Saturday at WonderCon 2025
Jeri Jacquin
Starting the morning off at WonderCon 2025 on a Saturday is one of my favorite television series but with a twist here, Only Murders in the Building: Solve the Editors’ Murder Mystery brings editors Shelly Westerman and Matthew Barbato to the table. They talked about their process in putting together comedy, drama and murder. This was a fun way to get good ideas if anyone else is thinking about writing a murder mystery. Back again into the galaxy far, far away, The Skeleton Crew Boys brings actors Ravi Cabot-Conyers and Robert Smith for this interactive panel talking about their roles and meeting fans.
When I studied to become a teacher of curriculum and instruction, comics were always frowned upon so I was thrilled to hear from the panel about Engaging Students with Comics in the Classroom. Using comics to engage students, the Comic-Con Educator Book Club is essential for teachers who want to learn how this can be achieved. Teachers from San Diego include Jaimie Chavez, Lorran Garrison, Ella Rogosin, Scott Nielsen, and Mike Cruz share.
Bad Idea brings John Wick’s Robert Venditti and Derek Kolstad take a look into what’s next including art from Planet Death and Ordained. The gentlemen were joined by Dinesh Shamdasani, Peter Stern, Benjamin Simpson and Siena Fallon. The 5th Annual “It’s Alive!”: Designing Sci-Fi, Horror, and Comic Book Genre Film and TV is one my granddaughter would have loved. The concept of the worlds in these genres come into play and goes deep into how characters are created and how it is more than just a concept. Brett W. Bachman, Christina Wen, Johnny Han, Jon Dudkowski, Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson share their feelings on the process.
In 1984, the film GREMLINS hit the theatres and blew audiences right out of the water. It has become an iconic film that can be seen and appreciated over and over. The panel Gremlins: The Wild Batch Screening and Q&A brings the Warner Bros. and Max Original series to WonderCon showing a never-before-seen episode. The panel Tze Chun, Brendan Hay, Joe Dante, John Glover, and Sherri Chung talk about what it takes to bring the characters of Gizmo, Sam and Elle to the animated series.
If Middle Earth is more your thing, Lord of the Rings: Previewing Up Coming Projects gives Tolkien-ites a look into what is coming since the success of the animated film THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM which I absolutely loved without taking anything away from The Rings of Power on Prime. Josh Rubinstein, Kristi Fojtik, Clifford Broadway, Cathy Udovch and Nicole Roberts join in the conversation which was full of insight of what’s happening and what’s to come for fans of Middle Earth.
Faith based films are a big box office draw and A Faith-Full Dickens Tale: The Kings of Kings Animated Movie is sure to bring in a big draw. The bible story not only brings about an adventure but it does so while taking on the story of Jesus through Charles Dickens. The cast can boast some big names such as Kenneth Branagh, Oscar Isaac, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, and Forest Whitaker. Taking the directors chair is director/producer Seong-ho Jang and screenwriter Rob Edwards and brought by Angel Studios.
Jesse Negron, Tom Moran, Dave Elliott, and Anthony Francisco (senior visual development artist for Marvel Studios) discuss what is on the horizon for Mechanical Cake and Scott Free, starting with their debut graphic novel, Modville, Ridley Scott’s first foray into graphic novels. Modville is a sci-fi Southern Gothic crime drama with AI humans in future New Orleans. Moderated by Chris Northrop (Horrible Future). Book 1 of Modville is written by Jesse Negron and drawn by Hendry Prasetya and Eko Puteh.
Sony Pictures brings a new thriller with UNTIL DAWN. One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Trapped in the valley, they’re forced to relive the night again and again - only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.
More programming that was worthy of WonderCon is Defiant: The Robert Smalls Story in Comics, Graphic Novel and Film, Gunslingers and Ghosts: The Rise of the Weird West, and Young Indy to Young Ani: The Origins of the Star Wars Prequels.
Wrapping up a long and eventful day filled with where we have come to where we are now with so many genres and stories is the The 2025 WonderCon Masquerade. WonderCon brings their annual competition with costumes that are created by serious fans. Judged by costume designers, the masquerade also comes with a few goodies, wins and entertainment. It is a wonderful way to gather together with friends and fellow cosplayers and celebrate everything WonderCon!
