Paleyfest 2012! Erica Checks Out The Once Upon A Time Panel And Meets The Cast! Ginnifer Goodwin! Robert Carlyle! Jennifer Morrison! Autographs and More!

The Lovely Erica is now chiming in on her Paleyfest experiences! Man, it’s Paleyfest all around isn’t it! Erica had the fortunate opportunity to check out the Once Upon A Time panel. Erica and I used to make Paley a regular adventure but lately it isn’t quite as interesting.

Still, as you have read it’s a great opportunity for fans to be able to get signatures and meet their favorite stars. It’s not easy to get to meet and see the entire cast of a show live on stage.

Check out Erica’s recap after the jump! Oh, and a special thank you to Erica for getting my Trainspotting mini poster signed by Robert Carlyle!

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It’s been a couple of years since I last attended Paleyfest. The list of shows they are featuring has gotten less interesting since they moved to the Saban a few years ago. With the larger venue, they are picking more commercial choices to fill the theater. So the list of shows includes such breakthrough shows like Eastbound and Down (2011) and a lot of repeated shows such as Vampire Diaries, Modern Family, Glee and True Blood. I’m sure that when we look back at TV 20 years from now, it’ll be critical to understand how the behind-the-scenes on Community differed between 2011 and 2012 which is why the show is getting panels in back to back years.

Really? Was there no other show to honor? Where are some of the most critically acclaimed shows of the year? Game of Thrones? Homeland? Boardwalk Empire? Where are the reunion panels? Sigh! I suppose I should be grateful they haven’t stooped to putting in Jersey Shore to try to guarantee some sales.

Paley, please head back to the Arclight or some other venue where there isn’t as much pressure to go commercial and where the setting is more intimate!

Anyway…off the soapbox!

I’m back this year for Once Upon A Time which is definitely one of the more original shows of the year. This is a rare opportunity to see the cast since they film in Vancouver. Well, Jennifer Morrison is a bit of an exception since I’ve seen her around twice, but haven’t had anything with me. Today I am armed with my Snow White mini-poster that the two writers signed in New York!

They show tonight’s episode and the first 10 minutes of next week’s which is nice. The Q&A is actually pretty sizable at nearly an hour. With 6 cast members and 3 executive producers,

it’s a full stage and there is a lot going on. There’s a ton of video so please watch the links. For a quick summary/teaser, here are my impressions from the panel:

Jennifer Morrison is probably the most fun with a greater willingness to tell stories including how they suit up to film outdoors in Vancouver and how Bobby (Robert Carlyle) grosses her out by peeling off his Rumplestiltskin skin and flinging it at her. She also seems to feel that she misses out on something’s since she and Henry are really the only people that don’t visit fairy tale land.

Josh Dallas doesn’t say too much. I’m not sure how comfortable he is with all of this, but he has his charming smile and seems rather good natured.

Really any guy who takes his parents down the red carpet for Thor gets extra marks for being charming! Even today, he takes it in stride when one lady from Britain thanks him for curing her daughter of Bieber Fever.

Ginnifer Goodwin is sweet and upbeat. She talks about how she loves “Bandit Snow White” who is probably quite different from the roles she normally gets to play.

Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are anxious to be creator rock stars. They field a lot of questions and are eager to sign later, but they aren’t quite Joss Whedon or JJ Abrams. But definitely talent to watch out for! They do mention that they have dropped hints on how to break the curse on the town and mentioned that they have been reading the theories people have been putting forth online and someone has it right. Ariel, the Little Mermaid, may show up in season 2 and it “would be a shame” if we didn’t see Maleficent again. Bring back Kristen Bauer!

Steve Pearlman, the third executive producer, is basically silent. Poor guy looks a little bored!

Lana Parrilla seems to really appreciate her fans as she recognizes t-shirts people are wearing, recognizes people from twitter and such. She seems pretty cool. She mentions how the elaborate costumes help her get into character.

Robert Carlyle is really casual and lets his full Scots brogue loose. It is such a marked difference from Rumplestiltskin that it’s great to see his contrast and hear about his inspiration for the character. It takes 2 hours to get into make up and another hour to take it off.

The last panelist is Rafael Sbarge who doesn’t say too much, but is rather pleasant.

Once the panel is over, it’s pandemonium as everyone rushes the stage. I’m several people back from the stage, but that works to my advantage as I have the poster to reach over folks and can move around a bit. Sort of. Not very well. It’s a crunch!

Jennifer comes to the front and is told by her handler to start here and work her way to the other side. She is worried since she has to get her luggage and then board their flight back, but she starts to sign. It’s hard for anyone on the stage to sign for us since they are so high up and we’re packed in tightly. Jennifer has a hard time sorting through what to sign next, but she does sign my poster. Yeah!

I move to Josh who makes a point of signing for the British lady whose child he just cured of Bieber Fever. A lot of photos are flying at him and he’s leaning way over to reach into the crowd. It’s pretty chaotic, but he does find my poster. Yeah!

I’m struggling to move and finally get towards the middle where Ginnifer is signing. She is picking what’s close and her handler reaches out for my poster. Ginnifer smiles and takes her time signing every single letter which looks great.

After that, I head over to the far side and see that Lana is crouching down and chatting and signing. She is really friendly. When she recognizes one of her twitter followers, Lana does her best to take a photo with her. Lana is precariously leaning out several feet over the edge of the stage to get close. So nice!

I’m now at the far side of the stage and can see Raphael signing, but no Robert. Drat! Where is he?

I ask Raphael to sign and for some reason, he decides to pull out a Bic pen and refuses to take the Sharpie I’m offering. Arg! At least he signed in a white area…

Then I see Robert Carlyle in the back. He comes over to the crowd when someone calls for him and signs for him. He then asks if anyone else wants him to sign. Duh! He grabs my Sharpie and signs my poster. Yeah! If only it wasn’t with black pen in the black area…ah well!

Since I got Eddy and Adam before, I am done! I see that Josh has made it to center stage and that Jennifer is almost all the way across. Ginnifer stopped signing pretty early and I see Robert is now making his way across the stage. Nice guy!

However, they are pulling the actors, and since they have to go fly to Vancouver tonight, I don’t blame them for heading out. But really the cast signed quite a bit. Yeah!