Comments on: The future of The Land of Wanders http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/ The News Blog of Comics Culture Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:05:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Chicago Tribune » Blog Archive » Thoughts on the present and future of Comic-Con http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2279005 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:14:26 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2279005 [...] “Comic-Con is it’s own thing now,” John Tebbel noted in the comment area of an interesting Publishers Weekly blog post. “The comics might have birthed it, but it’s grown up, moved out and set up it’s own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other … thing it would not be the talk of the world.” [...] […] “Comic-Con is it’s own thing now,” John Tebbel noted in the comment area of an interesting Publishers Weekly blog post. “The comics might have birthed it, but it’s grown up, moved out and set up it’s own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other … thing it would not be the talk of the world.” […]

]]> by: Paris Hilton » Blog Archive » Thoughts on the present and future of Comic-Con http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2164768 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:03:34 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2164768 [...] “Comic-Con is it’s own thing now,” John Tebbel noted in the comment area of an interesting Publishers Weekly blog post. “The comics might have birthed it, but it’s grown up, moved out and set up it’s own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other … thing it would not be the talk of the world.” [...] […] “Comic-Con is it’s own thing now,” John Tebbel noted in the comment area of an interesting Publishers Weekly blog post. “The comics might have birthed it, but it’s grown up, moved out and set up it’s own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other … thing it would not be the talk of the world.” […]

]]> by: The spectacle of San Diego? http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2099065 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:57:20 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2099065 [...] So this afternoon, I’m reading all kinds of things about San Diego Comic-Con and the importance of it (here, here and here.)  And really, from the comfort of my chair thousands of miles away from San Diego I have to ask is the comic convention there really all that important? [...] […] So this afternoon, I’m reading all kinds of things about San Diego Comic-Con and the importance of it (here, here and here.)  And really, from the comfort of my chair thousands of miles away from San Diego I have to ask is the comic convention there really all that important? […]

]]> by: Random Quote– An Aircel comics reference??? http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2098416 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:38:12 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2098416 [...] From the comment section at The Beat. Bookmark to: Hide Sites [...] […] From the comment section at The Beat. Bookmark to: Hide Sites […]

]]> by: rich http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090863 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:25:13 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090863 While checking my email, I noticed this "news" teaser on AOL News: "There's no better place to preview TV shows and give back to fans than Comic-Con, and this year, networks embraced the opportunity like never before. After all the star sightings, exclusive footage, and hard-to-get swag -- we covet the Sci-Fi Channel's purple tote, labeled "BIG FRAKKIN' BAG" -- our heads are so full of great stuff, they just might explode. And wouldn't that be appropriate for Comic-Con? (Warning: Spoilers ahead!) -- By Patricia Chui and Raven Snook" and this teaser: "More About Comic-Con "Check out the scoop about fall TV from the Television Critics Association press tour." While checking my email, I noticed this “news” teaser on AOL News:

“There’s no better place to preview TV shows and give back to fans than Comic-Con, and this year, networks embraced the opportunity like never before. After all the star sightings, exclusive footage, and hard-to-get swag — we covet the Sci-Fi Channel’s purple tote, labeled “BIG FRAKKIN’ BAG” — our heads are so full of great stuff, they just might explode. And wouldn’t that be appropriate for Comic-Con? (Warning: Spoilers ahead!) — By Patricia Chui and Raven Snook”

and this teaser:
“More About Comic-Con
“Check out the scoop about fall TV from the Television Critics Association press tour.”

]]> by: Unpopular http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090440 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:21:01 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090440 "be forced to spend a cross-country trip seated next to that dude from the other thread with a hard-on for people’s supposedly deficient parenting skills." I sleep during plane rides, so it should be very pleasant for them. “be forced to spend a cross-country trip seated next to that dude from the other thread with a hard-on for people’s supposedly deficient parenting skills.”

I sleep during plane rides, so it should be very pleasant for them.

]]> by: jer http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090324 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:54:31 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090324 tom sez: <i>"despite the fact that I have like 23 readers. "</i> Cool; always wanted to be part of an exclusive club of some sort tom sez: “despite the fact that I have like 23 readers. “

Cool; always wanted to be part of an exclusive club of some sort

]]> by: Sean T. Collins http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090236 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:35:30 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090236 The year Lost debuted its pilot at SDCC, it had zero comics connections. The year Lost debuted its pilot at SDCC, it had zero comics connections.

