Comic-Con 2010: The Event Panel & Press Room – The Next Obsession?

Lost is over. Alias is gone. To the outrage of both Joss Whedon and his rabid fan base, Firefly has left the building, whether we like it or not.

Make way for the next big thing in serialized storytelling, NBC’s new fall drama The Event. The one hour drama stars Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Laura Innes, Ian Anthony Dale, Scott Patterson, and Zeljko Ivanek, among others. The concept of the show came from the mind of writer Nick Wauters.

We were given the opportunity to watch the one hour pilot during the panel on Saturday, and it intrigued me. The audience sat silent and still, clapping in appropriate moments. As far as I could tell, we were all working hard to keep up. And you will have to keep up, people. This isn’t a police procedural following a formula. It’s not a nighttime soap in the vein of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s a show with a complicated premise and a huge cast of characters, with some science fiction thrown into the mix. You will have to pay attention. You will have to come back next week for your answers. This could very possibly be the show everyone’s talking about this fall.

I had the chance to sit down with several members of the cast, as well as the show’s writers and producers, and ask some questions following the public panel.

Ian Anthony Dale sat first at our table, and confirmed what we already knew: there isn’t much they can say about the show itself. He did talk a lot about the characters, how they are “rich, diverse, and rounded characters inhabiting these varied worlds…all are dealing with a  critical, personal dilemma.”

The writers have gotten through eight episodes but have a bible on the world and mythology for the entire series. The cast members are told only what is necessary to play that week’s dialogue and interaction. According to cast member Scott Patterson, the secrecy is like “James Bond on steroids.” He is impressed with the scripts and the “caliber of people in every department.”

The chats with the writer Nick Wauters as well as some of the producers proved interesting. They promise us that they won’t be “making things up as they go along,” but instead answering some major questions in each episode even as events lead to more questions. They would not, of course, tell us what “the event” is, only that the shocking happening at the end of the pilot was not the event referred to by the show’s title.

At the end of the pilot there is an event, however, that brings a science fiction element into the show. When asked about how big of a role that might play, he told us the original idea and script “had no science fiction or supernatural elements at all…the studio asked us to include it.” Interesting. I guess Hollywood is learning that supernatural sells.

What I liked most about the pilot is the feeling that none of the characters are exactly what they seem to be. Laura Innes is important enough to meet with the President of the United States (played by Blair Underwood), but in a flashback she’s shown in shackles. Leila Buchanan (played by Sarah Roemer) is just a girl on a cruise with her boyfriend. Until she and her young daughter disappear. Michael Buchanan (Scott Patterson) is a guy babysitting his granddaughter, but by the end of the show he’s on a path to take out the entire Presidential administration.

NBC has put together a great cast and a great crew for The Event, and they’ve obviously invested a ton of cash in this project. The writing and what they are attempting to do  is impressive for a television show. At the very least, it’s going to be interesting. Like every new show, you’ll have to decide whether or not to stick with it and hope the payoff is going to be worth it in the end.

The Event premieres on Monday, September 20th at 9 pm (EST) on NBC.

Image courtesy of nbc.com

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Videos:

Check out our photos from the press room below.

Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Scott Patterson at The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session Comic Con 2010: Ian Anthony Dale at the Event Press Session	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interveiws "The Event" (NBC) Ian Anthony Dale
Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event") Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha Ziegenhorn interviews Taylor Cole (NBC "The Event")	Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Taylor Cole at NBC's The Event Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter grinning it up at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Nick Wauters in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Our writer Trisha trying to get out the secrets from Nick Wauters, writer of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Zeljko Ivanek opening up to Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room Comic Con 2010: Clifton Collins Jr. chillin with Poptimal.com in NBC's "The Event" Press Room	Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event" Comic Con 2010: Blair Underwood in the Press Room of NBC's "The Event"	Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room Comic Con 2010: Jason Ritter at NBC's The Event Press Room
Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event Comic Con 2010: Cast of NBC's the Event

Comic-Con 2010: 30 Days of Night: Dark Days

30 Days of Night was a smash hit when it was released in theatres in 2007. This fall, the comic-based franchise looks to carry on with the direct-to-DVD film 30 Days of Night: Dark Days. In preparation for the movie’s release, the creators and cast open up for a look inside what it’s like to make this film.

