Along with producing District 9 a twist on the age-old alien invasion story, Jackson will release The Lovely Bones later this year through Paramount and is currently working on the scripts for The Hobbit and its sequel with director Guillermo del Toro.

Barnes also notes 20th Century Fox is currently considering whether or not to screen footage of James Cameron’s hotly anticipated return to cinema with Avatar. The film has been highly touted as an immersive 3-D experience and I am sure that is the number one concern for the studio, but early buzz for films out of the convention never hurts. Films such as Warner Bros.’s 300 and Paramount’s Iron Man received such major jolts out of the convention they quickly became some of the most anticipated films following their Con debuts.

So far, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and now District 9 are the only two movies confirmed for the convention, which I will be covering from July 23-26, but I fully expect films such as Iron Man 2, The Last Airbender and G.I. Joe to have a major influence on this year’s convention.

Stay tuned for more from the San Diego Comic Con as we get closer to the convention and be sure to bookmark my official Comic Con Section for all the updates once coverage begins.

On Thursday, July 23, Summit Entertainment will hold a panel for The Twilight Saga: New Moon at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Come see our stars and exclusive new footage for The Twilight Saga: New Moon — there may be even be a surprise or two in store!

Tickets to Comic-con are selling out fast, so we recommend you get your Thursday tickets soon so you can have access to our panel. Unfortunately, the 4-day passes are already sold out, but the Thursday single-day passes are available, albeit in a limited quantity. Tickets can be purchased on the official Comic-Con website.

I will be in attendance at the event and this will be the page to check for all Comic Con events. Comic Con takes place at the San Diego Convention Center and this year will run from July 23 - 26. Stay tuned as I will have all the updated information as it is announced.

Now Gathegi and Lautner appear in Catherine Hardwicke’s adaptation of Twilight as Laurent and Jacob Black respectively. During the roundtables for Twilight, Gathegi sold the film better than anyone else. The man has got charm. And even though I have little faith in the movie, I have to say I would have loved to interview Gathegi on any topic on any given day. But here’s what we he and Lautner had to say on Twilight.

Edi, your character had a small role in the book. How was he fleshed out for the film?

Edi Gathegi: Well, because it’s a movie there has to be dramatic tension. So we are very aware of the conflicts earlier on. In the book, you don’t meet the character until page 100, but in the film you have to know there is a conflict [earlier].

In terms of being vampires, what were some of the highlights of that? Of making the movie?

EG: There is something really cool about having super strength, super speed, being immortal, never dying. That’s sexy. And that’s what’s cool about the thing. Otherwise they were all humans at one point. You’re just human with all these other attributes. So I attack it like I would address any other role.

Is there more werewolf stuff than there is in the book?

Taylor Lautner: No, I wouldn’t say so. I’d say the script is very, very identical to the [book]. The only sign of a werewolf you get is Sam Uley walking around with fur for a split-second. They did a very good job at staying true to the book.

EG: One of the ways they ensured that was by having Stephenie [Meyer] consult on the movie the whole way through. She actually has a cameo in it.

TL: Check out for that.

EG: They honored her stories very well. Fans will be very happy.

TL:That was [director] Catherine [Hardwicke’s] big thing. She did an excellent job having Stephenie on there and staying true. So you know, the fans are definitely lucky to have Catherine. She did the best job possible that any director could have done.

EG: She has a history of working with young talent–Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen…She’s always dealing with humans. She’s perfect for this film. And she’s so enthusiastic and spontaneous, and she’s got a great sense of humor.

Were you familiar with the books before the film?

TL: I was not familiar with them before. But as soon as I realized, ‘Wow, I’m Jacob Black, let’s look into this thing. Whoa! These fans are amazing. This is huge.’ So yeah, it’s very cool to be part of this. I’m excited and just looking forward to bring their character to life.

Were you into werewolves or vampires in real life?

TL: To be honest. Neither. I’ve never really seen much vampire or werewolf stuff. But definitely, I’m a fan now.

EG: Before, I would say I wasn’t a fan of vampire stories until I read this one, which is true. Because this is not just your typical vampire story. It’s a story about a girl who falls in love vampire story. So it’s a romance. It’s got the vampire element to it. And once you believe their true human story, you go along for the vampire ride. I love this story. I wanted to be part of this story. So now, I’m open to the world of vampires. So if something else came along, I’d be curious to see how someone else did it. It’s a cool genre.

