Remember The Time We Followed Wolverine Home?

So who is behind the wheel? Let the speculation COMMENCE! See full post

Brad, Lookin Good As Always [Comic-Con 2010]

Backstage after one of my favorite Comic-Con panels. Can Tina Fey come every year? See full post

Just Another Day Out With The Fam [Photo]

I saw this. It happened. I took a picture. See full post

SDCC 2010 Dealer's Room Pics!

(cross-posted from The Ecstatic Truth)

another comic-con, another year of wandering the dealer’s room floor and forcing the strangest of strangers to bend to my camera’s will. previous years have afforded me much more time to chase people down and snap their photos without asking permission (it’s way more awkward this way, and thus how i of course choose to go about it), but even if you pop in to that gigantic hall for just a few minutes a con, you’re bound to see some… things. but like every SDCC, it’s the moments that would be improper to photograph that wind up being the best (and if the cookie monster getting violated is proper for public consumption, you can imagine what kind of stuff i had to leave to memory).

See full post

So THAT'S What This Pacey-Con Business Was About

Okay, so during the convention, I kept hearing people say bizarre things like "Did you hear about Pacey-Con across the street?" "People are actually like, celebrating Dawson's Creek." and so on and so forth. I also saw a photo of people on the lawn across from the Convention Center holding up a Pacey-Con sign. I figured, okay, this is like, people being ironic or weird or funny, right? Could this possibly be real?

Then I saw this video and laughed my face off. Thank you, Funny or Die.

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

See full post

Saturday Wrap Up [Comic-Con 2010]

Thank god for Coconut Water or this would have been a very hungover Comic-Con.

Woke up Saturday somehow early enough to get into Hall H to save a row behind the reserved section in anticipation of the Marvel panel. We encountered one too many Marvel professionals & co who didn't have seats, so we elected to give ours away. This meant saving non-reserved seats all day, yes, but it also meant being in the room during the now infamous Hall H pen-stabbing incident, so I guess it all works out. Here's how the day went.

- Warner Brothers: Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Sucker Punch. Ryan Reynolds + tiny Green Lantern fan = one of my favorite Hall H moments of the entire convention (video below). My favorite part is the kid's face after Reynolds performs the GL Oath. What this video neglects to show is how Reynolds then signs a Green Lantern comic for the kid. Classic.

The extended Harry Potter footage was fanfuckingtastic and I'm not alone when I say it brought me to full-sob. Plus Tom Felton was absolutely delightful in his first Comic-Con appearance. The Sucker Punch footage was also phenomenal, but in an entirely different way. Original, incomprehensible, gorgeous, badass, genre-blending, sexy and more fun adjectives, Sucker Punch even made Vanessa Hudgens look like she doesn't suck at life. Head here to watch the first trailer, a mere abbreviation of what we were lucky enough to see.

- M Night? Your career is over. The Let Me In panel was slightly delayed, resulting in a few trailers being shown. One of these trailers was Devil, produced by M Night Shamaylan, who I care so little about, I'm not even looking up how to spell his name. The audience seemed interested enough until M Night's name showed up at the end of the trailer. Cue chorus of 6500 people booing their faces off. Yikes.

- Let Me In panel. While Matt Reeves is a little long winded, everything he said was interesting and hopefully reassured those in the audience that were worried about this remake. They showed two clips that really demonstrated the tone of the film and quality of acting from its two mini-stars, Kodi Smitt McPhee and Chloe Moretz. Wonderful moderating job by Drew McWeeny, as always!

- Fringe. Took off after Let Me In to check out the Fringe panel, only to discover it was delayed about 10 minutes or so, thus resulting in only getting to see about 20 minutes of the panel before heading back to Hall H. What we did was great! One day I'll get to watch an entire ballroom 20 panel like I used to. You just wait.

- Resident Evil. I'm not a Resident Evil fan, but I actually liked the 3D footage...apparently no one else did except the hardcore pre-existing fans. Not sure why, it seemed fun enough. Just a grudge against the series or something? You tell me.

- Stabbing. Sooo, all of a sudden, before the Universal panel, we hear the Hall H god mic tell us not to look at the incident behind us...so naturally the entire Hall H stands up and looks. Rumors start running rampant about what is actually happening, so we take to Twitter to try and discover the truth. We all know this story by now and I just hope what went down has no bearing on anything ever. Some douche scratched a guy next to the eye with a pen, the dude bled, the guy was arrested, everything is fine. Fans are generally a peaceful people and one incident in 40 years does not a metal detector warrant. By Kevin Smith's panel, the incident was already fodder, as his panel featured Eye-Stab cosplay (also seen on the floor the next day) and some hilarious one liners from Smith himself on the subject, including one about Thor v Odin (Odin has one eye), but as I missed the panel, :(, I couldn't tell you exactly what was said.

- Universal: Cowboys vs. Aliens & Paul. Both had great, energetic cast members & fantastic footage. Harrison Ford came on stage to one of the biggest, loudest standing ovations I've ever heard at Comic-Con. I cannot wait for both of these movies.

- The Avengers. The rumors were true. They were all there. Including their fearless leader, Joss Whedon, who admitted to needing our support. And boy did we give it to him. The only black spot on the panel was the Hulk controversy, including a terrified looking Mark Ruffalo, but once everyone calms down, I'm sure things will work out. I personally think he's a great choice. I was a fan of both the Captain America & Thor footage. My favorite moments from each panel included Hugo Weaving citing Werner Herzog's accent as an inspiration for his Red Skull, and Natalie Portman telling Bob Stencil he wins and blowing him a kiss.

