After the relative disappointment of Saturday, my mood about the weekend began to get less jovial, and more “I can’t wait for this to be over.†The weather on Sunday and Monday did not help this mood any. Thankfully, the day had plenty in store in terms of activities to do, celebrities to meet, and panels to sit in on. Because there was no one to get registered, I was able to go later, though I still got there super early for my first panel of the day…
Sunday, September 4
Philosophy and “Star Warsâ€
Up first was my second panel of the year about the universe that George Lucas built, and if you can believe it, only my second panel about “Star Wars†in three years of going to Dragon*Con. I know, crazy right? Well, in ’09 I technically went to one with C-3PO, Anthony Daniels, but Mr. Daniels never made it to the room, so it hardly counts. What would possibly make me get here at 10am on a Sunday to muse about “Star Wars.†How about the producer of the first two films in the franchise, Gary Kurtz?
Yeah, this was definitely worth getting here early for. It wasn’t the geek-love fest shown to Mayhew and Carrie Fisher in Saturday’s panel so much as a thoughtful and intriguing meeting of minds, between the fans in the audience, whose questions sometimes hit on quite profound ideas of creativity and storytelling, and Kurtz and his fellow panelists, which included podcasters and an author who has added much to the series. Yeah, both sides took potshots at the series, and in particular the prequels, that are pretty much par for the course with anything “Star Wars†related nowadays. Kurtz’s insight and blunt nature about the spiritual side he helped bring to “Star Wars†was definitely a great way to start Sunday off.
A Master Class in Independent Filmmaking
After the “Star Wars†panel ended, I bolted over to the Hyatt in hopes of getting into an 11:30am panel with the controversial animator, Ralph Bakshi. In the ‘70s, Bakshi forged a place in pop culture for himself with some of the riskiest, and most distinctive, endeavors in animation up to that time, starting with his X-rated “Fritz the Cat,†based on the R. Crumb comic, and continuing with films such as “American Pop,†“Heavy Traffic,†“Wizards,†and an ambitious, half-completed adaptation of “The Lord of the Rings†(he was never able to complete the project for financial reasons). If any of these titles mean anything to you, I regret to say that you have a leg up on me; although I quickly caught up with “Fritz the Cat†before Con, prior to that my only exposure to his films were the flawed “American Pop†and “Lord of the Rings.†Regardless, you can see the artistry and creative drive in Bakshi’s work, making this panel a personal “must†for me this weekend.
If any panel this weekend was the biggest eye-opener, this was it (well, at least until one of my Monday panels). Ever the Brooklyn boy, Bakshi in person was the embodiment of his films: political, provocative, risk-taking, and quite funny and self-deprecating as he spoke about his influences, his dislikes in the modern field of animation (not the biggest Pixar fan, I must say), and what the internet can bring to an independent artist. I honestly didn’t think I would leave any of the panels outside of the independent filmmaker ones I went to Friday, and would go to on Monday, inspired to continue striving for success, or at least an opportunity to do something I loved for a living; those filmmaker panels were about learning more about the ins-and-outs of filmmaking, and making contacts. I didn’t take the chance to meet him, unfortunately, but listening to him speak was a revelation.
Off to the Star Walk. The Walk of Fame.
After the hour with Bakshi, it was off to the vendors, as well as the Walk of Fame to meet some more celebs. I finally got to meeting Lea Thompson, and she was a wonderful person– so sweet, so beautiful; it’s no wonder she was one of my earliest crushes growing up. I also met “The Guild’s” Amy Okuda and Robin Thorsen (Ms. Day was on a panel at the time), thanking them for coming to their first Con, and letting them know how much I enjoyed the panel yesterday. I also met a few of the “Buffy” actors there this year, starting with the lovely Clare Kramer (Glory from Season Five) and Mercedes McNabb (Harmony from “Buffy” and “Angel”), both of whom I got pictures with (the one with Ms. Kramer, whose husband’s name is also Brian, is one of my favorite celebrity photo ops). I also finally met my mom’s crush, James Marsters (Spike on both shows), and it was a true delight, as I told him not just about my admiration for his work for Whedon, but also how much I enjoyed his performance in Amber Benson’s film, “Chance,” of which he had some interesting and insightful tidbits to say.
