“Don’t you think this is weird?” – SDCC 2015 Part I

Posted by Kim and Sage

Nothing can truly prepare you for San Diego Comic Con.  Sure, you can scour fan forums for advice and tips (the Friends of CCI forum is an INVALUABLE resource) and can spreadsheet the hell out of your plan for the con, but the only way you can actually understand the con is to just DO IT. And do it, we did.  SDCC is most definitely not for the weak.  It’s intense and exhausting.  It’s crowded as hell.  It’s ALSO the best time a nerd can ever have.  It’s a week full of feels, flails, friends, and fun.  We can’t wait to go back next year.

– Kim

Wednesday: Preview Night/Camping Out for Hall H

Kim: Much has been written about the “new” line culture of SDCC, especially when it comes to Hall H. Long time attendees claim it is ruining Comic Con while local news units find it “fascinating” that people are willing to campout overnight just to see their favorite celebrities.  (I’m amused that even after a decade of people camping out overnight, there are outlets STILL saying “look at the freaks!” as if this never happens.) Like it or not, overnight camping is here to stay until SDCC decides to do SOMETHING more than the wristband system to prevent it.  It’s as much a part of the con as those exclusive Hasbro toys are now.  Deal with it.

When it was announced that Doctor Who would be taking the stage along with Mockingjay Part II and the Alan Tudyk/Nathan Fillion webseries Con Man on Thursday, the first thing Sage and I did was thank our lucky stars that we had opted to fly in on Tuesday night as opposed to our original plan of Wednesday night. Whovians don’t mess around (this is the fandom that managed to crash movietickets.com after all) and when combined with fans of The Hunger Games, we knew that we would have to be in line Wednesday afternoon to have a chance at getting good seats.  Sure enough, while Sage and I were waiting for our delayed flight to take off (YAY DELTA), Twitter informed us that five Whovians were in line…a full 48 hours before anyone would set foot inside.  Initially, I freaked out, fearing that the line would snowball once people had realized it had started.  But when we landed in San Diego just before midnight, the reaction of Twitter was more “why are these people in line already?” as opposed to “OMG GO GET IN LINE NOW.” (SDCC Survival Tip #1: This shouldn’t shock you, but Twitter is most definitely your friend when it comes to line updates.)

The next morning, the line had grown to 30.  Sage and I had an amazing brunch at San Diego Favorite The Broken Yolk.  Enjoying her gigantic omelet two tables away?  Felicia Day.  We viewed it as a sign of great things to come.  Badge pick-up didn’t start till three, so we made our way through the Gaslamp District and walked around the convention center familiarizing ourselves with the lay of the land.  Everything was buzzing with excitement, even as several offsite installations were finishing up construction.  After a stop at Ralph’s to stock up on snacks for the weekend (SDCC Survival Tip #2: Good snacks are a MUST when faced with nothing but hot dogs and nachos in the convention center. Snacks like nuts, jerky, dried fruit, Cliff Bars, and Goldfish are essential. But allow yourself the occasional hotdog because you’re not at a con till you’ve had one.), we made our way back to the Hall H tents.  It was 12:30 and we were among the first 100 people in line.  Let the 21 hour campout begin.

How did we ever stand it?  Quite easily, actually.  The weather was gorgeous and we were sheltered from the sun by the tents.  We had our camping chairs that unfolded into full mats.  We had books and trashy magazines.  We had a line nemesis who hated Clara for us to roll our eyes at.  Most importantly, we had friends.  By mid-afternoon, we were joined by fellow New Yorker and press badge holder Whitney and our own Kayti Burt (as delightful in person as she is in her recaps). We also adopted the solo 13-year-old girl sitting in front of us because she was an adorable ginger and dressed in the Her Universe Thor dress.  In the middle of the afternoon, we were interviewed by a local news outlet about WHY we were in line so early.  “Don’t you think it’s weird that you’re doing this?” the reporter asked condescendingly.  Enough with the geek shaming, okay?  The reporter didn’t know what he was getting into when he directed those questions at Sage, who put him in his place like the precious unicorn that she is.  “No one says it’s weird when people camp out for playoff tickets or to see their favorite artist in concert.  Why is it weird that we’re camping out to see actors from our favorite television show? Doctor Who has a 50+ year history.  People care about it just as much as people care about their favorite football team.  If people think we are weird for doing this, then I’m sorry they don’t care about anything passionately or have anything in their lives that has brought them the kind of joy that Doctor Who has brought ours.”

