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Welcome back to entertain me. I'm Heatherbrooker, and we have
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a very special treat for you today. As you know,
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we cover all things from SoCal to the silver screen. Well,
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for me, nothing is more exciting happening here in SOCOL
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than Los Angeles Comic Con, and every year I have
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the pleasure of talking to CEO Christa Mulin about what
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fans can expect at the con this year. A, you bet,
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I'm good. It's so nice to talk with you. This is,
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you know, our annual conversation, our Comic Con chat, and
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I always look forward.
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To it me too.
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There's some exciting stuff happening this year. I was looking
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through the schedule of events and the panels. You have
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some huge names that are coming this year. Tell me
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a little bit about that.
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Well, you know, as you know, we always after every
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show we ask our fans who would you like to
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see that you haven't seen yet? And we've always hoped
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to be able to get some of the Avengers casts
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to join us, and so we're thrilled that Elizabeth Olson
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and Paul Bettany are joining us this year for able
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to talk about their experiences with Avengers with WandaVision with
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all the other wonderful things they've done, David Tennant joining
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us for a Doctor Who panel, bringing in the whole
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Daredevil cast. Those are sort of the you know, the
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quote headlines. But what I love about LA Comic Con
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is we also have you know, these sort of nostalgic
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the Scream casts coming in with Matthew Lillard, the voice
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actors from Phineas and ferb the Starship Troopers cast. You know,
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one of the things we love about about LA is
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how eclectic it is, and we always try to have
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that represented in the guest space and I think.
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You guys have definitely done that this year. I know
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my daughter actually has recently gotten into gaming, more video games,
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and every year it seems like the gaming area also
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is growing. What can you tell us this year that's
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new in the gaming area.
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Well, we have a full stage over there, just like
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the main stage that we have in the in the South,
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and we try to bring in all sorts of different
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gas and games in there. We do have a huge
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free play area. Last year we had a big Fortnite tournament.
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But interestingly this year what was really coming back from
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the fans as well. They love gaming. We always call
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that the Gaming and Anime Hall, and so this year
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we're actually launching a whole new activation of forty thousand
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square foot kind of authentic Japanese activation around anime called
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Akiva Station, and we now got a partner that helped
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us build that and bring in some talent directly from Japan.
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And so you know that we expanded into that area
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after COVID because we you know, we knew that the
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fans of gaming and anime really complement our core common folks,
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and it's been really popular and so you know, there's
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kind of more gaming over there than ever before, but
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also this big anime activation called the Kiva Station that
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we really hope people enjoy.
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So let's talk a little bit about if somebody has
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never been to comic Con before and this may be
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their first venture into a con, what can they expect
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to see and what should they do first, like give
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me your con tips for a.
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Newbie, sure thing. And one of the fun things about
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this show is about forty percent of our attendees every
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year it's the first con they've ever been to, so
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they're really you know, general pop culture fans who decide
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this would be a really fun way to spend a day,
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in many cases, spend a day with their family. My
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first tip is download the app, because you know, we
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have a very broad lineup, and by starting with the
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app and seeing who's there, you can kind of remember
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the family can sort of figure out what's the thing
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that they love that they want to make sure they
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don't miss. It's kind of like planning your day at Disneyland.
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And if you if you want to do Space Mountain,
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you start with planning Space Mountain and you plan around that.
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So I recommend a similar strategy. I parking's tough, so
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I'm a a big recommendation on public transit. Take the
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train or ride share in so that you don't have
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to deal with the parking. And I think that is
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give yourself enough time to wander around because part of
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the fun of a show like this is it is
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there's so many things there that they could never have anticipated,
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and that exploration and discovery for me, is a big
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part of the fun of going to an event like this.
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And I have to say too, kudos to you guys,
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because every year the food is better and better. I
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remember those first few years just sitting on the floor
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trying to like inhale a cheeseburger. But I know last
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year when we went there were some amazing food trucks,
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there a lot more options in terms of food and drink.
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What can people expect in that area this year?
