fanx

Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2015 – KIDCON and Disney Princesses

The Comic Con of yesteryear may have been for single men who loved comics and pop-culture, but the Salt Lake Comic Con goes out of its way to make sure families feel welcome at the convention. The number one rule of cos-play says “Salt Lake Comic Con is a family-friendly convention.” There is also a section of the convention floor titled KIDCON. This is an area with activities, games, and photo ops with Disney Princesses.

KIDCON corner, as seen through the laser obstacle course.
KIDCON corner, as seen through the laser obstacle course.
The bunny hop game.
The bunny hop game.
The laser line obstacle course with Princess Elsa in the background.
The laser line obstacle course with Queen Elsa in the background.
Hiccup and company.
HIccup and company.
Giant Big Hero Six at the entrance of Salt Lake Comic Con.
Giant Big Hero Six at the entrance of Salt Lake Comic Con.

The number of princess, both in cos-play and as features of booths, is staggering. There was a dedicated Princess Tea Party booth offering free tea parties with kids’ favorite princess. Many attendees came as their favorite princess. The children love it.

Last year after the regular Salt Lake Comic Con my three-year-old niece told my wife:

I know you met the real Elsa, I saw a picture of it.

She was referring to a picture of my wife posing with Queen Elsa her mother showed her on Facebook. You expect Elsa and Anna to be the most popular, because of the recent movie, but princess from all eras were present including: Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel, Aurora, Merida, and Ariel.

Princess Merida, Queen Elsa, Cinderella, and Belle (and others).
Princess Merida, Queen Elsa, Cinderella, and Belle (and others).
Elsa and Anna running a princess party booth.
Elsa and Anna running a princess party booth.
This stage coach was for promoting the new live-action Cinderella movie.
This stage coach was for promoting the new live-action Cinderella movie.
Cinderella and Rapunzel.
Cinderella and Rapunzel.
Princess Aurora, outside the Princess Tea Party booth.
Princess Aurora, outside the Princess Tea Party booth.

Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience (and the regular one) is a place the whole family can enjoy.

Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2015 – Tom Felton Panel

Friday January 30th at 3:00pm 2500 people filed into the South Ballroom at the Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience 2015. They were there to participate in the panel featuring Tom Felton, better known to most as Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies.

Tom Felton comes across as a really great guy. When asked why he always seems to play evil or unliked characters he jokingly said he that is how he really is, and he just acts when he isn’t on screen.

TOM-FELTON-MASTER1-1030x832

The following questions were answered during the panel. While they were not personally asked by me, they lined up with the questions asked by members in the meta post.

How do you really feel about being sorted into Gryffindor (on the Pottermore website)?

I called JK up and said it must have been a glitch in the system. But she said I was sorted into Gryffindor because that is what I am.

Earlier in the day while taking photos with fans, a certain fan asked him to wear a Gryffindor scarf since that was his house. Relating this in the panel he said:

I very begrudingly wore a Gryffindor scarf for a photo op.

His general sentiment was that he would have preferred Slytherin.

Do you agree with JKR’s view expressed in interviews, that all the girls who are deeply attracted to Draco (as opposed to the actor) are way wrong and shouldn’t be?

Although he does have some redeeming qualities in the later films, he is still a slimy git.

How much input into the personality of your character did you have from JKR?

I picked her brain over the years to try and better understand his character.

In light of Draco Malfoy’s early characterization as a one-dimensional bully, if you’ve read J.K. Rowling’s updated information about Draco, what are your thoughts on Draco’s development into an almost reclusive figure, who eschews his parents’ Muggle-hating values, collects Dark Arts [artifacts], and develops a fascination with Alchemy? As Draco’s actor, does this surprise you?

I really enjoyed the background coming out on Pottermore.

I realized he really didn’t fit into the normal Malfoy family. So later in his life he got to reinvent what it meant to be a Malfoy.

From here are some questions which I thought were interesting or otherwise noteworthy.

In a special feature on Chamber of Secrets you mentioned being Draco hasn’t helped you get girls. How was that changed now that the films are done?

I actually met my girlfriend of 7 years in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. She was an extra, a Gryffindor (laughter from the crowd) At the end of the last film, when you see me with a wife and son, Jade got to play my wife. That is not really my son.

In case this isn’t clear, Jade, his girlfriend of 7 years whom he met on the set, played his wife in the epilogue scene where Harry sees Draco with his wife and son.

What are some of your favorite moments from being on the Harry Potter set all those years?

The robes they had us wear had really deep pockets. So I used to stuff candy and sodas and Redbulls in there. By the end of the day I’d get to wardrobe and he would find all this chocolate in the pockets. Eventually they decided to sew up the pockets on all the robes, probably because of me.

I actually used to give Redbull to ten-year-olds. I got told off on that too.

Michael Gambon hid cigarettes in his beard.

What is your favorite film from the series?

When I was a kid it was Chamber of Secrets. Now I would say Half-Blood Prince is my favorite.

What did you do to first prepare for the role for Draco?

I don’t have anything close to direct quotes, but I’ll relate the story he told. When he went to audition he hadn’t read any of the books. It was an open audition so there were hundreds of kids there. Chris Columbus (director) was walking down the line asking kids what their favorite part of the books were. It wasn’t until Chris asking the boy next to him that he realized he didn’t have an answer. And he heard the boy say how great is was going to be to see Gringotts.

So when Chris turned to me I said something like: “Those Gringotts, definitely. I can’t wait to see them fly. I love me some Gringotts.” He just looked at me, and I think he decided I would make a good Draco.

When asked about current or future projects Tom Felton said that he has a documentary coming out about super fans and conventions. He said it would air on the BBC in April of 2015, and hopefully in the United States sometime after that.

