C2E2 2011 Adds Eliza Dushku and True Blood Cast Members

Press Release:

MORE ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY APPEARANCES ARE ANNOUNCED FOR THE CHICAGO COMIC AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (C2E2)

Eliza Dushku and Rick Bayless to Participate in Panels; Cast of True Blood in Spotlight Panel on Saturday, March 19

Norwalk, CT, February 16, 2011: Officials at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) have announced more notable guests from the world of entertainment who will participate in the show and take part in panels. Eliza Dushku, the star of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse will be at C2E2 on both Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20 where she’ll be signing both days and speaking with Dollhouse co-star and previously announced guest of C2E2, Tahmoh Penikett, in a Q & A session on Saturday afternoon. In addition, famed Chef, award-winning author, and popular television personality Rick Bayless will participate in a panel with C.B. Cebulski, writer and talent scout for Marvel, and moderated by Ron Richards of iFanboy and A Taste of Comics. The unique panel, which itself illustrates the broad reach and expansive role of pop culture in the world today, will center on the connections between food and comics on a creative level. Cooking is creativity. Food is art. And that’s the connection to comics. A chef’s knife is the equivalent of an artist’s pencil or brush!

Other guests who have recently been confirmed to appear at C2E2 include Sam Trammell, Kristin Bauer, and Brit Morgan from the cast of the popular HBO series True Blood. Sam, Kristin and Brit will be signing as well as participating in a Q & A spotlight panel on Saturday, March 19. As noted, Tahmoh Penikett was recently announced as a guest at C2E2, along with Jonathan Bernthal, Laurie Holden and Mark Sheppard, who will all be appearing on panels at the show. Other writers, artists, and creators appearing at C2E2 include Brian Michael Bendis, China Miéville, Garth Ennis, and Joe Quesada, among many others. Over 250 artists will be on hand participating in C2E2’s Artist Alley.

C2E2 will take place March 18 – 20 in the South Hall of the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Autograph tickets are now available at www.c2e2.com.

“Our guests are incredibly talented and they are outstanding in their own fields of endeavor,” notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for C2E2. “This is what makes the pop culture world so unique. Eliza Dushku and Rick Bayless can both successfully appear at C2E2 because we can provide them with legions of fans. Our strength is in our diversity and we are grateful to our guests as well as our fans for supporting C2E2 and making it as rich and varied as it is!”

Kristin Bauer: Kristin Bauer is best known for her role as Pam on the HBO show True Blood, you might also know her as the voice of Mera in the Justice League TV series, Lt. Laneth on Star Trek Enterprise, Lydia Meyerson on Dark Angel and as Gillian in the Bizarro Jerry Episode of Seinfeld.

Kristin grew up in Wisconsin playing sports, riding horses, and shooting guns. Her father was an avid horseman and gun collector and her mother a housewife involved in charities. Kristin moved to LA and began acting in 1994 after studying fine arts in St. Louis, Boston and New York. She still studies drawing and painting to this day and does commissioned portraits in between shooting and working to better the treatment of animals and God’s greatest artistic creation – “this spaceship we live on called Earth.” She lives in LA with her many rescued animals and her South African husband, Abri van Straten, a singer, song writer, classical guitar player of the band The Lemmings, who is also releasing a solo record in 2009.

Rick Bayless: Most people know him from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Master beating out the French and Italian with his authentic Mexican cuisine. His highly rated on-going Public Television Series, Mexico—One Plate at a Time can be found on television sets coast to coast, and his award-winning, six cookbooks. Rick’s second book, Mexican Kitchen, won the Julia Childs IACP cookbook of the year award in 1996, and his fourth book, Mexico—One Plate at a Time won James Beard Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001.

