The Legendary Neal Adams made a pit stop in Sacramento yesterday to sign some stuff at one of the local A-1 Comics. If you're not familiar with the name, Neal is one of DC's legendary artists. In fact his children are pretty phenomenal artists themselves as well. Alas, none of his sons were with him, there was only Neal to delight the crowd, and delight he did.

He spoke to the crowd gathered before is signing about a little property called Batman. Some of the best Batman arcs ever created had Neal's hands all over them. He and Dennis O'Neil  helped put the dark brooding nature back into Batman, which I personally love about Bats. And if you've never read a batman comic, but only saw the movies, they were also was responsible for the creation of Ra's al Ghul. 

He touched on this a bit talking about what he liked about the movies his comic series inspired, and also about how Green Lantern took none of their inspiration from him, even though he had plenty to do with Green Lantern over the years and look at what a disaster that movie was. I have to whole heartedly agree with his assessment, I adore Ryan Reynolds, even thought he was great int he title role, but there was no saving that script.

Neal took his time with everyone who came out to see him, answering questions, signing and even singing to my little one. She's a huge Batman fan, and she really wanted to ask him a question, but the moment she got up to him she was too scared to ask him anything. Neal told her "Do you know what I do when I'm scared? I sing a song." And then he proceeded to sing "I've got no strings" from Pinnochio. I wish I had been ready for that one, but alas there's no video.

But she did muster up the courage with her uncle to go and take a picture with Neal. Neal has always been entertaining to meet in person. I met him back in 2010 and he was delightful then. If you live in or around Sacramento and you would like to meet Neal yourself, you're in luck. He's coming back in March for Wizard World. Get your tickets now, it's sure to be a packed house. And if you meet Neal let us know.

Also if you would like to see more pictures from the signing you can check out our flickr album!

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It's the Kingdom of Broken Asses in the translation from Chinese, and it is set to be one heck of a nerdgasm. The cast alone, Peter Dinklage (Game of thrones), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Steve Zahn (Joy Ride), Jimmi Simpson (Date Night) and Danny Pudi ( Community), just to name a few bring epicness and a ton of geek cred with their sheer screen presence.

Director Joe Lynch brought a handful of his phenomenal cast to comic con to give fans a peak, and share a little about his adventures in larping. Although Steve Zahn was missing from comic con, the other cast members mentioned above as well as Michael Gladis and Margarita Levieva were more than happy to talk about the live action role playing, or larping, horror comedy flick inspiration, and of course comic con.

Joe Lynch touched on the fan response, it being his first comic con, where he was a participant and not a fanboy, saying “It was an absolute dream come true. I was always the guy in the back, or the one waiting for one of these guys to come through. It was amazing (being in Hall H). A little freighting cause it keeps going back since the lights only light the first couple of rows of people, and it was a sea of people.”

And those people were very excited, especially with the footage which quickly showed that this movie isn’t you’re normal run of the mill larping movie. “We were able to make a film about larping but not about larping at the same time. Really to me, it’s about a lot of us, its people who’ve come to a crossroads in life, where you are in life and how do you kind of, level up. The thing I loved about the script is it isn’t about nubile young twenty somethings, the people were slightly older, and trying to figure out what was their purpose in life, and you can use something like larping, paintballing or anything to escape that reality and the fact that it was done in a way that used larping as such a thing was brilliant.”

Of course you can’t have a panel with Ryan Kwanten and not ask about True Blood. He was asked about both suiting up as a larper and being a werepanther. And in his sexy Australian accent he touched on both. About Larping: “Spoiler alert. The character, Joe, finds it very much amusing until he’s forced to take it seriously. Larping is very much that kind of thing. Seriously you can’t help but get swept up in that emotion of larping.” And True Blood: “Jason is going through a tough time with the fact that he doesn’t have any superhero powers. I think its almost comical in the fact that he doesn’t considering that everyone else on the show does, and the fact that he can’t is kinda funny.”

The entire cast stressed the fact that although the film does involve larping, its about more. Joe Lynch said it best, "You know what a good story is a good story no matter where you put it. You can put it in medieval times, you can put it in space. If it’s a good story, and you care about the characters, that was really the most important thing for us right off the bat." 

And one of the big inspirations was Shaun of the Dead.  "The reason why I love that film so much is that you care about the characters, and when people start dying you go holy shit, shit got real and if you care about those characters then that’s all that matters.  So that was so important for us, to make a good story about people who sort of find who they are and who just so happen that they’re running around with foam swords and stuff."

While Joe did promise some hot monster action, he does make reference to horror movies such as The Thing where the monster is seen for less than five minutes of total screen time, but was done in such a way that it still left a lasting impact. But horror fans don't fear, there is plenty of succubus action, body parts and blood. In fact, the sticky blood was brought up more than once, seemingly a problem for everyone except Ryan.

Ryan: "The blood itself is sort of like a syrupy sugary glucose type concoction , and I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, so I didn’t mind it."

Joe Lynch: "When we’d cut in between takes we’d see Ryan just by the buckets, drinking."

Ryan:" I’m very easily pleased."

The cast was also asked how they would survive a real medieval setting. The answers ranged from Margarita eating everyone, Jimmi ending up being owned by Peter Dinklage, while Peter succumbed to something, anything so long as he could use the word succumbed and Ryan taking the role of king. All I can say is Hail to the King. Knights of Badassdom rides into a theaters Spring of 2012.