Today Begins the Fun for the Beginning of WONDERCON 2025!
Jeri Jacquin
Here we are at the Anaheim Convention Center for the beginning of WonderCon 2025 from March 28th-30th. It is always a fantastic time to explore so many events and the people dressed up are equally amazing. The day begins with Spider-Men: Multiversal Storytelling as the talk is navigating the multiverse of this iconic character with James Thompson, Patrick Reed and Peter Coogan and where they see it going in the future.
Signa and Robot Invasion! Features The Rupert Wars as the Pan-Universal Galactic Worldwide brings new comics to the delight of the room. Maryelizabeth Yturralde leads the talk with creators Livio Ramondelli, Yuri Ramondelli and PUG-W founder John Nee talks about the inner workings and ideas that fans have to look forward too. It truly was interesting to hear where the ideas come from and how they make their way onto the page.
Being a happy horror lady from way back in the day, anything titled Monstrous Horror in Comics, Film and Beyond is going to be on my must-attend list. The line up of creators Rebekah and David McKendry, Shannon Denton, Dirk Blackman, David Harman and Kevin Grevioux are just the people I wanted to hear from. I had the opportunity to hear where their love of monsters comes from and was thrilled to discover that it isn’t far off from my own experience. Let’s face it, monsters scare some people out of their skin, and then there is people like me who want to find the scariest thing to read and watch.
That also falls into with Threads of Fantasy, Fright, and High-Stakes Action because you can write about a scary thing, you can do comics of scary things but it is people like Jennifer Bryan, Christine Wada, Marie Schley, Cynthis Summers and Annie Loppert who brings that scary to life, especially Summers who has The Last of Us on her resume! Follow that up with Alexa Donne, Liz Kerin, CJ Leede, Chuck Tingle and Justine Winans who talk scary icons with Terrifying Tropes. So needless to say, I’m having a horror of a good time with all this.
Moving past the horror and into a universe that I have had in my life since first seeing Luke Skywalker stand on the sunset ridge looking longingly out at a world he thinks he’s missing, puppeteers Victor Franco, William Miyamoto and Rob Wight talks about their work on Skeleton Crew and Kenobi. Being that Obi-wan had such an influence on me as a kid, I leaned into listening to the technical aspects that happened on Kenobi.
Raising two boys on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was a shock to them when I told them it is the 35th Anniversary of the first TMNT film. Now they now how I felt when they were kids and the reality of a favorite show anniversary came up – makes a few gray hairs pop up. Producer Bobby Herbeck tells the inside stories of trying to get the 1990 version of the film made and the pitfalls as well as reactions to the first film.
To wrap the first day, Adult Swim (and who doesn’t love Adult Swim!!) provides fans with a Sneak Peek from Shinichiro Watanabe and two episodes of the sci-fi thriller Lazaris. Prepared to be thrilled because if you loved Cowboy Bebop, then Lazarus is going to knock your socks off. That isn’t the only screening tonight as AMC is bringing THE WALKING DEAD: Dead City to WonderCon. The walkers are back along with Maggie played by Lauren Cohan and the once most hated and now most beloved Negan. Season one ended with glaring looks from Maggie and Negan realizing that going to Manhattan might not have been such a good idea after all. There is a war for control and these two characters are stuck in-between it all.
This has been a world wind of a first day and tomorrow is going to have so much more. WonderCon brings out the best and brightest in all genres with only three days to get as much of the experience as possible.
Onward to day two!
CINEMACON 2025 Has Begun!
Jeri Jacquin
We are back for CinemaCon 2025 at Cesars Palace in Las Vegas to experience what the studios have to showcase. Cinema United brings theatrical exhibitions from March 31-Spril 3rd and there is so much to cover. Representing more than 31,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 30,000 screens in 80 countries worldwide, Cinema United is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world.
