COMIC CON 2013 Day One

Hello Comic Con’ers! Today was an unusually busy day. It seems everybody was off to Ballroom 20 today, which brought much needed stress relief to the day. Hall H was unusually low in attendance (I’ll share more on that later) but here is the rundown for today!

The 15th Annual animation Show gave the audience a few chuckles with their short animation pieces including Disney’s THE PAPER BOY, which was very cute. I’d never seen a fish sing opera before so I was duly impressed with the Caruso piece.

Next was the film THE EUROPA REPORT which is the story of astronauts who go to Europa looking for life beneath the moon’s crust. Now last time I checked, and for those who have seen 2010, the message read, “All the other worlds are yours except this one, do not attempt a landing on Europa” – does no one realize nothing good can come of doing what the message says not to? Of course it’s a docu-film and has got some suspense to it.

Then there was Entertainment Weekly’s THE VISIONARIES that included directors Marc Webb, Alfonso Cuaron and, of course, Edgar Wright. These directors discussed their work and what they hope to be doing in the future. It was interesting enough that they didn’t seem to like 3D as a regular mode of filmmaking, which thrilled me to the bone!

The audience got revved up when moderator and zombie fanatic Chris Hardwick took the stage with the panel for DIVERGENT, a beloved book that has finally made its way to the screen. Hardwick also moderated the panel for ENDER’S GAME as Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Harrison Ford took the stage. At one point Ford had a little fun with the audience as crazy questions were thrown at him regarding Han Solo!

The next panel was for the film THE ZERO THEOREM, which is a Terry Gilliam film. The director wasn’t there himself but sent his daughter Amy as well as the Dean Zanuck and Zev Forman. The audience was treated to ten minutes of the film, which stars Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz.

Hall H has always been the place to find trailers for up and coming films and today was no exception. Known as TRAILER PARK fans get a sneak peek at films such as ANCHORMAN 2, HUNGER GAMES: Catching Fire, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, THE LEGO MOVIE, GRAVITY, THE HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smaug and, my personal favorite HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 and I won’t complain about the 3D either, its amazing!

Finally, and with great sadness, the cast and producers came to Hall H to say goodbye to the show that has a legion of fans everywhere. Michael C. Hall stars in DEXTER and that name seems to be well known among television watchers. It was a chance for the entire cast, including the deceased ones, to come and say thank you to the fans that made DEXTER possible.

It was an amazing and long day and tomorrow will be no different. There are more films and shows that have become favorites of almost everyone! Stay with us and check in for more from Comic Con 2013!

Day Two

Comic Con is into Day Two with a Bang!

Day two has ended and I couldn’t be more thrilled! In Hall H today there were some heavy hitters and fans were just crazed with excitement. Starting off the morning was the every funny and charming Simon Pegg and Nick Frost along with director Edgar Wright to promote the upcoming film THE WORLD’S END. All I can say is these three got everyone off to a giggling morning with their antics.

For Kickstarter fans the Hall was abuzz because of the highly anticipated panel and the return of Kristen Bell as VERONICA MARS. That’s right, the entire cast of the original series has been brought together by funds raised on Kickstarter and the film is wrapping up. Kristen Bell reprises her role as the private investigator Veronica Mars along with cast mates to see what has happened all these years later. It was a fun panel indeed.

Of course when Vin Diesel shows up in a room everyone stop breathing! Bringing his new film RIDDICK to audiences along with cast mate Katee Sackoff, the audience got a chance to see an extended look what our favorite outlander has been up to. He’s still quiet, his eyes still glow and he’s still a bad ass to the max.

Not to be outdone, KICK ASS 2 came to Hall H bringing the director and cast along with Aaron Taylor-Johnson who you might not even recognize and Hit Girl herself via satellite. Along with Christopher Mintz-Plasse and new cast member John Leguizamo. KICK ASS 2 is bringing double the mayhem and double the story so prepare for a super hero smash up!

