That alone proves how big the legend that is Stan Lee has become. So large that new comic book producers are falling all over themselves to be linked to him.
But in the case of BOOM Studios, the partnership with Stan Lee started by way of an unnamed mutual friend. That meeting led to the press event at Comic Con Preview Day, Wednesday.
But really it was less about the new characters Soldier Zero, The Traveler, or Starborn, or their writers Paul Cornell, Mark Wald, and Chris Roberson, respectively, than Stan Lee. If Lee's name wasn't on the meeting title, the room would have been almost empty. Instead, the ever-funny Stan Lee said he'd never seen more reporters when he was at Marvel Comics.
What's Stan Lee doing with BOOM Studios? Well, first, he likes the material they're producing, specifically mentioning their Edgar Allen Poe work, saying he could recite it if we stuck around to hear him. The partnership gives Lee the right to be a "budinsky" as he put it, sticking his creative nose into the story creation and writing process.
On comic book writing, Lee gave this advice just off the cuff: "Don't write for others or what you think they want. Write what you like." Lee says others will enjoy it if it comes from you and what you like rather than be created for them.
Stan Lee Looks Good
What's cool about Stan Lee is to see how youthful he is at 87 years old. He's thin, mobile, and dare we say athletic. He clearly enjoys the attention he's getting after so many years of making the Marvel Universe work and doesn't seem to resist a chance to promote himself or what he's doing. A really self-actualized man.
Will BOOM Benefit?
The question is, will BOOM Studios benefit from the Stan Lee media attention. Well, we're talking about BOOM Studios and that's enough.
I telephoned City Hall, actually the mayor's office, 8 am yesterday to speak to the new "deputy" in town, Deputy Stephen Goldsmith. I met him the day before at The Crain's breakfast for him and a few hundred business people and two activists, me and a friend.
Watch the YouTube I am posting and hear how he responds to my questions. He shook my hand and it was a hand shake I can only describe as a small dead fish; completely limp and disingenuous. He said, "thank you" to me twice actually. Each time I felt he was saying, "F-you, you are now dismissed." Don't actually ask me questions about politics, infrastructure and the harsh reality the people of New York actually need people in office that will be their advocate and work and fight for them.
The woman that answered the phone for the mayor's office transferred me over to Goldsmith's office. You see, he did not give me his card. He did hand out his business card but not to me. What ever I looked like or perhaps my questions some how registered as not a person to hand your business card to.
So much for Crain's and their networking. What was clear from the Crain's breakfast is besides my questions before the event started and the questions of only two news reporters who happened to be -- you guessed it -- two white males -- Stephen Goldsmith could not handle the heat or should I say pressure of their questions. He won't be here long. He won't make it as long as Dollarbill Dan Doctoroff who left king Mike's public empire to re-join his private empire.
Dan considered himself the man in charge of infrastructure until the steam pipe explosion that looked like a terror attack by Grand Central. You see, I would call and email him about the way too rapid development and NY's old infrastructure. I made it clear I felt Bloomberg and he were endangering us and were leaving a hell of a mess for when they actually left office.
Dollar bill Dan quietly and quickly left office. Bye, bye.
Stephen Goldsmith thinks he can take on Albany. Good luck Stephen. You would have better luck taking on the Mafia perhaps converting them to vegetarianism.
Good old Stephen thinks he can come in here and at the Crain's hosted breakfast talk about closing firehouses. Bloomberg and his socialite mega millionaire city planner called Amanda the peoples' Burden aided their developers pal in a reckless tsunami of shady development helping to create mass displacement, perhaps a record number of people displaced and a record number of infrastructure related problems from water main breaks, sewage, Con Ed problems as well as expansion so over the top Con Ed set a record hiring outside contractors, to the worst street conditions seen in years with DOT repaving streets not once but twice or even more than twice.
Why do the streets look like bombs went off on them. If the FDNY is not answering fire calls they are responding to infrastructure problems including man hole cover exploding with dramatic fires that so far have not caused any deaths...so far. We have had heart breaking deaths including children to fires and what does Deputy Goldsmith do at his first Crain's hosted breakfast?
This highly inarticulate man in a very expensive suit with an impressive gold tie tells us he will be closing fire houses.
Interestingly enough Crain's video taped the entire embarrassing disaster for Goldsmith and his new boss king Mike Bloomberg but Crain's did not release any of the let us say awkward or controversial moments and they were many. Crain's released just a small piece on video on their website. Mike has been very lucky with the press that way.