30 Days of Night is based on the comic book of the same name by creator and D.C. native (his credentials check out) Steve Niles. Most fans of the original movie have no clue that the film was derived from a comic book. This fact is quite pleasing to Niles who says of the comic to film transition: “those [films] are the ones that work the best. Everyone knows Iron Man was a comic book.” The success of 30 Days is that it can stand on its own, separate from the source material.

Dark Days picks up where the original 30 Days left off, with Stella (played by Kiele Sanchez) roaming to convince the world of the existence of vampires. She goes to L.A., the hotbed of vampire society, with a gigantic chip on her shoulder. Luckily she’s not alone. Rounding up the motley crew of vampire slayers, Sanchez is joined by actors Diora Baird and Rhys Coiro.

So, where will darker days take us? Well, since you asked, I’ll tell you. Dark Days takes us to the deep underbelly of Los Angeles. Like 30 Days, Dark Days has a menacing overtone, but whereas the first film was a “survival story” the second film is more of a kick-butt revenge action flick. On the difference between the two films, star Sanchez says, “in the first movie the vampires are hunting the humans… we’re hunting the vampires. It’s Stella getting back.” You’ll find no victims here… well, none that are still alive. In Dark Days the characters are fierce, bold and on a mission.

When describing what challenges the characters must face this time around, director Ben Katai likens the film to another sci-fi staple. “We liken it to the way that Alien is to Aliens, as opposed to trying to ride out the horror, you’re actually picking up guns and going to find it,” Katai says.

So leads our characters into a dark descent to take out the vampires while struggling to hang on to their humanity. Explains producer J.R. Young: “In the first film, you’re just trapped in darkness, but this one you’re trapped but light is so close to you.”

How far into the dark will these characters go? You’ll just have to wait and find out. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days comes to DVD on October 5, 2010.

Mad Men Review: A New Beginning

When we last left the cast of characters on AMC’s Mad Men the world as they knew it was crumbling. JFK had been assassinated, Don and Betty decided to get a divorce, and the Sterling Cooper firm they we knew and loved was in danger of being sold (again) so the staff broke free to start a new agency based in a hotel suite. Slates don’t get much cleaner than that. But rather than take us to the exact moment to pick things up, show mastermind Matthew Weiner has launched the show a year into the future to November 1964. Despite the time change, simply having the characters back on my TV screen was like being with old friends again and I thank the entertainment gods that a new season of Mad Men is once again upon me.

Unlike many shows, details and spoilers for upcoming storylines on Mad Men seem almost absent from the public conscious so I happily entered into the first hour of this fourth season knowing nothing of what would happen or what to expect beyond excessive drinking and smoking. But even with all of the mystery and high expectations I am happy to report that the show has not lost its golden touch and I can’t wait to see what the next twelve episodes have in store for us after this exceptional first one.

Remarkably, this episode, titled “Public Relations” starts with a question that I think all of us have had since the very first episode, “Who is Don Draper?” I’m not sure anyone can answer that question definitively being that Don (Jon Hamm) has proven to be one of the most mysterious and complex characters in television history but in this case it’s being asked by a lowly newspaper reporter for a feature story on Don and his role at the new firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

If there is one thing we do know about Don though its that he isn’t an open book kinda guy and clearly doesn’t see the point in talking about himself to make the agency look better so he punts the interview and the resulting article goes over, as the wonderfully witty Roger Sterling (John Slattery) puts it, like a wet fart. But what seems like a meaningless article actually reveals a series of serious weaknesses in the new advertising agency. The new offices are up and running but a cash flow problem bars them from even owning a conference table. New clients appear to be nonexistent. And one client (which used to be considered a joke among them) leaves them after not being mentioned in the article about Don. In a nutshell, SCDP is on incredibly shaky ground.

