The Cosplayer Nation Documentary Premiere

On a warm sunny November afternoon, I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere of the Cosplayer Nation Documentary. The documentary was part of a film festival that was held at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square featuring local film makers and musicians. Amongst these artists is of course our friends, Cosplayer Nation. The CEO and Founder, Joshua Adams and the President and Co-Founder, Uke Li were in attendance. During the first intermission, I got a chance to talk to them and gave them my opinion of the Cosplayer Nation Documentary premiere. They're very nice people and never too busy to say "hello" and chat. So, if you ever see Cosplayer Nation at a convention, don't be shy, just say go up and "Hi!" What did I think of the documentary? Oh... "But wait," you exclaim! "What is Cosplayer Nation?" The short of it, Cosplayer Nation is a project of love started by local New Englanders whom are fans of cosplay. This project later became a legit Organization. Cosplayer Nation travels the world attending conventions seeking out cosplayers and documenting their love and devotion to the art of cosplaying. Basically, cosplaying is dressing up as your favorite character from but, not limited to anime, comic books, movies, pop culture, etc. There's a much deeper level to it but I'll let the real documentarians tackle that. It's literally, "COStume PLAY." A tribute to ANY character or any THING that you're a fan of. You like Einstein? Go ahead, dress up as the wacky atom splitting physicist. Your favorite is a German from the 40's? Sure? BUT! Make sure you don't unintentionally turn that into a hate crime. I'll save the skin and Nazi part of cosplaying for another post. Now, how did I like the Cosplayer Nation Documentary? I enjoyed it a lot. Uke Li was nice enough to show me a trailer of the documentary a couple of years ago and asked me to give an opinion. I ungraciously forgot (sorry Uke. I hope this post makes up for it). My reaction to that initial trailer was very positive. When Cosplayer Nation announced the premiere of the Cosplayer Nation Documentary, I immediately made plans to go and check it out. The film opens with a news reporter interviewing a cosplayer. The reporter was wondering why the cosplayer was dressed up since it wasn't Halloween. Then the film cuts to the news room and you can definitely see the confusion in the news correspondents' weirded out faces. It provoked laughs in the audience but more importantly it sets the tone of the film on answering the question, "what is cosplay?" From the intro, the film rolls into a segment with people dressing up as their favorite characters. Cosplayer Nation definitely took the time and effort to go through hundreds of hours of footage to cut together a very impressive looking group of cosplayers. The music Cosplayer Nation chose to accompany the colorful characters on screen was a very interesting (good interesting) cover of the Legend of Zelda theme with a melodic beat. I have to say, it's pretty Cool! There were people in the audience bopping their heads to the beat. The documentary is not a just a drawn out showcase of people in costumes. It's an unbiased look into the world of cosplaying and goes deeper into the psyche of the culture. It included interviews on the whys and the whats of these devoted artists. Why the many painstaking hours of work in making the costumes? What inspired these people to work so hard to risk being ridiculed? Some of these costumes are much better than what the professionals in Hollywood with a huge budget can create. Actually, I'd always felt that simply calling these incredible works of art "costumes" and "cosplays" does them injustice. But for a lack of my limited vocabulary, I'll stick to what I know. The love for this art also shines through the making of the documentary. The Cosplayer Nation Documentary took us back in time to WorldCon with The First documented costume. It even educated us on the etymology of the word "Cosplay." Diving deeper into the meaning of this art form, the film makers interviewed Danny Choo, the Dancing Stormtrooper of Tokyo, who gave us his take on the culture over in Asia. Another well known cosplayer interviewed was Holly Conrad. She's a Mass Effect cosplayer who got noticed by the movie and videogame industries. Now she's a professional costume designer. Holly Conrad was also featured in Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con movie, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope. A segment in the documentary that I really liked was the counterpoint of cosplaying. You know, that person who just doesn't get the art: "Why are you dressed up?" "Are you trying to get attention?" "What's the difference between this and a cry for help?" Later on, the film appropriately cuts to professionals such as system administrators, accountants and lawyers who participates in cosplay as an art form and self-expression. It included a well known Mr. T cosplayer in the New England area telling us what it's all about. He sounded rough but very articulate which is a lot like the documentary itself. The documentary is a bit rough on the edges. I had trouble hearing some of the interviews because the audio was a bit low. But the message it was getting across was legible. During my talk with the film makers (Joshua Adams and Uke Li), they assured me that the sound mixing will be better in the final cut. Yes, final cut. The version of the Cosplayer Nation Documentary shown at the Brattle Theater was only 15min long. This was not because of the film makers short sight. It was because of the time constraint set by the Film Festival. The film makers went on saying that the finished documentary will be much more focused and it'll touch upon the different cultures of cosplaying in other countries. I can not wait. I'd seen documentaries on Pop Culture Conventions such as Trekkies and Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con movie but, none of them focused on just cosplaying. Cosplaying has became a phenomenon. You've probably seen someone walking down the street as some sort of character when it wasn't Halloween and wondered if the person was crazy. Maybe? But this art form definitely needs a movie if not, a series of movies to tell its story and to clear up misconceptions. It's been months since I did any real writing on this blog let alone, a review. I am glad that the Cosplayer Nation Documentary gave me the inspiration. There is a preview version of the documentary that is longer than 15min and it might show up in a theater, college or convention near you. I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance. Whether you understand this type of art form/culture or not, the film is highly enjoyable and you'll definitely come out knowing much more about cosplaying. The Cosplayer Nation Documentary was both captivating and fun and as a cosplaying friend of mine would simply put it, "EPIC!" Below is a link to the Cosplayer Nation youtube channel and Facebook. There are hours of cosplay footages and interviews from all around the world. I highly recommend subscribing: Cosplayer Nation's Youtube Channel Cosplayer Nation on Facebook I also linked the trailers of the Cosplayer Nation Documentary. Enjoy! You Know My Name - Cosplayer Nation "CMV" - Cosplay Music Video Cosplayer Nation Cosplayer Nation (2011 Trailer) - Documenting American Cosplayers across the U.S. Cosplayer Nation One of the highlights of the premiere was Cobra Commander shown at 0:47 of this trailer getting a huge applause. RATING: 4/5

