San Diego Comic-Con 2011

[Randall]

We can use this thread for anything pertaining to SDCC 2011, but first I have a request: If anyone is going to Comic-Con this year, please PM me if you can help me with purchasing Dark Horse's exclusive Spidey Syroco. I love how this thing looks. Thanks!

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/469/comic ... man-syroco

[GeorgeC]

I don't care for these statues myself --- they seem fragile(!) --- but this one is based on my favorite Spider-Man artist's work.

Nobody was better than Ditko on Spider-Man!
(Everything you need to know about Spidey is in Amazing Fantasy #15 and the first thirty 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man and the two annuals Ditko did. The first two Raimi Spider-Man movies were largely based on the Ditko plots and situations.)

Also, around 10-12 years ago, Bowen Designs did a mini-bust that was sculpted from similar Ditko artwork.

I'd say the statue looks a bit better than that bust did (having seen the bust in person at comic stores in Central Florida).

[Dan]

Here's a rundown of the animation based panels scheduled for this year:

Preview Night

- Screening of the pilot episode of Supernatural: The Anime Series.

Thursday

- Fanboy and Chum Chum
- Aardman Animations
- The Penguins of Madagascar
- Bill Plympton
- Napoleon Dynamite
- FUNimation
- Classic Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons on Blu Ray
- Effin With Tonight
- Transformers Prime
- Archer
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Beavis and Butthead
- Voltron
- Robotech
- New Generation of Spike and Mike Animation

Friday

- adult swim at the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront: The Venture Bros., pilots and new shows, Childrens Hospital, Black Dynamite, Robot Chicken, Eagleheart
- Dragon Ball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho voice actor greats
- Cartoon Network comedies
- The Adventures of Tintin
- Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
- ASIFA Hollywood State of the Animation Industry
- Spongebob Squarepants
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series
- The digital art and light of The Clone Wars
- Bob's Burgers
- Pilot screening of ThunderCats
- Ugly Americans
- Marvel TV: Anime on G4
- Phineas and Ferb
- Bandai Entertainment
- Evolution of Transformers
- Batman: Year One premiere with encore screening afterward
- The Aquabats Super Show
- Worst Cartoons Ever
- Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation

Saturday

- Marvel Television
- The return of action-adventure animation
- Avatar: The Last Airbender fan gathering
- Futurama
- The Simpsons
- Cartoon Voices I
- Family Guy
- American Dad
- Why We Create with Don Hahn
- Adventure Time
- SoCal Hosts
- FINALLY! The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra

Sunday

- Young Justice
- Allen Gregory
- Cartoon Voices II
- Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated
- Fairly Odd Parents/Tuff Puppy
- The Cleveland Show
- Cartoon Network action
- The Looney Tunes Show
- Business of Cartoon Voices
- Screening of Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz
- The Holocaust Through the Eyes of a Child

---

The ones I plan to check out are Aardman Animations, Beavis and Butthead, The Adventures of Tintin, Cartoon Voices I and II, and The Legend of Korra. Back up interests include Napoleon Dynamite, ASIFA, and Batman: Year One.

[Randall]

Looks like a good show this year. I almost made plans to go, but it didn't work out. Have a great time!

[GeorgeC]

Might've been a good time to go, too.

I hear the exchange rate's favorable for Canadians for once!

[Randall]

Yeah, definitely. However, when I went 3 years ago, the exchange was pretty much on par, too. Our dollars have stayed pretty close since then. (Right now, one Canabuck gets close to $1.04 USD.)

[GeorgeC]

I seriously doubt that I'll ever go to SDCC unless I get a job that requires me to!

I don't like the prospect of mingling with 100,000 people per day... Not a fan of such huge crowds and noise.

I've gotta think that the smaller cons are a lot more intimate and much less stressful.

Professionals go to SDCC because they almost have to... Many people prefer the smaller venues. SDCC has just gotten insanely packed.

[Randall]

Yes, but I still love it.

Your points are valid, though. Smaller cons can be very rewarding.

[Dan]

Some movie studios may not be in town, but that doesn't mean there's a heck a lot of Hollywood still going on this year.

Here are some of the highlights:

- 2,000 attendees will get a chance to screen "Cowboys and Aliens" a week before it comes out on Saturday night. Further more, the screening will get the red carpet treatment as director Jon Favreau and stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde will be in town to partake in the festivities.

- On Thursday, Paramount will conduct a special screening of "Captain America" a day before it comes out for select attendees with star Chris Evans on hand to introduce the film and partake in a military salute.

- Steven Spielberg is said to be in town to promote "The Adventures of Tin-Tin" on Friday. There is a chance he will be joined by Daniel Craig and Edgar Wright.

- Francis Ford Coppola will be in town to promote his upcoming thriller "TWIXT." Interestingly, this won't be the first time Coppola has been to Comic Con as he was here back in 1991 to promote "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

- Guillermo del Toro returns to Comic Con to participate in multiple panels. Chief among them is "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," which he will present on Friday with stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. On Thursday, he and Jon Favreau will be doing a special Entertainment Weekly: Visionaries panel on the future of pop culture.

