Category Archives: Comic-Con International

July 24, 2011 · 4:27 pm

COMIC-CON 2011 Memo #3: CAPTAIN AMERICA

While “CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER” did not premiere at Comic-Con, which would have been pretty cool but perhaps overwhelming, it did have special screenings at Comic-Con which included a performance by a group of USO-style chorus girls and an appearance by Chris Evans.

Here is Robert Downey Jr. at the LA premiere of “CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER” on July 20. Asked to speak about Chris Evans, of course, Mr. Downey Jr has good things to say.

Check out my review of “CAPTAIN AMERICAN: THE FIRST AVENGER,” over with our friends at GeekWeek.

Has Hollywood Soured on Comic-Con?

In a now famous piece in The New York Times last month, the focus has been on the major pull back from Hollywood to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. That would seem understandable during the Great Recession. Not at the party in any significant way this year: Warner Brothers, Disney, Dreamworks, The Weinstein Company and Marvel Entertainment. No panels for “Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” or “Hunger Games.”

However, as expressed in a nice piece from CNN, at the end of the day, with 120,000 attendees and all the media coverage, Comic-Con has hardly been abandoned by Hollywood. A draw down by Hollywood is relative. Should any studio spend over $60 million on a movie like, “Scott Pilgrim v. The World,” that common sense would tell you will likely make about $30 million? The thing is, $30 million is a lot of money. Did Universal expect to make $100 million? Come on, it is a quirky offbeat comedy. Maybe Universal should have followed what Sony did with “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” and make a movie for $10 million and earn $30 million. That’s $20 million profit, not bad. Instead, they took a genuine and fun story by cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley and turned it into a bloated monster, with a poster that covered the whole side of the Hilton nearby Comic-Con last year, that did not earn but lost money. Is that Comic-Con’s fault somehow? This year, that same Hilton has another poster, this time it’s for “Cowboys and Aliens” and it’s smaller.

Hollywood can, or should, learn how to be more resourceful, just like the cartoonists and various geeks that are at the heart of what Comic-Con is truly about. There is supposed to be some sort of strong presence on the convention floor for “Hunger Games.” And there are viral campaigns for “Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” That sounds resourceful.

Sony rolls out the first footage of “The Amazing Spider-Man” at this year’s Comic-Con. Of course, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1” is in Hall H. “Cowboys and Aliens” premieres at Comic-Con. “Captain America,” “Fright Night” and “Attack the Block” all have screenings too. It is hardly a cold shoulder from Hollywood. It is more of a sensible approach. With any luck, it will save money, maybe enough money to support yet another quirky offbeat comedy based on a genuine and fun comic book.

Batman Beyond: Complete Series out on DVD November 23

There was a lot of buzz at Comic-Con over this collection of the animated series, BATMAN BEYOND. It is the latest awesome Warner Home Video to catch my eye. Warner Home Video will distribute this limited edition DVD set of all 52 episodes of the series on November 23. All things considered, this would make an excellent gift for the holidays.

The series provides an intriguing new wrinkle into the Batman mythos. The setup is that Bruce Wayne is now an old man, retired and done with crime-fighting. Enter Terry McGinnis. He is just a regular teen boy until one day his father is murdered. This echoes Bruce Wayne’s own family tragedy. To make it worse, the murder mystery leads back to Wayne/Powers Corporation.

This DVD set is loaded with extras, including a movie celebrating the 75th anniversary of DC Comics. There’s also tons of stuff about Batman and his gear. Lots of amazing voice talent, which includes Henry Rollins, from the legendary punk bank, Black Flag; Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) and George Takei (Star Trek). The production team, the writing team, everybody on board this one is providing you with quality product.

Press release follows:

BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE SERIES

LIMITED EDITION COMPILATION SET! INCLUDES ALL 52 ACTION-PACKED EPISODES

PLUS THREE NEW BONUS FEATURETTES

WARNER HOME VIDEO TO DISTRIBUTE DVD SET NOV. 23

BURBANK, CA (August 18, 2010) – Warner Bros. Animation’s breakthrough

series Batman Beyond comes to DVD for the first time in its entirety.

Featuring DC Comics’ iconic hero, Batman, Batman Beyond: The Complete

Series presents nearly 20 hours of animated action spread over 52

episodes, as well as all-new bonus featurettes and a 24-page, 8”x 12”

collectible booklet. Batman Beyond: The Complete Series will be

distributed by Warner Home Video on November 23, 2010 as a nine-disc

limited edition DVD set for $99.98 (SRP).

