Matt Refghi

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re at Dragon*Con 2012, and I’m here with two cosplayers that I do not recognize, and I’m particularly intrigued because of the plunger. So if you could please tell me about your characters, tell me about yourselves.

John: I’m playing the Phantom of the Paradise which is from a 1970s movie directed by Brian De Palma as a musical version of the Phantom of the Opera.

Matt: Okay, not familiar, but still very cool. Yes?

Clara: I’m playing Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell manga, it’s an old school version of her outfit.

Matt: Okay, alright. And the plunger, where does that fit in?

John: He attacks somebody with a plunger in the middle of the movie, and the action figure actually comes with the plunger, so I figured it was –

Matt: Is there a clog he needs to fix? Or what’s the –

John: No, he attacks him in the bathroom, so it’s kind of a comedy.

Matt: I see, alright. How long have you been coming to Dragon*Con?

Clara: This is my third year.

Matt: Third year? Me too! Great.

Clara: (laughs)

John: I’ve been here for five or six years.

Matt: Five or six years, great. And are you from the area?

John: What’s that?

Matt: (repeating) Are you from the area?

John: Yes.

Matt: Yes?

John: Yeah, about a mile away.

Matt: A mile away, that’s pretty close. What’s your favorite thing about Dragon*Con?

Clara: I love that it’s a gathering of my people. The nerds, the dorks, we were picked on in school, but now I feel like we rule here. We’re cool now. (laughs)

Matt: Now we thrive, that’s right. (to John) Same?

John: Yeah, nerds, and drinking – it’s my life.

Matt: Excellent. Is there anything you would recommend someone who hasn’t been to Dragon*Con?

Clara: Well, I think that they definitely should go. You gotta start raising your nerds, when you have kids, bring them here, you can be yourself here – it’s amazing.

John: Yeah, if you’re a nerd, and you live in the area and you want to come, you should come – it’s fun.

Matt: Great. And if would ask you “what’s the best costume that you’ve seen today?” is there anything that comes to mind, that pops out?

Clara: I love the multitude of Shepard from Mass Effect. The costumes have been amazing here, and there’s so many of them now.

Matt: Yeah, me too.

John: Yeah, I liked seeing Rocket Racoon and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Matt: Okay, I’m not familiar, but… good. Um, and you’re names, I don’t believe you’ve mentioned your names.

Clara: My name is Clara.

Matt: Alright, Clara. (to John) Yes?

John: I’m John.

Matt: Nice meeting you both, and thanks for taking the time to interview with us. And may we use this interview on YouTube?

Clara: Yeah, no problem.

John: Yeah.

Matt: Thank you.

Clara: Thank you so much.

Matt: Thanks. (to John) Thank you, plunger man.

John: My hands are wet.

Matt: And you’re holding a plunger.

John: I’ve been – this is brand new, but I’ve been sweating so much, I was like –

Matt: It’s okay, I appreciate it. Alright, thank you.

And now the blooper.

Matt: And I’m here with two characters that I do not recognize, and I’m very curious about, particularly because you’re carrying a sponger.

Matt: What am I saying? (to camera man) Let me restart.

Clara: (laughs)

Matt: (laughs) (to camera man) Let me restart, I’m sorry.

Matt: It was, uh – sponger, what the hell is a sponger?

John: (laughs)

Clara: (laughs)

Matt: A plunger! It’s a plunger. Okay.

Credits

Featuring: John and Clara

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re at Dragon*Con 2012 and I’m here with Justin who decided to dress as Walt Whitman. From Breaking Bad, and yet, he seems to be –

Justin: Walt Whitman? It was Walt Whitman?

Matt: Wasn’t it?

Justin: Uh, I think it was Walter White.

Matt: Oh!

Justin: Walt Whitman was the writer.

Matt: Jesus, Walter White.

Justin: Yeah.

Matt: That’s right, okay. (to cameraman) We’ll restart?

Justin: I think that was good, that was good though.

Matt: Yeah, it’s fine, it’s just.

Justin: It was a nice gap, I liked it.

Matt: Oh, you mean, like a natural mistake? What do you mean?

Justin: Well, yeah, you were like, yeah, “Walt Whitman, he made meth too!”

Matt: (laughs)

Justin: Most people did not know that!

Matt: Alright, so we’re Dragon*Con 2012 and I’m here as Justin who dressed up as Walter White from the Breaking Bad series, and he didn’t really go with stealth for today, he decided to go all out and showcase that he is a meth cook, or something dangerous like that. So Walt, is this your first time at Dragon*Con?

Justin: No, I’ve been coming for about, I’d say, five years now.

Matt: Five years?

Justin: Five years.

