Tim Burton at MoMa

 

Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

Dec. 2nd, 2009

New York Anime Festival 2009/ Far East to East Showcase/ AKB48

Hey kids, this was the final year that the NY Anime Festival was going to stand on its own.  Starting next year, comic book geeks and otaku will share the Javits Center for their annual jamboree.  I felt duty bound to watch the cosplayers, maids and lovers of Japanese culture roam unfettered in their undiluted element through the convention halls one last time.

This year, music was a lot of my focus, and I had the opportunity to attend the Far East to East Showcase, featuring the amazing Echostream.   

 

I also had the surreal experience of attending the New York debut of AKB48, a Tokyo-based group of 48 girls who sing and dance to Akihabara pop songs.  I’ve never seen so many men outnumber the women at a concert that was anything other than heavy metal, but the Y-chromosomes sang every single word and mimed every single move of the often briefly-clad coterie of teens and tweens.  Despite the charm of the adorable AKB48 - all of them genuinely seemed thrilled to play in front of the New York audience - I wavered between amusement and a general feeling of ickyness. 

 

(Special thanks for Hayden of SuperGlorious and Taeko from New York-Tokyo for their concert help.)

 

Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

Sept. 27th, 2009

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Press Event

The good folks at Ubisoft got together to throw a delicious little shindig to celebrate their forthcoming game based on the Sony Pictures release, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  Not only did I happily humiliate myself with my pathetic skills on both the game's Wii and Xbox platforms, I also got a cool custom t-shirt by Old School hand-crafted clothing, and I’m only now coming off the sugar rush from the abundance of sweets provided to keep us playing for hours.  And yes, meatballs were served! 

We also had the pleasure of meeting the creator of the original story: Judi Barrett was on hand to grace us with signed copies of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and catch an early sneak peek at clips from the movie. 

Yum!

Looks like Neil Gaiman, dunne?
		Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs author, Judi Barrett

 

Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

June 18th, 2009 

The Taking of Pelham 123 Subway Experience

What more apropos event could there be for a movie about the hijacking of a New York City subway train than a crazy trip through the NYC transit system.  The good folks at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hosted yours truly through one of the most unique travel experiences I’ve ever had.  As a fan of both Old Timey New York and 126-year-old dust, I was in my element for a most unusual train ride that took me through the first subway station ever opened in New York City {in 1904}.  Then, it was onward through the secret passageways deep beneath the Brooklyn Bridge station avoiding mattresses and derelict shopping carts into the bridge’s mysterious vaults which were once warehouses for the wealthy.

Click on the thumbnails and Come on Ride the Train.

Inside City Hall subway station: 

Our Chariot	Opened in 1904
		The fabulous Alberteen Anderson	Fabulous the sequel: Ruthie Jones

Under the Brooklyn Bridge subway station and inside the vaults.

On our way to 1883	Beyond this door lies a parallel universe - right by J&R Music World! The innocuous entrance to the mysterious Wine Cellar	Original Brooklyn Bridge mosaic art - 1904	Turn of the Century elevator shaft; this will still arrive before the one on Lexington and 61st St.
Strangely lovely in the middle of all the century-old filth and darkness.	Aha, Wine Cellar...	Wine Cellar from the far end.	Wine Cellar from the far end #2
	Shafted	Tony Annarumma lights our way	It was so sad to visit the Virgin Megastore the day after it closed.
Eek.	Julian Schnabel wishes he'd thought of this colour scheme	Don't go down there - It's dark!	Brig #1
Creeping away from a much creepier version of the Flatiron building.		No Exit!	How you know it's the NYC transit system; no trains in the station.
So, that's a catacomb.		If jails still looked like this we'd have no crime rate at all.	Yeah, you knew this had to end up with LMD in the pokey.

 

Deepest thanks to the good folks at Sony; Merisa Levine, Sabrina Laufer and Christina Zisa for conjuring this amazing day.

Thanks to the good folk of the MTA Film for their kind accommodation and a once in a lifetime history lesson: Alberteen Anderson, Ruthie Jones, Frank Klimasz, Tony Annarumma, Ruben Rodriguez and Vinnie Richtblau.

