The days are beginning to become far more crowded as we move along.  After coming here for eleven years, as I said yesterday, you learn many tricks.  You also learn however, the way the population works.  The closer you get to the weekend, the more crowded it becomes.  Being a Friday, the numbers tend to increase, and this is in no way different from my hypothesis.  Per my brother’s request, we rushed to the Sony booth so he could compete in the SOCOM tournament.  I was satisfied from the hands on demo the day before, so I left and went on my own for awhile.  I spotted Lou Ferrigno the day before and thought a picture with the Incredible Hulk would be a perfect addition to my blog.  So jaunting over to the Mile High Comics booth where he was located, I sift through the mass of sweaty geeks like myself, although I must say that it is pretty hard to sweat due to the fact that Comic-Con does a fantastic job keeping it insanely cool in the building.  Upon coming to the former body builder, I spotted a sign which read, “Polaroids with Lou, $30.00.  No personal cameras allowed.”  There was no way in hell I was about to pay thirty dollars for a Polaroid in which I would have to scan to put on the site.  For a second I contemplated just snapping my own photo of the big man, but upon realizing my optical zoom could not focus from that far away, I did not want to attempt stealing a shot of someone who could beat me into a pulp.  So with a perfect mixture of terror and anger, I sauntered back to the Sony booth to find my brother and get ready for the Warner Brothers panel.

 

   You must understand that the largest most popular panel are held in Hall H of the convention center which holds more than any other hall or ballroom in the entire place.  It holds roughly fifteen thousand people which may seem like a lot, but considering that the event sells out at one hundred thousand, it isn’t much at all.  If you want a seat you must get in line approximately one hour prior to the panel.  We sat in the line eyeballing the weirdos that walked by for around thirty minutes and finally were let in.  The Warner Bros. panel knocked it out of the park.  Watchmen, the most celebrated graphic novel of all time, is finally being put on the silver screen.  Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created a masterpiece over twenty years ago that has not been outdone yet.  The panel included the entire cast as well as the fantastic director, Zack Snyder.  With visionary films such as 300, and Dawn of The Dead, Snyder is the perfect choice for the film adaptation of the non super hero super hero movie.  We were also privy to some new R rated material never before seen by anyone before.  The soundtrack and cast will be perfect for next year’s blockbuster due out in March.

 

   Next, for the first time in CCI history, we were able to watch what they call, “Trailer Park,” which is a compilation of all the trailers for all the upcoming films this year.  It was a good hour packed with exciting trailers for films such as Mirrors, Babylon AD, Terminator Revelation, Pineapple Express, Quarantine, Quantum of Solace, Watchmen, and many others. 

 

   The thing with big Hall H is that if you don’t really want to see a panel but you want to see the following one, you best not leave, or you will never get back in.  In some cases it is best to go first thing in the morning and never leave the hall all day.  I wasn’t too crazy about seeing the panel for the Universal Pictures upcoming horror film, Wolfman, but after sitting through it, I was pleasantly surprised.  Starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, it tells the story of the legacy of the werewolf and how it has evolved through the generations.  With the right combination of blood and violence, Wolfman is a film that will be an exciting addition to this year’s repertoire. 

 

   The next panel belonged to the good fellows at Lionsgate, who were introducing Will Eisner’s vision through the creativity of Frank Miller, the writer of such greats as 300 and Sin City.  The panel included Frank as well as the hero and villain roles played by Samuel L. Jackson and Gabriel Macht.  The most exciting thing about this film is a three parter.  First, being as it is a creation of Will Eisner, who is a genius who went long before his true brilliance was realized, it is a gem.  Second, it is the directorial debut of visionary genius Frank Miller, who has a great eye not only for story, but for revolutionary art as well.  The third, but not last perk of this one, is the use of graphic interpretation.  Like Sin City, The Spirit will be filmed in the same artistic style and grace with vivid colors and will remind us that black and white are just as vibrant as the rest of the spectrum.  It is easy to say that The Spirit and Watchmen will be the most popular “unknown” comic book movies of the year.

 

   When you attend large panels you are usually rewarded by the studio giving you a free gift.  We were met by the entrance to the Warner Bros. panel and given a ticket to present at there booth for your item.  Well having sat through the entire day’s entertainment, we arrived in the exhibit hall at about four in the afternoon.  We waded through the bodies of moronic sheep, attempting to get a glimpse of some Hollywood star for a brief second.  I call them moronic sheep for one reason only.  They are idiots.  For example, Jeffrey Dean Morgan who plays the character of The Comedian on the upcoming comic film, Watchmen, was signing autographs at a high rise booth (a booth that stands about ten feet higher than the other booths) and the young moronic sheep who were in perfect eyeshot of him uttered two things, “Oh my god, that’s Hugh Jackman!”  No sorry, it’s just another large hairy man, and, “I think that is Robert Downey Jr.!  It is!”  Sigh…no again; he is just a guy with a face and hair.  Finally we reached the Warner Bros. booth only to find that they had run out of swag and we are to check back tomorrow.  So I will update you when and if that goes down. 

 

   Being as tired as we were from our twelve hour day at the con, we began the journey back to the car.  One of my hang-ups about large groups is they tend to clump and have no consideration for other people.  We all hate the fact that we are here with all these people, but common courtesy still needs to exist.  When you want to talk to another member of your party, step into a clearing, do not circle up in the middle of a main thoroughfare and expect everyone to go around you.  When I see this, call me an asshole if you must, but I purposely walk through the middle of their group, and my brother tends to overly exaggerate the amount he needs to bump into them and almost knocks them over.  It is all good times.

 

   We wanted to see a couple movies so we drove to the local theater for a night of preview cinema.  We bought our tickets for Step Brothers and X-Files: I Want to Believe.  Step Brothers was by far the most fun you will have at a movie this summer.  That is until Pineapple Express is released, then I might change my tune.  The Adam McKay humor is my kind of humor.  There is no review that can be made except to say it is non stop laughter.  You laugh so hard you actually miss other funny subtleties.  Just like his former films, Adam McKay has a beginning, middle, and an end.  The rest is just funny.  If you miss it, you will be sorry.  In a summer filled with blockbusters, it is nice to have a little lighter film to enjoy.

 

   Growing up watching X-Files every Sunday night and talking about it with my friends, or at least the few geeky friends that watched the show, I was excited to see this film even though it wasn’t played up that much.  After seeing it, I can say that if you are looking for the X-Files story to end all stories, you are not going to get it.  There was nothing in here that couldn’t be shown in an episode during the middle of the series in the middle of the season.  In this respect it was very mundane.  However, I believe what they were going for was a closer for the characters.  For so many years, the program was focused mainly on the paranormal and not as much character development as the first few seasons and it was owed to the die hard fans that put in many loyal years.  This film is for them, or us, the ones that love the series both for the science fiction and the characters’ dynamic.  If you were a fan, see it.  If not, see it anyway.  It is a good story overall and keeps you in suspense for the full two hours.

 

   Keep checking back for more coverage on CCI 2008.  I have posted more pics on the forum here.  Check em out and let me know what you think.  Keep chewing in the Sewer!

 

-T