Chris Claremont is one of my all time favorite writers. I am inspired by his style and plot twists on everything he writes. His run on the X-Men motivates me to be a writer. I hope one day to write characters somewhere close to his ability.
I met him on Friday and had him sign some comics for me. I was giddy to meet him and share with him the influence he was for me.
Today, I covered his panel. Chris Claremont showed his signature humor and wit at the panel. He took things and ran with it. He greeted everyone with a smile and friendliness.
Chris was asked if he had had any of Kansas City Bar-B-Q? Yes, he ate at Q 39 and enjoyed it.
Chris told the story about selling the idea of an X-Men to Fox. They weren’t sure they really wanted it. He had a meeting with them and told them, “it isn’t about superheroes but about outsiders”. This sold the concept to Fox. When the movie came out, Fox was surprised about the success because Superhero movies didn’t make much money. This actually helped Marvel decide to create the Iron Man movie.
Chris went on to talk about the Legion television series. He really enjoyed this take on his character. He stated that it is one of the best limited series ever.
He talked about the New Mutants movie. He is excited for this movie. It is suppose to do the famous Demon Bear storyline. But they won’t shoot for this movie until September but is suppose to come out this year.
He talked about height of the Wolverine and Storm and how it is reversed in the movies. He stated, who cares because it is Halle Berry and Hugh Jackson.
In his humor, Chris made a great Doctor Who reference about the Doctor meeting Richard Nixon.
He was asked about the X-Men cartoon. He talked about the adaptation of his stories to the cartoon and how they paid him for it. He stated this would never happen again. He found the voices didn’t sit right with the characters but they do with the live action films.
Chris talked about alternative realities of writing the X-Men. He talked what if he would have stuck with it through the present. He went on say that we can’t only live in the present.
He was asked, “How did you feel about the interplay and Rogue and Gambit being left out in the movies?” He stated that the interaction wasn’t there during his run on the X-Men. He talked about X-Men Forever and how Gambit was into Kitty Pride. He went on to talk about how Mr Sinister looked like a 12 year old boy so Mr Sinister created Gambit. Gambit was a clone of Mr Sinister but with free will and eventually he turned to be a good guy.
He told a great story about writing for the Willow books. He was a fanboy when he met George Lucas and geeked out over being at Skywalker Ranch. Chris wrote three books based on the movie and loved it. There was a comic movie option for them but Lucas Films wasn’t interested at that time with their focus on the Prequels.
Chris gave a great pitch for an X-Men movie set 18 months before Logan with Scott and Jean having a daughter, Rachel, and focussed on the tragedy at the Mansion. This sounds like an incredible movie if Fox would make it. Chris stated that no one will ask him but if they wanted to talk to him, he would love to pitch and write for them.
I found Chris Claremont to be extremely friendly and happy. He was there to meet and talk with the fans. He does like to talk and usually went on deeply when answering questions. As a Claremont fan boy, I could have only enjoyed it more if I was on stage with him.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
