New York Comic-Con 2014: Highlights

Posted on October 13, 2014 at 8:53 am

This was my first time at New York Comic-Con and it was a blast. Highlights included:

deadpool dancers — Copyright 2014 Nell Minow

About 30 people dressed as Deadpool danced onstage to “We Need a Hero.” Just Dance 2015 had a great set up right in the middle of the Exhibition Hall, and I could have stayed there all day watching people dressed as superheroes dancing to songs like “Happy,” “What Does the Fox Say,” and “Walk This Way.”

I was dazzled by the 3D Printers from Forge Studio (Who can resist having their very own action figure? Not me!), All Bobbleheads (all they need is a photo to create a bobblehead superhero or professional athlete with any face), and my favorite, 3D systems, which had an at-home 3D printer that can turn out pretty much everything (with their downloadable templates or by creating your own designs), from your own personally-designed chess pieces to Halloween decorations, Box Trolls, iPhone covers, wedding cake toppers, pretty much anything you can imagine.

I had a lot of fun interviewing the star of the web series “The Invaders: Angie’s Log,” 9-year-old Catori Crawford. She was just six when she first started filming the series, about a girl with a flashlight and a teddy bear who encounters some aliens. She develops some special powers, including levitation and the ability to destroy things and make things appear. She has filmed 16 episodes so far and especially enjoys the chance to visit new places. Catori, wearing the bathrobe and goggles her character Angie wears in the series, was a delight to talk to, and inspired me to watch some of the episodes, which I enjoyed very much. She says that she explained to her classmates that being on a series might make her popular but does not make her famous — “that’s like Beyonce.”

Disney’s new Fantasia Music turns the player into a conductor — or a sorceror’s apprentice — with gorgeously recorded music from the London Symphony Orchestra, so that the songs are played with individual variations, keeping the challenges and options changing all the time. Yes, it does include music from the movie “Fantasia.” I got to hear “Night on Bald Mountain,” a perfect soundtrack for NYCC.

Disney Infinity 2.0 gives players more options to create their own worlds and combinations of characters. I really enjoyed the demo of new Comic-Con-themed Toy Boxes created by Disney Infinity Community Level Designer Patrick Efird. The Toy Boxes feature re-creations of the convention show floor and the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes panel, which were created using the new tools and toys found in the Toy Box 2.0 mode. Fans can download Disney Infinity’s take on New York Comic Con.

Select “Community Content” from the Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition) Main Menu
· Select “Disney’s Toy Boxes” And “Developer Picks”
· There will be a list of all the featured Toy Boxes for players to download. Select “NYCC Trivia Challenge” and “NYCC Costume Challenge” to access the New York Comic Con Toy Boxes

It includes elements all Comic-Con attendee will recognize:
· NYCC Trivia Challenge – You made it to New York Comic Con just in time for the Trivia Panel! Do you have what it takes to survive such an intense Q & A?
· NYCC Costume Challenge – Fans have arrived to New York Comic Con dressed in style, but they seem to have lost their groups. Find and bring them to the proper costume contest!

I enjoyed talking to Nathaniel Burney about his Illustrated Guides to Criminal Procedure and Criminal Law, based on his popular blog explaining the labyrinthian and arcane rules of our criminal justice system as they actually work, and not as seen on TV.

I saw Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman get photobombed by one of his monsters.

A panel led by Rogerebert.com’s Susan Wloszczyna featured two upcoming animated films from Dreamworks that look terrific. Next month’s “Penguins of Madagascar” stars John Malkovich and Benedict Cumberbatch as the most popular characters from the “Madagascar” series get to take the lead roles in a spy spoof that takes them all over the world. Malkovich plays the villain, an evil octopus named Dave. And in March of 2015 we will see “Home,” with “Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons as Oh, a member of a nomadic alien population led by Steve Martin, who think Earth is the perfect place for them to settle. Rhianna plays the resourceful Tip,” who befriends Oh, with Jennifer Lopez as her mother. I got to “high one” with one of the penguins, hand to flipper.

