Star Wars At Large: Clone Wars Red Carpet Premiee

This just in: Attendees of Star Wars Celebration VI will be the first in the world to see the premiere of Season Five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars at a big screen red carpet event featuring stars of the hit series from Lucasfilm Animation. On Friday, August 24th at 5 pm, the Digital Stage at Celebration V will present an evening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars beginning with a special presentation of the Season Four finale, the episodes “Brothers” and “Revenge.” These are followed by “Revival,” the long-awaited Season Premiere, on Cartoon Network this fall, that continues the story of the resurrected Darth Maul.

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Chicago At Large: Kids Make Comics Day

To any and all fans in the the great state of Illinois, Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie, IL is holding their first annual "Kids Make Comics Day" tomorrow -- Saturday, July 28. Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani (the Eisner and Harvey Award winning team behind Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures) will be at Aw Yeah from 10 AM to 5 PM showing kids how they make comics and giving kids a change to make comics, too. The store will provide everything you need -- paper, pencils, crayons, and markers -- and kids will create stories and art with Art and Franco! For more, visit kidsmakecomics.com!

TV At Large: Comic Store Heroes Premieres Next Week

We're big fans of Midtown Comics. NYC -- and America's -- largest comic shops, Midtown has three full locations in New York City (Times Square, Grand Central, and Wall Street) and recently made news for opening a fourth shop, a boutique inside NYC's famous FAO Schwarz toy store. But you ain't seen nothing yet!

Next Friday, July 13th, Midtown Comics takes to the airwaves with the premiere of Comic Store Heroes on the National Geographic Channel.  Airing at 8 PM, the special highlights the daily trials and tribulations of Midtown's own Gerry, Thor, and Alex, while they simultaneously do battle with deadly deadlines and drayage to attend New York Comic Con!

Yup, NYCC's in it, too!

Spend next Friday night before the comforting glow of your television set and root for the hometown heroes of Midtown Comics during the premiere of Comic Store Heroes!

Star Wars At Large: Force Of July

Do you have plans for the Fourth of July? Why not make it the Force of July? Star Wars Celebration and our friends at Spike invite you to a week-long adventure to a galaxy far, far away! Spike will be presenting the complete Star Wars Saga from July 1 to 7, and throughout the marathon, Star Wars Celebration VI will be presenting a series of trivia questions. Head over to force.spike.com each day for a new chance at awesome prizes – including Star Wars statues, Blu-rays, and tickets to Celebration VI! Head on over to force.spike.com now to get the full Force of July marathon schedule!

As you're watching, too, be sure to tweet using hashtag #forceofjuly to share your favorite moments and memories with your fellow fans!

Good luck, May the Force be with you, and Let the games begin on July 1!

Jobs At Large: ReedPOP's Hiring

A few weeks ago, we mentioned a new position here at ReedPOP. Today, we wanted to subtly remind folks we're hiring. Do you have an inquisitive mind, an obsession with making things better, a passion for solving puzzles, and the ability to juggle multiple projects, tight deadlines, and demanding priorities? Do you want to work with the team behind New York Comic Con, PAX, and Star Wars Celebration? If you answered "yes" to all of this, we may have just the gig for you. ReedPOP will be expanding our digital capabilities significantly over the coming months, and to get us there, we need more staff, and the first position is a Digital Sales Executive.

This position will be responsible for selling the ad inventory across ReedPOP's family of show sites as well as creating and selling additional online products. We're looking for a professional both with experience attracting, maintaining, and growing a client list in the digital space as well as a professional with an appetite for creating a strategy for monetizing existing digital assets (blog posts, tweets, etc) and developing new content and products (podcasts, interviews, live streams, etc) with an eye on profit.

We're looking for individuals with two or more years prior sales experience, with the more digital experience the better. If you think you're a fit, head over to the Reed Job Site and select the "Digital Sales Executive" position for full information and to start an application.

Star Wars At Large: Kevin Smith Comes To Celebration

Star Wars Celebration welcomes writer, director, and fanboy Kevin Smith to a galaxy far, far away! Star Wars Celebration features events, activities, and special guests from the theatrical Star Wars saga through The Clone Wars and all the books, comics, toys, and games in between! Already announced guests include names tied to the core of the Star Wars saga such as Ian McDiarmid as well as celebrity fans including Seth Green. Now, Celebration is excited to have Kevin Smith make his Celebration debut, kicking off the convention with a special "Evening with Kevin Smith" on August 23rd!

