No Narnia at Comic-Con?
The 2010 Comic-Con program schedule has been fully released today and there is an absence of anything Narnia related. Well, not completely. Barry Robison who is the Production Designer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be part of a panel discussing production design in TV and movies.
1:00-2:00 Motion Picture and Television Production Designers— Motion picture and television production designers might take us to a 1930s prison break, a ’50s drag race, a ’70s disco, or even today’s Comic-Con. Or, like this year’s panel, they’ll take you to unknown worlds that beggar the imagination—fully realized worlds with alternate architecture, interior design, cars, weapons, and more. In collaboration with a multi-person, highly skilled art department, they will conceive, hire, supervise, and even try to stay on budget as they create whole new worlds of the imagination. Panelists include moderator John Muto (Terminator 2: 3D), Mimi Gramatky (10,000 Days), Barry Robison (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Kirk Petruccelli (Blade), and Oliver Scholl (The Time Machine). Room 32AB
The other place where there might be something for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is at the Fox Home Entertainment booth, where in the past, Disney/Walden booths have handed out bookmarks and tote bags and things like that for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. So it may very well have some Narnia paraphernalia available there.
But it looks like we’re out of luck hoping for any new footage or interviews with the actors and crew members.
Anything and everything Comic-Con related can be found the official website here.
UPDATE: icarus also pointed out on the forum that HarperCollins will have a booth at Comic-Con as well. Another place to keep an eye open for something Narnia related.
UPDATE: It looks like Isis Mussenden and Oksana Nedavniava will be appearing (thanks to icarus, once again):
Costume Designers & Costume Illustrators: Designing For Feature Films
Michael Wilkinson, costume designer, Jonah Hex, Tron Legacy; Phillip Boutte Jr., illustrator, Jonah Hex; Christine Bieselin Clark, co-esigner, Tron Legacy; Isis Mussenden, costume designer, Narnia; Oksana Nedavniaya, illustrator, Narnia.
Saturday AA1 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
This is unexpected. Well, I suppose given how quiet Fox has been so far maybe we should have expected it.
Aww man!! Serious disappointment… 🙁
Given the way that Fox have been targeting the Family and Christian markets so far, its not surprising in the slightest that they are giving Comic-Con a miss this year. Still disappointing though. 🙁
Noooooooo!!!!!!!! Why ha no one heard of the new Narnia movie??? Sighs
Fox probably realizes that the franchise doesn't yet have enough momentum and backing from fans and chose not make a huge deal of it at Comic Con. Understandable.
Fox is still holding back on the marketing. I think this will pay off for them in the end.
Well, how the heck do they expect to BUILD momentum without taking advantage of the opportunity for exposure to thousands of people (and not just ANY people, mind you, but those who'd be more interested in anything fantasty-related)?? I think this is a big mistake. They've released the trailer, and then they're just gonna leave it alone for the next few months, so people will forget all about it? Not good. Keep talking it up, people…looks like it's up to us to spread the word for now. :-S <><
V is right.
For instance, "Despicable Me". I saw the trailer one time and thought nothing of it before the same movie they showed the VotDT trailer, Toy Story 3.
After that I saw 3 more advertisments for it, and now it is drilled in my mind.
Sure, a showing will get people interested, but not for till december. I have a bad feeling about Fox. They need to take action here.
Hopefully. Considering I've heard you're a little on the pessimistic side, I'll have hope!
Ever since Disney dumped the franchise, my main worry has not been about the actual production itself, but with the marketing. Let's face it, Disney has a power house marketing machine. And Walden has a TERRIBLE track record in advertising their movies–which is a crying shame, because so many of them are fantastic films–City of Ember? The Waterhorse? Bandslam? All really good movies–that nobody saw, because the PR was lousy. Fox isn't much better in my eyes. My biggest fear is that VDT will go down in flames, not because it's a bad movie, but because the marketing will be so minimal, it won't generate the buzz needed to get the general populace interested in seeing it. Which will lead to the death of the franchise. All the more reason why I think neglecting something as HUGE as Comic Con is a really really big mistake. I'm trying very hard not to be marshwigglish about this. 🙁 <><
Well, WHEN are we going to get some new footage???? I know the film is six months away, and we already have a trailer, but HONESTLY! I'm getting a little impatient. 🙁
Ah well, I suppose the time will pass quickly enough, just like with the other movies.
Having been at the Comic Con presentation for Prince Caspian, I am EXTREMELY disappointed with the announcement that VDT will not be featured at the event this year! The Comic Con is a hugely successful gathering and it will be a very wrong move from Fox to decline any participation! There were thousands of people in the auditorium for the PC showing, many of whom I am certain later supported the film when it opened in theaters several weeks later. Besides, having seen the cast and members of the production crew in such an intimate setting as this one really helped promote the film more than most other methods out there. It is truly a shame that Fox is opting out of marking the film for a massive audience, thus making all the other potential films even more at stake of never being made.
