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And now the exciting conclusion of, the Spider-Man 3 debacle!

Ok, so there I was, poster tube in hand, will power in throat, and the security guard won’t let me open the poster tube to get Sam Raimi to sign the Evil Dead poster! So I stand my ground, and I’ve got a plan! So first up in the signing line was Bryce Howard! Ok so far so good, she’s nice, she’s funny, and she’s talking to Topher Grace, who’s next in line. I felt like they were probably tired, not really into what they’re doing, ready to go home. But instead I was greeted with great enthusiasm, big smiles, and actual excitement! They were all so nice, and kind! Topher commented on the Venom shirt I was wearing (courtesy of Sony Pictures!), and I was on my way to the next celebrity, halfway to the end of my quest! So next up was Thomas Hayden Church, who, every time I see, is just so hilarious!! I asked him why he wasn’t the star of a major comedy yet, and he replied jokingly, “It’s the drugs!” Topher had a good laugh at that quip as well, it was really an experience to remember! So, moving on, next was Kirsten Dunst!! Which I was not prepared for!! I mean, I love Interview with a Vampire, and of course the other Spider-Man movies, but I was just not ready to actually see her, face to face, and so up close!! I was nervous, for sure! She smiled at me, and said hi, she seemed eager to hear what I was trying to muster, which was basically, “Wow, I’ve never expected in my entire life, to actually be this close to you!” She just smiled, then stood up and gave me a “over the table” hug! WOW! Imagine that! Actual contact with Mary Jane!!! WOOOO! But still, it hadn’t really fazed what I planned to do once I got to Sam, I had to keep focused. So next up was Tobey, which was quite shocking as well, I mean, you really don’t think of these actors as real people, we watch them on our TV’s and local movie screens every day, but you just never expect to see them like this. In the same room as you, breathing the same air! Tobey was kind of busy speaking to someone with him, but he still took the time to sign the Spider-Man 3 poster, and say Hi! Awesome, just awesome. But now, this is it. This is the moment of truth. This next experience could make or break my quest! I had my plan, and I was gonna go through with it! So, I stepped over to Sam Raimi, who was just sitting there, he grabbed the Spider-Man poster, and signed it. “How yah doin?” He asked, while signing the poster. To which I replied, “Ok” Nervousness overcame me. I almost didn’t say another word, and almost walked away, with my shame in a poster tube. But this was it, this was my only chance….I said, “Mr. Raimi, I have this poster here, from Dead Alive, and I’ve got the signature of every member of the cast, and you’re the only person left to sign it! And It’ll be complete, do you think you can sign this?!” The person next to me, nudged me, as if to let me know I’ve done something wrong. Sam looked at me and said, “Break it out”, so I quickly shoved the poster out of the tube and unraveled it on the table in front of Sam. He then pulled out a sharpie, and at this point I knew my quest was over! My dream had come true! And It was all gonna be ok!!! The Sam said, “Ok, now…I’m not gonna sign this….And here’s why. Let me tell you a story.” I stared in horror, what have I done?! Why won’t he sign it?! What’s happening!! I was shocked! He said, “There once was a boy who came to the Con to get a poster signed, he asked the director to sign the poster for a movie that he did not direct!” Suddenly the people in line broke out in laughter, including Tobey Maguire…I was frantically searching in my brain for what I had done wrong! Then it hit me!! I asked him to sign a DEAD ALIVE poster!!! My brain! My foolish brain!! What have I done!!!? In my nervous rambling, and shaky legged standing, I asked Sam Raimi, director of Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2, to sign the poster for a film that he didn’t even direct. I stood defeated. I had lost. I let Blake down, and I let myself down. And there I was, face to face with Sam Raimi, sharpie in hand, poster in front of him. And he wasn’t gonna sign it! He then said, “I’m just kidding! Of course I’ll sign it!” Tobey laughed! I almost fell to the ground! He was signing it, right in front of my face!!! And it was glorious! As soon as he was finished, he looked at me, and I thanked him a million times, and told him what an honor it was to meet him, and be in his presence. And that was it! My quest was over! And it wasn’t just my quest, it was Blake’s quest! And it was the quest of a million fans, to meet their dreams face to face, and accomplish them. And that’s what this whole experience has been, a dream come true, and the accomplishment of half a nerd’s life! Everything I’ve been given, and have been a part of, was so graciously handed to me by some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. This experience has been the greatest honor, and has been a privilege for me, and Sara. And with that friends, I sign off, and leave my duties of Sony Pictures Official San Diego Comic Con Blogger 2006! And I take home with me the memories of a fantastic journey, and a great feeling of accomplishment. Ladies and Gentlemen, boy and girls, Browncoats, and Trekkies, Jedis’ and Sith, Decepticons and Autobots, this is Steve Zaragoza, signing off!

