A Facebook and Pixiesticks repost: 10 Things I Learned at DragonCon 2009
Posted by
Qale (aka Qale)
Sep 7 '09, 22:05
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1. William Shatner isn't always an ass. He actually can be brilliantly entertaining even if he mostly appeared like he was talking with co-panelist Lenard Nimoy. Reoccuring themes included why he wasn't in the movie, picking on Georgia natives (Nimoy has a lot of history in this city actually), the ongoing feud with George Takaei, and getting the lowest fare on priceline.com. Nimoy wins the battle however since he hates Glenn Beck as much as I do.
2. Movie trailers are always a big draw. People like watching them in the theatre, people like watching them at a convention. Even an hours worth of them can really be entertaining filler during a day's worth of activities. The screen is big and you may get to see some you (or perhaps even the general public) has never seen. Avatar looks downright stellar if Second Life-like.
3. The name of your panel is very important. If you're going to talk about the books rather than the television show, don't call your panel True Blood. Call your panel The Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Because otherwise, it just looks obnoxious to bitch and whine and complain about the HBO series. This goes for any fandom really. You all need to get over the fact that books and television or movies are DIFFERENT. That's why they're called ADAPTATIONS.
4. The Con Suite really stepped it up this year. Either that or I got really lucky with what times I decided to drop in. For the uninitiated, this is a room set up by the staff, run 24 hours (except for a moments here and there for cleaning) that features food and drink. Sometimes you get something like Chex Mix, sometimes you get bacon and eggs like I did one morning. Other awesome dishes were red beans and rice, and Pocky. One of the misses was a huge ass pickle at 3am. Thanks but um, well I kind of wanted a real penis at that hour, I mean srsly.
5. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) has indeed become the hot delicious young adult I knew he'd be. Another member of the "delicious accent club," he also has the benefit of playing a bad guy who finally found himself in The Half-Blood Prince. He couldn't help but constantly flood the panel with fan service stating his favorite scene was with Harry in the toilets, that he actually prefers a Draco x Ron pairing, and that he's a bit unsure about the photo-real slash out there.
6. I'm still unsure why the whole MST3K gang can't seem to get back together all together even now. They all seem to talk about how they can't get work in Hollywood and they really like doing their projects Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax respectively. They all share a deep seeded hatred for Jim Mallon. Why not put your peanut butter in their chocolate already?
7. Malcolm McDowell was one of those celebrities that did indeed charge a premium for pix and autographs... HOWEVER!!! Unlike many of those other crappy actors that aren't really worth the oxygen they're sucking up at their empty Walk of Fame table, this guy is a real nice man who if you don't have the money will still chat for a moment. I told him that I really like his work, which is technically true since I HAVE INDEED seen so many of his films that even he probably doesn't remember doing. You know, because they're bad.
8. I missed out on seeing Adam Savage because I got my hotels mixed up. It was in the Sheraton not the Marriott. The 4th hotel was added I believe last year and it's kind of a haul as it sits away from the main three (which are lined up in a row across the three blocks). It was also ice cold for other panels like Crow vs Crow -- No matter who loses, Tom Servo wins -- and so maybe it's not so bad I missed out seeing another Mythbuster this year. Besides, would it be right to see Adam without Jamie?
9. 3 Years ago in the Self Publishing panel it was filled with so-called experts who said it wasn't a good idea. You should polish your letters and send them out to all the publishers and get yourself a good stack of rejections. This year they say that this is the way of the future and that while there still will be the big names, this is the best way to go forward. Durr. I told you so. That's why I self-published "Later, Skater" and "Freakshow" and ignored your so-called advice. Bitches.
10. Steam Punk has taken over. An instant fandom (just add water) this re-envisioning of the way the world works if only we powered things by steam. While this isn't exactly a new concept, per say, this is the first year it got its own track of programming at DragonCon. Yes, they did underestimate the appeal and gave it too small of a room. But considering how obviously overwhelmingly popular it was, I think that'll be remedied quite quickly. The fact that Best in Show at the Masquerade went to a steam punk group will not be lost on those in charge, I'm sure. I'm quite pleased to be honest. It's a far more interesting concept than Twilight or Browncoats or sucking the teat of Joss Whedon that's for goddamn sure.
Dishonorable Mention: Furries still suck. Not content to stink up the internet, they continue to troll our conventions this time wearing shirts with the acronym FAP (Furry and Proud.) Die in a fucking fire.
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