POINT - COUNTER POINT

The Fray - Scars & Stories due out 2/7/12

2012-02-03T16:03:00.002-05:00

Piano rock giants The Fray are dropping their long-awaited third full-length 2/7 on Epic Records. Now we're releasing some exclusive work we've done with the group chronicling "A Day in the Life" of the band. We also had the chance to interview lead singer Isaac Slade who graciously answered our questions on everything from the pitfalls of working in the mainstream music industry to the self-doubt that plagued him while working on his first two albums to the frustrations of often being singled out as a "Christian" artist. Laid back and easy going, Slade showed that the sincerity and genuineness that shines through in the Fray's music crosses over into his real-world persona as well.

Debuting with as much success as the Fray would cause even the most confident performer to fret about future releases. The Fray's debut album, How to Save a Life, peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 and went double platinum. It spawned two massively successful singles, and the "How to Save a Life" single is tied for the sixth longest charting single on Billboard's Hot 100. Their self-titled follow up debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and went gold. Yet, despite such impressive feats to live up to, Slade seems more confident in the band's music than ever before.

"The first record was full of fear" Slade explained and the band was worried that this was the only chance they were going to have to get their music out. By the time The Fray LP was released, their new concern was hitting a "sophomore slump." Slade was quick to state that now the band is just concerned about "releasing a bad-ass third record." The first two albums were built out of Slade's need for "everybody to like me" and a "nice guy shell" he says he had growing up. He's able to say, "I trust my instincts a lot more now". Rather than trying to please everyone else, Isaac Slade and the rest of the Fray are simply making music for themselves now.

Much of the Fray's carefully driven piano rock/pop sound has been compared to the British piano acts like Keane and the mega-successful Coldplay, and while Isaac Slade says he enjoys those bands and that there are "much worse comparisons to have," he also offered up some surprising insights into the bands he felt had the most influence on himself and the other members of the Fray. Slade talked about heavily being into "late '90s college rock" and acts like Counting Crows, Better than Ezra, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, Wilco, and Bush. Modern experimental rocker Gotye also got a mention from Slade as a more current act that he has been listening to.

Although the Fray don't make any overtly religious music, the band's past heavy involvement with churches in their local Denver has often led to the Fray being pegged as a "Christian" band. While Slade says the mainstream music industry has never tried to force him and his bandmates into a particular niche market, "the Christian market does. They try to sink their teeth into us." but since the band doesn't "sing about Jesus," they've managed to avoid that label. Slade was frustrated that the press seem to only be obsessed with rock acts that are Christian. Slade knows artists that are Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim but only the Christian artists seems to get pegged and specifically talks about how no one talks about the Killers' religion (Brandon Flowers is Mormon). Slade simply wants "to be loved or hated based on our music", not the band's religion.

Scars and Stories features a darker and more aggressive feel than the Fray's previous two albums, as well as more prominent guitar pieces. Discussing some of the real-world inspirations for this new record, Slade regaled us with tales of getting lost by about 500 miles with his wife and simply not caring ("48 to Go") as well as more heady subject matter such as a philosophical connection between reading about the Large Hadron Collider while in Germany and how this search for the God particle (Higg's Boson) and its ability to hold everything in the universe together is related to his inability to sufficiently explain his attraction to his wife ("Munich"). The steady rejection process and the toll it took on Isaac (as well as the way it made him toughter) also led to this more mature and introspective sound.

During his time touring, Slade has had chances to interact with one of the biggest names in the music world (U2 who they toured with) and one of the biggest names in American politics (President Bill Clinton). While touring with U2, the Fray was taught an important lesson by U2's spiritual advisor who talked about how despite being one of the most successful bands in the history of popular music, U2 "never talks about being bigger. They talk about being better." That has become Isaac Slade's outlook on the future success of the Fray. They don't want "to get more vanilla" or "stop trying." Slade said "if bigger comes, I'll take it," but the band's focus is simply on being better, not making more money or playing bigger venues.

With the last-minute cancellation of Bryan McKnight, the Fray also had the chance to play at Hillary Clinton's birthday party, where Isaac Slade managed to embarrass himself in front of the former POTUS. Noticing that President Clinton was wearing an old and worn-out friendship bracelet on his hand, Slade made a friendly, jesting comment to the President about the bracelet. After the President smirked and walked away, Slade was pulled aside by Chelsea Clinton who explained that it was a bracelet given to the President by a survivor of the Serbian wars in Sarajevo and that President Clinton had refused to take it off even when going in for his open heart surgery.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the interview was Slade's advice for all of the aspiring musicians. "If at all humanly possible, don't do music for a living," Slade warned. "I love it. So glad I do it," Slade continued but he contends that playing music for fun rather than professionally keeps you "pure," "innocent," and "awesome." Doing it for a living exposes you to the "very, very murky waters of the entertainment industry." Though if you insist on pursuing it for a career, Slade says to just keep at it and keep working.

Once again, the Fray's new album drops 2/7.

AVENGERS - Assemble at NYCC

2011-10-17T12:01:00.004-04:00

"The Avengers" assembled Saturday night at New York Comic Con 2011 -- and it was pretty awesome. Some of the principal cast members of the upcoming Marvel superhero epic were in attendance, including Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, an unannounced Mark Ruffalo and even Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.

At times it felt more like a sporting event. There was uncontrollable screaming, shaking and maybe even a few tears for a few lucky fans who were able to ask the stars questions. The noise was deafening. The panel opened with the trailer (and let me tell you, it looked even more amazing on the big screen), and the screaming and cheering was so loud, you couldn't hear a thing. But here's what The Huffington Post did learn, judging by scream levels: Fans love Tom Hiddleston's Loki, but aren't so impressed with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.

But the biggest cheers of the night came from the announcement that director Joss Whedon had cut new footage to be screened at Comic Con. What follows is all of the spoiler-y action and the six things that we learned at "The Avengers" panel at New York Comic Con:

New footage reveals that Bruce Banner hasn't turned into The Hulk in two years -- and he doesn't really want to talk about it.

The footage shows Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) tricking Banner (Mark Ruffalo) into a confrontation in India, and it's full of sexual tension. Nick Fury sends Black Widow (Romanoff) to find Banner because he needs Banner and his scientific mind to help with the Cosmic Cube. Meanwhile, Romanoff teases Banner about his little secret, and Banner reveals he hasn't turned into The Hulk in two years. It's sort of a touchy subject, as he gets a little testy and Romanoff pulls out her gun. Another scene shows Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) at Stark Tower, where Loki tells Stark that he has an army waiting for them. In a third scene, Stark tests Banner (by zapping him) in the Stark labs to see if The Hulk will appear.

Mark Ruffalo claims that he's the only actor who officially gets to play Bruce Banner and The Hulk.

Previous films based about Bruce Banner have leaned heavily on CGI to create The Hulk, but in "The Avengers," Ruffalo will actually play Hulk using stop-action, stop-motion capture. Think "Avatar" but greener.

Everybody loves Tom Hiddleston.

Seriously. The cast loves him -- especially Chris Evans -- and the fans must really love him, because Hiddleston was the subject of almost every single question asked during the Q&A. Everyone wanted to talk about Loki. At one point, when Chris Evans was finally asked a question (okay, it was a panel question, but that counts, right?), he said, "Sorry, I got lost in Tom's glow. What was the question? Was it about Tom? I love Tom, too."

Perhaps supervillans are more interesting than superheroes? Or is the Norse god of mischief just that bad-ass? Or is it because he can sing? For the last question of the night, Hiddleston recalled an incident from drama school when his classmates said he looked like Gene Wilder, so he then wooed the crowd with the theme from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Now if he was dressed as Loki, that would have been quite a sight. Regardless, it looks like Hiddleston may be the true breakout star of this "Avengers" film.

Clark Gregg made up his own "Avengers" theme song

Regardless of all the Tom Hiddleston love in the IGN Theater, I really love Clark Gregg. Not only does he seem like an awesome guy, but I have a soft spot for Agent Phil Coulson. The crowd prompted Gregg to perform the "Avengers" theme song he wrote, and he eventually did sing it for the crowd -- but not before telling the crowd to imagine Trent Reznor singing it. Here's a sample of the lyrics: "We've got muscles so bulky, and we have a Hulky."

Gregg also wins for funniest line of the night. When asked how it felt to see all of the Avengers assembled together (minus The Hulk), Gregg replied, "I felt like it was the 'Make-A-Wish Foundation,' like I only had a week to live and no one told me, so this was how they were going to break the news to me."

The Avengers assembled! ... in Albuquerque for a little post-filming fun.

It started with a text. Gregg revealed that the greatest text message he ever received in his life was from Chis Evans, and it said simply "Assemble." The cast then reminisced about a post-shoot gathering in Albuquerque -- a night that no one can seem to remember. There was a lot of dancing, and Gregg seemed to believe that Scarlett Johansson had the best moves in the Avengers bunch. However, Evans and Hemsworth didn't take part in the dancing, instead they were trading workout tips.

"I look over," said Hiddleston, "And there was Chris Evans asking Chris Hemsworth, 'But how do you get that right here?' and Hemsworth was like, 'I don't know, just work out, mate.'"

Kevin Feige is in pre-production talks for "Iron Man 3" with director Shane Black.

Feige calls it Phase 2 of the Avengers Initiative and will lead into an "Avengers" sequel. Feige also confirmed a post-credits scene at the end of "Avengers." He also mentioned that "Guardians of the Galaxy" would be its own movie and won't be introduced in any of the other movies.

Walking Dead: Shane Walsh, Jon Bernthal, describes the various mannerisms that make Shane unique

2011-10-17T11:42:00.003-04:00

The actor who plays Shane Walsh, Jon Bernthal, describes the various mannerisms that make Shane unique and dishes on which survivor he would most want by his side in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

Q: I didn't think this was possible, but the walkers have gotten even more terrifying this year.

A: Greg Nicotero is the best in the business, we all know that. Last year he blew all of our minds by turning gruesome vulgarity into beautiful art. What I'm seeing this season is that there's a specificity with each zombie. You can actually tell who they were before they got infected and how they got infected and where they were bit. I think that's really what we're trying to do with the show: nothing is taken for granted.

Q: A lot of people all have dreams about work. Do you ever have dreams about walkers, or dreams that you're in character?

A: Yeah, I do. And I hate zombies. Call me a silly method actor but you spend all day hunting them and killing them and running from them and there you go. I love the people that create them and the people that play them, but the zombies themselves I hate. When I go to a publicity event and there's some guy paid to be a zombie for the night and they walk up to me, my first instinct is to take their heads off.

Q: Shane always gets to tote the big guns. Do you enjoy acting with a gun on set? Are you gun person?

A: You know I do love Shane's shotgun. In real life I kind of have a shotgun similar to it, but I'm not a huge gun guy. Only thing about Shane's gun is it's super loud and attracts other zombies. We shoot blanks on set and there's still a good kickback.

Q: Shane and Rick have a love-hate relationship. Do you have a lifelong friend like that?

A: Man I think a lot of people have that relationship with me!

Q: Have you enjoyed playing a character with a dark side this season?

A: I think that Shane really has figured out that in this world it's all about making hard decisions. If you have a group of people and you're trying to survive what do you do if one person is holding you back? Do you get rid of that person? Or do you do the "right thing" and keep that person alive? I think Shane has discovered this new world order; he discovered it in Season 1 when he beat Ed up down by the water in Season 1 or when he trained the gun on Rick. Things like guilt and shame -- are those valuable emotions in this world, or do they actually have no place in them? I love those themes of the show.

Q: Shane is the only character with a sex scene thus far. Do you give Andrew Lincoln a hard time because of it?

A: I never have, but now that you said that I'll be sure to do it today.

Q: You used to play high school football -- and we hear you get to be back on a football field this year for an upcoming episode. What was it like?

A: It's great, that was down at Newton High and they have a really good team. I grew up in Washington DC and while high school football is important there, down here it's huge. It's like religion, the teams are serious! One of the things I really wanted to do this season was go to a game.

Q: What's the biggest prank you ever pulled in high school?

A: Man ours were pretty vulgar, I don't know if I want to talk about our pranks. The first thing I thought of I definitely can't say.

Q: Shane has a very distinctive walk. He also rubs his head a lot. Are those Shane or Jon gestures?

A: No man, I hope that what I'm doing is Shane. I've tried to find mannerisms for him, especially this season. He has things he does when he gets nervous or agitated. Shane is constantly boiling and constantly at war with himself, and I think that these gestures and movements come out of what's going on inside of him.

Q: If you had to be stuck with only one of the characters from the show in a zombie apocalypse who would it be and why?

A: Daryl Dixon. I think Shane kind of figures that out this season as well. I think he's an enormously valuable member of the group. He can do things and he's down to do things that a lot of the other members aren't.

Q: Do you personally feel like you're better prepared for a zombie attack now?

A: Yeah I do, because I think there's definitely some things I know now that I didn't know then. But I gotta tell you, when you really let your mind go there and you think about the ins and outs of what would go down, I think we'd really all be screwed.

