More Lucid Thoughts On Issue #2

The action visibly goes up a notch in "Lucid" #2 - the follow-up issue of the comic created by Michael McMillian (who is well-known to HBO series "True Blood" fans as vampire-hater Rev. Steve Newlin) and published by Archaia/ Before The Door.

Standard Polite Warning:
If you are not interested in SPOILERS, please do not proceed further!!

More Polite Spoiler Space.





I think this is polite enough now.

Periods Before Christmas .. and After

Watching the "Periods: Before After II" triptych makes me want to dash right out of my room, into the stores and get myself one of those cheesy Christmas sweaters. Oh, and a pair of grey undies. Coz the combi would look so totally sexy.

The things Zachary Quinto and those guys make you wanna do. ... Kinda creepy! :p

Hardly Marginal At All

What are the chances that a new production company's first movie would be greenlighted, go into production soon after with an impressive cast, and then get invited to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival??

This was exactly what happened with Before The Door Picture's movie, "Margin Call", directed by JC Chandor.

The movie - a thriller - covers the 24-hour period during a financial crisis in Wall Street, and stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker and Penn Badgley. Of course, our very own bb Zachary Quinto, will also be flexing his biceps in a business suit in this movie. (I know I know, we *all* want to be the pen in the above pic. sigh.)

More ... From A Props Master

This is the continuing interview segment with James Clark (@JamesProps) - the On-Set Props Master for "Heroes" and recently, "The Event".

In Part 1 of the interview, we gained some insights into James' passionately detailed and hard work dealing with on-set props on various shows.

In this second part, James shares with us more about his work experiences with actors and gets a little personal with us.

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7. Who was the most fun cast member to work with? (from @dref22)

I have different favorite actors for different reasons. Some because they are “easy”. Milo is very particular but totally self-sufficient. He will reset himself for a whole scene depending on what it is - always being aware of his continuity and doing his actions.

Get, SET, Go!

James, Wendi Lynn on "Heroes" set

Take a mental step back from the visuals when you are watching a TV or movie on screen and you'll realize that there are many moveable items that are handled or worn by the actors.

In a fantasy, scifi or super-heroes type TV series like "Lost" or "Heroes", where there are multiple storylines and sets, there is an insane number of props that are required for each scene.

Some of these props become instantly recognizable by fans, like the Dharma Initiative canned food ("Lost"), Harry Potter's magic wand, the Book of Shadows ("Charmed") and Buffy's vampire stakes.

All these props need to be planned for, organized, transported and logged by an important person on set - the Props Master. That key personnel in "Heroes" is James Clark - best known as @JamesProps on Twitter.

Extra.... Love Bites

My good friend Chelle aka @HardlyanAngel works as an extra on film and TV sets sometimes! She moved to LA earlier this year in the hope of getting more work in the media industry.

When she told us she recently got into the "Love Bites" set (which stars "Heroes" alumni Greg Grunberg or Grunny), I invited her to share with us what it is like to be involved in a TV production.

Here is her blog post:

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A day in a life of a movie extra. Some may think it's glamorous, others may think it's silly, but for me it's all about meeting new people and getting a glimpse of what goes on in the entertainment business.

I started getting work as an extra last year when I figured I could be brave enough to handle the cameras. I've never been the type to be a "camera ham" and so it was a bit intimidating at first.

Angel Soaring Off-Broadway

On October 28, 2010 after weeks of performances to mainly press and privileged ticket holders, Signature Theatre's off-Broadway production of "Angels in America" finally spread its wings and soared to generally positive reviews.

Most critics have labelled the production as good or satisfying.

Leading up to opening night, our bb Zachary Quinto managed to some garner in-depth press, including one from NY Times! (Click here for the article.) I thought this article was fairly written and showed Zach's focus on things that he feels are *truly* important to him.

Brea Grant Talks Heroes and Other Projects

Brea Grant's departure from "Heroes" did not stop her creative flow. She's continued to work in film ("Halloween 2") and in television (an upcoming episode of "The Whole Truth"), in addition to her joint comic project "We Will Bury You" (from IDW Publishing) with her brother Zane Grant."

Not only did Brea work on her comic creation, she has been flexing her acting biceps in some new film projects!

If you have missed our Part 1 of the interview, check it out here!

