Comic conventions are not just about the books anymore.
The stars will be out this weekend at the Monroeville Convention Center for the summer edition of Steel City Con, which is held three times a year.
It’s a paradise for fans of not just comic books but all pop culture.
Vendors will be on hand selling popular and rare comic books, along with shirts, apparel and pretty much any other kind of pop culture item you can think of.
One of the most popular parts of any Steel City Con is the celebrities that come to meet fans, take photos and sign autographs.
This weekend, fans will have the chance to meet a wide-ranging list of popular stars including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Martin Sheen, Pricilla Presley, Jennifer Gray, Dennis Rodman, many of the stars of the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai, including Ralph Macchio and Billy Zabka and more.
One of the other big names that will be in Monroeville this weekend is Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt.
Hunt took some time to talk to KDKA Radio about why she is visiting Steel City Con.
While she is known for shows like “Mad About You” and movies like “As Good As It Gets” and “Cast Away”, Hunt is celebrating 28 years of the movie “Twister”.
A stand-alone sequel, “Twisters” was recently released and has people talking about the original once again.
Hunt, who played Dr. Jo Harding, in the original says she never goes back and watches her old stuff, but did re-watch the tornado disaster movie during the pandemic with her daughter.
“We all said, wait a minute, this movie totally holds up and it’s really fun to watch,” said Hunt.
Realizing that “Twister” is still a “fun” movie, she decided to try to show it again on the big screen. While there won’t be a screening in Pittsburgh, one of the few cities she will be visiting is Akron, Ohio on September 28. Get details for that here.
But if you want to meet Hunt, without a showing of “Twister”, you can do so this weekend in Monroeville, specifically Saturday.
Hunt loves the enthusiasm fans still have. She says one woman showed up to an event dressed up as Dr. Harding and another woman came dressed as an actual tornado.
“So many people” have told her they were inspired by the movie to become meteorologists.
“I mean so many people and if they’re there with their mothers, I just look at the mothers and say ‘I’m so sorry’”, said Hunt. “I mean it’s one thing if they’re a meteorologist but if they’re actually out there chasing storms I feel like I owe an apology to their parents.”
When it comes to meeting fans, she was initially told she wouldn’t like cons because of her introverted nature, but after she did one, it was different.
“What I found were a lot of very sweet . . . I found it brought out the best in me because it’s hard to be in a bad mood when people are genuinely excited about whatever your work has meant to them,” said Hunt.
Hunt will be appearing exclusively on Saturday. You can find the whole celebrity appearance list here of what days they are attending, times, pricing and more.