VIDEO: MTV Coverage from Comic Con

MTV.com will be starting their Comic Con coverage of Breaking Dawn Part 2 at 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. PT. They will feature exclusive live interviews with the main trio of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, as well as Mackenzie Foy, Elizabeth Reaser, Peter Facinelli, Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone. They will also be reporting from the “Breaking Dawn” panel and bringing you all the other tidbits associated with the film’s Comic-Con events. For more information visit MTV.com

Twilight Fan Passes Away In San Diego

Sadly today a fan in San Diego who was in town to attend Comic Con was tragically struck by a car. She later passed away at the hospital. Her name was Gisella and her Twitter handle was @mad4hugh Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Please all be careful with the crowds out there. San Diego has busy streets and a trolley that runs through it. Take your time getting places.

Roughly 60 Fans on Breaking Dawn 2 Comic Con Line Overnight

According to Laury4Rob on Twitter roughly 60 fans slept out under the tenting that Comic Con erected last night.

Twilight Comic Con happenings before Thursday’s panels

I’m hearing some chatter that Twilight fans will want to be outside of Hall H at 9:00 PM on Wednesday night. I don’t think we are talking Kristen, Rob, and Taylor showing up. On the other hand, in the past Summit has come by with some pretty cool swag. You don’t want to potentially miss out on getting/seeing something cool. Sometimes you even get some of the actors in smaller parts showing the people in line some love. Just sayin I wouldn’t pick 9:00pm on Wednesday as the time time I’d pop back to my hotel for a nap. I’m going to be there…will you 😉

Comic Con Reminds Fans Not To Line Up Early

Comic Con just sent out the following Tweet from their official Twitter. If you are out there, please cooperate with officials so that things aren’t a problem when more people arrive later this week!

Reports of Line Forming Already at Comic Con 2012

Photo above from @Laury4Rob It’s going to be interesting to see how security deals with this one. It sounds like they dealt with overnight security from the Convention Center. The AM supervisor may have other ideas. They also may end up with Comic Con staff not recognizing the line once they are on site. Crapshoot really. You can be dealing with a guard who says one thing then a shift change, a new supervisor, and you have a whole new set of what they say is OK. Until Comic Con gets those tents up and Comic Con security combined with Convention Center security says, “OK a line can start” nothing is 100% certain. Last year I got in line early Tuesday because of reports of a line on Monday. Reality was the room holds 6,500 and I could’ve waited until Wednesday and saved myself a night on the hard ground with freight trains twice a night. My goal was to be in the room (tons of jumbotrons everywhere so you can see) not to be upfront. There were maybe 200-300 of us online until midday Wednesday. They also moved the line three times while I was there. This year, I’ll check it out when I get there on Tuesday afternoon and play it by ear.

 

 

 

 

Apparently they are working quickly and the official Comic Con tents are going up. Last year they were not up until late Tuesday.

However Comic Con as of 12:50Am on Monday just Tweeted the following (let’s not antagonize the officials!):

Comic Con Breaking Dawn Common Questions and Answers

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about Comic Con next week what we are covering, when are things happening, advice to people going…so we thought we’d give you our game plan, and answer a few questions.

So when are you guys going to start Comic Con coverage?

Probably sometime on Wednesday, July 10th, figure afternoon east coast time. We’ll be doing  fans online featurettes, preview of the show floor, all sorts of preshow goodness throughout the day.

What is your Thursday game plan when the big action starts?

11:00am-12:15 Pacific Time Laura will be live-blogging the press conference (pending Internet signal holding) that happens before the Hall H Panel.

12:45 Lori and/or Laura will live blog the Hall H panel

What about other days?

Friday

  • 10:45-11:45 Pacific Time we will check out Anna Kendrick’s ParaNorman Hall H Panel, hopefully live blog
  • 4:15-5:15 Pacific Time we will check out Nikki Reed’s EW Women of Pop Culture Panel, hopefully live blog

Saturday

  • 6:00-7:0Pacific Time we will check out the screening and Q & A of Revolution the new Billy Burke and JD Pardo show coming this fall, hopefully live blog

For fans going, what do you think about getting on line? Do we need to camp out? Can we just get on line early Thursday morning?

This is one of those you have to play it by ear things. It’s all down to how big that Hall H line is and is your priority just getting in the room (it holds 6,500 people) or getting a seat up front. Comic Con policy for years has been that they don’t clear rooms in between panels and that your ticket doesn’t guarantee you admittance to anything. So, if you want to be sure you get a spot in the room get there early. Here is the history:

In 2008, for Twilight people lined up early, we were the middle panel. There was some camping and people getting online in the wee hours the night before, Twilight took Comic Con by storm no one knew what to expect

In 2009 now everyone knew what Twilight was. For New Moon we had a Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland panel ahead of us and an Avatar panel following us. There were people camped out starting early Tuesday from all fandoms. The other factor here is that the Twilight fans were also James Cameron and Tim Burton fans so they wanted to be in the room for all the panels! There is this weird psychosis that people think Twilight fans only want to watch Twilight panels…WRONG!

