INDIANA JONES x3 Repeats at the Egyptian, - REVENGE OF THE NERDS at the Aero

Yet another good movie weekend in Los Angeles, although really is there ever a bad one?

Once movie-goers have gotten their fill of Quentin Tarantino’s new movie INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, there are a couple of great – and very fun – screening events being held by the American Cinematheque this weekend. I have to admit I’m not the biggest Tarantino admirer, in fact, I barely tolerate his movies (with the exception of perhaps one and a few random scenes in the others) so I’m a little more psyched for these other retro events over the newer main attraction.

Last month, the American Cinematheque screened the first 3 INDIANA JONES films at the Aero theater in Santa Monica back-to-back-to-back, thankfully skipping the atrocity that is INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. The event landed on the same weekend as the San Diego Comic-con, so much of the crowd who would have packed the theater was too busy geeking out in San Diego. I blogged about the event then, but was also in San Diego attending Comic-con.

However, you have another chance. The Cinematheque is holding a repeat of that event this time at the Egyptian in Hollywood and it all starts at 6pm on Saturday, August 22 as part of the Cinematheque’s Festival of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction.

I can't think of anything else to say about this other than what I have already said except for it's the 3 great INDIANA JONES films on the big screen. My original blog post can be found HERE, and the official Cinematheque release can be seen below.

Sunday provides an event of a completely different nature. It’s late August, and summer is nearing the end as school is about to start so it is only fitting that on August 23 at the Aero in Santa Monica, the double feature will be the 1984 20th Century Fox film REVENGE OF THE NERDS followed by 1986’s BACK TO SCHOOL from MGM.

Both REVENGE OF THE NERDS and BACK TO SCHOOL gained cult status on Home Video. NERDS has an impressive cast that went onto bigger and better things like Anthony Edwards (ER), Timothy Busfield (THE WEST WING), Curtis Armstrong (MOONLIGHTING and BOSTON LEGAL), Ted McGinley (HAPPY DAYS and MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN), John Goodman (ROSEANNE, BARTON FINK, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, etc.) and James Cromwell (STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, W, SPACE COWBOYS, etc.).

Taking a cue from ANIMAL HOUSE is the eternal struggle between frat houses pitting jocks vs. the nerds, REVENGE OF THE NERDS was also one of the first R rated comedies I ever saw. I still find this movie incredibly funny, and oddly outside of perhaps the clothing and hairdos and lack of cell phones and other 21st century technology, it doesn’t feel all that dated. Not to mention that Orson Welles did the voice over for the trailer (there is a link to it below).

BACK TO SCHOOL is probably Rodney Dangerfield’s next best known role next to his memorable turn in CADDYSHACK. It also features an impressive cast including Sally Kellerman (MASH – 1970 Robert Altman film version), Burt Young (Paulie from ROCKY, CHINATOWN), Robert Downey, Jr. (do I need to list credits?), Terry Farrell (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE), Adrienne Barbeau (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK), Ned Beatty (NETWORK, DELIVERANCE), Robert Picardo (STAR TREK: VOYAGER, INNERSPACE) and comedian Sam Kinison. Worth it for the diving scene alone.

As usual, it is one price for this great retro 80s double feature – but wait, there’s more! As an added bonus, the Rubinoos will be performing the theme song from REVENGE OF THE NERDS as well as other pop hits between the films.

The American Cinematheque website is HERE.

The official releases for both events follow:

SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 6PM - The Egyptian, Hollywood

Festival of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction - Indiana Jones Marathon

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, 1981, Paramount, 115 min. Archaeologist Harrison Ford battles occult-obsessed Nazis and former girlfriend Karen Allen as he attempts to wrest the Ark of the Covenant from the lost Egyptian city of Tanis. Brilliant, nonstop adventure from director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas that mixes 1930s-style matinee thrills with the ominous threat of Hitler's henchmen controlling one of history's most powerful objects. With terrific support from Paul Freeman as Indy's suave nemesis Belloq, Ronald Lacey as the sinister Nazi officer Toht and John Rhys-Davies as Indy's right-hand man Sallah. Imaginatively written by Lawrence Kasdan (based on Lucas and Philip Kaufman's original story), aided by a typically stirring John Williams score, one of his very best. Trailer

INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, 1984, Paramount, 118 min. Harrison Ford returns as adventurer Indiana Jones in the second installment of director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas’ tribute to the bygone era of cliffhanger movie serials. This time Jones, fleeing Shanghai with an American chanteuse (Kate Capshaw) and a teenage thief, suddenly finds himself in rural India, attempting to help free a village’s children from indentured servitude in the mines belonging to a maniacal cult. Before the last frame unspools, Jones will find himself fighting for survival, along with his comrades, in the nefarious Temple of Doom. Trailer

INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, 1989, Paramount, 127 min. Director Steven Spielberg returns for the third entry in the trilogy with Indiana (Harrison Ford) searching for his ill-humored father (Sean Connery) after the brilliant archaeologist is kidnapped by the Nazis for his knowledge of the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, a sacred artifact that, like the first installment’s Ark of the Covenant, supposedly holds supernatural powers to redeem or destroy the world. With a great supporting cast that includes Denholm Elliot, John Rhys- Davies, Julian Glover and River Phoenix (in flashback) as the teenage Indiana Jones. Trailer

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 – 7:30 PM - The Aero in Santa Monica

Back To School Double Feature:

REVENGE OF THE NERDS, 1984, 20th Century Fox, 90 min. Dir. Jeff Kanew. This cult classic stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards as Louis and Gilbert, two nerdy yet lovable college freshmen. They are miserable – not only are they taunted mercilessly by the jocks of Alpha Beta, but Louis has a hopeless crush on Betty (Julia Montgomery), the girlfriend of the quarterback. Deciding finally to fight back, they join up with Poindexter (Timothy Busfield) and Booger (Curtis Armstrong) and form their own fraternity. Soon, hilarious out-and-out warfare begins – but can they really win? The cast also includes James Cromwell and John Goodman. The Rubinoos ("I Think We're Alone Now" - 1987) performed the theme song for the film. Trailer

BACK TO SCHOOL, 1986, MGM Repertory, 96 min. Dir. Alan Metter. Rodney Dangerfield can’t get no respect as the father of a young man (Keith Gordon) who has decided that he doesn’t want to go to college after all. Determined to show him the importance of education, Dangerfield decides to enroll at the university as well. Instantly popular due to his wild parties, he soon has to figure out if he’s sending his son the right message after all. There are lots of laughs, of course, as well as a cameo by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and a soundtrack by former Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman. The band The Rubinoos will appear in person to perform the REVENGE OF THE NERDS theme song and other pop hits!

