I'll say this...the Convention Center is big.
Aside from the predicted sea of celebs who will just happen to show up for Anaheim Wizard World this weekend, there's also another convention devoted to chocolate and coffee, at least. One of the security guys told me it's not unusual to see four conventions at once.
Well, it's just two this weekend. I will say Anaheim's argument that it has a mountain of hotel rooms, is a good one. Here's another: more affordable restaurants aside from the chains. Little shops. Maybe a Vons store.
Then again, if L-A wants Comic-Con, it should also get a Vons downtown. All it has is the Staples Center and a Rite-Aid. The fact there is a Metro hub nearby is helpful, but not enough.
So far, I've talked to Doug Jones, Camden Toy and Mark Lutz (aka Groo from the Pylea arc on Angel). The big guns, especially Jewel Staite, start today. Hope they have time. I especially want to hear from Miracle Laurie, and whether she thinks she can make a good Wonder Woman, as one blogger says.
I am also careful not to spend too much on action figures designed to be eBay bait. I got a Matt Smith, and may get another Buffy figure. We'll see. There are always Sunday bargains.
I just wish there were more giveaways, especially Kick-Ass. If I somehow snag a signature from Stan Lee, years after I got a picture of him at Comic-Con, that would also be cool. But first, have to get those interviews!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Now, Anaheim Awaits
Usually, when I go to Hollywood or San Diego, I stay in one place, or one city.
This is different.
The first half of my Spring holiday is done, and I am ready to go to Anaheim by train, only because I can.
I just have to squeeze in a Hollywood Walk of Fmae ceremony tomorrow, then I'm on my way.
The past two days have been fine. Kimmel was funny and sexy, or actually Alyssa Milano was. Green is her color.
The Specials mini-concert was a little shorter than I expected. Then again, they had just arrived from being on Jimmy Fallon the night before. They need practice, but they also need sleep. I just wish they had played "Rat Race" or "Message to You Rudy."
Then I spent the whole day seeing off The Bonnie Hunt Show. As usual, both tapings ran over, and were worth it. I'm a little disappointed the taping for the 4/20show didn't have Chris Kattan as I thought. If I knew that, I would have tried to get to that Streamys unofficial event.
Still, it s a BIG shame her show is wrapping up next month. There's lots of room for a show like hers, especially since Tyra Banks is leaving and Martha Stewart is going to share a cable channel, or dominate its programming. It also ends any reason to go to Culver City...for now.
I was thinking of going to Kick-Ass at the Arclight, but I didn't see any people dressed up as the main characters. I also was a bit tired. I may try to see it at the nearby AMC multiplex.
My main concern is seeing if the Anaheim Convention Center can handle Comic-Con as well as San Diego. So far, my only concern is that Anaheim lacks a downtown...and Downtown Disney doesn't count. Thanks to San Diego officials suddenly seeing they could lose their big nerd money train, they're finally starting to expand.
Anyway, I originally planned to go to finally meet Eliza Dushku. However, she's now in Central America for another goodwill mission. She even tweeted about sleeping with termites. Some may hope she'll be in San Diego for Comic-Con to talk about the season two DVD of Dollhouse. At least I can talk to Miracle Laurie about the show, if it can be done.
I had also hoped I'd talk to Juliet Landau about the response to Take Flight, and her YouTube interviews. However, she came down with the flu. So, she'll spend the weekend at home, However, more TF interviews are coming.
It's certain we'll get a zillion celebrities in Anaheim, and I will get to talk to some of them. I just have to remember this isn't like Comic-Con or a CreationCon event. This is just different, and I'll approach it that way. I will still get some interviews for Whednopolis, and maybe I'll spot some "surprise" guests. It is just the first time I'll be in Anaheim with no need for Disneyland.
Then, Conan O'Brien awaits!
This is different.
The first half of my Spring holiday is done, and I am ready to go to Anaheim by train, only because I can.
I just have to squeeze in a Hollywood Walk of Fmae ceremony tomorrow, then I'm on my way.
The past two days have been fine. Kimmel was funny and sexy, or actually Alyssa Milano was. Green is her color.