Listening to Goldsmith speak, I never heard some one talk so much to give so many 'non-answers'.
Why would Bloomberg hire a Republican this late in the game unless he wants to cater not to the people of NYC but to the conservatives he hopes to woe when he pursues his one big unrealized dream....running for President of the United States? That is why it is believed Bloomberg took his charitable giving national instead of local. It is why I believe he burdens the tax payers to the tune of 2 million dollars post-his third term hiring so many campaign staff with 6 figure salaries. Why hire them after the election unless he feels he wants them close at hand to pursue his last chance at perhaps one of his biggest dreams unrealized. Bloomberg doesn't fully grasp that he displaced so many people and angered even more denying us a referendum that he paid a record amount of money to barely win the most humiliating and expensive win in NYC history. He won't win a presidency or any political office again. He is very smart and accomplished but he lost sight of the fact he serves the people. He now hired Goldsmith who is not a people person and clearly doesn't represent New Yorkers. Goldsmith looks at this city as some corporate business model.
Denial is the new crack cocaine for politicos from Albany to City Hall.
The one issue Goldsmith was clear on is the devastating budget crisis coming our way here in NYC next year. As usual it was as if no one heard what he had to say and city council will continue to vote themselves raises and give slush money to charities where their life partner (what is Christine Quinn's significant other's name) sits on a board, ditto for their wives, brothers, sisters, husbands, etc.
Albany and City Hall politicians are 2nd to last to deal with the harsh reality of what are terrible economic crisis is coming our way because they contributed to it hugely and Albany still has not dealt effectively with the budget crisis. The last people to deal with and won't be able to escape it like the politicians here in NYC are the people.
Under Bloomberg the city saw a new wave of "sexual McCarthyism" with two women owned Adult Toy Stores Babeland raided and after the raid Babeland is now no longer allowed to rent adult films, some that were instructional but all that a guy like Goldsmith would call porno. Rumor on the street is the NYPD were picking their super elite hottie cops to entrap gay men in adult book stores.
Goldsmith hemmed and hawed at the Crain's breakfast but after a very long non-answer he sure sounded like he said he is anti-gay marriage which I interpret as he does not believe in equal rights. In America we have straight people that are marriage gluttons having been married 2, 3, 4, 5 times but people like Goldsmith would deny gay people the right to even one marriage?
Why would Mike Bloomberg bring in a conservative Republican who wants to privatize everything unless he has his eye on the White House? Either way Goldsmith will not be here long. He said in his non-speak. Hey guys why are you asking me such tough questions.
Goldsmith is out of touch with New Yorkers and a fish out of water in NYC.
I left him a voice mail on Deputy Goldsmith's answering machine at City Hall. I want a STRAIGHT forward answer, no hemming and hawing, do you believe in gay marriage and equal rights? I left my telephone number.
Comic Con 2010 San Diego is a wonderful Mecca of pop culture (and this trip was made possible by the Kings Inn Hotel). Comic Con is a combination of a toy convention, TV production confab, and comic book writers meetup all in one.
At one stop you can see a giant booth for Fox Television next to Lionsgate, then Mattel's down the path a bit, and Hallmark Cards has the kid-friendly Hoops&Yoyo just over there. Stan Lee's in Room 33 cracking jokes (I was there). The whole array is dizzying and on this "preview" day, already very crowded.
The question on the floor, literally, is "Has Comic Con outgrown San Diego?" Some who raise the question point to the availability of hotels, but a deeper look reveals that some hotels aren't getting business because they're trying to price gouge the visitor. Still, that problem has others raising the question more assertively. Indeed, it seems every media person's asking someone the question.
Can San Diego handle Comic Con? I'm going to leave that question open for discussion, but I will observe that Comic Con's attracting more than the 125,000 people who have badges. Moreover, it could grow to a point that it draws twice that many people, and up to 300,000 people.
Already, and again this is "preview day" the San Diego Convention Center's having a problem with people who are so tired from the miles of walking they do, they just want to sit on the floor. The SDCC's having employees tell them they can't sit down, which isn't what a sweaty walker wants to hear. Would that happen in Los Angeles or Chicago? Just a question.
Several veteran Comic Con-goers have said that San Diego's willing to make adjustments to keep Comic Con, but the convention just may fare better in another city. 'It's like a LeBron James thing," observed one man who comes annually from New Jersey and was thinking of how The Chosen One left his home team the Cleveland Cavaliers for The Miami Heat, "Do you leave San Diego? The city that gave birth to you?"
