GenCon Indy 2006 Photo Gallery

I was hoping to write this earlier on in the week, but my brain couldn’t bleed out anything that remotely formed words. Now that I’ve spent most of my weekend comatose, I’m rested and ready to reflect on a seriously mind-blowing experience at Gen Con Indy 2006.

There is something quite unique about our little film company, Dead Gentlemen Productions. It honestly defies logic in some cases. Okay, I get that our movie The Gamers hit a funny nerve with a lot of people over the past four or five years, and the survival of our company is absolutely owed to that. We’ve been able to pay for an office space, and go to conventions, and help fund a much higher budgeted Gamers movie off the rampant sales of this little movie, but after five years, I’d expect that to die down. I’m totally wrong.

Our fans, though disappointed that The Gamers: Dorkness Rising isn’t out to buy yet, still decided to support us at the booth. We were swamped nearly the entire con. I think I counted two lulls that lasted a total of a half an hour. Truly spectacular, and much appreciated.

Okay, enough of the old news. We were scheduled to screen Dorkness Rising only twice the entire convention. The demand to see the film was so huge that GenCon scheduled three more screening events, thereby also upgrading the other movies that were screening at Gen Con as well to the bigger room. Hey, no sense in giving us favoritism. I’m all for fair play. Seriously, big kudos to Derek Guder and his ever-ready team for fielding the madness that is our fandom, and HUGE thanks to you crazy fans out there and your enthusiasm to see the new movie. Even with exploding pools and waterfalls over escalators that interrupt our midnight showing of the film. Yeah, go Google that experience on people’s blogs. That’s a funny story.

Each screening was packed, and we got an unheard of 5 standing ovations for a movie!!! Seriously unexpected and appreciated. You want to know something else that was unexpected, airport security. Yeah, here’s another chip in the “I just lost a few years off my life due to stress” block. Our movie literally popped out of the machine onto a DVD at 5:30am Los Angeles time. We had a little pocket premiere, invite only, hush hush for all the industry people and close friends (that’s right, I’ll get to you people in a minute). The screening was at 8pm at the United Artists Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. One of our stars, Carol Roscoe, was going to be late. I knew that ahead of time. Well, after she got through the security line at SeaTac airport, which started at that time in the parking garage, she got on the plane and actually arrived at the theatre 15 minutes before the movie did. Dan Capuzzi, our editor and keeper of the sacred DVD, was at the LA airport from 6:30am until they finally let him on the plane that afternoon.

All stress aside, the movie played and the wait was over. Everyone had a hard time hearing everything in the movie because they were all laughing so hard. Also, the film was in the 98% done phase. There were some minor audio glitches and a couple of special effects that needed to be polished up. Everyone was very forgiving of those, and yeah, just incredible responses.

Tracy Hickman of Dragonlance fame already called the film “A Critical Hit”. I don’t know if I’m allowed to quote him on that, but I’m gonna.

We met/re-met a lot of people this year. What I liked was that people we’ve met before, have really become friends at this point. It’s nice to go to conventions and be able to look forward to seeing your friends, who happen to be Margaret Weis Productions, Monte & Sue Cook, Matt Forbeck, Ryan Miller, just about anyone at Wizards of the Coast, Tracy Hickman, Aaron Williams, and pretty much anyone who ended up at our Thursday night screening.

I think a lot of us hung out with Jamie and Renae Chambers, et al over at Sovereign Press/Margaret Weis Productions. Crazy times with them Serenity/Dragonlance people. You should keep watch for future collaborations between the Dead Gentlemen and Sovereign Press. That’s right, collaborations.

Well, there’s so much to try and capture, or forget, from Gen Con. I should also mention those crazy guys who did Dork of the Rings. They clearly had a lot of fun making their film. I haven’t had time to sit down and watch it, but I saw their booth and talked with the filmmakers, and they’re cool folks. Whether their movie is good or not, which so far it looks really cool, quirky, and very fun, you should buy it anyway, because I said so. That Jack Peterson is one helluva guy! I had a lot of fun talking with them folks.

