Why So Blu?

Comic-Con 2010: Day 3 Hall H Recap

A place to sit is a much sought after item in the large Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center.  The reason for this is due to the fact that this hallowed hall is where all the big budget films introduce their cast and trailers.  Saturday saw the likes of some highly anticipated titles making their debut, at least in teaser form, to the capacity crowd of 6,500.  Just to give you an idea of how hot of a commodity a seat is in that room, we arrived at the convention center to line up at 7:30 am. The first film on the agenda was slated to start at 11:45.  By the time we arrive, there were already a good 5,000 people or so that had already taken their place in front of the Why So Blu staff.

Nevertheless, we secured our spot in the herd of film fans and eventually made our way to the press pit.  The first film to be covered was none other than Green Lantern.  DC writer Geoff Johns was the first to make his way to the stage and was soon followed by director Martin Campbell and cast members Mark Strong (Kick-Ass, Sherlock Holmes), Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead), the lovely Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and Hal Jordan himself, Ryan Reynolds.  The film’s trailer debuted and let me be one of the first to say that IT WAS AWESOME.  There’s still quite a bit of work to go on the production before the film’s May 2011 release.  Still, fans went nuts over the emerald hero and the effects of his green ring of will were the talk of the town.  At one point, a young fan asked Reynolds what it was like to recite the Green Lantern oath.  Without missing a beat, Reynolds recited the dialogue leaving the young boy impressed and star struck.  The star also made it a point to follow up his brief speech with a personalized autograph to the little fan.

In what would prove to be a day of surprises, Tom Felton, otherwise known as the dastardly Draco Malfoy, was on hand to present the trailers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Finally getting someone from the Harry Potter series to show up at Comic-Con was not only a welcomed addition, but a long awaited occurrence for the four-day spectacular.  This was pretty much a now or never scenario since Deathly Hallows brings the much heralded franchise to a close.  However, this story will not close out quietly as the final chapter will be divided into two films.  Felton was taken aback by the audience’s massive positive response to him being there as well as to the showing of the Potter footage.

Next on the agenda was director Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen) latest work, Sucker Punch.  Snyder has assembled some very beautiful leading ladies for his original work, such as Jamie Chung (Sorority Row), Jena Malone (Pride & Prejudice), Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Emily Browning (The Uninvited), and Carla Gugino (Sin City).  The story combines a real world aura with that of fantasy.  Dragons and samurai made appearances in the trailer along with the cast of beauties.  Expect some serious butt-kicking from these females in 2011.

Paul W.S. Anderson boasted about his latest work, the fourth film in the Resident Evil anthology, once again featuring the deadly beautiful Milla Jovovich.  Titled Resident Evil: Afterlife, which will be shown in 3D.  More than just a trailer was shown for this film and it looks to be the hottest, most action-packed Resident Evil film to date.  With stars Wentworth Miller and Ali Arter on hand as well, the quartet talked about their experiences in the film, doing some of their own stunts, and why this has been one of the few successful video game to film transfers.  Look for Afterlife to take the franchise to the next level this coming September 10th.

Let the Right One In was a Swedish film based off the novel of the same title.  It offered a slightly different vampire story where what appeared to a young girl being the bloodsucker.  She eventually makes friends with an equally young boy, at least equal in age appearance, who seems to get bullied at every turn.  Director Matthew Reeves has taken the reins for the film’s English version, titled Let Me In.  Set in the 1980’s, the film includes the likes of Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading).  The clip shown during the panel provided a glimpse of McPhee’s character on a date with his fang-bearing friend, unaware of her ‘ability’.  Mark October 1st, 2010 on your calendars because this is one story worth seeing in the theaters.

Paul.  It’s not a complex name with just one syllable, so why tag a movie with that title?  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, both of Shaun of the Dead fame, appear as the stars of Paul where the duo heads to the San Diego Comic-Con of all places.  After catching all the sights of the convention, the two hop back in their RV and head towards the mysterious Area 51 where they encounter a fearful yet smart-mouth alien (CGI) who is voiced by Seth Rogen.  On the run from determined federal suits, (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Sigourney Weaver), the duo turned trio try to outrun the law and get their cosmic compadre to safety.  Expect a lot of laughs and action in this film due out the day after St. Paddy’s Day in 2011.

In a very surprising turn of events, actor/director Jon Favreau unexpectedly made his way on stage to promote his current project, Cowboys & Aliens.  Sound silly?  Here’s the cast: Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Sam Rockwell, and the lovely Olivia Wilde.  Now how silly does it sound?  This very talented, all-star lineup showed up as well, as Ford was led out on stage in a mock-arraignment complete with handcuffs and guided by security guards.  Favreau stated they have only been shooting for a mere 4 weeks, but he made it a point to have footage ready for the 2010 Comic-Con.  The scenes shot so far were intense, creative, and I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor from this one.  Simply put, it looks like a totally bad ass, wicked fun film.  The title is not some cover-up with a hidden meaning.  It really squares off cowboys against aliens with Craig leading the possibly heroic way.  Expect a mid-July 2011 release for Cowboys & Aliens.

It was a long day in Hall H with delays infesting the panel schedules, but as they say on Broadway, “The show must go on.”  The rest of the evening belonged to Marvel.  Talk about having your day in the sun; Marvel Studios rocked it out with Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor.  Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) appeared on stage along with co-star Hugo Weaving (Lord of the Rings, Matrix) as the Red Skull.  Evans has only been on set for 5 days so there wasn’t a whole lot of material to offer in the way of footage.  Still, fans got a glimpse of some test shots of Evans in a prototype costume (no wings on the hood in case you were wondering).  Cap’s movie will feature him exclusively during the period of World War II.

For the cast of Thor, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, led the way and was followed by many of his Thor co-workers including Kat Dennings (Darcy), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and even Ms. Natalie Portman (Jane Foster).  As the thespian team fielded questions from the audience, director Kenneth Brannagh got ready to introduce to the 6,500 people in attendance a 3D trailer of Thor.  The God of Thunder is cast out to earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and forced to live among mortals until he redeems himself in his father’s eyes (or should I say ‘eye’).  I will say I was very worried about this film.  Despite such credibility in the director’s chair, Thor is a movie that can very easily become cheesy in a hurry.  After watching the trailer, I can say that the film seems to avoid this pitfall.  Both films will make their way to theaters next year.

And now, the coupe de gras.  Most if not all in the audience would have been more than satisfied had the evening stopped there.  Even so, Marvel still had one trick left up its sleeve.  Not one, not two, not three, but nearly the entire Avengers team showed up to promote the 2012 release that includes characters Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and even the film’s director, Joss Whedon.  That means Samuel L. Jackson was in attendance along with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Scarlett Johansson.  When Jackson walked out on stage, the place flipped.  When Downey followed, the roof flew off the building.  That room was thumping and I pity any poor soul who walked by that room and was denied entry.  Oh, and guys, Scarlett Johansson is as amazing looking in person as she appears on screen.  There was no footage to show simply because no shooting has started.  We were swept up in the excitement by this mind-blowing ensemble and I can only imagine what payroll is for this film.  This was by far and away the most memorable moment of the three Comic-Cons I have attended.