In the first part of my OCon “saga,” I talked about how Steve was in the midst of a podcast interview when I met him. The podcast is called CF3 (Cult Fans, Films & Finds), and the episode just went up. In addition to Steve’s interview, it also includes an interview with Gigi Edgley, a review of The Dark Crystal, and some other stuff.
A word of caution before I post a link to the content: while the interview segments are safe and appropriate for everyone, the rest of the episode contains some explicit language. I don’t think I’m able to link right to one particular segment, unfortunately.
Oh, and by the way…I’M IN THIS PODCAST! They paused it briefly so Steve could talk to me but resumed it when they realized that we were acquainted. So you can hear me say hi to him (which I have NO MEMORY of doing, by the way), and then you can hear me getting giggly from nerves when Steve compliments my blog.
For some reason, the embed function isn’t working, so here’s the web address:
http://cf3pod.com/022-the-dark-crystal-1982-w-steve-whitmire-gigi-edgley
I’ve been told that it is also available through the various podcast apps, if that’s more convenient.
I wanted to give you timestamps to help you find the most relevant content on your own, but for some inexplicable reason, the points where I’m finding the content are different every time I try to seek them out, so I can only give you approximate time stamps:
- Start of Steve’s interview: Approximately 5 minutes (plus or minus 15 seconds)
- My brief contribution: Approximately 6 minutes (plus or minus 40 seconds)
- Steve’s rating of The Dark Crystal: Approximately 1 hour (plus or minus 6 minutes)
It’s not ideal, but that’s the best I can do.
Apart from moments that they paused the recording while I introduced myself to Steve and The Dark Crystal rating part that they spliced out and moved to a different part of the episode, this whole interview is totally intact and presented exactly the way it actually happened, even the part where they had to pause because of the announcement over the loudspeaker. Which is AWESOME for me! As indicated by my three-part saga, I went to a great deal of effort to firmly fix my memories of most of my day with a great deal of detail so I could write about it later. But I didn’t bother to do that with the podcast interview because I knew it would eventually be available online. Listening to it now, however, brings me right back to the moment and allows me to see it in my mind just as it happened. It’s probably as close as we Muggles can ever get to a Pensieve.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fact that I was included, however briefly, in the interview, but now I’m so glad that at least a piece of that moment is frozen in time and preserved forever. After Steve said that I had written some very nice things about him, I didn’t hear what he said immediately after that, or what the other guy said about “nice things are nice,” because my brain was overloaded with processing what was happening. So it’s great to hear it now.
There are other ways in which my memory may not be completely accurate, because I remembered that it was Steve who noticed me in “line” at the booth, but on the recording, it’s the CF3 guys who bring it up. I think James, Steve’s agent, was there too, though, and he may well have made a silent gesture pointing me out. I honestly don’t remember. Also, it’s only about 30 seconds between the time that they start recording and the time that they notice me. It seemed to me that I stood there waiting for longer than that. Maybe they had a conversation before they actually started recording, or maybe it seemed longer to me because of the antici…pation.
I don’t specifically remember saying hi to Steve either as I approached the table, and listening to that on the recording is kind of hilarious because as I listen to myself, I can hear that I’d totally assumed an air of familiarity with him already despite the fact that I knew that he probably wouldn’t recognize me on sight.
Another thing that I really hope comes across is the warmth and graciousness in Steve’s voice as he invited me to his table before he even knew who I was. I hope that you can hear in his voice the welcoming smile on his face. And I really want to emphasize the fact that he treated everyone who came to his booth with the exact same friendliness and enthusiasm, even in the afternoon when he was tired.
I think it must have been after the actual interview that Steve said to the CF3 guys that they should talk to me. Since I hadn’t been asked to join in the actual interview, I stayed quiet, but it was very difficult. I would have liked to join in the conversation about Kermit’s TED Talk, which is very special to me.
I also wanted to respond when Steve talked about Yoda’s lightsaber fight in Attack of the Clones (still a stupid title), because I actually disagree with him. At the time, I thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever, and I don’t remember anyone in the theater laughing at it. That said, however, I do agree that Yoda looks much better as a puppet, and I don’t see why he couldn’t be a puppet for most of that movie and then be CG when he needed to be CG. Maybe there were questions about whether they could seamlessly marry the practical and the virtual at that point.
