Marvel began their big Saturday panel with 4 actors from the upcoming Black Panther. They were not able to stay long as they were headed to the film set.
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Once Black Panther left the stage, the lights went out and the room filled with flash lights and smoke. Initially we thought Loki would come out onto the stage, but we were wrong as Doctor Strange came out on the other end of the amazing entrance! They showed us the new trailer for the movie and the cast came on stage and talked. Benedict Cumberbatch mentioned that the upcoming film is different than anything he’s ever done before.
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Next up was Spider-Man Homecoming. A few clips were shown from the film before Tom Holland, Zendaya and a few other classmates took the stage. They did not stay long as they were heading to set.
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Following Spiderman came Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and a lot of the characters came out in costume. It was amazing to see the makeup detail on each of the characters. Not only were we privy to seeing Chris Pratt and the rest of the cast, but Kurt Russell was also brought on stage. Talk about star power!
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“Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned to see what I did on Sunday the final day of Comic-Con. As a spoiler I will mention Disney Kingdoms!
“There’s one other name you might know me by… Star Lord.”
Sunday
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney
With Sunday being the final day of Comic-Con, I attended a panel for Disney Kingdoms that a good friend of mine was a part of. It was a really cool experience to see a personal friend on a panel!
The panel was titled Disney Kingdoms: Theme Park Stories with Marvel Comics. The panel talked a lot about the Disney Kingdoms comics. A few books they mentioned were Secrets of the Weird from 2011, Tiki Room and Figment. Figment sold out on the first day. There was mention of a third Figment coming next year and two more Big Thunder comics coming soon set to be ‘family friendly’. They sound like a great set of comics that I’m going to have to get my hands on and start reading!
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Sunday is one of the shorter days for Comic-Con since it’s the last day. But still a ton of panels and always deals to look for on the floor. Stay tuned for next year panels. As for now… I’m signing off; over and out.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
We finally made it into Hall H a little after 10am after camping out all night on Saturday. I planned on staying in Hall H all day because the line up was capital A-mazing!
Warner Brothers kicked off the day with a lineup that included Wonder Woman, Justice League, Suicide Squad, The Lego Batman, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Kong: Skull Island, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I would expect nothing less than the incredible lineup we got with Warner Brothers.
On top of the great lineup, the morning was hosted by none other than Conan O’Brien!
The presentation began with a fantastic trailer for Wonder Woman that was followed by O’Brien introducing the cast. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, and Director Patty Jenkins were on the panel to talk about the movie. Gal Gadot summed it up nicely when she mentioned that it took “a lot of hard work and patience.”
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After Wonder Woman came a surprise guest, the cast for Justice League. While they couldn’t stay long – they were headed over to the film set – they stayed long enough to show the trailer and talk to the crowd. Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Director Zack Snyder were in attendance.
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Suicide Squad, which is currently in theaters, took time on Saturday to pay a visit to Hall H.
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After the Suicide Squad cast made their appearance, we were shown the trailer for The Lego Batman movie and we had the opportunity to see Chris Mckay and Will Arnett. Then we saw the trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Charlie Hunnam came and spoke for a little while. When asked how he prepared for such a role, Charlie Hunnam said he tried not to think about it too much.
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Next on tap was Kong: Skull Island! Tom Hiddleston (Loki!), Brie Larson, John Goodman (Roseanne and Speed Racer), Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchel and Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts appeared onstage. The movie was filmed in three countries and we were given the first glimpse of the trailer at Comic-Con.
And to end our morning in Hall H, we were shown the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The movie is a story inside the universe of Harry Potter. After the trailer, we were introduced to Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, and David Yates.
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The first part of the morning certainly had an amazing line up of guests and trailers! “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned to see what happens the rest of the day in Hall H! As a spoiler I will mention Star Trek. Until next time…“Live Long and Prosper.”
“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.”
“No Master Yoda was very specific. I’m assigned to Anakain Skywalker, and he is to supervise my Jedi Training.” – Ahsoka Tano
For those that do not know that quote, it is from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show. The quote is spoken by Ahsoka Tano who is voiced by Ashley Eckstein. Since her time with The Clone Wars, Ashley has created and produced her own clothing line called Her Universe.
The fashion line was founded in 2010 by Ashley and her partner The Araca Group. Each of the past three years, Her Universe has put on an annual fashion show at Comic-Con. For the second straight year, I was fortunate enough to attend the fashion show while in San Diego.
Ashley with Nathan and Andrew
The theme for this years show was powerful women. 27 designers worked with Her Universe and chose their own theme for their outfit and premiered it at the show.
