Got a call late yesterday afternoon from Chris at Happy Hour asking if I could come in today and work on a project through Wednesday. So I'm just about to head out the door and head to Culver City. It's funny because every place I've worked over the summer has been within a mile of one another; Precision Post, Secret Headquarters, and Happy Hour Creative.
Picked up tickets to see a double feature of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Bogus Journey" plus a Q&A with Alex Winter at the New Beverly Cinema tomorrow night. C'mon, Keanu...you know you wanna show up!
Just read some great news! Turns out the upcoming 25th anniversary edition of the "Back to the Future" trilogy on Blu-ray will also be released on DVD complete with ALL of the special features I originally thought would only be found on the hi-def format. YEAH, BABY!!!Friday ended up being my last day at Secret Headquarters for right now. I was told that if there were changes on the projects I worked on this past week then they'd call me in to address those. But in the meantime I'm getting feelers back out to houses like Happy Hour to see what might be upcoming. Thanks to work with not only SH but Precision Post as well I'm now covered financially for the month of September which is a very good feeling. BUT...I need to keep working!
After reading that article about Gary Kurtz' lambasting of Lucas' turn to the dark side by making everything about the toys (?!), George's continued refusal to release a remastered version of the ORIGINAL holy trilogy of "Star Wars" on DVD or even Blu-ray, and a major spark of recognition brought on by the impending release of the documentary "The People vs. George Lucas" that so many other fans have become disenchanted with the direction of the franchise, I have made a momentous decision.
As for the toys, everything I own is from the original trilogy and I certainly won't be getting rid of any of those. The last item I purchased was the giant 31" long Milllenium Falcon about a year and a half ago that proudly adorns my coffee table. But from this point on....no more.
It's certain now that we'll never see him onscreen again, but what a wonderful legacy of movie performances the man who embodied James Bond left us! Click on the photo for this brief article about the affirmation of his permanent retirement. Because kicking back and playing golf in Scotland couldn't be any better.
Today was a good work day. Finished the first rough cut of the "Raising Hope" featurette. Click on the image to see a full-sized still of the cast. The show is created and produced by "My Name Is Earl" creator Greg Garcia. Tomorrow morning I'll be adding footage from the latest version of the pilot we just received. This won't change my cut, just a higher quality picture I'll need to over-cut the previous version of the footage that's now part of the piece.
The one thing I will always remember about the first time I saw "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" in the theatre was the scene where Large Marge picks Pee Wee up in her truck on a lonely highway. Her story about the worst accident she ever saw was punctuated by a crazy clamation look at Pee Wee, then back to normal as though nothing ever happened.
That one look had us literally laughing for 5 minutes straight, and we actually didn't stop until Pee Wee found himself at the truck stop after being dropped off. If you've seen the movie you know that's a long time. In fact we laughed so much that other people in the theatre were laughing at us laughing at the scene. It's absolutely one of the funniest moments in a movie that will repeatedly have me on the floor! Truly a classic!
"The once great champ, now a study in moppishness. No longer the victory hungry stallion we've raced so many times before..."Started back with SH last Thursday after the horrendous (mostly) three days at Precision Post. Miscommunication was a bit rampant among just about everyone for the first two days, while Wednesday was more of a 'leave me alone, I'm cutting' day.
Hey, where's that "Scott Pilgrim" review?
Just received an e-mail from Jason at Precision Post asking if I was available to come in tomorrow and Tuesday. They need me to continue working on that piece for "The Replay". Things seem to be shaping up on the work front between this and the possible return to Secret Headquarters later this week or next. At any rate I'm happy!
Just saw "Scott Pilgrim"...it was O.K. Definitely enjoyed the style and look of the movie, plus the editing was nicely edgy and even Steven Soderbergh-esque. But the story just didn't resonate, some parts dragged a bit, and I never quite connected with any of the characters. About what I expected. My full review will be up tomorrow night.
Here's a very interesting article just posted on the LA Times blog, Hero Complex.Looks like my time this week with Secret Headquarters has come to a close. A trailer they'd scheduled that I was to cut ended up going to a freelance editor working out of his home for a lot less money. So I was told they wouldn't have anything for me today or the first part of next week.
