Did I mention that Saturday at Comic-Con was insane?
Okay, because it was and that cannot be emphasized enough. Saturday only became more insane when my cold began to hit full-force. I thought I could shake it off – that it was just allergies – but as I sat under the tents in the Hall H line, I started to feel more and more exhausted and my throat was killing me. Luckily, as I said in part one of the post, Natalie was an utter gem and brought me tea which really did perk me up and make me feel better for a few hours. Tea isn't magic though, as much as the Brits might want us to believe, so eventually I crashed.
But before that, I had an AMAZING time in Hall H. Natalie and I were super early to the EW Women Who Kick Ass panel (I wanted to get there in plenty of time to see that) and they let us into the Hall toward the very end of the Lionsgate presentation (which meant I entered right at the end of
Crimson Peak, so I got to listen to a minute of actual Disney Prince Tom Hiddleston speak).
(It also meant that I saw the trailer for
KRAMPUS, a movie I’m definitely not going to see – I don’t do horror, y’all – but whose panel boasted a bearded Adam Scott wearing a leather jacket. It pays to be early to things, you guys. It really does.)
Natalie and I had to split up because they didn’t have two seats for us together in the hall, which was fine. We watched trailers for
Warcraft – which earned a lot of cheers from the audience, but meant absolutely nothing to this chick who has never played
World of Warcraft in her life. It was a visually stunning trailer and the special effects alone are enough to make you marvel. The thing that’s really cool about Hall H that you’ll see in the photos I post later on is that it’s a completely immersive Hall. There are large screens throughout the hall so that you can get a clear glimpse of what is happening on stage if you’re all the way in the back. But there are also curved screens that stretch along the walls from the stage’s main screen to a little over halfway down the hall. Some studios utilized them (20th Century FOX did a bit, but Lionsgate really made use of them and Warner Brothers/DC used them REALLY well for Superhero Saturday) and the movie
Warcraft, I think, got the most use out of them, introducing footage of the characters on them as the panel came out on stage.
Scattered things from the Lionsgate presentations:
- I know nothing about the Warcraft movie except for the fact that Clancy Brown is in it and he’s glorious whenever he speaks.
- Notable quote: “Behind every great man… there’s a greater woman.” – Ruth Negga, dropping the mic.
#LADIES
After the Lionsgate panel wrapped, Natalie and I managed to find each other and find seats a little bit closer for the EW panel. And since I had great luck in Ballroom 20’s press pit, I thought I would venture up to the one in Hall H in order to wait for the panel to emerge. To my delight, there weren’t a lot of people in the pit (it was a huge pit, obviously) and I realized why – Hall H’s press pit has pretty crappy views unless you’re able to catch the talent RIGHT as they walk onto the stage or when they’re standing up at the table. In spite of the views (and the fact that I had to crane my neck to see the main screen), I enjoyed spending some time there. Here’s what was covered in the panel:
- Sidebar: I thought the panel would be a lot more... interesting than it was? That’s not to say that the talent wasn’t great – they were excellent. The questions asked though were kind of… stale. I feel like I’ve heard different women (and sometimes the same women) answer the questions they were asked before. Nevertheless, it was a good panel because #LADIES.
- Notable quote: “Even the strongest, most badass women fail, but as long as you keep going, that’s what matters.” – Gwendoline Christie
- Notable quote: “I still don’t understand shipping, but I suppose it’s a good thing.” – Hayley Atwell
- Kathy Bates revealed that she knows her character in American Horror Story: Hotel is the one running the hotel, but she wouldn’t (or couldn't) reveal anything else.
- Notable quote: “A lot of us are going to television because the writing is so good now [especially for women].” – Kathy Bates, essentially echoing what Halle Berry said on Thursday afternoon.
- Jenna Coleman constantly is asked about whether or not the Doctor would ever be played by a woman, and in this panel, she answered: “Of course it’s absolutely possible.”
- What are some struggles women have that men do not? “Running in heels?”
