Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil himself. Also, the titular character of the fan-saved Netflix drama Lucifer. The weekend of August 17th saw the cast meeting fans and supporters alike at the very first ‘Salute to Lucifer’ convention hosted by Creation Entertainment in Los Angeles…and it was a devilishly good time.
Held at the Hyatt Regency LAX, the convention began on Saturday morning. After the welcome from the Creation staff, the first panel guest was the ray of sunshine that is Aimee Garcia (Forensic Scientist Ella Lopez). Dubbed ‘WikiLeaks’ by her costars for her sometimes-questionable ability to maintain set and plotline secrecy, she revealed she had promised herself this weekend would be different. Fan questions ran the gamut from what she has been working on during hiatus (writing a lot), to whether she believes that Ella should learn the truth about her celestial friend group in this final season (she does not). Joking that Ella is a ‘#hotmess’ in Season 4, she said she thinks the fling with Dan has opened Ella up to a nonconventional guy – then worried she had said too much. When a fan asked if she had any dirt on Lucifer guest director Richard Speight, Jr., Aimee stated, “No, he’s lovely – but ask him if he has any on me!”
During a fan-requested display of her current favorite dance moves, Garcia’s panel was crashed by none other than Lesley-Ann Brandt (the demon Mazikeen). A common theme throughout the weekend is the obvious love and respect that this cast has for each other. And, who doesn’t want to be joined onstage by a hungover demon on a Saturday morning? After Garcia left the stage, it was Brandt’s turn to face the fan questions. When told by a fan that Maze’s pansexuality meant representation, Brandt talked about how she loves that the show isn’t ‘in your face’ about sexuality, that it just is. She hopes that the show can help those who have had an issue acknowledging other sexualities or ways of life in the past learn about acceptance. Brandt did discuss the rumors of a possible Mazikeen-led spinoff, but says that the Maze we all love is a result of the collaboration of the writers and the cast of Lucifer, and would be difficult to replicate.
The next panel was the first-ever convention appearance of Inbar Lavi (Eve), and she was an absolute delight. Starting with a joking ‘please don’t make me ramble’, she fielded fan questions and theories like an old pro. Lavi has been a recurring character on several shows, but picks Lucifer as one of her top two favorites. She loves Eve’s innocence, while acknowledging her manipulative tendencies, which adds depth and a lot of fun to the character. She hopes that Eve gets to learn about being herself, not a continuation of another. She has been writing a lot since the season wrapped and is also set to release an album soon. Busy lady indeed!
The last panelist of the day was D.B. Woodside. Playing ‘God’s favorite son’ for the past four seasons has been a joy for the actor. Woodside stated that he thinks we all need to be humbled on occasion, and he hopes what Amenadiel has gone thru has humbled the arrogant angel a bit. A fan said that she had loved him in The Temptations – and wondered if there is any chance of him singing on the final season, to which our newly christened ‘WikiLeaks 2.0’ said that that could happen for several characters this year. Woodside also feels that as a black man with a platform, he has a responsibility to use it to draw attention to social issues of the day which is one of the reasons he is very proud of the episode ‘Super Bad Boyfriend’ (4×08).
Last item on the schedule for Saturday was the fan-favorite karaoke party. Brandt, Lavi, & Woodside have some pipes! During this free event, usually held on the first night of a Creation Con, fans get the opportunity to get up on stage and belt out their favorite tunes with some pretty celestial backup singers. Lots of laughs and hugs all around.
Sunday the 18th dawned a bit hazy, a little cloudy – in short, a perfect day for panels and photo ops! There were a variety of photo options, including single and groups over the weekend; with Chris Schmelke behind the camera, they all turned out amazing (as usual). The theater opened early on Sunday for the special additional panel for Gold ticket holders. For LuciFans, this was with Tom Ellis, Kevin Alejandro, & Tricia Helfer. These three veteran actors obviously have great chemistry and were very at ease with each other, fielding fan questions and snarky comments from each other equally well. Ellis did ask if anyone had spilled anything about the final season, and on the audience’s nods, Alejandro exclaimed, “Aimee!” They were quick to point the finger in the correct direction, to which Ellis grumbled, “I’m gonna kill D.B.”
First all-access panel for the day was Tricia Helfer (Mum/The Goddess/Charlotte Richards). As lovely on the inside as she is on the outside, Helfer is no stranger to fan favorite TV shows and the conventions that inevitably follow. She was only supposed to be on season two as Mum, and feels she was given a gift in being able to play Charlotte in season three. When asked how she thought Charlotte would react to season four Dan blaming Lucifer for Charlotte’s death and doing some sketchy things as a result, Helfer’s immediate response of “Ella?” had the crowd rolling.
Next up was Kevin Alejandro (Detective Dan Espinosa). Often the straight guy for Lucifer’s many disparaging comments and jokes, or a not-so-nice guy in previous roles, Alejandro was a very pleasant surprise. He is looking forward to Dan finding out about the celestials this season, but thinks that it will probably make the detective’s head explode. He has a love for all facets of TV and movies that is infectious. Trying his hand over the past year at both writing and directing has only sharpened that love. Alejandro said that he will continue to do projects that allow him to work with this group of people in the future because they are a family, and they will continue to be. Case in point, when he discovered that Woodside had made a ‘rude’ remark about him on Saturday, Alejandro video-chatted with him during his meet & greet to yell at him about it (totally something we all would do to a sibling).
When the next question to Alejandro was a very British “Why are you such a douche?”, it was obvious that Tom Ellis (Lucifer) was crashing the panel. These two are the buddy cop duo you didn’t know you needed. Alternately needling each other and being each other’s biggest supporters, these guys just have way too much fun together. After a few questions, and Alejandro being piggybacked from the stage by the security guard, it was Ellis’ turn in the hot seat. In this case the literal hot seat, as he was about to do his famous (infamous?) ‘Pass the Parcel’ in which he runs around the room musical chairs style stripping off signed T-shirts for whichever lucky fan the music stops in front of. After shedding his several extra tees, it was question time. Ellis was visibly holding back tears when discussing the final season, stating, “I can categorically state that this (Lucifer) will never happen again… and when they call ‘cut’ for the last time, it’ll be rough.” One interesting comment from Ellis was that the cast didn’t know the love that fans had for the show until it was cancelled. And that they couldn’t be more grateful to the LuciFans both for Season 4 and the (now extended) Season 5. As a playful nod to his character, a fan asked Ellis what his deepest desire was, and he echoed the feeling in the room by saying that right now, he just wished that kindhearted people were in charge of the world.
For cast, staff, and fans alike, the first ‘Salute to Lucifer’ convention appeared to be a success on all fronts, one that fans hope will continue well into the future.