NYCC CONAN CAST SPEAK ABOUT THE MOVIE - 2011

2011-10-16T13:56:00.002-04:00

Although it got trashed by the critics (scoring a 23% at Rotten Tomatoes) audiences who came out to see this past summer’s fantasy adventure Conan The Barbarian seemed to enjoy the film, giving it a “B minus” CinemaScore. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough audiences showing up to see the film to hit any higher than fourth place at the box office its opening weekend.

This weekend at New York Comic Con, the film’s three stars Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang appeared at a panel to discuss the film. Invariably, the subject of the film’s poor box office and the chance of a sequel came was brought up. Momoa, who had stated when he was doing promotion for the film that he had written a story for a possible sequel, stated that there was little possibility that a sequel would happen.

I haven’t heard a word from anyone and it’s kind of sad because I feel a little cheated myself because we really busted our asses to make it amazing for the fans. I was a fan and I think we really hit it but to tell you the truth a lot of people didn’t go see it so I doubt that they’ll make a sequel. I would love it, but there would be less money there and [a sequel] is something that I would want to be bigger and better.

McGowan jumped in to add that a fate of a movie can often be outside the control of its cast and crew, stating that the film’s R rating may have kept some audiences away while the PG-13 rated horror film Fright Night, which opened the same day, further siphoned off potential ticket buyers.

People don’t understand behind the scenes stuff. Lionsgate and Millennium, the people behind [the movie], to an extent did a really good job. But the entire distribution team at Lionsgate just got replaced. Also the second weekend Hurricane Irene happened and two-thirds of the country was shut down so it was just bad luck essentially.

McGowan went on to draw an analogy as to what it was like to make a film she was proud of only to have it fail at the box office. “It’s essentially like giving birth to this really great baby, you hand it to the nurse and it falls out of her hands and flies out the window,” she said.

“They dropped my baby?” questioned Momoa after the laughter in response to McGowan’s statement died down.

“They did!” she replied. “They drop kicked it!”

Lang added that he has participated in a number films that weren’t successful right away but still went on to find their audiences. He also stated that he was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see more of his castmate Momoa continue to explore the character of Conan in future films.

It’s really easy to do a postmortem on the thing. I think that the R didn’t help the business of the film one bit. Maybe it was necessary for the movie. I see that. I think Rose says it pretty well that the distribution didn’t work out quite it should have. I sure wish this one had done much better than it did. I think it deserved a number of sequels and I would like to see Jason track that character for a long time.

CONAN panel at NYCC 2011

2011-10-16T12:41:00.000-04:00

At 10am, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowen and Jason Momoa walked in and since there was no moderator, they would have to wing it themselves.

What's been your favorite role to play and what would be your dream role to play?

Stephen:
Favorite Role: Khalar Zym from the new Conan the Barbarian movie.
DreamRole: Theodore Roosevelt.

Rose:
Favorite Role: Paige Matthews from the TV show Charmed.
Dream Role: Would like to do a Jazz period piece or play Scarlett O'Hara

Jason:
Favorite Role: Conan.
Hardest Role to play: Khal Drago
Dream Role: A Braveheart hero set in Hawaii. He would love to do a movie about his people and his native Hawaii.

Then more question were asked. Here are the highlights:

Favorite Comic Books/Characters:

Stephen: Thor, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Captain America
Rose: She doesn't have a favorite comic book, but wishes she could play one.
Jason: Wild Cats and Spawn.

If they could work with any actor, who would it be?

Stephen: Kate Winslet. He also would have loved to work with Marlon Brando. Actually he said Brando and Jason teased him about it, saying he's dead and good luck with that.
Rose: Russell Crowe or Julianne Moore.
Jason: Daniel Day Lewis or Gary Oldman.

The one character they played they would have over for dinner?

Stephen: Khalar Zym or Stonewall Jackson
Rose: Paige Matthews
Jason: Conan. He also said the one character he's played he would never have over is Drago, because Drago would bend him over the dinner table and do his thing. (If you've seen Game of Thrones, you know what he means). The crowd was in hysterics over that.

The actor they're starstruck over?

Stephen: Gene Hackman. He also has worked with Lucielle Ball and Dustin Hoffman and couldn't stop raving about both, especially Lucielle who he said had beautiful blue eyes.
Rose: She acted with Peter O'Toole and kept in contact with him and his family. He once said to her, let's start a scandal together.
Jason: Rose and Stephen.

What advice would you give to your younger self as they start their journey into acting?

Stephen: He wouldn't say anything because if he did, it would be a butterfly effect and he wouldn't be where he is now if he didn't take the roles offered.
Rose: Get an education first. Very important.
Jason: He would have taken more serious roles, perhaps taken acting classes like at the Actors Studio. Someone from the crowd said he loved him in Baywatch and Jason blushed. He joked how he didn't want to talk about that and Rose said it was a way to pay the bills.

Other interesting tidbits...

Rose:
There has been many rumors about Rose playing Red Sonja in the remake. She says she would love to but can't because she broke a certain bone and if she does a stunt wrong, she could end up paralyzed and won't take the chance.

Jason:
He's dying to do a romantic comedy because he thinks he's "funny as fuck" (he was extremely hilarious at the panel, so I say, GIVE THIS MAN A ROMANTIC COMEDY). He's tired of frowning in his movies and he wants to make a movie his children can watch.

Jason won the role of Drago by doing the Haka, a sacred native Hawaiian dance that's usually reserved for weddings and funerals. Someone asked him to do it but he said it's too sacred to do for fun. Jason had to learn the Dothraki language by listening to a CD that sounded like a cross between German and Arabic. He did not have a fun time learning Dothraki.

A man stood up and said his girlfriend, who was sitting next to him, would love him forever if Jason could say "you are my sun and the stars" in Dothraki. Jason did in his Khal Drago voice and everyone in the room swooned.

Jason would love to do more film making. He did write a script for a Conan sequel, but since it didn't do well, the sequel won't get made. Right now he's filming a movie that takes place on a Native America Reservation that he wrote the script for and is directing. Its a drama and a road movie (think Jack Kerouac). From what I gathered, the movie is about a Native America woman who is raped on the reservation by an outsider. Since any crimes on a Native America reservation still must be taken up in federal court, it could take years for the trial to start and the criminal to be brought to justice. Someone close to the rape victim, probably a male character would kill the rapist and would be in the lam, thus the comment about the road movie.

Jason hates horses. He doesn't mind petting them, but he has this vision of riding on one and it falls on him and he dies. Then he couldn't be there for his children. He was, shall we say a bit fearful as Drago at 240lbs riding a horse. So says the King of the Horses.

Stephen:
Loves the fact that Avatar has been remastered and brought back into theaters and doesn't mind if Avatar keeps coming back to the theaters better than before. I've never seen Avatar, but after hearing Stephen speak, I want to see the movie.

All three were very proud of their word in Conan the Barbarian and loved working together. They're all disappointed that they can't do a sequel or there won't be a sequel. Rose thought that even though Conan was a total popcorn movie, Conan had everything to be a success.

They didn't seem too pleased with Comic Con in San Diego. The energy is pretty much the same in NYC. Jason hated San Diego because it was too sunny and bright (ha!) and loves New York. I found this funny because he comes from Hawaii.

Stephen, Rose and Jason were very funny, down to earth and very personal. You could see how much they love their jobs and they were so happy we came to their panel. Whenever anyone would stand and say how much they love their work and them, the three were so grateful.

Walking Dead Panel at NYCC - Saturday

2011-10-15T22:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, members of the Deadcast and crew (including creator Robert Kirkman) swung by the New York Comic-Con for a capacity-crowd panel. Everyone was pretty mum, spoiler-wise, although Kirkman explicitly stated his wish to get one fan-favorite character from the comic books into the show. (Conspiracy theorists will be sad, or perhaps happy, to hear that there was nary a mention of departed Dead showrunner Frank Darabont.) The panel was moderated by Chris Hardwick, host of the spin-off talk show The Talking Dead. Read on for a full report, and be sure to check back tonight for my full Walking Dead episode recap:

Kirkman and Hurd kicked off the panel by discussing how excited they were to expand the world of The Walking Dead with a 13-episode second seaosn. Hurd applauded Nicotero's work on The Walking Dead Webisodes and announced that the zombie make-up guru just directed an episode for the new season. Kirkman assured fans that Nicotero and his crew have created even more gruesome zombie effects this season. "All the crazy stuff you think you saw in the first season is going to be even better and more exciting this season," Kirkman said. He added that he was excited to explore storylines from the comic in a different way in the second season. The writer nodded to Shane, a character who dies early on in the comic book.

Fans were then treated to an exclusive scene from the new season, featuring the characters hiding out from a herd of hundres of zombies. The crowd gasped as Andrea dispatches a zombie with a screwdriver and a major character suffers a grisly injury. (Who? Watch The Walking Deadthe sneak peek clip yourself to find out.)

–Executive producer Gale Ann Hurd kicked off the event with a piece of information that was like an arrow straight into geek hearts everywhere, describing Kirkman’s expanded involvement in the show’s second season. She explained, “We lured Robert from Kentucky to the wilds of Los Angeles, so he can participate in the writers’ room every day.”

–Kirkman’s involvement in the series is intriguing, since the first season deviated significantly from the original graphic novels. (Spoilers for this season and the Dead comic ahead). Kirkman noted that the early episodes of this season would focus on Herschel’s Farm, a setting from the second volume of the series. “Readers of the book will know that Shane [Jon Bernthal's character] was dead by then, in the comic. His character existing in this world changes those storylines and makes them richer and adds different levels. It’s a lot of fun for me because I wrote these stories a long time ago, and getting to do things in a different way is a lot of fun.”

–A persistent topic of conversation was the scale of the production, which this season involved shutting down an entire section of highway in Atlanta. But in between all the special effects, it’s important not to doubt the actors’ commitment to the show. Discussing a zombie attack in tonight’s premiere, Laurie Holden (Andreas) said, “I dislocated four ribs filming that scene.”

–Norman Reedus was the clear audience favorite, earning wild applause every time he spoke up or made any facial guest whatsoever.. He described his character, Darryl Dixon, as a man who needs a hug, “But if you try to hug him, he’ll try to stab you.” When he said this, a loud cry went up throughout the room, as if ten thousand women were all screaming once, “Stab me! Stab me!” (Judging by the general audience reaction at the biggest panels at Comic-Con, Hollywood should cast Norman Reedus and Tom Hiddleston as brothers in an emo-badass action franchise right away.)

Chandler Riggs -- who plays the young Carl Grimes -- was a hit with fans, wearing sunglasses and discussing how he is "the coolest kid in school" for being on the show. He revealed that early on in the show, he would think about his dog who had died to achieve the intense emotions required by the scripts. Now, he can get to a place where he can cry on cue.

Before the panel closed, Hardwick opened up to fan questions, among them which weapon each cast member would prefer in a zombie apocalypse. Crossbows (like the one Daryl uses), bo staffs and razor-tipped boomerangs were mentioned as favorites, but Riggs trumped them all with his choice: "flamethrower with a bayonet on it."

Jason Momoa on 'Conan The Barbarian'

2011-10-15T15:27:00.001-04:00

Conan The Barbarian will be among the many personalities attending this weekend's New York Comic Con at the Javits Center. Well, not exactly, but the 6' 4" Jason Momoa, who played the sword-slashing Cimmerian in the recent reboot of the series that came out this summer will be there -- though maybe not with blade in hand.

When the massive Momoa stepped into Planet Hollywood a couple of months ago to leave his big ol‛ paw-prints and fighting sword there, he could have been any big brute with a cowboy hat on. But once it was doffed and he flung around his locks, the former Hawaiian clearly displayed why he was picked for Conan.

Add in a resume that includes playing Khal Drogo, a powerful warlord from George RR Martins' Game of Thrones or fighter Ronan Dex from Stargate Atlantis, and Momoa certainly has the right creds to handle such an iconic character as Robert E. Howard's Conan. And if you make it to Javits on this Sunday at 10 am where he will appear on a panel with co-stars Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang, you can see and hear him in all his rippling glory.

Q: This movie could have easily been cheesy, but it doesn't come close to that. What did you do to make sure it didn't go that way?

JM: I wouldn't want to be a part of it if it did. I didn't want it to have that campiness to it.

When I was a little kid, I would read Robert E. Howard and look at a Frank Frazetta painting and they would reach out to me. I wanted to take the character and rip it right off the canvas and put it up on the big screen.

It deserved to have the grittiness and the dirtiness. [Director] Marcus Nispel [Texas Chainsaw Massacre] was fantastic about it. I thought he did a really good job at making that world.

Q: It's great that he is an actual barbarian, not the typical hero...

JM: That's the fun thing about Conan. He eats, he drinks, he's a thief, he's a pirate. The fun thing about him is he's not the saving-the-damsel-in-distress [type]. It's not very PC, and I think that's what Marcus didn't want.

