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CONVERGENCE converges with the GATHERING
I just got the following e-mail from a buddy on the staff of CONvergence (http://www.convergence-con.org/), which is taking place NOW:
Hi Greg!
I'm at CONvergence, and I am seeing flyers all over the hotel
advertising for the Gathering. They are having over 40 guests? Wow!
So thanks to those posting our flyers at ConVergence (my second all-time favorite convention). Have a great con!
But don't miss the Gathering, which as of yesterday actually has OVER FIFTY GUESTS attending! Fifty and counting. Soon the guests will outnumber the fans. ( And, dude, I wish I was kidding.) You will NEVER find a better fan to pro ratio at any convention ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!!!! Sign up now at http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/g2009/ !!!!!
Vaevictis Asmadi writes...
Oh I forgot to say, thank you for coming to CONvergence again. I went to the signing but was kind of too shy to have a chat.
Greg responds...
I'm sorry about that. I'm always happy to chat -- especially about Gargoyles.
Landon Thomas writes...
I notice that you like people to do Gathering journals so I thought I'd write some Greg-related highlights from CONvergence.
Thursday, July 3, 2008:
'Spectacular Spider-Man'
The SS-M panel's audience was a little sparse to start out with (it being 5pm on Thursday), but thankfully the room soon filled out nicely. The audience had good questions, so they were definitely fans. I learned that Greg wants to do a straight-to-DVD movie with a spring break story idea by Vic Cook, but it probably won't be approved by Sony until the sales for the first DVD come back. I also learned that Greg is interested in doing a feature at some point in the future. Greg said that in three weeks he'll have to fire his crew if season 3 isn't picked up. Only four people would stay on: himself, Cook, another producer and a production assistant. At an unspecified time after that he'll have no choice but to look for more work. I would learn why Sony is so timid in approving these sure-fire hits in the animation panel tomorrow.
I introduced myself to Greg after the panel with the usual 'I'm a huge fan' spiel. I decided to keep my real gushing to a minimum until the signing on Sunday. I asked about Ben 10. Ben 10 was one the great, recent animated series, in my opinion. Greg's season 3 opener 'Ben 10,000' really brought the series to a whole new level. The same with 'Ken 10'. Both episodes were the best of the entire run. I loved seeing the shades of Gargoyles in there with Greg's fearlessness in shaking things up, adding drama, introducing new characters, and playing with the time line. This is part of the plethora of evidence that Greg is the Pixar of televised animation. Most people think Pixar is all about technology, but what makes them really special is their placement of story-telling above all other considerations. That's why I think Greg is Pixar's analogue for the small screen. And it's not the 'writing on multiple levels' thing that makes Greg special in my mind. That's very important but what makes him one-of-a-kind is the complexity, plotting, and risk-taking he puts into all his work. Animation is my favorite method of story-telling and I always love when the Americans get it right, because it's my culture. But regardless of the intended audience, most TV animation stories are just too simple. Even more so than Gargoyles, Spectacular Spider-Man showcases Greg's persistent will to fully exploit every minute of airtime and make every character, plot, and setting blossom to its full potential. The complexity of every episode is amazing to behold. Only the Dini/Timm DCAU teams have come anywhere close. With Greg's help, I think it's inevitable that TV animation will someday graduate from "kid's stuff" to "everyone's stuff" in the same way Pixar has revolutionized animated films.
Anyway, this was all stuff I wanted to articulate to Greg after the panel since it sort of related to TSS-M, but I knew I'd forget most of it, so I've put it here. I asked Greg if the 'Ben 10,000' and 'Ken 10' stories were his idea or if he wrote off an outline. He said he did create the stories and that 'Ken 10' was Man of Action's entry for Emmy consideration. Greg wouldn't have received credit if they'd won, but hopefully this will reflect back positively anyway. In fact, I'm glad someone has finally noticed his talent and given him a high-profile project again. I hope Spectacular Spider-Man's run will be long and fruitful so that Greg will have some weight to throw around and get us an original series again. Even if it's not Gargoyles, I can't wait to see some of Greg's original characters onscreen again.
Opening Ceremonies had a nice little bit on Greg when showcasing the guests of honor and there were obviously some fans in the audience when his name came up.
Friday:
'Animation All-Stars'
I attended the Animation All-Stars panel, which had Greg, Mark Evanier, Wally Wingert, and Matt Waterhouse. I was wearing my Hot Topic shirt today, which Greg noticed. w00t!
The animation panel was more gloomy and revealed why TSS-M was being treated so poorly despite Spider-Man's massive success and name recognition: the industry is full of yes-men committees. This is Sony's only animation project when they used to run 7-8 at a time. That's the reason it took all of 2006 to hire Greg. It's not because they weren't sure he was the guy; it was because it took that long to approve the show through the ranks of timid bureaucracy. They're all terrified of being the guy that promoted a losing product, even though Spider-Man is the most sure-fire brand in fiction right now. It's the same reason season 3 and the made-for-DVD movie weren't approved months ago.