The American Cinematheque website can be found HERE.

DIABOLIQUE (1955) at the Aero

DIABOLIQUE (or LES DIABOLIQUE) is a delightfully wicked thriller with twists and turns that surprise and that have been copied by many modern movies – the most recent, the upcoming Summit movie SORORITY ROW which borrows heavily (by the trailers at least) from the DIABOLIQUE stort and twists.

Falling into the fabulous category of Film Noir and featuring all the suspense of an Alfred Hitchcock movie (and it almost was one, but more on that later) DIABOLIQUE is about a frail young woman (Vera Clouzot) with a heart condition whose sadistic husband (Paul Meurisse) runs the private school that she owns. Not only does he ridicule and abuse her, but he openly carries on a torrid affair with one of the teachers on staff (Simone Signoret), a confident and strong woman who literally oozes sexuality. The mistress, who also suffers at the brute’s hands, convinces the wife to help her murder him which they do. Hiding the corpse in a pool to make it look like an accident, the body later turns up missing when the pool is drained and mysterious events begin to occur.

French director Henri Georges-Clouzot gave us 2 very influential movies during the 50s, the first being 1953s WAGES OF FEAR (which was later remade into SORCERER in 1977 by William Friedkin), and the second being DIABOLIQUE released in 1955. Clouzot barely beat out Alfred Hitchcock for the rights to the source material which was Thomas Narcejac’s SHE WHO WAS NO MORE. Luckily for us, Narcejac later wrote FROM AMONG THE DEAD specifically for Hitchcock which became his masterpiece VERTIGO.

There is something about the French locale and language that adds to the Noir tone of DIABOLIQUE not to mention the characters are all complete extremes of their types – the frail wife, the sadistic husband, the sexy mistress - yet Henri still manages to make them into full fleshed out individuals. Even though the locale does not match the usual dark alleys and city streets that one commonly associates with Film Noir, somehow director Georges-Clouzot makes this quaint country private school seem menacing with deep shadows and suspense seemingly lurking around every corner.

As always, there is a very nosey and determined police office who seems to be just persistent enough in his job to make life rough for our heroines, especially that of the troubled wife whose guilt is all but consuming her.

Even with many of the twists that have been copied, DIABOLIQUE is still a fun ride, and is so well directed that like with a Hitchcock film, you get wrapped up in the story enough that even events that you probably could guess are about to happen still manage to surprise.

Hollywood remade DIABOLIQUE in 1996 with Isabelle Adjani as the wife, Chazz Palminteri as the husband and (who else) Sharon Stone as the sexy seductress. Additional, Kathy Bates played the Detective investigating the husband’s disappearance. Directed by Jeremiah Chechik (BENNY & JOON), the remake of DIABOLIQUE lost all of its suspense and charm thanks to flat direction and a way too glossy production design that destroyed the mysterious atmosphere that made original so great.

The American Cinematheque is screening DIABOLIQUE on Wednesday, August 5 at 7:30pm at the Aero in Santa Monica. I highly recommend seeing this on the big screen, although if you miss it, it is also available in a fabulous Criterion Collection DVD.

Following DIABOLIQUE is Jacques Becker’s CASQUE D’OR, a more romantic crime drama also featuring star Simone Signoret which is a complete departure of the suspense thriller that is DIABOLIQUE. Released in 1952, it deals with a love triangle involving 2 gangsters, a carpenter and of course, the object of their desire, Ms. Signoret.

Film Noir meets the French New Wave!

As always, it is 1 admission price for 2 movies at the Cinematheque.

The American Cinematheque website can be accessed HERE.

The press release from the American Cinematheque follows.

Wednesday, August 5 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature:

DIABOLIQUE, 1955, Janus Films, 110 min. Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot. One of the greatest psychological thrillers ever made, DIABOLIQUE focuses on the browbeaten wife (Vera Clouzot) of a brutal schoolmaster and his tough-as-nails mistress (Simone Signoret), as they team up to murder their mutual tormentor. But that’s only the beginning of this edge-of-your-seat affair, a twisting, turning shocker that still holds up today as one of the all-time classics of suspense. Legend has it that Clouzot beat Hitchcock to the punch by only an hour in sewing up rights to the original novel by Pierre Boileau. With sardonic Charles Vanel as the poker-faced inspector. Trailer

CASQUE D’OR, 1952, Janus Films, 96 min. Dir. Jacques Becker. Do not miss this sublime masterpiece of romantic French cinema – simultaneously a heartbreaking adult fairy tale and an impressionist rendering of the turn-of-the-century Parisian underworld. The fleeting moments of shared love and erotic passion between Serge Reggiani and Simone Signoret are genuine poetry – moments cut short by the jealous machinations of others.

NOTES ON SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2009, SUNDAY - Phineas & Ferb, Final Observations

Sunday at Comic-con is always a little more chill thanks to the fact that the programming is lighter – it’s kid’s day so a lot of animated shows, etc. and some other TV and smaller film events (Hall H is wrapped) – the day is shorter as everything shuts down at 5 and the 4 day attendees and exhibiters are beyond tired and are just looking forward to it all ending. This year it felt even more so because it was an exhausting yet exhilarating convention – a little more controlled than in the past couple of years, but just way more marquee events and way more to see and do.
I make it a point to attend at least 1 panel, if not 2 on Sunday; usually something spur of the moment. This year was a little different however as the PHINEAS AND FERB panel was being held. I have several acquaintances and have hung out with the production/creative team on the hit DisneyXD animated show – which has been nominated for an Emmy – not to mention I like the show.

Featuring the creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh as well as several of the voice actors, the panel took a look at some things happening with the show which has been extended for a couple of more seasons, and took questions from kids and parents. Surprising how most of the questions from the younger children are often better phrased and more thought out than those often heard in Hall H directed at A-list celebrities and directors by much older "mature" fans. All I can say is, the creative team has some fun things in store for the new season – including a great time travel paradox episode – and thank goodness Perry The Platypus will be back in action.

