Comic-Con 2013: Jeff Bridges, The Black Panel, Godzilla, the Winner Twins, and Irwin Keyes

Posted on July 24, 2013 at 7:35 pm

Comic-Con is all about the new and surprising, but I’ve come to look forward to some things that I especially enjoy every year. One is The Black Panel, and this year was one of the best, with Comic-Con’s best panel moderator (they should call him an “immoderator”), Michael Davis. “showcases those who are doing notable work in film, TV, comics, music, etc. The secondary focus (just as, if not more important) is to reach out to as many young creators of color (and all young creators who strive for a way in) and give them access to those who have made a contribution. It’s been mentioned above but bears repeating, Black culture IS young culture.” Wayne Brady, Orlando Jones, John Jennings, David Walker, Tatiana El-Khouri, and others talked about their pet projects and their reactions to and interactions with the mainstream media.  One theme that came through even more strongly than usual this year — do not wait for anyone to give you permission (or money).  Tell your story and create your art.

keyesI always enjoy catching up with character actor Irwin Keyes, who has appeared in everything from “The Jeffersons” (six episodes) to films by the Coen Brothers and Rob Zombie. This year, he demonstrated his “horror laugh” and posed for a picture with me.


It is always a blast to hear about upcoming films, especially in the smaller press conferences rather than the cavernous Hall H. Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuarón told us about “Gravity,” a stunning new film about two astronauts who are cut loose in space when their space station explodes.  Bryan Cranston Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, and director Gareth Edwards talked about the challenges of green screen acting and balancing the spectacle and the story in their remake of “Godzilla.”  And Jeff Bridges read a passage from The Gulag Archipelago to tell us what inspired him to join the cast of a sword and sorcery epic called “Seventh Son.”

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

seventh sonWe also heard about the prequel to “300,” “Rise of an Empire,” with a script co-written the original’s director, Zach Snyder.  Noam Murro took over directing duties, bringing back Rodrigo Santoro and adding newcomers Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton.  This one will keep “the DNA” of the original but will focus on naval battles.  Green told us she was relieved not to be playing “the love interest or a boring girlfriend” in her first full-on action role.

And I always love catching up with my friends Brianna and Brittany Winner.  They are 18 now, terrifically imaginative writers with many exciting projects.  They ran a writing workshop that was tremendously inspiring and very informative.  And just plain fun.  winner twins

 

 

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Where Are the Women in 2013 Movies?

Posted on July 24, 2013 at 3:59 pm

New York Magazine’s Vulture blog has a sobering statistical analysis from Amand Dobbins showing that women play significant roles in a very small percentage of feature films.

The 2013 lineup is all superheroes and crass man-boy bonding. Granted, studios release these types of movies every summer, but usually they’ll at least give us one rom-com or female ensemble movie, or a woman in a role that is not “secretary to an Avenger.” Or so I assumed, based on fond memories of The Notebook and every mediocre Kate Hudson film ever made. This year seemed worse to me, and so I decided to do the math, comparing the number of women in major roles in the last five years of major summer releases with those in major releases from twenty years ago. It turns out that yes, 2013 is a bad summer — but it is far from a record low point. This has been a problem for 25 years now.

And it’s getting worse.  “ven when counting courtesy roles, 2013 is the worst year in the modern era, and at 57 percent it’s below the average for the past five years…Less than 30 percent of all movies can bother to write in more than a wife or a sidekick.”

As the article notes, the success of “The Heat” will probably inspire a brief blip in women-led films.  And there is one more encouraging note in a Buzzfeed collection of comments from writers about creating interesting, complex female characters.  My favorite is Joss Whedon who responds to the question “Why do you write strong female characters?” “Because you’re still asking me that question.”

Even more encouraging is this list of 2013 movies written by women.  Studios, take note of the talented women on screen and the writers and directors as well.

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Comic-Con 2013: The Coolest Thing I Saw in the Exhibit Hall

Posted on July 23, 2013 at 6:02 pm

No question. There were hundreds of dazzling displays at Comic-Con. You could have your picture taken with “Walking Dead” zombies or frozen Han Solo or Lego Superman. But Predator, as he so often does, dominated. predatorThere was a limited edition Blu-Ray edition of “Predator” that came in a very cool Predator head. But the really cool part was this: the first 500 purchases included an action figure of Predator holding a severed head — personalized for the purchaser via a 3D printer. That severed head would have each individual purchaser’s face and hair. The blood dripping from it appeared generic, thankfully.

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Comic-Con 2013: Costumes

Posted on July 21, 2013 at 5:10 pm

I love the costumes at Comic-Con.  They are colorful expressions of enthusiasm and personality.  And I believe they are what financial types call a leading indicator of the popularity of particular movies, games, and television shows.harem superheroes

This year, I noticed fewer Joksharknado costumeers and Watchmen than in the past.  In honor of the big 50th anniversary celebration, there were many Dr. Whos (mostly men) and TARDIS phone booths (mostly women).  And there were more minions!  The “Despicable Me” characters who look like oblong marshmallow peeps are very popular.  My two favorites: the harem girl superheroes (this year’s version of last year’s Playboy Bunny Avengers) and this tribute to the recent viewer favorite, “Sharknado.”

 

 

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