Comic-Con 2014: Day One

Posted on July 25, 2014 at 11:08 am

Here’s what’s at Comic-Con, which means here’s what’s coming everywhere else: affordable 3D printers with hand-held scanners that transmit 360 degree images to your tablet or laptop instantly. GoPro cameras. Google glasses. Even Oculus Rift, the totally immersive virtual reality headset invented by a teenager and sold for $2 billion that is said to be a literal game-changer (its first commercial use will be in gaming) and could change everything from movies and television to medical imaging.

And, once again, even more fan involvement in everything, the line between creator and consumer of content almost dissolving completely. When you have your photo taken with an alien chasing you, you don’t just get a print-out. You are directed to a console so you can post it to all of your social media. The new Ships of the Line Star Trek calendar will have fan art as well as the official renderings. And the new USA television miniseries from “Heroes” helmer Tim Kring, “Dig,” starring Jason Isaacs, has a virtual scavenger hunt set up at Comic-Con. If you discover the rune-like symbol they have hidden all over the area, you post a photo to Snapchat with their hashtag, you can win a chance to chat with someone from the show. And you can see prequel footage and engage with the writers via Wattpad.

I attended a press event featuring the people behind the new “Madagascar” animated series spin-off, “Penguins of Madagascar,” including writers/directors Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith (reuniting for the first time since “Antz”), Tom McGrath (director of the earlier films and voice of Skipper) and John Malkovich, who provides the voice of the villain, an evil octopus. The film also features Benedict Cumberbatch as a dashing, James Bond-style secret agent. It takes place just after the end of the last film (not the television series), as the penguins need some rest after the excitement of the circus adventure. “What starts as a birthday romp turns into a world tour.” Like the Bond films, they wanted to have a series of exciting locations.

McGrath says he always envisioned Robert Stack as the voice of Skipper, and tries to channel him when he performs the part. I asked Malkovich what was fun about playing a bad guy. He said that “this one is quite fun because he seems happy, he’s lazy, not particularly profound or remorseful, and that’s always a pleasure.”

“Dig” looks very impressive, and the chase scenes they showed us from the first episode really highlighted the locations in Jerusalem. (They will continue filming in New Mexico.) Isaac said he took the part because “I get to run around and pretend to be cooler, tougher, sexier, and smarter than I am.” Anne Heche plays his boss (and sometimes more). “We wanted to make it cinematic, multi-layered, epic,” said the cinematographer. They used a 90-year-old lens to “embrace the golden light” in Jerusalem, and an up-to-the-minute lens for the “calmer, cooler, beautifully crisp” light of Norway to achieve the maximum contrast. Because it is a limited “event” series, they know where it is going to end from the beginning, no “art of the stall.” They warned us that no one in the series is what he or she seems and that we should “look out for the color red,” which is almost another character in the story.

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Comic-Con 2013: Jeff Bridges, The Black Panel, Godzilla, the Winner Twins, and Irwin Keyes

Posted on July 24, 2013 at 7:35 pm

Comic-Con is all about the new and surprising, but I’ve come to look forward to some things that I especially enjoy every year. One is The Black Panel, and this year was one of the best, with Comic-Con’s best panel moderator (they should call him an “immoderator”), Michael Davis. “showcases those who are doing notable work in film, TV, comics, music, etc. The secondary focus (just as, if not more important) is to reach out to as many young creators of color (and all young creators who strive for a way in) and give them access to those who have made a contribution. It’s been mentioned above but bears repeating, Black culture IS young culture.” Wayne Brady, Orlando Jones, John Jennings, David Walker, Tatiana El-Khouri, and others talked about their pet projects and their reactions to and interactions with the mainstream media. One theme that came through even more strongly than usual this year — do not wait for anyone to give you permission (or money). Tell your story and create your art.

I always enjoy catching up with character actor Irwin Keyes, who has appeared in everything from “The Jeffersons” (six episodes) to films by the Coen Brothers and Rob Zombie. This year, he demonstrated his “horror laugh” and posed for a picture with me.