My favorite meet of this session at the Walk, probably the entire Con, was Martin Landau. A legendary actor, whom my mother was a fan of from the original “Mission: Impossible” series, as well as his performance in her favorite movie (Alfred Hitchcock’s “North By Northwest”). My admiration came from his Oscar-winning role in “Ed Wood,” as well as “North By Northwest,” and many other films I’ve seen him in. It was a pleasure just to listen to him talk, not just when I was speaking to him, but just when others were as well; it helped that right next to him was another legend, Ernest Borgnine, whom I didn’t meet, but wish I had. And my admiration for Landau only grew by the end of Con.
In the Line for “Buffy”
Mine and Ron’s experience going to the Westin for the disappointing “Back to the Future” panel on Saturday did provide good insight into what to expect when I headed back over there for today’s epic “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” panel in the same location. So when I was done at the Walk, it was time to walk to the Westin to get in line as soon as possible. Well worth it. True, the almost two hours seated wait led to a few moments of feet sleeping, but I got a great seat once we were allowed into the ballroom.
A couple of years ago, I thought I’d seen as “definite” a “Buffy”/”Angel” panel as I could expect from one w/o Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, or David Boreanaz. Well, I think the ’09 panel is probably a touch better, but this was equally entertaining thanks to the even-larger cast on the stage: in addition to the aforementioned Marsters, Kramer, and McNabb there was Nicolas Brendon (Xander), Julie Benz (Darla), and Eliza Dushku (Faith), who was a late addition to the Dragon*Con list of attendees. While each actor had moments of entertainment to offer, it was Marsters and Brendon who set the tone for the panel with effortless charm and back and forth. It was a riotous hour that made me appreciate that I had the chance to spend that couple of hours in line. It was a great way to end a day of interesting and delightful panels. Definitely a better day for panels than Saturday, although it was a shame I didn’t have any friends and family with me to share it with.
After the panel, I headed back to the Walk of Fame after dropping off some stuff at the truck, where I got a few more autographs from the “Buffy” people just on the panel: Brendon, Dushku, and Benz. Brendon and Dushku were fun to meet, although my second time meeting Julie Benz (I met her previously in 2009) was disappointing– she really just seemed like she was ready to leave. On the other hand, I had a few hours to go before I was ready to go.
More From the Film Festival…
After walking around the hotels for a bit, looking for photo ops (and maybe a few friends), I headed over to the Hyatt for more short film blocks of the Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival. The first block was a short one– The Dark and Light Sides of Murder, but it started off with two of the best shorts I saw at Con this year, “Balls” and “A Cup of Tea,” which hit all the right notes of dark comedy and dramatic weight. The next film in the block, “Deadbeat,” is an intriguing look at a kidnapped child in the middle of a divorce between her mother and father, who is in the Chinese mafia, although better was the last film of the block, “Easier Ways to Make a Living,” about a private detective who gets in over his head on a case. Overall, this was the strongest block I watched as part of the festival…although the strangest was yet to come.
I went walking around the hotels between the Murder block (which was at 7pm) and what would be my last block of the Festival, which was at 11:30pm; there was a 10pm block I’d hoped to make, but it was filled up by the time I got back. The last block was entitled, Twisted Tales, and believe me when I say, there was definitely truth in advertising. Though some of the efforts were less narrative films and more music videos– namely, a couple of contributions by the comedy team Ninja Sex Party that define “WTF?” fun –there were a couple of real jewels in this block, however depraved they were. The ones that stuck out most were: “Bear-Horse,” which takes the idea of an animated sitcom to outrageous places; “Ghost Perv,” about a woman haunted by a horndog; “Nasty Stuff,” about a young Mexican boy who doesn’t know quite what to think when his father clues him in on what might be happening in his brother’s room; and “Prom King,” which puts some intriguing spins on “Carrie,” with unsettling results. It was before this last block that I also purchased a copy of the feature film, “The Millennium Bug,” which was screening after the last block at 1am. I didn’t stay for the screening, but when I finally watched “Bug” last month during my Halloween horror marathon, I wish I had taken the opportunity to see the film with the audience. As my Con this year finished up, it would be one of the few genuine regrets I would come to have about my experience this year.
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
Dragon*Con 2010
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
Dragon*Con 2009
Days 1-4
