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July 31 was Michael's birthday, and several members of The Biehn Team celebrated it in style at the Rain Forest Cafe, MGM Grand Hotel, in Las Vegas during the annual Biehn Fest. On behalf of the Biehn Team, a jar of gourmet jelly beans, balloon, and a card with the names of all the members of the Biehn Team was delivered to Michael on the set of The Magnificent Seven. All birthday wishes for Michael which were posted to the Birthday Web were also printed off and sent to him on behalf of his fans. |
| We know Michael filmed a new movie in April called Susan's Plan for
John Landis (see the Current page from Absolute Biehn). A recent search
uncovered this quote from Michael in The Rocky Mountain News on Susan's
Plan:
The big-screen scene: Michael Biehn, best known for his role as Linda Hamilton's savior in Terminator, says we'll see a very different side of him in John Landis' upcoming Susan's Plan. ``It's my first real comedy, and according to John and all the other cast members, I'm very funny in it,'' says Biehn, who also stars in CBS' The Magnificent Seven series. Susan's Plan, which also stars Dan Aykroyd, Billy Zane, Nastassja Kinski and Rob Schneider, is about a woman ``who plans to kill her ex-husband. Rob and I play this Mutt and Jeff version of two hit men,'' Biehn says. ``We totally screw everything up.'' Marilyn Beck, Rocky Mountain News, 07-08-1998, pp 13D:(c) 1998, Denver Publishing Co. |
This year marks the second annual Biehnfest, for ours truly, Michael Biehn.
It is a few days of fun-filled activities for those who admire his body…body
of work, that is!
This year's Biehnfest, held in Las Vegas, NV, was a happy time for all that
attended. Although not everyone arrived at the same time, there was plenty
to do at various stages of the trip. Hotels to peruse, attractions to see,
lots of shopping to be done and, of course, lots of movies of Michael's to
watch!
There was no shortage of sightseeing to do in Las Vegas. The group started
with an informal tour of the local hotels: Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas
Hilton, MGM Grand, and Treasure Island just to name a few. And each of
these hotels has attractions to see. There is the Siberian Tiger exhibit at
The Mirage, which showcases these beautiful, rare tigers that local
performers, Siegfried and Roy, breed, raise, and train to perform in their
act. The MGM Grand houses the very entertaining show, EFX, which show stars
David Cassidy as a young man who has lost enthusiasm for the things in life
we all can take for granted. It is a wonderful, fantastical, show!
Caesar's Palace has lots of food, shopping and various attractions to see,
including a statue display which acts out a story at various times
throughout the day and a virtual reality ride, which is called The Race for
Atlantis, much like the Star Trek adventure at the Las Vegas Hilton. Both
were very enjoyable!
Of course, there must be time for movie viewing. The only difficult thing
was trying to decide which movie to start with and which one should follow
that. A true Biehnatic will find an argument for their favorite film and
convince the others why that one should be the first, second, or last to
watch.
It is a unique experience to watch a program with a group of peers who
appreciate the same qualities in Michael as you do; to clap and cheer for
the hero saving the day; to the jeer the enemy; and to mourn the loss of the
character. Unless a nearby friend shares your admiration for this great
actor, it is hard to watch with as much enthusiasm as you would like.
While the Biehnfest is timed to honor Michael’s birthday, it really presents
an opportunity to meet other Biehn fans and share a lot of fun. For those
in the Michael Biehn Fans chat room, it is an opportunity to put a face to a
name/handle: To meet the person/persons with whom typewritten messages have
been shared. For others it is a time to find a new appreciation for this
actor, perhaps one you may not have realized or just to have a few days in
the company of some really wonderful people.
Preparations are already underway for the Third Annual Biehnfest. Any and
all suggestions are welcome! The more, the merrier! Tentative dates for
Biehnfest 3 are July 30 - August 2, 1999. Make plans for holding that aside
if you truly would like to experience some incredible fun!
