Humber College students are in for the greatest treat ever as student-run organization IGNITE hosts their biggest Comic Expo ever in partnership with Stadium Comics. Brett Dalton who stars as Agent Grant Ward on Marvel‘s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., headlines the fun which also features a Pokémon Station, Virtual Reality and a Cosplay Costume Contest. Wish my school had all that!
We ran into Dalton downtown tonight by chance as he was prepping for another visit to the school tomorrow. “I get approached for photos but not often enough for it to be annoying!’, the fan-friendly star says posing graciously for a Pic taken by his friendly colleague.
See our Snap:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Marvel Entertainment)
By Siobhán Rich, Justin Waldman + Mr. Will Wong
Although the end of Summer often triggers a chorus of sighs, it also means that FAN EXPO CANADA‘s back in Toronto. The annual convention now in its 22nd year, bringing together the greatest figures in Comics, Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime and Gaming with their Fans in a true celebration of “geeking-out”, takes place at Metro Toronto Convention Centre between Thursday, September 1 through Sunday, September 4, 2016.
127k Fans were expected to attend this year with star-power unparalleled. Appearing this year are the likes of Jack Gleeson, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Frank Miller, Gillian Anderson, George Takei, William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Adam West, Burt Ward, Christopher Lloyd, Anne Heche, Linda Blair, Hayley Atwell, Ben McKenzie, Morena Baccarin, Charlie Cox and the headliner, Mark Hamill. This also marks the final time that Marvel icon Stan Lee will be appearing in Canada.
Riding the high of international sensation POKÉMON GO, Fan Expo Canada introduced for the first time a Pokémon Go Lure Party giving attendees a chance to advance levels on the game and collect rare Pokémon.
Several series premiered episodes at Fan Expo Canada including the likes of Travelers, The Killjoys, Son of Zorn and YouTube series Carmilla.
Netflix Canada getting into the spirit also presented a retro 90s-theme Dance Party for attendees to mingle. The Canadian League of Gamers eSports Tournament debuts at Fan Expo Canada also this year. More info on that here.
We had the chance to sit-on some panels and even chat with some of talent appearing this year. Here are some highlights and memorable quotes:
JACK GLEESON, GAME OF THRONES
“People just love to hate me”, says Gleeson on his role as King Joffrey Baratheon on the record-breaking HBO series. The 24-year-old Irish actor adds “I just give ’em a hug and we are alright”, when people transfer their dislike of him on the show to him in real life. On whom he’d like to see take the throne on Game of Thrones, he chooses Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). “We need a woman to knock some sense into people.”.
JOE QUESADA, Chief Creative Officer, MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT
The Comic Book Writer, Artist and Editor from New York grew-up loving the likes of Black Panther, Daredevil, Punisher and The Inhumans. When he was brought-on to Marvel in the late ’90s, he admits he wanted most to work on these books. He tells us, “They were paying artists $14 per hour back in 1990!”. After being appointed CCO in 2010, he has helped transform Marvel Entertainment into the powerhouse it has become once again. He admits, “I am the luckiest son of a bitch in Comics right now.”.
STAN LEE, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF MARVEL COMICS
The Marvel legendary is making his final Canadian appearance at Fan Expo 2016 and was a great sport appearing from start to finish. He spoke at his hotly-buzzed panel, reflecting back on his career. On the many iconic characters he has developed, he says “I really don’t have a favourite character. I love them all. I love Silver Surfer, I love Doctor Strange, I love Spiderman. I love them all. But every time I get asked the question I always say Spider-Man and the audience goes ‘yay’.”.
Of all the talented actors to bring his character to life on-screen, he reveals “My favourite actor is Robert Downey Jr. I asked him if anyone ever has called him Bob? He said sure you can call me Bob, Bobo. So now I call him Bobo.”.
ADAM WEST & BURT WARD, BATMAN
We all grew-up at some point watching the Batman live-action series of the ’60s. How amazing is it that Batman and Robin both were at Fan Expo Canada together this year in spirited fashion?