I’m not sure anymore if Steve talked about The Dark Crystal prequel (and whether Jim Henson would have revisited that world) at the Q&A as well, or if it was just here. I may have been conflating the two conversations in my mind. He did talk about the movie at the Q&A though, that I know for sure.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes tidbit: You heard the introduction by Gigi Edgley at the beginning of the episode? Well, they asked Steve to do one too, and he obliged willingly. However, they initially asked him to do it as Kermit, and he had to decline.
Now, I don’t mind at all, but it’s kind of funny to me that they included my brief contribution to the interview but then didn’t explain it any further to their listeners/readers. That must all seem very random when listened to out of context.
Anyway, I should stop yammering and post this so you can listen to it yourselves.
Frog of La Mancha 
You may yammer all you want on this Mary. This is a most unique moment for you as it’s when all the excitement is boiling in your mind, and I love being here when you describe it. I saved the link to the Podcast in my bookmarks, so I could first read what you had to say, and them go listen to it. Will be back to continue this in a moment…
I’m here now, listening to Steve speak, while I type. Surreal! Loved the opening, your introduction and Steven’s mention of Frog of La Mancha..You sound fabulous on tape.
Now I’m in the part where Steve’s describing his favorite work with Kermit’s TED Talk, Awesome.
Mary I’m going to go forward now and finish listening. Thanks so much for providing the link to this. I’m having a great time. Will catch ya later on Twitter….
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Thanks, Anne. To be completely honest, I think my voice is one of my best features, but I’m reluctant to say so because being enamored with the sound of one’s own voice is generally considered a negative character trait. 😉
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Hello Anne,
How are you? We haven’t spoken in a while. I’m about to speak here for the first time today. It’s a real delight to see you again.
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Hi Mary! Thanks for sharing the link. We had no idea that, while starting to record this interview, that (probably) Steve’s biggest fan had shown up and was on the sidelines, waiting to meet him for the first time. I’m glad we were able to preserve some of that memory for you in audio format. We had forgotten our Zoom H6 recorder, but the iPhone voice recorder worked in a pinch and didn’t sound bad at all!
Steve, as you know much more than I, is an incredible talent and wonderful human being, but I wanted to give this specific anecdote for perspective: This was early Sunday morning on the last day of a 3-day convention. Media guests tend to get burned out by Day 3 and 4 of these things and start to just mail it in. The MAC had been open for an hour that day by the time we came up to see Steve. Out of the 10 or so celebrities in Media Guest Row, he was the ONLY one there promptly at the prescribed time and remained the only one there for quite a long time. It was just about the first thing we discussed with him before we had even turned the recorders on. This man is a professional and puts his best effort into everything he does. We also requested to pay him for his time because we believe in compensating talent for such things. He was floored and insisted that we take autographed photos with us, which I am happy to have! I’m sorry we missed his Q&As due to other con-related obligations on Fri/Sat and because I literally moved to a new house across town the very next day, so things were very hectic!
I wanted to clear up a few things after reading your post. We have a Facebook page (facebook.com/cf3pod) that has an official episode post for each episode. In the comments section, we often post extra things like links to items discussed in the episode. We linked your site in our comments section on FB along with the full TED Talk, for example. We also tagged you to the episode on Twitter. That’s all part of our regular routine. We edit our podcast but chose to leave much of what occurred at OCon raw and uncut because we wanted listeners to have a peek at what it’s like to be at one of these things in case they’ve never been; sort of a fly on the wall type of thing. I didn’t even wrestle with whether or not to leave the PA announcement interruption in the final cut. Of course, in the moment I said “easy to edit,” but it was even easier to not edit it once I realized how funny it was, and that Steve was saying things in between the announcer’s sentences that I didn’t want to lose. Since July has been a period of transition with moving and not having my recording space set up yet, we’re just doing what we can to make our weekly deadline for the listeners. I hope you enjoyed the segment, and maybe you’ll do the show sometime when we cover The Muppet Movie. 🙂
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Hi Mary,
First of all…, I’m not quite sure where to begin – I’ve been a visitor/reader of your work for some time now, and I must say I’m a fan (no flattery or exaggeration attached, I promise!). I acknowledge the corresponding write-ups were a post or two back, however, THANK YOU immensely for sharing a comprehensive, very vivid narrative of your experience meeting Steve; profound thanks for the link to the podcast as well (to be honest, I wish his part was longer, but it’s still very nice and it means the world that you were there, witnessing it all). Now, you will likely not remember me, which is completely fine, it’d be unreasonable for me to expect that, – I’m Saba, I was one of the latecomer commenters (, but regular readers) on Muppet Pundit – like yourself, I interacted a bit with some of the other fans there (you might know a few : ) ), but it wasn’t very long until Steve left and the site began undergoing ‘maintenance mode’. Sadly, I don’t think we got to interact then, either, but hopefully this new connection will change that.