During the fashion show, Ashley wore a dress made out of legos with the image of Ahsoka Tano on her dress. The dress weighed 25-pounds and was designed and created by Nathan Sawaya and Andrew MacLaine.
The outfits created this year were all amazing! Some could even glow in the dark!
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Three winners were chosen in the following categories: Judges Winner, Audience Winner, and Comic-Con HQ Winner. Congratulations to the winners! Pictures are below:
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Day two of Comic-Con was jam packed full of fun and excitement as always! The fashion show was bigger and better. “Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned for my next article. Spoiler Alert: it will include The Big Bang Theory.
“We’re about the buy tickets for Comic-Con.”
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 as a Citizen Reporter and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!
My new badge on the Left and my old badge on the right. A much improvement from the year before.
By: Katelyn Kohane
It’s that time of year again! Time for San Diego Comic-Con, a five-day journey that I – Katelyn – was lucky enough to attend for the second straight year. Stay tuned and follow my adventures as a member of the press through the madness that is San Diego Comic-Con.
Last year I was able to attend the San Diego Comic-Con for the first time as a member of the press. This year, my badge was mailed out early so I could attend Preview Night on Wednesday. Getting the badge early was a nice addition and made checking in faster and hassle free, all I had to pick up was my bag and books. I heard the bags had at least 20 different designs and I went in search of a Supergirl bag but ended up finding one with a design of the Big Bang Theory.
Once I checked in and had my bag, I headed up to Ballroom 20. Jeff Tobler from Warner Brothers Television came and introduced what we would be watching for the night. First up was Riverdale, which is a murder mystery TV show based on Archie. It will air on the CW network later this year.
The Second preview shown was called Powerless, a show from DC Comics featuring Vanessa Hudgens. Vanessa Hudgens will play Emily who works in the insurance field runs into her fair share of superheros along the way. This will air on NBC network later this year.
After the Powerless preview, I left Ballroom 20 and went down to the main floor and wound up buying 2 graphic novels.
Then I headed out to a Press Event that I was invited to for the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman. The event was staged to introduce the new invisible jet and I made sure to get there a little early to have a good view of the big reveal.
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A few fun facts about Wonder Woman since it’s her 75th Anniversary: she first appeared in comic world in October 1941 in All-Star Comics #8; many fans know her by her metal bracelets and magic lasso.
With the year-long celebration fans can look forward to finding new comics and graphic novels.
Wonder Woman has been voiced by Rosario Dawson, Lucy Lawless (who I will touch on in a later article), Maggie Q, Susan Eisenberg and many more. Live action we have Lynda Carter and now Gal Gadot (one of my favorite actresses from the Fast and Furious series). Gal Gadot appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and her up coming film Wonder Woman which starts June 2nd 2017. She will also appear in the coming Justice League movies.
Preview night is still as exciting as the first time going, only bigger and better. “Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned for my next article. And as a spoiler I will mention the Her Universe Fashion Show.
“I am Master Skywalker’s Padawan. The name’s Ahsoka Tano.”
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 as a Citizen Reporter and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a performance of music of the great John Williams by the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Grand Rapids Choir. As one of my favorite composers, it was magical to hear his work.
The performance centered around his great songs over the years from many different films. In between songs, the conductor mentioned some interesting facts about John Williams. Did you know that John Williams has received the Olympic Order? The Olympic Order is the highest award at the Olympics. Or another one, did you know that John Williams will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award this year and that it will be the first time a composer has won the award?
While the newfound knowledge about my favorite composer added to his legacy, it was the performance of his music that solidified why he’s my favorite.
The first act included “March” from Superman, “Anakin’s Theme” from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, “Theme from Schindler’s List”, and “Flight to Neverland” from Hook. Towards the end of “Anakin’s Theme”, Darth Vadar and the Stormtroopers came out and interrupted the show. The conductor followed suit and played the “Imperial March” at the request of the ruler of the galaxy.
Then came the first intermission.
After the break, the Grand Rapids Choir joined in on the fun and performed “Duel of the Fates” from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – one of my favorites! I could just picture Obi-Want, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul engaged in a life-or-death lightsaber battle on Naboo.
Following “Fuel of the Fates” came “Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone, “Dry Your Tears Afrika” from Amistad (one I did not know but loved it.), “Hymn to the Fallen” from Saving Private Ryan, and the main theme from the Olympics, “Call of the Champions.”
After a second intermission, the performances kept on coming! “Harry’s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “Sayuri’s Theme” from Memoirs of a Geisha, Selections from Fiddler on the Roof, and for the first time since Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters, “Rey’s Theme” and “March of the Resistance.”
