Sleep No More, Video Games, and the Potential of Interactive Storytelling.

 This will not be a review of Sleep No More, although it will be discussed. I'll warn you of spoilers.

On Thursday the 12th of August, I attended a performance of Sleep No More. Billed as 'indoor promenade performance', it entails being immersed in the world of the McKitterick Hotel (an impressively redecorated warehouse or three on west 27th, across the street from the back entrance of Scores) and treated to an adaptation, of a kind, of Shakespeare's famous play that shows us the nature of evil, Macbeth.  It was astounding.

Though it is not a word that can be found anywhere on the website (sleepnomorenyc.com), Sleep No More is a highly interactive experience- though one might suppose that physical interaction is a part of any immersive experience. Still, this is important to note for the upcoming discussion: The specific difference between immersive and interactive when one or the other is the goal of an experience. In the McKitterick Hotel, almost every door, drawer and closet is unlocked. You can read anything, pick up anyway, dig through people's luggage and letters. The entire environment is touchable, if not tractable- even the performers. Though it is against the rules of the game to touch the performers, the performers may very well decide to touch you. You may be pushed gently aside, or taken by the hand and led, or- as I experienced- have a madwoman cup your face and lament at the cruelty in your eyes. The world you enter is filled with eerily familiar but ultimately alien landscapes and enough details to drown in. You can watch or play, observe or participate, that much is (largely) your choice.

The performance is interactive, but it is not changeable. Those choices I just mentioned do not effect the characters' overall arcs, their intentions or their stories. Scenes play in a loop throughout the roughly three hour performance.  Short of doing something dangerously disruptive, the audience cannot effect the outcome of the story.

The goal of Sleep No More is an immersive theatrical experience. It is not a game. It sets no goals or objectives for the audience, other than to experience. It's brilliant and freeing.

And potentially frustrating, if you're of a gamer's mindset. Over at Wired, you can read an article by @jasonschreier about his experience of the theatrical piece, which he describes in the headline as "Like a game, but more confusing." Schreier primarily decries the fact that it is impossible for an audience member to see the entire show, and that this fact makes most of what one experiences difficult to decipher or put into context: The experience is difficult to understand.

He argues that video game experiences are more rewarding because you achieve things. The game tells you so. I think this is an ineffective comparison, but the opening of an interesting discussion.

Compare Sleep No More to an open-world game like Fallout: New Vegas. While Sleep No More drops you into the middle of a performance and expects you to figure out what’s happening, New Vegas sets up the story first, then lets you loose. More importantly, New Vegas makes you feel like the things you do matter. Whether you’re shooting down raiders or discovering a pile of bones in a child’s crib, you’re always an active participant, integral to the story. Not just an observer.

 This argument is flawed in a few ways:

You can, in fact, prepare for the sort-of-plot of Sleep No More by brushing up on your Shakespeare, but the story is present in an abstract, exploratory way. The scenes, when you do find them, are not exactly straightforward. Think lyrical and interpretive dance. The story, as such, is not the most important part of the show. More important is the audience's story: What they see and experience and what it does to them. Now, if what they see and experience frustrates and bores them, more the pity, but I have to say, I'd imagine it would take a respectable amount of willful disinterest to walk away from Sleep No More wholly unmoved.

The end result(s) of both Sleep No More and any video game are predetermined. Nothing you do as an audience member or player can actually change what happens outside of a couple permutations. Schreier is absolutely correct in that video games make you feel as though your choices have weight- and they do, but a very limited amount. I will defend the unique special snowflake status of my Commander Shepard TO THE DEATH but ultimately, I am not the only FemShep Paragon with Renegade Tendencies when Faced with Ultimatums who is Bedding Garrus Vakarian aka Dinosaur Batman: The Hero Omega Deserves. No, I am but one of many; because though the Mass Effect series provides the player with thousands of choices to make over the course of the franchise, they are still choices you are being offered and have to choose from. You can't just make up your own. The ending to any work of art or entertainment created by someone other than the participant/user has a finite amount of leeway.  Sleep No More is a single event comprised of smaller, looping events. It's meant to be an immersive experience that theater-goers can explore to whatever depth they choose. It is, in fact, quite possible to see all the primary, story-centric scenes of Shakespeare's Macbeth in one evening at Sleep No More. It's not really necessary, though, nor would it be easy.  

Sleep No More is not a game, it is not a puzzle. It's more like a haunting. It's like watching spectres enact their wicked follies again and again, helpless to stop themselves or break free. Sometimes the ghosts reach out for you, and you can rifle through the relics and detritus they've left behind, but the story cannot be changed.

Now let's pull a bit of a conversational one eighty. The Minnesota Fringe Festival is a breeding ground for fun, funny, original and rather ingenious theatrical experiences. One participating company, Walking Shadow, has mounted two interactive theatrical puzzle experiences. The first was entitled 1926 Pleasant, and ran in 2006. You can read a detailed account of the play/game here: it is, in fact, a walkthru, something all gamers are familiar with. Both a theatrical experience and actual game the audience had to play in order to advance the story, 1926 Pleasant (and their latest puzzle production, Saboteur, reviewed here) seems to accomplish what Schreier says Sleep No More failed to do, but the intent behind the two pieces are completely and utterly different, and so the comparison becomes useless.

Now, if the two pieces could be combined, you would have something that appeals to theater goers and gamers alike. Let's take a look at a video game property like Bioshock and think of how these two formats of theatrical experience could be applied to making Bioshock a live action interactive event. Why? Because I am goddamn obsessed with this whole freaking idea, that's why. If you're still reading this, I don't even know what to tell you. You're as sick a puppy as I am.

As a self contained environment, it could be constructed the same way as the fictional McKitterick Hotel: Six stories of immersive environments fashioned after Bioshock's more iconic levels, like Neptune's Bounty, Arcadia, Fort Frolic, the Farmer's Market, Hephaestus and Olympus Heights.

 Rapture is largely comprised of sweeping atriums and surprisingly open spaces for being an underwater city. However, as Sleep No More demonstrates nicely, constructing outdoor spaces indoors is entirely achievable on multiple floors. Also the ballroom on the lowest level sports two stories of balcony seats and vaulted ceilings. It is a huge room that could easily be transformed into any number of centerpieces from the game.

 Of course site-specific theater is just that. One could find a space more uniquely suited to Rapture's grand halls, but the space Punchdrunk created in the form of the McKitterick Hotel is smartly and very successfully constructed. With relatively few changes, Sleep No More as it stands could be turned into the site of a Rapture live action interactive gaming experience.

The next question, of course, is who would go? Who would shell out, say, $100 to be let loose in that kind of environment for three hours, not knowing before hand how it would go? You'll have adventurous types, you'll have gamers, you'll have theater goers, but the added responsibility that's placed on the audience member when they're expected to participate and actively move the game forwards as opposed to merely observing events as they unfold could potentially scare away much needed ticket sales, and come to that- how many tickets a round would have to be sold to make the endeavor even remotely feasible?  Those are the questions I don't want to think about because the other stuff is more fun, but it does make me think that the ideal place to try out an experience like this would be San Diego Comic-Con.

Your audience isn't just built in, it's swarming the grounds around where your theatrical gaming experience is held. San Diego boasts a throng of beautiful hotels, plenty of which are historic, as well as some industrial and warehouse sites that could be appropriated and converted. Passes could be given away at panels as well as purchased ahead of time to guarantee your spot.  It would be, for the logistics of running such an experience, the perfect litmus test. Branching out to other audiences, of course, would be a different ballgame, but if this sort of thing was going to be made a reality, I think SDCC is a prime opportunity to give it a test run. Not to mention, I'm sure it would be the talk of the con.

Bioshock, Dead Space, Walking Dead, Arkham Asylum, even Game of Thrones- all are properties that could utilize the concepts of mystery, clue finding, puzzle solving and even, eventually, combat to engage an audience and motivate a player, as well as blend seamless with theatrical style presentations and fully fleshed out but self contained environments. We're certainly seeing plenty of transmedia projects happening, and various properties bleeding into other mediums, so who knows- maybe this kind of thing isn't that far off. I hope it's not, because the only thing I want to do more badly than go back to Sleep No More is return to Rapture.

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May 21st - Judgement Day: An Original Play Premiering this September

Recently, I was able to score an interview with the young, but already well-experienced local playwright and director, Josh Young. His play May 21st - Judgement Day opens for a three-show run September 1st at the Kraine Theater in the East Village. As Young describes, the play is story of a girl named Valentine who lives in an underground bunker. Valentine has been trapped in the bunker for 13 years by the sexual abusive James, who keeps her hidden there under the pretense that the world ended on May 21st, 2011 and that he's protecting her from the Holy War raging above on Earth. But Valentine is not completely alone. She has created two conflicting, spiritual personalities that may either keep her trapped in desolation or guide her in breaking free of her solitude and imprisonment.



