Comic-Con 2008 ~ Day 2 ~ Part 2

Thursday, July 24, 2008

After the Twilight panel, the hall cleared out so we moved up to the front of our section, which wasn’t bad because we didn’t have anyone blocking our view. I hadn’t been settled in my new seat very long when I received a phone call from Marcy who had secured two seats in the third row! She asked if I wouldn’t mind moving up to sit beside her and bring her camera bag, of course I didn’t mind!

Disney
Race to Witch Mountain
Panel: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, and director Andy Fickman.
I’m not sure if the movie is necessarily a remake of the classic Disney film which I vaguely remember, but if it is the special effects, CGI, and action looked great in the clips they showed. Coming to theaters March 2009, this looks like a good one to take my niece and nephew to.

Lionsgate / Marvel
Hulk vs Wolverine
Panel: The writers and producers Craig Kyle, Frank Paur, and Christopher Yost
The full cartoon was shown which was when I went to the restroom, ate a granola bar, and dosed off. Definitely not something I would watch, but the panel did discuss how the trend was to go straight to DVD because the content was not geared for Saturday morning cartoons, too much fighting and blood.

Dark Castle
Ninja Assassin
Panel: Producer Joel Silver, James McTeigue, and Rain.
Wow the fangirls were there to see Rain! Again the screaming was deafening. I had never heard of Rain before, but he was a cutie and taking in all the admiration from his fans like a veteran.

After Ninja Assassins the girls in front of me left so I was able to take their seats. So two of the ladies in our group moved up! Lynne and I were in the second row with Marcy and Lois in the third row! We had the perfect seats!

Whiteout
Panel: Producer Joel Silver and director Dominic Sena,

The Hills Run Red
Panel: Producer Joel Silver, Sophie Monk, William Sadler, and Tad Hilgenbrink
They showed a trailer to this horror flick, definitely will not see this one. I’m not into blood and gore. But again they talked was about the trend going straight to DVD instead in the theater.

Rockn’Rolla
Panel: Director Guy Richie, Joel Silver, Guy Ritchie, Jeremy Piven, Chris Bridges, Idris Elba, and Gerard Butler.

Of course they saved the best for last, this is the panel the Girlies came to see, the highlight of our trip to Comic-Con. The panel basically became a Q&A for Gerard Butler. From the looks on the rest of the panel’s faces, they had no idea about Gerard’s dedicated and loyal fans.

The Rockn’Rolla trailer had been released online a few weeks ago, but an extend version was shown, which was funnier including clips of a dance sequence with Tandy Newton and Gerard. I definitely cannot wait for opening day for this one, October 3, 2008!

Again, Marcy graciously allowed me to post her pictures, you are welcome to go to her blog to see all of the awesome pictures. Keep checking because it will take her time to upload all of them, she took over 800.
http://angeleno-throughthelens.blogspot.com/


All content, posts, and photos are the property of Joy Somerville. Do not copy, paste, or link without prior permission.

Comic-Con 2008 ~ Day 2 ~ Part 1

Thursday, July 24, 2008

We didn't get much sleep, less than four hours, tossing and turning filled with anticipation. We arrived at the convention center after 6:30 a.m., the line had grown to hundreds already. Luckily we had two ladies from our group arrive at 5:00 a.m., real troupers to hold our places. I'm sure they didn't mind our tardiness when we came with folding chairs and breakfast.

We found out that most of the fans in line were there to see the panel for Twilight, the movie adaptation of the book(s). The fans were mostly, teenaged girls. The girl in front of us was maybe nineteen who came all the way from Texas and another woman from Ensenada, Mexico came with her daughter.


Lynnette, Jane, and Lois

About 9:30 we filed into hall H where we were handed tee shirts with “Klaatu barada nikto.” screen printed on it and told not to run. Hall H was huge! Of course everyone ran for the best seats. We didn't do too badly even though we hadn't slept on the street. (So far I haven't had to do that to see my favorite stars, and I hope to never!)

