Comic-Con News Round Up: Elves, Zombies, Person of Interest, Star Wars, and Jack Black

San Diego Comic-Con is less than two weeks away, and while we now know the panel schedule for Thursday and Friday, there’s lot of other news rolling in. After the break, check out some of the panels and events you should look forward to. We’ll have a lot more soon, so stay tuned.

Click to automatically scroll down to info: Experts & Elves; Zombies on Trial; Person of Interest; Star Wars Pet Toys; Jack Black

New Media Maven
STEPHANIE THORPE
Assembles Web Series
Experts & Elves
at San Diego Comic Con 2013

Also Celebrates 35 Years of Legendary
Comic Series ElfQuest

Los Angeles, CA – With more than 100 episodes of original web content under her creative belt, New Media Maven STEPHANIE THORPE will moderate a panel of web series experts at SDCC 2013 on Thursday, July 18th at 7:30PM in room 24ABC.

Thorpe will lead the “Web Creators Assemble!” panel featuring a lively discussion amongst web experts on breaking new ground, creating innovative content, building a following and more. Joining the panel will be Jane Espenson (tv writer/producer Once Upon a Time, Buffy), Brad Bell (Husbands), Tara Platt (Shelf Life), Katrina Hill (Gamers Anon), Alex Langely (Super Knocked-Up), Sandeep Parikh (The Guild, The Legend of Neil) and Jourdan Gibson (The Cell).

And, to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of legendary comic series “ElfQuest,” Thorpe will join creators Wendy and Richard Pini, producing partner Paula Rhodes (with whom she holds the film/TV rights to the ElfQuest franchise) and Managing Editor of Boing Boing Rob Beschizza as they celebrate three and a half decades of the longest-running fantasy graphic novel series and surprise fans by what’s planned as the story builds to its most ambitious chapter yet, “Final Quest”; which will be published by Dark Horse in the fall.

Currently, Thorpe’s artistic spirit is being showcased in the latest edition of Cupcake Quarterly Magazine. The feature includes photos of Thorpe as her favorite superhero The Scarlet Witch and as a gender bending Sherlock Holmes. Also, Thorpe has just signed on to write the new monthly column “Red Carpet Rundown” for Ms. In The Biz Magazine, offering up ways to rock the red with style and fun while on a budget. (msinthebiz.com)

Thorpe’s latest creation “The Ladies & The Gents,” premiered to rave reviews and was showcased at the Big Screen Little Screen event held at SAG in May. Now halfway into its 20 week run, this comedy series involves over 50 web-celebs and explores the shenanigans during ‘one night, one LA club, two restrooms.’ (theladiesandthegents.com)

This August, Thorpe has been invited to judge a category for the 1st annual Geekie Awards. She is proud to have two of her series nominated at the gala event being held August 18th in Hollywood: “Shelf Life,” which just wrapped it’s 4th season (shelflifeseries.com), and “Night of the Zombie King” (goldtheseries.com), in which she’s a series regular.

And to wet your appetite for all things nerdy, Thorpe’s latest venture the series “Slumber Con,” just aired its first promo. Touted as ‘The View…for nerds’, Thorpe and fellow geek girl Jennifer Landa host slumber party-style chats about the latest in geek entertainment, crafts, food & style (www.slumbercon.com).

A popular presence in the New Media scene, Thorpe is in demand as an expert panelist & speaker, a host and presenter, a writer & producer, content creator, actress and director. She speaks at events around the country and has appeared on numerous panels at Comic-Con, Wonder Con, Emerald City Con, Geek Girl Con and Stan Lee’s Comikaze. Thorpe has been nominated twice to the Board of Directors for IAWTV and hosted 4 events for the non-profit organization Celebrate the Web.

Where: COMIC-CON 2013 – San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA

Panel 1: Web Creators Assemble! – Thursday, July 18th @7:30pm / Room 24ABC

Panel 2: ElfQuest 35th Anniversary – Friday, July 19th @6:30pm / Room 8

FORENSIC PSYCHIATRISTS AND LAWYERS PUT ZOMBIES ON TRIAL

Comic-Con International 2013 Panel Applies Real-Life Law and Forensic Psychiatry to Post-Zombie-Apocalyptic-World

Los Angeles, CA, July 2013 – After unprecedented audience response to presentations at Comic-Con and WonderCon, the doctors of Broadcast Thought, H. Eric Bender, M.D., Praveen R. Kambam, M.D., and Vasilis K. Pozios, M.D., return to San Diego Comic-Con for another must-see panel. On Thursday, July 18, 2013, from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm, in Room 7AB, they will team up with one of the lawyers from Law and the Multiverse, co-author of “The Law of Superheroes,” James Daily, and attorney and professor Jeff Trexler, to present “Not Guilty Due to Zombification? Law & Forensic Psychiatry in a Zombie Apocalypse.” Together this collaborative panel will offer fascinating insights into the legal ramifications of a zombie apocalypse. Would zombies have the same legal rights as their human counterparts? What criminal charges might the surviving humans face? Could a “cured” zombie be found guilty of murders committed as a zombie? Explore these and other scenarios facing humans, zombies, and former zombies alike during a zombie apocalypse. Broadcast Thought and the attorneys will present a never-before-seen mock trial at Comic-Con. The lawyers will be the prosecution and defense, the doctors will be the expert witnesses, and you will be the jury. Join them, and discover whether the walking dead will be found guilty or will walk free!