Very dissapointing. Not sure if this is a good marketing decision. We'll see I guess.
I don't think Comic-Con will make or break VDT. There isn't any evidence that it helped Prics Caspian at the box office. I think Fox will come through with the marketing when it really counts; gradually and closer to the release date.
I do agree that The Waterhorse deserved better and Bandslam had good reviews. But Narnia does have 55-60 years of "Narnia" going for it which should help more than a lesser or unknown entity. 🙂
Word of Mouth will be the deciding factor in the end for VDT. I know advertising and publicity are very important too but this one CC convention isn't a do or die event.
Thanks for your input and concern, Violamom. I remember that you got to see the Super Trailer footage. I'm sure VDT will be promoted much better than thos other Walden efforts. I would have been nice to see something new but maybe they're planning on having a TV special just for VDT. We'll see.
I agree. 😀
Hard to say what to make of this.
I was at one time a die-hard comic reader, until I got tired of all the occultic junk, as well as the distortions made of the gospel.
But I do see the value in getting the word out, especially to those interested in it as a fantasy. Perhaps they will be more interested in the message in the story? Perhaps there may have been a few fans there who were asking about Narnia. Did anyone ask?
Really not surprising. Sure, I wanted to see something more, but I am not unhappy about it. Fox is playing things a lot differently than Disney. Thinking it may work out very well.
I don't know. Really? It seems this is what Disney tried with Prince Caspian, and it didn't work out so well. And I think PC was still at Comic-Con (though that was a Summer release). I still have a bad feeling about this. I don't get it.
It might be very disappointing since Tron is now the apple of the eye in this year's Comic-Con. And not being there is a bad decision.
And since Tron is the only huge IMAX 3D film on December, It might overtake Narnia in the box office.
But Fox has a great marketing strategy, their all-out marketing strategy near the release date really contributed so much to insane success of Avatar. Plus, Narnia has a steady fan base which might really help with the word of mouth marketing.
Let's just hope Fox/Walden will do the same, even better.
Yeah! I was hoping I'd be able to get hold of one of those promotional bags they've had for both LWW and PC. Ahhh!!!! FOOOOXXX!!!
I don't really get why this is important… but if anything doesn't have any Narnia-related content in it and I don't like it, well then………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just FYI … most experienced firms keep their marketing till less than 2 months from theatrical release. Otherwise people lose interest. Too much too soon can be negative.
i've never heard of this before, so, whatever this is, it doesnt really bother me.
If Fox keeps down playing VDT they're not going to make any money on it. I mean one trailer and a very simplistic poster and we're half way through the summer!
If I remember correctly the Prince Caspian marketing was kind of strange. The marketing was a little front loaded. For example, the first trailer was almost twice as long as the second and last theatrical trailer. That should never be the case. It seemed like the hype was starting to build for PC, but then it sort of died about a month before the release.
I think Fox, wants to slowly build up their momentum. That's what they did with Avatar. 😉
This is off base, but one day they should make a Narnia Battlefront (The Star Wars Franchise:-) and announce it at the Comic-Con 🙂
🙂 Haha…I wish I could go to something like that. 😀
Just a thought…maybe Fox will be marketing VDT at the New York Comic Con, not the San Diego one. NYCC had Ben and William and in 2008 it was only a few months before May. NYCC this year is in October, only months away from December.
Correction, NYCC 2008 with the Prince Caspian panel was in April! My mistake, but still the point stands!
Um. I don't know what this is. I see most of you do. Interesting – well, hopefully it won't make much of a difference if the majority of people who will be seeing the film are completely clueless like me! 😀
Yeah man! stupid fox is holding EVERYTHING back! thats so horrible!!!
aw! nuts! WE really like the Narnia films series (NOT THE BBC) no Narnia? you got to be kidding me?
The PC marketing mysteriously faded out as the release drew nearer. My guess is that Fox will hold back until the middle of November, and then they're going to bust it all out.
If I was pessimistic, I would look at the trailer and conclude that the movie was going to be terrible. But, I'm a realist. There is not enough evidence to feel strongly that the movie is going to be good or bad. There is only enough evidence to say that the trailer is terrible. Hopefully, the movie won't be.
Why would anyone want to be pessimistic or optimistic? Why not just look at the facts and try to come to an accurate conclusion? Why distort the facts to make them seem better or worse?
I know it's a good idea.
But I don't want to wait till November!!
there just trying to do what they thinks best for the movie,
I hope it is
I don't think a true pessimist or optimist tries to distort the facts. It is just that their "realistic" conclusions tend to be more negative or positive in nature. A pessimist would look at the a set of facts and decide that realistically there is "no hope", while an optimist would look at those exact same facts and conclude that "there is hope".
