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

Catching the TRON Virus [Wondercon]

San Francisco was the chilly place to be tonight when an Encom press conference was interrupted by protesters proclaiming that "FLYNN LIVES."

The fever started earlier that day when WonderCon-goers who weren't already part of Disney's viral marketing campaign for Tron Legacy were handed flyers outside of the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. The paper called for TRON fans to "infiltrate the Encom Press Conference" and infiltrate they did -- sort of.

With Bruce Boxleitner taking the stage in the persona of Alan Bradley, the audience assembled in Justin Herman Plaza was treated to a once-in-lifetime speech that outlined the company's plans for an online version of Space Paranoids. But it seems as though Disney's event hit a few snafus along the way. In the middle of his speech, Bradley looked towards the sky as a helicopter, emblazoned with the Encom symbol flew overhead and... nothing happened. With no infiltration of any sort rearing its head, Bradley completed his speech to the hoots and hollers of TRON fans just excited to hear the name "Kevin Flynn" again. (That and Boxleitner's momentary impression of Jeff Bridges' Flynn by way of Bradley, made the night worth it.) But the moment felt empty.

And that's when it happened. An Encom publicist took the stage and was interrupted by a motley crew of sign-carrying protesters who screamed "Flynn lives!" They raised their FLYNN LIVES shirts with pride and -- for reasons unknown to this intrepid reporter except for a strong suspicion of cross-promotionalism -- one wielded a life-size version of Captain America's shield. He threw it at no one.

A short speech later and the well-behaved infiltration was out of the way, the protesters safely off the brightly-stage, and fans looking forward to an amazing cap on the evening were left loudly wondering the likes of, "Wait, was that it? No, seriously, I'm cold. Let's go."

Fortunately though, the Encom helicopter soon returned and after a few fly-overs a parachutist leapt out, landing safely behind the stage -- an amazing feat considering the high winds that had likely thwarted earlier attempts at his parachuting down were still in effect and freezing TRON fans all over.

Despite the cold and the hiccups, I have to give Disney a lot of credit for orchestrating such a fun and creative viral campaign. Woe that I didn't make it to the pre-meeting which reportedly prepped people for the campaign against Encom. However, I did arrive in time to find that it concluded with the giving of free FLYNN LIVES t-shirts, TRON posters, and Space Paranoids pins. And while I refuse to unroll the poster until I'm safely back in NYC -- seriously, me and rolling posters don't mix -- I can show you a pic of the pin... as well as all the footage I snagged of the TRON viral event.

That's right, witness Bradley's speech for yourself! As well as a special intro by GLADOS (a.k.a our own EruditeChick) and the spectacle created by first the infiltrators and then the parachutist, who I'm fairly certain was not named Henry Gale no matter what he might say.

Please excuse the subtle shakes of the camera; in case I haven't made it clear already, I was really cold. I think I caught a TRON virus.

** Stay tuned next week TRON fans! We may have gotten our hands on an extra TRON goodie to share with one lucky winner. **

Part One

Part Two

See full post