Things I regret at Gen Con:

• Being too hungover and sleep deprived to hit Tracy & Laura Hickman’s Killer Breakfast. I really enjoy those and I’m bummed I didn’t get a chance to go see it.
• That everyone didn’t get a chance to see the movie. I suppose I can’t be too bummed though, it wasn’t 100% finished anyway, and it will be out soon enough.
• That Matt Vancil couldn’t make it to any of the screenings. There will be others.
• Not gaming! Of course, with everything we were doing, not much time to game.

GenCon SoCal 2005 Photo Gallery

Okay, so the Con has been over for a few days now, but I’m not gonna let you down. Here’s the final update on the happenings of GenCon SoCal 2005.

Saturday picked up quite a bit. We were busy most of the day. Additionally, Jay Leno’s crew came out and got some footage for his “Jay Walking” bit. Apparently, the Dead Gentlemen are not interesting enough to be on the show. So just to make a statement, four of us with our new fancy Dead Gentlemen Convention Shirts, stood in the background feigning being engaged in a conversation directly in line of the camera where they were shooting, our logo obviously visible. Can’t say if we were in focus or not, but hey, at least we tried. Oh, and pardon my long run-on and redundant sentence.

As some of you many know, there are a couple of other “gamers” movies coming out soon. Two of these new movies “Gamers: The Movie” by writer/director Christopher Folino, and from Scotland, “Gamerz”, produced by Pure Magic Films, were screened at the convention. Sadly but understandably, the Scottish filmmakers were unable to attend the con, but thankfully were able to get it screened. The folks from “Gamers: The Movie” however, had a booth and led their promotions with many fliers, and free Monster energy drinks. Though I personally think that it’s a bad idea to crank up gamers who are already high on sugar and caffeine with a radioactive drink that makes your heart explode if you have more than three of them, but the Dead Gentlemen were grateful since our booth was nearby and took full advantage of the free pick-me-ups. Unfortunately, Ben Dobyns got his hands on a can. Ever experienced a moment when time seemed to have stopped? We at the booth froze in terror as Ben took a sip. Somehow, Steve Wolbrecht snapped out of the surprise round and launched towards the can in Ben’s hand. Ben managed another sip. That’s two. Well there were five con-goers between Stevie and Ben. The acrobatics Steve performed reminded us all of our shoot in the north Cascade mountains on “Dead Camper Lake”, but this time only one fan was maimed in the five steps it took to get to Ben. By that time, Ben had just finished his THIRD sip! He began changing color, developing heat vision and displaying claws. Stevie, in slow motion, finally came to the Anaheim’s rescue from the terror that would have followed by a Ben cranked up on a radioactive energy drink, more aptly described as liquid speed. No one is really sure what happened in those few moments as the feeling finally returned to the rest of our limbs, but Ben was in restraints, and Stevie… well, I’d rather not talk about that. Our thanks and prayers go out to you Stevie; we hope it will grow back. Sadly, DesertPuma finished off Ben’s drink and his heart exploded. We’re hoping to his transplant was successful.

Back to the topic of these other “gamers” movies. I’m not going to spend much time writing to you about what these movies are about. Check out the websites and they’re trailers for that. What I will tell you is what I thought of the films. I’ll start with “Gamers: the movie”.

First, a message to the filmmakers: Ben and I apologize for not being able to stay to give our feedback. We were on a tight schedule and had another obligation immediately following your screening, but we’re glad we got to go see your film.

“Gamers: the movie” has some impressive talent on the screen and some funny bits. It’s a mockumentary style film documenting a group of gamers who have been playing DND (Demon, Nymphs, and Dragons) for 23 years. The humor in the film reminded me of the rude and crude styles such as the Scary Movie films, and the direct-to-video National Lampoons movies. There were some hilarious bits in the film to be sure, but the humor style is lost on me. To each their own. My favorite part of the film? I liked some of the setups, like taking a picture of the dork in an embarrassing situation and then using it against him in later gags. Sounds old, but it was cleverly done. My least favorite? Homosexual Clown Porn. Nuff said. If I could recommend anything to be cut from the film, it’s that. If found it not just offensive, but gross. However, stay tuned to Dead Gentlemen to see how we would execute a homosexual fellatio joke in an offensive and damning way. I also found the KKK robe gag, which torments an African American little person, was also too much on the embarrassing and offensive funny. Again, not my kind of humor. I’ve refused to see movies like “There’s Something About Mary” for the same reason. Embarrassing situational humor isn’t my bag. But there is an audience for that, and I say go for it. It’s all about finding your audience, and that’s what I want to address next on this film:

