SDCC 2015: Dawn of the First Day

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Today is the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year. No, no, not Christmas, not Halloween, not even Thanksgiving. Instead, it’s the San Diego Comic Con held in southern California. The San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) is the mecca of all things geeky, nerdy, and pop culture. It’s a melting pot, culminating with many fandoms, cosplays, and enough merchandise to make Santa cringe.

Here’s why everyone wants to be at this sacramental event of all things geeky.

1.The Celebrities

Benedict Cumberbatch, Elijah Wood, Markiplier, Bill Murray, and so many other wonderful performers will be at this year’s SDCC. They will be there for panels, Q&A sessions, autograph and photograph opportunities, and to promote future, wondrous content.

2.The Sneak Peeks

Speaking of which, we have received a new “Doctor Who” trailer in which the Doctor rocks out on a fender guitar, Missy and Clara return, there are new locations underwater and in some strange world, the Zygrons and Daleks are back, and there’s a young woman who asks the Doctor (or ‘old man’ as she calls him) what took him so long; could this possibly be the Doctor’s daughter? She looks much different, but she does have the time lord gene. Regardless, this only just a snippet of what SDCC will show us.

So far we’ve only seen a picture of the upcoming “Sherlock” special, but there will be panels regarding other shows such as “Supergirl”, ”Orphan Black”, “Ash vs Evil Dead”, and so many others.   

3. The Vendors

The Oatmeal, Karen Hallion, recognize these names? These are some iconic Internet artists who have spoken the truth to us through fanart and original work. They will be at SDCC in their respective booths alongside Thinkgeek, Cyanide & Happiness, and other wonderful exhibitors. The only downside to this is making sure you don’t drain your bank account and your wallet.


4. The Cosplays

Cosplaying is an art form that anyone can participate in. There have been tons of outfits that have inspired fans, motivated people to enter the world of cosplay, and artistic versions of beloved characters. In the past, we have seen beautiful almost immaculate cosplays. Here’s hoping we see many more for this year’s SDCC.



5. Exclusive Merchandise

Every year, SDCC unleashes unique merchandise that can only be found at the con or online at a higher price (depending where you go).  So far there’s the limited edition Snoopy flying ace figure, World of Warcraft plushies and figures, Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as action figures, and much more.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, comment, critique, and subscribe.

So tell me, what would you do at San Diego Comic Con?

Ghostbusters 3: We're Ready to Believe

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Since “Ghostbusters 2”, audiences everywhere have been itching for a sequel. Some imagined that the original cast would rise up once more to eliminate any lethal, supernatural events. However, over the years the original troupe went their separate ways, never discussing the idea and when approached about it, would consider it as a rumor. Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stanz) always held hope for a third Ghostbusters movie as the years rolled on and was in the process of gathering the original cast together. With Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson ready for another ghostbusting adventure, Bill Murray wanted nothing to do with it because of the crazy, bizarre plot.

In Aykroyd’s original Ghostbusters 3 plot, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) was going to appear as a ghost haunting Ray Stanz, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). Another plot Aykroyd imagined was the Ghosbusters traveling to an alternate dimension (a Hellish Manhattan called Manhellton) and fighting off demons. It was going to be titled “Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent” and it sounded wonderful. Yet Aykroyd’s plans fell apart with the passing of Harold Ramis and Murray refusing to sign on for the third movie.

Instead Aykroyd was joined by Paul Frieg (director of “Bridesmaids”) and Katie Dippold. Together, they transformed Aykroyd’s plot into a reboot of the original movie with an all female cast. Our leading ladies are Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. They will be taking on the female versions of Stanz, Venkman, Spengler, and Zeddemore. The movie already has a set date for July 22,2016.

Personally, I love an all female cast that works well together and shows the strength of women. Together with the remaining original Ghostbusters returning for the third film, it’ll be interesting to see. The only women we’ve ever known in the Ghostbusters franchise were Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts). We’ll now have the opportunity to see more women in a popular movie series.