Matt: Are you from around here?

Justin: Actually, yeah, I live in Douglasville, about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta.

Matt: Aright.

Justin: So not much of a drive.

Matt: So not much a a – pardon?

Justin: Not much of a drive –

Matt: Oh, okay.

Justin: Compared to a lot of people.

Matt: Yeah. We fly down from Montreal.

Justin: You know, I thought I heard a little something there.

Matt: Yeah?

Justin: Yep.

Matt: So what’s your favorite part about Dragon*Con?

Justin: Well, honestly, for one thing the costumes, just walking around, seeing some of the amazing stuff people do. Another is just the sheer range of different kinds of panels you can go to, since there’s no one specific thing going on at Dragon*Con. So you can go to a panel on Star Wars one minute, and then an hour later be listening to the actors of True Blood talk about what goes on the set, so…

Matt: Right.

Justin: There’s always something interesting going on.

Matt: Yeah, that’s true. Can I have an idea of the other costumes that you’ve worn in the past? Is this the first, here?

Justin: No, no, this is one of the costumes I wear. I went as the clown doctor from Children’s hospital, the year before – the year before last, that was actually pretty good. I mean, the make-up ran a little bit, but it got a good response out of people. I think the big thing I try to do is try to get something that you’re not gonna see a lot of, because it gets a little better response.

Matt: I agree, and also less people might recognize the reference that you’re making, the value of the people that do recognize – I think, is a lot more value – you know, it’s a lot more valuable to actually see the few that actually recognize the reference. Would you agree?

Justin: Oh, yeah. It’s – I’m gonna admit, it’s a little bit of an ego thing, when you have people coming up to you all day and going “Can I please get a picture? Can I take a picture with you?” Because that makes you feel like you put some work into it, and that you came up with a really good idea that people are responding to.

Matt: Right? That’s true. I’m actually – this is my first experiment, this is a Canadian TV show I’m dressed up as, a character from a Canadian TV show. Not hits so far, but we’ll see, you know. Always have to walk around with a glass, that’s one of the quirks of this character.

Justin: Ahhhh.

Matt: It can be challenging, carrying everything.

Justin:  This thing right here is not exactly comfortable, and the suit itself? It’s pretty warm on the inside.

Matt: I see.

Justin: But I mean, that’s the cost.

Matt: It keeps you safe, when you’re working.

Justin: True.

Matt: That’s great, so yeah, great meeting you.

Justin: Pleasure.

Credits

Featuring: Justin

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re here at Dragon*Con 2012, and I’m here with Jason who’s dressed as Thor. Hello Jason, so how many times have you come to Dragon*Con?

Jason: This is my seventh year.

Matt: That’s great – what costumes have you worn before?

Jason: I’ve been a Hellraiser from Cenobite, or Cenobite from the Hellraiser movie.

Matt: Very nice.

Jason: Scottish highlander wearing a kilt, and of course Thor, one of my favorites – so this is my second year in a row being Thor.

Matt: Right. I noticed that that hammer is not just a regular hammer –

Jason: Yes.

Matt: I’ve seen many Thors, but that’s one strong hammer. Can you just tell us about the hammer?

Jason: Yeah, I’m a sheet metal worker, and I do sheet metal fabrication and everything, and this is a stainless steel channel and it weighs about thirty pounds, mirrored stainless steel. I completely welded it all together, polished it, wrapped the handle in leather, had it engraved, and I’ve had it for about fifteen years now.

Matt: Very nice. Do you have a website you’d like to mention?

Jason: Uh, no I do not.

Matt: Okay. Great. Alright, so there’s that, and then – what would you say is the best part of Dragon*Con to you?

Jason: Everything. There’s just so much phenomenal stuff about this, that’s why I keep coming back every year, the people, the fun, and I think the best thing to me is: I have children, so having other people’s children run up to me, and want their picture with me, is just the coolest thing in the world to me.

Matt: That’s great.

Jason: Because I know my children have done it as they were growing up, so I can kind of give back to them now, being a character that the children kinda look up to, and I have five-year-old children running up to me, wanting their picture with me, so yeah, that’s pretty neat.

Matt: Great. Are you from the area?

Jason: Yeah, I’m from Dallas, Georgia, about 45 minutes away.

Matt: Great.

Jason: Yep.

Matt: Okay, sounds good, so very nice meeting you.

Jason: Absolutely.

Matt: Thanks again.

Jason: Thank you, Matt.

Credits

Featuring: Jason

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, so I’m here at Dragon*Con 2012, and I just saw this gentleman. I have to ask: did you wake up this morning and think “today, I’d like the rabbit to carry me around?”

