Sunday, July 25, 2010

Giuseppi Logan Over a Rainbow by Suzannah B. Troy





It was a brutally hot morning here in NYC including really bad air quality but of course Giuseppi Logan was out early playing his sax to practice, to play because playing music is his life line, without music he is dead and because he needs to earn money.  I of course gave him some. 

I happen to send YouTube an email just now about some things that exceed dollars and cents and reuniting Giuseppi Logan with his son after over 40 years thanks to my YouTubes can only be described as a YouTube miracle.

Jaee  Logan lost his son to random gun violence.  His son was an honor student like his Dad.   Jaee flew to NYC to be reunited with his Dad and now he is back in California working hard on his career with the goal to get back here and continue work on his documentary. 

When Jaee and I first spoke I told him I saw a documentary but also a Hollywood film like The Soloist but better.

Here is Giuseppi Logan playing music because not to play is to be dead.  He had to live too long without his instruments.   Giuseppi still struggles big time but he has found some kind of redemption very late in the 9th inning so to speak including with his new album his first since his two he made with ESP in the 1960's.

Comic Con: Thor Trailer, Hatchet 2, Harry Knowles Ain't It Cool News

I still never saw Asgard
Comic Con 2010 ends today, Sunday, so before heading down to the San Diego Convention Center, end doing work to end the trip sponsored by The Kings Inn Hotel, let's clear the decks.

We'll talk about the buzz around the Thor trailer and the movie, Hatchet 2, and my interview with Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News and who's the new Editor for Comic Con, essentially, as he put it, it's "new face." But first, the Thor trailer.

As of Sunday morning "Thor trailer" was the 7th highest search trend at Google Trends, proving the sheer hunger to see the movie version of a generations-popular comic book and cartoon series. While this blogger didn't see the Thor trailer clips that were presented in Hall H Saturday evening, and because I and others were told Hall H was closed after the "Comic Con Pen Stabber" incident, there's is Collider to give us an idea of what happened.

Briefly, and so you can read the rest of the Thor trailer story there, Collider reports, first, that the Thor panel of Kenneth Branagh, Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Tom Hiddleston and Clark Gregg, were blown away by the Comic Con audience and reactions. Second, Kenneth Branagh reports that Thor was the movie he really wanted to do, but that he's "excited and nervous" about doing the action scenes as director, because he's not done them before.

The Thor trailer clips consisted of scenes beginning with the hammer in the New Mexico desert, where Iron Man 2 ended. Then Thor's being interrogated by Agent Colson (Clark Gregg) because he destroyed "a whole team of his men." Then we see Asgard (or, as I put it, I never got to see Asgard), where Thor is banished to Earth for his reckless behavior. At the end of the clip, what's described as a "Destroyer" comes to Earth and takes out some cars. And all of that in Thor 3D. Yep, Thor and Captain America will be using a kind of 3D conversion process.

Hatchet 2 Thoughts

I have so much video from my day at Comic Con 2010 with the cast and crew of Hatchet 2, that I need a full day to deal with all of it, and that will come this week. In order to generate some buzz for the hard-working folks associated with the Dark Sky Films production of Hatchet 2, I created the most provocative clip of all, outside the movie scenes, which I'm not authorized to show. That's "Danielle Harris of Hatchet 2 - contest and vagina talk" video:



But Adam Green's Hatchet 2 is going to be a hit when it comes out on October 1, 2010. I will write that and stand by it. It's a movie that has a compelling story for a horror movie of it's kind, and about how Victor Crowley's father (played by Kane Hodder, who's also the head-smashing Victor Crownley himself)'s own sorrow essentially caused Victor Crowley's deformities. (You have to see it.)

Hatchet 2 also has some of the funniest, kill scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie. In Hatchet 2, teeth and gums are pulled out of heads, a giant saw cuts two men in half, and there's a lot of a very emotional Danielle Harris. When I asked how she got ready for that, Harris said she just got up each day and did it, then slept a lot after shooting was over.  Stay tuned for more videos from my Hatchet 2 day.

