It has been a long, long day. But an extremely cool one that I feel very fortunate to have experienced. You see, today was my first day at the mothership; San Diego Comic-Con 2011. I tried to squeeze in as much as I possibly could, and I'm quite certain I got some good nuggets of info for you guys. So enjoy!
Oh, by the way, due to being shacked up in a little dungeon with really weak internet, I'll have upload photos when I can, so expect but a few in this article.
6:30AM
I arrived to collect my badge pretty early, trying to ensure that I'd get into the legendary Hall H. Rumor has it that Hall H is the hardest ballroom to get into in the convention center, due to it's high profile segments. After checking in though, I realized I'd be able to get a seat, so off I went to secure a seat for the first panel of the day; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Twilight began shortly after 11:15AM. First to the stage was the moderator, IGN's Movie Editor (his name escapes me). Shortly there after, the film's director, Bill Condon, joined him on stage. Condon spoke a little about how he felt this film was (especially in it's third act) essentially a horror film. After a little light chatting, the core cast were introduced, much to the excitment of everything with ovaries. Kirsten Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson (sporting half a shaved head for his next flick, Cosmopolis) almost immediately started into the conversation. They explained that Breaking Dawn Part 1 has some really fantastic set pieces, but they seemed to focus on the birthing scene more than any other. Lautner proceeded to praise Bill Condon for his directing style and said this is definitely his favourite film of the series. Then, the Q&A portion of the panel began. The highlights of the questions included Pattinson being asked by a 5 year old girl if he, "liked having babies with Bella?" and a question on the film's soundtrack, which, although Condon declined to describe, will be "a fantastic compilation".
I should state too that previous to this, we were shown the initial trailer that's available everywhere online right now. After this we were shown two clips, one of Taylor Lautner's Jacob confronting his wolf pack and begging them to take Seth and Leah back into the group. Another was a first glimpse at the honeymoon sequence for Bella and Edward. This scene took place in Rio, on a lonely, moon-lit beach. I've got to admit, the scene grew kind of awkward, as Stewart's character attempts to find a suitable set of underwear to lose her virginity in.
What the fuck indeed.
After these trailers, some of the Cullen family were introduced. I won't be transcribing this part, as they mainly went unnoticed as the rest of the cast continued to chat.
After this, came a very brief Sony Animation panel. The highlights of the panel included the first look at the trailer for The Pirates: Band Of Misfits, a new stop motion feature from Peter Laurie. The trailer's 3D was superb, and it seems like a genuinely hysterical, quirky cartoon. Pirates cast includes Jeremy Piven, Brendan Gleeson, Martin Freeman and Hugh Grant.
After this, was 20th Century Fox's surprise panel. Now, I only caught the first 20 minutes, as I'd to attend a screening for Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, but what I did see was extraordinary. We were given the honour of seeing the first footage from Prometheus, the up coming sci-fi epic from maestro Ridley Scott. Taking the stage initially was Damon Lindlelof, who then invited starlet Charlize Theron to take the stage. The two then rolled the footage.
The footage was about 45% footage, 40% Scott being interviewed and 15% stills. The stills were beautiful, showing off the dusty, dark, chalky worlds. Scott explained that Prometheus, "has the DNA of Alien, but that's it". So yes, this is not related to Alien. But at times, it really looks like the long speculated prequel. Scott revealed the film will be completely shot on Digital 3D, and then suddenly he dropped the bombshell that he fully intends to shoot 3D from now on. He said he's fallen in love with the format and when it's used correctly can be incredible.
Some things I noticed from the footage;
A weeping (blonde) Michael Fassbender.
A brooding Idris Elba in the ship's cockpit.
Charlize Theron screaming, as she sets something alight with a flamethrower.
A quick shot of three people clad in space suits, firing pistols at an unknown target.
A wide shot of an egg-infested tomb.
Some internal shots of the crew's space ship (which looks beautifully sleek and futuristic).
Overall, it looks absolutely incredible. Just before I left, Scott announced that he's shooting the film, which will be cut into a PG-13 version aswell as an R-Rated version. The version that will be released by 20th Century Fox will be determined at a later date, but it's my understanding that it'll be Scott that has the last decision.
After this, I got to check out a screening of Drive, the upcoming Ryan Gosling actioner, where I got to meet director Nicolas Winding Refn aswell as it's leading lady, Carey Mulligan. I'll be reviewing the film tomorrow, so check back for that. I will say this though, Drive is a mercilessly tense, violent arthouse actioner. More on that tomorrow.