While listening to all the works of music was special, I was personally hoping to hear Indiana Jones. However, the last song was played and I was left wanting more! Fortunately, the conductor came back out for an encore and satisfied my appetite with a playing of Indiana Jones.
It was an epic performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony and Grand Rapids Choir.
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!
Here are a few from Star Wars Weekends. Top: Jake Lloyd, Daniel Logan. Bottom Jeremy Bulloch, Davie Prowse, and Ray Park
By: Katelyn Kohane
Today is Star Wars Day, May the Fourth be with you.
When I sat down to write this article, I was curious as to where the saying came from and how it got started. While doing my initial research, all signs pointed to Margaret Thatcher being the first to say it. The day she found out that she had become Prime Minister she said, “May the Fourth be with you,” in celebration of her victory. Star Wars fans immediately fell in love with the saying and henceforth it became known as Star Wars Day.
While “May the Fourth be with you” seems like an interesting, but random, Star Wars tidbit in the month of May, it’s actually just the icing on the cake. Most of the movies were released in May and George Lucas’ birthday also happens to fall in the month of May. It’s like it was all planned out a long, long time ago…
The relationship between Star Wars and the month of May continues from the silver screen to Star Tours at Walt Disney World. Star Tours is a Star Wars simulator at the Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. Every weekend throughout May is dedicated as “Star Wars Weekends.”
I actually worked on the ride for many years and my vast Star Wars knowledge came in handy when working there. During my time there I made many great friends and enjoyed being a part of Star Wars Weekends! They were so fun. I would camp in line with friends to meet the celebrities that would come and hold talk shows, walk in parades, and sign autographs.
This year, to celebrate Star Wars Day in all its glory, I will certainly wear a Star Wars shirt. Hopefully, if I’m not too busy, I will carve out some time to watch a Star Wars movie. So to all the Star Wars fans out there… May the Fourth 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!
With April being National Poetry Month, and yesterday being Haiku Poetry Day, a few citizen reporters tried their hand at the art of the traditional Japanese poetry and its 17 syllables.
by Dylan Rettler
I ask for insight
Ashen sky of you and I
On this phoenixed flight
by Kathryn Gray
Stories to be told
Warm fingers on the keyboard
Awake hearts and minds
by Katelyn Kohane
No worries or cares
Relaxing beside the water
Watching waves roll by
And WKTV News editors Mike DeWitt and Victoria Mullen even gave it a shot!
by Mike DeWitt
Recruiting Writers
Take it one step at a time
To write from the heart
“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!
“Quellek, by Grabthar’s hammer, by the Suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged.” – Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest.
The Academy hosted the 88th award ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles this past Sunday. Before we dive into this year’s ceremony, let’s go back to the first ever presentation.
The very first year the Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel right across the street from the Award’s present location. That first night, a ticket to the Awards cost $5 a piece, had only 270 people in attendance, and ended its ceremony in only 15 minutes.
Today, tickets are acquired by the movie studios and can cost up to $750, the Dolby Theater seats 3,400 people, and the ceremony lasts a whopping three hours. The Academy Awards has become a huge event not only in America, but around the world. The Oscar itself stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds.
I love watching the Academy Awards, but host Chris Rock was a little too outspoken about the lack of nominations for black actors and actresses. We all knew the commentary was coming, but it was mentioned too many times throughout the ceremony and felt like the beating of a dead horse.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love Chris Rock as an actor and a comedian. I loved him in the movie Grown Ups.
The attendance of the Girls Scouts came across as odd to me. It’s nice that many of the celebrities supported the Girl Scouts, but strange that they were at this caliber of an event. It had the same out-of-place feeling as the selfies and pizza from last year. Personally, I feel they should bring The Academy Awards back to its original grace with a more dignified evening.
The Awards had a few great performances from the category of Best Original Song. Sam Smith preformed his piece “Writing’s on the Wall” from James Bond Spectre. The Weeknd performed second and Lady Gaga put a final cap on the performances from Best Original Song.
Every year, the In Memorium segment is a nice touch on the evening. Many great people were lost in the past year including Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, Gene Alan, and Leonard Nimoy.
While some presenters can leave you wanting more, I loved the inclusion of R2-D2. C-3PO, and BB-8 from Star Wars. The Minions, Buzz and Woody, Kevin Hart, and Whoopi Goldberg made for a good show as well. One I personally found funny was the presentation from Margot Robbie and Jared Leto because of their upcoming roles as Harley Quinn and the Joker in Suicide Squad.