- EW/Syfy Party. Won't go into too much detail about this one. Inception tops were handed out, drinks were drank, Lobster BLTs were consumed, candy bags were made, EW ice cream sandwiches were taken home and some priceless conversations were had. I always love this party and it probably would have taken the cake as my favorite bash for the third year in a row if any of my friends could have come with me this year. Next year in Jerusalem, folks. See full post

Friday Wrap Up [Comic-Con 2010]

Didn't have time to actually write anything up Friday night, so I am now attempting to remember anything that happened that day. I can't even remember how Scott Pilgrim ended, so, good luck self.

- Walking Dead Panel. Got into the room just in time to see them reveal the first footage from the pilot. It was PACKED. And there we so many people outside who didn't make it in, it was astounding. Check out our write ups here and here.

- Barenaked Ladies perform the Big Bang Theory theme song. In passing from the 6quad room w/ Walking Dead, over to Hall H to catch what I could of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, I passed through Ballroom 20 just in time to catch the Barenaked Ladies come on stage and lead the audience in a theme song singalong. The cheering was so loud, it instantly gave me a headache. Impressive, BBT fans. Impressive. Wish I could have stayed for the entire panel!

- Joss' Ballroom 20 Talk. He only got 45 minutes, which broke everyone's hearts, but the 20 minutes I got to catch of it were fantastic, as always. Featured a surprise appearance by Nathan Fillion, who asked a question in disguise, then revealed himself, set to thousands of fan squees. I started the camera rolling right after that happened and caught this nice moment:

- Passed through the B20 greenroom just in time to see Anna Torv again, who I kept seeing over and over everywhere I turned at the convention, each time in a different, gorgeous outfit. I sense a girl-crush forming.

- Ran back and forth between the Falling Skies panel & the Girls Gone Genre panel. FYI - Noah Wyle is really hot. Like. Hot. He's aged well. He looked good. He looked real good. And the GGG panel turned away what looked like hundreds of fans - fingers crossed there is a second installment next year in an even bigger room.

- WBTV Party. Walked away with a belly full of chicken skewers & specialty cocktails, a badass gift bag, a photo of @eruditechick and Mischa Collins and the sneaking suspicion that the guy who introduced us to Collins was not in fact a "business man" as he stated. It wasn't until the next night at the EW Party that I realized who our new friends really was. ... I'll let that stay mysterious with only this clue: I did end up giving him an Inception top and he did end up tweeting about it. :)

-From Dusk Til Con. Friday night won the weekend of parties (though Thursday's Lucasfilm bash came close), rivaling last year's wonderful EW party experience. We started a dance party with Joss Whedon & co and really, what more do you need than that? We were having such a good time over in Whedonopolis, we neglected to even say hello to the Chuck cast. Oops. Of course, we all forgot to take a gift bag when we left, but we heard they were awesome. We also had the pleasure of finally meeting some of our favorite twitter friends. The evening ended at Syfy's Cafe Diem with the director of Shoot Em Up. Though last year's Don Glover versus John DiMaggio Tracy Morgan impression-off still remains the greatest Comic-Con late night dining experience of all time. See full post

Hall H, Shmall H

My friends and I are up at an ungodly hour (I can't even call it morning yet) to get in line for Ballroom 20's Sunday events. When we woke up, another friend texted us saying she'd been in line at 1:30...and there was already a line. I thought we were crazy for getting in line this early, but damn. Damn, girls!

Anyway, after hearing this news, I've decided there's no way I'll be leaving any good seat I get for B20, so I'll be parking my butt there. Unfortunately I won't be attending the Women of Marvel panel like I'd hope to, but seeing the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia guys will make my morning.

Well, and all the pretty, pretty men, too.

Stay tuned to my twitter for live tweeting from all the Ballroom 20 events today! (If I'm still conscious through them all, that is.)

See full post

Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV

• Global shipment of SFIV and SSFIV has now exceeded 4 million copies.
• Official sanctioned: CAPCOM CUP” competitions utilizing “Tournament Mode” are currently being planned! Champ Fighter, Saw that coming, Chick n Noggin, Chief, Korean Fighter, Perfectionist, 1^st Come 1^st Served, Rush Jack,
• Alternate Costume DLC continues to be a popular addition to the game. More costumes are underway. They will hit your consoles this fall.
• At e3 we learned that SFIV for Nintendo 3DS. To day they showed us never before screen shots.
• 3^rd Strike Street Fighter 3 online edition is in development.
• Tekken Producer and his crew busted in and handed out their video games. Then challenged was thrown down. Who would win? Street fighter or Tekken?...we may soon find out. It was just announced: Street Fighter X Tekken for PS3 & Xbox360!!!!!
• Two version will be developed Street Fighter cross Tekken, and Tekken cross Street Fighter each developed by their perspective companies Namco, and Capcom.
• We got to see a bit of the game play. I didn’t see much b/c I hyperventilated and passed out from excitement. SO…FRICKEN…..EXCITED!!!!