Usually on Sunday morning, I am gung-ho for one more day of the show, but then by the afternoon, sensory overload and exhaustion set in and I’m ready to head back home to L.A. – although I am usually sad to see it all end and have to head back to real life. This year that was not the case. Burnout came on Saturday night, and at the end of it all thanks to such a jam packed and exhausting weekend, I was ready to go home to rest and normalcy happy to know there was a year before I would be ready to do it all over again.

Comic-con 2009 was just as fun, if not better in that there were so many exciting newsworthy events, but in a way thanks to how large the show has gotten and with the newly inflated attendance (word is there were 200,000 people on Saturday alone), the show has lost a bit of its charm.

No longer can you just decide to go to a given panel, you need to plan your schedule out in advance, and it always entails standing in very long lines sometimes early in the morning. You also get a sense of being marketed to more now than ever given the bigger Hollywood influence. It seemed there were tag lines everywhere hawking a new TV show, video game or movie, and very little fandom or comic-centric material. Oh sure, people still dress up and there are an abundance of Green Lantern, Superman and Batman t-shirts, but the marketing effort is more present now than it ever has been and I see it getting worse in the future.

Then there is the TWILIGHT effect which has taken hold the past 2 years. Rabid TWILIGHT fans, many of whom are not really considered geeks or fanboys, etc. invaded the convention – especially on Thursday, making for longer lines earlier (they camped out) and a much different Hall H vibe than normal. Usually after a given panel, Hall H clears out and more people file in but because TWILIGHT was in the afternoon, nobody was leaving shutting many people out of events they would have enjoyed while the TWILIGHTers are just basically waiting them out – which I do sometimes, but enjoy seeing the other items as well. Then again, while speaking to the rest of us is basically “preaching to the choir”, these new fans present an untapped resource. A demographic that might while seeing these random panels, just decide to go see these movies they never would have thought of and hopefully spread positive word-of-mouth. One film that definitely benefited was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. By bringing out Johnny Depp and sending the TWILIGHT fans into a frenzy, they created way more buzz for that movie. THE HOLE as well, even though most people didn’t know who Joe Dante was, many of the young girls were screaming and reacted positively to the excellent footage.

While this is the case, I still wonder if Comic-con might now be wiser to get the TWILIGHT panels (there should be 2 left) out of the way earlier given the camp out factor, and would create less havoc with the lines of people trying to get into other events. Not that they expected this craziness. This is a new addition to the appeal of Comic-con beyond the fanboy reach.
Many fans over the course of the show loudly protested their anger towards the TWILIGHT fans stating they ruined the weekend. I don’t think so – although the 2 parties did clash in sensibilities (fanboys mocked the girls screaming for R Patz and Taylor Lautner, the girls hissed the boys fawning over Megan Fox). This is one of those things that the regular goers need to get used to (including myself) as this kind of material starts spreading out to a broader appeal creating more fans that don’t fall into the preconceived notion. It will be interesting to see what happens once TWILIGHT is all wrapped up (and next year will there even be a TWILIGHT presence as ECLIPSE opens a month before the show?). By the time BREAKING DAWN is released, HARRY POTTER will have finished its run as well. With the series nearing the end of wrap, we might even see an appearance by the POTTER cast for the first (and last) time.

One experiment I was glad to see fail was the screening and panel connected to a sitcom starring Patricia Heaton called THE MIDDLE. The idea was that it is counter-programming, and dubbed as “Mom-con” was a way to perhaps tap into the large crowd. Well, the large crowd has come for specific things, and a sitcom starring Patricia Heaton is not one of them. The studio was quoted as citing BIG BANG THEORY as an example, but that show has characters that are much like the Comic-con faithful and appeals directly to their sensibilities. So for THE MIDDLE, a 2000 seat auditorium attracted 75 people and Patricia Heaton was told not to bother taking part in the panel at all (which probably ended right after the screening). Another example of this – although I don’t know what the outcome was – was a screening and panel for WEEDS. Although a good show, it didn’t seem to fit with with the Comic-con programming.

One thing I also noticed was that this year in Hall H, the push (outside of a very quiet listing on one of the screens) about registering for next year and “saving money” was low key, and here is why. The price next year is now higher ($100 for the weekend. When I started going it was $45, and this year was $75 – although as an industry professional I get another deal altogether), so there were no real savings plans (unless of course when the website goes live for registration, the price is even more). Not surprising as I am sure the addition of the bigger screen and the costs associated with 3-D not to mention the larger crowds has jacked up the price of running the show dramatically. The 3-D was a treat, and I have to say $100 for that experience still is still reasonable. Not to mention, the show doesn't really need to go out of its way to sell itself anymore. They KNOW the people will come and most there this year probably got wise and pre-resgistered knowing the sellout factor will just keep increasing.

There were fewer nighttime film screenings this year (boo) and the 16mm screening room is gone for good (disappeared a couple of years ago). There were more nighttime panels (yay) and more advance screenings – DISTRICT 9, PONYO and Quentin Tarantino’s INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS were the most significant. There were also more off-site events and marketing ploys – Disney’s ALICE tea part and Flynn’s arcade, the DISTRICT 9 anti-alien tank, etc. – and the viral marketing (which I like a lot) was a lot more evident. Companies have finally learned that making people work for their free stuff raises their product awareness rather than just throwing out random shirts to pushy, rude crowds who don’t care what they’re being handed.

In the past, film panels also included individuals beyond the cast and directors such as screenwriters, producers, authors of source material, etc. Not so this year. Sadly with the growth of the convention, all too often the screenwriters sat on the panel only to sit by looking bored as the cast and directors were asked all the questions. Knowing what the audience was after, it was an all-star show this year with the inclusion of a few producers (like Joel Silver who is a name). Author Stephanie Meyers wasn’t included on the TWILIGHT: NEW MOON panel like she was on the TWILIGHT one last years which I found surprising.

There is a rumor that after the contract with San Diego is up in 2012, the show could move and Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Anaheim and even Denver, CO have been named as locations being eyed by the committee. While the show has definitely outgrown San Diego, I would miss it there because it is a pleasant city and everything is within walking distance of the convention center – not to mention those other places would mean even MORE people making the show crazier than ever. However it would mean bigger spaces and more available and reasonable hotel rooms. That is of course, if the move happens.