Here's what charming, sassy Brea shared with us in Part 2 of the interview with Erik http://twitter.com/ebrown2112 on Twitter) from NYCC 2010.

Wendi Lynn Shares Some More

Some of you are eagerly waiting for more of the interview with key makeup artist and one of our favourite personalities on Twitter - Wendi Lynn or @wendilynnmakeup.

Before I continue, I must confess that there is something I strongly admire about Wendi. As sweet and sunny as she is, Wendi is also a firm encourager of women being more confident with themselves.

Brea and Zane Slay Us With The Undead

Brea and Zane at NYCC (pic by Erik)

Two women on the fringes of a collapsing society must escape a zombie apocalypse in “We Will Bury You,” a horror comic set in 1920s New York. Mirah, a sex worker with a loutish husband, and Fanya, a Ukranian immigrant thief, are lovers whose unstable and chaotic world becomes all the more complicated when a zombie plague infects the city.

Brea Grant (Daphne from “Heroes”) and Zane Grant, the creators of “We Will Bury You,” are basically two of the coolest people on the planet. Both are incredibly friendly, engaging, and down-to-earth. And they were kind enough to sit with me for an interview on the first day of the 2010 New York Comic-Con.

A Clear and Lucid Birthday Shoutout!

Here's another October baby!

"True Blood" actor and "Lucid" creator's Michael McMillian's birthday is on October 21st!

Since Michael is a self-professed geek (and which geek does not like Star Wars?!?!), I have decided that the Sith Lord himself should also offer him a breathy greeting. Even if it's just a geeky clipart. hehe

Dear Michael - here's wishing you much success and a uber-fun time with friends and family!

Making Up Is Hard To Do

Maybe not too hard... when the make-up is being very skillfully applied by Wendi Lynn Avignone.

Wendi - or more popularly known as @wendilynnmakeup on Twitter - is very active on the social networks. Almost every day, she brings us behind the scenes of sets that she is working or worked on and regularly posts on-set photos so that we can take a peek on what's happening during her work-day.

If you are a "Heroes" fan, you can thank Wendi for those special effects make-up, like future Peter's scar, cheerleader Claire's injured head and Elle's bloody gun-shot leg. Wendi sure loves to mess with the fake blood. ;) And as a key makeup artist, she is an important contribution to what finally appears on our screens.

Shared Birthdays!

It's PARTY TIME!!! \O/

Two "Heroes" actors share birthdays on 16th October -- they are none other than Brea Grant and Todd Stashwick.

Here's a warm big Happy Birthday greeting from ZQBiceps - and I think I can say that on all behalf of our readers and "Heroes" fans too!!

We wish you both lots of success, happiness and many more happy birthdays :)

More Charming-Devilish.... Inside

First panel from "Devil Inside"

To continue my "doubly-devilish" SDCC story ... While @RealFastTlkr and I were chatting with "Heroes" actor Todd Stashwick about "Devil Inside", I noticed out of the corner of my eye, that comic artist Dennis Calero was busy scribbling on a small piece of paper torn from his sketch pad.

One of my roomies had earlier showed me a "Devil Inside" postcard she got from visiting their booth. Apparently, their booth was pretty popular that week and they ran out of postcards! So here Dennis was, offering me a few scribbles of his artistic talent by doing an impromptu sketch of Jack Springheel aka the Devil - whose resemblance is based on Todd. I can attest that artistic biceps are also very captivating.

It was a very cool piece of drawing and when he was done, he passed it to Todd for him to sign. Todd and I then had a mini discussion about why they had chosen the subject of the Devil and Evil and Todd answered that one of the reasons was: "Evil is Sexy". Dennis then declared that he was "evil" and hence, "sexy". He proudly claimed that five women had told him that.

I teased him if it was mentioned by five women today? Or was only five women for the entire past week? He acted hurt and said "C'mon..! Of course it's just today!" I laughed.

Are Angels Naked?

From my intrepid forays around the internet regarding the subject "Angels in Art" - the answer seems to be No.

And if you are mistakenly having an image of cute naked Cupid in your head, here's news: He is actually NOT a cherub. Cherubic, maybe. But a cherub - Nope.