Two of my firends and I are attending this year largely because we assumed there would be a Narnia panel. You have you buy tickets months in advance, so we did it on faith. Ok, I probably would have gone anyway, but it's still disappointing. At least Richard Taylor should be hanging around the Weta booth, and there's a Hobbit panel. I also saw that another Dawn Treader artist will be on one of the smaller panels…still, I'm concerned about marketing on this. Especially since Walden is not listed as an exhibitor.
I believe Katniss was making a joke on the allusion in glumpuddle's name…
Could someone tell me what exactly Comic-Con is, please?
I think it's because of some legal stuff as the Lewis Estate, Disney, Walden and Fox are still fixing details regarding the transition of the franchise.
But I heard that Disney still holds the rights to LWW and PC and will still promote some LWW and PC stuff like Blu-rays and DVDs in conjunction with the VDT release. Meanwhile, Fox is trying to market VDT to some Christian media outlets and will try to come up with a LP CD of the Music Inspired by VDT (I'm still not sure about this one though). HarperCollins, on the other hand will release the updated books by 4th Quarter (Sept).
But still, Comic-Con is a great place to market VDT. I heard that almost everyone attending there are quite disappointed without a huge Narnia presence. I guess we should content ourselves with Disney, HarperCollins and Weta and Barry Robinson.
isn't it a show or something?
I'm not sure how important Comic-con is as far as marketing goes. Before PC, I don't remember EVER hearing about Comic-con. Even though PC was advertised at Comic-con; I only managed to catch the movie trailer once on television even though I had seen a bunch of trailers on television for the other Disney movie: Wall-e". Disney usually makes each of their movie releases so you can't miss the advertising; so I think the main thing is showing it to well known Christian leaders (like Dr. Dobson), making sure everybody knows about it by Thanksgiving, and of course, us fans must do our part and pray.
THIS IS HORRIBLE. Why is Fox being so stingy on marketing?! HELLOOOO if you want to make the next 4 movies, you need to make sure the 3rd one gets A LOT LOT LOT of publicity! It took forever to get the trailer out…now I want to see some more advertising action! They're doing it for Ramona & Beezus, for goodness' sake! They can do it for Narnia!
nooooo! such a bummer!
I repeat, could somone PLEASE tell me what Comic Con is, so I understand why this is important?
oops, that should be "someone".
It used to be the biggest comic-book convention in the world, now its pretty much the biggest entertainment media event in the world – its the big showpiece event for pretty much any genre movie (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Superheroes, Action – basically anything that isnt serious drama and/or that has big geek/nerd appeal)and being present there can be seen as a crucial part of capturing the hearts and minds of the much coveted 18-30 male demographic.
Thanks! I get it now. 🙂
Yeah, I'm pretty impressed with how low-key Fox has been about Narnia…
means they're spending their money very wisely on the project and not tiring people with previews like Disney did with PC.
PC had like 20 trailers and promos! it was a stupid thing to do
I'm actually very pleased; I hated how PC released so many trailers you pretty much knew what to expect from the movie. I have a feeling we will all be very surprised. =)
I saw a trailer for Tron just the other day. It was totally different than I thought it would be. (I also didn't know anything about it, which helped. :)) After seeing that, I had the impression that Narnia and Tron are totally different. Its like Star Wars and Harry Potter. Yes, both big movies, but totally different in plot and feel, which will probably affect who will see them. Narnia seems (so far) more family friendly, Tron seemed like another "stunning computer graphics" type movie. I could be wrong :), but I have a feeling that these two movies will attract totally different kinds of people.
I also missed the fact that Fox did Avatar. Hmm. I wonder what dictates whether a movie will get great advertising (like Avatar) or lousy advertising (like the good but unknowns)? Probably money… 🙂 Well, we can probably rest assured that the people behind the Narnia movies have probably talked about this way more than even we Narnia fans have!
WE MUST REMEMBER THAT WE'LL BE HAVING CLIPS FROM VBS THIS AUGUST 16! THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
LWW actress Megan Franich (uncredited extra) will appear at Comic-Con for autographs (individual signings). http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_autographs_ind.php
There was NOTHING at the Fox booth on Narnia. Several of us fans were at the booth and they looked at us like we were daft for asking about VDT. They said there may be stuff at the New York ComicCon in October, but I think it was to just get everyone to leave. Lord willing I'll see Richard Taylor tomorrow. There will be some Narnia stuff here and there but not much. VDT is not very present thus at ComicCon. The Fox booth is a bust. Sorry.
I didn't know this was happening at Comic-Con. Maybe I'm glad Narnia wasn't there! http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/07/22/super-heroes-vs-the-westboro-baptist-church/