Space Samurai films at San Diego library!

Look what I chanced upon today! A new science fiction movie, Space Samurai: Oasis, is being filmed inside the San Diego Central Library!

They were filming inside the library’s huge Reading Room, which I was told will be portrayed as the interior of a space ship!

Here’s a page that describes the movie, now in development.

Cool!

UPDATE!

Three days later, they were filming by the elevators!

Avengers: Doomsday comes to San Diego!

Doomsday has come to San Diego!

Street lamp banners have begun to appear around downtown San Diego promoting Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster movie Avengers: Doomsday. Comic-Con is a little over a month away!

You know the hype will be out of this world for a movie that fans are already excited about. Will Doctor Doom triumph over the multiverse’s mightiest heroes?

Will San Diego be the epicenter of world-shattering superhero action? It sure looks that way!

Stand by for much more Avengers fun in the days ahead!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Free community screening of GOAT in Encinitas!

A free family screening of the sports comedy movie GOAT will take place this Friday, May 29, 5:30 -7:30 pm, at the Encinitas Community & Senior Center!

The event is hosted by the Encinitas Youth Commission and will include a good time watching the funny animated movie plus activities for youth and teens. There will also be raffle prizes featuring movie merch!

How cool is this?

The movie screening is being done in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund and Sony Pictures Animation. This event is in recognition of Mental Health Awareness month.

You can register for the fun event by clicking here!

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Laurel and Hardy accompanied by Spreckels Organ!

What a fun San Diego evening!

Laurel and Hardy entertained a huge crowd at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park during another very popular Silent Movie Night. (Appropriately renamed Not-So-Silent Movie Night!) The entertaining concert was part of the 37th San Diego International Summer Organ Festival.

The comedy duo starred in three silent films as San Diego organist extraordinaire Russ Peck added his own incomparable, equally humorous soundtrack!

Putting Pants on Philip, 1927, had the ladies chasing Stan Laurel, to the chagrin of Oliver Hardy. Two Tars, 1928, had Laurel and Hardy causing absolute havoc wherever they went. Liberty, 1929, saw the two bumbling heroes high up in the city sky balancing precariously on steel girders. All very silly, all hilarious!

As the San Diego evening sky darkened, Russ Peck played jaunty, sunny, nostalgic old tunes from the 1920s, getting the audience in the mood for silent films from the same decade. Then he joined “Stan Laurel” on stage for a fun little skit concerning hats.

Then the pavilion lights were dimmed and classic silent film antics commenced!

I can’t tell you just how wonderful it all was. Laughter all around!

After the films, I approached a table where I learned a big international Laurel and Hardy convention is coming to San Diego in 2026! The 24th International Sons Of The Desert Convention will be held on June 21-25, 2026 at The Legacy International Resort and Spa in Mission Valley.

Do you love Laurel and Hardy? Read all about the big event by clicking here!

San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez says hi before the start of Not-So-Silent Movie Night.
Raúl Prieto Ramírez gets the evening started.
Introducing Russ Peck, who is House Organist for the Balboa Theatre in San Diego.
Russ Peck with Spreckels Organ curator Dale Sorenson.
A fun Laurel and Hardy skit has the audience laughing.
Two Tars on the way to causing mayhem.
The 24th International Sons Of The Desert Convention is a big Laurel and Hardy event coming to San Diego in 2026!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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San Diego Ghostbusters catch ghost at Balboa Theatre!

A group of San Diego Ghostbusters entered downtown’s historic Balboa Theatre this afternoon in order to capture a Class 5 Full Roaming Vapor.

Fortunately, the ghost-catching mission ended in a success. After trapping the rambunctious spirit, the ghostbusting experts departed from the Balboa Theatre’s stage so a gathered audience could watch a classic movie: the original Ghostbusters!

Those in attendance, before entering the theatre, had the opportunity to meet some of the San Diego Ghostbusters, who arrived in Ecto-1 and Ecto-RR1 ready for action with their proton packs.

Yes, this unique event was a lot of fun! The showing of 1980s comedy Ghostbusters was part of the Balboa Theatre’s Retro Rewind programming.

The Real San Diego Ghostbusters group takes part in parades, festivals and other special events around San Diego. Perhaps you’ve seen them. Visit their website here.

With their appearance, these friendly Ghostbusters were raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. If you’d like to help out the charitable organization via Ghostbusters Give Back, click here!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Surprise encounter with Killer Tomatoes movie star!