Read more about Josh Young and his post-apocalyptic, psychological thriller, after the jump!



Before producing his own works, Josh Young worked with numerous different companies and theaters. A graduate of NYU'S Tisch School of the Arts in Theater and Cinema Studies, Young began freelancing right after college, working as a lighting technician, designer, and technical director. He has worked for the Chen Dance Center, The Fringe Festival, and designed in theaters such as The Kraine and Red Room Theater, LaMaMA ETC, and The Cherry Lane. He was also a film technician at Technicolor Creative Services before he landed his current job position as the Theater Technician at the Guggenheim Museum. ATFG is delighted and so thankful that Young took the time to answer our questions, illuminating us on the process of creating and producing an original theatrical piece.


ATFG: What motivated you to write this play? What were your inspirations?

Young: I originally wrote this play in 2005 as a one-woman dance and movement piece for a friend. The plot was the same as now but without the May 21st caveat. Both in 2005 and then when I re-wrote it, this year, I was in the same place; depressed. I was depressed at what I saw in human interaction both in my own life and what I saw from the people in the world around me. This year, partially because May 21st is my birthday, I became fascinated by how abusive and dangerous American Christian Fundamentalism can be. So I wanted to write and revisit a story that illustrated how other philosophies, such as Samurai ethos from Japan and Zen Buddhism, have created ways for people to rise above internal and external strife and conflict. As for the play, it is about rising above the deadly mob mentality that we see in modern day Christian Fundamentalism along with illustrating that everyone has the strength to rise above their awful circumstances and emerge a stronger person because of it. Especially if those circumstances were child abuse, no matter the environment.

ATFG: How do you decide if a piece you've written is worthy of being produced? Are you your own worst critic?

Young: Goodness, yes, I am very critical of myself. Over the years I have worked in the film and theater worlds in New York and I see a lot of vanity shows, or shows that go up because people just have the time and resources. For me, I wrote this show in 2005 and sat on it because it never quite clicked. It was very close to my heart, but it wasn't something that was needing to be told. Then when the May 21st/Judgement Day stuff started happening, it just clicked. After re-writing it, I believed deeply it was a good piece, and others who read it re-enforced that thought. So I started putting the pieces together to put it up. But it was something that involved me feeling strongly about the premise and purpose while bringing enough people on board so that they take ownership of the show and make it their own.

ATFG: Do you prefer directing your own written work or having others direct your plays?

Young: For these kinds of shows I definitely do. But the writing and directing are interlinked. I don't even consider the two acts separate. The last show I did that was like this was The Wolf From Recovery, Ohio and that was in 2008. I have worked as a designer and technician over the years so when I conceive a piece it is usually written so that the design and direction are part of the writing from the inception. The thing I like to do is give ownership to the other people involved. The play necessitates a collaborative piece. The actors have strong voices in the aesthetics, and have dual roles such as the dramaturgist. Then someone like my Stage Manager is essentially an assistant director or co-director. I would feel bad if anything I ever wrote became a vanity piece, something just for myself, so I try hard to bring everyone together and have them own the piece, as much as me, during the process.

ATFG: What was the casting process like? And tell us a bit about your cast and crew.

Young: I got very lucky with casting. First, I got a stage manager on board, Alex Gerdtz, who is studying at NYU. I wanted to bring in someone who I didn't know as my right hand person so that I wouldn't surround myself with "yes" people. Honestly, she was great from the get-go because she clearly didn't want to approach the show as a paint by numbers stage manager and wanted to be a part of the creative process. Next, I brought on a friend, Patience Baach, from the Guggenheim, as a promotion and fundraising person (and to co-collaborate with Alex and I). She doesn't have a theater background so I enjoyed the fact that she could look at the show from an outsider's perspective. The casting just grew out of how chemistry and interactions looked. James Tison was cast first as the male in the play. He was the only person I knew ahead of time that was right for the role and who I asked directly to be involved. Then we cast the others: first was Elitza Daskalova, who just came in and read perfectly for Hastur; then came Adriana DeGirolami who I was delighted to see read for me. I was already friends with Adri but had never worked with her so when she came in and read the whole crew just kind of knew she was perfect for Mary Anne. We had trouble casting Valentine; many talented actresses read for her but none quite could transform between naive girl to empowered and imposing woman. At the time, our costume woman, Natalia, kind of offhandedly asked to read for Valentine and when she did it just clicked with what we were looking for and the group that was already cast. Each piece fell in line with the piece before it. So I have to be grateful for the gift of being surrounded by such passionate and interested folks coming forward at the right time.

ATFG: What has the production process been like for you so far?

Young: Intense. This is a show that is physically demanding, emotionally intense, and heavily designed. The production work started off very chaotic and nerve-racking but has simmered down a bit. All of my strengths are technical and aesthetic. I know how to draft a plot, edit a video, direct actors, but had virtually no idea how to promote and fundraise. My last show was something I was incredibly proud of and it had a fair turn out, but only because of word of mouth. So for the first month and a half of this show I tried to learn about, organize, and focus on promotion and fundraising as much as possible. I have already learned more than I could have hoped. As for the directing process, it is really rewarding and wonderful. Again, my strengths are in framing a piece, so I am really delighted with the work the actors and crew are doing to make the show be what it should be. But it is intense. The show has dance, martial arts, blood effects, and the list goes on...



ATFG: What's been the most difficult aspect of producing this show and what's been the most rewarding?

Young: The most difficult is promotion and fundraising. For all I know, we will have sold out houses or mild houses, but in my heart I know people should be hungry to see what we are creating. I am just flummoxed by the pathways I have to navigate to simultaneously get the word of this show out there but to do it in an encouraging way. At the end of the day, I won't care so long as people see it because it has some really wonderful things happening in it. The most rewarding is seeing those things happen. Two days ago, our actress Adri discovered a character revelation. It was a moment that brought a dynamic to her character and to the greater piece that was intoxicating. That is just one small part of the larger whole, so if that little sliver alone is so enticing, seeing the greater work come together is sublime. So the creative process of the show is the most rewarding by far.

ATFG: Is the stress level of this show any higher than past ones you've worked on, due to the heavy nature of the piece?

Young: No. I think the stress is high for me for pragmatic purposes, as in, just the assembly of the whole piece. Certainly I know the actors have had challenges because they were worried about the heavy nature, but I think we keep the show in the right place in our collective process. I have worked on some pretty high stress shows...I remember being stressed during Isabella Rossellini's Brand Upon The Brain at the Village East Theater, or more recently working on Watermill with Robert Wilson at the Guggenheim...but nothing will ever compete with something that you are invested in balls to bone; something that your voice is heard in from the inception.

ATFG: Are you excited or relieved when a show finally goes up or do you miss the production or rehearsal process? Is it a bittersweet transition?

Young: Not bittersweet, but I certainly miss it. One of my goals with this project is to gain enough momentum to continue working on things closer to my heart and work less as a technician or freelance designer. Just dealing with the quotidian architecture of life, I wasn't able to put a show up since 2008. I don't want to wait that long in the future. My dream is to let this show be the impulse to continually work on theater and film projects that I can be 100% invested in at a creative level.

ATFG: What's coming up next for you? Can you tell us about any future projects in the works?

Young: Hopefully, if everything works out with this show, I can keep the momentum going and move right into other projects. I am writing a few things, but I would love to do two big pieces I already have written. I have written a show I am tentatively calling "Straight Outta Wompton." It's a dark comedy based, again, on things I have experienced first hand but filtered through the lens of shows like The Maury Povich Show or that Jersey show people watch. The other project will be a short movie called "Vanilla" which would be my attempt at exploring the darker sides of the issue of polyamory.


Thanks again to Josh Young for being such an honest and insightful interviewee! Don't miss his fascinating play May 21st - Judgement Day.

May 21st - Judgement Day
The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th St.)
Thursday September 1st through Saturday September 3rd, 8pm
$15 in advance, $18 at the door

Buy your tickets in advance here

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D23 - Disneyland Kinect Adventures Slightly Improves, But Is It Enough?

After being extremely disappointed in Kinect Disneyland Adventures at E3 in Jue, I decided to give it a go here at D23, with a couple more months of work under its belt, to see if anything had been improved upon. There were absolutely new features, game mechanics and levels, but is anything actually better? What I learned and my impressions below.

