At a San Diego Comic Con panel on the new animated series SuperMansion (out this year), Breaking Bad lead Bryan Cranston floored the audience with a perfectly timed joke.
A fan from Albuquerque came to the mic to ask Cranston whether he’d enjoyed his time in the fan’s home town and his response was hilarious. Check it out.
A touching moment graced the Supernatural panel at San Diego Comic Con this weekend, leaving fans and cast alike touched.
Several months ago, Padalecki started a campaign called “Always Keep Fighting” to benefit “To Write Love On Her Arms,” a charity which helps people struggling with depression, self harm, addiction and suicide. Jensen Ackles later joined the campaign and together they have sold over 70,000 t-shirts that read either “Always Keep Fighting” or “Moose and Squirrel Say Always Keep Fighting” through Represent.com. From there, fans started buying up the design left and right, even starting campaigns to help fans who couldn’t afford to buy one themselves. Soon there were “Always Keep Fighting” support groups and the hashtag #AlwaysKeepFighting was trending on social media.
This campaign came out of Padalecki’s own struggle with depression. “Maybe a lot of people don’t know this, but Season 3, we were shooting an episode, and I went back to my trailer to get changed and just kind of broke down,” Padalecki told Variety. “A doctor came to set and talked to me for about 30 minutes or 45 minutes and said: ‘Jared, I think you’re clinically depressed. I think I should write you a note and we can shut down production for five days and then we can take it from there.’ ”
“These characters that we play on ‘Supernatural,’ Sam and Dean, are always dealing with something greater than themselves, and I’ve sort of learned from the two of them that they get through it with each other, and with help and with support,” Padalecki said to Variety.
Earlier this year, Padalecki canceled his appearance at two conventions due to his need for time with his family. He was exhausted and needed the time off. Many fans believe this was at least partly due to a bout of depression Padalecki had been struggling with lately. He reached out to fans for support, asking them to write to him.
Not long after, thousands of tweets, messages, letters, and fan art came rolling in, all of them expressing how much the actor meant to his fans and how Supernatural had helped them through their own battles with mental illness. Days later, Padalecki thanked his fans and after several weeks of rest, seems to be doing well.
The Supernatural fandom decided to show Padalecki just a little more how much they cared. San Diego Comic Con was the first time Padalecki had been to a convention since his Twitter outreach and fans wanted to do something special. In the line for the panel, a group of fans were passing out little bags with electric candles and a note. The note revealed that once a cue was given, fans were to turn their candles on and hold them up in the air.
When the moment came, the candles switched on and at first the panelists were confused. Jensen Ackles noticed the lights and his fellow panelists turning to take selfies with them and stopped mid-sentence to figure out what they were. “What’s happening right now?!” he asked. “I think you’re supposed sing Freebird,” joked one of the moderators. It then became clear as fans began shouting, “ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING!” Touched, the cast applauded them, several giving a standing ovation to their fans for the gesture.
“I’m holding the candle in my pocket right now, I can’t let go of it,” Padelecki tearfully told E! News. He felt incredibly humbled. “At first I didn’t know what it was. I thought people were holding up their iPhones or something. And then someone handed me the note explaining it and I found out what was really going on. It took everything in my power not to cry.”
“Everyone is given a candle that burns just for them,” The note said. “When your flame flickers and you fear it will go out, know not even the strongest wind lasts forever; and there are other lights to guide you even in the Darkness…And when your candle burns bright, you can ignite the hearts of others and hope will spread like wildfire…Always Keep Fighting, and you’ll never fight alone.”
“I thought there was like a rock band about to come out that I didn’t know about,” Ackles also told E! News. “I was like, ‘What is going on? What is happening right now?’ But it’s just this continuing thing. I’m astonished at the support that these fans give Jared and give us on the show, day in and day out.”
The cast’s relationship to their fans really is like a family. They catch each other when they fall. They collaborate with each other on projects like Misha Collins’ scavenger hunt G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S. and through his charity “Random Acts.” The cast goes above and beyond for their fans and this weekend just proved once again how far the fans will go for their favorite actors and the story that changed their lives.
“I am beyond moved. I feel so blessed, and grateful, and honored to be a part of the magical Supernatural Family,” Jared said later on Facebook next to a photo of him with one of the candles. “From the very bottom of my heart and my soul, thank you so much. I will never forget this day. I will never forget the love that I felt and still feel. And to everybody who held a light for me, please know that I hold my light for you. Though I happened to be the one sitting on stage, I am but one small light in a sea of thousands. TOGETHER we can and will make a difference!”
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
See the full panel here: (candles from 33:00 to 35:11.)
Feature photo by Jared Padalecki.
