Category: Comic Con Blog 2008 (Page 2 of 4)

Much like last year, the Disney panel wasn’t even remotely as entertaining as some of the others, but that’s mostly because they tend to look more at the technical side of the production process. Big names draw big crowds, and though the panel itself delivered plenty of first-look footage, it didn’t exactly do much in terms of wowing the crowd.

“Bolt” (guests: directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard)

When I first saw the poster for “Bolt,” I promptly rolled my eyes and thought, “John Travolta is voicing a dog in a Disney movie? Yep, this is going to be shit,” but after seeing about 20 minutes of footage from the film, I’m happy to say that it actually looks much, much better. Now, it isn’t quite Pixar-standard, or even Dreamworks-standard for that matter, but it does look like an entertaining kid’s movie with a nice blend of action and comedy. Most of that comedy comes from the basic concept of the film (about a canine TV star who believes he has superpowers just like the character he plays), but it also comes from the fine cast of voice talent they’ve wrangled up, including Susie Essman, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, Diedrich Bader and Nick Swardson.

“Up” (guest: director Peter Doctor)

The second part of Disney’s presentation was dedicated to Pixar’s new film, “Up,” a “coming of old age” story about a curmudgeonly widow who transforms his home into a makeshift air balloon and travels the world. If that description scares you a little bit, well, you’re not alone. Pixar movies are notorious for sounding so simplistic that they couldn’t possibly work as full length features, but as both “Ratatouille” and “Wall*E” have proven, it’s just not worth doubting these guys any more. Does “Up” scare me? You bet, but director Pete Doctor’s latest will probably be just as good as the others. Aside from the two clips shown, the only other nuggets revealed were the cast (which includes Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and, of course, John Ratzenberger) and the fact that the movie will be jam-packed with plenty of Pixar Easter eggs.

Guests: Writer/director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and stars Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Long, Jason Mewes, Traci Lords and Katie Morgan

It probably goes without saying that Kevin Smith is a major draw at Comic-Con. Most fanboys relate to the filmmaker’s innate geekiness, and as a result, they’re treated to a very special episode of “A Night with Kevin Smith” each and every year. The dude’s pretty much given free reign to talk about whatever he wants, and this time around, he actually had a film to promote. Bringing along most of the cast of “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” Smith also treated those in attendance with an extended clip from the film in which Miri (Elizabeth Banks) attempts to hit on an old crush (Brandon Routh, AKA Superman) at a high school reunion, while Zack (Seth Rogen) gets to know said crush’s gay porn star boyfriend (Justin Long) in another part of the room.

Now, I wouldn’t say that the clip reminded be of classic Smith fare (his writing doesn’t sound as clever coming out of Seth Rogen’s mouth), but it does look like he’s trying to take his career in a slightly different direction. For starters, the visuals themselves look sharper (something even Smith admitted to being interested in getting better at), while the basic structure of the story looks to be more inspired by Judd Apatow’s recent work than his own. As for the rating, well, it has already been slapped with an NC-17 (twice), and now Smith is in the process of appealing the decision before its October 31st release. He went on to add that he’s contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated film, so if the appeal doesn’t overturn the original decision, he’ll have to go in and make some cuts – particularly with a scene that Smith claims the MPAA simply does not want in the film.

The rest of the night was filled with plenty of banter between the guests on stage, and though Smith and Rogen had their share of funny comments, it was porn star Katie Morgan who ultimately stole the show. Traci Lords, on the other hand, couldn’t have looked any more serious, and though it seemed like she might cry when an audience member brought up her past as an underage performer in the porn business, Smith brought down the house when he replied, “You’re like the Miley Cyrus of porn!”

Click here for more from Kevin Smith, courtesy of NBC.

Guests: Director Frank Miller and stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson and Jaime King)

When the first trailer for “The Spirit” was leaked online a few weeks ago, the overall response probably wasn’t what director Frank Miller was hoping for. Some called him out for not knowing what he was doing behind the camera, while others just didn’t like the film’s similarities to “Sin City.” Personally, I didn’t hate it as much (nor did I see any similarities aside from the red-on-black scenes of The Spirit running across the skyscape), but after being treated to three additional clips during Lionsgate’s panel for the film, I’m beginning to lean more towards that camp.

The footage shown included an underwater sequence that, well, wasn’t actually shot underwater (and thus looked absolutely ridiculous), a comedic scene between Gabriel Macht and Sarah Paulson that played like an old Cary Grant film, and a Looney Toons-esque battle sequence between Macht’s Spirit and Samuel L. Jackson’s villainous Octopus that is so over-the-top it was actually entertaining. In fact, if there’s one thing that is going to save this film, it’s Jackson, who, oddly enough, also saved the panel from total suckage. When asked what his favorite action figure of himself was, Jackson suggested Mace Windu, but when a fan yelled out “Nick Fury” in reference to his cameo in “Iron Man,” Jackson quipped, “When I was a kid, Nick Fury was a white man.”