About Knights of Badassdom: In this humorous fantasy adventure from IndieVest Pictures, Joe (Ryan Kwanten) is a heavy metal rocker who’s just gone through a painful breakup with his girlfriend, Beth (Margarita Levieva). His concerned roommates (Steve Zahn, Peter Dinklage) kidnap him to their LARP (Live Action Role Playing) gathering, where he enters a realm of fantasy escapism in which pretend knights, elves, and barbarians clash with foam weaponry on a mock battlefield. When Joe’s “sorcerer” roommate (Zahn) inadvertently summons a deadly succubus that takes Beth’s seductive form, bloody reality crashes down upon their fantasy world. Once LARPers start to turn up dead, the make-believe wizards and warriors must become the real life heroes they have been pretending to be in order to conquer the evil that has been unleashed.

Follow KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM:
http://www.facebook.com/knightsofbadassdom
@badassdom_movie<http://twitter.com/#!/badassdom_movie

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Have you ever plugged your ears during a scary movie? Have you ever cried just before the break up scene? More times than not, it was the music that lead you there. If you have ever been lucky (or unlucky) enough to watch a movie, television, or cartoon scene without music, then you’ve noticed just how important a musical score is. No eye squints before the class jerk jumps out from behind a door. No idea that a shark is about to attack three men on a boat. No clue a green-faced witch is about to attack with her flying monkeys.

Musical scores set the emotional tone, and overall mood of a scene. As Robert Duncan commented, it allows you to “feel the story.” Some can even bring back the memory of a movie. Does anyone not recognize the themes to Halloween and Jaws? I was lucky enough to sit down with several leading composers of today’s movies and television, Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider), Danny Jacob (Phineas and Ferb), Helene Muddiman (Happy Feet 2), James Levine (Glee, The Closer, Damages), Robert Duncan (Castle, The Entitled), Edward Rogers (Warehouse 13), and Nathan Barr (True Blood).

I discovered the most common instruments the composers started on were guitar and keyboards, but Nathan Barr also played cello. Edward Rogers is most comfortable with “keys,” but finds if he stays on just keys, he keeps writing similar things. He said he has many instruments that he doesn’t play well, but will bang enough on them, from time to time, to figure out who he might hire to play the composition.

The stories of how they all started in the business ranged from attending school, booking gigs as a guitar player, spending as much time possible with other composers, and internships (working for free) just to gain experience. But no matter how you start, your passion, willing to learn, and giving up your ego are your best assets.

Danny Jacob recalled when he first heard from Disney. “Once I got even a little nibble from Disney, I made it my mission in life to just want them to never call anyone else.” He did whatever he had to do, going without sleep, anything to make the boss happy. “You gotta make your boss happy.” Robert Duncan continued, “I think composing survival 101, is putting your own vision aside to begin with.” He then quoted a mentor of his, Richard Bellis, as saying, “The last thing a director wants is a composer expressing himself all over his movie.”

I asked Nathan Barr if the music that carries through the seasons on True Blood was planned that way, or if it was an afterthought. He replied, “When True Blood was developed, the musical was developed in the first episode, the pilot, because that’s what Alan [Ball] wanted. So [seasons] 1, 2, and 3 are very similar. And now, season four is like very different because Alan wanted to do this big opening. Ever since we went to orchestra, that kinda sent the score heading in a different direction this season, a little bit. But its still got its unique sound.”



A colleague asked, “What is the hardest instrument to write for?” James Levine replied, “The human voice.” He continued, “You write for the music, then find the best guy to play it.” Hélène Muddiman hears the sound in her head, then figures out how to make an instrument make that sound. “What my job is, is to figure out how to make that sound into the strings. I don’t write a piece of music necessarily around what a harp is capable of. Which is what you’re always trying to push…trying to push the boundaries all the time.”

Pushing the boundaries is what gives us a multitude of soundtracks. Listen to three movies of the same genre and you will hear three very different compositions. They may all even be from the same composer. That’s what these people strive for in every project, a composition different from their last that doesn’t stand out from the movie or TV show, but enhances it.

When asked, “What puts you in your creative space?” Hélène quickly stated, “Fear…of a deadline. Knowing that I have to get it done by Friday and I’ll be procrastinating right up until the last minute…until the shit hits the fan. If you don’t give me a deadline, nothing will happen.”

At the beginning of this article, I asked if you’ve ever listened to a movie or show without the music playing, just the actors’ voices and a few sound effects. Now I want you to listen to that movie without watching it. I’m sure you will be just like me. Even though you don’t see the creature lurking under the bed, you will know exactly when it reaches out and grabs its victim. I bet you even jumped too. At that moment, thank the composer.

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Yes "Fright Night" has been re-invented 25 years after the original was released, and Colin Farrell was here among his other cast mates Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Imogen Poots, and even Chris Sarandon who was the original Jerry Dandridge. Also present was writer Marti Noxon who has a history of vampire works and director Craig Gillespie who speaks about the differences and evolution the characters take in this "Twilight" universe we all live in today. And speaking of evolution, this remake has been done in 3D, yes you read it right...3D!

For those of you who have not seen the original "Fright Night" horror/comedy thriller, the story is about a young teen boy named Charlie Brewster who suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire. And of course the perfect person to play this bad boy vampire is none other than Hollywood's best bad boy Colin Farrell. He himself told the Comic Con crowd that he is trying to change this reputation by working his butt off in these recent years, first in "Horrible Bosses", "Fright Night" and also another remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Total Recall." The change is due to reconnecting with what made him want to become an actor in the first place. He also explains that his success came too quickly and his decisions on and off camera were greatly effected.