HEY!!!...how come they're not doing this in The States??!! "BTTF" is being re-released in Britain to commemorate the 25th anniversary. Check out the new 1-sheet design to mark this occasion here. Another cool aspect their promoting is that this will be a new digital presentation. Nice! Again....hello, could someone at Universal give us the same love that's being spread across the pond?!
Working my second day at Secret Headquarters. Putting together an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the FOX series "Bones". At the end of Monday I learned that they have a couple more projects for me to tackle, PLUS that I'd be here for the entire week! Yes!!
The schedule for Star Wars Celebration V has reared it's head and I certainly noticed a lot of the same type of programming we all experienced at the last two Celebrations we attended. However I'm still glancing through the entire rundown just out of curiosity.
I've been thinking lately about the high prices they're asking for to attend various functions at the "Back to the Future" 25th Anniversary Celebration this November.
I was recently thinking...After an expanded day on Wednesday at Precision Post finishing up around 10pm, I worked yesterday from 9:30am until 2am this morning! The 90 second piece myself and another editor cut (he the front, I the backend) had to be delivered to the client at 9am this morning. I am now done with the project and off today, so I slept in until 9:30 this morning.
Got a call today from Precision Post asking if I could come in for a half day today and work through Friday. Got myself together and headed right down to Culver City. But not before checking my e-mail one last time.
BTW, the soundtrack to "Caddyshack" has always been a favorite of mine as well. From Kenny Loggins "I'm Alright" and his other four songs from the movie that dominated side 1 of the LP and cassette, through Hilly Michaels' "Something on Your Mind" (HEY!!...my buddy!"!), Journey's "Any Way You Want It" (so what? so let's dance!!"), The Beat, The Beat's "There She Goes", plus Johnny Mandel's orchestral tracks. I listened to this album a lot back then, and still do to this day! In fact, Screen Archives recently released a special edition soundtrack on CD...which of course I had to snatch right up when it came out! Amazingly, before now I've only ever had it on cassette.
Wake up hour - 5:30am. It was time to head down and wait in line to enter the Exhibit Hall and at last buy the "Tron" vintage figure and Light Cycle. For the first time in many years, there was actually nothing scheduled in Hall H all day. I was kind of surprised. Instead, most of the major panels were held in the next sized room down, Ballroom 20. The line just to get into the convention center was a bit longer than I expected at such an early hour. After Rebecca and I settled into our place in line I decided to walk up to the midway point of the convention center to make sure we were in the right place. Sometimes they let people in from two different locations and I wanted to be assured that I wasn't going to miss out on those "Tron" goodies! Turned out the reason why so many people were in line this early was because the "Smallville" panel was happening first thing in Ballroom 20. It's the final season for that show and this was to be the big send off. At that point I knew we'd be O.K.
I love seeing the Exhibit Hall when they very first open. There's no one on the floor except for the occasional runner trying to get to an all-important line before everyone else. It's kind of like the eye of the hurricane, a moment of calm before the storm arrives. Even though they were telling everyone to not run...I just ran! As was just about everyone else. Finally arriving at the "Torn Legacy" booth I saw about 50 to 75 people in line already for the "Tron" figures. I'd told Rebecca that I was going to book it over there and for her to just take her time. She was picking up both of those items as well, and we were really happy to find ourselves comfortably in line and ready to buy! A few moments later we were at the counter, pulling out our money, and becoming the proud owners of two items I thought I'd never get my hands on. Yay!!!
Next stop: the Sails Pavilion to buy our 4-day memberships WITH Preview Night for next year. Last year money was so bad we decided to skip this, only to just barely be able to purchase ours before they all sold out! When we got to the Sails Pavilion line it was pretty long, a lot longer than previous years. I think people are finally coming around to the idea that you really need to secure these things far in advance, even while you’re at the current year's event. When we arrived at the computer kiosk where you could actually register, we found the process to be incredibly streamlined. Before, you had to enter all of your information from scratch. Now all you do is scan your current membership badge and everything you entered when you registered for this year comes up automatically! Wow! We were really impressed! A person behind the counter talked us through where we had to go onscreen and in seconds we were all set! Receipt in hand, we exited the registration area knowing we wouldn't have to give this process another thought. Then it was off to once again pick up where we left off in the Exhibit Hall.
