NEW SG Interview: Holly Conrad – Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope0

by Fred Topel

One of the most impressive aspects of San Diego Comic-Con is the annual masquerade, where cosplayers show off their creative designs. Everyday people create the images of comic book, movie and video game characters with costumes rivaling big Hollywood productions. For his documentary on Comic-Con, Morgan Spurlock chose one cosplay artist to follow for a portion of the film.

Holly Conrad designed an entire ensemble of Mass Effect costumes for the 2010 masquerade. Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope follows Conrad from designing the costumes in her garage through assembling them on stage, as one of four stories surrounding the convention. Spurlock also follows a group of artists seeking mentorship, a comic book shop owner and a couple of geeks in love.

Conrad is one of the film’s breakout stars. Simply from the ingenuity of her Mass Effect costumes, producers of the Mass Effect movie offered her a job as a consultant on the film. Everywhere she goes in her Shepard costume, she stands out and gets compliments from impressed onlookers. That includes driving to the film’s Los Angeles press junket. Conrad planned to give all her interviews in costume, so she was suited up as she drove to Beverly Hills one Thursday morning. We spoke with her by phone, her very first interview of the day, to celebrate the glory of cosplay. She also wore her costume to the film’s Hollywood premiere.

Read our exclusive interview with Holly Conrad on SuicideGirls.com.