Ward, known best for his role as Robin gives his Co-Star West the highest praise. “There were a lot of fine actors who played Batman, but there’s only one Batman and that’s Adam West!“. West jokingly replied, “I deserve that!”. On some of the highly-physical work he did on the series, he kids “They took out a $3 million life-insurance policy on me and I’m convinced by the end of the show they were trying to claim it!”.
West, reflecting on Catwoman remembers, “She gave me a curious stirrings in my utility belt!”.
GILLIAN ANDERSON, THE X-FILES
Work has brought the The X-Files star back to the City to film, including upcoming series AMERICAN GODS. At her panel, she shed some light on her Agent Scully character saying, “She is quite square and I’m not, but I like her.”.
JOHN CUSACK, HIGH FIDELITY
The well-known Actor appeared in a package offer with his equally-brilliant sister Joan. While he is quite political on Social Media, he made an interesting analogy at his panel, “I see Twitter as curation and graffiti.”.
JOHN BARROWMAN, DOCTOR WHO/ARROW
The spirited Scottish-American Actor appeared at a hot ticket panel to thunderous applause. He tells his Fans, “If you don’t follow me you’re missing out on my fabulous life!”.
On his theatrical pursuits, he does say that his dream role on-stage would be Mac in Mac and Mabel.
MARK HAMILL, STAR WARS
The iconic Star Wars Actor made a rare appearance at Fan Expo this year and offered a VIP Experience to Fans and spoke at multiple panels. He tells his Fans, “This isn’t a show it’s an intimate conversation between thousands of my new best friends and me”.
On the upcoming continuation of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, he says “Gareth Edwards said five words to me that’s the biggest spoiler.”.
CHARLIE COX + ELDEN HENSON, DAREDEVIL
The two stars originally were to be joined by Marvel‘s Daredevil Co-star Jon Bernthal, although he was unable to make Fan Expo 2016 in the end. The duo spoke at a panel today and when asked which Marvel character they’d like to appear as a cameo on their series, Cox chose Black Widow. Henson however is a fan of Chris Pratt and would like to see his Star-Lord appear on the series.
A fun fact revealed is that the portrait on the wall at the 15th Precinct in the series is actual one of Stan Lee!
MAT FRASER + NAOMI GROSSMAN, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAKSHOW
Speaking to our Justin Waldman and Siobhán Rich, the two stars of the popular FX Series reveal some personal details about their experience.
Fraser tells us about filming a bed scene with Jessica Lange, “Of course, she’s hugely attractive but when you’re acting you’re acting. […] She pulled me in close. She made it really intimate. She nailed the scene: she nailed the intimacy between two actors to make the scene believable. Because she is a star in every sense of the word.”.
Grossman talks to the series’ shorter seasons, stating “As an actor it’s amazing. Because with the exception of me everyone’s gotten a chance to play another role. So I hope to have that opportunity.”.
CHARLES MARTINET, MARIO
We enjoyed most our chat with charismatic Charles Martinet, who voices Video Game icon Mario.