Ultimately this year was the most enjoyable, most satisfying, and most flat out fun I've had since my first time attending in 2005! And one of the nice things is I didn't feel that post-event depression I usually get the day after. Bring on 2011!!!!
This day would be a full-on love-in at Hall H! Once again, Rebecca and I got up WAY early (O.K. so 5:30am is way early to me!), got ourselves together with appropriate T-shirts and snack items, proceeding to head down to get in line before the hords descended. Just about every single day I praised our newfound hotel with it's spectacular view. Once again keeping a stern lookout down on the tented area outside of Hall H where people were gathering, we pulled ourselves together and headed out the door. Chris and his son Justice would soon meet us once again, as would our friend Scott. I'd mentioned to them previously the opportunity to jump in line with Rebecca and I, and they found us about two hours from doors opening.
First up was the cast of "Green Lantern" including Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mark Strong. The main thing all of us were on the edge of our seats for was actual footage from the movie. We'd all seen the cover of Entertainment Weekly, coming away a little concerned over the look of the movie version of GL's suit. As the lights dimmed, the Warner Bros and DC Comics logos came up and we were treated to a short trailer showing Hal Jordan fighting a bunch of guys in a dark parking lot. To his surprise, when he threw a punch the ring on his finger extended that punch in to a giant green hued fist taking out several guys at once. It looked just like in the comics and we all cheered with approval!
Favreau has this amazing ability to get out there, grab the audience, put up the most incredible, straight to the point footage, intro the stars with a few surprises, and get out. This was absolutely the pinnacle of his appearance on stage this day. Meeting with a standing ovation from fans, he immediately began the roll call of actors from the upcoming film. Daniel Craig took the stage to screams from female fans, followed by the ever-cool Sam Rockwell, plus Paul Dano and Olivia Wilde, who had just been present two days before for the "Tron Legacy" panel. With this rollout the anticipation meter began to rise. Favreau was bringing out just about the entire cast. And the final individual’s name that everyone was leaning forward in his or her chairs hoping to hear was someone who we all thought would probably never attend.
Favreau suddenly said there was one member of the cast who had never been to Comic-Con and this was to be his first time...and Harrison Ford was promptly led out onstage in handcuffs by two police officers! We all jumped out of our seats and screamed!!! Even though I’d seen Ford up close two months before, it was pretty thrilling to see him finally attending this sacred event! And just like Johnny Depp when he surprised the audience a year ago by joining Tim Burton on stage for the "Alice in Wonderland" panel, so too did Ford utter only one or two sentences about how overwhelmed he was at the size of the crowd and how he only ever wanted to be a working actor.
As news of the stabbing began to exit everyone's minds, Marvel's Kevin Fiege was the first to take the stage, leaping right into "Captain America" and the introduction of Chris Evans as the 'first avenger' and Hugo Weaving who is playing the Red Skull. Once they'd taken a seat the lights went down and we were treated to a brief teaser for the movie. Since they'd only been filming for a little over a week, there really wasn't anything to show. The teaser had historical clips from WWII over a tracking shot of Captain America's shield. The final reveal was a brief glimpse of Evans in his Cap outfit but mostly in shadow, throwing that mighty shield which slammed into the movie's logo. The crowd probably felt like it had seen everything and was very impressed. But then a full scene was rolled out which had just been completed mere days earlier.
Director Kenneth Branagh, the God of Thunder himself, Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, and Clark Gregg were all introduced before the footage (presented in a 3D conversion) was rolled before a very excited crowd. This movie has had a good portion of its principle photography completed so there was plenty to be excited about. Once again I'll let someone else do the description of the actual trailer, this time from slashfilm.com.
Definitely looks exciting and very faithful to the comic. Plus, I was very glad to hear that they're going the Donald Blake route. For the uninitiated, when Thor was banished to Earth he assumed the identity of a human doctor that used a walking stick. When he needed to become Thor he would slam the tip of that walking stick to the ground, instantly transforming into the God of Thunder. How this will be presented in the movie is anyone's guess because they showed nothing that alluded to that aspect. Yet Kenneth Branagh (pronounced 'Braah-naah' and not 'Bre-neh' the way LA Times Hero Complex blogster Geoff Boucher, who was the MC for the Marvel panel, pronounced it) definitely made that connection while responding to a fan's question. He was probably the most unluckiest of Comic-Con guests, but still extremely welcome nonetheless.
