The 2007 EMA Expo was my first HTF outing, and it exceeded my wildest expectations. I’m not just talking about the gifts we received, though they certainly were welcome. But even if there had been no gifts, it would have been worth making the trip to meet so many great people, learn a lot of new things about the home entertainment industry, and to get the opportunity to meet some genuine celebrities.
I was traveling solo on this trip, and Ron Epstein was kind enough to assist single HTF members in hooking up (can I say that when talking about Vegas?) so we could save some money by sharing rooms. Four months ago Ron paired me up with Cameron Yee. We corresponded by e-mail and agreed to share a room at the Venetian. When July rolled around we discovered that our planes were due to arrive in Las Vegas shortly before midnight on Monday, July 16. However, when my plane touched down at 11:30 p.m. I got a cell phone call from Cameron stating that he was stuck in San Francisco. It seems that SFO was fogged in and his plane was diverted to Oakland, where they had to wait for the fog to lift. Cameron told me that he probably wasn’t going to arrive in Las Vegas for at least a couple of hours, so we decided that I would go ahead and check in.
After checking in, I unpacked and walked around the Venetian for a bit, trying to get my bearings. I was still up when Cameron arrived, and it was so late we decided that we would sleep through the opening session but get ourselves up in time for the Warner presentation. We picked up our press badges, introduced ourselves to Grace Lee, and then made our way to the HTF room. Although I’ve known Ron Epstein online off and on since before HTF was created, we had never met and we finally had a chance to get acquainted. The Warner presentation by Steve Nickerson was very informative, and of course the knowledge that I would soon be upgrading to high-definition DVD made it even more interesting! The Warner Film Noir box set which we received was greatly appreciated.
Cameron and I headed up to the food court for a quick lunch and then we began checking out the hospitality suites which the studios had set up. We were pressed for time, so we really didn’t have an opportunity to do much except figure out where the various studios were located. One minor disappointment was that some of the major studios were seeing people by appointment only, as they were there to talk to distributors and retailers rather than consumers.
Then it was back to the HTF room, where we expected to open the afternoon with Katt Williams. However, he was delayed so we had an impromptu discussion of various topics before Ernest Borgnine appeared. He was introduced with aplomb by our own Robert Zohn. Ernie was absolutely delightful, as he answered our questions with zest and great humor. He received a standing ovation when he entered and left the room, and afterwards he stayed outside for a few minutes to give some HTF members the opportunity to be photographed with him. It was great to see that even at the age of 90 he was interested in coming out to promote the upcoming release of McHale’s Navy (Season Two) on DVD from Shout! Factory.
Although Katt Williams was late, he nevertheless agreed to spend his full allotted time with us after our session with Ernest Borgnine concluded. Katt proved to be a most eloquent speaker and he graciously agreed to spend time signing autographs and having his photo taken with HTF/Bits members after his meeting with us ended.
Next up was the Home Theater Forum/Digital Bits 10th Anniversary party at the Tao Nightclub, sponsored by Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Lions Gate and Blu-Ray. For those of us who arrived late on Monday, this was our first real opportunity to speak with other HTF members one-on-one. The Blu-Ray girls, Karen McDougal and Alison Waite, were friendly and patient (they were photographed hundreds of times, at least). We had the entire top floor of the club to ourselves and it appeared that everyone had a terrific time.
The only thing better than one party is two parties. From the Tao Nightclub we migrated to the Venetian Ballroom for the EMA Awards Show cocktail party. Those of us who love shrimp cocktail didn’t have to worry about dinner! At approximately 7:00 p.m. we began to take our seats for the Awards Show. The emcee was television personality Todd Newton, and among the award presenters was Margaret Cho. Award recipients included John Favreau, John Schneider, and Katt Williams. The show was capped off with a lifetime achievement award for Ernest Borgnine, who got a standing ovation from the crowd.
The only thing better than two parties is three parties! After the awards show concluded, we found our way to the buses which were to take us to the Starz Home Entertainment Opening Night Party at the Palms Hotel and Casino. The party was held in the Moon Nightclub, apparently so named because it has a retractable roof! Because we had been given press credentials, we had access to the upper level, where many HTF and Digital Bits members had the opportunity to mingle with actors Jeff Goldblum, Dennis Farina and Mercedes McNab. Jeff Goldblum actually came up to me to shake my hand, and a photographer for Video Business captured the moment:
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I asked Jeff if he knew of any plans to release his short-lived 1980 television series, “Tenspeed and Brown Shoe,” on DVD, but he said that he has heard nothing about it.
Speaking of Video Business, we also had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of reporter Susanne Ault, who is a delightful person. She covered many of the Expo events in which the HTF/Bits members were involved.
In the meantime, Cameron was angling to get his photo taken with Mercedes McNab, who played “Harmony Kendall” on both “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.” We had to wait a while for the opportunity to ask her, but it was worth it. She and Cameron look like best friends!
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By this time we were pretty well exhausted, and unfortunately we didn’t get to see Dennis Farina. We made our way back to The Venetian, pondering whether we should get up for the morning workout with Billy Blanks. Stay tuned!