-Sincerely, Steve Zaragoza “Sony Pictures Comic Con Blogger 06’!”

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Hello, Steve again,

I’d like to take a moment to let everyone know that this has just been such an amazing experience being Sony Pictures official blogger. Everyone has been so nice and caring and Sara and I really have been treated like kings (and queen, respectively). I really do get a sense of comraderie around the Sony booth and I feellike I have known these people for years. Its gonna be really sad when I hand in my laptop and post my last blog for you guys, but at least I will have the amazing memories of living the Comic-Con dream like a rock star!

-Steve

Hello friends

Steve here, I’m hot off the heels of the Covenant, and Grudge 2 panel, and boy-oh, am I excited and scared!! As some of you may know, the first Grudge scared the living hell out of me, and at the panel here, they showed a special Comic Con trailer and just that, scared the hot biscuits out of me!!! Great stuff, very scary…And, to my surprise they had Sam Raimi introduce the panel, and bring out the director, and two of the female stars of the movie! Before all the madness of The Grudge though, they showed the trailer for The Covenant, it looked pretty good! It’s like the Lost Boys for the new generation! Except, instead of teenage vampires, it has teenage warlocks! Such a combination! I can’t wait. So I bet you’re all waiting for my continuation of the Spider-Man 3 blog, and all I can say is, patience is a virtue!

-Steve

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So, there I was, standing in line, lighter than usual, waiting to be brought to a dream, and I realize, I forgot the poster!! The one thing I swore I wouldn’t forget, the one thing I promised my best man, Blake, the ONE THING I just couldn’t forget!! I panicked, and frantically searched for someone, hoping a security guard would run up to me shouting: “Here, “I have it! Take it!! HERE!” but obviously, that wasn’t gonna happen. I saw an image flash in front of my eyes. It was the storage area of the Sony Pictures booth, I lovingly placed it out of harms way, and just as easily, forgot it. So, I had two options: 1. Stay in line, get the Spider-Man 3 poster signed, and assume they wouldn’t have even let me take the Evil Dead poster out, and then go on my merry way, feeling like a failure, not completing my friends’ quest. Or 2. panic and do anything I can to get that poster tube up to the impossible to get in room, I was in…So, I called a Sony friend, Chandra, the woman I’d been in contact with even before I came to San Diego. She answered and was ready to get me a battleship filled with candy corn, I mean she was on call to get me what I needed…But I didn’t know this until I asked: “Chandra, this is Steve, listen…If there’s anything you do for me, just one thing this whole week, please, PLEASE, PLEASE, grab the poster tube I left in the booth storage, and bring it to me as fast as you can!!!” and without hesitation, she said, “I’ll do it!” , and just like that, she was off! And back at the room of heavenly privilege, I stalled! I let the few people who were coming in, (contest winners of another kind) cut me in line, as long as I could…Then, they shut the doors. This was it, it was me, the cast and director of Spider-Man 3, about 6 security guards, the few contest winners in line, and a handful of Sony people. Of course, I had a Sony head with me, just to make sure everything was ok, and going smoothly. As if the tension of waiting for the poster wasn’tough, I was suddenly stopped by a woman in a business suit. She went on to say that they weren’t accepting anymore people to sign, it was just the few people who had won other contests, and that was that. Well, Dwight, the Sony head, was not having that. I felt as if I was about to experience something bad. I could feel the tension in the air, you could taste it. But before it could turn into a yelling match, Dwight waved his hands like a Jedi Master, and the woman, who was quite horrible, moved aside and led me to the continuing line, to meet my destiny. I looked back at Dwight as if he had just parted the Red Sea! I didn’t know quite why, but they knew I needed to get in there, and meet my dream. Then, that feeling rushed again, the feeling of panic...THE POSTER! I need to poster! And before I could even muster a groan, the doors fly open, and Chandra comes racing in!! My eyes lit up like a christmas tree, and I almost fell to my knees! Chandra darted toward meand handed me the poster tube, as if I were King Arthur being handed Excalibur, but the lady in the lake! All was well!! I was in! I was standing there, 4 people ahead of me, almost to the table of celebrities, poster tube in hand, and ready to go! I popped the top of the poster tube off, and reached for the poster, just as my fingers brushed the glossy glory, a large security guard shouted: “DO NOT PULL ANYTHING OUT OF THERE!” I looked up, confused, he was obviously talking to me. I laughed nervously, but it was no joke, he was serious. He then said: “No personalized items, no personal items, only one signature per person.” At this point, I was too far away from Chandra, or Dwight, I couldn’t yell for them to help me out of this one…No, this one seemed to be out of their control. That was that. I couldn’t try to convince him, he was doing his job. My quest, was over. I’d still get a cool Spider-Man 3 poster signed by the cast and director out of it, but I’d let my friend down. His quest, would be over before mine. So, I braved it. I stood my ground…I had a plan!