During the press conference Farrell explained that he was quick to identify himself as a long time fan of the vampire movies in general, so naturally he had to have an opinion on the "Twilight" phenomenon. Comparing his "Fright Night" vampire to Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen, Farrell says, "If it were a piece of meat, Jerry...and if it were for the love of a woman, I'm afraid Cullen would have me." Such a witty and unstaged statement from Colin that made the room fill with laughter. I would have loved to hear more about his experience in making the movie but we were told he had to leave for another appearance elsewhere, which I am guessing to promote "Total Recall" here at the Con as well. So before he makes his grand exit, he walks over to Chris Sarandon at the end of the table and plants a kiss on his head. Lots of "awwwws" filled the room as we shot many photos for this once in a lifetime moment, which by the way I did catch camera.

So because Chris Sarandon was there, he was in full support of this remake but didn't in the beginning. He says there was a certain amount of skepticism but the director Craig Gillespie and writer Marti Noxon figured out a way to make it contemporary and at the same time an 'am age' so that the fans of the original movie appreciate it and take it on a different kind of ride. Sarandon says, " I think that's what this movie does."

Marti Noxon confessed that she was not aware of how a classic "Fright Night" truly was. It's been 25 years since the original was released and the world has changed a lot. Kids live in a "Twilight" universe and there are new places to reinvent from the original. Noxon wanted to be respectful to the original but there were a lot of ways that the movie can explore the characters a little differently now. There was a challenge of staying true and reinvent the fun, horror and heart of the original movie. A question was asked, "why should we go out and see THIS movie???" Marti answers, "it's a rollercoaster horror and thrills, with bits of humor and fun!" Chris Sarandon jumps in and says, " with characters you can identify with." "Fright Night" hits theaters on August 9, 2011 so go out and enjoy yourself and watch it, it's just pure entertainment.

SYNOPSIS: Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all. He's part of the in-crowd and dating the most wanted and beautiful girl (Imogen Poots) at his high school. In fact he is too cool to hang out with his best friend 'Evil' Ed Thompson (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble soon begins when Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He appears to be an awesome guy at first, but there is something not quite right about him. Everyone including his mom (Toni Collette) doesn't notice. After seeing some peculiar activity Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion. His new neighbor Jerry is indeed a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Charlie is unable to convince anyone of his suspicions but he is determined to find a way get rid of the monster himself.

Director: Craig Gillespie

Writer: Marti Noxon

Screenplay Writer of story & film: Tom Holland

Producers: Michael De Luca, Micahel J. Gaeta & Alison R. Rosenberg

Executive Producers: Ray Angelic, Josh Bratman, Lloyd Ivan Miller

Producer 3D Tech: Keith Melton

CAST:

Colin Farrell: Jerry Dandridge

David Tennant: Peter Vincent

Anton Yelchin: Charlie Brewster

Christopher Mintz Plasse: "Evil" Ed Thompson

Imogen Poots: Amy Peterson

Toni Collette: Jane Brewster

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Bruce Campbell was his usual awesome snarky self, coming out on the first day of comic con, to give the audience a little stand-up, oh and the debut of Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe.

Some little facts that we learned during the panel:

Number of hours comic con goers get during the con: 0

Number of showers taken during the con: also 0

It was like a PSA from Bruce, as he elaborated that the showers were FREE at the hotels. I hope everyone was keeping notes.

And Bruce touched on the Evil Dead remake. Saying it’s gonna happen, so get over it. I’m not sure that the crowd will be peaceful about that subject until they see it, and probably not after either. But all I have to say is that whoever takes the roll of Ash, has a big chin to live up to. But Bruce did note that he does appreciate how opinionated and passionate Evil Dead Fans are.

Bruce and Matt Nix traded some good natured barbs, and the preview for the mockumentary  “The Fall of Jeffery Donovan.” As if the movie wasn’t good enough, the hilarity of that preview makes this a must have.

The film follows the Sam Axe, we already love, before he was that guy. He’s disconnected from people, and through the course of the movie he realizes who he is, and does the right thing. It’s also the beginning of Sam’s alter ego Chuck Finley.

Sam gets to step out of the role of side kick, and do the mission his own way, which is hot. Can’t help but love a man who takes charge.

 Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe is available now on DVD and Blu Ray.

Cast:
Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe
Kiele Sanchez as Amanda Maples
RonReaco Lee as Ben Delaney
Chandra West as Donna Maitland
John Diehl as Admiral James G. Lawrence
Pedro Pascal as Comandante Veracruz
Ilza Rosario as Beatriz
Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen (cameo)

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

DVD Release Date: July 26, 2011

Run Time: 108 minutes

ASIN: B004ZBFRG2

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Twilight's Peter Facinelli held a charity event called Alex's Lemonade Stand on May 29, 2011. The charity is for children with childhood cancer and Peter has been traveling all over the U.S. promoting it by taking photos and signing autographs for Twilight fans and Showtime's Nurse Jackie fans. Each photo with him is $40 and each autograph is $25 and $10 for each additional person in the photo. The event was held at The Block in Orange, CA. from 11-5pm, so of course since I am a huge fan of both shows I jumped at the chance to meet him for the very first time in person. Peter arrived on time and of course looking awesome in a black leather jacket, white t-shirt and jeans. There weren't as many fans as I expected there to be, which wasn't good at all for Peter's charity. I would say a couple hundred fans showed up, more would have come but I suppose they did not have the money to donate to his charity.

When I got up there to the stage to meet Peter, he was so gracious and very kind. I only had a 4x6 photo of him to sign and he asked where I got it. I was a little embarrased and laughed and I told him I got it online and had it printed up, but that was the maximum size it could be printed or else it would be grainy. He bent down and picked up an 8x10 glossy of himself and says "here ya go, I'll sign this one and the other one too if you like." Wow, what an awesome guy! I was so excited because not only did I get an 5x7 photo of the two of us together, he signed it after they printed it up, Peter gave me an 8x10 signed glossy (freebie) of him and he also signed my 4x6 picture which were all later framed of course. Oh and his publicist didn't want anyone to take photos with their own camera but he allowed my cousin Jasmine to take our photo with my camera as well. Yup he TOLD the publicist it was cool, and he still kept blocking Jasmine's shot. Good thing I set my camera on continuous shoot mode so it could take more than one picture at a time. So yah, we got one shot out of maybe four that she took. Frakkin' publicists, I mean I had already paid $65 for his charity so why wasn't I entitled to have one of my own? I wanted a record of it to enlarge, make copies, post on Facebook or what not. Shoot its free publicity for Peter if you ask me, right?

