On Thursday, July 23, 2009 I attended the majority of panels that were held in Hall H.
First, was the Disney: 3D Panel where key filmmakers and select cast members showed previously unseen footage from the upcoming films, Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Alice In Wonderland and Tron Legacy. For Alice in Wonderland, panelists included Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Sean Bailey, Steve Lisberger, and moderator Patton Oswalt. and I think Patton was my favorite moderator of all of the panels I went to during Comic Con. He was incredibly hilarious (as always) and I loved when he said, “there’s no better way to honor the filmmaker than posting crappy footage on the internet.” There was also a surprise guest, Johnny Depp came out during the Alice In Wonderland panel. I expected Johnny Depp to be there ever since I found out that Alice In Wonderland would be at Comic Con so that was a fun treat. You might find it interesting that Robert Zemeckis said if there were a Roger Rabbit sequel, it would indeed be in 2D. It sounded like he thought about this a lot so I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Roger Rabbit sequel in the future. Anyway, A Christmas Carol and Tron Legacy look incredible in 3D and the concept art for Tron Legacy is also incredible but I am really anticipating the 3D release of Alice In Wonderland. As a huge fan of Alice In Wonderland and Tim Burton…and after seeing the footage, it is safe to say that this very well maybe my favorite Burton film ever! You are going to love it! Watch the Alice in Wonderland trailer here.
The next panel was the 3D Showcase for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, The Hole, and The Final Destination. The audience got a first look at all of these films in 3D. Anna Faris and Andy Samberg literally walked out onto the stage to wave and say hi and then walked out. There just wasn’t enough time for a panel since Hall H panels started late that day. I was bummed but life goes on. Director Joe Dante (Gremlins 1 & 2) and actress Haley Bennett (The Haunting of Molly Hartley) came out to talk about the new thriller The Hole. “Three kids come face to face with their darkest fears after they unlock a bottomless hole in the basement that makes their nightmares come to life.” Then, the audience saw the uncut version of the The Final Destination, extended trailer. All three of the films look great and I am looking forward to each of the equally.
Next, was the Summit Entertainment panel, showcasing Astro Boy (“A superhero origin story set in a futuristic world based on the classic manga), Sorority Row (Five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong and a mysterious killer goes after them), and of course New Moon. Audiences were treated to exclusive footage for all of these films. Director David Bowers, producer Maryanne Grager, and stars Freddie Highmore (Astro) and Kristen Bell (Cora) came to promote Astro Boy. The entire main cast of Sorority Row came to promote their film. However, time ran short for these 2 panels because it was really all about New Moon! Audiences saw 2 scenes from the upcoming film and various main cast members came, including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, and director, Chris Weitz. The panel was more civilized this year (aka the fan girls did not ask ridiculously lame questions or cheer after every cast member said something). The cast talked about what they are excited for in the coming films and Kristen can’t wait to get pregnant! Neither can I! Wait for her to get pregnant that is. I enjoyed the panel very much and I cannot wait until this movie is in theaters!
Next, James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and cast members including Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana premiered 25 minutes of never before seen footage of the highly anticipated film, Avatar. I was blown away by the footage and I am sure that you will be too! James announced that on August 21st, Fox will take over IMAX 3D and digital 3D theaters to screen 15 minutes from Avatar for free to whoever wants to see it. The official trailer will also arrive online on August 21st as well.
Then, animator and director Terry Gilliam showed footage of his new film, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, which was Heath Ledger’s last film. I was curious to see what this film was about and after seeing the footage of what this magical world brings, I cannot wait to see this!
Next, Overture Pictures presented Pandorum from the producers of the Resident Evil film franchise. This is a thriller in which I was originally interested in seeing, however I am not so interested in the film anymore. The footage is amazing, it is just not my kind of film is all. Appearing in person were stars Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand), Cung Le (The Ultimate Fighter), and Antje Traue.
Closing out the day, I attended an extremely fun panel for the upcoming film, Kick-Ass. Director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Clark Duke (Clark and Michael), Chloe Moretz (Dirty Sexy Money) and comic co-creators Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. all attended the panel. I know I was shocked to see the young Chloe Moretz play a killer. The girl is younger than my sister so that was odd, funny, but odd. This comedy is definitely something that you want to look out for next year. Hopefully, Vaughn will find a distributor for the film soon. That was my Thursday at Comic Con and it was well worth the wait!