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Comic-Con 09 Wrap Up

THURSDAY
I missed the Alice in Wonderland panel with Tim Burton because of those damn twilighters but I made it into Avatar. Cameron showed about 25 minutes of footage in real 3D. It was incredible. The animation really captured the actor's nuances and the level of detail was astounding. Everything in it was alive and moving. Then came Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus panel. Gilliam was joined by Verne Troyer and introduced some amazing footage that showcased his trademark visual style. Ledger is fantastic as always and is joined by Johhny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer as Parnassus, and Tom Waits as the devil! Up next was Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass, based on Mark Millar's comic. This was the first time any footage had been shown and it was spectacular. Nicolas Cage shoots a little girl. It completely surprised me and was hilarious, action-packed, and well...kick ass. It's a love letter to comics and comic book fans and I can't wait for this movie. I left hall H to go to the screening of Green Lantern: First Flight, but didn't make it in. Luckily it came out today anyways.

FRIDAY
First up was the massive WB panel which started with Where The Wild Things Are. The kid who plays Max introduced a featurette which was followed by some full scenes from the movie. It looks absolutely gorgeous. This is everything I want this film to be. I loved the book as a kid and to see it come to life in such a creative way is heartwarming. Spike Jonze and the Jim Henson company have truly made something special. Then came The Hughes Brothers with The Book of Eli panel with surprise guests Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington! The trailer was cool with Denzel doing martial arts in a post-apocalyptic world. Then came the Nightmare on Elm Street remake with Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. Looks very mediocre. I miss Robert. Then Richard Kelly's The Box panel where he was joined by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. They showed an extended trailer that looked so awesome. Then Kelly gave away a replica of the box signed by him and the cast to a lucky fan who found a poster under their seat. Then the Jonah Hex panel with Josh Brolin and Megan Fox. All questions go to Fox. Footage features crazy western action. Malkovich is the bad guy. Somebody shouts Goonies and Brolin jokes that this is an older version of his Goonies character. He's really funny and super nice. Then Robert Downey Jr. came out of nowhere and introduced the Sherlock Holmes extended clip. Really funny and great action. Guy Ritchie does a buddy cop movie with excellent results. He was then joined by Rachel McAdams and Joel Silver. Then came Disney's Animation Panel with Lee Unkrich, Kirk Wise, Ron Clements, John Musker, and Hayao Miyazaki(!). John Lasseter hosted the panel, and Patton Oswalt moderated. Miyazaki got a standing ovation and charmed the crowd even as he spoke through his translator. Just being in the same room with him was so cool. They showed (deep breath) the whole Toy Story 2 opening in 3D, the trailer for the Toy Story double feature in 3D, a specially made clip from Toy Story 3 featuring the debut of Michael Keaton as Ken, a scene from Beauty and the Beast in 3D, a clip and an entire musical sequence from the Princess and the Frog, and a jaw-dropping clip from Ponyo. Then the 9 panel with director Shane Acker, producer Tim Burton, Elijah Wood, and Jennifer Connelly. Footage looked great. Surprisingly no Labyrinth questions. Later came the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel where filmmakers James Cameron and Peter Jackson discussed 3D, digital effects, and how they have managed their film careers. Really smart guys who love playing with new toys.

SATURDAY
Over sleep, run to the hall H line for Lost, but don't get in. Make it to the Oni booth for the Bryan Lee O'Malley signing. He's super cool, compliments my Scorsese shirt, and signs my vol. 1 of Scott Pilgrim. Head back to to the hall H line, don't make Zombieland or Iron Man 2 but get in for the legendary Kevin Smith panel. He is on his A game and brings down the room. After that we leave to get on the shuttle for the Robot Chicken Party. There's pizza, roller skating, exclusive merch, dancing stormtroopers, and other craziness.

SUNDAY
Hit the floor and pick up some cool Trek swag (including a tribble) then head to ballroom 20. The American Dad panel has showrunners Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman and stars Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schall, and Dee Bradley Baker. They announce an epic Christmas episode that involves the rapture and heavy metal music. Then proceed to do a live table read of the first act, show the animatic of the second act, and then show the fully animated third act! After that it was Mystery Team panel with the guys from comedy troupe Derrick Comedy, writers/stars Dominic Dierkes, Donald Glover, and DC Pierson, producer Meggie McFadden, and director/editor Dan Eckman. They show a new short film featuring the Mystery Team characters that is crazy funny. Their Q&A is of course priceless. Then the Paper Heart panel with Charlyne Yi. Great clips and really funny Q&A. Looks like a sweet film that's also really funny. Go back to the floor for more swag and purchases. Meet all the guys from Derrick Comedy at their booth, they take a picture with me and all sign a poster of Mystery Team for me. They couldn't have been nicer and now I like them even more. It was a great con, had a lot of fun, and a big goofy smile on my face the whole time. My favorites were Avatar, Where The Wild Things Are, and Kick-Ass.

Fun with Photoshop

Click the shark for a big version.

Go See MOON

Currently in limited release. It's smart sci-fi that's also heartbreaking drama. Sam Rockwell gives an amazing Oscar-worthy performance and the score by Clint Mansell is emotionally devastating. The less you know about the plot the better. It will easily make my top ten list this year.

LOST Meets FULL HOUSE

LOST Season Finale Tonight!

The two hour fifth-season finale, entitled The Incident, airs tonight at 9/8c on ABC. Jack's decision to put a plan in action in order to set things right on the island is met with some strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task. Fan favorites Rose and Bernard return and the guest star list also shows there will be appearances of young Kate, young Juliet, young Sawyer, and young Tom. I'm interested to see how Tom's backstory fits into the puzzle. I also hope they finish the time travel stuff before they get themselves into a paradox. It was written by showrunners Damon Lindelof/Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender. There will also be a Lost recap episode at 8/7c.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG Trailer

Disney returns to classic animation with this New Orleans musical tale. It was written and directed by acclaimed animation duo John Musker & Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules) and scored by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman. It stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos (a Brazilian!), Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, and Terrence Howard. I'm so glad John Lasseter (who produced) convinced Disney to return to their roots and hopefully the film will be a big success. Also, I believe this is the first time Disney is doing an indie film style release strategy. It will open in limited release on November 25th, then wide on December 11th.