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| San Diego International Comic Con 2003 |
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 rom the pages of the 2003 Events Guide: Comic-Con International offered yet again a large and diverse line-up of programs designed for the comic enthusiast.
Also known as Hollywood South, there were countless surprises when it came to major movie previews and stars at Comic-Con 2003. An incredible number of Hollywood studios want to offer sneak peeks and previews of some of the most hotly awaited movies of late 2003 and 2004. San Diego's proximity to Hollywood and the dedication of the attendees at the Con make the show the perfect launching pad for some of the best movie-oriented programming in the world. The majority of previews were held in the huge Ballroom 20 of the new section of the Convention Center. This luxurious room, which seats close to 4,500 people, featured state-of-the-art equipment and four giant viewing screens. Fans were the first in the world to see advance screenings and be treated to special appearances by stars and filmmakers from all the major studios including, Paramount with guest appearance by Angelina Jolie, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers with guest appearance by Halle Berry, Sony, and Miramax among others! A Look at People, Films, and, Games
Due to these higher profile panels, we were only able to attend a few, but what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality. Matt Groeningand company put on back to back panels for Futurama and The Simpsons that kept the audience in non-stop laughter, as would be expected. Starting with a special treat, the fans were shown the episode "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can" with ten minutes of never before seen footage integrated back in. Afterwards, the panel headlined by creator Matt Groening and writers Al Jean, Don Payne, Kevin Curran, Tim Long, and Dan Greaney, answered questions from the audience. While not able to discuss many specifics, the writers did leak some information about the forthcoming season. The first episode, the annual Halloween episode, will be aired in November (much to the chagrin of Groening). Fans of Professor Frink will be happy to see a bit more of him in the episode. Also, there will be a musical episode spoofing Evita. And if you are worried about The Simpsons ending, then fret not because according to Groening, "The Simpsons will never end!" The WB hosted another popular panel for Smallville, which is the new lead-in show on Wednesdays for Angel this Fall. Executive producer Al Gough, the writers and stars Allison Mack and Sam Jones III all appeared to discuss the highlights of the last season and plans for the upcoming third season. Another packed panel was Cartoon Network's promotion of its new Warner Brother's produced shows Duck Dodgers and Teen Titans. Duck Dodgers which begins airing August 23rd at 11am, resurrects the classic space cartoon involving Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Marvin the Martian. The panel, headed by the Senior Vice President of Original Animation Sam Register, gave fans an exclusive preview of the comedy. Also there were supervising producers Tony Cervone and Spike Brandt as well as producers/writers Paul Dini and Tom Minton. After Duck Dodgers, Sam Register presented Teen Titans, a new superhero show airing Saturday's at 9pm.
Targeted for children, the anime show follows superhero's Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy as they thwart numerous threatening villains. On the panel were the voice actors including Scott Menville (Robin), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Hynden Walch(Starfire), and Tara Strong (Raven). Series editor David Clack was present as well. Producer Glen Murakami talked about the anime influence on the show, which enticed Sam to refer to the animation style of Teen Titans as "Murakanime." Finally, Yumi from the popular Tokyo pop band Puffy AmiYumi, talked about the process of creating the theme for Teen Titans. Following that, Joss Whedon delivered yet another outstanding question and answer session in his inimitable style. And finally, I attended our own CoA sponsored panel of Angel writers, as they gave the fans the opportunity to probe deeper into the behind the scenes, creational part of the Angel and Buffy programs. On The Floor and In The Booths
Martha also gave us her thoughts on last season, "I think that the 2002-2003 season was one of the most engaging Angel seasons ever. I loved Gina Torres as Jasmine. My favorite scene was when Fred shot a bullet through Jasmine and into Angel to break the spell. That was an amazing and dramatic execution. I can't wait for Season Five. With Smallville as a lead-in on the schedule and the addition of James Marsters to the cast, this season is sure to bring new viewers to the show. In addition, the storyline change to W&H will be an interesting plot twist for loyal fans." And just to give the fans a little taste of what to expect on the Angel card front Martha explained that the Angel: Season Four trading cards will be another great set. "In addition to the episode coverage and characters cards, we added some new subsets such as, 'Lorne Does Vegas' which will make the set even more fun. The 9-card puzzle 'Deceptions,' which will be randomly inserted in the packs as well as sold as an uncut mini-press sheet, really looks amazing. And with an autograph card and a Pieceworks costume card in every box, fans will definitely enjoy this release." Promoting the December 17th release of The Return of the King, the final installment in the successful Lord of the Rings franchise, New Line Cinema had plenty of eye candy for the fans. From life sized ring wraiths, to cave troll busts, the setup was arguably the centerpiece of the exhibition floor. However, the most popular piece was the life-sized Gollum statue. The fish toting, little bugger found many fans eager to take their picture with him. Also on display was Electronic Arts new videogame Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, slated for a November 2003 release. Kiosks allowed fans to try a one level demo and experience all of the action of the upcoming movie. Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan even showed up to test-drive the game! The pair, who had been spotted wandering around the crowd near the Star Wars booth, gathered a massive crowd as they hacked up countless orcs in the game. Practically hidden amidst the Middle Earth scenery was a Camp Silver Lake setup advertising New Line's August 15th horror film Freddy vs. Jason. Directed by Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky), the film pits horror legends Freddy (Robert Englund) and Jason (Ken Kirzinger) against each other in the biggest brawl of the summer. Surrounded by a recreated camp atmosphere, New Line employees donning the classic sweater and hat Freddy combo were handing out goodies promoting the upcoming bloodbath.
DC, Dark Horse, and Cross Gen led the comic book charge with their tables, offering a number of preview books and autograph opportunities. Hundreds of fans came clad in costumes of their favorite characters, but the best display was a parade of Star Wars fans, dressed up in full Empire garb, marching through the center of the exhibition hall. There were red Imperial Guards, almost 30 white Storm Troopers, a few pilots, a black robed Emperor, and even a rebel prisoner. Fans of all ages cheered this display and snapped countless pictures. A close second to the Star Wars crew was a group of seven people in the completely authentic costumes of the campy 1960's Batman television show who allowed hundreds of fans to pose for pictures with them). At the Dark Horse Comics booth, Sarah Grace was busy coordinating efforts for the Joss Whedon panel and signing at their booth on Saturday. "The fan turnout is great, in fact, this is the 3rd or 4th year I've done the panel/signing thing with Joss and I sort of wished I had hired security," she joked, "though in the past I haven't had to. And having Nathan [Fillion] here is a delight. He is Johnny Charming Pants, all the ladies have massive crushes." Who could pass up an opportunity for a photos with two dashing men, under the art direction of Michael Ring (DH PR-guy) who snapped a this great shot of Sarah between Nathan and Joss. For CoA staff writer Darren Danforth, the highlight of the day was just a brief encounter that he had on the exhibition floor, where for the second year in a row, he got to see the legendary Ray Bradbury. Due to a conflict with the Joss panel, he didn't get to attend Mr. Bradbury's own panel, so he was very happy (and lucky) to run into him on the floor. His body may be failing, needing a motorized wheelchair to get around, but his mind is as sharp as ever, as befits the man who virtually invented the Science Fiction genre. It's moments like this that remind Darren why he loves the Comic Con so much. |
JOSS WHEDON :
DAVID FURY :
DANNY STRONG :
STEVEN DeKNIGHT :
MARTI NOXON :
ELIZA DUSHKU :
