Tuesday, July 28, 2020

SDCC 2020 -- online panels

UPDATED 7.29.20

A major benefit with SDCC @ home was online access to top tier panels. No more standing in lines! I sure hope the success of these online format panels will make more of these possible at cons in the future -- both online and in person.

Here are some panels I enjoyed seeing online and recommend.


Charlize Theron -- Evolution of a Badass
"Actress and producer Charlize Theron reflects on portraying over two decades of action heroes, from Æon Flux to The Old Guard's Andromache, Mad Max: Fury Road's Furiosa to Atomic Blonde's Lorraine Broughton. In a lengthy retrospective Q&A moderated by IGN's Terri Schwartz, Theron discusses the evolution of the modern female action hero, the roles that inspired her and what drives her to constantly push her limits with fight training."

Watch this inspiring interview to learn the connection Charlize felt between Furiosa and Ripley. Also learn now NOT to pitch a female action character to her.


Directors on Directing
"Robert Rodriguez (Alita: Battle Angel), Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World: Dominion), and Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) take part in a wide-ranging and in-depth discussion about the craft of directing and projects past, present, and future. Moderated by Collider's editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub."

Many advice gems in this panel. Tips on pitching; bringing diversity to casting; why you should cut your own trailer and how that makes act three of your story stronger; amazing story about table read for a version of a film that didn't happen, but still turned out great; and concludes with sharing "pinch me" career highlight moments that will make your day.




Masters of the Illustrated Film Poster
"The history of the illustrated movie poster can be tied into the history of art itself, the panelists have expressed that they have 'learned from the masters' and that 'we all stand on the shoulders of giants.' This year we welcome artist Paul Shipper (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as host to the ASIFA Hollywood panel featuring artists Steve Chorney (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), James Goodridge (Deadpool, Alita Battle Angel), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Rory Kurtz (The Graduate, Baby Driver), Robert Rodriguez (The Jewel of the Nile, City Slickers II), Akiko Stehrenberger (Girl on Fire, The Last Black Man in San Francisco), William Stout (Wizards, Life of Brian), and Drew Struzan (Hook, Back to the Future)."



More Panel picks coming soon.

This 7.25.20 NY Times article discusses how several indie artists coped with no Artist Alley.
"Comic-Con Is Online, and So Is the Artist Alley"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/style/comic-con-online-artist-alley.html?referringSource=articleShare

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

SDCC 2020 -- Comic Con @ Home. SNB featured titles --- UPDATED 7.28.20


Comic Con 2020 is all online!

You can see highlighted offerings from SNB via this link to the SDCC online Exhibition Hall
https://n1a.goexposoftware.com/events/cch20/goExpo/floorPlan/viewFloorPlan.php
Type "stuart ng books" in the "company" tab... or click on Booth 5012 on the Exhibition Hall Map.

Be sure to click though the "Products" tab when you check out the online exhibitors. Often the most exclusive products can only be seen when you scroll through the tab! There are 19 items featured on the SNB link.

If you miss SDCC in person -- this 2015 "Comic Con -- The Musical" You Tube clip from Nerdist will remind you of some pros and cons...

Follow Stuart Ng Books on Facebook. This week, the SNB Facebook page highlights Stuart's Comic Con @ Home offerings.

Celebrating art by Wendling has been a staple at SNB since 2005, when Stuart made his first-ever trip to France to meet her when she was honored at the annual Angouleme festival. The Wendling zodiac postcard set
https://stuartngbooks.com/wendling-chinese-zodiac-12-postcard-set.html
and Wendling sketchbooks in this photo from the SNB Facebook page are all SNB publications.
https://stuartngbooks.com/iguana-bay-2.0-signed.html

SNB is the distribution source for unique titles like this imported Disney book about the film Bambi
https://stuartngbooks.com/bambi-with-exclusive-english-translation-booklet.html

And this first volume from the Hyperion Historical Society Alliance Mongograph Series "The Making of Walt Disney's Fun and Fancy Free"
https://stuartngbooks.com/the-making-of-walt-disneys-fun-and-fancy-free.html
 Below you can see an interior page from the Bambi book.
 This is a peek inside "Fun and Fancy Free."