“Gamers: The Movie” does more to demean and humiliate real gamers than it does to validate them and promote role-playing games. If the goal was to make a film for real gamers, the type of film that makes them laugh at themselves in situations they can identify with, I think the filmmakers were partially successful. The film is funny, but it’s demeaning. You don’t really ever identify with any of the characters personally. You’re only meant to laugh at them and make fun of them. It perpetuates the taboo about role-playing games; that only social losers and the psycho cultists play role-playing games. The good news for the filmmakers is, that their film is not a failure. I think there is definitely an audience for this film. It is definitely well done, they’ve got name actors, and again, it’s funny. I’m not sure about the title either. While I understand the obvious reason for the title, I’m not convinced it represents the film. Not to mention it’s on the opposite side of the spectrum of humor than our Gamers films, and confusing our film for theirs, or vice versa, would be unfortunate. “Dorks: the movie” or “DorkQuest” or something else might be more appropriate. So if real gamers aren’t the audience for “Gamers: the movie”, who are? I would start with market research of audiences for the original “Scary Movie”, some of the National Lampoons movies, and even just your local sports bar. I really think the audience for this film is the kind of people who make fun of role-playing gamers.

But what of the other movie I mentioned, “Gamerz”? It was fabulous; a real film about real gamers. The folks over at Pure Magic Films definitely made something purely magical. To save you from my shoddy paraphrasing, I’ll quote their website to tell you what the film’s about:

“GAMERZ is a new full length comedy movie from Scotland – an engaging love triangle with a strong twist of fantasy!

The tale is set in the strange, tormented world of a group of kids who are deeply into fantasy roleplaying games (such as Dungeons and Dragons, or Tunnels and Trolls). The hero is Ralph [Ross Finbow], the Game Keeper, a geeky genius who builds imaginary worlds. But he has a fatal weakness for Marlyn [Danielle Stewart], the sexy goth girl who thinks she’s an elf - and he’s not alone…”

Written and Directed by Robbie Fraser, the film is well crafted, beautifully shot, with solid and honest actors. As an American with Scottish ancestry, I can tell you that I was doubly infatuated with the film, both because it’s about gaming, and that it’s about gaming in Scotland! And if that weren’t enough, the film is set around the University of Glasgow, the very university I studied at in the fall of 1999, while the rest of the Dead Gents were showing Demon Hunters to our very first audience. Hell, in a few shots of the film I even recognized the street I lived on. The flat, I mean. I didn’t live on the street.

Anyway, the film does look at what happens when you take role-playing games too seriously. We see what happens when people try to make their fantasy world become reality, but I won’t give away the ending. The twist is gratifying.
Also, the way they did the fantasy world is pretty cool. It’s a visual style that still lets you use your imagination to fill in the blanks for what’s happening. High marks in my book.

My main criticism: There are a couple of scenes that take place in a university classroom, where a girl is taking an interest in Ralph. There’s some noticeable set up for something that never pays off. I was interested to see what was going to happen, but we never see her again after Ralph shrugs her off for Marlyn. But hey, I can’t blame Ralph either, Marlyn’s hot!

“Gamerz” is definitely a comedy, but it’s not roll on the floor funny. It has a kind of “feel-good” feeling at the end, that leaves you with a sense of endearment for the characters. That is success in my eyes, when gamers can identify with the characters in the movie, and come away feeling good about themselves. I can’t wait to own a copy of this film.

Incidentally, rumor has it that they have zombie movie in the works. What a coincidence! So do we! Could these two powers unite? Stay tuned.

