Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Georgia Focus. I'm Wes Carol for the Georgia
News Network. Labor Day weekend is more than just a
long holiday weekend in Atlanta. There's also a celebration of fandoms,
and these fandoms have a major economic impact for Georgians.
College football kicks off with not one but two AFLAC
kickoff games this year at Mercedes Benz Stadium and about
(00:33):
a dozen blocks away, most of the other fandoms are
represented at the five host hotels of dragon Con. For
thirty nine years, dragon Con has grown into one of
the largest and most beloved pop culture conventions in the world.
The convention is a gathering of fans to celebrate comics, literature, movies, TV,
science fiction, science music, cosplay, gaming, and the people behind
(00:58):
bringing these things to life for all. For the past
twenty four years, I've been covering dragon Con and host
the annual dragon Con a pregame show to prepare you
for the convention and give you interviews with some of
the guests who will be attending. We begin with dragon
Con spokesperson Charles McFall. Charles, for the uninitiated, what is
dragon Con?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Everybody can hit you with the facts right. We've got
five host hotels across the four city square blocks. It's
five days of costuming and fun people and things to do.
But I got to tell you for me, it's called
it is what you make it. Do you like science,
We've got science for you. We've got space tracked, Science track,
(01:39):
all kind of stuff. You've got your kids, you want
them to do some cool things. We have kid character meetups,
we have a whole kids track. Everything's a call with
ent a con so you can find what you love
at dragon Con. You want to watch people, we got
the people for you to watch. Amazing costume designs and punting,
the celebrities and bands. It is the highlight of my
(01:59):
year every year.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I like that you mentioned kids because obviously some people say, well,
you know, I hear that this is a convention that
goes on all hours of the night, and people think, well,
you know, maybe after hours, maybe you know, isn't quite
right for the kids. And it obviously depends on where
you are at the convention sort of what your interests are.
But there's a lot for kids to do during the day.
(02:22):
And I like to mention to people. Gaming is a
big component of dragon Con and that covers all ages,
that covers you know, adults that want to play games
that they've been playing since they were kids. And of
course kids have their own games, and there's you know,
lots of things for them to do while they're there.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Oh one thousand percent. And gaming is is we have
tabletop games, so you do all the role playing you
want to dabble. We get entry level tabletop games all
the way up to the complex stuff. We have hard
games where magic gathering tournaments are happening and those kind
of things. Then you've got regular board games that are
we've grew up with and that are new. You get
video games ranging from the newest technology to classic games.
(03:04):
We've got every video game from the early Nintendo on
up to the current systems. We have VR systems, and
we even have simulators where you can go fly your
own spaceship like Star Trek style kind of thing going on.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
And I believe I.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Might be a little mistaken on this somebod I believe
we actually have some escape rooms this year, and there's
lego panels where they actually build and play. There are
creat there's so many different kid creator panels where they
can go make up that they then take home with them.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Speaking of things to take home, you mentioned the host hotels,
and this is a convention that is different than others
in that it takes place almost exclusively in the host hotels.
And then there's America's Mart. That's where the vendors are
and that's where there's lots of stuff you can take home.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
It changes from year to year, but there's at least
three to four floors in the America's Mart where you
have the comic vendors, you have the book vendors, you
have the cool stuff vendors, you have the fun collectible
stuff vendors. You've got everything you can think of, and
stuff that you will never thought of that I'll blow
your mind.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And when we talk about the host hotels, each hotel
sort of kind of has its own theme and has
some different aspect of the convention taking place there. And
when we talk about hotels, sure you can go outside
and walk across the street to the next hotel or
the convenient hamster tunnels that connect all the hotels and
you never really even have to go outside.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, the habit trails, as they're called, is a connect
the most of the hotels together, specifically the health and
the Marriotte and the Hyatt. Yeah, you can follow these
trails that are covered from the environment, so you're not
going to get rained on, and you can go through
most of the hotels without ever having to go outside.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Every year Dragon Con partners with a nonprofit and makes
a significant donation, not just financially but also through volunteer
years and other other resources. And each year it's always
a different nonprofit. This year it's the National Alliance and
Mental Illness of Georgia.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, no ME Georgia is very important. Mental health is
such a key factor in our lives. I myself have
been a paramedic for almost thirty years and I see
the effect of mental health and the latterof in our
society and in our people. So we're very happy to
partner with NOAMI Georgia that provide trained volunteers and leaders
(05:28):
throughout Georgia, provide peer led education programs, support groups at
no cost to participant. So no ME Georgia is really
doing a big job in Georgia helping keep our mental
health up the snuff so we can be healthy human being.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Working as an EMT, you know a lot about the
importance of blood drives and the fact that we're always short.
Dragon Con, the annual blood drive is always a huge event.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, lifestyleth has partnered with us for a very long time.
Last year we had four thousand donors, over ten thousand
units of blood components put together. And I will say,
not only is it a good cause, it takes a
very little bit of your time to donate and make
a difference in the world, because you're right, we're always
short on blood products in the medical world. You get
(06:14):
a very unique and collectible shirt for doing it, and
I find when I give, I get that satisfaction of helping.