Kevin will be appearing for an evening of stories and conversation in the Orange County Convention Center's Chapin Theater, discussing his career, his fandom, and how Star Wars intertwines with both. Smith, most known for the world he created in Clerks, and since expanded in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II, has also written, directed, and produced projects including Cop Out and Red State . In the comics world, he's penned stories for heroes including Spider-Man, Daredevil, Green Arrow, Batman, and Green Hornet. Online, Smith is behind the SModcast podcast and SModcast Internet Radio channel featuring regular weekly podcasts from Smith and over 20 of his contemporaries and collaborators.

Smith has yet to work officially on a Star Wars project, but his is the voice of the zeitgeist in the pop culture world, and he's long been a fan of the Star Wars saga, with its characters, elements, and fan paraphernalia a part of many of his works. Smith will be coming to Star Wars Celebration to speak about his long love-affair with Star Wars, how it shaped his youth, and how it still informs his career.

Star Wars Celebration's "Evening with Kevin Smith" begins at 7:00 PM on August 23rd and is a separate, ticketed event from the rest of Star Wars Celebration. Tickets go on sale on Monday, June 25th to current Star Wars Celebration attendees and July 2nd for the general public. Tickets begin at only $15 and go up to a limited $75 package, which includes a signed Kevin Smith photo. Tickets are free to Celebration VIPs who have purchased Jedi Knight and Jedi Master tickets.  If you're a current VIP or attendee, check your email today for more info.

May The Force (And Kevin) Be With You!

Star Wars At Large: Temuera Morrison Comes To Orlando

It's Friday, and we're very excited to round out the week with the little announcement that Jango Fett himself is coming to Celebration! Temuera Morrison, the actor who portrayed Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones and Commander Cody in Revenge of the Sith will be appearing at Celebration VI, greeting fans and signing autographs in the Autograph Hall.  Morrison’s career includes two Best Actor awards in New Zealand for Once Were Warriors and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? Recently fans have seen him as Doctore in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and as Abin Sur in Green Lantern.

Star Wars At Large: Ben Burtt Comes To Celebration

This just in from the galax far, far away... Ben Burtt, sound designer, supervising sound editor, and picture editor on the Star Wars saga, will be attending Star Wars Celebration VI this August in Orlando, FL, appearing on the stages as well as greeting fans in the Autograph Hall. Burtt, best known for his Oscar-winning sound effect and sound design work, will also share some of his unique insights on motion picture editing.  Ben's been announced today along with fellow sound editors Matthew Wood and David Acord!  Keep on reading for Celebration's new guests' bios...

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Vampires At Large: Anne Rice Takes A Bite Out Of NYCC

It was a big win for C2E2 -- and personally a thrill -- to be able to welcome Anne Rice to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo earlier in the year.  Today, we're very proud to announce Anne Rice is coming back to ReedPOP, appearing at the New York Comic Con this October!  Rice will be at NYCC to speak about her career and the 30+ novels she's penned, specifically about her dive into the werewolf  world with The Wolf Gift after a lifetime of serving as the queen of vampire fiction.

Star Wars At Large: Seth Green and Matt Senreich In Orlando

Last week, Lucasfilm announced Seth and Matt will be attending Star Wars Celebration VI. We were out of the office getting married or something.  As such, we're happy to post this belated news now... The twisted masterminds behind Robot Chicken -- Seth Green and  Matt Senreich -- will be attending Star Wars Celebration this August. Star Wars fans from the very beginning, Seth and Matt have been guests of past Celebrations since their hilarious Robot Chicken moved beyond just the occasional Star Wars sketch to full-fledged specials showcasing the hilarious side of a galaxy far, far away. 

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Star Wars At Large: Anthony Daniels Comes To CVI

Raising the ReedPOP antenna today, we picked up a fantastic transmission from the stars.  This just in from the galaxy far, far away... The star behind C-3PO in all six Star Wars feature films, as well as the animated incarnations of everyone’s favorite protocol droid seen in Droids and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Anthony Daniels, will be a special guest at Star Wars Celebration VI.  At the biggest party in the galaxy from August 23-26, 2012 in Orlando, Florida, Daniels is slated to sign autographs all four days of the show, as well as appear on stage.