PAX East 2012

PAX East was my first convention for 2012. It was also my first time at PAX East and I was totally overwhelmed. Knowing the MA area well, I thought I was smart enough to be able to get to the Boston Event and Convention Center (BECC) with no problem but I got stuck in traffic at South Station and my car crawled all the way from the Turnpike off ramp to the BECC's alternate parking garage. The alternate garage wasn't too far away from the convention center. It was a 10-15min walk (which was a lot faster than driving in traffic). There were shuttle buses but, being a nice crisp, chilly New England day my group and I decided to walk instead. It was sunny, some wind, a bit nippy... spring was in the air...

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

Wow! It's been a while since I wrote a review? I was referencing one my movie review templates and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was the last one? In any case, I had been super busy transitioning to a new job along with a few other things in my personal life. I apologize for not being able to find time to update GroggyBot. A lot has been happening for me. Going to conventions and watching movies has been part of that. Oh, also the NBA Playoffs are on! This year I'm rooting for the Boston Celtics. If they'll get eliminated, which they won't but, if they do, I'm going with the Oklahoma Thunder! Oh right, movie review... here goes... Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope is a documentary on the convention scene directed by Morgan Spurlock. You might not recognize his name but most likely you'd recognize his work. He's the guy who directed Super Size Me. That's the movie with the guy (Morgan Spurlock) eating nothing but fast food for 30 days from one of the well known burger places; the one with the giant yellow arches. He also directed Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden and a very interesting TV show called 30 Days. 30 Days is similar to Super Size Me but, instead of Spurlock being the "test" subject, it features different people whom are willing to live outside their comfort zone for 30 days; to walk in other people's shoes. I highly recommend checking the show out. As for Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope... I went to a special screening at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA where the director himself made an appearance. Morgan Spurlock gave us a brief introduction before the start of the movie and he stayed after for a Q&A session. In the introduction Spurlock gave us an interesting story about Comic-Con Episode IV's conception. Stan Lee (of Marvel Comics) is in the same movie agency as Spurlock. On a fateful day in 2010, Morgoan Spurlock met Stan Lee through their agents. During the impromptu meeting Stan the Man said to Spurlock, "we should do a movie." Spurlock told Stan Lee that he's trying to film a Comic-Con movie. Shortly after their meeting they both met with Joss Whedon and that was when Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope started to take shape. The idea was to get separate camera crews to follow the different type of convention goers at the 2011 San Deigo Comic-Con. Auditions were held and the final cut of the documentary features: The Comic Book Vendor: the owner of Mile High Comics, Chuck Rozanski trying to sell a rare Marvel comic, Red Raven #1 The Toy Collector: Camping out in line long before the convention opens its doors in order to get the Con Exclusive Galactus Figure The Attendees: a couple who are seemingly attending San Diego Comic-Con but, the boy friend of this couple plans to propose to his girl friend at Kevin Smith's panel. The Cosplayers: Holly Conrad and her team of cosplayers signing up for the Con's Masquerade and hoping to win first prize. While in the contest, they have a chance to be noticed by effects team and costume departments in the movie and gaming industries. The Aspiring Artists: Skip Harvey and Eric Hanson treats the Con as a job fair. Showing off their portfolios to different comic book companies, hoping they can land a job as professional artists. The documentary does a great job jumping from one story arc to the next eventually culminating with resolutions. Inter-cut between the stories are talking heads made up of convention goers and guests such as artists and celebrities. Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Eli Roth, Joss Whedon, Paul Dini and Grant Morrison were some of the more well known people who showed up as the talking heads in Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope. There were a few who got cut out because of time constraints; like Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion. What I like most about Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope is that it doesn't poke fun at the convention scene or the people who attend. In documentaries such as this, they tend to point out certain people as the "freaks" of society. Spectacles to ridicule and to be laughed at. Sure there are stereotypes at Comic Book Conventions or, at any conventions for that matter. It could be a Car Show, a Garden Show, a Work "Forum" (come on we all know it's a convention), even at Sporting Events. Yes, ESPECIALLY Sporting Events! Why is the "fat drunken guy who painted his body and face in his favorite team's color" different form the "fat comic book geek dressed up as Wolverine?" Why are the fanatics at Sporting Events more accepted? There are always the stereotypes and the super fanatics everywhere you go. We tend to forget about the passion, the devotion and love for the subject and just laugh at what we don't understand. Morgan Spurlock did a great job with this understanding in Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope and my hope as a fan is that the documentary is able to convey the fun side of conventions and that it's more than just a barrel of geeky fish for people like "Men's Fitness Magazine" to shoot down with their derogatory gun. I highly recommend Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope. Not just to people who are into comic books but to everyone. The documentary follows real life people whom we can all relate to and this makes it easy to follow without any inside comic book knowledge. It also impressively explains the different aspects of comic book fandom in under 90 minutes. Again, highly recommended! I'm not sure if the theaters are still showing Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope. It was released in theaters on April 6, 2012. There is no video release date yet. But there will be a DVD full of extras. That was one of the Q&A questions and Morgan Spurlock confirmed it! Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope Official Trailer #1 movieclipsTRAILERS RATING: 5/5

