That's how far we've come, folks, because kids were all over the place at Comicpalooza. All across the spectrum adults of my generation have refused to throw away their toys, and now our kids don't know a world where a grown man has any reason to be ashamed of owning a stormtrooper costumes. That is a wonderful thing.
My last stop of the year was to a table run by the organizer of the Stephen King Dollar Babies festival, Shawn Lealos who directed a 15-minute adaptation of King's story "I Know What You Need."
King's Dollar Baby program is supposed to allow indie filmmakers the chance to adapt a story for next to nothing in hopes of boosting the careers of future auteurs. I always thought it was a wonderful thing for King to do, but I had no idea some of the restrictions placed on the filmmakers.
Of course the main one is you can't adapt a property that has already been made, so no, you don't get to try your hand at Carrie. The second is you can't sell it for profit, which is reasonable, but you also can't throw it up on YouTube or anything else of that nature.
You can only screen Dollar Baby films at festivals, and according to Lealos there have been 76 films made since the program started and almost no one has seen more than a couple because of how difficult it is to find a legal venue to do so. He's currently writing a book about the Dollar Baby program, and he was told that he wasn't even allowed to ask for films to view for the project.
I understand King's (And more importantly King's lawyers) position. Adaptation of his works is serious business, and brings in lots of money. You don't want a bunch of cash cows running outside the fence. That said, Frank Darabont got started this way, and it seems such a shame that these films just sit on a shelf in King's office. You think at the least he would allow for the free screening of them.
After a weekend where I watched so much ingenuity and generosity when it comes to creation and expression of art, it was an indicator that somewhere above all of us lays a corporate cloud. Comicpalooza is supposed to go to four days next week, and I have never seen so many people. It's growing to be a big player, but when that happens will it also just become a marketing venue for the big bosses? I wonder if this was the last year of the convention I can answer that with, "No."
We'll see you again next year!
Jef With One F is a recovering rock star taking it one day at a time. You can read about his adventures in The Bible Spelled Backwards or connect with him on Facebook.