It’s impossible to talk about the awards without congratulating Leonardo DiCaprio on finally getting his Oscar! Personally, I thought he should have had one long ago because of all of his great films. I had thought he would have received one last year either for The Great Gatsby or the Wolf of Wall Street, but he finally got one this year for The Revenant.
Upon receiving his award he was very proud, and I thought his speech was exceptional. He made mention to climate change, which was encouraging to hear him speak about because he has been working to support that cause.
Another year has come and gone for the Academy Awards. I can’t wait to see what this new year has in store for in regards to films, performances, and preparations for the 89th Academy Awards.
In Honor of Leonard Nimoy; “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Congratulations to all the Oscar winners!
In case you missed it, the full list of categories and winners of the 88th Academy Awards are as follows:
Best Picture: Spotlight
Actor in a Leading Role: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant
Actress in a Leading Role: Brie for Room
Actor in a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies
Actress in a Supporting Role: Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl
Animated Feature Film: Inside Out
Cinematography: The Revenant
Costume Design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Directing: The Revenant
Documentary (Feature): Amy
Documentary (Short Film): A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Film Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul
Makeup and Hairstyling: Mad Max: Fury Road
Music (Original Score): The Hateful Eight
Music (Original Song): “Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre
Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Short Film (Animated): Bear Story
Short Film (live Action): Stutterer
Sound Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Visual Effects: Ex Machina
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Big Short
Writing (Original Screenplay): Spotlight
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!
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” Han Solo once spoke those words in a galaxy far, far away.
A few weeks ago, they had the premier for The Force Awakens in Los Angeles at the TLC Chinese Theater. I watched the event online and it was spectacular! The set up they had for the event was supposedly twice the size of the Oscars Red Carpet event.
There were fans that waited at least a week or longer to try to win tickets for the premier. I heard that Anthony Daniels showed up one night and talked to the fans waiting.
As I watched the premier, I saw that George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, John Williams, Billy Dee Williams, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and many more show up to the event.
About a week later, the movie opened in theaters to the mass public. I went on opening day, December 18. I took the day off from work and met friends at the theater. As I was waiting for the movie, I received a message from a good friend of mine who works in one of the restaurants in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, she was standing five feet from George Lucas.
I also received a few messages from my friends asking why I hadn’t gone the night before on the 17th. You know it’s a big event when you’re already behind for seeing a film on opening day instead of the night before with seemingly everyone else.
My friends and I waited in line at the theater for a couple of hours ahead of time because we wanted to make sure we got good seats. When we sat down I had a troubling thought, “Guys what if the movie sucks?” Except, it wasn’t an original thought, I was totally referring to Eric’s line in the movie Fanboys.
Fans waiting in line in December 18th.
SPOILERS AHEAD!! Read at your own RISK!!
The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after Return of Jedi. Where we meet Poe Dameron, a fighter pilot for the Resistance, who is sent by General Leia Orgainana to retrieve a map with the location of Luke Skywalker. Which, the First Order, and Kylo Ren are also looking for.
The First Order sends Kylo Ren and the stormtroopers to Jakoo to retrieve the map from Poe and the Resistance. Before being captured trying to save a village from Stormtroopers and Kylo Ren, Poe made sure to give the map to his droid BB-8. BB-8 escapes and eventually meets up with the story’s main protagonist Rey and, eventually, Fin.
Fin, a former stormtrooper, aids Poe in escaping from the clutches of Kylo Ren and the First Order.
Before Poe escaped from the First Order, Klyo Ren tortured him to find out where he hid the map. Ren learns of the maps location in a BB-8 droid still back on Jakoo. So, he heads to the planet to retrieve the droid.
During the attempted retrieval, BB-8, Rey and Fin are attacked by stormtroopers and end up stealing the Millennium Falcon to escape. Once far enough away from Jakoo, the ship is caught in a freighters tracker beam. Assuming the worst, Rey, Finn and BB-8 hide in the bowels of the Falcon. However, this is when we first meet the old starts as Han Solo and Chewbacca have stolen back their old ship!
The story now has a new gang with Rey, Fin, Han Solo and Chewbacca. The group makes a stop to one of Han’s friends, and while they are there, Rey finds Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber and starts to realize that she is Force sensitive and that there may be more in her background than meets the eye.
This was on our board at work on December 19th
Eventually Kylo Ren shows up, crashes the party, and a battle ensues. Rey tries to run away but Kylo Ren hunts her down and captures her to take to Starkiller (a new and improved Deathstar) for further questioning.
