Comic Con -- an annual sleepover for fans?

Firefly

As a fan, I have been following Comic Con for a few years now. Seeing all the live tweets, photos, reports and videos is like being there. And for some strange reasons, I find this year particular interesting and liberating. Seeing all the tweets regarding Hall H alone is quite an incredible experience. The concept of queuing up to see and meet their TV and movie heroes has a new meaning -- Comic Con is officially an annual sleepover for fans. Fans don't just watch television or movies, we LIVE and BREATHE pop culture. And this is why I think the queues and the sleepover are so epic because Comic Con fans are not just passive audience, they know their shit and they absolutely love love love their shows. This kind of spirit is being recognised and appreciated more and more.

So, on the news front. Nothing too life-changing and there hasn't been much OMFG spoilers in my opinions. A Game of Thrones' panel revealed 14 new characters for season three; Once Upon A Time has a few spoilers that we kinda expect; and Marvel has announced the release dates (and names) for Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World. And the Supernatural panel is due within the next few hours, so we will see what OMFG spoilers they will tell us.

This year has a party/ celebration feel to it. The party feel perhaps came from RDJ when he danced his way to the stage and his Iron Man hand.. The celebration feel came from the Firefly 10th Anniversary Reunion, which I think is the highlight of this year's Comic Con. It has been an emotional one and what a way to celebrate the show and the genius behind -- Joss Whedon. There is no better place than Comic Con to do this celebration! Joss always has a presence at Comic Con, but I think this year really feels like a bit of a celebration of a chapter of his life as a writer/ director. I think Firefly itself represents the spirit of Comic Con, it's an annual affair for die-hard fans and Joss' god-like status really connect with fans on so many levels. What's best? He respects his fans and that's why we love him so much!

And the media is getting more and more engaged with Comic Con with all the off-stage interviews, photos and tweets and parties. They've done a great job! I think the actors are very very involved too. Like Mark Sheppard has been coming to Comic Con for what...15, 16 years? And Zachary Levi and the Nerd Machine have organised off-site panels. Once a year, San Diego is turned into a pop culture's very own Las Vegas!

Anyway, as I am waiting for the Supernatural panel, I've collected some EW photo shoots took place at the backstage at Comic Con.

Iron Man

A Game of Thrones

Emilia Clark

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Photo source: EW

So, who wants to organise a pajamas party next year at Comic Con?

[Update] Comic Con Reminder

[Sexy nerds, I have updated the below post, see orange. There are a few guest changes, main for the Game of Thrones panel. And also the Comic Con Goodie bags designs are out...check out the Supernatural one below. Not long to go!!!] 

Nerds, get ready for Comic Con 2012! Who is exciting? I am but too bad I am not going to be there. That means, I will be pretty much glued to Twitter to get the latest and the hottest from this year's event.

As a reminder, here are a list of panels that I'll be following in real-time:

At Comic Con

(In order of appearance)

Friday July 13 (12:30pm) -- Firefly 10-Year Anniversary

Guests: Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau. (Ballroom 20)

Friday July 13 (2:45pm) -- Game of Thrones

Guests: Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Fairley, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Richard Madden, *Rose Leslie, George R. R. Martin, and Carolyn Strauss (Hall H).

[*Update: Kit Harington and Lena Headey have unfortunately cancelled their appearance due to conflict of schedule. And Lord Snow has an injured ankle. Guess Ghost wasn't there to help. Rose Leslie (aka Ygritte) has been added to the panel. At least one Targaryen will be there.. and not one Lannister this year! You know they could bring Mamoa back..]

Friday July 13 (5:30pm) -- Joss Whedon 

Guest: The one and only, Mr Joss Whedon (Ballroom 20)

Saturday July 14 (11am) -- Once Upon a Time

Guests: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Josh Dallas, Lana Parilla, Emilie De Ravin, and Meghan Ory (Ballroom 20)

*NEW! Saturday July 14 (1:00pm) -- Misha Collins, Jim Beaver and Mark Sheppard (Channel Surfing, the IGN TV podcast)

Guests: Misha, Jim and Mark will join other guests for this special live recording podcast session, hosted by the very awesome Eric Goldman of IGN.

