Hi! Well here we are! If you read my previous posts you’ll be familiar with my the three basic guidelines for the NBA Rules of Comic-Con: Not Being an Asshole:
- Don’t Be Creepy
- Don’t be “That Guy/Gal”
- Be Honest
Be Honest
Honesty can be a nebulous concept, especially when I’m talking about something like not being an asshole. I mean you can be an honest asshole, and people might love you for it.
When it comes to Comic-Con, however, we need to be think of honesty as being true to ourselves and who we are. We are the consumer, we are the ones who are being sold to, and we are the universal bullshit detectors for Hollywood and the entertainment industry by extension.
Over the past couple years we have failed miserably. I’d like to highlight one of our most recent failures, and hopefully give some advice on how to use our honesty to our advantage.
First lets start with a success, so we have a good understanding what happens when everything works well.
Peter Jackson and The District 9 Panel
You would think with the heavy amount of Nerd-bait material Peter Jackson has done, he would be the lord of Comic-Con. And while his various films and WETA workshops have a large presence in panels and on the floor, Jackson himself has only been to Comic-Con one time. In 2009 he hosted a panel in Hall H for the film District 9. Jackson’s involvement in the film was minimal; he provided funding and his experience to new director Neill Blomkamp and actor Sharlito Copley. The entire panel consisted of a brief clip of raw film footage and the three of them talking excitedly about what the film was going to be. Since nobody had major expectations going in (except for the people who were lucky enough to see a screening the night before) and there were only 3 people onstage, it turned out to be an intimate panel with some very good questions and answers. Five thousand went into that panel moderately interested in the film, and those same people came out extremely excited. In fact, if you went to see that movie because of a recommendation, there is a better than 50% chance it was based on the evangelizing of a person who saw that panel. It was a breakout movie, and one of the best movies of 2009. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, you need to. It’s not just good sci-fi, it’s great storytelling.
Here are some links to the panel, if you are interested: Part1 Part2 Part3
The Curious Case of Zach Snyder
Zach Snyder is a puzzlement. I have really enjoyed his movie adaptations and consider him an artist. The man has vision and is much better visually than many of his contemporaries. He has had several successful films, and I wonder if his success has been in spite of the fact that he hates his fans. That might be a little harsh, but I do think he exhibits some contempt, and I think it’s justified.
I’ve seen a few panels for Snyder films over the years, and his behavior has steadily deteriorated in each. This year he isn’t even coming. I’ve heard different reasons, but I honestly believe a great deal of it has to do with the reception of his most recent film Sucker Punch, and its (well deserved) commercial failure.
Before we can talk about Sucker Punch, though, we need to talk about Watchmen.
Here’s what you need to know about Watchmen. It’s considered the best graphic novel ever made. It made Time magazines top 100 NOVELS of all time. It’s special. For many, it was their introduction to the medium as an art form. It holds a special place in a lot of fans’ hearts, and many believe nothing in it should be changed. It’s that good.
Snyder was a good choice to direct the film adaptation. His 300 was a major hit and extremely faithful to its graphic novel. I believe Snyder knew what he was getting into with Watchmen, as he had a panel early on in the development to address the concerns fans might have with adapting such a beloved graphic novel to film.
The first panel was fine; it was what you want when the film is at least 2 years away. In many ways it was similar to the District 9 panel. You had the director, the producer, and the writer (I believe). It might have even been smaller than that. Snyder was very engaging, if a bit defensive, about the pains he was taking to make sure he had the right cast and his intent to stay true to the graphic novel. At that panel, the only thing he debuted was an early mockup of the poster. It was a good panel.
One year later, the second panel also went well. Snyder debuted the cast and showed a couple of scenes. The movie was looking good. Then the fanboys struck. Somebody got a copy of the script, and He’d changed something. Specifically, he’d changed one of the silliest things in the novel. You see, there’s a conspiracy in the book that culminates with a giant squid landing in downtown New York (honest it’s not as dumb as I’m making it sound. It’s a little dumb). Snyder’s writers took the squid out and replaced it with a conspiracy that made sense. Other than that, Snyder attempted to be faithful to the novel.
That didn’t matter to the Alan Moore Army. To them, anything Alan Moore ever put on a page is sacred. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous it is, or how dumb you feel reading it or repeating it to others. Alan Moore put it in the graphic novel and damn it, Snyder, you are going to pay for removing it!
I had several really weird comment wars with people who genuinely believed this movie was going to be a failure because of this change. It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t the success it could have been. Part of that is Snyder’s fault. The movie was faithful, and beautiful, but it was also a long movie about characters that few had ever heard of outside of Comic-Con.
(btw, if you have a moment, watch the opening credits. It’s the only part of the film that isn’t in the graphic novel, which gave him and free reign to create a back story. It’s really well done.)
So when Snyder showed up at Comic-Con last year with a new project nobody had heard of, I was curious. I actually remember saying “Sucker Punch? What is that?”
The panel should have been a huge red flag that something was wrong. Hell, the title of the movie should have been a huge red flag that Snyder was punking his audience. First, Snyder was extra cocky and defensive. Second, he showed the trailer twice (you know This one) Then, he had a list of extra-vapid actresses talk about their feelings and some other shit that had nothing to do with the movie. All the while, Snyder’s sitting there waiting for someone to ask the obvious question “What is this movie about?”
Where we went wrong as an audience: NOBODY DID.
Seriously, nobody grilled him about what the hell this movie was about. It would have been great because it would have forced him to say either “It’s about a girl who gets sent to an insane asylum, gets turned into a stripper, and gets lobotomized” or “It’s a bet to see if this audience is as stupid as I think it is.”
Lets face it, he pulled a fast one on everybody there: He mashed every 14 year old heterosexual boy’s masturbatory fantasy into one 2 minute trailer, then shot it all over us like fanboy bukkake. He didn’t need a story, he just needed to find a group of idiots to sell his movie off of the trailer. The problem was, we didn’t tell him we saw what he was doing. Instead the entire audience bleated and screamed WOOHOO!
He walked out of the panel thinking he had a hit on his hand, and that was entirely our fault.
So What Can We Do
We need to treat content presented to us at the convention the same way we treat any product we aren’t sure of:
Be skeptical. Do we really need another vampire / zombie movie?
Don’t accept obvious pandering. I wouldn’t take it from anyone else, why should I take it from you, random hot actor in this action film?
Don’t get sucked in by pretty packaging. The dog-and-pony show is the oldest trick in the book.
Above all, ask polite but direct questions. You paid to go this convention, and the people presenting should value your opinion. If they never hear an intelligent question, they will rightfully assume we didn’t have any.
ASK THE PRODUCER WHAT THE MOVIE IS ABOUT. If there are 5 people on a panel, the unfortunate truth is that 90% of the questions will go to the actors. The actors are probably the least influential people on that panel. If you want information, ask the producer. The producer is always there.
If you have questions or concerns about the content you’re seeing, ask. Be direct, be honest, just don’t be a dick.
