Comic-Con 2007 Massive Mast Report

Samberger

COMIC-CON REPORT #2! PARAMOUNT; Hot Rod, Stardust, Beowulf, Sweeney Todd, Cloverfield, Spiderwick Chronicles, Indiana Jones, Star Trek. LIONSGATE; Good Luck Chuck, 3:10 to Yuma, Midnight Meat Train, Saw IV.

Wednesday night after the Beowulf presentation, I suggested to the guys that we consider camping out in front of Hall H (a 6,500 capacity ballroom) for the big Paramount presentation the next day. It was already pushing 1:00 A.M. I was more or less vetoed. Given that Paramount's presentation wouldn't go down until 1:30 P.M., no one was terribly keen on waiting twelve hours in line. Me? I wasn't bothered by the notion at all. I'm used to it. I grew up waiting hours in lines for movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. For me, it's simply part of the experience. Alas, I had a tough time convincing my fellow writers. At any rate, we plunked down money for a hotel room, so we might as well use it.

As we made our way back to the car, we discovered there was no one in line for Hall H anyway, so a few hours of sleep was sounding mighty good.

At around 4:00 A.M., I was revving to go. I got dressed, then went over and gave Sheldon a big swat to the leg, waking him up instantly. Getting Tyler and The Boneman up wouldn't be nearly as easy. As it turns out, The Boneman caught some sort of a stomach virus, meaning he wasn't going anywhere. At least, not for a while. Tyler was simply to lazy to get out of bed. He's one of those "sleep in when you have the chance" types. So, it looked like it was just going to be Sheldon and I. We let The Boneman and Tyler know that we'd save them a spot in the Hall H line if they wanted to meet up with us a little later.

So Sheldon and I made our way back to the convention center. It was just after 5:00 A.M. I figured there would probably already be a bunch of people in line, but to my surprise, there was only one other guy hanging out just outside the convention center entrance (unless you count the numerous homeless folk zonked on the sidewalk) and he only got there about fifteen minutes before we did. This was good news as it meant we'd get prime seating.

Within about an hour, the line grew to nearly one hundred strong, and within two hours, the line was around the side of the convention hall. Through the course of seven hours, Sheldon and I had a blast geeking out about movies with those around us. Some of the conversations pertained to what we'd see at the con while others were simply random fanboy gayness. The guy in front of us was pumped for Iron Man while the dude behind us shared of his undying devotion to Superman (in a completely platonic way of course). I made no mystery of the fact that I was there primarily for Indiana Jones. I was excited about everything I'd see during the course of the week, but Indy was certainly the big draw for me.

Eventually, seven hours pass, and there's no sign of The Boneman or Tyler. At this point, there was no way they'd be able to get in line with us or they'd be lynched by the angry mob directly behind us. It became completely apparent that we'd have to save them seats once inside.

Finally, we're let inside the building. A good thing, because it was getting a bit toasty outside. Security stops the line just in front of the Hall H entrance doors and tells us we'll have to sit tight for around fifteen minutes. As we arrive to the entrance, we notice there's two guys standing there. Where the hell did they come from? They weren't part of the epic line outside! As it turns out, they were a couple of writers from other web sites, and they were given a special perk from Paramount Pictures. No line waiting for them. One of the guys happened to be from iesb.net. We chatted for a bit about iesb.net honcho Robert Sanchez (who would go on to throw one hell of a party later on in the week) and various upcoming flicks.

Then, after hours of anticipation, we were let inside the hall. Everyone was warned that there was to be no running, but they didn't say anything about brisk walking. Sheldon and I made our way to front row dead center, and we quickly found ourselves sitting in the best seats in the house. We were only able to save one seat, but that didn't matter, because we never did bump into The Boneman or Tyler on that first day, lousy slacking bastards.

Finally, the presentation began.

HOT ROD

First out of the Paramount gate was a panel on the upcoming comedy Hot Rod starring Saturday Night Live comedian Andy Samberg. Samberg and his writing partners (who've been best friends since childhood) hit the stage and fielded a couple of questions from the audience. We were also treated to a couple of inspired clips from the movie including one that uproariously riffs on that silly Kevin Bacon dance montage in Footloose. Only here, it's Samberg putting on the moves. The end of the clip has Samberg losing his balance and taking a lengthy tumble down a rather large hill. I must say, I wasn't too interested in this movie beforehand, but the clip had me laughing my balls off. Plus, as an added bonus, Hot Rod also stars Ian McShane as Samberg's father figure. You gotta love that.

STARDUST

Stardust is a new fantasy flick from director Matthew Vaughan (Layer Cake). We actually saw footage from this movie way back during last year's convention. The film is finally done, and it makes it's theatrical bow this month. Vaughn wasn't on hand, but Neil Gaiman (creator of the story on which the film was based) was. He presented a kick ass clip featuring a ruthless Michelle Pfeiffer trying to exterminate the heroes of the tale. Stardust looks like a fusion of a straight up fairy tale and a Terry Gilliam fantasy. I can't wait to see it.