We basically lived in hall H for the rest of the day because the line up of panels was amazing. I did take a few pictures, the quality isn't the greatest, but I thought I'd post a few. Luckily our group didn't need to worry about quality pictures because one of the Girlies in our group, Marcy, is the veteran of Comic-Con and also a fabulous photographer with press credentials. We were her assistants all weekend, making sure she was hydrated, fed, watched her camera bag, and stood in long lines while she shot pictures in the press pit.

Marcy graciously allowed me to link her site so you can see all of the awesome pictures. Keep checking because it will take her time to upload all of them, she took over 800.

http://angeleno-throughthelens.blogspot.com/


20 Century Fox presented The Day the Earth Stood Still and Max Payne

The Day the Earth Stood Still
Panel: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, director Scott Derrickson, and producer Erwin Stoff. The movie is a remake of the 1951 classic, due in theaters December 12, 2008. They showed a trailer and clips, looks awesome!



Max Payne
Panel: Mark Walberg, Mila Kunis, Ludacris, and director John Moore.
The movie is based on the video game, of a cop who is determined to find the murderer of his family and partner. The trailer looked thrilling, lots of action, definitely a must see!

We had a surprise guest fly in all the way from Austrailia. When Hugh Jackman walked on to the stage the audience was immediately on their feet cheering. He brought with him some never before seen footage from his new movie X- Men Origins: Wolverine, I will definitely be in line to see this one on opening day!




Summit Entertainment presented Twilight, Knowing, and Push

Push
Panel: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Camilla Belle, and the director Paul McGuigan.
The movie is a sci-fi thriller is about young people with psychic abilities.
Dakota Fanning never made it to the panel due to a major accident on the 5 freeway, but she did make an appearance after a seven hour drive. She’s growing into a beautiful young woman. I love sci-fi, the movie looks interesting,




Knowing
Panel: Director Alex Proyas
None of the actors, including Nicolas Cage, made an appearance.

Twilight
Panel: Catherine Hardwicke, author Stephenie Meyer, and the cast; Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Cam Gigandet, Rachelle LaFevre, Edi Gathegi, and Taylor Lautner.
When the panel came on stage the screams in hall H were deafening, probably equivalent to an In Sync concert. The fans managed to maintain the decibel consistently though out that we couldn’t hear most of the Q & A. The movie is a modern-day love story between a vampire and a mortal. This one I think I will wait until it comes out on DVD, I wouldn’t want to brave the lines a second time on opening day.












Again, Marcy graciously allowed me to post her pictures, you are welcome to go to her blog to see all of the awesome pictures. Keep checking because it will take her time to upload all of them, she took over 800.
http://angeleno-throughthelens.blogspot.com/

All content, posts, and photos are the property of Joy Somerville. Do not copy, paste, or link without prior permission.

Comic-Con 2008 ~ Day 1

Day One – Wednesday, July 23, 2008

My girlfriends and I arrived in great time, before 8:30 p.m. The San Diego Convention Center had crowds of people everywhere with long lines wrapped around the massive hall. I had heard stories of what to expect from friends who had attended before, but it’s hard to visualize how massive the event truly was.

While in line with the masses to get our passes, my Blackberry began buzzing with phone calls and texts from the rest of our group anticipating our arrival. We met up with them and had a wonderful dinner in the Gas Lamp district, directly across the street. Jane, Lois, Lynne, Lynnette, Marcy, Maree, and me. the Girlies, that’s what we call our little group, were together again! When we walked back to our car about 11:00 p.m., we had to pass by the convention center. We couldn't believe a line had already begun forming in front of hall H for the next day. People were camped out with sleeping bags and folding chairs!

Another Denial

While waiting for the panels to begin in hall H at Comic-Con, I received this email:

Thank you for submitting your work. While we enjoyed reading your query, it isn't something that we'd like to pursue at this time. We wish you the best of luck in your writing career.

I showed two girlfriends, they were supportive, of course. Lynnette said something like, "There's a balance, we're here, we can't have too much at once."