My cousin Jasmine on the other hand wanted to take more than one photo with Peter, so she got one solo, one with her daughter Mariah and Peter, then another one with Mariah solo. Peter signed all of those as well as the photo of his beautiful wife and three girls I had gaven her, and he also gave her an 8x10 glossy and signed it just like he did for me. So yah, she spent a pretty penny for his charity and not to mention got a good tax right off as well.

The whole time this event was going on, I was taking pictures and shooting video footage. This seemed to annoy Peter's publicist because he kept blocking my shots, but if you know me, I move around quite a bit so I got my photos haha... I'm guessing Peter didn't mind because he even smiled in a few of them.

Peter took a short break but when he came back to take more photos with his fans, a huge group of people surrounded the left side of the stage taking pictures with their own cameras and his publicist told him that was it. WOW....what a way to end it when there were still people coming to meet him. They finished about 2 hours earlier and while I was still there putting my camera equipment away, some girls arrived and were very upset that they had just missed him. The camera crew said it was because there wasn't enough people there, the turn out wasn't that great so they ended it early. I say it was because they didn't like the fact people were photographing him without paying the donation fee. But as nice as Peter is, he did pose with a few younger fans whose friends took their pictures and quickly left. If it were up to Peter I am sure he would have loved to stay the entire duration and please his fans with his presence. I had a ball oogling him with my zoom lens, as you can see from the photos I've attached haha. I look forward to watching Peter Facinelli on the big screen when "Breaking Dawn I" opens nationwide Novemner 18, 2011. Hope you to see you all there as well!

If you'd like to check out some of the video footage I took check these out at this links, thanks for watching!

http://youtu.be/22PswjTx9qA

http://youtu.be/g7HxHhGVMxg

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It was about 1am in the morning when I decided to check who the guests were for the Jimmy Kimmel Live show in the next few days. It was an even better surprise to find that Taylor Lautner of "The Twilight Saga" fame was making an appearance. I immediately called my cousin aka bestie Jasmine to see if she could come with, but much to OUR disappointment she had to work. I don't usually like to go to events by myself so I asked my 19 year old daughter because after all she is team Jacob, haha. She had just made me a gramma so she declined as well. Off subject, but any chance I can plug being proud of my daughter I will. She says "Mom, I'm a mother now and Layla (her baby) comes first." That is how proud I felt, 'cause she has learned to sacrifice her own needs for the needs of others. I think the word i'm looking for is mature. Ok back to Taylor now, haha.

I just decided I would go by myself and told my daughter I would take some photos for her and even try and get her an autograph. I know Taylor's a young kid and I'm not in the least bit hot for him, but just the fact that he is in Twilight makes me excited. Yes I love ALL that is Twilight! If you have been following me in this blog, you also know that I had met Robert Pattinson, and saw Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene in person as well. So yes I was in for another long wait as all these events I attend are long and tedious. I arrive in Hollywood early enough and get in the autograph line that had maybe 7 or 8 people ahead of me. I had just found out about Taylor's appearance this morning so I had an inkling that there wouldn't be that many people there anyway. Since I was by myself, I thought why not try and make some friends. Yes they were about half my age but they didn't know it until I revealed it. They were quite surprised, especially the pair of "gay boys." (They told me to call them that!) They had gotten there an hour before me. Its funny because I told him I still remember him from the Robert Pattinson appearance and I laughed as I told him the story. I told him that he demanded that me and Jasmine get to the back and behind the barricade because he had been there since 5am. Jasmine and I had just left the green room as VIP but we still wanted our photo op and autograph from Rob. The gay boy was so embarrassed about the way he spoke to me so he quickly apologized. I just laughed and told him not to worry about it, shoot I wouldn't want people cutting in front of me and taking my photo and autograph ops either. That whole day was spent sharing our Twilight cast encounters. It was fun and even made friends with one of the paprazzi, and before I knew it was about that time.

Word got out that Taylor Lautner was going to be here, I'd say a couple hundred fans including mega paparazzi had showed up towards the end of the day. Kimmel's security had put up the barricade and it was "on" as everyone tried to get front row. Me and my new found friends stuck by each other and made sure it was us that was standing front row. Evan, one of the "gay boys" told me that he'd make sure I'd get my photo op with Taylor to make up for not getting one with Rob, haha. How sweet and protective he was of me, awesome huh? I said hello to security, made sure they knew I was waiting there in line. I kind of asked one of them to put me on the VIP list since my old high school friend didn't return my text earlier this morning, and plus it was very short notice. It was a crap shoot whether or not I'd be let into the green room or not. Nonetheless, security said it was a no-go and I said oh well, at least I'm in a good spot for the photo and autograph op which is why I went down here to begin with. Taylor definitely had to be on my wall of fame.