See full post

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Solider

Francois Alaux, alpha director (Of Logorama)

Harry Humphries tech advisor on alpha (Working on transformers 3)

Adrian Lacey ubisoft studio producer

Trent opaloch alpha director of photography

Moderator geoff keighley spike TV host

Alpha: Live action movie

The creators expressed that they wanted to create separate story from the game. There is a cross over between the two stories. But that they wanted to give Francois the creative liberty to develop the idea for this specific media. – (Loose quote from Adrian Lace)

When asked why the name “Alpha”, Lacey responded: we wanted to give different perspective as to how these guys work. They have code names. They don’t exist. They won’t be winning awards, They won’t be thanked. The term Alpha just screams military. And that’s exactly what these guys are. Humphries later says: “We’re not saying we’re British, We’re not saying we American, We’re not saying we’re German. We’re saying we’re soldiers.”

• Big objective was to drop the viewer into the world of the ghost. If there was a 2 man unit moving in. the camera/audience was from the vantage point of as if there was a 3^rd member of that unit.
• You will see invisible cloaks, drones, EMPs etc from the game in the movie.
• Humphries explains that a lot of the technology in this film has already been prototyped, and isn’t that far off from full development. Ex nano technology (the base technology for cloaking) and exoskeletons. These prototypes are currently being explored by the government.
• Humphries explains the need to make sure this film was authentic. He took 2 weeks to have a concentrated training session with the actors working through and curving out details as to how to create the look of an experienced solider.
• What is this movie about? –
• War happens for political reason. Whether ego, or money. Eventually it gets down to fighting. But it’s not always clear-cut. Something that happens in Southern Africa could affect Austria. These guys go in there and break that chain. That’s what the focus of this movie is about.
• You will see actors from the film in the game.
• The concept of quiet is inbred. If you’re on a team like this you are probably one of 2, 3 or 4. But surrounded by 200 or so. The attention to detail of the non-verbal communication in this film was very important. “We’ve learned from this experience and will take this into the game” - Lacey
• When asked by a fan, giving the history of really bad live action movies based on video games, what about this movie will pull us in, and satisfy us?
• Lacey responded: It’s a team thing. We have great writer, great film people. The crew just had so much experience. They were amazing. And just high quality. The team had so much experience. It’s like a video game, if you’ve got the right team you’ve got a chance. Nothing is ever a guarantee but you’ve got a shot…we’ve gone full out to try and give the fans and the player what they would like”
• Shot on a 35mil
• Distribution of this film is still being worked out.
• Game: Comes out 2011

See full post

More on Walking Dead!

I was in the room before Muse got in there, so here are some more points from the start of the panel that she missed:

- Gale Anne Hurd called Walking Dead the "seminal contemporary series of our time," and said she and AMC go for the best when looking for new projects.

- They like to include input from Walking Dead writer Robert Kirkman as much as possible, and he's even written episode 4 of the first season.

- Walking Dead will premiere as part of AMC's Fear Fest this October, and will receive a massive worldwide launch in 250 million homes and 30 different languages across the globe.

- Greg Nicotero did his best to try to make the makeup seem different from most zombie films, and similar to Charlie Adlard's art. Adlard even has a cameo in the series as a zombie.

- All the zombies went to a 3 day zombie school, where they learned to walk and act in different zombie-like ways.

- They'll do their best to stick to the comics as much as possible, but also have some moments that will come as surprises. Fans of the series will find something new amongst the moments we already know from the comics.

Like Muse said, the Walking Dead footage was AMAZING. Andrew Lincoln (fangirl sigh) is a fantastic Rick, the zombies look amazing, and the tone is so, so creepy and accurate. I seriously got a bit freaked out while watching, and this was the TAME footage for Comic Con! October can't come soon enough.

As always, I'm on twitter with constant updates from the con!

See full post

Video Game update....

I didn't get into Marvel Vs Capcom
Fable 3 has been canceled.....Guess that means I"ll be on the showroom floor playing video games!!! See full post

Twisted Metal

This panel started off rough due to technical difficulties, and then they ran over...which ultimately made me miss the Marvel Vs Capcon panel...excuse me while I cry just a tiny bit. :(

Anyway we didn't get to see much...
We watched a short about the behind the scenes of Twist Metal...which turned out to be the wrong video and was missing a lot of the necessary cards, and art work. But what I did get from it was the origins of a few of the characters:

Sweettooth: Is pretty much a force of nature serial killer. They toy with the origins of how he became this way.
Preacher: His character was inspired by extream southern christian enthusiast who are super aggressive about their beliefs. In the video game the Preacher believes the work he is doing is for good....even though it's murder. :)
Dollface: Came out of the subculture of obsession w/ body & body image.
Grim: Based on the type of character Scott Campbell would enjoy playing. The adrenaline junky, motorcycle loving, lost soul type.

Game:

• Roof top level is now designed w/ each area sloping downward to the center. This makes it easier to see your opponents.
• Roof top lever includes a center hub, and a figure 8 configuration.
• There is an atrium crash which only has one exist making an ambush easy.
• DLC will be available.
• Brand new special attacks are available.
• 2 & 4 player split screen (on and off line)
• A sniper weapon is now available. You can takes someone out w/ one shot!
• When flying in the game you can switch vehicles. (But only when you die.)
  
• Released 2011
  

See full post

The Walking Dead Will Be My New Favorite TV Show [Comic-Con 2010]

My heart almost broke this morning when at 11:33, I was only just walking into the Convention Center due to a not-having-a-phone related disaster this morning. Luckily, I still managed to finagle my way into a packed room for The Walking Dead panel, JUST as producer Gale Anne Hurd asked if we'd like to see some footage. I almost cried with joy, as this was possibly my most anticipated panel of Comic-Con. Already on stage when I arrived were Greg Nicotero, Frank Darabont, Gale Anne Hurd, Robert Kirkman and another producer whose name I missed.