The kids’ costume contest was a blast. The winner was a girl dressed as Dancing Baby Groot, complete with flower pot. She and all the other contestants danced together to Michael Jackson’s “ABC.”

dancing baby groot costume — Copyright 2014 Nell Minow

(Separate post with my favorite of the adult costumes coming soon.)

Related Tags:

Festivals

New York Comic-Con 2014

Posted on October 9, 2014 at 8:00 am

I’m excited about my first-ever visit to New York Comic-Con, which opens tonight at the Javits Center in Manhattan. I’ll be there Saturday and Sunday. Highlights will include a 75th anniversary celebration for Marvel, glimpses of upcoming films like Disney’s “Big Hero 6” and Dreamworks’ “Penguins of Madagascar.” Both NY Comic-Con and Star Trek turn 50, so there will be some looking back. And there will be looks forward at upcoming games, television shows, and movies.

You can go to sessions on designing your own cape, fighting with lightsabers, or creating your own 3D action figures. You can learn about banned comics and the people who are fighting for them. There are tributes to MAD Magazine and Godzilla, to Firefly, Bob’s Burgers, and Archie. Syfy and Doctor Who have panels.

Stay tuned for updates!

Related Tags:

Festivals

Comic-Con 2014: Costumes!

Posted on July 31, 2014 at 8:40 am

About 10-15 percent of Comic-Con attendees come in costume and they are always willing to post for photos. I love the way there is total fluidity of age, race, gender, and body type. Even species — see Superdog below (no, that’s not Krypto — look at the super-suit and arms!). Everyone feels free to come as whatever they want to be, whether an iconic character or something they just made up. Here are some of my favorites.

Related Tags:

Festivals

Comic-Con 2014: Days 3 and 4

Posted on July 30, 2014 at 11:02 pm

Want to know what it looks like inside the legendary Hall H, the biggest venue at Comic-Con, the one where people camp out for days in advance to see the biggest stars and the coolest advance previews? When LAIKA CEO and animator Travis Knight asked the audience to send get-well love to “The Boxtrolls” co-star Tracy Morgan boxtroll fashion (they show approval by softly smacking their chests), here is what happened.

Some other highlights:

The writers of “The Big Bang Theory” described the episode where the characters are devastated at not getting Comic-Con tickets (yes, they know you don’t hit “refresh” anymore but it isn’t exciting television to just have them staring at their screens). Incredibly, it was the first time guest stars James Earl Jones and Carrie Fisher had ever met. And of course, her first word to him: “Daddy!” Extra excitement — a surprise appearance by Wil Wheaton! And a trailer for “Serial Apeist 2!”

The masquerade competition had several “Game of Thrones” tributes, the best a mash-up with “West Side Story” titled (of course) “Westeros Side Story.”

Several celebrities donned costumes to roam the Exhibition Hall, including Guillermo del Toro (Mexican wrestler mask), Peter Jackson (clown), and actors Daniel Radcliffe and Maisie Williams, who both wore Spider-Man masks. Williams won the heart of the Con by revealing her disguise on Instagram and, when she was not disguised, wearing a dress made from comic books!

I didn’t see a single Klingon this year. Odd. (Coming soon, my favorite costumes worn by attendees. You’ve got to see them to believe them.)

Sir Ben Kingsley spoke to me about playing the villain in “The Boxtrolls,” and said for some unknown reason he had just made three movies in a row set in ancient Egypt: “Exodus,” a TV miniseries called “Tut,” and “Night at the Museum 3.”

I was on the escalator going down as I saw getting on the escalator coming up members of the cast of “The Hobbit,” Cate Blanchett, Lee Pace, and Andy Serkis. All I could say was, “I’m a fan!” I got to see them all in a small press event, too, along with director Peter Jackson and a bunch of the other actors.

I also went to a wonderful panel discussion of villains “from Snidely Whiplash to Voldemort.” My favorite comment was from an author who quoted his wife: “A dragon destroys a village, and when the people yell, ‘Monster!’ he looks behind him to see who they are talking about.”

