Movie Investigator

By Beth Newell 

[bethantm]

Another fantastic season of comic cons!

It is official Comic Con season is back! With Comic Cons like Pensacon starting the season out we will start to see more information on Cons like WonderCon, Phoenix Comic Fest, Denver Comic Con, San Diego, Salt Lake City FanX, and so many others. This year I will once again be attending the San Diego Comic Con as press, but hopefully able to attend the Phoenix Comic Fest and Salt Lake City FanX. I know I will also be attending for the very first time the Creation Entertainment Vampire Diaries Con! I look forward to what this year will bring us in Comic Cons and I will keep everyone posted on the latest and greatest Comic Cons!

[bethantm]

D23 2017

I have had so many new comic con experiences and one of them was getting to attend D23 for the very first time! D23 was one of my favorite “cons”, they officially have me hooked. I didn’t get the chance to attend any panels which upset me but what I did get to do is enjoy all of the booths the cosplay was absolutely amazing! There are so many incredible people that come up with such great cosplay. Like any Con that I attend, I criticize the process and the organization of them. At D23 again the organization of the “Celebrity” area was a mess especially when it came to making sure that the people that had waited all day to meet the cast of Descendants 2. They had people all over the place in different areas making them all believe that they would all have the chance to meet the cast. I, myself, my niece, my two cousins and their friends were able to get in but the hundreds of people that were diluted to believe that they were going to meet the cast was so upsetting. There were kids that didn’t know to get to the “Celebrity” area early to meet the cast and missed out on the opportunity, so many people were upset. The organization of the Disney store booth was incredible! They made sure that everyone that wanted to get into the Disney Store could, yes they had people who had a priority ticket that had waited all night but they got those people in and out of the store very quickly. D23 had an almost life size Moana canoe, and they had a “Minnie” van which I absolutely loved! All the activities and items that D23 had was almost overwhelming because as a HUGE Disney fan there was just so much to do that pleased my inner child and comic con fan!

[bethantm]

San Diego Comic Con 2017

San Diego Comic Con 2017, this last year I was able to experience the San Diego Comic Con with my 18 year old niece. This was her first time attending a comic con on such a large scale. Even though I, myself enjoy attending SDCC, my niece pointed out to the something that I already knew deep inside and that is how unorganized the SDCC is itself on the days it’s actually running. One of the large flaws that I noticed was the wrist band area. I volunteer in this area every year and have loved getting to help the ADA get wrist bands that need someone to stand in line for them. To me this is so rewarding getting to see their faces when they finally get to pull something but the flaw in this is that I understand that it is not fair for people to camp out all night who don’t have a disability and for the ADA to get released first but I also get that it is not fair for the ADA to get stuck in these extremely deadly crowds that could potentially cause more harm. One of my solutions for this is to let the ADA get to a safe area and have in the first 100 people in both the regular line and the ADA line get a ticket that has the time they arrive in the line. This will prevent people from getting upset that one line is getting to get in first and this will prevent people from hopefully cheating the system and causing others to get hurt because everyone is rushing around trying to get into the lines. I also this that this will help if each booth has their own ticket so that whatever line the attendee wants to get in it will grantee them their spot as long as they head straight to that line this will also minimize people from getting multiple wristbands and increase the chances for everyone else.

I won’t lie I am an organization freak and I think that the best way to improve this particular area of comic con will help everything flow smoother and make a lot more people happier. I love SDCC and every year that I go my love for it never changes. I think that the booths are getting better about getting more people through quicker. They are also getting a great variety of vendors, with comic books, artist, and of course everything else that SDCC has. This last year at SDCC17 I was only able to obtain one wrist band and that was to meet the cast of Lego Ninjago. This was such a great experience because this whole cast was extremely friendly and all love getting to meet my sidekick Miley the Comic Con Dog. I would love to get everyone’s opinion on what they thought about this last year’s SDCC? What do you think on my improvement ideas? Leave your comments blow!

