One Night in October (the crazy story on how Key met Josh)

By Keyshla(@Marieme27) & Danna Aissa(@DannaAissa)

DANNA:

The internet world is so huge. Everybody is talking, there are tons of information everywhere and sometimes you don’t know what you can trust and what you can’t. So here is a little, funny, crazy story about that:

It was Sunday October 5th, a day before ‘The Affair’ premiered, and I came across this information telling that Josh and Diane had been seen around 54th street and 7th avenue in New York. Well, I live far away in Europe, but I knew that Key had been trying to find Josh during the filming of ‘The Affair’. So on Monday morning (my morning, her night ;P ) I thought it would be nice to send Key a Direct Message on Twitter and see if she could go and take a look. I thought she’d pass on such a crazy messages.

KEY:

October 6th, 2014, IS A DAY TO REMEMBER!......I'll always remember it. Danna DMed me at 5am and I wanted to choke her, I put my phone on vibrate, but still, she woke me up. I saw her DMs, with info on how to find Josh (what a stalker). At first, I didn't know what to tell her, I tried to find Josh before, but *sigh*... I thought I'd tell her 'I can't do this'', I was busy, I had an interview that day and turns out, it was close to the place Danna told me to go. So after my interview, I decided to trust agent Danna Aissa and started looking for Josh!

DANNA:

It was my Monday night, I got to see The Affair (episode 1) online and, when I was about to go to sleep, Key sent me a DM. She was there! at the place I told her and she didn’t know what to do...

So from here the first part of the mission consisted on trying to find the hotel where they were staying around the area I had heard about, and see if she could meet them when they left for the premiere. So I (from my couch, somewhere in Europe) was on Google Maps finding hotels in that area of NYC and sending Key there through Direct Messages on Twitter... And suddenly...

I really thought she found them!!! but no... 

As they obviously weren’t at the hotel, our second part of the mission started here: finding the place where the premiere was. I first thought about the original address I found (there was a theatre there) and sent Key there.

At that moment my intuition said she was going to meet him although I had no idea how. I started looking for the address where the premiere was. Obviously that information was very well hidden, but I found this website with an address. I didn’t know whether it was true or not, and besides that place was a little bit far... but I sent Key there anyway. We were chatting through Twitter while she was walking by the streets of NYC until she got there:

KEY:

It happened all so fast, but it was awesome. The premiere of 'The Affair' was over and Josh was like the last one (important one, he was the most important for me, of course), to get out of the place with Diane and others. The photographers were waiting just for them, seriously because when Dominic went out, it was so....normal, quiet, not like 'DOMINIC, DOMINIC, another photo please'....they just took like 2 or 3, maybe!

Anyway, I SAW JOSH, and I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was like 'of course' so nice, so natural, but he was in a hurry. Either way, I stopped him and the only thing I could tell him, after the pic, was 'You were great as Peter Bishop'... (seriously, he did a great job as Peter). And he told me 'Thank you' and that was special for me, I don't know how to explain it, it was like it meant a lot to him or he wasn't expecting that at all, someone to tell him that there, because I'm sure a lot of people have told him that. Maybe it was just my imagination, whatever, it was a beautiful 'thank you' and I told him 'thank you' too, with a really big, kinda freaky smile on my face ... I was in shock, ok!

Then, Diane called him *rolls eyes* so he went to the car which was full. Josh sat in the front seat and Diane sat on his lap and all the photographers and guards were like 'aww'... that was cute, yeah!

The important thing is that I met him. Earlier that day he answered one of my questions on Facebook and one of Danna's questions too. I touched him, I breathed his same air lol, I have a photo with him, and he knows that I exist. He really is so down to earth, plus a gorgeous, smart and adorable man....... Everything was worth it. Mission Accomplished, but I NEED TO MEET HIM, AGAIN.

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

Our Fringe Time In Vancouver In 2012

By Marielle van Veen (@mariellevveen)

Let me start by saying that I haven't been a Fringe Fan since it started. To be perfectly honest, I came across Fringe by accident in the summer of 2012. We binge watched the four seasons and were soooo bummed to have to wait for season 5, but also that it was already known there would only be a season 5.

Me and my boyfriend were in Vancouver for two weeks in september and october 2012. We knew Fringe was filming there, but we had no idea how to come across filmsets.

With the help of Twitter we found a location on Jervis street. We went there the night before and already saw that parking wasn't allowed in certain areas.

Since this filming location was only a 2 minute walk from our hotel, we were there around 9 in the morning. They were still busy setting up. We walked along the street and just waited. We felt a bit uneasy, because we have never seen such a big operation filming a tv show. Maybe it's because we're Dutch and obviously not used to big productions like this!

Out of nowhere, Joshua Jackson and John Noble were walking towards us, happily chatting. They stopped to get some coffee, looked at us and the two huge cameras (I felt so awkward!!) and continued their conversation. It was just too early and I was too shy to already ask for a photo, so I just let them do their thing.

