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UPDATE
Confirmation that we'll get a presentation at this year's comic-con!
From THE ORLAND SENTINEL:
Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trav...,486502.story?coll=orl-travel-headlines-print
Comic-Con 2006 :: Programming for Saturday, July 22
5:00-6:30 Sony Presents Sony Pictures proudly presents a pair of Marvels: The classic Marvel comic Ghost Rider comes to the big screen with Academy Awardwinning Nicolas Cage playing Johnny Blaze. Appearing in person to answer your questions and show some previews will be the film's stars Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes and director Mark Steven Johnson. Oh, and did we mention Spidey 3? Come find out why we don't have to say anything else . . . besides Sam Raimi! Hall H
Source: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_sat.phpComic-Con 2006 :: Programming for Saturday, July 22
6:30-7:30 Making Your Own Live Action Comic Book (that means movie!): Troma's Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead Legendary indie filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger) and producer Steven Paul (Ghost Rider) examine the art of making your film into a live action comic book the Troma Way! Kaufman will also be screening never-before-seen selections from his newest film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead and giving away Comic-Con exclusive Poultrygeist teaser DVDs. Dont miss a special appearance by cartoonist Batton Lash (Supernatural Law). Moderated by Mimi Cruz of Night Flight Comics. Room 6B
Confirmation that we'll get a presentation at this year's comic-con!
From THE ORLAND SENTINEL:
Superheroes deserve a superconvention, and they get it
By Jay Boyar | Sentinel Travel Editor
Posted June 12, 2005
Editor's note: Impulse Travel is an occasional feature about destinations for spur-of-the-moment travelers.
The mysterious contents of Batman's utility belt.
The persuasive properties of Wonder Woman's magic lasso.
The interpersonal dynamics that drive the Fantastic Four.
These and other vital artistic, mystic and super-humanistic issues will, in all likelihood, be discussed, debated, parsed and deconstructed by the participants at Comic Con International.
This annual San Diego event, billed as the largest such gathering in the United States, if not the world, is set for July 14 through 17 at the city's convention center.
About 87,000 attended last year, with upward of 90,000 expected next month, of which only about 1,200 will be pros. The rest will be fans -- locals and, especially, tourists.
But not necessarily comic-book fanatics. Fans of movies, role-playing games, science fiction and, well, you name it, all show up at Comic Con.
Yes, the lineup of featured guests includes such comic-book greats as artists Gene Colan (who has drawn Daredevil, Batman, Captain America and Iron Man) and Jim Lee (The X-Men, Superman, The Fantastic Four), and writer Marv Wolfman ("Teen Titans," Blade and "Tomb of Dracula").
And, yes, there will be lectures, workshops and panel discussions on such topics as "Super-villains in Pop Culture," "The Superhero Defined" and, no kidding, "Sin, Transgression and Redemption in Comics."
But if comic books are a major presence at Comic Con, they are only a part of it.
"To me, it's multiple conventions under one umbrella," reflects Jackie Estrada, who serves on the event's guest committee. "It has such extensive coverage and representation by all these different pop-culture areas, that you can come and be immersed in your interest for the whole four days and never even look at anything else if you don't want to."
The Origin of Comic Con
Comic Con started in 1970 when 300 fans (mostly comic-book fans) gathered in a San Diego hotel, presumably to share their deepest personal feelings about utility belts, magic lassos, super-group dynamics and the like. The event grew rapidly in both numbers and scope. This year's edition will include programs about film, television, animation, literature and graphic novels. Among the featured guests will be filmmaker Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Jersey Girl), sci-fi author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts) and animator J.J. Sedelmaier, whose edgy oeuvre includes such Saturday Night Live favorites as "The Ambiguously Gay Duo," "The X-Presidents" and "Fun With Real Audio."
"Animation is a very user-friendly tool," says Sedelmaier, striking a theme he may expand on at Comic Con. "Sometimes it allows you to say things you couldn't say any other way without it being uncomfortable."
This convention also has become a prime location for film studios to get people talking about their latest sci-fi, fantasy and comic-book-inspired movies.
"In 1976, Lucas Film came to our event and had a small booth on our floor and had a presentation on a new movie they were doing, which, of course, was Star Wars, a full year before it came out," notes Comic Con spokesman David Glanzer. "They tapped into this fan base that . . . started a little groundswell of interest in this motion picture."
Buzz central
Last year, Glanzer adds, Lucas Film announced the title of Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, at Comic Con. The recent Batman Begins as well as the upcoming Fantastic Four film also have been represented there, as have The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Jude Law showed up to promote Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Ben Affleck for Daredevil, Halle Berry for Gothika and Angelina Jolie for a Lara Croft flick.
Estrada says this year the studios will have presentations featuring Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ghost Rider and The Legend of Zorro. Mike Vollman, a marketing executive for DreamWorks, says his studio hopes to feel the fan pulse on its upcoming The Island, with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, and the "Transformers" movie, a live-action film based on the popular toys.
"There are three or four events during the year that are really places where you get a big cross-section of what's going on in popular culture," explains Vollman, who lists the MTV Movie Awards and Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards as others. "Comic Con really does say to you who is important, who is going to be hot in the next year."
What the Sundance and Toronto film festivals are to such small, independent gems as Sideways, Kinsey and Hotel Rwanda, Comic Con has become to glitzy pop-culture flicks. In fact, movie studios have come to depend on fan reaction at the convention to guide some of their decisions.
"Comic Con is the pinnacle," says Vollman. "It's where buzz is born."
The 'Spirit' of Comic Con
Still, there will be plenty at Comic Con to keep the die-hard comic-book fanatic engaged.
Among the event's 7,900 exhibitors, many will sell vintage and new comics, as well as comic-related toys and games. In addition, aspiring comic-book artists can attend life-drawing classes and have pros evaluate their portfolios.
Comic Con also is where the comic-book industry's prestigious Eisner Awards are presented.
The awards are named for Will Eisner, the brilliant and phenomenally influential creator of The Spirit, a superhero with a mask but no super powers. There will be daily programs about Eisner, who died Jan. 3, as well as a tribute to him at the awards ceremony to keep, so to speak, the "Spirit" alive.
" 'The Spirit' was a very influential comic," says Estrada, who coordinates the awards. "Even though a lot of the general public never heard of it, it influenced a lot of artists. It showed them how dynamic and interesting you could make the simplest story."
An especially flashy feature of Comic Con will be the traditional Masquerade, a costume contest with such categories as best workmanship, best group effort and most humorous.
"People take a great deal of time and effort to build really pretty beautiful and extraordinary costumes," Glanzer points out. And it's easy to guess why they work so hard on them.
Comic Con doesn't claim to confer super powers on comic-book aficionados. But attending the San Diego event is as close as most fans will ever come to having them.
Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trav...,486502.story?coll=orl-travel-headlines-print