[bethantm]

Wizard World 2017

[bethantm]

Wizard World Austin Texas

The weekend of November 17-19, the Austin Texas Convention center hosted the Wizard World. This was my first time attending a Wizard World Comic Con. There are many similarities between a Comic Con like Phoenix, Salt Lake City and the Wizard World, such as set up the set up in all these “Comic Cons” are all very similar. Wizard World was one of the smallest “Comic Cons” that I have ever attended and reported on, I believe this is because it is a traveling “Comic Con” that goes from state to state sets up their own stands and finds as many local vendors as possible to come in and fill up the convention floor. One of my favorite things about Wizard World was the fact that Wizard World had so many talented artists. Not only for drawings and painting but there were talented jewelry artist and even carving artist. I purchased a beautiful Moana bracelet from a Vendor that had not only Disney bracelets but anime, sci-fi movies and TV shows, comic book characters, etc. I also purchased this amazingly awesome carving artist that had carved a Rick and Morty scene on a cork sketchbook, which I gifted to my 18 year old niece for Christmas which she loved!

These were just a few things that I couldn’t help but purchase while attending the Wizard World. Just like other “Comic Cons” they had film and TV show guests, attending this year in Austin was Jason Momoa, Val Kilmer, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Jon Heder, Michael Rooker, Michael Cudlitz, Holly Marie Combs, WWE The Hardy Boyz, WWE Bayley, Joe Flanigan, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Jason Mewes, Brian O’Halloran, Nichelle Nichols, Xander Berkeley, Felicia Day, Howard Hesseman, Loni Anderson, Dean Cain, Steve Blum, Loren Lester, Kevin Conroy, Jason David Frank and Thomas Ian Nicholas. They had a few huge cancelations such as Stan Lee and Kate Bekinsale, which interviewing a hand full of attendees they mentioned that they were disappointed with the cancelations but this of course is a normal risk when attending any “Comic Con” for specific guests.

I had unfortunately broken my R foot 2 days before I left Arizona to attend Wizard World in Austin and was place on a knee scooter because I was no weight baring, but I when I spoke to Michael Rooker he stated “Aww what a cute little scooter you have!” This by far made the experience a lot better. I placed the guests that I met and spoke to in bold so that you know which ones I had the chance to interview. I have met Jason Momoa a few times now and every time we have met we always talk about the New Zealand All Blacks which is by far the BEST rugby team in the world. The day that I spoke to Jason Momoa the All Blacks had played a game against Scotland and of course won 22 to 17. This was by far the highlight for both Momoa and I. Many of the guest were fun to speak with and getting to know them outside their famous roles was the most exciting experience.

I can’t wait for any future “Comic Cons” I get to attend, like the upcoming Phoenix Comic Fest, Salt Lake City Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con, and possibly for the first time the Vampire Diaries convention. I will keep everyone posted!

[bethantm]

PHXCC17

The Phoenix Comic Con was this past weekend (May 25-28). There were definitely some glitches at the beginning of the Comic Con when there was an attempted shooting on Jason David Frank. This led to the PHXCC making a call for everyone’s safety and banning props and any dangerous cosplay. This was a good call on PHXCC. I will be writing a full report on how everything went this year at the PHXCC17, how it compared to previous years and what needs to be improved.

[bethantm]

Comic Con Season

It's official Comic Con season is here! Yes I know Comic Cons are all year round but during spring and summer is when you really see an increase of Comic Cons. It's time everyone is getting into their cosplay and showing their love for their favorite fandom. Attending Comic Cons like the Emerald City Comic Con, the Salt Lake City Fan X, WonderCon and so many more to list. This year will be the first year I will attend a convention specifically for a particular fandom. I will officially start posting on the Comic Cons I will be/ have attended just after the Phoenix Comic Con at the end of May.

[bethantm]

Phoenix Fan Fest

My first year attending a Fan Fest October 22nd and 23rd, even though it was small it was still fun and their was a lot going on. The guests that Phoenix had attending not only catered to movie and comic book fans but wrestling fans. Due to the size of the Fan Fest the attendee’s were able to get more personable with the vendors, artists, guest and the volunteers. Every year Phoenix gets better at selecting the guests and vendors which not only draw in fans of comic books and movies like myself but fans that have never attending a Comic Con/ Fan Fest that wanted to discover what  the hype is. Every year I look forward to seeing what the Phoenix Comic Con in 2017. If you are still not sure if you want to be fully involved with Comic Cons, the Fan Fest are the best place to start.

