A documentary film is in development that will tell the origin story of of the biggest pop-culture convention in the world, San Diego Comic-Con. The film will be based on Mathew Klickstein’s book, See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture.
Klickstein is producing the film along with Emmy and Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and Safdie Brothers producer Oscar Boyson.
The See You at San Diego documentary will follow “how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever.”
San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.
Permut said in a statement: “This is the quintessential underdog story — young fanboys and fangirls filled with their passion and dreams — that mushroomed into the birth of what evolved into a global phenomenon.”
Boyson added: “Culture grows out of community, ambition, and the often naive belief that you can change things without waiting for anyone’s permission. The origins of Comic-Con are no exception, and in a moment where many of us are wondering what the future of entertainment looks like, it’s an important and timely story to tell.”
Klickstein said: “It’s been a true honor and privilege over the past five years to become a principal chronicler of the early years of Comic-Con and its original founders, the majority of whom have become close friends and mentors. This forthcoming onscreen expansion will be a perfect coda to our ongoing labor-of-love illuminating the personal story of the early Con years by those who made it happen, all in a compelling form that will inspire viewers and fans everywhere.”
It’s explained: “Through the support of more than 50 interviewees originally gathered together by pop culture historian Klickstein for his two previous outings of the story — 2021’s six-part audio docuseries via SiriusXM/Stitcher Comic-Con Begins and the oral history book See You at San Diego, published by Fantagraphics in 2022 — expert, primary testimony will be presented by such surviving Con co-founders and early integral contributors as: Scott Shaw!, David Clark, Roger Freedman, Barry Alfonso, Wendy All, and Paul M. Sammon, as well as son of late co-originator Ken Krueger, Gus Krueger, and author, scholar, and media professor Dr. Erin Hanna (Only at Comic-Con). In addition, there’s a treasure trove of new and old interviews with all of the key players involved alongside special celebrity guests in combination with scores of rare or unseen photos, audio archives, artwork, and memorabilia — including a newly discovered and exclusive cache of more than 15 hours of unearthed video footage from the earliest days of the Con.”
Source: Deadline