Bayless’s side by side award-winning restaurants in Chicago were founded in 1987. The casual Frontera Grill and the 4-star Topolobampo. In 2007, Frontera Grill won for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Organization. His award-winning Frontera line of salsas, grilling sauces and organic chips can be found coast to coast. On the local front, Rick and his staff began the Frontera Farmer Foundation in 2003 to attract support for small Midwestern farms. Each year, grants are given to our local farmers for capital improvements to their family farms. In 2007 he was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for his work with our local farmers. In 2007, Bayless and his team launched the Frontera Scholarship: a full tuition scholarship that will send a Mexican-American student to Kendall Culinary College to study the culinary arts.

Rick Bayless has won James Beard awards for: Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year. His cookbook with his now 19 year old daughter, Lanie, titled Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures was nominated for a James Beard Award as well as Rick’s latest book Mexican Everyday. Mexico One Plate at a Time is currently in its seventh season on PBS. Bayless recently opened his third restaurant: XOCO—a quick serve LEED certified restaurant featuring house-ground chocolate and wood grilled tortas.

Rick’s latest book, Fiesta at Rick’s (WW. Norton) is currently on the New York Times Best seller list.

Eliza Dushku: Eliza Dushku continues to maintain her leading lady status in Hollywood with roles in a number of prominent film and television projects. She recently was seen starring in Fox’s “Dollhouse,” a series created by Joss Whedon on which Dushku also served as a Producer. Dushku also wrapped production on the psychological thriller Locked In opposite Ben Barnes, Sarah Roemer and Brenda Fricker, in which she plays a former co-worker of Barnes’ character with whom she has an affair.

Dushku’s talents extend far beyond acting. She is currently producing a biopic through her production company Boston Diva Productions. The film titled The Perfect Moment, is based on the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989. She has brought on two-time Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, Ondi Timoner to direct and produce alongside her.

Dushku also co-starred with Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman in Bottle Shock, a drama about the birth of the Napa Valley wine country. Additional past film credits include The Alphabet Killer, in which she also served as an Associate Producer, Nobel Son, Wrong Turn, City by the Sea opposite Robert De Niro and Frances McDormand, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and the hit cheerleading film Bring it On opposite Kirsten Dunst, among others.

Dushku has also had a very successful television career, starring in a number of hit series with cult-like followings. She first starred as Faith Lehane on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a slayer much more troubled than the main character Buffy. Though initially planned as a five-episode role, the character became so popular that Dushku stayed on for the entire third season and returned for a two-part appearance the following season. The remainder of her original story arc was played out in the first season of the spin-off Angel. Repentant and rededicated, Faith returned in a number of later episodes of Angel and Buffy. Following these roles Dushku starred in the series, Tru Calling in which she played Tru Davies in yet another powerful female role. Additional television credits include guest starring roles on That 70’s Show and Ugly Betty.

The daughter of an Albanian-American administrator father and Danish-American professor mother, Dushku was raised with ambition in her blood. At the early age of 10, Dushku was discovered by casting agents for the lead role of Alice in the film That Night. In 1993, Dushku landed the role of Pearl alongside Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in This Boy’s Life, a role that caught the attention of many in the industry. The following year, she starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies, opposite Paul Reiser in Bye Bye, Love and alongside Halle Berry in Race the Sun.

In addition to acting and producing, Dushku is involved with a number of charities, including Camp Hale in Boston and 10,000 Girls School in Kaolack, Senegal. Earlier this year, she traveled to Uganda helping bring awareness to the country. Dushku lives a very active lifestyle and recently completed her first triathlon finishing with a Bronze medal.

Brit Morgan: Brit Morgan stars as Debbie Pelt in season 3 and 4 of the hit HBO show True Blood. Brit got her big break as Lacey Thornfield on the TV show The Middleman.

She is an upcoming young actress. Her acting career began when she left her hometown of New Jersey and drove to Hollywood in her pick up truck after turning 18. She then landed guest spots on CSI:NY and Greek before landing a role on The Middleman. She is also set to star in Beer for My Horses.

Sam Trammell: Sam Trammell is best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO Show True Blood, Matt Chambers in the 2nd episode of Dexter and as Tim in the movie AVPR: Aliens vs Predator – Requiem.

