comic-con Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Are There Too Many Film Festivals?
Filed under: Critical Thought », Fandom », Exhibition », Movie Marketing »
It all started in Venice in 1932 – the world's first film festival. Then other festivals began popping up for a variety of reasons, some political, given the growingly fascist government in Italy: Cannes in 1946, Edinburgh in 1947, Berlin in 1951, and so on, until the present day, when a journalist can spend a decent portion of the year (and salary) covering Sundance, the Toronto Film Festival, Telluride, South by Southwest, Fantastic Fest, New York Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, CineVegas, and, more recently, San Diego Comic-Con, just to name as a few, as well as the aforementioned international festivals if they're really lucky.
As time has passed, the fests have become more than venues for movie buyers and sellers to haggle over movies or arbiters of taste in the finest of arthouse flicks. Along the way, critics and journalists have gotten into the festival circuit, which is a win-win for the movies and the writers; small films get the buzz that's sometimes a good push for them to get picked up by distributors, and the writers get access to films before they get hot, making them tastemakers and generally ahead of the curve when it comes to Oscar season, film trends, and insider-y scoops that can only occur when you find yourself sharing an elevator with a Weinstein. Festivals can be great litmus tests for movies that take forever to get picked up – you can pretty much guarantee they're gonna be a stinker by the time they arrive in theaters for a weekend and disappear after that.
Girls on Film: Redefining "Fangirl"
Filed under: Fandom », Columns », Girls on Film »
The term "fangirl" should be innocuous -- a simple description of a girl who is a big fan of something or someone. A person of the female persuasion who loves something beyond basic appreciation, who wears her love and adoration on her sleeve. But over the years it's been awarded with a pesky stigma, a dark cloud that elicits shudders of distaste.
This came about long before Twilight -- back to the earlier days of media when Beatlemania was going strong, when Michael Jackson moonwalked himself into the hearts of crying, shrieking young'ens everywhere. (And let us remember that these included boys as well.) I'll never forget watching a television special on fangirls in my own youth, and wondered why they were shaking, crying, and screaming as if tortured by the sight of McCartney or Lennon hitting the stage in the '60s, or the mere glimpse of Jackson's sparkling glove in the '80s. Some overwhelmed tears might be expected, but not a full-scale mental and emotional meltdown. Not hormones on fire.
Today, it's all about vampires and a certain high school girl ready to give up everything for a young man that sparkles. Tomorrow it will probably be something else. But before another tide hits, we've got to look at this thing called "fangirl."
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.
Comic-Con: An Evening with Peter Jackson
Read on beyond the jump for the full writeup of the event (which we were sadly not allowed to videotape), and to get all the goods. He also showed us four and a half minutes of footage from The Lovely Bones, which looks incredible. The trailer for that will be on iTunes on August 6th, and then will be playing in theaters in front of Julie & Julia. Jump through for all things Peter Jackson, including an update on all of his projects, and a rundown of his hobbies.
SDCC Interview: Robert Rodriguez
Filed under: Fandom », Interviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
We spoke to Robert Rodriguez on video at Comic-Con, and then we sat down with him for a full interview to get an update on all of his projects, and to find out about his upcoming movie Shorts. He's definitely a man wearing a lot of hats, since he writes, directs, edits, scores, does special effects, and produces. In fact, just about the only thing he doesn't do in these films is act. He brought us up to date on Red Sonja, Sin City 2 and Predators, and spoke about being back at Comic-Con.
Read on after the break for his full interview, including more about Shorts and how his kids help inspire his movies. It's just after the jump, and is (mostly) free of information about who he's dating.
SDCC: The Podcast Wrapup
Filed under: Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
Comic-Con 2009 has come to a close, and we've already begun the countdown to next year. But what were some of the highlights and lowlights? Cinematical sent three writers to cover the Con this year, Elisabeth Rappe, Todd GIlchrist, and myself, and we all three had very different experiences: Todd was locked in Hall H for most of the show watching the giant panel presentations, Elisabeth spent time moving from the floor to the press area to smaller panels, and I was upstairs covering video press lines and interviews, so we all saw a very different slice of the Con.
Listen to the podcast embedded below to hear what we thought of the Con, what our favorite moments were, and what kind of swag we went home with. It's probably a very different experience than that of a regular fan attendee, and we're very envious of the people who were able to attend for fun and not work. But enough of my yakkin'. Give a listen and chime in with your own Comic-Con thoughts below.