- I loved that the women talked about feminism and being strong women without tearing down each other or men. Cat Gadot brilliantly said: “It’s never been about women vs. men. It’s always been just about showing how amazing we are.”
- I got rather annoyed in Hall H though, I must say, with the questions that were asked in all of the panels. Ballroom 20 did a pretty good job of screening questions, but when people approached the mic in Hall H (especially in the EW panel and Joss Whedon’s), they began to babble about how much the panelists meant to them. Okay, that makes me sound harsh. (Natalie can attest to my multiple snarky comments and eyerolls…) But should you ever get the chance to ask a panelist a question, please remember that you’re not the only person in the room and there are 6,499 other people who don’t care about your personal story of how much a character meant to you. Ben Blacker did an AMAZING job when he gave guidelines for questions in Ballroom 20: “Remember: questions begin with a ‘w’ or ‘h,’ not with an ‘I.’ Think about your question and then condense it into one sentence.”
- When asked how the women respond to negative or degrading comments, Gwendoline Christie said: “All the time with violence,” jokingly.
- Hayley Atwell told a story about being on set and she imitated an American accent because someone told her: “Darling, you’re not in a club.” I discovered at this panel that even though I do not watch Agent Carter, I kind of want to because Hayley Atwell is the most precious sunflower to ever exist.
More photos from the panel:
After the EW panel, people began to filter out a bit and Natalie and I moved up slightly for the Joss Whedon panel, which wasn’t so much of a panel as just Joss Whedon at a microphone talking about his work. It was a one-man show of awesome and I gained a lot of respect for him that I didn’t have before. Most of the things we learned and he discussed are perfect motivational or inspirational quotes:
- Notable quote: “I don’t know if any of you saw… but I made another movie.”
- On how to practice active gratitude: “Continue to earn what you already have.”
- Joss Whedon is obviously incredibly aware of the fact that a lot of people had problems with how he portrayed Natasha in Avengers: Age of Ultron and he wasn’t afraid to make fun of that. “Everyone’s so perfectly pleased at how I handled Natasha… You’re welcome.”
- Notable quote: “Comic-Con: the cure for Twitter.”
- Someone asked Joss Whedon the hardest question creators are always asked regarding which unique character he has created is his favorite. He deliberated for a while and noted that his answer probably won’t always be the same. “How can I not say Buffy?” he ended up responding.
- Notable quote: “Memory is storytelling.”
- Joss Whedon is hilarious – he’s snarky and witty, but he’s also self-deprecating in the way that most creators are. He doesn’t think of all of his successes and when it comes to the way he views himself, he said: “I keep hoping to be the hero of my own story. I’m more like… the nerdy sidekick.” Then: “Unlike me, y’all are the hero of the story.”
- A fan asked if Joss were to meet a younger version of himself now, what advice he would give. Without missing a beat, Joss responded: “Rogaine.”
- Notable quote: “Worrying about things you can’t control is boring… and time-consuming.”
- A surprise occurred when Joss was given the Icon Award on stage. He was genuinely floored and began to get emotional, which was so wonderful. The entire hall gave him a solid standing ovation. And that was a perfect way to end that panel.
Photos from the panel:
Natalie and I had a system in between panels – I would go scour the room for available seats closer to the front. Unfortunately, before the 20th Century FOX presentation, I couldn’t find anything closer. (Never fear because thanks to my
Monica Geller-like scrappy nature, I found AMAZING seats for the Superhero Saturday Night panel.)
The 20th Century FOX presentation was, by far, one of the greatest highlights of the convention itself for most of the attendees. We were treated to exclusive sneak peeks, trailers, and panels with the stars of upcoming feature films. Let’s run down some of what we learned and saw at these panels, shall we?
The Maze Runner – Scorch Trials:
- My sister was really mad that I was in attendance for this one because she’s been obsessed with Dylan O’Brien. So I texted her a photo from the panel and she responded with a lot of emojis. Having never seen The Maze Runner, I was interested in watching the trailer for the sequel, which looks insane and intense.
