Comic-Con '08: Scott's Most Geekily Anticipated

I've been to a few conventions before, here in Philly, a couple in New York, and one hazy weekend in legendary Mesquite, Texas. Horror, sci-fi, comic books, and tons of awesome geeks enjoying their own personal flavor of colorful nerd-dom. I enjoy these events, even though my own style of fandom prohibits me from dressing up like Bib Fortuna or Jayne Cobb. (I like to be amicably cynical at these events, so if I happen to make fun of your Buffy costume, please understand it's all in good fun.)

So this past weekend I spent a little while perusing through the San Diego Comic-Con schedule, and here's what I've got a red circle on:

-- First off, I will try to interview the female lead of Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still remake. I'll be bringing a pair of defibrillator paddles just in case she smiles while I'm in the room.

-- There's an event focusing on the new thriller Mirrors, which I wasn't that psyched for -- until I remembered who the director was. Plus if you don't like Kiefer Sutherland I suspect you're an evil communist robot.

-- The Masters of the Web Panel is either going to be hilarious or it's going to devolve into the geekiest bar brawl you've ever seen. Our own Erik Davis will be discussing the state of internet movie nerd-dom with guys from JoBlo's, CHUD, AICN, IESB, Bloody-Dee, The Movie Blog, Movieweb, Latino Review, and (of course!) Dark Horizons. And since I know most of those lunatics, this should be one amusing little discussion panel.

-- Oh wow. Sergio Aragones is going to be there. Seriously, it'd be a big thrill to meet that guy! And Al Jaffee too?!? Oh man.

-- Anchor Bay is doing a panel on their upcoming releases, and the central focus seems to be on Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. And as long as the result is a fun flick, I will always support the indie guys. JB: MS is a very fun flick.

-- Believe it or not, I'm probably heading back to Philly before the Friday the 13th panel. That definitely sucks, but I sort of want to keep my head in the sand until this particular remake arrives. It's silly, but I have a very strong affection for the original Friday the 13th. (OK, also Part 2 and Part 4.) (And Part 6.)

-- Summit Pictures will be on hand to hype three of their impending releases, including Alex Proyas' Knowing, the sci-fi thriller Push, and (of course) the highly-anticipated vampiric romance Twilight.

-- Ever heard of Cliff Stephenson? Charlie de Laurizika? Javier Soto? If not then you aren't as big a DVD geek as me. (Nyeah.) These are the guys who put together your favorite audio commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, and other digital treats. Yep, one of my most anticipated events is a DVD Producers Panel. And that might be geeky, but I just don't care.

-- Whatever Lionsgate's got cooking, I'll check out. Looks like they'll be pushing their upcoming animated feature that stars Hulk AND Wolverine, but I'd be shocked if they didn't have some new Saw 5 posters or something otherwise gruesome to sate my horror fix. We're promised a peek at Repo (finally), which is good because apparently I'm the only professional horror freak who hasn't seen the dang thing yet!

-- Alan Ball has a new series coming on HBO called True Blood that sounds really excellent. It takes place after the worldwide "acceptance" of vampires, who now survive through synthetic blood. That's all I want to know, really, until I get to the convention anyway.

-- Dark Castle will be on hand to hype RocknRolla, Ninja Assassin, The Hills Run Red, and a few of their non-movie projects. Also, WB is screening The Lost Boys: The Tribe in its entirety, although I may just wait until the DVD hits at the end of the month.

-- Watchmen. Period.

-- Aw yeah, a Spaced panel. I actually met Pegg, Wright, and Frost one time at a Hot Fuzz event at the Drafthouse, and get this: They were really nice guys! Shocking, I know.

-- Oooh, there's a panel specifically on production designers who specialize in superhero flicks, guys like J. Michael Riva and Alex McDowell. Sounds cool.

-- Um, some footage from The Wolfman and a Q&A with the legendary Rick Baker. Someone save me a seat.

-- Ha! EW is hosting a panel with -- get this -- Judd Apatow, Frank Miller, Zack Snyder and Kevin Smith. Someone ought to record this and sell it on DVD. Smith at a con is pretty hilarious all by himself, and I can only imagine what these four together will sound like. I expect lots of laughs and a bunch of anecdotes from the sets of Pineapple Express, The Spirit, Watchmen, and Zack & Miri Make a Porno.

-- A Star Wars trivia competition? Pfft, part the room. I'm playin'.

-- A Futurama panel. With cast and crew. Seriously? If you get in my way as this thing is starting, you may have to sue Cinematical for your fractured collarbone. Fair warning.

-- Spotlight on Ralph Bakshi. Done.

-- Yay, a Simpsons event! I was afraid there wouldn't be one. Sometimes you just need to bathe in the soothing yellows of Springfield, y'know?

-- Forrest J. Ackerman. Famous Monsters of Filmland. Oh yes, please.

-- Hey neat. Dean Koontz will be there. Intensity is a damn good read. I've read a bunch of his one-word-title novels (Watchers, Whispers, Waiters, Winkers, Darkfall, Upfall, Shattered, Splattered, etc.) but Intensity is my favorite.

-- Oooh, here's something: A panel with a bunch of writers from The Office. OK, so it's not comic-booky and it's not flick-related, but yeah. I wanna go to this.

-- Terminator stuff, both TV and movie-wise. OK, I'll bite.

-- A horror author panel, anchored by the awesome Max Brooks. Fun.

-- Universal wants to share some eye candy from Death Race, The Mummy 3, and Land of the Lost. Who am I to refuse?

-- Sony, for their part, will be hyping Pineapple Express, Underworld 3, and Quarantine. Jeez people, I only have two eyeballs!

-- Starship Troopers 3 panel. I just can't resist action / horror / sci-fi sequels. They're like my Kryptonite.

-- Sarah Silverman surrounded by 6,000 Star Wars nerds. That's got the potential for comedy gold.

-- Hmm, a late-night screening of Mutant Chronicles...

Then on Sunday we've got stuff on Friday the 13th, Hamlet 2, and The Unborn, plus an inevitably nerdly Browncoats affair that I'd be happy to attend -- only Erik and I are flying back to the east coast on Sunday morning. We may have ODed on geekiness by that point. If you happen to come across the Cine-squad (that'd be myself, Sir Erik Davis, and our secret weapon known only as E. Rappe), definitely say hi and tell us you love Cinematical.

And as soon as I get home, it's a steady regimen of Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and the Coen Brothers for about a week. Just to keep things balanced.