'Gargoyles: The Continuing Saga':
I was thrilled to see the room packed and two other folks in Hot Topic shirts. Many ancient, late-90s-style Ask Greg questions were asked like "What's up with the gargoyle dogs?" and "What happened to the third season?" It made me realize that as a professional that regularly attends fan conventions, Greg must have to answer the exact same questions over and over again. It made me wonder if Greg ever starts to say "CHECK THE ARCHIVES!" before catching himself. ;)
I did learn a couple things, though. A lot of the fans weren't aware of the comics or just the Bad Guys spin-off, which was promising (new sales, right?) Greg also mentioned Blue Mug Productions, which I heard whispers about in the comment room but didn't understand. Greg spelled it out nice and clearly: "If you like Gargoyles and you like porn..."
Unfortunately, food poisoning from who-knows-where was catching up to me so I had to enjoy most of the panel writhing on the floor in the back. But I did get to hear the ENTIRE "Better than Barney" story, which made it all worth it. I really wanted to meet other Minnesota Gargoyles fans after the panel, but I was too ill and had to leave for the day, which was a bummer.
Saturday:
'Legion of the All-Stars'
This was the headlining comics panel and truly had an all-star panel of Terry Beatty, Chris Jones, Mark Evanier, Marv Wolfman, Len Wein and Greg smack in the middle. During the intros, people were enamored with Greg's mention of his upcoming Red Tornado mini-series. This reminded me of how little press there has been for it. I don't know why DC hasn't put out a press release or why DiDio hasn't mentioned it at any conventions or even the DCU panels going on at Comic-Con right now (at least from the articles I've read). RT has pretty much been the star through most of JLA's current run, which is kinda-sorta the flagship title.
Anyway, lots of good stories. Chris Jones brought up his "The Flashback of Notre Dame" work, and obviously had warm memories of that. A woman asked a really specific question about Bionicle on behalf of her son and Greg of course had to say that he hadn't worked on that show for very long. They had prominent English accents and soon left. I hope they didn't come all the way to Minnesota just because of the brief 'Bionicle: Mask of Light' blurb in Greg's guest-of-honor bio. After the panel, it was the perfect opportunity to get Greg and Chris to sign my Bad Guys #3. Chris was excited since he hadn't seen a final copy yet which means my copy was probably the first one he signed, which is pretty cool.
After the panel, I tried to rattle all the RT questions I could remember. I really wanted to know how Greg got the job, since the comics world seems so insular. Apparently DiDio did remember Greg from the Captain Atom days. I hope that question wasn't offensive. I also asked if Greg was writing from a DC outline (another foot-in-mouth question), since the character has been changing so much in the recent JLA run. Greg said it would be his own story.
Sunday:
'Material Adaptation'
This was a panel on adopting material from one format to another, like comic to film. It had Vincent Truitner, Marv Wolfman, and Greg. Vincent used his recent Golden Compass experience to provide the most concise explanation on how to adapt by studying the core of the characters and the themes of the story. Once you do that, you can take some liberties with the production without insulting the original work. Greg and Marv provided a spin on the old piracy debate. As content creators, they have to protect their work since it's their livelihood. But they also understand the concerns when rigid corporations don't adapt to new technologies or fan expectations. So they didn't have any easy answers or a decisive side of the debate.
Marv had some interesting thoughts on writer originality. He mused that writers can't expect their work to be 100% original. Every writer gets their ideas from the great ether that is the common experience. Two completely different writers could come up with similar ideas at the same time. Their thoughts could have been triggered by reading the same newspaper article or have been completely random. Marv's point was that there are a fixed number of story possibilities and you need to protect your copyrights. Greg agreed with an anecdote about someone who sued Disney in the mid-nineties for copying his Gargoyles idea. It was later proven that this was impossible given the writer's material was unavailable and developed after Gargoyles started production. But Greg learned that all professional content creators don't accept unsolicited writing for this reason.
I think the best story I heard at Con was Greg's Tarzan anecdote during this panel. When he was still at Disney, the features department was negotiating to secure rights for the Tarzan movie. There was big meeting with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate coming up and it was discovered that Greg was the only exec around that had bothered read the original Tarzan books and comics. So Greg tagged along to the meeting even though he was a TV exec at the time and completely outside his purview. I won't get into details because Greg tells it so much better, but basically he was the only guy that the heir connected with since he actually knew the material. He single-handedly obtained the estate's blessing, yet never got a credit on the movie since he wasn't supposed to be there.
'Signing w/ Greg Weisman'
I had Greg sign all my firsts: the first DVD, Garg #1, the TPB, and BG #1. I had some notion that having Greg only sign my firsts would be more sentimental or something. I've since realized that's ridiculous and I'll be carting my entire collection to my first Gathering in 2009, which I signed up for as soon as I got home. I also had Greg sign my new cel right smack on the top in gaudy gold ink. It probably destroyed the resale value, but I don't care: it's never leaving my wall. That is, assuming I can find someone who has a clue on how to mat it...
