Before The SOA S4 Viewing Party

As you know from the blog about the things we saw before, during, and after the event, all y'all are aware that we met with April MacIntyre, blogger extraordinaire of Monsters & Critics. She got us back to the hotel in plenty of time for me to finish the IN swag for the cast and some of the crew, which was finishin' up the autographed pics with uncirculated IN quarters in plastic holders attached.

On Friday evening, Ms. Kyle Loony (no snark about her last name, thank you very much!), of Fox Home Entertainment, met with Mark and myself at the hotel to provide us with flip cameras. Not sure why they're called 'flip'. They're very thin video cams with a wrist holder and a chargin' unit. The purpose of these small mini cams was for us to record our thoughts and feelin's about bein' winners, and also film the event from our point of view.

Though I have an AS degree in radio/tv/film, the DH has the BA degree in photojournalism, so he got to help with the mini cam filmin', and we recorded my thoughts/feelin's on winnin' and bein' an SOA fan. Then I took on the camera duties so Mr. Robert could record his own thoughts. His favorite line is 'It's all my fault!'

As Robert was gettin' ready to go, I filmed the two bags of IN swag I was takin' to the event with a little narrative. The kitty bag of mine came in handy, as I was also able to carry the two flip cam boxes (Mark's and mine) with their chargers, and a few other necessities besides the swag to the event. Yes, that's a picture Robert took of me workin' the flip cam, bags o'swag beside me.

We trooped downstairs where we were to be picked up by Diva Limousines, where the other winner, Mark Mitteer and his friend, Katherine Miller, were already sittin' and waitin'. Mark decided to use the dusk and the hotel exterior for his thoughts and feelin's, with Kat (aka @meadowgirl on the twitters) doin' the cameraperson honors. I also took the opportunity to do some filimin' of the hotel Sutterink and FHE had elected to have us stay in. This is where we found Mark and Katherine.

This is Mark and Kat, sittin' outside the hotel waitin' on the limo.

The three of us, me in the middle doin' my SOA bag lady thing.

We were to be picked up in a Lincoln Town SUV. It was nice, both inside and out. Our driver was Serge, turned out to be a former resident of the former Soviet Union. Believe me, his accent was much more realistic than Putlova's in Season 3 (sorry, Kurt, but Keith S really didn't nail the Russian accent as well as he could've. Always had great respect for the man after 'The Equalizer' and 'Golden Years'. Guess ya can't always hit the mark). Serge told us lots of interesting tidbits about his life across the world as we drove. Mark made sure that Serge knew the rules, 'Cop, no stop' and 'Sidewalks are an alternative route'.

It didn't take long to get to the Landmark Cinema, where the event was to be held. The West End Tavern, where the reception would be held later, was right next door to the theatre. Robert did his imitation of 'cute puppy wantin' somethin' special' when he saw a Barnes & Noble right next to the theatre.

(He wanted to buy one of his 'subversive' magazines. Was I nice and let him? Keep readin' to find out.)

Serge let us out at the front entrance, where there was no red carpet and no paparazzi (Yay!). A big limo pulled up right after us to deposit Tom Arnold, aka Georgie Caruso. Now that 'Call of Duty' has aired, I can now refer to him as the deceased Georgie Caruso. We got the honor of ridin' up in the elevator with him (by we, that means me, the DH, Mark, Kat, and the FHE people). That was about all we saw of him until the Q/A session after the viewing.

Once we entered the lobby area in front of the theatre room we'd be usin', my little eyes spied 'mi Yahama amigo' Emilio Rivera, and I rushed up to greet him. He had friended me on FB a long time ago, and when I purchased Tig, he'd commented on his page that he had a similar bike back in the day. He immediately called me his Yahama friend and gave me a big hug of welcome. We talked for a bit about ridin', and that I had some IN swag for him, which I'd be sure to give him at the reception.

Then up walked Kurt Sutter, who I term the Great Bird of the SOA Galaxy. I expected just a hearty handshake from him as he is known to have issues with lots of people in small spaces. The Great Man gave me a big hug and a smacker of a kiss on the cheek! Somehow, my arms went around his neck, fortunately, not to choke him, and I literally bawled like a baby at his greeting. That was my first 'floor open up now and take me away!' moment. Me, a grown woman, bawlin' like a baby in Kurt Sutter's arms!

He then introduced me to his wife, Katey Sagal, and his daughter, who sings as Sarah White (at least that is what the ITunes has the song and artist listed as, if I'm wrong, my apologies!). I slipped into my best behavior and stated somethin' along the lines of 'Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Sagal," (D'oh!), shook hands with her and introduced the poor bag laden husband to her. Then complimented both her and her daughter on their singin' and also shook hands with their lovely daughter.