Finn, Chewbacca, and Han head to Resistance headquarters with BB-8 in tow to meet with General Leia Orgainana. We learn that Han Solo has been away from Genera Leia Orgaiana for quite some time. Their son, Ben, had trained to become a Jedi with Luke Skywalker, but he was seduced by the Sith and Supreme Leader Supreme Leader Snoke.
Ben Solo was no longer Ben, he was now Kylo Ren!
Back at the Resistance, Poe and Finn meet again, and Poe takes Finn to General Leia Orgaiania and they formulate a plan to get Rey back and destroy Starkiller.
Back on Starkiller, Kylo Ren interrogates Rey and tries to get into her mind to read the map to Luke’s location. After failing, Kylo Ren leaves the room flustered and confused as to why he couldn’t access Rey’s mind. Rey then uses the Jedi Mind Trick on the stormtrooper in the room to unlock her bonds and escape.
Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Fin eventually make it onto the base on Starkiller to rescue Rey and blow up the base. As Han Solo and Chewbacca set the charges to later detonate, Han sees his son and attempts one last time to save him from the Dark Side.
Han desperately wants his son to come back home, and for a second it seems Ben (Kylo Ren) wants the same, but in an instant that feeling is gone and Han finds himself falling down an endless shaft. Kylo Ren has completed his transition to the Dark Side.
The charges are detonated and the Resistance finishes the job, destroying the Starkiller just as Rey, Fin and Chewbacca escape. With the Starkiller destroyed, and the leaders of the Resistance back together at headquarters, R2-D2 and BB-8 provide both pieces of the map to Luke Skywalker. In the final scene, Rey and Chewbacca set out to follow the map and find the final remaining Jedi.
Personally I give the movie a B+. I have already seen it twice. I enjoyed more the second time. Out of my about 30 of my closest friends, the most amount of times any of them had seen it was 5! Even on Christmas, my cousins one by one asked me what I thought and wondered how many times I had seen the movie. By the time I’d gotten back to work on the 19th, the guys were surprised I had only seen it once up till that point. Some friends thought I’d be on round 9 by now.
There were two big cameos in the film that were fun to spot. One was Daniel Craig as the stormtrooper Rey used the Jedi Mind Trick on to escape her cell. The other cameo was Simon Pegg as Unkar Plutt who bartered with Rey for food on Jakoo.
There are still some unanswered question from the movie, many of which are about Rey. Who is Rey’s family? Most believe she is a Skywalker. Some wonder who is Finn’s family? Is he possibly the child of Lando Calrissian? And who is Supreme Leader Snoke? One discussion at work, was brought up, that Snoke could possibly be Darth Plagueis?
Why did Luke Skywalker leave? In the movie they say he went looking for the first Jedi Temple. Since Kylo Ren was also looking for it, is it possible that Luke went to protect it from Kylo Ren? So, then what is Kylo Ren searching for?
To quote Han Solo once again…”It’s True. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi. They’re real.”
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!
Each of the last four years, West Catholic High School has earned the right to play in the Division 5 Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. This season, the Falcons were looking for their third straight title.
Making it to Ford Field is a statement of a long season of hard work paying off and it culminates into the biggest game of the season as a battle for the best team in the division. Division 5 consists of teams with an enrollment of around 400 – 500 students.
The day of the championship, the team met at West Catholic High School to have breakfast together before loading on the bus. After breakfast, the team, along with many of its fans, attended Mass together at Saint Adalbert’s Church, which is a nice way to start the day before the Big Game. After Mass, the team loaded back on the bus to head to Detroit.
I am a graduate of West Catholic. My family and my cousins have all gone through West Catholic for many years. My father taught math, coached track and football, and ultimately retired from the school after 40 years. We always go to the football games. West Catholic as a program travels very well. Many people past and present make an effort to go to the games.
This year, there were five big Grey Hound buses that made the trip to Ford Field. Hundreds of cars ended up making the trek to support the team in the Championship as well.
The bus ride was a blast. Of course, everyone on the bus knows each other because they are all from West, which makes the trip even more fun. After arriving in Detroit, the whole bus went to Hockeytown Café for lunch and to talk about the game with fellow friends and fans.
This past season, I was very proud watching the team play. One of the players, Carl Myers, happens to be my cousin! Carl is one of the captains and is an all-star lineman who earned All-State Honors. Carl has chosen to continue his education next year at the University of Michigan as a “preferred walk-on” for football. Carl also excels in track and field events such as the shot put and discus throw.
