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Megaplex 2004 Longtime fan Mike Ward attended the recent "PawPet Megaplex" event in Orlando, where Trace was guest of honor, and here's his report. Typical attendees arrive for the MegaPlex event in Orlando. Click on image to enlarge. PawPet Megaplex Report By Mike Ward I had my first chance to meet Trace Beaulieu at a Sheraton hotel in sunny Orlando, Florida. Dubbed the "PawPet Megaplex," the offbeat conference assembled puppeteers as well as professional and amateur mascots from Florida and from as far away as Great Britain and the West Coast of the U.S. Also in attendance were MST3K buffs like myself--who in many cases had gone hundreds of miles to meet one of the creators of one of the best TV shows ever to grace the air. I couldn't help having high expectations for Trace. Even so, he didn't disappoint. At all times gracious, charmingly self-deprecating and funny on his feet, Trace gave freely of his time and attention. In fact he seemed one among the fans, standing and sitting alongside them, often as puzzled and intrigued by the MST3K phenomenon as they were. Trace spent Friday, the first day of MP3, sitting in an audience of a few dozen a hotel ballroom as the convention's in-house talent did stand-up routines and improvs. It was Saturday before he took the stage, for a mock-up game of "Hollywood Squares" -- where, amazingly, one of the contestants fumbled when he chose the unmustachioed Trace, sitting in the center square. "I'm sorry," the contestant said, "I have no idea who the guy in the middle is." The audience shifted and groaned. But Trace deftly dissipated the awkward moment, adopting a look of confusion and quipping, "You mean this isn't the bus to Universal [Studios]?" Trace is the "center square" in a primative version of "Hollywood Squares" at the Megaplex Event. Click on image to enlarge. Later in the afternoon he sat down for about two hours of Q&A, fielding various queries about MST3K, his current gig at America's Funniest Home Videos, and what the future holds. There were the usual questions: His favorite MST3K movie (Manos); his least favorite (Sidehackers). He was asked if, in Deep 13, Dr. F.'s mustache was real. For most of the shots it was, he admitted. The conference's most scandalous revelation? He liked playing Crow T. Robot more than Dr. F. "You can say stuff with a puppet you can't in person," he explained. Near the end of the Q&A a fan asked Mr. Beaulieu if he had any advice for the next generation of writers and performers. He replied: "Go to school, read movies, read books," he said. "Be a person in the world." Trace dispenses wisdom to the crowd. Photo By Lincoln W. Kliman Owner of http://www.jbadger.org Click on image to enlarge. After the Q&A, Trace signed autographs and miscellaneous memorabilia. Trace's signatures are generous -- they're typically accompanied by chubby caricatures of Crow that he spends some time on, always chatting affably with the fans as he scribbles away. The Q&A was the most formal forum of the conference. The afternoon of the last day Trace mingled more casually in the common area, where he bandied observations with fans. They offered up MST3K-related rumors and arcana -- were Torgo's *knees* really what made him a monster, or wasn't it really more his *thighs*? He did his best to answer, but sometimes begged off, it being one of the mysterious laws of fandom that performers rarely recall as much about a show as those on the other side of the screen. Trace clowns with other guests at the Megaplex Event. Photo By Lincoln W. Kliman Owner of http://www.jbadger.org Click on image to enlarge. At once point Trace got interested in a video file running on somebody's laptop. He and the guy with the laptop started speculating about what it took to make the scene: how much work might have gone into the costumes, whether it was shot on a soundstage, whether the rain was fake. It struck me that here was the man who had given Crow his voice so many years before, talking back to the movies once again. | VISIT PREVIOUS FEATURED ARTICLES |