I get something cool to take away, and who doesn't
like something cool.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Let's talk about some of the fandoms represented this year,
and I know we hit on some of the things
that the convention is and sometimes these specific fandoms that
get represented are big draw every year. This year, obviously
we've got an anniversary Back to the Future. Some of
the stars from Back to the Future will be there. Also,
(06:47):
nice representation for Star Wars this year. We haven't always
had that at Dragon Con, so that's really nice. Some
of the more recent projects, obviously Mandalorian and the latter
sequel trilogy starting to get some representation too. Star Trek
is always represented well. William Shatner will be back cast
(07:08):
from Bones will be there, the magicians, the Aero Verse,
X men, ninety seven voice actors. There's a lot to
see this year. But it's also more than just that, right.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Not just the on screen TV actors. It is the
voice actors. And we absolutely have comic book artists like
Seandra Free who wrote The God Machine. You can meet
your favorite authors there, like Jim Butcher and Babmagoo. We
have everybody that can have a fandom is represented. So
you will find your favorite person at dragon Con.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
And get to meet them and get a picture. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Next, we talk with doctor Sean Krusen. He's the executive
director of Columbus State University's Coca Cola Space Science Center
in Columbus. He's also the co host of the Mate
of Stars podcast with me, and we've talked a lot
Sean about the importance of science and science fiction and
(07:59):
how those two are interwoven.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Just recently on our podcast, we covered a very sad
story which is the passing a very famous NASA astronaut,
Jim Level. Jim was the commander of Apollo thirteen, but
he also had several other flights to space, including the
very famous first ever flight around the backside of the
Moon on Apollo eight. Now, one of the things that
Wes and I discussed on our show is just how
(08:25):
much of an inspiration the life of Jim Lovell was
to all of those of us who go into science
or just follow science, are interested in science. And that's
partly because he became famous because of his NASA career.
But there was this little Hollywood motion picture made about
his life, and specifically made about the incident of Apollo thirteen.
(08:46):
You know that movie Apollo thirteen, that's the one with
Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. You can use it on
that you know, six Steps to Kevin Bacon list. But
the important part of that motion picture was revealing the
heroism of not just those astronauts, but also the people
on the ground who were so instrumental in solving some
never heard of before problems in a very short period
(09:09):
of time to be able to bring those astronauts back
home safely. And so the amazing part that ties in
with Dragon Con is that all of those incredible achievements
are reflected in the motion picture, and many of the
people who may never have really followed the details of
the Apollo program, didn't really know who Jim Level was,
(09:30):
otherwise found out a lot about Jim Level's story through
the motion picture of Apollo thirteen, right, And so it's
just a reminder of how the motion picture industry and
the importance of science and science fiction portrayed in the
arts is so important to the continuing endeavor of science
(09:51):
in general because it helps the public better understand or
just be inspired by all of the things necessary to
do great science and great exploration. And that's one of
the things that dragon Con has at its core. They
even have a science track at dragon Con, which is
super important because it allows all of those who just
(10:13):
love science fiction and fantasy to also tie in the
real science that is pushing the boundaries in frontiers of
our human understanding, and then that ties back into the
science fiction that gets written and produced, and then that
science fiction then inspires more scientists to go push the
boundaries of science, and then that gets reincorporated back into
(10:33):
the science fiction endeavor. So these two industries, these two
human endeavors, which are kind of parallel but separate to
one another, are very important because they inspire one another
and they push each other to then grow both science
pushing science fiction and science fiction pushing science.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Next, we talk with actor, voice artist and podcaster Katie Sakoff,
probably nowhere best from Battlestar Galactica and part of the
Star Wars TV universe, including Rebels and the Mandalorian. Katie,
how many Dragon Cons is this for you?
Speaker 5 (11:10):
You know, I was just thinking about it, and I
can't honestly tell you if it's three or if it's four.
I'm just I'm trying to. Normally, I remember dragon Con
based on who was with me and one memorable like cosplay,
and I can most specifically I've got I've got three,
but they could be from the same one, so I'm
(11:32):
not sure this could be three or this could be four.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, this is going to be number twenty four for me, consecutive.
They all run together for me, but they're all specially
in their own way, of course. So what brings you
back to Dragon Con? I know this is you've got
You've got your toe or in some cases you've done
a cannonball into so many different fandoms, so but you've
at least got a toe in many of them, and
(11:55):
I'm sure when you do different conventions, they're all different
in their own way. But dragon Con is very unique
and special because it's dragon Con.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
I think you know the fact that I haven't been
back to dragon Con in almost ten years, if not
ten years, I think is sort of the reason, you
know dragon Con is is everyone knows it the biggest
show of the year, and I think it's just one
of those things where people just assume you're going, and
(12:28):
when you tell them you're not going, you're like, oh wow, okay,
And so I think it was about time. It was
just time for me to come back.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You were, you were long overdue as far as the
fandoms go, and I know you're going to get folks
that are going to come to see you about so
many different things. Obviously, Battlestar has been the thing for
a very long time. Now, Star Wars pretty prominent. I
know Longmire twenty four, you've kind of had, you know,
(12:55):
DC Marvel. As far as a voice work that you've done,
I've been even into the Halloween franchise or Riddick. I mean,
there's a lot represented there. So I know you'll get
folks cosplaying and coming up to see you for a
lot of different things. That's pretty unique when you've got
that thick of a resume, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I think it's really special, is what it is. Is
that you you know, I've been allowed to exist in
so many different fandoms at this point, and and and
different mediums of our industry and of genre work, and
I just think it's really special. You know, my career
at this point is like almost thirty years and it's
(13:44):
just a It's just a gift, is what it is.
