Chicago Con Report: Ghostfacers Panel

 

 

Question: Travis, what is the best moment from EuroTrip for you, and AJ what is the best moment for you on CSI:NY?

 

Answering first, Travis said the best moment actually working on EuroTrip was working with Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live).  He was easily the funniest person  he’d ever met.  As AJ starts to clear his throat, Travis quickly adds, ‘besides AJ’.  Travis continued that he had only fallen out of a take once in his career, when he was laughing so hard he couldn’t handle it, on camera, and that was with Fred. So that, for me, was my favorite

 

AJ said for him, it had to be CSI and it was last week’s episode.  It was the first time that Adam got really out of the lab got into a fight, so some things. 

 

Next question was one I’d expected much earlier in the panel….one that was on everyone’s mind.  Fan: Do you think you will be in any more episodes on SPN?

 

Here Travis just starts giggling and wiggling on stage, obviously in great delight.  

 

AJ chose to answer; “We can answer…ah… (smiling) we got a call yesterday about something, and we can’t talk about it. But we did get a call yesterday”.   –That would have been 10-8-10.  They did say more but the screams and shouts of approval from the fan blocked out some of what I could hear.  Bottom line…I don’t think you get a call from SPN just to say ‘Hi’, and I don’t think bad news would have been greeted with AJ saying he was very excited, or Travis wiggling around on stage like the cat who just ate the mouse.  …and neither did the fans!!!  .

 

 AJ continued that they did get a call about ‘ something’…and they were very excited about it…”I mean we’re pretty excited.”  That’s obvious AJ since Travis was still doing a ‘happy dance’ on stage.  AJ explained that it was really like a month ago that Ghostfacers symbol was up on the board in the writing room. Travis, AJ and their two other wonderful producers, Pat and Chris, pitched a concept of the Ghostfacer’s return, and they liked it.  He said it’s pretty funny, they would be shirtless and it will be awesome!  That brought the house down!!  Yes. We ALL want to see more of the Ghostfacers and the boys in the same episode.  How cool is that!

 

Once the hall settled down, the next question was asked.  Fan:  Your characters are not too fond on Sam and Dean and I was wondering if you think you would grow to like them?

 

AJ thinks Ed and Harry just chuckle at Sam and Dean’s attempt to hunt ghosts.  Travis quickly adds but Ed and Harry are the professionals.  They take this stuff seriously (LOL)

 

AJ concurs, why kick the door down when you can just open it. (Hmmmm…Maybe if Ed or Harry were 6’4′, they’d reconsider.)  In reality, they feel Ed and Harry will forever banter back and forth with the boys. Good! Wouldn’t be much fun it they didn’t!

 

Next questions were for AJ. Fan: Two weeks ago on CSI:NY, how much of that fight scene did they actually let you do?  Was your stunt double in there? I saw a lot of stunt doubles in there.

 

 “Yes you did”, AJ said.   He wanted to as much as possible and rehearsed the entire scene and shot it with him doing most of it.   He had always wanted to do be an action hero, so he  just wanted to get in there and fight.  And  they let him do most of it, but then there were parts where his stunt double was used. 

 

Same fan, second question. I really liked you in Disturbing Behaviour and your characters awesome laugh and could you maybe do that for us.  Which he did.  And we all agreed. it was VERY creepy!

 

Next question was asked at just about every panel and I thought was very good, and here was no exception.  Fan: If you could switch characters with anyone one on SPN who would it be and why?

 

Good question AJ replied, and then he surprised everyone by saying, “I would have to say Jared.  I want to know what it’s like to be able to like flip a car” which he then pretended to mimic on stage…with a lot of sound effects.  FUNNY!!!!   AJ continues, “Just for one day, I want muscles and to be 6’9”. The roar from crowd was deafening. 

 

Travis: “I can’t follow that!” That’s okay Travis because AJ wasn’t finish.  “I think actually if we if bound together we would be like his leg.  Maybe his thigh.  (More sound effects of flipping car.)  We’d be his thigh.”   Okay AJ, remember what happened the last time you teased Jared…and he was 25 ponds lighted than he is now.  And apparently you will be in season 6, so tread lightly dude!

 

The next fan has a very insightful observation and question. Fan: First you’re probably my favorite boys besides Sam and Dean. Second…When they brought you in to play Ed and Harry for the first episode, Hell House, did they discuss that you would be kind of like an alto ego of Sam and Dean?  Because it seems like that’s what you are.

 

Good perspective AJ said.  Travis took the point on this one. He said there was a lot of discussion about this and he thinks it was their intention that Ed and Harry would be seen as less socially adapted versions of Sam and Dean.  They saw us as being the more diminutive mirror of Sam and Dean. AJ concurred, “Cool…right on point.”

 

Okay, all, next ‘Fan’ was none other than Alice Jester. (Yes, one and all…our illustrious leader)

AJ noticed her shirt and when Alice said it had been a gift from Patrick at Comic con, Travis stated that Patrick had been ‘like the Ghostfacers shirt fairy’, bestowing GF shirts on people. 

 

Alice: My question is that while I was at comic con, I got to talk to Patrick a lot and he told me a lot of the writing stories about the GF, and I’d thought everyone would want to know about how you found space for writing in a supply closet at the SPN offices.

 

AJ said t was like really fun.  They didn’t really have any place to edit and stuff because there was really no budget for GF, It was just like everything was pulled together on a shoestring.

Travis added that it had to be squeezed under a supplemental advertising budget.

 

AJ continued, when he said no budget, he means there was no budget so much so that they ended up being in a closet editing. People were coming to store something that didn’t know they were  there  and it was like  ‘Surprise’ .  We say don’t worry were just the GF produces editing the series. And they like be “What the hell are those guys doing in the closet?” That’s true unfortunately.