]]> by: The Beat http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090216 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:27:35 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090216 OI everyone take a rhetorical step back! OI everyone take a rhetorical step back!

]]> by: Tom Spurgeon http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090121 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:07:17 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090121 And that was a rhetorical question based on my admiration for Graeme, not a technical question based on my being a dumbass! And that was a rhetorical question based on my admiration for Graeme, not a technical question based on my being a dumbass!

]]> by: Tom Spurgeon http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090065 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:53:33 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090065 My apologies if everyone who has uttered the complaint "What does that have to do with Comic-Con" did so making a sophisticated analysis of each individual project's comics connections and landed on those few rather than a blanket appraisal of whether or not a certain project seems comicbooky to them. I'm certain they're all still mad about Frank Capra. My apologies if everyone who has uttered the complaint “What does that have to do with Comic-Con” did so making a sophisticated analysis of each individual project’s comics connections and landed on those few rather than a blanket appraisal of whether or not a certain project seems comicbooky to them. I’m certain they’re all still mad about Frank Capra.

]]> by: Jim Caldwell http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090063 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:53:09 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2090063 You have to search for his by-line. <i>12:00 PM on Sat Aug 2 2008 By Graeme McMillan 4,001 views 41 comments </i> It's on the right-hand side of the page, across from the pictures of Boba Fett, above the Gawker banner ad. No, it's there. Look again. Tom, Maybe we don't need a comeback of Aircel Comics, but how about Solson? I want more Reagan's Raiders! Maybe even a next generation featuring Bush's ... er, Bushwackers. You have to search for his by-line.

12:00 PM on Sat Aug 2 2008
By Graeme McMillan
4,001 views
41 comments

It’s on the right-hand side of the page, across from the pictures of Boba Fett, above the Gawker banner ad.

No, it’s there. Look again.

Tom,

Maybe we don’t need a comeback of Aircel Comics, but how about Solson? I want more Reagan’s Raiders! Maybe even a next generation featuring Bush’s … er, Bushwackers.

]]> by: Steven R. Stahl http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089947 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:37:48 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089947 Tom Spurgeon wrote: “That post was aimless and mostly stupid. Was it really by Graeme?” The fourth comment on the blog entry, by Annalee Newitz, indicates that the piece was written by Graeme McMillan. SRS Tom Spurgeon wrote: “That post was aimless and mostly stupid. Was it really by Graeme?”

The fourth comment on the blog entry, by Annalee Newitz, indicates that the piece was written by Graeme McMillan.

SRS

]]> by: The Beat http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089815 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:23:12 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089815 Tom, I 'm not sure what you mean by the "1987 mentality". NOn fantasy and yet comic based material has always been on display at Comic-Con. the WHITEOUT, and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE movies were both previewed at Comic-Con and neither are fantasy. If they make a sitcom based on a comic (actually haven't they already and I missed it?) I would expect that to be marketed at the show. LOST has no comics, but several comics writer work on the show, HEROES has a comic, etc etc etc I have a very hard time seeing how HAROLD AND KUMAR and THE OFFICE have any comics tie in -- whether to the work of Ogden Whitney or Jim Mahfood -- unless you count the fact that The Beat once had a crush on Alec Baldwin. Tom, I ‘m not sure what you mean by the “1987 mentality”. NOn fantasy and yet comic based material has always been on display at Comic-Con. the WHITEOUT, and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE movies were both previewed at Comic-Con and neither are fantasy. If they make a sitcom based on a comic (actually haven’t they already and I missed it?) I would expect that to be marketed at the show. LOST has no comics, but several comics writer work on the show, HEROES has a comic, etc etc etc

I have a very hard time seeing how HAROLD AND KUMAR and THE OFFICE have any comics tie in — whether to the work of Ogden Whitney or Jim Mahfood — unless you count the fact that The Beat once had a crush on Alec Baldwin.

]]> by: John Tebbel http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089307 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:19:29 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2089307 Comic Con is it's own thing now. The comics might have birthed it, but it's grown up, moved out and set up it's own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other damn thing it would not be the talk of the world for five days. Most attendees are exquisitely well informed about the hardships they will certainly encounter. No attendee has a right to complain, but since each attendee is also a non-conformist, we must complain. And David Glanzer is the best, a real trouper, official holder of the tiger's tail. Comic Con is it’s own thing now. The comics might have birthed it, but it’s grown up, moved out and set up it’s own shop. If it had stayed true to comics or any other damn thing it would not be the talk of the world for five days.