2009 is in the books, and as exhausting as the show was, I found myself still excited and enchanted by the sneak previews and the enthusiasm and passion of the crowds. No matter how crazy it gets, I will be back in 2010 and beyond.

MONSTER SQUAD with Live DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY at the Aero

There is only one movie that informed us that the Wolf Man has nards, and that is the Fred Dekker directed THE MONSTER SQUAD.

Released in August of 1987, the movie is about a group of kids that call themselves the Monster Squad and do battle with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy who seek an amulet that would allow them to do whatever nasty things they want to. Who better to save the world than children I ask you!

Not at all successful at the box office, this movie gained a cult status upon its release on VHS. As well, the film just made its debut on a 2-disc special edition DVD this past year bringing it back into the public eye. Many people who discovered this film (and its GOONIE-like charms) have only experienced it on low quality VHS or Cable TV. Although the quality of the DVD print is very good, this is one film that for most would be a new experience seeing it on the big screen.

Tomorrow night (Sunday, August 2) the American Cinematheque is screening THE MONSTER SQUAD at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica but with a small twist. Special guest, director Fred Dekker (and other guests are said to "be announced) will be doing a LIVE commentary while the film is screening. In essence, you are getting your own personal DVD director's commentary, and I'm not sure, but there will probably be opportunity to ask questions (again don't quote me) and being live you know the director isn't going to go off on some tangents like Kurt Russell and John Carpenter do on BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (they start talking about Kurt's son being in a hockey tournament) or talk about unnecessary things like on the first MATRIX DVD where one of the effects artists drones on about rendering software during the big subway station fight between Smith and Neo.

This is not the first time the Cinematheque has done this as last year they held a similar event with Jon Favreau doing the same thing for IRON MAN.

This is your chance to see the film and hear about the making of it right from the director's mouth and perhaps (knowing the Cinematheque) there might even be a few more surprises.

The American Cinematheque website can be found HERE.

The official American Cinematheque press release follows:

Sunday, August 2 – 7:30 PM

Live Commentary! THE MONSTER SQUAD, 1987, LionsGate, 82 min. Dir. Fred Dekker. Young kids form a club that is devoted to monsters, but soon get more than they bargained for when Count Dracula adjourns to Earth, accompanied by Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Gill-man. The uglies are in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them power to rule the world. Our heroes - the Monster Squad are the only ones daring to stand in their way. With Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Tom Noonan (as Frankenstein's monster), Duncan Regehr (as Dracula). Trailer

Director Fred Dekker will comment on the making of THE MONSTER SQUAD while it is screening. Other guests to be announced.

NOTES ON SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2009, SATURDAY - Solomon Kane, Zombieland, 2012, Iron Man 2

For the first time in my Comic-con going history, I did not have to line up for an early panel on Saturday – also a first for this year as I had been in (long) lines on both Thursday and Friday at 6:30am. Usually Saturday is the busiest (and the most crowded) day, but thanks to the jam packed Thursday and Friday, the Saturday schedule was comparatively light with only 2 panels on my must attend list. Those were the IRON MAN 2 and the Adult Swim VENTURE BROS. panels, although I expected I would miss the latter thanks to it being so close to the IRON MAN event, and it being in a smaller room meaning the line would be long enough that I wouldn’t get in.

First thing that morning in Hall H was the annual LOST panel, this one previewing the final season. Since I don’t watch LOST – well, I watched the first season and decided to stop and wait until it was over to do it all back-to-back on Blu-Ray – I was able to actually sleep for a change and skipped this one. I did a few rounds of the exhibit hall, and then took my usual spot in line for Hall H.

Knowing IRON MAN 2 was a highlight of the weekend -- it is a rarity this year, a movie based on an actual comic book and the first IRON MAN panel in 2007 was amazing – I decided to visit a couple of panels beforehand to ensure I got a seat.

The first was SOLOMON KANE, a movie based on a character created by Robert Howard who also brought us CONAN: THE BARBARIAN. This is one of those panels that sneaks its way in between the bigger events, and in turn gets extra eyes thanks to the crowd who is usually left over from the last one or awaiting the next big one. Moderated by Eric Vespe (QUINT of Ain’t it Cool fame), the film’s writer/director Michael J. Bassett and star James Purefoy rolled out an awful lot of footage. I don’t believe the movie has a firm North American distributor (although Europe is covered) so this panel served double duty of selling it to the fans and the hopefully a distributor. I thought it looked alright, but didn’t wow me. I could tell though that the selling was on given the amount of footage they screened. Also I find it funny that producers still use “the actor did his own stunts” as a selling point. Does anyone care anymore? The movie neither excited me, nor did it turn me off.

Miramax then presented Mike Judge’s comedy EXTRACT, with Mike, Mila Kunis and Jason Bateman on the panel. The movie is a comedy dealing with working in a Factory and skewers factory life much in the same way OFFICE SPACE took on the workplace. Several very funny clips were screened as the film deals with a workplace accident at a factory run by Bateman, and Kunis is trying to get to the bottom of it while pretending to romance Bateman. This panel had the unfortunate placement of being between some very hard core sci-fi and genre panels, and most of the crowd there was just camping out for IRON MAN 2, so the footage didn’t exactly get the laughs it deserved.

There were some great questions from the audience, clearly a lot of Mike Judge fans. Judge hinted at a possible BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD sequel, and was also astounded at the number of questions regarding following up IDIOCRACY (which didn’t perform well at the box office at all). Bateman was asked about the rumored ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT movie and hinted that there was slow movement – including talks with producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard – and that fans should look to what happened at the end of the series to guess where the movie would pick up from. Regardless of the reception, I enjoyed this panel and am looking forward to seeing EXTRACT.

Next up was a panel I was semi interested in, Sony pictures pushing ZOMBIELAND with Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg on hand, and Roland Emmerich introducing and fielding questions about his latest disaster movie, 2012.

The trailer (which is the one in theaters) for ZOMBIELAND made the movie look like a lot of fun but the clips proved otherwise which didn’t play well at all. Overall though I was fairly bored with what they showed, except a moment where Emma Stone tricks Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson out of their weapons and rations. The majority of the questions revolved around asking the stars what they would do in the case of several zombie-attack scenarios that I don’t believe the panel found amusing after the 5th or 6th one. This is what happens when you give socially awkward fans access to movie stars, which while at times uncomfortable, can be amusing.