- Giancarlo Esposito doted on Dylan throughout the panel and provided insanely articulate answers to questions, which was wonderful.
- Chris Hardwick hosted the entire FOX presentation and it was amazing. He should host, like, everything at Comic-Con. (He… kind of almost does already though.)
- They showed a clip from the movie featuring the new monsters and it was a GENUINELY terrifying clip. Scarier than the horror movie trailer we saw earlier at the Lionsgate panel, actually.
Victor Frankenstein:
- We got to see the exclusive trailer and a clip from the movie, which stars Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy. They’re hilarious together.
- I could listen to James talk with his accent forever. Seriously.
- Notable quote: “I get thrown around a lot in the movie. But it’s okay. I bounce.” – Daniel Radcliffe
- Notable quote: “I supplement you.” “You what me?” – Daniel talking about how their characters and personalities complement each other in the film.
- Notable quote: “Much like Liam Neeson in the film Taken, Victor realizes that he has a… particular set of skills.” – James McAvoy
- There were so many innuendos that occurred at the panel. I kid you not, like, ask anyone who was there. Every other sentence was basically an innuendo between James and Daniel and it was delightful.
Fantastic Four:
- The final trailer for the movie was revealed at Comic-Con. I saw the Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, and Michael Chiklis one ten years ago (holy CRAP that was TEN YEARS AGO? HOW DOES CHRIS EVANS STILL LOOK THE SAME?) and I don’t know that I’m interested enough to see this one. Still, the trailer looks quite good.
- Kate Mara is a precious sunflower and must be protected at all costs.
Deadpool:
- SURPRISE! In one of the greatest unexpected moments of the con, I was in the same room as one Ryan Reynolds. He’s beautiful, you guys. So beautiful.
- Notable quote: “What is love?” “It’s a man named Ryan Reynolds.”
- Notable quote: “I’ve only ever done one proper… wait, no. One superhero movie.” – Ryan Reynolds throwing some hilarious shade at Green Lantern.
- Notable quote: “I photoshopped myself into every Joey Lawrence photo I could find.” – Ryan Reynolds, after Brianna Hildebrand talked about how she geeked out when she joined the movie because she had a huge crush on Ryan when she was younger.
- Chris Hardwick and Ryan went back and forth making horse puns and honestly, it is one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced.
- They showed the exclusive, Comic-Con only (except for those people who have already leaked it on the Internet… dishonor on you and dishonor on your cow) trailer for Deadpool which received SUCH a raucously positive response that the crowd in Hall H began to chant: “One more time” and Chris Hardwick instructed them to play it again. Seriously, it’s the highlight of the weekend for many people and I’ve never seen such an extremely and overwhelmingly positive response to a panel.
X-Men – Apocalypse:
- Hugh Jackman was in the house. As was Jennifer Lawrence and like, every single person on the X-Men cast. Theirs was the biggest panel of the weekend (at least that I had seen).
- They debuted the X-Men: Apocalypse trailer for the first time, which – I must admit – looked really cool, especially because I care exactly zero percent about these movies.
After the panel, Chris Hardwick said that there was a special surprise and brought out all of the superhero casts onto stage (along with Stan Lee) to try and get the largest superhero selfie. It technically wasn’t a selfie though since someone else took it. That someone else was Channing Tatum. Yup. That happened.
After people began to file out of the 20th Century FOX presentation, I BOLTED toward the middle of the hall and literally found a seat SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE of Hall H. Like, it couldn’t have been more perfect. I ended up not spending a lot of time there (I was in the pit for the majority of Superhero Saturday Night, actually), but I know Natalie appreciated our seats. Especially because while I was in the pit, she was seated right behind acclaimed
Arrow director Glen Winter and met him, as well as got a photo with him.
OUR SEATS. I WIN.
