edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Comic-Con Gaslamp Action

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It's not necessarily a contradiction to say that I love the passion that fuels geek movie culture -- the fact that it's a ardent demo unto itself, and that geeks are heavily invested in the mythology of this or that franchise -- although I'm starting to feel more and more repelled by the CG wham-bam throttle factor that seems to infect every last fantasy, monster and comic-book-derived movie out there.

All to say that I don't want to be swallowed up by a crowd that worships this stuff regardless. I don't want to be part of that vibe at all, even peripherally. I'd rather hang with contrarians than with obedient servants, worshippers and Upper Nile pyramid builders. Which is all to say I'm going through my usual "do I really want go through the hassle of Comic-Con?" dialogue. It all starts on Wednesday evening, and right now I'm thinking I might...naaahh, not likely.

I feel like a number when I'm sitting in that massive hall, sitting there as those promo reels play and the panelists sit and smile and sell their shpiel. What's the big can't miss-this event this year? What reel from what essential movie is being shown with what talent in attendance? I'm looking over the schedule and I'm saying to myself, "I don't know, man...I really don't know." Nikki Finke recently posted each day's activities -- here's July 23rd and 24th, July 25th, July 26th and July 27th.

And I don't look forward to bumping shoulders with the low-life cretins who hang around the Gaslamp district and sometimes spray attitude and start fights. Does anyone remember L.A. Times guy Geoff Boucher writing last year about getting sucker-punched by some tattooed, shaved-head, cutoff-wearing ape, and then getting knocked to the ground and going home the next day with staples in his head?

Don't forget also that Transformers and Shoot 'Em Up producer Don Murphy and his wife also "suffered a similar attack [in the Gaslamp district] that left us in the emergency room for hours....we were with a group of twelve, six people attacked, two arrested."

Boucher wrote that "the cops at the scene said this sort of incident isn't that rare" -- i.e., is somewhat common. Commenters on the Boucher essay page, some of them San Diego residents, didn't strenuously disagree. A poster named "Rob D" called the Gaslamp district "a magnet for stupidity...on any given night during the summer you'll see people stumbling into the street, hanging on street lights and yelling incoherent drunken shit..[the area is] literally a haven for the retarded."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 14, 2008 at 8:13 AM

comment #1

iamjoe says ...

It's funny..I was in the Gaslamp district for the first time in April when it was the opening night for the Padres. I was expecting at least a little of the chaos that happens during any given game down the street at Wrigely..and nothing. It was like church had just gotten out. It just seems so...polite. I really need to come back on a weekend I guess to see this clean area become a staple of California hoodlums that I;m hearing about...

Posted by iamjoe at July 14, 2008 9:56 AM

comment #2

Edward says ...

I've worshiped at the Church of Baseball many times.

Posted by Edward at July 14, 2008 10:53 AM

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Edward: And that has what to do with the subject at hand? Have you done your laundry lately? Wanna have a catch? How's your mom doing? I understand there's a two-for-one special going this week at the car wash on Sepulveda and Santa Monica, etc.

Posted by gruver1 at July 14, 2008 10:56 AM

comment #4

cjKennedy says ...

You seem to be a guy who values being on top of things so you should probably go. Something buzzworthy will happen and you'll feel out of the loop.

Having said that, I don't turn to H-E for this summer action/comic book info. In fact, I come to H-E because I dont have to filter a lot of it out like at so many other sites.

The summer movie buzz machine is a complete drag. The stuff that I'm already commited to seeing (Watchmen), I don't want to know anything about before I see it.

Posted by cjKennedy at July 14, 2008 11:00 AM

comment #5

Zac Bertschy says ...

I'm only going Thursday & Friday this year, mostly because the 2009 tentpole schedule looks kind of lame. The big nerd event this year will be the Watchmen panel, which is basically my sole reason for attending the con at all this time, and I'm sure I'll have to queue up for hours in advance to get in.

Posted by Zac Bertschy at July 14, 2008 11:44 AM

comment #6

Dravot says ...

I dunno... I've been going to the Con (as a professional as well as a fan) for 15 years, and I've never seen a fight or any kind of altercation. I eat most of my evening meals in the Gaslamp, and a couple times I've stayed at hotels some walking distance from the convention center, with no hassles.

That said, I have seen plenty of drunken assholes and party boys 'n' girls in the Gaslamp...

Posted by Dravot at July 14, 2008 1:36 PM

comment #7

BlueRaymondBabbit says ...

Wells, in possible defense of Edward, the Padre's park is within drunken pissing distance of the Gaslamp district. Go ahead and google "petco gaslamp", and maybe cut the guy a break... IF he's referring to the Petco Park itself, and the church-like quiet that ensues in the district. IF NOT, fuck him. Lousy troll.

Anyway, speaking of trolls, goblins, and third-earth costumed superheros, I predict two things at the 2008 Con: the "geek specialty press" interest in Hollywood's Infomercial portion of the convention finally jumps the shark (or nukes the fridge, or whatever), when everything shown and spoken about there turns up via cellphone recordings on YouTube and Rapidshare, bootlegged .pdfs of hot scripts continue spreading among the "talkbackers" or "little people", and studio-released HD Comic-Con-Edition Trailers help stranded fans in Idaho feel a little less left out. I think the Con is immortal -- but I think the geek-press interest in Hollywood's Hype Machine will finally hit the wall.

Second prediction: someone DIES. Heart attack, overweight exhaustion, diabetes, trampling, suffocation... who knows. But this year I say the Con has a body count.

Posted by BlueRaymondBabbit at July 14, 2008 1:57 PM

comment #8

kidkosmic says ...

Wells, will you be bringing your body fat calipers? If so, you can determine if I'm a schlub or an ape, or both. BUT, before you decide, you can view my portfolio to factor in my talents (or lack thereof) into your final equation.

I've heard the SDCC Gaslamp stories, but never personally witnessed the menacing gangs/thugs, and I've spent many a late night on those streets with some con geeeeeeks. Heck, I've managed to make the after hours Tijuana sojourn on a couple of occasions during the con without a hint of trouble. (Perhaps I look like a menacing thug?)

All this said, I think I'll keep my eyes a bit more peeled. Nothing ruins a fun trip like a mugging....

Posted by kidkosmic at July 14, 2008 2:13 PM

comment #9

iamjoe says ...

"But this year I say the Con has a body count."

So true, BlueRaymondBabbit! I've thought the same at some of these shows!

Posted by iamjoe at July 14, 2008 4:00 PM

comment #10

MPNeeb says ...

'Cause, you know, the Gaslamp is the only tourist trap in the world where people get attacked.
Nothing like that has ever happened in Santa Monica, or New Orleans, or Pioneer Square in Seattle...
*****
The big-money panels this year have been strangely de-powered. The Hall H panels on Saturday start and progress fairly well (Heroes, Lost, Disney/Pixar) but end with Sony flacking Underworld 3.
A bit of a letdown, no?
Friday is better with Watchmen and Kevin Smith, but the highest profile day can't live up to the hype by getting people excited about the second Underworld sequel.

Posted by MPNeeb at July 14, 2008 4:46 PM

comment #11