Okay, enough about all that. Wanna know something cool? Dean Haglund, the guy who played “Langley”, one of the Lone Gunmen, from The X-Files. Gave him one of our SHIRT shirts and the next day he came to the Con wearing it! He did a live improv performance of an X-Files episode, which was very funny. We bought one, and his chill pak, the next day. Chill pak? It’s this cooling pak that you set your laptop on that keeps it running faster, cuz it’s cooler. Cool, huh? http://www.chillpak.com/ I can tell you that it really works.

The biggest news concerning Dorkness Rising is that we handed off the Hi-Def tapes to our editor in L.A., so the Hi-Def edit (or online edit) can now begin. No, that doesn’t mean it’s online anywhere for you to see. I know you don’t believe me, but we are arguable as anxious to see it as you are!

Okay folks, that’s it on my end for GenCon SoCal. Stay tuned to On the Road with the Dead Gentlemen as Emily and I head down to Texas for the weekend to attend CAGE CON. Dead Gentlemen in Texas. Wow. Nuff said there.

Oh right, the Con. We’re here for the con. We are right next to the celebrity signings, and low and behold, JET CITY IMPROV is here as a “celebrity”! Right from our own back yard! And yes, the husband of our very own Carol Roscoe (Plays Joanna/Daphne in “Dorkness Rising”), Andrew McMasters, is here representing his troupe, along with his whole gang. Yeah, we’re so going drinking tonight!

Got to chum it up with Dean Haglund of X-Files fame, who is a total gamer geek and come to discover that I think I’ve sat and had a beer with him at some con in the past, because he recognized us. Gave him a copy of the films and gonna hang out with him later on. He’s improving an episode of the X-Files during our Dead Camper Lake screening. It sounds so damn cool that we’re sneak a peek while our flick is playing. No one will ever know!!!! …

Except everyone reading this.

Booth was a little slow today, but the fans are hardcore regardless of the numbers. Our friend DesertPuma, from our forums dropped by and hung out with us for a bit.

Some cool stuff coming out. A seriously interesting game about the US breaking apart into another civil war around 2013 AD, called Shattered Union, coming out soon. Video game.

Well, getting ready to break down the booth, so I’ll sign off for now. Check you folks later.

-Don Early

Trogdor-Con

Day Four (5?)
Sunday. Sunday was a blur until around 1:00pm. I was slightly hungover (I’ll admit it) and exhausted from being on my feet for 16 hours a day for the last three days. I think most of the others were in similar situations. But by a yak, we were rockin’ the place! The sneak-peak teaser for Gamers: Dorkness Rising drew a lot more people over and around our booth for the last day of Gen Con. It felt good.

Then the Con ended. A voice came over the intercom and boomed that THE EXHIBIT HALL IS NOW CLOSED. ALL NON-VENDORS MUST VACATE THE HALL. And everyone cheered. It was weird.

And in twenty minutes, there were only support structures and carpets, stacks of boxes and crates. People milling around, sweeping up and talking in tight circles. We are traveling merchants, you see, hawking our wares, tricks, and magic to the migrating tribes of gamers. We meet as comrades and competition, and afterwards, we scatter to the wind.

Or something like that. Suddenly I’m in a van - Ben’s van - barreling down the highway in a van filled with more stuff than I own. Holy crap I’d die if we got in an accident.

We’re at the airport, unloading and checking in. I’m sitting in the waiting area eating a mini pizza. I’m on the plane. I’m on another plane. I’m asleep. I’m home.

And that. That was the last day of Gen Con according to dave, some guy.

Tune in later for when someone posts another entry about a Con. This got awkward real quick.

My apologies.

So, the screening went REALLY well! There was a huge line for our screening at 10pm on Saturday. Matt and I managed to get into the screening for the sneak preview for the new D&D movie, Wrath of the Dragon God, which looked surprisingly better. The suck meter had been turned down by at least, I don’t know, 3, maybe 4 points. They didn’t have a bard, but what can ya do?

Anyway, back to our screening. The audience LOVED it! I would say, with utter confidence, that a good 50% of the behind-the-scenes documentary had laughter going. As Ben (one of the editors for the documentary) said, they laughed when they were supposed to, as well as at points when they weren’t expected to. It worked out well.

