SDCC Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Lionsgate Pays to 'Kick-Ass'
Filed under: Deals », Lionsgate Films », Distribution »
The buzz is strong on Kick-Ass, and Lionsgate listened, much to the delight of fans of the comic book and the trailer that's been making people giggle at their desks. Variety is calling the deal "mini-major," which is good news for the studio that's been subsisting on Tyler Perry and Saw flicks for the past few years.Based on the comic by Mark Millar, the esteemed scribe behind the graphic novels for Wanted and other fan faves, Kick-Ass is directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski, a high school superhero wanna-be who gets mixed up with a drug lord (Mark Strong), the ex-cop that's after him (Nicolas Cage) and his pre-teen daughter Hit Girl, and the superhero Red Mist, played by everyone's favorite McLovin', Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Read up on how this movie shall, in fact, live up to its name with help from Todd Gilchrist's San Diego Comic-Con report. "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."
It sounds insane and awesome and I'd like to see it ASAP!
SDCC: Jon Favreau Brings the Awesome
Filed under: Action », Paramount », DIY/Filmmaking », Interviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », ComicCon »
If you think you love Jon Favreau from a distance, try sitting next to him at a roundtable. (I know how fangirlish that sounds and I don't care.) Somehow, our seating arrangements switched up, and I ended up sliding into the chair next to him just as things got going. I think I can safely say we were both startled by that arrangement. For my part, I had just come from the Comic-Con floor, and was terrified the smell had rubbed off on me. To make matters worse, he smelled like cupcakes, sunshine, and expensive cologne. (I'm not the only one to remark on that, by the way. Jordan Hoffman did too!) But he is quite lovely to sit beside, and he's the kind of guy you really want to spend hours hanging out with. I mean, look to your right and see the nerdy shirt he was sporting! I do think that's the geekiest shirt I saw all week, and at Comic-Con that's saying something. Below you'll find some Avengers hints, the lowdown on Mickey Rourke's cockatoo, and just why they rushed the footage to San Diego.
What do you most want fans of the comic book to know?
What do I most want them to know? Well, that we hear them. We're working from the same material that they're familiar with. We're going to stick with it in certain ways, and in certain ways we're going to change it, but we're not changing it out of ignorance. We're changing it as a choice to make it interesting, and maybe make it so they don't always know what to expect. I think that fans have been punished by studios that don't care, and they assume that when you change things, you don't know what you're doing, or you don't care about them. But sometimes, you do things -- sometimes you change it, like when you're telling a joke, to throw things off a little bit, and let there be some surprises when next May rolls around. Because with the level of curiosity, it's very hard to not open every Christmas present before the release date.
Go below for the rest!
SDCC Interview: Robert Rodriguez
Filed under: Fandom », Interviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »

We spoke to Robert Rodriguez on video at Comic-Con, and then we sat down with him for a full interview to get an update on all of his projects, and to find out about his upcoming movie Shorts. He's definitely a man wearing a lot of hats, since he writes, directs, edits, scores, does special effects, and produces. In fact, just about the only thing he doesn't do in these films is act. He brought us up to date on Red Sonja, Sin City 2 and Predators, and spoke about being back at Comic-Con.
Read on after the break for his full interview, including more about Shorts and how his kids help inspire his movies. It's just after the jump, and is (mostly) free of information about who he's dating.
SDCC: The Podcast Wrapup
Filed under: Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »

Comic-Con 2009 has come to a close, and we've already begun the countdown to next year. But what were some of the highlights and lowlights? Cinematical sent three writers to cover the Con this year, Elisabeth Rappe, Todd GIlchrist, and myself, and we all three had very different experiences: Todd was locked in Hall H for most of the show watching the giant panel presentations, Elisabeth spent time moving from the floor to the press area to smaller panels, and I was upstairs covering video press lines and interviews, so we all saw a very different slice of the Con.
Listen to the podcast embedded below to hear what we thought of the Con, what our favorite moments were, and what kind of swag we went home with. It's probably a very different experience than that of a regular fan attendee, and we're very envious of the people who were able to attend for fun and not work. But enough of my yakkin'. Give a listen and chime in with your own Comic-Con thoughts below.
And check out the rest of our Comic-Con coverage over here
SDCC: We Talk To The Costumed Fans!
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »

One of the most impressive parts of Comic-Con are all of the fans who dress up in costume and walk around the show floor. It's like attending a normal trade show where everyone is dressed up in suits, except in this case the suits are Spider-man and Supergirl outfits. That's some hardcore fandom right there. It takes guts (and in some cases these comic fans have an ample supply of those) to wear spandex and walk around like that in public, and these video interviews are a salute to you.
Our own Elisabeth Rappe is no stranger to dressing up and walking the floor, as she's done it for the last two years. Her account of dressing up as Lara Croft last year and showing off her guns (and pistols, as well) can be read right here. You can also see her interviewing two very lovely Age of Conan costumed girls from Florida right here. Our friend Chris Glenn joined us for interviews on Sunday, and you can watch all of those out after the break. We spoke to everyone from Wonder Woman to Waldo, so be sure and check it out!
SDCC: 'Kick-Ass' Lives Up To Its Name, And Then Some
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
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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:
The Geek Beat: The Wrath of Cons
Filed under: Fandom », The Geek Beat »

Meanwhile, Marvel announced plans to sell digital "in motion" comic books via iTunes, akin to what Warner Bros and DC have been doing with Watchmen. Panels will have animated scenes and dialogue spoken by voice actors. Brian Michael Bendis was excited about it, which makes me feel like a female Walt Kowalski for grumbling that it's a death knell for literacy. (I mean, really -- when it comes to reading, you can't get any easier than comic books ... why not just abandon comics for cartoons if you're going to go that far? Now get off my lawn!)
Live from SDCC: Preview Night Gallery!
Filed under: Festival Reports », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Images », ComicCon »

Cinematical fought through the massive crowds tonight on the convention floor to bring you tons and tons of photos from the 2008 San Diego Comic Con Preview Night. While we didn't spot too many people dressed in costume (except for a group doing a Batman theme), there were some very, very cool toys, games, statues, posters and movie props. Among the larger attractions was Nite Owl's ship from Watchmen (pictured below -- see inside by clicking through the gallery), a huge Iron Monger statue (in gallery), James Bond's hot set of wheels (in gallery), a ginormous Star Wars exhibit, with Star Wars: The Clone Wars statues alongside dudes in Storm Trooper attire (pictured above), as well as monitors displaying the new video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (which looks hella cool).
Check out a few images from Preview Night below, then definitely make sure to head on over to the gallery to see what this year's San Diego Con is all about.
P.S. Masters of the Web panel tomorrow morning, 10am. Be there! Say hello! Make it look like I have friends!

Nite Owl's ship from Watchmen (more images from inside the thing down in the gallery).

Our friends in Batman gear!
Cinematical's Official Comic Con Hub
Live from SDCC: Time to Get Our Con On!
Filed under: Festival Reports », Fandom », Images », ComicCon »

Cinematical has officially arrived in beautiful, sunny San Diego! We somehow found a way to get our press badge before anyone else, and I'm here with our first 2008 San Diego Comic Con gallery -- featuring images of all the cool little goodies they gave me when I picked up my badge. Among the lot, there was an issue of Mad Magazine that tackles Botchmen (instead of Watchmen), trading cards, stuff on the new Batman LEGO video game and a massive events guide. They'll be letting us into the convention in just a few hours for preview night, so I'll slide in there and see if I can't bring back anything cool to show you. But before we get to the gallery, let me just say this: If you've never been to San Diego, get your ass over here because this town is gorgeous!
Last thing (and most importantly): Check out Cinematical's official Comic Con hub for all the latest and greatest from San Diego, as well as Moviefone's awesome Con hub. It just launched now and it's a little empty (and lonely), but we'll be filling her up soon enough.
Time to get our Con on fools! Be back later ...