The presenters will be available for interviews before and after the panel.

About Broadcast Thought:

Broadcast Thought is H. Eric Bender, M.D., Praveen R. Kambam, M.D., and Vasilis K. Pozios, M.D., three physicians specializing in forensic, child and adolescent, and adult psychiatry. The doctors serve as creative consultants and subject matter experts to the media and entertainment industries and co-create mental health related content.

Broadcast Thought’s Comic-Con and WonderCon appearances have drawn capacity crowds, and their approach has been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Wired, ABC News, AOL News, British Medical Journal, Newsarama, Entertainment Weekly, and Discover.

About Law and the Multiverse:

James Daily and Ryan Davidson are the legal minds behind the popular blog Law and the Multiverse. In it, they explore the hypothetical legal ramifications of comic book tropes, characters, and powers.

Law and the Multiverse has been featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, NPR’s All Things Considered, Marketplace, the ABA Journal, and many other publications, radio shows, blogs, podcasts, and websites, both in the U.S. and around the world.

About Jeff Trexler:

Jeff Trexler is an attorney and professor at the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School. He has written on legal issues for The Beat, TCJ.com, and Blog@Newsarama.

“Not Guilty Due to Zombification? Law & Forensic Psychiatry in a Zombie Apocalypse” takes place on Thursday, July 18, 2013, from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm in Room 7AB, at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA.

For more information on Broadcast Thought, visit BroadcastThought.com or email doctors@broadcastthought.com

For more information on Law and the Multiverse, visit lawandthemultiverse.com or email james@lawandthemultiverse.com

For more information on Jeff Trexler, visit http://comicsbeat.com/author/trexler/ or email jeff.trexler@gmail.com.

IT’S NOT PARANOIA IF THEY REALLY ARE WATCHING YOU…

THE MACHINE UNLOCKS YOUR DOOR AND ACCESSES

YOUR ROOM AT COMIC-CON® 2013

Hit Drama Person of Interest — from Warner Bros. Television, J.J. Abrams’

Bad Robot Productions and The Dark Knight’s Jonathan Nolan — to be

Featured on Nearly 40,000 Limited-Edition Collectible Hotel Keycards

BURBANK, Calif. (July 2, 2013) — Proving that there is no place that the Machine cannot access — it is now infiltrating your hotel room. You are most definitely being watched.

For Comic-Con 2013, the hit Warner Bros. Television/CBS action-crime drama Person of Interest will be featured on limited-edition collectible keycards — with two separate designs — at top hotels throughout the San Diego area during the convention. Nearly 40,000 branded room keys will be available to fans at nearly 30 participating hotels, courtesy of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing.

To download hi-res artwork of both keycard designs, please click here: http://bit.ly/13igLvs

One keycard features Reese and Finch — series stars Jim Caviezel (left) and Michael Emerson — keeping a watchful eye.

And one keycard could be seen as a response to those who may have suggested that Person of Interest — which posits a world in which a highly sophisticated, all-seeing surveillance program could track the whereabouts of virtually anyone, anywhere, following our every move — was a bit of science fiction. In light of recent revelations in the news, including this Time article, pardon the producers if they say they told you so…

This marks this sixth consecutive year that Warner Bros. has been the official Comic-Con hotel keycard sponsor — and the first time that a single show has been selected to make its presence known … virtually everywhere!

Person of Interest returns for its third hotly anticipated Comic-Con panel session on Saturday, July 20, with executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman joining members of the cast (attendees to be announced)

Fans of the show can now catch up on the first two seasons on digital download (in standard and high definition) through all online retailers, including iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Additionally, the complete second season of Person of Interest will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on September 3, 2013.

Person of Interest returns for a third season on September 24, airing on a new day and at a new time: Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS

About Person of Interest

Winner of the 2012 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, Person of Interest stars Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line, The Prisoner) as John Reese, a former CIA agent who teams up with reclusive billionaire and computer genius Harold Finch, portrayed by Emmy® winner Michael Emerson (Lost). The crime thriller follows Reese and Finch as they set out to prevent violent crimes with high tech surveillance and their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese’s special training in covert operations appeals to Finch, a software genius who invented a program — aka the Machine — that can identify people soon to be involved in violent crimes. Tapping into ubiquitous surveillance feeds throughout the city, the two work outside of the law, combining Reese’s black ops skills with Finch’s technological prowess and unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the person of interest, and stop the crime before it happens.

Reese’s actions draw the attention of the NYPD, including by-the-book homicide Detective Joss Carter (Academy Award® nominee Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and the morally compromised Detective Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman – Mystic River). With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right information, at the right time, can change everything.