Because sci fi fans are the most supportive and loving
fans out there, and I'm you know, lucky to have.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Them supportive and loving. They have a bit of a
reputation here lately of being a little difficult at times.
I want to kind of kind of go back in
time a little bit to Battle Star and the Starbuck
gender swap. How different would that have played out today
or even in the last five to ten years.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Oh God, a completely different thing, you know, for a
multitude of reasons. I mean, the main reason.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Is that social media didn't exist. People didn't have a
platform to yell into and out from, and so if
people were upset and they were, they didn't have as
large of a place to go out and reach people.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
And so and because of that, they didn't have the
ability to form like these gangs, if you will, these
angry mob like, you know, fandoms that get really upset
that then find each other and it amplifies the voice.
And so I think that it was allowed to happen
(15:06):
for that reason. But also I think that, you know,
Starbrek was a really special character, and I think that
she was written just really well, straight off off the top,
and I think she won over the majority of the
fan base if they gave it a chance. A lot
(15:26):
of people still haven't for the same reason, and I
find it just really sad, to be honest, but you know,
it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Next, we talk with actor, voice artist, best selling author
Sam Whitwor Sam. You and I first met at dragon
Con about fourteen years ago, and we've bumped into each
other at different conventions along the way over the years,
including Star Wars Celebration. But Dragon CON's a little different
than the others. It has a bit of a reputation,
(15:55):
and I think it's a well deserved reputation.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I love the way that it's got a reputation yeack anyway.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
But I'd love to get your thoughts on on that
convention and what it is, what dragon Con is, and
what it means to folks that come in and get
an opportunity to meet their fans wew.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
For me, it's obviously it's a great, big, giant con
and I love that about it. As far as its
reputation for I don't know, people running around and celebrating
in their own way or partying or whatever. I really
wouldn't know. I'm not much of a partier, you know,
But the con aspect and meeting fans and saying hello
(16:37):
to people and answering questions that I know a few
things about, and I think Dragon Con is amazing for that.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
The cosplay is elite. I know you see a lot
of it at different conventions, but it is really a
you know, multi day costume party that kind of goes
on all night every night and ends on Monday. And
you know, you're a part of a lot of different fandoms,
so you get to see a lot of different cosplay.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Correct correct, And I mean there's a lot of talent
people throw into those those get ups.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
So you get started at lucasfilm playing a character in
the video game The Fourth Unleashed. You get cast to
voice character of the Sun in the Mortis story arc
on the Clone Wars, and show creator Dave Filoni sees
in you the ability to play Darth Maul, and this
was a character that we didn't know a whole lot about,
and you guys had to begin a process of flushing
(17:28):
out who he is.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
That started a process of me and Dave because I
was shooting a series of time in Montreal, so me
and Dave would just get on the phone and just
get into these large discussions about who we think Darth
mal is and also how we think that there were
some misconceptions based on his limited dialogue, based on what
little we saw of him. Know, we agreed very quickly
(17:52):
that it's like that is one aspect of this character.
He's a young man in Phantom Menace who is trying
to prove himself to his master, and he's standing on
ceremony and saying yes sir, no sir. But there's a
lot more to this guy than just yes sir, no sir.
Because in all of the Death Mall portrayals at that
point had gone with the strong silent type, and he
didn't really say much, and he was this intimidating presence,
(18:12):
and me and Dave, under Georgia's direction, were like, well,
we think he actually has a lot to say. We
think that he would have to if he's the apprentice
of Palpatine or if he was rather his talents would
be wide ranging, and his intellect would be would be considerable,
and his ability to articulate himself and to manipulate events
(18:34):
and to think his way through situations would be that
would be you know, foundational to how we are going
to play with that character. So, you know, we talked
about we talked about other characters in film history that
we thought we could maybe draw from, you know, like
the examples. And Dave felt that there was an aspect
of Gallum that we could bring in a death mall,
(18:57):
to which I said, okay, well, now if we're bringing
in Gallum, there is no Gollum without Smiegel and he's like, yes,
you're right. So I think that's when we first started
figuring out that there were some vulnerabilities, human vulnerabilities to
this person's character. You know, that there was a person
in there that was going through some stuff. Then we
(19:19):
talked about Colonel Kurtz, how Colonel Kurtz and Apocalypse Now
is kind of plugged into something you know out there
that not everyone can see, and that certainly worked well.
