Scaradise - Day 1
- Doug Ennis
- Mar 2
- 8 min read
I always love Scaradise, but my anticipation for this show was especially high. The guest list they put together for this event was insane. And for once, they weren't bitten too hard by the cancellation bug.
I began the day on Thursday in Austin, TX. That's where the company I work for is based, and I was there doing a demo for a potential customer. I took an obscenely early flight home, and landed in Orlando at around 9:30am. I drove home, gathered all of my stuff (it's a lot), played Tetris to fit it all in my Charger, and made the drive to Tampa. I had a nice dinner at Zen Dumpling, and went to the AMC Regency 20 to see "Scream 7". I don't go to the theater much these days, as I always end up getting in confrontation with jerks that won't shut up or put their phone away. And this showing was no exception. I had to yell at the guy right next to me to put his phone away after he pulled it out 10 times in the first 20 minutes.
But I'm glad I saw it before the convention started, as I would have been really bummed to have the movie spoiled for me at the con. I also wanted to be able to talk to the cast about the movie (in a whisper if it was spoiler related lol) while at the con.
As for the movie itself, I loved about 80% of it, and hated the other 20%. Overall I enjoyed it, despite a couple of inexplicable moments. I was up bright and early Friday morning. I went to a local diner for a huge breakfast, as I know I end up never eating while I'm at a convention. With a full belly, I made my way to the fairgrounds. I spent the early part of the day before any other attendees arrived helping Mike, Julia, and Kayla set up outside. This has become a tradition for me, and I wouldn't miss it for anything. Spent the next few hours hanging out in line with lots of con family. People ask why I get to these things so early. This is why. I don't really have people in my "real life" that are into this stuff, so I relish the opportunity to hang out with likeminded people for a few hours.
I wasn't sure who I was going to go for first today. Most con days there is a clear choice, but that wasn't the case today. I was debating between McKenna Grace, Hayden Panettiere, and Skeet Ulrich. I've met all three before, but needed them on some new stuff. I decided to go for McKenna, as she has had a lot of high profile projects recently, including the aforementioned "Scream 7". I made the right choice. Her line was huge. Hayden and Skeet also had fairly large lines, though Hayden's dispersed once they announced she wouldn't be arriving until around 4:30pm (doors opened at 1pm). I was first in McKenna's VIP line. Unfortunately, she was pretty late arriving also. Luckily, my buddy NM from Alpha Omega was with me in line, as well as another guy we were chatting with. So we took turns running off to meet somebody else while one person held the spots for the others. The first person I ran off to was James Remar. As far as I'm aware he was the first celeb to arrive, and he didn't have much of a line. I needed him to sign my posters for "IT: Welcome to Derry" and "The Blackcoat's Daughter". He seemed genuinely excited when he saw my poster for the latter. He told me about a deleted scene that would have made a big difference in how you felt about his character, and said it was great working with Emma Roberts. I always love meeting Mr. Remar. I didn't get a photo with him because I just got one a few months ago and this was going to be a VERY spendy con for me lol.
Next I met Ruby Modine. This was her first convention. She was amazing. And tall! She seemed genuinely excited about being here. She loved my choice of quotes for the full size "Happy Death Day" poster. She also said she wishes she knew how to draw a cupcake lol.
Rohan Campbell was at the table next to her, so I went for him next. He is a super nice guy. One of his table photos was a shot from "The Monkey" that really emphasized his ridiculous hair in that movie, and he and I shared a laugh about that.
For some reason, David Arquette's line was very short, so I went there next. He's always a great meet.
At around 3:15pm, McKenna arrived, and I was the first person to meet her. She was very apologetic about being late. We talked about her current career hot streak, and how she ends up being the best thing about almost every movie she is in. Also...
CLICKING HERE WILL SHOW SCREAM 7 SPOILERS
We talked about how wonderful she is in Scream 7, and her absolutely amazing death scene. I told her it was bittersweet because the scene was so awesome, but how it sucked that she wasn't in the movie for very long.
She is an awesome person that brightens up every room she's in. If you ever get the chance to meet her, do it. She's worth the line.
By the time I finished getting McKenna, it was only about 45 minutes until Hayden Panettiere was supposed to arrive. So I went ahead and started the VIP line for her. I asked the guy sitting at her table if he could watch my stuff for a few minutes, and I ran over and got into Skeet's VIP line. It probably took about 15 minutes for me to get up to his table. I've met Skeet a bunch of times at this point, but it'll never stop being cool getting to meet one of the stars of the movie that made me a horror fan.