She's right, not long after, we had too much happen at once!

Comic-Con 2008

I just returned from San Diego where I attended Comic-Con 2008. This was my first time. All I can say is, WOW! I had a fantastic time! So much happened, I'm completely overwhelmed.
It will take me a while to download photos and write about the experience, so I will tease you with this... my favorite picture so far, me and Jeffrey Dean Morgan from Grey's Anatomy, PS I Love You, The Accidental Husband, and the upcoming Watchmen.
Cheers,
Joy





All content, posts, and photos are the property of Joy Somerville. Do not copy, paste, or link without prior permission.

Movie Reviews

It’s been a week since I last wrote! WOW how time flies! I’ve been swamped with work, of course, just before I have to go out of town!

Movie Reviews:

Mamma Mia
After missing two prescreening opportunities, I received another invitation from Universal for a prescreening to Mamma Mia, so I couldn’t miss out again!

I love musicals and looked forward to seeing this movie even though I haven’t had the opportunity see the play mainly because of Colin Firth, he’s on my list of 5 favorites. I knew the basic plot, but not much else. Colin didn’t disappoint, my girlfriend and I did the usual elbowing thing, especially when he had a wet shirt scene. Then we just about fell out of our seats when he was wet and shirtless, YES shirtless! LOL!

The singing wasn’t the best, some of the songs were okay, but a lot were out of range for the actor’s voices, especially for Pierce and sometimes for Meryl, but where Meryl’s voice lacked, her acting made up for it, she never disappoints.

Even though I had difficulty grasping the idea of James Bond singing during the movie, I laughed out loud. The story was entertaining. Make sure you stay until the end credits, it will be worth your while to see James Bond and Mr. Darcy in sparkly spandex tights!


On DVD
Occasionally we have DVD marathons, we rent a lot, and catch up with the movies we missed in the cinema.

The Kite Runner
I almost didn’t watch this one because I thought it would be political. I’m happy I did, BEST movie I’ve seen in ages! LOVED IT!!!

Jumper
I love Sci-Fi, so I love this one. I didn’t know Hayden Christensen was in it, he’s a cutie.

Definitely, Maybe
Little Abigail Breslin is adorable. The movie was better than I thought it would be even though it was predictable in some places.


Well I finished all the patterns, finished writing quizzes, but haven’t graded homework, oh well! There will be plenty of time for that when I return.

I’m too excited for a fun filled long weekend with my girlfriends. I’ll try to not get into too much trouble! LOL. Hopefully I will have some great stores with star sightings from the weekend…

Hot at 63!

I've dreaded having to have blood drawn, not because I'm scared of needles, but because of the fact that I had to fast atleast 12 hours prior.

Just the thought of not being able to eat upset me. My morning was turned upside down. I couldn't work out! Even worse, I couldn't have coffee! By the time I got home I couldn't eat fast enough, ready to pass out!

I didn't last long before I had to take a nap, not getting much accomplished from my long list of things to do!

Instead of diving into work after the nap, I did some "research" (online star stalking). While on one of my favorite sites, Just Jared, I saw this picture of Helen Mirren:

Helen Mirren is one hot mama and she's 63!
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/07/16/helen-mirren-bikini/



GEEZ I want to look this good! So much for complaining about having to fast!

Okay, now off to my boring life... I have to write 2 quizzes and prepare for class tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Tour de France Update

Yesterday I was upset because Cadel crashed during the stage. He finished the race even though he was badly scratched up with his jersey torn up and a possible broken collarbone. After the race he was taken to the hospital. The driver of the car sped in excess of 100K to get him there. When stopped by the police and discovered why the driver was speeding, the police escorted the car to the hospital.

Cadel started the stage today still banged up from his crash -- Well the results at the end of the day says it all! He’s in first place overall and in the yellow jersey!

YAY CADEL!