I know it was nearing Taylor's entrance into the back alley of Kimmel's building because I watched security as they communicated with their wireless gizmos on their wrists. Yep I was right because next thing you know Taylor walked through the gate and the screaming ended as soon as it began. He just looked back at us and waved, wearing a cool white t-shirt, jeans and some designer sunglasses. He walked in so quickly I couldn't get my camera lens to focus. But you can bet the paparazzi behind me with the $10,000 camera got his shot. And he did damnit! They were awesome photos and I am sure he would make a bundle for those too. I had been shopping around for a camera, ordered one and returned it because it just wasn't right for me, plus the idiot who sold it to me sent me the wrong lenses. Big fiasco that involved my bank getting my money back to me. So yah, I didn't have my pro-dslr camera today so I had to endure using this $200 camera that I bought just for ocassional purposes.

Next thing you know the talent coordinator comes out and the crew start setting up outside about 50 feet from where we were barricaded. Then she talked to security and they come over to us and they have to choose who they want for a segment they want on television involving Taylor and his fans. They all know me and plus I yell out that I have been waiting nine hours out here and they choose me, "the gay boys" and some others that were in the front row already. Yay, I was going to be on tv again! It was freezing cold and we were all shivering, teeth chattering and we didn't care because we were going to meet Taylor. I guessed this segment would air before his onstage appearance, because they shot him with us fans as he took pictures with us and signed posters and magazines. He had changed into a designer dark blue suit and look very nice. After taking a photo with a fan he would always say "awesome," haha.

I video recorded the whole thing and it all took but three minutes, which I had posted on YouTube later that night. Did I ever get my photo op with Taylor? Yup I sure did, as you can see I posted it in this blog. Cute huh? I got a lot of flak after I posted it on Facebook too, everyone telling me what a cute couple we made and when was the wedding etc.... Wow, he is my daughter's age....so yah I told everyone I was not hot for him like that! Since my camera was used to record the event, I had Evan take my picture. I told him he better email me that picture tonight as soon as he got home. He did and I was a happy camper. Not only did I set out to Hollywood by myself, but I made some friends and got some very good tips from paparazzi. Hopefully by my next event I would have my pro-dslr camera and my chances for these very important photos and video would be to my advantage.

Oh and one more thing, lucky thing I was NOT in the green room as VIP because the segment was recorded before the show started and Taylor left after his appearance onstage, escaped not through the front but instead of the back entrance like most do. I would definitely have lost my photo and autograph ops if I were inside. Yes God favored me today, well most days he does but especially this day. I left feeling satisfied with two autographs, one for me and one for my daughter and a head to head photo shot of me and Taylor Lautner aka "Jacob Black" himself.

If you'd like to check out my video go to this link, thanks for watching!

http://youtu.be/Y6Es63Z-JBg

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This would be my first time attending a 100 Monkeys concert on May 21, 2011 at the El Rey Theatre in Los, Angeles. I am not a fan of the group per say but I am a huge Twilight fan so if Jackson Rathebone aka Jasper Cullen were performing then I would certainly be there. There would also be a likely chance that I might also see the other "Cullens" as well. There have been rumors mulling around that Jackson was dating Ashley Greene, and Paul McDonald, former American Idol contestant, was dating Nikki Reed. So yes most likely if I didn't see them at the concert then I most definitely would at the after party at Angels & Kings in Hollywood. Jackson Rathbone facebooked a mass invite that whoever went to the concert would be invited to the after party, so of course I jumped at the chance.

The music for the opening acts were not that great, so my cousin Jasmine and I waited patiently until they were done. The concert was standing room only with seats to the side of the theatre but of course as soon as we rushed in we headed towards the front of the stage. There were teenagers already lined up across the stage and I thought, just great. But being second row wasn't all that bad either 'cause I was wearing 5 inch platform heels. After the second opening act my feet were killing me and so decided to take them off, good thing I have a zoom lens on my camera. I just could not believe sitting in front of me was a woman in a wheelchair though. Shouldn't they put handicapped people in a designated area so they don't get hurt from mashing or what not? Well needless to say she remained there all night putting a damper on myself and some of the other fans trying to get closer to the stage.

Jackson finally came onstage and immediately the girls started screaming! Me, I just wanted to video record some songs and take lots of photos so it was very annoying hearing the screams, especially when I played back the video. People who watched my YouTube videos even commented on it as well. I cannot help that and certainly cannot tell the teenage girls to shut up either. I surprisingly enjoyed Jackson's performance. He was energetic, goofy, playful and very animated. Not a boring performance and but most likely would not go again because of the screaming teens and opening acts.

My cousin Jasmine and I overheard while we were standing in line that the venue for the after party was a bar and not very big. We decided we were going to leave the concert early to get in so we could meet Jackson and the other "Cullens" if they decided to show up. Kind of wish we hadn't done that though because later that evening Paul Mcdonald sang a few songs and yes Nikki Reed was escorted to the front of the stage, security in hand, and swooned as her boyfriend and soon to be fiance sang to her. I say 'sang' to her because he barely took his eyes off her I was told as we sat waiting for them at Angels & Kings bar. Man I could just kick myself for that decision, oh well. Not only that, Ashley did make an appearance to the concert and took a few photos with some of the fans that were sitting in the seats to the side and standing in the back.

Yah, my cousin and I missed out so we were hoping we could meet them at the after party if they decided to show up. It was barely midnight when Jasmine saw Jackson in the front entry way but disappeared as soon as he appeared, so we assumed he left because it was so crowded. Few minutes go by and we hear some screaming, and people hovering around one of the booths. Yes Jackson was inside with the band so I quickly took my camera out and headed in that direction. While I stood in an unofficial line, I could hear one of the girls say, "I think that's Ashley", and I said "Are you sure?" Sure enough as I zoomed in on her with my camera I could see her sitting very close next to Jackson and they were talking in each other's ears and I even saw them kiss once or twice! Wow, I was amazed and shocked because I did not even know that this brother and sister onscreen act was actually dating in real life. Did I get my video footage and photos?? Well yes I did but not without almost getting thrown out because of it. I was not told we were not allowed to take pictures and video of Jackson there. I even told the manish woman blocking all my shots that if it was not published anywhere in the invite or anywhere in the bar that I was allowed to take my photos and video. She actually told ME that the flash was annoying them that's why I was not allowed to photograph or record them. After a few minutes of us going back and forth and me sneaking a few shots, she alerted security and I quickly hid in the men's restroom. The women's restroom had a long line to timbuktu as is always the case and I had to use the bathroom pretty badly anyway.

