SDCC: Hidden Animation Treasures

Most of the press coverage coming from Comic-Con has to do with all of booths that cause center aisle crowding or the panels that require six hours, patience, and your right arm to attend. No one will argue against this. When Steven Spielberg comes to a panel he confirmed he wasn’t coming to (via moviefone) or Darren’s Timeless Memories leads you to the new Paranormal Activity 3 trailer , who would resist?  The lure of Comic-Con to the head honcho is too strong to ignore. Fan opinions are vital to the success of the entertainment industry with the most astute observers made free to ask the vital questions during panel Q&A’s.  While wounds are licked in recovery of not making it to a particular Fallen Skies panel, what is one to do with the time?

The answer: go to the Exhibit Hall and make your way through the luminaries of the industry who shine on the strip off  Big Press City. All along the back walls,  are those who may be well known to the fans that follow them, but not to the Con goer looking for a specific list set of established large ticket items.

Silent Auction Samples from Booth #400

When perusing the never ending city of goods, one of the first items to catch my eye was Anime Link. Located at Booth #400, the usual collectable figurines were bypassed when the Silent Auction sign caught my eyes. On close investigation one could see that the character art present on the wall were hand drawn originals. Asking the  confirmed this assumption, but asking after how he obtained them was the real pleasure.

Not only were they obtained from overseas partners, but the booth’s keeper had himself traveled to Japan in order to obtain the ones on the wall directly.  If you knew about Anime Link, no doubt you knew about the Silent Auction that occurred with these. Yet if not, the chance to look on authenticated hand work passed you by.  Their specialty is original, production cells from Japan.

Not far, perhaps a stone’s throw, were the Van Eaton Galleries.  Disney, Hanna -Barbera, and Warner Brothers hand painted cells were hanging on portable walls. Those who knew the true priceless treasures they looked at engaged in discussions of a time before hand painting faded away. Story boards drew out gasps of admiration. Speech slipped away before pieces of modern American art history from bygone decades.

Artwork from the "Great Mouse Detective" at Booth #501

While not under the fanciest of signs, it can be said that often the sweetest treasures are those you have to search for to begin with.

Anime Link – #400
http://www.anime-link.com/
Van Eaton Galleries – #501
http://www.vegalleries.com/

Tags: #SDCC, animation, art, cells, Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con International

SDCC: Preview Night

The lines began to wrap around the building hours in advance of the sneak peak in to the largest comic book and popular arts convention in the world. San Diego Comic-Con International kicked of the 11th annual Preview Night with no less than festive style. Warner Bros backpacks featuring the likes of “Supernatural” and “Vampire Diaries” had yet to hold the swag from the goods of the Exhibit Hall.  Preview Night is about the chance to see what exclusives can be obtained, what exhibits have come to call, and for a moment to stand with tride and true favorites before the overwhelming swarm comes on the following Thursday.

What were the highlights for this writer?  Aside from getting a chance to get a feel for the landscape  (such as where Small Press was, what artists looked interesting, and what my Thursday stalking grounds would be) I was able to get some warm up images. Enjoy, and be on the lookout for thoughts on: the glory of small press & other overlooked indie ventures, panels of interest, and how I will survive another three days of this insanity.

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TIME FOR: GEEK WEEK EXCELLENCE

Just a reminder to the faithful that now it is time for me to book it down that old dirt road!  I’ve got things to do, places to be, stuff to pick up, news to bring you!  So today’s theme is brought to you by Cowboy Bebop:

Follow me on Twitter @Livie_Marie and stay up on the fanpage! Good geeking and good luck!

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL!

(The following is so exciting that it required the utilization of caps. It even required  mood music. Please click the Youtube to experience this writing properly.  – The Management)

 
The time is among us, my friends. 

Once a year on the planet of California, the enclave of San Diego puts out a call across the galaxy. Many answer. They journey across the stars to assemble in the city’s central hub that they might see the sun rise upon the blue water, only to strike the long, white palace that calls them hither. Armed with supplies to endure the wait for the gates to open..it is said that the benevolent rulers of this land collect many a strange wonder from the constellations.  Rich man, poor man. Young or old.  All are welcome that have heeded the call of the ruling council to sojourn in the land..of San Diego Comic Con International!

GEEK WEEK EXCELLENCE IS NOW AT HAND!

Being but a humble traveler, let us join hands together. We will walk through the land of strange vendors, fortune tellers, and joy bringers.  We will behold the glory that is the gathering of geeks from every corner of the known universe.  It will be glorious. It will be marvelous.

(There will be things for you to read, look at, and marvel over.  Twitter for you to follow — this is, of course, for those of you not following the epic storytelling style of Star Wars.)

