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SDCC 2018: Visiting ‘Purge City’ Made Me Want To Hunt For A Green Card!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 24, 2018

Briefly: 2018 was far and away the year of standout offsites events.

I spent some time detailing Purge City in my Friday recap, but this offsite was so impressive that it deserved some space on its own.

The event was put together to advertise and celebrate USA Network’s upcoming The Purge 10-episode TV series, which “follows several seemingly unrelated characters living in a small city. Tying them all together is a mysterious savior who’s impeccably equipped for everything the night throws at them. As the clock winds down with their fates hanging in the balance, each character is forced to reckon with their pasts as they discover how far they will go to survive the night.”

While the film series has been fairly hit or miss for me (an amazing concept that isn’t always that well executed), I was already invested in the idea of a TV series, even before I visited Purge City.

Purge City was a parody of the Party City brand of party preparation stores (couldn’t figure that out from the title, could you?), and the event has to be the most immersive offsite that I’ve been to in years, as every single actor in the venue was in full character 100% of the time. They often had creepy smiles, and were constantly asking patrons what they were doing for the Purge. When asked, I noted that I was from Canada so I wasn’t used to purging, and the employees were happy to offer suggestions. Suggestions ranged from hiding or staying in, to taking me through some of their most popular weapon choices for first-time Purgers – one of the employees even said they were sorry that those in Canada didn’t have the opportunity to Purge, noting just how prosperous things have been since the 28th amendment came to pass.

The store (which I impressively saw being built just a couple of days before) was filled with amazing merchandise, some available for fans, while other (larger or more violent-looking items) were set for display only.

Upon entry, patrons received 20 ‘Purge Bucks’ to spend on whatever they wanted. You could grab a basket, and choose from t-shirts for 15 Purge Bucks, hats for 12, temporary tattoos, candles, energy drinks, greeting cards, stain ‘depurgent’, and even more. Alongside the phenomenal greeting cards, there was also a tablet that Purgers could use to send equally hilarious e-cards to friends, some of which even allowed you to upload your own photos. I picked up a t-shirt, a wonderful replica of the 28th amendment to the constitution (which is when the Purge was added), and a greeting card that said ‘Live, Laugh, Purge’ on it. This totalled 20 Purge Bucks, and I also received a helium balloon and a reusable ‘Purge City’ bag upon checkout (the latter I cannot wait to use back home, regardless of all of the weird looks I’ll receive).

The merchendise was fantastic, and I absolutely loved the ability to tailor your swag to your own preferences – that said, the very best part of the event had to be the actors/employees. The week must have been incredibly busy and inexplicably stressful, but they just seemed so thrilled and excited to help patrons ensure that their Purge would be a good one. In the ‘demo’ are, the actors really had an opportunity to shine, as every half hour or so they would show off some of the fun new products that Purge City had available for this year’s Purge, including a ‘Purge Night Cake Cutter’, which was a cake baking kit and knife that would cut your Purge night celebration cake into 6 or 12 identical pieces. One of the pieces had a special, limited edition ‘New Founding Father’ figure inside, and whomever’s piece contained the figure would have to do a dare at the discretion of the host. I captured this demonstration on video, and it was so hilarious that I had a huge grin on my face the entire time.

The other demo that I was present for had the employees showing off a new stain ‘depurgent’ (see what they did there?), which had volunteers from the crowd splattering liquid (blue liquid like the classic paper towel or sanitary pad commercials, but they definitely hinted that it would also work on blood) on some white shirts, and showing just how much better their formula was than ‘the other guys’ at removing said stains.

The setup really felt just like a real store, and I spent the better part of an hour absorbing absolutely everything that I could. Every aspect of this setup was impressive, from the swag you could take home, to the security system demonstration (catch a quick video below of the system being demoed to The Purge cast member Fiona Dourif), to the weapon setups or the silly signage that was all around the store – it really made preparing for the Purge feel like preparing for a party… instead of the absolute most terrifying thing in that could ever possibly exist.

