Photos of the Day: Snapshots from THE MANDALORIAN's Panel at PaleyFest LA...

Happy April Fool's Day, everyone! Just thought I'd share these pictures that I took during Day 1 of PaleyFest LA...which was held at the Dolby Theatre (home to the Academy Awards) in Hollywood last night.

It was on Day 1 that a panel for The Mandalorian was held...right after the latest episode (Chapter 21—"The Pirate") was screened. In attendance at the panel were The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau, Lucasfilm executive Dave Filoni, director Rick Famuyiwa and stars Pedro Pascal (who plays the Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin) and Katee Sackhoff (who portrays Bo-Katan Kryze).

There were no juicy tidbits revealed in terms of where Season 3 of The Mandalorian was headed, nor info about other Star Wars Disney+ shows currently being filmed or in post-production, but it was great to see the cast and crew behind one of the most popular Star Wars shows ever in person.

There are only three episodes left in Season 3— Can't wait to see what kind of cliffhanger it will end with! Even though Season 4 probably won't premiere till late 2024 or early 2025...

And yes, that is my director's cap for my short film The Broken Table which I'm wearing in the photos below! Carry on.

Rest In Peace, Stan Lee (1922-2018)...

This month marks five years since I saw Stan Lee in person at his Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. While the Marvel Universe and comic book fandom as a whole won't be the same without the legendary Lee to look up to after he passed away today, this is both a sad and joyous moment. It's a joyous moment because we can forever remember the Marvel visionary as a person whose amazing superhero creations—ranging from Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Spider-Man to Black Panther and The Avengers—are popular icons that millions of fans around the world can continue to be inspired by...both on paper and on the big screen. At 95 years-old, Stan Lee lived a full life that had a positive impact on dreamers around the globe. So I won't end this entry by saying 'Rest In Peace' again, but by exclaiming Excelsior!

Long Beach Comic Con...

So yesterday afternoon, I drove down to the Long Beach Convention Center to get my geek on at the LBC's very own Comic Con. I didn't go because I wanted to be in a room full of cosplayers dressed as Deadpool, Boba Fett, Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey's character in 1994's The Mask) or Batman (yes, the Ben Affleck version from next year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), but I attended the show to meet two lovely actresses from a pair of my current favorite TV shows. The first one I met was Lindsey McKeon, who played Tessa (a 'Reaper') on the long-lived CW Network TV series, Supernatural. The second actress I took a pic with was Chloe Bennet...who plays Skye (whose real name is Daisy Johnson and is now known as Quake, a so-called Inhuman) on the hit ABC TV show, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ms. Bennet was originally supposed to appear at 1:00 PM but instead arrived at 5:30 PM for a photo op event at Comic Con. Thank God for the change though; Chloe showing up at the earlier time probably would've prevented me from meeting Lindsey (can't call her Ms. McKeon now since she got married two years ago—to a dude named Brant Hively) first. A long line formed about an hour before Bennet's photo op was supposed to begin. Everything worked out!



Unlike the Star Wars Celebration in April and Disney's D23 Expo last month (I was thinking about attending this one but changed my mind), there were no new news at Comic Con pertaining to Star Wars: The Force Awakens...which opens in theaters 95 days from now (94 if you live in the UK; bastards). The only sign at the Long Beach Convention Center that Episode VII will soon be upon us were the two First Order Stormtroopers (shown towards the bottom of this entry) milling about inside the main showroom, and a booth that sold some Force Awakens merchandise. It's all good. I'm just wondering when J.J. Abrams will reveal the next trailer for the 7th live-action Star Wars installment, and in front of which film? Yea, I'm too lazy to go to Google and see which movies (other than the next Paranormal Activity film, Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and the very last Hunger Games flick) are coming out this October and November. Carry on.

(About Friggin' Time...) The F-22 Raptor Sees First Combat in the Middle East!

Just thought I'd share these photos of America's most high-tech fighter jet in honor of it taking part in airstrikes against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Syria yesterday. Having been operational since 2005, the F-22 Raptor spent almost a decade facing controversy due to its $67 billion price tag...and being grounded after pilots frequently lost consciousness in flight because of faulty oxygen generation systems aboard the Raptor. Also, the F-22 was relegated to only seeing cinematic combat in Marvel comic book flicks like Hulk and Iron Man...as well as playing the Decepticon named Starscream in Michael Bay's first three Transformers movies. Oh, and the F-22 has been serving as an interceptor...scaring off an Iranian fighter jet that followed a U.S. drone flying in international airspace in 2013, and escorting Russian military aircraft that veered close to the Alaskan coastline a few times this year. Not to sound like a warmonger (okay, I am), but here's hoping that the Raptor will enjoy more action in the ongoing conflict against ISIS. Seeing the F-22 finally strut its stuff in combat will make it come a long way since competing against Northrop's YF-23 to become America's sole Advanced Tactical Fighter more than 20 years ago. U.S. air power rules!