That bare-bottomed winged creature is actually the God of Love or eros in Greco-Roman mythology. I find him an annoying, pesky being. I feel like clipping his wings off and sticking that dastardly arrow up his .... . *evil diva smirk*

Regarding the subject of nudity - angelic or otherwise - some weeks ago, there were murmurings about nudity in Signature Theatre's production of Tony Kushner's "Angels In America" which stars Christian Boyle, Robin Bartlett and our bb, Zachary Quinto, amongst others. The rumour was sparked off (kinda) when Zach himself tweeted a picture of a warning sign for the play (see next pic below).

Having HRG Withdrawal Symptoms?

... never fear!

Our favourite towering, still-sexy-older-man GQMF Jack Coleman and his tough biceps will be making guest appearances in a few TV shows!!

So while you are missing the morally-grey Bennett teddy bear in our cancelled "Heroes" series, you can still catch him at a couple of shows to be aired real soon!

JC will be in the CBS crime drama "The Mentalist" on the October 14th episode. He will be acting as Max Armstrong - a wealthy, arrogant man who is suspected for murder. (Source: TV Guide) (Click here for an on-set pic with Missi Pyle.)

JC will also be guest starring in episode 6 of the current season of TV series "House" with -- *squee* -- Hugh Laurie. His role is a political campaign manager who has HIV, who will later be treated by Dr Masters. This episode coincidentally also introduces Amber Tamblyn as Dr Masters into the "House" cast ensemble. (Source: TV Guide) Click here for spoiler pics on Jack Coleman Daily. Awww.... we really need to stroke those biceps and make him feel better.

If that's not all, Jack is also involved with a TV movie on Hallmark entitled "Rock The House". (Source: BuddyTV). He acts as Dave Peterson, a busy father who manages to reconnect to his daughter via good ol' rock 'n' roll! The TV movie is expected to air in 2011. And if you are curious, here are some exclusive on-set pics from "Rock The House"!

For the scoop on things Colemanesque, check out Jack Coleman Daily.

Also, do check out tweets from makeup artist @wendilynnmakeup on Twitter. Sometimes Jack surprises us with a "hello" or two via her Twitter feed :)

PS: News just in! A "Heroes" public reunion is happening at the Hollywood Xpo on October 15th! There will be a panel that includes Tim Kring and Jack Coleman!

Is anyone is attending the Hollywood Xpo and willing to help me with blog posts, tweet or email me!

Doubly Devilish ... Inside

For anyone who knows me well, I have a fetish for the subject of Evil. I find Evil verrrry verrrrrry fascinating.

When I was at SDCC, I was urged by a couple of my friends to "go say hello" to Todd Stashwick at his booth. "You have to drop by to see him," they said. "He is promoting a comic with his partner." It took a few more prods (the verbal not the electric kind, you kinky people.. geez) and I got all curious.

It was fortunate that I had time on the very last day of SDCC. That Sunday was still a hectic day. I was packing "Castle" and "Merlin" panels, filming the "Lucid" interview with Michael McMillian, chasing down the "Syndrome" OGN peeps for autographs, saying hi to the Archaia folks and David H Lawrence XVII again and doing a last minute and thorough walk of the exhibit hall.

I passed by Todd's booth at Artists' Alley a few times but he wasn't there. I did see Dennis Calero looking rather lonely manning the booth by himself. But since I didn't know him (at that time) and I am rather shy (*blink blink*), I preferred that Todd was around when I visited their booth.

Comedy and Comic Lettering

.. and you must be wondering...

What the Frak do the two things have to do with each other?

Answer: Shawn DePasquale

For those who have read "Lucid", the debut release from a Archaia /Before The Door collaboration project will notice that the comic lettering was done by the talented Shawn DePasquale. Who is also a writer. And a funny-man. And who had a very XXX-tra interesting job driving sexy people around ;)

Shawn was recently at the Golden Apples Comic store for an autograph session with the writer/ creator of "Lucid" Michael McMillian. They also did a really *beep* =censored= *beep* podcast together on Bagged and Boarded.

Confession: I am a nosy person and I love to find out what makes people tick. So by embracing and accepting my true nature, I just *had* to ask Shawn for an email interview.

So herrrreeee's what Shawn had to say!

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More Lucid Reviews and Contest Results

And the good reviews for "Lucid" just keep coming in!