Most attendees are exquisitely well informed about the hardships they will certainly encounter. No attendee has a right to complain, but since each attendee is also a non-conformist, we must complain.

And David Glanzer is the best, a real trouper, official holder of the tiger’s tail.

]]> by: Tom Spurgeon http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088886 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:27:53 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088886 That post was aimless and mostly stupid. Was it really by Graeme? I'm sympathetic to the press folks that were on the ground and asked to cover panels and simply didn't know what they getting into, because that must have been tough. I'm slightly sympathetic to media folks that provide a lot of direct coverage of the show's events that found the show difficult to negotiate. I'm not sympathetic at all to anyone else, and I'm openly hostile to the notion that the con should bend over backwards to guarantee press access to so many people that provide indirect or half-assed or supervisory or overly personalized coverage. I was treated well by all the publicists with whom I was interested to work, was able to be totally informed about everything in my coverage area without much if any work at all and was treated well by the Con. I value my free press pass, the ease with which I'm able to pick it up beforehand, and the easy and open access I have to con officials before, during and after the con despite the fact that I have like 23 readers. I've covered trade shows in multiple industries that I guess were more comfy and featured vendors much more used to the press but they were generally a much bigger pain in the ass to use, let alone use to any effect outside of fellating the PR needs of those companies. God help us all if we ever start having a refined aesthetic when it comes to the relative level of trade show amenities. All these people complaining about things like the state of the press room while David Glanzer kills himself to work with every new media site in the world in the week following his busiest week of the year should be flung into outer space or be forced to spend a cross-country trip seated next to that dude from the other thread with a hard-on for people's supposedly deficient parenting skills. And screw the 1987 mentality that comics = fantasy genre. If Comic-Con is going to have shit that's not comics, there's no reason I can think of it shouldn't be a Tom Wolfe lecture as opposed to another panel hyping a movie about teenage werewolves. Why not? That notion of comics as a gutter fantasy equivalent needs about as much of a comeback as Aircel Comics. That post was aimless and mostly stupid. Was it really by Graeme?

I’m sympathetic to the press folks that were on the ground and asked to cover panels and simply didn’t know what they getting into, because that must have been tough. I’m slightly sympathetic to media folks that provide a lot of direct coverage of the show’s events that found the show difficult to negotiate. I’m not sympathetic at all to anyone else, and I’m openly hostile to the notion that the con should bend over backwards to guarantee press access to so many people that provide indirect or half-assed or supervisory or overly personalized coverage.

I was treated well by all the publicists with whom I was interested to work, was able to be totally informed about everything in my coverage area without much if any work at all and was treated well by the Con. I value my free press pass, the ease with which I’m able to pick it up beforehand, and the easy and open access I have to con officials before, during and after the con despite the fact that I have like 23 readers. I’ve covered trade shows in multiple industries that I guess were more comfy and featured vendors much more used to the press but they were generally a much bigger pain in the ass to use, let alone use to any effect outside of fellating the PR needs of those companies. God help us all if we ever start having a refined aesthetic when it comes to the relative level of trade show amenities.

All these people complaining about things like the state of the press room while David Glanzer kills himself to work with every new media site in the world in the week following his busiest week of the year should be flung into outer space or be forced to spend a cross-country trip seated next to that dude from the other thread with a hard-on for people’s supposedly deficient parenting skills.

And screw the 1987 mentality that comics = fantasy genre. If Comic-Con is going to have shit that’s not comics, there’s no reason I can think of it shouldn’t be a Tom Wolfe lecture as opposed to another panel hyping a movie about teenage werewolves. Why not? That notion of comics as a gutter fantasy equivalent needs about as much of a comeback as Aircel Comics.