I also waited until the signing to do most of my fan fawning since that was the prescribed one-on-one time. I thought beforehand about what I was going to say but all that came out was 'Gargoyles changed my life mumble mumble mumble' which probably made Greg reach for his mace. Anyway, I'll assume he enjoys wading through distended fan stories about his work's positive effects, so I'm going to spill it here.
I stopped watching cartoons around 1993 and my last memories were of Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin. I just missed out on Gargoyles even though I was a Disney afternoon fan. I was about 11 at the time: the age (for me) when cartoons became uncool. I only saw a few features after that. Fast forward to April 2002: I'm a freshman in college and lazily browsing the IMDb cast pages for Star Trek: TNG. I start to notice an inexplicable commonality among many of the actors listed...
I had a vague recollection of Gargoyles already: a brief image from a long-forgotten single viewing. I think it was of Taurus on the beach. But I somehow sensed there was something special about the show. I never figured out where that feeling came from. On a whim I decided to set a summer project for myself of recording every single episode to tape and importing it into my computer under the guise of learning how to use video capture/editing software. And I'm someone who never plans summer projects. I guess it was fate.
This was back when Toon Disney played it twice a day at 10 and 10:30pm. The very first episode I watched was 'The Edge'. Within the first minute, I was stupefied. This was like NOTHING else on TV, animated or otherwise. I kept recording and capturing studiously but resolved to not watch any more episodes until I started the series from the beginning.
That October I switched my major from computer engineering to theatre. I had spent the entire summer (besides capturing and editing video) studying Gargoyles and how I could get involved in creating such a piece of art. I settled on voice acting, not for any reason more practical than that job seemed like the most fun. My parents, to say the least, were surprised that I switched from computer engineering to acting even though I'd never been on stage.
Back to today, I've received my BA and tomorrow I'm beginning step 3 out of 8 or so to get my Pro Tools operator certification. I've since settled on audio post-production (with a focus on animation) as my career choice. It's a better fit for me based on my existing skill set.
Anyway, Gargoyles truly did change my life and certainly for the better. It rekindled my love of animation and catalyzed my latent desire to make it in entertainment. I now feel like I'm finally on a path to a career that I can truly love, which is a rare gift indeed. So, if you're reading this Mr. Weisman, thank you.
Greg responds...
Wow, you really followed me about. Thanks!! And thanks for the kind words!
Just to correct a few inaccuracies...
The Spring Break idea was mine, which is not to say Vic won't contribute a ton if we get the go-ahead to make it.
As of today, 9/23, the Spidey staff consists of 13 individuals, four of whom -- our production manager, color supervisor and two color stylists -- will be laid off (not fired - no one has been fired) at the end of this week.
That will leave us with a staff of nine: myself, Vic Cook, our Associate Producer, our Post-Production Coordinator, two editors, two assistant editors and our effects editor. We will all be aboard until January 23rd, when we will all be laid off - unless a pick-up of some kind comes in by that time.
I am constantly at a loss as to why Alan Burnett is left out when talking about the DCAU. This is not a knock on the amazingly talented Paul Dini, but Paul and many other writers worked FOR Alan, who was the driving creative force behind most all of the DCAU on the writing side, just as Bruce was on the art and production side.
"Ken 10" was the series' entry for an Emmy - not Man of Action's. I'm sure no one was trying to take away my credit for the episode; the point I was making was that I wouldn't have won an actual Emmy statue, even if my episode helped the series win the Emmy.
I never really expected a credit on the Tarzan movie - and not because I wasn't supposed to be at the meeting. I didn't work on the movie - at all. So what would the credit read: Rights Facilitator? Good Schmoozer? Read the Book?
Britt Aamodt writes...
This is just a quick note to thank Greg for coming to Minneapolis and CONvergence this past July 4 weekend. The Twin Cities is not a hotbed of animation production, so it was fabulous to have Greg travel here to talk about one of the best animated series I've ever seen, Gargoyles.
And thanks to all the Gargoyles fans who've kept the series alive. Now if Disney would only release the second disc of season 2. Hmmm...
Greg responds...
Thanks, Britt. I had a great time at ConVergence. Really, next to the Gathering, it's my favorite convention.
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Monday, July 7, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Monday, July 7, 2009
12am - The Memorial Panel for those who have passed officially made the con a 5-day event. Chocolate Fish.
1am - A bunch of us hung out for hours. Chris, Ken, Lex, Tim, Windy and others.
5am - Back to the room.
5:30am - Sleep.
10:30am - Wake-up. Five hours. Not too bad for me.
11:30am - Packed up with some difficulty. All those extra t-shirts and the crochet'd Goliath made it tough to fit everything in. Lex and I headed to Axel and I had gumbo, an Onion Ring and an Axel burger.
4:20pm - My delayed flight finally took off.
6:20pm - Just barely made my connection to my L.A. flight.
9:30pm - Arrived at LAX.
10:00pm - Home.
