A Roundup of Locals Making Moves in San Diego at this Year’s ‘Nerdy Gras’
By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer
It’s July, which in entertainment industry parlance translates into one thing: San Diego Comic-Con International.
The yearly geek fest—which, since its modest 1969 debut as a funny books celebration, has exploded into an all-encompassing entertainment spectacle, attracting 130,000 attendees annually—ran July 19 through 23.
And as expected, plenty of A-list Palisadians were down in “Sandy Eggo,” shilling their latest high-profile endeavors at what has been nicknamed the Mardi Gras for geeks.
Marvel Cinematic Universe overlord Kevin Feige—who recently sold his two-story, 4,000-square-foot-plus, ocean-view hillside Palisades home—shepherded a roster of upcoming projects this year, from a July 20 panel on the fall A series “Marvel’s Inhumans,” to July 21’s spotlight on “Marvel’s The Defenders” and a July 23 preview of the animated “Marvel’s Spider-Man” series.
Plus: July 22’s spotlight on the big boys—those billion-dollar-grossing Marvel motion pictures. Straight outta Comic-Con’s legendary Hall H came Feige and the stars of November’s “Thor: Ragnarok” (a.k.a. “Thor 3,” a.k.a. the Trojan horse for an Incredible Hulk feature since Disney does not have the rights to produce a solo Hulk film) and 2018’s “Black Panther” to preview the future blockbusters. Feige also unleashed a groundswell of support for 2018 sequels “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and the all-stops-pulling “Avengers: Infinity War.”
DC Entertainment, Marvel’s crosstown rival, also shared their Saturday superhero surprises as visiting Palisadian Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and erstwhile Theatre Palisades player Amy Adams (Lois Lane) appeared in support of November’s “Justice League,” the meta-human group flick that is basically a more adult version of the ’70s “Super Friends” cartoon.
Meanwhile, Comic-Con just wouldn’t be a celebration of epic popcorn pictures without Riviera resident Steven Spielberg, who utilized some weekend prime time to gather within Hall H with the cast of his upcoming science-fiction flick, “Ready Player One.”
Longtime Palisadian and current Santa Monica Canyon resident Matt Groening once again proved a ubiquitous presence at Comic-Con, from a July 22 spotlight on his most famous creation and TV’s longest running show currently on the air, “The Simpsons,” to roaming the convention floor near the booth for his Bongo Entertainment line of “Simpsons” and “Futurama” comics.
A panel was also held to celebrate the latest “X-Files” fun from Palisadian and “X-Files” creator Chris Carter. Former Palisades homeowner David Duchovny, who played FBI Agent Fox Mulder in the “X-Files” show and movie, plugged “X-Files: Cold Cases,” an audio dramatization of Carter’s long-enduring franchise.
While Palisades native J.J. Abrams was not front and center at 2017’s Comic-Con, a show the filmmaker co-produced, H’s “Westworld,” enjoyed a rootin’-tootin’ panel with full cast and creators, as did the mid-2000s reboot of “Battlestar Galactica,” with Palisadian Mary McDonnell back in the commander-in-chief’s chair among the reunited crew.
Also noticeably missing this year: upper Riviera residents and uber-producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy to discuss “The Last Jedi.” The next installment of the “Star Wars” franchise had enjoyed its big spotlight the weekend prior to Comic-Con at parent company Disney’s annual D23 showcase.
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