Chocolate Salty Balls!

Hello Youtubes! A friend of mine, Macdaniel Macleod, attended Katsucon in Washington D.C. this weekend (02/17/11-02/19/11) and cosplayed as Chef from South Park. He met up with a Gears of War cosplayer and... I'm not even going to bother explaining. Words does it no justice. Just watch the video: Chocolate Salty Balls! MrTUSA1980

Super Megafest 2011

Super Megafun! Super Megafest 2011 happened last weekend on November 19th and 20th at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, MA. With Thanksgiving happening in the U.S. on November 24th, 4 days after the convention, I had a very busy week and some bad allergies so, I didn't get a chance to talk about Super Megafest 2011 until now. Super Megafest is a smaller convention compared to the ones I attended in the past year. But as a wise Jedi once said, "Size matters not." As Super Megafest had a great guest list which included Patrick Stewart who made an appearance on Saturday. I didn't get to meet Captain Picard but for the lucky people who did meet him, they assured me that he's awesome and nice. Maybe I'll get to meet him at future conventions. I did get to meet Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee of Lord of the Rings) again. I first met him at the Museum of Science of Boston a while back. He autographed his book There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale and Rudy for me all those years ago. This time, I finally got my copy of The Goonies and the insert of Return of the King signed. I also chatted with him for a bit and was able to sneak in for a photo op. He's super nice and down to earth. It might not seem like much reading my testaments here about how nice the celebrities are but, once you get to meet a snarky and jaded celebrity you'll be more appreciative with the nice ones. I also met the man who donned the Sauron armor in Lord of the Rings, Sala Baker. We got to talking about how he wanted to play professional basketball but ended up being an actor. He was excited to be in Boston and wish he had more time to explore. He especially wanted to go to the Museum of Science. Alright MoS, my former employer, I'd plugged you a few times at the convention and on this blog. Where's my commission? At least send me some free stuff. I also got to shake hands with Jeremy Bulloch, the badass bounty hunter Boba Fett from Star Wars. Moments later, I realized I forgot to bring my Boba Fett Star Wars trading card for him to sign! WTF?! Ugh! EPIC FAIL! If I never get to see him again, this will haunt me for the rest of my life. I got Mickey's and Peter's autograph so far Peter Tork of the Monkees was there as well. He still has his humor and was very nice to his fans. He also played in the Saturday night concert with his current band, the Shoe Suede Blues. I'm not going to lie, my expectations for the Saturday night concert was very low and I was very wrong to expect that. I thought I'd made a mistake while waiting in line to get into the concert. For the most part, Super Megafest was well coordinated but, there were some hiccups and waiting for the concert was one of them. As I was waiting in line, I saw my cosplayer friends pile into the hotel bar and I was wondering if I should skip the concert. I heard a lot of yelling and laughing coming from the bar and was losing my patience with the wait to get into a concert that I didn't have high expectations for. I could be in the bar sharing silly shenanigans with my cosplayer friends! I was glad I waited though. Once the concert started it was fantastic from beginning to the end. My mind was blown as to how awesome it was. Yet, I still wanted to spend time at the bar though. Only if there were two of me. If only... More about the concert and Super Megafest after the "JUMP!"