He should be this barbarian towards a woman, in a sense. But what's beautiful about it is you see the vulnerable side, and he gets saved by a woman in the heat of the moment where he was supposed to kill.

So you get to slowly warm up to him. I think that's nice to have a little bit of humanity to the character, a sense of humor, that makes him relatable.

Q: Actor Stephen Lang -- who plays the evil Khylar Zim -- said that he stabbed himself in the ass at one point with a sword. Do you have any similar stories?

JM: I've got all kinds of horror stories. I almost died on a horse a couple of times. I broke my nose. I wanted to make it look like he was more barbaric, so I had a buddy punch me in the nose.

Q: They have makeup for that, too.

JM: Yeah, I didn't think about that.

Q: So you're all into it.

JM: Yeah, Conan should have a broken nose. He should always have a broken nose, I think -- a constant flow of blood coming out of his body somewhere.

Q: When you were getting ready to play Conan the Barbarian, was there a different workout regimen in getting ready for the type of fighting that you‛d be doing?

JM: Yeah, we did a lot of Bushido, basically a samurai training. I wanted to incorporate that Asian gracefulness to this barbaric character; I wanted to do the sword work.

But as far as working out, we did like six hours a day, stunt work and stunt training, and it was how to fall and lift heavy, heavy weights.

Q: A lot of the fighting looks like a dance.

JM: Yeah, absolutely, choreography. It absolutely is a dance and I think that's one of the great things about Conan: he speaks through his movement and his action. That's why I wanted to do all my stunts, because he speaks through that.

I studied a lot of lions and panthers, and I wanted to be able to move like a feral cat. When I read those stories about him, he just comes across as that nimble product of his environment, kind of king of his own jungle thing.

Q: Were there any stunts you wanted to do that they wouldn't let you?

JM: No, because by the time it was the ones I had to do, I was so broken [in] I was like "Dude, you've got this one. Take it. Take it, please." Q: What was the most difficult, the most challenging thing to get through?

JM: Trying to keep injury at bay. Like I said, there's a flow of blood coming out of your body at all times. For five months, you're always injured. It's just to be able to stretch and keep that motor running for that.

Q: Did you have any fears of living up to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan?

JM: Not at all. I think Arnold did a really great job. It's kind of like comparing Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. They're both amazing Bonds. Arnold's Arnold, and I didn't play anything like him and he really can't play anything like me, so it's two different perspectives, really.

Q: What's your thoughts on the romantic side of Conan?

JM: It was really fun. It's nice to see that side of him. I think, as a character, he's such a brute force that it's nice to go there, to see that softer side of him.

We weren't sure how to do it, because when we did Game of Thrones, it was so raw and passionate and at the very beginning it's raping and very barbaric. I felt it probably wouldn't be in the best interest to be doing that in this new Conan.

Q: Did you get to read all the books, the comics and all that stuff?

JM: Not all of them. I had six weeks to get ready. So aside from doing six hours of training every day, I did read a lot of source material, but I couldn't get through all of it.

Of all the comic books, I went to Dark Horse the most because that's what they tried to emulate, really, for the costumes and look of the world, I think Dark Horse was the closest.

Q: Of all the characters you've played, who would you like to meet?

JM: Drogo [the warlord] and Conan are great. I'd follow them into battle anywhere.

Q: With your characters on Stargate Atlantis like Ronan Dex and Game of Thrones, do you gravitate towards these warrior types or is that just something because you're 6'4" and huge?

JM: When I did Stargate Atlantis, I wanted to work and it was a great opportunity, four years of working on that.

I think when Drogo came along, that's a once in a lifetime chance to play anything like that. I've never seen a character like him in the movies or on TV. He's such a powerful, raw character. That role was the first time I've ever wanted a character in my life.

Because of that, the same casting director came on Conan so everything just kind of lined up that way.

I don't know, we'll see. Hopefully there's a rom-com in there somewhere coming up.

Q: Will it be tough for you to adjust to the cushy lifestyle if you end up doing a romantic comedy or something?

JM: Oh no. I look forward to it. I'm doing a job right now where I'm wearing a suit and playing a villain. I get to shoot people with a gun; it's so much easier. It's like , "Bam -- dead." It's so much better.

Q: Now you're now officially cemented in Planet Hollywood history. How does that feel?

JM: Really, really cool. Really cool! It's a trip. I'm working with [Sylvester] Stallone right now, so you walk in and this is his place!

Q: And you get to see him hanging naked from the ceiling.

JM: Is that what that is? What movie was it?

Q: Demolition Man.

NYCC Comic-Con - Friday

2011-10-14T11:21:00.004-04:00

And the panels are underway! Here are some to get you started.

“Once Upon a Time” Exclusive Screening and Panel

Friday, October 14, 2011

10:30 am - 11:30 am

American Airlines Theater, 1A06

Calling all “Lost” fans – join creators and executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz

(“Lost” and “Tron: Legacy”) as well as Erin Felentzer as they introduce you to the magical story of

two parallel worlds: one in a distant fairytale land, the other in a present-day reality. Following the

exclusive screening of the pilot, Eddy and Adam will participate in a Q&A panel moderated by Matt

Mitovich, Editor-at-Large for TVLine.com, about this modern fairytale turned on its head. Arrive

early for exclusive magic mirrors!

DC: Talent Search

Friday, October 14, 2011

10:30 am - 11:30 am

1B01

Join DCE’s Editorial Art Director, Mark Chiarello, for an informative orientation session that will

explain how DCE’s Talent Search works and discuss the different needs of the DC Comics, Vertigo

and MAD Magazine brands. If you want to learn what DCE looks for in artists and how to improve

your chances of becoming a working professional, then this is the panel for you! In order to have

your work reviewed, attendance at this orientation session is mandatory. (Please note: Not all

attendees are guaranteed a one-on-one review.)

Be Your Own Publisher: Making Comics with Kickstarter

Friday, October 14, 2011

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

1A15

Have an awesome graphic novel or comic book but not sure how to get it published? Don't wait for

a big publisher to decide your fate! There's never been a better time to self-publish, and tools like

Kickstarter can be a great way to connect with fans, handle pre-orders, and cover the costs of

publishing and distributing your comic book masterpiece. Kickstarter is the largest funding platform

for creative projects in the world, and collectively, users have pledged over $90 million to projects in

creative fields like comics, games, film, music, art, and more. We've gathered together a group of

seasoned pros and new faces in the comic book industry to talk about how to run successful

Kickstarter campaigns, from putting together an awesome pitch video, to creating tantalizing

rewards and communicating with fans. This session will be moderated by Cindy Au (Community

Director at Kickstarter) with special guests Jeremy Bastian and Thomas Negovan (Cursed Pirate

Girl), Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex, Deadpool, Painkiller Jane, Queen Crab), Renae De Liz (The

Last Unicorn, Womanthology), and Joey Esposito (Footprints, comics editor at IGN).

Jane Espenson's Husbands --A Marriage of Experience and New Media

Friday, October 14, 2011

12:15 pm - 1:15 pm

1A24

Genre TV veteran Jane Espenson (Buffy theVampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, etc)

and writer/performerBrad Bell (aka "Cheeks") have created a marriage equality comedycalled

Husbands, unfurling now at HusbandsTheSeries.com. Espenson,Bell, and cast member Sean

Hemeon will talk about Husbands, why theydecided to make it for the web, and what they learned in

the process that madethem better at their jobs.

Dark Horse Presents: 25 Years of Publishing and Beyond

Friday, October 14, 2011

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

1A15

Join Dark Horse Senior Managing Editor, Scott Allie, and Director of Public Relations, Jeremy

Atkins, for a look at all that the publisher has on tap for the coming year. In addition to news on all

of the hot new fall titles like Orchid, The Strain and House of Night, we look to 2012 for a sneak

peak at what fans can expect in not only the company's flagship anthology, but exclusive for fans of

Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more! Guests include: Tom Morello (Rage Against the

Machine, Orchid), Brian Wood (DMZ, Northlanders, The Massive), Carla Speed-McNeil (Finder),

and more!

MTV Comics and Stan Lee's The Seekers

Friday, October 14, 2011

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

American Airlines Theater, 1A06

Join comics legend Stan Lee and MTV Comics Executive Editor Tom Akel as they announce the

winners of the talent search to write and illustrate The Seekers! Get your first look at the art and

story from Stan's new epic and meet the creative team! You'll also get a sneak peek at some new

projects from MTV Comics and a special appearance by our Mystery Guest! Plus an exclusive gift

for the first 100 attendees!

HAVEN

Friday, October 14, 2011

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm

IGN Theater

Syfy Series Haven will be at NYCC on Friday! In attendance will be Emily Rose (Jericho, Brothers

and Sisters), Lucas Bryant (Queers as Folk, MVP) and Eric Balfour (24, Six Feet Under). The hit

summer series, based on the novella "The Colorado Kid" from renowned author Stephen King,

follows former FBI agent Aubrey Parker (Rose), who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven,

Maine and soon discovers the town's many secrets, which also holds the key to unlocking the

mysteries of her lost past. The creative team behind Haven includes Executive Producer John

Morayniss (The Firm, Hell on Wheels) and Noreen Halpern (Hung, Rookie Blue) from eOne

Television and David MacLeod (Legends of the Fall, The Ray Bradbury Theater) of Big Motion

Pictures, who are joined by Lloyed Segan, Shawn Piller, Scott Piller, Scott Shepherd (Stephen

King's The Dead Zone) and Matt McGuiness (Journeyman) as well as Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn

(Stephen King's The Dead Zone), who also developed the series.

MARVEL: Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way

Friday, October 14, 2011

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

1A22

You have the talent. You have the imagination. You have the “Go get ‘em, Tiger” determination that

would make the Bullpen proud. But where do you go from there? Discover the next step in your

budding comics career with world-renowned talent scout C.B. Cebulski, Mark Brooks, Leinil Yu,

Esad Ribic, Alex Maleev and more as they give you all the right pointers toward getting a foot in the

door at Marvel Comics. Discussing all entry points across every department, this can’t-miss panel is

a must for all Marvel hopefuls!

Legal Panel – The Comic Book Publishing Agreement

Friday, October 14, 2011

2:45 pm - 3:45 pm

1B03

Sure you've created a great comic book, but how do you get it published (other than on your own

website)? Join attorneys Thomas A. Crowell and Sheafe B. Walker, and popular published comic

book writer/artist Alan Robert ("Wire Hangers," "Crawl to Me," IDW Publishing) as they discuss

how to hook and land a publisher, what to look for in a comic book publishing agreement, and how

to get your comic from your computer and into the comic book store's racks.

MARVEL: Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn

Friday, October 14, 2011

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm

MTV Theater, 1A10

Everyone is talking about the new Ultimate Comics Universe but everyone wants to know what’s

next! We’ve got the exclusive news here with announcements that’ll leave you begging for more.

Join Nick Spencer (Ultimate X-Men), Senior Editor Mark Paniccia, Marvel Editor In Chief Axel

Alonso and more for the news you can’t miss.

Robot Chicken

Friday, October 14, 2011

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm

IGN Theater

Seth Green (co-creator), Matthew Senreich (co-creator), Doug Goldstein (head writer and

co-producer) and Zeb Wells discuss their popular series Robot Chicken and provide a sneak peek of

season 5.5, premiering on Oct. 23rd on Adult Swim.

She's So Unsual: Lolita Fashion in the Media

Friday, October 14, 2011

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Anime Stage

Lolita Fashion might seem new to you, but is it really? For many years, the breadcrumbs of this

subculture have been spreading all over the media, not just in the Fashion universe. Come and

explore the many interesting ways in which Lolita Fashion has taken on a life of its own! Through

Anime, Movies, Music, Television, Books and more - you might be surprised of what things you

see! Presented by Dalin of La Vida Frills - this interactive panel is full of games, laughs, prizes and

Rori approved fun all around!

Jay and Silent Bob Get Old

Friday, October 14, 2011

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

IGN Theater

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will appear together for a live performance of their popular podcast

Jay & Silent Bob Get Old. Fans who are interested in attending the live performance must have a

New York Comic Con ticket and also purchase an additional ticket to the podcast. All ticket prices

are based on seating location, visit NewYorkComicCon.com for ticket availability.

Mark Hamill Spotlight

Friday, October 14, 2011

7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

MTV Theater, 1A10

While most known for his lead role in the Classic Star Wars Trilogy, Mark is also a prolific voice

actor who has lent his voice to hundreds of cartoons including Batman: The Animated Series, The

Simpsons, Samurai Jack and Powerpuff Girls. Also, an avid comic book collector and writer, Hamill

created his own comic book anti-hero, The Black Pearl, for Dark Horse Comics. Meet Mark Hamill

in the spotlight panel!

Spotlight on NYCC - Panels to see...

2011-10-13T09:31:00.003-04:00

Just my humble opinion but here are just a few of the panels that I am dying to see this year at NYCC. Which ones are you looking forward to seeing?

