This week in San Diego it’s all about the geeks and the fanboys. There will be Klingons and superheroes. There will be people who know far more about Futurama, Groo, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and The Justice League of America than the people who created them. Sergio Aragonés will be up to mischief. Cast members from “Glee,” “Haven,” “Fringe,” “Chuck,” and next year’s shows will meet with fans. Stars of the 60’s and 70’s will be there to sign autographs. Great big movie stars will show up to cajole Comic-Con attendees to get the word about about their great big movies. And there will even be comic books.
And I will be there to tell you about it. Stay tuned!
The Joker was still very popular this year, and of course there were plenty of Jedis and Klingons and characters from anime and games. Watchmen were up-and-coming, especially Silk Spectre. Here I am with a special friend.
And here are some of my other favorites.
One of the highlights of Comic-Con was the time I spent with Brianna and Brittany Winner, 14-year-old identical twins who are cuter than a box of kittens and more fun, too.
When the girls were in fourth grade, they became discouraged because their learning disabilities made reading and writing difficult. They told their parents they thought they were stupid. But their parents knew that the girls were exceptionally intelligent and imaginative. Their father suggested something almost unimaginable — that the girls who found reading and writing such a challenge should write a novel. Once they completed the first chapter, they were excited to see what would happen next and had the confidence to finish the book. They have since finished a sequel, a comic book supplement, and a soundtrack CD. And they say that the best part has been the way it has brought their family closer together and given them an opportunity to speak to more than 45,000 students about overcoming challenges and achieving their dreams.
The books are about a “super-hero with no super-powers,” a brilliant scientist who discovers that accelerated evolution is producing predators who are about to put the entire human race at risk. He uses science to develop tools to help him understand and defeat the creatures. The books ae vivid and exciting, grounded in reality (it opens at the White House), rich in fantasy, but focused on character. The girls say that they want them to be fun to write so that they will be fun to read. They sometimes disagree with each other about what to write, but say that it is only temporary and makes the books better. They bring a creative energy to everything they do, including two books (so far), a comic book, a CD, and even their attire and the strings of pearls in their hair.
The girls are bright, creative, and enthusiastic, but what makes spending time with them so much fun is their endearing curiosity and courtesy. They are fully engaged in everything that goes on around them and deeply committed to helping others through their new non-profit and their work to encourage other kids. As exciting as their book series is, the next installment I am most looking forward to is what they will do next.
To arrange for the twins to make a no-charge visit to your school or other group, contact Ilene at 714.396.7685 or at ilene@strandprophecy.com.
“I really like your fangs!”
This is not a comment I had ever anticipated I’d be making, but at Comic-Con it seemed perfectly natural. As did her response:
“Thanks! We make them ourselves!”
Some things are different at this 40th anniversary Con. This is the first time there has been an iPhone app to help attendees navigate their way through the hundreds of events and exhibitors. And it has come a long way expanded its range and its audience from the couple of hundred who came to a hotel to swap comics four decades ago. It now includes all of the “popular arts,” movies, music, games, books, and television. James Cameron is here with “Avatar,” probably the most eagerly anticipated appearance, with the “Twilight” cast a close second.
My favorite moment so far was my interview with the Winner Twins, the 14-year-old identical twin novelists. I’ll be writing more about them later. I also attended panels on “Robot Chicken” with Seth Green and Cartoon Network’s “Chowder” and “Flapjack” with their writers and casts. Stay tuned!
Comic-Con 2008, Part 3 (Igor, On The Bubble, and Joss Whedon’s Latest)
Posted on July 29, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I had a private interview with Chris McKenna, screenwriter of an animated release due out this fall called “Igor.” It is the story of a hunchbacked lab assistant to an evil scientist who wants to be more. Voice talent for the film includes Jon Cusack as Igor, John Cleese as the scientist he works for, Eddie Izzard as the villain, and Molly Shannon as the Bride-of-Frankenstein-like creature they create. Here is the adorable trailer:
“We cooked up a really fun story with a great character,” McKenna told me. “Everyone knows him but no one really knows him. He’s lurking in the shadow. But he has his own hopes and dreams, aspirations. Is everyone born with a hunch named Igor and forced to become a lab assistant? Setting up the world was the biggest challenge. What do we need to tell the audience? How do we tell the story in an interesting way, balancing all you need to know to understand this world with all you need to know to get involved with the characters and connect to the story? Igor lives in a world where the biggest stars are the evil scientists, they’re the rock stars, all he wanted to be, his role model, but that’s impossible. He had a hunch and was forced to serve. But he needs to create.”
Producers of comics, movies, music, games, magazines, and other media “content” were not the only ones trying to get the attention of Comic-Con attendees. Advertisers are very eager to find out how to reach audiences who are able to skip radio and television commercials and are increasingly resistant to traditional forms of marketing. I was very interested that a session on a new web-based comedy series called On the Bubble led off not with one of the producers, writers, or performers but with a brand specialist. The people who created the show said that they loved the creative freedom of not having to deal with a television network (“They always have notes.”) The Sierra Mist representative said, “Comedy is the way we reach you.” They will not do anything as obvious as product placement, going instead for “deeper engagement value” through added content, message boards, and other new media.
The panel discussion about “Dollhouse,” the new television show from Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly”), began with Tahmoh Penikett (“Battlestar Galactica”) taking a photo of the crowd. “Smile everyone!” he said. Whedon watched him, amused. “This is his first experience with science fiction.”
Star Eliza Dushku explained that her new series began when she was was complaining to Whedon about not being given a chance to show all of the range of characters she could do. “Staring into the eyes of the woman, seeing all of the things she could be, I realized I’d have to do it,” Whedon said. “So, I created a girl who has every personality in the world except her own.” The result was the new series with Dushku as Echo, one of a group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. Dushku talked about what she loved about Whedon’s scripts. “He makes the words pretty on the page, fully puts me at ease and challenges me at the same times. The characters have feist, fury, some funny. He’s like a career brassiere!” Whedon said he liked Dushku because she is “good with pain and being crazy and also acting.”
A questioner noted that there are already web sites dedicated to saving the show and it has not started yet. “The enthusiasm I love, the wariness is earned, but this is not a niche show,” Whedon promised.
If you’ve read through to the very end, you are really a fan! The first person to send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with the word Comic-Con in the subject line will get some small knick-knacks I was given there.
This week in San Diego it’s all about the geeks and the fanboys. There will be Klingons and superheroes. There will be people who know far more about Futurama, Groo, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and The Justice League of America than the people who created them. Sergio Aragonés will be up to mischief. Cast members from “Glee,” “Haven,” “Fringe,” “Chuck,” and next year’s shows will meet with fans. Stars of the 60’s and 70’s will be there to sign autographs. Great big movie stars will show up to cajole Comic-Con attendees to get the word about about their great big movies. And there will even be comic books.
