Universal really went out of its way to make Scott Pilgrim the biggest thing at Comic Con. The marketing blitz they put forth was nothing short of astounding. So here's how it went down.
First, they had the windows of one side of the Hilton Hotel, across the street from the Convention Center, painted with the Scott Pilgrim poster.
Also across the street, but on the Gaslamp district, was where the plethora of Scott Pilgrim marketing was. First, there was the Scott Pilgrim Garlic Bread stand where they handed out free garlic bread (Scott Pilgrim's favorite snack).
Near that was a stall where they were giving out free Scott Pilgrim T-shirts (fans would get one of three pre-made shirts).
Then there was the Scott Pilgrim vs. Comic Con Experience, which was held at the Hilton Gaslamp station.
The line was super long, especially since anyone (with or without Comic Con badge) could enter. The wait time was between one-three hours depending. But the end result was often well worth it.
There was a station where fans could get a customized Scott Pilgrim T-shirt (as seen on the right of the image above). They could also make their own personalized flip book.
Play a demo of the Scott Pilgrim video game that will be available for download on the Playstation Network August 10 (today).
They would also get to see live performances from the winner of the Band Battle Royale contest they held, Gorgeous Got a Gun.
And every now and then will get to meet members of the cast for autographs and pictures.
Kieran Culkin - aka Wallace Wells
Anna Kendrick - aka Stacey Pilgrim
Aubrey Plaza - aka Julie Powers
Left: Ellen Wong - aka Knives Chau
Middle: Mary Elizabeth Winstead - aka Ramona Flowers
All for free!
On Day One, they conducted the Scott Pilgrim panel in Hall H with up to thirteen members of the cast along with creator Bryan Lee O'Malley and director Edgar Wright.
Part One of Four:
The panel was filled with great fun and hilarity, as you could see and imagine. At the end, Edgar had a surprise for everyone in that they were going to show the full film at the Balboa Theatre that evening. But to get in, folks needed to have received a 1-Up button during the panel. Edgar then jumped off the stage and led everyone with the appropriate button to the theatre. Seriously, he led the people to the screening.
Those who didn't get the button still had other chances as they were screening the movie two more times on Day Two and Day Three for free. That's right, free! Of course, fans had to wait in line for hours to ensure they were getting into the screening, which was first come first serve.
But the end result was worth it for the obvious reason. Not to mention the theatre was kind enough to also give out free popcorn and drinks. Inside, as fans were waiting for the movie to start, they were treated to music mixed together by Dan The Automator (of Gorillaz fame) and Kid Koala, both of whom worked on mixing the music for the film.
When it was time, Edgar and the cast came out to introduce the film. I'll try to get a review up later, but I can say with great honesty that this was a fantastic movie from start to finish. Edgar returned to the stage at the end of the film for a closing speech. Those who got to see the film on the first night were given an added bonus of a mini-concert from Metric, whose song "Black Sheep" was used in the film as a song performed by the in-film band Clash at Demonhead.
So you can see that Universal really went out of their way to make Scott Pilgrim one of, if not the memorable film presented at Comic Con.