And then the final character we discussed when we talked
about how we were going to play him was in
fact con Unions saying from Star Trek, So I think
(19:40):
the the relationship there, it's fairly obvious when you see
Ricardo Montanam's fantastic performance. There was something of that obsession
that we thought mal could use. So there's a long
story for you, and we basically had to figure it
out with the thought that we could absolutely ruin this
and the fans gunning for us for the rest of
(20:02):
our lives. But perhaps there was a small chance that
we could do something really, really cool that they might like.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And that's not how and that's not how it played
out though, But this is a beloved character that people
were excited to see return.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Yeah, now, well we're happy that that's how it. I'll
play it up, because you know, we went into it
with the understanding that it could go the other way
very much.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So next we talk with an actress best known for
her work in the Mandalorian and Ahsoka for her role
as Morgan Elsbeth. She's an actor, director, writer, author, stuntman,
stunt choreographer. Have you ever been a best boy on
a set? I We'll get to that in a second.
It's Diana Leansanto. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
Hello, Hi everyone.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
What haven't you done on a film set? You've done
just about everything?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Have you done the gaffing tape or any of that stuff?
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Lights, sir. When you're doing an indie film, you kind
of have to learn everybody's departments. And so I kind
of had to jump in there from time to time.
But you know, because I had a history of being
a stunt woman working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Walker Text the Ranger and fay Stoff in my younger years,
you know, I would ask questions and I would learn
(21:19):
everybody's department because somehow I had this feeling that I
would try to call the shots on my own path
and learn to be a director and a producer and
a writer. And I thought the best thing to do
is to learn everybody's department. And I heard I even
(21:42):
Wrightman does that or did that, and that's he had
an understanding of how the machinery of a set should work.
So yeah, I kind of do know to some degree
or another.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Let's talk about dragon Con. It's a convention unlike other conventions.
It's really its own beast. Have you been properly prepped
for do you know?
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Do you keep hearing this? I yees, so this will
be my first time at dragon Con, and yeah, I
keep hearing it has a very unique fingerprint compared to
all the other comic cons. I'm like, Okay, I have
to find out what this is about. So yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I mean, the main thing that you need to know is,
you know, you'll have your schedule for events and places
to be, and that will be I'm sure similar to
other events. What you need to know about everyone else
that will be there is when people say, what time
does this thing shut down at night? The answer is
Monday afternoon. And when people say no, no, no, but like
(22:40):
each night, what times it close? And it's like you
have to listen to what I'm saying. It starts on Thursday,
it shuts down Monday afternoon.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
I heard something about this. It's just got this ongoing heartbeat.
It will not stop.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
So you and I have something in common, and we
both have middle names that are inspired by like a
friend of our parents. In my case, my middle name
comes from one of my parents' friends who's a retired
insurance agent in Dothan, Alabama. Okay, and I mean no
disrespect to the insurance agents of the world, and especially
my parents friend, who is a great guy. Yours has
(23:21):
a little more punch pun intended, you think, I mean
heaven Bruce Lee is a godfather. What was that like
growing up?
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (23:31):
You know for me as a kid when I would
see and he was Uncle Bruce. For me, I didn't
understand that he was famous.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
I just thought he was my dad's.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Martial arts partner. I would always see him as a
child working out in the backyard and hitting boards and
breaking them, or we would go over to Uncle Bruce's
house and he was with the family. You know, there
was you know, Linda, there was Brandon and his Shamnon
who was just a baby, and there would be martial
(24:03):
artists in the backyard working out, kicking the bag, you
name it. I just thought that was the world that
he was about, just purely martial arts. But then I
realized later when we went to the drive in and
what we were seeing a movie that Uncle Bruce was
in and I thought, oh my gosh, uncle Bruce is
a movie star.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Dragon Con is coming up very fast. So I guess
as we wind things down, any message you'd like to
give to the fans that are coming up to see
you at dragon Con, Oh my gosh, just kind.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And say hi.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
We'll talk star wars, anything you like, and I'll probably
do my own survey of asking you what was your
favorite shows, what you loved, what inspired you. I mean,
those are the questions I love asking a fan, you know,
And I'm just I'm just looking forward to it and
I can't wait to see those amazing costumes.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
And that'll do it for this year's dragon Con pregame show.
Thanks to our guest Diana Lee and Asanto Whitwor, Katie Sackoff,
Charles McFall, and doctor Sean Crusen. Thanks also to Sam,
Greg Tillman, and the rest of the media relations team
at DragonCon. To hear more of these interviews, as well
as past interviews with guests like William Shatner, Zachary Levi,
(25:16):
Evangeline Lilly, Adam Savage, Lonnie Anderson, and more, check out
the dragon Con pregame show podcast, Plus check out my
weekly space news podcast, Made of Stars, both on the
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn
more about Nami Georgia, visit Nami dot org. That's Nami
(25:36):
dot org. To learn more about Columbus State University's Coca
Cola Space Science Center in Columbus, visit cc SSC dot org.
To learn more about DRAGONCN or to purchase your membership,
visit DragonCon dot org. Thank you for listening to Georgia Focus,
with a new episode here next week on this station
with the Georgia News Network. I'm Wes Carol, and I'll
(25:58):
see you at DragonCon.