It should be noted that we have yet to find that interview ANYWHERE.

By early evening, Gallifrey One pal Jane, new friends Kate and Josh, and their little baby Annika had joined us.  Jane came bearing the all important sleeping bags, purchased for a mere ten bucks through her job. The sleeping bags proved to be essential, as it DOES get chilly at night.  (We later paid it forward by passing our sleeping bags off to a pair of Star Wars fans in line for Friday’s panel as we only needed them for the one night.  Con Karma is a real thing.)  The arrival of Jane and Company allowed those of us who had taken the early shift to leave the line and check out Preview Night activities.  Kayti headed to the pilot screenings in Ballroom 20, while Whitney, Sage, and I opted to hit the exhibit floor. Once inside, we learned that it was foolish to try to get in line for exclusives after the Hall had been open for a few hours.  We were lusting after a particular shirt at the BBC booth (shocker) and arrived at the booth to find the line capped.  We were told to “come back in 20 minutes” but here’s the problem with that.  No one would GO anywhere.  Unofficial lines to get in the official line would form, despite the security guard’s attempts to break them up.  The instant the official line would shift, the hangers-around would ruthlessly sprint to try to get to the line.  It was a mess…and a mess that was killing our Comic-Con buzz, so we gave it up for the day.  We went straight to the BBC booth when the Hall opened on Friday and managed to get our exclusives.  That’s SDCC survival tip #3.

The exhibit hall wasn’t a complete bust that night though.  We were able to familiarize ourselves with the room.  We walked through Artist Alley, which unlike NYCC where it’s kept totally separate, was right there in the main hall.  We scored AMAZING Peggy Carter prints for only 10 bucks which no less than 5 people stopped us later asking where to get them (leading us to feel like we were a new sect called Peggy’s Witnesses).  The artist who designed them was shocked that those prints were his best seller.  We weren’t.  Peggy Carter was the STAR of SDCC 2015 when it came to cosplay and all around fangirling.  No one should be surprised by the fact that attendees latched onto this bad ass character.  Females are strong as Hell, y’all.

Recharged, we made it back to the tents.  We ordered pizza and sent someone out for wine.  Like I said…the whole experience was delightful.  And around 10:30 PM, our labors were rewarded with “A” wristbands for the next day.

SDCC’s new policy with the wristbands is that once you get them, you can either stay in line or go home and sleep as long as you are back by 7:30.  If someone in your group stays, you can go back to the same spot.  If your whole group leaves, you just have to go to the back of the line of ALL wristbands. We didn’t get in line ten hours ago for our health.  Naturally, we stayed, save for the people with the tiny human.  Annika may have been the coolest and calmest baby in the world, but she was still a baby and didn’t need to campout among the sand fleas (SDCC Survival Tip #4 OMG BRING BUGSPRAY).  Around midnight, there was a commotion at the front of the tents.  People started running towards the end of the chute…naturally we did too, barefoot and in pajamas.  What caused the commotion, you may ask? None other than one Peter Capaldi.  THAT’S RIGHT. Peter, who had been dining in the Gaslamp District, decided to come say hi to the Hall H line, because that’s the kind of person he is. There were no cameras. It wasn’t a publicity stunt. It was just Peter wanting to connect with the fans.  In my wildest dreams, I had hoped he would do this and my Doctor didn’t let me down. We weren’t able to get close enough to get selfies (ONE DAY) but we were still able to gaze upon him.  That was enough to fuel us through the rest of the night. We slept a solid four hours before I woke Sage up so we could run back to our apartment and shower (God bless my friend who took us in for the week…she lived a ten minute walk from the convention center).  Refreshed and not at all looking like we slept outside, we were back in line by 6:30 clutching gigantic coffees and fueled by adrenaline.  We were in the home stretch!