Two different events I attended had interesting discussions of fandom. The Pop Culture Happy Hour Podcast did a live show from Comic-Con. It was a special treat to see Maggie Thompson, mother of PCHH regular Stephen Thompson. Maggie is revered by nerds, geeks, and fanboys everywhere as co-founder of the Comics Buyers Guide. As always, the conversation was fast, funny, and incisive. They talked about the difference between early fans of music or other popular culture and their mixed feelings when what they love becomes broadly successful.

And I attended the Comic Arts Conference, the annual gathering of scholars who study comics from many different perspectives, that always goes on parallel to Comic-Con. The panel I attended this year had ten students presenting the results of surveys and studies they did throughout the Con. They talked about cosplayers (the people who wear costumes) and families who bring young children.

I tried a demo of the new Oculus Rift virtual reality technology at the Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment booth and got to accompany Professor X (voice of Patrick Stewart) into the Cerebro to track Mystique. It was very cool.

And one of my favorite moments was unexpected and very sweet. It happened in the middle of the seemingly endless and always packed Exhibition Hall, where everything around me seemingly twinkled, spun, beeped, and glowed, each both more inviting than the next like Ali Baba’s cave, all of a sudden the original “Star Wars” started playing on an overhead screen. It was the scene right before they go into the garbage compactor. I love that scene. I’ve seen it a million times. I probably know it by heart. But I stopped to watch. And all around me were thousands of fans who know it even better than I do, and they all stopped, too.

Related Tags:

Festivals

Comic-Con 2014: Day One

Posted on July 25, 2014 at 11:08 am

Here’s what’s at Comic-Con, which means here’s what’s coming everywhere else: affordable 3D printers with hand-held scanners that transmit 360 degree images to your tablet or laptop instantly. GoPro cameras. Google glasses. Even Oculus Rift, the totally immersive virtual reality headset invented by a teenager and sold for $2 billion that is said to be a literal game-changer (its first commercial use will be in gaming) and could change everything from movies and television to medical imaging.

And, once again, even more fan involvement in everything, the line between creator and consumer of content almost dissolving completely. When you have your photo taken with an alien chasing you, you don’t just get a print-out. You are directed to a console so you can post it to all of your social media. The new Ships of the Line Star Trek calendar will have fan art as well as the official renderings. And the new USA television miniseries from “Heroes” helmer Tim Kring, “Dig,” starring Jason Isaacs, has a virtual scavenger hunt set up at Comic-Con. If you discover the rune-like symbol they have hidden all over the area, you post a photo to Snapchat with their hashtag, you can win a chance to chat with someone from the show. And you can see prequel footage and engage with the writers via Wattpad.

I attended a press event featuring the people behind the new “Madagascar” animated series spin-off, “Penguins of Madagascar,” including writers/directors Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith (reuniting for the first time since “Antz”), Tom McGrath (director of the earlier films and voice of Skipper) and John Malkovich, who provides the voice of the villain, an evil octopus. The film also features Benedict Cumberbatch as a dashing, James Bond-style secret agent. It takes place just after the end of the last film (not the television series), as the penguins need some rest after the excitement of the circus adventure. “What starts as a birthday romp turns into a world tour.” Like the Bond films, they wanted to have a series of exciting locations.

McGrath says he always envisioned Robert Stack as the voice of Skipper, and tries to channel him when he performs the part. I asked Malkovich what was fun about playing a bad guy. He said that “this one is quite fun because he seems happy, he’s lazy, not particularly profound or remorseful, and that’s always a pleasure.”

“Dig” looks very impressive, and the chase scenes they showed us from the first episode really highlighted the locations in Jerusalem. (They will continue filming in New Mexico.) Isaac said he took the part because “I get to run around and pretend to be cooler, tougher, sexier, and smarter than I am.” Anne Heche plays his boss (and sometimes more). “We wanted to make it cinematic, multi-layered, epic,” said the cinematographer. They used a 90-year-old lens to “embrace the golden light” in Jerusalem, and an up-to-the-minute lens for the “calmer, cooler, beautifully crisp” light of Norway to achieve the maximum contrast. Because it is a limited “event” series, they know where it is going to end from the beginning, no “art of the stall.” They warned us that no one in the series is what he or she seems and that we should “look out for the color red,” which is almost another character in the story.

Related Tags:

Behind the Scenes Festivals Television