Michael Mirth: (laughs) That’s ri – well, he said so, actually.

Matt: Yeah.

Michael: I didn’t have much to do with it, really.

Matt: That’s – alright, that’s pretty elaborate.

Michael: I’ve been wanting to bring this costume to Dragon*Con for about seven years, since I’ve made it. But I never had a trailer, because it’s so large – it wouldn’t fit in my jeep.

Matt: Yeah, it’s pretty elaborate.

Michael: Yes, there’s a lot of parts to it.

Matt: Alright, so where did the idea come from? Where did this – I need to know.

Michael: (laughs) Well I once saw someone that had a rabbit costume with an Easter egg, and inside the Easter egg he was carrying a person. And I thought, I’m a magician, so I could do that with a magic hat. Then I could walk in parades, do grand openings, and that sort of thing. So I built the costume for those kinds of venues.

Matt: Very nice, and so you’re a magician – is there a domain or a site you’d like to mention?

Michael: Yes, it’s michaelmirth.com.

Matt: Repeat that? Sorry.

Michael: My name is Michael Mirth, and the site is michaelmirth.com.

Matt: Okay, excellent.

Michael: Thanks for the plug!

Matt: Yeah, no problem. Is this the first time you come to Dragon*Con?

Michael: No, I’ve been coming to Dragon*Con for about seven years, and I’m typically a vendor. But evenings, you know, the costume is the party, basically, so I like to be part of this as well.

Matt: Very good. You look comfortable, how are you feeling?

Michael: It’s not too bad! This is fiberglass, so it’s not terribly weighty, and it weighs about the same in back as it does in front, so it’s balanced front to back.

Matt: Okay, and maneuvering in this?

Michael: Not too bad. Well, it’s all up to the rabbit, really, I don’t have much say in it.

Matt: That’s right, he’s doing a good job.

Michael: He is, he is. But it’s really all me, you know.

Matt: Is he expecting a carrot on the way home?

Michael: (laughs) Yeah, you guys didn’t?

Matt: Oh, we didn’t expect rabbits to carry people around.

Michael: Because that’s in the contract, man. Magician animals union, he wants a limousine after this.

Matt: (laughs)

Michael: (laughs)

Matt: Alright, it was a pleasure talking to you – excellent costume, excellent costume.

Michael: My pleasure, thank you so much.

Matt: Thanks.

Credits

Featuring: Michael Mirth

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, so we just arrived at Dragon*Con 2012, and we encountered Moss from The IT Crowd. How are you doing, Moss?

Maurice Moss: (British accent) Doing well, thank you.

Matt: Alright, I see that you have a cup there.

Moss: (British accent) Absolutely, I’ve searched the canteen completely and most thoroughly, and I’ve actually found my cup.

Matt: Woah.

Moss: (British accent) It’s very, very distinctive because there’s a picture on the base.

Matt: Okay, alright. How do you differentiate between that cup and the other cups.

Moss: (British accent) Well, mainly the picture is what does it, although I do see Richmond drinking from it from time to time, which makes me a little bit vexed.

Matt: I thought he died from scurvy.

Moss: (British accent) He did. But then later he came back, as you know, from goth to boss?

Matt: That’s right.

Moss: (British accent) Absolutely. Quite surprising.

Matt: I see, and I see you’re also wearing a very interesting shirt right there.

Moss:  (British accent) Oh, well, yes, see, unfortunately, it is the week-end, and since it is the week-end, Aunt Irma visits.

Matt:  Oh, yeah.

Moss: (British accent) Sometimes, it gets a little bit wonky with our emotions and breast tenderness, it’s a little embarrassing to be quite certain.

Matt: I see. So I see you’ve embraced it, it seems that you like to show off this image, now. How is Jen doing, by the way?

Moss: (British accent) Well, Jen unfortunately couldn’t make it… because of Aunt Irma.

Matt: Because of Aunt Irma.

Moss: (British accent) It gets a little bit unwieldy having her out of sorts with her wild hair and her womanly ways, and all sorts of things that aren’t necessarily proper for small children or… anyone.

Matt: Probably a wise decision, yes. Alright, so how long have you been coming to Dragon*Con?

At this point Lucien stops speaking in character, and drops the British accent.

Lucien: I’m going to break character I guess, for that one since it’s a knocker, but I first started in 1996, so I’ve been coming for… 16 years. Yeah, 16 years, that’s a long time.

Matt: Yeah, so you’re from the area, I take it?

Lucien: I’ve lived in Georgia for about half of my life, I was originally from California.

Matt: I see.

Lucien: So I moved out here, and go back and forth quite frequently to visit family, stuff like that, so. How long have you been being coming to the Con?