Welcome to Georgia Focus. I'm Wes Carol for the Georgia
News Network. Labor Day weekend is more than just a
long holiday weekend in Atlanta. There's also a celebration of fandoms,
and these fandoms have a major economic impact for Georgians.
College football kicks off with not one but two AFLAC
kickoff games this year at Mercedes Benz Stadium and about
(00:33):
a dozen blocks away, most of the other fandoms are
represented at the five host hotels of dragon Con. For
thirty nine years, dragon Con has grown into one of
the largest and most beloved pop culture conventions in the world.
The convention is a gathering of fans to celebrate comics, literature, movies, TV,
science fiction, science music, cosplay, gaming, and the people behind
(00:58):
bringing these things to life for all. For the past
twenty four years, I've been covering dragon Con and host
the annual dragon Con a pregame show to prepare you
for the convention and give you interviews with some of
the guests who will be attending. We begin with dragon
Con spokesperson Charles McFall. Charles, for the uninitiated, what is
dragon Con?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Everybody can hit you with the facts right. We've got
five host hotels across the four city square blocks. It's
five days of costuming and fun people and things to do.
But I got to tell you for me, it's called
it is what you make it. Do you like science,
We've got science for you. We've got space tracked, Science track,
(01:39):
all kind of stuff. You've got your kids, you want
them to do some cool things. We have kid character meetups,
we have a whole kids track. Everything's a call with
ent a con so you can find what you love
at dragon Con. You want to watch people, we got
the people for you to watch. Amazing costume designs and punting,
the celebrities and bands. It is the highlight of my
(01:59):
year every year.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I like that you mentioned kids because obviously some people say, well,
you know, I hear that this is a convention that
goes on all hours of the night, and people think, well,
you know, maybe after hours, maybe you know, isn't quite
right for the kids. And it obviously depends on where
you are at the convention sort of what your interests are.
But there's a lot for kids to do during the day.
(02:22):
And I like to mention to people. Gaming is a
big component of dragon Con and that covers all ages,
that covers you know, adults that want to play games
that they've been playing since they were kids. And of
course kids have their own games, and there's you know,
lots of things for them to do while they're there.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Oh one thousand percent. And gaming is is we have
tabletop games, so you do all the role playing you
want to dabble. We get entry level tabletop games all
the way up to the complex stuff. We have hard
games where magic gathering tournaments are happening and those kind
of things. Then you've got regular board games that are
we've grew up with and that are new. You get
video games ranging from the newest technology to classic games.
(03:04):
We've got every video game from the early Nintendo on
up to the current systems. We have VR systems, and
we even have simulators where you can go fly your
own spaceship like Star Trek style kind of thing going on.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
And I believe I.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Might be a little mistaken on this somebod I believe
we actually have some escape rooms this year, and there's
lego panels where they actually build and play. There are
creat there's so many different kid creator panels where they
can go make up that they then take home with them.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Speaking of things to take home, you mentioned the host hotels,
and this is a convention that is different than others
in that it takes place almost exclusively in the host hotels.
And then there's America's Mart. That's where the vendors are
and that's where there's lots of stuff you can take home.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
It changes from year to year, but there's at least
three to four floors in the America's Mart where you
have the comic vendors, you have the book vendors, you
have the cool stuff vendors, you have the fun collectible
stuff vendors. You've got everything you can think of, and
stuff that you will never thought of that I'll blow
your mind.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And when we talk about the host hotels, each hotel
sort of kind of has its own theme and has
some different aspect of the convention taking place there. And
when we talk about hotels, sure you can go outside
and walk across the street to the next hotel or
the convenient hamster tunnels that connect all the hotels and
you never really even have to go outside.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, the habit trails, as they're called, is a connect
the most of the hotels together, specifically the health and
the Marriotte and the Hyatt. Yeah, you can follow these
trails that are covered from the environment, so you're not
going to get rained on, and you can go through
most of the hotels without ever having to go outside.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Every year Dragon Con partners with a nonprofit and makes
a significant donation, not just financially but also through volunteer
years and other other resources. And each year it's always
a different nonprofit. This year it's the National Alliance and
Mental Illness of Georgia.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, no ME Georgia is very important. Mental health is
such a key factor in our lives. I myself have
been a paramedic for almost thirty years and I see
the effect of mental health and the latterof in our
society and in our people. So we're very happy to
partner with NOAMI Georgia that provide trained volunteers and leaders
(05:28):
throughout Georgia, provide peer led education programs, support groups at
no cost to participant. So no ME Georgia is really
doing a big job in Georgia helping keep our mental
health up the snuff so we can be healthy human being.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Working as an EMT, you know a lot about the
importance of blood drives and the fact that we're always short.
Dragon Con, the annual blood drive is always a huge event.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, lifestyleth has partnered with us for a very long time.
Last year we had four thousand donors, over ten thousand
units of blood components put together. And I will say,
not only is it a good cause, it takes a
very little bit of your time to donate and make
a difference in the world, because you're right, we're always
short on blood products in the medical world. You get
(06:14):
a very unique and collectible shirt for doing it, and
I find when I give, I get that satisfaction of helping.