And guys.

This footage.

I CANT FUCKING WAIT I HAVE TO CURSE FUCK FUCK AHH!

And now, my "live blogging" from the panel:

Incredible footage brings the house down with a standing ovation

Cast comes out, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes (after the footage, I'm sold)
Sarah Wayne Calles as Lori Grimes, Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh ("He does whatever he can to honor his best friend" - audience breaks out into laughter. Someone on the panel - "I think they've read the comic book." "We are really trying to do this right for you"
Laurie Holden as Andrea, Emma Bell as Amy.

Just announced - 2 additions to the case. Norman Reedus (Boondock Saints) & Michael Rooker (everything)

Was the cast familiar with the comic book before they got cast or did they get familiar after?
Andrew knew nothing of the comic, was very intrigued by the sides, put himself on tape, then the script came through with the list of people attached and it blew his mind. He went to his local comic book store in Camden (London) and was told it was the greatest and most successful comic book they had. Loved the world, thought the characters were beautifully drawn and Frank's script was wonderful. To audition, came all the way to Hollywood and audition in Darabont's garage

Sarah had never read comics or seen a horror movie and Greg Nicotero has "ruined her life." with his zombies (which look PHENOMENAL) and she keeps having nightmares

Shooting in Atlanta where it's over a hundred degrees, even at night.

Frank Darabont lost 15 pounds directing a movie for 15 days in over a hundred degree weather.

At lunch time, "no one ever wants to eat with the zombies", humans at one table, zombies at another

Always have three cameras shooting. Wow.

Can you talk about the dynamic between Rick & Shane?
Jon: We will see a little bit of their lives before the apocolypse. "Andrew Lincoln is a WONDERFUL actor and an even better human being. He brings his humanity to the set. Whatever conflict we have to play in the story, it's gonna be really difficult cause I genuinely love this guy."

Zombies in full makeup start walking by me and it's creepy as fuck

Andrew: "I love every single person at this table, in front of and behind the camera." Having the time of his life making this show. He and Jon got to spent two weeks hanging out and building their relationship dynamic.

What was the reason for Georgia over Los Angeles as a shooting location?
Frank: Was written for Atlanta, locations looked amazing and if CA ever gets its "tax incentive shit together", maybe they'd consider shooting there. He encourages us to write to Arnold and demand tax breaks for shooting in LA.

A question - "How are you gonna handle Carl and what happens to him?" Audience yells out - SPOILER

Had to cut back on the reel for us cause it's a family convention, but what we saw gave us a taste of what we'll be seeing in the series. We see zombies' heads explode.

Will we see the other characters?
Kirkman: Glenn and Dale, absolutely.
Darabont: I can't WAIT to get to Michelle (not spelled this way, very different spelling, I can't remember." Can't wait to get to Tyrese also.

Any thought given to reaching out to well known horror directors in the future?
Frank says Yes. They all know who they would want to bring on and hinted at George Romero.

Too early to start casting any other characters that come in later - looks like if Tyrese isn't coming until the second season, season one will only be volume 1 or volume 1&2

Did they ever think about shooting in black & white?
They tried a bunch of cameras out and decided that Super 16 was best. "Film grain, analog, creamy look." Maybe down the line the DVD might have a black & white version, like Darabont did with the Mist.

Bear McCreary doing music for the show. THIS WILL BE THE BEST SHOW.

On the music - Bear loves that this is a character drama that happens to be set in a zombie apocalypse. Talked more about the characters in the meetings over horror cliches. Scoring it like a drama, but you have to do the obvious thing every once in a while in a non obvious way. When he looks online and sees people say "the music should be this!" he thinks "not gonna do that, not gonna do that, not gonna do that." Won't be the music we would associate with a zombie apocalypse.

"Definitely following Kirkman's path of things. May take us a while to get there."

Amazing panel, amazing footage, I can't wait for this offing show. AHHHHHH. WWIIINNNN. See full post

Marvel Interactive: Marvel Video Games

Spider-man Shattered Dimensions:

Chris Baker, Manager Licensed games

Todd “TQ” Jefferson, Dir of games. TQ: Works w/ publisher/developers to develop games from concept to code release.

Thomas Wilson, creative Dir. Beenox

Dan Slott, Writer

· Sept 7^th. Available for pre-order now.

· Publisher: Activision; Developer: Beenox Studios; 3^rd person, Action Adventure; MSRP is still pending

· The tablet of order adn chaos shattered, and it's peices traveled into 4 different worlds/demintions. This game brings 4 distinctly different words together: Spider man War, 2099

· Voice casting: Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Keaton, Christopher Daniel Barnes and Dan Gilvezan and the narrator will be Stan Lee!!!!

· FYI: Harris did the voice for Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, Keaton had the role in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Barnes in Spider-Man animated series and Gilvezan in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

· 13 villians! Juggernaut

· Unlockable costumes : cosmic spider-man only if u pre-oder thru game stop; iron spider when you pre-order w/ amazon.com; Scarlet Spider, Negative Zone, Spider-Armor, Mangaverse...more to come

· Will be available on the Xbox360, PS3, Wii & DS

Super Hero Squad the Infinity Gauntlet

Jason Gholston, Producer

Mark Hoffmeier, Writer

• Coming in November 2010
  
• Publisher: THQ
• 35 Character; 13 of which are playable.
• Game creators worked closely w/ the animator from the Animated Series on Cartoon Network to ensure character continuity.

