NERDS UNITE! This weekend brought the incredible second year of the Silicon Valley Comic Con back to the San Jose Convention Center. This time around, the convention has been making use of numerous venues and facades in the surrounding area, including the Plaza de Chavez for events like the 'March for Science', and City National Civic, a larger scale venue ideal for the E-ticket panels that made an appearance yesterday. This year has undoubtedly been bigger than last year's panel, and we're here with a quick recap of some of our favorite moments from yesterday. Expect a full-post show recap last this week, along with a massive photo gallery from our contributing reporters!
Brent Spiner appearing at the Star Trek: The Next Generation Panel at Silicon Valley Comic Con. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Jared Stossel
Star Trek: The Next Generation! Panel
City National Civic
Perhaps one of the most anticipated panels of the entire event was that of Star Trek: The Next Generation's reunion panel. Moderated by another Star Trek Captain, James Kirk himself (William Shatner), the panel featured Brent Spiner (Mr. Data), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), Robert O'Reilly (Klingon Chancellor Gowron), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), and Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher). The hour and a half panel, housed in the City National Civic venue, presented the cast of the beloved TV franchise in a rather relaxed and upbeat environment. Many jokes were made, a great deal of questions surrounding the lore of the show were addressed, and a great time was had by all in attendance.
The Art of Ralph McQuarrie: Star Wars and Beyond
San Jose Convention Center
A long time ago, in a galaxy not-so-far-away, artist Ralph McQuarrie met filmmaker George Lucas. Lucas, toying with the idea of a science fiction film, had been a fan of Ralph’s work and wanted to commission concept art for a little science fiction passion project. Unbeknownst to the illustrator, this meeting would help shape his career, and inadvertently touch millions of lives. McQuarrie’s concept pieces, from the smallest of sketches, to the most detailed of paintings, paved the road for now-beloved settings and characters. It is no secret that Star Wars would look, and feel, so much different without Ralph’s creative intuition (this includes the suggestion that Darth have a breathing apparatus). Although the artist has long since passed, you can clearly see his influence, even now, in Rogue One and The Force Awakens, and his legacy will continue. You can learn more about Ralph McQuarrie’s fascinating time working on Star Wars, Star Trek, and other sci-fi fantasies, on Star War’s website (http://www.starwars.com/news/an-annotated-guide-to-the-star-wars-portfolio-by-ralph-mcquarrie) or purchase books, and prints, at Dreams and Visions Press (http://dreamsandvisionspress.com/).
Intro To Halo Costuming Panel at Silicon Valley Comic Con. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Tawni Kuhn.
Intro To Halo Costuming with Anvil Station Pacific Regiment
San Jose Convention Center
Anvil Station Pacific Regiment is a proud Halo cosplay community, much like the 501st is for Star Wars. As passionate lovers of the franchise, they bring their armor expertise to the panel and help the audience learn the tools to create their own costumes, including tips on material, structure, and not using your suit as a snowboard helmet. With the input of Halo’s very own Private Chips Dubbo, Andrew McKaige, it was a little extra treat for the video game fans.
John Cusack speaking at the Silicon Valley Comic Con in San Jose, CA. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Jared Stossel.
A Spotlight on John Cusack
City National Civic
If you were a child of the 1980s (or grew up with a parent that watched the movies from that time period religiously), you know damn well who John Cusack is. The acclaimed actor, who has racked up a most impressive resume over the last several years, taking on numerous projects in various genres of film, stopped by City National Civic for a moderated discussion about his life's work thus far. Topics ranged from the films that Cusack has worked on over the years, how he never knew that the comedies he worked on in his younger years would become so timeless, his love for older music", and what interests him in the world of film today.
Jeryl Prescott and Steven Yeun at Silicon Valley Comic Con. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Tawni Kuhn.
A Spotlight on The Walking Dead: Steven Yeun
San Jose Convention Center
IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP ON THE WALKING DEAD, TURN BACK NOW. SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD.
