Jul 8, 2012

Comic-Con 2012: THR's Full Guide to Parties in San Diego


From Warner Bros. Television and "Breaking Bad's" premiere to "Twilight" and the "Expendables 2," where to be and be seen at the annual convention.


Many in Hollywood trek from Hollywood to Comic-Con not for any panel in Hall H, not to see if there are any comic properties to snap up, but for the thriving party scene that has cropped up during the past decade. 
From movie and television studios to video game companies and publishers, the selection never has been greater for parties to hit. But getting invites still requires some Hollywood-style wheeling and dealing.
Here's The Hollywood Reporter's full guide to parties at Comic-Con International, set to kick off Wednesday, July 11, with Preview Night.
Wednesday, July 11
• HitFix Kickoff Party. The popular website likes to unravel the carpet for the Con with an event that caters primarily to bloggers and the media. 9 p.m., Hotel Solamar.
• TwilightBreaking Dawn Part 2 party. While Summit Entertainment's Hall H panel for the film is Thursday, the studio is throwing a star-studded bash the night before, becoming the evening's de facto heavy. Invitation only. 10 p.m.-1 a.m., Float at the Hard Rock Hotel.
• Transformers Fall of Cybertron. The Activision/Hasbro/High Moon video game will be unveiled. 6:30-10 p.m., Stingaree.
Thursday, July 12
• DC Entertainment's Darkness & Light art exhibit. DC Entertainment artists and executives, plus Chris Daughtry, host the invitation-only exhibit of contemporary art inspired by DC Comics' Justice League characters. The event benefits the We Can Be Heroes campaign. Daughtry will perform "Rescue Me," the song he recorded for the charity. 7-11 p.m., Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery.
• Opening Night party. VH1 teams with Comic-Con International. Rob Zombie hosts with guest appearances from Gene Simmons and VH1 talent, among others. Free to Comic-Con badge holders. 5:30-11 p.m., Petco Park.
• Scholastic Graphic Novelists event. Graphic novelists including Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure's Matthew Reinhart will attend. 7-9:30 p.m., America's Cup Ballroom/foyer, Manchester Grand Hyatt.
• Showtime's Dexter: The Game party. Invitation-only event with Showtime executivesMatthew Blank and David Nevins joining stars of the serial killer drama Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter. 7-11 p.m., Wired Café at the Omni Hotel.
• Lionsgate/IGN's The Expendables 2 party. Stallone won’t be there, but other castmembers from the action movie will smoke 'em if they got 'em. And we're hearing there's even a chance...a chance...that Schwarzenegger may show up. Invitation only, 7-11 p.m., Float at the Hard Rock Hotel.
• Capcom/IGN's Resident Evil 6 party. Invitation-only event celebrates the launch of the upcoming video game. 9 p.m.-midnight, Hard Rock Hotel's Woodstock lawn.
• Geek & Sundry VIP cocktail reception. Invitation-only event celebrating Felicia Day's new YouTube channel. 7-9 p.m., Belo.
• The Kings of Con. Thrown by producer Daniel Alter, hotelier Edward Kaen and Internet guru Umberto Gonzalez, this is the party that last year saw Jon Favreau serve as DJ. The trio's goal is a classy and chic intersection of Hollywood and geek. Invitation only, 10:30 p.m.-close, the Keating Hotel.
• iFanboy cocktail party. Free to all, 6-9 p.m. at the Andaz Hotel's Roofdeck.
• Haven meet and greet. The cast of the Syfy drama, including Eric Balfour, Emily Rose and Lucas Bryant, mix and mingle at the invitation only event. 8-11 p.m., Sidebar San Diego.
Friday, July 13
• FearNet Con of the Dead event. Invitation only. 6-9 p.m., Voyeur.
• FX/Maxim party. Invitation-only event will see producers and talent from FX series including Sons of Anarchy, Wilfred, Archer, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League and Justified mix and mingle. 9 p.m.-2 a.m., Andaz Hotel rooftop.
• Warner Bros. Television cocktail party . Featuring cast and creators of series such as The Vampire Diaries, The Big Bang Theory and Revolution, the big question is whether this will top last year's much-talked-about bash, which featured nude women in body paint looking like faeries. Invitation only, 7-10 p.m., Hard Rock Hotel's Float Rooftop Bar.
• The Walking Dead 100th Issue Party. Invitation-only event features Robert Kirkman, creator of the long-running comic series; artist Charlie Adlard; Seth Green; Breckin Meyer; and Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl on the AMC zombie drama; among others. 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Petco Park.
• Workaholics Happy Hour. Join the guys from the Comedy Central series for a first-come, first-served happy hour event. 2-5 p.m., Float at the Hard Rock Hotel.
• The Michael Davis World: The After Eisners Party. If the Eisners are the comic world's Oscars, this is the Governors Ball. Jamie Kennedy hosts. Begins post-Eisners, Analog Bar.
Saturday, July 14
• 20th Century Fox Television cocktail party. Invitation-only event will feature creators and talent from GleeSons of Anarchy, The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad. 7-9 p.m., Saltbox Restaurant at the Hotel Palomar.
• NBC's third annual blogger party. Invitation-only event features the cast and creators of the network's new and returning shows mingling at its digital network hub. 7:30-9:30 p.m., 207 at the Hard Rock Café.
• AMC's Breaking Bad Season 5 premiere party. The event begins with a screening of the season premiere at the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 at 7 p.m., with the cast and creative team then heading for an afterparty at Hotel Palomar's fourth-floor pool deck. Who will bring the meth?
• Entertainment Weekly/Ubisoft party. The perennial party is still the one to beat and signals the closing of the Con for many. Time TBD. Float at the Hard Rock Hotel.



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