And that's that. Finished just in time, because tomorrow I leave for Con-Odyssey II: San Diego ComicCon!! More when I return.
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, July 6, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, July 6, 2009
12am - Returned to my room.
3am - Went to sleep.
8:30am - Wake-up.
10:30am - Brunch w/Uncle Joe and Aunt Nancy: V8, French Toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns. Then we headed over to Joe & Nancy's house for a bit.
12:30pm - Adaptation panel w/Marv & Vince.
2pm - Another signing with nothing to sign.
3pm - Went to Dairy Queen with Lex and had a dipped cone. Then we wandered about the con for a bit.
5pm - Closing Ceremony. I'm embarrassed to say, I found myself tearing up at Jeremy and Tim's farewell. (They've been part of the Triumvirate of Seven running the con for ten years now -- but have resigned after a noble and long run.)
7pm - Macaroni Grill with Lex, Megan, Mark, Eryn, Amanda and Len. Meatball Soup, Bread, Lobster Ravioli, Cheesecake with strawberries and chocolate.
10pm - Listened to the reading of the surveys. This may be my favorite part of the convention.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Saturday, July 5, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Saturday, July 5, 2009
12am - Lex and I met up at COF2E2 and hung out chatting for hours, joined by James toward the end.
5am - I returned to my room and pretty much went right to sleep.
9:30am - Wake-up.
11am - I had a Buffy & Angel panel. Yeah, yeah, what am I doing on that panel? Just being a geeky fan.
2pm - Comic book panle w/Terry Beatty, Chris Jones, Mark Evanier, Marv Wolfman and Len Wein.
3:30pm - A panel on Continuity with Chris Jones and others.
4:30pm - Took a nap.
7:30pm - Dinner at Vantage with Lex. Coke, Bread, water, Tomato Soup, Edimame, Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans. Good food.
9:30pm - Comics as Movies Panel w/Terry.
11pm - Mature Comics Panel w/Hank, Damien and Eve. This was probably the one dud panel of the entire Con-odyssey. It should have been fun and raucous and raunchy like a blue mug. But we got off to a serious start and never quite found a rhythm, though Eve tried when she arrived. Felt strangely on the defensive -- for no particular reason. But I did pimp BlueMugProductions.com.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, July 4, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, July 4, 2009
5am - Finally went to sleep.
9:30am - Wake up.
11am - An animation panel with Mark Evanier, Wally Wingert and Matt Waterhouse. We covered a lot of ground about the business. (Some of it pretty disheartening, I'd think.)
12pm - I toured the art show.
12:30pm - Dr. Jim Kakalios, author of The Physics of Superheroes, gave a talk on the costumes and accessories of superheroes, including unstable molecules (although as I pointed out to him later, he really only dealt with how they worked for Mr. Fantastic, not for the Invisible Girl of the Human Torch) and Captain America's shield. It was great.
2pm - I had a Gargoyles panel. Always fun.
3pm - Lex and I went to Dairy Queen for "lunch". Had a cheeseburger, fries and an Orange Julius. Got a chance to talk with Ken Hite and his wife Sheila. Ken's the only guy doing more panels than me. I shrug it off... for now.
5pm - I have a signing alongside Marv Wolfman and Wally Wingert. I have nothing for people to sign. But I learned some lessons from Marv about this that may prove useful at CopperCon later this summer.
6:30pm - Matt Waterhouse, David Margosian, Jennifer Menken and I have ANOTHER animation panel ("Cell vs. Chip"). It starts out as a bit of a struggle to make sure it's not just a rehash of the panel earlier in the day, but it winds up being pretty fun and unique enough. It helps that I have an ENDLESS quantity of showbiz horror stories.
7:30pm - Went out to Olive Garden with Mark Temple, Mark Evanier, Jody, Chris Jones, Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Had breadsticks, minestrone and angel hair with shrimp.
11pm - A panel on "The Rebirth of the Heroine" with Charlotte Nickerson and Jen Manna. This was a fun one too. But I missed Soylent Blue because of it, which was a bit of a bummer as I remember them being really, really funny the last time I was at CONvergence.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Thursday, July 3, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Thursday, July 3, 2009
4:30am - Finally went to sleep.
10am - Wake up.
11:30am - Went out to breakfast at the Edina Grill with Uncle Joe. (Joe is my wife's father's brother.) We mostly talked about the crazy industry I work in. I had Eggs, sausage, hash browns, sourdough toast.
2pm - All the con's special guests (over twenty of us) had a photo call. After that, I went to check out the Dealers' Room.
5pm - I had a panel on the Spectacular Spider-Man.
7pm - Opening Ceremony.
9pm - Lex took me for a comparison Juicy Lucy (this one w/Blue Cheese that didn't quite get liquid), Lemonade, Cheese Curds and Onion Straws.
10pm - We got back to the hotel in time to see a pretty good fireworks display in the distance. I toured all the cabana parties, but I wasn't into it, so...
11pm - I went back to my room.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Wednesday, July 2, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Wednesday, July 2, 2009
3am - Went to sleep.