The hall became increasingly tense as time dragged until the lights lowered and Chris Hardwick entered the room and that could mean only one thing, THE WALKING DEAD panel is about to begin. The roar of the crowd was deafening as each producers and writer Robert Kirkman was brought onto the panel but it became mayhem when Andrew Lincoln who plays Rick Grimes entered on the stage. Along with cast mates Danai Gurira as Michonne, Steve Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Chad Coleman, David Morrisey and the bow and arrow wielder himself Norman Reedus. It was a fantastic panel and yes, I saw a first hand look of what’s to come for Season Four and no, I’m not telling – you’re welcome!

What can be better than the previous panel? How about we double the intensity and add HBO’s highly successful series GAME OF THRONES. Oh yes, you read me right! Another panel of major cast members that set Hall H practically on fire. From the shows writers, to the author himself George R.R. Martin it was the cast that drew cheers. Tyrion Lannister himself, Peter Dinklage, brought deafening levels of applause followed by Michelle Fairley, John Bradley, Kit Harrington, Rose Leslie, Richard Madden, and the mother of dragons, the Caliese herself, Emilia Clark.

Sony brought their offerings to Hall H with a panel of the cast CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 starring the voices of Bill Hader, Terry Crews and Anna Faris along with writer/creators Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn. This is definitely a family film that is filled with colorful creatures and loads of humor for everyone in the family.

Following this panel was THE MORTAL INSTRUMENT: CITY OF BONES with director Harald Zwart and cast Lily Collins, Jamie Campell Bower who some might remember from the TWILIGHT films, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers and Godfrey Gao. All the Shadow Hunters were thrilled with the first look at the film about a girl who enters a world with creatures she must deal with to save her missing mother played by Lena Headley.

Sony also brought to the panel at Hall H the group responsible for ROBOCOP. Director Jose Padiha introduced the new Robocop Joel Kinnaman who many might know as Det. Holder in the AMC series THE KILLING. Also in the film are Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton (yes, Batman!) and Samuel L. Jackson to round out the new cast.

Finally, no Comic Con would be complete without a visit from THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx as Electro. It was a love fest between Garfield and Foxx when they broke out into song together for the fans.

That’s it for day two! Tomorrow promises to be even bigger as Warner Brothers brings out the big guns with five panels, Lionsgate has audiences catching fire, 20th Century Fox has a few things up its sleeve and rounding out the day with Marvel’s offerings.

After a good nights sleep I’ll be back in line to make sure you get every bit of information on what’s happening at this year’s 2013 Comic Con from the Convention Center in downtown San Diego. This weekend looks to be a good one!

Day Three

Yes Comic Con’ers I am very tired and for good reason. Today in Hall H so many spectacular things happened I don’t even know where to begin. I think I’ll just go down the line and share a little bit of everything.

The morning began in Hall H with a panel from Warner Bros. with the fantasy action film SEVENTH SON starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes and Kit Harington. For you GAME OF THRONES fans this is a chance to see the true King of the North for another action adventure and tons of swordplay! Next on the list was an intense look at the 2014 film GODZILLA. Yes, the little critter is back and he’s got friends.

If that wasn’t exciting enough 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE gave audiences a look at the history of Xeres and the Spartans on a mission to fight even harder. Everything you remember from the graphic of the original 300 is there for fans. Zack Snyder also made an appearance with an announcement to shock fans everywhere. Then the hall erupts with the announcement of the WORLD OF WARCRAFT FILM.

Sandra Bullock delighted fans when she appeared to talk about her movie with George Clooney in the space adventure GRAVITY. If its fun your looking for then THE LEGO MOVIE will have adults laughing and kids amazed at what these legos can do.

Of course surprise abounded when Tom Cruise showed up unexpectedly to share the stage with co-star Emily Blunt to promote their movie THE EDGE OF TOMORROW.

Lionsgate brought their offerings of a sneak peek trailer of YOU’RE NEXT and to keep the spooky theme going Aaron Eckert took the stage for his film I, FRANKENSTEIN. This is a new look at an old favorite. Of course the audience couldn’t be silenced when THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE took the stage with the entire cast of characters. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and more had the chance to answer fan questions.