Facts

-Over 35 characters to meet and greet, each with his own personality, culled from chats with actual Imagineers
-Original voice actors recorded voices for every character
-If you don't wish to follow through the physical motions for character interaction, you can also use voice command
-The game is open world, the first of its kind for Kinect, so they had to design a whole new navigation system - pointing. Point in a direction and your character will walk there.
-The crowd magically parts as you walk through them
-Can take photos with characters (note: as your avatar, not as you) and upload them to the internet
-Have a few objects at your disposal, including the camera, growler, and wand
-With the wand, you can animate up to 300 objects and receive treasure after casting each spell
-Collect enough treasure and you can spend it in shops for souvenirs and costumes
-With the wand, you can also discover magical objects, which the game keeps track of, achievement style
-Right now there are six attractions: Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise and Matterhorn
-There will be up to 20 attractions, potentially with more as DLC, but that's not in the works right now
-Every ride is based on a story, so the game developers discussed the back story to each attraction with the imagineers, and came up with the levels for each attraction based on the story
-Chapters within each attraction
-Rather than just "ride a ride", each chapter interacts with a different aspect of the attractions' environment, based on the original story behind the attraction.
-Attraction gaming interactions include pose matching, sword fighting, throwing things, flying, skiing, and more
-There will be many cinematics helping to tell the story as well
-Each attraction has a character guide (Jungle Cruise has the skipper and gorillas, Matterhorn has Goofy, Peter Pan has Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, etc)
-Players can jump in or out of the game at any time to maximize social appeal
-Avatars are children, since the idea of the game is to "bring our your inner child"
-Some avatar customizing options
-They created their own avatars rather than use the Xbox ones, because the art of the Xbox avatars is too different from the art of the Disney world that was created
-The park is almost an exact recreation, down to the secret places where Walt's initials are hiding to the golden spike in the castle marking the center of the park.


Impressions

Just like at E3, my favorite aspect of this game remains the world's accuracy. I've always had a thing for recognizing landmarks in my games, usually ones taking place in LA or New York, though rarely is something *exactly* the same, square foot for pixelated square foot. My favorite part of this demo was simply running through the lands, seeing how long the lines were and pushing through the crowds. As a result, I quite enjoyed the introduction of the wand mechanic, as it means further interaction with the world around you as the player. Cast a spell on whatever, and hey, if something happens, you get coins and achievements and a modicum of satisfaction. Yay!

Also just like at E3, I'm still vastly underwhelmed when it comes to the gameplay within each attraction. I tried out the sword fighting chapter, one of the levels in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which had just been created right before D23. The game seemed completely unresponsive to anything I was doing. Granted, it's new and I kept drifting out of the playing space in order to avoid whacking the Microsoft spokeswoman in the face, but it was entirely too much work for very little  gratification.

An aspect I I enjoyed a lot more this time around than at E3, was the character interactions. We got to see our avatar say hello to three different characters, Mickey, Peter Pan, and the Queen of Hearts. Each had a specific reaction to everything we did, whether it be a hug, high five, or asking to dance. While Mikey was clearly friendly, Peter was friendly, but didn't like getting *too* close, and the Queen of Hearts was regal and demanded our relationship stay so. If only our "photos" with these characters could somehow combine a Kinect photo of us in that moment, with the character on the screen, I'd think the photo aspect was a good add, but a photo of an avatar with a character on Facebook seems rather pointless.

I'm still not sure in what Universe someone would actually own this game, but if a friend had it, I wouldn't object to throwing it on just to explore the park, cast spells, and buy crap, but I'm far from sold on the gameplay and even the theory behind the gameplay. A part of me would kind of rather just get a first person view of the game with the impetus to interact on that level. Like, lean correctly on the Matterhorn and the faster you go, or cast spells on the Jungle Cruise as it goes along to see things come to life - or turn the Cruise itself into a throwing game for points. But taking away the ride aspect completely away is kind of a turn off. It'll take a lot more convincing before I'll think otherwise.

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The Highs and Lows of D23

As you may have been able to tell by my incessant tweets and articles, this weekend marked my first D23 and boy was it an experience. What began innocently enough with a drum playing Mickey and a look at the new attractions being developed all over the world, ended with a panel that upset me to my very core, and of course, a nice batch of food poisoning from the Convention food. What happened in between had some good, some bad, and a lot of Deadpools wearing Mickey ears.

HIGH

Panels On Art & Artists
My favorite panels of the Convention were the sit down with Michael Giacchino and the look at the Character Design of Monster's University. What these had in common were a focus on the art, as opposed to a focus on the money behind the art. Taking Disney almost completely out of the equation allowed for enlightening discussions, genuine quotables, and the ability to actually learn something. Even though in both cases, a good majority of the audience left when the Q&A began (unfathomable to me), the people who stuck around got to see some lovely interaction, like a woman asking Giacchino about a specific refrain from the opening of Star Trek, Giacchino revealing the scores that touched him most (Lawrence of Arabia, Planet of the Apes, The Accidental Tourist, Star Wars), and a fun moment when the director of Prep and Landing, posing as an audience member, asked Giacchino when we was going to compose a musical to go after getting his EGOT. For details on the Monsters University panel and Q&A head here. I've heard similar things about the Art of Brave and Imagineers panels - when the event at hand is focusing on the art and interaction with fans, and not the theatrics and Disney Dog & Pony show, it's actually a wonderful way to spend an hour.

LOW

Arena Panels
Every panel in the arena was a regular potpourri of Disney propaganda, dripping with desperation and so enthusiastically egotistical that by Sunday's Marvel panel, I just about couldn't take it anymore. Instead of Q&As and genuine fan discourse, every person on stage read from teleprompters and left a cold, dead feeling in the room. I couldn't help but be bothered by this seeming need to control the show on Disney's part. Nothing real was permitted to happen and there was no room for surprises. With every single little thing written and planned out beforehand, the energy in the room was bizarrely minimal. I myself only felt compelled to clap a couple of times during the Studios panel, which showed off upwards of 10 new films over two and a half hours. Instead of being comfortable with us seeing what they had to offer and making up our own minds, we were constantly bombarded with the notion that "Disney rules!" as if them saying it enough times would make it true. And while certain films did stand out like Wreck It Ralph or The Muppets (which showed off stellar footage and a delightful live bit between Jason Segel, Kermit and Miss Piggy), they only could have benefit from a less controlled forum. Can you imagine Kermit and Miss Piggy answering fan questions, the way Pee-Wee did at this year's Comic-Con? How brilliant would that have been? In perhaps the strangest move of all, at the end of the Studios panel, the entire cast of The Avengers was brought out and except for Robert Downey Jr, no one said anything. This may have been acceptable as a surprise button at the end of last year's Marvel panel at Comic-Con, when nothing had been shot or read and they were simply announcing the official cast, but over a year later, with two weeks left of shooting, to bring the cast down just to stand there? It shows a complete lack of understanding where this film is concerned, where the fans are concerned and where marketing is concerned. No substance. All talk. Unacceptable.

HIGH

Pixar's Presence
On a similar note, everyone from Pixar seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their involvement. I believed that they were happy and love their jobs and every one of them was an inspiration. I got to know the faces and names of the creators (Right: Monster's University Dan Scanlan was kind of hot in college, no?....) and hear them talk about their profession that brings them so much joy on a daily basis. In all the mess that I find Disney to be, Pixar continues to stand out, with higher standards and a positive attitude that stems from something true.

LOW

Marvel & ABC's Presence
For some inexplicable reason, neither ABC nor Marvel had a booth on the floor. There were no ABC or Marvel exclusives, no comics or DVDs. Why? Why when you own these two companies, both of whom could provide products I would actually buy, why would they not have booths at your convention?! Not to mention the horror show that was Marvel's panel and the fact that there was exactly ONE panel for ABC. If there is any hope of my considering going next year, both Marvel and ABC have to have more of a presence. And not a Disnified presence, simply Marvel and ABC, doing their things.

HIGH

Dealer's Room Cosplay
One of my favorite aspects of D23 was the cosplay. I'm so used to people dressed up at anything Disney related being staff members, that every time I saw a prince or princess, I just assumed they were working. More than once I made the mistake of asking where something was only to be met with "Oh, I don't work here." I had no idea this many people were eager to dress up as Disney characters! And hilariously enough, the only non Disney character I saw the whole time was Deadpool. TONS of Deadpools. Many of them wearing Mickey ears. Why Deadpool?! Perhaps the least family friendly Marvel character of the bunch?! Whatever the reasoning, it was awesome.

LOW

Dealer's Room Booths
What an odd Dealer's Room this was. It seemed much more like a trade show, with an area dedicated to showing off the new Parks & Resorts plans, a whole stretch that featured only liscensed Disney products, most of which weren't for sale, and then the back part of the room, filled with Disney collectibles, that were for sale, but why on Earth would I ever buy any? It was fun enough to look around, as there were no crowds and barely any lines anywhere (except to get into the Disney Store booth, of course), but it was just kind of boring. I don't have kids to play in the kids area, I have no interest in owning parts from old Disneyland rides, I'm not about to buy any clothing with Disney designs on them and why tempt me by showing off your Muppets makeup line, if it's not available to buy, huh?