On a personal front, Don’s life doesn’t seem to be going much better. We get a glimpse of the solitary life he leads in his dark and dismal apartment where he apparently partakes in cheap sex and has his prostitute companion slap him around in bed. Self-punishment, perhaps? Roger makes a gallant attempt to set him up with a pretty and young aspiring actress but when she seemingly doesn’t succumb to his post-dinner desires, he appears to lose all interest completely. We get the sense that he’s denying himself nice things and perhaps on a path of self-destruction as evidenced in his melt-down following a prudish prospective client not liking his pitch for a new ad campaign.

On the other side of the former Draper family, it’s hard to tell if Betty (January Jones) is enjoying her new life because she is acting like such a bitch. She clearly enjoys the physical attention that Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley) thrusts upon her but has yet to move out of the Draper family home despite being legally required to do so for over a month. We have to wonder if she’s holding onto something or genuinely staying there to avoid putting the kids through more change.

Speaking of the kids – Sally (Kiernan Shipka) appears to still be on the road to Trainwreckville. The girl is obviously disgruntled about her parents breaking up and resorts to hacking up her thanksgiving dinner at the table and calling Don late at night. There has always been a sense of doom surrounding this character and it’s one of the things that I most look forward to seeing play out.

This episode didn’t spend too much time with the relative underlings of SCDP but we were treated to a fun little subplot where Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), and dreamy new artist, Joey, hatch a PR stunt for a client that goes awry and ultimately pisses Don off to the extreme. This creates some uber tension between Don and Peggy that ultimately ends with Peggy telling him that they are there because of him and just want to please him. Luckily, this ends up being the kick in the face that Don needed because he then goes to another newspaper interview and busts out the shiny, impressive, and charming Don Draper that makes us all want to take our clothes off. Let’s hope he stays out of his funk because I like this side of Don so much more.

Season 4, Episode 1: Public Relations (originally aired July 25, 2010)

For more on Mad Men, click here.

Sundays at 10PM/9C, AMC

Photographs courtesy of AMC and imdbpro.

Comic-Con 2010: Community Panel

The Community panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con was so entertaining that I found myself listening to it on a four hour flight, over and over again. This may well be due to the fact that I checked in my MP3 player (stupid, stupid move) or maybe it’s down to my repetitive nature (repetitive nature), but for enjoyment factor listening along to the comedic crowd, as they spoke on the upcoming season and the joys of their company, managed to banish the boredom away. Here’s what the cast of Community had to say:

Gillian (on Britta)
Actress Gillian Jacobs was first approached to audition for the role of Britta by a friend and fellow actress who read the script and thought Gillian would be perfect for one of the characters. Already scheduled to appear in another role, Gillian turned down the script before hearing the particulars. A few months later, Gillian approached said friend in excitement about this new project that she signed on for. Little did she know that this project, Community, was the same script her friend wanted for her months ago.

Troy-Abed Love Triangle
On being asked how it feels to be part of TV’s greatest bromance, Danny Pudi (Abed) and Donald Glover (Troy) recall their first meeting. It happened when Danny helped then-stranger Donald move into his apartment, the pair wearing short-shorts and body suits. In the upcoming season, the bromance turns competitive as Danny and Donald’s characters find themselves involved in a love triangle.

Chevy Chase (on cast)
When questioned why, with his long and distinguished career in comedy, he chose to sign on to Community actor Chevy Chase says he just loves to make people laugh. Having signed on, Chase says that he loves the show, his fellow actors, and the immediate respect that he gets from castmates. This part was added jokingly, but honestly if you’re standing next to a legend, respect is due, right?