Matt: This is my third year, and his first year.

Lucien: Awesome, first year. Nice!

Matt: First year, yeah. And we just arrived, and just bumped into Lucien who also – when I came here last year, I saw him, and thought he had the best costume.

Lucien: Thank you sir, I appreciate that. That’s awesome, dude.

Matt: You’re welcome. So I wrote a blog post, and he happened to find it randomly, so it’s just really funny that the first person I encounter here is Lucien. So, very good, and you’re rocking that uniform again, I like.

Lucien: Absolutely.

Matt: Like the accent, you really have that down.

Lucien: I try, sometimes it gets hard, like his pronunciation is a little weird after certain vowel sounds, so it’s really hard to capture it. But, I do the best I can, you have to practice for like weeks in advance.

Matt: That’s some dedication.

Lucien: It is.

Matt: I see you also embody the body language.

Lucien: Yes, that’s really important. That was killer for me, because if I’m going to do the costume, I feel it’s important to be in costume, I think it’s important to be in character all the time. When I have my next one on which is, like I said his character from The Watch, I try to – he doesn’t have much speaking parts in that, but he’s – I don’t want to spoil it on camera since you haven’t seen it, but I have a prop from it that’s very distinctive.

Matt: I see.

Lucien: Hopefully, you know, it’ll be – his character is similar, so it should be easy.

Matt: Okay, so it’s been a pleasure meeting up with you, and by the way, just so you know, we come from Montreal, Canada.

Lucien: Oh, seriously!

Matt: We fly down, yeah.

Lucien: That’s awesome. Yeah, everyone comes from all around, that’s always nice. I have a guy who came, I met him yesterday, he’s dressed as Rimmer from Red Dwarf –

Matt: Okay. I’m not familiar with it, but go ahead.

Lucien: It’s an old 1980s British sci-fi comedy –

Matt: Right.

Lucien: He’s here, and he came from Australia.

Matt: Nice.

Lucien: First Dragon*Con, awesome.

Matt: Very nice. Great, so yea, good seeing you and  –

Lucien: Absolutely.

Matt: So see you again.

Credits

Featuring: Lucien Freeman

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: I never expected to encounter this at Dragon*Con, it seems that Batman has met his end. So what are you going to do, Harley, now that Batman is gone?

Harley Quinn: Well, now that the Bat is gone, Mr. J wants me to go after Robin, little nancy-boy.

Matt: Well, Robin’s the only left right now.

Harley: He is.

Matt: So he probably has new tricks up his sleeve.

Harley: Robin is a six-year-old loser, he can’t do anything to me.

Matt: (laughs) Okay. So I was wondering, is this your first time at Dragon*Con?

Harley: No, this is fourth year, and it’s just as amazing as always.

Matt: Excellent. Is this the first costume you wear?

Harley: Yes, I’ve worn Harley Quinn all four years, and I will continue to.

Matt: Alright. Is this a recent addition, the severed head.

Harley: I added the severed head last year because I wanted to do something different that wasn’t just a weapon.

Matt: Does that have something to do with the amount of Batmans that you saw. And you wanted to perhaps have a different take on Batman, a dead Batman.

Harley: Oh yes, absolutely. I wanted him to have rotted teeth, and look as horrible as possible.

Matt: (laughs) Okay. And, what’s your favorite part about Dragon*Con?

Harley: Everything.

Matt: (laughs) Everything. Okay, I can agree with that. That’s great, very good meeting you, and I’m glad – well, I’m not glad about Batman’s demise.

Harley: I am.

Matt: Well, okay, okay. Well, I’m happy for you, but I’m gonna miss Bats, I’m gonna miss Bats. But then Robin isn’t really the same thing.

Harley: No.

Matt: So you can kill him, that’s okay.

Harley: I’ll kill him tomorrow, it’ll be easy.

Matt: Alright, that’s great. And your name, by the way?

Harley: Is Molly.

Matt: Alright, Molly. It’s a very nice costume, and nice meeting you.

Harley: Nice meeting you.

Matt: Thank you for interviewing.

Credits

Featuring: Molly

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Hi, everyone, I’m here with a cosplayer, and I’m not entirely sure what his costume is, but it feels like Steampunk. If you could just explain a little more about the costume.

Baron Bon Bar: Yes, it is Steampunk. I’m a Steampunk bartender by the name Baron Bon Bar. German, Baron Good Bar. If you can check this out, I’ve got my shotgun.

Matt: (laughs)

Baron: I carry the bardolier (?) , and the Bar Back –

Matt: Oh, wow. (laughs) This is –

Baron: – which caries two fluid gallons which is pneumatically displaced through this glove.