 

The Taking of Pelham 123 opens in theatres on June 12th, 2009

 

Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

June 4th, 2009 

 

The finest foliage for five boroughs was on display in Brooklyn and even a steady torrent couldn’t keep the crowds away.  Never mind the weather when the cherry blossoms are in their brief, beautiful bloom.  Even doused in mud, Sakura Matsuri 2009 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was a Glorious Thing.  The classical arts under the main tent, the koto playing, the traditional nihon buyo dancing, and the graceful, yet funky way of the modern samurai were all here to be enjoyed.  So were the two-for-one bento boxes.  I swear the sake played no part in why this year’s photos even better than last years.

 Kampai, babies!

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With all appreciation to Kate Blumm and the wonderful staff at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden who treated us with such care.

Please click the BBG logo to visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's website for plenty of bloomin' gorgeousness all year round.

Arigato, Gozai-mas, BBG.

Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

May 3rd, 2009 

Japan Society Cosplay Party - 2009

Hey Dolls, Come check on the gorgeousness and creativity of the fabulous 1^st ever Japan Society Cosplay Party.  I hope this’ll become a yearly event where boys and girls of all ages can get together and bask in their anime gloriousness.

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Enjoy,

 L.M.D.

Mar. 31st, 2009 

 

Well kids, one of the most highly-anticipated fan events of the year has come and gone and despite an overwhelming mass of humanity packed into a segment of the Javits Center and occasional inspired visits from some small screen glitterati, the overall result was an underwhelmed meh.

Falling short of the expectation and star power of 2008’s con, this year’s festivities were less interesting and far less organised.  Convention-goers were trapped in a mass of overwrought geekdom with too few outlets in which to let their freak flags fly.

I think most of the issue came from a concerted effort to make it a true COMIC CON! - with pulp authors, inkers and artists taking centre stage.  Somewhere along the line, the organisers must’ve realised that this wasn’t bringing in the cabbage they hoped and slowly some TV shows eked in, amping up the excitement to an expectant whimper.  At last, Disney, Warner Brothers and the Japanese film phenom Takashi Miike were corralled and there was finally some actual buzz.

All this is ironic, as it’s possible the initial idea may have been to exclude TV and film media to keep the New York con from the complaints of the bigger San Diego affair becoming mere promotion for the Hollywood machine.  Sadly, New York is not nearly as well-known and needs that Hollywood kiss and movie star glamour to grow.  Also, there was a noticeable segregation of Asian input, perhaps mollifying the grumbles of older generation traditional comic con attendees freaked out by the sight of shrieking Narutards and jiggying Haruhi Suzumiya clones.

Here are some bits and pieces:

The Good:

All things UP:  Disney brought out their Pixar summer jewel with an appearance by director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera.  They also unspooled 41 minutes and 16 seconds of heart tugging and joyous footage, which made me froth at the fang for May to get here quicker.  Really, this could be Up there with A Bug’s Life & Monsters Inc. on the LMD Pixar charts.

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PACEY!:  I mean, Mighty Ducks star Joshua Jackson and the cast of TV buzzpot Fringe all lingering about the con, being cool and fabulous.

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I met the Master of the Whedonverse:  Yes, chilluns, I finally have shared the same air as the King of Cult Television, Convention God Joss Whedon.  Having been a huge fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (- before Dawn came and messed everything up), owing him for the world’s introduction to Nathan Fillion and being on happy tenterhooks for his new series Dollhouse, this was a big deal.  Side story; on the last day of the con, I finally was able to make it through the dealers room and as I was perusing some goodies, someone tapped me on the shoulder; “Excuse me, could you take a picture of me and my friend?” I turn around to take the proffered camera and see the asker putting him arm around his “friend” who was … wait for it … Joss Whedon!  Having remembered me from our interview earlier, we walked together through the con for a bit before he got swamped by disciples falling to kiss the soles of his Keds and I booked it for high ground.  Sorry, Joss.

