When people think of Comic-Con, they do not tend to envision chic parties. Instead they envision hundreds of nerds dressed as their favorite characters stuffed into the San Diego Convention Center, eagerly waiting to see movie, TV, video game, and comic book presentations and panels. But for the agents, producers, actors, writers, and studio executives who travel down to Comic-Con every year, the convention can be quite a different experience.
This year, the minds behind the magic of the films, TV shows, video games and comic books presented at Comic-Con gathered at dozens of parties, lounges, and special events to network, make connections, and simply relax. Warner Bros, Playboy, Lionsgate, and the Creative Artists Agency all organized large soirees that took place over the weekend, among quite a few others – and over 20 parties exclusive parties took place.
Ten years ago, Comic-Con was seen as a strange sci-fi convention by Hollywood. But thanks to the success of films such as Spiderman and X-Men, studio executives and company began to head down to San Diego in search of new material. Today, there is hardly a comic book that has not been snatched up by a studio – so the majority of the convention now focuses heavily on publicity and marketing.
Among the this year’s top soirees included a “True Blood”/Playboy event held on Saturday night, as well as Entertainment Weekly’s annual bash held at Float Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel. During the day, elite attendees enjoyed spending time at the Wired Café, a lounge held across the street at the Omni Hotel on Palm Terrace. Special amenities included HBO “Game of Thrones” styled drinks, Skype stations, and even free underwear.
There does seem to be a party for everyone at Comic-Con. This past Thursday night, geek-celebs enjoyed the Kings of Con soiree hosted by producer Daniel Alter and held at Dollhouse, where last year Jon Favreau hosted as D.J. In fact, Thursday night is the most popular night for parties on Comic-Con, as it is the best night to get as many interested as possible. Meanwhile, Chris Daughtry was the guest honor at a fine art reception entitled “Darkness & Light: Art Inspired by Heroes & Villains, Hope & Heroism” held at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery. Comic-Con is indeed known for being a bit of a mix of different entertainment cultures, so it does indeed make sense that the parties would reflect this sense of diversity.
Fans who came out to hear the panels had their own fun too. Although their parties did not involve VIP lists and free underwear, fans enjoyed parties such as the Doctor Who party, Star Wars trivia parties, and the Superhero pub crawl. Indeed, no matter if you are the mind behind the superhero, or just the one who dreams of becoming one, there will be always some sort of celebration for you at Comic-Con.
-Written by Sarah Osman. You can read more from Sarah on Twitter.
