Science Fiction (and the like) Conventions

[Birdhead]

I'm sure someone here will eventually explain to me why there are tons of girls walking around with "Team Edward" written on their shirts.

Urgh. I find the idea of teenage girlygirls being associated with SF&F fandom really, um, icky. It's not like there aren't enough people I already want to distance myself from... But anyway, so jealous re: Comicon! (although I suppose it's not hugely unusual for you to attend, considering you live broadly round there.)

I have no plans to attend cons in the near future... but I am TOTALLY going to an academic conference on Diana Wynne Jones in July next year, in Bristol! Which, I cannot WAIT. (Also, because it's included in my 21st birthday trip, so I'll also be doing London and hopefully Paris. But they're not fannishly exciting.)

[Kathy Li]

It's that time of year again. The Comic-Con schedule has begun to go up. Lots of cool stuff that I may not have a chance in hell of getting into. (sigh). Lasseter & Miyazaki at the Disney animation panel. Glen Keane and Don Hahn at the other Disney animation panel. Or Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton at the other other Disney animation panel. James Cameron flogging Avatar. The Iron Man 2 presentation, etc. Watch a FOX exec decide on stage whether or not Futurama should live or die. A Doctor Who panel with David Tennant & Russell T. Davies. The Summit Entertainment presentation on New Moon. The Joss Whedon Dollhouse panel, and the Joss Whedon spotlight.

And that's just from the tv/movie tracks. The comic book track alone could keep me running from room to room all day if I let it. 20-track programming. It's what makes Comic-Con heaven and hell at the same damn time. Wish me luck on surviving it.

[Lazy Leopard]

A bit like WorldCon was, the one time I got to one. I spent quite a lot of it helping run Green Room. Things got really hectic for about ten minutes in every hour. Hope you manage to get to at least some of the items you really want to attend.

[Kathy Li]

No worries. I really go just to meet up with the friends I only see at Comic-Con. Even if I don't make it to any panels, it'll still be worth it just for the hall conversation.

[Lazy Leopard]

Oh, yes. Meeting people is the prime purpose of conventions. All the speeches, panels, workshops, concerts and so on are icing on the cake. Hope it's a good Con.

[Kathy Li]

Pwn!



I made it into the Disney panel, and omg... so MUCH good stuff, but most of all, Ponyo looks freaking amazing--we got to see an entire scene of it, where waves are and aren't waves; they're giant fish with Hokusai-wave fins, stirring up a hurrican so little Ponyo can run across their backs to find her friend, whose being drive around the seaside road by a mom who can drift. It's just an amazing, thrilling, exhilirating, heart-stopping, gorgeous gorgeous piece of animation that they showed us. And that was just one of the presentations they showed us.

They started off by handing us all 3D glasses and showing us the opening scene of Toy Story 2 in 3D. They're going to be releasing Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as a 3D double-feature (with a bathroom break between), in prep for next year's release of Toy Story 3 (Andy's going to college, shades of the Brave Little Toaster...) And Michael Keaton is voicing Ken, since Barbie has a bigger role this time around. Lee Unkrich told us as much as Lasseter would let him.

Then they brought out Kirk Wise to show us what Beauty and the Beast was going to look like in 3D. Obviously, the 3D isn't quite as effective as with the Pixar stuff, but it still looks freaking amazing. That will be released on Valentine's Day.

Then, we got promo on Prep & Landing, which is going to be a Christmas special on ABC--it's all about the special elf force that makes sure Santa's way is prepped and cleared for a smooth toy delivery. Imagine a military stealth preparation operation ala the green army men, only with little elves in night-vision goggles, and you begin to get a sense of it.

Then it was John Musker and Ron Clements coming out to tell us about The Princess and the Frog. If you don't know about this, it's Disney's return to drawn animation, fairytales, and musicals. Randy Newman is doing the songs. And they've reset the princess & the frog to be in New Orleans in the 1920s, with Voodoo hexes turning the prince into a frog. And these animators are on fire--they've got something to prove--that drawn animation still has a place in this CGI-saturated market, and they've pulled out all the stops. The thing is just nitro-fuelled in the two scenes they showed. It's going to be amazing.

And then, of course, Lasseter introduced Miyazaki and we were screaming ourselves hoarse. We heard about Ponyo, saw the clip, and then were told that Miyazaki was going to introduce a screening of it at 8pm at a movie theatre downtown, which of course instantly meant there were going to be too many people lined up outside the theatre.