]]> by: Torsten Adair http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088160 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:10:15 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088160 Didn't Dark Knight engage in viral marketing at last year's Con? One zeitgeist effect from all this hype is that up geeks are getting mainstreamed off the short bus. I'm seeing parents in comicbook shops, even chatted with one about old Richie Rich comics! Theaters are packed with normal people, even GASP teenaged girls, who are reading a graphic novel because they saw a cool movie preview. CCI has three different cons which cater to three different demographics and markets. They overlap each other in clientelle, but that's okay. CCI does need to get its act together, because Reed Expo knows how to stage big shows with lots of press and celebrities (Book Expo). Three years of staging a comiccon in the most difficult convention center in the nation, and they are already the #2 con. (Yes, it's a small pond, but I'm talking humpback whales and giant squid.) We saw one major con begin to wither this year after years of amazing numbers and press. It could happen again... Didn’t Dark Knight engage in viral marketing at last year’s Con?
One zeitgeist effect from all this hype is that up geeks are getting mainstreamed off the short bus. I’m seeing parents in comicbook shops, even chatted with one about old Richie Rich comics! Theaters are packed with normal people, even GASP teenaged girls, who are reading a graphic novel because they saw a cool movie preview.
CCI has three different cons which cater to three different demographics and markets. They overlap each other in clientelle, but that’s okay.
CCI does need to get its act together, because Reed Expo knows how to stage big shows with lots of press and celebrities (Book Expo). Three years of staging a comiccon in the most difficult convention center in the nation, and they are already the #2 con. (Yes, it’s a small pond, but I’m talking humpback whales and giant squid.)
We saw one major con begin to wither this year after years of amazing numbers and press. It could happen again…

]]> by: John Tebbel http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088153 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:09:13 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2088153 Press treatment gets to the self-hating, outcast gestalt of the biz, extreme even for the arts in America. The tune goes-- "We can't treat the press well because we know they are charlatans and freeloaders because we're not a legitimate art and incapable of generating legitimate news so anyone saying they are covering comics is a fool or a knave, deserving no privilege, even no quarter." Growing is hard, adulthood a constant struggle. Comics censorship and the resulting prolonged adolescence of the medium is a strain on everyone. Press treatment gets to the self-hating, outcast gestalt of the biz, extreme even for the arts in America. The tune goes–

“We can’t treat the press well because we know they are charlatans and freeloaders because we’re not a legitimate art and incapable of generating legitimate news so anyone saying they are covering comics is a fool or a knave, deserving no privilege, even no quarter.”

Growing is hard, adulthood a constant struggle. Comics censorship and the resulting prolonged adolescence of the medium is a strain on everyone.

]]> by: Lyle http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2086518 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:31:59 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2086518 <i>That would be nice if it were true, “Longtime Con-goer” but the truth is marketing is the reason for the explosion of Comic-con.</i> True, but the marketing at Comic-con is a very different kind, it's one of the few places where you can generate word-of-mouth marketing and try to create actual buzz, which the likes of Variety and THR are only moderately useful. Comic-con is worth covering, but the true bang for the marketers' buck is if they can get those fans to hit their usual online hangout and tell everyone they can "OMG, it's going to be even cooler than we thought it would be!" While I think a blogger with a following -- like, say, a Whitney Matheson of USA Today or a Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune -- can be helpful, the more typical kind of coverage -- which, for TV, ends up looking like the articles that came out a couple weeks earlier at the TCA, doesn't really stand out. That would be nice if it were true, “Longtime Con-goer” but the truth is marketing is the reason for the explosion of Comic-con.

True, but the marketing at Comic-con is a very different kind, it’s one of the few places where you can generate word-of-mouth marketing and try to create actual buzz, which the likes of Variety and THR are only moderately useful. Comic-con is worth covering, but the true bang for the marketers’ buck is if they can get those fans to hit their usual online hangout and tell everyone they can “OMG, it’s going to be even cooler than we thought it would be!” While I think a blogger with a following — like, say, a Whitney Matheson of USA Today or a Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune — can be helpful, the more typical kind of coverage — which, for TV, ends up looking like the articles that came out a couple weeks earlier at the TCA, doesn’t really stand out.

]]> by: maija http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2085408 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:14:44 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2085408 *"Are the studios there merely as a nice gesture to fans" *”Are the studios there merely as a nice gesture to fans”

