Evil Spiderman
When I first entered the convention center on Thursday, I overheard someone say, “Wow, this is like Nerds Gone Wild.” I would go a step further and say that Comic-Con is more like fans gone wild. Walking through the halls, everyone was dressed in costume. I saw a group of spartans, evil Spiderman, multiple Luke Skywalkers, and even a beer-drinking Bender. And in every panel and press room, it was echoed, “we are here for the fans.”
My favorite part of the day was Entertainment Weekly‘s “Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture” panel that honored actresses who broke the mold for typical female characters, featuring Eliza Dushku, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Mitchell and Sigourney Weaver. Benjamin Svetkey, editor-at-large for EW, asked some tough but insightful questions about the constant challenge women face in finding good roles in the Hollywood films.
Sigourney Weaver
When asked why it was so hard for Hollywood to create strong and powerful women characters, Sigourney Weaver said, “The challenge, that some writers take on very well, is to not try and write a woman action hero. Joss Whedon and James Cameron did not try to create a woman action hero, they were creating a character with a certain drive and veracity. It’s about character. I was not playing a woman, I was playing a person. And there is a hero in each of us… ”
Elizabeth also mentioned that she feels enormously lucky because she has played some of her best roles after the age of 30. “I was described as sexy for the first time ever after the age of 38. That was kind of nice.”
Later in the day, I went to the Dexter panel with Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, and the newly cast John Lithgow, along with creators and producers. They didn’t give much away for what we can expect for next season, but Michael hinted that Dexter’s lack of sleep and new responsibilities may make it hard for him to keep up with his… extracurricular activities. Lithgow teased that he was the only person on set that actually knew what to expect this season because the producers told him the story for up to 12 episodes to entice him into taking the role. He promised not to share any of the story with anyone but Julie Benz joked, “I’m going to get you drunk tonight.”
Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, and Kellan Lutz at the WIRED Cafe
There was also plenty of celeb spotting throughout the day. At the WIRED cafe at the Omni Hotel I spotted Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, and Kellan Lutz jamming to the tunes of Mia Moretti, Katy Perry’s DJ. Paul Bettany was also there, being interviewed for his new film Legion.
On the way out, I had my own fan moment when I saw James Callis (Gaius Baltar) walking down the street. I was so excited and surprised, I didn’t get my camera out in time to take a picture. But it reminded me, this is what Comic-Con is all about.