And check out the rest of our Comic-Con coverage over here
SDCC: We Talk To The Costumed Fans!
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
One of the most impressive parts of Comic-Con are all of the fans who dress up in costume and walk around the show floor. It's like attending a normal trade show where everyone is dressed up in suits, except in this case the suits are Spider-man and Supergirl outfits. That's some hardcore fandom right there. It takes guts (and in some cases these comic fans have an ample supply of those) to wear spandex and walk around like that in public, and these video interviews are a salute to you.
Our own Elisabeth Rappe is no stranger to dressing up and walking the floor, as she's done it for the last two years. Her account of dressing up as Lara Croft last year and showing off her guns (and pistols, as well) can be read right here. You can also see her interviewing two very lovely Age of Conan costumed girls from Florida right here. Our friend Chris Glenn joined us for interviews on Sunday, and you can watch all of those out after the break. We spoke to everyone from Wonder Woman to Waldo, so be sure and check it out!
SDCC: 'Kick-Ass' Lives Up To Its Name, And Then Some
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
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By 6pm on Thursday, I was convinced that Hall H had shown me everything that would possibly be of personal interest, much less professional obligation to cover. And even as the panel for Kick-Ass began, I expected little when director Matthew Vaughn stumbled over his words in an effort to explain what the film was about. But after an introductory clip that featured an aspiring superhero who plummeted to his death after diving off of a skyscraper in a homemade suit, my curiosity was piqued. What was more amazing was that almost all of the clips weren't merely surprising, filthy, and kind of all-around inappropriate, but that they were hugely entertaining, in that way you react to when you're watching something that feels familiar and brand-new at the exact same time.
Among the craziness contained in the Kick-Ass presentation and panel:
SDCC: The 'New Moon' Press Conference
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », ComicCon »
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I have shared air with the cast of The Twilight Saga: New Moon and I am still conscious and neither a member of Team Edward or Team Jacob! I will have a full transcript up later, but i thought I'd share some highlights:
- Kristen Stewart was in full in Joan Jett mode, Taylor Lautner was all smiles and Robert Pattinson was his usual rumpled and handsome self. They thanked the fans again and again, and still seem overwhelmed by the monster they are a part of.
On the highs and lows:
This is a high ... It's a little overwhelming." -- Kristen stewart
"I can't really claim anything as a low." -- Robert Pattinson
On favorite scenes:
Taylor is a big action man but mentioned his favorite small scene is one where he walks Bella to her door ... "and I'm going off to fight and she's worried. I thought it was cute." Both he and Stewart also enjoyed what they call "the break up scene" where Jacob tells Bella his feelings have grown too strong. Both mentioned how gut wrenching it was to film: "if you ever said any of those things to me, it'd kill me," Stewart observed.
Favorite book:
Taylor Lautner's favorite is Eclipse because of the action and the love triangle, but Stewart and Pattinson both favor New Moon: "She's nothing, it's lost. I got to find her again," says Stewart. "He's so humbled...he loves something too much, he can't be around it...I think it's funny how everyone looks at Edward as a hero but he's constantly being saved by the damsel in distress!"
On which Twilight question they never want to hear again:
"What's it like kissing Taylor Lautner?" -- Robert Pattinson
"Growling ... Fans ask me to growl ... I really don't enjoy doing that" -- Taylor Lautner
"You can ask me anything you want.'" -- Kristen Stewart
The Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theaters on November 20.
SDCC: Day 0 and Preview Night Pictures
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Images », ComicCon »
Comic-Con's "Preview Night" is a bit of a joke. The idea is that only registered professionals (and how they consider me professional is beyond me) are supposed to get access to an exclusive sneak peek of the show floor the evening before the show officially starts. In theory you'd be able to easily walk through the massive San Diego Convention Center and check things out in a leisurely fashion.
However, in practice it's an entirely different story. Crowds of people crammed everywhere, moving at near-cattle speeds. It's almost enough to drive you nuts ... until you remember it'll be much worse when the show is actually in full swing. So I headed inside in search of interesting photos, and my favorite has to be this shot of a $130 V.I.N.C.E.N.T. vinyl robot toy from Disney's The Black Hole. I am really craving that sucker.
Anyhow, check out all of our opening night photos in the gallery below, and head beyond the break to watch on video what it's like entering preview night. We'll be bringing you a lot more from the show floor throughout the show, so stay tuned.
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'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
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