[bethantm]

Just some pics from Phoenix Comic Con 2016

[bethantm]

Me (left), Billie Piper (Middle), Cheyenne (right)

[bethantm]

Phoenix Comic Con 2016

The phoenix Comic Con was pretty good, there were a lot of great things about this year but then there were also a few things that need to be fixed.

Pros:

1.     Marketing was advertisements

2.     Pre-purchasing of photo-ops and autographs

3.     A lot of people with great Cosplay

4.     Guests were all real friendly

5.     Lines were managed well

6.     Vendors all had a lot of great deals

7.     Pre-purchasing of photo-ops and autographs

Cons:

1.     Guests that charged over $60 were not invited

2.     No place to purchase posters

3.     A lot of booths that were meaningless (Direct TV, Cox, etc.)

Phoenix did a great job on advertising and getting people to use #PHXCC16 which showed a lot of great cosplay’s coming together. I was extremely disappointed when I found out that Phoenix was not going to invite guest that charged over $60. I feel with that being said anyone willing to pay the large amounts should be allowed the chance to meet these guests and if Phoenix continues with this whole not inviting guests that charge over a certain amount they could potentially lose a lot of fans that have been attending for quite some time. One thing that I noticed that a lot of people are enjoying are the free movie posters that they give away and roll up for you near Celebrity Row, the late night activities are also a plus, but for the people who are not staying near the convention center lose out if they want to be refreshed and back to the convention center the next day.

This year’s turn out for the PHXCC was amazing I have never seen any of the previous years have so many people and so many willing to cosplay. PHXCC16 was also one of the hottest years so far, and many people walked many blocks to get to the convention center, but it was all worth it because they made sure that the convention center stayed cool and it never got hot and unbearable inside with as many people as there were. In one of my “Cons” I mentioned that there was not a place to purchase poster or buttons/ pins, this was disappointing. As press at the PHXCC16 I had talk to many people who were looking for something large that they could get signed and framed and then purchase buttons that they could represent their fandom in any place. In all I feel that these minor changes would help keep the amount of people attending keep coming back and maybe if they took a few simple tips from the Salt Lake City Comic Con. Phoenix is just such a great Comic Con to attend and they have given many people a place to safely express themselves with no judgement.    

[bethantm]

Smaller Comic Cons Compared to Larger Ones

I have been receiving questions about the difference between the larger Comic Cons like San Diego and New York vs. the smaller ones like Phoenix and Pensacola. Well the larger ones are fun and they have a lot of booths you can visit, plus the lines are sometimes unbearable, trying to receive a wrist band to get an autograph is basically impossible. I had a friend that waited in line at the San Diego Comic Con for two days and when they finely got the chance to pull a ticket to see if they were going to get an autograph they got a blank ticket which meant they weren’t getting anything. The Phoenix Comic Con is so personable they have quiet a few attendees but they have a system that works really well and if you want to talk to a guest after they have gone through their crowds you are more than welcome to. The smaller Cons you get to have more of an interaction with not only the guest but with other attendees and the employees/ volunteers. Don’t get me wrong I have been on all ends of Comic Cons, whether it was for volunteering, attending and even strictly business I always see people at the smaller Cons have a lot more fun. I personally attend all the Comic Cons and enjoy the experience that I get out of each one but for people that are just getting into Comic Cons the smaller ones will give you a great experience and fantastic memories.

[bethantm]

