Tag: Ron D Moore

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Exploring 2024 SDCC

Greetings all!

Before 2024 San Diego Comic-Con fades in the rear view mirror, I want to share some of the things I have learned and experienced about SDCC over the years.

I attended my first DSCC in 2017. I had intended to go in 2016 but my husband planned a surprise trip to Scotland in honor of our 53rd wedding anniversary!

No complaints because I had a grand time. Don’t want to get distracted from my mission, but here’s a few photos to explain why I chose Scotland in 2016.

We visited the stand in for Craigh na Du.  A lovely, quiet, tree-covered mound with a lot of sheep. In the distance you can see Loch Rannoch (photo, left), the site where Claire and Ned Gowan (ep 105) quote from the poet John Donne.

Next is the shop window where Claire contemplates buying a pair of vases (ep 101). The site was supposedly Inverness but the filming actually took place in the village of Falkland in Fife.

We went to many places but one that moved me deeply was Culloden Battlefield and Drumossie Moor.

Along the walk to the Visitor Center is a lovely stone honoring Diana Gabaldon, and donated by the Ladies of Lallybroch!

I stood on a picnic table to create this short video of Culloden Battlefield and Drumossie Moor. The building in the distance is the Visitor’s Center. The video was actually made in 2017 as my daughter and I returned to Scotland one a year later! 💙

So, now you know why I didn’t go to the 2016 SDCC. I have been to every SDCC since then except during COVID shutdown.

The following is a short history of this fantastic event.

The first SDCC was held in 1970 with 100 attendees! Now, the attendance is well of 135,000 people, annually. These are attendees with badges or press passes. Many more people gather outside the venue to participate in associated events and activities.

Today, SDCC is held in the beautiful  San Diego Convention Center.   It is the long building to the right of the palm tree-lined boulevard and is located near the waterfront. It is huge –  2.6 million square feet of floor space. This year, it offered over 2,000 hours of comics, anime, gaming, discussions, workshops and other events relating to the popular arts.

The exhibit hall part is 460,00 square feet of floor space with over 1,000 exhibitors. Aisles are always packed with attendees buying all types of merchandise associated with the Comic-Con genre.

SDCC even spreads onto nearby buildings outside the San Diego Convention Center.

This year, I attended several panels, walked the exhibit hall, visited various exhibits, met with friends, and spoke with attendees.

I have already posted about two panels related to Outlander: “A conversation with Ron D. Moore,” and Bear McCreary and “World Music Building.” Click on the links if you want to catch up with these two excellent panels.

Ron

Bear

But, one of my favorite parts of SDCC is the cosplay! What is cosplay? According to Wikipedia,  the term “cosplay is a portmanteau of “costume play;” it is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.”

And, believe me, cosplayers take their characters very seriously!

The following are some of my favorites!

This is Ruby Rhod from “The Fifth Element.” Many claim he was the original influencer! You may not know, but Prince was originally cast for this role but withdrew because of costuming issues so the part went to Chris tucker.

Check out this cosplayer of Ruby!

Gandalf!

Group ensemble from Lord of the Rings! Sorry, I know zip about the guy in black with the pingpong balls. 😜

This is Roz from “Monsters Inc!” Roz is a grouchy, slug-like creature with a perpetual frown who is head of the CDA (Child Detection Agency)! 😂

Lego characters!

Captain Jack Sparrow associates! 😉

The Witcher! Maybe Yennifer and Ciri?

No comment required! 😄

Princess Amidala! 🤩

And, my personal favorite: Day of the Dead character. I now wish I had asked to photo the back of her magnificent hat.  It was covered with flowers, skulls, candles, and other symbols. Stunning costume! 😍

This is my final post of 2024 SDCC. Saying farewell until next year with shaka sign (hang loose) from me and my longtime Comic-Con buddies, Jody and Jim from Hawaii.

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo and video credits: Outlander Anatomy, Jody Chang, www.wikipedia.com, www.disneyfancom.com,  www.imbd, www.starz, www.sandiegoconventioncenter, www.youtube.com

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2024 SDCC A Conversation With Ron D. Moore

Greetings, anatomy students!

Long time – no see! 😜

As many of you know, I was at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con last weekend. Saw a huge forest fire on the flight down. 🔥 I could see the main plume from miles away and it looked a good deal like a nuclear mushroom cloud! You can just make it out at the front of the wing. 😳

Arrived Thursday after lunch. Grabbed a shuttle that dropped me off near the Convention Center. Scrambled to the press desk, checked in, and got my Press Pass plus an ADA sticker as my ankle is not yet fully functional. 🤕

Rushed to Suite 6DE  barely making it into the event: “A Conversation With Ron D. Moore!”😅

The audience was surprised and delighted to discover the host was none other than Mary McDonnell of “Battlestar Galactica” and “Dances With Wolves” fame! You may recall, Mary played the part of President Laura Roslin on Galactica.

 

She greeted us with her melodious and resonant voice and soon invited the guest of honor to join her.

It was Ron D. Moore, himself! This is her brief introduction of Ron.

Mary welcomed Ron and told him how much she enjoyed working with him on Battlestar.  She then began a series of thoughtful questions which he answered with his usual frankness and candor.

She asked Ron if his ability to write strong women is an indication of feminism. He is not sure but he has empathy for women. I found the following part quite interesting as Mary queried Ron about writing parts for strong women in the face of power.  She complimented him for being able to do this as few men show such talent and insight.  She also praised him for writing equally strong men.

I wondered if he writes strong women intuitively, and not necessarily by plan. He said he enjoys writing parts for strong women. He talked about the process of getting a female captain (Captain Janeway) onto Star Trek: Voyager. He also said he puts himself in women’s shoes which is always a winning strategy, imo. 🤩

Mary asked Ron about shutting off the creative process when he is not at work.  He doesn’t really do that. He is able to leave work and concentrate on other things but running in the background is always something that his brain is working on. He warned about getting totally immersed as a show runner because there is no limit to the amount of involvement that can engulf one.

In this last and final clip, Mary asked Ron about the great love between Jamie and Claire throughout their different lives and across time.  Ron agrees that Diana Gabaldon wrote the perfect love story of two people who found their soul mates. although it is a wonderful concept, he is not sure true love  is real and that there is only one soul mate for each of us. Mary loves the story of Jamie and Claire because it gives us hope. She is a solid fan of Outlander! 🥰

She ended the session with a huge hug for Ron. Clearly, she carries a lot of affection for him and their time working together!

I hope you enjoyed this review of Ron’s conversation with Mary. It was enlightening for me, especially Ron explaining that Outlander time has come to end. We who disagree will continue to read the books!  👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

“So say we all!” 😉

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo and video credits: www.wikipedia.com, Outlander Anatomy

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Saturday and Sunday at 2019 NYCC

Saturday at 2019 NYCC!

Saturday was a busy but fantastic day at 2019 NYCC!

My morning began with a round table press interview about the new Apple original series FOR ALL MANKIND (FAM).

Pressroom walls were decorated with images reflecting two alternative realties about the space race to the moon. One image recorded reality as we know it…  the USA made it to the moon first.

The second image offered an alternative reality: what if Russians had reached the moon first?!!!

We interviewed Ron D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, creators, writers and executive producers for FAM.  Maril Davis, executive producer and several cast members also participated in the round table event.

During the interview, I ask Ron if he could discuss the origins of this alt reality show.  Hope you enjoy his response and also comments from Maril.

Who, by the way, looks fabulous in red!

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