It is always a blast to hear about upcoming films, especially in the smaller press conferences rather than the cavernous Hall H. Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuarón told us about “Gravity,” a stunning new film about two astronauts who are cut loose in space when their space station explodes. Bryan Cranston Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, and director Gareth Edwards talked about the challenges of green screen acting and balancing the spectacle and the story in their remake of “Godzilla.” And Jeff Bridges read a passage from The Gulag Archipelago to tell us what inspired him to join the cast of a sword and sorcery epic called “Seventh Son.”

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

We also heard about the prequel to “300,” “Rise of an Empire,” with a script co-written the original’s director, Zach Snyder. Noam Murro took over directing duties, bringing back Rodrigo Santoro and adding newcomers Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton. This one will keep “the DNA” of the original but will focus on naval battles. Green told us she was relieved not to be playing “the love interest or a boring girlfriend” in her first full-on action role.

And I always love catching up with my friends Brianna and Brittany Winner. They are 18 now, terrifically imaginative writers with many exciting projects. They ran a writing workshop that was tremendously inspiring and very informative. And just plain fun.

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Comic-Con 2013: The Coolest Thing I Saw in the Exhibit Hall

Posted on July 23, 2013 at 6:02 pm

No question. There were hundreds of dazzling displays at Comic-Con. You could have your picture taken with “Walking Dead” zombies or frozen Han Solo or Lego Superman. But Predator, as he so often does, dominated. There was a limited edition Blu-Ray edition of “Predator” that came in a very cool Predator head. But the really cool part was this: the first 500 purchases included an action figure of Predator holding a severed head — personalized for the purchaser via a 3D printer. That severed head would have each individual purchaser’s face and hair. The blood dripping from it appeared generic, thankfully.

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Comic-Con 2013: Costumes

Posted on July 21, 2013 at 5:10 pm

I love the costumes at Comic-Con. They are colorful expressions of enthusiasm and personality. And I believe they are what financial types call a leading indicator of the popularity of particular movies, games, and television shows.

This year, I noticed fewer Jokers and Watchmen than in the past. In honor of the big 50th anniversary celebration, there were many Dr. Whos (mostly men) and TARDIS phone booths (mostly women). And there were more minions! The “Despicable Me” characters who look like oblong marshmallow peeps are very popular. My two favorites: the harem girl superheroes (this year’s version of last year’s Playboy Bunny Avengers) and this tribute to the recent viewer favorite, “Sharknado.”

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Comic-Con 2013: In Which I Get to Hang With Two of My Heroes

Posted on July 20, 2013 at 9:50 am

harrison ford at comic-con Highlights of Comic-Con 2013 so far:

1. The bathrooms here are sponsored by “The Bates Motel” television series, so they are labeled “Norma” and “Norman.”
2. I attended cool behind-the-scenes panels with the composers of superhero movie scores and the production designers and costume illustrators, hearing great details about how movies come together and getting wonderful glimpses of coming attractions.
3. After four years of “Twilight” events, there is a new based-on-a-series saga, “Divergent,” with a new collection of gorgeous 20-something actors.
4. I got to see the Scooby-Doo van and a Batman and Joker made of Legos. I also saw Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and Andrew Garfield.
5. I got to sit opposite the gentleman you see above, who was here to talk about the movie that is taking him back to space for the first time since “Revenge of the Jedi.” Major life list item checked off.
6. I didn’t think there was anything more fun than attending panels at Comic-Con, but it turns out that being on a panel is even better, when it includes the fabulous people from Rotten Tomatoes and critics like Leonard Maltin. They passed out paddles with fresh and rotten tomatoes to the audience and they got to debate us on their favorite over- and under-rated films. Then the whole group got to vote fresh or rotten. Many thanks to the amazing Matt Atchity, Grae Drake, Ben Lyons, Scott Mantz, Jim Vejvoda, Jenna Busch, Tim Ryan, and one of my idols, Leonard Maltin.

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