Tag Archives: Hall H

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con: The Big Bang Theory, creative costumes, and a camp out

September 12, 20163-bottom, Citizen Journalism, EntertainmentAdventures at comic-con, Big Bang Theory, Captain America, Comic-Con, costumes, Hall H, Katelyn Kohane, San Diego, Suicide SquadJoanne

For the second straight year, Katelyn visited Comic-Con in San Diego. In case you missed it: Wonder Woman had an anniversary and Her Universe had a fashion show.

Written and photographed by: Katelyn Kohane

“Okay, Okay. When he’s at Comic-Con, I’m bringing in the wrecking ball.”

Day 3 turned out to be just as exciting as the first two. I made sure to get to the convention early and headed to Ballroom 20 to see Inside the Big Bang Theory Writers’ Room. They had a great start and played a bunch of hilarious clips from Season 9!

Many of the writers came on stage – Bill Prady, Steve Molaro, and Dave Goetsch just to name a few – along with Melissa Rauch, the actress who plays Bernadette, was introduced as the guest speaker. She was very funny, especially when she first arrived on stage and debated whether or not to stand on the stool they provided for her. She eventually decided to use the stool because we wouldn’t have been able to see her without it.

The panel talked a lot about the show and how many of their own mistakes from personal life make it into the show. They mentioned that we would see more of Penny’s family and that Katie Segal would player her mother. On top of the upcoming season Easter eggs, Jack McBrayer walked onto the stage and was introduced as the actor set to play Penny’s brother.

Overall, it was a lot of fun sitting in on The Big Bang Theory panel and awesome to see Melissa Raunch!

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The Costumes

This year was loaded with a lot more costumes! Check out the slideshow below.

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75 Years of Captain America

Captain America celebrates his 75th Anniversary this year! To celebrate the momentous occasion, they made a huge statue of Cap to commemorate the anniversary. The statue is going to travel around the world and has already made its first stop in Caps’ hometown in Brooklyn, New York!

Ashley Eckstine even celebrated Captain America’s 75th Anniversary this year with a clothing line that you can find at Kohl’s.

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While on the floor with Captain America’s statue, I spent a little extra time wandering around and came across some pretty cool stuff.

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Camp out for the famous ‘Hall H’

This year I decided to camp out on Friday night to get in to Hall H on Saturday. It was a lot of fun! One of my friends even joined me in line and we met a lot of new people during the camp out. Around 9pm, the convention started passing out wristbands that would be used to enter Hall H the next morning. We ran into a bit of trouble as they were handing out wristbands because people started cutting in line to make sure they could get a wristband as well. Eventually, order was restored and we got our wristbands around midnight.

After handing out the wristbands, the camp out line was shifted over to another section for the reminder of the night. We heard that Benedict Cumberbatch was walking through the line!

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Don’t forget that Blindspot Season 2 starts on September 14th with Supergirl following a few weeks later on October 10th. “Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned to see what I saw in Hall H. As a spoiler I will mention Wonder Woman!

“Is she with you? No. I thought she was with you.”

Batman v Superman: From Hall H to the big screen

April 6, 20163-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Movie Review, ReviewsBatman, Batman v Superman, Comic-Con, Hall H, Katelyn Kohane, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Review, Superman, Wonder WomanJoanne

By: Katelyn Kohane

“The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God vs Man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!”

First two rows: Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Bottom left: Gal Gadot, bottom center: Jesse Eisenberg, and bottom right: Amy Adams.

Last year, I was lucky enough to get into Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con for a first look at Batman v Superman. The preview was amazing and the whole cast was there! I had the privilege to see Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot and Zach Snyder.

Let’s take a quick glance back at some of the actors and actresses who have portrayed some of these great characters: Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and Wonder Woman.

Lois Lane has been portrayed by Noel Neill, Margot Kidder, Teri Hatcher, Erica Durance, and now Amy Adams.

Lex Luthor has been portrayed by Kevin Spacey, Gene Hackman, Lyle Talbot, Michael Rosenbaum (who is my favorite Lex Luthor uptil now.) and now Jesse Eisenberg.

Wonder Woman has been portrayed by Lynda Carter and now Gal Gladot (she is awesome. Loved her in Fast and the Furious).

Superman has been portrayed by Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling (my favorite Superman), Brandon Routh and now Henry Cavill.

Last but not least, of course, is Batman who has been portrayed by Adam West, George Clooney, Val Kilmer (one of my favorite actors), Christian Bale (my favorite Batman) and now Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck held his own as Batman

It certainly was humbling being in Hall H to see the new characters in person. Many people, including myself, were worried about Ben Affleck playing Batman. However, that worry is no longer there. I think he has proved that he can tackle the role.