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Yeah, I think, you know, as as we've grown as
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a show, we try to get feedback from the fans
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at all sorts of different areas, and I think that
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you know, grabbing the quick chicken fingers and sitting on
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the floor thing is not really what people want from
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this experience. So we have a really big food court
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with food trucks that's off the South Hall, and then
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in the West Call, which is part of a Kiva station,
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we have a whole sort of Japanese themed food food
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court going on over there. So in addition to all
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the things that the building offers for those of you
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that love hamburg and chicken fingers, there are also two full,
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you know, food experiences with plenty of places to sit
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and really enjoy taking a break from walking around and
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discovering fun things to get something fun to eat, about
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to eat and talk about.
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When I was telling my husband about who all was
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going to be there this year and making an appearances
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and was telling him about you know, Paul Bettany Elizabeth
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Olsen and he was just like, wow, that's incredible. And
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then I said Charlie Cox and Kristin Ritter and he
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was like, no way, Daredeubel and he got really really excited.
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So I need to know from you. I know you're
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you're inside and you're in the mix of all of
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this every year, but who do you get super excited
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and you're like, I need to make a note to
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go buy this panel? Who gets you really excited?
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You're right? Every year there's sort of one thing that
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touches on my personal fandom, and a couple of years
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ago it was when we had Elijah and Sean and
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Dom and Billy and the four Hobbits from Lord of
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the Rings. I went to that panel. Last year it
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was Michael J. Fox and the Best of the Future panel.
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Ye this year for me, because you know, when I
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first met stan Lee, I was telling him that starting
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at the age of seven, I was an Avengers collector
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and at one point had collected the entire series from
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number one through the present day and all the annuals
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and all the jobs some big, big event. So I
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think the one panel I'm going to not miss this
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year is Elizabeth and Paul's and if I can squeeze
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in the Daredevil one, I will do that as well.
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But you know, we like you are big fans and
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your husband and so we you know, we get excited.
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You know, some people we talked to for years to
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get this on their schedule. I think Elizabeth and David
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Tennant or people we've been talking to for years and
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that the fans have requested. So we're always thrilled when
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we are able to bring in a guest that people
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have asked to see.
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You know, one thing we look forward to as well
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is walking through the aisles and seeing all of the
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art and all of the artwork. Can you talk a
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little bit about some of the you know, whether it
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be artists or actual comic book signings or authors and
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that sort of things that maybe kind of might fly
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under the radar for some people that aren't like the
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big wow moments. Are there a few of those that
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you want to like mention that people should keep an
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eye out for.
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I mean, we I think, you know, do you know,
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we try to make sure that I think we have
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the largest artist alley of any show, certainly in North America.
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We have about six hundred and fifty artists, and we
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have really well known people, you know, Ryan Otley and
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Mark Brooks and Mark Silvestri Andle Higgins and folks like that,
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and we always will that they will always find a
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home with us here because their work is what started
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this all. But I think it's just this is important
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to us that we that we I hope there are
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one hundred artists there, that this is the first time
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they've ever shown their work to the public, that the
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sale that they make at La Comicon maybe the first
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commercial sale they've ever had, because we want to be
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an incubator for new talent as well. And to me,
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I think that's why people love Artist Sally is that
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you have an opportunity to find somebody whose artistic sensibility
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matches your own and support them and collect them and
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make their art part of your life. So I think,
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you know, we we are moving the Artist Sally downstairs
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into Kentia Hall, which in some ways is very appropriate
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because in twenty eleven that's where La Comicon, then called
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Kamakazi Expost started. The entire show was in Kenya Hall,
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and we will now have six hundred and fifty artists
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down there, as well as most of the celebrity autographs
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and photographs, And I think it's it's kind of a
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full circle moment that fifteen years after we started, the
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artists are taking over the hall that was originally the
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entire show.
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Now I want to talk to you about the La
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Convention Center itself. You guys have had this event there
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for many, many years, and I know you're very familiar
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with it, and recently it was announced that they're going
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to be making some renovations there, hopefully in time for
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the Olympics, or at least get some of it done
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in time for the Olympics. From your perspective of someone
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who is planning these events there every year, is this necessary?
