Hub Productions held a huge “Vampire Diaries” convention on Sunday, July 4th in Melbourne, Australia. The event hosted raffles, auctions, and plenty of vendors selling highly coveted show-inspired merch.

For the thousand of fans in attendance, however, the day’s big score came in the form of a meet-&-greet with the series stars Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, and that other guy who isn’t Ian Somerhalder, all of whom skipped out on celebrating the good ole’ U.S. of fucking A to be with their diehard fans from down under.

Along with signing autographs and posing for pictures, the actors shared anecdotes about the show, playfully ribbed each other, and even hinted at upcoming plot developments.

(Update: To see a new “Vampire Diaries” promo trailer showcasing Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore, click here)

“The Vampire Diaries” is writer-producer Kevin Williamson’s (Scream, “Dawson’s Creek”) adaptation of L.J. Smith’s popular novel series of the same name for the CW television network. The show follows high-schooler Elena Gilbert (Dobrev) as she’s courted by two vampire brothers (Somerhalder & that other guy).

The show won a People’s Choice award for Favorite New TV Drama earlier this year.

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If you’re a horror/sci-fi fan in your thirties, you’ll recognize actress Virginia Madsen from a number of genre classics including the 1984 big screen adaptation of Dune, Clive Barker’s 1992 frightener Candyman, Dimension’s 1995 rogue-angel thriller The Prophecy, and last year’s supernatural hit A Haunting in Connecticut.

Madsen is now set to star in director Catherine Hardwicke’s (Twilight) upcoming werewolf-thriller Red Riding Hood, a romantic re-imaging of the Brothers Grimm’s classic fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood.” The 48-year-old milf will play mother to Amanda Seyfried’s character.

Red Riding Hood (formerly entitled The Girl with the Red Riding Hood) is written by Orphan scribe David Leslie Johnson and costars Lukas Haas, Shiloh Fernandez, Julie Christie and Gary Oldman.

The film is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way for Warner Bros and is slated for a March 11, 2011 release.

Madsen's bust out role was in 1983's 'Class'

Madsen’s other notable genre creds include Electric Dreams (1984), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), The Haunting (1999), and The Number 23 (2007). Your penis (if it’s in its 30’s) will also remember her from the 1983 teen-sex comedy Class, in which she made her major motion picture debut.

Madsen currently stars on ABC’s soon-to-be-canceled TV series “Scoundrels.”