I get something cool to take away, and who doesn't
like something cool.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Let's talk about some of the fandoms represented this year,
and I know we hit on some of the things
that the convention is and sometimes these specific fandoms that
get represented are big draw every year. This year, obviously
we've got an anniversary Back to the Future. Some of
the stars from Back to the Future will be there. Also,
(06:47):
nice representation for Star Wars this year. We haven't always
had that at Dragon Con, so that's really nice. Some
of the more recent projects, obviously Mandalorian and the latter
sequel trilogy starting to get some representation too. Star Trek
is always represented well. William Shatner will be back cast
(07:08):
from Bones will be there, the magicians, the Aero Verse,
X men, ninety seven voice actors. There's a lot to
see this year. But it's also more than just that, right.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Not just the on screen TV actors. It is the
voice actors. And we absolutely have comic book artists like
Seandra Free who wrote The God Machine. You can meet
your favorite authors there, like Jim Butcher and Babmagoo. We
have everybody that can have a fandom is represented. So
you will find your favorite person at dragon Con.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
And get to meet them and get a picture. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Next, we talk with doctor Sean Krusen. He's the executive
director of Columbus State University's Coca Cola Space Science Center
in Columbus. He's also the co host of the Mate
of Stars podcast with me, and we've talked a lot
Sean about the importance of science and science fiction and
(07:59):
how those two are interwoven.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Just recently on our podcast, we covered a very sad
story which is the passing a very famous NASA astronaut,
Jim Level. Jim was the commander of Apollo thirteen, but
he also had several other flights to space, including the
very famous first ever flight around the backside of the
Moon on Apollo eight. Now, one of the things that
Wes and I discussed on our show is just how
(08:25):
much of an inspiration the life of Jim Lovell was
to all of those of us who go into science
or just follow science, are interested in science. And that's
partly because he became famous because of his NASA career.
But there was this little Hollywood motion picture made about
his life, and specifically made about the incident of Apollo thirteen.
(08:46):
You know that movie Apollo thirteen, that's the one with
Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. You can use it on
that you know, six Steps to Kevin Bacon list. But
the important part of that motion picture was revealing the
heroism of not just those astronauts, but also the people
on the ground who were so instrumental in solving some
never heard of before problems in a very short period
(09:09):
of time to be able to bring those astronauts back
home safely. And so the amazing part that ties in
with Dragon Con is that all of those incredible achievements
are reflected in the motion picture, and many of the
people who may never have really followed the details of
the Apollo program, didn't really know who Jim Level was,
(09:30):
otherwise found out a lot about Jim Level's story through
the motion picture of Apollo thirteen, right, And so it's
just a reminder of how the motion picture industry and
the importance of science and science fiction portrayed in the
arts is so important to the continuing endeavor of science
(09:51):
in general because it helps the public better understand or
just be inspired by all of the things necessary to
do great science and great exploration. And that's one of
the things that dragon Con has at its core. They
even have a science track at dragon Con, which is
super important because it allows all of those who just
(10:13):
love science fiction and fantasy to also tie in the
real science that is pushing the boundaries in frontiers of
our human understanding, and then that ties back into the
science fiction that gets written and produced, and then that
science fiction then inspires more scientists to go push the
boundaries of science, and then that gets reincorporated back into
(10:33):
the science fiction endeavor. So these two industries, these two
human endeavors, which are kind of parallel but separate to
one another, are very important because they inspire one another
and they push each other to then grow both science
pushing science fiction and science fiction pushing science.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Next, we talk with actor, voice artist and podcaster Katie Sakoff,
probably nowhere best from Battlestar Galactica and part of the
Star Wars TV universe, including Rebels and the Mandalorian. Katie,
how many Dragon Cons is this for you?
Speaker 5 (11:10):
You know, I was just thinking about it, and I
can't honestly tell you if it's three or if it's four.
I'm just I'm trying to. Normally, I remember dragon Con
based on who was with me and one memorable like cosplay,
and I can most specifically I've got I've got three,
but they could be from the same one, so I'm
(11:32):
not sure this could be three or this could be four.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, this is going to be number twenty four for me, consecutive.
They all run together for me, but they're all specially
in their own way, of course. So what brings you
back to Dragon Con? I know this is you've got
You've got your toe or in some cases you've done
a cannonball into so many different fandoms, so but you've
at least got a toe in many of them, and
(11:55):
I'm sure when you do different conventions, they're all different
in their own way. But dragon Con is very unique
and special because it's dragon Con.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
I think you know the fact that I haven't been
back to dragon Con in almost ten years, if not
ten years, I think is sort of the reason, you
know dragon Con is is everyone knows it the biggest
show of the year, and I think it's just one
of those things where people just assume you're going, and
(12:28):
when you tell them you're not going, you're like, oh wow, okay,
And so I think it was about time. It was
just time for me to come back.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You were, you were long overdue as far as the
fandoms go, and I know you're going to get folks
that are going to come to see you about so
many different things. Obviously, Battlestar has been the thing for
a very long time. Now, Star Wars pretty prominent. I
know Longmire twenty four, you've kind of had, you know,
(12:55):
DC Marvel. As far as a voice work that you've done,
I've been even into the Halloween franchise or Riddick. I mean,
there's a lot represented there. So I know you'll get
folks cosplaying and coming up to see you for a
lot of different things. That's pretty unique when you've got
that thick of a resume, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I think it's really special, is what it is. Is
that you you know, I've been allowed to exist in
so many different fandoms at this point, and and and
different mediums of our industry and of genre work, and
I just think it's really special. You know, my career
at this point is like almost thirty years and it's
(13:44):
just a It's just a gift, is what it is.
