The
Fullmetal Alchemist movie was no Snakes on a Plane; among anime fans,
the Alchemist film likely was more popular. At Anime Vegas, Funimation
brought several dozen DVD's of the Alchemist movie to sell, and every
disc had been sold within three hours after the dealers' room opened.
Funimation's representative at the Vegas event said the discs also sold
out rapidly at the same weekend's AnimeFEST in Dallas. The Labor Day
weekend conventions came a week after the limited theatrical release of
of the Alchemist movie, and fans in Nevada were curious to learn how
well the movie did at the box office. The question was put to the
people at an Anime Vegas panel - directors Mike McFarland and Colleen
Clinkenbeard, actors Lauren Bailey and Sonny Strait. McFarland noted
that the Alchemist movie was the fourth theatrical release from
Funimation since they began their 2006 campaign of putting anime in
theaters, but it was the first time they had released a feature film -
the others were expanded series compilations. McFarland wasn't privy to
the numbers, but he had heard that attendance was strong in places such
as Dallas, Los Angeles, New York - and Lafayette, Louisiana. "It did
very well for the screenings that it had, for the most part it was a
lot of people," said McFarland. "It was only about 40 theaters in the
U.S. Hopefully with the reaction, we will continue to do more."
The
Alchemist film also had international reach across the borders of North
America, something demonstrated at the same panel. One fan brought to
the event a doll that looked like Vic Mignogna, the dub voice of Edward
Elric. Mignogna wasn't at Anime Vegas, but he was at a convention - the
Canadian National Anime Convention in Toronto, part of the unusual
four-headed Fan Expo in that city. Mignogna was on hand along with
Aaron Dismuke, the dub voice of Al Elric, and Travis "Roy Mustang"
Willingham. Back in Vegas, after the fan brought the "Vic" doll up to
the stage where the actors were sitting, Clinkenbeard whipped out her
cell phone and called Mignogna's cell phone number. It took only a
couple of rings for Mignogna to answer, despite the three-hour time
zone difference between Nevada and Ontario. "I'm with Aaron and Travis
right now - I love you guys," Mignogna said on the phone as it was held
up to a microphone. It was another one of those unusual fan things that
happen to the most popular dub performers, such as the time that
someone gave Bailey a pinata decorated as her Lust character from
Alchemist. Bailey admitted that she got the candy out of Lust and ate
it.
The
Fullmetal Alchemist movie was no Snakes on a Plane; among anime fans,
the Alchemist film likely was more popular. At Anime Vegas, Funimation
brought several dozen DVD's of the Alchemist movie to sell, and every
disc had been sold within three hours after the dealers' room opened.
Funimation's representative at the Vegas event said the discs also sold
out rapidly at the same weekend's AnimeFEST in Dallas. The Labor Day
weekend conventions came a week after the limited theatrical release of
of the Alchemist movie, and fans in Nevada were curious to learn how
well the movie did at the box office. The question was put to the
people at an Anime Vegas panel - directors Mike McFarland and Colleen
Clinkenbeard, actors Lauren Bailey and Sonny Strait. McFarland noted
that the Alchemist movie was the fourth theatrical release from
Funimation since they began their 2006 campaign of putting anime in
theaters, but it was the first time they had released a feature film -
the others were expanded series compilations. McFarland wasn't privy to
the numbers, but he had heard that attendance was strong in places such
as Dallas, Los Angeles, New York - and Lafayette, Louisiana. "It did
very well for the screenings that it had, for the most part it was a
lot of people," said McFarland. "It was only about 40 theaters in the
U.S. Hopefully with the reaction, we will continue to do more."
The
Alchemist film also had international reach across the borders of North
America, something demonstrated at the same panel. One fan brought to
the event a doll that looked like Vic Mignogna, the dub voice of Edward
Elric. Mignogna wasn't at Anime Vegas, but he was at a convention - the
Canadian National Anime Convention in Toronto, part of the unusual
four-headed Fan Expo in that city. Mignogna was on hand along with
Aaron Dismuke, the dub voice of Al Elric, and Travis "Roy Mustang"
Willingham. Back in Vegas, after the fan brought the "Vic" doll up to
the stage where the actors were sitting, Clinkenbeard whipped out her
cell phone and called Mignogna's cell phone number. It took only a
couple of rings for Mignogna to answer, despite the three-hour time
zone difference between Nevada and Ontario. "I'm with Aaron and Travis
right now - I love you guys," Mignogna said on the phone as it was held
up to a microphone. It was another one of those unusual fan things that
happen to the most popular dub performers, such as the time that
someone gave Bailey a pinata decorated as her Lust character from
Alchemist. Bailey admitted that she got the candy out of Lust and ate
it.
