>> COMIC BOOK AND SUPER HERO
FANS, GET EXCITED, BECAUSE
YOU'RE PEOPLE ARE COMING.
COMICPALOOZA BRINGS ALL KINDS
OF INTERESTING CHARACTERS TO
ONE PLACE, INCLUDING
CELEBRITIES LIKE SHANNON
ELIZABETH.
STEFAN GONZALEZ HAD A CHANCE TO
CHAT WITH HER.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
>> YOU'RE FROM HOUSTON.
>> I AM.
I WAS BORN HERE AND I GREW UP
IN ALIEF UNTIL, LIKE, THIRD
GRADE AND THEN WE MOVED TO WACO.
>> YOU'VE DONE COMEDY AND SCARY
MOVIES.
FAVORITES?
>> IT'S FUNNY.
I DID A SMALLER FILM CALLED
CATCH A CHRISTMAS STAR AND IT
WAS JUST A HALLMARK FILM, BUT
IT WAS A SWEET FAMILY MOVIE AND
I'VE HAD DADS COME UP TO ME AND
SAY, OH, MY FAMILY AND I
WATCHED IT 13 TIMES THIS
CHRISTMAS, AND I GOT TO SING IN
IT.
>> SO HOW DO YOU GET INTO
CHARACTER?
>> WHERE YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING
WHEN YOU BECOME SCARED ALL DAY,
YOU BECOME SCARED WHEN YOU GO
HOME, TOO.
WHEN I WAS FILMING 13 GHOSTS,
WE WERE STAYING IN TORNADO,
CANADA, AND I HAD AN APARTMENT
WHERE THERE WERE
FLOOR-TO-CEILING SLIDING DOORS
FOR THE CLOSETS AND I WOULD
COME HOME AT NIGHT AND I'D GET
SO PARANOID, I'D HAVE TO CHECK
ALL OF THE CLOSETS, I'D CHECK
UNDER THE BED, JUST CHECKING
EVERYWHERE.
>> ALSO, YOU HAVE A NONPROFIT
THAT YOU STARTED A WHILE BACK.
I THINK IT WAS 2001.
ANIMAL AVENGERS AND IT STARTED
AS A DOG AND CAT RESCUE IN LOS
ANGELES IN 2001, AND THEN IN
2015, WE TRANSITIONED TO
WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION AND
WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE POACHING
GO TO ANIMAL ADVENTURES, THEY
WILL FIND ALL OF THE
INFORMATION FOR PURCHASING AND
TICKETS.
IT'S A HOT TOPIC RIGHT NOW AT
COMICPALOOZA.
BROWN CONVENTION CENTER AND
IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF FUN
AND YOU'RE HERE FOR THAT, SO
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT AND
>> WELL, THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR
HERE.
I'VE SIGN THE HALL.
IT'S ENORMOUS.
I HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT 40,000
PLUS PEOPLE, SO IT'S GOING TO
BE CRAZY BUSY.
A BUNCH OF ACTORS COMING IN AND
A BUNCH OF COMIC BOOK ARTISTS
AND EVERYONE SAYS IT'S REALLY
FUN, SO I CAN'T WAIT TO JOIN IN.
>> THEN YOU CAN DO PHOTO OPS
WITH ME AT THE TABLE AND WE'LL
CHAT ANIMALS AND HAVE FUN.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> YEAH, THANK YOU
>> SO IT'S SO COOL, SO MANY
SUPER HEROES, COMIC BOOK
HEROES, SCI-FI STARS.
JOHN SIMMONS, IS HERE.
ARE YOU GOING IN COSTUME?
>> N
THIS IS MY COSTUME.
I LOOK NORMAL TODAY.
>> NORMA
>> THIS EVENT, I THINK IT'S
FASCINATING BECAUSE YOU'RE ONLY
A FEW YEARS OLD, BUT ALREADY IT
SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE QUADRUPLED
THE ATTENDEE SIZE SINCE YOU
FIRST STARTED, LIKE 45,000
PEOPLE ATTENDED LAST YEAR?
>> IT'S ACTUALLY MORE THAN THAT.
WHEN WE FIRST DID IT, IT WAS IN
THE LOBBY OF A MOVIE THEATRE.
THERE WERE NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE
THERE, AND THAT WASN'T THAT
LONG AGO.
THAT WAS IN 2008.
SO WE'VE GONE FROM THAT TO 1.2
MILLION SQUARE FEET.
>> WOW.
>> THAT'S HUGE.
SO IT GIVES US THE ROOM TO DO
THINGS LIKE WE HAVE 300
ARTISTS, WRITERS, CRAFT PEOPLE.
IT'S AN ENTIRE ARTS SHOW.
PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT IT'S
SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST
CELEBRITIES AND COMIC--
>> AND IT'S ALSO VERY
EXPERIENTIAL.
UNLIKE COMIC BOOK CONVENTIONS,
PEOPLE HAVE A CHANCE TO GET IN
TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE
EVENTS.
>> FIRST THING YOU DO IS GO TO
OUR WEB SITE, DOWNLOAD THE APP,
AND THEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE
THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE THE NEXT
GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL, YOU CAN
GO AND LEARN FROM "NEW YORK
TIMES" BEST SELLING AUTHORS,
FOR EXAMPLE.
THERE ARE PANELISTS OF THEM.
YOU CAN DECIDE, THE FAMILY'S
GOING TO GO TO A ROLLER DERBY
GAME AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO
TO THE LIVE ART SHOW TOMORROW
NIGHT.
THERE'S A TON OF STUFF TO DO
FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND.
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT.
>> AND A HUGE NAME THAT'S
COMING IN, CHUCK NORRIS.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.
SO THERE'S -- REALLY, YOU CAN'T
SAY TOO MUCH ABOUT THAT.
HAVING CHUCK IS SIMPLY A
HISTORIC THINGS FOR CONVENTIONS.
LAST TIME HE WAS AT COMIC COME,
IT WAS SAN DIEGO, IT WASN'T
EVEN TEXAS SO, THIS IS A HUGE
COUP.
WE ALL KNOW CHUCK.
IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
>> AND WE HAVE THE INFORMATION
ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW SO
PEOPLE CAN ATTEND THE EVENT.
AGAIN, YOU CAN VISIT THE WEB
SITE, 10:00 A.M. TO MIDNIGHT.
TICKETS START AT $15.
>> THERE ARE ALL DIFFERENT
PRICES.
THERE'S V.I.P., THERE'S WEEKEND
THAT'S THE ONE I RECOMMEND TO
MOST PEOPLE.
GO AND ENJOY YOURSELF FOR THE
WHOLE WEEKEND.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS HAVE