Stage 10 results:

1. Leonardo PIEPOLI
2. Juan Jose COBO ACEBO
3. Frank SCHLECK
4. Bernhard KOHL
5. Vladimir EFIMKIN

Overall Standings:

1. Cadel EVANS -- YAY!!!!
2. Frank SCHLECK :01
3. Christian VANDEVELDE :38
4. Bernhard KOHL :46
5. Denis MENCHOV :57

Information on Cadel Evans and his team Silence Lotto:
http://www.cadel.com.au/

ROCK 'N' READ

This afternoon I went to a wonderful event called Rock’n’Read. I had heard about the event during the endless search for an agent and considered going. Earlier this week I received an email from one of my writer friends, Alyson Noel, who I met at OCCRWA, so of course I had to attend!

The Rock n’ Read event was a great combination of authors and bands held at the Virgin Mega Store in Hollywood. The authors each read from their books, as well as book signings, and the bands performed three or four songs. Alyson read from her current book, Cruel Summer.

Alyson at Rock'n' Read
(sorry for the poor quality, I couldn't get my camera to work correctly)




More information about Rock'n'Read:
www.rocknread.net

Alyson Noel’s Information:
http://www.alysonnoel.com
http://www.alysonnoel.com/blog.html

Romance Writers Association Meeting

Yesterday I went to the monthly meeting for Orange County Chapter Romance Writers Association (OCCRWA). Every meeting I attend I learn something new, packed with a wealth of information. This month’s focus was the annual Romance Writers Convention and the dos and don’ts for first time attendees. Unfortunately I'm not attending the convention, I wish I could, but Megan, my daughter, goes back to school for her second year in college and Ryan, my son, begins his first year! Life will be hectic.

The second half of the meeting was round table discussions with unpublished and published authors. Even though something like that intimidates me, it turned out to be my favorite part! The published authors asked what we [unpublished authors] were working on and our progress. When it came to my turn, I told them I had sent out five query letters and received back two denial letters.

One of the published authors said, "That's great! What did the letters say?"

Conveniently I had one in my tote bag and took it out. The other unpublished authors wanted to see it too so it was passed around the table. I had been sad about the denial letters, but the other unpublished authors looked at my letter as something to be admired, like I had accomplished something.

I had mailed out the query letters to agents looking for representation, the published author said, "Send out the query letters to publishers! I did, and then I found an agent after I had a book deal!"

Like I said, there's always a wealth of information! When I began this journey almost three years ago, I didn't know where to begin and now I feel like I'm changing the course yet again!

For information about the OCCRWA here's the link:
http://www.occrwa.org/

Movie Reviews

WALL-E
I loved the movie. I’m amazed how a little machine, with almost no dialog, can make you love him in a matter of minutes. Afterwards, I wanted eat a Twinkie, pick up trash, and pop in my VHS of “Hello Dolly”.

Hellboy II
My son and I are both fans of the first Hellboy so we were thrilled when we received a prescreening invitation. We laughed out loud when Hellboy and Abe were drunk and sang to Berry Manilow's “Can’t Smile Without You”.

Journey to the center of the Earth
I had missed two opportunities to see the movie a few weeks ago and I was excited when I received another invitation, I wasn’t going to miss it again! The movie had interesting twist on the Jules Verne novel. The 3D effects we great, all the children in the audience seemed to like it, but Moms, you will enjoy it too. My girlfriend and I elbowed each other a few times, Brendan Fraser didn’t disappoint.

This is why I love teaching

I received an email from a former student, Amy.
This makes the late nights grading papers worth it!


Hi Mrs. Somerville

It's Amy, your class was one of my absolute favorites. I loved the freedom of creativity in the draping [lesson], which I loved and had never done before, so it was really exciting and whenever I had questions you were very helpful.

So I decided that I want to go on to become a designer creating a junior/missy or a kid’s line, I still haven't decided completely yet. I'm an intern at a company, which has been a great learning experience.

My plan from here is to start the bachelor program in fall to continue my education. I've heard nothing but good things about the program. I'm so excited to continue my education and keep learning because no matter how much I think I know there's always so much more, it's crazy!

