Leading Hollywood industry news site TheWrap has partnered with Geek Media Ventures, editors of Geek Magazine, the leading lifestyle magazine devoted to geek culture, to present a series of highly anticipated panels the San Diego Comic-Con, the leading fandom event of the year.
The variety of panels will feature top writers and experts on superhero movies, TV shows and comic books — from the “Inside The Writer’s Room” series to the 15th anniversary of Comic-Con favorite “Starship Smackdown,” TheWrap and Geek will provide a mashup of the ultimate Hollywood insider and fan-focused experience through the lively conversations.
TheWrap’s senior entertainment reporter Matt Donnelly and TV reporter Linda Ge will also be reporting from Comic-Con all weekend to bring fans the latest breaking movie and TV news as well as highlights of TheWrap-Geek panels.
“We could not be more delighted to be working with TheWrap in helping to curate a series of compelling panels that examine geek culture with some of the most notable figures working in film and television today,” said David E. Williams, editor of Geek Magazine and a partner in Geek Media Ventures.
“Geek is one of the most authentic brands at Comic-Con, and we are hugely excited to be partnering with them to bring our readers the essential vibe of this annual celebration of geekdom,” said CEO and founder of TheWrap, Sharon Waxman.
Here’s highlights of the TheWrap-Geek Comic-Con panels:
FRIDAY
More Greatest Movies Never Made: The Sequel.
WHEN: 5 PM – 6 PM
The panel that wowed Comic-Con in 2014 returns with a look back at some of the greatest genre projects that never made it to the big and small screens including Philip Kaufman’s Star Trek: Planet of Titans, the original 1970s Star Trek reboot that was never made, to E.T. 2, David Lynch‘s Ronnie Rocket and One Saliva Bubble to an incredible look at Alejandro Jodorowsky’s mind-blowing adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune and Tim Burton‘s Superman Lives.
WHO: Filmmakers Steve Scarlata (producer, Jodorowksy’s Dune)
Jon Schnepp & Holly Payne (director/producer, Superman Lives doc)
Ashley E. Miller (writer, Thor, X-Men: First Class)
Charles de Lauzirika (Crave, Blade Runner Blu-ray, Twin Peaks Blu-ray)
Steve Melching (writer, The Clone Wars, Batman: The Brave & The Bold)
Chris Gossett (The Red Star)
Thomas P. Vitale (Planet X)
David E. Williams (Lifeforce: The Space Vampires, Femme Fatales)
Mark A. Altman (Agent X, Free Enterprise)
WHERE: Room 7AB.
SATURDAY
Inside the Writer’s Room: The Pilot – Part One
WHEN: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Earth’s Mightiest Writers Assemble. Before there can be a hit series (or even a Manimal), there has to be a pilot and our panel of expert creators and writers will share their experiences, the good, bad
and the very ugly in selling and making a television pilot. Get the straight scoop on how shows go from inside their heads to your television sets and tablets from some of today’s most talented and
outspoken creators.
WHO: Moderated by Chris Parnell, Sony Pictures Television’s SVP of Drama Development & Production
Sarah Watson (Parenthood, About A Boy)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach (The Middleman, Lost, Helix)
Ashley E. Miller (Terminator, Fringe)
Craig Engler (Z Nation)
Kay Reindl (Scream, Millennium)
Steve Kriozere (Agent X, NCIS)
Mark A. Altman (Agent X, Femme Fatales)
Amy Berg (Caper, Da Vinci’s Demons)
WHERE: Room 24ABC
Inside the Writer’s Room: The Series – Part Two
WHEN: 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Earth’s Mightiest Writers Re-Assemble. If writers rooms were like superhero teams than we’ve just lined up the Justice League and The Avengers for this all-star insider look at your favorite TV series from the writers behind some of today’s hottest genre shows as they share their candid thoughts on how to write and re-write the series we love (and sometimes loathe). Find out the deep, dark secrets (and low-calorie snacks) of the writers room – and why network executives actually care about what you write on message boards.
WHO: Moderated by Sony Pictures TV’s Senior VP of Drama Development & Production, Chris Parnell
Gabrielle Stanton (The Flash, Haven)
Michael Narducci (The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, Medium)
Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul)
Steve Holland (The Big Bang Theory)
Ryan Condal (USA’s Colony)
William Harper (Grey’s Anatomy)
Steve Melching (Star Wars Rebels, Guardians of the Galaxy)
Jose Molina (Agent Carter, Firefly, Sleepy Hollow)
Mark A. Altman (Agent X, Castle, Femme Fatales)
WHERE: Room 24ABC.
SUNDAY
Starship Smackdown XV: Battle of the Intergalactic Stars Edition.
WHEN: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
The must-see panel of Comic-Con and Wondercon, as profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” returns for another action-packed year of scholarly debate. Who will duke it out for the highly-coveted Smackdown title this year? Can the Starship Enterprise defeat the Serenity again? Will the Battlestar Galactica pulverize an Imperial Star Destroyer and what would happen if Dr. Neil De Grasse Tyson’s Starship of the Imagination came face-to-face with – wait for it – Carl Sagan‘s Starship of the Imagination? Oh, the humanity! Join our panel of sage spaceshipologists as they outwit, outplay and outphaser.
WHO**: Bobak Ferdowski (JPL’s “Mohawk Guy” and actual spaceship builder)
Daren Dochterman (VFX supervisor, Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition)
Kay Reindl (Scream, Millennium)
Christian Gossett (The Red Star)
Ashley E. Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor)
Steve Melching (Star Wars Rebels)
Robert Meyer Burnett (Star Trek: TNG Blu-ray, Free Enterprise)
Jose Molina (Firefly, Agent Carter)
The Howard Cosell of the stars, moderator Mark A. Altman (Free Enterprise, DOA: Dead Or Alive)
WHERE: Room 6A
** As well as some very special surprise guests. End your weekend with the geekiest and most beloved panel of all-time in this or any other dimension, known or unknown. We would be honored if you would join us.