KCRW's 'The Business' Talks Comic-Con with Jeff Katz
Filed under: Comic/Superhero/Geek, ComicCon
Comic-Con 2009 is over and done with, and the word of mouth is that it's grown too big for its britches. Whether or not that's the case will be debated up until the Con's contract with the city of San Diego ends in 2012, but based on my view from the floor on both Wednesday's Preview Night and Saturday, the seams have definitely swelled to the bursting point.
Yesterday on KCRW's public radio show The Business, about the film industry, host Kim Masters spoke with American Original founder Jeff Katz about this year's Comic-Con. You can listen to the episode right here, and for people who have never been before, Katz paints a fairly lopsided picture from his point of view of the entire experience.
He calls Friday and Saturday the "biggies," ... this after a record crowd waited outside to get into Thursday's Twilight / New Moon panel starting on Wednesday, which also included James Cameron's Avatar and Disney's Hall H presentation. He also talks about studios clamoring for a piece of the fanboy pie, while looking to do the exact same thing himself.
With movies like Shoot 'Em Up ($39 million dollar budget, $12.8 million dollar gross in the US), Snakes on a Plane (massive internet buildup and then a huge flameout), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (don't get me started) on his resume, he's positioning himself with his recently announced American Original (which he's self-dubbed a "nerd machine") entertainment company to try and pocket the geek dollar. Does he have his finger on the pulse of thirty-something nerdom, or is he just a wannabe blowhard?
Listen to the show and decide for yourself, while Comic-Con evolves and decides what it wants to be.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-05-2009 @ 3:07AM
benbligh said...
I listen to this podcast every week. It's great if you work in the biz.
I thought Jeff Katz brought up a decent point about how its really "Pop-Culture Con" now that studio blockbusters, fantasy, video games, playing card games, horror, etc. now equally share SDCC with comic books. This convention does hold a captive audience for every geek related niche out there and everyone wants a piece of the action.
As for his qualifications, I scoffed when he rambled on about how effective his Wolverine panel was. Didn't he see the numbers on that film? The reviews? He claims Comic Con puts studios directly in touch with geeks, but doesn't every geek HATE 20th Century Fox? They fumble every comic book property.
Also, another great NPR movie podcast is The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell
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8-05-2009 @ 9:30AM
Sarah SPitz said...
Let me set the record straight. THE TREATMENT podcast is NOT from NPR. It is from KCRW-Santa Monica, the public radio station where The Treatment is produced and distributed nationally. www.KCRW.com/etc/programs/tt
8-05-2009 @ 9:32AM
Sarah Spitz said...
PS: THANK you to Kevin Kelly for giving KCRW props for The Treatment! Awesome!
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8-05-2009 @ 9:34AM
Sarah Spitz said...
OOPS! I meant thanks to Kevin for identifying The BUSINESS as KCRW's ! I hope Ben Bligh will come by our website to see what else we do -- alot! Thanks guys.