That's a question that will be on the minds of many comes Thursday, when Comic Con 2010 is expected to burst at the seems of the San Diego Convention Center.
You have to be here to see it. Comic Con's an incredible event.
Former Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman, U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona, freshly bouyed by his SEIU endorsement, took command of the 2nd Democratic primary debate today while besting three other Democrats: former State Representative Cathy Eden (his closest competitor in the polls according to Rasmussen,) Randy Parraz, and John Dougherty.
Arizonans are enjoying debates on both sides of the contest, and it seems Glassman has gone a long way to impressing voters that he will be the best candidate to take on presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in the fall. (J.D. Hayworth trails McCain significantly in most polls.)
"John McCain and I might both love town halls, but the difference is that I would host more in Arizona than I would in New Hampshire."
Rodney Glassman
During a debate earlier today on Yuma's KAWC Radio, Glassman discussed the necessity for securing the border, a hot-button issue in the South-West in general, and Arizona in particular, and outlined national security priorities. Already known as a strong advocate for military veterans, Glassman has also recently announced a plan to ensure high-quality medical services for veterans on the Navajo Nation.
By some reports over 70% of Arizona residents support the recently enacted immigration enforcement law, which has drawn national scrutiny and a series of challenges, and this is sometimes seen as an issue that likely drives more support to GOP candidates.
Glassman also explained how he would go about bringing jobs to Arizona, saying he'll build on this success and continue to campaign on jobs, education and how to finally bring Arizona's concerns -- rather than rigid ideology -- to the U.S. Senate.
"I look forward to talking to the people of Arizona about what they want, and don't want, out of Washington," Glassman said. The lively debates are providing Arizona voters an excellent chance to see the candidates in both parties, and discover where they differ from one another, but it's already shaping up to be a likely Glassman vs. McCain election in November.
There are two topics of note to this space that are trending on Twitter today: Shirley Sharrod and Comic Con. Shirley Sharrod is the former USDA regional director who was stripped of her job after a smear attack by conservative Tea Party attack-blogger Andrew Brietbart. Comic Con is the amazing San Diego-based (but for how long?) convention that brings together Hollywood and animation and science fiction. You know you're in the right place when the airport PA announcer says welcome in a Darth Vader voice! This is Mecca for sci-fi fans.
But first Shirley Sharrod.
Shirley Sharrod is a reluctant hero who, before the NAACP on March 27th 2010, gave a great, long speech on the evolution of race relations and how it impacted her. Andrew Brietbart saw her speech, and so blinded by racism, took it and edited it to make it sounds as if Shirley Sharrod was giving a racist message. If anything, she was giving one that's uplifting and here it is in full:
Andrew Brietbart should be jailed for what he did. Saying he's sorry is bullcrap. Andrew Brietbart gave zero thought to how his smear job would effect Shirley and her family. He is an awful, awful, sad man.
Shirley Sharrod should get her old job back and not some civil rights job. President Obama should make everything as it was before Andrew Brietbart decided to act in a criminal way. Throw him in jail!
Or better yet, send him to Comic Con to be thrown to the gallows and punished in a way he would not forget.
Comic Con: it's great to be here.
I've got to wrap this up because Comic Con press registration is on, I need to take a shower and get down there, and Stan Lee's press event is at 5 PM, and Hallmark's is after 6 PM. It's preview day at Comic Con.
Follow me on Twitter and don't forget to take advantage of the food deals of 15 percent off at the Amigo Restaurant and 20 percent off at The Waffle King at the hotel just by mentioning my blog, Zennie62!
Taking a Comic Con break to look at what else is happening; Google Trends reveals the ugly story of what happened to previously unknown Shirley Sherrod.
Conservative hit-blogger Andrew Breitbart's known for his extreme approaches in attacking liberals, but what he did to Shirley Sherrod, a goverment worker who gave a speech to the NAACP this year and regarding a matter that happened 24 years ago, was that he apparently made a new video to claim she was racist, and went way too far.
While he says he intended to harm the NAACP, he picked Shirley Sherrod to do it. She did not ask for this. Breitbart altered a video to twist her words.
Andrew Breitbart may be a target for the U.S. Department of Justice' Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (“CCIPS”) which is in the Criminal Division. The website, which was forwarded to this blogger by the DOJ on another issue, covers various types of crimes that involve a computer.