2012 was up next, and again Roland Emmerich is destroying the world. Yes, recognizable landmarks get wiped out (the White House bites the dust again, this time being crushed by an Aircraft carrier) and the world pretty much bites the dust. Emmerich screened an extended trailer which featured an epic level of mass destruction, as well as a very long scene of John Cusack trying to save his family from the destruction and Los Angeles pretty much being wiped out completely as the limo he is driving careens and crashes unrealistically yet enjoyable through the city. The clip showed that Emmerich is playing the whole thing tongue in cheek, and the effects were really stellar. I’m somehow looking forward to this film, although don’t expect outside of a fun 2 hours.

The Sony panel was being moderated by a Movie Critic from ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, who wasn’t that good. He was pumping everything up like we were being marketed to and not as fans, and when a gentleman from Spain (who had difficulty with speaking English) who had asked a question at every single panel I attended asked Roland Emmerich a question, the moderator made fun of him which elicited hisses from the audience. I bring this up for a reason as he was also the moderator for IRON MAN 2.

At the end of the Sony panel, the moderator ripped off his button down shirt to reveal an IRON MAN t-shirt which should have resulted in excited squeals from the fanboys in the auditorium, but thanks to their growing animosity towards this guy, resulted in uncomfortable murmurs. After the break, he came out to introduce Jon Favreau and the crowd erupted in a very animated round of booing, which continued throughout the guy’s introduction (and you tell by his face that it got to him) and only turned to extreme cheering when Jon Favreau finally rescued him.

Keven Feige (President of Marvel Films), Robert Downey, Jr. and Director Jon Favreau

Favreau was greeted with the common pumped up fanboy Comic-con greeting, which is ecstatic. He mentioned that he had footage and showed this really cheesy montage with bad V/O and clips from the first movie that just looked awful. Footage over, he starts talking but is interrupted by Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey, Jr. which sent the crowd into another round of insane cheering. Downey berated Favreau for showing such lame stuff, then demanded that the real footage be shown.

Then it came, what the 7000 fans had been waiting for, a series of clips. First off had Robert Downey, Jr. in his IRON MAN suit sitting atop the Randy’s Donuts sign in Los Angeles, and conversing with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Later was an extended scene of Robert Downey, Jr. being grilled by a Senator (Garry Shandling) about his Iron Man suit which they are classifying as a weapon. This ends with Don Cheadle coming into the room and a short dialogue exchange that brushes away the fact that he has replaced Terrence Howard in the role of Rhodes.

Then came a quick montage of Scarlet Johansson as Black Widow kicking some butt, Mickey Rourke as Whiplash creating his suit and making life difficult for Stark, and ended up with Cheadle purchasing armor and weapons from Sam Rockwell, then a very cool flash of WAR MACHINE just looking, well….cool! This all had the desired effect as the crowd went nuts (as they did in 2007) which inspired a second viewing of the footage.

The Q&A was one of the best of Comic-con so far as each individual spoke about their characters and the material. It was only the second panel which acknowledged comic books as an inspiration, and both Favreau and Downey praised the creator of the character, Larry Lieber, and the contributions and help he gave while visiting the set. Larry was in attendance, and was brought up on stage which inspired a standing ovation. This was truly a crowd appreciative of the source material.

Scarlett Johansson discusses Black Widow

Mickey Rourke was unable to make it, but sent his regards. He would have been a great addition though.

Don Cheadle touched briefly on taking over the role from Terrence Howard, and said that he tried to take it in a new direction while still remaining true to the character Howard had inhabited. When asked about his WAR MACHINE costume, his answer was simple – heavy.

Jon Favreau was also questioned about whether or not he would be involved in the upcoming AVANGERS movie (2011 I believe is the due date on that) and how IRON MAN 2 fits into the preparation for that movie. Favreau commented that there are other movies that need to come out first, and that he is so focused on IRON MAN 2 (it literally had just wrapped the week before)that he wasn’t thinking AVENGERS. He referenced Kenneth Branaugh’s THOR movie which is in pre-production now as well as the yet uncast CAPTAIN AMERICA film which still need to be worked out before the focus shifts to THE AVENGERS. We can be pretty much guaranteed to be sneak peeking THOR at Comic-con 2010.

From the footage shown and the crowd reaction (mine included, I was very impressed) it looks like Marvel/Paramount has another hit on their hands. Favreau knows the expectations that are now placed upon him, and IRON MAN was such a hit that this second film has a lot more eyes focused on it. I don’t think that it will disappoint.

The annual Kevin Smith rant was up next, and not being a fan I vacated Hall H very quickly to check out THE VENTURE BROS., but as expected, the line was long and the room was full so I decided to check out some Anime and walk the exhibit hall once again. It was a nice way to finish off a surprisingly laid back day portion of Saturday at Comic-con before the Masquerade and the various parties around San Diego took over that night.

TERMINATOR & TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY At The Aero

Before he started terminating the California treasury and a whole lot of public funding (and is working on the State of California as a whole now), Arnold Schwarzenegger was programmed to kill John Connor.

He was first sent to the past by Skynet, a computer system that in the future initiated judgment day, essentially killing most of us and leading a takeover by the machines. His mission - to kill John’s mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before he has a chance to be born.

Later he was sent back by John Connor of the future to protect John Connor of the past from another Skynet operative in the form of liquid metal morphing Robert Patrick.
I am of course talking about the James Cameron films, 1984’s TERMINATOR and 1991’s TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY which were huge successes and have taken a prominent place in pop culture mythology.

Of course both Arnold and TERMINATOR have been in the news this year. Arnold as Governor of California is struggling with a state that is deeply in debt and in financial chaos. This past summer Warner Bros. released McG’s TERMINATOR SALVATION, the fourth film in the franchise, and the first to take place in the future after Judgment day and to not feature Arnold (although he does show up in a digitally inserted manner). Neither Arnold as Governor nor TERMINATOR SALVATION received good reviews (and justifiably so).

There was also the 2003 Jonathan Mostow directed TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES which was average, but truly the strength of this franchise lies solely with TERMINATOR and TERMINATOR 2 (from this point on referred to as T2).