Items to bring to any Comic Con

 Backpack (but not too large because you don’t want to be lugging around a 50lb bag, so nothing over 18” but it will depend on how much you bring.)  Cash (ALL autographs and photo ops will ONLY take cash and some vendors will only take cash, so having cash on your person will help you avoid the ATM lines.)  Water (so that you don’t pay $4 a bottle at the Con, bring two bottles for yourself and if they empty quickly than there are usually water fountains around the Cons)  Fruit Snacks (so that if you are waiting in a line to meet someone or do something you have something to snack on.)  8x10 glossy photos of your favorite actors, TV shows, and movies (This is so if you run into anyone outside of Comic Con or someone you want to meet is charging for an 8x10 you have one. This is important because not only do some celebrities already charge for the photo but if meeting celebrities is a big thing for you at the cons then having your favorite photo helps if you run into anyone in or out of the Con.)  Sharpies (Again if you run into anyone outside of Con you are prepared or if their personal marker runs out you can lend them yours, Sharpies are important because there is always a need for writing a memo or signing up for something.)  Pads and Tampons (for girls but you never know when Aunt Flow is coming for a visit.)  Poster tube (most Cons give out FREE posters or if you buy some from the stand that all Cons have.)  Folder or hard plastic sleeve (for your 8x10 photos signed and not.)  Phone (who doesn’t always have their phone!)  Planner (whether it is in your phone or a personal one, make sure you know who you are meeting and when, always plan at least an hour in advance for meeting celebrities or more depending on the celebrity you can adjust the times to longer or shorter.)  Camera (you will need your phone for other things such as phone calls and selfies with celebrities, but the camera is for taking photos of the exhibit hall, the cool cosplay that the attendees are wearing and taking photos of celebrities.)  Extra phone and camera battery (you will be taking so many pictures and videos your battery will drain quickly and you will not have time to stop near a plug to charge it.)  Tissues (just in case there is something in the exhibit hall that’s making you have a sneezing fit, or if you’re not and someone is around you that is having a sneezing problem then you can hand them one.)  Wipes (There are so many germs around the Cons that when you are ready to eat your fruit snacks you will have clean hands.)  Aspirin (This is for the people that are sensitive to noise or that get headaches very easily like me, or because you will be standing a lot your feet, knees or any other parts of your body will start to hurt and this will ease the pain.)

[bethantm]

Salt Lake City Comic Con 2015

September 24- 26 2015 was the Salt Lake City Comic Con. I was not expecting very much from the SLCC but after the first day I have realized that It was not only a very well put together Comic Con but it also was one of the biggest that I have attended. The organization of this Comic Con was pretty good until it came to the photo ops with the celebrities. The 25th was organized, not only did they have groups for the more popular celebrities but they also had some with different time slots which I felt went a lot better then the next day the 26th. That Saturday so many people were just to rambunctious and over zealous about their photo ops that because the Comic Con got rid of the groups people got trampled and pushed. They had many amazing things going on such as local make-up students were doing gore make-up for the attendees, also they had a bunch of interactive booths that allowed the attendees to work with certain iconic items from TV shows and movies.

[bethantm]

Phoenix Comic Con 2015

Wow did Phoenix out do themselves with this Comic Con. When I first arrived it was a little bit of a fiasco but after getting my passes and getting to actually enjoy the Comic Con was incredible. The set up was not quite like San Diego but they made sure that they touched base with everything whether it was Anime, Comic books, Artists, and even media such as movies and TV shows. I felt that even though it was very packed and they probably could have done with a bigger space they utilized what they had. I had the opportunity to interview Summer Glau, Danielle Panabaker, and Jason Momoa, they all were incredibly open to all my questions about their experiences with attending the conventions and how they feel it has impacted them and their fans by attending these Comic Cons. My experience at this Comic Con was so incredible that I will keep attending in future years and hope to have similar experience in other Comic Cons. This has helped my research and will be a huge part in the impact that Comic Cons have on the culture and vise versa. phoenixcomicon

[bethantm]

Denver Comic Con 2015

1st: review this convention was very well but together. All the volunteers knew what they were talking about and if they didn’t they would help you find someone who did know. The set up was nice and I never thought I would see cars at a Comic Con but I did here and they were all relevant to what the convention was about which was amazing. I enjoyed the booths that were set up and everyone that ran the booths. Denver was one of the smallest Comic Cons that I have attended but the organization of it was so well done that the size did not even hit me until I forced myself to notice it. The panels were informative and showed how much the guest and the people doing the panels cared to get the input of the audience. At this Comic Con I was able to interview Rebecca Mader, Jewel Staite, and Sean Macguire. Each guest was so incredible that after each interview they made sure I had everything I needed and if I needed more to just come back and ask them. Overall I felt that this was a great starter Comic Con for fans that did not want to overwhelm themselves with a bunch of people and so many booths that you could not possibly see everything in detail like you should at Comic Cons. If I am ever in the area again during the time of their Comic Con I will definitely attend and show my support.   denvercomiccon

[bethantm]

Need help for my final project for school to graduate!

http://www.gofundme.com/finalprojecttograd