Another Robert Kirkman comic is on its way to the small screen. Based on the comic by Kirkman and Paul Azaceta, Outlast tells the tale of a man with an extraordinary amount of bad luck; Kyle Barnes’ entire family has a nasty habit of being possessed.
The Cinemax show will feature Patrick Fugit as Kyle and Philip Glenister as Reverend Anderson. It looks more straight up horror than The Walking Dead’s apocalypse tone.
It is due to release some time in 2016.
The CW is upping its DC game with Legends of Tomorrow.
A new trailer for the show was released that catches fans up on the various superhero backstories. With direct parallels between comics and TV, it’s super exciting to see all these icons coming together.
The trailer is set up very much like a comic book, with scenes from both mediums interwoven throughout. The CW is growing their DC Universe more and more these days and LoT seems like it will be an awesome addition.
The trailer also included more information on other superheroes we’ll be seeing this fall that The CW hasn’t shown before.
The show will include Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvil), Firestorm (Victor Garber), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), The Atom (Brandon Routh), Hawkgirl (Ciara Renée) and White Canary (Caity Lotz).
Legends of Tomorrow will air in 2016.
There’s been buzz around the internet for a while that Robert Kirkman’s upcoming movie, Air, would be getting a full trailer during SDCC after last year’s teaser; fans were not disappointed.
All I needed to know was that The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, was producing a movie starring Norman Reedus (Daryl from TWD, ya dummy!) and Djimon Hounsou. The premise of the movie is simple: there has been a nuclear winter in the world, leaving the atmosphere above uninhabitable. Two engineers (Reedus and Hounsou) are left in charge of the facility that houses the cryogenically-frozen remains of Earth’s brightest hopes. Things proceed to go badly. They run out of… air.
Air comes to theaters this August 14th.
Let’s welcome the all new, Green Arrow to the fold!
It’s taken until the beginning of Season 4, but Oliver Queen is now The Green Arrow. Sorry, Olicity fans; it looks like that ride off into the sunset will be short-lived. The new duds, which Amell took center stage to show SDCC attendees, are a more militaristic approach than before. The gauntlets remind me of his New52 outfit, and the shoulder pads and chest armor give him a more tech-savvy look; could this suit be designed by Cisco?
Diggle also looks to have a new costume, taking Ollie’s advice to heart. The costume won’t be one of his own, however. Diggle will become The Guardian, a character born in 1942 and created by Jack Kirby. Ironically enough, the first Guardian in the books was trained by Joe Morgan, the same guy who trained both Wildcat and the first Atom (Al Pratt).
That brings us to the bad guys. Damien Darhk has been cast. It will be Neal McDonough (Mob City, Dum Dum Dugan from Agent Carter/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) – not exactly the same baby-faced guy we know in the comics, but still an agent of H.I.V.E. Batman villain (Jesus Christ on a cracker, Arrow, get your own bad guys…) Anarky will be another villain in Season 4 – think Occupy Wall Street meets the Joker. He started as kind of a lame character, but his roles in Arkham Origins and the new Detective Comics (start with #34) really made a modern iteration more relatable.
Tech whiz Mister Terrific will be setting up shop on Arrow, serving as a tech partner to Felicity. I’m a bit less excited about this news; hopefully he has more of a role than tech support since he had such a major part to play in the Futures End event. No notes on who is playing Mr. Terrific, but this “version of Mister Terrific happens to be gay.”
Arrow Season 4 will come to the CW October 7, 2015.
Joss Whedon announced yesterday at San Diego Comic Con that he is writing a comic called Twist. He described it as a “Victorian, Female Batman” story.
The series will be six issues.
This is the first time since 2008 that Whedon has written an original creation; Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.
There were no other details about the story given, other than the heroine, Twist, will be more like Willow, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I am VERY excited about Whedon’s new venture. I would be thrilled to read a Victorian Female Batman story with or without Whedon, but this being his creation makes it that much more enticing.
Grr. Arg. (but like, in a really high-pitched excited way)
Source: Screen Rant
This weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, fans of TV’s The Flash are in for a treat, as appearances by Patty Spivot, Jay Garrick, and Wally West are all scheduled for Season 2.
Remember that epic fight scene Barry had with Reverse-Flash at the end of Season 1? Well, the helmet that flew out of the time machine was that of Jay Garrick, the first Flash. Garrick’s part will be played by Masters of Sex star Teddy Sears. Given that Sears isn’t even 40 years old, it’s safe to assume that he will be time displaced from whatever or whenever Multiverse he came from.
Garrick won’t be the only member of the speedster family to join the show. Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg also confirmed that Wally West – those who grew up watching the animated Justice League may now scream – will be making his debut. Current canon has Wally West as a troubled teenager, related to Iris, that Barry takes under his wing. It’s unknown whether or not this Wally has speedster skills, too.
