Fringetastic Night: Meeting Josh & Anna

By Arianne Robbins (@fringe__forever)

It was the night of Wednesday, January 18th 2012. Aside from being clear and beautiful, it was also -17 degrees Celsius, the coldest day of the year. My mom, little brother Alex and I walked down Alexander St (in Gastown) at a leisurely pace, as our feet were already beginning to freeze and stiffen.

I clapped my hands in glee and smiled widely as I caught sight of black tents, accompanied by a set of tracks with cameras mounted upon them.

Next to the tracks, a silver Nissan Leaf was parked. I recognized it as Olivia's car! The set was like a beehive, there were constant movements and shouting. In front of the set, a group of people has gathered and were chatting excitedly. Once we reached the swarm, I reached into my bag and took out my clipnote. Inside, I had carefully arranged in this order, my envelope for Anna (containing: the drawing I did of her and a fan letter), two copies of a photo edit I did of Josh, John and Anna (hopefully to be signed!) and a printout of the filming notice with the address.

My small pale hands shook with nervous excitement as I clutched my clipnote tight, teeth gritted against the cold. My blue eyes wandered towards the tents in the left and I saw JOSHUA JACKSON! I whispered to my mom: "That's him! Joshua Jackson IN THE FLESH!" My mom just looked at me and said "Why don't you go over and say hi? You might not get the chance later!" And so I did! Calmly, I strode over to where he was standing, taking pictures with a couple of fans. Once they left, I looked him straight in the eyes and said "Hi! I'm Arianne. I'm a HUGE fan of Fringe! Could you please sign this for me?" I held out my photo edit and a blue pen.  He then asked me, " What's your name?". I told him and he replied "Arianne... Is that FRENCH?". I told him yes it was indeed! Then he went on to say how he and Diane have a house in France and how much they love it there. He and my mom talked for awhile too! He then signed " To Arianne, enjoy our show, Joshua Jackson". I thanked him and asked if I could have my picture taken with him. He encircled my waist with his right hand and my mom clicked away. I said thank you once more, told him he was awesome, and went back to stand and watch the filming.

I stood there, shivering and smiling like an idiot. In my mind I

thought to myself "WHERE IS ANNA?!?!" And right before my eyes, there she was. She chatted quickly with Joel and climbed into the Nissan Leaf. And just like that, the camera began rolling and Joel called out "ACTION!" She opened the door, looked left than right, stride down the street and caught sight of Peter leaving a building. He saw her also, and she broke into a run. He opened his arms to her, and she flung herself at him. He twirled her around while gazing into her eyes lovingly. They closed the embrace with a passionate kiss. "CUT!" Joel called, and they broke apart. Anna patted Josh on the back, they smiled at each other and she headed back to the car. There, she had her makeup touched up, and they filmed the scene again.

When they stopped for a break before filming resumed, Anna was walking back towards the tent. I heard my mon say to me "THAT'S YOUR CHANCE!" So, I took it! I jogged over towards the tent, raising my voice slightly "Anna! Could I please talk to you for a second?" She stopped in mid stride and  turned towards me. I asked politely, "Could you please sign this for me?" holding out my photo edit and the blue pen. She took it from me, and signed it. I asked if I could have my picture taken with her, and she said to me "Of course!" in her super cute Aussie accent, and put her arm around me! After my mom took the first picture, she said to Anna "I'm sorry, your eyes were closed, could we have another?" Anna blushed, said she was sorry, and yes.

It was very sweet! My mom got a good shot of us, and packed away the camera. I turned toward Anna and pulled out the envelope I had brought for her, and handed it to her. She took it, looked me STRAIGHT IN THE EYES OH MY GOD, and beamed at me! "Thank you!!" she said. I melted. "You're very welcome!!" I said and smiled. Just as I was leaving, she caught my shoulder and said "I stole the cap of your pen!" and handed it I'm back to me. I smiled again and said that was perfectly okay. I told her she was awesome, and wonderful. Then we took one last look around, and left.

THE END!

Ps. I wrote this the day after it happened, back in 2012. I was only 14 at the time (I'm almost 18 now)!

Contact Arianne Robbins on:

twitter: @fringe__forever    tumblr : vancouverswan

Etta is Ella: Georgina Haig Remembers

By Arianne Robbins (@fringe__forever)

On August 19th 2014, exactly a week after my last visit to the set of “Once Upon A Time” my friends and I returned to continue our adventures. 

All I wanted out of that day was to simply somehow ask Georgina if she had gotten the chance to read my letter that I had given to her last week. So when I found out that she was on set that day, my heart skipped a beat and I was filled with hope that this could actually happen!

After she had finished shooting her very short scene (which we figured was for the promo shoot and not the episode) my group and all of the other fans had been moved adjacent to the diner that they were filming outside of. I was talking to my friends when I realized that our friend Ella was not with us.

I spotted her across the street with Sarah (The Leaf Lady- she distributes leaves on the street of Stevenson and tends to all the foliage on set. She's awesome!) and……. Georgina! That's when I went into autopilot. I had to somehow get myself over there! So, I very calmly pulled my folder out of my bag that contained the picture of Georgina and I from last week. I tucked it under my arm, and wormed my way out from under the barricade separating the fans from the set.

