Rock the Kasbah - WKTV Journal

Star Wars: Episode VII is almost here! Some interesting fan theories are at the end – one including these two characters…

By: Katelyn Kohane

“Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to continue reading to see what movies and television I have caught up on since San Diego Comic-Con.

After attending Comic-Con this past summer, I’ve found myself watching more movies and TV shows than normal.

Bill Murray in Rock the Kasbah at Comic-Con in Hall H.

I saw Rock the Kasbah with Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, and Kate Hudson. If you remember from a prior installment, I was in Hall H for that movie and was about 10 feet from Bill Murray! Rock the Kasbah is based on real events in Afghanistan. A music producer, played by Bill Murray, found a girl who had a beautiful voice and because of her culture could not share that gift. Bill Murray, her producer, was able to get her on Rising Star and she won. I loved the movie.

A few movies have broken records this year, with two of them being Furious 7 and Jurassic World. Also of particular notice is Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, which crashed the Internet in 88 seconds when their first trailer aired. The Force Awakens is also expected to break records at the Box Office, having already shattered pre-sale records.

A few other movies I saw this year were Pixels, Black Mass, Everest, and The Martian. I also saw Spectre. Daniel Craig is one of my favorite James Bond actors. I really enjoyed Skyfall, but I thought Spectre was even better.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is also out in theaters now. I am a big Hunger Games Fan and Finnick Odair is my favorite character. He is the victor from District 4 who wields the fishing spear as his weapon of choice, and in Catching Fire—the second film—he becomes allies with Katniss and Petta. Mockingjay Part 2 follows Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her allies during the rebellion against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol. Katniss has some familiar allies like Haymitch, Finnick and Plutarch.

As we left Mockingjay Part 1, Peeta, Johanna, and Annie had been taken hostage by the Capitol. In Part 2, Gale, Boggs and a few others have rescued Petta, Johanna, and Annie. Finnick and Annie get married and Prim becomes a doctor. Katniss, Gale, Boggs, Finnick, and Petta storm the Capitol along with the help of the rebels and District 13. The final chapter in the saga makes some changes from the book, but I think they changed it for the better.

Supergirl coming in October — Supergirl is here!

I have also been watching some of the TV shows that I heard about from Comic-Con. I’ve been watching Blindspot, The Player, and Supergirl. Blindspot follows the FBI team Kurt Weller, Reade, Zapata, Patterson, and Mayfair as they figure out Jane Doe’s (Jamie Alexander) tattoos to figure out a corrupt world. Jane has also lost her memory, making the mystery that much harder to solve. They had a neat episode where one Jane’s tattoos was shaped like a Petoskey stone and led them to Michigan to catch the bad guy.

The Player is about a corrupt Las Vegas where the House has recruited Alex Kane (Phillip Winchester) to help solve cases in and around Las Vegas with Wesley Snipes and Chastity Wakefield. I loved the show. Unfortunately the network has canceled it mid-season. They should have given it more time!

Supergirl is going strong. The network has gone ahead and said to keep going with a full season. It’s been exciting so far. It is different from Smallville, another of my favorite TV shows which follows a young Clark Kent/Superman. Supergirl sort of continues from that since she and Clark Kent are cousins. In her show, Supergirl played by Melissa Benoist, has had to save her sister from a plane crash. We do see some familiar names such as James Olsen and Lucy Lane. James Olsen, who was one of Clark Kent’s good friends, also becomes good friends with Kara Danvers/Supergirl. So far in the show we have met Maxwell Lord and Red Tornado.

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

Coming soon to theaters are Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool, Captian America: Civil War, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Point Break, and Suicide Squad.

Don’t forget next week, December 18th, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens comes to theaters. I already have my tickets. I have also read that fans are already lining up at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles waiting for opening day.

Let’s have a little fun since Star Wars finally opens this next week. Let’s dive into some theories on the upcoming film. If you don’t want any theories… STOP READING NOW!

I have watched every trailer and every TV spot and read some of the different theories. One big theory is that Rey and Kylo Ren are the Solo twins. Another is that Luke has turned to the Dark Side. We know that Simon Pegg has a mysterious role, so be on the look out for that. Hopefully, no more Jar Jar Binks. And a possibility that a major character, possibly Chewbacca, might die. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see until next week.

I’ll see you at the movie, and signing off until next time, “May The Force Be With You.”

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!

As “your mission”, “the odds were in your favor”, you chose to return and experience Thursday at Comic-Con. As mentioned last time, Hall H is the Mecca of Comic-Con. It’s what makes the event so compelling. It took planning, persistence, and getting in line a couple hours early, but I was able to get into Hall H!

I arrived at the convention center around 8am knowing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 was going to be the big event for the day inside Hall H.

We finally entered Hall H at 10am.

This was on the floor with the “Lionsgate” booth

Before The Hunger Games presentation kicked off, a movie by the name of Rock the Kabash – starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson – took center stage. The movie is based on a true story and focuses on a music manager on tour in Afghanistan. During his tour, he discovers a girl with a great voice.