Entertainment Weekly brought out a panel entitled WOMEN WHO KICK ASS with Maggie Q, Danai Gurira, Katee Sackhoff and Michelle Rodriguez. The women had a chance to speak their minds about roles women have in Hollywood.

Then 20th Century Fox took the stage with amazing electricity in the room as Hugh Jackman stops by to promote THE WOLVERINE. While keep audiences captivated he joined the entire panel for X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The original cast and the younger cast will square off in this film. Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence are on the panel along with returning cast members Ellen Page and Anna Paquin.

Of course no Saturday night in Hall H would be complete with Marvel showing fans what is to come. With Loki from the film THOR making his own entrance he announces to fans that he now ‘has an army’! CAPTAIN AMERICA takes the stage with a panel including Chris Pine and Samuel L. Jackson.

Finally, the introduction of a new film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY with Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, Zoe Saldana, Dave Batista, and Michael Rooker introduces us to an unlikely cast of people who save the universe!

There you have it, day three and I’m still going strong. Okay maybe not strong but I’m hanging in there as the final day brings television to the forefront with some amazing shows. I’ll be back tomorrow with that update!

Day Four

Final Day at Comic Con 2013 is all about Television!

Yep, the final day has come! Some see this with sadness and others see this as the homestretch to a long but fun time that needs to come to an end. Catching our breaths is necessary to boost ourselves up for a return in 361 days until Preview Night 2014.

The morning began again in Hall H with the SUPERNATURAL the mega hit series going into its ninth year starring Jared Padeleki and Jensen Ackles. Starring as brother who battle demons the cast includes Misha Collins and Mark A. Sheppard. Fans were thrilled with the upcoming look-see and the famous gag reel that has become a Hall H favorite.

Bryan Cranston and the BREAKING BAD cast came to say goodbye to Hall H as this series begins its final season. The audiences was treated to a collage of the last five years and a sneak peek as what’s to come. Along with Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn, fans were thrilled to ask questions about what they can expect and know if all will be revealed.

DR. WHO packed the Hall with the 50th Anniversary of this famous BBC Series. With a visual run down of the history of this famous Doctor delighted fans but at the same time saddened them as Matt Smith is departing at the end of this coming season. The panel was very mum on who the possible replacement is but I’m hoping David Tennant return. Hey, a girl can dream can’t she?

A little show that almost wasn’t anymore is returning for another season with COMMUNITY starring Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, Danny Pudi and Yvette Nicole Brown. Creator/writer Dan Harmon came clean with the audience on his feelings about writing and getting the cast back into the mode that fans love.

FX fans love when ITS ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA comes into Hall H because it brings this very funny cast together. With Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito fans were treated to an entire episode to get the ball rolling. Once the audience began asking questions the laughs continued as this particular panel really has a hard time taking itself seriously.

Becoming a tradition at Comic Con, the last panel of the day is the FX amazing series SONS OF ANARCHY. Bringing the entire cast headed by creator Kurt Sutter includes Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Maggie Siff, Theo Rossi and Dayton Callie. The audience was treated to a breakdown in small hints of what to expect from SAMCRO this season. Will Jax remain at the head of the table? Is Clay planning revenge? Will Gemma stay with Nero? Will Tara come out a different person? Finally, who left in the club will remain loyal?

Yes, I have a lot of questions because I, along with Jenise (aka Film Brat) are huge fans of the series so this panel did not feel at all like work. We enjoy listening to what Kurt has to say about what inspires his stories and how the cast see their own characters. The audience can’t get enough and the line to ask questions is long.

Once the panels come to a conclusion Hall H begins to empty with the realization of actually how big the room actually is. Besides security guards making sure everyone finds their way to the door, nothing is left behind but memories of the last four days in the form of pillows, blankets, sweaters and shoes left behind by weary Comic Con’ers.

Nothing, and I mean nothing will stop the legion of Comic Con fans from returning for all the excitement that is the Convention Center Downtown again in 2014. Until then safe trip home everyone!

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