I was REALLY starting to feel horrible before Superhero Saturday Night began. Like, my throat was killing me and all I really wanted to do was sleep. But I powered through, like you do, because this was the thing I was most looking forward to the entire weekend at Comic-Con. I met some nice people in the press pit and chatted with them about different panels (one person was a fan of
Community, so we actually got to discuss that beforehand). At one point, I looked behind me – beyond the gate that separates the pit from the floor – and noticed a woman who looked really familiar, but who I couldn’t place. I assumed it was because she was a journalist. I was wrong. It was because she was Wendy Mericle.
A view of MY view from the Arrow panel (and the screens I talked about earlier!)
I made one friend in the press pit who I bonded with and fangirled with –
Rose. This is how you know you’ve become friends in the press pit: you stand beside a speaker and end up tapping each other’s arms and reaching for each other whenever something particularly exciting or feels-inducing happens on stage. You just automatically become friends with people at Comic-Con: people in line, people sitting next to you, people at press rooms or pits. It’s kind of wonderful, really, when you think about how difficult it is sometimes to bond with people and forge connections in real life. At Comic-Con, it’s like… it’s like you’re all on the same playing field. You all love the shows you’re at the panel for. You all care about actors and stories and sneak peeks. You’re equals.
There’s no greater feeling than meeting a complete and total stranger and having them just automatically GET you.
Superhero Saturday Night kicked off with the debut of the new Arrow suit and guys, it’s glorious in person and it’s glorious in photos and videos. So here’s what happened: talent emerged from the side of the stage where we were situated in the press pit. If we stood at just the right angle, we could actually see backstage before they walked out. So they passed really close to us is what I’m saying. Well, the lights were darkened and Rose and I were momentarily distracted before we gasped. Because though you wouldn’t have been able to necessarily see it toward the back of the hall, we were totally able to see Stephen Amell emerging, wearing the new Green Arrow costume. We screamed. We took lots of photos. We thanked God that he stayed REALLY close to the press pit during his monologue and didn’t move around too much so we could get amazing photos. We may have all swooned and cheered just a little bit, even though we're professionals.
HELLOOOOOOOO MR. AMELL!
OH. HI. Yeah, I was this close. No zoom. Nothing. Just... right there.
With the hood up!
And then the monologue concluded and Stephen went backstage to change, which was the perfect time for the debut of the
Arrow sizzle reel. If you haven’t seen it, go and watch it. And then imagine watching it in a hall with 6,500 people. And imagine you’re beside the speakers, confident that you’re going to be deaf in the morning and not caring one bit because you’re standing and watching the video, slack-jawed.
Arrow’s third season was… well, it was dicey. I’m going to be honest. The good was REALLY good and the bad was REALLY bad and most of the season fell somewhere in the mediocre-we-could-do-better range, but you’d never know that through the sizzle reel.
Like, literally I thought: “This makes the season look way more awesome than it was.”
Here are some of the highlights of the
Arrow panel during Superhero Saturday:
- There were a LOT of loud cheers for Olicity, especially when they showed clips of them in the sizzle reel. I felt proud. I also cheered from the pit on multiple occasions.
- The EPs talked about the new suit and the transition for Oliver from Arrow to Green Arrow. The suit, apparently, is more indicative of the tone of the fourth season. “He’s happy… he’s in love,” they noted. The suit is reflective of that. And if you want to get all deep here, the suit is less covered up than the old Arrow suit. It’s like… Oliver opened his heart and now his clothes reflect that. LIKE I SAID, CONJECTURE AND WAY TOO DEEP. BUT STILL.
- Anarky will be joining Damien in this season of Arrow and it was recently announced that the roles for both have been cast. I had a love/hate relationship with Neal McDonough's character when he was on Suits, so I’m intrigued to see how I feel about him on Arrow. What they did mention about Damien as a character is how he will differ from villains like Slade and Ra’s. Both of those men lived by codes. Even Malcolm Merlyn lives and dies by a certain code of honor. Damien doesn’t have that. He has no moral compass and he has no code. He’s pure, unadulterated evil.