The Specials mini-concert was a little shorter than I expected. Then again, they had just arrived from being on Jimmy Fallon the night before. They need practice, but they also need sleep. I just wish they had played "Rat Race" or "Message to You Rudy."
Then I spent the whole day seeing off The Bonnie Hunt Show. As usual, both tapings ran over, and were worth it. I'm a little disappointed the taping for the 4/20show didn't have Chris Kattan as I thought. If I knew that, I would have tried to get to that Streamys unofficial event.
Still, it s a BIG shame her show is wrapping up next month. There's lots of room for a show like hers, especially since Tyra Banks is leaving and Martha Stewart is going to share a cable channel, or dominate its programming. It also ends any reason to go to Culver City...for now.
I was thinking of going to Kick-Ass at the Arclight, but I didn't see any people dressed up as the main characters. I also was a bit tired. I may try to see it at the nearby AMC multiplex.
My main concern is seeing if the Anaheim Convention Center can handle Comic-Con as well as San Diego. So far, my only concern is that Anaheim lacks a downtown...and Downtown Disney doesn't count. Thanks to San Diego officials suddenly seeing they could lose their big nerd money train, they're finally starting to expand.
Anyway, I originally planned to go to finally meet Eliza Dushku. However, she's now in Central America for another goodwill mission. She even tweeted about sleeping with termites. Some may hope she'll be in San Diego for Comic-Con to talk about the season two DVD of Dollhouse. At least I can talk to Miracle Laurie about the show, if it can be done.
I had also hoped I'd talk to Juliet Landau about the response to Take Flight, and her YouTube interviews. However, she came down with the flu. So, she'll spend the weekend at home, However, more TF interviews are coming.
It's certain we'll get a zillion celebrities in Anaheim, and I will get to talk to some of them. I just have to remember this isn't like Comic-Con or a CreationCon event. This is just different, and I'll approach it that way. I will still get some interviews for Whednopolis, and maybe I'll spot some "surprise" guests. It is just the first time I'll be in Anaheim with no need for Disneyland.
Then, Conan O'Brien awaits!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
This Week In Cable: The Future Is Conan...and Wrestling?
It's been a very interesting week in TV, and it's only Tuesday.
Then again, having Conan O'Brien return to TV in an unexpected place would be the biggest TV story of the year. Nearly everyone was certain he'd return to late-night TV on Fox. After all, it has everything except late-night success during the week. The network itself started with a late-night show with Joan Rivers in 1986, then went on to prime-time slowly. With the prestige of 24, The Simpsons, American Idol and House, plus sports, having Conan would be the final piece of the puzzle.
Sure, the affiliates weren't sold on having Conan at 11 PM, because he wouldn't be as lucrative as endless repeats of Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men and Family Guy. Still, Conan almost had to go to Fox, because it's his only chance to make NBC regret the day it dumped him for Jay Leno. Maybe, if Conan's lucky, all of Fox's stations will air him at 11 PM by 2013. He'll understand. He has no choice.
At least, that's according to entertainment "experts".
Then we find out he has found a new home....on cable....TBS.
Wha? Who? TBS? Didn't they have wrestling at one time? They say they're "very funny", but it's just cable...not Fox, where he's supposed to be.
To be honest, I didn't believe it either, when Conan mentioned it on his Twitter feed. I thought it was a joke.
It wasn't.
So, what does this mean? Has Conan failed? Does this mean he'll never defeat Jay Leno, and make Jeff Zucker weep? Have we, as a nation, failed?
Or maybe we should look at it another way....Fox blew it!!
Or, its stations did.
I can't help but think Fox was too confident Conan would make a deal with them, and get used to the idea that only 70 percent of the nation would want him at 11 PM. This was based on one belief: we are Fox, and Conan going to cable would be a further humiliation that a wildly successful live tour could never erase. Thus, Conan will call us any....
Then, in the words of Homey the Clown, "I don't think so. Homey...or Coco..don't play that"
TBS has a lot to offer: a salary about the same as NBC, 100 percent coverage at the flip of a switch, he owns the show, web presence, anything he likes.