Back to your writing, to say it is detailed is, I think, an understatement – your insight, organization/clarity, and style are absolutely phenomenal, just beyond words. As I read everything, I actually almost felt as though I could visualize and hear your entire OCon experience (*despite not being there myself,…what it must’ve felt like for you, this vision is as close as I’ll get to it for now) – your chronicle is THAT powerful! That said, I’m also excited for the new ‘60 for 60’ tomorrow – I’ve really enjoyed the monthly themes and your takes on all of Steve’s characters so far, no doubt you’ll surprise in July’s piece all the same. Refocusing quickly on writing, I thought I’d mention that I’ve also written some stuff – it’s not very good or complete at the moment, but I’d like to share it at some point; my—-not best, but most decent (closest-to-decent) finished work, I think, is an acrostic poem I’d written in celebration of Steve’s birthday about 2 years ago, and following it was a note dedicated to both the former and Jim (*I’d been meaning to write an acrostic for Jim as well, because of course HE’s the reason this was all even possible, but I’d never gotten around to it – hopefully THIS year!).
Unfortunately, I don’t have a blog/site of my own at the moment, and it’s hard to say when I’ll be able to create one (*if I do, I hope – there were plans prior, but circumstances then disagreed) – nonetheless, I’d still be happy to share a few of my pieces/thoughts some way if possible (*I’m also in the process of finally creating an Instagram profile, so I can be found there until then). Additionally, I understand you are busy (and many of us are), yet I found it important to bring up that we all (as in Steve’s fans/ ‘Pundit’ followers) haven’t really congregated as a collective in a while; I just think it would be nice to, occasionally (in case, perhaps, someone has an early update for an approaching comic con or just wants to share some insights/interesting facts, Muppet/Henson songs/videos, etc.…those sorts of things) – our Discord group hasn’t really been active since ‘Muppet Pundit’ became defunct (*but we could always shift the focus to Steve’s new site, or as everyone else sees fit). Lastly, please forgive my overt brazenness in this comment, but I’d already like to call you “friend”, not acquaintance, friend – long before you encountered Steve, I felt it of significance to reach out and establish some sort of connection, for your writing has not only provided for a sense of calm and much-needed laughs; it has also given me another lens through which to see the Muppet/Henson world (I don’t think I’ve seen things from this perspective before – it’s mind blowing).
Once again, thank you many times for letting us in on your Comic Con adventure/observations and enlightening us with all of your work – you are a star “spokesfan” for breaking the ‘barrier’ between us and the Muppet/Jim/Steve universe and for representing those of us who couldn’t make it. I think it’s totally fair to say that you’ve made history! As for your site, if there’s any way I can assist or provide further knowledge (*I oftentimes brought archived or ‘hard-to-find’ materials/information to ‘Pundit’), edit, contribute, etc., please, please, without hesitation let me know – as you see fit, I’d be elated to help; in my book, your contributions to the Muppet sphere are JUST as noteworthy as Steve’s and Jim’s (again, no flattery, you ALL really are the same to me – talking to you, I almost feel like how you did when you met Steve). Meanwhile, I’ll revisit this page (likely tomorrow’s post) later and hopefully we’ll speak again soon.
It was a pleasure to finally “meet” you. All the best for you and this blog – peace,
– Saba
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Um…wow. I don’t quite know where to begin. Thank you so much for your kind words. After all that, I hate to inform you that tomorrow’s 60 for 60 entry may be delayed as I attempt to get up to speed on my day job before the end of the pay period on Thursday. If I don’t finish it in time, I will post *something*, just to let you know what’s going on.
As for the rest of your comment, I’ll respond to it properly when I get a chance, but I’m extremely flattered and humbled. Thank you so much for reaching out.
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Hi Mary, I’m not getting notices on replies. Doing this one as a test so I can hit a like button also.
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Mary I’ve liked all these comments, but it’s not showing. I being on Facebook will post that facebook.com/cf3pod are as nice as Steve. Love what they’ve said and done for your amazing blog with the link. This will work well for Steve’s new Website and future Facebook site. Hurrah!
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