Samantha Bailey is in San Diego for Comic-Con 2025. She plays the villain in the latest Attack of the Killer Tomatoes movie.

Samantha joined a Comic-Con Saturday panel concerning Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence and signed autographs.

Today, Sunday, when I saw a smiling somebody walking down MLK Promenade with a Killer Tomatoes sign, I quickly found out I had met the movie star herself!

I had seen Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence filming in early June by the USS Midway, but Samantha informed me she hasn’t performed her role in San Diego. Her work for the movie was done in Long Beach.

Samantha is the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. For sure she’ll be a superstar!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Star Wars prop auction at Comic-Con Museum!

How would you like to own an original Stormtrooper stunt helmet that was screen-used in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope? It’s one of six known.

Or how would you like to own an original lightsaber hilt prop used for the portrayal of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace? Yes, that double-bladed lightsaber that impaled Qui-Gon Jinn.

Or how would you like to own an original prop droid hand worn by Anthony Davis in his portrayal of C-3PO in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? That would be undeniably cool!

These and other rare Star Wars props can be bid upon between now and July 27th, 2025.

The auction items are now on display at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park. They’re part of an exhibition titled Echoes From the Galaxy.

Even if you have no intention to place a bid, Star Wars fans need to visit the museum just to see some important bits of cinematic history!

Want to learn more? Perhaps place your own bid? Here’s the Julien’s Auctions webpage concerning this special auction.

You’ll see a very wide variety of Star Wars memorabilia, from posters to patches to signed photos. And, of course, some amazing one-of-a-kind collectibles!

The live auction will take place at 10 am on July 27th, 2025, which is the final day of San Diego Comic-Con.

Some of the cool things on display…

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Fantastic Four banners for Comic-Con 2025!

Fantastic 4 banners have appeared in downtown San Diego in anticipation of Comic-Con 2025 and the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in late July!

The big tentpole Marvel movie is highly anticipated, and it appears promotion of the film is in high gear.

Who doesn’t love the Fantastic Four in the comics? Cool sci-fi action with far-out concepts and cosmic characters, dimensions and places, and a family of likable heroes. A lot of fans are hoping the movie lives up to very high expectations.

This is the third set of street lamp banners in downtown San Diego promoting different movies for Comic-Con 2025, which I believe is unprecedented.

One month until the big international pop culture event!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes sequel films near USS Midway!

Another sequel to cult classic Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is filming today in San Diego. I saw the production crew out on the wooden boardwalk just south of the USS Midway, and the scene was of tomato mayhem!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence is the name of this latest sequel according to IMDb. It’s described as “Jurassic Park” meets “Dr. Strangelove” which sounds like more campy absurd crazy fun. I did see an alligator on the set, so there’s at least one reptile among the rolling red vegetables!

Are those giant tomatoes co-stars in the film? Who plays Doctor Doom? Oops–wrong franchise.

Is this what tomato Armageddon looks like? You can spy the alligator on the right in the next photo–or is that a crocodile? Must’ve escaped from the San Diego Zoo.

Thank goodness they’ve caged one of the rampant ripe vegetables. Or, wait–is a tomato a fruit?

Man versus an overgrown villainous vegetable. Who is victorious?

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Meet a Hollywood legend in San Diego!

You can meet Erik Betts, a Hollywood legend, in San Diego this weekend!

Erik, a self-taught gymnast and martial artist, has acted and performed stunts in so many movies and television shows that it would take forever to list them all.

He’ll be hanging out at Black Comix Day in Balboa Park, inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center, signing collectibles, comics, posters, action figures, t-shirts and more on Sunday, February 16, 2025, from 10 am to 6 pm.

You’ve almost certainly seen Erik (without possibly knowing it) all over entertainment. He was the Red Power Ranger! He has acted, been a crew member and performed amazing stunts in countless Hollywood movies, including Avatar, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible III, and Ant-Man. He has worked in dozens of television shows, such as Westworld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, CSI: Miami, even the Young and the Restless, and many, many more! He has also contributed to video games!

Here’s his IMDb page with all of his credits and a full biography. Here’s his Instagram page.

Want to know the coolest thing about Erik? His huge smile and infectious enthusiasm. I was so excited just meeting him, absorbing his incredible energy. At Erik’s table you can watch a video of him creating jaw-dropping action in many of Hollywood’s most popular movies!

Make sure to swing by Black Comix Day on Sunday, February 16, 2025. It’s absolutely overflowing with talented creators–writers, artists, animators, publishers… Here’s the event website!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share this!