"Just for Laughs (in French, Juste pour Rire) is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest festival of its kind in the world." (wikipedia)
This year's lineup included Kevin Smith, Cheech and Chong, Pamela Anderson, John Leguizamo, Tom Arnold, Nick Cannon, Lewis Black, Harland Williams, Tom Green, and John Pinette among others.
Steve and I decided we would head down the Thursday after work and stay until the Friday to try and meet some actors and comedians.
We arrived in Montreal around 2:30 in the afternoon and headed to the Hyatt where Kevin Smith was doing an afternoon show. We waited out side the conference room where the event was happening, but we never saw Kevin. We found a side door that was accessible to us that we figured we could get him at after his show.
We figured we had a couple of hours to kill so we decided to walk around the mall that was attached to the hotel in hopes of seeing some of the comedians. Within minutes we ran into Rich Vos and grabbed a photo with him.
"Rich Vos is an American comedian and has been working stand-up for decades. He has the destinction of being the first white comedian to perform on on Def Comedy Jam. Vos placed 3rd on the first season of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
Vos is also known for being one of the most fan-friendly comedians today. He can be seen interacting with fans before, during and after shows. He is always willing to sign autographs, take pictures and peddle his DVD." (wikipedia)
After meeting Vos, we headed back upstairs to wait for Kevin Smith. As there was nobody watching the doors anymore, I walked into the venue and stood outside the auditorium. The doors were open so we could see and hear the whole show! Kevin was scheduled to be on stage from 3pm to 5pm. Our plan was to grab some autographs from him and then head to the venue where Pamela Anderson was to try and meet her.
We ran into a problem though. Kevin started to run late. It was already 5:30 and he was still going strong. One good thing about Kevin running late was that the other performers that were taking in his afternoon show had to leave early to head to their own show. I was able to grab a photo with all three Trailor Park Boys.
We ran into another hound we knew and he told us that he had information that Pam was staying at the W. It wasn't that far away, so we headed there to try and catch Pam as she left. One of the doormen asked us who we were waiting for. We told him Pam and he told us that he hasn't seen her yet. We figured he was trying to persuade us to leave so that Pam wouldn't be bothered.
After a short while we heard that Pam had been seen in a brown Escalade heading to her show. We had missed her. Either she wasn't staying at the hotel or they snuck her out the back. We headed up the street to where John Leguizamo was playing to see if we could get him as he went in.
We ran into some other hounds we knew who were also waiting. They said that they hadn't seen John go into the venue yet. Time was ticking. About ten minutes before the event was to start, we saw a town car park. We had missed John going into his show. The day was getting very frustrating.
After some food, we decided we would head to where Pam's show was so that we could get her on the way out. We had trouble parking, and, lucky for us, saw a brown Escalade pulling away from the venue. It had to be Pam's car. Some crazy Fast and the Furious driving happened after to try and tail Pam's car through downtown Montreal traffic.
We turned a corner and saw Pam getting out of her car. Steve threw the car into park on the corner of the street.
As we got close enough to yell for her, she walked into the hotel. We had missed her, but on the bright side, we knew where she was staying. We hoped that Pam was going upstairs to change and that she would head out to an after party of some sorts, so we waiting around outside the hotel. It must have been a club night at the bar inside the hotel because there were people everywhere. There were even paparazzi there.
Roughly a half an hour later, Cheech Marin pulled up with his wife and headed into the building.
To our surprise, Mike Cammalleri of the Montreal Canadiens was walking down the street. We called his name and he stopped and took a quick look at our binders of merch and then in a puzzled tone asked who we were waiting for. Its too bad we didn't have anything for him to sign because it would have really blown his mind. He was nice enough to take a quick photo though.
A short while after that, a black Escalade pulled up the front of the building and parked. We asked if the girl was waiting for Pam and she told us that it was Nick Cannon she was waiting for. Nick had an eleven o'clock show.