- TO BE CONTINUED…Part 3, tonight!

-Steve

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Hello, Steve here, barely coherent, dazed, and shaking furiously! My heart is beating a million miles per hour. My palms are sweaty, my legs are shaking. My vision is blurred, my voice is choked. I can feel my heartbeat in every part of my upper body. No, this is not a "insert washed out celebrity's name here" confession of alcohol and drug abuse, this is the most accurate description that I can muster, (or type for that matter) of how I feel right this moment. Ladies and Gentlemen, I, Steve Zaragoza, have met…Sam Raimi. But it doesn't stop there, I've also just met Bryce Howard, (which is probably, the closest I'll get to Ron Howard, she's his daughter), Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church, Kirsten Dunst, and Tobey Maguire!!! That's right friends, the entire starring cast of Spider-Man 3!! I want to say so much about how I feel, but screw that! This aint no Psychiatry session! What I saw is what matters! And friends, what I and over six thousand people saw, was unfiltered, raw, 100% authentic, NERD GOLD!! In it's absolute purist form! First, Sam Raimi, and Laura Ziskin (producer) came out and announced that, they unfortunately, had no footage from Spider-Man 3 to show for guests at the panel. To which the crowd groaned, and shouted in horror! But, it turned out it was a joke, cause he then shouted to the video guys to roll the footage exclusively put together for Comic Con! He first stated though, that most of the effects were not finished, but he showed it anyway! So off they went! Oh man, what followed was too amazing to describe…I mean, Ok, I'll try….here goes: Spiderman in black, jumping flipping, doing what spidey does. Sandman in action, shoving cops and pedestrians with his giant sand hands! AND the kicker, the REAL GOOD STUFF!! One word: VENOM! HOLY HEAVEN! VENOM! In all his snarling, drooling glory!! But for only seconds…And it seemed like I was back at home, staring at my glowing computer screen in the dark, and going into slow motion on the video player, trying to catch the best glimpse of something, to take into photoshop, edit, and post on some wildly popular movie website…Man It was just incredible… And then it was over…But not without ending on one last good shot of Venom screaming into the night!!! SOOO AMAZING. They crowd went WILD. I've never heard an audience howl with such excitement, and joy in my life. It truly was an experience, and one of a kind. After that, Sam introduced the entire starring cast, starting with Bryce Howard, then Kirsten, and Thomas Hayden Church, then Topher, and lastly Tobey Maguire. They started right into Q&A, with some great questions asked all around, by the eager fans who had been waiting hours and hours for this moment. It was just too much, and truly amazing. I scooted out just before the end to interview some fans exiting the panel, and then was quickly whisked away to a secret location. I stood in the elevator with Sara, trusty nerd sidekick, and some Sony people, wondering where the hell I was headed. And just before I stepped out of the elevator, It hit me like a bag of quarters…I was going to meet Sam Raimi. And before I could muster it, I was shoved into a room of very few people, staring straight in the direction of a long table, with the entire starring cast, and director of Spider-Man 3. Of course, I almost lost it. I wasn't sure why I was there, and I felt as if I didn't belong there…I mean, who am I? I'm this fat guy with a beard and glasses who got lucky with an amazing contest, and I'm standing here, shaking and confused, waiting to be ushered to the table with the cast of casts. I mean, put yourself in my position, how would you feel? I obviously did my best to keep my cool, and look as if I belonged there! And it worked, for the most part…