TL: I definitely think the cool part of this film is that the romance is in there. It has everything for everyone. It has the romance. It has the action. The romance because of the girl falls in love with the vampire. Then because of the vampire aspect, it has nonstop action. It’s very dark. So, I think that’s what the fans and everybody is going to love about the film. It has everything.

EG: For the girls and the guys.

TL: Definitely.

It is very girl-orientated. Are guys going to like this movie?

EG: Yeah, I’m a testament to that, because I’m a twi-hard now. That’s what the fans call themselves. And I’m a grown man. It’s human, and once you believe them then you believe the vampire world. And there’s action in to for me.

Are there blood and guts?

EG: Are there blood and guts? Blood.

Any discussion of sequels or anything?

EG: No decisions have been made. I’m personally going to put my bid in for “The Laurent Chronicles.” Pitch that to Stephanie [Meyer] tonight…I think they are going to have figure it out if this movie does well. Which I hope it does. I hope it is as big as Harry Potter. Not comparing the two. But they did very well. If we have that kind of success, we will all be very happy.

Regardless, this was the cast and filmmakers’ moment to bask in the affection (or insanity) of its fans. And you could tell they were visible nervous. I would have offered Robert Pattinson a beer if I had one on me. The man has much to live up to since he’s playing the oh so beautiful and graceful Edward Cullen (author Stephenie Meyer’s wording, not mine), and he looked weirded out, jittery and smoking heavily before walking in–or maybe it was just the state of his hair giving off that vibe since it appeared styled by lighting firecrackers on his head. Who knows?

However, he had the charismatic Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria) to help him find his comfort zone during the round-table interview. The two definitely have chemistry and noticeably enjoy each other’s company. It was a laugh-filled conversation that touched on Pattinson’s hair style, the film’s special-effects, and the fans.

Excited or nervous about how nuts it will be downstairs for the panel?

Robert Pattinson: I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t even answer the most basic, fundamental questions. I don’t know if it’s nerves. I’m just incapable at the moment. I’m too worried it’s going to be embarrassing.

RL: Twilight does come with a built in fan base from the books. So you do have this whole thing…where you don’t want to upset people–you don’t want to upset what is already pre-existing in their imaginations. And you don’t want to ruin the movie. You don’t want to ruin the suspense for them.

Robert, how do you get your hair like that?

RP: I just don’t wash it, ever. It’s easy.

The obvious question is do you two feel chemistry?

RP: I don’t think we’re suppose to.

RL: No, no we hate each other. But no, we all had a really great time. The cast is all really close in age. So we all just sort of showed up in Portland and were like ‘Yeah, Twilight! What’s up? Let’s go for dinner.’ It was kind of like this amazing experience. Yeah we got lucky.

Was it like that when it was your time to hate one another?

RL: No. There was less group dinners once we started [laughter].

RP: There’s actually only one scene where we actually confront one another. You know, the nomadic vampires, which Rachelle is one, they kind of wander around being nomadic most of the time.

RL: Yeah, we’re always like a few steps behind. So you would think we worked together a lot. But actually it would be, they’d film something where we were like just behind them.

RP: That’s a much better description than just saying ‘wandering around being nomadic.’

RL: Yeah, if you don’t mind I cleared that up a little.

What was your thought process behind creating Edward Cullen’s voice?

RP: He’s very direct in his speech. So I kind of tried to speak slowly…It’s kind of old fashioned…I tried to make it sound as smooth as I possibly could, sort of an elegant speech pattern.

What was your favorite special-effect or activity in the film?

RP: There’s a part, a big fight scene, where I get my head hit into a wall. It’s suppose to be super hard, and the pillar starts falling down and stuff. It’s quite cool when someone can be hit as hard they can into a wall and the whole thing falls down and doesn’t hurt. That was quite fun.

