In fact, with all the panels listed here and the schedule-conflicted ones, I probably won't even have time to eat.
Still, Comic-Con Film School. Comic-Con through the decades. More than ever, I need to get cracking on my genre scripts. Anyway...
Thursday
Best Movies Never Made (10:30a - Room 24ABC) - Based on a podcast, this panel is about the movies that - for whatever reason - didn't come to fruition. I'm sure we missed out on some gems...and, more likely, some pieces of work.
7th Annual Musical Anatomy of a Superhero: Film and TV Composer Panel (11:30a - Ballroom 20) - So many awesome composers, many of whom made their mark this year: Wallfisch, Toprak, Lennertz, Neely (and his associate Chung) and Giacchino.
You're Wrong, Leonard Maltin (1:00p - Room 6BCF) -
Casino.
The Mummy.
Hudson Hawk.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Hot Fuzz. The chance to argue the merits of all of these films (which have less than glowing write-ups in his Movie and Video Guide) is too great to resist.
Super 8 Daze (2:30p - Marriott Grand Ballroom 6) - Living vicariously through people who have had more vibrant childhoods than myself is always interesting, especially those who - with their friends - produced super-8 movies.
The 4:30 Movie: 1989 Week (4:00p - Room 5AB) - Based on another podcast (yeah, I think I should make a list of these podcasts), the films of 1989 are spotlighted.
Animation Story Editors: What Do They Do? (6:00p - Room 9) - Yeah, you're gonna be seeing a lot of writing panels in this year's post, so get comfy. This one made the final cut because I was recently struck with a yen to reboot a terribly-executed comedy-action series from near the beginning of the century. I have a lot of ideas, not all of which might pass muster with the conservative creator, so it would help to know what to do when I run this particular madhouse.
The Anatomy of Choreographing Action in Film (7:30p - Marriott Grand Ballroom 6) - If nothing else, I can get some cool pointers on what goes into a great screen fight, though off the top of my head, I don't think there are too many fight scenes in my writing.
Friday
The 2019 Black Panel (10:00a - Room 5AB) - Even though I am firmly what the kids used to call an 'Oreo', I can't help but be curious what a panel like this would entail.
Women of the Hollywood Art Department (11:00a - Room 9) - It'd be nice hearing from some veterans and up-and-comers on what goes into designing big Hollywood movies.
[adult swim] Robot Chicken (12:00p - Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) - Season 10. I really hope there's enough gas in the tank to maintain interest.
[adult swim] Rick and Morty (1:00p - Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) - Season 4. I can only imagine how they up the ante on this...and I'm quite intrigued by the rumored guest stars.
Bringing Films to Comic-Con (2:00p - Room 25ABC) - Apparently, showcasing upcoming movies has always been a part of the Con. I can only wonder how much different the reaction was between the early panels and the ultimate releases.
My Best Comic-Con Story (3:00p - Room 9) - Let's face it: good or bad, we all have a story to tell about what makes this event so special (or frustrating). I'm sure I do.
Bob's Burgers (4:00p - Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) - To see just one panel with the voice actors bouncing off of each other would be amazeballs, I just know it.
Ray Harryhausen: the Lost Movies (6:30p - Room 26AB) - Having spent the last year diving into the man's impressive creations, I am curious to see the work of his that never made it to the screen.
Sounds of Horror: Inside Hollywood's Most Terrifying Film Scores (8:00p - Room 9) - When they mentioned
Critters, my heart skipped a beat; could this be the recognition that David Newman has long deserved? Then I saw how the names on the panel corresponded to the credits and I deflated. They probably meant the new Critters movie. Still, Christopher Young and Michael Abels. Nothing to sneeze at.
Saturday
Nostalgia-Ganza: A Look Back at Animated Series from the 80s (10:00a - Room 9) - The 1980s were not the best time for cartoons. Even so, people worked really hard to bring them to life. A lot of big names got their start at Hanna-Barbera and Filmation. Wouldn't mind hearing from them.