Community
The cast thinks the success of Community lies both with the quality of the writing and how well the ensemble cast works together. The cast describe this show as a “true ensemble” in which every character gets equal time for exploration. And that’s a beautiful thing because all of the characters are genuinely funny. This they put down to the quality of the writing. There isn’t a lot of improvisation on set, so almost everything that you see on screen is due to the writing staff.

Other highlights of the panel include an impromptu performance of the Spanish Rap Song; Mayor Donald’s edict that all penises must be hidden in his mouth (Um, yeah. That was weirdly hilarious.); a cast made plea for Chevy Chase to quit drinking (I think they’re joking.); and Dan Harmon hinted that he might be willing to make an iTunes playlist of all of the songs from the show, if the fans really want one (Do, I hear a petition going?).

Community: Season 1 will be released on DVD September 21st. Season two of Community returns to NBC on September 23rd.

Images courtesy of Keshaunta Moton and Poptimal.com

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Comic-Con 2010 RED Panel: More Than Just Action?

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into Comic Con that first afternoon. Sure, I’d been warned it would be crowed, gigantic, and that folks get so excited I’d see some wacky and impressive costumes.

Well, all of those things are true, but I don’t think anyone can understand the sheer magnitude unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes.  I didn’t have any assignments until 4 p.m. Thursday, which gave me three or four hours to explore. Instead, I thought I’d stand in line for the preview of Battle: Los Angeles and Salt.

Then I saw the line. Or, more accurately, the six or seven huge tents filled with people already waiting to get in. I stood around for a while and hemmed and hawed (only putting myself further back, I know), but eventually decided to give it a try. I had four hours to kill and was curious how long it would take, or if I would get inside at all.

I did get inside, and things moved much more quickly than I expected. The reason for this? The main hall is gigantic. I could barely see the platform where the panel would sit, but three or four huge screens hung at the front and halfway back. The program was for Summit Entertainment’s film RED which releases in October. The panel included Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, and Mary-Louis Parker as well Warren Ellis, the writer of the original graphic novel.

They presented a new, extended trailer for the film, which also includes Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich, and what struck me the most is how funny it looks. Also how strange it is to see Helen Mirren in what appears to be little more than a typical action flick. She talked a bit about weapons training, though she said she didn’t do much. Helen laughed about how her co-star Bruce could answer any questions given his extensive background with shooting guns. She also mentioned the hardest part is looking cool and under control because she makes a face when the gun goes off.

Karl Urban and Mary-Louise Parker spoke less, though I can report that he is good looking. Parker states her character takes on a more reactive than proactive role, which is a nice change for her. The panel engaged the audience, got lots of laughs, and answered all the fan questions with grace and poise. Bruce Willis displayed his typical, dry sense of humor. Warren Ellis stated several times that he is happy with the adaptation of his novel, given that some aspects had to be changed in order to make it fit for the big screen.

Honestly, seeing the extended trailer worked its magic on me and convinced me that perhaps there is more to this movie than meets the eye. To be honest, as a female, I see Bruce Willis with a gun and my immediate reaction is – I’ll wait for video. Bruce stated that compared to his other films, he considers this more of a romantic comedy. The comedy in RED and the cast might make all the difference, however. It might be worth seeing on the big screen. I do love John Malkovich.

Red will be released in theaters on October 15, 2010.

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Images courtesy of IMDb Pro and Summit Entertainment.

White Collar Q&A with Tiffani Thiessen: Introducing White Collar’s Leading Lady

When one thinks of White Collar, your first thought might be of its handsome and charismatic leading men but don’t forget about the show’s lovely leading lady—Tiffani Thiessen as Mrs. Elizabeth Burke. In a recent conference call interview, Tiffani generously discussed a little bit of everything from why she watches White Collar each week to pranks on set as well as her thoughts on why you date someone like Neal but marry Peter.

On her character, Elizabeth:

“I think probably the biggest thing that I was drawn to, even from the beginning when I read the script and even more so now that we’ve gotten to know her is that she plays a woman that I strive to be every day. Her marriage is very important to her and her relationship with her husband and her home life, as well [as] her career. And I strive to do that every single day of my life, and now that I add the title “Mother” to it it’s even more so.”