James Cameron directs Linda Hamilton

James Cameron in the early 1980s was a young filmmaker who up until that point hadn’t done anything beyond working on low budget Roger Corman movies, most notably PIRANHA 2: THE SPAWNING. Hard to imagine the visionary mind behind such behemoths as TITANIC, ALIENS, TRUE LIES and THE ABYSS coming from such humble beginnings, but he is just one of many that rose from the Corman filmmaking camp to become Hollywood heavyweights.

Working with producing/writing partner (and then wife, since divorced) Gale Anne Hurd, Cameron made TERMINATOR, a hard edged and fairly low budget film (by today’s standards, especially considering where the franchise is at now) that became a monstrous success. Not only did it put his career on the fast track, but also that of producer Gale Anne Hurd and star Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian body-builder who had gained early notoriety thanks to CONAN: THE BARBARIAN.

It is also the movie that introduced Arnold’s signature “I’ll be back” line which he uttered in almost every movie since (and probably a couple of campaign speeches as well).

TERMINATOR is an exciting yet smart action packed movie that although gritty is stylized with characters you can get behind – and that includes Arnold as the unstoppable killing machine. There are times when I have been viewing this movie that I have thought that Arnold’s cyborg is so cool, I wouldn’t mind if he succeeded in killing Sarah Connor. Especially after uttering the aforementioned “I’ll be back” to a police desk clerk, only to crash through the door of the precinct with a car, and then proceed to lay waste to everyone and everything in sight. As a teenager watching this, I thought it was great.

The great irony of TERMINATOR is of course in sending back Arnold to kill Sarah Connor, Skynet makes it possible for John Connor to be born as Michael Biehn’s Reese who travels back to keep Sarah alive (sent by his in the future son John) ends up becoming John’s father. Essentially by trying to stop his future problems, he initiates them in the first place. It is smart twists and paradoxes like this that sets TERMINATOR well above most movies in the action/science fiction genre.

A few years pass and James Cameron directed 2 more great films, ALIENS (1986) and THE ABYSS (1989), and finally decides to revisit the world of the Terminators with T2.

Released in the summer of 1991, it can honestly be said that T2 is a game changer. A slick production that blew most of what had come before it out of the water – in terms of action, character development, photography, production design, action and effects – it was a smart sequel that dared to improve upon the original.

T2 also has the distinction of being one of the first movies to feature elaborate CGI effects, and made full effective use of morphing technology, primarily with Robert Patrick’s killer T-1000 character who took Arnold’s place as the villain (in this one, Arnold came back to protect John Connor). It was thanks to those effects and that character that James Cameron, then the head of Digital Domain, embarked upon the idea of a completely CGI character in a film he had envisioned entitled AVATAR. This started an almost 2 decade quest – with a few other movies in between (including the box office smash and multi-Oscar winning TITANIC) to make the AVATAR film a reality, which remained only in the planning stages thanks to the lack of the proper technology to achieve his desired goal. That film of course is finally in the can and is being released this December from 20th Century Fox, the first footage which was screened at this year’s San Diego Comic-con which I saw, and I detailed in an early blog post.

These 2 Cameron directed TERMINATOR movies while having many similarities do what most movie franchises are unable to do, and that is each stands alone on their own merits. As I mentioned, T2 is glossy and slick where TERMINATOR is gritty and hard edged. Arnold’s Terminator acts like a bull in a china shop whereas Robert Patrick’s T-1000 is even more dangerous given his morphing abilities and is unstoppable in ways that Arnold’s model couldn’t imagine like how you can melt the T-1000 down, but he just puts himself back together again and keeps coming.

Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor character goes through the biggest transformation of any character in the cinema. Starting out in TERMINATOR as a mousy waitress who is a push over that can barely take care of herself, she becomes a bad-ass (and ripped) mercenary who knows how to handle a gun and will stop at nothing to keep her family alive and somehow thwart judgment day in T2 (of note is that she also was once married to Cameron, also divorced).

Linda Hamilton from TERMINATOR and T2

Not only a monster hit at the box office, T2 has been a huge seller on every home video format it has been released on – VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and now Blu-Ray. There are multiple cuts available (5 I believe on the latest Blu-Ray release) all of which are contained in a great box set.
However, as good as TERMINATOR and T2 are to watch at home in High Definition (and that Blu-Ray btw is a MUST buy), there is nothing like seeing them on the big screen ESPECIALLY the extremely stylistic and exciting T2. So how happy was I to see that the American Cinematheque, continuing in the tradition of great programming (and holding over the geek buzz of Comic-con) is screening both movies as a double feature on Friday night (July 31) at 7:30pm.

Again, like the INDIANA JONES trilogy on Saturday, the program is at the Aero in Santa Monica (and not at the Egyptian in Hollywood). There will be a discussion with editor Mark Goldblatt as part of the program.

Get your Cameron fix to tide you over until AVATAR and especially treat yourself if you have never seen these projected or at all. If you have seen them, relive them in all their memorable glory – “Come with me if you want to live”, Cyberdine, Miles Dyson, Edward Furlong, Skynet and of course “HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!”

Trust me…one night of programming at the American Cinematheque will definitely have you saying “I’LL BE BACK!”

The American Cinematheque website can be found HERE.

The official American Cinematheque release follows:

Friday, July 31 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature:

THE TERMINATOR, 1984, MGM Repertory, 108 min. Dir. James Cameron. "I’ll be back," growls metal-machine Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and Cameron’s career kicked into overdrive with this story of a cyborg killer from the future tracking down human prey Linda Hamilton. Shot on a very lean budget of $6.5 million, with excellent F/X by Stan Winston and Fantasy II, THE TERMINATOR is pulp sci-fi at its very best. "I don’t think we were trying to set the world on fire ... I just came up with a way of juxtaposing futuristic elements with a kind of everyday reality." -- Cameron. Trailer

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, 1991, Sony Repertory, 136 min. "A violent movie about world peace" is how James Cameron described this high-octane sequel to the original TERMINATOR. Like his earlier ALIENS, T-2 is less a remake than a re-imagining of the first film -- here, Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger (in a muscular, understated performance) is an obsolete killer, sent back as guardian to Linda Hamilton and teenage son Edward Furlong. The strangely-elegant morphing effects of the T-1000 are dazzling -- but it’s Cameron’s uncanny blend of pop humor and visionary sci-fi that make TERMINATOR 2 the ultimate in Future Shock. Discussion in between films with editor Mark Goldblatt. Trailer

NOTES ON SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2009, FRIDAY PART 2 - Disney Animation/Pixar

There is no other company in Hollywood history (especially modern Hollywood history) that has been as successful as Pixar. Their track record is 10 for 10 both critically and financially, an unheard of feat. Now that Pixar is a full partner with Walt Disney Studios, and John Lasseter is the head of all Walt Disney Animation, well…we all win because of it.

