Thursday’s events included eight panels that I attended, starting with MegaMind, an upcoming Dreamworks Animation.

Note: Click photos to enlarge.

MegaMind
Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Jonah Hill came out to talk about their characters and the film…but overall it seemed like quite the comedy act. Ferrell dressed up as his MegaMind character, Fey had her arms all over the Brad Pitt body cut out (since he was unable to make it to the panel), and Hill surprisingly sat on the sidelines….I guess leaving the funny to the vets, perhaps. The scene that was shown brought quite the laughs and it is safe to say that the audience is looking forward to this film. What if the bad guy won? That’s kind of the lead in to this film, what the bad guy would do if he won the battle between good and evil and took over the world. It’s a refreshing take on things that families everywhere will be sure to enjoy. I’m going to see the film when it releases, will you?

Walt Disney’s Tron Legacy
Eight minutes of footage was shown, which was technically 1-2 scenes and then a compilation of scenes. Jeff Bridges discussed playing two characters, one significantly younger than his current age. I found this to be interesting, along with the answer to why this film was titled Tron Legacy as opposed to Tron 2. Since the film is following the son of Bridge’s character in Tron, it was more fitting. The questions asked during the fan Q&A seemed a bit repetitive and general but after viewing the footage and watching the cast discuss the film, I am even more excited for the film’s release.

Surprise Announcement
Guillermo del Toro is set to write and produce the upcoming Disney remake of Haunted Mansion!

Sony’s Battle: Los Angeles and Salt
Battle: Los Angeles is a war movie along the lines of Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan but with aliens. It is shot from the view of the soldiers and does not include the point of view from state officials and such. In the footage, I watched as the soldiers attempted to get civilians to safety while fighting off a new and incredibly destructive unknown enemy. As someone who enjoys alien movies but is not a fan of these type of hardcore war movies, I was not immediately encouraged to see the film. But it seems like it will be next year’s District 9 in terms of fandom, so I cannot wait to see the film! No matter what your movie preference, you will be impressed with the trailer once released.

As for Salt, this was one of my most anticipated panels of the day. I was thrilled to see Angelina Jolie and as I mentioned in an earlier post, Angelina had such a fun and casual time on the panel. The footage shown, if I remember correctly was just the trailer. Even though I was slightly disappointed with no new footage, the film did come out the next day and I think fans wanted to see more of Jolie in person than on screen. Angelina was very well spoken and so were the fans during the Q&A. This was such a fun experience and I couldn’t have had a better experience seeing Jolie for the first time. She really understands Comic Con and appreciates the fans and it really shined through in her demeanor and answers. Thanks for taking the time out to come Angelina.

Summit’s Red
This is an adaptation based on the DC Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, Honestly, I feel like this is something that should have stayed in its original format. While I love Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Bruce Willis, I found the overall casting for this film to be quite odd and I find Mary Louise Parker to be bit boring so that didn’t really help bring more interest into this film. The footage was somewhat fun, but some lines seemed a bit forced, and if I had to choose… I think that Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables will do much better than Red. I’ll discuss The Expendables panel in just a moment.

Entertainment Weekly’s Abrams and Whedon
One of the most anticipated panels of this year’s Comic Con for TV fans was this panel right here. Seeing two television legends talking side by side about their work and their lives was one of the coolest moments ever. Not only did I learn a lot about the two, but I laughed a lot as well. It was quite interesting because the two are quite similar and yet incredibly different. When J.J. Abrams answered a question one way, generally Joss Whedon had the opposite answer. It was quite a fascinating learning experience to find out how these two masterminds work patterns and think. I could sit down and listen to these two guys all day, so this was definitely one of my most anticipated and favorite panels of the day. Coming away from that panel, I can only hope that the two team up to teach a workshop at the Creative Screenwriting Convention sometime in the near future.

The Expendables (Lionsgate)
This panel took me by surprise. I have to admit, I never made myself familiar with Sylvester Stallone’s work (aside from Rocky) because of its graphic action which I am not a fan of. But, after viewing footage of this film and sitting through this panel, I am definitely going to see The Expendables and plan go Netflix Stallone’s past work. Stallone really made quite an impression on me. His drive, his passion, his love for his work and positive attitude towards getting things done are just a few of his characteristics that I saw in him and see in myself. Sylvester Stallone is incredibly admirable and someone I really look up to in this business. Whatever he wants to do in the industry, he gets it done, and he has fun with it. The movie looks quite fun as well and the cast has great chemistry so I am really looking forward to seeing this film. On preview night, I actually got a temporary tattoo of a skull that says “The Expendables” at the bottom. Check it out above. It’s pretty rad!

Universal’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
This film took over Comic Con 2010! This film was promoted on the side of the Hilton Bayfront, in front of the Gaslamp Quarter entrance, in the exhibit hall, at a local movie theater where the film had a few advanced screenings, and here at the panel with the cast and crew. The crowd, all 6500 people in hall h cheered the cast and crew on – especially when Michael Cera came out dressed as Captain America and later on said that there is no news on an Arrested Development movie but he is all for it! Cheers were also heard when director, Edgar Wright’s buddies, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost came out for a moment. Back to the film though…viewers got to see quite a few minutes of footage and each character was introduced with individual footage. The author (Bryan Lee O’Malley) of the comic book series which the film is based off of is who I was and still am the most interested in. Before I go to the theaters, I will definitely be picking up the comic books because seeing the film will be ten times more fun having read it. Seeing these words and pictures come to life in a way so incredibly unique compared to every other comic book adaptation and seeing the incredibly positive response from the fans…it makes me believe that this film is groundbreaking and one of the best of the decade!

World Premiere of Lost Boys: The Thirst
There are a few night time panels and one of them was for Lost Boys: The Thirst. Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander came out for a short panel before the world premiere of the third film in the franchise, which was much better than the second film (though filmed in a lesser quality). I found the panel to be quite interesting because I found out a lot about the franchise. For one, it was really supposed to be about the Frog brothers, not about Corey and Corey. But it became all about those two and it was great…so great that Feldman called up Haim about how they would incorporate him in the third film. Unfortunately, Haim’s death prevented this but Feldman says that he has three more Lost Boys films planned and is interested in bringing back some past characters. The making of and release of the next 3 films would of course depend on the success of the Lost Boys: The Thirst DVD sales. The DVD releases October 12, 2010 and if you are a Lost Boys fan, then you should definitely pick it up!