Wizard World Toronto

Back at the end of March (yes, I know, I'm an incredibly slow blogger) Wizard magazine held their first Canadian convention - Wizard World Toronto.

So two of my best friends and I broke out our B.P.R.D costumes so we could paint the town, err Red ;)

We had a fantastic time, thanks to great company, great guests (including one Mr. Doug Jones, but more on that in a sec) and we were very fortunate to run into some very talented folks who were all nice enough to take the following very cool pics of us.

In fact that first pic was taken by Viewpoints of Elemental-Photography.Net who shot a whole string of great photos for us.
You can visit her full gallery with all her Wizard World Toronto: B.P.R.D pics HERE.

(And in case you are wondering about some of the more umm ... interesting ... shots with Abe and Kroenen, those were done as a very special parody comic for Kim and Rebecca, the creators of the webcomic Abe & Kroenen, because not only is the comic brilliant and hilarious but they both happen to be two very nice people who we wanted to make laugh - payback ladies!)

Oh and at one point we ran into this tall, skinny fellow who really liked giving hugs and for some reason really liked our costumes a lot ... ;)

Just kidding - to be honest the entire reason we dug out all the B.P.R.D gear was because we knew Doug would be in attendance. And although I have gotten to show Doug parts of my Abe costume before (like at the Hellebration) I'd never had the chance to show him the whole thing. But I've already promised the full story to Helen over at The Doug Jones Experience so for more details you'll just have to wait ;)

Welcome to Things In Jars! Pickle anyone?

Why "Things In Jars" you ask? Well, this is a fan-blog dedicated to film director, major geek, and all around awesome guy, Guillermo Del Toro (or GDT as his fans have affectionately dubbed him).
(Psst… should you already be a Guillermo Del Toro fan, feel free to skip the next two paragraphs – you already know this stuff.)

Guillermo Del Toro’s the creative mastermind behind the Oscar winning Pan’s Labyrinth, Devil’s Backbone, and two film adaptations of Mike Mignola’s comic Hellboy (oh, and next up he’s got this little movie called The Hobbit). You don't have to watch too many GDT films before it becomes fairly obvious that there are a number of reoccurring motifs he likes to use – one of which happens to be things in jars (Cronos, Devil’s Backbone, and Hellboy all feature shots of preserved specimens of some sort).

I’ve been a fan of Guillermo’s since 2004, after watching the behind the scenes documentary for the original Hellboy (I am a complete and utter DVD extras junkie). I was blown away not only by the unabashed enthusiasm and amazing creativity he brings to his work but also by the affection and dedication he inspires in those who work with him. This mutual respect also extends to his many fans, with whom he has a very close and hands-on relationship (he regularly posts to fan message boards and answers as many fan questions and emails as he can). As I became a bigger and bigger fan myself I eventually joined DelToroFilms.com, Guillermo’s official fansite, and have been a regular ever since - so much so, in fact, that I am now a contributing blogger.

(Ok fans, you can start reading again)

Since, as the old saying goes ‘write what you know’, most of the entries here in Jars will deal with creatures, costumes, or special effects make-up, although everything should somehow relate back to GDT in a six degrees of separation sort of way. The plan is to bring you some fun interviews, articles, and interesting things (both in and out of jars) so I hope you come back and take a peek.

Speaking of interviews … COSPLAYERS – if you have a GDT related costume (including, but certainly not limited to, any characters from the Hellboy films, Blade II, or Pan’s Labyrinth) and would like to be interviewed for this blog please email me at kusanivy AT deltorofilms.com. I’ll send you some questions and happily post any pics or information you’d like to share about your costume(s).