Chicago Comic Con

Q&A Panels, ‘Creation Experience,’ Movie Screenings Highlight Chicago Comic Con Programming

Star Trek Actors, Comic Industry Leaders, Movie Directors Among Panel Subjects; Popular Special Signings, Costume Contest and “100% Cotton” Also Set

NEW YORK and ROSEMONT, Ill., August 18, 2010 – A variety of entertaining and informative panels, movie screenings, comic industry sessions and special signings are among the extensive programming offerings scheduled at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Thursday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.  Saturday’s “Creation Experience,” featuring interactive sessions with William Shatner, Linda Hamilton, James Marsters, the “Battlestar Galactica” Final Five Cylons and other science fiction character actors, anchors the schedule, which includes both day and evening events.

Friday begins with a 1 p.m. Q&A (Room A) with CENTURION director Neil Marshall, who will discuss his film and give out passes to the 11 p.m. screening that night.  At 2 p.m. (Room B), directors Drew and Erick Dowdle will screen exclusive footage from the upcoming film DEVIL and take questions from the audience.  Both panels will be moderated by Ain’t it Cool News’ Steve Prokopy.

Other Friday programming includes an informative look at story development in video games and comic books (2 p.m., Room B), a discussion of Pocket God’s hugely popular iTunes App (3 p.m., Room A), a BACK TO THE FUTURE Q&A with James Tolkan (“Strickland” in all three films) and Claudia Wells (“Jennifer Parker” in the original) (3 p.m., Room B), the popular “Wizard School” with Greg Horn (4 p.m., Room A), “Growing Up Star Wars” with Daniel Logan and Jake Lloyd (4 p.m., Room B), a preview of the PBS special “Video Games Live,” (5 p.m., Room A), the TOKYOPOP industry panel (5 p.m., Room B) followed by screening of TOKYOPOP live-action “mockumentary” film VAN VON HUNTER (6:30 p.m., Room A).  Movie Night continues with screenings of THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS (8:30 p.m., Room A) and CENTURION (11 p.m., location TBD).

The “Creation Experience” begins with a session with Marsters (11:30 a.m.), followed by a Salute To Terminator with Hamilton and Michael Biehn (12:20 p.m.), a “No Minimum Bid” auction (1:20 p.m.), Avery Brooks (2 p.m.), “Batman and Robin Reunited” with Adam West and Burt Ward (2:40 p.m.), Brent Spiner (3:15 p.m.), Shatner (4 p.m.), John DeLancie (4:40 p.m.), the “BSG” Final Five Cylons (5:25 p.m.), and Walter Koenig (6 p.m.), all in Room A.

While the “Creation Experience” is going on all day in Room A, alternate programming in Room B includes Ethan Van Sciver playing some piano tunes (noon), “Bringing Gamers Face to Face,” a discussion of online gaming which includes a few famed gamers such as Ladyj, Pallidian, Prod1gy and others (1 p.m.), a Q&A with standout artist Joe Madureira (2 p.m.), a discussion with comic writer Victor Gischler (3 p.m.).

SHADOWLAND, an independent vampire thriller, will screen on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Room A, and from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the lobby, Greg Smith will demonstrate BSG Pyramid on a screen-used court.

Sunday features “Trailer Park,” (11 a.m., Room A), a look at trailers of upcoming movies with Wizard Magazine Editor Mike Cotton, a TWILIGHT saga and JONAH HEX star Julia Jones Q&A (11 a.m., Room B), an interesting new panel on the evolutionary growth of die cast cars and collecting (noon, Room A), the popular Chicago Comic Con Charity Auction (noon, Room B), the “Bionic Q&A” with Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson (1 p.m, Room A), the Chicago Comic Con Kids Costume Contest (1 p.m., Room B), and the Horror Film Festival (2 p.m., Room A), presented by the New York City Horror Film Festival in which fans pick the winning films.

In addition to the aforementioned screenings, night time is the “right time” for Chicago Comic Con fans.  Cocktail parties featuring West and Ward (7 p.m.) and Battlestar Galactica cast members (8 p.m.) are set or Saturday at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare North Central Ballroom and the hugely popular Chicago Comic Con Costume Contest is set for the hotel’s United Ballroom (7:30 p.m.).  The hotel will also host “100% Cotton,” in which Mike Cotton interviews Ethan Van Sciver (piano at the ready), in a session reserved for fans 19 and over (9 p.m., North Central Ballroom).  Finally on Saturday, the “Mafia II Masquerade Ball Launch Party” is set for the Rosemont Ballroom (9 p.m. – 2 a.m.), and is the official Wizard World After Party.

Also on Saturday night, independent vampire film SHADOWLAND will be screened at the Convention Center Room A (8 p.m.).

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