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Does the ELI Convention Center need some of some upgrading?
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What are your thoughts on that?
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We couldn't be more thrilled and more of the plans
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to expand the convention Center. You know, La is such
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a great city, and yet because that convention facility is
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a little on the small side for a big, modern city,
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and because the two big halls aren't really contiguous, it's
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always made it a little cumbersome to do business there.
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And the plans that they have a brilliant They're going
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to build a new hall, Pico Hall, that connects South
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Hall and West Hall. They're going to add conference room space,
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they're going to add events space, and so I'm you know,
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we were very supportive. We went to all the city
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council meetings and lend our voice and support of it
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because in the long run, for the City of Los
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Angeles in general and for La ComicCon specifically, it will
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enable us to have a world class convention facility that
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will allow us to just continue to grow and you know,
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launch new activations and get into adjacent spaces of entertainment.
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And so we're you know, there'll be a little bit
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of working around the construction zones for the next couple
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of years, but that's okay. You know, I've been doing
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conventions twenty years. That's you know, it'll be fine. But
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when it's done, I think as Angelinos will be very
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proud of what's there, and it will draw. It will
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draw world class events, and it will help La Comic
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Con continue to serve the fans of Los Angeles in
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bigger and better ways.
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Well, this is truly one of the most amazing events
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want something my family and I look forward to every year,
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and we know that it's just going to continue for
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many more years to come, and we look forward to
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another great con. Chris, thank you so much for your
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time as.
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Always, well, thank you Heather. It's always I feel like
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we've been doing this for ten years running. Yes, and
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I always know, I always know it's La Comic Con
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time when you and I get to talk and you're
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always welcome, and we appreciate your support, both as a
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fan and as a journalist, and so thanks very much
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for having us, having us on and taking some time
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to learn more about the show.
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I know I'll be there this year at La Comic
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Con with my family. We can't wait to go and
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see all the stars, do a little shopping, buy some collectibles.
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It's always such a great time. Thanks for listening everybody.
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Remember you can listen to entertain Me anywhere on the
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iHeartRadio app.
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Welcome back to entertain me. I'm Heatherbrooker, and we have
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a very special treat for you today. As you know,
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we cover all things from SoCal to the silver screen. Well,
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for me, nothing is more exciting happening here in SOCOL
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than Los Angeles Comic Con, and every year I have
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the pleasure of talking to CEO Christa Mulin about what
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fans can expect at the con this year. A, you bet,
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I'm good. It's so nice to talk with you. This is,
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you know, our annual conversation, our Comic Con chat, and
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I always look forward.
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To it me too.
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There's some exciting stuff happening this year. I was looking
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through the schedule of events and the panels. You have
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some huge names that are coming this year. Tell me
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a little bit about that.
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Well, you know, as you know, we always after every
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show we ask our fans who would you like to
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see that you haven't seen yet? And we've always hoped
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to be able to get some of the Avengers casts
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to join us, and so we're thrilled that Elizabeth Olson
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and Paul Bettany are joining us this year for able
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to talk about their experiences with Avengers with WandaVision with
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all the other wonderful things they've done, David Tennant joining
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us for a Doctor Who panel, bringing in the whole
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Daredevil cast. Those are sort of the you know, the
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quote headlines. But what I love about LA Comic Con
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is we also have you know, these sort of nostalgic
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the Scream casts coming in with Matthew Lillard, the voice
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actors from Phineas and ferb the Starship Troopers cast. You know,
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one of the things we love about about LA is
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how eclectic it is, and we always try to have
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that represented in the guest space and I think.
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You guys have definitely done that this year. I know
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my daughter actually has recently gotten into gaming, more video games,
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and every year it seems like the gaming area also
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is growing. What can you tell us this year that's
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new in the gaming area.
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Well, we have a full stage over there, just like
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the main stage that we have in the in the South,
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and we try to bring in all sorts of different
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gas and games in there. We do have a huge
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free play area. Last year we had a big Fortnite tournament.