Nothing but shopping in the Exhibit Hall was the plan of the day! Once again we picked up where we left off and continued to take everything in. We were seeing a lot more costumes this day, although Bill mentioned it seemed as though there were less than last year. I felt like we were seeing quite a number of costumes going by, but sometimes there was more time in between sightings.
More shopping ensued, and suddenly it was our turn to head to Flynn's Arcade a few blocks up the street from the convention center. 3pm was our reserved time on the ticket, so we made our way to the location arriving about 15 minutes in advance. There was a line out front, which moved along pretty well. When it was our turn to enter we were each given a small blue change holder with seven Flynn's Arcade tokens inside! They were a souvenir of our visit and didn't need to be dropped in the free game machines, the guy handing them out said. Last year we were given one token each over at the convention center just to enter the arcade, and I actually managed to get my hands on three of them. Now I have a whole case with the "Tron" logo embossed on it. Pretty cool!!
Once inside the Holy Grail for "Tron" fans, we discovered that things had changed a bit from last year. Now there was no time limit on the amount of free gaming! In 2009 you had a twenty-minute window to enjoy all the free video games you could play, which included the original movie's Space Paranoids. Then the lighting and music would change in an orchestrated maneuver to lead everyone through a doorway in the back wall of the arcade, right behind the original "Tron" arcade game. This time we not only enjoyed not the vintage 80’s games as before, but were introduced to the "Tron: Evolution" PS3 and XBOX game they had demos of along one side of the arcade. Six screens allowed gamers to try out various levels of the game, and I actually was able to get in and try it myself. Just so cool! Definitely want to pick up a copy when it comes out!
Once again through the back wall of the arcade, we were led along a short hallway into the back room office of Kevin Flynn, just like in the new movie, with all original set pieces and props from "Tron Legacy". Everything was recreated down to the smallest detail as seen in the first trailer when Kevin's son, Sam, finds his way to the computerized desk as the laser that would take him into the computer world began to fire up. Audio from the new trailer played as the laser cannon began it’s lighted digitizing sequence, leading us through a second doorway bathed in a light source ahead. We took a left turn and there in front of us was a recreation of the End of Line Club from the new movie! We were stunned at how big and how complex it was! It's hard to describe so I'm going to let the photos do the talking.
Daft Punk's music was the soundtrack for the club, which we heard will be five times larger in the actual movie. Behind the bar and along the walls there were giant imbedded screens where colored video images danced around the entire club. Every couple of minutes the lights changed and you’d here Michael Sheen's character say “Change the scheme, alter the move, electrify the boys and girls, if you’d be so kind!” This was followed by wall-sized clips from the new trailer we’d just seen the previous morning, after which the lights would return and Daft Punk's music would again begin to surround us.
At one point a woman dressed as the albino greeter in the computer world slowly strutted out to a hundred camera flashes going off. One amazing aspect of her suit; the strips of light grey that represented light sources in the actual movie were not lit up. However, when you took a photo of her with your flash on, the image would reveal a glow effect in the actual photo! Extremely cool idea and execution! In fact there were two others wearing black "Tron Legacy" suits back at the official booth, which had a similar effect. We were truly amazed and in awe at what we'd found hiding in the back of Flynn's Arcade, very much like our surprise over the full scale model of a Light Cycle we discovered the year before. A back area of the club also had several of the forthcoming action figures, toys, plus more props, helmets, and a full sized figure with an entire game grid outfit that glowed. After spending a mesmerizing hour there, we decided it was time to make our way back to the convention center to meet up with Bill and pick up where we left off in the Exhibit Hall.
The first full day of Comic-Con was "Tron Legacy" day! Although I'd have to say the entire event really did belong to the movie we'll finally get to see this coming December. Because the much-anticipated panel for "TL" was first up on the day's schedule, I knew we'd need to get in line for Hall H really, REALLY early. The alarm went off at 5:30am. Rebecca was up and getting ready before my feet could reach the floor. Soon she had snacks packed for the morning / day and was ready to head down and get in line. I followed a short time later, keeping visual tabs on how long the line was getting. For the first of many times I said, "Thank God we're in this hotel!" Before I left she called me to say the line was moving. A quick glance out the window would confirm that no one was going in yet and that they were just compacting the line. If we’d been staying in the Marriott we could only guesstimate what was happening a full three blocks away at the other end of the convention center!
