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