And that's it for my first day at San Diego Comic Con! I hope you liked this first article. And I'll be getting the photos up as soon as possible.
Oh, by the way, due to being shacked up in a little dungeon with really weak internet, I'll have upload photos when I can, so expect but a few in this article.
6:30AM
I arrived to collect my badge pretty early, trying to ensure that I'd get into the legendary Hall H. Rumor has it that Hall H is the hardest ballroom to get into in the convention center, due to it's high profile segments. After checking in though, I realized I'd be able to get a seat, so off I went to secure a seat for the first panel of the day; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Twilight began shortly after 11:15AM. First to the stage was the moderator, IGN's Movie Editor (his name escapes me). Shortly there after, the film's director, Bill Condon, joined him on stage. Condon spoke a little about how he felt this film was (especially in it's third act) essentially a horror film. After a little light chatting, the core cast were introduced, much to the excitment of everything with ovaries. Kirsten Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson (sporting half a shaved head for his next flick, Cosmopolis) almost immediately started into the conversation. They explained that Breaking Dawn Part 1 has some really fantastic set pieces, but they seemed to focus on the birthing scene more than any other. Lautner proceeded to praise Bill Condon for his directing style and said this is definitely his favourite film of the series. Then, the Q&A portion of the panel began. The highlights of the questions included Pattinson being asked by a 5 year old girl if he, "liked having babies with Bella?" and a question on the film's soundtrack, which, although Condon declined to describe, will be "a fantastic compilation".
I should state too that previous to this, we were shown the initial trailer that's available everywhere online right now. After this we were shown two clips, one of Taylor Lautner's Jacob confronting his wolf pack and begging them to take Seth and Leah back into the group. Another was a first glimpse at the honeymoon sequence for Bella and Edward. This scene took place in Rio, on a lonely, moon-lit beach. I've got to admit, the scene grew kind of awkward, as Stewart's character attempts to find a suitable set of underwear to lose her virginity in.
What the fuck indeed.
After these trailers, some of the Cullen family were introduced. I won't be transcribing this part, as they mainly went unnoticed as the rest of the cast continued to chat.
After this, came a very brief Sony Animation panel. The highlights of the panel included the first look at the trailer for The Pirates: Band Of Misfits, a new stop motion feature from Peter Laurie. The trailer's 3D was superb, and it seems like a genuinely hysterical, quirky cartoon. Pirates cast includes Jeremy Piven, Brendan Gleeson, Martin Freeman and Hugh Grant.
After this, was 20th Century Fox's surprise panel. Now, I only caught the first 20 minutes, as I'd to attend a screening for Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, but what I did see was extraordinary. We were given the honour of seeing the first footage from Prometheus, the up coming sci-fi epic from maestro Ridley Scott. Taking the stage initially was Damon Lindlelof, who then invited starlet Charlize Theron to take the stage. The two then rolled the footage.
The footage was about 45% footage, 40% Scott being interviewed and 15% stills. The stills were beautiful, showing off the dusty, dark, chalky worlds. Scott explained that Prometheus, "has the DNA of Alien, but that's it". So yes, this is not related to Alien. But at times, it really looks like the long speculated prequel. Scott revealed the film will be completely shot on Digital 3D, and then suddenly he dropped the bombshell that he fully intends to shoot 3D from now on. He said he's fallen in love with the format and when it's used correctly can be incredible.
Some things I noticed from the footage;
A weeping (blonde) Michael Fassbender.
A brooding Idris Elba in the ship's cockpit.
Charlize Theron screaming, as she sets something alight with a flamethrower.
A quick shot of three people clad in space suits, firing pistols at an unknown target.
A wide shot of an egg-infested tomb.
Some internal shots of the crew's space ship (which looks beautifully sleek and futuristic).
Overall, it looks absolutely incredible. Just before I left, Scott announced that he's shooting the film, which will be cut into a PG-13 version aswell as an R-Rated version. The version that will be released by 20th Century Fox will be determined at a later date, but it's my understanding that it'll be Scott that has the last decision.
After this, I got to check out a screening of Drive, the upcoming Ryan Gosling actioner, where I got to meet director Nicolas Winding Refn aswell as it's leading lady, Carey Mulligan. I'll be reviewing the film tomorrow, so check back for that. I will say this though, Drive is a mercilessly tense, violent arthouse actioner. More on that tomorrow.
And that's it for my first day at San Diego Comic Con! I hope you liked this first article. And I'll be getting the photos up as soon as possible.
