Susan Sarandon, Pam Grier, stars of ‘Pretty in Pink’ and more at buzzworthy RICC

PROVIDENCE —The latest Rhode Island Comic Con was a pop culture dream come true with plenty of big and small screen reunions, beloved celebrities, fond memories and often adult, off-color humor.

The convention was held  3 to 9 p.m. Nov. 7 through Nov. 9 at the Rhode Island Convention Center and Amica Mutual Pavilion (formerly the Dunkin’ Donuts Center) in Providence.

While it is impossible to do everything over a three-day weekend at Rhode Island Comic Con, it’s also nearly impossible to recap it. But here goes.

Geez Louise  

While Geena Davis, aka Thelma, was a no-show for the highly publicized “Thelma & Louise” panel (due to her flight being canceled; Davis was there the next day for autographs and photo ops), Louise (Susan Sarandon) was no slouch as she picked up all the slack.

After moderator Tim Estiloz gushed about Sarandon being an Oscar winner, Sarandon clarified she’s a “Oscar one-time winner and four-time loser.”

Then, Sarandon talked in great lengths about the unintended lasting legacy of “Thelma & Louise.”

“First of all, when we made the film, we had no idea that we were doing anything other than making, basically, a cowboy movie with trucks and women, instead of cowboys and horses,” Sarandon said. “I was just so happy to be able to work with a woman because, usually, in films if there are two women, one’s older and one’s younger and they hate each other.”

Susan Sarandon talks “Thelma & Louise” at the 2025 Rhode Island Comic Con. Geena Davis wasn’t at the panel because her plane was canceled but arrived the day after.

Sarandon recalled how she, Davis and director Ridley Scott were all confused about the “big backlash” the film experienced immediately upon its release.

“Nobody was quite sure why but they were saying that it encouraged suicide, which they definitely didn’t say for ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’” Sarandon said. “They said it was hateful toward men. And I think, really, I remember, it was (hateful) towards men who wore an exorbitant amount of jewelry. I don’t think it was against all men, And, we really didn’t foresee it would ever have that kind of response … It was kind of shocking to all of us.”

“Thelma & Louise” gained more political clout than was ever intended by Scott, Sarandon said. And, the fact that it was about women (and not men) going on a road trip is what made the film a big deal, she said.

“The actual romanticizing thing of going off a cliff, rather than going to jail, we have Ridley to thank for that,” Sarandon said. “I never figured out how he was going to make that a fun moment, but he managed to suspend that car and have that great music so we didn’t get depressed.”

Some of the actors cast in the film made it even better than the script was, Sarandon said.

Bryce Dallas Howard gets a kick out of Weird Al Yankovic’s “Jurassic Park” spoof, which, thanks to a fan, she is hearing for the first time, at the 2025 Rhode Island Comic Con.

“I mean, Brad Pitt, for instance, improvised so much, especially in the bedroom. But, also, outside of the bedroom,” she said. “And, all the teasing of the husband, a lot of that was improvised. A lot of what Gina and I did was improvised.”

Sarandon said she and Davis worried that their roles were going to be reduced to only a voiceover.

“It was so gorgeous everyday going to the set at sunrise and going home at sunset,” Sarandon said. “And they just were filming everything, and we were sure that we would end up just being some kind of a voiceover telling the story with these incredible gorgeous shots. ”

For Sarandon, she said told the director that the one thing she didn’t want to do is make “Thelma & Louise ” a revenge film.

“For me, my character was trying to understand why men think that’s a good idea to say those things, to do those things. Why? I wasn’t interested in making a film that was about revenge. I don’t like those films. I don’t like violence as an answer to anything, ” Sarandon said. “I don’t think she killed that guy on purpose. I think that there’s a line after she shoots him that says, Keep your mouth shut or something like that. I think she was just trying to shut him up.”

In the end, “Thelma and Louise ” is a love story between those two women, Sarandon said.