]]> by: maija http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2085362 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:10:28 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2085362 Hollywood's passionate groping of comic and genre movie nerds over the last couple of years is eerily reminiscent of the investors falling all over themselves to get their hands on dotcoms in 2000. They don't fully understand them, and yet they seem like they <I>must</I> be a good investment <I>somehow</I>. Wow, look at all the people lining up for our panel!... who were going to go and see our movie anyway. Really, who lines up for four hours for something they're not sure about? What happens when the studios figure out that they're throwing themselves all over the nerds for nothing? Paramount seems to have figured it out. The nerds did nothing to help <I>Snakes On A Plane</I> and New Line (in fact, they did more harm than good with their love of the hilarious internet memes being mistaken for love of the <I>movie</I>). <I>Dark Knight</I> is pretty monumental writing on the wall. It was awfully nice of WB to come back with <I>Watchmen</I> stuff when <I>Dark Knight</I> proves they so obviously do not need to. Are the studios there merely to be nice to fans (like the <I>Lost</I> panels are)? They have to be, since they can't be promoting to the press as <I>they</I> can't get in. Or have they just not thought their clever plans all the way through? The phalanx of terracotta warriors outside the Hyatt did much, much less than Roger Ebert's three stars in helping <I>The Mummy 3</I> overcome 9% on Rotten Tomatoes to pull down $42M this weekend (well, Ebert and the fact that millions of people will flock to a mindless fx-laden summer blockbuster no matter how critically reviled, CCI presence or no CCI presence). So why do studios bother? Will they continue to as the recession tightens budgets? Then what happens to CCI? Hollywood’s passionate groping of comic and genre movie nerds over the last couple of years is eerily reminiscent of the investors falling all over themselves to get their hands on dotcoms in 2000. They don’t fully understand them, and yet they seem like they must be a good investment somehow. Wow, look at all the people lining up for our panel!… who were going to go and see our movie anyway. Really, who lines up for four hours for something they’re not sure about?

What happens when the studios figure out that they’re throwing themselves all over the nerds for nothing? Paramount seems to have figured it out. The nerds did nothing to help Snakes On A Plane and New Line (in fact, they did more harm than good with their love of the hilarious internet memes being mistaken for love of the movie). Dark Knight is pretty monumental writing on the wall. It was awfully nice of WB to come back with Watchmen stuff when Dark Knight proves they so obviously do not need to.

Are the studios there merely to be nice to fans (like the Lost panels are)? They have to be, since they can’t be promoting to the press as they can’t get in. Or have they just not thought their clever plans all the way through? The phalanx of terracotta warriors outside the Hyatt did much, much less than Roger Ebert’s three stars in helping The Mummy 3 overcome 9% on Rotten Tomatoes to pull down $42M this weekend (well, Ebert and the fact that millions of people will flock to a mindless fx-laden summer blockbuster no matter how critically reviled, CCI presence or no CCI presence).

So why do studios bother? Will they continue to as the recession tightens budgets? Then what happens to CCI?

]]> by: Jimmie Robinson http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2083008 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:02:46 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2083008 "As a longtime Con-goer I just want to say that Comic-Con is not a press event and was never intended to be, it is a FAN event...." While it may have started that way, anyone with eyes to see and read may find SDCC to be quite the opposite. But in truth, I find it to be a rather solid mix of all worlds. Give credit to SDCC that they continue to look forward, and not back. Perhaps next year's press room will make changes.... at least providing some electrical taps / extensions for more outlets. But we must remember this is a volunteer army. A sponsor, as Heidi suggests could make the difference. “As a longtime Con-goer I just want to say that Comic-Con is not a press event and was never intended to be, it is a FAN event….”

While it may have started that way, anyone with eyes to see and read may find SDCC to be quite the opposite. But in truth, I find it to be a rather solid mix of all worlds. Give credit to SDCC that they continue to look forward, and not back.

Perhaps next year’s press room will make changes…. at least providing some electrical taps / extensions for more outlets. But we must remember this is a volunteer army. A sponsor, as Heidi suggests could make the difference.

]]> by: Bill Cunningham http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2082965 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:54:59 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/03/the-future-of-the-land-of-wanders/#comment-2082965 Re: The Comic Con press room - Hahahahahahahahahahaha...ad infinitum. Water only? Not enough outlets... No posting of conference schedules outside the door so we could like "make other arrangements" - to post stories on time? I walked into two separate conferences at different times. Thank god for Twitter. And yes, Eagle Eye was good to provide wifi. Let's see more of that sort of stuff next year. I'm looking at you guys -- Anchor Bay and Dimension Extreme... And would it be really inconvenient for some publicists to come by and hand out press kits at the con too? I covered a panel simply because a publicist followed up - came to the (cough, cough) press room and handed out press kits. Re: The Comic Con press room -

Hahahahahahahahahahaha…ad infinitum.

Water only?

Not enough outlets…

No posting of conference schedules outside the door so we could like “make other arrangements” - to post stories on time? I walked into two separate conferences at different times.

Thank god for Twitter.

And yes, Eagle Eye was good to provide wifi. Let’s see more of that sort of stuff next year. I’m looking at you guys — Anchor Bay and Dimension Extreme…

And would it be really inconvenient for some publicists to come by and hand out press kits at the con too? I covered a panel simply because a publicist followed up - came to the (cough, cough) press room and handed out press kits.

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