“Once Upon a Time” Exclusive Screening and Panel

Friday, October 14, 2011

10:30 am - 11:30 am

American Airlines Theater, 1A06

Calling all “Lost” fans – join creators and executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz

(“Lost” and “Tron: Legacy”) as they introduce you to the magical story of two parallel worlds: one in

a distant fairytale land, the other in a present-day reality. Following the exclusive screening of the

pilot, Eddy and Adam will participate in a Q&A panel moderated by Matt Mitovich, Editor-at-Large

for TVLine.com, about this modern fairytale turned on its head. Arrive early for exclusive magic

mirrors!

Jane Espenson's Husbands --A Marriage of Experience and New Media

Friday, October 14, 2011

12:15 pm - 1:15 pm

1A24

Genre TV veteran Jane Espenson (Buffy theVampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, etc)

and writer/performerBrad Bell (aka "Cheeks") have created a marriage equality comedycalled

Husbands, unfurling now at HusbandsTheSeries.com. Espenson,Bell, and cast member Sean

Hemeon will talk about Husbands, why theydecided to make it for the web, and what they learned in

the process that madethem better at their jobs.

Dark Horse Presents: 25 Years of Publishing and Beyond

Friday, October 14, 2011

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

1A15

Join Dark Horse Senior Managing Editor, Scott Allie, and Director of Public Relations, Jeremy

Atkins, for a look at all that the publisher has on tap for the coming year. In addition to news on all

of the hot new fall titles like Orchid, The Strain and House of Night, we look to 2012 for a sneak

peak at what fans can expect in not only the company's flagship anthology, but exclusive for fans of

Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more! Guests include: Tom Morello (Rage Against the

Machine, Orchid), Brian Wood (DMZ, Northlanders, The Massive), Carla Speed-McNeil (Finder),

and more!

MTV Comics and Stan Lee's The Seekers

Friday, October 14, 2011

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

American Airlines Theater, 1A06

Join comics legend Stan Lee and MTV Comics Executive Editor Tom Akel as they announce the

winners of the talent search to write and illustrate The Seekers! Get your first look at the art and

story from Stan's new epic and meet the creative team! You'll also get a sneak peek at some new

projects from MTV Comics and a special appearance by our Mystery Guest! Plus an exclusive gift

for the first 100 attendees!

Robot Chicken

Friday, October 14, 2011

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm

IGN Theater

Seth Green (co-creator), Matthew Senreich (co-creator), Doug Goldstein (head writer and

co-producer) and Zeb Wells discuss their popular series Robot Chicken and provide a sneak peek of

season 5.5, premiering on Oct. 23rd on Adult Swim.

She's So Unsual: Lolita Fashion in the Media

Friday, October 14, 2011

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Anime Stage

Lolita Fashion might seem new to you, but is it really? For many years, the breadcrumbs of this

subculture have been spreading all over the media, not just in the Fashion universe. Come and

explore the many interesting ways in which Lolita Fashion has taken on a life of its own! Through

Anime, Movies, Music, Television, Books and more - you might be surprised of what things you

see! Presented by Dalin of La VidaRori approved fun all around!

Jay and Silent Bob Get Old

Friday, October 14, 2011

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

IGN Theater

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will appear together for a live performance of their popular podcast

Jay & Silent Bob Get Old. Fans who are interested in attending the live performance must have a

New York Comic Con ticket and also purchase an additional ticket to the podcast. All ticket prices

are based on seating location, visit NewYorkComicCon.com for ticket availability.

Mark Hamill Spotlight

Friday, October 14, 2011

7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

MTV Theater, 1A10

While most known for his lead role in the Classic Star Wars Trilogy, Mark is also a prolific voice

actor who has lent his voice to hundreds of cartoons including Batman: The Animated Series, The

Simpsons, Samurai Jack and Powerpuff Girls. Also, an avid comic book collector and writer, Hamill

created his own comic book anti-hero, The Black Pearl, for Dark Horse Comics. Meet Mark Hamill

in the spotlight panel!

Terra Nova

Saturday, October 15, 2011

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

IGN Theater

Join Executive Producer Brannon Braga (Star Trek: Enterprise, 24) and stars Jason O'Mara (Life on

Mars) and Stephen Lang (Avatar) of FOX's hit sci-fi adventure series for a sneak peek screening of

the upcoming episode "The Runaway" followed by a fan Q&A and moderated discussion with TV

Guide Magazine's Rich Sands. 85 million years in the making, this new event drama from the

brilliant minds of Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Pacific) and Peter Chernin, follows an

ordinary family on an extraordinary jexpedition to save the human race.

RIDLEY SCOTT, STAR TREK, ODDITIES, and MORE! Presented by SCIENCE

Saturday, October 15, 2011

1:15 pm - 2:15 pm

1A03

SCIENCE will present an all-star lineup with appearances by: The cast of ODDITIES including

Evan Michelson, Mike Zohn and Ryan Matthews along with a preview of what is to come in Season

3! Star Trek is BACK! Rod Roddenbery will show exclusive, world premiere footage from the

upcoming SCIENCE documentary TREK NATION. And a special surprise for New York Comic

Con...Ridley Scott's announcement about his new series PROPHETS OF SCIENCE FICTION with

an appearance by Dr. Michio Kaku.

AMC's The Walking Dead

Saturday, October 15, 2011

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm

IGN Theater

Join Robert Kirkman (Creator/Writer of The Walking Dead comic) along with Greg Nicotero, Gale

Anne Hurd, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Laurie Holden and more

from The Walking Dead…as they discuss the success of season one and what to look forward to in

season two. The panel will also include a special sneak peek at the new season. The Walking Dead

returns October 16 at 9/8c. Only on AMC.

MARVEL STUDIOS: Marvel’s The Avengers

Saturday, October 15, 2011

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

IGN Theater

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man

2,” “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” in “Marvel’s The Avengers” the world's

greatest Super Heroes must assemble to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an

unexpected enemy threatens global security. This special presentation will feature never-before-seen

footage and appearances by special surprise guests.

Roddenberry Pizza Party Presents

Saturday, October 15, 2011

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

1A02

Roddenberry Productions, helmed by the Son of Gene Roddenberry (The Creator of Star Trek),

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, C.O.O./Head of Development Trevor Roth, and Roddenberry

Productions Producer/Production Supervisor Tory Mell have a bunch of incredibly awesome and

informative news to share about some old, new, and original properties that they will be discussing

and showing various clips from. Did I mention we will be having another pizza party like we did

last year? Well, I just did!!!

Black Dynamite

Saturday, October 15, 2011

8:15 pm - 9:00 pm

American Airlines Theater, 1A06

Black Dynamite is an exciting new animated series coming to Adult Swim in 2012 and is based on

2009’s critically-acclaimed feature film. The series further chronicles the exploits of Black

Dynamite and his crew. Cast members Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite), Byron Minns

(Bullhorn), Kym Whitley (Honeybee), executive producer Carl Jones, and producer Scott Sanders

will host a Q&A and show never-before-seen footage!

Conan Spotlight with Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang & Rose McGowan

Sunday, October 16, 2011

10:00 am - 11:00 am

1A22

Meet the stars of Conan the Barbarian: Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan and Stephan Lang in this

spotlight panel.

Syfy Series Haven will be at NYCC on Friday

2011-10-13T09:25:00.002-04:00

Date: Friday, October 14
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm

Location: IGN Theater

Speakers: Emily Rose, Eric Balfour, Lucas Bryant

Description:
Syfy Series Haven will be at NYCC on Friday! In attendance will be Emily Rose (Jericho, Brothers and Sisters), Lucas Bryant (Queers as Folk, MVP) and Eric Balfour (24, Six Feet Under). The hit summer series, based on the novella "The Colorado Kid" from renowned author Stephen King, follows former FBI agent Aubrey Parker (Rose), who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven, Maine and soon discovers the town's many secrets, which also holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past. The creative team behind Haven includes Executive Producer John Morayniss (The Firm, Hell on Wheels) and Noreen Halpern (Hung, Rookie Blue) from eOne Television and David MacLeod (Legends of the Fall, The Ray Bradbury Theater) of Big Motion Pictures, who are joined by Lloyed Segan, Shawn Piller, Scott Piller, Scott Shepherd (Stephen King's The Dead Zone) and Matt McGuiness (Journeyman) as well as Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn (Stephen King's The Dead Zone), who also developed the series.

New Avengers Footage To Be Shown At NYCC

2011-10-03T09:19:00.002-04:00

New York Comic Con kicks off next week, but today brings the convention news you’ve probably been waiting to hear: In a special Saturday presentation, Marvel Studios will reveal never-before-seen footage from The Avengers.

The panel, set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, will feature stars Chris Evans, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders, plus Marvel Studios president and Avengers producer Kevin Feige. The movie, which should need little introduction, opens May 4, 2012.

The sixth annual New York Comic Con will be held Oct. 13-16 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Last year’s show was massive, attracting 96,000 attendees. With The Avengers in the mix, the turnout this year may be even bigger. Fans can still buy tickets directly from the event’s website, although the press release notes that only a limited number of four-day tickets are still available.

New Poster for the CW's 'Ringer' featuring Sarah Michelle Geller

2011-07-27T08:30:00.002-04:00

DEXTER at San Diego Comic Con

2011-07-22T09:06:00.001-04:00

As usual, the cast and writers of Dexter were generous with teasers for the next season, which returns Oct. 2. Here’s what they spilled during their Comic-Con panel today in San Diego. (Check out the trailer with the awesome use of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” song after the jump):

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) begins the season with worries that the apple won’t fall far from the tree when it comes to his son, Harrison. Will the little guy be a killer, too? “That’s a fundamental fear that Dexter has, that’s where he’s at,” Hall told the crowd. “He knows he doesn’t want his son to show those traits and he doesn’t want to encourage them. That’s a constant fear and consideration.” That’s where religion comes in! “His son is only going to get older and more in need of guidance, and Dexter feels ill-equipped to provide that. As a result he is motivated to find ways to do that, including giving him spiritual grounding .. something that Dexter hasn’t cared about.” Executive Producer Sara Colleton would like to add to that. “Dexter knows what he doesn’t want to pass on to Harrison, so he starts this journey that snowballs into a huge evolved plot for the season. It’s initiated by his desire to define faith … which is by it very nature, undefinable. It’s done in true Dexter style so it’s a lot of fun.”
Mos Def showed up but unfortunately, didn’t tease much about his new character Brother Sam. Dang. However, he’s dang glad to be here! ”I’ve been a fan of the show since day one. I bought the DVDs. If I wasn’t here, I’d be out there asking the same questions. `What happened to Rita?’”
Colin Hanks, however, teased a little more about his new character, Travis. A little. ”I really can’t give away too much. We want to keep it a fun surprise. But the one thing I can say is you’re gonna see some stuff this season that you have not seen in previous seasons. It’s exciting and I may or may not be a part of that.
C.S. Lee said his character Masuka has some shenanigans in store. “Interns are coming up this year. Women and men. He probably gets into some trouble with some interns.” What about a real romance? “We all know him as a flaming crotch but there are other signs to him,” Lee said. “You’ll see more this year this season.”
What’s next for you, Hall, when Dexter is over? (Don’t worry, fans: No one said anything about ending the show yet). “I didn’t know Dexter was in my future back when I was a funeral director,” he said. “Hopefully it will be something I can not quite imagine.”

'Ringer' posters with Sarah Michelle Gellar

2011-07-21T08:52:00.001-04:00

In anticipation of Ringer’s debut at Comic-Con, below is an exclusive first look of the art and posters for the drama that debuts this fall on the CW. The panel for the series — which marks the return of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, plus Lost heartthrob Nestor Carbonell – will take place at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Moderated by EW’s own Kristen Baldwin, the panel will also feature stars Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) and Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected), along with executive producer Pam Veasey (CSI:NY), and co-executive producers Nicole Snyder (Supernatural) and Eric Charmelo (Supernatural). Added bonus: One hundred fans who attend the panel will receive the show’s official Comic-Con poster signed by the cast.

Tweets from Comic Con

2011-07-20T12:15:00.001-04:00

Tweets from Comic Con

2011-07-20T12:12:00.003-04:00

@goonguy There's a large group of ladies already camping outside the con center. Terrible suspicion it's for something twilight related.
-Eric Powell, Writer/Artist ("Action Comics," "The Goon")

@brianwood I just heard I am listed as having a table at SDCC. Note: I am not attending SDCC this year.
-Brian Wood, Writer ("Northlanders," "DMZ")

@DamonLindelof Dug the WALKING DEAD SEASON 2 tease -- But Rick woulda been screwed if those zombies had brought paper.
-Damon Lindelof, Writer/Producer ("Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine," "Lost")

Spider-Man pt. 1: @maguirekevin New Spider-Man trailer looks AWESOME. I'm sold!
-Kevin Maguire, Artist ("Justice League," "Defenders")

Spider-Man pt. 2: @pauljholden Phew, thank god the new spider-man movie is an origin tale. I have NO idea how spider-man got his powers.
-PJ Holden, Artist ("Judge Dredd," "The 86ers")

Spider-Man pt. 3: @KevinColden The Amazing Spiderman looks like a markedly different film from the previous 3. Also, very much a total reboot. I'm intrigued.
-Kevin Colden, Writer/Artist ("I Rule the Night," "Fishtown")

@BRIANMBENDIS powers pilot filming week 2 starts now!! as exec producer i really don't think i should have to wear pants when it's 100 degrees #powersfx
-Brian Michael Bendis, Writer ("New Avengers," "Ultimate Spider-Man")

@MarkWaid That's not a knock on the reboot. I trust Grant. But every time I hear the words, "Superman needs to be more relatable," I lose my mind.
-Mark Waid, Writer ("Kingdom Come," "The Flash")

New Two and a Half Men promo ad

2011-07-20T08:19:00.001-04:00

Charlie Sheen's sexual proclivities -- amongst many other things -- got him booted from "Two and a Half Men," but CBS, it seems, has no problem emphasizing the svelte body of their new star.