We walked back to the set and a police man came over to ask us who we were. As soon as he discovered that we're just plain old tourists and not paparazzi, he was very friendly and told us about a great spot to see the filming where we could also take pictures.

They were filming the scene where Peter, Olivia, Walter & Astrid are exiting the pocket universe building and where Peter eventually gets shot.

The view was awesome! We could see everything very clear! And wow there are a lot of people involved!

When they were finished with that scene, they started with entering the building where the pocket universe is. There were also doubles for Peter, Olivia and Astrid.

We were able to see this being filmed from different angles. It was so awesome! 

After this scene was shot, Joshua Jackson got into a car and drove off.

We had to change accomodation that day, so we had to get our stuff and move. It was soooo far away from the centre, and because we would miss more Fringe being filmed it sucked even more.

At the end of the afternoon we headed back to the set, hoping to be able to see someone. Only John was there. He was filming shots that were used as material of the tapes before ambering himself.

I saw someone handing him things to sign, so I just didn't think and walked over. He was very friendly and took the time, even though he wasn't done filming! (We thought he was, we just got back)

He did the last scene and about ten minutes later they were done for the day! Sooo lucky to have been there just in time!

Jon Cassar also came to talk to us and also asked who we were, he recognised us from earlier, I believe it had a lot to do with my boyfriend's camera.

We also saw some scenes from S05E07 being filmed in the Olympic Village. There already was a group of people. We didn't stay very long, but Blair Brown was there. I love it how they put all these extra stuff in the shot. Like a train from the future, that isn't really there. Sometimes it's really hard to see where they filmed, I believe.

There was also something shot in a parking garage. I'm not really sure when that was anymore. We couldn't see anything, I believe we only saw John Noble briefly.

We rented a bike for a day. We took the whole seawall (of course) but we then headed to Kitsilano taking the Burrard Bridge. Along the water all the way to West Point Grey to the Harvard building. We loved it! It was really far, but it was totally worth it!

And of course, during our stay in Vancouver, we wanted to rent a car to go to Whister. We knew there was going to be Fringe filming, but decided that it probably wasn't gonna work to get a picture with Joshua Jackson, since we hadn't seen him anymore.. When we got back to the hotel, Twitter was full of pictures from people with Joshua Jackson from filming that day :( I believe it were shots from when he's turning into an observer? I was really bummed!

In 2013 we went to Vancouver again and we took the tour at the Orpheum. This was really great, even without the Fringe connection. So if you are there in July or August, this is totally worth it! 

All in all, we had a wonderful experience. Apart from Fringe, which will be always connected to Vancouver in our minds, we have fallen in love with Vancouver!

Can't wait to be there again (next week already!!) and look up some other filming locations.

Pics by: M. Elsenbroek

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!)

Last Day Treasure

By Angela514 (@angelamorales18)

Taking a trip over to Vancouver was something I have always wanted to do, even before Fringe. I've never been farther out west from Montreal, Canada than Ottawa, and I finally got my chance on October 29th 2012. It would be my first trip anywhere traveling alone, so it was a pretty big deal for me. I didn't want to spend my week waiting around for Fringe filming sets, and spent my week playing tourist and getting to know this beautiful city. I met Fringe fans, one of whom I knew from twitter, who took me around the city showing me different fringe filming locations, the Bishop house and the Irish Heather pub being my favourites, which was super cool, and I'm forever grateful for them. 

Before I knew it my week in Vancouver was almost over and I was to leave on Sunday, and although I fell in love with the city, I was disappointed I didn't get the chance to see at Fringe filming or meet the cast, I so yearned to meet Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson the most. When I heard a few days earlier that there would be filming a day after I was scheduled to leave, I debated for 5 minutes whether I should delay my flight two days. It wasn't a hard choice and I was quickly on the phone changing my flight. 

Monday was an extraordinary day for me, it was a beautiful clear day when I got up early and made my way to the area I knew they were filming at. I met some really great fringe fans and we spent the day taking pictures, admiring the cast, the crew, the sets. 

It was amazing! I met Anna first, and she is just absolutely gorgeous, and such a sweet girl, and she so kindly stopped to take pictures with us even though she was on her way for a break and set change. 

John was equally adorable, and was so happy to take a picture with me and pulled me right in, grabbing my hand, even though my hands were ice.

Meeting Josh was the highlight of my day, I was so nervous, I was literally shaking, and the extras we were talking to were very encouraging for me to go up to him to take a picture and to get his comic book signed, I finally worked up the courage and had a friend come with me. I had come up with so much to talk to him about, and yet when the time came I went completely blank, I don't even remember much of what I said, but he was so beautiful in person, I was just left speechless. All I remember was he was very impressed that I came prepared with a black and silver sharpie so that he could sign my comic book and my season 1 dvd cover. Best moment of my life!