BEOWULF

Given that I covered Beowulf pretty extensively in the first report, I'm not going to spend a lot of time repeating myself here. Writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary walked on stage and presented a Beowulf trailer. They then made attendees aware of an encore presentation of the twenty minute preview we saw the night before. Here's a link to the

SWEENEY TODD

Tim Burton has yet to make a Comic-Con appearance. Not only that, but we weren't given a single frame of footage from his now in post production adaptation of Sweeney Todd. We were given a cool as hell poster from the upcoming film, but that was it. I really expected a bit more.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

I wasn't at all familiar with the book that this film was based on but it looks like it's going to make one entertaining movie. It's a tale of siblings who slip into an alternate reality full of goblins, faeries and other strange creatures. The beasties on display were created by the legendary puppet effects wizard Phil Tippett. We were shown some clips of the Goblins in action. This looks like a great throwback to early 80's fantasy (think The Neverending Story, Gremlins, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth with a bit of the cheesy Troll thrown in for good measure).

IRON MAN

Jon Favreau couldn't be on hand for the convention because he was knee deep in editing Iron Man. He did video tape a message. In the message he said it was an honor to be making Iron Man. He then went on to say that he had some preliminary effects shots he wanted to show us. He stressed that these were merely preliminary effects shots and that they would be fine tuned later on. He ran the clip. These weren't preliminary effects shots. They were scenes from that shitty animated Iron Man series. What the...? It was just a gag reel. As the lights went up, Jon Favreau walked on stage to massive applause. There was more. A LOT MORE! But I'm going to save the rest of it for the Marvel Presentation in the next report.

INDIANA JONES

Have I yet mentioned that the Indiana Jones presentation was the big draw for me at Comic-Con this year? Seriously folks, I don't think I've ever been this excited for an upcoming movie (not even the Star Wars prequels). Oddly enough, as excited as I am, I'm equally terrified. High expectations are a bitch, and very seldom are they met. I simply can't help it though. It's damn near impossible for me to not be enthusiastic about this movie. The latest Indiana Jones adventure is only about a month into production, so sadly, there were no clips ready for the convention. However, Paramount did present a live satellite feed from the set of the film. Steven Spielberg spoke to the eager crowd about the highly anticipated adventure and introduced members of the cast including Harrison Ford (decked out in full Indy attire – he looked fucking amazing), Ray Winstone, and Shia LaBeouf. Spielberg then went on to reveal something that, until this point, was merely a rumor. Karen Allen is returning as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" heroine Marion Ravenwood, and she was there on camera as living proof. The second she appeared, I felt a joyful, nostalgic chill sweep throughout my body. Actually, I'm not going to lie. I got a hard on! Allen (who looked like a million bucks) spoke about the excitement of being part of the Indiana Jones family again, and her involvement fuels further speculation that perhaps Indy IV is going to tie up story threads from "Raiders". I hoped that perhaps Spielberg and crew would finally drop the title of the film (as George Lucas did with Episode III back in 2004) alas, it wasn't meant to be. Memorial Day 2008 can't come soon enough!

STAR TREK

After the mediocrity that was Star Trek: Nemesis, Paramount decided to lay low for while where the Trek franchise was concerned. Now they're ready to bring the series back, and they're letting J.J. Abrams (co-creator of Lost) call the shots. Abrams was only set to produce, but he loved the screenplay so much that he's decided to direct the project. This new Star Trek film will reportedly be a reboot. While all involved are keeping many of the plot details quiet, Abrams did reveal that we will see some of our favorite Trek characters in their youth. As for casting, the director said they're hard at work looking for their Kirk (Matt Damon was rumored for a while, but the Good Will Hunting star said in a recent interview that he wouldn't be involved), and that they desperately want William Shatner involved in the project--if it can be done right. They have found their Spock. The iconic character will be played by Zachary Quinto of Heroes fame. As Quinto walked onto the stage, he was met with resounding approval from the ecstatic fans. Then, Abrams announced an even bigger surprise. Leonard Nimoy will also be appearing as Spock in the film (I assume this will be some kind of a flashback deal). Cooler still, Nimoy was actually on hand to speak to the crowd. The original Spock walked on stage, and gave Quinto a big hug. It was a pretty awesome sight. No real plot details on the film as of yet. Star Trek opens Christmas of 2008. On a separate related J.J. Abrams note, the film maker also spoke about his other big project, a flick being referred to as Cloverfield. You may have seen the trailer for it before Transformers. Abrams wouldn't yet reveal the actual name of the film (Cloverfield is simply a working title that came from the street name where Abrams office is located), but he did go on to debunk that lame "Monstrous" title rumor. We also know for certain that it isn't the Japanese monster Voltron or whatever. Whatever this flick is their keeping it wrapped awfully tight. We know it's being directed by Abrams collaborator Matt Reeves who is shooting in a decidedly cinema-verite style (very Blur Witchy) and the script was penned by Lost writer Drew Goddard. It opens in January - stay tuned for details as they become available.

Don't worry! There's plenty more to come including looks at Saw IV, Midnight Meat Train, Good Luck Chuck, 3:10 to Yuma, Fanboys, Shoot ‘Em Up, Get Smart, Invasion, One Missed Call, 10, 000 B.C., White Out, Trick R' Treat, Watchmen, Halloween, The Mist, Star Wars presentation, Kevin Smith and The Reaper pilot, Superbad, The Simpsons, The Strangers, Doomsday, The Hulk, Iron Man, Resident Evil: Extinction, 30 Days of Night, Monster Squad, and Balls of Fury. As you can see, there wasn't a moment's rest. Plenty of notes to transcribe.