Ashton Kutcher, who was announced as the show's new star in May, goes semi-nude for an amusing little promo photo for the show's upcoming season.

(Oh, also nude are Jon Cryer and Angus Jones.)

And while Kutcher had to kinda sorta had to bare it all for this promo, whether he'll be a ladies' man, in the vein of Sheen, remains to be seen.

'Bones' drops out of Comic-Co

2011-07-20T08:07:00.003-04:00

Booth and Brennan won’t be sleuthing it out in San Diego this year: It has been confirmed that Fox‘s Bones will no longer have a panel at the 2011 Comic-Con. Stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel were to join creator/exec producer Hart Hanson, and executive producer Stephen Nathan on Friday at 1:45 p.m. in the geek confab’s spacious Ballroom 20, but a rep for the show says Boreanaz and Deschanel pulled out of the panel “for personal reasons.” There will be no replacement panel from Fox.

Comic-Con 2011: What are the biggest panels this year?

2011-07-20T07:09:00.000-04:00

Comic-Con is chockablock with panels and presentations and Q&A’s and autograph signings. It can all get a bit confusing —check out the full schedule hereif you don’t believe us. To guide you through next week’s geekfest, we’ve put all the big TV and movie presentations from the massive Hall H and Ballroom 20 rooms in one place. We’ll be talking about some of the less-hyped hidden-gems of Comic-Con later this week, but consider this your guide to what people will be talking about on Twitter, hour-by-hour.

HALL H

THURSDAY:

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 – Summit Entertainment presents a sneak peek at the highly anticipated next chapter of The Twilight Saga. This is a must see for fans interested in the story’s final chapters. You’ll see exclusive footage from The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 and be treated to a filmmaker and cast Q&A session providing details on the first half of the epic two-part finale.

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12:45-1:45 Animation Showcase— Sony Pictures Animation plunges Hall H into a 3-D animation universe with previews of upcoming films with Aardman, the home studio of Wallace and Gromit, as they make their first trip across the pond to Comic-Con to present a first look at two of their upcoming animated feature films:

Arthur Christmas — The 3-D, CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas, an Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation, at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child’s question: “So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?” The answer: Santa’s exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic — a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns. Producer Peter Lord and co-writer Peter Baynham discuss the animated film.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits — In the 3-D, stop motion-animated The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Hugh Grant, stars in his first animated role as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain — a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen), and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. It’s a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure! Director/producer Peter Lord will be live on stage to talk about the movie.

2:00-3:00 FilmDistrict Studio Panel – FilmDistrict, the new studio that brought you Insidious, celebrates two upcoming features: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a Guillermo Del Toroproduction starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, and Drive, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, and Christina Hendricks. Exclusive footage will be presented and a Q&A will be held for both films.

3:15-4:30 20th Century Fox – At past Comic-Cons, 20th Century Fox has previewedIndependence Day, X2, Avatar, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. You won’t want to miss the excitement this year, as Fox presents first-looks at some of its most-anticipated pictures of 2011 and 2012.

4:45-5:45 Robert Rodriguez’s Quick Draw Productions— Be the first to get a sneak peek atRobert Rodriguez‘s upcoming films. Robert presents Quick Draw’s new slate featuring special guest collaborators. He will also show exclusive material from his latest top-secret project.

6:00-7:00 Entertainment Weekly: The Visionaries: A discussion with Jon Favreau and Guillermo del Toro on the Future of Pop Culture— EW moderates an in-depth conversation with Jon Favreau (Cowboys & Aliens) and Guillermo del Toro (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark), two filmmakers at the forefront of bringing geek culture to the masses and making blockbuster art out of pulp fiction. They will discuss their inspirations, their current work, and how they strive to put a personal stamp on blockbuster entertainment. Plus: How is new technology changing the way stories are produced and viewed? And what do they think the pop culture universe will look like a decade from now? Moderated by Jeff “Doc” Jensen.

FRIDAY:

11:00 a.m.- noon Paramount: The Adventures of Tin-Tin – TBA

12:15-1:15 Relativity Media: Raven and Haywire – Two fantastic films from Relativity Media debut in this Hall H presentation.

Raven — The film is a gritty thriller in which Edgar Allan Poe joins forces with a young Baltimore detective to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis for a string of brutal murders. Raven stars John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, Luke Evans, andAlice Eve and is directed by James McTeigue.

Haywire — An electrifying tale of espionage and betrayal. A female covert ops specialist who works in the deadly world of international operatives strikes back after discovering she’s been double-crossed by someone close to her in the agency. Mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano makes her feature film — and Comic-Con — debut, starring and performing her own high-adrenaline stunts. Also appearing is director Stephen Soderbergh.

1:30-2:30 Screen Gems: Underworld 4 and Attack the Block – Screen Gems presents two big new movie previews to Comic-Con fans!

Underworld 4 brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D. Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrior Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find that humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species. Appearing in person are Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, Len Wiseman (producer and director of Underworld andUnderworld: Evolution), and directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein.

It’s the inner city vs. outer space from the producers of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.Attack the Block follows a gang of tough inner-city kids who try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures, turning a South London apartment complex into an extraterrestrial warzone. This is the film you’ve been hearing about since its debut at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin where it won the Midnight Screening Audience Award. Funny, frightening, surprising, wildly entertaining and winning rave reviews across the country. Appearing in person will be director Joe Cornish and producer Edgar Wright.

2:45-3:45 DreamWorks: Fright Night – Colin Farrell (The Way Back), Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Imogen Poots (Jane Eyre), Dave Franco(Charlie St. Cloud), director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl), and screenwriter Marti Noxon (I Am Number Four) take the dais to give fans a taste of the horrific fun to come in DreamWorks Pictures’ 3D reimagining of the classic horror film.

4:00-6:30 Sony – Sony returns to Hall H with a stellar lineup of films and talent, including:

Ghost Rider-Spirit of Vengeance — After blazing a trail around the globe in the worldwide hitGhost Rider, Nicolas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze in Columbia Pictures’ Ghost Rider-Spirit of Vengeance. Still struggling with his curse as the devil’s bounty hunter, Blaze is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider again, but it is the only way to protect the boy — and possibly rid himself of his curse forever. Live on stage: directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank) and stars Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, and Johnny Whitworth.

30 Minutes or Less — From Ruben Fleischer, the director of Zombieland, comes the action comedy 30 Minutes or Less. In the movie, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg of The Social Network andZombieland) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wannabe criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The duo kidnap Nick and force him to rob a bank. With only a few hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship. Talent in attendance includes director Ruben Fleischer and stars Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, andMichael Peña.

Total Recall — Welcome to Rekall, the company that with one little implant can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell), the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his ordinary existence. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. With the line between fantasy and reality blurred and the fate of his world hanging in the balance, Quaid goes on the run to discover his true identity, his true love, and his true fate. Based on Philip K. Dick’s classic story “I Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” this new take on some of his most visionary ideas is directed by Len Wiseman and stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, and John Cho, all of whom will be appearing.

The Amazing Spider-Man — The Amazing Spider-Man is back on the big screen, shot in 3D for the first time, and will be swinging into your neighborhood on July 3, 2012. Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, and Martin Sheen, as well as Sally Field, and directed by Marc Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man‘s new creative team will be taking a whole new direction in the unfolding saga of everyone’s favorite web-slinger. Appearing in person are producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, director Marc Webb, and our own Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy — Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

6:45-7:30 At the Drive-In – Come with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear when one of the few places you could see some offbeat genre films and a slew of trailers was at your local Drive-In. We’re trying something new at Comic-Con this year by giving some up and coming genre filmmakers an evening berth to preview their upcoming films. Moderated by writer/director Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise). As San Diego gets darker tonight, so will Hall H as we welcome our first guests to the Virtual Drive-In:

Grave Encounters — Locked in an actual abandoned mental hospital, the crew of a ghost-hunting reality show find themselves trapped in a psychotically endless and deadly labyrinth. Written and directed by The Vicious Brothers, Grave Encounters, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, takes the found footage horror genre to a terrifying new level. Appearing on stage: The Vicious Brothers.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil –Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count. Tucker & Dale Vs Evil has been a hit on the festival circuit, debuting at Sundance, and winning the Midnight Audience Award at SXSW, the Jury Prize for First Feature at Fantasia, the Best Director award at Fantaspoa, and the Best Motion Picture Award at Sitges. Confirmed panelists include Eli Craig, Alan Tudyk, and Tyler Labine.

SATURDAY:

11:45-12:45 TWIXT: Francis Ford Coppola and Dan Deacon – Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and acclaimed musician Dan Deacon present sequences from Coppola’s latest film, TWIXT, and involve the audience in a dress rehearsal of the completely unique and innovative way they plan on performing it. Plus a Q&A session.

1:00-2:00 Relativity Media: Immortals – Visionary director Tarsem Singh transports viewers in this epic tale of treachery, vengeance, and destiny in this stylish and visually spectacular 3D action adventure. The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion and his murderous Heraklion (Mickey Rourke) rampage across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus vows to avenge his mother, who was killed in one of Hyperion’s brutal raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle Phaedra, her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final, desperate battle for the future of humanity. Stars Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, Kellan Lutz will participate in this panel alongside producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton.

2:15-3:15 IndieVest Pictures: Knights of Badassdom – In this humorous fantasy adventure from IndieVest Pictures, Joe (Ryan Kwanten) is a heavy metal rocker who’s just gone through a painful breakup with his girlfriend, Beth (Margarita Levieva). His concerned roommates (Steve Zahn, Peter Dinklage) kidnap him to their LARP (Live Action Role Playing) gathering, where he enters a realm of fantasy escapism in which pretend knights, elves, and barbarians clash with foam weaponry on a mock battlefield. When Joe’s “sorcerer” roommate (Zahn) inadvertently summons a deadly succubus that takes Beth’s seductive form, bloody reality crashes down on their fantasy world. Once LARPers start to turn up dead, the make-believe wizards and warriors must become the real-life heroes they have been pretending to be in order to conquer the evil that has been unleashed. The panel will include a Comic-Con exclusive trailer and a discussion/Q&A with stars Ryan Kwanten (HBO’s True Blood, Red Hill),Peter Dinklage (HBO’s Game of Thrones, Station Agent), Steve Zahn, pending availability (HBO’s Tremé, Saving Silverman), Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Danny Pudi (NBC’s Community), Jimmi Simpson, pending availability (A&E’sBreakout Kings, Date Night), Margarita Levieva (The Lincoln Lawyer, Adventureland). and director Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2). Knights of Badassdom will be released in Spring 2012.

3:30-4:15 Universal Pictures: Snow White and the Huntsman – Universal Pictures is bringing the stars and filmmakers of its epic action-adventure film based on the script Snow White and the Huntsman to Comic-Con. Scheduled to appear to discuss their roles in this breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale are Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Oscar winnerCharlize Theron (Prometheus), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). Director Rupert Sanders (Halo 3 campaign) and other filmmakers will also be on hand to reveal exclusive footage. Q&A session to follow.

4:30-5:30 Further over the Rainbow: A First Look at Dorothy of Oz – Join the author and creator, Roger Baum (great grandson of L. Frank Baum), songwriter, producers, and various cast members of Summertime Entertainment’s Dorothy of Oz, as they discuss the many angles of creating the anticipated new 2012 animated musical starring Lea Michele (Glee), Megan Hilty (Wicked, Spielberg’s Smash), Martin Short (How I Met Your Mother, Frankenweenie), and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: TNG, X-Men). Be the very first to see the footage, hear the music, and witness a surprise new casting announcement. Q&A to follow.

5:45-7:30 An Early Evening with Kevin Smith – You know Comic-Con is over for the night on Saturday when the fat man sings. Kevin Smith takes to the Hall H stage for his annual Q&A. Fair warning: he works bluer than Doctor Manhattan (though, unlike Doctor Manhattan, Smith will wear clothes for this performance).

SUNDAY:

10:00-11:00 Glee – Creator/executive producer Ryan Murphy, creator/executive producerBrad Falchuk, and stars of Glee present a sneak peek at Glee The 3D Concert Moviefeaturing never-before-seen footage, behind-the-scenes secrets, and Q&A session.

