TMNT 25th Anniversary Fan Expo Recap

*Krutch* · 08-31-2009, 02:43 PM

Hey guys,

I was at the Toronto 2009 Fan Expo yesterday, which was a ton of fun. It's getting bigger and bigger every year, with this year being the first appearance by Marvel and DC panels. The TMNT panel was yesterday, which I obviously attended. Not much news to tell you, but here's a quick breakdown of what happened.

-Started at 2:00pm, with a long introduction by Gary Richardson(CEO if Mirage Studios). Introduced the rest of the panel including Lloyd Goldfine(Supervising Producer for 4Kids), Randall Lobb(Writer/Director of upcoming TMNT Documentary), Jim Lawson, and Mike Dooney.

-Immediately began talking about the upcoming documentary, talking about how surprisingly hard it was to market, but they're happy that its being done. They've shot over 120 hours of footage so now its a matter of putting it in the right order and "choosing the best story" for the documentary to tell.

-We were then treated to the first 20 minutes of the documentary, still in its rough form. It was well put together and should prove to be interesting. That being said, it didn't really cover new ground and I have the feeling that any schooled TMNT fan wont learn anything new. But it did have some old videos of Kevin, Peter, and the gang celebrating their first toy line deal with champaigne and pouring it all over each other. Looked like fun times.

-Afterwards, Gary began doing a mini Q and A with the panel, which didn't really cover new grounds. Alot of questions like "What was your favorite toy design that you remember" etc...

-Shortly after, they then began to talk about the upcoming Turtles Forever movie, and how Laird hated the idea at first. He kept saying how it will never work and its a bad idea to revisit those days. But then the writers sat down and wrote the entire thing anyways and presented it to Peter, who fell in love with it.

-Then we were shown 20 minutes of the movie(edited, as it seemed to jump scene to scene with some missing scenes). And guys, let me tell you, it was awesome. I don't want to spoil anything, but it was an incredible experience to watch with a large audience of Turtles fans. If you have a cliq which consists of alot of turtle fans, I highly recommend you watch the movie for the first time with them. It playfully poked fun at the 80s show while maintaining the tone of the current series. The 20 minutes ended with a cool cliffhanger, followed by a minute montage of other clips with the tag line "Get ready for the biggest Turtles movie ever". I can't wait

-Afterwards there was some Q&A with the audience, and honestly, nobody asked any good questions lol. Alot were about upcoming video games(which, i beg the question, considering who was at the panel, "WHY?").

-One fan asked if the Turtles were based off characters or people, to which Lawson said he thinks Donatello was based off Laird, as he's kind of the tech guy. I asked afterwards, jokingly "So who was Venus De Milo based off of?" which caused the room to groan and moan. Lawson replied "We don't talk about Venus. Next question." Yikes, I thought I was making a joke but man... thats a seriously sensitive issue apparently :S

-Finally someone asked about the new movie, which Gary said he was told not to say anything that we couldnt find online already. But he mentioned that they are trying "with all their might" to land a PG-13 rating. But then restated from an earlier conference about "look what Harry Potter gets away with with a PG rating" (note: Yes, but thats magic-induced harm, not physical violence. But whatever).

That about wraps it up. It was a fun panel and though not alot of new stuff was revealed, I'm glad I went. Turtles Forever looks freaking perfect and my interest in it jumped up 1000 percent. Everyone should look forward to it

Cheers

Desslok · 08-31-2009, 03:04 PM

Thanks for reporting on this. It's cool that you guys got to see so much of Turtles Forever, I'd be happy just to see a trailer.

*ToTheNines* · 08-31-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juggalo

Everyone should look forward to it

I've been dying to see it for what seems like years

So did anyone ask about the release dates for Turtles Forever or the Documentary?

Canadian Turtle · 08-31-2009, 09:24 PM

Well in response to your release date question the doc is more or less slated for sometime in 2010. I can't say when and how yet, but we are crossing our fingers.