When the lights kicked back on after the documentary, all the present DG folk were greeted with a standing ovation from the audience. It was magical. Here were these people that were so grateful for what we had made, and here we were so grateful that they dug our creation. It was a nice little moment of two crowds of people looking at each other.

We had a little Q&A when everyone sat down. There were mainly Yes or No questions (Is the Purple Ninja in Dorkness Rising?), which made for a quick, if informative, question session. We received many grins, thank-yous, and high fives. We felt good about ourselves.

The second showing (at 11pm), wasn’t as full as the first, standing-room-only crowd. Nonetheless, they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Yay for people.

Hopefully the final chapter of this tardy recap will get up soon. Er. Than later.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the energy to post a full-on entry tonight. I am WIPED out (pooped, exhausted, wasted), so it will unfortunately have to wait.

In the meantime, I will say that the screening(s) for Dorkness Rising were UNBELIEVABLE! I’m posting pictures of the extremely long line and an extremely packed room. I would say with confidence that the audience missed a good third of the content, as they were laughing hysterically. Good thing the documentary will be on the DVD!

Ok, hopefully more tomorrow, when my life regulars out again. Yes, you can use regular as a verb. Matt told me so.

Shortly after lunchtime, Don was arrested by some Klingon folk. Apparantly, you can hire some avid Star Trek fans to come and “arrest” anyone you want, and that individual is “required” to come back with the Klingons to a jail they have right outside the Exhibitor Hall. One of the dudes from Magnificent Egos arranged for the arrest, but Don bargained with a couple DVDs to lessen his jail time. Pictures with social commentary to follow.

We’ve been busy getting prepped for our big Gamers: Dorkness Rising sneak peak screening tonight. We’re expecting a HUGE crowd, which is good. But also bad, considering that the room we’re showing it in only fits 300-ish people. Luckily, that’s why we have a two hour block for a 35-minute documentary, meaning we can show it twice in our time frame. Oh, and the fly spells and hanging harnesses will also help with packing in the people. As opposed to packing down the people. Well, I guess we should do that, too…

Right now, we have to run to the Celebrity Gaming event we have planned. Featuring the gaming might of Monte Cook, Sean K. Reynolds, and Aaron Williams (as well as our own Chris Duppenthaler, Nathan Rice, and Steve Wolbrecht), this public display of adventuring should lend itself to some good times had by all. This group is being led through the adventure module of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising movie that was written by Goodman Games. Like I said, good times had by all for sure.

I need food. (Theoretically and hopefully) more later.

Our Friday morning came a bit too quickly. As is customary for the second day of the con, we were decently exhausted. All the movie screenings and question-and-answer sessions, night time conversations and games definitely don’t mesh extremely well with the early mornings that the con attendees demand of us exhibitors. Luckily, the super-power of the wonder drug caffeine was there to save our day(s). What do you mean it’s obvious we’re from the Northwest? (Give…me…coffee…)

Our booth was again packed the entire day. Especially during our signing times. In which we had mobs of people surrounding us. And no, I’m not just saying this to brag. I’m just trying to share our experience with y’all. I just called you y’all.

This evening we showed Demon Hunters and Dead Camper Lake, back-to-back. Like our previous Gamers’ audience, the con attendees for the films were very responsive and supportive. The show was standing room only. And yes, there were more than six chairs this time. There were like eight.

We had a question and answer session after the screenings, which went extremely well. Matt answered some background inquiries regarding the Demon Hunter movies (most notably: why are vampires able to walk around in sunlight? The answer being the use of the vampric supplement vitamin V. Another answer being it’s easier to film. What?)

Tomorrow is the big event, however. We’re showing the behind-the-scenes, making-of documentary of the new Gamers: Dorkness Rising feature film. With clips from the film, interviews with the cast and crew, and insights from the gaming industry’s iconic personalities, it should be well worth the $0 admission fee. If you’re at the con, come on by Capital Ballroom 3 in the Westin Hotel. If you’re not at the con, then, well, we’ll be sure to laugh EXTRA hard for you. And that’s a promise!