But at this point, I must add, before the Con even started, before the week of excitement. I was handed a curious unmarked poster tube, by my good friend Blake. He proceeded to tell me that in the tube was his most prized possession. He reached in and unfurled the poster, and what I saw was years of dedication, of pain, and suffering, years and years of blood sweat, and more sweat. It was an original, one-sheet of Sam Raimi's first film, Evil Dead. But it wasn't just a poster, it was a collection of time and money, it was a collective comrade ere of sprawled signatures, it was the ink of many sharpies, scribbled to make out the entire cast of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. I was speechless. He said, "Steve my friend, this here is my life. This is the last piece of a seemingly never ending collection. This before you, is an almost complete collection of every major actor, in Evil Dead. There's only one thing missing…The signature of Sam Raimi." I stood up, without hesitation and shouted, "I'll do it!" He handed me the protective poster tube, with his prize possession inside, and I could see a tear in his eye. He knew I could do this, and I was the only one who could. And of course, him being the best man at my wedding, I couldn't refuse. So cut to this new moment, standing in line, not ready for what's to come, dazed and frightened, I stepped closer to nerd heaven. Then, at that moment, just before I could enter the line to nerd heaven, I realized, I was missing something. Yes, something felt lighter…I mean, besides the laptop…It was….THE POSTER!

Part Two...Tomorrow! Stay tuned…

-Steve

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Steve here, with some more fun and text! So here we are, Saturday, and boy oh boy am I ready for what’s in store for us today! So, if you don’t know already, Friday and Saturday are the BIG days for the con, cause most people from out of town/state come for the weekend. So today is no exception as Sony Pictures present Spider-Man 3, and Ghostrider panels for all to see. But you at home are thinking, ”Wow, they can just waltz into a giant room filled with Spider-Man and Ghostrider fans and sit comfortably to let the amazement unfold before you!!?” Oh no sister, it’s not like that at all! If you want to see these exciting panels today, you have to be up by 7:00am, and be ready to storm the Con as soon as the doors to the convention hall open, at 10:00am. Then be ready to stand in line for most of the day until the panel starts. Hopefully you have friends with you who are willing to switch off in line “shifts” and de-numb your butt to take a nice walk. Normally, yours truly would have to endure that same butt-numbness right along with the rest of you, and trust me I have! But not this year friends! Oh no, this year Sony Pictures have graciously granted Sara and I, special golden tickets that get us in, minutes before the panel opens, and lets the hoards of Spider-Man and Ghostrider starved fans come rushing in, taking anything in their path! Including the elusive Comic Con “bouncers”, whom if you ask any Comic Con goer, are the equivalent of nasty LA security guards… So, with that said, stay tuned for an in depth report straight from the Spider-Man 3 and Ghostrider panels!! And buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

-Steve

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Hello from Evening, to Morning!

Steve here with a new blog! Last night Sara and I had the pleasure of attending the SNL Saturday TV Funhouse panel! Robert Smigel was on hand to present some hilarious never before seen (due to the content that’s not appropriate for TV… (Damn the man! Always trying to keep the little guys down!), cartoons, and other hi jinks. Robert Smigel, if you don’t know, is also the famous canine insult comic, Triumph! Now, if you’ve seen Triumph the insult comic dog, you know that he shows no mercy when it comes to comic book nerds. And the Con was breeding grounds (pun very intended) for Triumph to wreak havoc! Of course, there was the usual prodding of Comic Con goers in attendance at the panel! They were video taping the whole shindig, and hopefully it will show up on Late Night TV, or some other media outlet. After his rubber puppet shenanigans, Smigel removed the puppet and replied: “Argh, My hand !#*@!?&# hurts!” This was followed by roaring laughter! All in all, it was an amazing panel, filled with rare never before seen clips from SNL, and also VERY rare clips from the old Dana Carvey Show, and some TV pilots that never got off the ground. So far, this has been a really great year at Comic Con, and we’re 3 days down, 2 to go! So as always, keep checking in on the cool updates, and I’ll keep posting em!

-Steve

Watch an interview with Steve