This is posted by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog on January 16, 2017
While science fiction and fantasy tend to draw the biggest crowds to fan conventions, EyeCon Genesis is taking a different route, rounding up alum from CW shows such as "Gilmore Girls" (now on Netflix), "Gossip Girl" and "90210" to Atlanta in mid March.
These shows when they first aired targeted women from 12 to 34. They are now mostly in their 20s to 40s.
Autumn Dawn Nierode, who has helped run Eyecon for six years, said this will be her group's 23rd convention and first one featuring multiple shows. They have done several "Vampire Diaries"-themed conventions in Atlanta in the past but are veering away from the saturated sci-fi market.
The biggest convention they've organized drew 1,300 people focused on the decidedly non-sci-fi drama "One Tree Hill" in Wilmington, N.C. where the CW show was shot.
Ticket prices for this convention range widely depending on what you want, from $40 to $695.
This convention will include Q&A sessions, autograph and photo ops and parties featuring the celebrities.
"We really want people to have an experience with the celebrity," Nierode said. "It's not just, 'Here's my autograph. Bye!' " In fact, people prefer photos now over autographs so they can post it on their social media feeds, providing great publicity for the convention as well.
She wasn't even a "Gilmore Girls" fan until the show appeared on Netflix and now she understands the show's appeal with its pop culture references, charming little town and witty repartee. Plus, it features plenty of cool secondary characters, the folks who have time (and aren't too prohibitively expensive) to attend a conference like this.
Held at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly not far from the new Suntrust Park, EyeCon is relatively small compared to the likes of DragonCon and Walker Stalker. So far, there are seven confirmed guests. More are forthcoming and I will update this as more names come in. Here's the list as of today:
Scott Patterson: He plays curmudgeonly diner owner Luke Dane and Lorelai Gilmore's love interest on "Gilmore Girls," which originally aired on the CW from 2000 to 2007 and recently returned on Netflix for four episodes. And in 2017, Luke still hates cel phones but in the Netflix version that came out recently, he now has Wifi.
Keiko Agena: Despite being 27 when "Gilmore Girls" debuted in October, 2000, she portrayed Korean American high school student Lane Kim, Rory Gilmore's best friend who had to hide her love for rock and roll and other hobbies from her strict parents. Years later, she takes over her mom's antique store.
Matt Czuchry: He played Logan, Rory's rich boy love interest in college, appearing first season five. He is the heir to a newspaper empire. He also returns to the Netflix version years later.
Yanic Truesdale: Michel Gerard is the sour French concierge at Lorelai's inn.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Kelly Rutherford: She played a socialist, philanthropist and frequent divorcee on "Gossip Girl" for its entire run from 2007 to 2012. She was also a regular on "Melrose Place" for three seasons.
Ed Westwick: He played the charming bad boy playboy Chuck Bass on "Gossip Girl" for all six seasons.
Matt Lanter: He was Liam Court for five seasons of the CW's "90210" from 2008 to 2013.
