Tibette.com attended the L4 convention in London where Rachel Shelley, Lauren Lee Smith, Anne Ramsay and Guinevere Turner were the invited guests. Sadly Laurel Holloman and Sarah Shahi canceled their attendance due to personal reasons. Although some people were dissaponted for two of the guests cancellations, we still had a blast at convention and the guests were truly amazing
Credit to Crissu for this report and I don't know how she does it but she remembers almost everything that was said at the Q&A's !!

Friday evening was the traditional opening ceremony followed by the meet and greet for the first lucky 150 ticket holders

 

Lauren Lee Smith Q&A's

Lauren was asked who is a better kisser, Leisha or Erin. Obviously she didn’t wanna be impolite and say one is better than the other so she said that they are both good. She had more scenes with Erin and it was nice and comfortable and she shared this little story about boiled eggs with us and said that she hopes it won’t ever reach Erin’s ears. Lauren said that she doesn’t eat boiled eggs and for some weird reason she can’t even stand to see them or be in the same room with them. And then this one day during shooting her and Erin had kissing scenes together and in-between takes they had snacks and she saw Erin eating boiled eggs. They are all very considerate and use a mint or chewing gum after eating before doing a kissing scene but she said that during that whole day she couldn’t get the picture of Erin eating a boiled egg out of her mind !

Lauren also talked about how she felt about Lara and Alice together, she said that sometimes grief can bring people together in unexpected ways and that they had both loved Dana so much that after she died that that love ended up bonding them together. She talked about filming that first kissing scene between Lara and Alice and how the director urged them to make it more raw and bring more passion to it which was kinda difficult since they both had snot running down their faces from so much crying .

Somebody asked Lauren what it was that Lara went to tell Alice in her hotel room at the end of season 3 and Lauren said that she doesn’t know what it was. Ilene had told her that she has to make it look like it’s something big and important but she never found out what it was. Actually Lauren was supposed to come back in season 4 as a regular and it was a total surprise to her when she found out that Lara had gone off to San Francisco and apparently wouldn’t be coming back. She doesn’t know what changed but guessed that maybe Ilene wanted to explore some other storyline options for Alice. She said that if she were offered the chance to come back in season 6, she would absolutely do it because she loves the character of Lara and enjoyed doing the show.

Lauren was also asked if she is a good cook herself and she said that making toast and instant noodles is pretty much all she can do. She also has a wonderful mother who keeps stocking her fridge on a regular basis. She also talked about her grandma who is over 90 years old and whom she is close to. One day her and her grandma were talking about tattoos and then grandma said that she regrets never having gotten one. Lauren told her that it’s never too late and they actually went out and got tattoos together and Lauren got in trouble with her mom afterwards .Lauren herself has 7 tattoos.

Lauren was asked if she could change one thing about her body, what would it be. She said that sometimes she feels like she has too much booty

Lauren also talked a bit about Mutant-X, a series that she was in before The L Word and why she left that show. When they had started shooting, the budget of the series was good and she enjoyed doing it but for some reason the budget was cut in half after a while. The viewer numbers started dropping and after a while Lauren’s character’s outfits started getting smaller and more revealing with every episode to attract viewers. She said that’s when she realized it was time to get out and luckily she had no trouble getting out of her contract.

Lauren had to catch a flight back home because her new movie project started shooting on the next day so she missed the closing ceremony on Sunday evening. She wore a comfortable t-shirt and cute pajama bottoms looking pants combo during the Q&A on Sunday and when she came on stage she explained that it was because she was leaving for the airport right after and wanted to be in something comfy for the long flight.

Anne Ramsay Q&A's

Anne was asked if she could’ve had the opportunity to play opposite someone else from the cast besides Mia, who she would’ve picked. She said Pam and Jennifer

Anne said that there was a kissing scene between her and Karina Lombard’s character that ultimately got cut. It was during season 1 and happened in The Planet in Marina’s office when Marina invited Robin there to give her a book and to ultimately try and sabotage her and Jenny’s relationship. Anne said that since she was a guest on the show she always tried to get her cues from the series regulars when doing a scene with them. Before the kissing, Karina Lombard told her only one thing – no tongues – and Anne imitated Karina’s accent when saying that, which was funny and Anne was like whoa, I don’t know if I know how to kiss without tongue but since Karina didn’t tell her anything after the scene she figured she did okay. She never got to see how it looked on tape though because the scene got cut. She guessed that it was because they wanted to preserve Robin’s good girl image and not taint it with having her actually get something going on with Marina.

