Fresh from a triumphant first season on the Starz original series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” stars Andy Whitfield (Spartacus), Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Viva Bianca (Ilythia), and Executive Producer and Head Writer Steven S. DeKnight will appear on a panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 23. The day ends with a Spartacus-sponsored late night “Wrath of Con” party where the stars will be in attendance.

Whitfield and Bianca’s first San Diego appearance will be joined by Comic-Con veterans Lawless, Hannah and DeKnight. The team will discuss the unique narrative approach to the ancient legend as well as giving the fans a glimpse of what to expect from the upcoming Spartacus prequel, which begins filming in New Zealand this August.

”I’m very excited to be at my first Comic-Con and meet the fans who have made this show an international success,” Whitfield said.

”We’re looking forward to returning to San Diego,” DeKnight added. “When we presented at last year’s Comic-Con, we could tell by the audience reaction that we had something special. This year, with the prequel and season 2 in the works, we have even more to share with the fans.”

“The 2009 Comic-Con kicked off our ‘Spartacus’ marketing campaign,” says Starz EVP, Marketing, Nancy McGee. “We were thrilled at the response, and are excited to bring Andy, Lucy, John and Viva so they can see first-hand the excitement the show has generated from audiences all over the world.”

About “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season” will be released on Blu-Ray™ and DVD on September 21st from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Airing exclusively on Starz, “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is produced by Starz Media with Executive Producers Rob Tapert (30 Days of Night, Evil Dead Trilogy), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man and Evil Dead Trilogy), Joshua Donen (The Quick and the Dead), along with DeKnight (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”). “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” the top-rated show on Fridays for adults (18-49 based on coverage rating) on all of cable for 12 of its 13 episodes, was inspired by the actual slave of the Roman Republic who in 73 BC led a slave revolt that grew to more than 120,000 fighters. Defying the Roman Republic’s legions of soldiers, they campaigned for two years through much of what is now Italy before succumbing to a much larger army.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 16 premium channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17.1 million and 31.1 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

Press Release for June 19th, 2010

Returning for an unprecedented third year to the fans and Convention that “started it all,” Walt Disney Pictures is pleased to present a very special, insider look at its upcoming “TRON: Legacy” at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International Convention. At 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2010, the panel presentation will be held in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center. On the dais will be filmmakers and talent from the film, including director Joe Kosinski, producers Sean Bailey and Steven Lisberger as wells as cast members Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner. The panel discussion, to be moderated by Patton Oswalt, is set to include exclusive glimpses of the film, as well as a Q & A involving all panel participants, along with special surprise guests.

It was at the 2008 Convention that the vision of a 21st century TRON was born. When VFX test footage was shown to a packed hall of incredibly surprised convention attendees, it was met with such an overwhelmingly positive response—becoming the “it” moment of the Convention—that the studio gave the film an enthusiastic green light. In 2009 “TRON: Legacy” returned to Comic-Con with an expanded presence and this year, the filmmakers and cast are back with never before seen visuals and “scoop” for the Convention fans who have been such an instrumental part of the story of “TRON: Legacy.”

Director Joe Kosinski comments: “When we made the teaser, we envisioned it as a sneak peek at the potential of this project. We set out to stay true to the characters, the vehicles, and the world established in the first film—then show its evolution. When it took off with the fans, we knew we were in the right place. Because they’ve been key to getting this story told, we’re back to keep them involved, and excited to finally present actual footage from the film to the audience that made it all possible.”

To add to the excitement of this extraordinary event, Disney will showcase an interactive TRON booth on the convention floor (located on aisle #3712), giving fans a first look at the all new “TRON: Legacy” inspired merchandise launching this fall. Capturing the action, light, and cool aesthetic style of the film, the display will include toys, electronics, collectibles, apparel, accessories, publishing and the “TRON: Evolution” video game from Disney Interactive Studios. Comic-Con exclusive products will also be on sale. Disney will also reveal exciting new mobile content at the event.

About “TRON: Legacy”

“TRON: Legacy” is a 3D action-packed adventure set in a digital world unlike anything captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Oscar® and Golden Globe® winner Jeff Bridges), a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the abandoned Flynn’s Arcade—that could have only come from his father—he finds himself pulled into a world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-or-death journey across a visually stunning universe—created by Kevin Himself—which has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons and landscapes, and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.