HIGH

VoluntEAR Booth
 One thing I did appreciate on the floor was the Volunteering booth, where throughout the weekend attendees could write notes to soldiers, make relief kits, plant seeds and more. In exchange, they got a sticker and a bag, but more importantly, got to do something good.

LOW

"Health" Booth
As someone who actually has an understanding of health and nutrition, I was a bit more than mildly offended by the booth focusing on how to have good health. Anyone who still propagandizes that milk plays any role in a healthy lifestyle needs to do a little bit more research and I was really bothered by the Disney branding that went with it. "Walking at Disneyland burns x amount of calories!" "Disney toothbrushes are really popular!"

HIGH

Free Cupcakes!
Call it bribery or call it good old fashioned friendliness, cupcakes were given away on multiple occasions, first by John Lasster in the Arena, celebrating Pixar's 25th anniversary and again on the show floor at the booth dedicated to children's birthday parties. While the Lasseter cupcakes were AMAZING, the floor cupcakes were still good and they definitely made me forget about any of the Convention negatives for a good ten minutes every time.

LOW

Convention Food
Tasted awful, was way too expensive, and made me sick. I've never encountered convention food THIS terrible before. Id you ever find yourself at this convention center, do yourself a favor and eat at the Hilton food court instead, where you can find Baja Fresh and freshly made Sandwiches.

HIGH

Plenty Of Free Time
With no crowds and very few panels, there was plenty of free time at this Convention to wander around, get free cupcakes, not buy anything, and if you were a member of the press, sit in the media room and write up the panels you just saw.

LOW

Plenty Of Free Time
My GOD, was I bored at night. I shouldn't have been bored, Louis CK, I know. I could have been watching TV or reading or using my imagination, but I was at a CON! A Convention! These are normally spent going out and drinking with friends or going to screenings or SOMETHING. Instead, I could have been found drinking in the lobby while reading or drinking in the hot tub starring at hot German men. Not that these are horrible ways to spend your evening, but seriously, some evening events wouldn't kill them.

LOW

Organization
For all of the control surrounding the panel content itself, myself and many others, were baffled by the lack of organization when it came to other areas, especially getting into panels. There have been many reports of attendees organizing lines themselves, without the help of any staff members, lines that in some cases were dissasembled when staff members got involved. The instructions for press remained unclear throughout the entire process, as they were told to wait in line, then not to wait in line, then to wait until everyone who was in line got in (despite having already left the line to wait in another line) to come up right before the panel for press seating, to do so only to discover there is no press seating, and so on. There was so little consistency, that a lot of the time, people didn't know when to wait in line, where or for how long, and would end up dedicating hours of their day to get into a panel that was so far from full, they could have just walked in five minutes before and not had a problem. To add to this frustration, there was only one - ONE - door we were allowed to enter the convention center from. Which meant if I had to go to the Arena or had a meeting at the Xbox booth, I still had to go all the way to the far side to enter.

So that about does it for me. I could include the LOW of I woke up Saturday morning with 15 bites on the small of my back, but since that concerns the Anaheim Hilton, not D23 itself, I can't exactly fault Disney, but it does mean I may be trying out the Marriott next time if I ever come back. All in all, a strange experience that has done a good job of putting me off Disney for the time being. If you're wondering about going yourself, all I can say is, if you loves you some Disney, sure. If you aren't obsessed with Disney? So not worth it.

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D23 - Disney Chomps Off Marvel's Balls And Marvel Likes It

Today at D23, in a Herculean display of awfulness, Disney forced Joe Quesada to explain to a half full audience what Marvel was and what it has in common with Disney. He explained to us how in lieu of talking about actual Marvel properties or making any sort of announcement, Disney specifically requested that he give the audience a history lesson. So, the one Arena panel I thought *wouldn't* be one big Disney dick sucking session turned out to be just that, yet again. Even down to the Mickey Mouse shirt and professment of love for old school Disney from Quesada himself. To his credit, he put together a great lesson and really did his best to seem like he was enjoying getting raped through the ear, but I skipped out on free Breakfast to spend an hour learning what I already knew, on this occasion infused with Disney Ego, so I was not a happy camper.

Thankfully, the Q&A portion of a normal Cup O'Joe was retained, though this also demonstrated that they *could* have done a Q&A during the Walt Disney Studios panel and simply did not. But the Q&A, bizarrely consisting of way too many Boom Studios questions from Disney fans (how many times can the man say Marvel isn't working with Boom?!), still didn't feel like the right experience, as most of the questions Joe could not answer. On top of that, the session was extremely short and when a fan asked if they could show the Avengers footage from the day before and Joe said yes, he was quickly shut down, much to the disappointment of the actual Marvel fans who stayed in the room after the massive exodus took place at the beginning of the Q&A.

While it was interesting enough to learn about Marvel's history straight from Queseda himself, it was inherently so skewed towards convincing the audience how well Marvel meshed with Disney, that I felt like I was somehow being lied to or deceived. Something felt very wrong about being hit over the head with what Marvel and Disney had in common (If you're wondering - "Storytelling, Community, Accessibility, Appeals to all ages"), when one of these companies I love so much and the other, I have such a massive like/hate relationship with. A relationship that wasn't helped by ANYTHING at D23, I'll tell you that much.

And you know what I kept thinking of during this Disney & Marvel making a baby love-fest? Jack Kirby. The family and estate of whom Disney fucked out of their rights earlier this summer. Work for hire blah blah blah 1909 bullshit laws, I don't give a shit, someone should have had some compassion, and that someone is never Disney. Awfully devilish in the courtroom for all their hemming and hawwing about being about love and family, aren't they? Yeah, your family values really show when you screw Jack Kirby's family out of anything that should rightfully belong to them. I won't argue about the invalidity of an archane act, developed before artists even understood the meaning of what not owning the rights to your own work meant, but I will say that I was not the only one with Kirby on the mind. A giant section of fans screamed wildly when his name was announced as one of the first to create for Marvel.

Ultimately, the panel was an utter disappointment for Marvel fans with no news, no information, no sneak peaks, no special guests, no title specifics, no giveaways, nothing. And while the majority of the people in attendance had never been to a Cup O' Joe panel (Quesada had audience members raise their hands), the room was still only half full to start. So okay, several hundred Disney fans learned about the history of Marvel today. Great. Doesn't change the fact that any Marvel fan who bought a ticket and came to Anaheim for this convention would have been sorely disappointed by the entire experience and certainly doesn't change the fact that Disney fans are in no way the right target audience for Marvel. You know who is? Other genre fans. Like the ones who don't necessarily read Marvel yet, but go to Comic-Con to find out if they should.

But enough of my bitching. If you'd like to know what information was relayed at the panel, I've provided my live account after the jump, beginning with the history lesson, skipping past all the "Disney and Marvel were made for each other "expository bullshit. Maybe you will find some value in it and my missing free Breakfast won't entirely be in vain.

*****

There are over 7,000 characters and two years into the Disney partnership, there are 8,000 partners.

Then we go into the history of Marvel. In 1938, Superman came into being, in 1939, Batman came into being. In 1939, Timely Publications published the first ever Marvel Comics. In 1941, Captain America, created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby has his first comic. A large portion of the audience claps for Jack Kirby. Yeah. That's right. Eff you, Disney. 19 year old Stan Lee wrote his first piece of comics in Captain America #3. When superheroes weren't selling, Timely started publishing comics of all different kinds.

In the late 50s/early 60s, superheros came back into style. Legend has it that Martin Goodman was playing golf with some publishers who were bragging about their superhero comics and their Justice League. Martin went back to the offices and said Stan, I want you to make a superhero team. Stan thought about it, came back to Martin and said, a superhero team with major problems, like real people. Martin said, no, you're crazy! They solve problems, don't have them! Stan Lee said he wants them to be everyday shlubs, not matinee heroes. Martin said no, that's not what superheros are. Stan Lee went home and said he couldn't do this anymore. His wife said, hey, why don't you quit and make your own comics? He did and in 1961, he created the Fantastic Four. This is when the modern Marvel universe started. One year later in 1962, Stan created Spiderman.

In the years following, Stan and other creators "shifted the paradigm" and started the "Marvel Age" of comics. Characters that were more honest than the ones that came before. Then, some mild DC bashing begins. Superman and Batman put on this facade of secret identities in order to live among us. Clark Kent is bumbling, Bruce Wayne is a playboy, nothing like their actual persons. Marvel is different. "Every best Spiderman story is a great Peter Parker story"

In the 70s, Marvel began to enter the zeitgeist. A pop culture phenomenon. In 1971, The Hulk was on the cover of Rolling Stone and they wrote a story on Marvel and its popularity in colleges. In the 80s, there were tons of TV shows based on Marvel properties.