John Lasseter moderated the Disney Animation/Pixar panel (I seem to recall him being at Comic-con in the past, perhaps for WALL-E if not also RATATOUILLE) which also featured more 3-D goodness. The Mouse did not disappoint.

The panel started out with a bang (I seem to be using that term a lot to describe Comic-con 2009 but it fits), as we put on our 3-D glasses and were treated to the opening space sequence from TOY STORY 2 in 3-D which is coming to theaters in October as part of a TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2 3-D double feature. TOY STORY 2, which was great to begin with, looked even better in 3-D, and the sequence screened was ideal to really sell the enhanced version. In addition, we also previewed the 3-D trailer for the event which in the typical Pixar manner poked fun at the material and the 3-D process – in other words, fun and creative perfection.

It was reported that no material has been changed in either TOY STORY movie to accommodate the 3-D process, so we’re getting the 2 movies exactly as they were originally, just jumping off the screen this time – literally.

This event of course is a precursor to TOY STORY 3 which is currently in production, and director Lee Unkrich (after some jokes about the pronunciation of his name) had the pleasure of not only announcing that toys Barbie and Ken are both major players in the film, but that Michael Keaton will be the voice of Ken. Of course with the movie still deep in production and voice work just now being done, there was no footage available to be screened. However a gag reel featuring a 70s style interview with Ken talking about his popularity (with some digs at being secondary to Barbie like how his name is smaller on the box than hers) was screened (in 2-D). It was very clever (as usual) making fun of such things as 70's culture and the fact that the sun glasses for the dolls never stayed on. I have no doubt Pixar is going to continue their successful streak.

To keep the 3-D goodness going, John Lasseter introduced the directors of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the only animated film to ever be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award of 1991 (which will probably change soon thanks to the expansion from 5 to 10 nominations) is also getting the 3-D treatment to be released around Valentine’s Day, 2010. When the film was originally made, they had utilized Pixar created technology, so the transformation from 2-D to 3-D was not that big of a challenge. The clip screened was the opening number, and looked absolutely fabulous. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST also happens to be my favorite of the modern Disney animated features, so I am very excited for this. The filmmakers stated that they were most excited about how the ballroom sequence would look in 3-D, however Patton Oswalt (who appeared later to moderate the Q&A portion) shot that down stating that the bar-room number “GASTON” was easily the best suited for 3-D. We’ll all have a chance to judge our favorite scenes in February, 2010.

One thing that I loved about the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST presentation was the studio logo before the footage. It incorporates a small clip of Mickey Mouse whistling from his star-making STEAMBOAT WILLIE cartoon and even that short glimpse of classic footage in 3-D gave me goose-bumps. Could they perhaps expand their 3-D work to classic titles? I’m sure the expense and work load would be enormous, but it would be great to see the likes of PETER PAN or SLEEPING BEAUTY in 3-D and maybe even some cartoon shorts like STEAMBOAT WILLIE.

John Lasseter then announced his desire to create more memorable holiday programming, and an idea that had come across his desk is now being turned into a holiday special to be aired on ABC. The show, PREP AND LANDING, deals with 2 Elves who are the advance team that goes into each house – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE style - and gets it all ready for Santa’s arrival including heating up the cookies, making sure everyone is asleep, air into the stockings making filling easier as well as creating a runway to help Santa land. It looked fun and really went a long way to show just how great the John Lasster led Disney Animation team has become. I hope though it covers how they deal with apartments. I always wondered…no chimneys.

Thanks to John Lasseter, Disney is once again comitted to revitalizing the studio's 2-D animated features, the newest being THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. This film has the distinction of being the first out of the studio with an African American female protagonist. 2 clips were shown, one featuring a new song by Randy Newman showing how the prince becomes a frog, and another with the 2 frogs (the princess also turns into a frog) trying to get along and with the obvious sexual tension thrown in. Looked great, very old school and much more entertaining than the past few features which have been average at best.

What followed though was the true draw of this panel, for both the attendees and John Lasseter. Master Japanese animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki was on hand to introduce his latest film PONYO which Walt Disney Animation is the North American distributor for. Lasseter was simply gushing (and rightfully so) over the man he considers a mentor. Mr. Miyazaki gave very concise short answers to the questions posed to him (via an interpreter) and along with Mr. Lasseter was presented with an award for innovation and creativity by the head of programming for Comic-con called the Inkpot award. They screened an extended clip which in true Miyazaki form gave me goose-bumps, and I am extremely excited to see the movie. Miyazaki was hosting a screening in San Diego that night which I sadly could not make, and also screened the film at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood this past week (also involving Mr. John Lasseter). Luckily we don’t have to wait long as the movie will be released on 900 screens on August 14.

Having had a very packed day on Thursday, and given all the goodness that continued on Friday you would think that the big panels would start slowing down, but that was not the case. Later that afternoon, Sony was presenting LEGION starring Tyrese Gibson, and more importantly Peter Jackson was on hand for his very first Comic-con (he has sent video wishes in the past) to introduce DISTRICT 9 which he is a producer on not to mention an Entertainment Weekly panel entitled “The Visionaries” featuring a conversation with James Cameron and Peter Jackson to end off the Hall H day. I would have loved to catch these, but had some other engagements and booths and events to check out at the convention (not to mention I made it a priority to actually eat a decent meal unlike Thursday) so knowing that DISTRICT 9 opens wide on August 14 (good weekend for movies with that and PONYO), I didn’t mind skipping it. Word on the convention floor, and through most reviews was extremely positive. Sony really is overly marketing this movie (the “Humans only” signs and bus benches), and it is a clever campaign that should pay off.

I was able to score a picture with the Green Girls at the Paramount STAR TREK booth (on Blu-Ray and DVD November 17) sitting in the Captain’s chair and received a Tribble for my efforts.

