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Posted 8:05pm, Wednesday, August 7, 2002 I just got back Sunday from Comic-Con International in San Diego, an annual geekfest for fan boys like myself. I go to score original art and to check out the movie panels. It's a four day orgy of comic book heaven. In addition to all the stereotypical fan boy types, i.e. goatee sporting, fedora wearing, bad b.o., obese, acne-ridden, mouth breathers, there were a lot of babes around this year. A welcome sight and relief from the usual rabble.
I saw Aimee Mann rush by me Sunday morning, head down, trying to look inconspicuous. Saturday afternoon, I inadvertently insulted Gwen Stephani's brother, Eric. I was looking at some animation cels when he asked me who drew them. During our conversation, I kept getting the feeling that I had seen this guy somewhere before. I told him he was really familiar to me and looked at his badge: Eric Stephani. “Oh, Gwen's brother.” “Er-yeah, but I'm also an animator.” I quickly recovered and moved on, but felt terrible afterwards. I didn't mean to associate him with Gwen, but considering I recognized him from the VH1 Behind the Music on No Doubt, I thought it beared mentioning her name. I didn't care that his sister was a rock star; I just wanted to say where I remembered him from. Eric, if you're reading this, I apologize.
I did swing by the autograph area and was surprised to find Phil Morris, son of Greg and the actor behind Jackie Childs on "Seinfeld." I asked him what happened to the proposed spin-off show and he told me Castle Rock decided to do "The Michael Richards Show" instead. Stinker. The Jackie Childs show would have kicked major ass. Anyway, his next gig is Fox's mid-season replacement "Wanda Out Loud." Phil is playing a conservative talk show host who tussles with a liberal host played by comedienne Wanda Sykes. Wanda is seriously funny so this show should rock. He asked me what the funniest show on TV is right now and we both agreed that it has to be Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." After finding common ground on both Wanda and Larry David, Phil had to congratulate me on my excellent taste... and I on his. I sprung for a photo and he signed it with a Jackism: "Your face is my case." Pretty fucking cool. Not a lot of great Spider-man art for me this time out, but there were phenonemal movie panels. Loads of surprise guests. My guess is that the studios took a look at “Spider-man's” box office and decided to speak to the fans. Last year, Sam Raimi premiered five minutes of “Spider-man” to an enthusiastic Comic Con crowd and I'm sure the Hollywood big wigs thought they could repeat the feat. First up, Thursday's panel for Hellboy. On hand were creator Mike Mignola, director Guiermo del Toro (“Mimic,” “Blade 2”) and Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman (“Alien Resurrection,” “Blade 2”). Del Toro is a hilarious guy who favors profanities. His opening remarks about the exclusive collectible print went something like this: “We didn't want to give away a fucking keychain or a fucking sticker. We wanted to give you something you would actually want.” Bodes well for the movie.
Saturday was the big movie day though. All the studios came out to push their upcoming slates. Last year it was “Lord of the Rings” and “Planet of the Apes.” A lot of big surprises on this year's panels. The Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times dubbed it the Cannes Film Festival for comic book fans, which would be wholly accurate. A good part of the San Diego panels is the Q&A. What other opportunity will you have to ask Hollywood big wigs questions? We entered the main ballroom during Paramount's “Star Trek: Nemesis” presentation. We just missed seeing Hilary Swank talking about her upcoming film “Core.” Standard stuff for Trek. Marina Sirtis showed slides from the movie. We sat through the panel for the film adaption of “Bulletproof Monk” starring Chow Yun Fat, Seann William Scott and Jamie King. Scott and King were on hand for the Q&A. A few questions asking about the possibility of “Seriously Dude, where's my car?” Judging from the box office, probably not happening. This was followed by a preview of “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.” Antonio Banderas didn't show up, but co-stars Lucy Liu (“Ally McBeal,” “Charlie's Angels”) and Ray Park (X-Men,” “The Phantom Menace”) did. Liu talked about the plight of Asian actors in Hollywood and how she's had to fight for every roll. The next panel was for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Surprise guests on this panel included three of the four hobbits: Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. Not a lot in this footage that wasn't already seen in the trailer. Good for the hardcore Tolkien guys, but standard fare for the rest of us. Then came the big Warner Brother's presentation. They previewed the “Animatrix” DVD which is going to coincide with the release of the “Matrix” sequels next year. Looked okay. Then a bit of Harry Potter. Whatever. Next up, a filmed intro to the “Dreamcatcher” panel by director Lawrence Kasden. This movie's got a pretty good pedigree: a Stephen King novel, a William Goldman script and Kasden. Stars Jason Lee (“Chasing Amy,” “Vanilla Sky”) and Timothy Olyphant (“Go,” “Gone in 60 Seconds”) were on hand for the Q&A. The Kevin Smith fans trolled for Smith dialogue while Olyphant went largely ignored by the Comic Con audience, played for great comic effect by the two actors. The big deal was supposed to be director Jonathan Mostow with the first footage from “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” But the real big surprise was the appearance of Arnold Schwarzeneggar. He told a few bad jokes and generally entertained the crowd of 4000. I've got a few pictures of the projection screen, but didn't rush the stage to get good photos. Pretty cool to have Arnold on hand. My buddy Dave and I couldn't stop laughing though. It was so surreal to be in the same room, hearing his Austrian accent.
A fan asked Mostow if he would destroy this franchise like another director destroyed another Warner Brothers' franchise. It was clear he was refering to the Batman films. After Tim Burton did two installments, Joel Schumacher is generally acknowledged to have destroyed the franchise. Then came a clip from Steven Soderbergh's upcoming sci-fi flick “Solaris' starring George Clooney. Soderburgh and Clooney didn't show up, but the producer did. James Cameron! This director has an Oscar, but he's here to selling to fan boys. The five minute clip was a suspenseful scene of Clooney arriving on a space station to investigate and evaluate the mental faculties of the crew. Instead, he discovers a trail of blood and slowly follows it. The clip ended before we discover what Clooney finds, but it was pretty interesting nonetheless. Cameron pitched as a heartbreaking movie about relationships between men and women and called Clooney's performance Oscar-caliber. Sounds fascinating.
Universal was there with producers James Franco and Gale Ann Hurd to talk about “The Hulk.” The surprise guest here was the director, Oscar winner Ang Lee. Pretty impressive talent for a comic con audience. He showed some stills, but did not reveal the Hulk's appearance. He confirmed that the picture is over budget. Uneventful panel except for the director's presense. Last but not least, the 20th Century Fox presentation. First up, director Bryan Singer with a new teaser for “X2” (X-Men 2). They've only been shooting for three weeks, but the material was outstanding. No special effects, just practical stuff, but surprisingly impressive. This one already looks like a winner. They closed out the movie panels with director Mark Steven Johnson presenting the first extended clips from “Daredevil.” His surprise guest was Ben Affleck. They talked about the character and his story arc. Johnson and Affleck are huge fans of the comic and were there to assure the audience that they'd be happy with the movie. The studios know that genre flicks like these need fan approval to become mainstream hits. Afterall, fan buzz on the internet destroyed “Batman and Robin.” Again, the bad buzz surrounding Schumacher's take on the Caped Crusader. In Affleck's words, “If you guys don't like the movie, then we're really fucked.”
Well said. Best question during the Q&A was when a fan stepped up to the mic and quoted “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”… “Yo Affleck! You was da bomb in Phantoms!” -Ron
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