The Comic-Con experience includes taking in the show floor, checking out the cosplayers, and attending some of the amazing panels. There are panel presentations that discuss topics ranging from the creation of comic books to injection molding for custom action figures. There are also panels that are held by TV and movie studios, several of which I was able to attend this year.
It’s certainly not a simple task, getting into the famed Hall H at Comic-Con. Hall H seats about 6500 people, and there are usually a far greater number of people who want to get into the hall than are permitted. So when a tiny movie called New Moon (of the Twilight series) is scheduled for the day, you can expect a bit of a wait to get into the hall. The New Moon panel was not scheduled until later in the day, but since the hall is not cleared between panels, in order to guarantee a spot closer to the stage, thousands of New Moon fans camped out overnight.
I was fortunate enough to make it into Hall H for all of the panels on Thursday. The first panel was presented by Disney, who was featuring its upcoming 3D films. Robert Zemekis appeared in person to discuss Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, and to show the audience an extended clip from the film. All of the attendees were provided with snazzy 3D glasses, and the multiple projectors and giant-sized screens were upgraded to demonstrate the new revival of 3D. Christmas Carol, a computer-generated animated film, seems to be a new take on the timeless story, bringing Scrooge to be an even meaner character than he has been portrayed in film, and the various ghosts seem to be less like see-through men, and more like elemental daemons. The clip that was shown had a few moments that made the audience jump, so expect this film to be more of an adventure film than other incarnations.
Tim Burton was the next guest, who introduced the audience to his version of Alice in Wonderland. A 3D trailer, completely different from the trailer available online was shown to the audience. Personally, I have not been a huge fan of the Alice in Wonderland story, especially since as a young boy, I could not find too much in common with Alice. However, Burton’s vision of Wonderland has me captivated. The world Burton created is so far off the map, Alice seems less of a central character, and more like a captive audience member going through the same wild ride I will be taking when this film hits theaters. The trailer was set to MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” which has since been playing over and over again in my head – it’s such a fitting tune! And just when the audience was led to believe this segment of the panel was completed, the mad-hatter himself, Johnny Depp made an appearance on stage. Depp embraced Burton, waved to the audience, and left the stage. It was amazing to see the incredible actor in person. Unfortunately, I’m afraid many of the audience members were far too smitten with Team Edward/Jacob to even realize what Depp has accomplished in his career as an actor.
Up next was the Tron Legacy panel, and Jeff Bridges, star of the original Tron film appeared on stage with the director of the upcoming film, as well as the director of the original Tron film. The actor who plays Jeff Bridge’s son in the film, Garrett Hedlund also appeared to discuss the film. A good number of concept images were shown, but the audience also got a sneak peek at the film with an extended clip as well as the trailer shown at last year’s Comic-Con. The world of Tron has evolved, and has fleshed out quite a deal since the events in the last film took place. Tron Legacy looks to have a great premise in addition to the visuals. Looking forward to seeing it in 2011 (and perhaps more clips at next year’s Comic-Con!)
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