When Nick came outside I asked him if he would sign a couple of photos for me. I fanned the two photos I had and he signed both.
Almost right after Nick left, another Escalade pulled up and Tommy Chong got out of the car. When Nick returned, I got a photo with him and then we called it a night. Pam wasn't heading out.
The next morning Steve thought it would be a good idea to head to the airport to see if Pam was leaving for the morning flight to L.A. We were up super early and for nothing. Pam never came. She was still in town.
We decided we head back to the hotel to see if anyone would go out for breakfest/lunch. Sure enough, Lewis Black was heading out to the store down the street. He was great. He talked to us for a few minutes, signed a couple of autographs, took a couple of pictures, and then was on his way.
I talked to him about his upcoming show at Bluesfest and told him it was bogus that they put him on stage at the same time as Keith Urban. He agreed.
The rest of the day was split going to the Hyatt to see if we could meet some of the lessor known guys and at the other hotel waiting for Pam.
During one of our ventures to the Hyatt we ran into Tom Green. He signed a photo for me and took a picture.
Steve handed him six photos and he would only do two of them for him. It is possible that if they were six different photos then he might have signed them all.
We also ran into Anthony Clark from the show "Yes Dear". He was ordering beer at the hotel bar. He was really nice and introduced himself to us when we asked for a photo. He told us that he was super excited to be doing a show with Harland Williams and Jeff Ross.
On another one of our ventures we ran into Rich Vos again who signed a photo for us. We had got it printed earlier in the day.
Finally, after giving up on Pam, we headed to Club Soda where Tom Arnold and Nick Cannon were performing. Nick signed Steve's last photo. Tom Arnold was really cool. His wife asked Steve if he sells these on e-bay and Tom said "of course he does", and then he continued signing.
I grabbed a photo and autograph from him.
After meeting Tom we headed back to the Hyatt for a short while just to see if anything would happen, and then we headed back to Ottawa.
We had a few disappointments on the trip. Obviously missing Pamela Anderson was a pretty big deal, but overall the trip was a success.
This year's lineup included Kevin Smith, Cheech and Chong, Pamela Anderson, John Leguizamo, Tom Arnold, Nick Cannon, Lewis Black, Harland Williams, Tom Green, and John Pinette among others.
Steve and I decided we would head down the Thursday after work and stay until the Friday to try and meet some actors and comedians.
We arrived in Montreal around 2:30 in the afternoon and headed to the Hyatt where Kevin Smith was doing an afternoon show. We waited out side the conference room where the event was happening, but we never saw Kevin. We found a side door that was accessible to us that we figured we could get him at after his show.
We figured we had a couple of hours to kill so we decided to walk around the mall that was attached to the hotel in hopes of seeing some of the comedians. Within minutes we ran into Rich Vos and grabbed a photo with him.
"Rich Vos is an American comedian and has been working stand-up for decades. He has the destinction of being the first white comedian to perform on on Def Comedy Jam. Vos placed 3rd on the first season of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
Vos is also known for being one of the most fan-friendly comedians today. He can be seen interacting with fans before, during and after shows. He is always willing to sign autographs, take pictures and peddle his DVD." (wikipedia)
After meeting Vos, we headed back upstairs to wait for Kevin Smith. As there was nobody watching the doors anymore, I walked into the venue and stood outside the auditorium. The doors were open so we could see and hear the whole show! Kevin was scheduled to be on stage from 3pm to 5pm. Our plan was to grab some autographs from him and then head to the venue where Pamela Anderson was to try and meet her.
We ran into a problem though. Kevin started to run late. It was already 5:30 and he was still going strong. One good thing about Kevin running late was that the other performers that were taking in his afternoon show had to leave early to head to their own show. I was able to grab a photo with all three Trailor Park Boys.
We ran into another hound we knew and he told us that he had information that Pam was staying at the W. It wasn't that far away, so we headed there to try and catch Pam as she left. One of the doormen asked us who we were waiting for. We told him Pam and he told us that he hasn't seen her yet. We figured he was trying to persuade us to leave so that Pam wouldn't be bothered.