She also said that she very much enjoyed playing opposite Mia Kirschner who is a very talented actress and very intense as a person. Anne was asked what was her favorite L Word scene to film and she said the break-up scene between Robin and Jenny. They had filmed many takes of it already but felt that they weren’t getting what they wanted out of it. So Mia asked her to throw in something that was a bit different from the scripted line to help get a real reaction out of “Jenny”. Anne did that and they nailed the scene with that take. Anne said that ultimately, the tougher the scene, the more satisfaction you get out of it once you are done with it. She said that she is very self-critical as a person and as an actress and is hardly ever completely satisfied with her work.

Anne was asked what she thinks about the Nikki storyline in season 5, more specifically about a gay actress playing a gay character in a movie but having to keep her own sexual preferences a secret for the sake of her career. Anne said that she doesn’t have cable and hasn’t seen season 5 yet so the storyline had to be explained to her She said that regretfully things like that do occur in the movie business even now and that she knows people who live and work like that. She explained that it is not about homophobia or anything like that but that there is this tiny niggling doubt that some of the producers and directors have when considering an actor or an actress who they know is gay for a straight role, they are not 100% sure if they can portray a wife or a husband convincingly or as convincingly as a straight actor/actress could. It is also a double standard because apparently there is no doubt when casting a straight actor/actress to play a gay character.

Anne said that she runs five miles every day and likes to keep a really slow pace running. She was also asked if she could change one thing about her body, what would it be and she said that nothing really but sometimes she feels like she has the longest torso on a woman ever, like Mark Wahlberg has the longest torso on a guy ever. She also said that it would be kinda interesting to have a penis for like one day a week

Anne said that she enjoys working with female directors more because she feels that there is more understanding and better co-operation. She was also asked what does she think of when her character has a crying scene and she said that when she was younger and more inexperienced she had to dredge up a memory or a thought that would help her with that but that these days it is so much easier because she has gotten to the point where she actually feels what her character is going through and that is all it takes.

Rachel Shelley's Q&A's

Rachel said that originally Helena was supposed to be in 6 episodes of S5 instead of 4 and that it came as a bit of a shock to her. But she said that otherwise she liked the prison storyline, it was interesting to play Helena going through something like that and Rachel also confirmed that she will be in all of S6

Somebody asked her what she would like her storyline to be in S6 and she said bring back Dylena! She liked that storyline a lot but also said that Alexandra Hedison has a really busy schedule. She also mentioned that they had had lunch or dinner together earlier that week

Concerning season 6, Rachel said that she doesn't have any idea yet what the storylines will be like but that the filming will start in June and will be finished by the end of September

Rachel was asked what she thought about the Catherine storyline in S4 and she replied that it was also interesting for her to play because Helena had been a character with a fair amount of power in seasons 2 and 3 and here she was in this situation where she was being totally controlled by someone else and her life had done a complete turnaround. Somebody also asked where did Helena hide the money she stole and Rachel replied that probably in Alice's apartment in a cupboard where she never looks

Another question was how she feels about Holland Taylor playing her mother on the show and Rachel was like isn't she just completely amazing?

Rachel was asked that if she could pick Angelina Jolie or Madonna as her L Word partner, which one would she choose. Rachel was like, omg, imagine that threesome! She thought that she might choose Angelina although she would be terrified of her, actually she would be terrified of them both because they are both so awesome and she should be so lucky.

Somebody asked Rachel what is her favorite TLW scene and she said one scene she likes to watch is the tibette fight/sex scene from S1 finale because it is just allround awesome. Another one she mentioned is the Monet scene from S4 with Alice and Jenny, that is just superb and that Mia and Leisha are great at improvisation.