An intelligent, highly-capable actor, Sam Trammell made inroads on the New York stage while building an intriguing career in mostly independent features. The West Virginia native attended Brown University where he gravitated to acting in his senior year. Trammell made his film debut as an intern at a tabloid TV talk show in the little-seen The Hotel Manor (1994) and kept busy with auditioned and day-player roles on daytime serials. He made his primetime debut with a featured role in the 1996 CBS/Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation Harvest of Fire and won some attention as a man who has an affair with the mother of a friend in Childhood’s End (1996). Returning to NYC, Trammell garnered attention and good reviews for a trio of stage performances. He was compulsive gambler in his Off-Broadway debut Dealer’s Choice, a gay man in My Night With Reg and earned a Tony nomination as the authorial stand-in in the Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s comedy Ah, Wilderness! in 1998. Within months of capturing NYC audiences, the actor reached a wider constituency as the fast-talking ex-con Sonny Dupree in the quirky ABC comedy-drama Maximum Bob. Later that year, Trammell was briefly seen as the youngest son in a large Irish Catholic family in Trinity (NBC). Trammell returned to the stage in 1999, playing the troubled offspring of an award-winning TV actress (essayed by Elizabeth Ashley) in the unsuccessful drama If Memory Serves. 2000, though, proved a better year as the actor had a supporting role as a male hustler in the Sundance-screened Beat, saw the release of Followers, an affecting drama in which he played a would-be pledge to a fraternity who makes several decisions with tragic repercussions, and portrayed twins in the dramatic road movie Fear of Fiction. Trammell rounded out the year garnering rave reviews for his turn as the title character’s male lover in the Off-Broadway play Kit Marlowe, about the Elizabethan playwright.

Tickets for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo may be purchased at www.c2e2.com. Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which also organizes New York Comic Con (NYCC) is available at Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration V, New York Anime Festival (NYAF), and UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

IL – Bam! A Comic Book Art Gallery Show

Art Baltazar, Bill Reinhold, Jenny Frison, Max Bare, and Tim Seeley appear at Royal Flesh Tattoo on March 12, 2011 from 7pm – Midnight.

Royal Flesh Tattoo and Piercing and Graham Cracker Comics Presents Bam! A Comic Book Art Gallery Show – We are very pleased to invite you out for an art opening showcasing local Chicago comic book artists! Art Baltazar, Bill Reinhold, Jenny Frison, Max Bare, and Tim Seeley will be showcasing their talent and hope you will join us in attendance!!! In addition to the incredible artwork we will have on display – there will be raffle prizes from both sponsors and refreshments on hand! We would like you all to come and enjoy a night on the town in the Royal Flesh Tattoo Studio!

Royal Flesh Tattoo Studio
4005 N. Broadway. Chicago, IL 60613-2110

Entertainment Weekly Invites You to Meet the New Superman

Press Release:

MEET THE NEW SUPERMAN

THIS WEEK’S ISSUE HAS THE EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT HENRY CAVILL AS THE NEW MAN OF STEEL, PLUS THE NEXT GENERATION OF SUPERHEROES

NEW YORK – Henry Cavill is Hollywood’s newest superhero thanks in part to an all-star team of filmmakers (including Christopher Nolan and Zack Synder) that are set to relaunch the truest and bluest of all superheroes: Superman. This week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly brings an exclusive look at the British man in tights, whose career may break the speed of sound.

To become Hollywood’s new Man of Steel, Henry Cavill had to pass the Laugh Test. To wit: Could he wear the Superman suit without anyone giggling? And not just any Superman suit. To shoot his screen test last month, the 27-year-old British actor donned a replica of the costume Christopher Reeve wore in director Richard Donner’s classic 1978 film. By today’s standards, those sky blue spandex threads with the iconic S shield on the chest look dated—and hence an effective yardstick for the team now charged with making Superman fly for 21st-century moviegoers. “If you can put on that suit and pull it off,” says director Zack Snyder, “that’s an awesome achievement.”

