So, off I ran to find Craig Parker, yet again! I threaded my way through the now crowded hallway with Jeffrey (stopping briefly to tell Billy that Dom thought Jeffrey looked more like him, to which Billy replied, "I think you look more like Frodo" with a hurt look on his face), when who should be arriving but Sean Astin! We happened to be very happily situated in his path, and pretty soon he was right in front of us. With some very complimentary comments about his work in LOTR, I told him how much I loved his short, The Long and Short of It. At this point, he gave us some happy news - he was working to get it put on the theatrical release of The Two Towers in August! They were currently working on getting some rights to do it, but if all turns out well, it will soon be viewable by all! Not only that, but he had filmed an introduction to the film, as well as some commentary. We were prepared to talk to him more, and he oozed intelligence and eloquence, but at that point someone shouted, "Sean! Billy and Dom are about to go downstairs!" He said urgently, "Billy and Dom are here? I've got to talk to them!" A pathway immediately cleared, and he was gone.

We sat basking in his lingering presence for a moment. I don't remember when or how I'd touched him, but I had. Being in the giddy mood that I was, I squeaked, "I touched Sean Astin!" Immediately, this cheerful chap standing nearby with a tape recorder came to ask us some questions. Apparently, he was writing a book about the relationship between stars and their fans, focusing specifically on Sean Astin that night. So here we were yet again, going down in history as the silly fans that we are! The fellow was very nice and enthusiastic, and Tami seemed to be stealing the interview with her new-found lust for being star-struck.

Making our way towards the staircase, the fates once again blessed me. Right in front of me was Andy Serkis! Shawn was getting his picture taken, and something made me bold as I jumped in the picture over Andy's shoulder. After the photo, he turned to see who had just attacked him from behind, and this is probably the dumbest thing I did all night. I told him how much I admired his work, but being so buzzed from the excitement of the night (I didn't even need alcohol to cloud my senses!), the name of the movie Topsy Turvy was evading me. So I said, "I love you in EVERYTHING I've ever seen you in!"... which is two things. So I felt pretty stupid but he was very kind and thankful for the praise anyway. I still felt silly, however, and I think I must have started blushing. To cover up my embarrassment, I said, "Can I hug you?", gave him a quick hug, and scurried away like a squirrel before I shoved my foot further down my throat. Oh woe! I'm sure he's never going to remember me, but I'm afraid I will be forever scarred by the memory of my one really awful moment of gushing fan-dom for the night. Still, I don't entirely regret it because other than Shawn, none of the rest of the group got a photo with him so at least something good came out of it! (Not to mention a nice and warm, though hurried hug.)

Craig was coming back up the stairs and so I grabbed him by the arm, saying (as if I had known who he was the whole time) "I didn't get a picture with you!" He seemed happy to oblige. As we were getting out of the way of the stairway traffic, I said, "I cried when you died - I need some kind of physical affirmation that you're okay." So I got my solo picture with him! After that, some more of the group got pictures, and he hung out with us for quite a while talking about his experience. Craig was so very, very nice and friendly. Everyone that night was!!!

Pretty soon he headed downstairs to join the gathering of cast and crew onstage. At this point, the balcony was overcrowded, so we headed to the main pool room to watch the events on the tellie. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't wired to these rooms very well, and we couldn't hear most of what was going on. Everyone was going wild with every new introduction. Andy Serkis did a Gollum impression, though I'm sad to say I couldn't hear what he said. Eventually, Sean Astin came forward to speak, whipping out a cell phone to call Peter Jackson! I'm sure there are other, better reports out there with what happened onstage at this time.

The celebrities started to leave the stage, some to leave the party for good. Billy and Dom were the sweetest - they said they didn't want to go but they had to because they left the oven on. They were making some really excellent, "chocolatey pudding" and they really had to go! Of course it wasn't true, but what a hilarious way to tear yourself away from drooling fans!