James Gunn recently announced that some additional Guardians of the Galaxy footage might be airing for the fans in attendance at San Diego Comic Con this year. Whatever it is, it won’t be made available online later. This will be a special, one-time event that is only meant to be viewed by the fans in Hall H at the convention center, and nobody else!
But in the age of mobile cameras, how the heck could James Gunn expect that this footage won’t end up online? According to a comment Gunn left in response to a fan on his Facebook page, SDCC will be making use of “new technology” to ensure that fans can’t share any videos from the con. Or, at least, fans won’t be able to share any videos taken in Hall H during the Guardians presentation.
No one is entirely sure what that could mean, or how it could possibly be enforced, but speculation has it that SDCC might use a form of technology described in a recent Apple patent, which remotely disables iPhone cameras. Most people think that this technology will be used by concert venues to prevent fans from taking videos of a touring band; this would allow venues to make more money off of tour videos. Same goes for this Guardians presentation, since exclusive footage of a big-budget movie is a major draw.
However, the patent has also introduced a new set of concerns for anyone who uses their phone camera as a form of citizen-led journalism, such as to document police violence, or a protest, or anything along those lines. Ideally, nothing bad would ever happen during a comic convention, but I’m too familiar with stories of assault at cons to feel entirely okay about this new technology getting introduced and normalized in that environment. Or at concert venues, for that matter.
It also sounds like a premise that could make for an excellent political thriller, or perhaps a sci-fi or horror movie. Maybe James Gunn can direct that. Brb, gotta go write a spec script.
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