The best part about attending Comic-Con in the flesh? Not the over-the-top cos-players. Not the cavernous exhibition floor. Definitely not the food. What makes standing shoulder-to-shoulder with 100K sweaty real-life Comic Book Guys in 90 degree heat worth it? The clips!
Warner Bros., the Weinsteins, and Sony proved this when they unveiled footage from upcoming films on Saturday, THE day to be at Comic-Con.
A scene from Frank Miller’s "300" wowed the crowd, with it’s CGI-heavy reconstruction of the Battle of Thermopylae
WB’s heads-flying battle scene from "300" blew viewers away and seemed to put the Frank Miller graphic novel adaptation on moviegoers’ radar for the first time. Footage from Robert Rodriguez‘s half of "Grind House," entitled "Planet Terror," introduced star Rose McGowan as an amputee with a machine gun for a leg, to the delight of gorehounds in the audience. And Sony? With lines stretching outside the Convention Center for about a mile in 90-degree heat hours before the 5:00 panel, hundreds were shut out of the presentation of "Spider-Man 3," where fans got their first extended glimpse of CGI-enhanced Spidey archnemesis, Venom!
"Grindhouse" star Rosario Dawson, also at Comic-Con to pimp her new comic series "O.C.T.," stood in for Kevin Smith when he got stuck in traffic en route
Of course, there was also the huge draw Friday for this summer’s baddest creature-feature, "Snakes On A Plane." Sure, the ten-minute clip may not have blown people away — though laughs seemed to come from one character getting bitten on the butt by a poisonous snake — but really, the highlight of the entire expletive-filled panel was the appearance of cast and crew members onstage, including one 19-foot anaconda named Annie. Watch it here!
"Get these mutha******* snakes off my mutha******* stage!" So speaketh Samuel L. Jackson at the "SOAP" panel
The hottest news from this year’s Con:
The announcement at the end of Paramount’s "Stardust" panel that original Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen will indeed return for the big-screen "Transformers."
Bryan Singer (speaking on "Superman Returns" with original "Super" director, Richard Donner) saying the the "Superman Returns" sequel probably won’t happen until 2009 – and, unlike this summer’s more romance-driven "Supes," will have more action.
Singer also intimated he might be willing to return to his "X-Men" franchise, and that his "Logan’s Run" remake is now on hold.
The Tokyopop booth babes, a Wonder Woman, and more…
At the "Hulk" panel, newly announced director Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter 2") confirmed that the new baddie will be Abomination, the sequel would be part "Frankenstein," part "Jekyll and Hyde, and part "Edward Scissorhands," and that there would be "No poodles."
Lucas Films fan liason Steve Sansweet announced two "Star Wars" television series in the works, one to be a live-action show to air within the decade, and the other to be a CGI-animation Clone Wars-set show in 2008.
On the Convention floor: Stormtroopers, the scary "Snakes on a Plane" booth, and "The Descent" booth
Joel Silver chatted with RT’s Binh Ngo about the "Wonder Woman" film, and said it will be a straight-faced origin story. He also said they’re looking for a young, unknown actress to play the teenage super-heroine.
Bryan Singer and Co. announced at the "Spider-Man 3" presentation that, in addition to fighting superhuman baddies Sandman and Venom, Spidey will also contend with Harry Osborn, who will use his wealth to become a new kind of Goblin, not the Green Goblin or Hobgoblin.
Click here to peruse our Comic-Con 2006 photo gallery of babes, booths, panels, and celebs!