Cartoon Voices I (1:00p - Room 6BCF) - Of all the panels here, this...okay, there are a bunch more I'd like to see on YouTube than this, but these are always entertaining.
The Orville (2:30p - Ballroom 20) - The general consensus is that this is the best "Star Trek" series currently airing. I'm no Trekkie, but it is very good. Can't wait for season 3.
The Music of Monsters: Kaiju Concerto with Composer Bear McCreary (5:00p - Room 25ABC) -
Godzilla, King of the Monsters.
Child's Play. It's been an impressive year for the man. Here's hoping for more awesome music.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Screening and Q&A (6:30p - Room 6BCF) - One of the funniest shows of recent memory and I just know that the cast can be as funny on a panel as they are on the show.
Happy Endings (8:00p - Room 28DE) - It's the same old story: a great movie carves a place in your heart as a new masterpiece, only to shit the bed with a terrible ending. This panel will (apparently) give audience members a chance to rewrite the ending with an improv troupe to perform it. I'm sure there are a number of titles bouncing around my head.
Sunday
World Premiere of Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island (10:15a - Room 6BCF) - The brief series of films staring with "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" is, for my money, second only to "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated" as the finest incarnation of the property, so this new movie should be a kick.
Riverdale Special Video Presentation and Q&A (11:45a - Hall H) - I am still greatly enjoying this show, narrative wackiness and all. Still, I could've done without that flash forward in the finale. Give the audience some mystery.
I'll Take Muggles for $500: A Fan Game Show (Pop Culture Edition) (2:00p - Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina) - Yeah, I think I do far better at these convention game shows when it's general knowledge instead of focused on a particular fandom.
----------------------------------
And now for the other panels I would've gone to if they weren't a) going on at the same time as the other panels or b) happening in the insanely hard to get into Hall H.
Thur
11th Annual "Behind the Music": Celebrating Fan-Favorite Sounds and Scores of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Television (10:00a - Room 25ABC) - The first of an unprecedented five film music panels doesn't quite have the line-up of composers to make me prioritize it. Still, what a start to the day.
Afro-futurism, "Black to the Future, Too": The Revenge (This Time, It's Personal) (11:30a - Room 24ABC) - I can only hope that there's room for me at the big table in the future. As the description says, 'Can we truly go black to the future...before we go black to the past?'.
The Pitching Hour (12:00p - Room 7AB) - Do I even have the strength to put myself out there and pitch my work to total strangers? Surely, there's a few tips for this.
Batman Beyond 20th Anniversary (12:15p - Hall H) - I imagine that the writers, producers and VAs will have some great stories to tell about this clever spin-off.
Flipping the Script for Newbies (1:00p - Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina) - Much like 'The Pitching Hour', I'd like to think that there are tips for networking for people too inward of themselves.
From an Idea to Hired: Books, TV, Film and Comics (2:30p - Room 24ABC) - Again, what does it take to sell my works (and myself) to prospective representation?
Writers' Coffeehouse at Comic-Con (2:30p - Santa Rosa Room, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina) - Writers bouncing off of each other about their careers and the business. Sounds interesting.
Screenwriting: Turn Your Idea into a Screenplay (4:00p - Room 11) - Okay, this might be a bit disingenuous. I've known the last...roughly 15 years how to turn an idea into a screenplay (having the will to do so in a timely matter is a less rock-solid skill). Even so, I'm sure could learn a few cool tricks.
The Super-Awesome Pro Writers AMA Smackdown (4:30p - Room 24ABC) - Didn't I tell you there were going to be a lot of writing panels? Who knew they all be on the same day? More writers gabbing about the life. How I hope to be among them.
Home Movies 20th Anniversary Reunion (4:45p - Room 6BCF) - Like a lot of people, I discovered this when Adult Swim rescued it...and when it transitioned from Squigglevision to Flash. Good times.
The Writers' Journey: The Importance of Original Material in the Marketplace (6:00p - Room 29AB) - Last writing panel of the day. I've got a crap-ton of original material to be sold (derived from other ideas; hey, you do your best with only seven stories to tell).
