A sci-fi con is one of the few places where you can talk to big-shot actors, directors and Hollywood executives like they're your friends from down the street. Be sure to go to a panel or a signing and say hi, if only to say you did. This isn't the stodgy or trite atmosphere of a traditional press junket; if you're lucky, a pro will make a joke questioning your own personal sexual orientation in front of four hundred people.

People genuinely do make an effort to make the panels a good experience, and indeed movie studios and TV production companies put on special events to promote the next steaming pile of crap, complete with custom-made presentations and trailers specifically designed to give the all-important chess club demographic a feeling of being exclusively marketed to.

If an upcoming film is based on a comic book, you will hear no less than fifty-three times some variant of the old line, "We're going to update some things, but still leave the heart of the story intact and respect the character and its fans and not inspire comic nerd rage." This friendly and amiable statement is nothing but unfettered lies and you should begin preparing scathing Internet posts at your earliest convenience.

Of course all these panels have limited seating space -- refer to the point about lines -- and you're not going to have the chance to take in everything. But make the most of your line, and talk to people while you wait. You clearly have something in common, because you're both going to the same panel. Unless he's just confused and waiting for the restroom.