We were shown the movie trailer first with a question and answer presentation immediately following. Bill Murray showed up in costume. Rock the Kabash will hit theaters on October 23, 2015

I was pretty lucky and grabbed a seat fairly close to the front in the first section of seating. That was just fine by me because I had a seat in Hall H, the hub of all major happenings.

From my seat, I had the opportunity to see Bill Murray walk in! When I turned around, he was right behind me. No more than 15 feet away!

Mitch Glazer, the writer for the movie, was also there with Bill Murray.

A few people from the audience were able to ask question at each presentation. In order to ask a question, you had to wait in line and your question was screened ahead of time.

Mitch Glazer and Bill Murray did a wonderful job answering the questions tossed their way. One of the best quotes from Mitch Glazer was “We are Rock ‘n‘ Roll.” Bill Murray commented, “If you’ve been back stage, you know the craziness of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

One person asked, “where does Bill Murray fit into the Comic-Con world?” Bill Murray’s responded that “at first he didn’t know where he belonged in that world, but he does own a taser.”

When Bill Murray was finished making everyone laugh, they cleared the stage and got ready for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. They had a really neat introduction where you felt like a part of the District.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 top left: Jennifer Lawrence “Katniss Everdeen” top right: Josh Hutcherson “Peeta Mellark” bottom left: Liam Hemsworth “Gale Hawthorne” bottom right: Willow Shields “Primrose Everdeen" — The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
top left: Jennifer Lawrence “Katniss Everdeen” top right: Josh Hutcherson “Peeta Mellark” bottom left: Liam Hemsworth “Gale Hawthorne” bottom right: Willow Shields “Primrose Everdeen”

Four people were dressed in white uniforms like those from “District 13.” Then, throughout Hall H, more people in white uniforms poured out and marched toward the stage. Once they reached the stage, they left the hall and a message from “District 13” played across the screens for everyone to see. Following the message, the full trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 was played.

The Hunger Games question and answer presentation featured Director Francis Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Willow Shields, and Producer Nina Jacobson. This was one of my favorite presentations of the entire convention.

During the presentation, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth mentioned there was a great scene between the two of them while Katniss is asleep.

One of the questions asked was “What will you miss most?” (as this is the last installment). Josh Hutcherson answered, “You’re looking at it.” Hutcherson also said that he would miss “the big family and the great crew.”

Another question touched on what the fans would take away from the movie. Jennifer Lawrence answered, “The power of the future is in our hands.” Josh Hutcherson’s answer was “Hope and Empowerment.”

The cast was also asked if any of them could do the “mockingjay whistle” and, surprisingly, none of them could actually do the whistle!

Left: Jeffery Morris' Future Dude booth. Right: graphic novel of “Oceanus” I purchased — Left: Jeffery Morris’ Future Dude booth. Right: graphic novel of “Oceanus” I purchased

After the presentation for Mockingjay Part 2, I had the opportunity for two interviews that were not in Hall H. They were on the floor with two different vendors.

My first interview was Jeffery Morris, the CEO of Future Dude. I really enjoyed talking with him. Morris is the creator, art director, executive producer and publisher of his company. He is the creator of “parallel man” and his latest film Oceanus.

I sat down with Morris and talked with him for a few minutes. He made his first film when he was in eighth grade! I asked him what he thought his greatest accomplishment was. Morris responded, “It is Oceanus.”

Toys and lunchboxes from Entertainment Earth.

On top of being talented, he is very observant. He noticed my nails; which I had painted like Star Wars. Since he loves science fiction, the conversation immediate transitioned to our mutual love for Star Wars. His favorite episode in the saga is The Empire Strikes Back.

My second interview was with a vendor called Entertainment Earth. They showed me their booth, which displayed tons of their toys.

Entertainment Earth has three categories of toys. The first are toys that are their own products. Truly original and not licensed. Their other two categories are licensed.

They sell lunch boxes, statues, bobble heads, and many more! When it comes to the comic giants, Marvel toys tend to be a bigger draw than DC toys. Right now, Game of Thrones items are their most popular products. They carry many others like Jurassic World, Back to the Future, The Joker, and Captain America. They also have their own plush line of toys.

Ashley Eckstine wearing two different outfits. White dress: is a Princess Leia from Star Wars. Black and red dress: designed after Black Widow from the Avengers. — Ashley Eckstine wearing two different outfits.

To finish off day one, I signed up to go to a Geek Couture Fashion Show put on by Her Universe and the famous Ashley Eckstein.

For those that do not know Ashley Eckstein, she plays the character “Ahsoka Tano” in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The fashion show was the only event I did attend that was not held at the convention center. It was held next door to the convention center at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The first official day of Comic-Con was just as exciting as was anticipated. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to come back and see what I was able to experience on Friday. As a spoiler, I will mention Star Wars. “May the force be with you.”