22nd Annual Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza (8:00p - Room 6A) - A montage of fight scenes from various media sounds like fun.
Fri
Writing Avengers: Endgame (10:00a - Hall H) - Balancing dozens of characters and a passel of plot strands accumulated over the course of a decade in a three-hour movie. I cannot even imagine.
Masters of the Illustrated Film Poster (1:00p - Room 23ABC) - Too many posters these days are of the 'floating head, too busy with characters' variety. What I wouldn't give to have some of my posters done by Jack Davis...or someone like him who's still alive.
The Character of Music (1:00p - Room 32AB) - A handful of composer-director teams talk about how their relationships work and how they try to get the music they need for their projects. Me, I'm way too picky and couldn't settle on one composer.
Building Cinematic Dreams (2:00p - Room 9) - How do production designers create those unusual sets for motion pictures?
The Future of Film is Female (2:30p - Room 5AB) TCM host Alicia Malone (she of the ever-shifting accent) moderates a panel about women in film - past, present and future.
The Genius of Animation: Building Character and Story in Classic and Contemporary Cartoons (2:30p - Room 24ABC) - Animators spanning the century talking about their craft. Almost makes me wish I could draw worth a damn.
Marvel Animation Celebrates Marvel's 80th Anniversary (3:30p - Room 6A) - There have been a lot of cartoons based on Marvel comics and I know that I came to them through the underrated shows of the mid-90s: Spider-Man, Iron Man, Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk.
The First Geeks: Ray Bradbury and the LA Science Fiction League (3:30p - Room 24ABC) - Ray Bradbury. Ray Harryhausen. Forrest J. Ackerman. These legends of genre were friends. Tell me there's not a movie in this.
How to Think Like a Cartoon Character for a Living (7:00p - Room 4) - Basically, how to write for animation, something I could really use as I've mentioned what I planned to do.
ScreenJunkies/Fandom: The Truth Behind Honest Trailers and More (8:30p - Room 6A) - I cannot get enough of Honest Trailers. It'd be a treat to see one before the rest of the world.
Sat
Infinity Train (10:00a - Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) - A civilization on a train. Exciting yet dangerous. I wonder how this will turn out.
Intro to TV Writing: From First Draft to Getting Staffed (12:30p - Room 24ABC) - It helps to have some semblance of how to write for television and given that I've written a pilot, I think I'm a few steps ahead of the game.
American Dad! (1:00p - Ballroom 20) - Not every episode hits the mark (and while I like Richard Kind as much as the next guy, maybe ease up on Tuttle?), but when it does, it is hysterical.
Spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski (1:00p - Room 7AB) - From Filmation to "The Twilight Zone" to creating his own shows to writing features. No way I can't learn something from this guy.
Much Ado About Mean Girls (2:30p - Horton Grand Theatre) - A Shakespearean re-write of
Mean Girls. How can one
not be curious about this?
Snowpiercer: on TBS: Panel and Exclusive First Look at Series Premiere (3:00p - Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) - A civilization on a train. Exciting yet dangerous. I wonder how this will turn out.
Supergirl Special Video Presentation and Q&A (4:15p - Ballroom 20) - Despite the writing closely (way too closely) reflecting real life, I'm intrigued about season 5.
From Lt. Jim Dangle to Ronan Boyle: A Discussion with Thomas Lennon (5:00p - Horton Grand Theatre) - I barely have the energy to write screenplays. I'm not sure I could write a novel...which explains why he has a panel and I don't.
Writing Workshop with J. Michael Straczynski (7:30p - Room 2) - And here, in this panel, the man will teach us what to do and not do. Dude was a compatriot of Harlan Ellison. He must be doing something right.
Sun
Cartoon Voices II (11:45a - Room 6A) - I'm always up for a good 'voice actors clowning around while reading a script' panel, but there was a little too much this morning.
I will go back to San Diego one day. This, I swear.
Labels: Comic-Con