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Anime At Large: NYAF Folds Into NYCC

Since New York Comic Con and the New York Anime Festival were first co-located now three years ago, the two shows have been positioned closer and closer together. Today, we're announcing the New York Anime Festival will fold into the New York Comic Con. At this year's event -- October 11-14 -- anime and manga content will be presented under the New York Comic Con name instead of the New York Anime Festival.  NYCC, from its beginning, has been a big tent event covering comics, toys, television, movies, video games, manga, and anime.

It's all popular culture, and New York Comic Con seeks to represent all of popular culture. 

Continuing to set aside anime from all the other elements of the show is almost a contradiction to the universe that New York Comic Con encompasses, and rather than continuing an exception for anime and manga content, we'll be programming it, promoting it, and serving it up all under NYCC's umbrella. And, while the NYAF name is going away, it's important for me to repeat we will continue to serve it up (and serve it) under NYCC's umbrella. 

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NYC At Large: Jersey Shore Shark Attack Preview Screening

The fine folks at Syfy have found a way to turn D Grade movies into high art, and the latest entry into their pantheon on Syfy Originals is Jersey Shore Shark Attack, featuring Tony Sirico (The Sopranos), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Jack Scalia (Dallas), Joey Fatone (‘N Sync), William Atherton (Die Hard), and Vinny Guadagnino ( Jersey Shore). The flick premieres on Syfy on June 9th, but if you can't wait to sink your teeth into it, our friends at NYC's Paley Center are hosting a preview party with snacks, trivia, and a Q&A with the movies Producers and Writers. Yes, Writers.  It's plural. The movie's got a lot of sharks.

 

 It all goes down June 2nd at 7 PM and tickets are available at paleycenter.org now!

Star Wars At Large: Ian McDiarmid At Celebration

Ian McDiarmid, the actor who unforgettably played the evil galactic mastermind and the ultimate villain of the Star Wars saga, will be making a rare convention appearance at Star Wars Celebration VI, appearing on-stage and signing autographs.

In 1983, McDiarmid embodied the full depth of the dark side as the Emperor in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, his face hidden under ghastly makeup and his eyes concealed behind sickly yellow contact lenses. When his true face was revealed as the apparently kind and helpful Senator Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999), he projected a different kind of evil – a subtle manipulator of galactic events, a villain hidden in plain sight. As the prequels progressed, so too did Palpatine’s plans until finally, in Revenge of the Sith (2005), McDiarmid got to play evil at its fullest, and revealed the true power of Darth Sidious.

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Jobs At Large: ReedPOP Is Hiring

Do you have an inquisitive mind, an obsession with making things better, a passion for solving puzzles, and the ability to juggle multiple projects, tight deadlines, and demanding priorities? Do you want to work with the team behind New York Comic Con, PAX, and Star Wars Celebration? More importantly, do you want to work in Norwalk, CT? If you answered "yes" to all the above, we may just have the gig for you. ReedPOP will be expanding our digital capablities significantly over the coming months. Given the lack of much digital right now, I suppose "significantly" could really mean just adding two YouTube videos, but we've got plans far grander than that.  Point being, to get us there, we need more staff, and we're excited to today announce we're looking for a Digital Sales Executive.

This position will be responsible for selling the ad inventory across ReedPOP's family of show sites as well as creating and selling additional online products. We're looking for a professional both with experience attracting, maintaining, and growing a client list in the digital space as well as a professional with an appetite for creating a strategy for monetizing existing digital assets (blog posts, tweets, etc) and developing new content and products (podcasts, interviews, live streams, etc) with an eye on profit.

This is a full time position based out of ReedPOP HQ in lovely Norwalk, and while we have a lot of fun, this is a job. Really. We're looking for individuals with two or more years prior sales experience, with the more digital experience the better. If you think you're a fit, head over to the Reed Job Site and select the "Digital Sales Executive" position for full information and to start an application.

Lucky candidates will get to interview with me and Lsett as we play the world's most unconvincing game of Good Cop, Bad Cop.