After lunch, it was time to head over to Ford Field to cheer on our team as they prepared for another State Championship against River Rouge. It was an exciting game that was consistently back and forth, especially during a 20-point 4th quarter when River Rouge threatened West Catholic down the stretch.
In the end West won 40 to 34! As the clock worked its way down to zero, you could feel the excitement brewing on the sidelines and in the stands. After the clock hit zero, the team ran onto the field to celebrate with their teammates and coaches. They received their third straight championship trophy and will also receive rings.
With the season in the books, I had the opportunity to talk with two important pieces to the Falcon’s success in 2015, my cousin Carl Myers and his good friend, and fellow captain, Connor Nemmers.
What do you remember from the game?
Carl: “The guys were very big, very fast, and came down very hard. It was super hot in the stadium after playing in the snow the week before. They [River Rogue] were very disciplined. I knew that since it was my senior year and that it was going to be my last game, I had better go out on top! It was a lot of fun.”
Connor: “I remember everything from the game. Every snap and whistle. It was such a great way to leave our legacy at West.”
Connor, can you give me a few details describing the game? Also, what was the toughest part of the game from your standpoint?
Connor: “It was the greatest time of my life. The atmosphere inside was unbelievable when I looked around seeing all of the fans. In the game, the toughest part for me was, the last quarter as a whole. They started scoring very fast, and I thought we were going to lose at one point. We ended up coming up with the win though.”
Carl, you were voted to be a part of the “Dream Team”, could you tell me a little about that?
Carl: “I was the only one from the west side to be on the Dream Team, there were tons from the east. I got to meet and talk to some of the top guys in the state, but it’s cool knowing that I am also in the top. Mark Dantanio gave a good speech to the guys on the team about dreams.”
Connor, last question, looking back on the season, which game was the most rewarding?
Connor: “My favorite game of the season was probably when we played Lansing Catholic. They were expected to win the state championship, but we ended up with the win. It just felt like a great game.”
It certainly sounds like the boys really worked hard to pull off the win at the championship game and it definitely shows they pulled together to get the final win. Good luck to the team next year and to Carl and Connor as they finish up the school year. Go Green! Go White!
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!
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.
Cast of Mockingjay Part 2
“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 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 areBatman 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!
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it” is to see what I accomplished at the Grand Rapids Comic-Con.
As some of you know I did attend the biggest Comic-Con this year in San Diego. So follow me through the Grand Rapids Comic-Con.
I heard attendance for Grand Rapids Comic-Con, was 6,000 people. Compared to San Diego is not much, but the good thing would be that all 6,000 would fit into Hall H!
I was only able to attend Grand Rapids Comic-Con on Friday for a few hours. I wandered the floor and ran across some pretty cool cars. I saw the Speed Racer Mach 5, the Starsky and Hutch car, Mater from Cars, and Tony Stark’s car from Iron Man.
There were a few people that dressed up. They had some neat costumes. There were a lot from Batman. I saw a Harley Quinn, The Riddler, The Joker and Harvey Dent. There were also the Ghost Busters, Indiana Jones and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend any of the panels in Grand Rapids but they did have some neat ones that I would have liked. Such as “The Life of Being a Bad Guy”, “The World of Being a Stunt Man”, and “What is the 501st? 501st Legion of Stormtroopers.”
As I mentioned before from San Diego Comic-Con, The 501st and Rebel Legion are two groups that you can join and wear Star Wars costumes plus do volunteer work. They had a big booth at Grand Rapids Comic-Con.
As I also mentioned from San Diego Comic-Con, Ashley Eckstein of Her Universe had a Fashion Show and showed off some really cool outfits. While at Grand Rapids Comic-Con there was a girl who had on one of Ashley’s dresses that she designed. I also wore a sweatshirt that Ashley designed. It’s called the Ultimate Convention Hoodie. She thought of everything. It has pockets for posters, pockets for comics and even a pocket for a water bottle. She really does come up with amazing designs.
New York happened to have their Comic-Con a week before Grand Rapids. At the New York Comic-Con I heard that Back to the Future stars Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) met up. This is the 30th Anniversary of Back to the Future. They met up to discuss some of the predictions from the movie. Unfortunately, the Chicago Cubs just lost to the New York Mets, but they did get another prediction right about Star Wars Episode 7!
The cast from the Blindspot was also at the New York Comic-Con. I’ve been watching the Blindspot and it has an interesting twist. The Player, another series that was introduced, at San Diego Comic-Con, is about betting on crime and takes place in and around Vegas. Don’t forget SuperGirl will be starting soon!