In the 90s, there was an "unprecedented growth" for Marvel. But Marvel started to focus away from story and attracted speculators instead of readers, more on artwork than story, more about collectables. The bottom then fell out of the comics market, Marvel went into Chapter 11. Why? They forgot what was in their DNA, lost track of that.

This is a story very similar to Disney, when they had to rediscover what made them great in the first place.

So in the year 2000, a new management team came in and began "Project Rebirth" and rebirthed the house of ideas. Had to start at the foundation.

Content: Storytellers. Went out and found the best writers possible. Focused on stories and an interconnected universe and story lines. Their characters all live in the same world.
"Content is King!" became the motto

Connection: Fanbase creates a universe within a universe, tell them what they want to see, and they try to provide those things, along with a great story. "True Believer Experience" begins when fans can connect with them. Cup O Joe is a weekly column where Joe answers fan questions. Runs a clip of Marvel's "open video letter" to 30 Rock, after 30 Rock destroyed an issue of Marvel Academy #8. Pretty cute video. Also mentions Marvel.com as a great place to connect. Also played clip of Isaiah Mustafah as Luke Cage.

Characters: Remembering that they are real people with real lives, living in the real world (cue: Iron Man issue featuring Tim Gunn). Use the real world as the canvas - if the Fantastic Four needs to go to the White House right now, the president would be Obama. Diversity is a big part of Marvel, characters in all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Black Panther was the first African character in comics, created in 1966. Joe remembers reading this story and thinking, these are books about my world, my life, people in this book are reflecting the people around me, in my neighborhood, in my city. Was attracted to the real world aspect.

They put all the pieces together and became the #1 comic book publisher in the world. Over 60 titles a month & 45 trade paperbacks a month. Published in 75 countries and in 22 languages. #1 digital comics publisher in the world. Marvel App has 3,000 downloadable titles. Streamling library, subscription based, has over 10,000 comics.

Marvel Studios. Was none in 2000. Started licensing out the characters to other studios, but weren't produced by Marvel. The tides turned with Blade. New Line saw something in the character, made it into a great movie, and other studios started taking note and wanting to make movies with the characters and Marvel took note too, they wanted to produce their own titles.

Showed clip that played at the end of the first Iron Man.

Proud of that interconnectivity that helped define Marvel in the 60s tgar *should* be an aspect of the films to be truly Marvel. Proceeded to show all of the clips from all of the Marvel studios films displaying this incerconnectivity.

Joe mentions his daughter was too afraid to meet Tom Hiddleston.

Fun Fact Alert: When the first draft of the Captain America script came in, Joe mentioned that the broadcast was of a Yankees game, but Rogers is from Brooklyn, so it should be the Dodgers. So they changed it!

Marvel Television started happening a few years before the Disney purchase. Used to have many animated shows, but they werent necessarily made by Marvel. But then Marvel made Superhero Squad and The Avengers and next up is Ultimate Spiderman, produced solely (for the most part) by Marvel creatives. Showed sneak peak at the show, which looks fun.

Showed trailer for animated show available on iTunes, taken from pages of Thor Loki. Kind of like a motion comic, but animated a bit more fully through CGI. A little edgier than other Marvel animated content.

So everything is going great, when Disney knocks on the door, inquiring about purchase. Joe shows some fun Marvel/Disney mash up artwork.

But what this partnership really looks like is that Disney promised they could operate autonomously, provide the content that they provide - "Just be Marvel" and let Disney make you "as big as we can."

The audience leaves as I try to listen to the Q&A and it annoys me

Do they have any Marvel stage productions in the works?
Nothing right now, but you never know, especially with Disney now


Why is there no booth here?
First D23, decisions not made by creative, so he doesn't know, but hopes next time there is one

When you reboot the comics, do you find it difficult to bring in new crowd while still paying homage to older generations?
They try not to do hard reboots - they still have their history from back in the 60s. What they did do is create a serpate universe, th eUltimate Universe, what if they were creating the universe in 2001, how would universe be created?

Future for Marvel in the Disney parks?
They are having some talks

Can we hope that Spiderman, X-Men and FF will be incorporated some day into cinematic universe?
Would be fantastic, but no plans right now.


Any plans to redo Howard the Duck and will it be revealed he is related to Donald?
Coming upon the 25th anniversary of the movie, so there might be something there

Has there been any interaction or conflict with existing Disney comics?
No conflict. Haven't worked with Boom studios at all.


Who are your favorite villains?
Galactus, cause he just kinda stands there and everyone is scared of him. Such a heady 70s idea that he eats planets.

In the 90s, they got a huge slew of characters from the Alterverse, are we seeing them soon?
No, but he can't tell them why, it's a legal question

(Someone named Bob asks if we can see yesterday's Avenger's footage. He is wearing an X-Men First Class Xavier shirt from Comic-Con)
Joe says yes and asks tech if we can.

If Boom isn't publishing old titles anymore, would Marvel take anything over like Uncle Scrooge?
Hasn't heard anything about anything Boom Studios at all

How about Darkwing Duck?
Not working with Boom

What is happening with Marvel rides at Universal?
They will remain there


Is Marvel going to be touching on the end of the world in Dec 2012?
The world ends in Marvel every week!

How do they choose who is going to die? And how do they handle the blowback?
Very simple- all comes out of story. If there is a great story there that involves the death of a character and a plan afterwards, then they'll do it. Doesnt what they do at Marvel, there is always someone who writes and hates it, but that's okay, at the end of the day, any mail is better than no mail, because passion is what they want from their fans.

Is a Deadpool movie in the works?
That belongs to Fox, so they have no control over it. Hears there is stuff in the works.
"Ryan Reynolds will make a great Deadpool, much better than he was a Green Lantern."

Any more shows like the old Black Panther show coming out?
Maybe Marvel Knights is closest. Working a lot at Marvel TV to create shows for XD. More coming.

And that was that. A clip reel of cosplay ran, every photo being from Comic-Con, natch. And I started counting down the hours until I could get the hell out of D23.

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D23 - In Depth Look At The Character Design Of Pixar's Monster's University

Monster's University Production Designer Ricky Nierva and Director Dan Scanlan were on hand at D23 today to provide attendees with an in depth look at the character design of young Mike and Sully in the new Pixar movie set for release in 2013. Below is a live account of what took place.

*****

"Story is King" slide appears on screen
They remind themselves of this often at Pixar.
Can't do character design without story, until they know who characters are and what their stories are.

"Design from the Inside-Out"
Nierva's mantra.
When you design a character, you want to know who are they inside first - best friends, favorite food, hobbies, etc.

An original sketch of Mike and Sully by Monster's Inc director, Pete Docter

Nierva tells a story about how at CalArts, when he brought in a picture he drew of an elephant, the teacher said, now draw me Jim the Elephant or Sally the Elephant. It's not enough to just draw an elephant when telling a story. Can't be generic.

More after the jump



"Designing is Re-designing"
Designs constantly changing. Comes into play here with the new characters.

Show a spread from an Art of Disney book showing the evolution of a character from the Jungle Book. Begins with references, trying different looks, sizes of features, so on and so forth, until they reach the "we got it" moment. That moment where you know you have it because it truly fits the story you are trying to tell.

Scupture of a rejected design for Sully

Show earlier designs from Monster's Inc, specifically Sully and Mike. Sully's were extremely varied designs, all over the map. Mike's designs weren't as varied, but at one juncture, he had no arms and a soul patch.

Boo used to be named Mary and Sully used to be named Barrymore.

"How Do You Make An Eyeball Look 18 Years Old"
Becomes about subtleties
Needed to be able to look at Mike and Sully and know if it's them from Monsters Inc or Monster's University.
"it's not just that they are younger, it's that they are different characters. We were all different people 15 years ago."

Rejected designs for young Mike & Sully

Show some sketches of rejected designs, including Mike with glasses, hair, buzz cut, clothes on, braces, and Sully with hair (including an afro), being fatter because of the "freshmen fifteen hundred", and different clothing elements like sports caps and varsity jackets.

Did around five sculpts per character instead of closer to 30 that they did when originally designing the characters.

Finally showed the final results of both characters, which were shown earlier today in the Arena as well.

Details on Mike: (Getting to see the two characters side by side is pretty important). Slimmer, so the eye is bigger, shorter horns, retainer, reduced eyebags, more isolated cheeks, younger, juicier, smoother skin, nicer nails, reduced wrinkling and whiter teeth. Went with the retainer as the "hook" so you can tell right away that this is the Mike from Monster's University.

All of this also impressively shows how much detail went into initially aging the characters. They look their age!

Audience awwwwwes at Sully reveal. Nierva is ecstatic with that reaction.

Details on Sully: Mussier hair, kind of a mullet, better posture, brighter colors, softer eyes, small arms, less eye baggage, eyes slightly closer together, improved teeth and nicer, smoother nails.

After going through these detailed designs, they opened the floor up to Q&A. Huzzah!