I personally enjoyed this take on Batman v Superman, and while I loved parts of the cast, there is certainly room for improvement. Superman is overshadowed by Batman, and I am team Batman all the way. This Batman is a little darker than normal with Batman utilizing more guns. Hey, desperate times call for darker measures.

Within the first two days of release, I had already made it to the theater twice to soak in all the action. In fact, I liked it so much that I even bought the sound track composed by Hans Zimmer.

As the movie opens you see separate sides of both Batman and Superman. We catch up with Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) at a party hosted by Lex Luthor. Bruce Wayne comes to investigate Lex Luthor and Diana Prince is at the party to see if she can get a picture back from Lex that he stole from her. Diana ends up stealing the hard drive from Bruce, but since she can’t unlock it, she ends up giving it back to Bruce.

Bruce becomes more of a detective and unlocks the hard drive to find a picture of Diana. He also notices that Lex has found others like her including the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.

Superman had to answer to the Senate

Superman gets into some trouble and the Senate holds a hearing. Lex blows up the hearing and starts even more trouble. Lex kidnaps Lois Lane and Martha Kent. Superman saves Lois Lane but Martha is still held by Lex. Lex threatens Superman that he has to fight Batman in order to save Martha. Superman and Lois attempt to convince Batman to save Martha. Batman obliges. Then Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman fight Doomsday. Two are victorious, while one scarifies himself to save the day.

(And breath!)

I condensed the movie down considerably, but you get the gist. If you haven’t seen it yet, the epic fight is worth the price of admission.

The first night I saw the film I went with a group of friends. I have to admit the first time was better than the second because you didn’t know what to expect. On second viewing, this time with a few friends from the West Michigan Film and Video Alliance, I noticed that the dream sequences were a little long and so was the fight with Doomsday. Overall, I’d give it an A-.

Don’t forget that Captain America: Civic War is coming to theaters of May 6. Suicide Squad will premier on August 5. The superhero movies never stop coming.

“It may be the Gotham city and me… we just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns.”

Katie works in the film industry as a camera operator and has worked on films like ‘All You Can Dream’, ‘Set Up’ and a TV show called ‘American Fallen Soldier.’ She loves helping WKTV with the Citizen Journalism team and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con International: The Finale

September 14, 2015Citizen Journalism, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Reviews, WKTV ProjectsComic-Con, Hall H, Katelyn Kohane, San Diego Comic Con, Star Wars, VendersJoanne

Hall H at Comic-Con!

By: Katelyn Kohane

As ‘your mission,’ “Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

You came back to see what I accomplished on Sunday., and as I mentioned in my last article, I will dive into the shopping and vendors at Comic-Con.

But first, I did attend one last panel on Sunday called The Art Directors Guild Illustrators. There were five panelists who all work for the film industry and the Local 800 at the discussion. The panelists were Ed Natividad whose credits include Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Transformers: Age of Extinction, Amy Lynn Umezu – Kong: Skull Island, Patrick Rodriguez – The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, Jeffery Errico – Terminator Genisys and Straight Outta Compton, and Tim Burgard – Jurassic World and Fantastic Four.

Seated left to right is Jeffery Errico, Amy Lynn Umezu, Patrick Rodriguez, and Ed Natividad

The panel was asked some fun questions by the crowd. One of the questions asked was “How is the art department changing?” There were several answers. Jeffery Errico mentioned the use of a Lightbox as the tool of choice in the art department. They used to use thumb nails, post-it, and scans to communicate with the rest of the crew.

Patrick Rodriguez mentioned that 2D and 3D applications were easier to use than the other choices, but most of the time he still prefers to draw.

The panelists were then asked to describe their favorite project. Jeffrey Errico’s favorite projects that he worked on were Burlesque and This is the End. Amy Lynn Umezu’s enjoyed working on Jurassic World and This is the End. Patrick Rodriguez’s liked working on the action movies Cowboys and Aliens and Iron Man 2. Last, but not least, Ed Natividad’s favorites were Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

My favorite quote from this panel was when Amy Lynn Umezu said, “Keep going for it; do what you love to do.”

Different Costumes at Comic-Con

The most important thing they mentioned was the benefits of being a part of the union because you will end up getting more work. It’s tough getting into the film industry, but well worth working for once you make it in.

After the panel, I went to check out the vendors and do some shopping. The vendors had some pretty cool items for sale, including costumes!

The 501st and Rebel Legion were both there. Those are two different Star Wars groups that you can join and do volunteer work while dressed in Star Wars costumes. They had some great looking headpieces. Many people were dressed up in crazy costumes and there were life size sculptors.

