The geek cred of Jeff Bridges has skyrocketed this year. I can't really think of a time when he wasn't adored by film fans, but he's got a special place with the fanboys these days thanks to his turn as Obadiah Stane in Iron Man. I was present for the Tron 2/Tr2n (do I really have to spell it that way?) footage at ComicCon this year -- and it was one of those moments that will forever hold a place in nerd legend; the first glimpse of Bridges' face caused the walls of Hall H to shake with howls of glee. And that was just a teaser filmed purely for the convention -- heaven knows what emotions the actual trailer will prompt.

The Guardian had the chance to sit down with Bridges, who happily chatted about revisiting his Tron role -- and the uncertain possibility of having to don a "neon mankini" again. ("Ah, the G-string. You've got to love it. I'm wearing one now!") But despite the potential for skimpy underthings, Bridges felt the chance of doing a new Tron movie was too good to pass up. "[It's] another unique, wild experience that was too good to turn down. Engaging in that world again feels just like it did all that time ago. Basically, I'm still a child, I love being childlike, and here was another chance to play with these crazy toys. And the cutting-edge technology makes it exciting. Doing the teaser trailer for Comic-Con, I had my first experience of motion capture. And that's turning the industry on its head. It's amazing being part of that."

Things get a little lively on The Rocchi Review this week, as we look at Comic-Con's biggest surprises and let-downs with Alex BIlington of First Showing. But there's plenty else going on, too -- from all the reasons James and Alex are dreading The Spirit to the question of if Comic-Con is selling sexiness or sexism, as well as what recent films in development are earning enthusiasm or scorn, and a brief argument about entertainment journalism vs. 'entertaining' journalism. ... Cinematical's podcast is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

I'm sure Scott and Elisabeth will chime in at some point within the next week with their favorite and not-so-favorite moments from this year's San Diego Comic Con, and so I thought I'd get the ball rolling with something a little different. Welcome to our first annual Comic Con awards! Pretty self-explanatory; we hand out awards in several different film-related categories, offer up an explanation for our choice and then attend a swanky, imaginary after party. Here goes ...

Most Buzzed-About Footage

Tron 2 -- Out of all the footage that screened during Comic Con, it was that damn Tron 2 teaser thrown in during the Escape to Witch Mountain panel that took everyone by surprise. However, after it screened, it was all anyone was talking about -- so much so that it was the first question three different complete strangers asked me whilst talking about The Con: "Did you see the Tron 2 footage? How awesome was that?" (Shhh ... leaked footage)

Biggest Surprise

Fanboys -- When it takes two years for a film to arrive in theaters, that's usually not a good sign of things to come. When, throughout those two years, the film's director is replaced by some hack, the script is re-written to wipe out a crucial plot element and thousands of fans stage a boycott of The Weinstein Co. (said film's distributor) ... well, that can't be a good thing either. So then it was definitely a big surprise to watch the final cut of Fanboys at Comic Con and walk away with giant smiles on our faces. From my mini-review: "I will say, though, that this is not just a film for Star Wars fans -- it's a film for any geeky dude or dudette who's ever horsed around with their friends, gone on a nutty adventure and inserted random movie quotes into every other line of dialogue." The film should hit theaters on September 19th (hopefully in a wide release). Read Scott's full review.

Sometimes it never feels like the film world really moves forward.

A Disney spy reports that Disney has plans to release a bunch of sequels in 2011, one of which is their long-long-long awaited sequel to Tron . That is 29 years after the original was released, which surely must be some kind of record. Hasn't it been just too long? Even the plan to release it in 3-D doesn't really freshen it up for me, but I never was a big fan of the film.

But a franchise much nearer and dearer to the hearts of a younger generation may also be revived -- word has it that Disney also plans to release a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean. And there are conflicting reports on where Disney wants to go with it. Some within the studio want to do a smaller film, probably heavy on the Jack Sparrow, and lighter on the special effects budget. Others want to go completely the opposite and make it beyond fantastical, with dinosaurs and steampunkish floating fortresses. (To be honest, it sounds like some Disney execs have been playing Pirates of the Cursed Seas. That isn't as crazy as it sounds, they did a Pirates set with the company.)

I think it is inevitable a fourth film will be made, particularly after the bitter disappointment caused by the third installment. The Pirates frenzy is just starting to abate and with a bit of breathing room, it would undoubtedly be just as popular. And perhaps most importantly for my household, my sister's boyfriend will have a job impersonating Jack Sparrow for a few more years.

Can you believe it has been twenty-five years since the release of TRON? Since 1982, the sci-fi movie has turned into a cult classic for the geek and gamer sets, peaking (in my opinion) recently with an Adidas shoe design. And while the original is mostly appreciated for its ground-breaking yet dated special effects, Disney has decided to finally develop a TRON sequel, and it has just revealed its choice for director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is once again going with a first-timer, commercial director Joseph Kosinski. You may have heard that name before, though, because he's the guy also set to helm the remake of Logan's Run over at Warner Bros. Kosinski will be developing the sequel, in addition to directing; he will oversee the visuals and the script, which is being written by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz of TV's Lost (they wrote, among their many, the mostly insignificant, but entertaining episodes "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" and "Exposé") . The story is, of course, being kept secret, but Kosinski is said to be working on a Light Cycle (see the photo) sequence that will serve as showcase of his vision for the movie. The sequel, which will be produced by original TRON director Steven Lisberger, along with Sean Bailey (Matchstick Men) and Brigham Taylor, has also been described as "the next chapter" of the storyline from the original.

The first thing to wonder is whether or not Jeff Bridges will be involved. Disney will probably want a younger star, but they should at least allow Bridges to appear in some capacity (they must also give a cameo to this guy). The next thing, which is actually more of a concern than a wonder, regards the special effects. CGI has come a long way since debuting in TRON -- some (me) would often say a long way for the worse -- and any modern effects would lack the kitsch appeal of the original. Sure, many movies these days have CGI that resembles video game visuals, but that's a bad thing. THR reports that many effects people are vying for the chance to work on this project and that most of them have been heavily inspired by the original. So, hopefully the chosen effects teams and personnel will be able to pay homage, retain the style and also somehow update the look of the first movie without turning out something too realistic or modern.