Here are a few more reviews on the internet:

- Fandomania

- Graphic Policy

A couple of fans also have their say about "Lucid" #1:

"Lucid was a great read. I love going back and reading it over and over (something I rarely do). The art is beautiful as well!" - @Selestina118

"I read Lucid #1, and I can't wait for the other issues! It's a complex and intriguing story and I hope they add many more issues!" - @SteffiGoosie

Do post your thoughts on "Lucid" in the comments section if you have read it!

And a big congratulations to Kyria Verney for winning the ZQBiceps blog's "Lucid" online contest!!

Kyria wins a copy of "Lucid" #1 autographed by Michael McMillian!

Heroes (and a Villain) at Dragon*Con 2010

Adrian and Senthil (Pic by eserei27)

Compared to the fast-becoming Hollywood-ized San Diego Comic Con, the more "fan-based" Dragon*Con is one the largest convention that has a big focus on scifi and fantasy. The convention is held in Atlanta, Georgia every year and this year, @eserei27, @darkelegance and @icalynn attended the convention - especially since there were quite a few "Heroes" panels!

Here's @eserei27's account of the very fun yet nostalgic weekend!

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Despite the cancellation of my favorite ever television show (and if you don’t know what show that is, you obviously don’t follow me on twitter), I’ve still had a "Heroes"-filled year. In fact, I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few cast members during 2010, and @syzzlyn has even let me blabber about it here on her blog.

Nothing More Than More Spotlight!

Neo Geisha

While Natalie Wells is currently away in Japan for her wondrous 3-week holiday, the blog interview continues with part 2!

I can't wait for Natalie to return home with more stories and Nippon-esque photos, taken in her inimitable style. And I'm sure she'd be SHOPPING... lots! hehehe

In this second instalment, Natalie tells us about SArmy, Zachary Quinto, more about Japan and other fun stuff! Are you ready? Here goes!

Focus: Nothing More

The talented Natalie Wells

I am excited to introduce to you someone from the British Isles who is not only stunningly beautiful, but who also chooses to flex her artistic biceps to photograph hauntingly unique images. I find that some of her particularly interesting photos are hard to forget.

I consider myself fortunate to connect with 29-year-old Natalie Wells on Twitter many months ago. Natalie is also a moderator of the Sylar's Army forum and it so happened that we (not too) strangely bonded over a very bloody incident involving her pet greyhound!

Despite my rather deceptively "sunny" demeanor, I possess a dark gothic heart. And we found ourselves indulging in those macabre topics which we were not afraid to discuss about!

For a day job, Natalie is the manager of Ticket Alternative UK - a company that supply tickets and wristbands for events. She confesses that in her free time, she puts her Advanced Art and Design certification to good use as a professional photographer. Oh, and not forgetting, her other side job as super-villain. *g*

Natalie admits that "Heroes" is her favourite TV show.  "I don’t really watch much TV I’m afraid, my love for Heroes took everyone by surprise!", she says. Her favourite musical acts include an eclectic mix of The Prodigy, Reso, Fever Ray, Bjork, Joe Hisashi, Rob Zombie, Bat For Lashes, Camille Sant Saens, The Upbeats, Kate Bush... to name just a few!

Other than photography, Natalie enjoys Japanese culture, swimming and shopping. She stresses that "Shopping is a hobby when you do it properly!"

With a new fresh look and drive on re-launching her photographic work via a website, I've decided to grill Natalie with the "tough" questions ;)

Lucid with Michael McMillian - Final Part 3

Michael McMillian (pic by Mabes)

"Lucid" was released on 9 September and boy were there lots of buzz and good reviews! There were reports that the graphic novel was near to selling out in some comic book stores. What a great debut for the first Archaia-Before The Door collaboration!

As Zachary Quinto tweeted just now - "Lucid" is the new Black ;)

If you have missed some of reviews or articles, here are the links again:

- Newsrama

- Player Affinity

- Multiversity

There's even a video of "Lucid"'s creator/ writer and True Blood actor, Michael McMillian and our fave bb, Zachary Quinto talking abit about the comic on MTV Splashpage.

The ZQ/ Heroes Connection

The Heroes fans meetup at SDCC 2010!

To all those who love sneering at us pop-culture/ comic fans having a fabulous geek-fest at Comic Con, just go talk to the hand.

Comic Con was indeed very very cool. But when you start to reflect upon that whirlwind weekend, you would realize that it wasn't so much about Comic Con itself that made the weekend memorable, it was the friendship forged and strengthened (before and after) that made it so Extra Special.