12:30pm - Wake up. Yep. I was pretty tired.
2pm - Lex and her husband James and I go to Matt's for Juicy Lucys and fries.
3pm - Lex and I go to a mall (not THE mall) and grab some Cherry Garcia before...
3:55pm - We saw Wall-E. Which I thought was just great. Really liked it.
7:10pm - Went to the Guest Reception at the hotel. They served cake. But "NO FORKS!"
10pm - I was back in my room and a bit restless. Just started watching television. See even when I catch up on sleep, I wind up blowing it the next night...
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Tuesday, July 1, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Tuesday, July 1, 2009
4:30am - Finally went to sleep.
9:30am - Wake-up.
11:15am - Car took me to the airport. Grabbed some McDonalds: Quarter-Pounder w/cheese, fries, coke and an apple pie.
2:15pm - Flight departs for Minneapolis. Had some tomato juice on the plane.
3:45pm - Arrived in Minneapolis.
4pm - Lex Larson, my CONvergence guest liason picked me up and took me to the Sheraton in Bloomington to check in.
5:30pm - We arrive at the amazing new (to me) Guthrie Theater. We had dinner at Cue, the restaurant there. The food was amazing. Breadsticks and bread, Salad, Flatiron Steak, potatoes, green beans...
7:30pm - We saw THE SECRET FALL OF CONSTANCE WILDE, a play about Oscar Wilde, his lover Bosie and especially his wife Constance. It was a great production. Very creative. Amazing performances... and PUPPETS!
10:30pm - Back to the hotel.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Monday, June 30, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Monday, June 30, 2009
12:30am - After the ballroom dancers went their separate ways, a few of us (Susan, Jennifer, Mara, Gore, GXB, Patrick, Karine and I) went up to Susan's room to hang out, talk, laugh, debate the virtues of Twizzlers vs. Red Vines, etc.
4am - Back to my room. Had another apple.
4:30am - Bed.
8:30am - Wake up call.
10am - Had breakfast with my cousin Alex and her friend Tobin. Orange Juice, Begniets, toast, potatos, eggs, bacon.
11:30am - Took a break, but as I understand it that one-eyed pig Edmund Tsabard had a panel with Jennifer, Karine and Mara to talk about Blue Mug Productions and show some samples. For more info, stop by BlueMugProductions.com.
1pm - Closing ceremonies. Always bittersweet.
3pm - Goodbyes. Pretty much everyone took off, except myself, Patrick and Susan and her family. Susan took Patrick and I to her house, where we met her many, many, many, many dogs and saw her many, many, many cells. Very cool.
5pm - Susan, Rob, Carly and Chloe took us to yet another great dinner. Had shrimp, clam chowder, coke, steak, lobster tail, rice, slaw. Then Rob and Chloe took Patrick and I back to the hotel.
7pm - I was back in my room. And pretty darn tired.
9pm - Sleep.
11:30pm - Knew it was too good to be true. Woke up. Had another apple. Watched some television and read some Ross Macdonald.
The end of another FANTASTIC Gathering... and yet my trip is only half over!
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, June 29, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Sunday, June 29, 2009
1am - Returned to my room and ate an apple.
2am - Went to sleep, which for me is early.
8:30am - Wake up call.
10am - Had the Gargoyles and Bad Guys panel with Karine. Fewer questions about Gargoyles #9 then I would have thought, but it was fun.
11:30am - Gargoyles Biology and Culture panel w/Lynati & Kimberly. A perrenial favorite of mine. Not sure anything quite as revelatory as last year in Tennessee, but it was fun.
1pm - Spidey panel w/Keith, Thom and Jennifer. Again, no major revelations, but I like talking Spidey. Next year we're probably going to do a series of Spidey panels at the L.A. Gathering 2009.
2:30pm - Went for stir fry lunch with Sammy, Jennifer, Thom, Adam and Laurean. Good stuff. Afterwards, a couple of us went to Jamba Juice.
4pm - Though we were told we didn't need to get back to judge the Iron Artist competition until 4pm, by the time we arrived it was all over. The medium was macaroni and the theme was the Ultra-Pack.
4:30pm - Sat down to watch the end of the auction, and then we had our signing.
6pm - Banquet: Salad, roll, Chicken, potatoes, carrots, asparagus, tart. I sat with constaff mostly: Nikki, Seth, Sammy, Susan, Jennifer, Karine, Patrick, Greg, Rebekkah. During the Trivia Contest, Matt led his table to victory.
9pm - Masquerade. Fewer entries every year. I hope we can reverse that trend. But what was there was pretty cherce:
Best Canon:
1st: Hunter/Aaron
2nd: Shari/DTaina
3rd: Archmage+/Chip
Best Original:
1st: J.W./Jennifer Rynmoor
2nd: Gypsey/Noel Leas
Cutest Couple: Ranmaru & Arazia
Thom Adcox Memorial Award: Justin as Odin
No Gorelisa award this year.