Their new mantra is “Moviegoing is Our Mission” that statement is a celebration for movie goers worldwide. Executive Board Chairman Bob Bagby believes that, “Cinema United will remind people of the magic of seeing a movie on the big screen. Our industry is fully dedicated to ensuring that the theatrical experience remains the premier entertainment option for millions of fans around the world.” President Michael O’Leary adds, “I want to thank our board for their incredible partnership and leadership throughout this process. We are all extremely excited for this next chapter in bringing focus back to the people who have made this industry the success it is and will continue to do so for generations to come”.
Preparing for the next four days, day one is a mixture of hectic arrivals and relaxing with colleagues to hear keynote speakers address the issues of theatres today. The goal is for future generations to understand the needs of the movie going experience for audiences and offering up views is Eric Blumenthal and Emily Rogers from The Coca-Cola Company and Tracy Oliver, writer/director/producer of the Coco-Cola Refreshing Films Program.
That leaves just enough time to attend the Sony Pictures Entertainment presentation of upcoming releases in the Colosseum. Leaving the audience cheering, CEO of Sony Pictures spoke to the exhibitors with this, “Cost and windows can work for us or against us. Theatrical needs to be smart about them both. I will let you know that Sony will work with you on both.” He also brought up something I have been known to participate in from time to time and that’s discounted tickets on Tuesdays. His question was why just that day? That’s been something I’ve asked myself for many years as well.
How do you follow that? Well, only as Sony can of course! Their slate for upcoming projects includes a remake of the film ANACONDA with Paul Rudd and Jack Black. That will be interesting as Black has already had a bit of time in jungle films. The excitement showed with the next Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. I enjoy Darren Aronofsky so thrilled to see Austin Butler in his film CAUGHT STEALING. A film my family is anxious to see since the first in the series in 1984 (and I had broken furniture to prove it back then) is the next chapter with KARATE KID: Legends with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio.
On the more frightening side, 28 YEARS LATER shows survivors still living the pandemic life. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes lead the cast with Danny Boyle directing. Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie take A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY, still wanting a big of fright is I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER sequel with the return of a certain handsome character who has not problem letting anyone know that it “isn’t the first time there’s been violence”.
Other announcements include director Sam Mendes and each man has his own story, but together they are legendary. The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. In theaters April 2028.
It is easy to see that Sony isn’t sitting back on its laurels presenting the audience with what the game plan is for the future and how they are getting there! That’s a wrap on a quick day one and there is so much more to come in the next three days and we are here to bring it all to you from CinemaCon 2025!
CINEMECON 2025 Starts Early for a Day of Surprises
Jeri Jacquin
Welcome to day two of CinemaCon with a day full of presentations from the studios of Lionsgate, Warner Bros., and a Fandango Anniversary. Keeping the tennis shoe laces tied tight, there is so much to see and do so taking care of the feet is important so let’s get started.
The start of the day A Look Back at the Year 2024 in Film and also includes the State of the Industry with keynote speaks from President and CEO of Cinema United Michael O’Leary, Charles Rivkin (Chairman and CEO, MPA), Bob Bagby (CEO, B&B Theatres and Chairman, Cinema United) and Cinemark’s Sean Gamble received the distinguished Cinema United Marquee Award.
Following that is Lionsgate and their offerings in the world of one of the most amazing franchises in The World of John Wick. Expanding the John Wick universe will be a new dimension and an animated action film featuring the renowned assassin. Also, the look at director Len Wisemen’s BALLERINA MOVIE starring Ana de Armas in that franchise. The chair of Lionsgate, Adam Fogleson brought to the stage director Frances Lawrence, David Jonsson and Mark Hamil (Cinema Icon Award Honoree) talking about the film THE LONG WALK. Lawrence wasn’t done when he announced THE HUNGER GAMES: Sunrise on the Reaping is in development. NOW YOU SEE ME: Now You Don’t bring director Ruben Fleischer to show a bit of a peek. The stars of the upcoming THE HOUSEMAID lets us all see Amanda Seyfried, Brendan Sklenar and Sydney Sweeney in action with producer/director Kevin Feig.
