Wednesday, July 17, 2013

My 2013 Comic-Con Plans

Can you believe that it's already time for the San Diego Comics Convention? It seems like this year is really flying by! As I did in 2012 and 2011, I'm going to share my planned Comic-Con schedule. Veterans know that these things don't always go as planned, both because of the constant surprises at the event and because the lines are unpredictable. Be sure to follow along on Twitter (@TheTalkingBox) for the play-by-play and to see how well I do at keeping to the plan! One big change from years past is that I'm including Wednesday in my schedule, as I actually have plans! Another difference is that I'll be sacrificing an unknown amount of panel time to participate in a gaming tournament, but more on that below. I've also only scheduled a couple hours for Exhibit Hall, so I'll need to squeeze in a few more at some point, plus figure out when I'll donate blood, so I imagine the recap of the plan may be quite different. Stay tuned, let me know where I'll see you, and have a great time!
Wednesday, July 17th
ASAP: heading to Town & Country Resort for badge pick-up.

6:30pm: Ender's Game Fan Experience. Tour eight elaborate sets from the movie, representing the most iconic environments of Ender's world. Throughout the experience, attendees will be able to see exclusive film footage on LED screens, interact with new digital content, integrate photos of themselves into the highly anticipated Battle Room, and register to win a home make over. Although this doesn't technically open until Thursday night, I won tickets to check it out early, courtesy of this contest.

After: If it's before 10pm when we leave the Ender's Game Fan Experience, I've RSVP'd to attend the Enchantment Under the SDCC: SDCCBlog 2013 Reader Party at Henry's Pub in the Gaslamp.

Thursday, July 18th (a mix of TV and Comics, with a little education)

10:00am – 11am : Intelligence   Ballroom 20 

Josh Holloway (Lost), Meghan Ory (Once Upon a Time), and Marg Helgenberger (CSI) and executive producers Michael Seitzman (North Country), RenĂ© Echevarria (Terra Nova, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Tripp Vinson discuss CBS dramatic thriller. Holloway plays Gabriel, a high-tech intelligence operative enhanced with a supercomputer microchip in his brain. With this implant, Gabriel is the first human ever to be connected directly into the worldwide information grid and have complete access to Internet, WiFi, telephone, and satellite data. He can hack into any data center and access key intel in the fight to protect the United States from its enemies. Leading the elite government cybersecurity agency created to support him is Director Lillian Strand (Helgenberger), a straightforward and efficient boss who oversees the unit's missions. Strand assigns Riley Neal (Ory), a Secret Service agent, to protect Gabriel from outside threats, as well as from his appetite for reckless, unpredictable behavior and disregard for protocol. As the first supercomputer with a beating heart, Gabriel is the most valuable piece of technology the country has ever created and is the U.S.'s secret weapon. exclusive viewing of the first episode, panel discussion moderated by Debra Birnbaum, president and editor-in-chief, TV Guide magazine. 

11:00am – 12pm  Star-Crossed    Ballroom 20
Stars Matt Lanter (90210, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights), and Grey Damon (Secret Circle, Nine Lives of Chloe King), along with executive producers Adele Lim (One Tree Hill), Meredith Averill (The Good Wife), Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Mission Impossible, Alias), and Scott Rosenberg (Gone In 60 Seconds, Con Air). get a first look at the futuristic epic romance tale, Star-Crossed. When an spacecraft crash-landed in Emery's (Teegarden) small town when she was only 6, whether the aliens came in peace or with more sinister intentions didn't matter: a fierce battle erupted as humans fought for control over their new rivals, an alien species called the Atrians. In the midst of the conflict, Roman (Lanter), a 6-year-old Atrian boy, found his way to a shed behind Emery's house, where she protected him from harm. In their brief time together, Emery and Roman forged a deep bond, but the authorities wasted no time tracking Roman down and capturing him. Emery has grown up believing that Roman was killed that day. Ten years later, in 2024, the Atrians have been acclimated to life on Earth, but they are interred in a heavily guarded camp known as the Sector to keep them separate from humans. Now, for the first time, a group of Atrian teens will enroll in a suburban human high school, with the goal of testing the feasibility of human/alien integration. The eyes of the nation and the whole world are fixed on this historical social experiment, an endeavor fraught with suspicion and fear. In the mayhem of the first day, Emery is amazed to learn that Roman was not killed by the authorities and is, in fact, one of the Atrian students. Their childhood bond is quickly rekindled. In a school and a society that distrusts everything about the Atrians, Emery and Roman have found each other again. However, their relationship is threatened by the small-mindedness of their respective communities and the political agendas of people in power. While the world around them rages with anger and prejudice, their bond becomes increasingly strong and increasingly dangerous. As an epic Romeo and Juliet romance unfolds, a violent encounter between their two families could threaten their relationship. Can Roman and Emery's love-and peace between the species-survive? exclusive first look at the series, followed by a panel discussion. 