I did buy some cool shot glasses from Grand Rapids Comic-Con. One has the two symbols from Star Wars, which are the Rebel Alliance and the Empire on it and the other had the Mandilorian symbol, which is Boba Fett’s symbol.
Hopefully next years Grand Rapids Comic-Con will just continue to get bigger and better. Signing off until next time. And in honor of “Back to the Future.” “If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour… you’re gonna see some serious shit.”
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!
I was introduced to Disney’s Newsies, the movie, years ago, in a dance class that I took when I was younger. The song that my class was going to perform on stage was a jazz number called “Once And For All.” My little sister was also in a tap class at the same time and her class was performing “My Lovey-Dovey Baby.” We learned that both songs were from the Disney movie Newsies.
We decided to rent the movie and instantly fell in love with the story line and the characters.
Newsies takes place in New York City in 1899. It’s the story of the newspaper boys going on strike against newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer cut into the income the Newsies made by raising the price of the newspaper were bought and resold on the streets. So, the Newsies organized themselves and banned together against Pulitzer.
The main core of the Newsies team is Jack Kelly, Davey, Les, Crutchie, and Racetrack. Many other newspaper boys in the surrounding area of New York City join them. One of the more important areas to the strike was Brooklyn and their unofficial leader, Spot Conlon.
The play is incredible. The story does change a little from the movie to the play and those that know the story well will notice the differences. But, it is every bit as amazing as the movie
The set is a sight to behold. There are huge tower-like structures that move around for the cast to play on and the towers constantly change with each new song.
While the sight is eye-pleasing, it’s the talent of the cast that truly sets the stage. The choreography is tight, on point, and fun to watch. There is one number where they are actually dancing on newspapers!
Dan DeLuca plays “Jack Kelly”, the leader of the strike and the story’s main character. “Davey” is played by Jacob Kemp. Vincent Crocilla and Jonathan Fenton alternate in the role as “Les.” I’ve heard that the role of Les changes in each destination. “Crutche” is played by Zachary Sayle. Benjamin Cook takes on the role of “Racetrack” and “Spot Conlon” is played by Jeff Heimbroc.
My favorite numbers are “King of New York,” “Carrying the Banner,” “Seize the day,” “The World Will Know,” and “Santa Fe.”
The set towers in the background during the performance at Devos Performance Hall
Speaking of Santa Fe, I have also spent some time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was gorgeous and I love to go back. I know why Jack Kelly’s dream is to make it to Santa Fe.
On top of seeing the movie and the the play at Broadway Grand Rapids, I also saw Newsies in Chicago. At that time in the tour, they were not scheduled to come to Grand Rapids. I knew I had to see the play, and since I missed it in New York, I decided to see it in Chicago. Fortunately it came to Grand Rapids for a quick stint so I could indulge in it one more time!
Seeing it in Grand Rapids was no second fiddle. The performances shine through no matter the venue.
If you have the opportunity to see Disney’s Newsies on Broadway, take the time to see it. With the play already exiting Grand Rapids after a very limited engagement, check out the movie. They’re both brilliant and you won’t be disappointed!
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!
Thunder Over Michigan is an amazing experience. I went on Sunday, which happens to be the final day. The event took place at the Detroit Metro Willow Run Airport. There was an incredible line up of military air planes and helicopters.
Of course, they saved the best for last, the United States Navy Blue Angels.
The entire days was chalked full of events to keep you busy and occupied. The total number of aircrafts was jaw-dropping.
To mention a few of the planes: the Heavy Hitter Avro Lancaster, which made its debut in 1942 as the strategic bombing in Europe began during World War 2; The End All Be All Fifi B-29 Superfortress, this was one of the planes to drop nuclear bombs during World War 2 and was also used in active duty during the Korean War; Patrolling the skies Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, which was a patrol bomber for the United States Navy during World War 2 and the Korean War.
They had a number planes on the ground that you could take a tour through, but I wound up skipping out on the plane tours and took a slightly more adventurous experience. I ended up going for a ride in a UH-1 Huey Helicopter.
The tour in the Huey required a signed waiver and $75. It was worth every penny!
I sat in the gunner seat on the outside of the Helicopter. The view, and the entire experience, was incredible. If you’ve never taken a ride in a helicopter, I would highly recommend it. The air show makes for an easy and comfortable environment to give it a try.
The helicopter ride took one thing off the Bucket List; what will I ride in next year!?
As I mentioned, the show was great and the ride was amazing but they saved the best for last; the United States Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squad.