 

Alice : And he said you had a mascot or something up there that was scaring people?

 

A: Yes,  Yes we had the Corbett puppet, (Awwww…)  “I know… so sad…my little buddy.  He’s the best. Right. How great is Dustin?”  Great, judging for the audience response.

 

Fan: I love you guys.  I love the GF but I hate  all the other ghost hunting shows.  I want to know what you guys think of those shows?

AJ took the lead here.  Well, have they seen real ghosts?  Have they killed any, has an interned died, or have they had their faced slashed?”  That got laughs from the crowd.   But he appreciates their heart and he gives them a ‘E” for effort. Travis continued that they did watch them a lot because they do give them great material.

 

Fan: Question actually for Travis I saw you on ‘Justified’ where you played a bad guy. Have you ever done anything like that before?

 

Travis replied that bad guys were some of his favorite people to play because you just get so much room to just be mean.  As an older brother he had a lot of experience being mean (LOL)..so that worked out pretty well .  The thing that pops into his mind  is a movie called ‘Paper Brigade’ back in like the 90’s.  It was the first movie he ever did, and he played a bad guy with a pony tail.

 

Fan: Do you ever try to pull pranks on each other or the cast members?

 

AJ says not pranks per se, more in takes and stuff.  say stuff to each other. He continues that there is a lot of impromptu that happens.  Once  he called Jared a chisel chest off of the top of his head.  He explained he was trying to talk to him but he was like staring at his chest and he said, ‘What’s up chisel chest?”   And Jared fell on the floor in the group and had this giant laughter, (His mimicking of Jared’s laugh was akin to the Jolly Green giant’s.  There was no shortage of jokes about Jared’s size at this convention).  And then he [Jared] got up, walked off the stage and literally fell down on the ground, and laughed some more. (More Jolly Green giant’s laughing.)  When Jared came back on set, he repeated ‘chisel chest’ and laughed some more.  “It’s like 15 mins we were shut down, it was like great.” 

 

Fan: What I’d like to know is have you guys ever had any paranormal experiences?

 

AJ said he had.  He get these weird feeling like when some of the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, or when you think about someone and the phone rings. He had something like that when his grandfather passed away.  He had had a dream about him. In it he was with his grandmother and she was crying.  He told my grandmother about it and then about 10mins later the phone rings and his grandfather had passed away. AJ totally believe in it for sure…

 

Fan: My question is about Comic con, are you going to go again this year and also do you have any stories, or any stories you want us to know at all?

 

Again AJ answers. The first time they there was an experience and a half. They really didn’t pitch it to us. A number of people asked them if they were going and comments that they should like ‘crash the panel’.  Once they got there, everyone was afraid that this was the worst idea ever.  But then we were asked if we and we want to come up on stage. When they walked up on stage they got a great response from the crowd and  it was like the turning point for the Ghostfacers because the president of Warner Brothers was there. Gave them a nice kick to get the show going .. so cool…

 

Oaky, next was another questions I expected much earlier in the panel. Fan: Is there going to be a season two of GF?

 

Words were not needed at this point.  Travis’ ‘happy dance’ said it all.  Wiggling and giggling up on stage got the message across.

 

AJ did put it into words. “All we can say is that there is all sorts of talk. We can tell you that yesterday we got a call and it was like the bat signal went out big time. Really it’s good…. we’re coming back.  It’s good.  We’re legends.” And it was like yeah, yeah, yeah!!! Travis finally found his voice and said they were in a conference call at the airport and he [AJ] was on one other side of the airport on his phone and he [Travis] was on his and they could see each other, so it was great.

 

AJ: “Yea so it’s good. We are very excited.”  Aren’t we all! 

 

Fan: In the webisodes I know that you guys mentioned a scene that you shot with Castiel. Can you tell, us about that?

 

AJ explains that its awesome funny little bit that they weren’t allowed to release to the public when it was first shot.  AJ and Travis said the Misha talked to them in Vancouver, said he loved the Ghostfacers and how could he get involved.  So they wrote Interview with an Angel  which is about Castiel came meeting the Ghostfacers. They ran it passed Eric Kripke, who loved it, and Misha who thought it was great. So they got the green light to shoot it, which they did and they showed it at the York convention for Hell Hounds which was just for the Ghostfacers. They added that Misha was great and such a good sport.  AJ added that ‘because of certain things that are happening’ they did get the go ahead to release it and it maybe at the next convention. 

 

Last question before the end of the panel. Fan:  You guys didn’t know each other before Hell Hounds, so when you guys first met what did you think of each other?

 

AJ said it was one of those weird things in life where they just showed up and right away started reckoning.  Travis added that they really didn’t know each other and didn’t communicate or chat before they got on set. They just got on set and once they started rehearsals and it just worked, they clicked.  AJ said it started with a pushup contest.  They challenge each other to see who could do the most push up.  They both could only do 9. (LOL) But it’s true…it started with a push up contest.

 

AJ concluded the panel by saying that it had been Travis’s birthday the day before and asked us all to sing Happy birthday to him and of course we did. “And one more special announcement,” he said, “Travis got engaged. It was a big weekend for him”.   

 

AJ ended by saying they cannot thank the fans enough. It has been a ‘hell of a journey’ for them and they just love going to work with these characters.  They appreciate the continued support and all the love that the fans have for them.  ‘It goes with out saying”, he added.

 

Travis added that they say this a lot, but obviously they just can’t say it enough. The Ghostfacers, what Ed calls the Ghostfacers movement, wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the fan response and people getting behind it showing love and support. AJ and Travis felt it, so the Ghostfacers thank the fans deeply.

 

AJ: “Thank you, thank you, thank you, You guys are awesome.  Thanks so much for your time.”  The claps scream and shouts continues even after AJ and Travis left the stage.