Steven Yeun is the actor behind the beloved character, Glenn Rhee, on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Although the character dodged life-and-death situations countless times before, he met an ill-fate in Season 7 (and we are very certain that Glenn’s final words will haunt us for seasons to come). Undeniably, this demise would be discussed in the panel with his old co-star, season 1’s Jeryl Prescott—AKA Jacqui. Jeryl discussed her own experiences on the show, including her love for the zombie cast, and her lack of love for actual zombies themselves. She also touched on her own character’s death, and how she felt that Jacqui made that decision based on, not necessarily wanting to die, but wanting to choose her quality of life. Of course, Prescott lightly jokes, she does wish someone went back for Jacqui—like maybe Morgan could have whisked her away. The actress, when Steven arrives at the panel, begins to ask questions about the parallels Glenn in his own personality. This topic expands to how he really had to portray himself as a more immature version of himself, but that Glenn “caught up” to him. Especially now that he is a father. Although the burn of losing Glenn still hurts, it’s great to listen to Yeun talk about how much Glenn has grown throughout the seasons, and how much that connection not only effected the audience, but himself as well.
Droids and Death Stars: The Science of Star Wars
San Jose Convention Center
Following on the sold-out and standing room only panel "The Science of Star Wars" from SDCC and NYCC, SVCC brought us Droids & Death Stars, a look into the technology and psychology of Star Wars. The panel featured experts who discussed how a light saber could be built in reality (they still haven't figured out how to put power into the handle, or where to stop the laser), to the functionality of Star Wars space ships, and the psychology of The Force Awakens and the characters of Rey, Finn, and Chewbacca. A particularly compelling topic was the discussion about post-traumatic growth, and how Chewy would be fine moving forward after (SPOILER ALERT) Han's death because he was open and bonding with Rey and the others. The panelists grappled with how hyperspace could change everything, and one day they hoped there would be an elevator to space. They even discussed how the power of a light saber might fare against Wolverine, Superman, or Wonder Woman. The force was strong with this one.
Back To The Future: Adventures In A DeLorean Time Machine at Silicon Valley Comic Con. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Tawni Kuhn.
Back To The Future: Adventures in a DeLorean Time Machine
San Jose Convention Center
Terry and Oliver Holler know how to do five things: fall in love, build a time machine, become rich and famous, tour the world, and help cure Parkinson’s. The, frankly adorable, couple initially bonded through their deep love of Back to the Future, and eventually married with the hope that one day they would own their own DeLorean. When Oliver developed cancer, and was given six months to live, they decided it was as good of a time as ever and spent $15,000 for their dream car. Using scraps at the junk yard, and other cheap materials, they spent a bit over $500 to modify their vehicle to become the ultimate Back to the Future time machine. Although there were no tutorials online at the time, they nailed the design and it became a huge hit whenever they would hit the road. It seemed as though working on this project was their own personal cure-all, because Oliver eventually had a clean bill of health, and they decided to travel. With the need to do something good in the world, they would trek across all 50 states in efforts to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease, the disease that Michael J. Fox is currently battling, in their DeLorean. If you would like to learn more about the Holler’s, their amazing time machine, and how to donate to the cause, please visit http://www.tothefuture.org/Welcome.html.
Robert Englund speaking at Silicon Valley Comic Con. April 22, 2017. Photo Credit: Jared Stossel.
A Spotlight on Robert Englund
San Jose Convention Center
"You're all my children now," actor Robert Englund proclaims to the packed crowd at the San Jose Convention Center 230A Hall amidst a roar of cheers. The actor stopped by to talk about his prolific career (he's been in nearly seventy-five feature films, including the massively successful Nightmare on Elm Street series as the iconic Freddy Kreuger). After plugging a few different projects that he will be releasing onto the world in the coming months (including a brand new sequel to Injustice, the popular Mortal Kombat style video game set in the DC Universe), Englund opened the floor to questions, and proceeded to chat with fans in a very laid back and fun environment.
We'll be back tomorrow with a day three recap!
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