Best in Show: Patrick Fisher as the Tourist Gargoyle
Also, Karine had a kick-ass Hunter costume.
There was dancing next. I even swing-danced Jenn-Bob right off a table.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Saturday, June 28, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Saturday, June 28, 2009
2:00am - Back to my hotel room.
4:00am - Finally went to sleep.
8:30am - Wake up call. I showered, etc., and went down to the ConSuite, where I had a Danish and OJ at the tail end of the staff meeting.
10:00am - We held our second set of auditions.
11:30am - Over a catered lunch of a French Dip Sandwich, Broccoli Soup and fruit, Keith, Thom, Jennifer and I cast the Radio Play.
2:00pm - I was interviewed for an article by Alan.
3:00pm - The Gathering Players had their one and only rehearsal.
5:00pm - The Radio Play. This year's script was a chronological retelling of Chapters VII, VIII & IX of Clan-Building (i.e. "The Rock", "Rock & Roll" and "Rock of Ages"). I think the performers were terrific, but I don't think the script worked chronologically. Oh, well... A highlight was the massive rainstorm that nearly overwhelmed Shari's storytelling. Here was the cast:
THE GATHERING PLAYERS - 2008 Edition
NARRATOR - Greg Weisman
MACBETH - Erik Mambu
SHARI - Jennifer L. Anderson
COLDSTEEL - Eric Tribou
LEXINGTON - Thom Adcox
STONE OF DESTINY - Justin Summerhill
HUDSON - Jordan Mann
DAVID XANATOS - Jaret Morlan
ARTHUR PENDRAGON - Patrick Fisher
CONSTANCE/COCO - Laurean Leigh
STAGHART/AMP - Seth Jackson
GRIFF - Chip
THAILOG - Keith David
COLDSTONE - Revel
COLDFIRE - Sarah the Great
GOLIATH - Keith David
COYOTE 5.0 - Jaret Morlan
PEREDUR - Seth Jackson
COLDSTREAM GUARD - Chip
ELISA MAZA - Phoenix Talon
JAY SATO - John/Flanker
BLANCHEFLEUR - Laurean Leigh
CUSTOMS OFFICIAL - Patrick Fisher
BROOKLYN - Jae
DUVAL - John/Flanker
FOX - Phoenix Talon
BROADWAY - Lucas McClain
HOLY GRAIL - Lucas McClain
LUNETTE - Phoenix Talon
VINNIE GRIGORI - Jae
AIRPORT INTERCOM - Lucas McClain
OWEN BURNETT - Jae
MAGGIE THE CAT - Sarah the Great
TALON - Revel
SCOTTISH PATRIOT - Jordan Mann
7:00pm - Dinner at Pete's, w/Josh, Susan, Nicole, Eric, Greg, Rebekkah, Patrick, Laurean, Keith, Thom, John, Sammy, Seth, Jennifer, Nikki, Karine and me. Fantastic meal: Iceberg wedge salad, amazing bread, NY Strip Steak, Garlic Mash Potatos, Creamed Spinach, mushrooms, Berries. Raced back to be on time for...
10:00pm - The Blue Mug. Fairly raunchy this year. (Though not with every single question.) Teased Blue Mug Productions a bit. At some point, I took a bathroom break. Discovered that the self-flushing urinals in the hotel SCREAMED like the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs! Freaked me out! Later Nikki gave me a colored sketch of a Green Goblin screaming urinal.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, June 27, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Friday, June 27, 2009
10:30am - Wake-up call gets me up. I slept for nearly twelve hours. Guess I was tired.
11:30am - I head up to the con to collect my box of RadioPlay scripts. Say hi to some people. Tour the dealer's/art room, which is a work in progress at this point.
12:00pm - My first panel of the con(s). Thom and I hold the Voice Acting Seminar that we've done in previous years. Phoenix gets up to play Demona and does a great job. We also do the Griff, Leo, Una, Goliath scene and a couple different runs at a Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Symbiote, Uncle Ben scene. Everyone does pretty darn well.
1:30pm - First round of auditions for the Radio Play, w/Keith, Thom, Josh and Jennifer helping with the casting and Sammy manning the door. Vox stops by to give me the crochet'd Goliath she made for me. It's pretty amazing, as is the Hunter she's made for Karine and all the rest. Tthe one that makes me laugh the most is the Owen... which was the last to sell. No accounting for taste.
3:00pm - Mug-A-Guest. I remember having fun, though none of the questions stand out in my memory at the moment.
5:00pm - Opening Ceremony. (It's been pointed out to me that it's a Ceremony not multiple Ceremonies.) We opened with a full hour plus of music videos. Susan then stepped up to offer opening remarks and intros. Jen pitched G2009 in Los Angeles (check out gatheringofthegargoyles.com). Susan thanked her staff, including Nikki, Jennifer, Greg and Patrick (who am I forgetting?). Then I went up to do my schpiel and show the now-familiar pieces: the pitch, the promo, the New Olympian and Dark Ages pitches, the Bad Guys reel (much of which is now canon thanks to the comic) and "The Last". The fans have made great progress on "The Last" - but there's still more work to be done. If you're interested in helping, contact Vashkoda.