Dave Gibbons at the Watchmen Q&A:  I mention him specifically because it was a damned shame Warner Brothers hadn’t bothered to bring on of the 50-odd actors playing main roles in the film. I said it last year, bring your A game, people.  Luckily, the author was erudite, funny and put to rest for all time the lingering question of ‘Is Alan Moore batshit crazy?’

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Best Video Game presentation - Wolverine:  I’m still back on my Atari 2600, but I think I might have to seriously upgrade after getting a look at Captain Adamantium literally rip people in half with those famous three prong claws in full blooming colour.  After the demo, we were given foam finger versions of our own to snarl around and call people “bub” with.  Those foam fingers came in second for the award for…

Best Swag - Sherrilyn Kenyon’s multimedia giveaway:  The supernatural novelist handed out some handy, durable bags emblazoned with her upcoming Dark Hunters manga art on them.  There were copies of a few of her latest paperbacks which she was happy to sign for free all weekend.  And she had fortune cookies!  I’m not sure how this fits into her mythology, but I was starving and food at the con is mad expensive, so she wins!  I will add Kenyon had a fantastic looking booth with life sized cutouts of her manga characters all around.  This is how an author gets noticed at a con.  Off as I am at the mo’ on urban Fantasy, seeing the manga characters made we want to see the book.

The guy who had the stones to ask the Friday the 13^th movie panel, “Why do we even need this film?”:  Ah, the heedless bravery of a comic convention-goer.  Amid cheers and hisses and the barely-contained outrage of the producers, this young man asked what had been on everyone’s mind during the self-congratulatory panel for the remake.

The Bad:

Well, I can’t complain about Star Wars this year as I legged it out of the panel before they could start along with about 2/3’s of the audience, many of whom turned up in the massive queue for the Robot Chicken panel.  For all I know, the Star Wars panel this year was the greatest thing any convention has ever seen… yeah!

Overall organisation and how bloody packed the con was:  Okay, NYCC folks, learn the grid, love it, embrace it.  From the moment I opened up the programme, I knew I was in trouble; there was no straight schedule grid.  In other words, Friday 11AM-11:30AM - these events are taking place in these rooms.  Very simple, ne? Instead, there was an incomplete listing of panels title by title without much sense of order.  Simplify, folks, simplify.  When you walk straight down the middle of the dealer’s room aisles and can’t move about or see any of the booths for the crowds of people around you, that’s too many people.

At least this year they remembered to make up potty passes for folks settled in the IGN theatre.  I’m taking partial credit for that improvement.

The Rant:

Nikkatsu & Johnny’s Entertainment:  Let me be Swarovski clear, Grady Hendrix is a sartorially exemplary cherubic god among men, seriously.  After all he’s had to contend with during Comic Con, I’m sending his name into the Vatican.  Subway Cinema pulled a wondrous coup by bringing the premiere of Yatterman, a live action version of a 1970’s Tatsunoko, anime to New York for its premiere.  Even more, he managed to scoop director Takashi Miike himself and the star of the film, Japanese pop star, Sho Sakurai, in the offing.  Sadly, along with the film and the pop tart, came a load of baggage which is the focus of this kvetch.  Even if I’m not fanatical over every film in Takashi Miike’s extensive canon, damme if Audition isn’t one of the creepiest movies ever made; so I was excited for the world premiere of the innovative director’s latest (- Click here for our review!).  However, the quicker Japanese film companies and management teams learn that the silly, prohibitive rules that bar press and fans from interacting with, and heaven forbid, giving free publicity to their client/projects in Japan do not wash so well in the US, the happier we’ll all be.  There was the arrogance of the lauded Comic Con “personal appearance” of Yatterman star, Jpop “sensation” Sho Sakurai to his international fans - which consisted of the fetching Japanese androgyne standing in an overhead office window, waving and pointing to about 70 little girls down on the convention floor (- while about 150 con-goers watched them scream) for a whopping minute and a half; no autographs, no handshakes, nothin’ - “for security reasons”.  Um, Madonna still does record signings, the Jonas Brothers and Miley flipping Cyrus do autograph signings – nobody dies during those.  Apparently, this sort of fanblock happens all the time in the East in accordance with freakishly strict, hands-off regimentation by young Master Sakurai’s personal management, an outfit called Johnny’s Entertainment.  Then there’s the refusal of film company, Nikkatsu, to entertain interview requests (- even for Miike, who’s perfectly press-friendly) from anyone who wasn’t selected print (re: Japanese), or television (re: NHK, TV Tokyo).  I’m sure it was thanks to the entreaties from the wonderful Mr. Hendrix that the excluded reporters who wished to speak with Miike were allowed a brief press conference where we were practically threatened with confiscation of our first born kittens and best-loved hair products if we dared to snap any pictures of the Golden Pop Idol.  Pay no mind to the 30 Japanese photographers and film crews present all around us capturing every moment of Western attention.  They brought over their own press; who needed us?  The entire thing felt like a manipulative game Nikkatsu & Johnny’s were playing, using the US fans and press as a prop to show off back home in Japan.  Normally, I don’t go spleeny over the business side of things, but as we on the site are interested in featuring more on Japanese pop culture, including filmmakers and music acts, this is not encouraging.

