Genre: Documentary
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Writers: Morgan Spurlock and Jeremy Chilnick
Synopsis:
Have you ever imagined a place where Vulcans and vampires get along? Where wizards and wookies can be themselves? Welcome to Comic-Con San Diego. What started as a fringe comic book convention for 500 fans has grown into the pop culture event of the year that influences every form of entertainment, now attended by over 140,000 strong.
COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN’S HOPE- a film by Morgan Spurlock explores this amazing cultural phenomenon by following the lives of five attendees as they descend upon the ultimate geek mecca at San Diego Comic-Con 2010:
- Eric, an aspiring illustrator, is hoping to impress publishers and land a job;
- Holly, costume and creature designer, hopes her creations will win the big prize;
- Chuck, a long-time comic book dealer, is looking for a big sale to pay off his debts;
- Skip, longtime amateur illustrator wants to be discovered at this year’s event;
- James, a young fan, hopes his girlfriend will accept a dramatic proposal.
One on one interviews with Comic-Con veterans who have turned their passions into professions include Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Seth Rogen, Eli Roth and others are shared throughout the film along with up close and up front coverage of all the panels, parades, photos, costumes, crowds and camaraderie that make up one of the largest fan gatherings in the U.S.
Presented by Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN’S HOPE is directed by Morgan Spurlock; produced by Spurlock, Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, Harry Knowles and Thomas Tull; and written by Spurlock and Chilnick.
WATCH THIS. If you are cool enough to be visiting SciFi Mafia, you’re definitely cool enough to enjoy this extremely well-produced documentary. It is a celebration of what Comic-Con once was and acknowledges what it is becoming, sometimes with a bit of rancor, but mostly with a great deal of love for all things Comic-Con, and especially for all of the attendees.
As a 3-year veteran attendee, watching this movie is like watching a professional video of my best vacations ever. I was lucky enough to see this in a theatre in LA, with a lot of other Comic-Con veterans alongside; there is nothing like being able to watch something you love with a lot of other people who share that love. That group experience is one of the things that’s so great about Comic-Con, a fact that is embraced by this production. Joss Whedon says Comic-Con attendees are “my tribe… are we not amazing for being this obsessed?” – but the film also points out that Comic Con has something for everyone, from the person “who never read a comic, to the person who never left mom’s basement.”
As set forth in the synopsis above, the movie approaches the Con by following the featured attendees from their preparation for the Con through their attendance and a little ways beyond: Chuck, a comic book store owner for whom Comic-Con sales can make or break the business; Holly, a costume designer who will be participating in the Masquerade, for her a “metaphorical suicide mission for my future”; James and Se Young, a couple who met at the previous year’s Comic-Con and are panel attendees; and Eric and Skip, two aspiring comic book artists who have taken completely different paths to arrive at this opportunity to have their work reviewed by the professional comic book world. Interviews with these representatives are intercut with footage of them at the Con, along with interviews of a lot of other fans, both famous and not.
I know a lot of people were worried about whether this movie would truly reflect Comic Con. It does. Not completely, but that’s because Comic-Con continues to change (the documentary covers the 2010 event), because Comic-Con is so vast, and because the documentary’s emphasis, though not its sole focus, is on the comic book side of the Con. As they accurately point out, film and TV productions and fans of them are seemingly outnumbering those who are attending for the comics aspect, and that is having an impact. In talking about the changes, Chuck grumbles that “frickin Lucasfilm owns the loading docks”.
As a Con attendee of the “TV and movie panels” variety, this documentary did make me feel slightly uncomfortable about our encroachment into what had originally been comic book territory and about the Con’s transformation into a popular culture convention. Rather than constantly berating, however, the movie does a great deal of educating about the other areas of the Con that don’t get the same amount of press: the comic book sales, the Masquerade, and the artist portfolio reviews. These were really interesting and will definitely be areas to which I’ll pay a lot more attention in July, so Mission Accomplished, Sirs.
There is also a small section about toys – “these are the people who buy the toy then they buy another so they don’t have to open it” – with which I am, oh, let’s call it “familiar.” Panels are not ignored, however, and you will get a peek at, and a feel for, the mighty and awesome Hall H and some of what transpires there.
I have also seen some concern that this documentary would make fun of the attendees. I suppose some might see a few of the shots that way, but to me it felt much more like a celebration of the variety of attendees and their passions. Really, although not every path of every one of the 6 people followed in this movie runs smooth, the overall tone is one of, for me at least, joy, love and excitement.
Don’t be concerned that this is a rough documentary, either. It is beautifully produced, with terrific sound, editing, and picture quality. I’m looking forward to it (hopefully if not presumably) becoming available on Blu-ray; it’s something I want to see again, and to share.
See this movie in a theater if you can, on Video on Demand if you can’t, but whatever you do, see it.
I give Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope Five Out of Five Stars.
Click here for a list of theatres and Movies On Demand providers, premiering April 6.