After opening ceremony, it was time for a Blue Mug Productions Dinner. Edmund Tsabard, was out whoring, so I sat in with Jennifer, Mara and Karine (who has since had to bow out of the project, much to our sorrow). We got a lot done/decided in preparation for the Monday panel. Plus the food was great: Edimame, Rangoon, Dumplings, Miso soup, Shrimp Pad Thai. Then a stop at Ben & Jerry's after dinner for a Banana/fudge/Cherry Garcia sundae.
I stopped by my room to call home, then came back downstairs to the bar (Indigo... I think the restaurant I mentioned yesterday was called Blue or something). Later a small group of us (Susan, Jen, Mara, Karine, Seth, Sammy, Rebecca, Gore, BrooklynX, Patrick, Thom & John) went up to Susan's room to hang out and laugh.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Thursday, June 26, 2009
CON-ODYSSEY: GATHERING & CONvergence - Thursday, June 26, 2009
5:00am - I stop watching Dexter with three episodes left to finish the season. (Still have one left as I write this.) Time to start my day and take a shower.
6:20am - Jennifer, Rebecca and Thom Adcox arrive to pick me up. They're early and I'm not quite packed. But I hussle and we head to the airport. In the parking lot we meet up with Seth and Sammy and take a shuttle to the airport, where we meet up with Josh Silver... and my kids Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Leakley (how weird is that?). I buy a water and a Snickers and a can of Pringles, saving the latter for the plane.
10:00am - The plane leaves for Chicago a mere half hour late. I have tomato juice and Pringles on the plane. I read the L.A. Times, and then continue reading THE ARCHER FILES - The complete short Lew Archer stories by Ross Macdonald, edited by Tom Nolan. Good stuff. I'm sitting with Jennifer and Thom and across from Rebecca and Mrs. Leakley. Josh, Seth and Sammy are further back. Thom sleeps through most of the plane ride.
4:00pm - We land... but are kept aboard waiting for a gate for an hour.
5:00pm - We finally disembark, meeting up with Keith David (who was flying in from New York) in baggage claim.
5:45pm - I didn't check any bags, but others did, and it takes 45 minutes for the bags to come out. We meet up with Patrick, Susan and Rob outside and pile into three cars. I think Josh and Keith went with Susan. Jennifer, Sammy and Seth went with Rob. Thom, Rebecca and I went with Patrick. Traffic was a nightmare.
7:30pm - We finally arrive at the lovely Hotel Orrington in Evanston, Illinois, just outside Chicago. This is a great area for a con, with lots of walking distance food nearby. I go up to my very nice room, where cheese and grapes are waiting for me. Then it's back downstairs for Dinner at the hotel's restaurant (Indigo?). I'll probably forget someone, but I think it was me, Karine, Jen, Greg Bishansky, Thom, Keith, Maelee, Josh, Dionne, Ruby, Susan, Rebecca, Patrick, Seth and Sammy. Also saw Ellen, Fan, Nikki, Jenn-Bob, etc. I had Sushi, Tempura, pork dumplings, Beef asparagus rolls and a couple cokes.
10:00pm - I went back to my room, leaving dinner early, exhausted. I called home, did just a bit of channel flipping, and...
11:00pm - Crashed.
MORE TO COME...
CON-ODYSSEY GATHERING & CONvergence - Wednesday, June 25, 2009
And so begins my conjournal, which I'll serialize over the next few days...
I was gone for nearly two weeks to attend two terrific conventions. I had a great time at both, and really the best aspect of both was just hanging out with people, fellow pros and fans. I'll try to be complete, but I'm bound to make mistakes, skip over some people, etc. So I beg your forgiveness and indulgence in advance.
Wednesday, June 25, 2009
Still a work day for me... as I tried to frantically get everything done and ready for my trip.
10:30am - I had an Attended Edit of Spectacular Spider-Man episodes 125 and 126 with our editor Terry over at Studiopolis. This is the point where we take our voice recordings and edit it into a natural pause tape that the board artists and timers can use to get the feel of the flow of dialogue. Last two episodes of the second season are now completed on the writing and voice side before I leave. (Note: I find out today 7/9 that the board artists and directors never got these dialogue reels. GRRRRRR.)
12:00pm - I arrive at my office at Sony's Apple Building, i.e. the grim warehouse where we produce Spidey. I'm trying to clear the decks, since I don't plan on bringing my computer on the trip and/or checking e-mail.
7:00pm - I stop by Golden Apple to pick up a few comics before I go. Some Amazing Spider-Man (Brand New Day) and Justice League, which I buy for work-related reasons and Angel, which I buy for Whedon geek-out reasons.
8:00pm - I get home and sleep for a couple of hours.