Because sci fi fans are the most supportive and loving
fans out there, and I'm you know, lucky to have.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Them supportive and loving. They have a bit of a
reputation here lately of being a little difficult at times.
I want to kind of kind of go back in
time a little bit to Battle Star and the Starbuck
gender swap. How different would that have played out today
or even in the last five to ten years.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Oh God, a completely different thing, you know, for a
multitude of reasons. I mean, the main reason.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Is that social media didn't exist. People didn't have a
platform to yell into and out from, and so if
people were upset and they were, they didn't have as
large of a place to go out and reach people.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
And so and because of that, they didn't have the
ability to form like these gangs, if you will, these
angry mob like, you know, fandoms that get really upset
that then find each other and it amplifies the voice.
And so I think that it was allowed to happen
(15:06):
for that reason. But also I think that, you know,
Starbrek was a really special character, and I think that
she was written just really well, straight off off the top,
and I think she won over the majority of the
fan base if they gave it a chance. A lot
(15:26):
of people still haven't for the same reason, and I
find it just really sad, to be honest, but you know,
it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Next, we talk with actor, voice artist, best selling author
Sam Whitwor Sam. You and I first met at dragon
Con about fourteen years ago, and we've bumped into each
other at different conventions along the way over the years,
including Star Wars Celebration. But Dragon CON's a little different
than the others. It has a bit of a reputation,
(15:55):
and I think it's a well deserved reputation.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I love the way that it's got a reputation yeack anyway.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
But I'd love to get your thoughts on on that
convention and what it is, what dragon Con is, and
what it means to folks that come in and get
an opportunity to meet their fans wew.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
For me, it's obviously it's a great, big, giant con
and I love that about it. As far as its
reputation for I don't know, people running around and celebrating
in their own way or partying or whatever. I really
wouldn't know. I'm not much of a partier, you know,
But the con aspect and meeting fans and saying hello
(16:37):
to people and answering questions that I know a few
things about, and I think Dragon Con is amazing for that.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
The cosplay is elite. I know you see a lot
of it at different conventions, but it is really a
you know, multi day costume party that kind of goes
on all night every night and ends on Monday. And
you know, you're a part of a lot of different fandoms,
so you get to see a lot of different cosplay.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Correct correct, And I mean there's a lot of talent
people throw into those those get ups.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
So you get started at lucasfilm playing a character in
the video game The Fourth Unleashed. You get cast to
voice character of the Sun in the Mortis story arc
on the Clone Wars, and show creator Dave Filoni sees
in you the ability to play Darth Maul, and this
was a character that we didn't know a whole lot about,
and you guys had to begin a process of flushing
(17:28):
out who he is.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
That started a process of me and Dave because I
was shooting a series of time in Montreal, so me
and Dave would just get on the phone and just
get into these large discussions about who we think Darth
mal is and also how we think that there were
some misconceptions based on his limited dialogue, based on what
little we saw of him. Know, we agreed very quickly
(17:52):
that it's like that is one aspect of this character.
He's a young man in Phantom Menace who is trying
to prove himself to his master, and he's standing on
ceremony and saying yes sir, no sir. But there's a
lot more to this guy than just yes sir, no sir.
Because in all of the Death Mall portrayals at that
point had gone with the strong silent type, and he
didn't really say much, and he was this intimidating presence,
(18:12):
and me and Dave, under Georgia's direction, were like, well,
we think he actually has a lot to say. We
think that he would have to if he's the apprentice
of Palpatine or if he was rather his talents would
be wide ranging, and his intellect would be would be considerable,
and his ability to articulate himself and to manipulate events
(18:34):
and to think his way through situations would be that
would be you know, foundational to how we are going
to play with that character. So, you know, we talked
about we talked about other characters in film history that
we thought we could maybe draw from, you know, like
the examples. And Dave felt that there was an aspect
of Gallum that we could bring in a death mall,
(18:57):
to which I said, okay, well, now if we're bringing
in Gallum, there is no Gollum without Smiegel and he's like, yes,
you're right. So I think that's when we first started
figuring out that there were some vulnerabilities, human vulnerabilities to
this person's character. You know, that there was a person
in there that was going through some stuff. Then we
(19:19):
talked about Colonel Kurtz, how Colonel Kurtz and Apocalypse Now
is kind of plugged into something you know out there
that not everyone can see, and that certainly worked well.