It is no different from so-called "non-geeky" folks who gather their butts down on a huge couch, drinking beer and watching sports game after game on TV (I can tell of peeps who plan and take a week-long off just to watch the English Premiere League) or those who line up their custom-made cars/ bikes on a weekend and ... well, talk about gears and wheels.

The common thing from all this human pack-like behaviour is the camaraderie built through shared experiences. For the convention goers, it consisted of those groaningly "where the frak is my coffee?" early-morning camp-outs, agonizingly boring long waits in line to see/ hear panels/ celebs, stumbling upon an awesome find at the exhibit hall, sharing the thrill of connecting/ meeting a celeb or just hanging out with your fellow geek friends. You don't need to *explain* things to your geek friends.

Lucid with Michael McMillian - Part 2

Interviewing Michael (pic by @Mabetini)

People, people.... The first issue of "Lucid" will be out in stores this week on 9 September!!

Writer/ creator of "Lucid", I had the chance to interview Michael McMillian at Comic Con about the first issue. Part 1 of the interview was featured in a blog post here.

Michael continues to reveal some magickal things about first book and gives us a few tidbits of what is to come next!

SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!!

Going Berserker About Milo Ventimigilia

I thought I had missed out on this opportunity because Milo Ventimiglia was signing on Friday and I was already in a panel. However Top Cow arranged another chance for those who attended their panel on Saturday. All was not lost!!

I went to the Top Cow panel and managed to get fifth row, second chair in. Not bad I thought. I scanned the room but didn’t see Milo.

Lucid with Michael McMillian - Part 1

Following the development of the graphic novel "Lucid" has been an interesting journey for most of us.

From the announcement about the comic project by Archaia and Before the Door, to their first joint panel at last year's Comic Con with writer Michael McMillian, followed by various press releases since then. And finally, culminating with "Lucid" making its freshborn-baby appearance at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

Visiting Archaia's booth on Preview Night at Comic Con was one of the first things I had planned to do. And when we arrived at the booth, @eserei27 and I grabbed copies of the comic for ourselves.

(Spoiler alert!! Don't say I didn't warn ya!)

Nimoy and Secret Selves At STLV 2010 - Part 2

Most of us know Leonard Nimoy as an actor. Some know that he’s also a director. But his true love is photography.

At the Star Trek Las Vegas convention, I attended Leonard Nimoy’s seminar on his latest photographic project, “Secret Selves”. Opening the seminar, Nimoy explained that he’s not the kind of photographer who carries a camera around. Instead he is a “concept photographer”. He develops the concept first and then shoots it.

He briefly described two previous concepts he’s worked with, Shekhina, the feminine face of God and another project with full bodied women models. The current project was inspired by Aristophanes’ suggestion that humans were once double-sided creatures who got so arrogant Zeus split them apart. Since then we’ve been looking for our lost self.

SArmy Charity Auction For Pakistan!

Here's another chance for all you SArmy/ ZArmy folks and Zachary Quinto fans to exercise your biceps!

This time for a charitable cause to help the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan.

All proceeds will go to GlobalGiving - Pakistan Flood Disaster Relief through eBay Giving Works.

Getting Lucid - A Brain Melting Experience

To tell you the truth, I could barely remember much details of the joint Archaia/ Before The Door "Lucid" panel because was I really tired from lack of sleep.

Ok. I lied.

I was actually BLINDED with all that GQMF-ness sitting in front of me. Truth.

From Archaia's Stephen Christy, Mel Caylo, the Before The Door boyz and Michael McMillian, I was dazed. For a good 40 minutes. All those sexy biceps. Oy.

I remembered that a bunch of us literally hit the floor running from the "Shifting Gears" panel from one side of the convention centre to the other. The "Lucid" panel was held in Room 25AB and we wanted to get in the room early so that we could get seats closer to the front. For those unacquainted, having strong legs and good stamina are very necessary to navigate around Comic Con. So if you can, hit the gym months before that week to get ready for the physical activity to do the stuff you want to do!

A Nimoy Experience At STLV 2010 - Part 1

I’ve had a crush on Spock since the original Star Trek series. I loved his restraint, his contained fire. I loved that he was an attractive man who appreciated intelligence in a woman, in contrast to the skirt-chasing Kirk. Last year the combination of two Spocks, Nimoy and Quinto, lured me to my first Star Trek convention at Las Vegas. This year, no Quinto alas. But Leonard Nimoy was here and talking about his latest photographic project. So I decided to attend this year's Trek convention.