If Breitbart altered the video of Shirley Sherrod to make it look like she was making a statement he then called racist, he's certainly guilty of defamation of character against Shirley Sherrod.
Breitbart may also be guilty of Internet harassment. He certainly should be made a high-profile example to discourage others from these uses of the computer and The Internet to harass a person. Enough is enough.
Zennie62 will be at Comic Con 2010. Kings Inn Hotel San Diego, a great hotel with a cool pool and two full service restaurants, and which is known as the "best waffle spot" in San Diego, is sponsoring Zennie62.com at Comic Con and thanks to San Francisco's SpritzSF marketing!
The Kings Inn Hotel is at 1333 Hotel Circle South in San Diego, just 12 minutes from the airport, and an equal number of minutes from the San Diego Convention Center, where Comic Con is held.
What's neat about The Kings Inn Hotel, aside from its close-to-the-airport location, is the free Wi-Fi (perfect for video-bloggers like me), and their massive interest in all things Comic Con. All way down to their own mascot: "Sir Wafflelot", the waffle king.
SirWafflelot
For a guy like me, who loves waffles, Sir Wafflelot's going to meet his match. Expect Sir Wafflelot to be a big presence at Comic Con, not just at the San Diego Convention Center, but in Zennie62 Comic Con videos, too!
If you're at Comic Con, staying at The Kings Inn Hotel, and spot me, Zennie62, while you're at the Inn, please say "hello" and be in one of my videos. Tell me what you think of Comic Con 2010! Bonus points if you're in costume for Comic Con!
Zennie62 all over
Zennie62 is more than just me, it's our great bloggers like Tom Hayes, Suzannah Troy, Nikky Raney, and blog partners like Aimee Allison and Doc Gurley. It's also partnerships with The Hearst Corporation and the YouTube Partner Program and The Blip.tv Partner Program. All of this makes up zennie62media.
At Comic Con, Zennie62 will be covering the debut of movies like The Expendables, starring Sylvester Stallone, and Thor and Captain America, and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and Hatchet 2, and going to a lot of great parties and events, and most of all meeting a lot of great, creative people.
And not getting a lot of rest.
Stay tuned! Zennie62 at Comic Con video uploads start Thursday!
If you remember "Jason" from the Friday the 13th series, then you know the name Kane Hodder, the man who has the distinction of not just playing him once, but four times, is also known for his role as the gruesome Victor Crowley, in Dark Sky Films' production of Adam Green's Hatchet 2 .
The great news is that Hodder, Green, Danielle Harris, the slasher movie queen of the 21st Century after starring in Rob Zombies' Halloween and H2, and the entire cast of Hatchet 2 will be at Comic Con 2010 in San Diego.
On Friday, Kane Hodder Tony Todd , R. A. Mihailoff (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Danielle Harris (Hatchet, Hatchet 2, Halloween), Tom Holland (Child's Play), and Adam Green (Hatchet, Hatchet 2,) will be on a panel called "Old School American Horror," at 6:30 PM PDT in Room 32 AB at the San Diego Convention Center.
Hatchet II
The cast of Hatchet 2 will also have an autograph session before the panel, which starts at 2:30 in room AA20.
Video-blogging with the Cast of Hatchet 2
The other cool news is this video blogger will be shadowing the cast of Hatchet 2 on Friday evening, with a camcorder. I think I'll use the less intrusive and fun Flip Camera. But I digress.
Hatchet: The Slasher Movie
Hatchet is the 2006 movie based on the story of Victor Crowley, a person who was subjected to abuse from kids in his neighborhood due to his born deformities. On Halloween night, a group of kids try to scare Victor by throwing fire into his house. In trying to save him, Victor's father accidentally kills him with a hatchet, which he used to try to get into the house, not realizing that Victor was on the other side of the door.
After the incident and 10 years later, Victor's father dies of grief. During that period of time, a series of awful murders takes place - all done as it happens, by Victor.
When Victor's discovered by tourists and a woman named Marybeth (Danielle Harris), they try to kill Crowley in various ways; he survives each attempt. Finally, Victor gets his revenge, killing each one of them, until it's down to just he and Marybeth. The first Hatchet ends as Victor has Marybeth underwater.
I went up to the new deputy in town, deputy mayor Stephen Goldsmith before the breakfast hosted by Crain's began and interviewed him. I ask him if perhaps Bloomberg hired him, a Republican, late in the game because Bloomberg wants to run for President. You can hear it and watch on my YouTube channel.