And then the final character we discussed when we talked
about how we were going to play him was in
fact con Unions saying from Star Trek, So I think
(19:40):
the the relationship there, it's fairly obvious when you see
Ricardo Montanam's fantastic performance. There was something of that obsession
that we thought mal could use. So there's a long
story for you, and we basically had to figure it
out with the thought that we could absolutely ruin this
and the fans gunning for us for the rest of
(20:02):
our lives. But perhaps there was a small chance that
we could do something really, really cool that they might like.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And that's not how and that's not how it played
out though, But this is a beloved character that people
were excited to see return.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Yeah, now, well we're happy that that's how it. I'll
play it up, because you know, we went into it
with the understanding that it could go the other way
very much.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So next we talk with an actress best known for
her work in the Mandalorian and Ahsoka for her role
as Morgan Elsbeth. She's an actor, director, writer, author, stuntman,
stunt choreographer. Have you ever been a best boy on
a set? I We'll get to that in a second.
It's Diana Leansanto. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
Hello, Hi everyone.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
What haven't you done on a film set? You've done
just about everything?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Have you done the gaffing tape or any of that stuff?
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Lights, sir. When you're doing an indie film, you kind
of have to learn everybody's departments. And so I kind
of had to jump in there from time to time.
But you know, because I had a history of being
a stunt woman working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Walker Text the Ranger and fay Stoff in my younger years,
you know, I would ask questions and I would learn
(21:19):
everybody's department because somehow I had this feeling that I
would try to call the shots on my own path
and learn to be a director and a producer and
a writer. And I thought the best thing to do
is to learn everybody's department. And I heard I even
(21:42):
Wrightman does that or did that, and that's he had
an understanding of how the machinery of a set should work.
So yeah, I kind of do know to some degree
or another.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Let's talk about dragon Con. It's a convention unlike other conventions.
It's really its own beast. Have you been properly prepped
for do you know?
Speaker 6 (22:00):
Do you keep hearing this? I yees, so this will
be my first time at dragon Con, and yeah, I
keep hearing it has a very unique fingerprint compared to
all the other comic cons. I'm like, Okay, I have
to find out what this is about. So yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I mean, the main thing that you need to know is,
you know, you'll have your schedule for events and places
to be, and that will be I'm sure similar to
other events. What you need to know about everyone else
that will be there is when people say, what time
does this thing shut down at night? The answer is
Monday afternoon. And when people say no, no, no, but like
(22:40):
each night, what times it close? And it's like you
have to listen to what I'm saying. It starts on Thursday,
it shuts down Monday afternoon.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
I heard something about this. It's just got this ongoing heartbeat.
It will not stop.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
So you and I have something in common, and we
both have middle names that are inspired by like a
friend of our parents. In my case, my middle name
comes from one of my parents' friends who's a retired
insurance agent in Dothan, Alabama. Okay, and I mean no
disrespect to the insurance agents of the world, and especially
my parents friend, who is a great guy. Yours has
(23:21):
a little more punch pun intended, you think, I mean
heaven Bruce Lee is a godfather. What was that like
growing up?
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (23:31):
You know for me as a kid when I would
see and he was Uncle Bruce. For me, I didn't
understand that he was famous.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
I just thought he was my dad's.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Martial arts partner. I would always see him as a
child working out in the backyard and hitting boards and
breaking them, or we would go over to Uncle Bruce's
house and he was with the family. You know, there
was you know, Linda, there was Brandon and his Shamnon
who was just a baby, and there would be martial
(24:03):
artists in the backyard working out, kicking the bag, you
name it. I just thought that was the world that
he was about, just purely martial arts. But then I
realized later when we went to the drive in and
what we were seeing a movie that Uncle Bruce was
in and I thought, oh my gosh, uncle Bruce is
a movie star.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Dragon Con is coming up very fast. So I guess
as we wind things down, any message you'd like to
give to the fans that are coming up to see
you at dragon Con, Oh my gosh, just kind.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And say hi.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
We'll talk star wars, anything you like, and I'll probably
do my own survey of asking you what was your
favorite shows, what you loved, what inspired you. I mean,
those are the questions I love asking a fan, you know,
And I'm just I'm just looking forward to it and
I can't wait to see those amazing costumes.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
And that'll do it for this year's dragon Con pregame show.
Thanks to our guest Diana Lee and Asanto Whitwor, Katie Sackoff,
Charles McFall, and doctor Sean Crusen. Thanks also to Sam,
Greg Tillman, and the rest of the media relations team
at DragonCon. To hear more of these interviews, as well
as past interviews with guests like William Shatner, Zachary Levi,
(25:16):
Evangeline Lilly, Adam Savage, Lonnie Anderson, and more, check out
the dragon Con pregame show podcast, Plus check out my
weekly space news podcast, Made of Stars, both on the
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn
more about Nami Georgia, visit Nami dot org. That's Nami
(25:36):
dot org. To learn more about Columbus State University's Coca
Cola Space Science Center in Columbus, visit cc SSC dot org.
To learn more about DRAGONCN or to purchase your membership,
visit DragonCon dot org. Thank you for listening to Georgia Focus,
with a new episode here next week on this station
with the Georgia News Network. I'm Wes Carol, and I'll
(25:58):
see you at DragonCon.
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