Super Hero Squad Online

Jason Robar VP/GM of Studio The Amazing Society

• MMORG
• 1 cool game feature is that everyone gets a customizable head quarters.
• You have the ability to build your own squad.
• Each super hero has their own personality.
  
• Player VS Player
• 1^st online version of the living Marvel Universe.
• Primarily targeted to kids, but it’s a game for all those passionate about Marvel.
• Coming 2011

Marvel VS Capcom: Fate of Two Worlds

Seth Killian Special Advisor Capcom

• Dr. Doom, Super Skrull, Thor, Dead Pool are in the game .
• 3 on 3 fighting game; close to 1 million different combinations! You can have all 3 characters on screen at the same time!
• In this version the animation, call outs, & fighting poses invoke the comics more so than MVC2.
• Frank T is going to help write it.
• Every character has a custom ending.So you get a tiny bit of story after you beat the game.
  
• There will be special edition joy sticks related to MVC3
• 2D game play w/ a 3D perspective.

This game looks like a living comic book. MVC2 has held our attention for the past 10 years. I was a bit skeptical that they’d be able to top the last one…I have been proven wrong!!

Thor: The Video Game

Summer of 2011

• Liquid Entertainment; Sega
• Summer of 2011
• There are worlds in the game that won’t be present in the movie.

They pretty much just teased us about this game. Very little/no information was shared. :(
See full post

Hawaii Five-0 Press Conference and Panel!

I kicked off my Comic Con Friday by attending a Hawaii Five-0 press conference, and I'm in the room waiting for the panel itself to start as I write this. Live blogging ahoy!

Notes from the press conference:

- In trying to avoid the pitfalls that may come with remaking a beloved classic television show, the writers attacked the script as its own thing, trying their best not to put pressure on themselves. They realize it's a classic source and are doing their best to protect that as they write.

- There are lots of Die Hard references and the show does have a bit of a Die Hard tone to it, involving the dark tone and humor.

- The casting process took a very long time, but came together when Daniel Dae Kim signed on. He was extremely passionate about the show from the start, which brought a great energy to the process. Grace Park auditioned for the show like any other actress out there.

(Grace, by the way, is gorgeous. As all hell.)

- They were skeptical about casting Alex O'Loughlin at first since he has big shoes to fill with McGarrett, but as the show progressed he slipped easily into character. Having faces that are a bit lesser known (well, to people other than us sci-fi geeks) made it easier for everyone to focus on the characters themselves.

- Shooting in Hawaii played a huge role in the show, the island itself becoming something of a fifth character. While there's the gorgeous vacation spot everyone knows, there's also the seedy underbelly of it that the show is going to dive into and focus on. The producers talked to Daniel a lot to get a feel for what it would be like filiming in Hawaii on a constant basis. Cause, you know, he filmed some TV show or something there. Nothing we've ever heard of, I'm sure.

- The show will be mostly episodic, though they'll have different levels of stories. In each episode the A story is the procedural aspect, the B story is a character story, and the C story will be an ongoing season arc. The pilot opens up with a few mysteries to be solved over the course of the season.

- Though they pay tribute to the original actors and show, they didn't talk to any of the original stars. Doing their best not to have this be a show all about impressions of certain characters became the most important aspect, and as such the show became very much about the characters.

- Having the show set in Hawaii lets it go a bit further than most procedurals these days; they'll get to do fugitive stories, city vs jungle vs water stories, and bring in some international flavor. Speaking of international, they do draw actors from Hawaii, trying to keep that aspect of it true to the island.

- Daniel was excited with the differences between H50 and Lost. He wasn't in a jungle, he joked, was filming in climate controlled situations. Also, he was clean. And his clothes didn't have holes in them. He's also happy to have people come watch the show and start to realize he isn't just Jin anymore, and has much more range.

- Grace talked a bit about her character, saying she was a rookie cop, who meets the main cast right off the bat. She's a female cop in with the guys, and while she's a big tomboy who likes to get down and dirty, though the female aspect of her character isn't entire lost.

Sadly my laptop sucks at keeping a charge, so I won't be live blogging this panel today! I will be back today with info from the Walking Dead and Spartacus: Blood and Sand panels, however. Til then, follow me on twitter for real time updates!

(PS. The Hawaii Five-0 Clips they're showing right now are pretty damn SWEET!)

See full post

Quotable Red [Comic-Con 2010]

One of our helper reporters stepped in and took some notes on the Red panel, featuring Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren & Bruce Willis. The movie comes out on October 15th. Some quotes below!

Bruce "Every day was fun" on filming with this cast.
"Every week we got another big movie star who came in that we were all excited about."

Helen "They had the Queen, and then they had God" (talking about Morgan)
"You always want something that's going to kick your last role out of the water."
"Nice to find a new audience."

Karl "I haven't had so much fun in years. It's not often you get to pick up one of the most iconic action heros in years, and throw him across the room and watch him smash into a bunch of furniture"

"All my expectations were exceeded by what a wonderful man he actually was" (on working with Bruce)

Mary-Louise "Usually Bruce is just dragging me" (on working in action as opposed to comedy)

"The film will be different than the book, the tone is a lot broader"-Cully Hammer

Surprise for the cast as well as audience, world premiere of the new trailer.

