Brian Lowry cautions against [taking Comic-Con buzz too seriously](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005970.html?categoryid=1682&cs=1):
> Surrounded by ardent fans, it’s easy to get sucked into Comic-Con’s vortex of enthusiasm, forgetting that even with 120,000 people descending on the convention center, that’s still a very, very self-selected group.
The same thing happens at Sundance: films that get a rapturous response in Park City often underwhelm at lower altitudes. Everything plays better to a hungry crowd, particularly one that has trekked a long way just to see what you’ve got.
But that’s not a reason to avoid either festival. If you can’t play to the base, you’re unlikely to push beyond it, either. A movie like Iron Man wants its geek bona fides before pushing further towards the mainstream. Where it gets trickier is a show like Pushing Daisies. Winning a small, ardent fan base can be self-limiting, particularly if it sets you off as a niche program out of the gate.
None of my projects are directly featured this year, though Jordan Mechner will be on a panel about his [Prince of Persia graphic novel](http://jordanmechner.com/blog/2009/07/prince-of-persia-panel-at-comic-con/) — a prequel to the movie — and Tim Burton will inevitably get questions about our next two movies.