My Harry Knowles Ain't It Cool News Interview

The Harry Knowles Ain't It Cool News Interview will get its own blog post and soon, but I wanted to insert it here for more views because Harry's a true Comic Con legend who's finally getting his due. Harry Knowles' Ain't It Cool News blog has grown from obscurity to be recognized by Hollywood publicists as the online place to get the word out about their clients' new films. And now, Harry's the official face of Comic Con.

But with all that, Harry Knowles is still a very funny, smart, nice, person with a quirky sense of humor. Here's the video, where he says that he wants Comic Con to remain in San Diego, and that the Tron trailer has a sound that made "his balls shake." I'm not kidding.



Stay tuned for more from Comic Con.

Comic Con 2010 Stabbing at Hall H update

In this Comic Con 2010 "Stabbing at Hall H" update, reports are that the person who started the incident was detained by his own friend in Hall H.

According to Comic Book Resources, or CBR News, which did great work in blogging this, Sergeant Gary Mondesir of the San Diego Police Department said the following:

Basically, inside of Hall H during Comic-Con, prior to one of the showings, two males got into a dispute. One male attacked the other male, stabbing him on the side of his eye with a pen. Officers were relatively close by. Citizens within the hall detained the person. Officers came and arrested him, and right now we're processing the scene inside...The victim's friend actually assisted in taking the suspect into custody.

He'll be charged with assault with a deadly weapon due to the stabbing in the eye. We are still processing the scene. We have a field evidence technician who's taking measurements and collecting evidence...The show is still going on. It happened in an area where we didn't have to stop the show. We can actually work around it and process the scene. It happened inside the hall but off to the side.

(Visit CBR News for more info.)

The problem for those outside like this blogger was that Comic Con / San Diego Convention Center security were walking through the Hall H lines telling patrons that Hall H may be closed. That was as the line was moving, so the assumption my friend Krystyl and I made was that the people ahead of us were being told to leave as well. "Ahead of us," means over 1,000 feet ahead of us, and with security giving what turned out to be false information, we didn't know what was going on. So, we left, and missed the Marvel Panel.

CBR News also talked with David Glanzer, the head of Comic-Con Director of Marketing and Public Relations, who said "Sadly, an incident like this is something you never want to happen. Right now, we're deferring to the San Diego Police Department who was on site very quickly. My understanding is that they apprehended the suspect and completed their investigation in probably less than an hour. The programs were delayed for about 40 minutes, but everything is back up and running."

Which is great; but many who left the lines for Hall H didn't know that and departed because they were told Hall H might close and work got around that it was already closed.

Crazy.

Stabbing at Comic Con 2010 - Marvel Avengers panel security said was over, went on

I never saw Asgard...
Earlier Saturday evening at Comic Con, a man who was in the Resident Evil panel in Hall H, got into a fight with another man, stabbing him in the face with a pen. The next panel for Hall H was the one this blogger was waiting for, The Marvel Panel featuring Thor and Captain America, but really turned out to be a full introduction of The Avengers cast, did go on.

That means, according to the LA Times Steven Zeitchik, who was already in the Hall, I missed Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, The Avengers director Joss Whedon, and producer and Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige.

Great.

This, even as Comic Con and San Diego Convention Center security people walked around the lines for Hall H announcing "Hall H may be closed." That's why a large number of people, including myself, left the line. And, as my video showed, there was a lot of chaos:



There was no clear communication of what was going on to anyone except by the Comic Con / San Diego Convention Center staff who walked around the Hall H lines.

The impression given to many was that the Hall H show was not going to go on. I'm happy those who stuck around managed to see The Marvel Studios' The Avengers presentation, but I'd prefer a much clearer line of communication in the future. It's totally irresponsible to the Comic Con patrons for security people to waltz around making announcements they weren't sure of.

Advantage to those who went to Hall H and stayed there, almost the entire day; disadvantage to those, like myself (and many of us with press badges), who did get in line for Hall H, only to be told it was closed, and first, due to health reasons and eventually because of the hot-head who decided to get mad over a seat.