Does the casting ever influence the design?
They try to capture the essence in every design. People often tell them "Woody looks just like Tom Hanks! Dory looks just like Ellen!" But they don't actually look just like them - it's people picking up on the essence of the voice actor captured in the design.

Will we see Roz [or other characters from the first film]?
Definitely their plan to have some familiar faces pop up, because they love those characters, but can't say specifics.


Boo, right?
Scanlan can't say, but Nierva offers - "It's a prequel!"

Why a prequel?
Wanted to tell more story about Mike & Sully's relationship - it's what interested Scanlan and Nierva about this project. Seemed like the natural place to go. And they wanted to build the University world itself.

How thrilled were Billy [Crystal] and John [Goodman] to be back, ten years later, to make a prequel, only possible in Animation?
Great that they get to keep the same cast, has been so fun recording them, just recorded them together at once for the first time since the first movie. They hadn't seen each other in a while, but were so happy to jump back into those characters, were doing improv and having a great time.

Is it gonna be a period film since it's a prequel?
Scanlan thinks Monsters Inc is kind of timeless, with a touch of different eras. They may play around with time a little bit. But if you look at the Scare Floor in first movie, it's a mixture of old and new technology, so it's hard to figure out when exactly it's supposed to happen. They are going for the "nostalgia" feeling, more than going back to a specific time period, but he points out that all the great college films come from the 80s, so that will be a heavy influence.

Will there be a new villain?
Scanlan can't talk about, but they will be opening up the world, tons of new characters, wish they could talk about them more. But they will blow our minds.

Is it harder to design an older character or a younger character?
Separate challenge for both. Prequels are challenging because people already know how it ends up. Did a lot of studying, design wise, looking at pictures of people growing up. Hairstyles are the biggest differences they noticed.

Are there any rejected designs from the original film that they looked at for Monsters University?
Always dipping into that well. Aren't any in particular they used this time, but the ideas they come up with, they never forget, and evolve into something new. Good ideas never go to waste.

Will they be changing the locations of the Monster's world, like making the streets cleaner?
They will be different in some way, but maybe less clean in the corners, more tangible. Campus is huge with lots of detail that will be picked up more and more with every viewing.

How does merchendising affect character design?
Always goes for story first and character first. That being said, there is probably a style they would still try to get to, but not just for merchendising purposes, but because it's true to the world. When Nierva was working one day, someone saw him designing and said "that might be in the Main Street parade one day!" and he couldn't deal - he doesn't like thinking about that stuff, becomes too nerve wracking.

Are they digitally making them sound younger?
They don't know if that is necessary, cause they are always amazed with how younger the characters look just with the way they move and the younger design.

They videotape the sessions to capture the idiosyncrasies of the actors as reference.

Did their college experiences influence anything in this movie?
Oh yes. Doesn't think you need to have gone to college to understand this movie, it's still universal. Lots of dramatic things happen in college and you realize there is a whole level of challenge you werent expected and realize you may not be who you thought you were, lots of self discovery. Looks back at college now romantically, but it was horrible at the time, terrifying. But absolutely it influences this movie, whih is why he loves telling the story in this setting.

How much of yourself do you put into the design of a character?
Nierva jokes about Sully's mullet coming from him. They can't not put a little bit of themselves into it since they create it. Can't help but do it.

How did they break into the industry?
They got really lucky. Scanlan thinks he wouldn't get in it nowadays. Says it's the same old hard work and loving it. Nierva says there is no "secret" it's just hard work and passion. Nierva attributes his working for Pixar to dumb luck and timing. Interned at Turner after graduating from Cal Arts, Turner was bought by WB, met the art director of Toy Story, got to be on the team, which continued to Monsters Inc. "If you love doing it, we'll find you." Many of them used to always make flip books growing up in every book they came across.

Are we going to see the establishment of Mike & Sully's relationship?
Without getting into specifics, yes, it's the concept of the film, how they became friends and what that meant

Nierva cried at the wrap party for Up because making it was such a fun experience. When these things end, you hope you can work on another great movie like that. And Monster's University is like that, getting to revisit something great.

*****

So there you have it. I always love getting to hear artists talk about their art and am beginning to notice more and more how partial I am to presentations involving slides and concept art. It was a joy to hear from the animators themselves how this movie came to be, how the character design has been going, and how much they love doing what they do. Reaffirms my newest Bucketlist entry to "Visit Pixar Studios" roughly twelve-fold.

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D23 - A Look at Walt Disney Studios' Upcoming Animation Slate

 Saturday marked the massive Walt Disney Studios panel, which brought lots of footage. In fact, pretty much only footage, along with a couple of announcements and staged bits. Some Q&A would have been nice, but apparently, Disney can't handle wild cards like "people" so there was very little room for spontaneity. Still, we saw some interesting stuff, so to jump start our Saturday coverage, here are my impressions of what Walt Disney Studios Animation had to offer.

PLANES
First up was Planes, a film that takes place in (or as the teaser points out, "above") the Cars Universe. The director's father was an aviator, which sits nicely with the Pixar folk as they loves them some authenticity. The main character is Dusty, voiced by Jon Crier, who appeared on stage to talk about what an honor it had been to work with Pixar on this project - "Every so often I get an email that says I have a Planes session and I'm like ::cue guttural sounds of joy::". John Lasseter, present to run the whole Animation portion of the show, gave some insight into the work of a voice over actor on a Pixar film. He explained that the lead actor would typically come in for 10 sessions over the course of two years, and it's not uncommon for the character to design to change with every session, as it is molded and transformed by the actor's performance. The teaser clip was cute enough and I can say without hesitation that this *will* be a movie I go in theaters, unlike Cars 2, because flying through the air in 3D makes me a happy.

More after the jump!



WRECK IT RALPH
The non Pixar joint of the bunch, Wreck It Ralph, in short, looks absolutely wonderful. Yeah. Wonderful is the word I am using. And I mean it. Get this film on your radar NOW. Set in the world of video games, Ralph is an 8 bit video game villain struggling with his role as a "bad guy." Determined to find a way to be a good guy in the world of gaming, he heads to Game Central Station, on a quest to find a place that could use him as a hero. His trek takes him through a modern FPS where he has to battle space bugs, as well as to a car racing game set in a land made of candy, where he uncovers a dark secret, and my guess - saves the day and becomes the hero he so yearns to be. We got to see the first four and a half minutes of the film, which was a combination of 8 bit animation, pre-vis and black and white storyboarding, set against an absolutely hilarious voice over from John C. Riley, who is voicing the titular destroyer of buildings, Ralph. In this opening to the film, we get plenty of back story, as well as a peak inside a "Bad-anan" meeting, where Ralph and a group of famous video game villains discuss how to accept their bad-ness. The delightfully goofy and clever sequence ends with the Bad-Anon oath, which goes a little something like "I'm bad and that's good, I will never be good and that's not bad...."

Brought on to stage were Jack McBrayer, looking entirely too tan, and Sarah Silverman, two of the voice in the cast, along with Riley and Jane Lynch. Director Rich Moore informs us that "this is a great cast." Which I definitely knew already. Oh Disney. Telling us how awesome you are any chance you get. Keep on keeping on. Sarah entertains the crowd with some of her trademark humor. Highlights included "I've always wanted to go Anaheim but not go to Disneyland!" and in reference to why she has a love/hate relationship with Disney-Pixar, "I hate that they make me feel."

Long story short, the film looks hilarious, endearing, fun and truly different from the rest of their slate and anyone else's slate. I cared not a whit about this movie before today, and now it's easily one of my most anticipated.

BRAVE
Brave is an exciting movie for Pixar in many respects. As Lasseter pointed out, it's their first "sort of fairytale", their first period film, and their first film with a female main character. We got to see a featurette that had clips of their research in Scotland, images of and information on all the characters, storyboards, sketches, finished animation, still frames and more, taking us through the story. The featurette didn't particularly pique my interest, as it seemed like, well, very much previously tread territory. I found nothing original or inspiring about this, my only interest resting in the accents and score possibilities. The cast is certainly impressive, including Kelly McDonald, BIlly Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane and Kevin McKidd (two of which were there in person - Thompson and McKidd), but I wasn't truly intrigued until a work in progress scene was screened for the audience. In this scene, three suitors vying for Merida's attention compete in a bow & arrow competition, which yields some unexpected results. The producers requested that we not spoil the scene, so I'll refrain from specifics, but the scene did actually get me leaning forward in my seat a bit. There was tension, the animation was beautiful, there were Pixarian laughs - it definitely seems to be on its way. I'm still not sold, as the story seems wholly uninspired, which is a shame considering if it fails, there will no doubt be grumblings blaming the fact that it has a female lead, as people did with Princess & The Frog, but hopefully I'm wrong and they are simply withholding the details that will make this film as special as I hope it to be.