As for the guy who's already at 11 PM, George Lopez, he's all for it, because Conan's fans may stay for his show, too.
Also, West Coast viewers can see Conan at 8 PM, if they have the HD feed.
We sometimes forget cable is beating regular TV in many ways, especially creatively. Mad Men, True Blood, The Tudors and Rescue Me, anyone? While it's also doing well with late-night comedy, especially Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, having someone as big as Conan O'Brien would be...all together now...the final piece of the puzzle.
Conan's tour now serves as the prelude to his new show on cable, while the network prepares to promote the heck out of it. Maybe TBS will even sell ads for the show to Fox affiliates...around 11 PM, during a repeat of Seinfeld.
Now, if only I can get an "I'm With Coco" button and a TBS hat. I do have a homemade t-shirt that will serve the same purpose, though.
Now, the inexplicable....
Syfy will be ending its "reality" wrestling show WWE NXT this fall, which hopefully means SyFy will imagine greater by sticking to sci-fi.
Nope. It will be the new home for Friday Night Smackdown starting October 1st. Thus, Friday nights, the home of Battlestar Galactica, the Stargate shows and Sanctuary, now give way to Jack Swagger, Edge and Beth Phoenix.
Unless you can introduce some wrestlers that look like minotaurs, aliens or N'avi, this is a terrible idea for the network. Wrestling has pulled in a lot of viewers for SyFy, but it shouldn't end its traditional Friday fare for the WWE. Thursdays with a Sunday repeat would make more sense.
Also, what happens to MyNetwork TV now? The only original shows it has are Smackdown, Deal or No Deal, which may be on its way out, and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Aside from that, it was reruns and movies. The affiliates would go back to being independents, and no one would notice.
Remember when the channel figured to be something new with tele-novelas in English and reality shows? So much for those days.
The Smackdown move is really a setback for a a network that no longer exists, and cable channel that should be living up to its name.
Then again, having Conan O'Brien return to TV in an unexpected place would be the biggest TV story of the year. Nearly everyone was certain he'd return to late-night TV on Fox. After all, it has everything except late-night success during the week. The network itself started with a late-night show with Joan Rivers in 1986, then went on to prime-time slowly. With the prestige of 24, The Simpsons, American Idol and House, plus sports, having Conan would be the final piece of the puzzle.
Sure, the affiliates weren't sold on having Conan at 11 PM, because he wouldn't be as lucrative as endless repeats of Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men and Family Guy. Still, Conan almost had to go to Fox, because it's his only chance to make NBC regret the day it dumped him for Jay Leno. Maybe, if Conan's lucky, all of Fox's stations will air him at 11 PM by 2013. He'll understand. He has no choice.
At least, that's according to entertainment "experts".
Then we find out he has found a new home....on cable....TBS.
Wha? Who? TBS? Didn't they have wrestling at one time? They say they're "very funny", but it's just cable...not Fox, where he's supposed to be.
To be honest, I didn't believe it either, when Conan mentioned it on his Twitter feed. I thought it was a joke.
It wasn't.
So, what does this mean? Has Conan failed? Does this mean he'll never defeat Jay Leno, and make Jeff Zucker weep? Have we, as a nation, failed?
Or maybe we should look at it another way....Fox blew it!!
Or, its stations did.
I can't help but think Fox was too confident Conan would make a deal with them, and get used to the idea that only 70 percent of the nation would want him at 11 PM. This was based on one belief: we are Fox, and Conan going to cable would be a further humiliation that a wildly successful live tour could never erase. Thus, Conan will call us any....
Then, in the words of Homey the Clown, "I don't think so. Homey...or Coco..don't play that"
TBS has a lot to offer: a salary about the same as NBC, 100 percent coverage at the flip of a switch, he owns the show, web presence, anything he likes.
As for the guy who's already at 11 PM, George Lopez, he's all for it, because Conan's fans may stay for his show, too.
Also, West Coast viewers can see Conan at 8 PM, if they have the HD feed.
