Posts Tagged ‘fx con’

As Star Trek's inquisitive science officer Spock, he searched for answers across the galaxy. As the host of In Search Of, and any number of documentaries throughout his career, he has investigated topics that range from technology to aliens and the last days of the Romanovs. And over the past 40+ years he has handled countless conventions and interviews with wit and aplomb. But last Sunday morning, Leonard Nimoy finally heard a question that stumped him.

"My favorite color?" he asked incredulously as the audience howled with laughter. "Who sent you? Who are you?"

"Have you never been asked that before?" the fan asked.

"No!"

"Maybe that's why I asked."

Nimoy considered, then smiled broadly. "Well, good for you!"

(It's blue, by the way.)

Nearly one hundred and fifty people were listening to "A Discussion with Leonard Nimoy" Sunday morning at the FX International convention at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Eager fans shelled out admission fees from $125 to $250. Each received a goody bag with a movie poster, various collectible items and a voucher for an autograph from the man himself (Nimoy was holding court).

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At any science fiction, comics or anime convention, you'll see people in costume. Superheroes, TV and movie characters, cartoons, characters from Japanese anime and manga and video games and more. While it's easy to dismiss them as kids dressing up — and there are certainly plenty of those — in many cases you're witnessing performance art.

"Cosplaying," short for "costume playing," has grown from throwing on a Halloween costume to a full-fledged subculture of people who devote great amounts of time, money and attention on crafting their characters in every detail. Cosplayers often attends cons in themed groups, posing for pictures and role-playing their chosen characters as much as a convention center will allow.

For most cosplayers it's a fun hobby, but Yaya Han, professional costume designer, model and cosplay entertainer (and celebrity guest at this weekend's FX convention in Orlando), does it full time.  She spoke to me recently about being other people for a living.

Why dress up for a convention? What do you get out of it?

It started out as a way to express my fandom. At the beginning it was just fun to portrait my favorite characters and interact with other fans. Costuming makes the most bold statement about what your fandom is, anyone can see what show you like from across the hall. It's a lot more creative and eye-catching than, say, wearing a shirt with the show's name on it, and it brightens the whole convention hall, which without costumers would be just a bunch of people in T-shirt and jeans.

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If you had to pick a word to describe Ben Templesmith's body of work, it would be…

Well, you wouldn't, actually, because trying to boil it down to a single word would probably do nasty things to your brainmeat. But then again, so does his work. It might be easier to describe the sorts of things this Australian commercial-artist-turned-comics-superstar does, and let you draw your own conclusions.

- Artist and co-creator with Steve Niles of "30 Days of Night" (and many spinoffs), about a vampire gang living in Alaska. Became a movie with Josh Hartnett, Melissa George and Danny Huston. Nominated for an Eisner Award, comics' highest honor. Won the Spike TV Scream Award for Best Comic.
- Creator of "Wormword: Gentleman Corpse," about an extra-dimensional sentient maggot that embodies corpses in order to drink Guinness and, occasionally, save the world. Hardback collection made the New York Times Bestseller list.
- Artist for "Fell," written by Warren Ellis, about an honorable detective in a city gone feral. Nominated for an Eisner Award three years running.
- Creator of "Welcome to Hosford," where a prison run by Russian werewolves gets a new inmate/hunt victim named Ray Delgado, who turns out to be just the right kind of delusional murderer to fight back.
- Artist for "Groom Lake," written by Chris Ryall, about the day-to-day job of keeping UFOs secret.

Templesmith will be attending the FX convention in Orlando this weekend, and took a moment to talk to me about it.

Vampires, werewolves, corpses, inexplicable Nixon-mask-wearing nuns… Is the inside of your head a safe place to be?

Absolutely. It's the guys that draw cutesy crap, the Mickey Mouse guys, who you need to worry about. They internalize everything, until it all boils over. Me? I get it all out onto the page, so I'm honestly a nice guy if you were to meet me face to face. Well, except for my small baby eating habit.

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As we get closer to FX 2009, the massive pop culture convention coming to Orlando this weekend, it's time to dig a little and see what you can expect. First up, a few words from FX's Director of Exhibitions Michael Herz.

As we get closer to FX 2009, the massive pop culture convention coming to the Orange County Convention Center this weekend, it's time to dig a little and see what you can expect. First up, a few words from FX's Director of Exhibitions Michael Herz.

It's been 20 years. How did FX get started?

The first show was actually in Tampa in 1989, it was promoted by Bruce Zalkin and called the Tampa Toyfest. Meanwhile, I was promoting the Character and Collectible Show in Maryland. Bruce and I got together in 1990 and in 1991 changed the name to the Florida eXtravaganza (FX). We ran it together until 1997, and I bought it back from him in 2004. In 2007, the show became to big for me to run myself anymore and I took a corporate partner, that's when it became FX International.

What have your attendance numbers since it started?

We've gone from maybe 300 in 1990 to 10,000 in 1996, to 3,500 in 2004 and back up to an expected attendance this year of at least 20,000.

How do you set yourself apart from MegaCon and other scifi/comic conventions in the area?

My dream has always been to be different from the other big events. We want FX to be everything for everyone: A collectible toy show, a comic-con, a sci-i-fi show, a horror show, a sports show, with anime and gaming events and panels and celebrities,your basic pop-culture overload circus! I have always strived to bring in new and different genres and cutting edge activities. This year we have added the celebrity poker challenge, the Drink and Draw, The Disney Pin event, the Sports Pavilion and Project Vinyl has been amped up from prior years. I am always very interested in anything that supports art and artists of any genre, so we have a lot of art-centered events this year.

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When FX International general manager Michael Herz plans his pop culture convention, he doesn't think small.