Super Megafest 2011: Videos

Hello Youtubes! In this very special edition of "Hello Youtubes" I'm doing a shameless plug for myself! Hello and welcome to grog1138's channel. I went to Super Megafest during the weekend of November 19th - 20th in Framingham, MA. It was an awesome time and the cosplayers who attended raised that awesomeness to the nth power! Here's a few videos I captured of: The Costume Contest's early line up   Captain Jack Sparrows and the revolving door   R2D2, Kid Anakin, Kid Leia and the New Hampshire Ghostbusters.   The videos after the "JUMP" are of the Super Megafest concert on Saturday night. Peter Tork of the Monkees and his band Shoe Suede Blues were there that night performing their original blues and some of the Monkees' music. Sorry about the extra shaky cam. I'm new to video recording. Super Megafest 2011 - Costume Contest grog1138 Hulk won the contest. I wanted Blaster to win because he's a working boombox! Check out Two Face's coin flip. He never dropped the coin once. Super Megafest 2011 - Jack Sparrows Needs a Doc grog1138 Super Megafest 2011 - R2D2 with Kid Anakin and Kid Leia grog1138 Super Megafest 2011 - Power of the Force Ghostbusters grog1138 Super Megafest concert videos after the "JUMP!"

MORTAL KOMBAT!

Hello Youtubes! This is a very special edition of "Hello Youtubes!" This can not wait. It must be shared now! I'm actually jealous that these guys thought of this first instead of me: Mortal Kombat Flash Dance RIOT's Channel Well done... well done...

Cosplay Appreciation

Neither Race, Creed, Gender... ...Orientation, Health nor Species even... should be ridiculed for cosplaying. Anyone can cosplay and I think everyone should at least once in their lives. In a way we already did. We might have done so when we were younger. How many of us had put on a cape and flew? What about Halloween or themed parties? We'd donned a costume once. Was it fun? Hmm... I guess that depends on personal experience. For me, I had a blast! That is why the cosplays are my favorite part at all the conventions (cons) I'd attended. No matter how detailed or low budget the costumes are, they are all fantastic and it does take at least a bit of courage to wear a red bodysuit as Deadpool, it takes endurance to carry more than 100lbs of armor as Zora Link, it takes working out like there's no tomorrow as Clubber Lang... how many of us can execute that much commitment and with such enthusiasm for that matter? Even being an observer, it's a great feeling to see little kids being ecstatic when they get to meet Finn, Powergirl and Batgirl. Now, don't judge the kids for not knowing better, somewhere after graduating high school and needing to make "grown up" life choices we forget just how smart we were as kids and trust me, the kids today are as smart (if not smarter). They know the cosplayers are not the real superheroes but, it's just amazing to see a live version of their (our) heroes walking around. Why do you think most of us tend to prefer live action comic book movies over animation. Even if a movie has a bit of CGi we'd complain. I guess I share that same joy with the kids. The cosplays adds a whole other dimension to the cons. Even if the costume is made out of cardboard, put together by duct tape and painted with a marker... it's still creative and no matter how it came out aesthetically, it still took work and creativity. The only ones I don't like are the "too cool for school" ironic "cosplays." To me those come off as apathetic and in a way it seems to be mocking all the cosplayers whom are genuinely conveying their elation. Don't make them pity you! If the purpose of going to a con is to make fun of people in costumes then you're just wasting your time and energy. If you don't share my appreciation with cosplays, that's ok. Everyone's got a "thing." There's a ton of other things to see and do at the cons. If your interest is finding deals at the vendors, that alone can take up more than a day. There are also all the different panels to attend. Trust me even waiting in line, at one spot for the more popular panels takes energy. Just remember to stay respectful of others. Leave the bullying back at high school. I remember in high school how I was stereotyped. I found comfort in a group of friends during lunch who did not care how I looked, which classes I was in or, what my hobbies were. Well, for the most part we liked geeky stuff and it didn't matter which specific "stuff" I liked. Somehow we were able to find common ground. Because of this, naively I believed the troubles of the world can be worked out only if we can relate to one another. Even to this day, I hold onto that belief and for the most part this can be found at the cons. The cosplayers are the ones who are leading us in this multicultural (multispecies sometimes) rally. This sounds heavy and, in a way, it is a complicated balance of tolerance that will work only if we let go of social intolerance. It is important to do so or, we'll miss out on the one thing that matters most at the cons, to have Fun! I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation to all the cosplayers I'd came across. Thank you for embodying the joy and enthusiasm at the cons and thank you for not getting annoyed at me when I ask to take pictures. You are more than just people in costumes, you are the spirit of the conventions. Stay shiny!

