Supanova
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Supanova

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 A celebration of popular culture, encompassing TV & film, geekery, gaming and gadgetry, collectibles, comics, cosplay and more, Supanova first opened in Sydney back in 2002 and had 6,000 through the door. The following year they added Brisbane, then Melbourne and Perth in 2008 and last year, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. The events, which Zachariou proudly describes as being “like the motor show but for geeks”, now pull on average 20,000 people per expo. Zachariou says Supanova is the biggest event of its kind in Australia.

This year, there’s plenty to keep the autograph hunters happy. Headline guests include Doctor Who Star Alex Kingston (who plays Professor River Song) and David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff. Other actors include Eliza Dushka, Ray Park, Rose McGowan and Game of Throne’s Natalia Tena. I Dream of Jeannie’s Barbara Eden will also be in attendance, as will Noah Hathaway, Sam J.Jones and Ryan Robbins. Zachariou is particularly happy he has secured Adam Baldwin (from Firefly and Serenity) and Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum as he has been chasing them both for several years now. “It makes it all the more sweeter when you get them,” he enthuses.

The multi Academy Award winning Weta NZ will present The Magic of Middle Earth. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will host actors Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur) and Dean O’Gorman (Fili) in a panel session hosted by Mark Ferguson, who is recognised as a Lord Of The Rings expert. Karl Urban, whose career was launched with his charismatic portrayal as Eomer in The Two Towers and Return Of The King is another guest. 

Stars from the worlds of anime and comics, plus screenwriters and authors, will also be there and there’s a trading floor where fun commodities and rare collectibles can be snapped up, plus other items, like DVDs, figurines, accessories and clothing. People are also encouraged to get into the spirit of the day and dress up, either just for fun or to compete in the Madman National Cosplay Championships.

For Zachariou, it’s all about fun. “At the heart of it, there’s this 15-year-old pimply faced kid who’s really into comic books, movies, action figures and Dungeons and Dragons and they decided they’re going to put on a convention that’s basically going to represent all that and yeah, that 15-year-old boy is still very much excited about doing this and putting on events that he would really enjoy at that age,” he says.

Having said that, the Supanova event, which is this coming weekend at the Melbourne Showgrounds, is actually for the inner child in most adults – although real children as also definitely welcome as well. “As someone in their 40s it’s about that inner child in all of us, that wide eyed wonder, looking at the world and this is the beautiful thing about the fantasy world and the pop culture world that we inhabit. Whether through the written word or illustrated images or the CGI created graphics from computers or the filmmaking, it’s all about amazing stories told from a slightly different tangent that allows the fantastical to take us places we might not have thought or engage us in a sideways sort of stream, realising that there’s some pretty interesting questions being posed to us as we watch and address it,” he says.

“So that’s the aspect that I think is important: that 15-year-old in all of us is engaged and brought forward when we’re talking about these type of events”.

BY JOANNE BROOKEFIELD