Right before "Tron Legacy" we'd be seeing the presentation for "Megamind", the animated superhero adventure starring Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt. Ferrell was introduced and walked onstage with a hall costume-like rendition of his animated counterpart in the film, which was pretty funny. Tina Fey and Jonah Hill soon followed and there was a bit of anticipation in the air as to whether Brad Pitt would step onstage. He plays Megaman in the movie. Suddenly Will Ferrell made his way over to the steps leading up onstage and sheepishly grabbed a life-sized cutout of Pitt from behind the curtain. Everyone laughed, but there was still a feeling that he might actually surprise everyone and appear. Considering the fact that his wife, Angelina Jolie would be there the next day for the “Salt” panel, we kind of assumed he would follow suit. Never happened. I have to say after seeing the extended trailer and learning more about the story of “Megamind” my interest in the movie definitely went up!
Then it was time for the main event! First up, director Joe Kosinski, Producer and original "Tron" director Steven Lisberger, and stars Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde took the stage to wild applause. We were then treated to the footage we've all been patiently waiting to finally see! Beyond the incredible test footage they showed two years ago, no one had seen any clips from the actual film yet. Now we would be treated to eight minutes of footage from the movie!!! WOW!
A final round of applause and cheers from the fans and we were on our way out of Hall H to meet up with Bill in the Exhibit Hall. It was time to start our customary top-to-bottom walk through of the dealer’s area and movie, TV, and game booths. Starting in Aisle 100, Rebecca and I picked up where we left off on Wednesday night to shop and see the sights. We'd come back to the spot we left off at a few times over the course of the four days, amazingly ending our complete tour on Sunday afternoon. The first year I attended, it took me two and half days total to get through everything. Now that I know what I like to see and can pass by, it still usually takes a day and half total.
After Rebecca and I arrived on Tuesday we had our usual nice ramp up to the oncoming fan blitz. Picking up Bill from the airport after his delayed flight situation, we decided it was a bit late to have dinner. So we waited until early evening Wednesday to dine at Lou & Mickey's in the Gas Lamp District right across the street from the convention center. This has become a staple of our first night in town where everything is allowed to just sink in over a yummy meal.
With only an hour left, we quickly dashed to a few choice booths and areas on the Exhibit Hall floor. I really wanted to see the "Tron Legacy" booth first, which was Rebecca and my first stop. A giant Recognizer framed the location with many toys and action figures from the forthcoming movie on display. In the middle were two monitors where people were trying out the "Tron Legacy" Playstation 3 game that would be coming out later in the year. I wanted to try it out but of course there was quite a crowd. My chance would come later though.
At one end of the booth was a counter where they were selling what was my 'must have' limited edition items of the event; the "Tron" vintage figure inside a box fashioned like the original arcade game, as well as the limited edition Light Cycle from the new movie. Being that the vintage figure had an exclusive Comic-Con release of just 1,500 pieces (?!), I figured it could quite possibly be almost impossible to snag one. The good news was that they were selling them at a little over 300 a day, which made my and everyone else's chances of owning this one-of-a-kind figure a lot better. I'd definitely be back!
O.K.! And here....we....GO!
Before we start the rundown of the days events, I think it only appropriate to acknowledge the passing of a man who was the founder of San Diego's Comic-Con International forty one years ago; Shel Dorf. He died at age 76 on November 3, 2009 in San Diego, and if it wasn't for Shel we would not be experiencing the excitement, wonder, and thrills that this annual event brings to so many people!
The one thing I sincerely regretted about this year was not being able to attend a tribute panel for Shel. Due to a scheduling conflict I was not able to be a part of what I'm sure was a wonderful remembrance of the man. I only hope there are some type of future tributes that I might be a part of. I really do owe so much to this guy who was originally just trying to bring like-minded comics fans together, all out of love and passion for their favorite pastime. That love is now 125,000 people strong each year (in actual attendance), with hopes that an expansion of the convention center will yield much needed space and more room for all of us who, like Shel Dorf, loves to immerse in the group appreciation that is the San Diego Comic-Con International!