Thanks again, hope all is well!

Sincerely,
Amy

Tour de France Update

I’ve picked Aussie, Cadel Evans for the overall winner of Tour de France. Yesterday, I was thrilled that at the end of stage 5 he was 4th overall.

Since I had to leave for school at 7 a.m. this morning, I couldn't watch the end of stage 6. I never had a chance to check online to she who had won, so when I got home I put dinner in the oven and made myself comfortable on the couch to watch the last hour of the re-broadcast. It was an exciting finish. A new person is wearing the yellow jersey, Kim Kirchen, and Cadel is now in second place, just 6 seconds behind ! YAY!!

GO CADEL!

First Day of School

The summer session began today, we're on the quarter system. I had a great day even though the copies I had ordered weren't ready for my first class. I had to improvise a bit, but everything worked out.

First impressions, I have a good group of students. It's always encouraging when students are responsive and ask challenging questions instead of staring at you blankly!

Tour de France

YAY!!! The Tour de France started yesterday! My favorite time of year, three weeks of bike racing and a disrupted sleep pattern.

The Tour is like the Super Bowl, NBA finals, and the World Series all rolled into one for the Somerville family. For the last nine years I have been a dedicated fan watching it live, at 5:30 a.m. I suppose since Versus reruns the day's stage several times a day I could watch it during any of the re-airings throughout the day and have a good night's sleep, but that wouldn't be any fun! It would be like watching the big game after it was played and everyone knows who has won but you.

I got hooked in 1999 because my daughters are cyclist and I watched with them when Lance Armstrong won his first Tour, since then I haven't missed it once.

So you'll know where to find me at 5:30 a.m.!

Denial Letter

During lunch with my girlfriends in Beverly Hills, I checked my email on my Blackberry, yes I'm addicted, that flashing red light indicating I have email or text messages drives me crazy! It was an email from one of the agents I had sent a query letter to the day before!

For those who wonder what a rejection letter looks like, here it is:

Thanks for sending along the opening pages of It's Just Coffee. Truth be told, though, I'm afraid they didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped. I'm pressed for time these days and, what with my reservations about the project, I suspect I wouldn't be the best fit. Thanks so much for contacting me, though, and for giving me this opportunity. It's much appreciated, and I'm sorry to be passing. I wish you the very best of luck in your search for representation.

Arrrggg!

It was hard to not let it spoil the wonderful afternoon. I showed the email to my girlfriend Annette sitting beside me. Annette says nothing but positive things, always encouraging me.

She said, "At least she responded back and she didn't tear apart your writing."

Well, I believe I will find someone who will be the best fit to represent me who understands my voice.

Query Letters

Wednesday, July 2

For the last two days I've been working on query letters. I haven't slept much due to the stress and when I do sleep I've had strange dreams. I did manage to email three and I'm dropping one in the mail after working out this morning. It probably doesn't seem like a lot to stress over, but trust me, it's terribly stressful!

Not to worry, I will be taking it easy this afternoon. I'm having lunch with my girlfriends after I pick up my bracelet from Tiffany's in Beverly Hills. I can't wait to see how the bracelet turned out, I dropped it off to be engraved almost a month ago and I miss it!

Remember when Holly and Paul in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" have a ring from a Cracker Jack box engraved? Well, it still costs about $10, unless you choose to have it hand engraved, which I did. The cost wasn't that much more. The man recommended hand engraving since it would last longer and they had a nicer font selection.

I have several friends who have charm bracelets and necklaces with wonderful charms on them. I'm not sure if I want to add more charms, but if I want charms from Tiffany's I will have to find a fifth job! I had been saving to buy the bracelet, but a wonderful student, Teresa, gave it to me (after she graduated). She said I was the best teacher she ever had. If I had bought it or my husband, then I would have engraved it with our initials, but since someone else gave it to me, I had this engraved on the heart charm:

AP + BF

Can you guess the significance?

Here's a picture of us on Via Rodeo, Beverly Hills

Via Rodeo, Beverly Hills