1:00pm – 2pm  Comics Arts Conference Session #3: Crossover Series: Comics to College Writing   Rm 26AB
Writing instructors Rich Shivener (Northern KY U), John Silvestro (Miami U), and Alex Jenkin (Miami U) discuss how they incorporate Batman, Scott McCloud, Will Eisner, and select indie comics into freshman-level college courses with diverse audiences, even those who are not fans of comics, considering both comics and academic writing as different methods to express arguments, narratives, and ideas. how use academic writing to analyze, realize, understand comics; use comics to think about limitations of academic writing and what it can(not) show. 

2:00pm – 3:30pm  Comics Arts Conference Session #4: Teaching Comics   Room 26AB   Aaron Kashtan (Georgia Tech) discusses why and how instructors can use comics to make students more aware of the materiality of media, both when analyzing media artifacts and when producing media artifacts of their own. Jeremy Johnson (U Minn) describes empirical research on how teachers taught middle-school students about the Holocaust using comics creation to share a nonfiction, research-based story. Peter Carlson (Green Dot Public Schools, UCLA) and Antero Garcia (Colorado State U) share findings from their research on how comic books can serve as tools to foster dialogue and nurture relationships that empower students. 

3:30pm - 5:00pm: Hitting a little bit of Exhibit Hall. 

6:30pm – 7:30pm   The Science of Science Fiction    Room 24ABC
Balance the two for a TV show or movie? Panelists Amy Berg (co-exec prod, Eureka, supervising prod, Person of Interest, Leverage), Kevin Murphy (writer/exec prod, Caprica, Defiance), Kevin Grazier, Ph.D. (science advisor, Defiance, Falling Skies, Gravity), Nicole Perlman (writer, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Jaime Paglia (exec prod/creator/ writer, Eureka) dive into the issue of the struggle between accurate science and an entertaining story. mod Dr. Phil Plait (writer/host, Phil Plait's Bad Universe, Slate Magazine's Bad Astronomy Blog). sponsored by Slate Magazine and The Science and Entertainment Exchange (a program of the National Academy of Sciences). 

7:30pm – 8:30pm   Tournament of Nerds LIVE   Room 26AB
Hit comedy show from the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre. Who would win in a fight, Batman or Wolverine? Superman or Gandalf? two comedians against each other to battle it out in heated debate. Hosted by Justin Donaldson (Reno 911!) and Hal Rudnick (Screen Junkies) and featuring Jonah Ray (Nerdist), Marc Andreyko (Manhunter), Maddox (The Best Page in the Universe), Roger Barr (I-Mockery), Mike Carlson (Conan), and many more. 

8:00pm – 9pm    I Don't Know $#!+ About Comics with Jesse Snider   Room 5AB
Want to start reading but don't know where to begin? make the transition from "I kinda liked that Man of Steel movie" to "I know everything about Superman, including his SSN!" panelists Jesse Snider (Evil Ernie, Toy Story), Mark Waid (Daredevil, Kingdom Come), Rileah Vanderbilt (Team Unicorn), Tiffany Smith (GameGeek host), and mod Aaron Sparrow (Darkwing Duck) indoctrinate you into the unequaled storytelling and imagination of comics!
 


Friday, July 19th (Gaming, Comics, TV, Movies, and Scholarship... a little of everything):
9:30am - ? Taking Part in Geek & Sundry's Star Trek Catan Tournament in the Gaslamp. Allegedly I'll get to meet Wil Wheaton, and possibly play with him, if I do well enough in preliminary rounds. I might be out of there by 11 or 12, or I might be there until like 3pm. So, the rest of the day is subject to change, but here goes...

11:30am – 1pm   Comics Arts Conference Session #6: Masculinities/Femininities   Room 26AB 
Sheila Malone (UCLA) investigates how Batwoman and Batgirl displace the male hero in order to fight crime and live out narratives that befit a superhero/ine in a contemporary non- hetero world where queer, disabled, and renegade motorcycling are super/powerful. Jaclyn Hymes (CSU Northridge) expands Sedgwick's theories of homosociality by applying them to Maggie and Hopey's fluid sexualities in Jamie Hernandez's "Locas" stories. Using the lens of queer theory, Eric Schlegel explores how Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman's distinct experiences of identity can help LGBTQ individuals, and then in turn society as a whole, understand our own identities. 

3:15pm – 4:15pm   Marvel: Cup O' Joe    Room 6BCF
Q&A with Marvel's chief creative officer Joe Quesada, for everything Marvel. a rundown on breaking developments in Marvel comics, film, and TV? the biggest new series of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy! Featuring panelists editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, talent scout C. B. Cebulski, David Gabriel (SVP, print and digital publishing), writers Rick Remender (Uncanny Avengers) and Brian Michael Bendis (Guardians of the Galaxy), other Mighty Marvel guests! 