I won’t do a blow-by-blow report – other sites have done that well: Trek Movie for example. I’d like to share with you the magic of experiencing Nimoy.

A Not-So-Heavenly Initial Rush

ZQ's tweet: "The great work begins"

Not long ago ago, it was announced that Zachary Quinto will star in Tony Kushner's award-winning play "Angels in America" at the Signature Theatre, NYC.

Zach will act as Louis Ironson, the weak, frightened and unfaithful lover to a gay man with AIDS (played by Christian Borle). (Although I feel that standing by what you know you must do, may not be so weak after all.)

Since the announcement, ardent Quinto fans who wanted to watch the play have been keeping an eye out for the tickets to go on sale on 3rd August.

Say Hello To My SDCC Blog Contributors!

Thanks to a bunch of good friends and awesome roomies, we managed to cover various panels and activities during Comic Con!

A few of them will be sharing their personal experiences of these events which include:

- Tim Kring/ Zachary Quinto (previous blog post right here)
- TNT's "Leverage" - blog by @RealFastTlkr

- WB's "Nikita" preview screening

- USA Network's "Burn Notice"/ "White Collar"/ "Psych" panels

- Showtime's "Anti-Heroes" panel

- Mark Sheppard autograph signing

- NBC's new show "The Event"

- Archaia/ Before the Door's "Lucid" panel

- CW's "Smallville"

- CW's "Supernatural"

- ABC's "Castle"

- BBC's "Merlin"

- "Scott Pilgrim"movie

- Joss Whedon/ JJ Abrams "Visionaries" panel
- Milo Ventimiglia autograph signing

More may surface in the coming weeks.

Blog contributions that are not related to ZQ/ Heroes or Before the Door will be posted in my other new blog - Red Dot Diva.

The blog contributors include:

- eserei27

- nhousey

- beckyb731
- ebrown2112
- RealFastTalkr

I would also like to mention that there were also some tweeps who are not blog contributors, but were nevertheless, a great help.

Thanks to Evil Twin @_mriel for her company, extra hands plus her "camera work" for a very special interview coming up soon. And to @HardlyanAngel and @deedee9378 for being a constant moral support and Mabes for just being there :)

Tim Kring Gets Shift-y About A Conspiracy Novel

Ever since the schedule for Comic Con 2010 was announced, attendees who were also fans of Zachary Quinto were excited at the opportunity to do him twice in one day.

We were also glad that Zach was able to make time for Comic Con. He had been in NYC since early this year, and looking at his tweets and tightly-packed schedule, we surmised that he had probably endured a grueling red-eye flight in order to make it for his Comic Con appearances.

The first panel Zach appeared in was for "Shifting Gears" where he acted as moderator for "Heroes" creator, Tim Kring regarding his new novel, "Shift".

A Quick Few Lucid Words

"True Blood" fans are already familiar with Michael McMillian's role as the nefarious Reverend Steve Newlin. However, some fans may not be aware that Michael McMillian is huge comic book lover and has flexed his biceps writing his first graphic novel "LUCID" - a collaboration between Archaia and Before The Door.

I managed to catch Michael for a quick interview before "LUCID" premieres at this year's San Diego Comic Con and his appearance at the Archaia/Before The Door panel on Friday, 23 July, 4.30-5.30pm (Room 25ABC).

Beautifully Lucid Illustrations

As good graphic novels go, fascinating story-telling and beautiful illustrations go hand-in-hand. It is what makes a graphic novel different from the usual fiction or non-fiction book.

For Archaia-Before The Door's first comic release "LUCID", talented and edgy Polish-based female artist Anna Wieszczyk was called to task as artist/ illustrationist.

When I saw the previews of the artwork for "LUCID" and began researching about Anna, I fell in love with her art almost immediately. Perhaps because I could see that it was influenced largely by Japanese manga, and being an Asian in Asia, her style resounded strongly in my soul.

All Wrapped Up!

This week has been full of chatty news from some of the "Margin Call" stars and the Before The Door production team! We were so spoilt on Twitter!