10:00pm - I say good night to the kids and Beth. Then I do some more prep work for the conventions. Printing out my itinerary, etc. Then I watch a bunch of episodes of Season Two of Dexter (even better than Season One). No point in going to sleep tonight - I have to get up too early...
MORE TO COME...
HILL STREET BLUES ON DVD
As many of you know, perhaps my favorite television series of all time is HILL STREET BLUES. A couple years ago, the first season was put out on DVD. There was no marketing that I noticed... but there was a bit of publicity. A year later the second season came out. This time no marketing and no publicity. Also, I'm GUESSING, not much in terms of sales -- as the third season isn't on the schedule. I've signed up at Amazon to be notified if-and-when it is released...
SOUND FAMILIAR?
I bring this up, since it allows me to do a few things:
1. SPREAD THE WORD! I encourage you all to buy the first two seasons of Hill Street Blues. This was one of the truly seminal shows in television history, brilliantly written and acted and directed and a HUGE, HUGE influence on Gargoyles. Like Gargoyles it created a tapestry, a world of characters. Very much worth your time and disposable income.
2. CREATE A REALITY CHECK. For those of you who STILL seem to feel Disney is doing something unusual (let alone nefarious) in its treatment of Gargoyles, this is one of just many, many, many examples that demonstrates it's not. We can all sturm and drang about how business should be done, with marketing and publicity galore for every product, with a guarantee that once a company starts a project they must finish it (whether or not the economics justify it), etc. But the gnashing of teeth doesn't change the reality. Companies -- even companies as huge as Disney have LIMITED resources and must deal with the notion of OPPORTUNITY COST. So one company takes a flier on a Gargoyles DVD set, another takes one on Hill St. Both do fairly well in their first season releases, despite limited or no marketing and limited or no publicity. Both fair poorly in their second release. Both don't seem to rate a third release. It's sad. But it's life.
3. ENCOURAGE YOU TO SPREAD THE WORD! The best thing any one of you can do to help get the next release of ANY show you love -- short of spending your own money -- is to help us Spread the Word! About the DVDS, the comics, the Gathering. Oh, and about Hill Street Blues. (See, I practice what I preach!)
With that in mind, I depart in less than 48 hours for Chicago and my 12th Annual Gathering, followed immediately by a trip to Minneapolis for ConVergence (http://www.convergence-con.org/). I won't have internet access while I'm gone, but when I return I'll post my conjournalx2. I encourage all of you who are attending the Gathering to post/cut&paste their conjorunals, diaries etc. here to ASK GREG. It creates a central place where I can refer ignorant PTB-types. Also, if you see me at either con, please come up and say hello. I am notoriously bad with names, and I admit (with some embarrassment) that it often takes me two or three conventions to really nail a name down. But I do want to meet you, and I do want to get to know you. I'm not much at small talk, but I can talk about animation and comics and pop culture in general ad nauseum (just ask my wife).
The One Known As Mochi writes...
I know this is far too early to ask...but... Will you be making an appearance at Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego? I'm just hoping SLG will have a booth set up with you (and hopefully the Gargoyles comics) appearing in hopes of spreading the word before/during/after the convention. :)
Greg responds...
I will indeed be at ComicCon this summer. In fact I'm at quite a few conventions this year...
February 22-24 - WonderCon in San Francisco
June 27-30 - The Gathering in Chicago
July 3-6 - ConVergence in Minneapolis
July 23-27 - ComicCon in San Diego
August 27-September 1 - CopperCon in Arizona
CONvergence
Just got back from CONvergence in Minnesota. I had a great time at the convention. Met a bunch of new Gargoyles fans, signed comic books, dvds and posters and read "BLATHER" as the secret ingredient for their Iron Artist competition. FYI, "Blather" can be found at...
http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=469
Of course, I did a panel on Gargoyles, but I also had fun doing panels on writing characters, on writing subtext, on DC Comics characters in animation, on creating cartoons that aren't just for kids, on how fans can revive dead properties and even on Veronica Mars.
It's a great con. So check out their website at:
http://www.convergence-con.org/
I'd like to give particular thanks to Chris Jones, who brought me into the Convergence fold. Chris was the penciller on the Captain Atom/JLE/Gargoyles parody story ("The Flashback of Notre Dame") that I did for DC Comics all those years ago. It was great to finally meet him in person.
Special thanks also to Perrin Klumpp, their guest guru and to guest liason Mark Tempel, for putting up with me all weekend and to guest liason Lex Larson, who picked me up at the airport and hung out with Mark and I when she could.
I also had a great time with fellow guests Bridget Landry and Ken Hite and the rest.
Thanks also to Windy, Tim, Pat, Ishmael, Jeremy, Melissa, Melissa, Mandy, Anton, Jenni, Amanda, Eryn and everyone else who made it such a great experience.
WOW! Two great cons in a row. I'll be at the San Diego ComicCon in a couple weeks, but there's almost no way that monstrosity could ever be as much fun as the Gathering and Convergence combined.
Finally, I'm now in love with Jucy Lucy. And Soylent Theater is People.
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