The line started moving around 9:15, with one line staffer cheerfully congratulating everyone saying, “THIS IS YOUR CON!”.  We were funneled through the chutes with security people giving us high fives as we were escorted into the hall.  “Welcome to Hall H!! You did it!” Yeah, we did. Words can’t describe the feeling of elation we had stepping into an empty hall and filing right up to the front.  Our reward for 21 hours of camping? Sixth row center.  I think the word you would use to describe us is BALLER. Let the first official day of programming begin!!

Open Road’s Rock the Kasbah

When the schedule was released only the words “Open Road” appeared on the grid for the first panel in Hall H on Thursday.  The contents of Open Road panel remained a mystery, even as we scoured the studio’s upcoming release schedule trying to decide what was Comic Con friendly. Word drifted around on the internets Wednesday night that Bill Murray would be making his first ever SDCC appearance to promote his upcoming project Rock the Kasbah…but it was all very educated speculation at that point.  So when the lights dimmed in Hall H that morning, we had no idea what to expect.  What we GOT was so much more than we ever imagined possible.  The opening chords of “Smoke on the Water” echoed through the hall and Bill Murray entered from the back of the house, completely in character, and sang all the way to the stage.  You would have thought it was The Beatles/Elvis Presley/The Rolling Stones combined judging by the raucous applause in the audience.  We were in the presence of a legend.

• Rock the Kasbah is about a washed up rock manager (Murray) who takes his last remaining client on a USO tour in Afghanistan.  Hijinks ensue and he finds himself abandoned there where he finds a young singer who he then manages through the Afghani version of American Idol.  The stellar cast includes Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Scott Caan, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel. It’s directed by Barry Levinson and written by Mitch Glazer (also on the panel), both longtime collaborators of Murray’s
• Surprising no one, Bill proved to be an outstanding panelist.  He was warm, witty, and wise.  He also took it all very seriously but at the same time basked in the adoration swelling throughout the room.
• “I go to work with a knife taped to my leg. Just means people are going to know their lines.” – Bill, joking (or not) about what it’s like working with such a massive ensemble.
• Bill also led the packed room in a singalong…but encouraged everyone to sing whatever song that popped into their heads at that very moment. Our choice? “Story of My Life”, natch.
• “He’s alright.” – Bill on Bruce Willis.  He later called him a true movie star who isn’t afraid of owning that mantle.
• “Miley Cyrus is really fucking good, okay? I don’t want to hear anymore bad rapping of Miley Cyrus.” Clearly, Bill has “Party in the USA” in regular rotation on his iPod.  Haters to the left.

• When asked about the rumors that he intended to play Han Solo in the original Star Wars, he quipped that he had taken up swimming and Pilates in order to snag the role for the upcoming prequel.
• Zooey Deschanel does a mean version of “We Are The World” at karaoke, imitating all the different soloists. “If she died tomorrow, her karaoke work would live forever.” Someone invite me to THAT karaoke night, please and thank you.
• The true highlight of the panel was when a girl in a Slimer T-Shirt asked him what his favorite role has been over the course of his career.  Knowing EXACTLY what this girl wanted to hear, he grinned and said “Well, once upon a time, I did save the city of New York.”
• “I have no idea what you are talking about.” – Bill (with a sly smirk) on his numerous party crashing antics in New York City.
• The panel ended with Bill expressing his love for everyone in the room and for Comic Con in general. “Some of the best parties I’ve been to have been with insane nerds!” I love seeing celebrities who freaking GET IT.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II

As I pointed out earlier, the whole reason we were in Hall H on Thursday was for Doctor Who.  The fact that Mockingjay was also on the schedule that day? Well, that was an added bonus. The fact that Conan O’Brien (who had taken over San Diego) would be moderating? Bonus bonus. Being six rows away from Goddess and all-around hero Jennifer Lawrence, Pocket Prince Josh Hutcherson, and Human Smolder Liam Hemsworth? JACKPOT.