Mr. Sutter went on to greet Mark and Kat I guess, and we got our picture (we bein' Robert and I) got our picture taken with Ms. Sagal.

Then we (that bein' Robert and I) got a chance to meet and speak with McNally Sagal, who plays Margaret Murphy, the hospital administrator. I expressed my appreciation in the growth that the character has displayed from Season 2 to Season 4, goin' from a cold, mechanical administrative type to a warm, carin' friend to the Tara character complete with her own heavy baggage. Ms. Sagal seemed pleased that I was aware of this.

Next approached my dear friend, Michael Marisi Ornstein, wearin' a leather lookin' fedora and a big grin. We hugged and said hello, and I showed him that his package of swag hadn't been forgotten; it was in the kitty bag. We made plans to 'hook up' during the reception.

Kristen Renton was standin' in the lobby area, very hard not to miss with all that long, beautiful blond hair! I ventured forward, where she was standin' and talkin' with some people (FHE staff I think?), and spoke her name, addin' "I'm Lowecat".

Another big hug and big smile came my way.

Kristen and I have been communicatin' a lot of Twitter, and she has been very supportive of my benefit rides, also tweetin' support and love for the effort. She participated in a women's cancer fund raiser earlier this year, which I donated to in honor of my dad, a 27 year prostrate cancer survivor. Kristen is also involved in animal rescue, specifically boxer dogs, though she has a love for all animals. You can find out more about her causes through these links:

http://boxer-rescue-la.com

http://jasonheiglfoundation.org

http://www.facebook.com/EIFRevlonRunWalk

Christopher D. Reid was also in the lobby, and we waved at each other. I intended to talk to him, but we were asked by one of the Fox Home Entertainment staff to get our refreshments (Eat in front of Kurt Sutter and company? During SOA 410? I don't even eat during viewin' at home and couldn't think of eatin' in front of them!) and go inside the theatre.

Instead of the usual stadium seats (and I think, but can't be sure that there were a few of them), there were large, luxurious leather armchairs to sit in, with tables to hold our refreshments. Robert, of course, had popcorn, I couldn't tell y'all what Mark and Kat had. I had water. We girls were between the men, and for some reason, we were seated on the front row, right in front of the screen and right in front of Kurt Sutter and Katey Sagal!

Because the question has been come up, I'm gonna editorialize a bit right here and now. NO, I am NOT a bit disappointment in the way the event turned out! Yes, I realize that Mr. Sutter made certain promises in his original announcement in his blog:

Here's my challenge/promise:
If we can see at least a ten percent bump in the season four premier -- in both total viewers and the 18-49 key demo -- I will pick a loyal SutterInk Twitter follower (I'm not tweeting but my account is still active) and a SutterInk blog follower -- fly you and a guest out to Los Angeles, put you up in a non-shithole hotel and invite you to my house to watch episode 410 of Sons (After a thorough security check by Fox of course). I believe that is Thanksgiving week so I might even be able to convince a few cast members to join us. Perhaps we'll call it a party. My wife, not only is she beautiful and loving, she puts out a nice spread.

(the above was taken from Kurt Sutter's blog, Season 4 Premier Challenge/Promise Update http://sutterink.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html )



Frankly, I'm glad that we didn't go out to the Sutter family home. That's their sanctuary, a place they can retreat where the rest of the world doesn't invade. It's one thing to invite friends, family, and co - workers to one's home. It's somethin' else to invite strangers / fans to the family abode.



Mr. Sutter took a big leap of faith to invite two fans to LA in the first place, knowin' nothin' more about us than what he's read of our blog responses and twits (twitter posts). Considerin' the number of stories about stalker fans that have made the news in the last few years, it was downright ballsy. Granted, Fox Security probably ran a considerable background check, and I'm sure they would have acted if any red flags had popped up.



To be honest, the idea of goin' to the Sutter residence made me very nervous. As I told Mr. Sutter later that evening, 'Like Radar said of Col. Potter, if we'd been at your home, I wouldn't have been able to dip my Zwieback in my Bosco!' I think he understood what I meant.



By havin' the fan event at a more public place, such as the Landmark Cinema and the West End Tavern, there was more room for the cast, production staff, Fox Home Entertainment people, and us fans to spread out. We got to see episode 410 on the big screen (and wow! Seein' Kim Coates, Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagal, and everyone else on a theatre screen like that was, in a word, awesome!) without commercials; we had a great place to meet and talk individually with the cast members who graciously gave of their free time to attend with plenty of room to spread out.


In the next installment, thoughts of watchin' 41o before all y'all got to, and my next 'Open up the floor and let me drop' moment! Like I've said before, this is like a gourmet, 12 course meal, intended to be savoured slowly!