Every year in late August the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con comes through the ‘Windy City’. Every year it seems to grow bigger and better. This years list of guest celebrities might have been the best ever at Wizard World Chicago. They years list included names such as: WWE Superstars John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Back to the Future’s Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, X-Files’ David Duchovny and Gillain Anderson, Star Wars’ Carrie Fisher, Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, Rosario Dawson, and many others. As you can see that was an A-list of names of comic con guests. Unsurprisingly the lines were huge for the huge for them.
The four day event started on Thursday with a ceremony honoring the local Rosemont Fire Department. Cerina Vincent, Lou Ferrigno, Ralph Macchio were a few of the names that presented the firemen with a Captain America shield. It was cool. Friday it got busier as more celebrity guests came to town. Saturday was a madhouse. Sunday was busy, but started clearing out in the afternoon. Overall, it was a very packed weekend, even the usually empty Thursday night was pretty packed.
The artist alley and comic vendors had a separate hall for them. I ended up getting some great deals on comics. One vendor was selling some good 90’s Spider-Man, X-Men, Superman and Batman comics that I grew up on. I stocked up on a bunch, considering they were in great condition and were 4 for a $1!!
I didn’t get a chance to attend many panels, but as usual they had some neat ones. There was an X-Files panel, Star Wars, Back to the Future, and individual WWE ones, among many other. The panels take place all day long, you can just spend the day going from one to another. Usually 45 minutes in length.
This year I attended the Bruce Campbell Horror Fest. It was screening across the street at the Rosemont Muvico. Each day had about four films screening. Give or take on a particular day. I attended the opening night screening on Thursday night of “Don’t Breathe”. Director Fede Alvarez and actor Stephen Lang were in attendance for a Q&A for the sold out crowd. I also managed to attend the screening of The Greasy Strangler, which might have been the worst movie I have ever seen. So bad that it actually had me laughing until I walked out of it and went to see Sausage Party, which I fell asleep at midway through. Needless to say I woke up as the end credits were rolling and it was 2:45 a.m.
I had a fun time at Comic Con and managed to get some interviews. Here are some of my interviews from Wizard World:
RALPH MACCHIO:
My Take: Ralph was super cool. He looks GREAT and is in very good shape. He was very polite. He was a childhood favorite of mine, so it was awesome to meet him in person and get to chat a bit. Ralph will be starring in the upcoming movie A Dog and Pony Show
CERINA VINCENT:
My Take: Cerina was super sweet in person. I have been a fan of her work since Not Another Teen Movie and Cabin Fever. She is as stunning as ever. She’s a big fan of horror movies, but even though that’s what gave her a big break she’s managed to carve out a nice career. She currently can be seen on the Disney series Stuck in the Middle.
LEA THOMPSON:
My Take: It was a genuine pleasure to meet Lea. I’ve been a die hard Back to the Future fan, but also enjoyed her work in Red Dawn and All the Right Moves. She’s still as pretty as ever. Lea was open and easy to talk to, she’s very charming and fun. I was curious to know what she thought of her daughters Zoey and Madely’s careers. She’s still working hard and delving more into the directing world. A super talented actress that’s found a way to be relevant and working. Lea most recently can be seen in The Dog Lover, and directing the movie The Year of Spectacular Men, that’s coming out later this year.
Wizard World is heading to Richmond, VA on September 9-11 and Austin, TX on the 23-25.
For more movie and television news follow me on Twitter @JimRko