As an assistant helped him into the suit, Cavill was feeling less than super. He certainly has the face for Superman—solid chin, defined cheekbones, piercing eyes, dark hair. He’s also 6′ 1″ and radiates intelligence, maturity, and all around good-guyness, though he’s too humble to say so himself. But Cavill worried that the rest of him wasn’t up to snuff. He had recently lost the muscle tone he gained to play a loincloth warrior in the mythic fantasy Immortals, due this November. “All I could think was, Oh, God, they’re going to look at me and go, ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance,’ ” recalls Cavill, best known for playing Henry VIII’s buddy Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors. “The actor inside me was going, ‘You’re not ready! You’re not ready!’ ” Snyder saw something different. “He walked out and no one laughed,” says the director, a geek pop idol for his work on Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen. “Other actors put that suit on and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, ‘Wow. Okay, this is Superman.’ ”

And with that, Superman’s Hollywood relaunch is up, up, and almost away; shooting on the as-yet-untitled Warner Bros. film begins this summer under Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan (whose two Batman flicks have grossed nearly $1.4 billion at the box office worldwide), and screenwriter David S. Goyer, who also wrote Batman Begins, three Blade films, and Dark City. The result of their collaboration, due late next year, will be a must-see event, one the studio hopes will leave audiences in a must-see-more mood.

A NEW GENERATION SUITS UP!

The next two years will see a crush of movie superheroes, both familiar characters and newcomers to the multiplex. Here’s a look at the coming wave of hero mania.

GREEN LANTERN

Ryan Reynolds stars as jet test-pilot Hal Jordan, who’s recruited into an intergalactic police force with Earth as his beat. The draw for the audience may be that, like filmgoers, Jordan doesn’t entirely comprehend his mission. The 34-year-old star says it helps that DC’s Green Lantern isn’t as widely known outside Comic-Con circles. “I liked that it wasn’t in my vocabulary. It meant there was a process of discovery,” says Reynolds. “He’s not in the mainstream the way Superman or Spider-Man is.” The movie also tackles its otherworldly extravagance with a sense of humor. Reynolds, a veteran of comedies like Van Wilder and The Proposal, says he used to think of himself as a strictly comic actor, not a hero: “I looked like Dick Van Dyke, so I thought I was going that route”

SPIDER-MAN

The new Spider-Man will test the limits of comic-book do-overs. (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb and a new actor to wear the red-and-blue Spidey suit: The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield, 27. Exec producer Avi Arad says the film won’t erase what came before but will try to weave a narrative that could take place within the framework of the earlier films. “It’s not a comeback,” he says. “You have to look at it this way: Do you want to know more about Spider-Man? This movie is going to tell stories that you didn’t see in movies 1, 2, and 3.”

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Fans have relentlessly tried to guess which direction Christopher Nolan intends to take Christian Bale’s Dark Knight in the director’s final Batman film, but the filmmaker has offered scant hints. Nolan has confirmed he won’t add the Riddler or bring back the Joker, out of respect for the late Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning work in The Dark Knight. But in recent weeks, he has cast Inception costar Tom Hardy as Bane, a chemically enhanced strongman who broke Batman’s back in the 1993 comics, and Inception alumni Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon- Levitt are in talks for unspecified roles. Anne Hathaway is also on board as Selina Kyle, though Nolan’s casting announcement made no mention of Kyle’s alter ego, Catwoman. With all the cryptic clues, Nolan has already achieved the goal of every superhero film: keeping an audience in a state of perpetual suspense. And he hasn’t shot a single frame of film.

Other exclusive sneak peeks include Thor, X-Men First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and The Wolverwine.

Link to full story on EW.com: http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/02/17/superman-henry-cavill-interview-ew-cover/

NYC – Speak on It!

