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Behind the scenes at Disney's first fan convention
Last Friday, Johnny Depp came onto a stage at the Anaheim Convention Center and wowed the crowd by appearing in full costume as Captain Jack Sparrow, the star of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. On the same stage, actors John Travolta and Nicholas Cage dropped by, and singer Miley Cyrus performed -- all surprises for star-struck fans who bought tickets to attend "D23 Expo", Walt Disney's first-ever in-house convention for its faithful.
To me, this conjured déjà vu: Where had I seen this before? Oh, yes, the very same stars, including Depp as Captain Jack, had appeared at a private presentation the Disney Studio held late last year for journalists and analysts. But of course, this was the whole point of D23 -- a chance for real people, folks who have nothing to do with the media spindustrial complex, to get up close to their idols, go behind the scenes, and get the lowdown on what is coming next across Disney's vast film, TV, Web, resort, travel and consumer products divisions.
It was an interesting experiment in one of the few burgeoning trends in media today, a move toward selling already-loyal customers premium memberships that offer access to things they wouldn't normally see. It was a small glimpse at how an industry hungry for growth is trying new ways to find it. And it gave new meaning to the term "Mickey Mouse Club."
The broad concept behind D23 -- the 23 is a reference to 1923, the year young Walt left Kansas and arrived in Hollywood -- was to create an official fan club for all things Disney. D23 Expo is the company's own version of Comic-Con,the geekfest held in San Diego each summer that in recent years has been pretty much co-opted by the Hollywood studios who use it as a venue to hawk their biggest projects and stars -- many that have not a whit to do with comic books -- in front of an influential young audience and a boatload of press.
D23 Expo, which ended its four-day debut yesterday, was essentially Disney-Con -- and anyone could attend for $37 a day or $81 for the whole event (and members of the D23 club, which was founded earlier this year, get a discount.) |