At great risk to my precious Manic Panic, Illicit Photography follows:

The Weird:

The Surrogates panel:  A trailer for the new Bruce Willis clone-related actioner (Clones are big this year – George Lucas, so ahead of the curve), without much bite or substance ended with about 100 models pouring forth from behind the stage in untouchable perfection that no average comic con-goer could even dream of attaining, handing out business cards emblazoned with the film’s official site. Well, all right.

The Terminator Salvation panel:  Director McG must’ve stomped the stuffing out of the competition as a kid running for class president.  He’s like a whole cheerleading squad rolled into one person.  Dropping famous names like sweets to the starving con masses; pulling a Christian Bale burnout on an unsuspecting journalist.  Dragging three Terminator fans onto the panel stage to “help him with the questions” then never referring to them again.  Promising that he would go with the audience’s notes back to the editing room and employ their feedback; the blatant neediness and badgering for approval was disturbing.  He endlessly praised Bale until I wondered if he was getting paid per compliment.  McG called Bale’s house, ambushing Mrs. Bale (Mr. Bale was smart enough not to be at home – perhaps off to an anger management class?), haranguing the crowd to scream their support for the Terminator film over his crackberry speakerphone for Mrs. Bale’s bemusement.  It did not make up for the utter confusion of the clip he brought; granted it’s a mishmash of unfinished footage, but I could not make heads or tails, nor could I determine that there was all that much Bale in the footage.  There was a Bale lookalike (Sam Worthington, apparently) who I kept mixing up, so it took a lot of hot air out of McG’s Bale-stroking when we couldn’t even make out his star.  Just odd …

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Overall, the whole thing was a large step down from last year’s New York Comic Con; with the tumult created by the exclusive footage of The Dark Knight and the involvement of true legends of the geekosphere (- Stan Lee! Neil Gaiman!) as well as Hollywood bigwigs.  I actually missed Eva Mendes and Frank Miller vamping it up for the cameras for The Spirit and Lou Ferrigno intimidating a voice-over job as The Hulk out of Tim Roth and director Louis Letterier.  All who attended last year waxed melancholy for the Hellboy 2 panel which included the entire cast surrounded by actors in the film’s phantasmagoric monster costumes and director Guillermo Del Toro himself handing out special comic con-edition Hellboy 2 posters. 

Perhaps it’s the fragile economy that had Universal Pictures, 20^th Century Fox and others opting out of showing their wares, but their lack of attendance was certainly noted by the wide expanse of crossover media coverage this year and surely they must know that Comic Con buzz is priceless.

As for the con itself, I think they rested upon last year’s laurels too much and didn’t give the forethought to comfort and interest of the average conventioneer, for whom the con is a yearly spark of colour and fun.  This year was a lot less spark, very little colour and not enough room to have much fun.  

~ The Lady Miz Diva

Feb. 10^th 2009

Coming soon: Some Comic Con discoveries for our Stuf section and transcriptions from our face time with Joss Whedon, Takashi Miike, Pixar’s Peter Docter & Jonas Rivera, Joshua Jackson & Jeremy Renner of The Hurt Locker & The Unusuals.

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