I was obsessed with this offsite, and as such, I took a myriad of photos to remember it by. Be sure to take a close look at all of the hilarious greeting cards, shirts, and other items,and be sure to let us know what you think!

The Purge commences (the TV series, not the real thing, obviously) on September 4th, and you better believe I’ll be watching!

SDCC 2018: The DC Universe Offsite Event Turns The Upcoming App Into A Physical Wonder!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

I’ve been waiting for DC Universe for years.

I absolutely fell in love with Marvel Unlimited when it launched all those years ago. The app quickly a one-stop shop for essentially every Marvel book that’s more than six months old, and for someone who is almost always behind on comics, the service itself was also an unbeatable value.

Because of my Marvel-focussed childhood and my early acceptance of Marvel Unlimited, I’m way more familiar with Marvel properties than I am of DC. I dabbled in New 52 for a year or so after it started, but as with most things, I fell behind.

That’s why I was so excited when DC revealed their upcoming DC Universe service, which sounds like it will quickly leapfrog Marvel Unlimited in terms of content, as it will include not only comics, but movies, tv series, and even a myriad of original content – like the upcoming live action series Titans, which had costumes on display, and even has a trailer out now.

I had an opportunity to check out the DC Universe offsite activation last night before it opened to the public, and it’s an absolutely spectacular event. The staff (and Jim Lee) noted that the event is meant to be a physical representation of what the service will offer, and I think that this is a brilliant way to kick off this service.

The event had a variety of different experiences available, including the “Harley Quinn Chaos Room” which had you suited up in protective gear and smashing stuff in an Arkham Asylum cell (so much fun), a small and creepy “Swamp Thing” walkthrough (I heard a lot of screams from the end of this one), a Doom Patrol lab that gave you “test tube cocktails” and neat, smoking popcorn, along with superhero photo ops and more.

Here’s the Arkham Asylum guard yelling before we went into the Chaos Room:

And another attendee in the Chaos Room:

And a very very dark run through the Swamp thing walkabout:

And some shots of Chief’s Lab:

Some of the coolest things around though, were the amazing props and concept art that DC had on display – this included the Batmissile, Mr. Freeze’ Freeze Ray, the Penguin’s Rubber Duck, and way way more.

Naturally, the app itself was also available in beta form. It felt smooth as hell, the comics were high res, and it was as snappy as you’d expect the finished product to be. The app is expected to launch in beta form in just a few weeks, with a wide release to come this fall. Sadly, no representative could tell me when the service might hit Canada, and I expect that it could be some time with TV and movie rights in play.

I had an amazing time at the event, and it’s another one of those offsite that should be more than worth your wait in line. Take a look at a few more of my photos from the event below, and let us know what you think! The DC Universe event is open through Sunday at the Hilton Gaslamp!

Thursday Only! Watch A Beautifully Restored 4K Restoration Of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’

by Derek KraneveldtOctober 2, 2012

Lawrence of Arabia I hear, is quite the film. It’s a title that I have not yet had the pleasure to see, despite it being on my list of ‘Stuff I Have To See’ for some time now. This is some pretty cool news, and if I was anywhere near a theatre having a showing, I would be there for sure.

The Blu-Ray release of the film is set to release in November. For this, Sony Pictures Entertainment has taken the original negatives, and meticulously restored them to a beautiful, digital 4K transfer. This is a huge upgrade from any edition that has been seen so far!

But it’s not just on Blu-Ray that you can experience this! For one day only, this Thursday October 4th, Lawrence of Arabia returns to theatres. Tickets and participating locations can be found at www.FathomEvents.com. Over 630 theatres! Not a single one in Canada though, so I suppose I’ll be sitting out on this one!

You should pick up tickets quickly though, the showing is just a couple days away, and tickets are sure to be going fast!

Check out the trailer for the transfer below, and let us know if you’re going!