U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson


U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller


U.S. Air Force

Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo...

So yesterday, I drove down to the Los Angeles Convention Center to attend the third annual comic book convention...hosted by none other than Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee himself. Along with Lee, additional celebrities who showed up to Comikaze were Alyssa Milano, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bruce Campbell, Lou Ferrigno and a few other of their fellow actors. Of course, the only one I met and got an autograph by was Ms. Milano (or Mrs. Bugliari)—but then again, she was the reason why I went to the expo in the first place. Well her, and seeing the costumes and props used in the Iron Man trilogy. Click on this link to view additional pics of this cool film exhibit.

LINK: Click here for more images from Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo

Images of the Day... Just thought I'd share these cool illustrations depicting the Deep Space Armor (a.k.a. Gemini Mk. 39) from Iron Man 3. I didn't spot this suit during the 'House Party' sequence at the end of the movie (despite the fact it's visible in the poster, shown in the two pics directly below), but I think it should definitely appear in an upcoming Marvel flick...like The Avengers 2 (Yes, I know— All of the suits were destroyed at the end of Iron Man 3, but Tony Stark will obviously build new ones in future films). The Deep Space Armor has a very Robotech-ish feel to it, which makes it awesome. If you've never heard of Robotech before, then forget what I just said. And start watching kick-ass 1980's cartoons and old Japanese anime while you're at it. Carry on.

Super Bowl 47... First and foremost, how much was Bar Refaeli paid to give up her dignity on Go Daddy's TV spot like that? I heard it took her 65 takes (or was it 45? Either way: WOW) to make that (French) kiss with the nerd look believable. (Though I bet the lucky actor will be thinking about this ad for...the entire year or two.) At least this ad actually got people talking about it. Score one for raunchiness. Anyways, the Seth Rogen-Paul Rudd Samsung commercial cracked me up... That Paul Harvey-narrated Dodge Ram spot made me mutter "What the f**k was that??" after it aired... I'm annoyed that the Iron Man 3 ad was meant to draw attention to the movie's fan page on friggin' Facebook... The Star Trek Into Darkness teaser makes me even more stoked that J.J. Abrams will be directing Star Wars: Episode VII... And I'm surprised that CBS aired that Carl's Jr. topless-beach-bathe commercial, after the flack the network caught following Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction almost 10 years ago. I also can't believe that Red Bull's latest kickass ad (shown at the bottom of this entry) wasn't featured during the Super Bowl broadcast! But at least a Toyota Tundra spot featuring space shuttle Endeavour's move across L.A.'s 405 freeway last year was aired during the trophy presentation.




collectSPACE.com / Robert Z. Pearlman


Harry How / Getty Images

Oh, and the San Francisco 49ers almost made a comeback against the Baltimore Ravens after that 30-plus minute power outage at the Superdome tonight. But who here actually watches the Super Bowl for the football game? I kid.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Unlike 2012, this year won't be very action-packed in terms of what's happening in space exploration—with NASA's only deep-space robotic missions set for flight being LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer), which launches to the Moon this August...and the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter that lifts off for Mars in late November. Also, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is set to make its maiden flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California sometime this year (a specific launch date hasn't been set yet). And in a final milestone for NASA's retired space shuttle program, the orbiter Atlantis officially goes on public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida this July.



In terms of movies, this May will see the third installments in The Hangover and Iron Man franchises being released in theaters, as well as the return of Star Wars prequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith (both in 3-D) to the big screen this fall. Oh, and this December will see the second (and originally the final) film in The Hobbit series, The Desolation of Smaug, coming to cinemas as well. Unlike An Unexpected Journey, I have absolutely NO intention whatsoever of seeing The Desolation of Smaug in the High Frame Rate (or 48 frames per second) format. Peter Jackson did a pretty good job on the 3-D, though. And lastly, Michael Bay should begin filming 2014's Transformers 4 sometime this year. Obvously... Carry on!