RL: We got to do…what we call the magic carpet. You gotta imagine a 30-foot piece of plexi-glass on the ground and you walk on it while it’s being pulled 15-20 miles per hour by a winch. So the ground beneath you is moving at top speed while you walk in slow motion. And they didn’t want to do CGI for us to look like we moved inhumanly, and so we had a full day of learning how to walk. First you start on your knees and then you stand a little more with a rope and then you let go and you walk a little on this thing. And it makes it look like you are walking at 30 miles per hour when all you are doing is taking three steps. And that was a pretty cool thing to get to learn how to do.

Speaking of effects, have you seen any of the sparkle-dazzle look yet?

RP: No I haven’t. I’m really worried about that–well I’m not worried–but that’s kind of the big reveal. And I have no idea. I know it’s almost impossible to do it without making it look kind of cheesy. I think there is a company that’s been working on that–they’ve been working on it for months. And it’s just one scene. I think it’s very difficult. They tried about 40 make-up tests. Everything is so hard. We had these little things that were like flakes of salt. It was just disgusting…So many poor ADs on set had to keep on having make-up tests. There was this one bald guy, his whole head painted blue, had an accident. He just had this blue head and he couldn’t get it off for like 4 days.

Robert, first you were in the Harry Potter film and now you’re in this other possible fan-driven franchise. Did you give any though to that?

RP: It was strange when I read, I didn’t put the two things together at all. It’s kind of dumb of me not to. Right now it’s specifically known as the next Harry Potter blah blah. Just really odd how that’s happened.

Does it frighten you at all?

RP: Yeah I guess it is. I mean, I really went into it not knowing how big it was at all. I just realized when about halfway through shooting, when at night, the crowds would come to set and just got bigger bigger and bigger. Literally, everyday doubled… On the first day there was no one and then on the last day there were 70 people waiting outside the set. One night they all just found out where it was. It’s really strange. We are shooting stuff in the desert, somewhere in California, like literally in the middle of the desert, and there’s like 6 “Twilight” Moms.

RL: There were pictures on the Internet of the vans we were traveling in, taken through car windshields. I saw one and it was like ‘Twilight cast in van!’ And you realize somebody was driving behind you.

“Smell the glove. C’mon SMELL IT!”

“Does it make you feel like less of a man knowing I could squash your head with my abs?”

Who dropped the acid in my drink? Because I’m trippin’ balls.

“What you’ve never seen a man in his pajamas and a skull mask before?”

“What do you mean I look like the 40-year-old virgin? I’m Link Damnit!”

“Hehe, I’ve got swamp ass.”

Hey look, Steven Spielberg wandered on to the floor.

Please dude, don’t vote…

Yep, this guy probably slept in his “costume.”

Ahhhh Jesuses. Or hippies? Who knows these days?

Batman and the Joker work together to find their dignity hidden somewhere on the map.

“Ok Miss, me or fatty, who do you wanna screw?”

“Hi mom, I’m so like totally surrounded by freaks right now?”

The only good thing I’ve seen come from The Spirit thus far.

The Punisher just heard Lionsgate fired director Lexi Alexander.

“What do you mean we didn’t make your hotties of Comic Con post?”

“Alright, let’s go bust some nachos at the food court!!!”

Goddamn bugs in San Diego are ferocious.

“Hmm. Do you think we’re over dressed?

“I’m soooo high!”

“If you don’t tell me where the bathroom is pronto, I’m going to shoot my friend here in the chest. Do you want that on your mind?”

“We’re so hip for 1997. Oh yeah baby”

I present the future of the world. Sigh.

“Gettin’ laid tonight, ooooh yeaaah.”

“Does the audition line for The Dark Knight Comes Again start here?”

Put the mask back on pissy man.

Dude. No seriously. Dude.

“Have you seen 7 midgets dressed as ewoks around here?”

“Remember kids, be more sociable or end up like me in 30 years”

]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/comic-con/?feed=rss2&p=91 http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/comic-con/?p=139 http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/comic-con/?p=139#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:25:57 +0000 David Frank http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/comic-con/?p=139 I thought I had a lot more pics from the San Diego Convention Center’s floor, or the geek pit as I affectionately called it, or the whorehouse (not a reference to the hotties in there, mind you) as I truly thought of it–shilling and selling is the game here. However, it turns out there’s a reason why I’m a writer and not a photog. Most of the pics were out of focus (although it seems everything Sideshow Collectable and/or Star Wars related made it okay). So here you go with what I got. Obviously, we’ve already covered some of the things on the floor such as James Bond’s Quantum of Solace car and the Watchmen ship (and along with pics of hotties and upcoming pics of the halloweeners). So here are a few other things that caught my eye while roaming this place (which by the way does live up to expectations and smells like stale farts and body odor). 