I enjoyed the FEED YOUR FEAR display at Fox Home Entertainment highlighting their upcoming line of horror films on Blu-Ray and DVD. I then spotted Rhea Perlman on the convention floor (husband Danny DeVito was involved with panels and a booth for THE BLOOD FACTORY) which inspired the woman behind me to comment that she was “some actress from some old show she didn’t know the name of”. Wow, never thought the day would come when CHEERS was “an old show” and I also felt old suddenly.

Also, Gene Simmons of KISS fame walked by with his son and a camera crew in tow (probably shooting his reality series THE FAMILY JEWELS). KISS also performed at a party that night. Seriously shows how big Comic-con has become when the parties feature live performances by KISS

NOTES ON SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2009, FRIDAY PART 1 - Warner Bros.

So it is now Wednesday of the week after Comic-con, a full week since preview night. My plan to blog constantly at the show fell apart very quickly after Thursday thanks to the exhausting schedule. I also decided at the last minute not to lug my laptop around the convention hall given the crowds (also I’m a little gun-shy these days thanks to having my previous laptop stolen in a library with only 20 people in March, so in a building packed with probably 100,000+, I really didn’t feel in the mood to possibly lose another one).

Friday morning presented another early morning in line. As is a common practice at Comic-con, if the lines are huge one day, the following day everyone gets wise and stands in line even earlier, which just makes it even tougher to get in. So there I was at 6:30, pretty much at the beginning of the line (no people camping out on Friday for TWILIGHT) for the Warner Bros. panel.
I have to say that the convention staff was really on the ball with the lines going into Hall H. They were organized and moved quickly and seamlessly. I was impressed. Standing in line, although tiresome, felt less like a chore than it has in the past few years. I didn’t hear any complaints around me either as all involved seemed to just be excited by the prospect of what was to come.

The Warner Bros. panel has been one that I have been going to since I started attending Comic-con. It has gone through many changes in the past 13 years as when I first started going it was divided between TV, Comics, Internet, Direct-to-DVD and feature films. Slowly the TV and Movies branched off, and the Internet and comics portion disappeared altogether. Last year, WB split up all their movie panels on separate days, the big ones being WATCHMEN and TERMINATOR SALVATION.

This year was back to a singular 2 ½ hour edition, featuring an impressive list of upcoming projects, and as usual, Warner Bros. came out in full force.

Films featured were Spike Jonze’s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, with the main child star and a significant amount of footage, Richard Kelly’s THE BOX with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, the Hughes Bros.’ BOOK OF ELI with the directors and stars Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis and Denzel Washington on hand, the reboot of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET with the director Samuel Bayer, producer Bradley Fuller and the new Freddy, Jackie Earl Haley, JONAH HEX with director Jimmy Hayward, Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and Michael Fassbender, and if that weren’t enough then they wrapped up with Robert Downey, Jr. bringing Hall H to their feet with SHERLOCK HOLMES and producers Joel Silver and Susan Downey and Rachel McAdams. Phew!

Not to get too detailed in the play-by-play, because there was an awful lot to digest, but the highlights of this panel were easily JONAH HEX, THE BOX, SHERLOCK HOLMES and then there was the surprise of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET looking to be very good.

JONAH HEX especially intrigued the crowd, especially when the super-red-hot Megan Fox took the stage. First off, the footage looked fantastic, but all the questions were pretty much targeted at Fox and almost all of them started out with “Megan, you are so sexy.” This brought a lot of jitters from the women in the audience who weren’t too happy about the attention she was receiving. Then again these same women were screaming like insane maniacs the day before over the TWILIGHT male stars. Megan seemed to take it all in stride, enjoying the attention and deftly brushing off such uncomfortable questions as “have you ever considered doing Internet porn?” Josh Brolin seemed amused by the crowd, and was charming and funny and won everyone over. From the looks of the footage, Producer Andrew Lazar has stuck to the comic book pretty closely (full disclosure, when I worked for Andrew, I was involved in the early development of this project but not the script that was ultimately used) and it was the first panel at this year’s Comic-con that I heard a comic book being mentioned.

SHERLOCK HOLMES featured what was essentially an extended trailer of what is already running in theaters with a few extra scenes thrown in, but still looks great. Robert Downey, Jr. was his usual charming self, and answered the mostly awkward questions in a light and funny manner. Oh and I’ll take Rachel McAdams over Megan Fox any day.

What really blew me away was A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. I had been leery of this project from the beginning because Wes Craven and Robert Englund really made Freddy a memorable horror icon. However, Jackie Earl Haley seems to fill the shoes perfectly. The footage showed that there will be a partial origin story of how Freddy died at the hands of angry parents, which was followed by a montage of horror scenes – much which mirrored images from the original movie – and what would A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET be without the creepy little girls reciting the poem…1, 2 Freddy’s Going to get you. 3, 4 better lock the door. 5, 6 grab a crucifix. 7, 8 better stay up late. 9, 10 never sleep again. This really excited the audience, which received the footage favorably.

Richard Kelly’s THE BOX looked intriguing enough, and had the same creepy atmospheric tone that he employed in DONNIE DARKO. It involved a stranger (Frank Langella) arriving at the door of Cameron Diaz (who is married to James Marsden in the movie) and giving her a box with a big red button. She is told that if she pushes this button, somebody in the world not connected to her will die and she will receive 1 million dollars. Of course she does it, and things don’t go as smoothly as she is led to believe.

The Hughes Bros. with BOOK OF ELI premiered a strange motion comic which they probably could have done without, and a makeshift trailer that showed off the post-apocalyptic movie. Denzel Washington seemed way too cool to be at Comic-con. What got even more confusing was when Gary Oldman announced that he was set to start filming a new BATMAN movie next year, this when as far as anyone knows, there has been no casting nor is there a script, and Christopher Nolan is set to finish shooting INCEPTION before turning his attention back to Bats. Needless to say, I am sure this unexpected announcement sent the Warner Bros. people scrambling to do some damage control.

My least favorite from this panel – and perhaps the whole convention – was the footage from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. They showed an awful lot, which is a sure sign that they really need to sell the movie, and what they showed while having a great production design, was ultimately very boring. This movie from the get-go has been plagued with problems, and the advance buzz on the final product is less than complimentary. From what I saw at this panel, the advanced negative word-of-mouth is fully justified. Most people seem to take to the trailer – myself included, but if these scenes represent the best they had to show from the movie to entice the audience, then this movie definitely has an uphill battle.