- It was also announced that Mr. Terrific will be joining the show and will work a lot with Felicity. Arrow’s version of Mr. Terrific is gay (and also black, as it was recently announced that Ben and Kate alum Echo Kellum will be playing him). I’m SO excited that Echo is going to be in this role. I have a feeling he and Emily Bett Rickards will have amazing comedic chemistry. Go and watch some of Echo’s stuff on Ben and Kate because he was so wonderful.
- Willa Holland got to talk about how exciting it was to transition from Thea being sidelined to Thea becoming Speedy: “I had tears of joy when I tried on the outfit.”
- Emily Bett Rickards was asked about what it was like to wear the ATOM suit as Felicity and she actually revealed a funny story: though it looks very much like Oliver is smiling lovingly at Felicity when she is in the suit… Stephen was actually smiling at a six-foot tall stuntman who was wearing the costume for the shot, while Emily was out of sight.
- John Barrowman was asked whether or not he’ll be donning the robes the entirety of season four as the new Ra’s or whether he’ll get to pick up the hood again. He turned the question to the producers who revealed that Malcolm will be back in the hood for the third episode. John Barrowman then took the opportunity to tell everyone that he had the Ra’s ring made for himself and showed us all that he was wearing it at the panel. It was amazing. John Barrowman is amazing.
- John Barrowman's laugh is seriously the best thing ever and infectious.
- Diggle’s costume was revealed! It is complete with a helmet and everything. On his new digs, David said: “Diggle officially has a costume. It’s called… Black Driver.” We all died laughing and then David mentioned that the joke never gets old to him.
- The cast was asked a lot about the tone of the show and what the characters would be like next season. Stephen’s response: “We are going to move in a more Green Arrow-y direction.”
- I could listen to Paul Blackthorne talk all day.
- Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards addressed winning MTV's Ship of the Year and they genuinely appreciated how hard the fans fought. They talked about how amazing it is to see the love in-person from Olicity fans at things like Comic-Con. I love listening to them express their love for fandom, I really do.
- Notable quote: "It means a lot... like, not quite an Emmy... but a LOT." – Stephen Amell on the Olicity MTV fandom win.
- Katie Cassidy brought up the fact that they all just learned about “Doliver” – people who bromantically ship Diggle and Oliver – that weekend.
- Notable quote: “I just love looking into your eyes, John.” – Emily to John
- Notable quote: “[He's] got a sugar mama.” – Stephen about Felicity, when asked whether or not Oliver will ever become rich again.
- When asked whether or not the actors have had to play their characters in real life, Emily noted that she's definitely not as technologically capable as Felicity, citing a time where she couldn't locate her Apple TV remote and then was told that she could just put it on her phone.
The Arrow panel was over as quickly as it began (or so it seemed) since we had four other panels to get through (and a screening of Supergirl, but we'll talk about that later on). Perk of being in the press pit, though: the talent walks off the stage the same way they walked on, which meant I had the chance to wave to Emily Bett Rickards, who waved back. My fellow press pitters (... we'll make that a word now) got some high fives and fist bumps, as well.
Before we move onto The Flash, here are some more photos from the night:
BARROWMAN.
What a precious little princess she is.
DIGGLE'S COSTUME
Next up was
The Flash panel where we were treated to a sizzle reel beforehand. The sizzle reel was AMAZING and can be seen
here if you haven't yet. At the end, we were told: "ZOOM IS COMING." SO BASICALLY GET PREPARED. Here are some more things we learned at the panel:
- The EPs said that the show would be introducing characters from Earth 2 onto the show.
- Grant Gustin talked about how Barry ended the first season, noting that it's difficult for him to deal with the fact that Eddie was the hero in the end and to watch someone have to make that choice to save them. So Grant said that in season two, Barry is kind of acting like a lone wolf.
