Comic Con International 2009 - Part 2

Here are some more pictures of the final two days of Comic Con 2009. You can view these and more here.

Lost...yikes...not until 2010

Michael Emerson pays a visit...and is that a brain in a jar?

One of these days I hope to have one in my home...

Hopefully this one doesn't need work on the shocks, suspension, brakes, transmission and new tires...like the last one did.

Arkham Asylum Panel...And yes, Mark Hamill did give us a psychotic Joker laugh.

Buried Treasure Fail

I may have some more pictures in the future, but you can check the flickr link above and check out other photos from the event in the coming weeks...

DM

Comic Con International 2009 - Part 1

Hey gang,

I have been privileged to have made some great friends out here in California - some new, and some I have reconnected with since making the move west.  As it turns out, they had an extra ticket to Comic Con, to which I happily obliged.

Saying this place is busy is an enormous understatement.  The main hall was filled with booth after booth of comic books, tv shows, movies, books, video games, graphic novels....need I go on?  (More on this in later posts)  After exploring the floor for well over a few hours, we stood in line to get a glimpse of some of the films releasing through the fall and into next year.  Besides the panel of actors and filmmakers answering questions and talking about their projects, we were also able to view trailers and unseen footage.

We entered during an opening for the presentation of 9.  This post apocalyptic nightmare film encompassing creatures fighting for survival from killing machines was rather thrilling.  We were able to catch a clip from the film, which was extraordinarily intense, especially since we only saw about 10 minutes.  Legion was a project I had not heard much about, but after a 4 minute trailer about the apocalypse, Adrianne Palicki, and a Demon Ice Cream Man crawling on all fours, I was hooked.  District 9 was the biggest hit for me, considering that I have been waiting for this film for a couple of months now.  We were lucky enough to view a roughly 10 minute reel from the film which pretty much clearly drew opened the doors to what the movie is really about.  I won't spoil it, but I doubt you'll be disappointed.

In the later part of the evening, a couple friends and I stuck around to watch a panel with James Cameron and Peter Jackson.  They answered questions, talked about their films, discussed the possibilities for future projects.  You know, filmmaker stuff.

So, despite a horrible sunburn and not being able to find a Mass Effect 2 booth, the day was pretty exciting!

Here are a few pictures from day 1. (Which is technically day 2, since Thursday is the first day)

These poor guys had to stand there all day long...

Dead Space 2 Anyone?

So it's safe to say that attendance at Comic Con is good, despite worldwide recession

He looks really confused...

Apparently these guys are a big deal...guess they make movies or something...

More to come tomorrow...and you can view a few more pictures here.

DM

Climbing Kili One-Sheet

This is an early One-Sheet for Climbing Kili, the next Meincke/Noens Documentary.  The film is being submitted to festivals around the country over the next few months...

Hopefully, we'll be seeing more on this later...

DM

The Future of Me

It has been a busy month.  Suppose I should fill you in.

Following graduation from Flashpoint, I spent much of my time preparing for interviews in Los Angeles.  One week into June, I flew into LAX to speak with several companies, most of which seemed to be involved in the television business.  To make a long story short, I spent 9 days in the west, and returned to Chicago knowing that I would make the move.

6 days later, I packed up the truck and left.

I feel that leaving Chicago behind has allowed me to revitalize my love of film.  Even the trip through the Rockies allowed me to reflect on my successes and failures in the past 2 years.  My brother accompanied me on the journey, and we kept each other awake with jokes through Nebraska, but we practically didn't speak in Colorado, simply because we were too busy observing the majesty of the mountain landscape.  Funny, how mountainous terrain can make one reflect on their own life.

I didn't always plan to move to Los Angeles (just refer to earlier blog posts!) but perhaps it is for the best that I begin a new chapter in a completely new and exciting environment.  Although this type of change is probably the biggest I have ever made, I don't think it has set in, at least not yet.  After all, I've been independent for quite some time, which allows me the freedom to simply go where I need to go.

I certainly miss my friends, and I hope they will join me soon.  I do feel bad about leaving everything behind in such a hurry.  Hell, I don't even think some of my friends know I have left Chicago yet!  But as one of my enthusiastic professors told me, you can't fear the success in your life.  If you think you can do it, then you can do it.  It will happen, and it will happen effortlessly.  Take the opportunity.  Take the job.  Don't sit down and wait for things to fall into place, because they won't.  More importantly, don't believe that you can't do it.  You have failed by not taking the opportunity that could have made you happy.

This goes both ways - personal and professional.

Some may find these comments a bit generic and unoriginal, but they are the truth.  Do not fear the thought of not succeeding, for if you do not try, then you will never know if you really could have made a difference.

I have passed on opportunities in both my personal and professional life.  It's time to change that.  So I can tell you this much, when an opportunity comes about next time, I'm going to take it.  Hands down.  No fear of success.

And that's why I moved to Los Angeles.  No more hearing other peoples success stories.  It's time to write my own.

DM