Last week I got no sleep in the 24-hour hotspot known as Vegas. I not only got the opportunity to take part in the casino floor now that I am the big 2-1, but I was able to attend the motion picture industry convention ShoWest. The conference is the largest gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world so obviously the experience was a bit overwhelming, but still extremely fun.
While I got to preview some impressive films set for release in the following months, hear filmmakers discuss thoughts behind their creative ideas, and sample future items and gimmicks for movie theaters across the country, if there is one thing to take away from this convention it is how much free stuff one can generate from film publicity.
Shirts, key chains, dvds, backpacks, pens, paper, toys, books. If you can imagine it, someone in the world is probably manufacturing it with a movie logo pressed on.
The crazy part is how sucked into the whole advertising scheme you can become. Everyone wants that next goodie bag even if it is full of a bunch of crap you don’t want or need. I saw 40-year-old men grabbing at bags for the upcoming musical “Hairspray!”
Now to an extent a free t-shirt or new backpack can be beneficial. As a poor college student, anywhere I can get some free stuff is great. But soon you begin to realize how much useless stuff you can accumulate. Did I really need this “Ocean’s 13” keychain?
Now a lot of the merchandise was shared between my family and some of the things were justifiably kept as mementos of the experience, but I just can’t imagine how professionals in the industry who regularly attend film conventions and junkets handle the massive amounts of free stuff.
Where can they possibly put it all?
Anyways, the whole experience was really exciting and lots of fun. A highlight was getting to see the Christopher Walken in person.
And personally I had a great time running around Vegas attempting to gamble. But since I know nothing about all of the different games I mostly stuck to the slots. And while I didn’t win a lot of money, I was simply entertained to be able to pull that addictive lever.
I also saw the Cirque Du Soliel show “Love” inspired by all Beatles music. The show was amazing! Anyone who likes the Beatles should go see it.
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2 comments:
On doing a random google search trying to track down one of the promotional "Ocean's 13" keychains, your blog popped up. Of course this is kind of insane, but I have been searching for one. Interested in selling it?
My profile before wouldn't update with my email, but it's on there now [lollobrigida at g mail dot com] just in case you decide to part with it.
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