Feig says, “The reason I wanted to call Lionsgate my home is because working with Adam, Nathan, Erin, and the team is always an incredibly positive experience. Their commitment to theatrical is incredibly important to me, and their support and encouragement to make the movies I’ve wanted to bring to audiences has been tremendously empowering. My films are better for their involvement, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be in business with them.” HURRY UP TOMORROW stars Jenna Ortega with director Trey Shults and then – a performance from The Weeknd.
Trade Shows and Suites is one of my favorite parts of CinemaCon. It is a chance to come up close and personal to all the amazing bits and bobs that make movies fantastic in theatres. From the seats, to the sound and those that provide that technology include such companies as Barco, Christie, D-Box Technologies, Samsung, Sharp and RealD (and their glasses are pretty cool as well). Walking around all of their presentations, it is also a chance to ask questions which they are more than happy to answer. The Trade Show floor is where attendees can see what products and new innovations will be coming to theatres. I remember learning about self-serve drink machines a year before they were in theatres and I loved the idea then and now. It is also a chance to see all the fun items that come with the newest films from cup lids to popcorn buckets. It is also a chance to see the newest taste sensations from candy to hot food items and trust when I say I’m all for visiting those booths with all the walking around, makes a girl hungry!
Warner Bros. takes the stage for their slate of upcoming films with Jeff Goldstein with logos of Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios and a reel of what is to come. Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor have the chance to talk about their film ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. DiCaprio says about Anderson, “He tapped into something politically and culturally that is right beneath our psyche. It’s an incredible epic movie that has such scope and scale.” The audience is treated to extended footage of the film. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jessie Buckley tell the monstrous story of THE BRIDE! Gyllenhaal says of the film that she wanted “a punk, monstrous love story in a classic cinematic way that respected these characters then offers up a sneak peek. New Line offers up FINAL DESTINATION: Bloodlines that show a mix of death and laughs – my personal favorites together in one film.
Writer/director Zach Cregger has an upcoming film entitled WEAPONS with Josh Brolin (those two words already have me all in!) and Julia Garner and the trailer had my eyes wide open. Jerry Bruckheimer has well deserved bragging rights about last years TOP GUN: Maverick and now he’s back with Brad Pitt (there is that two-word thing again that has me already signed up) in the race film F1. Moving to the more comical, Bill Hader takes on THE CAT IN THE HAT – as the cat of course. James Gunn and Peter Safran are up thanking exhibitors for the success of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 and wants to keep theatre-going “strong and vital for future generations”. That being said, Rachel Brosnhan, Nicholas Hoult and David Corenswet talks SUPERMAN and offers a bit of a peek.
Also today, Mark Hamill will receive this year’s Cinema Icon Award, it was announced today by CinemaCon. Sponsor The Coca-Cola Company says, "Mark Hamill’s career is proof that great characters don’t just live on the screen—they live within us, galvanizing generations of audiences worldwide,” noted Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director, CinemaCon. “This Cinema Icon Award honors not just an actor, but a legacy of incredible work that extends beyond the screen and continues to inspire us all." Hamill has a busy year with three films coming to screens with THE LONG WALK, LIFE WITH CHUCK and The Flying Dutchman in THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: Search for Squarepants which will have my ENTIRE family in theatres to see our favorite animated sponge.
Receiving the CinemaCon Cinema Verite Award is Oscar and Emmy Award winner James L. Brooks. Brooks will be presented with this special honor as part of The Walt Disney Studios presentation, “If anyone embodies the essence of authentic filmmaking, it’s James L. Brooks,” noted Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon, “as his filmography represents a heartfelt cinema of truth. Over the past six decades, he has directed films such as Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets that have made moviegoing audiences around the world laugh, cry and reflect on life in ways that are undeniably honest. As a producer, he brought us passionate films like Big, Say Anything and Jerry Maguire. We could not be more honored to present the Cinema Vérité Award to a filmmaker who continues to create stories that speak to the very heart of who we are.”
That brings you up to date on day two of CinemaCon 2025. Half way through the convention but far from over with two more days to see what theatres and the studios have to announce to eager attendees. Now it is off to help Fandango celebrate their anniversary. See you tomorrow!