In 2011, it was a breeze to get in. Camping wasn’t really necessary to get a seat, only if you wanted to get in up front. The reason was that Breaking Dawn was the first panel, and the things following us weren’t what you would call blockbuster series. They were more like what you would call niche items so there wasn’t this huge crush of multiple fandoms in the room vying for seats. So some Twilight fans stayed through, but not a ton.

This brings us to this year. We have a collection of movie trailer before us. Our gut is this isn’t a must see do or die item for anyone. Next we are  up. Following us is a Tim Burton panel on his new film Frankenweenie. Given that we have Tim Burton following us and a lot of his fans didn’t get to see his Alice in Wonderland presentation two years ago, we’re thinking that there may be a lot of people on line starting early Wednesday morning especially since lots of Twilight fans are Tim Burton fans, and they are likely to stay to see his presentation. However (AND WE CAN’T SAY THIS STRONGLY ENOUGH) check out the line several times during the day. See how long the line winds and use your judgement.

 What should I bring if I sleep out?

First of all do read the Comic Con site for items prohibited (no tents, barbeques, large coolers, king size mattresses etc. ..read it here). Here’s what we had that made it more tolerable (note I did not say comfortable).

  • Foam pad to put sleeping bag on top of, some people also choose pool floats. I personally found the pool floats awkward.
  • Sleeping bag liner. I didn’t use a sleeping bag because they are bulky and I found them too warm. The liner was perfect. it’s kind of like a fleece blanket.
  • Wear layers of soft clothes: yoga pants, tees, fleece/sweat jacket. The days are warn but night can get cold you want those layers! Yoga pants are really comfy to sleep in, not too warm not too hot. Shout out to TwiMoms whose yoga pants with an apple on them I wore last year and they were AWESOME!
  • Sleepmask and ear plugs. There are fairly bright lights and sometimes music 24/7 and freight train go by twice a night. I was born in NYC and lived in noisy apartment buildings for a good part of my life and I found it hard to sleep without those things!
  • Something you want signed and black and silver sharpies. You never know who may pop by the line for a visit. You want pens handy! Black markers sign well on light surfaces and silver signs well on dark surfaces. They are also permanent ink so huge advantage there. Also note the tee shirts don’t sign well they are too stretchy and stars are reluctant to sign across your breasts! Have a book, a hat, a tote bag, a poster…something like that you could have signed if someone pops by.
  • Camera with fully charged batteries!
  • For advice from the folks who have sleeping out for events down to a science, I HIGHLY recommend visiting TwiFans advice page. These ladies are among the best equipped every year.

What are the biggest downsides to sleeping out?

  • The nearby hotels do not let you use their facilities overnight. Bathrooms are only one person at a time in the convention center. So if you have to go at 2:00am you may be online until 3:30 am. No joke that happened to me last year.
  • Camera crews who want to A) make Twilight fans look stupid or B) have no clue that you don’t want to be interviewed at 2:00am. For the first batch, you can pretty much tell. There aren’t many of those, but if the interviewer looks like he’s 30 and sounds like a hormonal, middle school boy, there’s a sign. For the second, it’s annoying when it happens. True story, last year German and Mexican TV crews couldn’t figure out why fans didn’t want to chat at 6:30am and that a bright TV light in your face at 5:00 wasn’t the wake up call you wanted. On the other hand, crews from MTV, EW, PopSugar, local news were really nice.
  • Potentially annoying people online. Last year I lucked out. The gals around me were awesome! So if you are sleeping out, for the love of Edward BE NICE TO YOUR NEIGHBORS! Common sense really no dance party at 3:00 am, trying to out fangirl your neighbors by constantly name dropping every celebrity you’ve met in every detail. Make friends with your line buddies! Offer to bring back coffee if you are making a food run. Offer to watch someone’s stuff when they go to the bathroom…you get the picture.
  • Comic Con and the San Diego convention center team is in charge. This is a plus and minus. There security is great I never felt threatened or at risk. However sometimes you get mixed messages between convention staff and Comic Con staff. Try to roll with it and don’t give anyone a hard time. Note Summit is not in charge of this event in any way, they have to follow what Comic Con staff OKs or changes on them the last second. For example last year, Summit arranged for breakfast to be delivered to fans before the lines were compressed, however Comic Con staff decided to compress the lines early without telling Summit making the food distribution way harder than what they had planned for. Kudos to Summit, their senior staff jumped in to try to make the distribution better!

Breaking Dawn Press Conference Particpants Announced

MTV is running an official statement that Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner have been confirmed for being in attendance at the Hall H panel prior to Hall H press conference at Comic Con this year. It would be highly unlikely that they wouldn’t also appear in Hall H later, but that has not been confirmed.

MTV is also stating that at a press conference prior to the panel Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz as well as the person everyone has been jumping at the chance to talk to, Mackenzie Foy will be appearing.

Please note that though the MTV article gives the location of the press conference it is by invitation only with limited access. We will, pending Internet signal, live blog this conference and then the Hall H panel that follows.