Presented in Disney Digital 3D™ and scored by Grammy Award®–winning electronic music duo Daft Punk, “TRON: Legacy” hits theaters on December 17, 2010.

About Comic-Con 2010:

Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. This year’s annual convention runs July 22-25 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Press Release for June 19th, 2010

Comic-Con International, North America’s largest comic book and popular arts convention, today announced an expanded shuttle route for guests staying at hotels outside of the downtown area, as well as advanced reserved parking options for those driving to the show.

“The hotel reservation situation this year didn’t go as well as it should have,” commented David Glanzer, spokesperson for the nonprofit event. “As a result many people who expected to be closer to the downtown area found themselves in hotels farther away. For this reason we have expanded our shuttle route to help accommodate those who are staying at Mission Valley and Shelter Island hotels.”

The expanded shuttle route will service hotels in the Mission Valley and Shelter Island areas and is made possible, in part, by a generous contribution from Travel Planners. To provide faster service, the shuttle route for Mission Valley will run from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm from a location near the Omni Hotel (at the foot of L Street in downtown San Diego). Using this drop point during heavy daytime traffic periods will increase the frequency of shuttles from every 30–60 minutes to every 15–20 minutes for most hotels. After 8:00 pm this shuttle route will originate from the Convention Center front driveway.

In addition to the expanded shuttle route, Comic-Con is expanding Bag Check services at the Convention Center. From Thursday through Saturday, Bag Check will be open until 2:00 am so attendees can check their bags while taking part in evening activities.

To assist those who choose to drive to the event, Comic-Con has arranged with ACE and Five Star, two of the largest downtown parking companies, to offer advanced purchase of parking permits at many of downtown’s parking areas. As with all parking lots, in and out privileges do not apply. To take advantage of the advanced parking permit option, please visit http://www.thepermitstore.com/comic-con/event/

Press Release for June 10th, 2010

Geek Nation Tours still has 4 day memberships to the San Diego comic con. That’s right! You can still go even though the 4 day memberships are sold out…

Geek Nation Tour’s “Geeking Out at the San Diego Comic Con” tour takes care of getting hotel space, grabbing the correct air flights, and allows you to share the excitement with fellow Geeks. Not only that - we will have a special dinner prior to the event that will prime you on “How to Get the Best Out of Your Comic Convention”. Join us on our trip to the Mecca of all comic book Geeks - the big San Diego Comic Convention.Geek Nation Tours

This tour is offered both with or without the air component so no matter where you are you can participate in the convention the way you want to.

We still have those 4-day passes – alas without “preview night” - included in our tour. Hurry to secure your space – we are selling out quickly.

As an added bonus all of our tours include promotional draws that give the participants the opportunity to win great prizes prior to and after departure.

Join the Geek Nation as we take in all the goodness the comic con has to offer…

What is Geek Nation Tours?

Geek Nation Tours is a tour company dedicated to the Geek in all his and her multifaceted interests. It creates holidays by Geeks for Geeks. GNT’s goal is to provide tours for like minded persons who, as defined by Wikipedia, have “a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream”. We want to give people the opportunity to revel in their Geekiness and to travel the globe seeking those things that they love to do.

Our tours include Geeky conventions, tournaments and tours to places of historical significance to the Geek. They will be joined by others just as interested in the tour, so not only will they have a holiday but also the chance to develop long lasting friendships. Geek Nation Tours will always provide a tour coordinator traveling with the group to ensure everyone has a fun, safe and worry free trip.

Geek Nation Tours offers a wide verity of Geeky tours sure to tempt all Geeks. Everything from tours about comics, anime, miniatures, games and history.

Where can I get more information?

We can be found at www.geeknationtours.com. The full itinerary and more details can be found there. Further if you have any questions about Geek Nation Tours please contact us anytime at headgeek@geeknationtours.com

 

The 4 day passes are sold out but that should not keep you from attending the 2010 Comic-Con International. Single day passes went on sale and as of today there are still single day passes for all four days of the event. If you really to attend this event and you do not already have tickets, now is the time. There is now doubt that the single day passes will sell out pretty quick, so do not hesitate.

You can find all of the details here: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_reg.php

Those of you that got your 4 day passes to Comic Con International are in good shape. The 4 day passes have sold out in record time. If you did not get a 4 day pass and still want to atted, you will still have a chance. Single day tickets will be available in mid-December.