The only reason I snapped this was because I was like, “Wow that’s one hot mannequin. I can’t believe some lonely fanboy hasn’t stolen it yet.”

Technically an outside promotion for The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, but it fits here nonetheless.

A taste of the insanity.

Lazy bastards lounging on the Sci-Fi Channel’s gigantic…um thing. I have no idea what this was, but it was twice as long and much taller than this pic shows.

I only wanted to show this for one reason. If you look to the left you will see Lionsgate’s booth. And what is there is the Saw 5 exhibit. Now directly across (no more than 10 feet) from the gore-lovin’ Saw 5 promotion is the kid-friendly Nickelodeon booth. This is what amuses me folks.

The town had lost its charm about 3 hours earlier when I awoke with that familiar piston-pump squeeze that comes from concentrated amounts of alcohol buried under a brick of hamburger and fries.

I had just spent several hours on the swank rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel glad-handing and double fisting beers. It was the Wrath of Con Party, one of the big-ticket bashes in San Diego this weekend thrown by IESB.net. Full of celebs, film-industry types, payed high-caliber skanks with duct-taped nipples, and almost every web reporter from a site with daily hits toppling 1000. Good times. Good people. Good bartenders. And through my boss, I scored entry to the V.I.P. lounge–opening up a terrible number of decadent opportunities for a fiend like me. But I only used it for faster access to drinks and left the lap dances and celeb hob-knobbing to those in need of such company last night.

In fact, I had kept my normal throttle in check for the night. No feral screaming or veiled death threats involving tasers and hot tubs. No working the crowd, other than those my boss introduced me to–and even then I was muted. No bottle breaking or visiting the woman 5 floors above who stood in the window most of the night completely nude. And absolutely no stripping and belly dancing from myself. This was a time for relaxation and perhaps meditation, the kind of which only gawking at sexy skanks wiggling their asses can provide.

Yet, despite my efforts, I still had made a fool of myself when I splashed beer across my shirt after stupidly trying to swig from one bottle while holding another full one in the same hand. For the rest of the night, I waltzed around appearing as if a milk gland had burst underneath my t-shirt.

The gig was up. It would only get worse the more time I stayed in this town. Covering a sensory-overloaded spectacle such as Comic Con had taken its mental toll. Once the ability to drink properly from a beer bottle goes by the wayside, it is only a matter of time before the grey matter starts liquefying and the real whoring begins.

Comic-Con revolves around breaking into the V.I.P. room. It is obsessed with that zone of acceptance by those who matter, a place that gives you bragging rights, a magical boat that sets you on a one-way trip to a life of power and the fulfillment of dreams. Everybody wants in, whether it’s the press begging for the exclusive interviews, or attendees craving to see new footage from upcoming blockbusters, or a crowd member relating their life story to a bored celeb sitting on a panel, or even the costumed Martians pretending to be whatever pop-culture icon just to clutch those fleeting seconds when they’ve actually tricked themselves into believing that they are indeed that icon.

Yet, there is no V.I.P. room in Comic Con, just a whorehouse. A mansion-sized brothel with many rooms, none V.I.P., and all selling something different.

My taxi driver had hammered down the accelerator while approaching the terminal. Only the laws of Newton limited our speed. Not even children pedestrians could stop this torpedo now. I stuck my head out the backseat window, slapping the door and whooping it up. The driver laughed maniacally, as I did too. See man, I told you I’d get you out of this city real fast, he yelled above Ice Cube rapping on the radio. That’s my job, taking you people out of this town. As quick as possible.

The car popped up on the curb and suddenly halted. We stumbled out. I paid him. My man, what does that black bracelet on your wrist say, he asked.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe.” I had to wear the thing last night at a party to get into the V.I.P. area.

The driver winked, jumped back in his car, and burned off while cackling in the cool the San Diego morning air. Godspeed, garbage man.