Traditionally press conference video footage is available shortly after the conference has ended. We will embed that footage when available. Hall H Q&A footage is also available afterwards and we will embed that. As far as actual movie footage, we have to play that by ear. Sometimes studios are fine with that going online by turning a blind eye, other times they hand out C&D’s. We’ll do whatever the mode seems to allow (mind you, it can change minute to minute)

 

Non-Twilight Events With Twilight Stars at Comic Con

There are a number of events at Comic Con that last from the  Wednesday preview night all the way through the Sunday closing that involve Twilight actors in other franchises. Here is the master list of those appearances that we will update as more info becomes available. 

Wednesday July 11 Preview Night

 

6:00-9:45 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings Ballroom 20

Sneak peaks at Revolution starring Billy Burke (Charlie) and JD Pardo (Nahuel)

Revolution — What would you do without it all? In Revolution,  an epic adventure thriller from Supernatural‘s Eric Kripke, J. J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, and Iron Man‘s Jon Favreau, a family struggles to reunite in a post-apocalyptic landscape of empty cities, local militias, and heroic freedom fighters where every piece of technology-phones, computers, cars, even lights-has mysteriously blacked out…forever. Revolution stars Billy Burke (Twilight films), Tracy Spiridakos (Being Human), Anna Lise Phillips (Animal Kingdom), Zak Orth (Wet Hot American Summer), Graham Rogers (Memphis Beat), J. D. Pardo (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), David Lyons (The Cape), Maria Howell (The Vampire Diaries), and Tim Guinee (Iron Man films) and is executive produced by Kripke, Abrams, and Bryan Burk (Fringe). Favreau directed the pilot and will serve as co-executive producer of the series, with Kathy Lingg (Fringe). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions, Kripke Enterprises. and Warner Bros. Television, Revolution will air Mondays at 10/9c on NBC this fall.

Sneak Peak of The Following starring Valorie Curry (Charlotte)

The Following — Golden Globe winner/Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon (Mystic River) and Rome‘s James Purefoy star in The Following, a cat-and-mouse thriller from Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries), about a diabolical serial killer (Purefoy) and the psychologically scarred ex-FBI agent (Bacon) called in to stop him. The Following also stars Natalie Zea (Justified), Jeananne Goossen (Alcatraz), Shawn Ashmore (X-Men films), Valorie Curry (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2), Nico Tortorella (Scream 4), Adan Canto (Amar No Es Querer), and Kyle Catlett (Unforgettable), with Maggie Grace (Lost) recurring. Executive produced by Williamson and Marcos Siega (The Vampire Diaries), The Following is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television and will air on Mondays midseason on FOX.

 

Friday July 13

10:45-11:45 ParaNorman: Behind the Scenes— Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick,Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Travis Knight, Chris Butler, and Sam Fell discuss making their new stop-motion-animated comedy thriller, ParaNorman, made in 3D. Never-before-seen footage will be shown from the Laika movie that Focus Features is opening nationwide on August 17. Hall H

4:15-5:15 Entertainment Weekly: Powerful Women in Pop Culture (aka Women Who Kick Ass!)— Fan-favorites Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood), Sarah Wayne Callies (Walking Dead), Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast), Nikki Reed (Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2), and Anna Torv (Fringe) open up about the power and privilege of playing characters that have redefined the rules for women. Basically, a discussion with women who kick ass. Moderated by EW’s Lynette Rice. Ballroom 20

Saturday July 14

6:00-7:00 Revolution Pilot Screening and Q&A— What would you do without it all? In this epic adventure thriller from Supernatural’s Eric Kripke and J. J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions and directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man films), a family struggles to reunite in a post-apocalyptic American landscape: a world of empty cities, local militias and heroic freedom fighters, where every piece of technology-computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights-has mysteriously blacked out…forever. After the screening, there will be a special Q&A with creator and executive producer Eric Kripke and series stars Billy Burke (Twilight films), Giancarlo Esposito (Once Upon a Time), and Tracy Spiridakos (Being Human). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions, Kripke Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television, Revolution will air Mondays at 10/9c on NBC this fall. Room 6BCF

AUTOGRAPHING: Revolution signing: Actors subject to change(possibly Billy Burke and JD Pardo) 12:30 to 1:15 Saturday  Warner Bros. Booth #4545. It’s a lottery system. This is how it works!

AUTOGRAPHING: The Following, Actors subject to change (possibly Valorie Curry) Time TBA Saturday, Warner Bros. Booth #4545 It’s a lottery system. This is how it works!

Anna Kendrick to Be on Comic Con Hall H Panel on Friday Comic Con

Looks like Nikki Reed isn’t the only person Twilight connected with a special event on Friday July 13 at Comic Con!

 

10:45-11:45 ParaNorman: Behind the Scenes— Kodi Smit-McPheeAnna Kendrick,Christopher Mintz-PlasseTravis KnightChris Butler, and Sam Fell discuss making their new stop-motion-animated comedy thriller, ParaNorman, made in 3D. Never-before-seen footage will be shown from the Laika movie that Focus Features is opening nationwide on August 17. Hall H