Since the new season of American TV shows is already well underway, I wanted to tell you about a little adventure I had a few months ago. I had a particularly exceptional experience by attending the convention Welcome to Mystic Falls 2, which took place over a weekend at the Forum des Images in Paris.
The first edition of this convention dedicated to the American series Vampire Diaries had taken place the previous year, but since I was at the Cannes Film Festival at the time, I wasn’t able to try and make it.
This year, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, as I am a huge fan of the series Vampire Diaries myself, so I was delighted to be invited by NT1 for the Sunday session. Arriving a bit last minute on Sunday morning, I discovered the horde of fans already almost entirely present in Hall 500 of the Forum des Images, and it was almost exclusively female.
The crazy day then begins. After a bit of a wait, the first two guests, Paul Wesley and Torrey Devitto (who is actually Paul’s wife in real life), arrive for the Q&A.
The real joy of my position is that my VIP invitation (yes, yes, I know, I am super lucky, but don’t worry, I am well aware of it) allows me to be in the front row in the middle of the room, so, ultimately facing the actors! That gave me the opportunity to take some nice photos.
The rest of the morning is spent in queues for the chance to have a photo taken with the two Salvatore brothers. Well, at the same time, I’m not complaining, since with my pass I barely had to wait… Anyway, the highlight of the day was of course the photo with Ian Somerhalder, who has the rather disconcerting power to instantly turn even the most seasoned women into 15-year-old groupies. A truly fascinating phenomenon.
After the photo with Paul Wesley, who was very polite, a bit distant, but courteous, I go into the room where Ian Somerhalder is. Already in the queue, the girls are trembling. For my part, since I wasn’t present on Saturday, I hadn’t yet seen Damon Salvatore in the flesh. So I was quite impatient.
I enter the room and then everything happens very fast. I see Ian on the side, taking photos in a chain. I barely have time to put down my belongings before it’s already my turn. I move forward politely, reply to his “Hi,” and then, before I even had time to say a word, he grabbed my arm and I am pressed against him. So, not to look too stupid, I hug him back, and click, the photo is taken. I’ll spare you the details, but I can certify that his charm is even more devastating than it is on the small screen.
I come out of the room completely dazed; I feel like I’m somewhere else, my heart is beating too fast, I feel like a teenager after her first crush. And then I look around me and I discover with relief that I am absolutely not the only one in this state and that all the girls coming out of this room are no longer grounded. They are trembling; they are feverish. I think I’m going to call it “the Ian Somerhalder effect.”
After this emotionally charged moment and a lunch break to recover, the afternoon began with the Q&A with Ian Somerhalder; the atmosphere was hot, very hot. This guy has crazy charm and he definitely plays on it. And then came the photo with Torrey Devitto, who is charming, and the autograph session with the guys. So, a day full of emotions, and it’s always nice to be able to meet the actors of a series when you watch it with interest.
As a bonus, I have included below the photos I was able to take with the actors of Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, and Torrey Devitto).
However, in terms of organization, I must admit that it was a bit of chaos. I understand that organizing an event like this must be a huge job, especially for an association, but making participants wait almost 1 hour after the end of the convention to get their photos was a bit annoying.
I also regret that there weren’t more activities during the day centered around the series, such as quizzes, screenings of clips from the series, musical blind-tests, etc.
But still, what a day! I will remember it for a long time, so thanks to NT1, to Wevents Production, as well as to all the volunteers, and of course, thank you to the actors for making the trip for their fans. Can’t wait for the rest of season 4 of Vampire Diaries (currently airing in the United States)!
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use