Tomorrow within the evening..we will see the lines. The areas of transport in their finest away. The few chosen for what they refer to as…Preview Night.  Then the next day which is Thursday for those of this planet?  The festival truly begins.

You will be able to keep track with me on Twitter by following good old #SDCC where myself and the geeks of the known world will be sharing 140 characters at a time our fantastic observances.   Yipee! Remember I am @Livie_Marie!

Tuesday Love Lounge – Back Next Week

Greetings,

Tuesday Love Lounge will return next week as the editor will be reduced to fan girl squeals in light of San Diego Comic Con International descending down. I am pleased to announce an exciting new partnership that will feature the anonymous genius behind The ? Dates Project, just a regular geeky girl trying to navigate the rough seas of dating and romance by recording the experiences of each date she encounters.  No words are better than the words of those in the fray to get the inside, most up to date look on the dating scene. Pat Benatar may be played here if you so desire. “Love is a Battlefield” is an appropriate selection. Cue music:

Stay strong, you geeks hunting that cruel, harsh world for what you most desire!  I would also like to add that Comic-Con, too, is a battlefield. Hold the 80′s pop selection close to your heart as you adventure out in to the panel fray! Follow your Geeky Chic on twitter for updates from the show and be on the lookout for picture galleries and pieces as this is now……..

GEEK WEEK EXCELLENCE!

Tags: dating, geek love, geeks, guest bloggers, love, Love is a Battlefield, Pat Benatar, relationships

The Bookless World

I adore books.

The recent news of Borders (via The Wrap) involving the talk of liquidation and closures beginning as soon as Friday, July, 22 it got me to think of a wall of books. A room full of books. Book displays, book tables. Large and small, books as far as the eye can see.   Soon this image won’t be around at the Borders in my local mall in Bonita.  When the closures started in February, I happened in to the one in El Cajon.

There was never a sadder place.

Price tags were pressed against every conceivable thing that could be sold.  As the room was being stripped of stock (and the shelves they sat on), I looked at the diminishing number of the titles. I felt almost bad for buying my discounted graphic novels because I realized that it would be the last purchase.   The room by the end of the week would have no more ink infused paper goods. No more staff to talk of their knowledge. Maybe the emotional kick to the gut seems a little too much, but follow me.

Just a rental sign.

Business closure is an inevitable sign of the times. Yet as windows shutter, as doors lock, I can’t help but feel that the amount of printed paper between covers is shuttering up too. One less place where these items will be sold. One less place to sit in a corner, cuddled up, as your decision is based on the first chapter alone.   One less plays for the adored and the contemptable to reside as neighbors, side by side, opinion against opinion. Paper filled places are what inspired then turn to tech e-reading phenomenon.  Those paper filled places are now an endangered species.

Big chain stores. Mom and Pop’s. Our local libraries due to budget cuts.  All of it is eroding as the money concerns or bad business models rise up, a beast from book hell, to take no prisoners.

The advent of electronic publishing means that reading has taken on a new format with the popularity of e-readers such as Kindle and Nook or e-reading apps which nearly every major purveyor specializing in the industry has.  What is wrong with a pocketful of books accessed in a single touch?  Imagine the ability to walk around with a literal library in your hands.  Don’t imagine too hard, because this is now a reality.  I, like so many others, from the stroke of my Android phone am able to access both a Kindle and Kobo app. Of late it’s my Kobo app that has had a little more loving.  Epubs launch easy, so have allowed me to import books from publishers for review, books from authors I’m interested in, and the little free tidbits become associated with story universes in which I want to entangle.

Yet sitting in bed with an e-reading app is not the same as sitting in bed with a real book. You remember those, right?  Thick volumes of words made with ink. The smell of crisp pages filling your nose.  Getting home with a new book is about the same excitement level for some of us as test driving a new car.Your fingers take the wheel as you pace through the story at your own rate. Fast? Slow? No nevermind, it’s your pleasure ride!  When you’re done you pull over to the side, slip in a bookmark, and wait until the next time you can get in to your imagination van.  If you have a question about the next installation in a series, you could always go out and find your book vendor or librarian to ask. There was nothing like those engaging conversations filled with perky quips and a no-nonsense appraisal.

You can’t have those face to face moments with Amazon.

You can’t market the feeling of seeing the book tables up close, or holding the books in your hand,let alone the excitement of a new release display.  Hell, and for classics?   Let me know when you can bottle  the feeling of holding an antique copy of one from an old shelf.  It could be that not everyone feels the way I do. I am a woman who’d pass out on seeing illustrated woodblocks or letters from any antique press.  Ink excites me. I still write ideas in moleskin notebooks.