Great. Just great.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Stabbing at Comic Con 2010 - Man stabbed in face with pen at Resident Evil panel



Comic Con 2010 had a criminal act that closed a big show on Saturday, July 24th. The Marvel Comics presentation of Thor and Captain America motion picture cast and production teams and set for 6 PM PDT was cancelled because a man was stabbed in the face with a pen and during the Resident Evil movie panel just before it.

Just as this blogger was waiting to get into Hall H for the Marvel Comics presentation, and texting with friend and social media expert Krystyl Baldwin, there was a rumor going around, but not confirmed that Hall H was closed. Krystyl told me that it was closed, but to me "closed" meant it was already shut and people were in it, and then it would reopen.

But then, as she and I were texting, it became clear that Hall H was closed, but no one knew why, or at least we didn't.

Photo by Krystal Baldwin 
Then, as we walked out of the line, a group of police officers walked by us with a man in a "Harry Potter" shirt in handcuffs, but Krystyl and I did not know why.  The people standing in the line knew something because they were booing him.  Since we were further into the line, the news of what happened had not trickled to us at that time.  Krystyl said the Hall H was being closed for "health reasons."

A woman, walking in the other direction, explained to us what happened: that a man was stabbed during the Resident Evil panel, and by the person in the photo here that was handcuffed.

According to the blog Techland.com, the issue was described as "a seating squabble."

UPDATE from YouTube commenter:

SoCalCCGs
55 minutes ago
I was in Hall H when it happened. They didn't let anyone in and there was only an hour delay. Police were they and they questioned witnesses, thats all. Problem was all 6,500 people were standing on their chairs to find out what happened, lol. It was kinda a side show.


All we know is as of this writing, the events set for Comic Con, at least for Hall H, have been cancelled for Saturday.

Comic Con is not known for crime problems. Indeed, the Comic Con environment is described as "chill." For this to happen is an indication as much of Comic Con's rapid growth.   While 125,000 badges were issued, there have been estimates of as many as 200,000 people in San Diego, many looking for badges to get into the San Diego Convention Center.

Comic Con is coming back to San Diego for 2011, but the future of the event in San Diego rests with what the city does to fit an event that's growing faster than it can keep up with.

Yes, fighting over a seat is childish, but it's also a byproduct of a very crowded event, the size growth potential of which is not known.

Stay tuned.

Henry Hill Goodfellas cement shoes Theatre 80 by Suzannah B. Troy



Check The New York Daily News tomorrow or early this week for an article about Henry Hill making a guest appearance at Theatre 80. Clayton Patterson showed up and The NYDaily News needed a photographer so hopefully Clayton's photo will run with the article  which should be a lot of fun!


Above see Henry Hill getting a pair of cement shoes! 

Actually Lorcan Otway the proprietor of Theatre 80 came up with the idea to get Henry Hill's foot prints and his signature in cement.  I am sure Hill has many other fans that would like the idea but are not Quakers like Otway!

I have to say that Henry really was very nice but I had to reprimand him for using too much white in his paintings.  He stated he is not an artist.  I said I know.   He paintings go for 50 dollars and they sell.

He has fans and Scorese's film Goodfellas is a masterpiece.  Of course the real live harsh realities of his story is beyond most people's scope and disturbing yet perfect for the museum of the American Gangster at 80 St. Marks Place here in NYC.

There was a big enthusiastic turn out to meet Henry Hill, get autographs and watch Goodfellas at Theatre 80 tonight!

The Museum of The American Gangster has moved upstairs from Theatre 80 but still connected literally and with amazing new items; a must to visit while in NYC or pretending you are a tourist!


I gather this Cadillac made an appearance in Goodfellas!

Bill Cowher's wife Kaye Cowher dies of skin cancer at 54

It's so easy to get into Comic Con 2010, that one forgets about the outside World. This news is shocking: Bill Cowher's wife Kaye Cowher dies of skin cancer at age 54, on Friday.

Too young.

Bill Cowher is the former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and current analyst for CBS Sports. This blogger remembers attending Super Bowl XL in Detroit, where the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks and Bill Cowher being surrounded by not just his players, but his wife Kaye Cowher and their daughters. What a really close knit family.

Prayers and sympathy to Bill Cowher and his family on the loss of his wife Kaye. A really sad day in the NFL.