More reflections on Elizabeth:

“She’s very diplomatic, which I really like. She’s very reasonable. She seems to be a person that has a sense of knowing where to go down the middle when she’s helping the relationship between Peter and Neal. She’s almost like a little therapist. She’s extremely passionate about everything that she does…her marriage, her career and her relationships. I really admire her a lot.”

Peter and Elizabeth’s strong marriage:

Tiffani explained, “they’ve been married for ten years and they have such a good rapport with each other. They’ve [the writers] really made the relationship between Peter and Elizabeth a strong marriage, and I don’t think you see that on TV very often. I really admire them for keeping it that way.”

Children for Elizabeth and Peter?

“I think they’re just one of those couples that don’t have kids, that they are very much involved in their careers and each other and they like the way things are. I think we definitely both feel like Neal is partially our child. And at times I think we feel Mozzie is as well.”

Tiffani’s thoughts on filming in New York:

“I’ve always had such a love for New York City ever since I was young and going there and to be able to say that I actually live there half the year, I absolutely love it. It was my husband that I really had to get to fall in love with it as much as I do. He’s from Texas and it’s very, very different than California and Texas. And we’re excited that we get to raise our little girl half the year in New York City and half the year in Los Angeles. They’re two great cities and I’m excited for her to be able to really get the culture from both.”

On Season 2:

“It’s a very different season for me. I just gave birth five weeks ago so I actually have been away. What we did was because I couldn’t travel or fly because I was really, really pregnant when the season started, we actually ended up shooting the first six episodes in Los Angeles on a studio with a green screen behind me. The two scenes I did with Tim and then the rest of them I did where I was pretending to be in San Francisco. I actually leave next week to go back to New York and finish off the season, so I’m excited.”

Her hopes for Elizabeth in the 2^nd season:

“I would love to explore a little bit more of the history between Peter and Elizabeth and how they met. I’m excited about starting to interact more with Matt’s character as well as Willie’s character. You saw that toward the end of last season, where I was working a lot with Willie, which I think the audience really likes. So I think they’re going to continue probably doing that this season when I get back to work.”

Tiffani picked out Elizabeth’s career:

“In the original pilot she was actually an accountant and USA didn’t care for it, so they took that out and didn’t mention what she did for a living. I came up with the event coordinator for many reasons. One was I always wanted to do that and personally if I never acted again that was what I wanted to do for a living. But secondly, I thought it fit really well with the city, the stylish aspect of our show and also to kind of use her at times, to bring her in with events.”

Directing White Collar?

“Directing is something that I actually started quite a few years ago actually. I did a short film that actually got into the Tribeca Film Festival. White Collar would definitely be on my list that I would love to do. There are more and more women directors out there, which I love working with and I think we always can use more women directors and in every position as well.”

Tiffani’s dream role

“Back in the day, I wanted to be a James Bond girl. But now it’s just really about enjoying who I work with, the kind of atmosphere that I’m working in, and the character. But I’m very fortunate to say that I’m actually working at a job that I absolutely love and enjoy. I feel very blessed.”

On Mozzie & Elizabeth’s relationship:

“Mozzie, I think, is just pure entertainment. I think she finds him quite enjoyable to hang out with. I think they love the banter. I think they love to test each other. I think it’s another form of the relationship between Neal and Peter and I think you can see that a little bit with Elizabeth and Mozzie, which is kind of fun.”

Dating Neal but marrying Peter.

Neal is “definitely a very charming, beautiful man, which is always fun to look at. But I have this cute saying that I always tell that you definitely want to date Neal, but you want to bring Peter home to your family. You want to marry someone like Peter.”

Pranks on set.

“We have this thing where one of our camera operators is in love with Swedish Fish (the candy) and we would constantly try and do a take where we would hide a Swedish Fish somewhere in one of the scenes. It would always get caught. But we were constantly trying to do that, whether we put it on our shirt or have it on our plate. It was really funny.”

