Thoughts from darkened rooms
Some minor housekeeping before today’s effort. Things may be a bit wonky about. Still getting used to WordPress.
And taking up a challenge, I shall be sharing a new post every weekday this month. And maybe, if you’re good little readers, a few classic reblogs on the weekends. So without further delays, on to Monday’s post!
Been to the movies lately?
In my own defense, no where near as often as I used to. If I am very lucky, maybe once every couple of months or so. And I cannot offer any defense as to why not. Just other things going on like work and life that seem to get in the way.
Still, I have managed to see a few lately that offer hope for the future of film as we know it. Specifically, “The Artist” and “Hugo”. But also “John Carter”.
The first two are wonderful celebrations of cinema past. If nothing else, they show audiences something of what makes movies special. With “The Artist”, it was the chance to observe and see all of the elements come to play on the screen. No lens flare, no shaky cameras, no CGI monsters or explosions. Certainly an homage to the style of the period in which it was set. Refreshing in all of the glorious black and white. (Don’t mind me. I have been a fan of black and white photography for a long time. The play between light and dark just fascinates.)
“Hugo” was fun because it reminded us of a time when movies and audiences who watched them still were innocent. They were not jaded by just another evening of flying debris and watching who can put more money on screen than anyone else. Melies and others of those days took their viewers to places they had never dreamed of or seen before. The illusion of the projected image being magical captured imaginations and placed moments in the hearts of all who saw them. If only more of today’s films could make such claims.
“John Carter” has been largely written off as a failure by critics. And as the result, audiences have stayed away from it. The tale is one which so many story tellers have drawn upon for inspiration, so to finally see it on screen may be anti-climatic. But it still rings true as it has with the many readers of the books. Personally, I enjoyed it. Unlike those following the fashion, I found it not to be a bad film. Just a story that has been used too often before. “Star Wars” for one. Much of the fantasy of those films owes moments with audiences to the tales spun by Burroughs.
That may be why the folks at Disney did not promote the film well enough with audiences. After all, if they have already seen the story, why should they invest in it again? This fan created trailer shows the kind of thinking that the promotional folks should have used to gain audience interest.
Looking ahead, I always get a laugh checking out Apple’s theatrical movie trailers. So many films that I’ll never watch in theaters. So many films that duplicate each other. And in way too many trailers, we’re shown the best bits of the movie in the hope that we will plunk down our cash to see the rest of it.
At least the Paramount is showing more films this spring. If only it was more than once a month. April brings “Tootsie” to the big screen.
What am I looking forward to this year? Well, at least the first part of “The Hobbit”. Peter Jackson and company did a good job with the Lord of the Rings trio. And I hope that they do well by this, too.
Guilty pleasures? “Dark Shadows” with Johnny Depp will likely fall into that category. I don’t mind the concept of humor that some fans have expressed doubts of. A film that played the Gothic for all that the daytime drama had just would never fly with audiences today. And yes, I am glad to see that Barnabas does not sparkle.
Overall, if the summer crop of films brings folks out to theaters and gets them to plunk down their cash, that is a good thing. That keeps the suits happy. It also keeps future film projects coming. Even with all of the turkeys and flops along the way, sometimes we get a good one. And we all know, we want more good movies.
Thank You, Mister Edison
After my midnight excursion, I stopped to take in the view on my walk back to Disneyland’s Main Gate. (Silly isn’t it? Main Gate? It is Disneyland’s only public access point in or out. The Monorail doesn’t count that way.)
A late night cruise aboard is another thing missed from those long ago summers before Fantasmic. Right up to park closing, trips were made down the river. The sounds of live jazz coming from the French Market. Bear Country without screams. Fort Wilderness more than just a shell.
Some pilots aboard the Mark Twain would take matters into their own hands on those last trips. On a good moonlit night, you would not need the flood light shining from above the wheelhouse to see things along the way. It gave the journey just that bit of a time travel aspect as one might have been gliding along any of the major rivers in America aboard a sternwheel steamer with the sounds of the exhaust from the steam engines mixing with the paddle wheel hitting the water.
Even with all those individual light bulbs there was plenty of illumination to see from the deck to the shore. Like the candles on a very big cake, it was a party to remember for the ages every late night aboard.
And remember fondly, we do…
Round Midnight
Every now and then, there are rare moments at Disneyland when everything seems to fall into place. Perhaps by design or by fate.
Such was the case on a recent Saturday night. With a bit of occasional mist still falling and temperatures in the upper 40’s, the stage was set. Being on my own in Anaheim, spending a few hours at Disneyland with my camera would make for a nice way to end a very long day. The Park would be open until midnight. After some torrential rains earlier in the day, most of the locals were long gone and the tourists retreated to those hopefully warm and dry hotel rooms.
As the hour grew close to midnight and the Park’s closing, I walked along the Rivers of America. At the Frontier Landing, the Mark Twain and her reflection glittered as the proverbial wedding cake. A few guests lingered for a last voyage on Pirates. The shops and restaurants of New Orleans Square were shuttered for the night. No screams were heard from Splash Mountain.