Saturday July 14 (2:30pm) -- Ben Edlund

Guest: The one and only, Mr Ben Edlund (Room 8)

Saturday July 14 (6pm) -- Revolution

Guests: Eric Kripke and stars Billy Burke, Giancarlo Esposito, Tracy Spiridakos, and J.D. Pardo for a screening and Q&A. (Room 6BCF)

Sunday July 15 (11:15am) -- Supernatural returns to Hall A!!

Guests: Join Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver and Mark A. Sheppard, as well as new executive producer Jeremy Carver and consulting producer Ben Edlund for Q&A. Fans will also see an exclusive video presentation featuring series highlights, as well as a portion of the special features from the upcoming Supernatural: The Complete Seventh Season DVD and Blu-ray release. (Hall H)

(Meaning? We may not get to see any clips from the episode that is currently directed by Jensen. I think because of the season seven finale cliffhanger, it will be a little premature to show fans anything. I kinda like that.)

[Update: WB has revealed their shows' goodie bags.. I tell ya, I would love to have the Supernatural.. think they may sell it at Supernatural Conventions sometimes.. hummm. Damn you Supernatural for causing damages to my wallet!! See all WB designs here]



For a full schedule visit the official website of Comic Con.

 Off-Sites Panels -- Nerd HQ

The nerds are back! The Nerd Machine will host a number of off-site panels -- Conversations for a Cause. Here are a few panels I will be keeping an eye on...

Thursday July 12 
12pm -- Chuck

Friday July 13
4:30pm -- Nathan Fillion

Saturday July 14 
3pm -- Joss Whedon
4:30pm -- Damon Lindelof

Sunday July 15
3pm – Jared Padalecki   
4:30pm -- Zachary Levi

Last year's panels were recorded, so look out for any signs of videos if you can't get tickets to attend.

For a complete schedule, you can visit Comic Con Geeks and Zap2It for more details.

Comic Con news -- Firefly reunion; Revolution

This is the moment Firefly fans has been waiting for you. It's been ten years since Joss Whedon's Firefly embarked on a journey that ended far too quickly, it was almost illegal for FOX to cancel it. Since then, the show became a hot topic attracting endless questions from fans whenever they get the chance to ask Joss questions at talks and conventions. For those who have seen the special feature on the DVD...how many times have you cried over it?

It's time to hug. Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau among others will celebrate with fans its 10th anniversary on Friday July 13 in Ballroom 20 (12:30-1:30pm). Source: ACESHOWBIZ

In other news, here is the mock up of the Revolution banner on the Hilton Hotel building. Oh EPIC! The show is hosting two preview screenings and a panel session at Comic Con this year on Saturday July 14. According to report, the banner will be on the side of the Hilton Bayfront. If you're there, please tweet a photo. Source: EW

A mock up..

Weekend edition -- how many Joss Whedon's actors & actresses have you met; and Falling Skies

I am particular with the words I chose to describe something sometimes. But let's go to 'meet' this time. This doesn't apply to any touching or having a conversation with.

I went to a pop culture convention yesterday in Sydney called Supernova, this is the closest thing we have to the ComicCon in Australia. It's very famous for featuring many Joss Whedon's actors and actresses as guests in years. And when it's impossible to invite someone like Transformers' Shia LaBeouf, you get to meet the actress who played his mother in the movie! Surely you remember Judy Witwicky! No sarcasm here.

I am not a big enough fan to go to Supernova every year. Like this year, I don't know half the guests there, but I guess it's an experience which is certainly different from the Supernatural cons like those organised by Creation Entertainment. Supernatural cons are more family-orientated, fans are like a family in a way. With cons like Supernova, it features shows from Dr Who to Firefly; manga and animations; and I was sooooo under-dressed! Seriously!

My first Supernova experience dated back to 2009 when Jared Padelecki was invited. He came here by himself. I just wanted to see Jared and I had no idea about the Cosplay and all that crazy stuff. That was like an ultimate pop cultural shock to me! I know fans are passionate and they spent hours and thousands of dollars on their costumes but I was so traumatised (not in a bad way). I am so glad Supernatural has its own AHBL convention in Australia.