New trailer fucking awesome. After being called an old man, John Malkovich shoots down a missile with a bullet then says "Old man my ass".

Bruce says it was hard to keep a straight face while working on this. Tons of comedy.

Bruce compares working on this to "recess" for the second time on the panel.
Bruce is speechless when asked about "Being John Malkovich"...he says "John Malkovich is..." and that's it.

Mary "We both thought that as soon as they saw us run that they would fire us"
They couldn't run with a straight face.
"Alec Baldwin told me just look like you always have to pee, and it'll look like you're in constant dangerous."

Bruce and the cast became giddy to work with Dreyfuss . They nicknamed him "Jaws".

Helen "He was our leader, and so incredibly welcoming...we all bonded through Bruce".

"You never write a graphic novel thinking that it will become a movie, unless you're like Mark Millar"--the writer

Helen "I was really intimidated...I was shit-scared really" "It was easier than I thought it would be"


RED--Retired Extremely Dangerous. See full post

Video Game Agenda for Fri

11:15-12-15pm Marvel Interactive: Video Games

1-2pm Twisted Metal Returns!

2-3 pm Marvel vs. Capcom: Fate of the two Worlds

4-5pm Fable 3

5-6pm Girls Gone Genre

6:30-7:30 Gears of War 3

At some point I will make my to the floor to play demos! Not sure if today's that day giving the above schedule. I may swoop out a panel for from game play though. I"ll keep y'all updated.
Also let me know if there's a question or a comment you want me to ask at any of these panels. I'll do my best to get you an answer!

KB See full post

Thursday Wrap Up [Comic-Con 2010]

Holy shit. I think my brain asplode. As it is wont to do at Comic-Con.

Today brought us the following:

-Will Ferrell, Tiny Fey, Jonah Hill & a Brad Pitt standee giving us a taste of Mastermind while also cracking my shit up. Hilarious panel. Made me a happy lady. Also, I will be seeing this movie.

-Tron: Legacy panel which blew my mind. With no connection to the first Tron, I was somehow still moved to (almost) tears with the footage. It just looked so fucking cool, you guys. I can't wait. I CAN'T WAIT. They also recorded us doing crowd sounds for the movie. I hope we make it in. We did a really good job and the experience felt...magical, I wanna say. Because that's what it was.

-Salt. Won't get to see the movie this weekend, but looking forward to it. Angie's so beautiful. She is SO beautiful. Heart.

-Same panel - Battle Los Angeles, which looks like Modern Warfare with aliens. Aka Modern Warfare meets Halo, both of which were referenced during the panel. A lot of the film was shot from the first person shooter perspective and looks fantastic. Also, Michelle Rodriguez is a sexy sexy sexy badass sexy hot woman. We would all try the other side for her.

-EW's panel with Joss Whedon and JJ Abrams. It's rare you get to see two people you're obsessed with just shoot the shit with someone for an hour, on stage, uncensored. A great panel for anyone who aspires to be creative in this industry.

-SCOTT PILGRIM PANEL. The panel was just cool clips & awesome people being awesome, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful. I don't mind that I didn't learn anything. This panel rocked. Loved how Edgar Wright moderated, loved how he ended it by telling everyone there was a previously unannounced screening happening in 45 minutes and some members of the audience would get to attend. Love even more that he then led hundreds of fans on a 20 minute walk to the theatre. He rocks. Filmed entire panel, sans footage. Will be posted tomorrow evening. Hopefully.

-SCOTT PILGRIM SCREENING. This MOVIE you guys. Yes, it takes you a good 5-10 minutes to get used to the fast pacing, but as soon as your brain settles in, you are on the two hour high of your life. It's fun, it's fast, it's funny, it's smart, the homages are too numerous to name, the gags too bizarre and perfect to describe. I loved this movie and I hope you do too. The audience tonight watched it with the entire cast (sans Chris Evens and whoever the cutie is who plays Young Neil, more or less) for their first time. The audience was vocal and the energy was palpable. It was an experience I will not soon forget. After the movie, the whole cast, plus Edgar & Bryan came on stage, said hello, then treated us to a Metric concert, who "play" The Clash at Demonhead in the film. I can't wait to see this movie again to hear all the jokes I missed due to the audience's uproarious laughter this time around.

-Lucasfilm/G4 Party. Played some video games, had some empanadas, drank some drinks, hung with some fun people and got some gift bags. Mine included a Darth Vader. WIN!

Tomorrow we plan on branching out from Hall H a bit and hitting up some awesome panels in other rooms. The floor kicked ass Wednesday night and hopefully I bought everything I wanted to. Everything else must wait til Sunday.

At the end of this whole shebang, we will have an incredible gallery of photos for you, from on stage and various S&R/backstage photo op moments. And remember to keep tuned in to the following people for your All Things Fangirl coverage:

@eruditechick
@loquaciousmuse
@strongpieces
@davidehrlich

Catch ya'll tomorrow! See full post

CAPCON 2010 and Beyond

Soooooo....Capcon wanted squeezed as much as they could in this panel. So each game wasn't really giving much time to go into great detail. Just enough to wet the appetite. Here's what I got out of it....

Dead rising 2!