• The panel opened with a giant drum corps parading in, bedecked in Capitol white. Let it never be said that Comic Con is no place for spectacle.  The drum corps directly segued in to a teaser of a parade of Capitol Soldiers in white (looking very Stormtrooper-esque) with Katniss parting them like the Red Sea in her bright red Mockingjay uniform.  The applause for her was deafening.
• “I’m middle-aged. I don’t know what any of this means.” In case you were wondering what Coco would be like as a moderator, the answer is flawless.  He gave so much shade to some of Lionsgate’s pre-written questions.
• Jennifer Lawrence is JUST as beautiful as you think she is, if not more so.  Joshie Hutch is tiny and adorable.  Liam had me seriously reconsidering who my favorite Hemsworth is.  Also, I completely forgot he was Australian until he opened his mouth, thus leading me to nearly fall out of my chair.
• The new trailer for Mockingjay: Part Two is STUNNING.  Also major props to the sound guys, as the entire hall literally shook.  Is it possible that I teared up during the trailer? Very much so.

• “Suddenly, I can’t remember anything.” – JLaw, when asked what her favorite Katniss moment was.  This lead to her fellow cast members prompting her with THEIR favorite moments, while the entire audience shouted “I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE” at her.  Josh, on the other hand, was able to recite Peeta’s entire arc word-for-word.  None of this should surprise you.
• Jen also pulled up the tablecloth and used it to scratch her nose.  Proving that all the internet memes are genuine and she actually IS that amazing.
• Jen: “After all these years, what have we learned about me & public speaking?” Josh: “I have a kill switch for your mic under the table.” Not gonna lie, we KIND OF left this panel shipping them.  Their dynamic is adorable with Jen always being the unruly one with Josh always being the one there to guide her back (but still enjoying taking the piss out of her for having to do so).  Meanwhile Liam just sits and smolders.

• “Every time I try to whistle the Mockingjay theme, it just comes out as the theme to The X-Files.”  And THEN Liam Hemsworth proceeded to whistle The X-Files theme, proving that he was torturing me on purpose.
• Jen dropped some shade when she was asked about Katniss’ shooting skills as opposed to Gale’s skills with a crossbow.  “I have a LONGBOW. Crossbows are EASY.”
• There were LOTS of fan questions about the much debated Mockingjay epilogue.  Everyone was incredibly cagey about it (as they should be) but director Francis Lawrence commented that it is true to the spirit of how it was intended.  Basically: sorry #TeamGale, YOU LOSE.
• When a young girl told the panel she was just so happy to see them, Hemsworth responded “I’m so happy to see YOU.” The girl promptly burst into tears.
• The panel was a love fest, as these types of things tend to be.  “You guys challenged me,” Jen said to her boys, whilst literally petting them.  What was Josh going to miss the most about the films?  “You’re looking at them.” The feeling of love pervaded the final days of shooting, as Jen recounted holding Woody Harrelson “like a puppy and crying” when they wrapped their last scene.
• When asked what she wanted the enduring message of Katniss’ journey to be, Jen went on a long rambling tangent (she really is the WORST at public speaking).  But she brought it home by saying “The Power of the Future is in your hands.” And then she stood up and literally dropped a (probably) thousand dollar microphone.
• “OH COME ON!!! That girl’s in a full Katniss outfit.” – Jen, outraged when Conan was forced to end the Q&A. But what Jennifer Lawrence wants, Jennifer Lawrence gets and the young cosplayer was allowed to ask her hero her question.

• How about one more hot Liam picture for the road? You’re welcome.