MONSTER'S UNIVERSITY
My most anticipated animated film going into this panel, hands down. And although Billy Crystal was there and we got some glimpses of the character and location design, I still would have liked some actual footage. Monster's Inc is my favorite Pixar film and I am ecstatic for this film. Director Dan Scanlan took us through some design slides, showing us smaller, college aged versions of Mike (sporting a retainer) and Sully (significantly skinnier) and their cohorts - cool monsters, nerdy monsters, gothic monsters, the lit professor, the drama teachers, the coach, the frats, the sororities, the building where Mike & Sully learn to scare, the dorms, and more. We also got a little more insight into the story itself. Mike and Sully have apparently known each other since grade school, but as they both wanted to be famous Scarers, they hated each other with a passion. Monsters University is where we get to see them grow from enemies to lifelong friends. As research, the team traveled to many different colleges, as they "went to art school and don't know what real college looks like", which I, having gone to NYU, completely relate to. They also announced Steve Bushemi returning as Randall, and brought Billy Crystal on stage (to a standing ovation! Interesting. Huh.) to pretty much just say "Trust me. It's hilarious." (Disney, if you keep hitting me over the head so much with the fact you are so great, I'm gonna start to wonder why you feel the need to say it so much over and over. Overcompensating much? Cut it out!). Although we got to see no actual footage, I'm completely on board, and was glad to see what and learn what we got to see and learn.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The panel ended with two new announcements. One from producer John Walker, of The Incredibles and director Bob Peterson, who wrote Finding Nemo and Up, and is best known by me for voicing Dug, was "The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs." opening Holiday 2013. There was only one piece of concept art, but it was gorgeous.

The second announcement was from producer Jonas Rivera and Director Pete Doctor. Set for release in Summer 2014, all we really know is "Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind." Oh hell yeah. I'm so in, Pete Docter. You're my favorite.

The panel concluded by John Lasseter announcing that we all got cupcakes. And then we all got cupcakes. I'm not kidding. They were delicious. Like, unnaturally delicious. They may have been drugged with happy thoughts for all I know, cause it is Disney after all, and maybe they sensed I wasn't completely sold on Brave. But whatever the intention, bribery or genuinely wanting to do something nice for the fans, I appreciated the gesture and in any event, Nov 2, 2012 is already marked in my calendar for Wreck It Ralph.

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D23 Live Blog: Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

Coming to you straight from day one of D23, where I will be reporting from all weekend long, is the first recap of many large events taking place this year - the look at what's new with Disney Parks and Resorts. My favorite part of Disney, aside from the animated films, are the parks, so I've been looking forward to this one. My live-blog, with updates on the Fantasyland Expansion in Florida, the new Hawaiian spa & resort, the Shanghai park, and the massive California Adventure add-ons await below!

*****

The parks & resorts panel starts a half hour late. I'm a half hour late. This works out well for me.
I immediately notice that instead of having someone signing for the deaf, there is a screen with written text that shows up as its said. I don't know how I feel about this, as I know many interpreters who make a living precisely with jobs like this. Hrm.

The panel begins with a video, followed by the D23 band with Mickey on drums. Tom Staggs, chairmain of parks & resorts, comes on stage to chat with Mickey about Dancing with the Stars or some such nonsense. They mention the new Disney resorts in Hawaii and Shanghai, before hokey jazz finally plays Mickey off and Staggs gets on with the show.

Staggs - "We are in the middle of our largest expansion for Disney Parks & Resorts"

Staggs talks about launching the Disney Dream (Cruise Ship) and the Shanghai Disney groundbreaking as great moments this past year. Specifically notes enjoying spending time with the "cast members" aka people who work at Disney resorts. What runs next is a video of Staggs moonlighting as one of these cast members, sketch style, singing in a Barbershop Quartet, giving out balloons, piloting the Jungle Cruise (to rousing applause - people love the Jungle Cruise) and more. Okay. Sure. Why not.

I notice that people sitting in front of me are some of these Disney "cast members" Staggs is talking about. I hope they didn't have to pay for tickets to be here.

Staggs brings up the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, the Fantasyland expansion, opening in Fall of 2012. He brings the Chief Creative Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, Bruce Vaughn, on stage.

More after the jump



Vaughn explains that they build a detailed model for every new attraction to get a true feel for what it will look like and it also helps with logisitics like sight lines and guest flow. The model is pretty impressive with full topography. We start on the Little Mermaid Ride. They took a classic dark ride and added new animatronic figures and special effects. At California Adventure, the Little Mermaid facade is at Paradise Pier. But in Florida, the ride has its own dedicated site, where guests will walk along the seashore and enter through Eric's castle. The rendering looks pretty gorgeous, not gonna lie.
The new Fantasyland will "take the meet and greet to a whole new level." With the Belle meet and greet, kids can enter her cottage and can help Belle act out and tell her stories with Lumiere, who will be hosting the attraction. Vaughn notes that Lumiere is one of the most difficult animatronics they have ever worked on.

Next up: The Snow White dwarf mine family coaster. They have been building a new ride system from scratch. First time in any parks that they are focusing a ride on the seven dwarves and their stories. The imagineers felt inspired by the mine sequence in Snow White and really wanted to get the ride right. Needed the units to sway the way the mine carts do in the film, and based on footage of testing the car on the back of a pick-up truck, looks like they nailed it. And may make me nautious. To quell my fears, or make them worse, they showed bits of a computer rendering of the first person experience of the ride. It seemed most reminiscent of a Splash Mountain or not-as-fast Thunder Mountain. But not as nausea inducing as some of the earlier graphics of the mine-car instilled in me.

That was it for Vaughn. Damn. I could have used more of that. Next up are details on Aulani, the Hawaiian Disney resort. It certainly looks beautiful, but I'd like to know what makes it different from other spa resorts. My answer arrives in the form of singing Hawaiian children and ukuleles galore! Hmm. No. Still not sure why I would pick a Disney resort in Hawaii over any other. But this music is providing a nice ambiance as I type!

"Answer to families that want a great Disney experience but also what everything Hawaii has to offer." Okay, I guess that's quite literally an answer. There will be spaces for kids, teens, adults and an area for everyone to be together. There is a beach house just for kids with games, Disney characters, crafts, and more. For Teens, there is a place with computer stations, events, lounge stations, yogurt bar, and spa experiences designed just for young adults. For adult adults, there is 18,000 square foot spa and fitness center. Complete menu of traditional spa services and new ones based on ancient Hawaiian traditions. There is also a pool, water slides and lazy river for the whole family.

A video from the lead designer of Aulani from Hawaii is then screened, showing off the decor of the lobby and the outside valley that boasts special effects spread secretly throughout the mini water park. The resort opens August 29th and does look beautiful. Though I'd personally rather NOT be surrounded by anything Disney if I'm not specifically going to Disneyland, you know? I'm sure this is all kinds of exciting for the hardcore Disney vacationers out there, but for me? Not so much.

Tom Staggs is secretly a ham and this audience is eating it up. People really love Disney this much, ay? Fascinating.

Staggs announces that one family will win a trip to Aulani and tells the audience to searc
under their seats for a sticker. It's won by a young boy wearing glasses and my heart kind of melts.

Next up - Shanghai Disney Resort, the third resort in Asia and sixth in the world. It broke ground in April and is being built now. Imagineer Bob Weis, who is the head designer of this resort is welcomed on stage to talk specifics. "Literally building this from the ground up." The audience is amused by the slideshow as the photos from the site are nothing but dirt and enormity. But some fancy computer effects change the dirt into a resort in front of our eyes. Which fine, is kind of cool. Weis says it will be classic Disney, but influenced with the culture and traditions of China as well. Working with Chinese historians, authors and more to help make the park as authentic as they can. Hints that dragons will play a role. This castle in particular with be unlike any of the others in any of the other five parks. They showed us a piece of CGI that takes us through what the castle will be like. Five full stories with a gorgeous wrap around staircase in the lobby. So kind of an actual castle, it looks like. "Huge," Staggs point out. I think I got that much on my own, thank you very much. This enchanted storybook castle will represent ALL the Disney princess, not just one. There will be a stage in the center of the lobby. Highly immersive, boutique in the lobby with character meet & greets as well. 3rd floor will have an immersive attraction that takes you through stories and the 2nd floor will have a full restaurant. Immersive features and special effects all throughout the castle. Announced just today - this will be the first castle to feature a ride going through it. A ride going through Fantasyland will have a finale in the grotto of the castle, with a music, color and water experience.