11:15-12:15 Supernatural Screening and Q&A – For the first time ever, the Supernaturalpanel will be in Hall H! Series stars Jared Padalecki (Friday the 13th [2009]) and Jensen Ackles (My Bloody Valentine 3D) and additional cast members and executive producers present an exclusive sneak peek at footage from the highly anticipated seventh season of this thrill-ride series. The panel will answer questions from the audience, show a portion of the special features from the upcoming Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season DVD and Blu-ray release (in stores September 13), and give Comic-Con fans a sneak peek at Supernatural: The Anime Series, coming to DVD and Blu-ray on July 26. Supernatural airs Fridays at 9/8c on The CW and is produced by Wonderland Sound and Vision in association with Warner Bros. Television.

12:30-1:30 BBC America’s Doctor Who – Stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, along with writers and producers, make their first Comic-Con appearance for a panel and Q&A! They’re bringing exclusive new footage of the new season to be shown ahead of its late summer return on BBC America. Doctor Who follows the adventures of the Doctor, the mysterious traveler who journeys throughout all of time and space, picking up companions along the way and almost always sidestepping danger. From award-winning lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and starring BAFTA nominee Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as his companion Amy Pond, the second season’s Part One delivered record ratings for BBC America and marked the first time Doctor Who filmed on American soil. Also starring Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston, the Part One finale ended with the unveiling of a massive secret and the words “Let’s Kill Hitler” on screen. Part One is now available on Blu-ray/DVD/iTunes, and Part Two premieres late summer on BBC America’s Supernatural Saturdays.

1:45-2:45 The Cleveland Show – The cast and executive producers offer a look at The Cleveland Show’s not-to-be-missed parody of Die Hard, followed by a discussion with panelists Mike Henry, Sanaa Lathan, Kevin Michael Richardson, Reagan Gomez, Rich Appel, and Kara Vallow.

2:45-3:30 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Join the hilarious cast — Rob McElhenney,Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito — for a Q&A panel session.

3:30-4:00 Sons of Anarchy – Get an inside look into the world of FX’s highest-rated series ever, Sons of Anarchy, with creator Kurt Sutter (The Shield) and stars Charlie Hunnam(Children of Men), Katey Sagal (Married…With Children), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).

4:00-5:00 Buffy the Musical – Let’s end this show with a bang! The powers that be behind Fandom Charities Inc. and Whedonopolis.com present a screening of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode “Once More With Feeling” as Comic-Con 2011′s big Hall H closing event! Many say this is the finest, funniest, most ingenious episode ever to come out of the Buffyverse. But remember, the best part of the show is up to you! This episode was made for talkin’ — back, that is — and singing and shouting and dancing in the aisles, with or without your dry cleaning! Audience participation: it isn’t just for Rocky Horror and mob riots anymore.

BALLROOM 20

WEDNESDAY:

6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series – Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of three of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2011-12 television season — Alcatraz, Person of Interest, and The Secret Circle — as well asSupernatural: The Anime Series, the first-ever anime adaptation of a U.S. television series.

Alcatraz – From executive producer J. J. Abrams (Super 8, Fringe) and showrunner Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost) comes Alcatraz, a chilling new drama revolving around America’s most infamous prison and onetime home to the nation’s worst criminals. The series stars Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy), Jorge Garcia (Lost), Jonny Coyne (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life), Parminder Nagra (ER), Santiago Cabrera (Heroes), and Jason Butler Harner (Fringe), with Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park). Abrams, Bryan Burk (Super 8, Fringe), and Sarnoff are executive producers; Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (both Kyle XY) are co-executive producers. Alcatraz will premiere in midseason and air Mondays 9/8c on FOX.

Person of Interest – Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line), Michael Emerson (Lost), and Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow) team up in Person of Interest, a thought-provoking crime action-drama from The Dark Knight‘s Jonathan Nolan and J. J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions (Super 8,Fringe). Set in New York City, with all of its multifaceted elements of justice (cops, criminals, corruption), this procedural centers on an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, who partners with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes. Kevin Chapman (Rescue Me) also stars in the series, which is executive produced by Nolan, Abrams, Greg Plageman (Cold Case), and Bryan Burk (Super 8, Fringe). Person of Interest is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The series will air Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS this fall.

The Secret Circle — The ordinary becomes the extraordinary in The Secret Circle, a romantic drama full of mystery, intrigue, and danger from executive producer Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries) and based on the book series by L. J. Smith (The Vampire Diaries). The series chronicles the story of a young girl who discovers not only that she is a witch and part of a secret coven but that she is the key that will unlock a centuries-old battle of good versus evil. Britt Robertson (Scream 4), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Gale Harold (Queer as Folk), Shelley Hennig (Days of Our Lives), Phoebe Tonkin (H20: Just Add Water), Louis Hunter (Out of the Blue), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Valemont), Ashley Crow (Heroes), and Natasha Henstridge (Species) star in the series, from executive producers Williamson, Leslie Morgenstein (The Vampire Diaries), Gina Girolamo (Alloy Entertainment), Andrew Miller (Nothing), and Richard Hatem (Supernatural). The series will air Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW this fall.

Supernatural: The Anime Series — Warner Bros. Television’s hit series Supernatural(Fridays 9/8c, The CW) makes history this summer as Supernatural: The Anime Series is released in the United States, the first-ever live-action series to be reimagined in Japanese anime style. Inspired by the U.S. series’ sensational following oversees, Warner Home Video Japan and renowned animation studio Madhouse — working with the full approval of series creator Eric Kripke — produced the anime series, which mirrors the story arc of Supernatural‘s first two seasons, providing supplemental stories ranging from prequels and spinoffs to untold tales that fit within the Supernatural mythology. The all-new, 22-episode animated series will be distributed July 26 by Warner Home Video on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand, and for Download.

THURSDAY:

10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe – For fans of USA’s hit series Burn Notice who’ve always wanted to know what happened before Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) teamed up with Michael Weston and Fiona, Comic-Con attendees are invited inside the USA made-for-TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, debuting on DVD exclusively at Comic-Con! The Burn Notice prequel chronicles what turned out to be the last military mission of former U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Axe and the expedition that took him from the jungles of Colombia to sunny Miami Beach. Go one-on-one with Bruce Campbell, star of Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, and Burn Notice creator, writer, and executive producer, Matt Nix.

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Covert Affairs – For the first time, TV’s sexiest spy show, USA Network’s Covert Affairs, comes to Comic-Con! Spend some time with stars Piper Perabo(Annie Walker), Christopher Gorham (Auggie Anderson), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Jai Wilcox),Kari Matchett (Joan Campbell), Anne Dudek (Danielle), and Peter Gallagher (Arthur Campbell). Executive producers Doug Liman, Chris Ord, Matt Corman, and Dave Bartis also join the panel, moderated by the one-and-only Oded Fehr. Fans will get an insider’s look into the action-packed world of Covert Affairs. Besides having questions answered about the exciting current season, fans will view exclusive video content featuring a sneak peek at upcoming episodes. There will also be surprise giveaways for audience members.

12:30-1:30 Psych – Calling all Psych-o’s! USA Network’s Psych is back at Comic-Con with another hilarious panel featuring the stars and producers behind one of cable’s most popular shows. Moderated by Psych’s resident morgue-dweller and fan favorite, Woody the Coroner (acclaimed actor Kurt Fuller), the one-hour panel will be full of surprises and face-time with series stars James Roday (Shawn Spencer), Dulé Hill (Burton “Gus” Guster), Maggie Lawson(Juliet O’Hara), Tim Omundson (Carlton Lassiter), Kirsten Nelson (Chief Karen Vick), andCorbin Bernsen (Henry Spencer). Joining the cast are Steve Franks (creator and executive producer), Kelly Kulchak (executive producer) and Chris Henze (executive producer). The cast and creative team will share secrets and stories from the set as well as answer questions about the show. Expect exclusive videos, surprise giveaways, live performances, and an extended preview of Season 6 episodes screened only for Comic-Con fans!

1:45-2:45 Ringer – Sarah Michelle Gellar makes her highly anticipated television return in the gripping new thriller Ringer, as a woman who, after witnessing a murder, goes on the run, hiding out by assuming the life of her wealthy identical twin — only to learn that her sister’s seemingly idyllic life is just as complicated and dangerous as the one she’s trying to leave behind. Be the first to see an exclusive sneak peek at the new series about family secrets and stolen identities, followed by a panel discussion with series stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four), Nestor Carbonell (Lost, The Dark Knight), Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected), executive producer Pam Veasey (CSI:NY), and co-executive producers Nicole Snyder (Supernatural) and Eric Charmelo (Supernatural).

3:00-4:00 Game of Thrones Panel and Q&A session – Based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, HBO’s Game of Thrones concluded its 10-episode debut season on June 19. The series, executive produced and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power in a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. Some of the cast featured in the first season and appearing on this panel are (in alphabetical order) Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, and Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo. Moderated by George R. R. Martin, who also serves as a co-executive producer and writer on the series.

4:15-5:15 TV Guide Magazine: Fan Favorites – TV Guide is back with an all-star panel for the fans! Moderated by editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum, Fan Favorites features your favorite talent from your favorite shows — in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Panelists includeNestor Carbonell (Ringer), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Jorge Garcia (Alcatraz),Leslie Hope (The River), Zachary Levi (Chuck), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Julie Plec(Vampire Diaries), Matt Smith (Doctor Who ), Kevin Williamson (Vampire Diaries), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood), and others.

5:30-7:30 Showtime : Tired of Ordinary Television? – This year at Comic-Con, Showtime saves! The casts and creative forces behind Dexter and Shameless give sneak peeks into the new seasons. And be the first to see an exclusive look at the new Showtime original seriesHomeland.

Dexter — See the exclusive world premiere of the new season’s trailer, then moderator Ralph Garman (KROQ entertainment reporter) will preside over a revealing interview and Q&A session with the stars and executive producers, including Michael C. Hall (star/executive producer), C. S. Lee (Masuka), David Zayas (Batista) , guest star Colin Hanks (Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Roswell), and more. Also appearing are executive producers John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Scott Buck, and Manny Coto.

Shameless – Come party with the cast and creative team behind the hottest new Showtime original series, Shameless. If you thought your family was dysfunctional, wait ’til you meet the Gallaghers. Get the inside scoop on what’s in store for the new season as Mike Schneider (TV Guide Los Angeles bureau chief) leads an interview and Q&A with stars William H. Macy(Fargo, Jurassic Park III) and Emmy Rossum (Day After Tomorrow, Dragon Ball: Evolution), plus more, along with executive producer John Wells (West Wing, ER, Southland).

Homeland — This fall, the war on terror comes home in the new Showtime original seriesHomeland from executive producers/writers Howard Gordon (24, The X-Files) and Alex Gansa (24, The X-Files, Numb3rs), starring Claire Danes (Terminator 3), Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Life), Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride, Criminal Minds), and Morena Baccarin (V, Firefly). Comic-Con favorite Morena Baccarin will make a special appearance to introduce exclusive footage from Homeland.

FRIDAY:

10:00-11:00 Torchwood: Miracle Day – John Barrowman (Doctor Who) and Eve Myles(Doctor Who) join cast members Mekhi Phifer (ER), Bill Pullman (Independence Day), Alexa Havins (All My Children), and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), along with writer Jane Espenson (Battlestar Galactica), to discuss the fourth installment of the hit BBC Worldwide show, a Starz Originals co-production, currently airing Friday nights at 10 ET/PT on Starz.

11:15-12:15 AMC’s The Walking Dead – Stars Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), Jon Bernthal(The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Laurie Holden (The Mist), Norman Reedus (The Boondock Saints), Steven Yeun (The Big Bang Theory), Jeffrey DeMunn (The Green Mile); series creator/writer/director/executive producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption); executive producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator); executive producer Robert Kirkman (creator/writer of The Walking Dead comic book series); and makeup artist and consulting producer Greg Nicotero discuss the success of season one of AMC’s series The Walking Dead and reveal what to look forward to in season two, which will air on AMC this Fall. Join the panelists for a one-on-one Q&A session and an official sneak preview of season two.

12:30-1:30 The Big Bang Theory Screening and Q&A – Dr., Dr., Dr., Dr., Dr., Mr., Miss…See everyone’s favorite scientists (and engineer and waitress) from The Big Bang Theory as the show’s producers and stars return to San Diego with a special screening and Q&A. Executive producers Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men), Bill Prady (Dharma & Greg), and Steve Molaro (iCarly) join stars Johnny Galecki (Roseanne), Jim Parsons (Garden State), Kaley Cuoco (Charmed), Simon Helberg (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Kunal Nayyar (NCIS),Mayim Bialik (Blossom), and Melissa Rauch (True Blood) for a fun and lively discussion. From Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television, The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS, and The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fourth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 13.

