(extra)ordinary

i hate tara, but i love amber

this weekend, henri was invited to moderate a Q&A in houston with amber benson, the actress who played “tara” on buffy the vampire slayer. there was a “women in film” event at the rice media center, and she was there to promote her latest movie, “lovers, liars and lunatics,” which she wrote and directed (and acted in).

on one hand, i was pretty excited, cos hello, i was meeting someone who starred in THE BEST SHOW EVER MADE (ok, tied with felicity). on the other hand, well… i kind of *hate* tara. her character is so whiny and meh and I’M SORRY BUT NO ONE CAN REPLACE OZ. NO ONE. but she does have a lovely singing voice, so that’s something.

on the way to the media center, we stopped by sofia’s house to see her growing baby bump!

what’s up, little buttercup?!! everyone always talks about that “motherhood glow” but seriously, sofia is LUMINOUS. she’s thrilled about motherhood, so thrilled that she doesn’t realize there MIGHT be an alien in there. i’m serious. you can see it moving under her skin which is CREEPY. still, she’s so happy, and i’m really happy for her. go powersuite mama!

when we got to the media center and met amber, i realized that i wasn’t nervous at all. which is so cool! like, if had to meet keri russell, i would probably um… ok i just broke out into a sweat THINKING ABOUT IT. needless to say, i would probably give her cause for alarm. but meeting amber was nice and easy, and she and henri and i sat on the floor and ate sandwiches and talked about texas and bands and how sometimes internet fans are a little (or a lot) strange. she’s done all kinds of conventions, including a star trek one in germany (the image of german people speaking kling-on is pretty awesome).

we were supposed to go in and watch the screening, but she said she gets nervous about watching her own films, so we went to dietrich’s and got espresso instead. i did have a moment where i thought, “whoah. i’m having coffee in houston with amber benson!” but overall, it just felt like i was enjoying a sunny day with a new friend. yay!

after the movie was done, michelle, the organizer, introduced henri and amber, and the Q&A began. henri did a great job moderating the questions, and amber was totally funny and easy-going and articulate.

here’s a segment where she talks about financing her film by selling dolls of herself (as tara):

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbgFts9lkE]

and here she talks about how she broke her leg with the help of her mom and a trashcan full of concrete:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbCrHYS2vJo]

see? she’s really great, yeah? and i think her breezy rapport with henri made the whole session fun and interesting and not a total yawnfest.

then it was time for her to sign stuff for people. here’s a shot of the gallery (look familiar, rice kids?); amber is sitting at the table in the back.

i can’t tell you how nice and cool amber was with every single person in that (long) line. i can’t imagine how draining it would be, to make conversation with total strangers. there was even one girl who drove in from the valley and asked amber to sign a ton of stuff and then asked her to sing a song and amber obliged all of her requests! wow. i have the feeling i would be a really bad celebrity.

henri and i decided to kill time by playing with the student art on display. we are reeeeally good at amusing ourselves, maybe you’ve noticed.

it’s fun to turn that picture sideways– try it by craning yr neck!

let me just say that it was really hard to keep a straight face in this picture. you know, cos skulls are hilarious!

i titled that picture, “just skulkin’ with my crew” on flickr cos i am a comic genius.

TALK TO THE HAND, henri.

i recreated this painting in all seriousness.

henri… did not. in fact, i think he got kinda fresh with the painted lady.

i told henri about the art show my senior year, which featured a portrait of me doing a crazy face by my friend marla. i showed him where the painting had hung, so he made me take a picture and re-create my crazy face. thus, my expression has nothing to do with that actual art piece of… lizards?… and is instead sort of an inside joke which i felt obligated to explain to you.

this is one of my favorites. i think henri looks like he’s in some sort of new wave 80s advertisement.

SHOUT. SHOUT. let it all OOOOUUUUT!

after henri and i had sufficiently molested all of the art, we went to dinner at benjy’s (tasty business!) with amber, michelle and a few other people who were part of the “women in film” thing. at one point, amber and i went to the bathroom together, where we hatched a plan to escape from the rest of the group. amber would pretend like she was tired so that she could be taken back to her hotel, and then henri and i would come and spirit her away!

but first, we had to go to this coffee place in the village called “black walnut” (how long has this been there?!) which has the most heinous menu i have ever seen.

as if comic sans wasn’t bad enough, they had to drop shadows on it?!!!!

we got out of there as quickly as possible, care of amber pretending to fall asleep at the table (ya’ll, she is a REALLY good actress). then it was time to take amber to where else but warren’s!

she instantly fell in love with our favorite divey bar, where no one would ask her for an autograph or try to talk to her about their latest “spec script” (i.e. fan fiction). note the look of happiness in her eyes:

we invited ray and juliet to meet up with us, and ray showed up dressed, in his words, as “an old cuban man.”

juliet pointed out later that henri was v. professional that night, due to amber’s presence. i think she forgot about the “straw” incident.

it’s impossible not to have a great time at warren’s, and by the end of the night, i felt like amber was a new friend rather than a visiting filmmaker/buffy celebrity. it made me feel all squee inside!

we took her up to matt and meredith’s apartment so she could sign meredith’s buffy collection as a surprise.

it says: “to meredith! i was at your awesome apartment! seriously, it’s true! heart, amber, ‘tara.’”

suffice it to say, meredith FREAKED OUT when she got home, which made me super happy.

even matt and meredith’s kitties got some amber love, esp. the cheat. i love this photo, cos it looks like amber is about to deliver swift justice to the cheat for one of his many evil machinations.

there’s part of me that still looks at those pictures and goes, “whoah. what is amber benson doing at matt and meredith’s apartment?” but the rest of me just sees her as amber, my new friend. CHEESY, I KNOW, i know. but i actually miss her! i want to send her a postcard and tell her that i like her!

of course, she probably gets lots of mail from creepy people, so maybe not.

i guess it just goes to show what a great actress amber is… cos even though i can’t stand tara, i am now a totally huge fan of amber.

LINKS

LOOK AT THIS SLEEPY BEAR! LOOOOK!!! HE IS THE CUTEST THING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN!! he is totally sleepy time tea.

dude. OFFICE PRANKS! oh meredith, i wish you still worked next door…

j. found this great site with notes from mom. nothing beats the notes my mom used to leave in my sesame street lunchbox, esp. on the first day of school. p.s. that site is run by some of the ladies from jezebel. holla!

speaking of jezebel, did you guys see this piece in the ny times?

i loooooved this book as a kid. who wouldn’t want to run away and live at the met?!

looks like i’m not the only one who covets the clothes on gossip girl.

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