Professor Zoom is also set to make his debut as the big bad. This is a bit confusing, as Eobard Thawne’s alter ego in the comic books is Professor Zoom; however, comic book canon says that there are several Reverse-Flashes/Zooms, so who knows who the TV version will be?
The final announcement came in the form of Barry’s new love interest and Joe West’s new partner (RIP Eddie), Patty Spivot. She’ll be played by The Messengers’ Shantel VanSanten. It’s said she’ll be more obsessive over metahumans, but won’t know Barry’s identity (right away, at least). Hopefully, she’s more of a contributing character than just another way to get Iris jealous, but who knows.
The Flash returns to the CW October 6, 2015.
Source: CBR
You didn’t think you could make the whole SDCC weekend without some new Dawn of Justice material, did you? The new 3-1/2 minute trailer debuted today, and it’s chock-full of goodies.
Here are some of the things we noticed in the new trailer:
Bruce Wayne’s involvement/intervention/hatred for Superman comes from a personal tragedy suffered from what looks like a 9-11 style attack on downtown Gotham where Wayne Enterprises is located. It could actually be the aftermath of Man of Steel. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire; it’s not unlikely to assume he has business in Metropolis, too.
Wayne receives some manic messages from who we can only assume to be The Joker. Jared Leto might be making an appearance in BvS, if just to tease Batman’s involvement in Suicide Squad. One of the messages is painted on what looks to be a Robin outfit (2:02). Could this allude to a post-Jason Todd era Batman? Todd was murdered by Joker in Death in the Family.
However, Batman looks new to the game. Or at least new to people knowing he’s in the game. He has Batarangs, and he brands the bad guys he corrals with the Bat-symbol – a bit more S&M than we’re used to.
Clark Kent, in whatever weird scale of morality he has, thinks that Batman is a menace and ought to be stopped. This is interesting since Superman, albeit creator of soooo much collateral damage, has stepped into the light and into the court of law to be judged.
We really get a sense of the “False God” perception that was painted on Superman’s statue. People worship him, and he is prophetic in nature. It’s a nice touch. Martha Kent still serves as a lightning rod for Clark’s morality, which will be great as he deals with infamy.
Finally, a look at Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor! He’s a bit neurotic, more befitting to his own personality than the Lex we grew up with. Kryptonite also makes it’s debut here. It’s beautiful. Sexy Lexy thinks so, anyway.
Oh, and there’s Zod’s dead body. Has it just not decomposed yet, have his remains been frozen, or is this movie taking place that soon after the events of Man of Steel?
Wonder Woman is looking FIERCE in this trailer. All the Gal Gadot haters must be so embarrassed. We get an early sneak at Diana Prince (2:03)
Batman lights up his own Bat-symbol. This isn’t standard Bat-protocol, as Jim Gordon and MCU (Major Crimes Unit) get that honor. He’s also doing it in his armored suit, which still can’t look any cooler.
Here’s where it gets weird – there is a major fight scene between Batman and some Superman soldiers? If this doesn’t scream Injustice, I don’t know what does. All I know is that Bats looks silly in a pilot jacket and cargo pants.
Above all, there are going to be some terrific action scenes between Batman, Superman, and even Wonder Woman.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice comes to theaters March 25, 2016.
Bruce Timm just loves making fans happy. During the premiere of Justice League: Gods and Monsters at San Diego Comic-Con, Timm, in response to a fan’s question, said that Alan Moore & Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke would be the next animated adaptation for the DCU.
For those not familiar with The Killing Joke, it’s one of the darkest and most profound stories ever written about Batman… or anyone, really. The story is about how one REEEEALLY bad day can turn even the sanest person crazy. Some of Batman’s most popular lore is portrayed in The Killing Joke – even though it isn’t part of the Batman monthly series. Joker’s origin story, Barbara’s paralysis, and the intimate relationship between the Joker and Batman are all explored here.
DC Animated has gotten more and more brazen with their animated films, which have increased in violence and adult content since 2008’s Justice League: The New Frontier. If DC wants to stay true to the source material, and so help them they better, they’re going to have to break a lot of the unspoken rules about their animated movies; nudity, torture, and nude torture are all apparent in The Killing Joke.
Also announced were:
“Batman: Bad Blood” — An original Batman story that features the introduction of Batwoman to the new line of animated films.
“Justice League vs. Titans” — Another original story and the first of the DC Universe Original Movies to feature the Teen Titans.
Mark Hamill (who has “retired” the Joker… then lied about it and returned to Arkham Knight) has taken it upon himself to campaign to play the Joker in this adaptation via Twitter. Who wouldn’t want to see he and Conroy team up for this classic tale?
The film won’t be released until sometime in 2016. While you’re wiping the drool off your chin, remember that DCUA’s next film, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, will be released in just a few short weeks (July 28th).
Hush Comics 