It was nearing closing time and my cousin and I still had not met Jackson or Ashley, and Nikki did not show up with Paul to the after party. Security was yelling at us to get out and the manish woman told us to leave as well. She said only the last remaining people in line for an autograph were allowed to stay. Wow, I am not going to meet Jackson or Ashley?? I was livid! I got a couple shots of them and only 26 seconds on video, but you could barely see Ashley, a girl sitting beside her blocked my camera with her hand and told me the same thing about my flash, you can hear us on the video I posted on Youtube which by the way is doing quite well. I suppose they thought I was paparazzi because I wasn't using a small pocket-sized camera. Oh well, I got one awesome close up shot of the two of them, almost kissing but not quite. Now that would have been my money shot right there, but no dice. Next time I won't miss that shot, you can count on that miss manish woman!

Here's a link to the video if you'd like to watch

http://youtu.be/7sZe34VQFGc

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A friend of mine posted photos of her and Stephen Moyer as well as autographs on the famous rolling stone cover in which Anna Paquin is sandwiched between the ever so hot Alexander Skarsgard, and Stephen Moyer. If you remember it or have it, it's the photo where this trio are covered in blood and Alex is holding one of her legs up. I've posted that picture as you can see. Pretty sexy and grotesque at the same time. I get excited over anything that is True Blood so I immediately asked her where she took that photo with Stephen. She told me that the show was filming in L.A. for a few days but by the time I found out about it they were on their last day....argh!!! Ok, well good thing tomorrow was my day off so I made it a point to go to the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on Grand Ave.

May 19, 2011 was the last day to film this episode at this location so I expected there to be a lot of fans there. I was so wrong because when I got there I found out from security that we were not even allowed in the building if I was there for a photo op or autograph. Apparently a crazed trubie bum rushed Anna and scared her. So yes, they tried to kick me out. I told them that I was by myself and that I was just there to see them, not necessarily get a picture or autograph. Yes I lied, haha. I so wanted a photo op with any members of the cast. I was told that Anna, Stephen and possibly Alex would be there so I walked out trying to look inconspicuous. I even spoke with the hotel coordinator, told him I was harmless and asked if I could stick around. He said if I stayed in the hotel's bar, the security cannot kick me out because I was a hotel guest. So needless to say that is exactly what I ended up doing. The coordinator even gave me a tip that Anna was in the women's restroom in the hallway, so I quickly snuck over there. I of course acted as if I was staying at the hotel, not busting out out my camera, but hid my little pocket fuji film camera in my bra. As soon as I saw her I acted so surprised. I said,"Hi Anna, do you remember me? I met you last year, its me Leilani....you guys are filming here at this hotel, I didn't even know?" Then she actually gave me a hug. I asked her if she could take a picture with me because last year I wasn't able to at Comic Con and then that's when I blew my cover. Well needless to say she said the photo would have to wait because she was working, and her assistant was trying to place a hidden microphone in her clothing. So of course I said yes later would be fine, but deep down felt disappointed that she could let me, a true "True Blood" fan down.

I was at the bar waiting for my photo op drinking refills of iced tea from 1pm -9pm, and once in awhile walking around to stretch, and use the bathroom every hour due to the tea. I would speak with the hotel's coordinator and bar manager to keep busy, whilst they kept encouraging me to ask them each time Stephen and Anna walked by to stop them for a photo. They seemed like they were in such a rush so I left them alone. Seriously I was getting a little frustrated because I could see them every now and then but couldn't get the courage to walk over to them. Finally I did walk over to Stephen later that night, but he was carrying a load of luggage over both shoulders and both hands and I felt awkward to ask him to take a picture with him. Yah, not very tactful so I just told him hello and he said hello back and that was it. The coordinator gave me a tip that Alex was in the bathroom in the same hallway I found Anna, so I waited for him to come out of the bathroom only to be disappointed once again because it was just his double. He was pretty hot and very tall himself, but he wasn't Alex and I desperately wanted that photo with him. I told the coordinator and he said he couldn't tell them apart because he didn't watch the show.

So yes I waited 8 hours and still nothing and I had an hour and a half drive home ahead of me and had to get up at 3am for work. It wasn't a total waste of day, at least I got a hug from Anna and a "hello" from Stephen, haha. Better luck next time.

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What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Thor? Well you might think comic book hero, God Of Thunder of course, but when I think of Thor I think of Chris Hemsworth who he did such an awesome job becoming this fantastic character. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris at the Jimmy Kimmel show on May 5, 2011, I know it's like my second home now, haha. I had been looking forward to watching this movie since last year hearing about it at last years Comic Con. This year alone has been awesome for comic book turned into movies such as "The Green Hornet", "Sucker Punch", of course "Thor", "Priest", "X-Men:First Class", "The Green Lantern" and "Captain America". So when I heard about Chris Hemsworth coming to Hollywood, CA. to appear on Kimmel, I just had to be there! Chris looked very debonair in his grey designer suit, he didn't shave but I wished he had. I really just love that clean cut look about him, but then again Thor had facial hair so I guess that's alright.