After a short while we heard that Pam had been seen in a brown Escalade heading to her show. We had missed her. Either she wasn't staying at the hotel or they snuck her out the back. We headed up the street to where John Leguizamo was playing to see if we could get him as he went in.
We ran into some other hounds we knew who were also waiting. They said that they hadn't seen John go into the venue yet. Time was ticking. About ten minutes before the event was to start, we saw a town car park. We had missed John going into his show. The day was getting very frustrating.
After some food, we decided we would head to where Pam's show was so that we could get her on the way out. We had trouble parking, and, lucky for us, saw a brown Escalade pulling away from the venue. It had to be Pam's car. Some crazy Fast and the Furious driving happened after to try and tail Pam's car through downtown Montreal traffic.
We turned a corner and saw Pam getting out of her car. Steve threw the car into park on the corner of the street.
As we got close enough to yell for her, she walked into the hotel. We had missed her, but on the bright side, we knew where she was staying. We hoped that Pam was going upstairs to change and that she would head out to an after party of some sorts, so we waiting around outside the hotel. It must have been a club night at the bar inside the hotel because there were people everywhere. There were even paparazzi there.
Roughly a half an hour later, Cheech Marin pulled up with his wife and headed into the building.
To our surprise, Mike Cammalleri of the Montreal Canadiens was walking down the street. We called his name and he stopped and took a quick look at our binders of merch and then in a puzzled tone asked who we were waiting for. Its too bad we didn't have anything for him to sign because it would have really blown his mind. He was nice enough to take a quick photo though.
A short while after that, a black Escalade pulled up the front of the building and parked. We asked if the girl was waiting for Pam and she told us that it was Nick Cannon she was waiting for. Nick had an eleven o'clock show.
When Nick came outside I asked him if he would sign a couple of photos for me. I fanned the two photos I had and he signed both.
Almost right after Nick left, another Escalade pulled up and Tommy Chong got out of the car. When Nick returned, I got a photo with him and then we called it a night. Pam wasn't heading out.
The next morning Steve thought it would be a good idea to head to the airport to see if Pam was leaving for the morning flight to L.A. We were up super early and for nothing. Pam never came. She was still in town.
We decided we head back to the hotel to see if anyone would go out for breakfest/lunch. Sure enough, Lewis Black was heading out to the store down the street. He was great. He talked to us for a few minutes, signed a couple of autographs, took a couple of pictures, and then was on his way.
I talked to him about his upcoming show at Bluesfest and told him it was bogus that they put him on stage at the same time as Keith Urban. He agreed.
The rest of the day was split going to the Hyatt to see if we could meet some of the lessor known guys and at the other hotel waiting for Pam.
During one of our ventures to the Hyatt we ran into Tom Green. He signed a photo for me and took a picture.
Steve handed him six photos and he would only do two of them for him. It is possible that if they were six different photos then he might have signed them all.
We also ran into Anthony Clark from the show "Yes Dear". He was ordering beer at the hotel bar. He was really nice and introduced himself to us when we asked for a photo. He told us that he was super excited to be doing a show with Harland Williams and Jeff Ross.
On another one of our ventures we ran into Rich Vos again who signed a photo for us. We had got it printed earlier in the day.
Finally, after giving up on Pam, we headed to Club Soda where Tom Arnold and Nick Cannon were performing. Nick signed Steve's last photo. Tom Arnold was really cool. His wife asked Steve if he sells these on e-bay and Tom said "of course he does", and then he continued signing.
I grabbed a photo and autograph from him.
After meeting Tom we headed back to the Hyatt for a short while just to see if anything would happen, and then we headed back to Ottawa.
We had a few disappointments on the trip. Obviously missing Pamela Anderson was a pretty big deal, but overall the trip was a success.
No comments:
Post a Comment