All of the shooting for that portion of the morning had wrapped, so nobody even said a word to me as I calmly strode across main street. At one point, I was walking next to a crew member, and I simply asked him how his day was going, to which he responded that so far it was quite splendid indeed. Five or six strides later, I was outside of the diner, with Georgina’s smiling face looking down at me. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

There were no barricades between us, and only one security guy and Sarah as members of the crew. I stood next to Ella, and soon my friends Erin and Annamaria joined us. 

When Georgina saw me, she said "Ohh hi!" And I said "Do you..." But before I could finish she said "I remember you! I read your letter!" (She sounded so excited and happy you guys! I was close to tears then!)  And I said "Oh! That's great! Did you like it?" And she said "Yes, I did!" And smiled at me. My heart pretty much stopped then, and I stuttered out "I just thought it might.... I don't know.." But she kept talking in her cute little Aussie accent, "You've even got the braid again! Thanks for coming back!" And I said "Yeah, I wear it almost every day because it's the easiest thing for my curly hair. Could you please sign the picture from last time?" And she said "Yeah! Sure! Of course!" And signed it like she normally would, but with an XO too (officially dead now....OMG!) And then I gushed out "Oh my gosh, last time I was just so excited to meet you! Now I'm like, shaking, *laughs* and I mean I didn't like, cry or anything 'till I got home because I've met like Anna and Josh and meeting you was just so great!" And she said "Awww, bless you!" While looking into my eyes and smiling so, so sweetly. And I just smiled at her really big and said "And I was so happy when you came back to Vancouver, because I didn't get to meet you during Fringe, and it meant that I had a second chance! This means so much to me!" And she looked so in awe, like she couldn't believe that someone would ever be such a fan of hers. Then we hugged.  It was amazing, and probably the cutest thing ever! I love Georgina! 

Contact Arianne Robbins on:

twitter: @fringe__forever    tumblr : vancouverswan

Etta Is Elsa: Meeting Georgina Haig

By Arianne Robbins (@fringe__forever)

On Tuesday, August 12th 2014, I was fortunate enough to meet Georgina Haig on the set of “Once Upon A Time”! When Georgina was cast as Elsa, I was ecstatic when I realized that it meant that she would be returning to Vancouver. I unfortunately did not get to meet her during her time filming “Fringe” here, so this second chance was one that I was not going to pass up.

I spent my 14 hour day on set with so many wonderful new friends that I met there. Together we met most of the “Once Upon A Time” cast, which was absolutely stellar! I told them about how much I admired Georgina and her work on “Fringe” and how I even had a letter that I wished to give to her. They were incredibly supportive of my mission to deliver my letter to her in person! I mean, what’s the point of doing amazing things if you have nobody to share them with? So thank you friends, you know who you are!

I met Georgina during my 12th hour on set, at 8:36pm. At the time, all of the fans had been moved behind a barricade around the corner from Main Street, where they were shooting a scene with Georgina and Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook). On our walk over to our new spot, Georgina and Colin waved and smiled at us! Georgina looked so happy to be there, she’s such a cutie. At our new spot, we couldn’t see the scene being filmed, but we chatted with some other fans, which was lots of fun. I even met another Fringie who also had the Etta Bishop poster from September’s Notebook!

When Georgina and Colin started walking over to the fans lined up behind the barricades, I could hardly process what was about to happen to me. Meeting Georgina Haig, Etta Bishop in the flesh. She looked so beautiful in her rhinestoned baby blue dress and her signature “Elsa Braid” that it took my breath away. I was afraid that I would not be able to speak when she got to me! Luckily, that was not the case and I actually did get a few words in:

A: Hi Georgina! I love your dress. Rhinestones look good on you. 


G: Thank you! But rhinestones look good on everyone.

A: I'm such a huge fan of Fringe, started watching when I was ten! Can you sign these for me? *hands over two Fringe pictures of her as Etta* 


G: Of course! You've even got the plait (braid) and everything! *grins*


A: Thank you so much! This is also for you *hands her the letter that I wrote her* 


G: Is this for me? Really? (she looked so shocked… it was adorable!) 


A: *laughs* Yes! Are there any other Georgina Haigs around here?

G: *laughs* Well, thank you!! This is so cool! 


A: Can I have a picture with you?

G: Yes, yes!


A: Thank you. Georgina, can I ask you a question? 


G: Yes of course. 


A: Just.....What was it like to work with Anna Torv on Fringe? 


G: It was wonderful! 


A: She seems so focused and intense, is that true? 


G: Oh yeah, for sure. 


A: Yeah, I met her once and she was really sweet and shy. Thanks for answering! 


G: I still can't believe that Joshua Jackson was my dad! I loved Dawson's Creek! *laughs*

And then it was over… I was so happy and incredulous at the fact that I had actually managed to speak. She then proceeded to carry my letter around all night, not letting the security guard take it from her! My heart positively soared out of my chest! I can now state that it is a fact that Georgina Haig is absolutely one of the most adorably precious human beings on this planet. I loved her as Etta, and I can’t wait to see her slay the role of Elsa on “Once Upon A Time”! 

Contact Arianne Robbins on:

twitter: @fringe__forever    tumblr : vancouverswan

(the picture of Georgina walking around set with my letter is picture credit to Ashley K. Davis!)