1:45-2:45 Bones – Creator/executive producer Hart Hanson, executive producer Stephen Nathan, and stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel discuss the shocking finale ofBones Season 6 as well as what’s in store for Booth and Brennan in an exciting Season 7! Hanson will also introduce the audience to the stars of The Finder, his new FOX series premiering in January. Plus, Q&A!

3:00-4:00 Eureka – Small town. Big panel. Syfy’s smash hit Eureka is back at Comic-Con.Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Neil Grayston(Douglas Fargo), and guest star Felicia Day (Dr. Holly Martin) join executive producers Jaime Paglia and Bruce Miller for a chat about the big secrets of America’s smartest little town. Moderated by guest star Wil Wheaton (Dr. Isaac Parrish; Wesley Crusher, Star Trek: Next Generation).

4:15-5:15 Warehouse 13 – For one day only, America’s top-secret treasure trove is moving from the middle of nowhere to the middle of Comic-Con. Stars Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), and Allison Scagliotti(Claudia Donovan), along with executive producer Jack Kenny, take you inside Syfy’s blockbuster hit series, Warehouse 13. Moderated by Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo, Eureka).

5:30-6:30 True Blood Panel and Q&A session – Mixing romance, suspense, mystery, and humor, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated True Blood kicked off its 12-episode fourth season June 26 on HBO. The series follows the on-and-off romance between waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can hear people’s thoughts, and 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). Oscar and Emmy award winner Alan Ball created and serves as executive producer of the series, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. The series — and this panel! — also features Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse, Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte, Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton, Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette, Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica Hamby, Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam, Joe Manganiello as Alcide, and Kevin Alejandro as Jesus. Moderated byTim Stack of Entertainment Weekly.

8:00-10:00 World Premiere: Batman: Year One – Warner Home Video, Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation proudly present the World Premiere of Batman: Year One, the highly anticipated next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Based on the landmark 1987 DC Comics titles from 12-time Eisner Awardwinner Frank Miller and illustrator David Mazzucchelli, Batman: Year One depicts young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City in his first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante. The playboy billionaire chooses the guise of a giant bat to combat crime, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon (who is already battling corruption from inside the police department), inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps bring down a crooked political system that infests Gotham. When the film ends, stay in your seats for a lively panel discussion amongst voice cast members Ben McKenzie (Southland), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), executive producer Bruce Timm (DCU films), directors Lauren Montgomery(Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) and Sam Liu (All-Star Superman), and casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano (DCU films). Moderator Gary Miereanu will offer a first glimpse into the 2012 DC Universe Animated Original Movies slate, give away some exclusive prizes to inquisitive audience members, and quite possibly introduce a few surprise guests. Warner Home Video will distribute Batman: Year One on Blu-ray and DVD, OnDemand and For Download on October 18, 2011.

SATURDAY:

10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Chuck Screening and Q&A – Comic-Con fan-favorite Chuck returns with a bang for its farewell panel to celebrate its fifth and final season. Executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak, along with series stars Zachary Levi (Alvin and the Chipmunks),Yvonne Strahovski (upcoming My Mother’s Curse), Joshua Gomez (Without a Trace), Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence (The Pursuit of Happyness), Vik Sahay (Good Will Hunting), Scott Krinsky (The O.C.) with Sarah Lancaster (The Good Doctor), and Adam Baldwin (Serenity), offer a Q&A with fans and an unforgettable video presentation. Produced by Fake Empire, Wonderland Sound and Vision in association with Warner Bros. Television,Chuck airs Friday at 8:00 ET/PT on NBC, and Chuck: The Complete Fourth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD this fall.

11:00 a.m.-noon Terra Nova – Star Stephen Lang (Avatar), executive producer Rene Echevarria (Castle, Medium, The 4400, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), executive producerBrannon Braga (24, Star Trek: Enterprise), and co-executive producer Jose Molina (Haven, Castle) premiere footage from the highly anticipated epic adventure series 85 million years in the making, set to premiere this September on FOX. This new event drama from the minds of Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Pacific) and Peter Chernin follows an ordinary family on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race.

12:15-1:00 Futurama – Futurama is back! Again! On stage will be creator/executive producerMatt Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen, and stars Billy West (Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg), Katey Sagal (Leela), John DiMaggio (Bender), and Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroker, Calculon, Morbo). Get a sneak peek at never-before-seen footage ofFuturama reincarnated as Japanese anime, along with a thrilling preview of this summer’s new season on Comedy Central. Moderated by Bill Morrison.

1:00-1:45 The Simpsons – Now entering its record-annihilating 23rd season on FOX and airing its landmark 500th episode on February 19, 2012, The Simpsons has won 27 Emmy awards, was the subject of an international film smash in 2007, and inspired a ride you ride again at Universal Studios. Plus, Homer Simpson was named the greatest television character of the last 20 years by Entertainment Weekly. Get insight into the daily doings of this series from creator Matt Groening, showrunner Al Jean, co-executive producer Rob Lazebnik, co-executive producer Matt Warburton, supervising producer Mike Anderson, and producer/panel moderator Tom Gammill.

2:00-2:35 Family Guy – Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Adam West (Batman), and executive producers Mark Hentemann, Steve Callaghan, and Kara Vallow present a sneak peek at the new episode Stewie Goes for a Drive, featuring voice guest star Ryan Reynolds, followed by a Q&A session.

2:35-3:15 American Dad – Catch a preview of the Season 7 premiere of American Dad, featuring guest star Cee-Lo Green as a singing hot tub, followed by a Q&A with cast membersWendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, and Dee Bradley Baker and executive producers Mike Barker, Matt Weitzman, and Kara Vallow.

3:30-4:15 The Vampire Diaries Screening and Q&A – All the way from Mystic Falls, the cast and creative team behind The Vampire Diaries descend on Comic-Con for a third time! Series stars Nina Dobrev (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Paul Wesley (Roll Bounce), Ian Somerhalder (Lost), Candice Accola (Juno), and Joseph Morgan (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) join executive producers/writers Kevin Williamson (Scream) andJulie Plec (Kyle XY) to enthrall fans with a season two highlight reel and Q&A session. This edgy, romantic drama remains the number-one series on The CW and promises another round of twists, turns and “triangles” in season three. From Bonanza Productions Inc., Outerbanks Entertainment, and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW, and The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD August 30.

4:30-5:15 Fringe Screening and Q&A – Fringe returns to Comic-Con with series stars Anna Torv, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, and John Noble and executive producersJeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman for a Q&A with fans and an exclusive video presentation. Delve into parallel universes and alternate doppelgangers and join the discussion about this critically acclaimed thriller as Fringe continues to explore otherworldly cases with endless impossibilities. From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television,Fringe airs Fridays at 9/8c on FOX, and Fringe: The Complete Third Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 6.

5:15-6:00 Alcatraz Pilot Screening and Q&A – Catch a special pilot screening of Alcatraz, a chilling new thriller centering on America’s most infamous prison and the mysterious return of its most notorious criminals. When an Alcatraz inmate is discovered walking the streets of present-day San Francisco — not having aged a bit since the 1960s — a sinister threat begins to unravel. Where have these prisoners been? Why are they back? After the screening, there will be a special Q&A with Alcatraz writer and executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost) and series stars Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy) and Jorge Garcia (Lost). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television,Alcatraz will air midseason on FOX.

8:30-11:30 HBO’s True Blood Presents the Comic-Con International Masquerade – Fabulous original and re-created costumes crafted by talented attendees appear on stage before an audience of thousands, with impressive awards and cash prizes bestowed to those judged most outstanding. Doors will open for audience seating at 7:45 pm, but the line will start much earlier! Tickets will be required for seating, and will be given out free to those lining up near Ballroom 20 beginning at 2:00 pm Saturday until all tickets are gone. The masters of ceremonies will once again be writer/artists Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglioof Studio Foglio. (Note: overflow seating is available in Rooms 5AB, 6A and in the Sails Pavilion; tickets not required for overflow areas)

Not in Hall H or Ballroom 20, But Still Important:

11:45-12:45 One-on-One with Castle Star Nathan Fillion— Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and the cast of Castle offer a lively discussion about their popular ABC crime-solving series. If you at last year’s panel, you’ll remember the fun and surprises. Enjoy a sneak peek into season four and walk away with Double Rainbow! Room 6BCF

San Diego's Comic-Con Saturday schedule

2011-07-09T13:27:00.002-04:00

Comic-Con 2011 has given us yet another reason to be excited for a trip to San Diego. The convention has released their schedule for Saturday, July 23. To see what panels you can expect to see at Comic-Con, CLICK HERE, and check back later for some of the highlights! Also: Check out Thursday’s schedule here, and Friday’s schedule here.

ABC's ICONIC SOAPS "ALL MY CHILDREN" AND "ONE LIFE TO LIVE TO PROSPECT PARK

2011-07-08T10:55:00.003-04:00

It looks like the hard work from the fans have paid off and ABC has realized the power of the viewers. ABC has licensed its iconic soaps, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to Prospect Park, it was announced today by Brian Frons, President, Daytime, Disney/ABC Television Group & Janice Marinelli, President, Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Rich Frank & Jeff Kwatinetz of Prospect Park. The exclusive multi-year, multi-platform deal enables the soaps' stories to continue beyond their finale dates on ABC. ABC will broadcast its final episode of "All My Children" on Friday, September 23rd and will air the final episode of "One Life to Live" in January, 2012.

Additional details of the new productions and tune-in will be forthcoming from Prospect Park but I'm hoping that they do some sort of merger thing with say NETFLIX so that soaps can be cataloged and streamed over the net via the NETFLIX service as well. I do have some concerns on the deal and one such concern is how the older viewers who are not as web savy or who don't have internet will connect to their beloved soaps? Loosing such a group will kill the ratings - or is this all part of a plan to get viewership in a new platform for a few years and then dump the soaps all together (think Passions on Directv) while reaping the memberships?

Why ABC has chosen to go with licensing the soaps to Prospect Park as opposed to selling the rights to SONY and/or any others who inquired is more or less a strategic move on their part. How would it look if both shows did better on another station say CBS or NBC both of which currently have SONY soaps. And let's be honest are any of us really going to watch a show called "The Chew"?

If you ask me I think that might have been a better option since SoapNet is signing off in 2012. So unless we get a virtual "SoapNet" on the internet where will fans of the beloved soap opera genre find their shows?

At least with this announcement fans of General Hospital (GH) can breath a sigh of relief since that soap has been dipping in the ratings recently and many feared it would be axed next. Should that be the case it could be poised to jump over to Prospect Park as well.

ABC LICENSES ITS ICONIC SOAPS "ALL MY CHILDREN" AND "ONE LIFE TO LIVE TO PROSPECT PARK

2011-07-08T10:52:00.002-04:00

EXCLUSIVE MULTI-YEAR, MULTI-PLATFORM DEAL ALLOW THE SOAPS' STORIES TO CONTINUE BEYOND THEIR FINAL AIRDATES ON ABC

ABC has licensed its iconic soaps, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to Prospect Park, it was announced today by Brian Frons, President, Daytime, Disney/ABC Television Group & Janice Marinelli, President, Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Rich Frank & Jeff Kwatinetz of Prospect Park. The exclusive multi-year, multi-platform deal enables the soaps' stories to continue beyond their finale dates on ABC. ABC will broadcast its final episode of "All My Children" on Friday, September 23rd and will air the final episode of "One Life to Live" in January, 2012.

The licensing agreement, brokered by Disney/ABC Domestic Television Group, enables Prospect Park to continue production of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" beyond their life on ABC. Prospect Park will produce and deliver the two long-running programs to consumers via online formats and additional emerging platforms including internet enabled television sets. Under the terms of the arrangement, the programs will continue to be delivered with the same quality and in the same format and length. Additional details of the new productions and tune-in will be forthcoming from Prospect Park.

"We are privileged to continue the legacy of two of the greatest programs to air on daytime television, and are committed to delivering the storylines, characters and quality that audiences have come to love for over 40 years. 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' are television icons, and we are looking forward to providing anytime, anywhere viewing to their loyal community of millions," said Frank and Kwatinetz. "Technology changes the way the public can and will view television shows. Now that there are so many devices available in addition to television sets, viewers are taking advantage of watching shows wherever they are and on any number of devices. The driving force in making the switch and attracting new audiences is to have outstanding programs that people want to watch. We believe that by continuing to produce the shows in their current hour format and with the same quality, viewers will follow the show to our new, online network."

"'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' are iconic pieces of television history that captivated millions of fans since their beginning over 40 years ago," said Frons. "Each of the shows have made an indelible mark on our culture's history and informed our consciousness in their own way. We are so glad Prospect Park has assumed the mantel for these shows and that they will continue for the fans."

Marinelli continued, "From the time the shift in the daytime strategy was announced, our hope was to find a new home for these treasured shows. We are thrilled to license them to Prospect Park so the stories of life in Pine Valley and Llanview can continue to be told for the passionate and loyal fans that enjoy watching each day."