The view of the Mansion through the trees drew me on. As I came closer, I noted a solitary figure standing on the steps in front of the portico. A glance at my watch showed it to be a few minutes before midnight. Approaching the entry, that figure became clearer. Wearing the full dark green costume for the attraction, it was a single gentleman. On a night like this, his cape provided a proper touch of decorum as well as warmth and comfort.
After an exchange of pleasantries, I entered the foyer of the Mansion. After all these years, that wallpaper still looks wonderful. (Bradbury and Bradbury – perfect for one’s own home or other space.) The chandelier, with candle lights flickering as always. Yet, tonight there was a difference from any previous visit.
Other than the cast members finishing their evenings, I was alone. There were no other guests.
No one repeating the words spoken by our ghost host. No screams from guests, just the spirits. No flash from cameras.
And does it seem colder all of a sudden?
From the foyer to Little Leota, it was just me. And 999 happy haunts…
Priceless.
The Wonder(con) of it all
If you ever wanted to know what it would be like if Comicon left San Diego and came to Anaheim, last weekend pretty well answered the question.
Wondercon, after having been in San Francisco for 24 years, came south to the Anaheim Convention Center. And while it did not fill all of the function space available (it shared space with some other some teenage girls sports events), there were enough folks just trying to get to the place to make it interesting, to say the least. It also was not helped by Mother Nature providing torrential downpours on Saturday as people tried to find parking anywhere close.
This was the last gasp of winter and it wasn’t a holiday weekend. Numbers of guests in Disneyland and California Adventure were not their summer peaks either. Imagine, if you will, what this would have been like if it had been July with the local hotel rooms full of summer tourists and parking lots already straining their capacities for a busy day at the Resort. Add to that mix all of the folks coming to Comicon from all over the world. Can you say “gridlock”? You’ll be lucky to find a room in Irwindale (35 miles away from Anaheim) at a reasonable price.
My last visit to the Anaheim Convention Center for an event may have been in the Stone Age when dinosaurs walked the halls and event spaces. It was so long ago, that the current four levels were not even dreamed of, let alone finished. Okay, so it was in July of 1978 (for Spacecon 7). A few things have changed since then.
Other than the different locations (from San Francisco last year to Anaheim this year), Wondercon was about the same. The big ballroom saw good crowds watching previews of coming films and television shows including Prometheus, Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Slayer, Fringe, Alcatraz and Once Upon A Time. Smaller rooms had panel discussions on all kinds of media and entertainment subjects from Building Your Own R2 to Voices in Animation to Marvel Television’s Animation. Dealers took up one of the lower halls along with artists and publishers of all sizes sharing their wares. Business was good, too. Lots of folks taking home that newly treasured item.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Wondercon with out lots and lots of cosplay. Some really good and some scary. (It goes as usual. Spandex is a privilege, not a right. For both men and women!) Most amusing was watching some fathers of the local girls sports teams taking plenty of photos of the anime girls wandering about. Getting inspiration for costumes for the teams, no doubt.
If there is one thing that San Francisco has above Anaheim it has to be public transit. Travel to Moscone Center in San Francisco can be achieved using convenient multiple modes of transit including bus, light rail and heavy rail. In Anaheim buses are out there, but it seemed that most people drove their cars with the resulting nightmare of parking.
Food? Oh my… What there was inside, had very long lines of folks waiting. Again, San Francisco wins as a quick walk around Moscone and you have all kinds of options at hand. Where in Anaheim, choices are fewer outside close at hand.
I know more than a few folks in the Bay Area who did not make the trip to Anaheim. Did that hurt attendance? Not really. All the folks from the LA basin made up for it in droves. What it may portend is that there exists an opportunity for a Wondercon LA as well as a Wondercon SF. Enough folks in both places can and would support these events – spaced well enough apart from Comicon, no matter where it lands. The interests attracted to both events is certainly not shrinking.
So from this little corner of the blogosphere, Wondercon Anaheim gets an A for effort as it tests the waters. A bit of better scheduling with the entire convention center at hand to meet the needs of everyone involved and I’m sure things will be just for another go.
Comicon? I dunno. Lots of potential issues, but there may be bonus points ready and waiting. Not to be overlooked, there are plenty of good hotel convention venues close at hand that could enhance the Comicon venues. Disney has two – at the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian – that it could use for it’s own events. The Hilton and Marriot also have space that can handle good numbers of folks. but mix all that with a full on summer of Disneyland tourists?
Oh, the pain…
In which we boil water
It’s been a week that was.
A new blog and plenty of great intentions, right?
Until 0700 last Monday, the hot water heater failed here.
And while, we’re at it, rain finally decided to arrive here in Northern California. A lot of rain, actually. Makes for fun for everyone, especially out there on the roads.
Long story short, we have hot water again. Life goes on…
And a story coming tomorrow, worth the wait!