A few well-known celebs showed up, including Star Trek's own Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Brent Spiner (Data), Levar Burton (Jordi), and John DeLancie (Q). There was also something for the Star Wars fans, with king of the Con Ray Park (Darth Maul), Billy Dee Williams (Lando), Maria De Aragon (Greedo), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) on hand. Also in attendance were Back to the Future alums Lea Thompson (Lorraine) and Claudia Wells (Jennifer #1), Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3) and James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China).
We visited a few panels, but there were 20 or 30 more that we couldn’t make — there was really something for everyone here.
Celebrating Star Wars— Steve Sansweet moderated a panel that included Jeremy Bulloch, Maria De Aragon, Dave Barclay and Peter Mayhew. There was a huge crowd of Star Wars fanatics at this Q&A with the stars. The real star was Ray Park, who was energetic, genuinely appreciative and very eager to please. The rest of the actors provided some good insight and some funny stories, but nothing any diehard hasn’t heard before. Check out our video of the "Celebrating Star Wars" panel discussion:
Independent filmmaking panel – This panel was all about Florida's indie film scene. The panel featured Patrick Algermissen, Lear Bunda, Pat Martin, Brian Pulido, Steven Shea, Todd Thompson and Bill Williams (FMPTA). The panel was great, because it offered advice from some of the more successful indie filmmakers in the area, and they shared their expertise with the crowd, as well as answering any questions we had. Here's the video of the "Independent Filmmaking Panel":
The Tenant Monster – This Q&A included the director, producer and some of the actors of this indie film made in Florida. They seemed really excited about the outcome as they talked about the hardships of making a horror movie. Here's the trailer. It shows some promise!
The Doctrine Film Experience – My favorite panel of the day. It was all about becoming a filmmaker and encouraging people to just get out there and do it. They show how easy it is to make a film by adding to a Star Wars fan film with people from the audience. After filming for five minutes, the panelists took questions on how to get started, and finally ended with the scene they just filmed seamlessly added to their movie. The moviemakers and crew were really exciting, had lots of passion and by the end, everyone in the room felt like making a movie.
[image-2]Back to the Future with Lea Thompson – The star of Back to the Future, Caroline in the City, Jane Doe and many others sat down to talk about everything and anything the crowd wanted. Thompson (pictured right) seemed genuinely surprised to see so many people, and was funny, warm, entertaining and informative. She was my favorite in Back to the Future, and her appearance was one of the highlights of MegaCon.
There was so much more to the Con, most notably the costumes, with everything from video game characters like Master Chief and Cortana, to Ghostbusters, Storm Troopers, Star Trek redshirts, and every anime character ever made. (Not surprisingly, most anime characters wear a disturbing lack of clothes.) I highly encourage all of you to check MegaCon out the next time it’s in Florida, if only for the people-watching. I promise you’ll find something entertaining.
And finally, some random pictures from around the festival:
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Last weekend, MegaCon 2010 took over the Orlando Convention Center, providing a haven for everything nerd. The Con included appearances by artists and celebrities, and displays on comic books, video games, movie makers, role-playing and even a sword-fighting ring. If it's nerdy, it was at MegaCon. Fortunately, Rabid Nick Reefer and I were there to take in all the goodness and provide some video and pictures of the 25,000 nerd-strong craziness.
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