Person of Interest finished the 2012–13 season as TV’s third most-watched drama (behind only NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles), averaging 16.196 million viewers per episode, a +12% increase above the show’s previous season (14.520 million). (Source: Nielsen Galaxy Explorer, Most Current, 9/24/12–5/22/13 vs. 9/19/11–5/23/12.)

Created by Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy), the series is executive produced by J.J. Abrams (Revolution, Fringe, Lost), Nolan, Greg Plageman (Cold Case) and Bryan Burk (Revolution, Fringe, Lost). Person of Interest is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc., in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

For additional information about Warner Bros. Television activities at Comic-Con, follow us on Twitter @TheWBdotcom (hashtag #WBSDCC) and visit www.thewb.com/comiccon.

Attend a special “yappy” hour in honor of Star Wars Day. Celebrate Petco’s upcoming launch of their exclusive Star Wars Pet Fans collection of pet toys and apparel for your furriest fan with a special happy hour on Friday, July 19 from 4-7PM at Hotel Indigo.
Best of all, Darth Vader, Chewie and other favorites will be in attendance helping adoptable shelter dogs from the San Diego Humane Society find loving, forever homes. You and your dog are invited to join us for:

The Star Wars Photo Experience for people and pets
Movie caricatures drawn of both of you
Complimentary treats and giveaways
A chance to win items from Petco’s Star Wars Pet Fans collection

Plus, attend dressed in your favorite Star Wars gear to receive a complimentary Wookie Juice cocktail.

JACK IS BACK

Jack Black Returns to Comic-Con for a Paranormal Panel on Yahoo!’s Comedy Series “Ghost Ghirls”

Los Angeles, CA — (July 1, 2013) – Shine America and Yahoo! will bring the ultimate paranormal experience to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA. Jack Black will return to Comic-Con for the first time since 2005 for a panel session to support the paranormal comedy web series, “Ghost Ghirls,” guest-starring and produced by Black and coming to Yahoo! this fall.

The panel will take place on Thursday, July 18th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel. Joining Black on the “Ghost Ghirls” panel are co-stars/creators Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci, director/creator Jeremy Konner and Erin McPherson, VP & Head of Video at Yahoo!. Comic-Con attendees will see an exclusive episode before it premieres on Yahoo! this fall and the comedic genius of the cast and creators to ghoul-out for an interactive panel session. Panelists will share with fans the inspiration for the show and answer questions from attendees.

“Ghost Ghirls” is a web comedy series following the antics of two best friends, Heidi (Lund) and Angelica (Blasucci), who work as paranormal investigators. Each episode details the bumbling adventures of the hilarious duo as they attempt to solve otherworldly cases while not tripping over themselves in the process.

“We heard that Comic-Con is haunted. Never fear, The Ghost Ghirls are on the way!” says Black.

“The ‘Ghost Ghirls’ creators are a rare breed,” says Erica Bello, Director of Scripted Television, Shine America. “They are exceptional writers and actors with a fresh comedic tone that is both funny and surprising. We are so excited to give Comic-Con fans a sneak peek of this hilarious series before the rest of the world can see it this fall.”

“Ghost Ghirls” was created by “Drunk History’s” Jeremy Konner, along with stars Lund and Blasucci. The 12-episode paranormal procedural was directed by Konner and co-produced by Jack Black’s Electric Dynamite with Priyanka Mattoo and Shine America. The series is a potent blend of comedy, spooky adventures and epic celebrity cameos. Golden Globe nominee Jack Black, Dave Grohl, Val Kilmer, Jake Johnson, Molly Shannon and Jason Schwartzman are among the celebrity guest stars featured in the series.

Launching in fall 2013 as part of Yahoo!’s Fall Comedy Lineup, “Ghost Ghirls” viewers and spirits alike can discover and consume the series in any order, anytime, anywhere, and on any astral plane, in this life, or the next.

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About Shine America

Shine America is a world leader in producing and distributing compelling scripted and unscripted television and digital content. Shine America is known for popular and award-winning original series including The Biggest Loser, The Face, and Tabatha Takes Over as well as adaptations of Shine Group formats such as MasterChef, Minute to Win It, and scripted series including The Office and the upcoming FX drama The Bridge.

Shine America has development deals with some of the top producers in television including Nigel Lythgoe (Nigel Lythgoe Productions) and its own unscripted format label in Ardaban, led by the creators of the hit Food Network series Chopped. Shine Latino, a new division of Shine America, is producing and distributing original Spanish-language content to the U.S. and Latin American marketplaces.
The global Shine 360˚ division builds brands through the leveraging of its intellectual property and creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers. The company has also developed over 20 ground-breaking original online series on MSN, Yahoo!, YouTube premium channels and other platforms, many produced in partnership with global brands such as Walmart, Toyota, Kraft Foods, Subway and Microsoft. Through Shine Group’s distribution arm, Shine International, Shine America distributes its extensive library of programming and formats to more than 150 countries.