We sometimes forget cable is beating regular TV in many ways, especially creatively. Mad Men, True Blood, The Tudors and Rescue Me, anyone? While it's also doing well with late-night comedy, especially Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, having someone as big as Conan O'Brien would be...all together now...the final piece of the puzzle.
Conan's tour now serves as the prelude to his new show on cable, while the network prepares to promote the heck out of it. Maybe TBS will even sell ads for the show to Fox affiliates...around 11 PM, during a repeat of Seinfeld.
Now, if only I can get an "I'm With Coco" button and a TBS hat. I do have a homemade t-shirt that will serve the same purpose, though.
Now, the inexplicable....
Syfy will be ending its "reality" wrestling show WWE NXT this fall, which hopefully means SyFy will imagine greater by sticking to sci-fi.
Nope. It will be the new home for Friday Night Smackdown starting October 1st. Thus, Friday nights, the home of Battlestar Galactica, the Stargate shows and Sanctuary, now give way to Jack Swagger, Edge and Beth Phoenix.
Unless you can introduce some wrestlers that look like minotaurs, aliens or N'avi, this is a terrible idea for the network. Wrestling has pulled in a lot of viewers for SyFy, but it shouldn't end its traditional Friday fare for the WWE. Thursdays with a Sunday repeat would make more sense.
Also, what happens to MyNetwork TV now? The only original shows it has are Smackdown, Deal or No Deal, which may be on its way out, and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Aside from that, it was reruns and movies. The affiliates would go back to being independents, and no one would notice.
Remember when the channel figured to be something new with tele-novelas in English and reality shows? So much for those days.
The Smackdown move is really a setback for a a network that no longer exists, and cable channel that should be living up to its name.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Wondercon: Other Impressions
As my annual Wondercon weekend comes to a close, I am preparing for the Chuck press conference that NBC had the courtesy to tell us about, unlike other networks I know. While my hotel is comfortable and close to the action, next time I will choose one with free coffee and internet. Travelodge, all is forgiven.
That said, some other impressions...
James Marsters meeting with fans. He's now in the center of things on Caprica. We should know more this fall.
California Browncoats have an interesting way to wait money for charity. Just choose the lucky chopsticks!
This would make both fans of MST3K and Naruto wonder...a lot
Considering he made a census taker's life interesting in an SNL sketch in 2000, why not? He'd also demand more cowbell.
As you can see, Wondercon needs someone who checks place cards with the actors. Not only that, Nicholas Cage didn't use that place card. By the way, this is Columbus Short, Chris Evans and Zoe Saldana plugging The Losers
Jackie Earle Haley, the new Freddy Krueger, and also still a Watchman and Chris Chance's best friend on Human Target
Christopher Nolan, a big surprise at Wondercon, and he had more footage from a very wild sci-fi flick called Inception. It has Leo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Michael Caine...and that is only the beginning
Kick-Ass will do just that. Here's some pix of Nicholas Cage, Aaron Johnson, Clark Duke, Chris Mintz-Plasse and Chloe Moretz. Cage had some interesting things to say about how comic books have been a big part of our culture, about the came as old mythology. Johnson is actually British, and Duke is still that damn funny! I still say he looks like the son of the PC guy from the Apple ads.
And...if Joss wants to remake the original Buffy movie, he should call Chloe, especially after her Hit Girl scenes. If she can also do justice to the US version of Let the Right One In, she will hit it big.
One more thing...I am through with V. I don't like seeing Morena Baccarin so cold and stoic she makes Spock look like Jim Carrey. At least the V's from the '80s had some personality. Must be that Bliss that she uses to controls her followers. Ruins the acting.
The only interesting plotline is one of the Vs discovering he's made his girlfriend pregnant, and that it's making her do very scary things.
But after seeing Anna try to make an army by choosing a sperm donor, having the ugliest sex ever, then killing the guy like she was a Black Widow, forget it. Not even John May can save this. This is why Captain Tightpants can count on anoher busy TV season but a Companion may not.