4:30pm – 5:30pm   Falling Skies   Room 6BCF 
last year ranked as basic cable's #1 summer drama among young adults. Stars Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Collin Cunningham, Sarah Carter, Conner Jessup, and Doug Jones for a Q&A session, along with executive producers Remi Aubuchon and Greg Beeman. exclusive, never-before-seen footage from the third season. Wil Wheaton moderator.

5:45pm – 6:45pm   Making Roger Rabbit: 25th Anniversary    Room 6BCF
making of. a world class panel of animators led by legendary producer Don Hahn and featuring a the voice of Roger Rabbit himself, Charles Fleisher. The panel includes animation masters Andreas Deja and James Baxter, animator/writer/historian Tom Sito, and special effx wizard Dave Bossert, along with incredible clips and stories from the making of this classic film. 

7:00pm – 8pm   All Shapes and Sizes Welcome: Body Image and Women's Issues in Entertainment   Rm 32AB
Outspoken actresses, models, writers, and entrepreneurs share their own journey with body image, discrimination, and the road to self-love. Panelists Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Adrianne Curry (America's Next Top Model), Helenna Santos-Levy (founder, Ms. In The Biz), Dani Lennon (Bite Me), Elisa Teague (editor-in-chief, Cupcake Quarterly), Gloria Shuri Nava (The Beauty Adjustment), and mod Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken) discuss the sexualization of women in film and TV, beauty myths and mainstream media's perpetuation of them, eating disorders, and an acceptance for women of all shapes and sizes in the entertainment Industry, while inspiring others to get out there and live their best life. 

8:00pm – 9pm   'geekEd.' Celebrating Geeks in Education   Room 9 
panel of education professionals, including Andrea Alfi (ABC Unified School District), Alex Belisario (UC-Santa Cruz), Alfred Day (St. Mary's College), Eugene Frier (U of North Texas), Brian MacDonald (Rutgers U), and Emily Sandoval (USC), to discuss how to appreciate and celebrate the geek in all of us. Learn how colleges and K-12 schools can reach out to geeks, invigorate the learning environment, and increase educational success. 

8:00pm – 11pm   Hall H and Ballroom 20 Friday Panel Playback    Room 25ABC 
join assistant to the director of programming for Comic-Con, Tommy Goldbach, in this 3-hour block that rebroadcasts some of the day's popular panels. a show of applause on what to see. [Hoping for Inside The Big Bang Theory Writers' Room, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC
, Dark Horse: Joss Whedon, and maybe the Almost Human panel and the TV Guide Fan Favorites.]


Saturday, July 20th (TV, Comics, Fandom, Comedy. also, I'm not married to this schedule, so I suspect this one will be the most subject to change):

10:00am – 11am A&E Bates Motel   Room 6A

Exec prods Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) release new footage from the highly acclaimed A&E drama series Bates Motel exclusively for Comic Con attendees. joined by the cast, including Vera Farmiga (Norma Bates), Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates), Max Thieriot (Dylan), Olivia Cooke (Emma), and Nestor Carbonell (Sheriff Alex Romero) to discuss the show's unique backstory and creation. Mod Tim Stack from EW

11:30am – 12:30pm  Inside the Writer's Room: Earth's Mightiest TV Writers Assemble  Rm 24ABC
Meet the writers, producers, and executives who make genre entertainment what it is today, get an insider look as they share their candid thoughts on how to make the series we love. Find out how to break in today's highly competitive broadcast environment; secrets of the writer's room; why network execs care about message boards. Javier Grillo-Marxuach (The Middleman, Lost, Helix), Ashley E. Miller (Fringe, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Amy Berg (Eureka, TNT Geena Davis pilot), Steve Melching (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Transformers: Prime), Gabrielle Stanton (Haven, The Vampire Chronicles, Arrow), Jose Molina (Firefly, Sleepy Hollow), Sarah Watson (Parenthood, The Middleman), Mark A. Altman (Femme Fatales, Castle), and guests. Mod Chris Parnell (senior VP, drama development, Sony Pictures Television).

1:00pm – 2pm     CBLDF's Comics on Trial, Part 3: War on Thought Crime: How Artists and Readers Are Prosecuted For Comics  Room 30CDE 
In 1994, a Florida jury convicted cartoonist Mike Diana of creating obscene material in his hand-made zine Boiled Angel. As part of his sentence he was forbidden from drawing in his own home. In the last decade, an increasing number of individuals, including Christopher Handley and Ryan Matheson, have been targeted and prosecuted by law enforcement for reading manga that the government claims is deviant and obscene material. In conclusion of CBLDF's Comics on Trial series, CBLDF exec director Charles Brownstein walks through the disturbing current battleground where individuals are being prosecuted for the ideas they draw and read. 


