Comic-Con 2016: Production Designers and Women Rocking Hollywood

Posted on July 24, 2016 at 9:41 am

On Day 3 of Comic-Con 2016, I:

Attended a panel of production designers whose work ranged from “The Avengers” to “Justified,” “True Blood,” and “America’s Top Model,” and learned that one of the most important distinctions between designing for movies and designing for television is: doors. For a movie, the entire story is spelled out so you know everything you will need for entrances and exits. But television series go on (if they’re lucky) for years, and you never know when you’ll need another door.

Attended a panel of top women producers and directors whose work included “Twilight,” “300” and the upcoming “Wonder Woman,” who talked about working to make sure we see more strong, independent female characters presented by more women behind the scenes,

Had my picture taken with the characters from “Kubo and the Two Strings,” coming out next month.

Saw vinyl versions of the “Star Wars” soundtrack with holograms of the Millennium Falcon and X-Wing fighter suspended above them.

Realized that a lot of what I see involves not-scary things being made scary (zombie teletubbies), or scary things being made not scary (Funko Pop Freddy from “Nightmare on Elm Street”).

Heard the Captured Aural Phantasy Theatre perform stories from 1950’s and 60’s romance comics.

Attended the Masquerade costume competition, always one of the highlights of SDCC, with a sensational version of Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast” and an Addams Family number that included “relatives” Sam, Patch, Douglas, and Grizzly. Both won top awards. But the highlight of the evening was a re-enactment of the climactic fight scene between Kylo Ren and Rey in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” When Rey held out her palm to use the Force, Kylo Ren dropped to one knee and pulled a red ring box out of his pocket. He was proposing! And she accepted! The crowd stood up and cheered.

Comic-Con 2016: Preview Night

Posted on July 21, 2016 at 1:32 am

Wednesday is always preview night at Comic-Con, a chance to explore the Exhibition Hall, where you can get glimpses of new television shows, movies, and games, and buy just about any household item or article of clothing with your favorite superhero or animated character on it. You can also get a sneak peek at full episodes of some upcoming television shows. I watched “Riverdale,” with the Archie Comics characters in a story that is more like “Twin Peaks” or “Pretty Little Liars.” “90210’s” Luke Perry even appears as Archie’s dad.

In this story, Veronica has just moved to town after her wealthy father has lost his money following a Madoff-like fraud scandal. Archie had a sexual encounter with a teacher. Betty’s sister has had a mental breakdown. And Moose is bi-curious.

It is disconcerting at first to see the characters we know from silly jokes in the malt shop and school dances dealing with anguish and possibly even murder. And the actors do not look like teenagers. But it might work.

Then there’s a comedy called “Powerless,” with a very different take on superheroes. Vanessa Hudgens plays an insurance claims officer who is responsible for paying for damages caused by superheroes. And Conan O’Brien is one of the producers of “People of Earth,” with Wyatt Cenac, Oscar Nunez, and Ana Gasteyer as “experiencers” who have had alien encounters. Both were pretty funny and I look forward to more.

AFI Docs 2016 — Highlights

Posted on June 28, 2016 at 4:44 pm

The 2016 AFI Docs festival is over and the audience award winner was “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise,” which will be featured on the PBS “American Masters” series.

This year’s AFI DOCS attendees included renowned filmmakers Judd Apatow, Ramin Bahrani, Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Rachel Grady, Werner Herzog (this year’s AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree) and Barbara Kopple, along with documentary subjects Sharon Jones and Norman Lear. I was struck by the pair of films about the internet, Werner Herzog’s “Lo and Behold” and Alex Gibney’s Stuxnet film “Zero Days.” Other highlights included “Life, Animated,” the extraordinary story of a boy with autism who used Disney animated films to teach himself how to communicate (coming to theaters over the next few weeks), and “Gleason,” the story of football player Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with ALS.

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AFI Docs 2016

Posted on June 20, 2016 at 3:42 pm

AFI Docs is the best documentary festival in the US, and the schedule for 2016 is filled with outstanding selections. I am most excited for the films about television icon Norman Lear, and the always-fascinating Werner Herzog’s new film about the internet, “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World,” followed by a conversation between Herzog and filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (“99 Homes”). “Gleason” is the story of former football player Steve Gleason, who discovered he had ALS as he was about to become a father. “Life, Animated” is the story of a wonderfully generous and devoted family, and the son with autism who taught himself to communicate and understand through Disney animated films, and “The Lovers and the Despot,” the crazy story of the kidnapping of South Korea’s greatest movie star and movie director (who were formerly married to each other) by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, who forced them to make movies for him.

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Illuminate Film Festival 2016 — Sedona June 1-5

Posted on May 14, 2016 at 3:44 pm

“Our purpose is to showcase cinematic gems that empower those who see them to live kinder, wiser, more enlightened lives.”

The Illuminate Film Festival is not about celebrity spotting, red carpets, or big-money deals. It is unique — a film festival devoted to movies that lift the heart and enlarge the spirit. The third Illuminate Film Festival will take place in Sedona, Arizona from June 1-5, 2016 and tickets are available online. This year’s highlights include “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru,” “Maya Angelou and Still I Rise,” “Sneak Previews of Teal: The Making of a Spiritual Teacher,” and “Mantra: Sounds Into Silence.” and the world premiere of “Love, Sweat and Tears.” This is a festival for films about inspiration, intimacy, mindfulness, meaning, and creativity.

My dear friend Chaz Ebert will open the Conscious Film Convergence, speaking on the role of transformational entertainment and its potential impact on humanity. Chaz, wife of late esteemed film critic Roger Ebert, is the CEO of several Ebert enterprises, including rogerebert.com as well as the Co-Founder of Ebertfest, a film festival now in its 18th year.

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