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Has Comic-Con Become a Beast?

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 06:00 CDT

By Scott Bowles

Years ago, Comic-Con quit being about comics and became more about creating pop-culture hits.

But has it become too much? The San Diego convention that once drew 400 people now lures 125,000 people a year, and some convention veterans wonder whether it has gotten to be too much.

"If you're an everyday fan, it's pretty hard to buy a toy or look at a comic book," says David Goyer, comic author, screenwriter for The Dark Knight and director of The Unborn, a horror movie he's bringing to the convention.

"The main rooms are so jam-packed, it's hard to fight your way through them," he says. "It can be stifling and smelly. It's not as much fun as it was before the studios and networks decided they needed to be there every day."

Others, though, are glad to see that attendance has grown so large that it has made the convention as big as prestigious film festivals.

"For certain kinds of movies, it's as important as Sundance or Cannes," says Gale Anne Hurd, producer of The Incredible Hulk and Punisher: War Zone, which will have footage at the convention. "That can make it nerve-racking, but nothing feels better than having a good presentation before these fans -- which is why I think so many people show up, regardless of genre."

To be sure, Comic-Con has over the years morphed into Demographic-Con, as studios and networks try to hit the vital 18- to 34-year-old audience on the big and small screen. This year's fare includes:

*Pineapple Express. Comic-Con favorite Seth Rogen returns to show footage from his comedy about two pot smokers who are on the run from a rogue cop. Opens Aug. 6.

*Tropic Thunder. The most politically incorrect comedy of the year, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller as actors who find themselves in a real war zone, arrives Aug. 13.

*City of Ember. Based on the Jeanne Duprau fantasy novel, Bill Murray stars in this tale of a magical city whose residents face extinction if the lamps that illuminate Ember flicker out. Due Oct. 10.

*Max Payne. An adaptation of the video game, starring Mark Wahlberg as the cold-blooded sharpshooter, comes to screens Oct. 17.

*The Day the Earth Stood Still. This remake of the 1951 classic stars Keanu Reeves as an alien warning of a pending invasion. Due Dec. 12.

*The Spirit. Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson star in a supernatural tale of a cop who returns from the grave to fight evil. Dec. 25.

*Land of the Lost. Will Ferrell stars in the adaption of the campy Saturday-morning TV show about a family that stumbles into a strange land filled with dinosaurs and the dangerous race of Sleestak creatures. Out July 17, 2009.

Source: USA TODAY

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