At this point I waited for Hayden to arrive. I was a big fan of hers back in the day. I absolutely loved the first season of "Heroes", and her character in "Scream 4" is probably my second favorite in the entire franchise. I've met her once before, but was definitely excited to meet her again. When she came through the curtain I was both really happy with what I saw, and really disheartened. The first thing I noticed was that she looked really healthy. It's common knowledge that she had a rough go of things for a while, so I was happy that she had a healthy glow to her. But it also became apparent very quickly that she is struggling with some sort of physical ailment. I won't go into details, but I was very sad to see it. We had a very nice meeting. I told her how much I love Kirby in the "Scream" films, and that she was neck and neck with Matthew Lillard's Stu as my very favorite. She said she was happy to be in such good company. I hadn't planned on it, but I had to grab another selfie with her.
I felt like I could relax a little bit now that I had gotten the three biggest names taken care of. There were still plenty of great people to meet, but nobody with a big line. My back was really starting to kill me, so I took it much easier the rest of the day. No more speed walking lol.
Next I hit the "Black Phone" corner. First, Jeremy Davies. This guy is such a character. He has a completely unique vibe unlike anybody I've ever met before. I mean, just look at his jacket! I told him I liked it, and he thanked me and said he made it himself.
Then I met the McGraw sisters. Both were very sweet.
Next was was Anna Lore. One of my favorite meets of the day. She loved my shirt, saying she is a big fan of vintage magician posters, which the shirt is clearly modeled after.
And last but not least I met Miguel Mora. He was extremely friendly and accommodating, making sure to sign things exactly how you wanted them. I didn't get a selfie, as I was almost out of cash and still had a few more autographs to get. Next time!
After finishing the "Black Phone" portion of the evening, I met a couple of really cool stuntmen. Noah Garrett was the first one I met. He was very friendly. He was really excited when he saw that I had a Skull Mask from "Fear Street". He said he'd never seen one before. He also told me about his one scene playing Ghostface in the new movie.
Then I met Jeremy Conner. Another awesome guy. I spent probably minutes at his table talking about "Scream 7", other stuff from his career like "Tusk", and how he went about doing his first convention. They didn't announce him until the day of the convention, or else I'd have gotten a "Tusk" mini poster printed up. Next time!
I tried to get in line for Ethan Embry, but they told me he was about to leave for photo ops and dinner. They said he might come back. So I got in line for Richard Harmon instead. He was easily the best character in "Final Destination: Bloodlines". It blew my mind when I found out he played the Vampire Kid in "Trick 'r Treat", one of my favorite horror films. The women in front of me gave him a sign that said "Show me your kitties", which he held up during his selfie with them. I heard him comment "You're going to get me canceled at a convention" which I thought was hilarious. He was very friendly. I do wish he had a nicer autograph, though.
All that left was Ethan Embry. I needed Shannon Elizabeth and Alicia Witt as well, but they had left already. I went over and chatted with the volunteer at Ethan's table. I was there for a while when Ethan's handler came out from the back room. She asked me how many items I had, which was 5. She said he probably wasn't going to come back out, as he was signing a ton of items in the back. But she said she'd try to get my stuff taken care since she had seen me waiting there a while. While we were talking my friends Eric and Melissa came up, and Brittany (I'm about 99% sure that's her name, though I'm less sure of the spelling lol) said since we were friends she'd help them out too. And sure enough, she brought us to the back and had Ethan take care of our items. Thanks Brittany! Ethan was awesome. He treats every person like they are longtime friends. We talked a bit about "Scream 7". Expand the section below only if you are okay with "Scream 7" spoilers.
SCREAM 7 SPOILERS
SCREAM 7 SPOILERS
Meeting Ethan Embry was a fantastic way to end a very long day.
That's a wrap for the first day of Scaradise. I had an absolute blast today. If my back didn't hurt so badly, I would say it was a truly perfect day. And the best part is, there are still two more days to go! I stopped at the Five Guys next to my hotel for a quick bite, and then called it a night. I have to be up very early to do it all again tomorrow! The stats: CELEBS MET: 15 ITEMS SIGNED: 28 TOTAL AUTOGRAPHS: 43
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