4:00pm – 5pm   Power of Geek: Superfandom & Why Brands, Media, World at Large Want In  Rm 28DE
Not long ago, only attention to geeks came from bullies. Today, age of the nerd-do-well, geeks are driving significant trends across all forms of entertainment, steering pop culture and being courted by corporate America. How did this happen, why is it important, what does it mean for the future? Join Bonfire Agency, the first marketing firm created to help brands establish & deepen connections with the superfan community in relevant, meaningful ways, as they explore, discuss, inevitably argue about our collective moment in the sun. publisher Ted Adams (IDW Publishing), writer/prod/comic creator Grace Randolph (host of Beyond the Trailer), entertainment marketer Francis Mao (senior director creative services, Capcom), author Rob Salkowitz (Comic Con and the Business of Pop Culture), and Bonfire founding partner Ed Catto. Mod Steve Rotterdam, former senior VP of sales & marketing at DC Comics & founding partner of Bonfire.

4:50pm – 5:50pm   Revolution Special Video Presentation and Q&A   Room 6BCF 
epic adventure from Supernatural's Eric Kripke and J. J. Abrams. season 1 finale at The Tower and the switch to turn the lights back on-but the mystery of the blackout is just the beginning. exclusive video, Q&A with series stars and prods. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions, Kripke Enterprises, and Warner Bros. Television, second season premieres Wednesday 8/7c time period on NBC.

5:55pm – 6:55pm    The Tomorrow People Pilot Screening and Q&A   Room 6BCF
stars Robbie Amell (1600 Penn), Peyton List (Mad Men), and Mark Pellegrino (Lost), along with exec prods Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Phil Klemmer (Chuck), and Danny Cannon (Nikita), Q&A to discuss this story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions, FremantleMedia, Warner Bros. Television, and CBS Television Studios, The Tomorrow People will air Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW this fall.

7:15pm – 9pm  
ComiKev 2013: Kevin Smith Uses His Mouth on You in Hall H
A middle-aged man who hasn't made a flick in years! flight-challenged writer/dir/podcaster/ author/actor Kevin Smith! Ask about the forthcoming Clerks III, or Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, or his AMC show Comic Book Men! the Clown Prince of Comic-Con!

Sunday, July 21st (Gaming, Education, TV, Disney):
10:00am – 11am   DuckTales: Remastered   Room 25ABC
How do you take a beloved 24-year-old NES game and update it for today's gamers while doing your best not to ruin anyone's childhood? Go behind the scenes with Austin Ivansmith (director/designer), Matt Bozon (creative director), and Rey Jimenez (Capcom producer) for an in-depth look at how a great video game is made -- from design, to art, to music, and more. Followed by a Q&A session, plus maybe a surprise or two. 

11-12: last trip around Exhibit Hall. 

Utilize the best ways to incorporate comic books in your schools and libraries. Work with experts in the field of comic book literature in small groups with Anina Bennett (Boilerplate, Heartbreakers): How to use historical fiction and teach comics in high school/university settings; Karen Green (Columbia University): What to look for when selecting comic books for your research/academic library; Dave Elliott (Weirding Willows, Titan Books): How to use Weirding Willows in elementary through university settings; Jesse McCann (New York Times bestselling author, Shrek, Scooby Doo): Choosing the right all-ages comic books for your classroom or library; Nancy McCann (Comics Unlimited): Working with your local comic book stores, how to find them, what to ask for; or Bill McGrath. using comic books in Juvenile Court Schools. Limited educator goodie bags and Looking Glass Wars trilogy book sets courtesy of Frank Beddor for those attending both panels. 70-page The Secret Origin of Good Readers resource book and other useful materials www.night-flight.com/secretorigin, courtesy of XMission.com. 

2:00pm – 3pm    25 Years of the Disney Afternoon: The Continuing Legacy    Room 7AB
Life is like a hurricane! Spin it! When there's trouble, you call D.W.! It's been more than 25 years since Disney Afternoon debuted on television screens, and the impact of "the golden age of Disney TV Animation" is still felt today. Let's get dangerous with Tad Stones (creator, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck), Jymn Magon (DuckTales, creator of Talespin), Bob Schooley (co-creator, Kim Possible, co-ex producer Penguins of Madagascar), Rob Paulsen (voice actor, Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs), and Aaron Sparrow (Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns) for raucous recollections and never-before-heard stories! 

3:00pm – 4pm   History of Disney Pins: The Tradition of Disney Pin Trading and Collecting   Room 29A
A panel of Disney pin experts featuring actor Holland Hayes and pin author Austin Badgett. Learn about the history, variety, and culture of the miniature works of art at the heart of the most interactive of Disneyana collectibles. Moderated by Jennifer Colyn (PinPics event director)
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