Normally, there is but a 15-20 minute window between panels in Hall H…just enough time to pee and/or grab some food.  There were 45 minutes between Mockingjay and Doctor Who, 30 of which were filled by a segment called “Trailer Park”.  It is exactly as you would guess: TRAILERS TRAILERS TRAILERS.  Anyone who ever goes to the movies with me knows what a stickler I am for not missing previews, so this delighted me.  We saw everything from Ant-Man (a somewhat cruel reminder that Marvel Movies skipped this con) to The Martian to Star Wars.  My favorite thing, however, was hearing the entirety of Hall H boo M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit.  It’s about demonic grandparents.  No, I’m not joking.

I must note that in the interim between panels some teenagers moved up to some empty seats behind us.  Sage and I overheard them talking about “that guy Bill Murray”.  I weep for the future of our nation.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who skipped SDCC last year in favor of sending Peter and Jenna on a worldwide tour to introduce the Twelfth Doctor to the fandom.  As soon as our press passes were approved, we knew we would do ANYTHING to be in the room because the show certainly wouldn’t skip the con two years in a row.  The 21 hour campout was worth it.  Moderated by Chris Hardwick (because of course), Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, and Steven Moffat did not disappoint. Well…Moffat did at times, but we expect that from him.

• Why is Capaldi’s Doctor so cranky?  “I think Steven just saw all of those qualities in me,” Peter quipped.
• Peter also said that Doctor Who was the only show “that is in my bones very deeply”.  He knows the mantle he carries playing the Doctor and Peter clearly relishes it.  I think it should be a casting requirement from here on out that the Doctor HAS to be a lifelong fanboy of the show.  It DOES makes a difference.  Peter’s excitement at being at SDCC permeated the entire weekend.  The man did EVERYTHING right and clearly had a great time doing it.
• “This series she is much more headfirst in the TARDIS with the Doctor.” Jenna Coleman, striking fear into my heart regarding the fate of Clara Oswald.  The term “reckless” was used all throughout the panel to describe Clara and The Doctor’s adventures and relationship in the upcoming series (“They are very much a team. United in the TARDIS, eating all of time of space with reckless abandon.”).  You know who else was described as reckless?  Rose Tyler and the Tenth Doctor.  Do you remember what happened to them? Yeah, me too.  #SaveClaraOswald
• “The rules don’t apply to her and that’s why she’s really fun to play.” – Michelle Gomez on Missy.  A word on Michelle Gomez: her facial expressions are EVERYTHING.  She’s the very definition of “fierce”.

• “Life is Shit.  Business as usual.” – Capaldi on the Doctor’s reaction when Missy shows up again.  God bless Peter Capaldi for ignoring the “don’t swear” warning.  Also, I need this comment on a t-shirt right now.
• Hilariously, BBC-A put the trailer for Series 9 online before it played in Hall H.  So our “exclusive” look was not so exclusive.  THAT TRAILER THOUGH. Is it September 19th yet?
• I can’t discuss the amount of Whouffaldi in that trailer.  Nor can I discuss the guitar playing.
• “People ask me when I felt most like I was on Doctor Who. I think it was when someone threw a rubber spider in my face and said ‘fight it'”.  Well, at least we can thank “Kill the Moon” for SOMETHING.
• “He’s a laugh. He’s great looking. He’s terrifically alive for his age.” – Capaldi on why everyone wants to hang out with The Doctor.  Or hang out with him. I’m not sure which.

• There was an OBSCENE amount of Capaldi hand porn. He was ALWAYS using his hands when he spoke, or was stroking his face with them as he listened to others speaking.  At one point, he unconsciously (or consciously) made a “V” around his mouth, prompting us both to mutter “I’m going to need him to stop that”.  SORRY NOT SORRY.
• “The question is who kissed who and who didn’t let go…” – Michelle on the infamous Missy/Doctor kiss.  Jenna also revealed that there was a take where Michelle held her hand throughout  the kiss. Why they didn’t use that, I’ll never understand.