“I loved that it has become a language between women and their besties to take trips as long as they don’t do that line dance and drink too much everything’s cool,” Sarandon said. “But I wish I could say we made it as a feminist thing but, by the fact, that there were two women, it became feminist. ”

Calm in the Chaos Theory

In her much lighter panel, the always appealing Bryce Dallas Howard mused about running in high heels from dinosaurs in “Jurassic World” and became absolutely giddy when an audience member introduced to her to Weird Al Yankovic’s “Jurassic Park” parody done to the tune of “McArthur’s Park.”

From left, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer and Molly Ringwald reunite for a “Pretty In Pink” reunion at Rhode Island Comic Con.

Tickled pink

Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy, Andie and Blaine of “Pretty in Pink” fame, and Duckie, Jon Cryer, were all on hand for a fun and whimsical panel at the Rhode Island Comic Con.

While McCarthy confessed that he was a bit of a jerk to Cryer while making “Pretty in Pink,” Cryer, in his first comic con ever, got him off the hook, somewhat, by saying that McCarthy wasn’t that much of a dick.

“What it was he was quiet and, sort of, kept to himself, which to me, means you hate me,” Cryer explained. “And Howie Deutch, the director, later said, Oh, I cast you guys because I didn’t think you liked each other.”

Despite not being Jewish, Cryer, who revealed he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish folksongs, said he couldn’t take credit for his memorable lip-sync/mating dance ritual to Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness,” done to win Ringwald’s character over.

Instead, Cryer gave credit to Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed Dirty Dancing and Ferris Buellers Day Off.

“Howard Deutch got me together with Kenny the night before we were going to shoot. And Kenny became aware very quickly that I was not a professional dancer,” Cryer recalled. “It was really about what the song meant and what I was hoping to convey to Andie (Ringwald). I showed it to Howie and Lorne, the producer, the next day and they were not happy with it because they realized it was going to put us behind schedule.”

Ringwald said Duckie’s dance was her favorite scene in “Pretty In Pink.”

One thing that made it so special was no one told her about the scene beforehand, which was a revelation to Cryer.

“I didn’t even know,” Ringwald said. “I just knew I was just going to sit at the counter and Jon was going to come in and do something. I had no idea he was going to do that.”

“Seriously?” Cryer interjected “Wow!”

“I was really, really impressed,” Ringwald said.

Ringwald said her second favorite scene in the film was her kiss with McCartney, which made his ears perk up.

“Really?” he smirked. “That was definitely my favorite moment!”

As for souvenirs from the set, Ringwald said she took home everything from her wardrobe except for one thing, and that was the pink prom dress.

“And I’m kicking myself now. I would love to have my prom dress. There were like four of them,” she said. “They made four of these horrible dresses and I hated it so much I didn’t take them but I wished I had. I would love to have it now.”

Cryer kept Duckie’s shoes.

“I lent them to Planet Hollywood, the restaurant, because I thought I was being helpful. And they lost them,” Cryer said. “The last thing I have from Duckie now is bolo ties.”

“I have a blue shirt,” McCarthy added.

While Angie was tailored-made to be played by Ringwald, she revealed that there were three actors up for the role of Duckie — Cryer, Michael J. Fox and Robert Downey Jr.

As for Blaine, McCarthy’s character, Ringwald said Charlie Sheen came in to read for that, which made Cryer deadpan, “Oh, wow.“

Pam Grier captivated the crowd at Rhode Island Comic Con.

Black is beautiful

Pam Grier was an absolute delight, but her panel at the Rhode Island Comic Con is the kind that was so spontaneous and so unorthodox and so in the moment that you had to be there to appreciate it.

While she talked about her glorious Blaxploitation movie past with groundbreaking flicks “Coffy” and “Foxy Brown,” the highlight of her panel was her retelling her audacious audition in front of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell for “Escape from L.A.”

For the role of Hershe Las Palmas, a trans woman and past criminal associate of Snake Plissken, Grier came equipped with a zucchini concealed in her trousers as she danced up a storm to James Brown’s “Popcorn.”

In the end, Grier’s behind the scenes story was far better than the actual movie.

Misha Collins, who played angel Castiel on “Supernatural,” cast a spell on the Rhode Island Comic Con crowd.