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But interestingly this year what was really coming back from
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the fans as well. They love gaming. We always call
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that the Gaming and Anime Hall, and so this year
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we're actually launching a whole new activation of forty thousand
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square foot kind of authentic Japanese activation around anime called
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Akiva Station, and we now got a partner that helped
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us build that and bring in some talent directly from Japan.
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And so you know that we expanded into that area
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after COVID because we you know, we knew that the
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fans of gaming and anime really complement our core common folks,
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and it's been really popular and so you know, there's
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kind of more gaming over there than ever before, but
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also this big anime activation called the Kiva Station that
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we really hope people enjoy.
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So let's talk a little bit about if somebody has
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never been to comic Con before and this may be
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their first venture into a con, what can they expect
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to see and what should they do first, like give
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me your con tips for a.
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Newbie, sure thing. And one of the fun things about
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this show is about forty percent of our attendees every
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year it's the first con they've ever been to, so
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they're really you know, general pop culture fans who decide
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this would be a really fun way to spend a day,
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in many cases, spend a day with their family. My
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first tip is download the app, because you know, we
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have a very broad lineup, and by starting with the
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app and seeing who's there, you can kind of remember
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the family can sort of figure out what's the thing
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that they love that they want to make sure they
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don't miss. It's kind of like planning your day at Disneyland.
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And if you if you want to do Space Mountain,
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you start with planning Space Mountain and you plan around that.
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So I recommend a similar strategy. I parking's tough, so
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I'm a a big recommendation on public transit. Take the
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train or ride share in so that you don't have
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to deal with the parking. And I think that is
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give yourself enough time to wander around because part of
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the fun of a show like this is it is
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there's so many things there that they could never have anticipated,
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and that exploration and discovery for me, is a big
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part of the fun of going to an event like this.
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And I have to say too, kudos to you guys,
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because every year the food is better and better. I
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remember those first few years just sitting on the floor
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trying to like inhale a cheeseburger. But I know last
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year when we went there were some amazing food trucks,
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there a lot more options in terms of food and drink.
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What can people expect in that area this year?
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Yeah, I think, you know, as as we've grown as
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a show, we try to get feedback from the fans
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at all sorts of different areas, and I think that
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you know, grabbing the quick chicken fingers and sitting on
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the floor thing is not really what people want from
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this experience. So we have a really big food court
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with food trucks that's off the South Hall, and then
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in the West Call, which is part of a Kiva station,
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we have a whole sort of Japanese themed food food
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court going on over there. So in addition to all
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the things that the building offers for those of you
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that love hamburg and chicken fingers, there are also two full,
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you know, food experiences with plenty of places to sit
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and really enjoy taking a break from walking around and
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discovering fun things to get something fun to eat, about
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to eat and talk about.
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When I was telling my husband about who all was
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going to be there this year and making an appearances
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and was telling him about you know, Paul Bettany Elizabeth
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Olsen and he was just like, wow, that's incredible. And
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then I said Charlie Cox and Kristin Ritter and he
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was like, no way, Daredeubel and he got really really excited.
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So I need to know from you. I know you're
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you're inside and you're in the mix of all of
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this every year, but who do you get super excited
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and you're like, I need to make a note to
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go buy this panel? Who gets you really excited?
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You're right? Every year there's sort of one thing that
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touches on my personal fandom, and a couple of years
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ago it was when we had Elijah and Sean and
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Dom and Billy and the four Hobbits from Lord of
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the Rings. I went to that panel. Last year it
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was Michael J. Fox and the Best of the Future panel.
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Ye this year for me, because you know, when I
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first met stan Lee, I was telling him that starting
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at the age of seven, I was an Avengers collector
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and at one point had collected the entire series from
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number one through the present day and all the annuals
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and all the jobs some big, big event. So I
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think the one panel I'm going to not miss this
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year is Elizabeth and Paul's and if I can squeeze
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in the Daredevil one, I will do that as well.
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But you know, we like you are big fans and
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your husband and so we you know, we get excited.
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You know, some people we talked to for years to
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get this on their schedule. I think Elizabeth and David
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Tennant or people we've been talking to for years and
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that the fans have requested. So we're always thrilled when
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we are able to bring in a guest that people
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have asked to see.
