The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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8 • LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2026 IN THE NEWS San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Scouts and Fans Come Together A stormtrooper, a transformer and Loki all walk into a panel discussion. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? It might be if you were not at the central hub of Comic-Con International, the world's largest gathering to celebrate comic arts, games, anime, and popular studio film and TV series franchises with an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy. And once again, the line of hopeful attendees trying to gain entrance to the LMGI Hollywood Location Scouts panel discussion snaked out of the conference room and into the hallway. For those who don't know, Comic-Con began as a gathering of 300 science fiction, fantasy and comic book fans in the San Diego County Library basement and is now in its 56th year, the largest convention of its kind. It fills the San Diego Convention Center with more than 130,000 attendees. Returning as moderator for a second year, is 'Locationologist' author, executive producer and creator of the PBS socal Digital series Locationland and fan of location professionals by Jill Naumann/LMGI L-R: Ryan Schaetzle/LMGI, Jordana Kronen/LMGI, Zachary Heine/LMGI, Kelly Harris/LMGI, John Cefalu/LMGI & moderator Harry Medved All photos courtesy Jill Naumann/LMGI worldwide, Harry Medved. Joining Medved for the LMGI's 14th year at Comic-Con were members Scott Trimble, John Cefalu, Kelly Harris, D. Zachary Heine, Jordana Kronen and Ryan Schaetzle. Founding Guild member and current Board member, SLM and scout Scott Trimble (Star Trek: Picard, Transformers: The Last Knight, Ghostbusters Afterlife, Star Wars: Episode IX: The Mandalorian, Terminator Genisys), is the creator of the LMGI's Comic-Con panel. Trimble says, "Comic-Con is a great venue for educating people for what we do because it combines film industry professionals and the general public. I've been a fan of science fiction all my life. And now, I get to work on those movies and share my passion for what we do, with the people who appreciate the final product. I would still be here even if I didn't work in the film industry at all, but doing this panel just adds to the excitement. The personal experience of being a location scout on a project that I am already a fan of, allowing me to travel, meet new people and expand the photography experience for the purpose of creative storytelling is what I've always wanted to do." Kelly Harris (Tracker S4, Bel-Air, Silicon Valley, Runaways) says, "Sometimes the most rewarding part of the job is just interacting with people. This job puts us in a position to meet people from all over and sometimes their experience, the knowledge that they have can really influence our outcome and our storyline. Sometimes we can share things that we found in our developed searches from the community, things or places that are not in the script. We can suggest, reveal and showcase, and then they take it on and end up using it as a location. Some of our favorite location scouts are you guys (pointing into the audience), because when we go into your town and talk with you, we get the best information about the best places." Jordanna Kronen (Modern Family, Hunters, High Potential) adds, "To echo that sentiment about the influence of people in different places, we can really change a person's life or entire organization because sometimes you get to donate toward community improvements and it's wonderful to experience that positive impact. It feels so rewarding in the right context to make that difference." John Cefalu (Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Ahsoka, Inventing Anna, Gone Girl, X-Men: First Class) adds, "In keeping on track with the people you meet, while scouting for the lake house on Gone Girl, this lovely older