Hahaha, so in light of that critique, I will explain just a little bit. What people saw was a truncated version of what could be the opening scenes. As the reviewer stated "fans wont learn anything new"... I don't believe this will be true. We literally rushed to get this out the door in a couple of days, there is so much that is going into this, that it is hard to get it all in. In part of our toy history we pre-viewed a story that I could almost guarantee not a single fan ever knew, until now.. and this was only a sneak peak. There were also a few subtle shots that should hint to some pretty huge news to some people, if they looked close, but I wont say any more. All I will say is, although you may know some of the story and even the whole story, some of this stuff I know you have never seen.

I feel silly reviewing our own project, but I would love to hear more feedback and comments from people who were there, so we can work to make this better for you!

Thanks!

*Krutch* · 08-31-2009, 09:31 PM

Hey Canadian Turtle

I didn't mean to sound negative... Like I said, I thought it was very interesting and I said it was in its rough form. I'll definitely check it out as well, and I'm sure all fans would get a kick out of it.

As with any documentary, I'm sure there will be some stuff thats new to some people and old to others. Like the "Look, Up In The Sky" documentary for Superman was still able to provide some new stuff for even the most die hard fans. I'm hoping this one will be too

Looks great though, keep it up!

TMNTFan1989 · 08-31-2009, 11:00 PM

Man i can't wait for turtles forever and the doc!

Canadian Turtle · 09-01-2009, 06:34 AM

Jugg! Cool bro! I was just making sure you caught some of those little references in there, sorry I didn't mean to say you didn't like it. Interestingly enough Scott Mednik (co-producer new movie) had a lot to do with that superman doc you are talking about... I think hahaha!

Anyways, I think there will be a new trailer in the coming week... and I mean that this time!! hahahaha

*ToTheNines* · 09-09-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian Turtle

Anyways, I think there will be a new trailer in the coming week... and I mean that this time!! hahahaha

Ahem.... Well?

*Buslady* · 09-09-2009, 07:16 PM

I'd have laughed at the venus joke, shes a joke in herself. they need to get a sense of humor!

Canadian Turtle · 09-09-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Ahem.... Well?

HAHA !!! OK I know I lied again! Here is the thing. I cut the new trailer... I have the new trailer, but when I sent it the post guy on the team to finish up and put the new graphics and coloring work on it... well thats where things slow down hahah! I will get on him tomorrow and try to get it out the door! I'm glad you were paying attention and called me on it though!

Magneto · 09-09-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juggalo

As with any documentary, I'm sure there will be some stuff thats new to some people and old to others. Like the "Look, Up In The Sky" documentary for Superman was still able to provide some new stuff for even the most die hard fans. I'm hoping this one will be too

As a big fan of documentaries, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Turtles doc. The 2006 "Look, Up in the Sky" Superman documentary was superb, and if the Ninja Turtles documentary is anywhere near as thorough, we'll all be in for a real treat I'm sure.

Canadian Turtle · 09-10-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman \S/

As a big fan of documentaries, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Turtles doc. The 2006 "Look, Up in the Sky" Superman documentary was superb, and if the Ninja Turtles documentary is anywhere near as thorough, we'll all be in for a real treat I'm sure.

Well being as they both kinda have the same people behind them... well you should all be in for a treat for sure!!

Magneto · 09-10-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian Turtle

Well being as they both kinda have the same people behind them... well you should all be in for a treat for sure!!

It certainly is promising.

*Krutch* · 09-14-2009, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buslady

I'd have laughed at the venus joke, shes a joke in herself. they need to get a sense of humor!

I really can't stress the hatred I felt in the room when I mentioned her name. I thought someone was gonna kill me.

Also, Canadian Turtle, I know the documentary was in its rough form but my friend has been bugging me to tell you: The intro to the documentary scared the hell out of him(he was drunk). He said the sound and look of it had a very Unsolved Mysteries vibe(his words). Like, the intro before it really began, with Shredder's tunneler bursting out of the ground. He was freaked.

But, again, he was drunk

I dug it

*Spitfire* · 09-15-2009, 04:21 AM

Sure that's all he was?

Canadian Turtle · 09-15-2009, 07:40 AM

^I agree.... I think he must have been high hahaha!

Well it worked then, that was the point of that intro, it is supposed to create a feeling of mystery and doubt, I don't know what to say about your friend though hahaha.