Finally to the expansion of California Adventure! Infusing the park with "more Disney DNA", there will be a brand new main entrance that leads to Buena Vista street, sending guests to Los Angeles of the 1920s and 30s. Will completely reshape the entrance experience to the park with new archetecture, shopping and dining. The "Main Street" of Disney California Adventure (DCA). "Red Cars" aka trolleys will be available to take from the main entrance around the whole park. Showed 3D fly through of Beuena Vista street. Omg. California history, Walt's history, pretty awesome. End of street is new "icon" for DCA, which is reinvention of Carthay Circle theater, which will have restaurant inside developed by Andrew Sutton of Napa Roads.

They are building a 12 acre area called Cars Land for DCA, which includes a giant mountain range. Kathy Mangum, who is heading up Cars Land, is welcomed on stage to chat a bit about it. I'm still bothered that the biggest part of DCA is going to be based on Cars...I didn't even see Cars 2. Is how little I care. Mangum says they watched the movie "about a hundred times" during the research and development phase, then took an 8 day trip on route 66, to "get to know the people and places that inspired the movie that is inspiring the land." In this land, we can enter establishments owned by every character of Cars. Route 66 will be their "Main Street" in Radiator Springs. Showed slides of where the construction is right now, next to final renderings. The audience was bizarrely excited by a tire ride which is in the spirit of the old space saucers ride at Tomorrowland, testing in the next couple weeks. Radiator Springs Racers is the main attraction of Cars Land. They are also creating attractions for Cars Land inspired by back story that didn't make it into the movie and are building the original Radiator Spring.

Finally, the president of the Disneyland Resort, Gerorge Kalogridis, comes on stage. The staff members sitting in front of me LOVE him. They are working on a series of special experiences to allow guests to interact in a whole new way, like having dinner in the Haunted Mansion with imagineers, a tea party with your favorite princesses, or experiencing attractions from old school Disneyland. Peoplemover or bust! Because Club 33 has a closed waiting list, they are also announcing an expansion of sorts, more details coming in 2012. The biggest announcement? They are expanding Fantasyland and creating Fantasy Faire. For some reason, the staff member in front of me doesn't like this. At the heart of Fantasy Faire is Tangled Tower. Fantasy Faire will have a new stage at at certain times of day there will be maypole ribbon dancing fun times. There will still be dancing at night. To which the staff members in front me respond "Thank god" and clap wildly. Huh? Always nice to end a panel on a highly confusing note.

But not gonna lie, if the goal here is to make me want to go across the street to Disneyland...yeah, I do, it worked. Can I? I want to. I think I'm going to. Damnit, Disney.

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The Fabulous Adventures of Alan Swift!

Dear LA Fangirls (and boys): New York is not the only place to see good theater at recession prices! The hilariously imaginative folks at cARTel currently have a new production up, at the Hayworth Theatre, entitled The Fabulous Adventures of Alan Swift (...Or Journey to the Center of Queer). The play travels through time, space, and queerness...and that should be more than enough of a description to sell you on it! The show only has one weekend left so go buy your tickets here now for just $10 (or $15 at the door). And make sure you get to the theater early to enjoy the pre-show reception that includes a visual art gallery and live music.







The Fabulous Adventures of Alan Swift (...Or Journey to the Center of Queer)



Who:

A cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA production (in collaboration with Bob Baker Marionette Theater)

Written by: Matt Chester

Directed by: Jack Nicolaus

Assistant Directed by: Miles Marsico

Featuring: Daniel Halden, Justin Baker, Katie Smith, Nichole Elise, Phil Daddario, J. Steadman, BJ Allman, Perry Young, Laryn Stout, Laura Cheek, Christan Copeland



Where:

Hayworth Theatre

Corner of Wilshire and Carondolet



When:

Friday, 8/19

Saturday, 8/20

Sunday, 8/21

all shows start @ 8pm (with a reception at 7:15pm)

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Bon Iver Rocks Prospect Park

Those of us fortunate enough to see Bon Iver in concert, at Prospect Park Bandshell, understand that we experienced pure musical magic. The concert was a part of the Celebrate Brooklyn! series and it was my first official show there (because watching Andrew Bird for one song, from outside the gates, hardly seems to count). And it was my favorite show I've experienced since I moved to New York a year ago.







Both Bon Iver albums are subtly beautiful. You listen and gladly invite the glorious melancholy to creep into your skin. The albums are subtly epic--audio masterpieces that don't require loudly ampliefied instruments or insanely catchy beats to make you feel the grandeur. Their concert at Prospect Park, however, really felt epic in a more traditional or obvious sense. I was surprised to feel so physically energized by the sound. Without even realizing it till the end, I found myself on my feet the whole show. I was ecstaticly bouncing around and clapping when they played "Calgary" and "Flume" back-to-back. And I was immesurably happy when they did two encores that included "Skinny Love", "Wolves", and a cover of Bjork's "Who Is It" (from her album Medulla).



Bon Iver is even more magical live. You really hear the entire band and all the instrumental contributions because you get to see and feel their energy in person. Justin Vernon's voice is that uniquely, painfully wonderful. And Vernon was the sweetest, humblest lead singer, constantly thanking the audience for coming out to Bon Iver's biggest headlining show. But it's really us, the audience, that have to thank him, the rest of the band, and the New York weather Gods for giving us such an unforgettable Summer evening. It truly was one of my favorite concert experiences.

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Fringe Festival Fun

New Yorkers! It's that time of year again--where you go watch cheap, independent theater (aka when your Facebook event page blows up with invites from your actor/director/writer friends' shows). It's time for The New York International Fringe Festival . There are so many shows happening in the course of the festival's two-week span and I'm here to help you sift through them with my recommendations. Based on plays that include talented artists (whom I've had the pleasure of watching in previous shows) and plays that just sound awesome, I've compiled a list of highly recommend shows for you to go watch. So go out and support these small theater companies!



ATFG First Ever Fringe Guide (after the jump):





No Fault: A Tale About the Big D in the Big Apple



Who:

A Carnival Girls production

Written by: Christie Perfetti

Directed by: Bryn Boice

Featuing: Charmaine Broad, Christopher Catalano, Stephanie Anne Ervin, Rich Fromm, Laura Killeen, Melanie Ryan, Galit Sperling, Matilda Szydagis



Where:

Kraine Theater

85 East 4th Street



When:

Saturday, 8/13 @ 3:30pm

Friday, 8/19 @ 7pm

Monday, 8/22 @ 7pm

Wednesday, 8/24 @ 7pm

Saturday, 8/27 @ 1:45pm





The More Loving One



Who:

Unincorporated Theater

Written by: Cory Conley

Directed by: Craig Baldwin

Featuring: David Beck, Jimmy Davis, Preston Martin, Adriana DeGirolami



Where:

The First Floor Theatre @ LA MAMA

74A East 4th St



When:

Wednesday, 8/17 @ 5:45pm

Saturday, 8/20 @ 7:30pm

Sunday, 8/21 @ 4:00pm

Monday, 8/22 @ 8:00pm

Sunday, 8/28 @ 12:00pm





This One Time In Last Chance!



Who:

Attic Theater Company

Directed by: Laura Braza

Written by: Sam Gooley

Featuring: Rob Bradford, Bill Griffin, Joshua Everett Johnson, Marcus Denard Johnson



Where:

Teatro LATEA at the CSV Cultural Center

107 Suffolk Street



When:

Saturday, 8/13 @ 7pm

Sunday, 8/14 @ 5:30pm

Sunday, 8/21 @ 12pm

Wednesday, 8/24 @ 6pm

Thursday, 8/25 @ 4:15pm





Hard Travelin' with Woody



Who:

Rooster Productions

Based on the Music and Lyrics of Woody Guthrie

Written and Performed by: Randy Noojin



Where:

The Flamboyan Theatre at the CSV Cultural Center

107 Suffolk Street



When:

Saturday, 8/13 @ 12pm

Wednesday, 8/17 @ 9:30pm

Saturday, 8/20 @ 5pm

Monday, 8/22 @ 3:45pm

Thursday, 8/25 @ 7pm





Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending



Who:

Impressionable Players

Based on the play by Wililam Shakespeare

Directed by: Ann Fraistat

Written by: Ann Fraistat and Shawn Fraistat

Featuring: Kyra Corradin, James Waters, Katie Jeffries



Where:

Teatro SEA at the CSV Cultural and Educational Center

107 Suffolk Street



When:

Saturday, 8/13 @ 12pm

Thursday, 8/18 @ 7:30pm

Saturday, 8/20 @ 2:15pm

Sunday, 8/21 @ 2:30pm

Friday, 8/26 @ 4:15pm





Courtney and Kathleen: A Riot Act



Who:

In Extremis Theater Company

Written and Directed by: Liz Thaler



Where:

The First Floor Theatre @ La MaMa

74 A East 4th Street



When:

Saturday, 8/13 @ 10pm

Wednesday, 8/17 @ 2:00pm

Friday, 8/19 @ 6:15pm

Sunday, 8/21 @ 2:15pm

Monday, 8/22 @ 4:15pm

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