Looking at Chris at first glance you wouldn't think of Thor. What I saw was a humble, nice and considerate man. In the green room he was very polite towards everyone, and myself. He actually extended his hand out to me and shook my hand as he greeted me, and of course I just smiled and melted inside. He is very handsome and tall, I believe 6'4, but by all means a very nice and genuine guy who enjoys meeting his fans. I asked him if he would sign my 27x40 Thor poster I had brought and he automatically said yes and reached out for it, but I told him not here but outside because it wasn't allowed in the building. He said alright, and I told him to look for me when the show was over, I knew I'd be at the back of the line because there were already people waiting for him outside since early morning.

That day was Cinco De Mayo so there were some special skits that needed to be done in the green room area and guess who the show's coordinator asked to be in it as an extra? Yup, me!! Oh this was going to be fun! Guermo partying it up telling Jimmy he can't come into work today because he's sick, haha. But really he's celebrating the holiday with getting sloshed. Chris joined the fun and took a couple shots of tequila while a mariachi band played live mexican banda music. I grabbed someone's foam hammer, kind of like Thor's hammer, and used that for the segment screaming "chug, chug, chug...." as Guermo chugged back a bottle of tequila! They even brought in a miniature donkey for the segments, pure comedy I must say. Makes for excellent television.

During his talk with Kimmel out on the stage, he spoke a bit about his childhood. How he grew up in an aboriginal community in the bush north of Melbourne, Australia. Chris and his brother Liam were the rare white children, and his parents ran a multi-purpose store that served as a grocery & mail store. He even spoke about how he had heard about many aboriginal spiritual beliefs and was told there was a cave nearby that had actual spirits in it. He spoke about his Thor workout and how he had to eat to become this colossal comic book hero. He became so huge the costume had to be cut for him to actually fit into it. Yes he was too big for Thor's armored costume, can you believe it? After bulking up and was too big for the costume, he ate less and did metabolic circuits to burn calories without sacrificing muscle. It took a few weeks but he was the right size and he still looked big!

How did he do it in such a short amount of time? Well The God Of Thunder workout consisted of various things like sledge hammer slams; 8 reps on each side, lateral hops; 8 reps on each side, T-push ups; 8 reps on each side and mountain climbers; 15 reps on each leg. There were 5 key things that Chris had to do to become Thor, and that was 1: Grow slowly- don't eat a ton but he used this formula; your goal weight x workout hours per week + 10 = calories to eat daily. 2: Pack protein- every day he would eat 1 gram of protein per pound of his goal weight. 3: Eat with awareness-he would ask himself "why am I eating this chicken? for protein, why am I eating this broccoli, for vitamins and fiber." 4: Go red-lean protein is great but don't give up on steak which is a dense source of protein and helps muscles repair. This protein has B vitamins, zinc, and iron all of which helps muscles grow. And lastly 5: Fuel your workouts: he ate before and after training, drank protein shakes within an hour of training or ate solid full-sized meals two hours before training, and within an hour after working out he ate or drank the same amount.

After the show, my cousin Jasmine and I rushed outside to get in line for a photo op and autograph. Yes I had to get my Thor poster signed for my wall of fame that runs throughout my home. Chris signed for everybody and took photos with everybody and finally it was my turn. His publicist said, "yah you were right, that poster is huge!" I'm so proud of it because Chris didn't just scribble his signature quickly but he actually took his time choosing a spot and signed his full signature beautifully. As you can tell by the look on my face I was a very happy camper. Many people were very envious of this poster and that I got the chance to meet him. I do hope I'll get to see him at Comic Con in July along with his other castmates for the Avengers movie.

Wish me luck!

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Who is Robert Pattinson you might ask? Well if you've been living in a cave or somewhere up in the mountains then yah I could understand why you would not know who this fine specimen is. Rob has been playing 'Edward Cullen' for the last three years from the best selling book series to the movie mania "Twilight Saga". When I found out he was to make a special appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, I had to call up my old high school friend to get me in as VIP again! Well because the show was already booked with an audience, I told him anything. Even just to be in the green room. So that's what I did on April 20, 2011, a day I will never forget. My cousin Jasmine and I waited patiently before he arrived. I couldn't even eat because I was so nervous and excited. I said forget about food, Rob's coming soon and I don't want to miss his arrival. When he did arrive, he looked so cute and adorable in these turqoise pants, and navy blue hoodie with the Nike logo in bright green across it. He had the hoodie over his head along with a pair of ray bans to try and disguise himself. Yah right, like that would actually work on his Twi-hard fans. Well I guess I can also be considered a Twi-Mom, because after all I am not a teenager. In fact my daughter is the teenager and is not Team Edward. She says she prefers Jacob because his body is hotter. Believe it or not there are alot of women out there just like me, and I am proud of it.

Alright, now that we catch a glimpse of Rob, we yell out his name, and all he could do was smile and giggle like a little boy. How cute is that? Not in the least bit full of himself, never letting stardom go to his head. My brother Eric says he loves me because we had eye contact at least four times during the times he arrived, went out onto the set for the taping, on his way back into the dressing room, and also after the show when he came to greet his fans for autographs and photos. Yes I believe Rob even waved and said hello to me a few times in the green room as he walked to his dressing room. My heart was palpatating during the few seconds our eyes met. I know I am acting like a silly school girl, but seriously I am so star struck I cannot help it. 'Edward ' is such the perfect vampire. Old-school morals and values that I actually look for in a man. He knows what eternal love means, but of course this is just a character in a book, but not just any book. 'Twilight' was actually the first book series I have read yet alone the first book I volunteered to read in probably 10 years. Yes this book saga got me interested in reading, I mean really reading.....my book shelf is completely full of the vampire/werewolf supernatural genre and I haven't even read all of them yet.