We are also not sure if that is the direction we will go with the opening, in fact I will guaranty that opening will change again and again, until the final product, it was more for this purpose.

~~Cropsy~~ · 09-15-2009, 10:20 AM

Sounds awesome.

TMNT-Leonardo · 09-17-2009, 01:32 PM

The panel was indeed awesome (my friend didn't even realize the cut for Turtles Forever was trimmed down). I went over to the Mirage booth before the end of the day (I already visted everyday since the convention started) and it was awsome. Me and Jim chatted for a while too, bought some artwork and even a photo with them. Great fun!

08-31-2009, 02:43 PM	#1
Krutch Like, stupid rich. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Rawkzone Posts: 2,808	TMNT 25th Anniversary Fan Expo Recap Hey guys, I was at the Toronto 2009 Fan Expo yesterday, which was a ton of fun. It's getting bigger and bigger every year, with this year being the first appearance by Marvel and DC panels. The TMNT panel was yesterday, which I obviously attended. Not much news to tell you, but here's a quick breakdown of what happened. -Started at 2:00pm, with a long introduction by Gary Richardson(CEO if Mirage Studios). Introduced the rest of the panel including Lloyd Goldfine(Supervising Producer for 4Kids), Randall Lobb(Writer/Director of upcoming TMNT Documentary), Jim Lawson, and Mike Dooney. -Immediately began talking about the upcoming documentary, talking about how surprisingly hard it was to market, but they're happy that its being done. They've shot over 120 hours of footage so now its a matter of putting it in the right order and "choosing the best story" for the documentary to tell. -We were then treated to the first 20 minutes of the documentary, still in its rough form. It was well put together and should prove to be interesting. That being said, it didn't really cover new ground and I have the feeling that any schooled TMNT fan wont learn anything new. But it did have some old videos of Kevin, Peter, and the gang celebrating their first toy line deal with champaigne and pouring it all over each other. Looked like fun times. -Afterwards, Gary began doing a mini Q and A with the panel, which didn't really cover new grounds. Alot of questions like "What was your favorite toy design that you remember" etc... -Shortly after, they then began to talk about the upcoming Turtles Forever movie, and how Laird hated the idea at first. He kept saying how it will never work and its a bad idea to revisit those days. But then the writers sat down and wrote the entire thing anyways and presented it to Peter, who fell in love with it. -Then we were shown 20 minutes of the movie(edited, as it seemed to jump scene to scene with some missing scenes). And guys, let me tell you, it was awesome. I don't want to spoil anything, but it was an incredible experience to watch with a large audience of Turtles fans. If you have a cliq which consists of alot of turtle fans, I highly recommend you watch the movie for the first time with them. It playfully poked fun at the 80s show while maintaining the tone of the current series. The 20 minutes ended with a cool cliffhanger, followed by a minute montage of other clips with the tag line "Get ready for the biggest Turtles movie ever". I can't wait -Afterwards there was some Q&A with the audience, and honestly, nobody asked any good questions lol. Alot were about upcoming video games(which, i beg the question, considering who was at the panel, "WHY?"). -One fan asked if the Turtles were based off characters or people, to which Lawson said he thinks Donatello was based off Laird, as he's kind of the tech guy. I asked afterwards, jokingly "So who was Venus De Milo based off of?" which caused the room to groan and moan. Lawson replied "We don't talk about Venus. Next question." Yikes, I thought I was making a joke but man... thats a seriously sensitive issue apparently :S -Finally someone asked about the new movie, which Gary said he was told not to say anything that we couldnt find online already. But he mentioned that they are trying "with all their might" to land a PG-13 rating. But then restated from an earlier conference about "look what Harry Potter gets away with with a PG rating" (note: Yes, but thats magic-induced harm, not physical violence. But whatever). That about wraps it up. It was a fun panel and though not alot of new stuff was revealed, I'm glad I went. Turtles Forever looks freaking perfect and my interest in it jumped up 1000 percent. Everyone should look forward to it Cheers

