Inviting us at 12 noon for lunch at a 5-star hotel was unusual. The practice is to invite you at 12 or 12.30 pm, and serve you lunch at any time between 3 and 5 pm. Oh, the price you pay for being a journalist! Proceedings begin at around 2 pm, and last for about 1- ½ –2 hours. Lunch dare not be served before the proceedings begin, or while they are on, because savvy organisers believe that starved journalists would wait, while ‘lunched’ ones might give them the slip. So, it is best that they are made to wait, to earn their lunch. There is no such thing as….
Amazon Prime Video broke the tradition on 19th March. They actually served the buffet lunch at 12 noon, and it was on till about 1.20 pm, when the Press Conference was to begin. As it transpired, there was no Press Conference at all. Yes, proceedings did begin in the ball-room, at 1.20 pm. On your seats was a goodies bag, containing mainly nuts and a lemon beverage. As you sat through, you understood the reasons for the early lunch. They were going to keep you at the Grand Hyatt, Santa Cruz East, till 8 pm. The reason? A countless number of forthcoming series and movies, on their OTT platform, were being introduced, along with the makers and the casts. Amazon Prime Video’s top brass came down from the US of A, including Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President at Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, and makers and stars came from across India, especially the South.
Pardon my whining, but specialised compères are a diminishing lot. First, singers took over their jobs in the 70s and 80s, compèring their shows themselves. Then TV personalities turned compères in the 90s. This was followed by film-stars grabbing microphones. And these days, it is the likes of multi-millionaire producer-director Karan Johar, who usurp the MCdom. Imagine, compère Karan kept going till 5.15 pm at least (that is when I left; later accounts informed me that the show went on till 8 pm), introducing series after series, including a few of his own, Dharmatic Productions ventures, that are going to be streamed on Amazon Prime Video (APV). And in the audience was RJ Rohini, who has done a very good job of anchoring APV events in the past. I am not even mentioning that I am a compère of long standing myself.
One wonders why did APV let loose a barrage of shows, with first looks and teams, in photo-op after photo op? Were they trying go ‘one-up’ on the competition? Are they going to dispense with individual show gigs henceforth? Did they believe that journalists would enjoy watching this spectacle unfold for seven hours, and being told time and again and again, to applaud the group and the next and the next, on stage? Did they also believe that the scribes would write about each individual show, in some detail, given there were so many of them (the shows, not the journalists)? Only the APV head honchos can answer these questions. I gave it a decent five hours, and, at the cost of attracting the ire of the PR agency, just had to leave at 5.15 pm, exactly five hours after I had arrived, because I could not sit through the regimen any more, without any fallout.
Fallout? Yes, that is what one of their prime shows is called, and it is helmed by Jonathan Nolan, and no prizes for guessing that he is Christopher ‘Oppenheimer’ Nolan’s brother. Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. The series begins in the present day, when a nuclear bomb sets off the apocalypse. Two-hundred and nineteen years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters, called Vaults, which are sealed off from the world outside, are forced to return to the irradiated hell-scape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.
Ella Purnell is Lucy, an optimistic Vault-dweller, with an all-American can-do spirit. Asked whether she had done her stunts herself, she confessed, “I have a wonderful body double who has done a fantastic job.” Her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when she is married to a man who turns out to be an infiltrator, and forced to get out to the surface, to rescue her father, who is taken captive by them. Aaron Moten is Maximus, a young, black soldier who rises to the rank of squire in the militaristic faction called Brotherhood of Steel. He will do anything to further the Brotherhood’s goals of bringing law and order to the wasteland. Walton Goggins is the Ghoul, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter, who holds within him a 200-year history of the post-nuclear world. (You must appreciate his incredible prosthetic). Also in the cast is Sarita Choudhury, who made her debut in Mississippi Masala. Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is a British actress, and the daughter of an Indian Bengali father and a British mother.
British-American Jonathan Nolan is an Executive Producer on the film, which is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films. Jonathan’s short story, Memento Mori (Latin for ‘remember you will die’) was used by Christopher, as the basis for the screenplay for the critically acclaimed film, Memento. He has also co-written the screenplays for The Prestige and The Dark Knight, with his brother. Jonathan recently created the CBS drama Person of Interest. He has also been credited under his nickname of Jonah.
Fallout will start streaming on April 11. We, ‘privileged’ journalists, were shown Episode 1 on the next day, March 20, at PVR Juhu, where the show began terribly late, delayed much longer than the length of the episode itself. Also, there was a very lengthy interaction between Jonathan, Ella and Sushant Sreeram, Country Director, APR India, who has assumed charge in this position in February 2023. Reviews are under embargo till April 11, but it can be said the show might interest followers of the game much more than ‘game-ignoramuses’. And I had some problems getting the continuity, missing out on some vital, short pieces of dialogue, but I think that might be strictly a personal thing.
Fallout was just the beginning. And when there is fallout, there is so much pick-up and checkout. APV is attacking the Over The Top (OTT) space with a vengeance, and India is their key player in this expansion, with alOTT to offer. Many of the abundant plOTTs are Indian, and there are alOTT of topnotch names associated with them: writers, directors, producers and actors. More about them coming up soon, in this column.
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My apologies to my readers. Due to website and network glitches, I was off the radar for a whole week. Things seem to have been sorted out now.
