Comic-Con
2007:
Day 1 - Taking It To The Limit
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| Stretching
all the way around the building... |
Thursday
marked our second day at Comic-Con, and the official first
day of programming for the convention. Lots of panels and
events planned and more importantly some big announcements
that got the show off to a big start. Most noticeable: the
huge line of fans waiting outside to register in a line that
stretched out from the convention pavilion all the way to
the street. Comic-Con is crowded. Did I mention that yet?
Today
offered lots to see; unfortunately our three man crew could
only get to cover so much. Why is that, you might ask? When
the convention isn’t so packed you can travel somewhat
freely from panel to panel and get a lot of coverage done.
When it’s as jammed crammed as it is this week, a
reporter needs to plan on what panels are most newsworthy
and then sacrifice the others to get the story. Then most
of the time is spent waiting in line for said panel and
a good chunk of Comic-Con is spent in transition. Makes
the price for the four day pass seem reasonable, don’t
it?
However,
I’m making it seem like it’s all depressing
and not fun. Ah, true believer, it’s the contrary,
because once you make it inside the giant convention hall
that you’ve been waiting to get into for four hours,
magic awaits you. The power of the con is that the convention
can at first make you wonder what you’re doing there,
and then after one awesome panel make you wonder why you
haven’t been going there every year, and this year
didn’t disappoint.
The
first big panel of the day was a presentation from Paramount
Pictures featuring spots from upcoming films, Hot Rod (
Featuring SNL’s Andy Samberg), Stardust (with an appearance
from creator Neil Gaiman), Beowulf ( with a second introduction
of Neil Gaiman), The Spiderwick Chronicles, The new JJ Abrams
untitled monster movie, Marvel Comics Iron Man ( with a
live appearance from director Jon Favreau), Indiana Jones
4, and a new re-launch of Star Trek.
Hot
Rod’s spot was short and a humble Samberg and his
Lonely Island boys took questions from the audience and
left with an encouraging message to all the up and comers
that were once like them. Neil Gaiman chatted up the film
based on his book Stardust and showed an extended scene
from the movie as well as the trailer from the motion capture
version of Beowulf.
This
was followed by a long and dull presentation from The Spiderwick
Chronicles. Luckily the room was picked up by a rapid appearance
by JJ Abrams and a sneak peak of his new untitled monster
movie. He also dispelled the rumor that his film was titled
Monstrous and told the fans that he wouldn’t have
any more info on that project for another six months and
he quickly exited.
Next up came
a tease for a recorded Iron Man bit from John Favreau who
warned that the footage he was about to show was very rough,
and it turned out it was an old Iron Man cartoon. Favreau
then lit up the crowd by then appearing live and debuting
never before seen footage of the upcoming super hero in
a can flick, Iron Man. The fans drooled and cheered and
Iron Man Hype begun.
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| We
have a new, much younger Spock! |
Then a
recorded presentation from the Indy 4 crew came on the
screen featuring director Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford
in full costume and looking younger than ever. The big surprise
announcement was the revelation of the return of past Indy
character Marion Ravenwood played by Karen Allen.
Finally
the house was brought down with the new Star Trek presentation.
JJ Abrams returned and announced who’d be playing Spock
in his space show re-launch. Turns out it’s Heroes baddy
Sylar – Zachary Quinto. And in what is sure to go down
in Comic-Con history, Leonard Nimoy appeared and shook hands
with Quinto in what was obviously a passing of the torch from
the old generation to the next. It was truly a geektastic
end to a geektastic panel.
The
other panel we were able to get into after a three hour
wait was the LOST panel with show producers Damon Lindelof
and Carlton Cuse.
The
hall quickly filled up and the panel was mostly a Q and
A session with the guys, until an obviously planted questioner
asked about former LOST cast member Harold Perrineau and
his current status on the show. That’s when Perrineau
made a surprise appearance to loud applause and much appreciation.
The panel ended with an exclusive Dharma Initiative training
video that, in true LOST fashion, left the crowd with more
questions than answers.
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| Standing
in line for 30 minutes to buy
an exclusive Stan Lee action figure?
Priceless. |
Other than that,
my only other foray into the convention today was a stop
at the Hasbro Toy Shop to purchase my con exclusive Stan
Lee Action figure. Unfortunately, I was held up in line
by a woman who came with a huge list and an attitude to
match. Buying up as many con exclusives as she could, it
was obvious that these action figures wouldn’t be
enjoyed by fans of the con per se, but most likely would
end up on for sale somewhere else for a steeper price. Just
like my heart will be next year… thanks Comic-Con.
Finally, on somewhat
of a sad note, convention programmer Gary Sassaman announced
that he would be stepping down in his role and passing the
reigns to Ed Ibrahim (sp?).
I had a chance to work with Sassaman in the past at Wondercon
and he was nice and smart and he always kept the con running
smooth and sound. He’s usually seen supervising the
entire events with very few lunch breaks and rests. He’s
been a true value to the Comic-Con and his hard work will
be missed. Thanks Gary.
As for the rest
of you…
See ya on Friday!
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