Alright, folks, sorry you had to wait so long for this but here, finally, is my report on Comic-Con. So the Thursday morning of our panel, I woke up early and went to join the rest of the Platinum crew to offer my help and was quickly drafted into service that I thought would only be hauling a few boxes but turned into a full day’s worth of work. (Sometimes it stinks to be a nerd who is in shape. People will take advantage of you.) So after hauling several hundred pounds of posters from our hotel to the convention center I was already drenched in sweat and it was only 9am.
At this point, I got re-introduced to all the great journalists that I had met down in New Orleans. You see, we were kind of piggy-backing on someone else’s panel, although there was a very strong and logical connection there. The panel was actually called “Masters of the Web” and it featured some of the best web journalists around. Guys like Robert Sanchez (www.iesb.net), Ryan Rotten (www.shocktilyoudrop.com), Jeremy Smith (www.aintitcoolnews.com) and many others (sorry, guys, can’t name you all). Most of the panel had been invited down to be zombies on the set of Dead of Night a few months before. So, in a way, the entire panel featured our “cast”.
Anyway, after a great discussion by the guys about web journalism that occurred as I handed out posters to people walking in (Yeah, not sure how that became my job, either. Just the guy who can’t say no.) which Kevin moderated, they finally introduced the rest of the cast of Dead of Night, including Brandon, Sam, and Anita and producers Gil Adler and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Lot’s of flash bulbs went off for a few minutes and then they settled in for a few questions. The first one was a bit of a shocker where someone from the audience asked about Anita’s rumored relationship with Megan Fox. Strangely, it wasn’t a rumor I had ever heard before, and I’ve got about 7 zillion Google Alerts, autosearches, and about everything else under the sun for everyone included on this film and I’ve never heard anything about that. Don’t know how I missed that one. The following questions ranged from people wondering why we had made certain changes to a really nice one about Brandon’s and Sam’s friendship.
Then we showed a bit of footage which left the standing-room-only panel room exploding with applause. I actually was amazed at how well the footage got a reaction from people. I mean, I was pretty sure it was good, but I’m a little too close to know whether or not others are going to think so. I think from that reaction that people are going to be happy with it. (And I’m working every day to get the Powers That Be to release the footage for me to post it here.)
Then we made our way into a separate press room where 7 or 8 journalists were invited in for a more private Q&A. Included were folks from some great Italian publications, so the questions were pretty hard hitting and direct, but I’m pretty sure even the Italian journalists left that room with a picture of people who care about and understand the property and really want nothing more than to make a movie people will enjoy. I won’t scoop the reporters by posting any questions they might have asked, but I’ll sure as heck post their articles the moment they are available.
Finally, our day ended with an autograph signing by Brandon, Kevin, Sam, Anita, Gil and Scott in the main autograph hall. There was a line a mile long the waiting for us when we got there. As you may remember, they were only signing Dead of Night posters, which, unfortunately, left some fans a little disappointed but it was a decision that was beyond our control. Still, a lot of fun was had by all, I think. It was really nice to see the whole gang interact with the fans, posing for pictures, joking around, asking questions. It was hands down the friendliest, most relaxed signing I had ever witnessed. It felt more like people who had know each other for years getting together than a bunch of strangers looking for autographed. I think we have just THAT cool and down-to-earth a cast, but, like I said earlier, I’m pretty close to all this.
Overall, it was a fun, fun day. Was really nice to see everybody again. I think my favorite moment had to have been when I was getting Brandon, Sam, and Anita out from amongst the chaos after the panel and they, all three almost simultaneously, realized that this security guy who was shuffling them along was me. As if almost rehearsed, I got a “Dan, what are you doing here?” from each one of them.
Now I want to hear from who else was there. Any good stories from those of you that made it to the Con?
-Dan Forcey
Development Exec/Former Stunt Guy/PTS (Part Time Security)
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