Anyway, Jewel Staite was also a guest that year, she was so soft-spoken! I had no idea what she was talking about, Firefly was an unknown to me back then. And then we have Eliza Dushku and Summer Glau last year. Amy Acker, James Marsters and Sean Maher were amongst the guests this year. I was on Twitter last night and I had this random thought about how many Joss Whedon's actors and actresses I have seen live over the last few years? So here is the list and the hot links of the blogs I posted previously:

Joss Whedon -- at the Opera House last year
Jewel Staite -- at Supernova
Eliza Dushku -- at Supernova pic & pic
Summer Glau -- at Supernova pic
Sean Maher -- at Supernova pic
Amy Acker -- at Supernova
Mark Sheppard -- at LA Con pic

That's actually a lot considering I didn't even try!

James Marsters wasn't on the list because I didn't actually see him in person. I don't know about you, but I would love to see Adam Baldwin next year in Australia. How about bring Yvonne Strahovski back to Sydney?

The exhibition was massive as usual. There were so many people! I saw this lady picked up a Harry Potter wand and waved it. Truth me, she was expecting magic to happen. I had a picture taken with an Iron Man yesterday, I swear he is RDJ's double especially his left side! And I took picture of Green Hornet's Black Beauty. It's no Impala, but it's good looking piece of plastic.

Not the Impala.

For SGA fan, David Nykl (aka Dr Zelenka) was there. He was so animated! He made some interesting points about web series being a great way to break into Hollywood, which I agree. Instead of the old way of getting your scripts to the networks or studios, if you can make the pilot and release it on web, you should do it! Like.. I am totally doing this. 

The most excited thing and the reason I went to this year's Supernova is because of the Falling Skies screening. I liked what I saw and this show has potentials. The Fox8 lady gave me chocolate. That's what I am talking about! When face-to-face PR is better than viral marketing! But seriously, not that I expect anything less specular from Steven Spielberg, but after the preview screening, I was ready for more. Noah Wyle, certainly looked interesting as the John Connor-like hero. To me, Falling Skies is a cross between Terminator, Battle: LA, Cloverfield, District 9 and Resident Evil. But why must aliens be so bad all the time in pop culture? Can we just all get along? With Lost, 24, Smallville gone and the end of Supernatural is inevitable, I am certainly fishing for more new shows to watch, Once Upon a Time and Falling Skies are the one to watch. 

On a completely different topic -- one superhero at a time. I am not excited (and don't care) about the one with the Green ring, but I am super-excited about Captain America and Harry Potter. I am sure Captain America will delivery and with Harry Potter, I am going to watch it in Gold Class. Why the hell not? And I am not the only to say this, but BRING IT Pottermore!!! 

So, how was your weekend? 

Thor; The Avengers; Firefly Rewatch

Comic books are not my forte but I do enjoy a good superhero story or two sometimes. And Thor is a winner! I tell ya, I thought it was going to be so-so. But it surprised me. I love it. I love the look, the story, the cast and all the references. And I love the cameo appearance from Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye. I thought Kenneth Branagh was definitely the best choice of director for this movie. Chris Hemsworth surprised me, I thought he was really good, I've never seen his stuff, except Star Trek. My original reason for watching this movie was Natalie Portman, she was so cute! She has such a great range and she was fantastic as Jane Foster. Great soundtrack, great SFX, great humor, great fight scenes. It was awesome!

Joss Whedon has revealed to fans on Whedonesque that the shooting of The Avengers has commenced. I think The Avengers is going to be one of the biggest and most ambitious films ever made. I think Joss is the best choice as the writer and director for the movie, because he has a huge following, he respects his work and he respects the fans. I was reading one of his interviews and he was giving writing tips, they were truly inspirational. I have no doubt The Avengers will be one of his best. With the cast this big and fans are already going nuts since the casting of Thor and Captain America (still wish Jensen is the Cap), I think this movie is going to be more epic than LOTF and it should be at least 3 hours long!

EW has an awesome report about the above photo from the set and also some minor (cough cough) information about the cast and storyline. Full story here.

May 4, 2012 is the release date for The Avengers. The madness! THE MADNESS is going to blow DC off this planet!

Last but not least, I started my Firefly rewatch. The second time is more enjoyable, I don't know why, but I guess I am paying more attention to stuff I didn't pay attention to the first time.. I also watched the first episode with the commentary from Joss and Nathan. Awesome stuff! Firefly is way better than the Royal Wedding stuff on TV this week.