Yes…I don’t have the strength to go tomorrow, so I’m officially done with the Con weekend. I am in the process of putting up pictures now, and will have full con reports in the next few days. I will say these things very briefly: 1) The tribute for Don S. Davis was lovely. Being the first SGOWF panel I’ve gone to, I was amazed at the love and devotion the fans have to the series, and also the very loving, respectful and poignant remembrances by his former co-stars. There was not a moment that I sat in that panel and did not cry. Amazing send off for an amazing man.
Well, I didn’t spend as much time in the WOF (Walk of Fame) as I had in the past, but after finding out months ago that Michael Dorn, Cirroc Loft0n, and Avery Brooks would all be there, I knew that I had to go get their autographs and spend a moment with those guys. I have other pictures and video from past years, but I’ll just put what I took this year. Also, my African-American Sci-Fi autograph collection is filling out; I am still kicking myself for not getting LeVar Burton’s autograph from 3 years ago and Nichele Nichols from last year, but maybe they’ll come back. Enjoy. I’ll leave these two photosets up for the week.
The Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention in Atlanta known as Dragon*Con starts today. This is our fifth year in attendance. We will post some pictures of some of the costumes and some of the stars we run into. We will also give you some of the news and rumors that will be floating around on the convention floor, and any discussions that may arise. Not as big as Comic Con, but its big enough to be a lot of fun.
It took a while to get around to seeing this movie. Too bad I could have just avoided it all together. I can’t possible spoil anything for you about this movie since we know how the clone wars end, and since it takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, we know that none of the battles will have dire consequences. That being said, I was disappointed in all aspects of production of this m0vie. Let me start by saying that I was trying to be optimistic about the animation but in the end it was exactly as I expected. It looked like a Playstation 1 game extended cut scene. Its funny how the stuff that Pixar has done has spoiled us all as to what 3D animation should look like. In a word, it was terrible. The characters were stiff and unrealistic. The fight action scenes (clone/droid battles, and light saber duels) were like watching old video game sequences. There seemed to be no care taken in trying to make the mouths match the voice actors. The voice acting is a different issue unto itself. The voice actors seemed to be sleeping through their roles. The story line was predictable and formulatic. (isn’t that repetitive?) I am going to cut this short because I could go on and on. George Lucas should have just used this as a pilot for the TV show., instead of trying to make one last money grab from rabid loyal Star Wars fans. Save your money and don’t waste your time.
Fanboys are everywhere even in the NBA. The article covers Kobe Bryants visit to a local LCS before heading to China for the Olympics. What did he buy “Preacher”, “100 Bullets”, “The Dark Knight Strikes Again,” “Across the Universe: DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore,” “Batman vs. Two-Face” and “Batman: The Joker’s Last Laugh.” Click the image for the full article.
The Oni Press graphic novel “Julius” was picked up by Mandalay Pictures for the big screen treatment. F. Gary Gray (Be Cool, A Man Apart, The Italian Job) has been attached as director. I think this is a great choice if this gets done. “Julius” is a urban retelling of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” Obviously there will be comparisons to 2001’s “O”, which I thought was an excellent adaptation. I will say that I am excited about a black man being the director.
MGM Domestic Television Distribution has optioned U.K.-based online graphic novel “The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore” for development as a series. MGM execs say the move is part of a burgeoning effort to put the Lion back into the TV production biz in a significant way.
Studio aims to develop “Jonas” into an action-drama, with a U.S.-U.K. co-production deal a possibility, according to Chris Ottinger, exec VP of worldwide TV for MGM. Film Collective’s Ruth Vitale is attached to the project as an exec producer. “Jonas” revolves around a fugitive vidgame player in a futuristic world where the British empire still reigns supreme and America is just one of thousands of virtual worlds in a global game network.
Howard Webster created and produced the graphic novel for his London-based Factory Publishing imprint and Triumph Motorcycles.
As for distribution of TV skein, “It’s more likely to be a cable series here in the U.S.,” Ottinger said. “But it has a real shot to be on terrestrial TV in the U.K.”
MGM is shopping for a writer to adapt the novel for TV. Ottinger hopes to have a script commissioned in the fall so the series is ready to go next year.
“We’re really trying to restart our television business, and we’re looking for hot properties that we can turn into hourlong dramas,” he said.
The “Jonas” novel is available for download on iPod or PC as a combination of traditional comicbook animation and 3-D animation. Brit thesp Colin Salmon provides the voice of the lead character. The graphic novel incorporates 3-D animation, live-action photography and newsreel footage.
Okay. I was down on this series when it first started, but after 5 issues and several tie-ins, I am sold. If you haven’t been following the series before this issue, its time you too jumped on the band wagon as I did. None of that messiness you’ll find in another series that won’t be mentioned here (Final Crisis) exist here. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I think this is the issue that the tide is turned due to the return of the smartest brain in the Marvel Universe.
The Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention in Atlanta known as 
