Well, as I predicted, this thread is pretty officially dead. Thursday's programming has been officially posted on their site. There's even a little bit of Wednesday programming.

For those fellow DVDTalkers that might want to meet up before Preview Night, I'll be doing the same thing this year as last. A small group of us will meet at Hooters after badge pick-up (which starts at 3:00). So, if things go as smooth as last year, we'll probably arrive at Hooters around 3:30ish. We'll eat/drink and chill out and then head over around 5ish.

Hey, when did we get a Comic Book forum??

I am definitely going this year. I am going Thursday through Sunday. I can't wait.

Thursday has to panels for me. Doctor Who and the street fighter one.


But in general, thursdays and sundays are panel lite for me anyway. So I'll get more excited when I see the line up for friday and sat.

On Thursday is this panel:

9:00-10:00 Repo! The Genetic Opera First Look— See what director Darren Lynn Bousman has been up to since directing the last three Saw movies: Repo! The Genetic Opera. Check out the phenomenon that is this Goth Rock musical with sneak peeks and the new trailer plus stories from Darren and the actors themselves, including Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects), and Ogre (the band Skinny Puppy), among others. Room 6B

It's not mentioned in this description from the Comic-Con site but it was mentioned on the movie's website and confirmed by director Bousman on "Attack of the Show" that none other than Paris Hilton will be on the panel.

Break out the riot gear.

It's weird that they posted Sunday before posting Fri/Sat. Can't wait for those to show up.

Thursday has all kinds of panels I want to see. Tiny Toons, Fox, Spore, Steve Purcell, Red Sonja. If that's the Thursday line-up, I can't wait to see what we're getting on Friday and Saturday.

Friday and Saturday schedules are up!!

The San Diego Comic-Con has released the schedules for the two most anticipated days - Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46828

With all these panels, I don't know when I'm going to have time to eat.

This is why I'll bring in my own and I'll eat/snack during the panels (or during the breaks in-between).

Well I've already got to skip a few of the panels because I have interviews scheduled (some of them off-site, grr), but man am I going to be busy that weekend.

Autograph schedule has been posted!

Mallet, first time to Comic Con?

Couple of questions:

1) for the individual signings, do you need to purchase something (like a book or picture) or they for free?

2) after the panels, do the members sign things?

3)Also how do the Line ticket drawings work? For example, one of the people I want to meet has a "Line ticket drawing at 9:30 am on Saturday".. does that mean I need to be there at 9:30 or can I pick up the ticket early and then swing back at like noon to see if won?

I went years and years and years ago. I don't even remember attending any panels. I just went to buy cool comic book stuff. So it'll be my first time trying to scramble to get to panels.

And all I have to say is thank god I'm not interested in signatures. I'd never get anything done if I waited in all those lines.

Check the autograph section of the website. There are several "rules" about free autographs and it gets weird. But GENERALLY, they will sign an item for free but you must purchase what they have. Or, if you bring something, they will sign it for $10. Each person can have different things going on. Usually they'll have a sign as to what the drill is, or you could just ask them. A few will actually charge to take a picture of them (Yeah, I'm looking at you Ferrigno).
Depends on whether you're able to nab them and what they feel like doing. One of my best experiences was with director Guillermo Del Toro a couple years ago. After his panel, he stuck around for about 1 hour so everyone could get stuff signed. He even talked with me about "Devil's Backbone" for a bit. Very cool guy.

Now for the big panels (like Hall H or Ballroom 20)... the answer is no, because they celebs will disappear behind the curtain to be whisked away from the mobs. They may do a special signing after the panel but you need a special wristband for that. Tickets are those are "usually" drawn by people in line before the doors open. Similar to what I described below except they'll walk through the line letting people draw tickets.

So, my answer is.... maybe.
What that means is at 9:30, everyone in line will walk up to the staff person, reach their hand into a bag, and pull out a ticket. If you're lucky enough to get one that's specially marked, you'll get a wristband (or you'll just use your ticket) to come back at the designated time to get in line for the signing.

If possible, if you don't get a marked ticket, get back in line for another chance.

If they are in "Autograph Alley", they will sign one item for free, but will have other items for sale.

If they are in a booth, usually you have to buy something.

Some booths will have someone signing for free just for the publicity (Carrie Fisher, Mick Foley, RVD, or one of the girls from Buffy for example).

This is going to be my first trip to Comic-Con, and I'm already starting to feel overwhelmed.

How long does it normally take to attempt to try for an autograph line ticket? If the drawing for one line is at 10:30 a.m., should I be even be thinking about trying to get a ticket for another line if that drawing is at 10:45 a.m. on the same day? Or should I just plan to pick one or the other?

Also, I noticed that Ray Bradbury is not on the autograph list. I read that he usually signs at Comic Con, so is it possible that he may be added to the schedule later?

Thanks.

You think you're overwhelmed now....just wait till you get there
Of course, the more popular ones will have really long lines. It's all a crap shoot, so it's hard to judge. You just gotta be flexible and have a back-up plan if there are dueling lines.

Yes, it's always possible. He hasn't been in the best health so I don't know if he'd be up to signing. Here's an amusing story about Ray from 2 years ago. I got it straight from the guy who was running the signing that Ray was doing.

It was pretty warm under the sails and Ray was doing a book signing. It'd been a long day for him but he was a trooper. Towards the end, Ray was leaning over a book and just stopped in the middle of signing it. No movement. For a split second, the guy running the signing thought Ray was dead. But a couple nudges later, Ray woke up. He had only fallen asleep. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

I feel the same way. Any advice? I';m not really into the comics/sci-fi stuff so that should make things easier.

Oh, another note about signings. They will have surprise ones sometimes. You just gotta be in the right place at the right time for a ticket. A couple years ago, I was wandering the autograph area and was given a ticket to get a poster signed by "a director of a Harry Potter movie". I figured "why not", grabbed the ticket and went to the designated room at the designated time.

The director was Alfonso Cuarón and he signed a poster for an upcoming movie called "Children of Men". He was really nice and we chatted a bit.

So, keep your eyes and ears open when you in the autograph area

Make a schedule of some of the panels that interest you. Be flexible and patient. You will not be able to see everything you want to. Ain't gonna happen. If you need a break, there's several places to chill. Outside on the mezzanine you can watch the knights jousting. There will be rooms set up to watch anime. Under the sails in the autograph area they will have tables/chairs. Or just find an open spot on the floor in one of the hallways.

You're more than welcome to meet up with us at Hooters and hang during Preview Night.

TomOpus, thanks for the information. I'm also a little worried about the lines for badges. Unfortunately, I waited too late for a 4-day pass. I got individual Thursday, Friday, and Saturday passes, so I assume that I'm going to be standing in line each morning instead of being able to pick everything up on Wednesday. It's also my first trip to San Diego, so Sunday is going to be a zoo day before I fly home on Monday.

I'm sure it's all going to be fun. I'm trying to go in with realistic expectations, and I'm not even going think about Hall H this year. I figure there is too much other stuff to do.

Thanks for the invite.. I'm actually landing at the airport at 9:50. Hoping to get there by noon. How realistic is that?

How long should it take to get to the convention center from the airport? How long do you think it will take to pick up the pass on thursday morning?
how much of a mess is parking?

sorry for all the questions.