Matt: That is… community service if I’ve ever seen it. That is excellent.

Baron: Well, that’s what Dragon*Con’s all about: sharing, having a good time… I just want to help everyone else have a really good time at the convention.

Matt: Excellent, that’s great. Alright, so is it your first time at the ‘Con?

Baron: No, I’ve been coming here several years, now, and actually the first year we came we liked it so much that we bought a lifetime membership.

Matt: Excellent, yeah, I’ve heard about those, it’d be great to have one. And are you from the area?

Baron: No, actually, I’m from St. Louis, Missouri.

Matt: Nice, I – for some reason, growing up, I loved the Blues.

Baron: Well everybody loves the Blues.

Matt: I love in Montreal, it’s weird. Canadian, loving the Blues, Saint-Louis Blues.

Baron: Everybody loves them til’ the playoffs. (laughs)

Matt: Oh, that could be – yeah. Alright, very good, what is the best thing for you about the Con, what do you enjoy the most? Apart from just, as you mentioned, you know, sharing and providing this great service.

Baron: Well, not only is it a collection of some of the best minds inside of fandom talking about their particular niche interest, exchanging ideals, it’s a place where we can come and see the creme of the crop of everything that is geek, nerd, that subculture. But also, for me personally, you get to see some of the top costumes in the nation. They say that Comic Con is the best Con in the world, but it’s not true, it really is Dragon*Con, because the costuming here at Dragon*Con takes it to another level. People that are the best inside of a whole state come here and don’t even hold up a candle to some of the people that just come in for just this Con, this is the only one they do.

Matt: Right. Haven’t been to Comic Con, so I take it you’ve been?

Baron: No, actually I haven’t, but I’ve had several friends and –

Matt: Right.

Baron: – as I said, I know a lot of the professional costumers here. They can attest that it’s a lot harder to costume here on a professional grade than it is to do it at Comic-Con.

Matt: Well, I certainly believe that because I’ve been coming here for three years, and I’m not stopping anytime soon. So I really enjoy it, and also I was wondering – this is an elaborate  costume, you likely had to make some of these parts by myself.

Baron: I made almost 100% of this costume myself.

Matt: Very nice.

Baron: There are parts on it that are scavenged from other things, but I’m the one that assembled them all. Like these are test tubes from a centrifuge. This is a completely modified squirt gun that I changed over to accept glass bottles. There are standard flasks and things like that, but the leather work and all of the devices are completely hand-made.

Matt: Very nice. I also noticed a little Bat symbol there.

Baron: Well, this is my, uh, actually something I wear in my daily life.

Matt: And you have chopsticks.

Baron: Well, it’s my cellphone, my BlueTooth, charging cable, chopsticks, and a pen. It’s all things that I use pretty much every day, and it’s a little of the Con that I carry home with me.

Matt: That is excellent, and it’s just like you’re blowing my mind here because I thought that this was a Steam Punk costume, you have some great gadgets, but you’ve covered the whole practicality angle as well. (laughs) Look at this! He just pulls out his cellphone, just hank on the cord. Excellent. And you’re ready for sushi, what else do you have here?

Baron: That’s a charging cable for the cellphone and data cable.

Matt: Perfect, perfect…. so you’re one equipped man. Excellent. So, yeah, it was a pleasure speaking to you sir.

Baron: Well, I hope you have a fantastic Con.

Matt: Thank you.

Baron: Thank you for having me on your blog.

Matt: Absolutely, I appreciate that.

Credits

Featuring: Baron Bon Bar

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

It’s no secret that I’ve been less active with this blog, as of late. I won’t go into the details, but I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into a certain project, one that I can’t yet reveal. What I can say is that it’s something that I’ve been working on for a very long time, and I’m really looking forward to introducing it in the near future.

Today, however, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be releasing a series of interviews that I hosted from Dragon*Con 2012. I’ve always wanted to expand into video, and this turned out to be a great way to do so. You may recall that I’ve previously mentioned wanting to start a web series, and even posted a video about it. Though it was a good idea, the topic just didn’t feel as natural to me. The idea of interviewing random strangers came to me months ago, as I felt it would be a good way to improve my on-screen speaking abilities. It became a practical possibility when Joseph Pereira decided to join me at the convention, as he had the necessary knowledge and equipment to assist in such an effort. Not only that, but he and I shared interest in the whole world of pop culture references, and we both enjoyed taking pictures of great costumes.

I’ve already uploaded one interview, and it’s with a magician named Michael Mirth. Michael’s costume is a truly unique creation, and I was really pleased to talk to him about it. The other interviews will appear on my YouTube channel within the next couple weeks.