Super unprepared for ‘Supernatural‘

Misha Collins, Rob Benedict, Richard Speightur Jr. and Kathryn Newton confessed that none of them were remotely familiar with “Supernatural” when they landed their respective parts on the series.

“There was a bus stop that had a poster of ‘Supernatural’ behind a glass and I thought If these (expletives) can get a TV show, why can’t I?” Collins said. “Not long after that I had an audition … And I still hadn’t watch the show when I started filming it which I think comes across in my performance. My character is clearly in a different show.”

Collins continued, saying, “When they said, ‘Hey, you want to go play a janitor.’ I said sure. I was late in reading the script and I was reading the script on an airplane. I was like, hold the phone. This is no normal janitor. This janitor has special powers,” Speightur recalled. “We did a table read with the conference call box in the middle of the table and (show creator) Eric (Kripe) is on that phone. And Eric starts giving instructions on how to keep the show on track while adding the humor but he’s only using the word ‘Supernatural’ as an adjective and an adverb. So he’s like, be sure you keep the ‘Supernatural’ elements. Make sure your choices are very ‘Supernatural.’ It’s a very ‘Supernaturally’ focused theme. I’m like you’re not helping buddy. You’re only using the title of the show to describe it.”

Likewise, Newton was largely unfamiliar with the franchise.

“I was in high school when I got the audition for ‘Supernatural.’ And I was on the golf team and one of my best friends and teammates was also named Sam Winchester. So you can imagine,” Newton said. “And I wanted to impress my friends … that’s really why I wanted the job … Before the audition my friends filled me in. They started screaming. You’re Castiel’s daughter. And they told me the whole lineage and everything. ”

“Starship Troopers” stars, front row, from left, Patrick Muldoon and Denise Richards and, back row, from left, Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer and panel moderator Lewis Perry at the Rhode Island Comic Con.

Ricos R-Rated Roughnecks! 

The “Starship Troopers” reunion panel certainly didn’t disappoint. With two profanity-laced loose cannons on each end of the couch in the guise of Seth Gilliam and Michael Ironside, who rapid-fire barrage of snappy answers and biting insults was absolutely hysterical and extremely off-colored, and moderator Lewis Perry of “The Angrygeeks Show” keeping things moving while standing clear of the verbal shrapnel, this was the panel to beat.

When he wasn’t playfully berating the audience questions, Ironside shared genuine insight and wisdom about the movie and director Paul Verhoeven’s vision.

“The original book is a right-wing manifesto. And Paul, being raised in post-war Europe, he did the film as an absolute satire. And the rest of the world saw that,” Ironside said. “The U.S. finally caught on that it was a satire. You have Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris) putting his hand on a bug’s (expletive). ‘It’s in pain.’ And everyone cheers. It’s satire.”

Casper Van Dien, who played Johnny Rico in “Starship Troopers,” holds up a copy of the Telegram & Gazette promoting his appearance at the Rhode Island Comic Con.

Ironside said during the press junket, they were often asked questions like “Are you pro-Nazis?” ”Why are you wearing Nazi uniforms?” and the actor would say, “Did you see the same (expletive) movie we made?”

The cast was asked their least favorite bug and their answers were bed bugs (Ironside), black widow (Denise Richards), potato bugs (Patrick Muldoon and Jake Busey), computer bugs (Casper Van Dien), water bugs (Dina Meyer) and the ladybugs (Gilliam, who said “”Just (expletive) your spots! ”).

When asked about who had your favorite death scene other than yourself, Meyer said Muldoon’s character, while Muldoon re-enacted his fatal demise by a cranium-sucking Brain Bug, while shrugging, ”I’ve never been the same since.”

Gilliam’s answer was much more direct — “Are you asking me who is my favorite death besides my death? Why the (expletive) should I care about another person’s death? As soon I died, the movie was over. ”

After Meyer’s character died after spending “20 minutes with Rico,” Van Dien said that was a “big moment,” which Meyer interjected, “It wasn’t that big.”

Ouch!

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Screen Time: Stars come out in Providence for Rhode Island Comic Con