Portland, OR, November 27, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– The FAN EXPO Portland celebrity guest list has always featured great variety, and five new additions to the 2026 lineup for the pop culture extravaganza are further proof of that. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), Gates McFadden (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard), Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, Star Wars: The Acolyte) and “Peggy the Dog” (Deadpool & Wolverine) will now attend the event set for January 16-18 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Elwes gained wide acclaim for his portrayal of “Wesley” in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and reached new audiences by headlining the Mel Brooks spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights and later Saw. He also recently appeared in the Tom Cruise features Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and portrays “Mayor Larry Kline” in Stranger Things 3.
McFadden had the key role of “Beverly Crusher” in TNG, reprising the role in Picard, Prodigy and other iterations of the franchise. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and was the host of more than 300 episodes of the podcast “Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”
Koenig is best known for his recurring television portrayals both of the hated, intensely driven “Alfred Bester” (Babylon 5) and the likable, perpetually cheerful “Pavel Chekov” (Star Trek). Koenig’s film work includes the first seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations. His many other films have been independent projects with challenging roles.
Jacinto played “Jason Mendoza” on the full four-season run of The Good Place (2016-20) and later appeared as “Lt. Fritz Avalone” in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Also among his more than 50 TV and film credits are runs on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and the animated series Hailey’s on It!
Peggy, earning the title of “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in a national competition there, has gone on to stardom as “Dogpool” in the Marvel Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine. A portion of proceeds from her appearance at FAN EXPO Portland will support a local charity in the Pacific Northwest.
The five bolster an already impressive FAN EXPO Portland celebrity roster that includes: • The Lord of the Rings headliners Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan • Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Men in Black³) • Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone) • Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) • Harry Potter duo of Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright • Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Armageddon) • Robbie Rist (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Brady Bunch) • Ernie Reyes Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) • Brian Tochi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Revenge of the Nerds) • Kenn Scott (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director/Adventures of Johnny Tao) • François Chau (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lost) • Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, American Dad) • Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!, The Goldbergs) • My Hero Academia standouts Eric Vale, David Matranga, J. Michael Tatum, Brandon McInnis and Clifford Chapin • Hazbin Hotel regulars Christian Borle, Joel Perez and Krystina Alabado
More FAN EXPO Portland guest announcements will follow from the worlds of film, television, streaming, art, literature, gaming, cosplay, anime, animation and more in the coming weeks.
Adult, Youth and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now at www.fanexpoportland.com. Advance pricing is available until January 1.
Portland is the second event on the 2026 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events.
About FAN EXPO HQ FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts over one million fans annually at FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Vancouver, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Toronto Comicon, CALGARY EXPO, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Boston, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada, FAN EXPO Dallas, VIDCON Anaheim, EDMONTON EXPO, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.
Nashville, TN, November 20, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– A fourth-generation U.S. Virgin Islander who has called Nashville home since 1993, de Lugo transitioned from an award-winning career in music publishing and feature film producing, with Platinum and Gold Albums, Arista Records A-Team Award, BMI #1 and more, to lavender farming in 2018. Focusing exclusively on Peace Tree Farm’s trademarked, heat- and humidity-tolerant hybrids—Lavender Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, and Exceptional!®—she has proven these cultivars are the definitive choice for Southern growers.
Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm, the original breeder of these global-standard varieties, praises de Lugo’s early foresight and influence:
“Over a period of the last decade, Gigi has been highlighting our introductions that have become the Gold Standard for lavender worldwide, and she was an early proponent because she saw the extra value of these introductions… Once she knew the plants were different and far superior, she committed to making the right choice for her customers. She can now proudly say that she has started over 30 new farms on their journey across an area ranging from Virginia through to Iowa!”
From its original rented fields in Whites Creek—Gigi’s Lavender, was celebrated by “Garden & Gun” magazine as one of the South’s top lavender destinations—the licensed nursery has supplied thousands of Peace Tree-bred plants throughout Tennessee and beyond. In 2019, de Lugo founded “The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” an exclusive membership alliance offering ongoing technical support, resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and agritourism promotion to farms that source their plants exclusively from Gigi’s Nursery.
Traven also highlights the impact of this network: “Gigi also knows the great importance and value of marketing with expression of clear benefits and a clear message. She created the Lavender Exchange with this in mind—to provide an outlet for cooperative marketing and sharing of equipment and machinery and product ideas.”
This strengthened ownership ensures continuity for de Lugo’s research, educational outreach, and product innovation at the Joelton location, including her newest Patent Pending offering, “ZWave Mg”—a topical magnesium spray infused with pure Phenomenal lavender hydrosol steam-distilled exclusively from flowers grown by TLx member farms. Designed for relaxation, muscle relief, and better sleep, ZWave Mg showcases the wellness potential of Southern-grown lavender.
“This milestone gives us the stability and security to continue investing in our Southern lavender research, development, product distribution, and growing community of the farms we support through The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” said Gigi de Lugo. “From the beginning I set out to prove lavender could become a viable cash crop for Tennessee and Southern farms—not only a pretty agritourism field, but a real harvestable commodity built on Phenomenal®. It took courageous pioneers willing to bet on the unproven and stay the course with me. These years, alongside the extraordinary farmers of our TLx family, have been one of the greatest adventures of my life.”
Experience the pure essence of Southern lavender: Gigi’s premium products, including the breakthrough ZWave Mg, are available exclusively through her website, and retail partners across Tennessee. Gigi is in discussion with a Nashville based manufacturer to expand her ZWave Mg production capacity for 2026.
About Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm is a Tennessee-licensed grower and an exclusive Southeast source for Peace Tree Farm’s Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, Exceptional!®, Inspirational!® lavender cultivars. It serves as headquarters for The Lavender Exchange (TLx), a premier network advancing lavender agriculture and agritourism across the South and Midwest.