Then somebody from the audience must have gotten inspired by the mention of improvisation and asked Rachel and Guinevere who were doing the Q&A together on Sunday to improvise a scene together for us. Rachel was like, okay, I can do this but Guin was like omg, I am so not good at that, I've never even taken an acting class! But they decided to go for it and act out a scene for us between Gabby Deveaux, the receptionist and Helena Peabody, the rich heiress at the vagina rejuvenation clinic from S1

Gabby: May I help you?
Helena: Well that depends... I'm trying to book an appointment... but not for me It's for someone I know who needs some help but they'd like to do it very privately and book the entire clinic for the day.
Gabby: And... what exactly does she need done?
Helena: I think it's what you specialize in
Gabby: Well, okay but is there like a precipitating incident that created this emergency?
Helena: Well, I think you could call it an ongoing matter... it's called age

That totally ruled!

Rachel and Guin were both asked if they think the world is ready for a lesbian Brokeback Mountain and they both thought that it could/should happen in the very near future. Guin said that actually she should get off her butt and write it and beat everyone else to it

Rachel was asked if she thinks that being on The L Word has opened some doors for her actingwise and she said absolutely. She said that she knows she got the role in Gray Matters thnx to playing Helena on The L Word

Guinevere and Rachel were both great guests. And I just wanna say that Rachel Shelley is completely I don't know why but for some reason I expected her to be a bit reserved or smth but she seemed completely relaxed during the Q&A's and at ease answering all the questions. She is even more stunning in person than she is on screen and also very funny, during the opening ceremony when they were leaving the stage after being introduced, Rachel caught her shoe behind a wire or smth and lost it and she was like oh well, picked it up and hobbled off the stage, bless her. During one of the Q&A's she was asked what was one of her recent most embarrassing moment and she mentioned that one!!.

There was also this one lady that told the story of a friend that passed away a few months ago and they used to watch the show together. She had wanted to come to L4. Rachel was her favourite. Her friend had enjoyed her scenes the most on the show and afterwards just couldn't stop talking about Helena. It was really sweet and after this lady left the microphone Rachel said that we, the audience have our emotions running high at this event but the very same thing happens to them on the stage when being told a story like that and she actually got teary-eyed.the story was that the person's friend had passed away back in the fall and they used to watch the show together. She had wanted to come to L4. Her message for Rachel was "You're beautiful"

Some Tibette, Jennifer and Laurel tidbits from the q&a's:

Lauren was asked to describe the cast members by 1 or 2 words:
Jennifer: simply beautiful
Laurel: mamabear
Leisha: fireball... a ball of energy
Erin: absolutely down to earth
Mia: intelligent
Kate: no bullshit
Pam: fcukin cool

Rachel was asked to talk about the teaser scene where she makes out with Jennifer and she said that the point of it was to show that a possible relationship between them would be a constant power struggle because they're both alpha. And she said that Jennifer Beals is really strong! She told Rachel that you gotta fight girl! And Rachel had to use all her strength to push her back

Rachel was also asked how she would end all the storylines in season 6 and the first thing she said... actually she whispered that Bette and Tina get back together obviously. Rachel also said that one of her very favorite scenes of TLW to watch is the season 1 finale Bette & Tina angry sex scene because it's very powerful, wonderfully written and just superbly acted.

Someone asked Rachel if she was intimidated because her scene partner was a pregnant woman in her first love scene, she said that she wasn't intimidated until they got to the pool scene...
when they got into the pool, the director asked them to take off their panties because they were reflecting thru the water and Laurel said yes right away. And Rachel was like oookay, if Laurel said yes being 8 months pregnant then I have to say yes too. Then they started making out and at one point Laurel had to take off her bikini top and Rachel was shocked because suddenly she had this pair of really huge and naked female breasts right in her face. And the director told her like, okay good but less shocked and more excited please!! Rachel said that Laurel was a really great scene partner though and they were comfortable working with each other and that she was the really brave and fearless for doing these kind of scenes 8 months pregnant. And now they are good friends and sometimes they have dinner together with Laurel's husband and daughter and Rachel's family and they have a laugh over how funny it is to be having dinner here like this and when they met they made out naked in a pool when Laurel was pregnant

Someone asked Rachel if she were gay who would she pick from the cast as her lover...someone from the crowd shouted Jennifer and Rachel said yeah Jennifer because she is absolutely gorgeous.. you fans have only seen her with her make-up on but she looks just as beautiful after doing the triathlon and dripping wet plus she is very smart, intelligent and very generous as a person.

Closing ceremony

 

 

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