One more thing...when Wondercon decided to show trailers before the Kick-Ass panel, the crowd loudly booed the latest Twilight movie. This is not a sign the movie will be a bomb (it'll make its usual 125 mil). It just shows their resentment towards Twilight fans who have flooded the Comic-Con crowds...and for what? Shirtless werewolves? A lot of supernatural angst?
We have that. it's called Buffy the Vampire Slayer...and Vampire Diaries, if you say.
That said, some other impressions...
James Marsters meeting with fans. He's now in the center of things on Caprica. We should know more this fall.
California Browncoats have an interesting way to wait money for charity. Just choose the lucky chopsticks!
This would make both fans of MST3K and Naruto wonder...a lot
Considering he made a census taker's life interesting in an SNL sketch in 2000, why not? He'd also demand more cowbell.
As you can see, Wondercon needs someone who checks place cards with the actors. Not only that, Nicholas Cage didn't use that place card. By the way, this is Columbus Short, Chris Evans and Zoe Saldana plugging The Losers
Jackie Earle Haley, the new Freddy Krueger, and also still a Watchman and Chris Chance's best friend on Human Target
Christopher Nolan, a big surprise at Wondercon, and he had more footage from a very wild sci-fi flick called Inception. It has Leo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Michael Caine...and that is only the beginning
Kick-Ass will do just that. Here's some pix of Nicholas Cage, Aaron Johnson, Clark Duke, Chris Mintz-Plasse and Chloe Moretz. Cage had some interesting things to say about how comic books have been a big part of our culture, about the came as old mythology. Johnson is actually British, and Duke is still that damn funny! I still say he looks like the son of the PC guy from the Apple ads.
And...if Joss wants to remake the original Buffy movie, he should call Chloe, especially after her Hit Girl scenes. If she can also do justice to the US version of Let the Right One In, she will hit it big.
One more thing...I am through with V. I don't like seeing Morena Baccarin so cold and stoic she makes Spock look like Jim Carrey. At least the V's from the '80s had some personality. Must be that Bliss that she uses to controls her followers. Ruins the acting.
The only interesting plotline is one of the Vs discovering he's made his girlfriend pregnant, and that it's making her do very scary things.
But after seeing Anna try to make an army by choosing a sperm donor, having the ugliest sex ever, then killing the guy like she was a Black Widow, forget it. Not even John May can save this. This is why Captain Tightpants can count on anoher busy TV season but a Companion may not.
One more thing...when Wondercon decided to show trailers before the Kick-Ass panel, the crowd loudly booed the latest Twilight movie. This is not a sign the movie will be a bomb (it'll make its usual 125 mil). It just shows their resentment towards Twilight fans who have flooded the Comic-Con crowds...and for what? Shirtless werewolves? A lot of supernatural angst?
We have that. it's called Buffy the Vampire Slayer...and Vampire Diaries, if you say.
Wondercon: A 26-Year-Old Time Lord? Sure!
Aside from Kick-Ass and Chistopher Nolan making a surprise appearance for his new film about stealing ideas from brains, Wondercon also featured the first U-S appearance of the 11th Dr. Who, Matt Smith.
Not him, of course (darn it!), but the episode "Eleventh Hour".
Folks, relax. This guy has the role down cold, and mainly because of how he handles the latest life-or-death situtaion while still recovering from his regeneration. Usually, first episodes with a new Doctor can be tricky, from Twin Dilemma to Christmas Invasion. Not here.
The way they intoduce her new sidekick, Amy Pond, is also brilliant. Let's just say they get introduced twice, but it's all because of the same problem: an escaped prisoner whose very presence threatens the Earth. Karen Gillan is quite a spirited redhead, and can certainly hold her own. They will guide the new era of Doctor Who quite well, with Stephen Moffatt as showrunner.
For those who couldn't make Wondercon, "Eleventh Hour" is coming on the 17th, with some additional footage. Americans will basically see the show two weeks after the UK does, which is still an improvement over even two years ago, when we had to see the Christmas Invasion in July. Smith and Gillan will actually visit the states next week at the Paley Center NY. Expect lots of interviews after that.
Ah, but if only they could come to Comic-Con, with San Diego in the 80's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)