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SDCC: Burton, Bekmambetov and '9'

Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Exhibition, ComicCon


Friday afternoon Hall H attendees were treated to their second chance to speak to Tim Burton (following his appearance Thursday for Alice in Wonderland), and their first look at the new film 9. Directed by Shane Acker, the film is produced by Burton and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, both of whom offered a few insights about their own work as they showcased the results of the first-time filmmaker's adaptation of his own animated short film.

Among the details revealed during the 9 panel:

SDCC: 'Zombieland' and '2012' Video Interviews

Filed under: Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense, Fandom, Exhibition, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek, ComicCon, Trailers and Clips



Saturday was another busy day at Comic Con, and two of the movies a lot of folks were chatting up on Twitter and around the convention floor were Zombieland and 2012. Zombieland, of course, is that awesome-looking zombie comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson. We already shared a report from the set with you (read that over at Horror Squad), but only at Con did Cinematical's Kevin Kelly have a chance to chat up the film's director, Ruben Fleischer, along with its star Jesse Eisenberg. Zombieland hits theaters on October 9. Watch both of those videos after the jump.

Meanwhile, Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) is back to destroy the world with epic amounts of special effects in his new movie 2012. Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, and Thandie Newton, word is this flick will be the mother of all disaster movies -- and while Emmerich has made a name for himself destroying cities using a number of creative ways, this movie looks to take that up a notch and then some. 2012 hits theaters on November 13. Check out what Emmerich had to say to Kevin Kelly about 2012 (he calls this his "flood movie") and the end of the world after the jump.

SDCC: 'Titanic' Going 3D, 'Lord of the Rings' 3D on Hold

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, ComicCon



During the visionaries panel at Comic Con, Peter Jackson and James Cameron spoke about converting some of their older films to 3D -- specifically how Titanic is already going through the process, and how it's going to take about a year to fourteen months before it's completed. Thus, look for a huge re-launch of Titanic on the big screen in 3D at some point in 2011. If I were to wager a guess, I think they'll re-release it around the holidays and try to get as much bang for their buck as they can. Cameron says he's seen a couple of minutes converted and so far it "looks spectacular." Personally, I don't know how cool a film like Titanic would look in 3D. Maybe the last hour would look decent; the shot of the ship right before it breaks in half would look pretty wicked, but other than that ... eh.

Meanwhile, Peter Jackson was asked the same 3D question with regards to his Lord of the Rings franchise. Will that be getting the 3D conversion treatment as well? Unfortunately, it sounds like Warner Bros. isn't ready to commit to the conversion. Though Jackson wants all three films in 3D and has suggested it to the studio, they're hesitant either because there aren't enough 3D screens yet or for some other reason. There's a fun little back-and-forth between the two after that, with Cameron saying that they'll make more screens if they know The Lord of the Rings movies were in 3D.

Check out video from this particular conversation after the jump. What do you think about Titanic in 3D? Would it look cool? Or how about Lord of the Rings? Is the conversion worth it?

SDCC: Robert Downey Jr. and the Case of the Holmes Watson Love Story

Filed under: Fandom, Exhibition, ComicCon



Yesterday at the press conference for Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. recalled that Rachel McAdams had called Sherlock Holmes "a love story between Watson and Holmes." Downey explained, "Well, actually what it is ... it's circumstantial homosexuality." So, in case you were wondering if they'd played up the banter between the duo from the books, there you go. Fairly elementary.

Actually, that quote aside, Downey says the adaptation is extremely true to the source material. "My take is what the puritans would expect ... if the puritans know what they're talking about. He never wore a deerstalker cap, except like maybe once, for a second, except even then it was described differently. The long pipe was something that Gillette used so he didn't obscure his face on the stage. So we're not using any of those and we're staying true to the Doyle material."

That's not to say that Sherlock doesn't have his vices. In the books he would turn to cocaine when he was bored between cases. We asked producer Joel Silver if they were including that, given Downey's history, and he said, "Not really. But I mean, he does have ... issues." Then he gave us a wry smile and a wink. So who knows. Maybe he's addicted to something innocuous now. Like toffee.

SDCC: Disney Does 3-D, 'Toy Story 3,' More

Filed under: Animation, Fandom, Exhibition, ComicCon



After Warner Brothers premiered footage from six of their upcoming film projects, including Jonah Hex, The Book of Eli and Where the Wild Things Are, Disney's John Lasseter took the stage to introduce footage and filmmakers from several of the studio's upcoming animated projects.

Among the movies covered:

  • Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D -- Screening the opening, Star Wars-influenced sequence from Toy Story 2, Lasseter demonstrated the footage conversion and indicated that both films would look just as good as before, if not better, with that third dimension added.
  • Toy Story 3 -- No footage from the film was screened, but director Lee Unkrich announced that Michael Keaton was cast as Ken, Barbie's longtime companion, and he showed fans a short "vintage '70s" featurette called "Groovin' With Ken."