DC Executive Editor Eddie Berganza leads a graphic novel discussion group on Wednesday, March 2nd from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

Jim Hanley’s Universe
4 West 33rd St., New York, NY

MA – One of Our Thursdays is Missing Signing

Jasper Fforde speaks on Wednesday, March 9th at 6pm at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Dive back into the Bookworld with Thursday Next as she travels up the Metaphoric River to prevent an impending genre war. The NYT best-selling author of The Eyre Affair and Shades of Grey is back with his best-loved heroine and his unique blend of humor and adventure.

This event will take place at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Book signing to follow at Brookline Booksmith.

Tickets are $5 each. You can purchase them by calling 617.566.6660 or dropping by the Booksmith.

Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

NYC – Vision Machine Giveaway

Writer Greg Pak speaks at the Students for Free Culture Conference at 11:20 am on Saturday, February 19 in New York City. He’ll also give away copies of the “Vision Machine” trade paperback to all attendees.

SDCC 2011 Adds 8 More Special Guests

Comic-Con International has announced the addition of 8 more guests to their Special Guest List for the 2011 convention:

• Joyce Brabner
• Peter Kuper
• Paul Levitz
• Jerry Robinson
• Jeff Smith
• J. Michael Straczynski
• Peter J. Tomasi
• Ashley Wood.

For more information, visit their site.

Hickory Con (May 2011)

Event Details:

• Category: Comic Book Convention
• Location: North Carolina
• Date: Saturday, May 14th 2011
• City: Comic Book Convention in Hickory, NC
• Event: Hickory Con
• Address: Hickory Metro Convention Center, 1960 13th Ave Drive SE
• Country: US
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Convention Name
	Hickory Con
Convention Website Address
	http://www.hickorycon.com/
This convention will take place:
	for one day only.
Date
	05/14/2011
About This Convention
	One of the largest one day shows in North Carolina. thousands of Comic vintage and new will be available. Toys and anime will be there as well. Artist Andy Smith and Budd Root will be there along with other artist. The 501st Star Wars Brigade, The Star Trek Fleet and Klingon Assault Group will be there if full dress.We will have one of the largest Yugioh tournaments in the state as well. check out the website and call if you need to.
Venue Name and Address
	Hickory Metro Convention Center 1960 13th Ave Dr. SE Hickory, NC 28602 United States Map It
Number of Dealer/Exhibitor Tables
	20
Projected Attendance
	400
Please select the Category that best describes the convention
	Comic Books
Additional Categories
	Anime Gaming
Guests
	Andy Smith, Budd Root

MA – Red State Screening

Kevin Smith has chosen The Wilbur to showcase his latest project, indie flick ‘Red State’ on March 6th. This is looking to be one of Smith’s most controversial films to date with its politically charged premise.

Check out the trailer…

Kevin Smith and The Harvey Boys are independently distributing this film and have issued this statement:
“We believe the state of film marketing has become ridiculously expensive and exclusionary to the average filmmaker longing simply to tell their story. When the costs of marketing and releasing a movie are four times that film’s budget, it’s apparent the traditional distribution mechanism is woefully out of touch with not only the current global economy, but also the age of social media.

Therefore, The Harvey Boys will not spend a dime on old world media buys (such as TV/Print/Outdoor) as we self-distribute our film, Red State, in an admittedly unconventional, yet extremely cost effective, word of mouth/viral campaign.”

Kevin Smith will be in attendance at this performance and will do a Q&A following the showing.

RSVP on Facebook!

Click here for tickets

Once you have your tickets text STATE to 877877 for a chance to win backstage passes, seat upgrades, or even meet Kevin Smith!

Wilbur Theatre
246 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

CA – True Blood at the SModcastle

 

Deborah Ann Woll, Michael McMillan and comic book writer Marc Andreyko appear on the Bagged & Boarded podcast on Wednesday February 16, 2011 at 8pm.

Buy tickets here!

RSVP on Facebook!

SModcastle
6468 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

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