Comic-Con was just as amazing as everyone always says it is. Being Press was definitely awesome and I was able to get a few more perks such as guaranteed seating in the Her Universe Fashion Show. It is certainly Fanboy central out in San Diego and something that every geek should experience at least once in your lifetime.

Different headpieces at the venders

Signing off until next time, “Live long and prosper.”

Katie works in the film industry as a camera operator and has worked on films like ‘All You Can Dream’, ‘Set Up’ and a TV show called ‘American Fallen Soldier.’ She loves helping WKTV with the Citizen Journalism team and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con International: “Force Friday”

September 2, 2015Local Entertainment, Travel, WKTV ProjectsComic-Con, Hall H, Katelyn Kohane, Lionsgate, Panel, San Diego Comic Con, Star WarsJoanne

By: Katelyn Kohane

As “your mission,” “the Force is strong with this one.” You came back to see what I accomplished at Comic-Con on Friday. As I mentioned in part two, I went to all things Star Wars.

Clearly you can see where my allegiance lies in the battle of Star Wars verses Star Trek.

Unlike Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj in The Big Bang Theory; I did not get kicked out of Comic-Con for doing something stupid. Unfortunately, I got in line for Hall H just a half hour too late, and since it only holds 6,5000 people, I did not make it inside. However, I did get into four smaller Star Wars panels.

Left to Right: Ashley, Alex and Tom

The first panel I sat in on was called “Star Wars Publishing 2015 Part 1.” Ashley, Alex, and Tom lead the panel as three new publishers writing new books.

Ashley is writing her own version of A New Hope with a new twist on the story. Ashley’s story will go deep into the characters past and will be like the Breakfast Club.

Alex is writing his own version of Empire Strikes Back and calling it, So You Want to Be a Jedi. Alex’s story will be in the second person and it will take the angle that you are being trained by Yoda. In the end, you – yes, YOU – will fight Darth Vader.

Tom is writing Return of the Jedi. He mentioned that there would be a lot of footnotes in his story.

The second panel was called “Star Wars Publishing Part 2.” This was my favorite panel of the day because I was actually familiar with some of the authors and their books. Adam Gray, Christy Golden, Frank Parrse, and CB Cebulski rounded out the panel.

Left: a recent book that Adam Gray helped write. Right: a new comic book talked about during the panel.

Adam Gray, who works for DK Publishing, is a Michigander! It’s always great to have someone from your home state.

Frank Parrse works for Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics. CB Cebulski spends his time in New York working on Star Wars books. They mentioned a lot of new comics coming out on September 4th 2015. They are also making a new comic series about Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Lando Calrissian.

“Hasbro Star Wars” was the next panel on the docket. Basically, all they talked about were the new toys coming out this fall.

Steve Evans, Chris Gollaher, Sam Smith, Chris Dern, and Chris Nadea filled out the table for this panel. Also, Ashley Eckstine – the voice of “Ahsoka Tano” in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Her Universe – was a special guest appearance on the Hasbro panel.

The panel’s big announcement was that their new toys would be coming out on “Force Friday”, which is September 4th 2015. They have a new Force FX Lightsaber and a Tie Fighter that will be coming out at midnight on Force Friday.

Left: Tie Fighter Right: the new ForecFX Lightsaber

The last panel for the day was called “Star Wars Collectables Update with Lucasfilm.” EFX, General Giant, and Slide Show Collectables all had members represented. General Giant announced that they had a mini bust coming soon of Boba Fett, Jabba The Hutt, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker – just to name a few. EFX is putting together studio scale ships with one being a Tie Fighter.

There was supposed to be a fifth panel, but ILM 40th Anniversary mixed up their flights and didn’t make it to Comic-Con! So, I decided to head over to Hall H to get in line for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

As I waited in line, I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to make it in. People in line had been camped out overnight just to see Star Wars. With Star Wars being one of the biggest draws around with fanboys solely devoted to the films, of course it was going to be almost impossible to get in!

While I tried my luck at getting into Hall H for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I ended up missing a panel I was hoping to catch. On that panel sat director Kyle Newman from Fanboys.

Turns out, that wasn’t the only panel I missed while chasing dreams at Hall H, The Big Bang Theory had a panel with Amy Farrah Fowler and Raj Koothrappali – played by Mayim Bialik and Kunal Nayyar – joining the fun. I suppose Raj was not kicked out of Comic-Con after all!

Kansas City Barbeque where they filmed Top Gun. Pictured is the original piano Goose plays.