Honestly, I think it would be interesting if the new women of “Ghostbusters” were a part of an alternate universe and the original crew stumbled upon them. They would discover this different dimension by finding notes for it in Spengler’s old studies or in another fashion. The two teams would hate each other at first, but band together and take down demons and Satan who would try to use Manhattan as his base while trying to conquer the world. During their time in this Hellish environment they could face off against a zombiefied Staypuft Marshmallow Man and possibly endure the wrath of Vigo, the Scourge of Carpathia.That way we would get to see the best of both worlds: the original Ghostbusters and the new, rebooted Ghostbusters with women.

I’m curious to see how this reboot will be done. After all it could be a flop (like some original movies being rebooted by Hollywood) or it could be a success because of the franchise’s popularity. It wouldn’t surprise me if people enjoyed this new Ghostbusters because it’s such an iconic movie and it’s extremely nostalgic. With Frieg wanting to update the technology, times, and monsters, we can only wait to see what July 22^nd, 2016 will have in store for us.

Thank you for taking the time to read today's entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment and share it.

So tell me, what do you think of the new Ghostbusters?

Crossing the Streams

Good evening everyone and welcome to a rather tragic entry of The Magical Mystery Blog.

Dearly beloved, we gather around our screens tonight to bid a fond farewell to the late, great Harold Ramis.

comicbook.com

Harold Ramis was an actor and director born in 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. He wrote parody plays in college and was heavily inspired by the famous Marx brothers. In his college years, he freelanced for the Chicago Tribune and even Playboy. After attending the Washington University in Wisconsin, he worked in a mental institution in St.Louis for seven months, and claimed that it prepared him for the madness of Hollywood.

Upon returning to Second City in 1972, he discovered that Belushi took his place as a comedic king, and became his deadpan foil. Belushi then led Ramis, Bill Murray, and other Second City performers to New York to work on the radio program, The National Lampoon Radio Hour. These actors along with Gilda Radner, Christopher Guest, and Joe Flaherty went on to perform in The National Lampoon Show, the successor to National Lampoon’s Lemmings; a show similar to Woodstock only filled with comedic sketches, great music, and Belushi’s best impersonation of Joe Cocker.

Ramis then went on to become an actor and the head writer of Second City TV. He declined working for Saturday Night Live and chose to work with SCTV for its first three years.  After the three years, Ramis left SCTV to pursue a film career; his first project was a script he wrote with National Lampoon magazine which later became National Lampoon’s Animal House. It was the highest grossing and raunchiest film of its time.

Ramis and Murray teamed up and produced some of the greatest films ever such as Meatballs and five others.  Not only did Ramis write them, but he propelled Murray to his superstar status. Ramis also co-wrote with Dan Aykroyd and created Ghostbusters and Ghostsbusters 2. Ramis also created popular movies such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Analyze This, Caddyshack, Analyze That, and other classics. He also acted in a great deal of his works and other movies like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Stealing Home, Baby Boom, As Good as it Gets,Stripes, and many more.

In 2004, he was inducted into the St.Louis Walk of Fame. The following year he received the Distinguished Screenwriter Award from the Austin Film Festival. In 2009, he stated that Ghostbusters 3 would be in theaters by Christmas 2012 – regretfully, this did not occur because he contracted vasculitis in 2010.

Vasculitis develops when the immune system goes against veins and arteries. It can starve organs, cause harmful tissue damage, and can possibly lead to aneurysms. It left Ramis immobile for a while, but he gained his ability to walk. However, in 2011 he suffered a relapse from this disease, and ultimately caused his death on February 24^th, 2014.

He died at the tender age of sixty nine as a fantastic director, an extraordinary writer, a terrific actor, and the grandfather of two grandchildren. Harold Ramis will go down in cinema history as a man who brought smiles to our faces by way of his particular style of tongue in cheek pep talks, sloppiness and improv, and rage, curiosity, and sloth in a high articulated voice.

Even though he is deceased, we will still call on you Harold Ramis, to make us laugh with your Twinkie analogy, to brighten our days with the crazy antics of Mr. Griswold, and to make us smile by just being you. May you rest in peace, Mr. Ramis and enjoy the company of your good friends in the clouds overhead.