• I’m just going to make a request that we put a moratorium on asking Steven Moffat about whether or not there will be a female Doctor.  It’s beating a dead horse and the answer he gives is NEVER going to be satisfactory.
• When asked what companion his Doctor would most want to travel with, Capaldi responded with “He loves traveling with Clara.  He has a special bond with her.” SHIP CAPTAIN, Y’ALL.  He then added that he would love for his Doctor to be able to meet his granddaughter Susan.  Because his answer wasn’t perfect enough already. (Hardwick: “That was the perfect answer, you sly dog. No one can get mad at that!”)
• Is it time for a Peter and Jenna photo essay? I think it’s time for a Peter and Jenna photo essay.

• When asked what Missy’s perfect day would be, Michelle responded thusly: “Her perfect day would be some tea, a little croissant, and then slapping Wonder Woman in the face.”  I would pay good money to see that.
• Audience member: “Do you ever feel any of the other Doctors inside you?” Hardwick: “That is a very sexy question.” (Also allow us to direct you to some fanfic to answer that question.)
• “I was just going to say how much I love Peter Capaldi and how he is one of my favorite human beings and one of the best bits about the job, sorry to embarrass you terribly, is going to work everyday in the TARDIS with this guy.”  And this is the story of how I died.
• BYE.

Con Man

Sage: Back in March of this year, Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion launched an IndieGoGo fundraiser for a cameo-packed comedy series based on their post-Firefly convention experiences titled Con Man. Fan response quickly shattered the friends’ initial goal of $425,000, setting them up with over $2 million to make the show of their and our dreams. Not five months later, the cast and creatives of Con Man were the first web series panel to appear in Hall H. Not too shabby for a couple of washed up space smugglers.

• As you can see, Tudyk took the stage in full Hoban “Wash” Washburne regalia, much to the delight/horror of the Browncoats in the audience. (i.e. the whole audience.) Nathan: “Alan, that character whose wardrobe you’re wearing is-” And here, he was interrupted by a chorus of “Noooooo”‘s! “…sleeping. With baby Jesus.” To further salt the wound, Tudyk whipped out a ketchup bottle and sullied himself with it before removing that layer to reveal the costume worn by his Con Man character in his short-lived but much-loved sci-fi western. #meta.
• Chris Hardwick stuck around to moderate this panel too (shocking, I know). When he asked Alan if he’d tried to pitch Con Man to television, Alan laughed the laugh of the bitter. Your loss, TV.

• Nathan: “I remember the day when Alan stole my idea…” AH, FRIENDSHIP.
• Along with Nathan and Alan, the rest of the dais was populated by their fellow geek-chic convention pals. Each of the other panelists (Seth Green, Tricia Helfer, Caspar Van Dien, Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton, and more) all recounted a similar response to the Con Man call: “Yes. Anything you want me to do.”

• Felicia (our breakfast buddy) talked about the convention family that’s created among these actors. They hang out in downtime, they eat and drink as a squad. Conventions give them regular time together that they might not otherwise have.
• Nathan emphasized that a show making fun of convention culture has to be done by those who live it. Con Man‘s ribbing and ridiculousness come from a place of affection, not scorn.
• Also, he is ruggedly handsome:

When the Q&A kicked off, our Firefly friends went to the mic to ask a question as a unit. (Nay, a crew.) Alan and Nathan were DELIGHTED. Nathan even got out his own camera to take a picture of the screen. As for baby Annika/Mal? “Just like lookin’ in a mirror.”

The whole panel was a fan/artist love fest, seeing as it was the fans themselves who made the show’s creation possible. This lady pregame cosplayed Alan’s character and then moved him with her appreciation of his fan engagement. They saluted each other (STAWP) and then he gifted her his Wash shirt. (Hardwick: “She’s never going to – I’m sorry – wash it.”)

