Geek culture is alive and well in the 604.
More then 25,000 geeks from all walks of fandom 鈥� sci-fi, horror, fantasy, anime, manga, comic books, and video games 鈥� spent a large chunk of their Easter weekends in the 麻豆传媒映画Convention Centre worshipping at the altar of Fan Expo Vancouver.
They dressed up as Stormtroopers, Hayao Miyazaki creations and the Frozen sisters, loaded up on collectibles and superhero t-shirts, and interacted with dozens of genre celebrities in autograph signings, photo opps, and Q&As.
And I? I blissfully walked among them.
Last year, I . My geeky passions include Star Wars, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Lord of the Rings, X-Men, and Doctor Who, and this most recent edition of Fan Expo 麻豆传媒映画hit all of my geeky pleasure spots.
For most in attendance, the celebs were the main draw 鈥� and Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Army of Darkness) was clearly Fan Expo MVP. Decked out in boldly coloured blazers and sporting a dazzling grin, Campbell never seemed to tire as he signed autograph after autograph for an unending line of fans that snaked through the hall right up until the final moments of the convention.
I managed to score some one-on-one time with a couple of icons: John de Lancie (AKA Q, the all-powerful thorn in Captain Picard鈥檚 backside on Star Trek: The Next Generation), and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.
Although he鈥檚 most famous for his Star Trek role, de Lancie has also built up a following of 鈥淏ronies鈥� 鈥� adolescent and adult male fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 鈥� for his work voicing a character named Discord on the crazy-popular animated series.
He explored the phenomenon in 2012鈥檚 Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (watch it on Netflix). 鈥淭he reason I created the documentary in the way in which I did is because I went through the same process that most people would go through,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚 looked at the emails [from male fans] and said to my wife, 鈥榳hat do you know about this? These are not little girls that are writing me. This is really weird.鈥欌��
What de Lancie discovered was a tight-knit nerdy community in its earliest stages of development. 鈥淚 was not at the inception of Star Trek, but I was at the inception of this, and it鈥檚 because of Star Trek that I recognized it,鈥� he said. 鈥淸Brony culture] is pretty overwhelming, until you get further and further into it and you realize that it鈥檚 not threatening and it鈥檚 okay.鈥�
As for Englund 鈥� well, I admit I was nervous to speak with the man singlehandedly responsible for some of the most heart-pounding nightmares of my childhood.
But I needn鈥檛 have worried. Where Krueger is heartless, cruel and so very scary, Englund is so very scary聽nice.
Had Englund followed his original career trajectory, we probably wouldn鈥檛 be seeing him at conventions today. 鈥淚鈥檓 an old dog now, and in the 70s, I was always playing the best friend and sidekick, and had I remained that, I might not be working today,鈥� says Englund, 66. He鈥檚 got starring roles in two upcoming films, including Fear Clinic with Thomas Dekker of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles鈥� fame. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful that I opened my heart and listened to the advice of Wes Craven in the early 80s and embraced the genre.鈥澛�
Englund collects Freddy memorabilia and admires the rare foreign finds he encounters at conventions, but he鈥檚 not allowed to display anything Freddy in his house (鈥淢y stuff鈥檚 in the garage. [My wife] Nancy won鈥檛 let me hang anything in the house. We live in a little bungalow by the seashore 鈥� kind of like a little wooden house in Kitsilano 鈥� and she鈥檚 decorated it with what she calls Oceania. Freddy鈥檚 banished.鈥�).
Englund was so loquacious and so lovely that I doubt I鈥檒l ever shudder at a Freddy movie again.
I also chatted with Billy Boyd (). He鈥檇 mentioned during our recent phone interview that he鈥檇 never been to 麻豆传媒映画before. His verdict? He loves everything about our fine city 鈥� especially dinner at Vij鈥檚.
When not doing my professional journalist interviewer thing, I geeked out as hard as is humanly possible. I stood in a (non-functional) TARDIS. I wielded a lightsaber. I bought a Wolverine t-shirt and an AT-AT wall decal. I high-fived the creators of locally shot web series True Heroines. I ate a lot of mini donuts (one of the only foods available for purchase within the hall).
My geek appetite was sated 鈥� at least, until next year.
Fan Expo 麻豆传媒映画returns for its fourth edition in early April 2015. .听