• Set in Fortune City
• Sept 28^th for XBOX 360 and PS3

Basara Samurai Heroes

• Oct 12^th

Bionic Commando ReArmed2…

• more weapons
• same team working on music
• xbox live arcade and PS network in early 2010

Okami Den on the DS

• touch screen provides a more intuitive drawing experience
• you and your partner help each other restore beauty to the world
• new puzzle solving elements
• attack enemies w/ an artistic flourish
• available early 2011

Ghost trick: phantom detective

• From the creator of the :Ace attorney” series, SHu Takumi
• Mysterious Storyline
• Quirky characters with the Ace Attorney style.
• Solve puzzles with the powers of the Ghost World
• Comes out in the Winter for the DS

Marvel VS Capcon 3: Fate of Two Worlds

• 360 & PS3 in 2011

Mega Man Universe:

• Rumor has it there’s talk of Legends 3

See full post

Star Wars: The Forced Unleashed 2

This story takes place between Ep3 and Ep4. 3^rd person action adventure. If you haven’t played the 1^st game no worries. Haden Blackman assured us there would be enough exposition to catch us up on the main character: Star Killer.

In this game Lucas arts focused on smaller but better. “Instead of 100 enemies” says Blackman, “there maybe 25. But those 25 are done really well with as little bugs as possible.”

Cool new moves to expect:

• Double light saber- Both of which can be thrown as an attack.
• Force furry mode- Your standard energy bar that once filled will allow Star Killer to access a level of power unobtainable via power ups/up grades.
• Mind trick- yes Mind tricks!!! You get to use your mind tricks to convince Jedi that they should attack each other….or jump out a window….or off a bridge. It’s pretty cool to see.

Changes:

• More AI unites in this game- So no more of the same, over and over and over.
• I.e.- the Carbonite war droid. This droid encourages you to attack from a distance using alternate attacks. If you strand still to long this droid will freeeeeeeze you!
• Lots of environment interaction! You can pick up/throw/use just about anything. As well as use the environment against your enemies.
• You can upgrade your weapons, clothes, and attacks.
• You will be able to break out of combos making it easier to avoid juggling. THOUGH we’ve been assured juggling no longer exists in this game.We shall see Blackman...we shall see!
  
• Wii version has 4 player mode. (He didn't confirm nor deny other consoles having the same.)
  
• This game features more story moments. But don’t fret there are plenty of action packed goody goodness.
• I.e. Run for your life moments- It’s pretty self explanatory. There are points in the game when you just need to keep moving in order to survive. Attacking ships, Jedi, droids you name it. They are all coming at you but you can’t let it get in your way! Just keep moving!

BOBA FETT plays a small but pivotal roll! More special appearances will be announced as the release date approaches.

OCT 26st for the XBOX360, PS3, Wii, PC, and PSP

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Video Game Comics!

Representatives from Mass Effect, Dragon Age, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, EA were among the panelists.

Editors, GMs, Writers spoke of the relationship between comic books and video games. Most fans who like one, tend to like the other. In variant degrees often, but geek love is geek love. And if there isn’t love, at the very least there is great respect.

I was interested in the honest collaboration between the two genera. Often when films are made out of video games or comics the stories are changed or fussed with (and usually not for the best). That doesn’t seem to be the case here. “Think EXPANSION PACK”

Many spoke of the challenges of developing a character w/o impeding on the players identity. For example FALL OUT is an RPG, so writers can’t use the main character as the focal point. Instead they decided to focus on all the characters who are trying to kill you. …no seriously. Personally I think it’s a brilliant idea. It maintains the personal attachment each gamer has w/ the main charter while still advancing the story in a completely immersed world.

When it came to continuity of story/environment/characters we were assured that events/actions that happen in the game occur in the comic book. References that appear in the comic book show up in the game. They are one living breathing entity across two interlocking genres. Many of the panelist discussed that keeping the continuity has been easy because who they seek out to write these comics. For example the lead writer of Mass Effect became a writer for the comic.

Keep an eye out for King and Leach, Ratchet and Clank, Gears of War, God of War…and Assign’s creed? Maybe?

World of war crap will have 4 different graphic novels released in conjunction w/ the game. See full post

Strong Pieces Takes In The AWESOME Tron Panel [Comic Con 2010]

I've just finished up with the Tron press conference, where I got tons of pictures and got my moment to swoon over Garrett Hedlund as I was walking back to the convention center from the Hilton. He had his car window rolled down to smoke as I was walking by, I looked over and smiled, he looked a bit confused but smiled as well. Only at Comic Con, folks.

Highlights from the press conference as we wait for the Tron panel itself to start:

- Garrett only saw Tron for the first time in 2003 and was blown away, Michael saw it when he was 11, and Olivia wasn't even born when it was released.
- The reason it's been so long since Tron is because Disney was patient and wanted the right hands to craft the sequel. When Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner saw the creative team and script, they agreed to come back on, no question.
- When asked if it was hard to impress an internet-savvy world, Steven Lisberger said Tron: Legacy would have no problem impressing everyone.
- Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund were all adorable the entire time, often whispering and giggling at each other.
- Tron Legacy was an entirely collaborative effort; between the writers, Daft Punk's involvement from the very start with the movie score and the directing.
- Speaking of Daft Punk, Olivia said it was incredibly helpful to have them be a part of the process from the start.
- This is Michael Sheen's first time at Comic Con, which is something exciting for him considering he's a fanboy in his own right.

And now, the Tron: Legacy panel begins!