Related:

Harry Potter Movie Marathon Highlights

Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 Report

Well Attended, Not Well Organized

The 2014 Salt Lake Comic Con saw over 120,000 attendees. Thursday evening some people still weren’t getting their wristbands until ten minutes before the convention hall closed. This was particularly frustrating for people who had purchased a 3-day pass. Saturday, the last day of the convention, more than 90,000 fans came to the Salt Lake Convention Center (Salt Palace). The line to get in (even for those with wristbands) stretched around the block and then some, as capacity was at its maximum. All tickets had been sold by Saturday around noon, but lines outside persisted well into the afternoon.

mainhall

Convention Floor - Courtesy of Salt Lake Comic Con
Convention Floor – Photo courtesy of Salt Lake Comic Con

Convention Floor

Tom Cook – animator and director of a number of 1980s cartoons (He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters, Bravestar, Blackstar).

On Blackstar, the Wikipedia entry says:

John [Blackstar]’s race is not specified in the series, though it is often speculated that he could have Native American heritage.

However, as I was visiting his booth I heard Toom Cook explain how Blackstar was originally meant to have black skin, but the networks didn’t like it. Instead the title character was changed to have deeply tanned skin.

Tom Cook
Tom Cook

I saw a couple of Groots, and their costumes were pretty good.

groot
I am Groot.

The Utah Lego Group was back with more builds.

batman
Lego Batman
friends.
And friends.

Eventually I got thirsty, but fortunately I found an oasis.

Voldemort isn't the only one who likes to relax with a glass of blood to wind down.
Voldemort isn’t the only one who likes to relax with a glass of unicorn to wind down.

I also saw this, when I peeked my head in, I was just a little bit frightened.

Cosplay your way into love.
Cosplay your way into love.

Panels

I attended a couple of panels while I was there. This being my first panel experience I learned a few things.

  • When you line up for a panel, there are no ropes or anything to keep the snaking line from merging, even when they press the lines together. Despite this obvious flaw, people tend to be honest and snake along their given path and not cut.
  • Sitting near the edges is a great way to go deaf from the speakers
  • Most panels are comprised of random fans and not celebrities or people in the actual know.

The first panel I attended was 75 Years of Batman. This panel consisted of six people talking about their favorite aspects of Batman, from comics, to films, to villains, and everything in-between. I left this panel early to make sure I made it into the next panel (Marvel Movies: Phase III). Panels might not be my thing. I’d like to see more insiders and less random local people.

Syfy Z Nation

Everyone knows that San Deigo Comic-Con is the place to see new trailers and test footage for upcoming movies. While Salt Lake Comic Con may bring in SDCC levels of attendance, it hasn’t reached the point where it the place for new content. That’s why I was happy to see that the Syfy Channel premiered the pilot for their new series Z Nation at SLCC.

SLCC’s place on the calendar might make it a good spot for upcoming fall shows to tease footage and other things. What SDCC is for movies, SLCC might be for television.

Salt Lake Comic Con will return in September 2015

Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 – Marvel Movies Phase III Panel

The Marvel Movies Phase III Panel at the Salt Lake Comic Con was basically the summation of confirmed reports and rumors surrounding the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015) marks the end of Phase II, and Ant-Man (July 17, 2015) will mark the beginning of phase three. None of the panel members were affiliated with Marvel, instead they were a local collection of fans who scour the internet constantly for new information surrounding the MCU.

Warning: If you consider rumors to be spoilers, then you might want to skip this.

Ant-Man Poster
Ant-Man Poster

Ant-Man

Since Ant-Man will be coming out first it is understandably the movie the panel knew the most about. Ant-Man is being directed by a man who is known for comedies, so the hope it is will have that light playful feel of other Marvel movies.

The anticipated style is that of a detective movie. At the beginning, an old Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a retired superhero, has his Ant-Man technology stolen. He enlists the help of a thief to recover his lost property and in the process trains Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to be the new Ant-Man.

The release date of July 17 this coming summer is incredibly aggressive, considering they are still filming the movie right now. Given all the post production that goes into a super hero film, it sounds like a very tight schedule.

Captain America 3

Just as Captain America: The Winter Soldier was something of spy movie, the same director pair has said that Captain America 3 (May 6, 2016) will also have that spy feeling to it. Rumors about supporting characters vary including Hawkeye, Agent 13 (the next door nurse from Winter Soldier), and Black Widow (potential love interest). Few people in the audience thought that Black Widow and Captain America should be a thing. In the comics Captain America has a relationship with Agent 13, but also ultimately has a son with Black Widow.

Here is the line where things go almost full rumor.

Dr. Strange

The only thing known for sure about Dr. Strange is that currently a director known for horror films is slated to make it. Although Joaquin Phoenix appears to be the favorite, there have been some rumors surrounding the idea of Johnny Depp playing Dr. Strange.

Guardians 2 and Avengers 3

Guardians 2 was announced before Guardians of the Galaxy came out. Since both Guardians and the Avengers are dealing with Infinity stones, it is suspected you will see these two ensembles meet in Avengers 3 regarding the Infinity Gauntlet.

Black Panther

Stan Lee has made several statements that support Black Panther will be made, but without any details. When asked by a fan at Salt Lake Comic Con he said this:

Oh, I wish I knew. I love the Black Panther. I know that they’re figuring out how to do the movie. I don’t think it’s scheduled yet, but be patient, because sooner or later the Black Panther will strike.

Marvel has a block of release dates going through 2019 with many of the films untitled. Plenty of room for Thor 3, Black Widow, and others. Someone in the audience asked about Civil War, the rumor on the street is that Disney may do a Pixar animated movie of Civil War.

%d bloggers like this: