Wondercon 2022 Day 1: Titanic 666 and AAPI Voices

It’s back! It’s back! It’s back!

Wondercon is back at Anaheim! After a few years of being forced to go virtual thanks to the pandemic (isn’t that weird that this just a normal thing to say now?! A pandemic has become a normal blip in our timelines…), Anaheim Convention Center opened it’s many, many glass doors to eager cosplayers and the general geekdom.

Thanks to my stint at Fangirl Nation (Fangirlnation.com), I am granted access as press to cover various pop culture media. So I pass through waves of cosplayers lugging a backpack filled to the brim with camera equipment, notes, and everyday essentials. It seemed that Demon Slayer and Mandalorians were the most popular cosplayers in attendance on day one.

First press event for Wondercon 2022 was covering Asylum Film’s TITANIC 666 with roundtable interviews with the talent and crew.

Here’s the synopsis for TITANIC 666:

“One hundred and ten years after its namesake’s deadly journey, the Titanic III is fated to repeat one of history’s greatest disasters. A faithful replica of the original, the mammoth cruise ship is safeguarded with the most advanced technology to assure clear passage on its maiden voyage for the famous influencers, historical enthusiasts, and excited travelers on board. But a nightmare is about to unfold, as unbeknownst to all, there is a stowaway amongst them with vengeful intentions to channel dark forces still at sea. As the ship halts over the surface of the original gravesite, crew and passengers are terrorized by hauntings from the past.

For absolute transparency, I am terrified of ghosts. Ghosts, vampires, the dark, things that go literally boom at night. And yet, I have a life-ending need to know what is happening. With that said, TITANIC 666 is my Asylum film experience. The studio is known for bringing SHARKNADO franchise to the world, so I was anticipating some cheesy antics and effects.

Based off the screener that was received, TITANIC 666 is actually a pretty decent watch with some spectacular efffects. During the roundtable, VFX Supervisor Glenn Campbell, shared that amount of teamwork and effort to match the film’s aesthetic to the famous 1997 James Cameron film TITANIC. The opening sequence of the bodies sinking down the water is so beautiful and eerie. The effects of the ghosts is heavy on the jump scares and blinking effects so prepare thy eyes to close!

It is with absolute recognition that my obsession with learning about the tragedy of the Titanic is every morbid. The fascination of the points that lead to the disaster should never shadow over the fact that thousands of lives were lost to the frigid waters. So knowing that there is a film using this story as a foundation for their paranormal ghost story gave me great pause to cover this film. It was curiosity that bowled over that hesitation. During the screener, there were bits of dialogue that quelled that hesitation as the film did acknowledge the exploitative nature and also created a moment of silence for those lives lost. So even though the movie does go right back into ghost story mode, kudos to Asylum for those dialogue points. It leaves the viewer free to shamelessly watch the movie.

The press interviews were such a surprising delight. Especially getting to know AnnaLynn McCord who plays the very vapid social influence Mia. Once she readily admitted that her character’s mannerisim is based of Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek, I eager to know more. Her co-star, Joseph Gatt (who plays the secondary bodyguard), quickly dropped the enticing info that McCord is a major Titanic history buff. McCord then happily dispensed various Titantic trivia that was both informative and entertaining.

The other tidbit that was fascinating was learning that Lydia Hearst, who also stars a role in film in summoning the ghosts, is actually the great-granddaughter of William Heast! A fact so intriguing after rewatching “The Cat’s Meow” a few ago. Apparently, the Heasts are never far from a boating tragedy.

Lydia Hearst does a great job of being steadfast and bonkers character. Although I am still questioning how and why her character chose to wear a long dress while being stuffed in a suitcase. Pretty sure that dress would have rose up and her bare skin would have been rubbed raw.

TITANIC 666 will be premiering on Tubi on April 15. Yes. April 15, the anniversary of Titanic’s sinking.

ABOUT TUBI:

Tubi, a division of FOX Entertainment, is an ad-supported video-on-demand service with over 40,000 movies and TV shows, including a growing library of Tubi originals, 100+ local and live news and sports channels, and 250+ entertainment partners, featuring content from every major Hollywood studio. Tubi gives fans of film, television, news and sports an easy way to discover new content that is completely free.

Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and soon on Hisense TVs globally. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at www.tubi.tv.

The first ended with attending the panel: Celebrating AAPI Voices in Media. The panel featured Trung Nguyen (artist), Mark Nazal (filmmaker), Leo Partible (creator, filmmmaker), Ariel Landrum (therapist), Stephanie Bautista (educator), and Lorran Garrison (school Psycologist and co-author).

The panel was focused on highlighting AAPI voices and adding more dialogue to the community. Asian American creators have been around for a long time but has barely received proper attention or any anything at all.

Within that one hour, the panel unpacked loads of discussion points and stirred a mental pot of thoughts. There was one core idea that struck a very strong resonance within. Trung Nguyen countered a panelists thoughts on having AAPI creators becoming more “mainstream.” In a nutshell, Nguyen suggested that AAPI and other minority creators should just focus on creating and not worry about being “correct” or “authentic". Asian Americans and those of mixed heritage have their own experiences unique to them. This practically shouted at my inner mental demons to stand down and start creating. I could not help but applaud Nguyen for his words for this is the kind of support that hesitant creator need.

As the panelist hosts pointed out, AAPI comprises of at least forty cultures so the panelists are not the monolith representation of them all. Every Asian American is diverse within their own experiences and yet we share similarities that can be voiced out.

During the Q&A, I braved a question and book named drop “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay as an essential read for all mixed AAPI. Right after the panel, I was approached by attendees who wholeheartedly agree of the importance of that book for the mixed race community. Through pop culture, we can all find means to bridge ourselves to one another for absolutely relatable stories