Free ‘Gotham’ pilot screening
We’ve discussed the Gotham pilot before, but, after Wizard World Chicago, we have a few more things to say about it.
Gotham is sure to entertain all sorts of Batman fans. While they haven’t had overwhelming film success during the Marvel era that we’re currently in, DC has been doing some great things with television. Gotham is no different. It has the quality of a film but the brevity of a television show. At times, it feels like a prequel to Nolan’s Dark Knight series, complete with a loud Hans Zimmer score.
We especially loved how they introduce the audience to characters that we know before they become what we know. Our favorite introduction was that of The Riddler, not just because the actor was there at Wizard World Chicago to introduce and talk about the show. The character seemed so interesting in the short time that he’s on screen.
According to Cory Michael Smith (the actor playing The Riddler), the cast is currently filming episode six and just got the scripts for episode seven. While he wouldn’t tell us anything specific about the episodes or the show in general (besides the fact that it’s a procedural drama with a long narrative arc), he did say that episode seven will not be a procedural “case of the week” episode and blow everyone’s mind, so if we could just stay with it until then we’ll be happy. His words, not ours. Judging from the pilot episode, the series as a whole has a lot to live up to, production-wise.
The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ panel with Dave Bautista and Michael Rooker
Karen Gillan (Nebula) was supposed to be there but her schedule changed at the very last minute. Even though we would’ve loved to have seen her, the panel was seriously enjoyable without her. There were so many fun things that happened with this panel that we’re just going to list them for you!
- Bautista (Drax) came out to applause, Rooker (Yondu) came out to “I Want You Back,” grabbed a metal trash can, jumped in it and started dancing like Baby Groot. Bautista then turned to look at him and he of course stopped. When Bautista looked away, he started dancing again. Thanks to Rooker, “Groot-ing” is a thing. (He even coined the phrase!) This was definitely the highlight of our weekend. You can watch Michael Rooker “Groot-ing” in the video above!
- Bautista’s favorite song off of the soundtrack is “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” because he really likes how everyone comes together in that scene. He of course also likes “I Want You Back.”
- Bautista’s favorite scene in the film is the scene where Yondu takes out a troop of Ronan’s men on the ground during the final battle.
- While there weren’t many pranks that happened on the set, Bautista did tell us about the time where they were shooting the scene where Quill tries to have a dance-off with Ronan. While dancing to “O-O-H Child,” Pratt “passed off” the dancing to Lee Pace (Ronan) who then started dancing. Bautista looked over to Saldana (Gamora) and she had started dancing too. At that point, because he’s not the best dancer, he was like “awww shoot.” Bautista says that he’s pretty sure the outtake will appear on the DVD/Blu-Ray’s special features/outtakes.
- Sean Gunn (better known as Kirk from Gilmore Girls) was Rocket’s physical stand-in while also having his own character, Kraglin.
The Stan Lee panel
On Sunday morning, we attended the Stan Lee panel in the convention center’s largest room and it was awesome. The best way to describe Stan Lee is that he’s a warm and funny old man. He constantly cracked jokes about his age and would answer anyone who said anything like, “You’re my hero” with “As it should be.” He was just super sassy and fun to listen to, especially when he had one-liners like “Thor is a woman? I’m leaving!” or “I am my own biggest fan.”
He gave us a few fun tidbits throughout the panel. For instance, the cameo that he just filmed for Avengers: Age of Ultron is his favorite cameo to date. He said that it’s the funniest one that he’s done, but he unfortunately wouldn’t tell us why (spoilers, and all that).
We also learned that a film version of The Inhumans IS happening, that he’s not surprised that Groot has become such a beloved character, and that if he could change anything he’s ever done, it would be his original concept for Iron Man’s armor. Stan Lee is a huge fan of Iron Man’s armor in the movies and wishes that he would’ve been able to come up with something like that.
His panel ended with a representative from Illinois’ Governor Pat Quinn announcing August 23-24, 2014 as “Stan Lee Weekend” in Illinois, and then Stan Lee doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Except he didn’t really do the challenge. A Stan Lee Funko did it instead.
Final thoughts
From TV and movie stars like Sebastian Stan, John Barrowman, and Matt Smith to well-known comic book writers like Stan Lee to WWE wrestling stars like Dave Bautista, Wizard World Chicago can draw some of the biggest names in the business because it has the audience to do so.
While it’s not nearly as big as San Diego Comic Con, it offers so many things to do and see for people of all interests. The Wizard World staff and volunteers are incredibly patient and helpful, which is especially great for first-time con-goers. Unlike other cons, Wizard World Chicago’s organization was impeccable and their ability to communicate with their guests and update all of us about schedule changes was top-notch. Not only that, but their organization of panels and exhibitors was logical and easy to navigate. We never had a problem getting around the convention or finding where we needed to go. Wizard World Chicago is extremely professional in the way that they handle themselves and their events which really makes the con-going experience a great one.
Whether you’re from the Chicagoland area or Illinois in general, or you’re just looking for a great time, don’t miss out on Wizard World Chicago. (And if you can’t make it to Chicago, find the Wizard World comic con nearest to you!)
For more fun Wizard World Chicago tidbits than we could have possibly packed into this article, check out this writer’s Twitter!
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