New York Comic Con 2011

Hotspot It was hot, smelly, claustrophobic, and exhausting. It was the New York Comic Con. Combined with the Anime Festival under one roof at the Javits Center, the Comc Con resulted in a record breaking attendance of 105,00 people. Literally a sea of people packed from wall to wall. Sounds intimidating? It was. It also had all the qualities I listed above but, what drew all those people to this place? The answer is one tiny word, FUN! The one thing that can supersede anything. When I was younger, I played basketball in 90 degree weather with 90 percent humidity for hours and not notice the heat because, it was FUN! There also was the time when I went skiing in subzero temperature, during hail conditions, when the snow was frozen and slippery. All that didn't matter because of the FUN! Such a small word for such an awesome vehicle for perseverance. The New York Comic Con was definitely an awesome experience. For the entire weekend of October 14th-16th I was overwhelmed by the convention. It was electrifying. I was thinking, if the Matrix needed energy, this would be the place to harness an unlimited supply. I had never experienced anything like it. Waves and waves of people flowing towards their fandom. There was something there for everyone. The vendors had a variety of interesting collectibles to offer. From food to toys to books to clothes, movies, posters, etc... The next neighborhood over from the Vendors Area was the Artist Alley where the artists were hard at work on fan commissioned sketches. It was nice to see a few familiar faces in there. Sarah Richard, Yuko Ota, J. Scott Campbell, and Adam Hughes were among the many talents in the Alley. In order to escape the hordes of people, I'd had to wait in line to get into the panels. Sometimes I was in queue for more than hr. They were worth the wait though. This year's big draw was the Walking Dead and the upcoming Avengers movie. During The Avengers Panel, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth showed up to talk about the movie. Mark Hammill (Luke Skywalker) was also a guest for 2 separate panels. One dedicated to the Jedi Knight himself and the other was a promotion for the "New Gen" comic book (and soon to be movie). Mark Hamill was available for autographs as well. In order to get his autograph, I waited in line at the Autographing Area near the Hasbro Pavillion where the costume contest and some of the performances were held. Then there was the Anime Festival area. To get there, I banked a right at the giant balloon of Finn and Jake from Adventure Time to go up to the upper level of the Javits Center. A large number of Anime cosplayers were gathered there. I can't do the convention justice in this article. It's tough for me to put in words of being under one roof with thousands of creative cosplayers, hundreds of events, the many geek gods and goddesses promoting our favorite shows, movies, videogames and comics... and most importantly, to share a spot with a hundred thousand people whom are passionate about the same things I am. All those years of being made fun of for liking the things I like was washed away by this gigantic ocean of (my fellow) geeks. I belong! Even after a week I am still shocked and awed. I'm definitely going again next year and I recommend everyone to go, even at least for a day. It's a once in a life time experience to be in this ginormous assemblage of enthusiasm. There's a lot more after the "JUMP!"

Zombie March New England

Hello Youtubes! This time on "Hello Youtubes!" I want to talk about a local Boston, MA event. There is an event that has been happening in the past 7 years in my city that I did not know about! The Zombie March has been happening for 7 years! 7 years! Being a huge zombie fan, I have no idea how I missed this the last 6 years. It's not like it's a small event. I'm talking about a huge horde of zombies. Miles of zombies and it disrupts (not complaining) the city of Boston for an entire day. I'm not talking about just one section of Boston. The march route starts from South Station. It goes through Downtown Crossing, Boston Commons, the Public Garden, Newbury St and to the Prudential. From there it goes through the Prudential Mall, back to Boston Commons and congregates at Government Center for a huge battle between the undead and the living. Miles of zombies! It's an amazing sight and loads of fun. There's no agenda or political subtext, it's just plain fun. The living dead were not the only ones marching. There were zombie hunters (Umbrella), survivors, Ghostbusters, super heroes and even Mr. T. Here's info on: Zombie March Boston VIII (2012) Be sure to click on "JUMP!" for more Undead goodness: