• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Comic- Con Will See Film Presence

Posted on: Thursday, 20 July 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Scott Bowles and Bill Keveney

Comic-Con is not just for nerds anymore. Or comic books, for that matter.

As the nation's largest comic book convention kicks off today in San Diego, movie studios and television networks will descend on the gathering with fare that has nothing to do with comic books or graphic novels.

The convention, which draws more than 100,000 fans, is a way to highlight any product that appeals to young audiences.

"There aren't many places you can go where you get 5,000 kids into an auditorium and show them what you've got," says producer Joel Silver, who will offer the first extended trailer of the horror film The Reaping, starring Hilary Swank. It arrives Nov. 8.

Comic-Con, Silver says, "is a hypodermic needle right into the demographic you want to hit."

Among some of the non-comic movies making a splash:

*

Accepted.

Justin Long plays a student who, after being rejected from every college he applies to, creates a fake online university. It arrives Aug. 11.

*

Snakes on a Plane.

Already the talk of the Internet, it features Samuel L. Jackson and, well, a lot of snakes loose on a plane. Out Aug. 18.

*

Children of Men.

This sci-fi thriller stars Clive Owen and is set in 2027, when mankind can no longer procreate and must discover how a woman miraculously becomes pregnant. Out Sept. 29.

Sometimes referred to as the "Cannes for fans," the convention lures big studios and big stars -- Nicolas Cage, Swank and Jackson are expected -- because it sparks immediate word of mouth.

"These kids use the Internet, they blog, they text one another," says Steve Pink, director of Accepted. "Nothing will spread news about your work faster."

TV networks have become a larger presence over the years, too, promoting new series and maintaining fan connections to popular shows. ABC's Lost, which built fan momentum with a Comic-Con appearance before its 2004 premiere, hosts a panel Saturday, and two new fall series, CBS' Jericho and NBC's Heroes, will show pilot episodes.

Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, ABC Family and Nickelodeon also will make presentations.

"You have more than 100,000 people who are wildly fanatical, incredibly well-versed and totally engaged," says Adam Stotsky, marketing chief for the Sci Fi channel, which will screen its new series, Eureka. "If you engage them early, they can become the biggest and loudest advocates for your brands."

(c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

More News in this Category