I managed to stop Blair Brown for a picture and autograph, and although she is intimidating on Fringe, she is absolutely such a sweetheart, and super happy and friendly with her fans.

Before long, it was dark, and the filming just wrapped for the day, we realized we were outside watching filming for 10 hours straight, but it was one of the best days of my life and I will forever treasure it, I am so lucky to have had the chance to meet them.

An Enemy of Fate: Meeting John Noble

By Andrew Moore (@ashok0)

As a huge TV enthusiast, I've always hated that I've never been to a single Comic Con nor ever met anyone from the Ten Thirteen or Bad Robot family. Between school, work, daily life, etc. it just never really seemed that practical.  When I heard John Noble was going to be at Second Stage Theatre in NYC, traveling to "Substance of Fire" didn't even cross my mind.

But after reading other Twitter stories from other Fringies who had life-changing experiences because of our show, I started thinking... is it really an impossibility? In late April, I was talking to a Fringie in real life who worked for an airline. I rather non-seriously said, "We should just get on a plane and go see John Noble." I'm not even sure if I expected the conversation to go anywhere, but he said that he'd love to do it and could probably get excellent travel rates from his job.

Within a week, we organized our flight plans to see John and pre-ordered theater tickets for May 21st, but I still has this sinking feeling that the trip was a dream too good to be true. And on May 14th, I came home from work to read that John Noble was dropping out of the play between May 20-23 due to Sleepy Hollow conflicts. And flash floods had grounded all flights from Ohio to NYC during Noble's final performance dates. My friend and I were both contemplating on just cancelling the trip and rather discouraged, I tweeted that things in life were falling apart.  

Later that day, I got a tweet from Danna Aissa with the classic Fringe 'Dream Logic' puzzle: "Y̶o̶u̶’̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶n̶e̶n̶ ̶g̶e̶f̶i̶a̶n̶e̶o̶. Y̶o̶u̶’̶r̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶n̶n̶a̶ ̶b̶n̶e̶e̶f̶i̶.  You’re gonna be fine."  Wow, she couldn't have spoken truer words. That week, my friend and I readjusted our work schedules, snagged tickets to John's performance a week early, and we drove to NYC. We figured if POlivia could create a gateway to 2167, kill the Observers, reset time, and get Etta back... we could surely find a way to see John Noble.

The first day of the trip I was just awestruck by seeing John on stage at "Substance of Fire". There wasn't a bad seat in the house. It was an enjoyable play and his Walteresque lines related to food were an absolute killer. After the play ended, we waited for a few minutes outside the theater. We almost left for our hotel when JOHN NOBLE walked out onto the street from the lobby and was standing literally a foot in front of me. A few other fans came up to him holding White Tulips. :'-) John stopped and chatted with everyone that waited for him. He took photos with us and gave us all autographs. Just a really nice guy, and he seemed just as lovable in real life as he is on screen.  <3 At this stage, I don't even know how I was still breathing and I don't honestly know if I said anything remotely coherent. I just remember vomiting vocabulary about thanking him for making Fringe, and telling him how much the Bishop family and the symbol of the White Tulip meant to me. 

The next day we went to see "American Hero" with Ari Graynor. It was a funny play and Ari had great presence on stage. After the play ended, Ari stopped and chatted with us briefly on the street. It's really strange talking to Olivia Dunham's sister in real life, and if I hadn't conditioned my nerves from talking to John Noble the day prior, I probably would have blacked out.

On the third day of our trip, we concluded our Fringe adventure by taking a ferry past Liberty Island. We also went to Grand Central Terminal and visited the location where 'Bad Dreams' was filmed for Fringe.  This was very cool for me because 'Bad Dreams' is one of my favorite episodes and I particularly loved the cold opening. Just seeing the architecture of the building in real life is quite breathtaking. After leaving the subway station, I couldn't get 'Nellie the Elephant' out of my head all afternoon.

After returning back to Ohio, I couldn't help but think how many times our trip almost never even happened. Just like September almost never distracted Walternate, I almost never signed up on Twitter to tweet #ChangeYourWorld. In which I never would have connected with the fandom and never would have mentioned "Substance of Fire" in a passing conversation. And this blog post never would have happened. But it did, because Fringe was a rare show that was more than a TV show. For me it was a show that added up to something far greater than the sum of its individual pieces, and just being part of the fandom --- many of whom are Philes that started this same journey as far back as the 1990s --- has been a life changing experience. Or as my friend Jeremy who went to NYC with me so succinctly summed up Fringe, "It uses all these sci-fi themes and creates all this in this world, it's like a dream. It's a fancy platform to explain and convey all these awesome things about life. It's like, okay lets make a story about family and love and friendship but instead of something boring we can make it awesome!"