SDCC: What Warner Brothers Wants You To Watch

Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek, ComicCon



After Thursday's Hall H offerings more or less covered the entirety of comic book an genre fandom's future favorite films, among them Tron, Avatar, and the future classic Kick-Ass, it seemed an impossible task for almost anyone to top what was shown, much less to muster enthusiasm from the already punch-drunk crowd. And yet, Warner Brothers made a remarkably strong showing with their presentation of not one or two but six upcoming films, almost all of which looks ready to redefine fans' expectations.

Included in Warner's presentation:

Happy 25th Birthday, PG-13 Rating!

Filed under: Exhibition, Steven Spielberg

For elderly people like me, in our 30s, it's sobering to realize that on any given Friday night, the majority of people in an average American movie theater do not remember a time when the PG-13 rating did not exist. Yes, it was 25 years ago this summer that the Motion Picture Association of America added PG-13 to its roster of ratings, joining G, PG, R, and X (which in 1990 was replaced by NC-17). Perhaps you already know some of the trivia involved. 'Tis no urban legend: Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom really were the catalysts that brought about the new rating, and Steven Spielberg -- who produced one and directed the other -- was the mastermind.

"I created the problem and I also supplied the solution," Spielberg told the Associated Press in 2004. "I invented the rating." Temple of Doom was released May 23, 1984, and horrified parents immediately began complaining that the PG rating was too lax, citing the heart-ripping-out scene in particular. (I'd have cited Kate Capshaw's performance, but I guess that's more "irritating" than "horrifying.") Gremlins, with its microwaved monsters and general bloody mayhem, opened two weeks later, and the uproar grew louder. I remember my aunt, who took my cousin and me to see it (we were 9), saying she thought Stripe's melting at the end was too gross for a PG movie. We just thought it was awesome.

To parents, both films seemed too graphic to be rated PG. Logically, that meant they should have been rated R instead, as that was the only other choice. But they'd be kind of tame compared to other R-rated movies, especially considering the content was aimed at teenagers. Somehow neither rating seemed right.

The Final Word: 'Avatar' Comic Con Footage

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Exhibition, ComicCon



Though we're only on day two of Comic Con, the biggest (and most talked-about) event has already taken place. Yesterday afternoon James Cameron arrived in San Diego and screened roughly 25 minutes of footage from his much buzzed-about sci-fi flick Avatar. Until this point we've seen various behind-the-scenes images and heard rumors of brilliance from those who've managed to see the tiny bit of footage Cameron's already screened for theater owners. But now that the press and fans have had a chance to watch, would the reaction be the same? Is Avatar really going to revolutionize the way we watch movies? Is it truly the event film of the decade? Or is it just another CG 3D flick that looks pretty cool, but doesn't do much in the way of changing the scope and landscape of film as we know it?

Here's a roundup of what's been said around the web:

-- "Cameron proves again that he can combine high-octane thrills with human drama, creating palpable emotional depth both for and between the characters even as he subjects them to physical derring-do that otherwise seems impossible." -- Todd Gilchrist, Cinematical

-- "This is an evolutionary jump, not a revolutionary leap. I didn't experience movies in a whole new way, and nothing I saw on screen left me feeling more than impressed. What the movie represents is someone putting real money into the current CGI and mocap tech and shoving it an extra step forward." -- Devin Faraci, CHUD.com

-- "What I saw were glimpses at a fantastic bit of storytelling, a rich fantasy tale, by a master of the artform, but the CGI creatures and characters are just that. They're amazingly executed, no doubt, but it's not like when you saw your first CG dinosaur and you said, "This is a game changer" to yourself." -- Quint, AICN

More after the jump

SDCC: 'Kick-Ass' Lives Up To Its Name, And Then Some

Filed under: Action, Fandom, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek, ComicCon



By 6pm on Thursday, I was convinced that Hall H had shown me everything that would possibly be of personal interest, much less professional obligation to cover. And even as the panel for Kick-Ass began, I expected little when director Matthew Vaughn stumbled over his words in an effort to explain what the film was about. But after an introductory clip that featured an aspiring superhero who plummeted to his death after diving off of a skyscraper in a homemade suit, my curiosity was piqued. What was more amazing was that almost all of the clips weren't merely surprising, filthy, and kind of all-around inappropriate, but that they were hugely entertaining, in that way you react to when you're watching something that feels familiar and brand-new at the exact same time.

Among the craziness contained in the Kick-Ass presentation and panel:

SDCC: A 'New Moon' Makeover For 'Twilight'

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, ComicCon



If you were anywhere within the Northern Hemisphere, we're assuming that you heard the euphoric outcry of fangirls who screamed and applauded at the sight of Twilight's Robert Pattinson, who appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con to help promote the upcoming sequel, New Moon. If however you were unlucky enough to experience it – and like us, lose all ability to hear in the process – Cinematical was there and is only too happy to offer a short overview of Summit's panel for the film. Remarkably, the film appears to be in far surer hands at least from a genre standpoint, which should come as no small relief to the fellows out there who will eventually be dragged to see it by their girlfriends or significant others.

Among the panel's high points:
 
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