Once reality hit me, that I wasn’t going to be one of the lucky 6,500 in Hall H, I decided to head for some lunch to recover and think things over. I wound up at a small place call Kansas City Barbecue. It’s right across the street from the convention center heading toward Sea Port Village. Not only is it nearby, but it’s also where they filmed a scene from Top Gun where Maverick and Goose sing Great Balls of Fire! It helps that they have some of the best BBQ in town.

I headed back to the convention center and went to the exhibit center to find “Bioworld.” This was the booth of the man I had met in the airport in Texas! They had some really cool merchandise. I also found a “Lucasfilm” booth that Adam Gray, one of the authors from the panel: Star Wars Publishing Part 2, was sitting at. I quickly said hello, and told him that I had enjoyed the panel discussion and reading many of his books over the years.

I toured the exhibit hall. There were many great deals and cool booths. Here were a few that I saw: Future Dude, Mattel Inc., Lionsgate, Dark Horse Comics, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Hasbro Inc, Her Universe, ThinkGeek, and Marvel Entertainment.

Lionsgate for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it” is to stay tuned to see what I accomplished on Saturday. As a spoiler, I will mention “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos.”

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con International: The Arrival

August 14, 2015Recreation, ReviewsComic-Con, Hall H, Katelyn Kohane, San Diego, SupergirlJoanne

Let me take you on an adventure right into the middle of the most famous Comic-Con around.

The Adventure, my adventure, began as I was traveling out to San Diego. The plane flew out on a Tuesday, the day before Comic-Con, and I had a layover in Texas. As I was sitting there waiting for my flight, I overheard a man behind me talking about Captain America for a good 10 minutes on the phone.

When he was finished, I couldn’t contain the excitement and introduced myself to him. We wound up talking for a good hour. As it turns out, the man was a vendor headed to the same location I was… Comic-Con!

I bought this purse from Bioworld. The symbol on the purse is of the Empire from Star Wars and has stormtroopers.

We exchanged cards as we got on the plane. I made it a destination to visit their booth, called Bioworld, on Friday of the convention. Star Wars memorabilia made up their entire inventory! They had adjoining booths with all things Star Wars, one example, was Her Universe.

Comic-Con started on Wednesday, which included picking up your badges and attending a preview night. The entire event takes place over 4 days at the San Diego Convention Center. In order to get a badge, you have to buy one online at the San Diego Comic-Con website.

As Press, I was able to get a 4-day Press badge. I went at 4pm and got in line to pick up my badge in Hall D, but, as it turns out, I needed to be in line at Hall B! I chalked that little mishap up to excitement and nerves!

Comic Con press badge — My registration and press badge for Comic-Con

Lines. Long lines everywhere. With the San Diego Comic-Con being so popular, long lines are to be expected and anticipated. It’s not as bad as one would think though. With the convention being held annually since 1970, the committee has had many years to work out the kinks. The event is very well organized and lines generally move quickly.

My first line of the event went relatively quickly, only taking about a half hour!

As soon as I received my badge I decided to find the hall for preview night. The preview night specials had a presentation for 5 brand new shows airing this fall on TV.

The first preview shown was called Supergirl. A brief synopsis – it’s about Superman’s cousin who comes to Earth to protect him. The show start October 26!

Supergirl coming in October

Next was a preview called Blind Spot. It’s about a woman who lost her memory but has interesting and unique tattoos all over her body. The tattoos are used to help the police track down the events that drive the blot. Blind Spot airs on September 21.

Preview number three was for a show called Lucifer. It’s about the devil going on vacation from hell. That airs sometime in 2016. Some of the shows they talked about did not have an actual start date; they were just starting sometime in 2016.

The fourth preview was Legends of Tomorrow. That is about a young Justice League joining forces together. The final preview was for a cartoon called Teen Titans. That is just an updated version of the older cartoon.

San Diego Comic-Con is a huge event visited by people from all over. This year’s estimated attendance was 130,000! Just an insane amount of people, and it was insane being there, I loved every minute.

I still cannot believe that Comic-Con is done already. Even though the event last five days, it doesn’t seem like enough time. It’s fanboy central. There is so much to do and see everywhere. On top of all of it, there is the famous Hall H. If you know anything about Comic-Con, it’s that Hall H is Mecca. It’s the biggest venue, but it only holds 65,000 people. Getting into Hall H is an accomplishment in itself for Comic-Con.

For the next few weeks I will be going into details about what happens inside Hall H, on the floor with the vendors, a fashion show, a couple interviews, and of course, some of the major movies coming up this fall and throughout 2016.

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned and see what I was able to experience on Thursday inside Hall H. As a quick hint, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 is ramping things up. “May the odds, be ever in your favor.”