Man, one magic panel. We're finally seeing the fruits of Lasseter and Catmull taking over Disney's animation department, and it is sweet.

[Stormwind]

Thanks!

Thanks for the info and the pic Kathy Li, it must have been cool!

I've only been to one Sci-Fi con, and I wouldn't have called it much of one as it was hosted at the Salt Lake Airport Hilton back in the mid 90's, but it was fun and I got to meet the actress that played the blonde Yeoman on Star Trek the original series (Janice Rand, I think). I would love to go to another Con (Especially Comic-Con or one of those types).

I hope everything went well for you, it sounds like you had fun...

[Kathy Li]

Thanks! I'm having a good time, even though my feet hurt, and it's really crowded, and I'm kind of exhausted, and a little tired of schwitzing (as Peter David said). But then, that's pretty much par for the course with Comic-Con.

Sadly, I missed the Quick Draw and the Cartoon Voices panel. And tomorrow, I'm not sure I'll get in early enough to make it to the Doctor Who panel...

[Trialia]

Wow, has it been that long since I last posted? That's quite alarming... Well, anyway, as was said, DD didn't make it to the DWcon last year, as non-fandom-related life intervened, but hopefully, next year, she can, as - as I've mentioned to her on Twitter - I plan on taking my (should then be four-month-old) copy of A Wizard of Mars, which I've preordered. *G* Though I'm probably going to do that whether she can make it or not, as I certainly won't have worn it out by then.

(And when I talk of wearing books out... well, I need to replace my four-year-old copy of The Book of Night With Moon already, and it was brand new when I got it!)

Back to conventions. I've booked my spot at next year's Discworld convention already, but my next con is probably going to be London Expo in October. I'll take a guess and say there's at least one person here gearing up for Dragon*Con in a week or two?

[Lazy Leopard]

I went to the UniCon Constitution/HarmUni at the beginning of this month. I spent most of my time in the filk track, but had some out-of-programme conversation with Steph Swainston (who was one of the Guests). Next on the list is FilkContinental in Germany in October, then the UK Filk Con in Grantham in February, and then next year's EasterCon at Heathrow. I'm also booked for the next DWCon.

[Lazy Leopard]

So, has anyone gone to the North American Discworld Convention? If you have, please be sure to let us know how it goes.

[Kathy Li]

Oh, yes, please! I left the planning too late because of Comic-Con, and by the time I got around to looking up prices for airfares and such, the membership had been capped.

[Lazy Leopard]

There's been a running report of sorts in Kay Shapero's LJ, and she mentioned that the At-Con newsletter was online. She also mentioned this:

Diane Duane went out for a haircut, and Sir Terry talked her into saving the cut hair to auction off at the con. She did... and sho 'nuff, it brought in about 60 bucks.

Sounds like it was a good Con...

[Lazy Leopard]

Last weekend I was at the UK February filk convention. Guests were Vixy and Tony from over Seattle way, and Gwen Knihton from rather nearer home. It was, as these things usually are, good fun, but we had some horrible tech gremlins, especially on the Sunday, which frazzled me a little. Oh, and on the Monday morning I was behind the wheel for an event being referred to as "The Great Bag Rescue" and various other sensational names.

[Kathy Li]

So, I'm back from Comic-Con, spiritually refreshed and physically exhausted, and I saw almost no programming you would care about, except possibly the Leverage panel, where they gave out free t-shirts at the door. There were five different shirts: a red one that said "Hitter", a green one that said "Hacker", a blue one that said "Thief", a grey one that said "Grifter", and a black one that said, "Mastermind."

In one someone said that Bare Naked Ladies (who apparently were in town for a show), showed up at the Big Bang Theory panel and played the theme song. The whole song with all the verses.

The one thing I should probably point out to everyone who may not know about it, is that Dark Horse is bringing out hardcover volumes of Larry Marder's Beanworld--including the new one.

You thinking waiting for a YW book is hard? Larry had to quit his day job as president of McFarlane Toys in order to go back to work on Beanworld, which is not an easy decision to make. But he did it, and they're all back, and it's been fifteen years. So. Just saying. If you know not of the Beanworld, Mr. Spook, Beanish, Heyoka, Gran'Ma'Pa, the Cuties, and the Hoi Polloi herds, then maybe you might wanna. Hoka hoka hey!

I have also bought my membership for World Fantasy in 2011, 'cause it's here in San Diego. Neil Gaiman and Graeme Base (!! Animalia !!) are going to be guests, and Connie Willis is toastmaster.