A VISIT TO THE SET . . .
Four members of the Biehn Team made a trek to California
on August 3 after the Biehn
Fest in Las Vegas. Our quest was to travel to Newhall in hopes of possibly
peaking at the Melody
Ranch site where The Magnificent Seven is currently being filmed. One
of the Biehn Team members took a chance of writing a short note to John
Watson, Trilogy
Entertainment Group, Executive Producer of The Magnificent Seven. The
result was that upon arrival in California a fax with directions to the
set was waiting for the four at their hotel!
They were to be at the set the next day, Tuesday, at noon. The prospect
of it being the hottest day of the year did not daunt them. So armed with
their trusty map and a rental car, the four set off for Newhall,
California, around 11 a.m. Dodging California traffic and negotiating
all the freeways, they finally arrived 10 minutes early. They drove up
to the guard shack at the front
gate and that kindly old gentleman directed them to the production
offices just around the corner. While waiting for their set guide in the
production offices, the first hint of possible episode names was overhead
- Sins of the Past and New Law. Whispers all around among
the four - the first piece of intel for next season to be gathered!
A grand tour of the whole set was next - over to "Main Street"
where The Magnificent Seven was filming a street scene. As luck would have
it, all the major actors were there at the time. If they were not in that
scene, then they were along the boardwalk watching - Chris Larabee, Buck
Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Vin Tanner, Nathan Jackson, J. D. Dunne, and
Ezra Standish strode purposefully down the street pushing and cursing at
various desperados. Mary and her son Billy were seen standing off to the
side of the scene under the overhang. The director (who we think may have
been William Wages - up for an emmy for Buffalo Soldiers) was sitting about
6 feet away in the shaded doorway of one of the storefronts. And was it
hot!! At least 110 degrees in the shade. Water carts were everywhere. The
actors and extras were all in heavy period clothing, but you didn't see
a drop of sweat on them during filming. (We heard later this is attributed
to the heavy pancake makeup they wear). Michael Biehn provided us with
a bit of gun twirling between scenes and Ron Perlman seemed to signal the
end of each scene with a few strains of a song.
After that scene was done, most of the actors retired to their trailers
to rest and eat lunch. An exploration of the rest of the "town"
ensued - poor Wickes' tower was behind some of the buildings - a mockery
of its former self - now only about 15 feet high. :-) During the course
of the tour several questions were asked of our guide as to returning guest
stars. Your group of intrepid set visitors discovered the following: Robert
Vaughn (of course) makes a return engagement as Judge Travis. Maude will
be back to harrass Ezra (Yea Michelle Phillips!). JD's young paramour,
Casey, will also be back, as will Lucas James from One Day Out West, and
Guy Royal from The Collector).
A discussion with the guide as to all the characters' various sleeping
accommodations resulted in the following: Chris rents a room, Ezra sleeps
in the saloon, Buck and JD are in a ?boarding house, Josiah sleeps in the
church, Nathan of course in his second floor clinic area, and finally Vin
in a wagon! :-)
| Lunch was offered, but who could eat! :-) Lunch was catered outside for the extras and crew under a huge white tent which was shaped something like the Sydney, Australia, Opera House (supposedly to let the hot air escape easier). |  |
Rick Worthy was eating there with the rest of the crew and introduced one of the extras for that episode, a young lady named Lisa. He welcomed two of the Biehn Team with a big hug! Andy Kavovit was also thoroughly charming and talked for 20 minutes to the team about the show. He was definitely interested in getting his own web page developed and buying his own computer. Of course all kinds of suggestions were made! He said all the people on the show wanted to hear the fans comments. Laurie Holden is even prettier in person!
Unfortunately it was time to leave and the four
Biehn Team members reluctantly took their leave. It was an unforgettable
experience. Now all we have to do is wait for midseason!
Submitted by: Cindy, Gloria, Pattie & Lynn