"I'm just so happy that ABC found a home where the legacies of 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' can continue. I'm excited for their future with Prospect Park," added Agnes Nixon, creator of both "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." "It takes a lot of living to make a soap opera a serial, and the wonderful teams on both shows have done just that. Together, we are a big family that keeps going, and I'm looking forward to working alongside these wonderful people as we ensure that the shows will continue with all the love and excitement we've always had. I also am so happy for our loyal fans, whom we love so much, and who have been so supportive over the last 40 plus years."

Prospect Park is a media and production company founded in 2009 by entertainment industry veterans Jeffrey Kwatinetz and former Disney Studios head Rich Frank. Along with successful film and music divisions, the company's television group has numerous shows in development and breakout network hits airing, including "Royal Pains" and "Wilfred."

In April, ABC announced that it was expanding the focus of its daytime lineup to include more programming that is informative and authentic and centers on transformation, food and lifestyle. "The Chew," an innovative and groundbreaking daily talk show that celebrates and explores life through food, will premiere on September 26th. "The Revolution," a daily show about health and lifestyle transformations, will replace "One Life to Live" in January 2012.

"All My Children" has revolved around the lives of the residents of fictional Pine Valley, a town which closely resembles the Philadelphia Main Line. "All My Children" took home the 1998 Emmy-award for Outstanding Drama Series, the third time the show received this top honor, having also garnered the award in 1994 and 1992. "All My Children" has received more than 30 Emmy Awards and consistently distinguishes itself in the field of daytime drama. The show has historically been committed to and is often the first to tackle social issues, focusing on such topics as AIDS, abortion, cochlear implants, teenage alcoholism, racial bias, acquaintance rape, spousal abuse, homosexuality, Reyes syndrome, Vietnam MIAs, drug abuse, the risks of motherhood over 40, safe sex, pet therapy and organ donations, among others. The show made television history airing daytime television's first same-sex kiss between two lesbian characters as well as daytime television's first same sex wedding between two women. The show was the first to chronicle the coming out story of a transgender woman and to cast a real life Iraq war vet whose story reflected his real life experiences and injuries incurred in combat.

"All My Children" premiered on the ABC Television Network on January 5, 1970, as a half-hour show; seven years later it expanded to an hour. Julie Hanan Carruthers is executive producer.

Also created by Agnes Nixon, the Emmy Award-Winning "One Live to Live" is set in the fictional town of Llanview, which is modeled on a Philadelphia suburb. "One Life to Live" debuted on The ABC Television Network July 15, 1968 as a half hour show. Ten years later, it grew to a full hour in 1978.

"One Life to Live" has been lauded for its groundbreaking exploration of social issues, diverse canvas, award-winning performances and innovative storylines. Along with the history-making week of live shows in May 2002, "One Life to Live" is responsible for many "firsts" in Daytime television, including stories of interracial romance, illiteracy, medical misdiagnosis, racial prejudice, gang violence and teen pregnancy. The show received mass critical acclaim for its 1992 homophobia storyline, which captured national headlines when it introduced the character of a gay teen (played by then unknown Ryan Phillippe) and culminated with the emotional display of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. "One Life to Live" was honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) with the Outstanding Daytime Drama Award in 1993, and again in 2005 and 2010.

In 2002, the show won its first-ever Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Drama Series category, and was nominated again in 2007 and 2008. Created by Agnes Nixon, "One Life to Live" debuted on July 15, 1968 and marked its 10,000th episode on August 17, 2007. Frank Valentini executive-produces.

Ken Ziffren of Ziffren Brittenham advised Prospect Park on the deal and the company is represented by Skip Paul at Centerview Partners LLC.

San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Schedule of Events for Thursday, July 21

2011-07-08T08:30:00.001-04:00

San Diego Comic-Con 2011 has published its schedule of events for Thursday, July 21. (Way to keep us hanging/build intrigue regarding the other dates, Comic-Con!) For a full list of projects (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn! Game of Thrones!) and persons (Sarah Michelle Gellar, for Ringer! Jon Favreau and Guillermo del Toro, for Entertainment Weekly‘s Visionaries panel!) attending the convention, CLICK HERE.

No big Marvel Studios presentation at Comic-Con this year

2011-07-03T08:33:00.000-04:00

In a surprising move, Marvel Studios has officially announced that they will not be holding a panel presentation in Hall H at this year’s Comic-Con. That move is noteworthy, since the star-studded introduction of the complete cast of The Avengersclosed Comic-Con 2010. (Avengers is currently slated for a May 2012 release.) A rep for Marvel Studios noted that the company “will have other things going on at the Marvel booth,” along with “other to-be-announced activities.” Though the Los Angeles Times theorized that Marvel may hold a presentation at August’s D23 expo — an event run by Disney, Marvel’s corporate parent, which will supposedly feature Comic-Con-like presentations of The Lone Ranger and John Carter – it’s unclear whether there will be anyAvengers footage at D23. (The official word from Marvel Studios: “So far all perception about D23 has been from the media and not something that Disney has communicated about either way.”)

Marvel Comics Reveals Plans For New York Comic Con

2011-06-23T10:44:00.002-04:00

Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso to Join Other Guests of Honor Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, and Stuart Immonen

Many top writers and creators will be joining Marvel Comics at New York Comic Con (NYCC) as the renowned comic books and media entertainment company reveals preliminary plans for the 2011 edition of the annual pop culture extravaganza which will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, October 13 - 16, 2011. Marvel will not only have a 3000 square foot booth on the show floor where attendees will have an opportunity to mingle with creators and staff, but the company will also be conducting numerous high profile panels throughout the weekend which will feature their top talent. Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, and Axel Alonso, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, will be Guests of Honor at the show and will be joined by many other notable Marvel creators including Guests of Honor Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, and Stuart Immonen.

“The enthusiastic participation of premiere companies like Marvel is critical to our success,” notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. “We are always eager to host Marvel at New York Comic Con and to provide their talent with a range of opportunity. Our show not only brings thousands of fans together with their favorite writers, artists and creators but we are a preeminent venue for launching and displaying new content and product. Marvel’s participation is a huge validation of our efforts and we are grateful to them for their energy and commitment. We look forward to making the 2011 edition of New York Comic Con one of the best ever!”

JASON AARON: Jason Aaron is an Eisner and Harvey Award nominated comic book writer whose work includes the critically acclaimed crime series Scalped for Vertigo and stints on Black Panther, Ghost Rider andWolverine: Weapon X for Marvel. Current and upcoming projects include Wolverine, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, PunisherMAX , X-Men Schism and Wolverine & the X-Men, all for Marvel. He was born in Alabama but currently resides in Kansas City.

AXEL ALONSO: A 17-year comics industry veteran, Axel Alonso got his start at DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, where he edited such seminal series such as Preacher, Hellblazer and 100 Bullets, before leaping to Marvel Comics in 2001. Since that time, he has overseen many of the publisher’s biggest franchises – including Spider-Man, Hulk and the X-Men – and edited some of its most talked-about series – including Truth, Rawhide Kid and X-Statix. In 2011 Axel was promoted to Editor In Chief, a tenure during which he has overseen major events such as the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man and the chart-topping Fear Itself. Besides comics, Alonso’s passions include basketball, hip-hop, 8-year-old shooting guard Tito “Mr. T” Alonso, Asian food and preparing for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.

MATT FRACTION: Matt Fraction is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer known for his work on The Invincible Iron Man, Thor, The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics, Casanova for Icon Comics. This summer he masterminds Marvel’s mega-event Fear Itself alongside Stuart Immonen. He’s written the graphic novels Last of the Independents and The Five Fists of Science, and comics like 30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales and The Order. He’s recently contributed to the storylines and dialogue of both theIron Man 2 and Thor video games for Sega, and was a consultant on the Iron Man 2 film. He lives in Portland Oregon with his wife, the writer Kelly Sue Deconnick, and his two children, two dogs, two cats, and frog. There were two frogs but they died.

KIERON GILLEN: Kieron Gillen is a foul writing worm who crawls inside artists' ears and makes them do his bidding. Products of this evil symbiosis include Journey Into Mystery and the award-winning Phonogram. This fall Kieron will be launching Uncanny X-Men #1 with Carlos Pacheco & Greg Land. There is no known cure.

STUART IMMONEN: Since his self-published debut in 1988, Stuart Immonen has worked for almost every publisher in the comics industry from Archie to Rip Off Press, with notable tenures at DC, where he wrote and drew Adventures of Superman; Gorilla, where he co-created Shockrockets with writer Kurt Busiek; and Marvel, where he pencilled Ultimate Spider-Man, Nextwave and New Avengers, and most recently the event title Fear Itself. Stuart is known for employing diverse drawing styles as seen in his sketchbook series Centifolia published by AdHouse Books, and in his work with writer Kathryn Immonen, including Boom! Studios' Never as Bad as You Think and Moving Pictures, published by Top Shelf. He lives in Toronto.

JOE QUESADA: Joe Quesada wears many creative hats, as both an acclaimed writer-artist and the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, the world’s largest and most dynamic comics publisher. In this role, Joe is steward of such legendary characters as Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four. His tenure as Editor-in-Chief recently drew to a close after 10 successful years – the longest term since Stan Lee himself. Under Quesada’s guidance, Marvel underwent a creative boom and became home to the comic industry’s greatest talents, which continues to hold true today. He brings this same vision to his role in the whole of Marvel Entertainment across the worlds of publishing, film, and television.

Customers interested in signing up for New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini atlsettembrini@reedexpo.com. Tickets for NYCC are now on sale via the website www.NewYorkComicCon.com. Limited 4-Day tickets are available. For further information about all ReedPOP shows and activity, please visit Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.MediumAtLarge.net. Convention organizers note that many more guests will be announced over the next few weeks and months and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC’s website and blog for additional comics, entertainment and anime announcements.

Many additional top creators to participate in panels, signings and appearances!!

ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration VI, New York Anime Festival (NYAF), andUFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

Fairy Tail Cast Comes To New York Anime Festival

2011-06-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

Leads Of FUNimation Series Take Part In Anime Event At New York Comic Con

The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) and FUNimation Entertainment today announced that the leads of its new anime series Fairy Tail will be coming to this October's New York Anime Festival. The New York Anime Festival will take place October 13-16, 2011 at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan as part of the sixth annual New York Comic Con (NYCC). NYCC, which attracted 96,000 attendees in 2010, celebrates comics, television, movies, toys, games, and the popular arts from around the planet. NYCC's Anime Festival shines a specific spotlight on anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture. NYCC has already

announced guests including Kevin Smith, Felicia Day, and Robert Kirkman. Fairy Tail voice actors Todd Haberkorn, Colleen

Clinkenbeard, Cherami Leigh, and Newton Pittman are today announced as guests and will appear at NYAF at NYCC for panel sessions, autograph signings, and an introduction to a premiere Fairy Tail screening.

Todd Haberkorn leads the Fairy Tail cast as the voice of Natsu, Colleen Clinkenbeard provides the voice for Erza, Cherami Leigh is Lucy, and Newton Pittman is the voice for Gray. The series, currently broadcast in Japan, is based on a manga by the same name by Hiro Mashima. The Fairy Tail manga is published in America by Kodansha Comics. In the world of Fairy Tail, sorcerers band together in Guilds to take on paying assignments, including hunting monsters, finding lost items, and running odd errands, for non-magic users. The story follows Lucy, an aspiring wizard who wants to join the most prestigious Guild around, Fairy Tail. And, when she meets the (literally) fiery Natsu, she's well on her way to joining the ranks of Fairy Tail.

FUNimation is currently streaming subtitled episodes of the series at www.funimation.com/fairy-tail and will release the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray later this year.

"The New York Anime Festival is excited to welcome Todd, Colleen, Cherami, and Newton to New York City," NYAF and NYCC Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. "Fairy Tail already has a thriving fanbase in both America and Japan, and Todd, Colleen, Cherami, and Newton are an all-star cast! We're looking very forward to presenting a premiere Fairy Tail screeningin English -- and couldn’t be happier than to do so with the cast right here with the fans!"

For bios, headshots, and additional information on Todd Haberkorn, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Cherami Leigh, and Newton Pittman, please visit www.newyorkcomiccon.com.

Details around NYAF's Fairy Tail events and its full schedule will be announced later this summer. Tickets are available at www.newyorkcomiccon.com now. For the latest information, please follow @ny_anime_fest and@ny_comic_con on Twitter as well as read NYAF and NYCC's official blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

ABOUT FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT:

FUNimation® Entertainment is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:

The New York Anime Festival is a celebration of Japanese popular culture from the creators of New York Comic Con. NYAF conducts, promotes and is involved in anime and Japanese cultural activities year-round in New York City, including events at Kinokuniya Bookstore, Japan Society, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri. Our flagship event is the New York Anime Festival at New York Comic Con. Taking place at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan on October 13-16, 2011, the New York Anime Festival at New York Comic Con showcases the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music and games as well as anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival features exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplay masquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia and America, and explores the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life. (www.newyorkanimefestival.com)

ABOUT REEDPOP:

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration, New York Anime Festival (NYAF), Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention (STGCC), and UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.