Comments on: Open Forum Friday: Are Fan Conventions a Waste of Time?

By: Shut-Up Ed

Shut-Up Ed — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:44:06 +0000

eeeeeeeeesh.

By: Kristin Kalin

Kristin Kalin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:22:32 +0000

Facebook: Kristin Kalin

By: Kristin Kalin

Kristin Kalin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:21:40 +0000

I know that cute couple, it’s me and my boyfriend Thor lol! Feel free to add me anyone on Facebook. Looking forward to next year’s Comic-Con.
Love
Kristin

By: Duke Togo

Duke Togo — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:22:42 +0000

I’ve been going to Otakon since 96′. I kinda view it as a film festival, the live action room was decent for a couple of years. Anyway, at Otakon you’re bound to see some film or anime that you’ve never seen before and sometimes they bring in guests like Simon Yam and Tony Ching. Imagine seeing Fudoh, Audition, Ebola Syndrome, Ichi, Ong Bak and Battle Royal for the first time with huge audiences and that’s what you sometimes get at Otakon.

By: Cody

Cody — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:06:29 +0000

Just got back from Comic Con San Diego actually and I had a blast. It’s really exhausting though because this was my first year going for three straight days. There’s tons of cool events and exhibits to check out. Love the tv/movie discussion panels, endless booths with cool rare things to buy (found a booth with super rare movie soundtracks that had stuff I didn’t even think existed. But yeah, of course there is a lot of walking, standing, waiting and temptation to spends tons of cash but I think it’s worth it because I love movies, tv shows, comics and video games and it’s pretty much all of that. Only thing is though you really have to plan a head of time. With such huge crowds you have to make sure you know stuff about transportation, scheduling, and other stuff you might check out.

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:14:23 +0000

I do think Falsk has a point about “movie conventions.” Film Festivals don’t have panels in which upcoming movies, that are not finished, are promoted. There are industry cons where filmmakers get to sell their movies to international distributors. I think there is a market for “movie conventions” for fans. Imagine being able to pay and line up for guaranteed autographs from your favorite movie stars. As exists currently, niche movies are probably best promoted at cons that are geared to specific genres.

doug, I’d love to see you dropping f-bombs at a family filled Trek convention and then being escorted out by Klingon security guards.

By: doug nagy

doug nagy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:20:08 +0000

I was at San Diego last year, it was too packed to enjoy. The event is crowded with studios now. They use the opportunity to saturate the geek market, and with good reason. This is a demographic that spends on hobbies more than most.

Toronto is getting pretty packed too, but I like to go every year. I scored a Barbarian Queen poster a few years back thanks to the scouting skills of Wintle. I go for the celebration of like minded nerds, but I do find some pretty sweet gems now and again as well.

I still need to go to a Trek convention before I die.

By: Falsk

Falsk — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:49:51 +0000

Hahaha, yes, film festivals, duh. I was out of it when I wrote that. You can’t really compare a film fest to a con, though. They’re just two different animals.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:22:15 +0000

Well there are certainly genre movie conventions, but I think when you’re talking about a film “convention” you’re basically talking about a film festival. Film fests are a little more interesting to me than Comic Con just because you get to see full movies. Comic Con did have a few screenings but mostly it was just panels showing off clips and trailers.

By: Falsk

Falsk — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:02:18 +0000

I don’t know about Comic Con, but I’ve been to Otakon (an anime convention) a few times. While I’m not a die-hard, go-all-three-days person, I LOVE cosplay (both making costumes and seeing others’) as well as some of the panels. I like seeing fan music videos.

It’s just fun to go somewhere and see people who are as into something as you are (if not waaay more) and interact with them. And take pictures of awesome costumes. But maybe that’s just me.

Similarly, I was talking to my boyfriend who said he’d probably never accompany me to an anime convention, but Comicon is more up his alley mainly because of the unveilings of movies that happen there… which makes me wonder… are there movie conventions and if not, why aren’t there? Or would that be just as much a waste of time?

By: zubzwank

zubzwank — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:59:30 +0000

Conventions are fun for seeing like-minded people and attending interesting panels.

It’s also a place to meet the creators of your hobby in a way that movies and sports can’t provide.

I agree that the internet has taken away a lot of the thrill of finding that rarity.

Also, I went to San Diego in ‘93. It was still about
comic books then, not movies. I think SDCC has, for better or worse, lost something of its original intent.

By: jaime

jaime — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:07:49 +0000

Dude come on! without them who would we make fun of?