Before Rob steps into the studio/audience for the taping, he changes into this beautiful Gucci navy blue suit that just makes us all swoon, I mean he is Hollywood personified. WOW!

I wished this night would never end, it was literally a dream come true and I could not believe it was actually happening. Ok enough of the teenage babble. What was Rob's purpose for being there one might ask? Well he was promoting his new movie "Water For Elephants" which I could not wait to see. I already knew it would be a smash hit because Rob is an excellent actor. Have you seen "Remember Me"? Rob was also one of the executive producers for this film as well. Someday he's going to have his own production company, mark my words. He's not just a pretty face you know. Not only can he act, but i'll bet you anything he will be a director as well. I saw an interview where he once said that he likes to be behind the scenes as much as onscreen.

Once the taping is finished, my cousin and I rush outside because this is the only place where we can get our 'Water For Elephants' book signed and possibly a photo op with him. Yah, thats what I thought, but as soon as we get to the barricade of fans who had been eagerly waiting to meet Rob, they started yelling things like..."get to the back, we've been here since 5am!!!!" And 'm here thinking how can we? There's no way to squeeze back there, so security says we can stay to the side and hopefully not get beat up by crazy fans. Rob comes out, everybody starts screaming his name, and immediately I begin recording as he is walking in my direction. OH MY GOD! I don't know if he remembered my face and me waving and saying his name like a little girl inside the green room, but that's what he does, walks right in my direction. My camera somehow finds its way down as I hand him my book for him to sign, but with everyone screaming I didn't have a chance to ask him to take a picture with me! I got my autograph but no picture so I am hoping he will come back in my direction for this photo i desperately need. Too many people there so i continue to record this momentous event but then my camera says memory full. What? Memory full, that can't be argh!!!! Security guard says delete some things, haha.....but instead I ask my cousin Jasmine for her camera and start taking pictures, but by this time Rob is well on his way to the other side of the barricade signing AND taking pictures with the other fans! Hey, wait why couldn't he have done that with me and Jasmine? Turns out nervous Nelly, that's me, forgot to put a memory card inside my camera. I recorded what little footage I got in the camera's internal memory. I did manage to take a few pictures but definitely not my best work. Not only that, my cousin did not get her book signed and we both did not get a photo taken with him. But it's ok, we got to see him in person and that was good enough for us, until next time!

If you'd like to see my brief encounter with Rob Pattinson along with the screaming fans, here's a link I've provided. Thanks for watching. http://youtu.be/LRuREcdXuRg

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Director Tarsem Singh delighted the crowd with some stunning footage of his new film the Immortals.

Style wise he referred to it as Caravaggio meets Fight Club, in a good way. And it did look pretty amazing, looks like the producers of 300 were putting all their green screen work to great use.

Of course it was a first look, and it didn't really give much insight, but if the movie is as good as it looks visually, it will be pretty darn amazing.

There were some great shots of Mickey Rouke as King Hyperion, the troublemaker of the story. Luke Evans, as Zeus, brandishing a lighting whip was equally impressive. And various of shots of warriors, the other Gods, maidens in formations, and a very lovely Freida Pinto.

But pretty much the whole room was going bananas for the soon-to-be Superman, Henry Cavill, who plays Theseus.  And who wouldn't, it was Cavill that originally lured me into watching Tudors, which was an amazing series.

Henry is more than fit in the film, with invitation muscles shown in all their glory, so of course, his exercise regime was asked about. Which he described in the most self-depreciating way in his sexy British accent.

Can this guy get any hotter? Seriously, he is adorable when giving interviews, or being grilled during a panel.

And then the Superman questions came, but all he could really say was that the suit was still being developed. Hopefully he is fond of spandex, because any suit obscuring the view would be a shame.

Over at the Archaia booth, an upcoming graphic novel was discussed. It will be a prequel to the movie, to introduce the audience to the world of the Immortals. David Mack, Ron Marz, Ben Templesmith, and Dennis Calero are attached  to it. The book is set for release in September 2011, while the movie is headed to theaters in November 2011.

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Sitting in for the Priest footage left me saying just three things. Oh. My. Gawd.

Seriously, it was that good. Director Scott Charles Stewart teams up once again with Paul Bettany, to bring some major butt kicking to the screen.

They last teamed up on Legion, where there was some butt kicking as well. Some hated Legion, whereas I loved it, because I'm of the belief that if Paul Bettany is in it, it can't be that bad. 

But even the greatness of Paul Bettany aside, this movie looks pretty bad ass.

It looks like a mash up of wastelands, futuristic weaponry, western, and Mad Max with vampires, and a heaping scoop of crazy. Probably more than one scoop of crazy with all the insane religious weaponry.

  

I'm not a huge fan of 3D, but this one convincingly pulls it off. Even Paul Bettany said he was a little taken aback by how good it looked in 3D.

The film is based on the graphic novel also named Priest, by Min-Woo Hyung.

Bettany's character a legendary Warrior Priest who breaks his vows in order to  rescue his niece when she's abducted by a murderous pack of vampires. He's joined by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger happy sheriff, and a former warrior priestess.

That description does not do it justice, and all I have to say is Maggie Q should always have a whip. The girl is amazing. In the sneak peak she does some major damage to a group of vampires with her whip, and it rains down body parts.The movie also stars Cam Gigandet, Lily Collins, and Karl Urban.

Lily Collins was adorable and very excited in the press room, she's just been named the new Snow White in Relativity Media's new picture, so the girl has much to be excited about. 

 

Paul Bettany was delightful backstage, and very enthusiastic about the movie.

 

I didn't get a chance to talk to Cam Gigandet, so don't ask me about his hair. I'm just as confused by the awfulness as everyone else.

 

Priest is set to open May 13, 2011.

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