Initially conceived by producer Joel Silver as Warner Brothers’ horror-only genre label, Dark Castle Entertainment has since expanded to include other genres as well. The first of the non-horror titles to be released under the brand also happen to be some of my most anticipated films of the next six months. “Ninja Assassin” promises to deliver a no-holds-barred action flick that will help make the winter months go by a little quicker, while “Rocknrolla” marks the grand return of Guy Ritchie, the man responsible for creating two of my all-time favorite films. It was a panel that couldn’t disappoint, and though there were some hiccups along the way, it never did.
Ninja Assassin (guests: director John McTeigue and stars Rain and Naomie Harris)
Though this panel certainly wasn’t the first time during the day when a particular didn’t seem too excited to be making an appearance, the film they were promoting also wasn’t very appealing to the Comic-Con crowd. Sure, most fanboys love ninjas, but the fact that it’s starring a relative unknown (Korean pop star Rain) isn’t going to help your chances to spreading the word. The Asian fangirls were out in full force to bow down in the presence of Stephen Colbert’s nemesis, but every time they asked him a question, Rain sort of just giggled them off. He even refused to answer a question about his future in music, citing that he would rather focus on “Ninja Assassin,” but he wasn’t doing a particularly good job of it. The movie itself looks jam-packed with plenty of action and gore, but the trailer just didn’t get my blood pumping like I had hoped. There’s still plenty of time to win over my favor before the film’s January 2009 release, but this first-look has certainly lowered my expectations.
RocknRolla (guests: director Guy Ritchie and stars Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, Jeremy Piven and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges)
Hands down the most enjoyable panel of the day. We may have only been shown the new trailer (of which will likely be officially released online within the week), but the banter amongst the guests on stage was more than entertaining. Director Guy Ritchie was fairly tightlipped throughout (he often replied to questions with a simple “yes” or “no”), but Gerard Butler made up for Ritchie’s timidness with plenty of funny comments and one especially entertaining anecdote about how Madonna gave him a shot of B-12 in the ass when he was sick during production. Many believed the current situation between Ritchie and Madonna was the main reason the director was being so quiet during the panel, but he actually spoke the most while helping tell that particular tale. Also offering some great moments were Jeremy Piven, who joked about how his character was originally written for a black man, and Idris Elba, who talked extensively on how his experience on “RocknRolla” and “The Wire” were very similar. All in all, not a bad way to spend 30 minutes – especially considering that this is the last film people were lining up to hear about at Comic-Con.