Eric Engquist, the reporter hosting this event for Crain's, is a smart man, good reporter but he sounded like little lord Fauntleory when he said firehouses too close to each other are redundant and Goldsmith agreed. Goldsmith wants to close them.
How can you push development and close firehouses? Besides fires where people have died every so recently how about the constant infrastructure breaks including man holes covers exploding and gas leaks and the FDNY answer those calls as well which are so many since Bloomberg pushed a reckless tsunami of development.
Based on Goldsmith's non-answers he is anti-gay marriage and he was so wishy washy and like his hand shake limp and unwelcoming -- he is in big trouble and I don't see him lasting as long as Dan Doctoroff who I would write and call about infrastructure concerns and he said no worries until the steam pipe explosion that looked like a terror attack by Grand Central.
This guy could not handle a few tough questions at a breakfast by 2 news reporters in front of a mostly white audience of business people...he won't last as long as dollar Bill Dan Doctoroff.
He did mention something about a 3.75 billion dollar deficit -- I think he did and of course he happened to mention closing fire houses and getting rid of emergency boxes.
Frankly, I've never heard of Marshall Fine and he's probably never heard of me. Now, as of this writing, we've heard of each other. He's not going to forget me after this, because I'm blogging specifically to attack his off-base take on Comic Con in The Huffington Post.
Marshall Fine is 20 years behind the times. 20 years ago movie studios could largely afford to ignore comic books as material for movies. But over that time, something funny happened: it seemed Hollywood got remake and sequel happy and, having redone everything from King Kong to Friday The 13th, realized there was this new thing called digital media and people were playing with comic book-style characters on video games.
Hmmm...
Then Hollywood listened to Marvel Comics' claim that they actually had good human characters that people would pay money to see in movie form with a good story.
And you know what? Spider-Man proved Marvel Comics right. The first installment was just plain good, and with all of that, the first Iron Man movie was even better, and considered by many to be Oscar Best Picture material for a time in 2009.
To write a blog that asserts comic book movies are in some way low-brow is, in itself low-brow. To dismiss geeks and nerds and Comic Con itself as something weird and undesirable, as Fine does, rather than guys who get laid and are creative and girls who are sexy and are creative, and a convention of the new and exciting, is just a plainly laughable expression of jealously.
Geeks and Nerds rule at the center of an ever-increasing tech pop culture. Comic Con is Mecca. Hollywood knows it. Marshall Fine, should know it too.
With all of the buzz about Angelina Jolie making an appearance at the famous Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center for Comic Con 2010, some Monday buzz promises to make Saturday just as big an event.
First, there will be an 11:15 AM Comic Con autograph session with the directors and talent of Marvel Studios' Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
That means you'll get to meet Thor's legendary director Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Then they're followed by Captain America: The First Avenger director, Joe Johnston, and stars Chris Evans (Captain America) and Hugo Weaving (Red Skull).
To attend the enormous event, you'll have to get a special ticket. Marvel asks you to come by the booth #2329 early Saturday morning to participate in a lottery for the right to go to the sessions.
Marvel Comics Entertainment is making the first theatrical film installment of Thor and of Captain America. So to have an evening panel cryptically titled...
Marvel Studios: Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger— Producer Kevin Feige and special guests give you an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hall H
...means something big is in store for the San Diego Comic Con audience that will certainly gather well before 6 PM and then rush in to get the first seats. And why not?
Thor and Captain America are comic book legends of such magnitude they seem almost real. In the digital age, their on screen presence promises to extend their life by many decades.
The New Set Photo
The new set photo above has been flying around the web and from the looks of it, paints the picture that Thor is a big budget blockbuster. The speculation is that this is Thor's banishment from Asgard to Earth. I think Quint of Ain't It Cool News got it right on.
Thor and Captain America in 3-D
I'm personally not a fan of the rush to 3-D for movies, even though, if it's going to be done, Thor and Captain America are perfect vehicles for it. But what's bothersome to me is the impact Avatar had on my eye: they hurt a bit afterwards. Moreover, according to The LA Times, the movies will not be shot in a 3-D way, but use a reportedly more elaborate conversion process.
It's clear Marvel Studios Producer Kevin Feige doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of Clash of The Titans, which was hammered by Avatar Producer / Director James Cameron as a 2-D movie trying to be a 3-D movie, but feels passionate about the need to have 3-D conversion used for both films.