January 2013
-BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida: Notre Dame vs. Alabama (Jan 7)
-Gangster Squad (Jan 11)
-Zero Dark Thirty (Jan 11)
-70th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Jan 13)
-Broken City (Jan 18)
-U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama (Jan 21)
-Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Jan 25)
-Movie 43 (Jan 25)



February 2013
-Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, Louisiana (Feb 3)
-Top Gun 3D (Feb 8)
-55th Annual Grammy Awards (Feb 10)
-A Good Day to Die Hard (Feb 14)
-Escape from Planet Earth (Feb 14)
-2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas (Feb 17)
-55th annual Daytona 500 in Florida (Feb 24)
-85th Academy Awards (Feb 24)
- First flight of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft atop an Antares rocket (TBD)



March 2013
-SpaceX's Dragon ship launches cargo to the International Space Station (Mar 1)
-Jack the Giant Slayer (Mar 1)
-Oz: The Great and Powerful (Mar 8)
-2013 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament begins with Opening Round Game (Mar 19)
-Conclusion of the March Madness tournament prior to the 2013 Final Four games in Atlanta (Mar 24)
-G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Mar 29)



April 2013
-Jurassic Park 3D (Apr 5)
-Orbital Sciences' Cygnus freighter launches to the International Space Station (Apr 5)
-2013 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament in Atlanta, Georgia (Apr 6)
-NCAA Final Four Championship Game in Atlanta, Georgia (Apr 8)
-Oblivion (Apr 12)
-Launch of Europe's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, Albert Einstein, to the International Space Station (Apr 18)
-A partial lunar eclipse will be visible over Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia (Apr 25)
-NFL Draft (Apr 25-27)
-Pain & Gain (Apr 26)



May 2013
-Iron Man 3 (May 3)
-The Great Gatsby (May 10)
-Annular solar eclipse over Northern Australia and South Pacific (May 10)
-Star Trek into Darkness (May 17)
-Fast and Furious 6 (May 24)
-The Hangover Part III (May 24)
-Start of the 2013 French Open tennis tournament (May 26)
-97th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (May 26)
-After Earth (May 31)



June 2013
-Conclusion of the 2013 French Open (Jun 9)
-Man of Steel (Jun 14)
-This is the End (Jun 14)
-World War Z (Jun 21)
-Kick Ass 2 (Jun 28)
-White House Down (Jun 28)
-Start of the 2013 Tour de France (Jun 29)



July 2013
-Croatia set to join the European Union (Jul 1)
-The Lone Ranger (Jul 3)
-Pacific Rim (Jul 12)
-Launch of Japan's fourth H-2 Transfer Vehicle to the International Space Station (Jul 15)
-2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Queens, New York City (Jul 16)
-R.I.P.D. (Jul 19)
-Conclusion of the Tour de France (Jul 21)
-The Wolverine (Jul 26)
-Retired space shuttle Atlantis goes on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida (TBD)



August 2013
-300: Rise of an Empire (Aug 2)
-RED 2 (Aug 2)
-Elysium (Aug 9)
-Launch of NASA's LADEE spacecraft to the Moon (Aug 12)
-2 Guns (Aug 16)
-Start of the 2013 World Rowing Championships in South Korea (Aug 25)



September 2013
-Conclusion of the World Rowing Championships (Sep 1)
-Riddick (Sep 6)
-I, Frankenstein (Sep 13)
-The Little Mermaid 3D (Sep 13)
-Rush (Sep 20)
-Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones 3D (Sep 20)
-SpaceX's Dragon ship launches cargo to the International Space Station (Sep 30)



October 2013
-Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Oct 4)
-Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 3D (Oct 4)
-NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft to make first gravity assist flyby of Earth (Oct 9)
-A penumbral lunar eclipse over the Americas, Europe, Africa and most of Asia (Oct 18)
-Paranormal Activity 5 (Oct 25)



November 2013
-Ender's Game (Nov 1)
-Total solar eclipse over the Atlantic Ocean (Nov 3)
-Thor: The Dark World (Nov 8)
-Launch of NASA's MAVEN orbiter to Mars (Nov 18)
-The Hunger Game: Catching Fire (Nov 22)
-India to launch its first Mars probe, Mangalyaan (TBD)



December 2013
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Dec 13)
-Anchorman: The Legend Continues (Dec 20)
-47 Ronin (Dec 25)
-Jack Ryan (Dec 25)
-Comet C/2012 S1 to make close flyby of Earth (Dec 26)