*Sidebar: During the Con Man Q&A, we slipped out to go home and do a wardrobe change before our evening events. In the transition, my badge fell out of my lanyard. I’d noticed earlier that the clips that they gave us were not very secure, but didn’t have time to do anything about it. Anyway, I didn’t notice until we were out of Hall H and in the lobby. While Kim went back into the big room to look for it (and thank GOD the room wasn’t full and closed out), I tried to get some help from the convention staff. There was no help to be had. I was bounced around to six different staffers before my plea was finally met with a shrug. Despite the fact that all badges are barcoded and traceable, SDCC will not reprint them. Not only was I being quoted $220 for a replacement, but I (and the woman next to me, dealing with the same issue) was treated like a nuisance. Luckily, our Hall H neighbors were able to track down the badge. (I almost kissed Kim when she brought it to me.) There was no clearer evidence to me that though the experience is as rich as you yourself make it, SDCC is a machine that doesn’t care about its individual guests. It is what it is, but let that be a warning to all of us. Trust no bitch.

Nick Carter’s Dead Seven

Most of the high-profile panels had been announced by the time the official schedule hit the internet. But then there were little suggests of surprise programming, like this panel about Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s zombie Western. Brought to you by the same people who brought you Sharknado 1-3, Dead Seven is still very much a work in progress. Like, there isn’t even a script yet. Still, there was no way we were going to miss an audience with some boy band royalty, especially after a cancellation scare earlier in the week.

• We popped back to the apartment to dress for the night’s parties before the panel, as we didn’t think it would hurt to look cute in these circumstances. When we finally arrived to the room, we walked around the front of the seating area to get to the far side. As we did, I spotted Joey Fatone’s name on one of the table cards and promptly lost my shit. I am an *N Sync girl through and through, from now until the moment of my death and probably beyond.

• “I thought this was an *N Sync convention.” – Joey, not realizing how much he wounded me with this suggestion.
• So the panel consisted of Nick, his wife Lauren Kitt, fellow Backstreet Boy AJ McLean, JOEY, and two Sharknado producers. Joey emphasized that the boy band feud had been entirely concocted by the media, and that the groups had always been friends. Nick called him up to participate because Joey’s actually the most experienced actor of the group.
• AJ had a Nickelodeon run back in the day, including a stint on Guts wherein he was beaten by a girl. But he’s done little acting since. He’s playing the villain of the movie, though he knows about as much about that character at this point as we do. He’s spending the prep time bulking up, much to Kim’s delight.
• Everyone on the panel agreed that Lauren would be the one to survive the longest in the actual zombie apocalypse. She looked pleased.
• “Ryan Reynolds is my man-crush. Not afraid to say it.” – AJ, on his fitness goals.
• AJ also admitted to standing in line to get Bryan Cranston’s autograph and “getting all sweaty.”
• “Well, I just finished being a Greek again.” Joey reminded us that a Big Fat Greek Wedding sequel is on the way, because God is good.
• Howie D couldn’t make the panel, but he is in the movie. As a Latin gunslinger, natch. Joey suggested that Lance could be a can-can dancer. When the audience responded with groans: “OH, HE’S MY BEST FRIEND, I can say it. I’ll tweet it to him right now.” And then I died because they’re still best friends.
• A girl thanked Joey because she remembered him taking a long time to reach out his hand to her at a concert when she was 11 years old, and it was a kindness that always stayed with her. He jumped up from the table to go hug her.
• The next day Nick tweeted One Direction’s Niall Horan (who has made it known how much he loves BSB) asking him to play his brother in the film and our heads exploded.  Please make this happen, Universe.
• WE GOT SNUGGLES.

Geeks Go Glam Party 

This party encouraged dress-up, and we’re all about that. Our hosts provided desserts, swag bags, draft cold brew and kombucha, plus a photobooth. Our main joy in life is a photobooth.

Plus, we had a chance to do a day download with our con friends…and then force them into the photobooth too.

Soon, real food, beer, and sleep were calling. And as life-affirming as the Hall H line was, we were looking forward to being in a real bed, with no sand flea friends.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our continued adventures at #SDCC! Up next: We endure The Big Bang Theory writers panel in the name of getting good seats in Ballroom 20, Sage tries not get spoiled for ALL of The 100, Hayley Atwell’s SDCC Reign of Terror begins, and we spend a little time with the Clone Club.