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series centers on Terry McGinnis, an

ordinary teenager … until his father is mysteriously murdered.

Suspecting foul play at his father’s company, Wayne/Powers

Corporation, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns of a secret identity

hidden for decades. Now too old to don the cape and cowl as Batman,

Wayne refuses to help – so Terry does what any brash young kid would

do: steal the Bat-suit and take matters into his own hands! Vowing to

avenge his father’s death, Terry dons the high-tech suit tricked out

with jetpacks, a supersensitive microphone and even camouflage

capabilities in search of his father’s assassin. It’s 52 action-packed

episodes following the adventures of the partnership between an

ex-crimefighter and his apprentice, starring Will Friedle (Boy Meets

World) as Terry McGinnis and, reprising his seminal role, Kevin Conroy

(Batman: The Animated Series) as Bruce Wayne.

Casting throughout the series’ 52 episodes featured award winners from

feature films, primetime television and the Broadway stage – from Paul

Winfield, Stockard Channing and Seth Green to

William H. Macy, Wayne Brady and Teri Garr – not to mention George

Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Dan Castellaneta (The

Simpsons), Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid), George Takei (Star Trek)

and Henry Rollins (the front man for the rock band, Black Flag).

An all-star production team was headed by executive producer Jean

MacCurdy and producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami and

Paul Dini. Writers on the series included Burnett and Dini, as well as

Stan Berkowitz, Bob Goodman, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader and John McCann.

Included in the beautifully custom designed package is a 24-page, 8”x

12” collectible booklet with the inside perspective and artwork from

the vaults especially compiled by DC Comics for this release.

Three new bonus features created specifically for the Batman Beyond:

The Complete Series are:

TOMORROW KNIGHT: THE BATMAN REBORN

The “Batman Beyond” creative team gives you a peek into the character

of Terry McGinnis, and what made him worthy to become the new Caped Crusader.

GOTHAM: CITY OF THE FUTURE

A look at Gotham City, circa 2039, and how the team built a realistic

vision of the near future while remaining true to the city they

created in Batman: The Animated Series.

THE HIGH TECH HERO

Explore the technology behind the Bat-suit, its amazing powers and the real world science that inspired it.

The collection will also contain the DC 75th anniversary documentary,

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics.

“Batman Beyond was a landmark series as it created altogether new

directions for the iconic character, and added dimensions for fans

both old and new to the Batman mythology,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice

President of Family, Animation & Sports Marketing. “Warner Home Video

is proud to release this important series in an all-encompassing box

set, just in time to make a perfect holiday gift for the ultimate

fan.”

About Warner Home Video:

With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a

Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution

infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s

film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new

and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures,

Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About DC Entertainment:

DC Entertainment, home to such iconic DC Comics properties as

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, MAD

Magazine, and Fables, is the creative division charged with

strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC

Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to

unleash its superheroic characters across all media, including but not

limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment,

and interactive games. Publishing over 1,000 comic books, graphic

novels and magazines each year, DC Comics is the largest

English-language publisher of comics in the world.

About Warner Bros. Animation:

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) has been producing award-winning original

animation since 1930, when it released its first cartoon, “Sinkin’ in

the Bathtub.” Since then, WBA’s characters have set the standard for

innovative, quality animation. Producing for network and cable

television, online, home entertainment and feature films both

domestically and internationally, WBA is highly respected for its

creative and technical excellence, as well as for maintaining the

studio’s rich cartoon heritage. WBA also oversees the creative use and

production of animated programming based on classic cartoon characters

from the Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics libraries. WBA is one of the

most-honored animation studios in history.

Comic-Con 2010: I Want Kick-Ass

Tons and tons being promoted. This one brought a smile to my face. There will be some guy in a official Kick-Ass DVD costume and people can get their photo taken with him or something like that. Wait a minute, here’s the ad copy that basically says the same thing:

In support of the Blu-Ray/DVD release of KICK-ASS on August 3rd, Lionsgate has assembled a rag-tag team of self-made Comic Con superheroes who’ll be canvassing the convention center, looking to recruit fellow superheroes! Keep an eye out for the Kick-Ass Comic Con Ass-Kicking Committee; they’ll be armed with a life-sized DVD box where fans will be able to photograph themselves on the cover of the DVD/Blu-Ray packaging for KICK-ASS.