- Jeff Bridges returns to Comic Con as part of a collection of celebrities participating in a panel promoting four upcoming films from Legendary Pictures on Friday. Also joining him will be Guillermo del Toro, Bradley Cooper, Ben Barnes, Alex Proyas, Idris Elba, and more.

- Colin Farrell will be a prominent figure at Comic Con this year, promoting two remakes on Friday: "Fright Night" and "Total Recall." There is word that there will be a special screening of "Fright Night" a month ahead of it's release.

- Kate Beckinsale will also be a prominent figure at Comic Con, also promoting two films on Friday. In addition to also being part of the "Total Recall" remake, she will also be promoting "Underworld 4: New Dawn." Len Wiseman will also be present in both panels as he's producing "Underworld" and directing "Total Recall."

- Also part of the "Total Recall" panel will be Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, and John Cho.

- The most talked about movie panel at Comic Con will likely be "The Amazing Spider-Man" on Friday. Taking part will be director Marc Webb and stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

- Nicolas Cage returns to Comic Con, promoting "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence" on Friday. He will be joined by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor as well as co-star Idris Elba.

- Steven Soderbergh will be in Comic Con to promote his upcoming action thriller "Haywire" on Friday with star MMA fighter Gina Carano.

- Edgar Wright will primarily be back at Comic Con to promote the upcoming independent British thriller he is producing "Attack the Block."

- Kristen Stewart will be doing more than just the panel for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1" on Thursday. She will also be promoting the upcoming "Snow White and the Huntsmen" on Saturday with Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.

- Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Joss Whedon at Comic Con? Though both Disney and Marvel are saying nothing official, you don't think there will be another Avengers surprise, do you?

- Lea Michele, Patrick Stewart, and Martin Short will be promoting the upcoming animated feature "Dorothy of Oz" on Saturday.

- Fox is very quiet about what they're presenting at their panel on Thursday. However, word is that they will be promoting "In Time" with stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried on hand as well as the "Alien" prequel "Prometheus" with Charlize Theron.

- William Shatner will be interviewed by Kevin Smith as part of Shatner's upcoming EPIX documentary series on Friday. He will be joined by Avery Brooks specifically to talk about being "Star Trek" captains. Could Patrick Stewart end up joining them?

- Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar will be together for the first time in many years to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original "Batman" television series on Friday.

[Ben]

Wow, they actually shot that Ghost Rider sequel already, huh?

Yep, sounds like you have some "surprises" already worked out!

I wonder (I hope!) if that 45th anniversary Batman reunion might not offer up a surprise of its own, like an announcement on a disc release, finally. It's not out of the question given that talks have been going on again since the release of the 1966 feature on Blu-ray and WB and Fox just have to see the sense in teaming up for this.

I can understand if this isn't on the cards, but after they teamed to include WB's Blazing Saddles in the Fox Mel Brooks collections, it's not outside the realms of the plausible. Can't work out why they don't just put one season out apiece! Maybe - fingers crossed - the wrinkles have been ironed out and this is the perfect opportunity to say something about it, even if they're a way off yet.

[Randall]

Well, the problem isn't so much Warner and Fox; it's the other 20 stakeholders in the Batman show. Lots of rights issues there, including production companies, music and sound effects, maybe even representation of the Batmobile itself. The existence of the movie on disc is proof that there are special problems that affect only the series. Still, it'd be great to see it all worked out someday.

[EricJ]

21, if you count all those "Batrope" cameos by ABC characters in the third season, most of them now owned by Viacom (Col. Klink, Lurch) or Screen Gems (Bewitched).
That right there's just a big dynamite stick with "Rights issues" painted on it and the fuse lit.

Agreed, the movie was pretty much self-contained for studio/production royalties, but TV licensing creates a few more hands out.

[Ben]

Yeah, I always forget about the multiple rights issues from other potential claimants. WB and Fox need to agree first, though, after which they would joint-fund (if that was the deal) the legalities to remove the other barriers. Someone needs to pay to get those cleared (or at least looked at, and they're obviously able to be overcome), so the two most major interested companies need to get their lawyers' heads together to at least make a start.

But, then again, I've heard Mr Murdoch's lawyers are a little busy right now...

[Dan]

I plan to put together a big overview of the panels and events I managed to get to, but there's one panel I went to this morning that I just needed to share immediately.

The Adventures of Tin-Tin panel was absolutely phenomenal.

I'll explain more soon, but Steven Spielberg was there, at the beginning of which he was honored with the Inkpot Award. Peter Jackson showed up unexpectedly and the two talked wonderfully about Tin-Tin, as well as show off some amazing footage that, according to Steven, is not the final render. One other surprise was Andy Serkis making an appearance at the beginning of the Q&A, pretending to be an outragous fan.

A great finale was when the last person to ask a question had a shirt on that read "If it's possible, I'd like to meet Spielberg and shake his hand and say thank you." Steven called him up to the stage for the handshake with Peter taking pictures. The kid finally managed to ask his question, "Do you still use film?" This got a great reaction from everyone and Steven answered that all his films except Tin-Tin have been shot on film.

It was a fantastic hour that is surely one of the best panels I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

[Randall]

Unbelievable.

AAaaaargh! I so wanted to go this year! Instead, I stayed home and broke my clavicle.

But sounds like you're having a great time! That panel sounds awesome.