Listen below:
Some of the BEST cosplay I saw today at @FANEXPOCANADA #Hawkman #Hawkgirl #JLA pic.twitter.com/YxAJ3A1IqT
— Justin (@DubsReviews) September 3, 2016
.@FANEXPOCANADA is the place to find epic #cosplay today. #FanExpoCan pic.twitter.com/SB2AptkzA6
— MsTypo (@Typo_eh) September 2, 2016
.@FANEXPOCANADA is proof that Toronto loves #cosplay. pic.twitter.com/iRd7U7HQbU
— MsTypo (@Typo_eh) September 2, 2016
That amazing moment @JoeQuesada crashes @TheRealStanLee @FANEXPOCANADA panel. 😮😳 #FanExpoCan pic.twitter.com/4snbnvDLbK
— MsTypo (@Typo_eh) September 4, 2016
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
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#TheCusacks. #FanExpoCanada #FanExpo #JohnCusack #JoanCusack
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#MarkHamill, b*tches. #StarWars #LukeSkywalker #FanExpo #FanExpoCanada
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#CharlieCox at #FanExpoCanada. #FanExpo #Daredevil
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#WilliamShatner at #FanExpoCanada. #FanExpo #StarTrek
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#JurassicWorld Cosplay at #FanExpoCanada. #FanExpo
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#TheWalkingDead’s #ScottWilson at #FanExpoCanada. #FanExpo #TWD
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Missed out on FAN EXPO CANADA? Learn more here and plan for next year!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Justin Waldman/Siobhán Rich/Catherine Dennis)
Back in December, we posted this piece pointing to some early images of Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Doctor Strange for the upcoming Marvel Studios project of the same name. The film has flown under the radar to some extent, perhaps because we have some other superhero releases to get through first in 2016, but the argument can be made that Cumberbatch is the biggest star to take up a superhero role since Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. And that should make this a pretty exciting release when the time comes.
In the meantime all we have is speculation and whatever the studio gives us. And this past week, that included a first look at the character in action! The debut trailer for Doctor Strange was uploaded to YouTube by Marvel Entertainment, and you can view it in its entirety here.
In the meantime, here are some thoughts and questions we had regarding this early look…
First, how about the distinct Christopher Nolan undertones? Upon a first watch of the trailer you may notice that in a very general sense the sounds and cinematography on display are reminiscent of Nolan’s style. But watching more closely, you might see distinct echoes of two films in particular: Batman Begins and Inception. We see Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) in both humble rags and a tuxedo, and then seemingly training and reinventing himself in what looks to be a Far East temple of some sort very much in the image of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. We also see people manipulating environments and even folding cities in ways that bring Inception visuals to mind. This is by no means to suggest this film will be anything like those Nolan projects, but either way they’re certainly not bad comparisons.
The next thought that came to mind was the question of how familiar this character will be to comic fans, if at all. The truth is that the studio (and larger company) have already made some efforts to plant an image of Doctor Strange in the minds of modern fans. The character exists in multiple games online and on mobile devices, and there may even be a hint of him in a popular casino game at this site. The image for The Magician Trick Picks slot game looks suspiciously like some versions of Strange, and we know that both Marvel and DC like to advertise their characters by licensing their images out to these platforms. In this case, the game isn’t official, but it could easily have been taken as a hint of more to come. Despite all these appearances most of which fall in line with the Entertainment Weekly stills of Cumberbatch in the role that we discussed previously the trailer shows a humbler and more ordinary looking character. It may b e that for this first film we’re pretty much looking at a normal human before he transforms into a costumed hero.
And finally, it’s difficult to watch the trailer without wondering: is this a little bit too much? The imagery and Nolan-like quality are quite exciting, on their own, but the film looks to have a distinctly different tone than most of the other superhero films we’ve seen. Furthermore, it certainly appears as if the school of power that Strange is studying in has secrets that would far surpass the abilities of the other Avengers, and of the villains we’ve seen thusfar. An early review for Captain America: Civil War essentially praises the upcoming film for remaining grounded, whereas so many superhero films have focused on greater powers and enemies emerging from the skies. Frankly it’s all gotten a little bitridiculous and there has to be some concern that Doctor Strange will ramp things up in that department just a few months after Civil War brings the genre back down to Earth.
Purely as its own project, however, Doctor Strange is looking pretty interesting. Its trailer definitely makes you want to know more.
In exactly one month Marvel’s DAREDEVIL will have us under house arrest and before its release on NETFLIX comes this awesome new Trailer for the Series!
Synopsis:
It’s time to let the devil out. Marvel’s DAREDEVIL is here to clean up the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Lawyer by day, street-level hero by night, Matt Murdock is on a mission to make his city a better place against an underground terror within the city.
See the Trailer:
NETFLIX CANADA streams Marvel’s DAREDEVIL on Friday, April 10, 2015.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
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