- There were a lot of cheers for Tom Cavanagh and Danielle Panabaker, and the two were super bashful about it. It was adorable.
- Danielle Panabaker is excited to hopefully see more of her Killer Frost alter ego after she was sort-of introduced in the finale.
And honestly, those are all of the notes that I have for The Flash. Like I said, they kind of rushed people off the stage and actually, come to think of it, The Flash didn't get audience questions like Arrow did. The cast made room for Legends of Tomorrow next, but here are a few photos before they left:
I wish this wasn't blurry because it would have been perfect.
Legends of Tomorrow was up next, where they debuted a new(ish) trailer and spilled some secrets about what to expect in the show's first season:
- Marc Guggenheim revealed that there is one more major character in Legends of Tomorrow that they haven't yet debuted: Hawkman.
- Notable quote: "We're glad you [Brandon Routh] are not dead. We're also glad Caity isn't dead."
- Wentworth Miller talked about the fact that Snart isn't a hero and noted that it's going make the dynamic of the team quite difficult. "These guys have to work together, but it's gonna be a bumpy ride."
- Andrew Kreisberg talked about what Legends of Tomorrow will be -- a show that is full of crazy things and crazy ideas. He said that on Arrow and The Flash, sometimes the writers will have the idea to do a story, but it'll be so crazy that they immediately reject it. Not so with Legends which: "all it is... is the crazy ideas."
- Ciara Renee talked about how she prepared for her role as Hawkgirl: reading all of the comics and a LOT of boxing.
- Brandon Routh talked about how great it was to be a part of things like Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow: "We get to make silly stuff look awesome."
- When asked about what White Canary will be like and how she'll differ from the Canary we were used to seeing on Arrow, Caity Lotz said that White Canary will be dangerous because she isn't afraid of dying.
Here are some photos of the wonderful and beautiful cast of Legends of Tomorrow:
The STUNNING Caity Lotz.
After spending an inordinate amount of time in the press pit with my new friend Rose, I returned to my seat in order to sit through Gotham (which I don't watch or care about) and Supergirl's panels. The cast of Gotham was nice, so here are some pictures of them looking pretty:
We ended the night with the Supergirl panel (all of whom are SUPER -- get it? -- delightful and wonderful human beings) and a screening of the pilot (... which Natalie and I ducked out during because we maaaaay have already seen a *cough* copy of it weeks earlier). Here are a few things we learned:
- One of the first questions that was asked of the panel and the producers was: "Why Supergirl?" The answer: "It's time, isn't it? Her gender doesn't matter. She's a badass." And if that's not the perfect mic drop moment then I don't know what is.
- The producers talked about the magic of the casting of their superhero shows: Stephen Amell was the first person to read for Oliver Queen and they went with him. Grant Gustin was the first to read for Barry Allen, and he was their Barry. And Melissa Benoist? The producers knew that she was their Supergirl and she was the first one they saw. "There is only one Supergirl and that is Melissa," they noted.
- Notable quote: "It's hard not to feel hope and strength." – Melissa on how empowered she feels when she wears her costume.
- Notable quote: "What happens at Comic-Con... stays on Twitter." – what happened immediately after Mehcad Brooks was asked to lift his shirt and reveal his abs just like Stephen Amell did last year. Mehcad was embarrassed after the event and the quote above, saying that his mom follows him on Twitter, to which the moderator said: "A LOT of moms will be following you on Twitter."
The panel concluded and here are some pictures!
As the Supergirl panel ended, a really cool aerial acrobatic show began and immediately after it ended, Natalie and I did too. I went from "riding high on Arrow feels" to "feeling like a truck hit me in the face," leading me to head back to bed and skip the Geek Nation rooftop party I was supposed to attend after 11 PM. And thus concluded my Saturday at Comic-Con!
Sunday was easy, calm, and also filled with decongestants and tissues. YAY CON COLD! Until THAT recap, friends. :)