She tunes in each week for White Collar.

“I do watch the show. It’s actually a show that I would normally watch even if I wasn’t on it.  It’s the kind of TV that I absolutely love. I love when you have shows and film that have the combination between comedy and drama and suspense, and to me when you have something that has all of that it really makes for good entertainment.”

Congratulations to Tiffani, who as of about five weeks ago, became a first time mom to a baby girl, Harper! Plus, keep an eye out as the new mom also becomes an entrepreneur with her baby furniture line called Petite Nest. I’m sure all the White Collar enthusiasts are happy that she is back filming in New York. Can’t wait to discover more about Elizabeth Burke during White Collar’s sophomore season!

For more on White Collar, click here.

Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA Network

Photographs courtesy of USA.

Gaming at Comic Con: Castlevania Lords of Shadow Preview

During Comic Con, Konami invited poptimal.com to the Konami gaming suite to check out its latest offerings.  Konami’s Robert Santini guided us through two levels of Konami’s latest entry in the Castlevania franchise, Castlevania Lords of Shadows (CLS).

In CLS, you play as Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light.  The Brotherhood of Light defend the innocent against the supernatural and boy are the Brotherhood needed.  Evil creatures and the unnatural are reeking havoc everywhere.  But for Gabriel it’s personal.  His wife was killed by the Lords of Shadow. In turn, Gabriel launches on a bloody quest of vengeance in attempt to bring his wife back to life.

In a big departure from other Castlevania games, CLS ditches the whip for a new weapon.  Gabriel wields a Combat Cross which has a devastating range and makes our old friend the whip look like your little sister’s jump rope.  Just imagine a sledgehammer sized cross with a retractable chain attached.  With this weapon, Gabriel can decimate any enemy on the screen.  Fighting with the Combat Cross takes a little getting used to, but once mastered it provides for some exciting and destructive sequences.  The build we played also included an old favorite, throwing daggers.  The daggers came in handy, especially during the first boss fight.

In the first level, Gabriel takes out a bunch of werewolf-looking baddies that are terrorizing a village.  This level provides the gamer with an opportunity to get acquainted with the controls and healing system.  At certain points in the game, CLS allows players to unlock deadly combos, new abilities and new weapons.  But just when you are getting the hang of things, CLS throws Gabriel on a horse speeding through a forest and forces him to fight while on horseback. We expect CLS will continue to mix up the type of game play which should keep things fresh.

The game has a dark and foreboding theme.  The constant downpour of rain in the first few levels set the tone and helped add to the atmosphere.  Konami is no doubt putting the power of the PS3 and Xbox 360 to good use – the graphics are crisp and the level of detail down to each rain drop was amazing. There was no noticeable slow down – even with several of enemies on the screen.

In sum, CLS looks likes like it will be a must have release this fall.  Hideo Kojima is involved with the project so we know it will be entertaining.  Fans of Castlevania will appreciate the compelling story and setting.  As with most recent Castlevania titles, the cut scenes we got to see were beautiful and used in full service of the story. In addition, we think there are enough unique features to attract and keep gamers new to the franchise.

The expected release date of Castlevania Lords of Shadow is October/ early November and it will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.  You can checkout video and screen shots of Castlevania Lords of Shadow here.

SUNDAY, 25th (Week of July 25 – 31)

MAD MEN: I still find it fascinating that a show on AMC could become so… popular!  (10pm/AMC)

MONDAY, 26th

HOMELESS: THE MOTEL KIDS OF ORANGE COUNTY: This sounds like a spin-off for the Real Housewives of OC. Ba-dum-ching! (9pm/HBO)

TUESDAY, 27th

MASTERCHEF: Gordon Ramsey finds another excuse to grace my TV screen. Thank you, kind sir! (9pm/FOX)

« Previous Page — Next Page »