The Blue Angles makes their home in Pensacola, Florida and they perform across the country throughout the year. They are on the road from the middle of March until late November putting on a showcase in aircraft handling. After November, the Blue Angels head back to Florida for the winter.
The US Navy Blue Angels began in 1946 as a desire to keep the public interested in Naval Aviation. The original Blue Angels team flew a Grumman F6F Hellcat aircraft. The team now flies an F/A 18 Hornet.
Maintenance crews for the Blue Angels fly with them in the US Marine Corps C-130 also known as “Fat Albert.” This year the team is lead by their Flight Leader/ Commanding Officer Captain Tom Frosch, who is from Michigan. Another cool tidbit about the team this year, they now have their first female pilot. Her name is Katie (not me though! I wish!).
The team puts on a highly choreographed, high-octane performance with a lot of stunts. They have the four-plane Diamond Formation and also the six-jet Delta Formation where the planes fly as close together as 2 meters.
Performing with massive machinery with such as eloquent grace is a slight to behold. The Blue Angels keep getting better every time I see them. At the end of their show, the team came out the field where everyone was sitting and talked to the audience and signed autographs. It’s always fun to go and talk to the pilots. They really do put on a high-octane performance in the air and with the fans afterwards.
Enjoying my ride in the UH-1 Huey
I have been fortunate enough to experience their demonstrations at the Air Base in Pensacola many times, and would highly recommend this. The Blue Angels are a true marvel in the sky.
Make sure to check out Thunder Over Michigan next year. You won’t be disappointed!
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,’ “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!
Some of the craziness in the lines for Hall H and one inside Hall H
By: Katelyn Kohane
As “your mission,” – “You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!” – You came back to see what I accomplished on Saturday. It was justice… Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
I arrived early at Comic-Con, around 8 am, and got in line for Hall H. After hearing that the movie’s director, Zach Snyder, showed up the night before driving the new Batmobile, I knew it was going to be a long shot getting into Hall H.
I got in line far from the front. In fact, I was across the street and around the corner down by the marina. Just to clear up how crazy this line was, there were people camped out over night!
When the line finally started moving and I inched closer to the main entrance, I noticed one of the Comic-Con employees holding a counter to tally the total attendance and stop the line when the Hall fills. I asked him what number he was at and he responded with a number that was music to my ears, “4,400.” I was going to get into Hall H for Batman!
It was around 10 am by the time we finally entered Hall H.
Will Smith for “Suicide Squad.”
Once seated inside, it did not take long for the presentation to start! The presentation started with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. – which is currently in theaters now. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer both showed up in Hall H.
Next they showed us Pan, which opens in theaters on October 9th. Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Garrett Hedlund, and director Joe Wright all came for the presentation. They said, “Pan is completely new for 2015. It’s an origin story of how Pan became Pan.”
Joe Wright said, “Their inspiration was the strangeness of JM Barrie’s book.”
After Pan, we were shown the Suicide Squad. Margot Robbie, Will Smith, director David Ayer and a few others showed up. David Ayer made a bold claim and stirred up excitement when he said, “These are the best villains ever.”
Suicide Squad led us to the main event for Hall H.
First two rows: Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Bottom left: Gal Gadot, bottom center: Jesse Eisenberg, and bottom right: Amy Adams.
When it was time for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the trailer was shown twice because everyone loved it so much! The presentation opened and closed with the trailer.
Once the trailer played, the actors came out on stage and the star power was truly amazing. Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Zach Snyder all showed up to talk to the crowd. It was incredible to see them all. Zach Snyder said, “It’s not the story revival of Batman v Superman, it’s their own version.”
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned and see what I did on the final day of Comic-Con. As a spoiler, I will be talking more about some of the crazy costumes and vendors at Comic-Con. “I’ll be back.”
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.”
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!
Bill Murray in Rock the Kasbah at Comic-Con in Hall H.
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”
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
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.
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.”
Top left: Star Destroyer. Center: Death Star. Top right: Sailor Moon. Bottom left: Groot. Bottom right: is another geek couture outfit.
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!
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.”
The Second preview shown was called Powerless, a show from DC Comics featuring Vanessa Hudgens. Vanessa Hudgens will play Emily who works in the insurance field runs into her fair share of superheros along the way. This will air on NBC network later this year.
By: Katelyn Kohane
With April being National Poetry Month, and yesterday being Haiku Poetry Day, a few citizen reporters tried their hand at the art of the traditional Japanese poetry and its 17 syllables.
Wonder Woman has been portrayed by Lynda Carter and now Gal Gladot (she is awesome. Loved her in Fast and the Furious).
