Joes just doing a job. We'll pick up
with these guys along with additional TAPS members Steve Gonsalves,
Dave Tango and Kris Williams later this evening for our very own
ghost hunt through the Stanley Hotel! Should be good!
Chase, a new series from SCI FI, is a
real-life video game tag competition played out in real time over 60
minutes throughout Los Angeles landmark locations. Hosted by Trey
Farley, the show premieres on the netword on November 11. As a
special treat, 10 volunteers from the press were chosen to
participate in a mini-Chase around the hotel. I eagerly volunteered,
I began to have second thoughts when the thunder, lightening and rain
began, but went through with it and actually had a great time. We
were each given a backpack, compass, iPhone, map and sent on our way.
We had to follow clues, run from The Hunters, and figure out how to
win. Needless to say, I didn't win. But it was still fun and despite
the rain we had a great time. We'll have to wait 'til mid-November to
see the actual game when the show premieres.
After lunch, we had one more show to
learn about. It's called Estate of Panic. Estate
of Panic is the
newest reality thrill ride from the production company behind Fear
Factor. In each episode, large quantities of cash are
hidden in a massive estate and seven strangers are invited to find
the money. But all is not what it seems, and the contestants will be
challenged throughout the mansion to overcome the terrors that await
them. After each of the three challenges, two people are eliminated
and their winnings are added into the prize pot. The last person
standing then faces a final challenge in the Vault Room, where their
final winnings will be determined, not to mention they are shackled
to the floor and surrounded by safety deposit boxes in which one is
the key they need to free themselves. Scott Valentine, best known
from Crossing Jordan, is the host. We were shown concept art and a
set of stills that Sci Fi director of programming Mark Stearn had
just brought with him from the set in Argentina. The sets look really
intense and beautifully put together. This is definitely one to
watch. Estate of Panic premieres November 12.
Well, that rounded out our day. We have
been sent on a 5 hour break to rest up and get ready for tonights
ghost hunt with the entire Ghost Hunters team. I'll update you on how
that goes tomorrow in Part 3 of our Ghost Hunters Weekend!
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