08-31-2009, 09:24 PM	#4
Canadian Turtle Mad Scientist Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Small town Ontario, West of Toronto Posts: 1,257	Well in response to your release date question the doc is more or less slated for sometime in 2010. I can't say when and how yet, but we are crossing our fingers. Hahaha, so in light of that critique, I will explain just a little bit. What people saw was a truncated version of what could be the opening scenes. As the reviewer stated "fans wont learn anything new"... I don't believe this will be true. We literally rushed to get this out the door in a couple of days, there is so much that is going into this, that it is hard to get it all in. In part of our toy history we pre-viewed a story that I could almost guarantee not a single fan ever knew, until now.. and this was only a sneak peak. There were also a few subtle shots that should hint to some pretty huge news to some people, if they looked close, but I wont say any more. All I will say is, although you may know some of the story and even the whole story, some of this stuff I know you have never seen. I feel silly reviewing our own project, but I would love to hear more feedback and comments from people who were there, so we can work to make this better for you! Thanks! __________________ The Doc: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turtl..._type=bookmark Business: www.iproductionsonline.com

08-31-2009, 11:00 PM	#6
TMNTFan1989 Random Punk Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Orlando,Florida Posts: 24	Man i can't wait for turtles forever and the doc! __________________ "I hunga for cowabunga!" Shredder from Cowabunga Shredhead "If we don't get to break something soon, i'm gonna go nuts!" Casey Jones from Corporate Raiders From Dimension X

09-01-2009, 06:34 AM	#7
Canadian Turtle Mad Scientist Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Small town Ontario, West of Toronto Posts: 1,257	Jugg! Cool bro! I was just making sure you caught some of those little references in there, sorry I didn't mean to say you didn't like it. Interestingly enough Scott Mednik (co-producer new movie) had a lot to do with that superman doc you are talking about... I think hahaha! Anyways, I think there will be a new trailer in the coming week... and I mean that this time!! hahahaha __________________ The Doc: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turtl..._type=bookmark Business: www.iproductionsonline.com

09-09-2009, 07:16 PM	#9
Buslady WingsOfDarkness! Perkele! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In 7803... Posts: 4,366	I'd have laughed at the venus joke, shes a joke in herself. they need to get a sense of humor! __________________

08-31-2009, 03:04 PM	#2
Desslok Hench Mutant Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 393	Thanks for reporting on this. It's cool that you guys got to see so much of Turtles Forever, I'd be happy just to see a trailer.

08-31-2009, 09:31 PM	#5
Krutch Like, stupid rich. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Rawkzone Posts: 2,808	Hey Canadian Turtle I didn't mean to sound negative... Like I said, I thought it was very interesting and I said it was in its rough form. I'll definitely check it out as well, and I'm sure all fans would get a kick out of it. As with any documentary, I'm sure there will be some stuff thats new to some people and old to others. Like the "Look, Up In The Sky" documentary for Superman was still able to provide some new stuff for even the most die hard fans. I'm hoping this one will be too Looks great though, keep it up!

09-15-2009, 04:21 AM	#15
Spitfire Writer • Director Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 12,035	Sure that's all he was? __________________ Check out my online portfolio http://www.christopherpelletier.com/

09-15-2009, 07:40 AM	#16
Canadian Turtle Mad Scientist Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Small town Ontario, West of Toronto Posts: 1,257	^I agree.... I think he must have been high hahaha! Well it worked then, that was the point of that intro, it is supposed to create a feeling of mystery and doubt, I don't know what to say about your friend though hahaha. We are also not sure if that is the direction we will go with the opening, in fact I will guaranty that opening will change again and again, until the final product, it was more for this purpose. __________________ The Doc: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turtl..._type=bookmark Business: www.iproductionsonline.com

09-15-2009, 10:20 AM	#17
~~Cropsy~~ Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 92	Sounds awesome.

09-17-2009, 01:32 PM	#18
TMNT-Leonardo Hench Mutant Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Earth Posts: 265	The panel was indeed awesome (my friend didn't even realize the cut for Turtles Forever was trimmed down). I went over to the Mirage booth before the end of the day (I already visted everyday since the convention started) and it was awsome. Me and Jim chatted for a while too, bought some artwork and even a photo with them. Great fun! __________________ Turtle Power!