Another peek at the covers of some popular titles you'll find on the SNB Website
https://stuartngbooks.com/the-art-of-dean-cornwell-en-5.html
https://stuartngbooks.com/malcolm-t.-liepke-a-retrospective.html
https://stuartngbooks.com/the-life-and-art-of-mead-schaeffer.html

"Art of Klaus" -- a scarce book that takes you behind the scenes of this beautiful 2D animated film.
https://stuartngbooks.com/klaus-the-art-of-the-movie.html

Here are some images from the SNB Facebook post for this book, featured for Comic Con @ Home.











Here's a primer on this year's Con from the SDCC organizers email newsletter.


For the first time in our 50-year history, we won’t be able to meet in person, but the news isn’t all bad because we WILL be able to meet virtually. We hope you’ll join us at www.comic-con.org for all the fun of Comic-Con at our first ever Comic-Con@Home, starting today, Wednesday July 22 at 9:00am PDT.
 
Whether you’ve been attending for years or haven’t been in a while, we hope you’ll join us and take in all that we have to offer. Here is just a sampling:

  • YouTube will host over 350 of our panels and programs, and beginning at 7:00pm PDT on Friday, July 24, that’s where you’ll find the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
  • GoExpo by Community Brands will host the Online Exhibit Hall, with approximately 700 exhibitors offering a variety of cool fan-centric merchandise.
  • Be sure to visit our Portfolio Review page on the Comic-Con@Home website!
  • We’ll also have Gaming which will live on the Discord platform and feature a number of interactive gems, including Wyvern Gaming/Stargate and Legion M/Joe Manganiello’s DEATH SAVES.
  • If you’re looking for a souvenir from Comic-Con@Home, be sure to visit the Merch store for the official Comic-Con T shirt (art provided by DC Comics) as well as lots of Comic-Con and Comic-Con Museum related merchandise.
  • Amazon and Prime Video are official sponsors of Comic-Con@Home and will be treating fans to additional activities from a variety of Amazon-owned platforms through their Amazon Virtual-Con portal. Prime Video is also the official sponsor of the Comic-Con 2020 print-at-home badge, which will allow participants to print and wear their free badge as well as take part in many of the fun fan activities.
  • Tumblr will serve as the platform for both the Comic-Con Art Show and the always popular Comic-Con Masquerade. The 46th annual Masquerade will open for viewing Friday, July 24, and winners will be announced on Saturday, July 25.
  • For this year, the Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive will be a 26-day drive, starting Wednesday, July 22, and ending on Sunday, August 16. All blood collected on those dates will be credited to the Comic-Con Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive.
  • Collaborator and sponsor IGN will stream roughly 34 Comic-Con@Home panels as well as produce extensive hosted shoulder content, hosted interviews and more, all in support of the online initiative.
  • We welcome BLUEfin as a first-time sponsor for Comic-Con@Home.
  • Films and Anime will live on the Scener Watch Party platform. Scener is a Chrome browser plug-in that will allow fans the ability to simultaneously watch and discus movies and anime. Funimation will also exclusively host all of the Anime watch parties including Black Clover and Fruits Basket. Don’t have a Funimation account? No problem, as Funimation is offering a six-week free account! Just use the code: CCHOME20.
  • FX will unveil the digital experience FX UNLOCKED, where fans will engage with virtual activations for American Horror Story, What We Do in The Shadows, Cake and DAVE.
  • FutureTechLive! returns for a fifth year to present the virtual “World Builders” activation, featuring content by a global community of creators.
  • We’re also excited that joining in the fun is the Comic-Con Museum, which is offering a variety of activities and tutorials throughout the Comic-Con@Home weekend and beyond.
  • Don’t forget to check out the online version of the 260-page Souvenir Bookwhich is available as a free, downloadable PDF.

We hope you have as much fun at our virtual convention as we have had in putting it all together, and we look forward to seeing you next year, July 21-25, 2021!