Don’t take this for a piece against the march of time.  Take it for a piece that says as we move forward, don’t forget to take the treasures with you.  We still need places like  Borders, Mom and Pop’s, and libraries.  We need them bad.

Remember the imagery of a room devoid of substance where something worthwhile used to stand. Think of the people who you may have encountered who helped you find your selections and gave you a few minutes of conversation to make a golden hour.

I love books, and I’m afraid the golden hour’s midnight is at hand.

Tags: books, Borders, opinions

Watch & Dish: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

A Geeky Chic insider’s look in to the movie awaits you:  those who wish to be completely suprised should steer away! Discussions of story, style, and breakout performance are underway!

Need a refresher on Geeky Chic predictions? Start here

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,Part 2 was released on July 15, 2011 and is directed by David Yates. Warner Bros. is sitting on top of the largest franchise of all time, biggest opening, and probably will be putting extras of the film reels in to golden tins or on digital drives of wonder.  If one woman hadn’t have written down her ideas while she was down and out, we would have never had this fantastic film series.  This finale has been ten years in the making. Ten. Let’s get right down to brass taxes then, shall we?

Synopsis: The final battle is set to rip through Hogwarts as destiny brings together Voldemort(Ralph Fiennes) and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) as the last of the horcruxes containing the key to the Dark Wizard’s immortality are sought out to be destroyed.  In a rain of fire and magic, an ultimate sacrifice must be made to ensure that tomorrow comes at all.

Story + Style: The focus of the story is the gathering of the final horcruxes that need to be destroyed in order to eliminate Voldemort’s chances at immortality, and ultimately, kill him.  The conclusion of the adventures takes the viewer back to where the story began to unfold: Hogwarts Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardy. End game is played out  while the world begins to crumble. We are left with the questions of what is sacrifice?  What sacrifices are necessary, even the unavoidable ones?  How long do you carry in your heart those times, places, and people that make you and, most importantly, who will see tomorrow?

The final Harry Potter book was a massive 748 pages long which led Yates to release the film in two installments.  Steve Kloves who wrote all but one of the franchise screenplays would then have the chance to spread out the interpretation. Like the part one counterpart, part two is able to devote itself to a particular section cross-section of the Potter universe.

The hunt for the items necessary for Voldemort’s downfall are given intense focus with particular attention paid first to the item contained in the LeStrange’s Gringot vault mentioned in the prior film. Fans will enjoy the amount of brainstorming, plot execution, and outcome cycle for these adventures within the main adventure.   By the time the gang all arrives at Hogwarts for the showdown, we are met with an interesting rendition of  one final showdown against a background of character shots and memorable against a background of somber beauty. A feeling of heart-in-the-throat pushes fans to the edge of their seats as they prepare for the unknown. Tears will be shed and hip hoorays will be shouted out (at least it was so during the midnight run!)  The one downside in the final installment was that other cast members received little screen time this viewer’s taste. The Weasley twins sitting in frightened observation on a roof, while beautiful, is not enough. Bellatrix wandering about a dazed lunatic?  Still not enough. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks reaching for one another’s hands?

Not enough. They should have had high-noon style status for this movie when plots wrapping up their fates were done. Realizing that there were many subplots to wrap up, they were sealed up so quick you couldn’t feel them deep enough.

A real treat awaits in a wash of gorgeous colors and battles worthy of a Lord of the Rings comparison that is worthy of 3-D.  The depth perception of the film magnifies!  We can rest assured knowing that the film was prepared in, and not later coverted, to this medium of choice for so many.  Instead of merely selling a few dollars worth of extra tickets, fans will be able to enjoy Hogwarts in a way they never have before.

Breakout Performance:  Alan Rickman took the role of Severus Snape and made it so completely him, for ten years you forgot he wasn’t the man.   He sends off our favorite  sneaky, duplicitous double agent with a level that one hopes would get him considered for the Academy Awards.  When tears fall down the face of a man known for having as many open emotions as  a parched desert, suddenly onscreen a Shakespearean saga is being played out. Snape is misunderstood. He is misaligned to the way the Fates have handled him but carries out his mission until the very end. In those moments on screen, he became one of the most enduring characters of 21st century film and literature combined.

Final Thoughts:  There is no taking the shine from this final journey to Hogwarts.  The Geeky Chic awards 5 out of 5 stars to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2

Can’t get enough?  Go enjoy the movie’s website. Read the production notes, about the cast’s upcoming projects, sample the film soundtrack and more: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows/mainsite/index.html

Tags: blockbusters, Deathly Hallows 2, Harry Potter, movies, summer