- Patton Oswalt is moderating again, opening with a joke about furries. Always a good dig, there. "Five minutes of Tron: Legacy every year for the next five years," jokes Oswalt!

- Secret Bruce Boxleitner and Jeff Bridges knife fight tonight? Don't toy with my emotions, Oswalt, I'd be all over that!

- Mini documentary on Tron's impact on pop culture, scored by Daft Punk = epic!

- "Lanky and lean, every nerd girls dream." re: director Joe Kasinski. Hell yes!

- Sreams for Garrett Hedlund! LOUDER yells for Olivia Wilde! LOUDEST yells for Michael Sheen! EVEN LOUDER for Bruce Boxleitner. AND PANDEMONIUM FOR JEFF BRIDGES, as it should be! (And some DUDE!s thrown in for good measure.)

- Tron: Legacy is a true 3D movie, no film conversion after the fact. Also, the suits were fully illuminated while filming, lighting up each other and the environment around them.

- The story at the heart of the movie will be a father/son story.

- Jeff Bridges plays himself at different ages in this movie: Flynn at his age, and his avatar Klue, at age 35. Playing against himself was "psychedelic."

ASIDE: the thought of Garrett Hedlund in a skintight suit makes me swoony.

- Olivia talks about her character Quorra, a fearless warrior who's smart, cool and, in a word, awesome.

- Garrett's training involve parkour, motorcycle training, hand-to-hand combat.

- Michael is ADORABLE, seriously. According to him it's a 4D film because Jeff Bridges brings an extra dimension of awesomeness to it. Truth!

- Bruce Boxleitner looks awesome. He was thrilled to revisit Tron when he heard the movie was going to be made. He hopes everyone will be thrilled by the movie, saying so as the biggest Tron fan there is.

- Jeff says getting a chance to play around with technology was one of the things that drew him to Tron: Legacy, same as Tron.

- Steven Lisberger says good things take a long time to happen, about Tron: Legacy finally coming about.

Now, time for the Tron footage! Excited as all hell for this -- 8 minutes of film footage!!

...that was UNBELIEVABLE. Every little bit of the movie hype is EARNED. The 3D is truly amazing, the music score is intense, and I was truly sad when it was over.

- Now some crowd sound recording, if it's great this will be in the movie! That was actually kind of fun!

- After some Q&A from the audience, they'll be screening a new Tron: Legacy trailer!

- When asked why they chose Daft Punk to score the movie, Kasinski said they were huge fans and it just seemed right to have them be involved with the movie. They've been working on the music for almost 3 years.

- Jeff tries not to spoil anything about the father/son relationship, choosing to say nothing and leave it to fans to find out for themselves when the movie is released.

- When asked how doing Babylon 5 might have prepped him for doing Tron: Legacy, he corrected the questioner that pointing out that Tron came out first and prepared him for B5. Minus one thousand geek points, questioner.

- Twins step up to the mic and share a question on whether Olivia now has a new found appreciation for guys who play video games. Cute! She's also started playing video games now, the last she'd ever played being Duck Hunt. Hot and geeky? Sweet.

- The original Tron will hopefully be re-released in exciting formats in the future!

With questions over, time for the new trailer and time to say goodbye to the Tron panel. I had a great time here today, a great kick off to Comic Con Thursday.

!!!! Surprise video message from Captain Jack Sparrow! Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides will be released next year!

Greatest panel or greatest panel??!

Stay tuned for more updates! See full post

Stan's back, kicking off Comic Con '10!

Hey all, Chantaal (@strongpieces & Girls Read Comics Too) here helping out as an extra correspondent/fangirl for Comic Con 2010! I'll be covering all kinds of various things over the next four days, but the biggest of which had to be today's press conference with Stan Lee, unveiling new characters and creative teams for his new comics with Boom! Studios.


First, I just have to say one thing: Stan is absolutely amazing in person. He's a charmer, and were I not completely in love with him before today, I would have fallen in love all over again. Alas, I didn't get to take a picture with him before people were moving him away, but I got to stand less than five feet from him and bask in his presence.


Stan and Boom! Studios will be releasing three new series at the end of this year:

Soldier Zero, written by Paul Cornell with art by Javier Pina, debuts in October. It involves the story of a wheelchair-bound man who suddenly finds himself bonded with an alien weapon of war. Most interesting was Paul Cornell describing how much respect went into research for this, specifically when it came to writing about the paraplegic.

The Traveler, written Mark Waid with art by Chad Hardin, debuts in November. It involves a time traveling super hero who tries to save the past from a band of evil assassins from the future.

Starborn, written Chris Roberson with art by Khary Randolph, debuts in December. It involves a man finding himself the heir to an intergalactic empire, which leads to all sorts of delicious socio-political intrigue in space. Stan himself says it "makes Star Wars look like a quickie!"

Knowing Stan and the talent Boom! has assembled, these are bound to be exciting new additions to the world of comics.

Some more highlights from preview night:

Between this and the Scott Pilgrim experience going on all four days across the street from the con, looks like SP will be taking the cake for best exposure.

Light cycle! Even more orgasmic in person. (And I'll be covering Tron tomorrow, so look out for that!)

MJOLNIR!!

(Concept art for the Thor video game!)

And last but not least, Bryan Lee O'Malley standing not five feet from us as we bought Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6. And a poster. And sweet wristbands.

I'll be constantly updating my twitter with Comic Con news, odds and ends over the next few days, so feel free to follow and say hello! See full post