After the news that Jeremy Irons had joined the cast, we received word that there was a scene where his character and that of Kevin Spacey's went "head to head". The entire cast was in the same room. OOOoooh. Intense!

Sean Akers also tweeted: "Jeremy Irons. Very nice guy. So impressive. It is like riding in the elevator with royalty. Watching him rehearse the next scene."

Live Tweeting Like A Bird?

I am writing this blog post because I received several requests from followers asking if I will be live tweeting from SDCC.

I wish I could do that effectively and cheaply.

The main stumbling block being that I am not from USA and I do not hold a USA phone number. I have a phone international roaming account for my iPhone. This consists of SMS/phone calls routing at a lower (but still rather expensive) rate between an agreed USA phone company (usually AT&T or T-Mobile) and my host company, Singtel.

Comic-ly Awesome!

All Hail to Archaia!

With the press release of Archaia's five panels at this year's San Diego Comic Con, supersonic ripples of waves pulsated through the interwebs a few hours ago! (BTW, that was caused by thousands of ovaries - and erm.. other parts.. - exploding.. if you must know.)

THE Reason??? Let me give you a hint -- Zachary Quinto's Twitter location has now changed from "ny ny" to "ny ny la ca".

Metallic Elements Added ... Biceps Included

Does Zachary Quinto secretly know about this blog specially dedicated to his very nom-nom-nom-y biceps???

Coz seriously folks, this is twice within the span of a few days that he's shown off those squeezable arms of his in revealing sleeveless tops. This time, they were having lunch and snugly accompanied by a body-skimming turquoise tee. (Source: Zach-quinto.net)

I sit transfixed, staring at the vision on my computer screen. It's a nice way to get my eyes massaged :D In my line of work where you look at figures all day, it's nice to look at OTHER kind of figures *g*

Lucidly Intriguing and Luxuriously Beardless

Do you love stories based in the fantasy realm and magic? Do you have a not-so-secret thing for mages? (Confession: I still have a crush on dark mage Raistlin Majere.)

Or do you simply love beautifully drawn comics with captivating storylines?

If yes to any of the above, then you should check out the first Before The Door and Archaia Comics collaboration - a comic series entitled "LUCID" written by HBO's popular TV series "True Blood" star Michael McMillian with illustrations by young Polish-based artist Anna Wieszczyk.

I have to admit - I am not an avid comic fan or collector. It is not that I do not like comics. Since I was a young child, I've mainly prioritized my time and yearnings towards books. Books are my soul's refuge.

A Spattering of Updates

This week has been chockful of "Margin Call" updates. Much to the delight of us fans!

For those who are still unaware, "Margin Call" is an indie movie about eight people during a tumultuous 24-hour period just prior to the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown. It is Before the Door's first film production!

Zachary Quinto, who also stars in the movie, has been giving us pretty constant updates on Twitter and Facebook. And when I say pretty, I *do* mean pretty :D

Just look at the pic above. Zach's own self-portrait pic on the "Margin Call" set  in a suit with a night reflection of the Empire State Building. Srsly! Those pretty biceps in a suit! It is pretty as pretty does!

First Days

The first day of school. The first day at work. The first day at a new home.

First days can be terribly exciting... and yet daunting at the same time. First days usually bring with them a wave of changes to one's life experiences.

And so it was, on the First Day of filming in NYC on June 21st for the Before The Door-produced indie movie "Margin Call" that Zachary Quinto tweeted he was too excited to even sleep.

The set call started real early at 5 am and when the first shot began, Zach sent us all a cute pic of himself sitting on a stoop with that much-needed cup of coffee. (Although, I was really distracted by those biceps...yep, I can't help it. :D )

Indie The Way To Go?

Have you noticed that in recent years, some choice indie films have gained a lot of ground in terms of popularity compared to the big-studios so-called "blockbuster hits"??  

I am quite an ardent fan of the indie film, as the big-studio screen-splashes seem to use a set formula that one can expect before even stepping into the cinema. I still do enjoy some big-studio offerings - like Iron Man or the Harry Potter  films. However, good indie films tend to reach my inner-soul deeper, with topics which are more personal and realistic. Or the storylines are just plain quirky; or are an utterly disturbing but pleasurable mindwarp. Added to this mix are often charming performances by well-known as well as lesser-known or unknown actors, where they seem free-er to be more "out-of-the-box".  And I'm Sold. :)