Mike Ryan is currently the senior editor at ScreenCrush. Mike most recently served as Senior Entertainment Writer for The Huffington Post. Previously, Mr. Ryan was a frequent contributor at Vanity Fair and Wired magazine and wrote for Time, GQ, ELLE-UK, and New York magazine.
Mike Ryan
Comic-Con 2014: A Live Diary Of Aimlessly Wandering Around
Tucked away, up a daunting, unwelcoming flight of outdoor stairs, far, far from the madness of Hall H panels and the other madness of the San Diego Comic-Con floor is vestibule of once or still famous human beings signing autographs for the attendee’s pleasure. (At least, the attendees who ever make it upstairs.) Anyway, I kept a running diary of aimlessly walking around Comic-Con for a few hours. Here’s how that went:
Comic-Con 2014: The 7 Best Moments From ‘The Boxtrolls’ Panel
‘The Boxtrolls’ – which hit Hall H on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con -- is the third feature film from Laika, the stop motion animation studio that brought the world ‘Coraline’ and the wonderful ‘ParaNorman.’ Honestly, I cannot get enough of these movies, and Laika is quietly becoming the most unique animation studio working today. (Pixar’s last three films have been ‘Monsters University,’ ‘Brave,’ and ‘Cars 2,’ which is not exactly that studio’s best work. And, yes, I realize ‘Brave’ won an Oscar, but that was a travesty.) Anyway, here are our seven favorite moments from ‘The Boxtrolls’ Comic-Con panel.
Comic-Con 2014: Freddie Prinze, Jr. On ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ Hulk Hogan and Thundarr the Barbarian
The first thing you notice about Freddie Prinze Jr. is his almost manic ability to make analogies between almost any subject and professional wrestling. (And considering that Prinze has worked on and off for WWE over the last few years, this wasn't necessarily surprising.) Prinze is at San Diego Comic-Con in support of 'Star Wars Rebels,' the new animated series that takes place between 'Revenge of the Sith' and the original 'Star Wars.' Prinze plays Kanan, a Jedi who survived 'Revenge of the Sith' who hides his Jedi powers so as to not draw attention to himself.
Comic-Con 2014: Our 6 Favorite Jeff Bridges Digressions From ‘The Giver’ Panel
On Thursday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con, Jeff Bridges was on hand to promote his newest film, 'The Giver.' During the panel, Bridges -- as he's wont to do and what makes him Jeff Bridges -- went off on long and unrelated digressions. Here are our six favorite digression topics. (The Dude was brought up many, many times and he's not on this list because that was very expected.)
Will a Talking Plant Win Your Heart During ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’? (And 24 Other Urgent Questions)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is the weirdest and funniest of the Marvel movies to date as we follow a ragtag group of strangers (to each other and, most likely, to most audience members) led by Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord, a name he desperately wants to be called). Will you like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’? It depends!
Fifteen Fun Minutes With The Fun Ellie Kemper, Star of ‘Sex Tape’
Every so often, during a press day that seems endless for everyone involved, something that at least resembles "reality" can occur. It's an odd thing, really: Because on a day like this, most people involved are seeking something that doesn't feel manufactured, even though it's almost impossible to find. Anyway, that's my overly hyperbolic way of saying, "Talking to Ellie Kemper was a delight."
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Talks About Everything
It's almost impossible to stay on topic when interviewing 'Weird Al'. He's a walking encyclopedia of popular culture knowledge and every answer leaves multiple alleyways to explore. Ahead, the topics covered include 'Star Wars,' 'UHF,' Charlie Kaufman, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Springsteen, 'The LEGO' Movie, his is favorite movie of all-time, Joe Piscopo, 'The Naked Gun,' 'Rocky' and a host of other topics that don't have much to do with one another.
Yes, the Director of ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ Has Heard Your Complaints About the First ‘Purge’ Movie
James DeMonaco is well aware of your complaints. Yes, the first installment of 'The Purge' (which DeMonaco directed) was a box office behemoth, grossing just under $90 million on a budget of only $3 million. 'The Purge' should have been a feel-good success story ... and then those Cinemascores came rolling in and, as it turns out, the audience that showed up to see 'The Purge" wound up kind of despising 'The Purge.'
Matt Reeves on Directing ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and the ‘Apes’ Sequel We Almost Got Instead
Though he won't admit it verbally, there's something in the tone of Matt Reeves' voice that reveals that he knows that he has something special with his new film, 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.' I suspect Matt Reeves would be a terrible poker player.
The Lost Episode Of ‘Seinfeld’ That No One Has Ever Seen (and Never Will)
During the second season of ‘Seinfeld’ – on Wednesday, December 12, 1990, to be more exact – the cast sat down to read through the script for what would be the fourth episode of the season and only the ninth episode of a series that would go on to produce a total of 180 episodes. The episode was titled ‘The Bet.’ Sets for the episode had been built. Guest characters had been cast. ‘The Bet’ would never air.
Richard Linklater on ‘Boyhood’ and the Film That Shaped His Non-Hollywood Career
Filming on 'Boyhood' started in 2002. Then, Linklater filmed his cast -- Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei Linklater -- every year for 12 years, finally finishing in 2013.
‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Is the Perfect Remedy For the ‘Transformers’ Blues
A movie like ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ exists only to make money. And it did make money -- a lot of money. And there are a lot of movies that fit into this supposed “blockbuster” (or, if at Blockbuster, the “box office buster”) category. These movie don’t have to be good. People just see them. That’s why it is really notable when one of these movies is as good as ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' is.