Part One of Two
There is a point in the movie Almost Famous when Philip Seymour Hoffman (playing Lester Bangs) tells aspiring rock journalist, William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit) not to become "friends" with the rock bands he's covering.
Any writer worth their salt who ends up covering something they are passionate in private life about - be it politics, fashion, celebrities or pop culture - knows how hard the struggle is to maintain objectivity and not to befriend or become enamored with those or that they write about.
Then there is me. I have no sense of objectivity and -honestly- a little bit of my own schtick and cred as a writer comes from the fact that I am an unapologetic and seriously geeked out fangirl. Which is why when BitchBuzz said "Kate, go to Comic Con and cover it" I nearly pooped my pants I was so excited
So go figure that in the very first panel of the day I stumble upon a new "geek grrl girl crush." Janina Gavankar. Janina is best known for her roll as Papi on The L-Word (of which I am a fan, of course.) She appeared today on a panel in support of Quantum Quest, an educational sci-fi adventure by Henery Kloor that features an all start voice cast, Gavankar included.
After a particularly resonant quote from the stage, she hollered out her Twitter handle; and, me being the shameless fangirl I am, I tweeted her post haste telling her that I'd be including her quote in a column I'm writing and wondering if she'd be up for a 1:1 chat.
The response came, "Sweet! BitchBuzz looks cool! I'd be down for a chat!"
Uh... hello, my new girl crush!
Janina and I met up on the floor of Comic Con to talk about going geek, fangirlism, video games, the L-Word and all things adorkable:
I really liked your quote from the Quantum Quest panel, "geek girls can be badass!" When did you first become interested in sci fi and geekery?
I think I've always been into it, I read all the Douglas Adams books. If I think back to it I used to like the television shows where girls had powers; but, I didn't realize that until I spread my "geek wings" later in life and had to trace it back. I guess I've always been into it; but, now I own - now I can actually call myself a "fangirl." The other people who were on the panel with me were like 'What are you going to do for the rest of the day?' And, I was like 'I don't know, this panel is done, I am now going to spread my fangirl wings and fly.' I took pictures with Cylons, I tweeted it... it was awesome!
Believe me, I understand "fangirl," I speak it well. Of course what the world probably knows you the best for is the role of Papi on The L-Word, what was it like to work on such a ground-breaking show with such an iconic, ensemble cast?
It was an honor to be part of such a ground breaking show, I mean, even if I had said maybe one word on it, I would have been honored because it was that potent of a show. I auditioned like everyone else; but, because I am who I am I was afraid if they ever met me that they wouldn't cast me in a million years, so I entered the Showtime elevators in character [as Papi.] I flirted with the receptionist, I shook the casting director's hand in a dirty way; and, it was really more for survival, than anything, because I didn't think I'd be able to pull [getting cast in the roll] off if they ever met me... Even in my callback, even in my test for the network and studio, I was her.
It was amazing. It was my first big gig, which I booked shortly after moving to LA, which is a big stroke of luck. But, even more lucky - it was - [The L-Word] was just this crazy cast of powerful women who had amazing careers. Working with Pam Grier, I mean Pam's a friend of mine, I was just texting her the other day, hearing about the new movie she's working on, she's playing Queen Latifah's mother... Being able to walk away from a project having Pam Grier as a career advisor, yeah, it's infinantly valuable. These women are so intelligent and in tune with themselves and grateful for the careers they've had and still feel like they're just starting. They have a newness about them that I was just honored to be around.
How did you get drawn into Quantum Quest? What was the casting like on that? Where did you hear about it? It's such an interesting project...
Well, Harry - Doctor Doctor - Harry Kloor, he and I have some mutual friends; and, they were looking for someone to lay down the lead female track, you know, just like basic track that they would then replace with whoever was going to play her. So my friend was like, 'Oh, yah you gotta meet this Janina girl, she's got a lot of voices in her, she'll be BIG.' Because you know, voice acting, it's such a theatrical experiance and performance you have to just go for it 150%.
How was the voice acting experience different compared to other things you've done? Better, different -- harder?
It's always been a dream of mine. Actually, my big dream, is to be the lead in a video game. I'm going to [San Francisco] to be a part of a documentary about women in the [industry] - but I have a friend and I'm going to go traipse around at EA... I really, really want to do that [be a lead in a video game.] In a big stupid way. I finished Dead Space in two days - I'm a HUGE gamer.
What are you most excited to see at Comic Con?
The costumes... the cosplay... I do really like the cosplay, the culture is so creative I love it, I do. (Gestures to con floor) This is all cool; but, the people who make this a living, breathing thing are the people who go for it and dress up. This [the con] is my geek girl experience.
Tune in tomorrow for part two of this interview where our heroine, Janina, cultivates a tongue-in-cheek flame war between Kate "Adorkable Grrl" Kotler and a well reputed Daily Show corospondant.
Follow Kate's live updates from Comic Con on Twitter @adorkablegrrl