"We want FX to be everything for everyone," he said. "A collectible toy show, a comic-con, a sci-fi show, a horror show, a sports show, with anime and gaming events and panels and celebrities. Your basic pop-culture overload circus!"

This year's FX show, the 20th anniversary of the annual event, is expected to bring 20,000 fans from all over the country next weekend to the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive in Orlando to join together in the great, geeky bliss of a massive costume party that has overrun an indoor fairground during a music festival. So why should you be there?

For The Celebrities

FX has a reputation for attracting cult-favorite media guests, and this year is no exception with Leonard Nimoy from "Star Trek," James Marsters from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Smallville" and "Dragonball Evolution," James Kyson Lee from "Heroes," Lindsey Wagner from the original "Bionic Woman," Scotty "Scotty 2 Hottie" Garland from the WWE and many more from movies, TV and wrestling.

"I try to bring in guests from vintage entertainment that I would consider icons," Herz said.

For some of the guests, doing a con is like coming home. "When I was 10…13…I had a big afro, and I would go to Star Trek conventions with pointed ears and arched eyebrows. I had my Star Trek uniform that I hand-sewed myself," actor James Marsters said in a 2008 interview for Fannish Inquisition, a fan site for TV shows "Stargate" and "Firefly."

"And I found there were — at conventions — people that I enjoyed being around. Intelligent, a little weird and full of life. That's why I enjoy doing conventions now. I just love it."

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In 2006 the FX con brought us Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk. In 2007 it was Adam Baldwin, Ron Glass, and Christina Hendricks. In 2008 it was Nathan Fillion.

This year the trend continues with Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin coming to one of the busiest cons in the southern USA. Oh, and there's also Leonard Nimoy, James Marsters (and an acoustic concert!), Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, Claire Kramer, Camden Toy, Jonathan Frakes, James Kyson Lee, Ray Park, Lindesy Wagner, a bunch of horror and wrestling stars, and a couple hundred writers and artists.

Whedony events include:

WOMEN OF THE WHEDONVERSE – Join the lovely and talented actresses without whom the works of Joss Whedon would be so much less fun and appealing as they talk about their experiences on set, their current projects, as well as a tribute to their friend Andy Hallet. He was taken from us too soon, and in remembrance, fans will have an opportunity to donate to the American Heart Association in the hopes of preventing this type of tragedy in the future. Featuring Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, and Claire Kramer.

JAMES MARSTERS: LIFE AFTER SPIKE – As fans of horror, science fiction, and comics, we are all well aware of who James Marsters is. From Spike to Brainiac, he has brought some of our favorite characters to life, and left an indelible image upon the landscape of popular culture. Join James as he talks about his previous roles, his recent work, and what lies ahead.

JULIET LANDAU AND JASON C. MILLER (lead singer for Godhead) – Be among the first to see the fruits of a new collaboration between actress turned director/producer, and an incredible new musical talent. This will include a screening of a brand new music video.

More details are available at fxshow.com, and at my newspaper article about it. Check it out!

And so ends another wild weekend of scantily-clad women in bizarre costumes.

What? No, Bike Week is still going strong. I meant MegaCon, the annual science fiction convention in Orlando. Thousands of fans of science fiction TV shows and movies and comic books and Japanese anime, gathered together to put on costumes, meet their heroes, and buy stuff. And they did, in brightly-colored droves.

Cosplay (which sounds way better than "dressing up as") is huge at cons when fans take their opportunity to become the hero — or villain, or animal or yummy snack — they've always wanted to be, and with a lot more ingenuity than the old rubber pointy ears shtick.

They take their work seriously, they do, and their costumes often are intricate works of professional-quality art. But what if you're a beginner fan? Never fear! Cosplaying is only as complicated as you want to make it, and I have some handy tips to get you started.

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The guest list for the 20th annual FX con, one of the area's biggest pop culture conventions, has been announced:

James Marsters - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Smallville, Dragonball and Torchwood
Julie Benz – Dexter, Buffy, Angel, Rambo 4 and one of the Punisher movies
Lindsay Wagner – Bionic Woman (the good one)
Ray Park – GI Joe, Star Wars (prequel) and X-Men
Mark Goddard – Lost in Space

Going to an FX con is like going to several different cons at the same time (and in the same building, all using the same bathrooms). While the celebrity guests are signing autographs and posing for pictures, comic book fans are meeting famous guest writers and artists, horror fans are buying up memorabilia, doll and stuffed bear fans are doing whatever doll and stuffed bear fans do, and the rest are busy cosplaying, gaming or just trying to get by for the golf convention in the next wing. It's a madhouse, and a fun one.

This year they're also launching a celebrity poker challenge. According to the release: "The FX Celebrity Poker Challenge is a charitable event with 100% of the net proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society and other related organizations. Dealers will consist of FX guest celebrities, local celebrities, comic book professionals and tournament staff. The celebrity dealers will rotate from table to table, allowing all players an opportunity to meet them." Meaning you'll have to keep your poker face on while various vampires and Lords of the Sith loom over you. Watch those tells!

FX 2009 is later in the year this year, running April 17th-19th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.  Get more details at the FX Web site.

In case you missed it, I've updated my journal of last weekend's FX Show in Orlando with Nathan Fillion and lots of other celebs, with descriptions and photos and video.

Yes, video.

Of Nathan.

Being Nathan.

Every year, the FX Show in Orlando assembles together a pile o' celebs, a ton of comic writers and artists, and an assortment of dealers and shoves 'em into a room. Every year they get guests from the hottest new shows and the most beloved older ones, cult favorites that bring out devoted fans from all generations. And every year they get someone from Firefly who blows all the others away.

If you're not interested in my play-by-play you can just check out the pics at Flickr.com. And I've got video of the Whedonverse Panel with Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Rohm, and Nicholas Brendon here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4.
If you are interested, read on…

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