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You know, one thing we look forward to as well
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is walking through the aisles and seeing all of the
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art and all of the artwork. Can you talk a
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little bit about some of the you know, whether it
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be artists or actual comic book signings or authors and
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that sort of things that maybe kind of might fly
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under the radar for some people that aren't like the
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big wow moments. Are there a few of those that
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you want to like mention that people should keep an
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eye out for.
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I mean, we I think, you know, do you know,
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we try to make sure that I think we have
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the largest artist alley of any show, certainly in North America.
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We have about six hundred and fifty artists, and we
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have really well known people, you know, Ryan Otley and
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Mark Brooks and Mark Silvestri Andle Higgins and folks like that,
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and we always will that they will always find a
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home with us here because their work is what started
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this all. But I think it's just this is important
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to us that we that we I hope there are
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one hundred artists there, that this is the first time
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they've ever shown their work to the public, that the
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sale that they make at La Comicon maybe the first
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commercial sale they've ever had, because we want to be
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an incubator for new talent as well. And to me,
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I think that's why people love Artist Sally is that
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you have an opportunity to find somebody whose artistic sensibility
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matches your own and support them and collect them and
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make their art part of your life. So I think,
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you know, we we are moving the Artist Sally downstairs
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into Kentia Hall, which in some ways is very appropriate
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because in twenty eleven that's where La Comicon, then called
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Kamakazi Expost started. The entire show was in Kenya Hall,
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and we will now have six hundred and fifty artists
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down there, as well as most of the celebrity autographs
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and photographs, And I think it's it's kind of a
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full circle moment that fifteen years after we started, the
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artists are taking over the hall that was originally the
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entire show.
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Now I want to talk to you about the La
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Convention Center itself. You guys have had this event there
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for many, many years, and I know you're very familiar
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with it, and recently it was announced that they're going
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to be making some renovations there, hopefully in time for
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the Olympics, or at least get some of it done
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in time for the Olympics. From your perspective of someone
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who is planning these events there every year, is this necessary?
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Does the ELI Convention Center need some of some upgrading?
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What are your thoughts on that?
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We couldn't be more thrilled and more of the plans
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to expand the convention Center. You know, La is such
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a great city, and yet because that convention facility is
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a little on the small side for a big, modern city,
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and because the two big halls aren't really contiguous, it's
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always made it a little cumbersome to do business there.
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And the plans that they have a brilliant They're going
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to build a new hall, Pico Hall, that connects South
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Hall and West Hall. They're going to add conference room space,
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they're going to add events space, and so I'm you know,
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we were very supportive. We went to all the city
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council meetings and lend our voice and support of it
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because in the long run, for the City of Los
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Angeles in general and for La ComicCon specifically, it will
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enable us to have a world class convention facility that
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will allow us to just continue to grow and you know,
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launch new activations and get into adjacent spaces of entertainment.
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And so we're you know, there'll be a little bit
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of working around the construction zones for the next couple
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of years, but that's okay. You know, I've been doing
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conventions twenty years. That's you know, it'll be fine. But
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when it's done, I think as Angelinos will be very
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proud of what's there, and it will draw. It will
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draw world class events, and it will help La Comic
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Con continue to serve the fans of Los Angeles in
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bigger and better ways.
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Well, this is truly one of the most amazing events
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want something my family and I look forward to every year,
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and we know that it's just going to continue for
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many more years to come, and we look forward to
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another great con. Chris, thank you so much for your
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time as.
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Always, well, thank you Heather. It's always I feel like
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we've been doing this for ten years running. Yes, and
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I always know, I always know it's La Comic Con
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time when you and I get to talk and you're
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always welcome, and we appreciate your support, both as a
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fan and as a journalist, and so thanks very much
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for having us, having us on and taking some time
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to learn more about the show.
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I know I'll be there this year at La Comic
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Con with my family. We can't wait to go and
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see all the stars, do a little shopping, buy some collectibles.
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It's always such a great time. Thanks for listening everybody.
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Remember you can listen to entertain Me anywhere on the
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iHeartRadio app.
