The Laughing Wolf

Serenity: The Blog Review Experience

Well, I promised to talk about it all, and the experience is part and parcel of the story. Overall, it was a good experience. Getting to it from downtown Baltimore is a tale in and of itself, but once there things went very smoothly. I quickly found the Universal rep and was directed to the line of people already waiting. It was a good size line, and I am not sure how many were bloggers as there were several groups there.

Like most screenings, this one was a mixed bag. There were representatives from various local Old Media, student newspapers at colleges and universities (not sure about high school, but could have been), and various groups that appeared to include everything from local craft services to the staff of a local comic convention.

While the bloggers were treated fairly, there are a couple of suggestions for the Universal (and Grace Hill) people:

1. If you have seats reserved for press, and won't let mere bloggers sit there, don't immediately then turn around and offer them to non-media groups, friends, etc. It is either MSM only, or come up with a better designation for those anointed.

2. Some old-fashioned press packets are a good idea to keep around. I would have loved to go into the crew list and credits last night while things were fresh upon my mind, but couldn't. Yes, it is available online, but I needed it then, and good PR anticipates that many/some reporters are going to be in the same boat.

3. Bloggers, like media and those special groups, like freebies too. Make sure they get some rather than be excluded.

These are not major gripes, just some tweaks and fine tuning that can make a good experience even better.

What truly made the experience for me was meeting some other bloggers, in particular Jon. When he found out I was going to try to get a taxi to get back downtown, he politely and firmly indicated to me that I was off my rocker,and instead took me back to my hotel. Along the way, we discussed the movie, music, life, and more. It was a great experience that put a wonderful cap on the day. Thanks for the ride, the suggestions, and the camaraderie.

LW