Ah the Avengers “surprise” panel.

Not much a surprise as everyone and their mother was talking about it for weeks before when it was announced that Marvel would have Thor and Capt America all together on Saturday.

What was also being talked about before this was the Edward Norton Hulk debacle and the poor handling of it by Marvel. As it was, this actually tainted the entire experience for a number of fans because they truly loved Norton in the role and Marvel’s in poor taste announcement of his being dropped from the project was being discussed everywhere.

I backed the Sharlto Copley choice and was terrified by the rumor of Joaquin Phoenix getting the part. Then came the Mark Ruffalo rumor which seemed more true than most. Either way, everyone was waiting for Saturday at Comicon when it would no doubt be announced who would be the new mean green (some fans still hoped, no matter how unlikely , that Norton would walk out onto the stage.) Either way, whoever was getting the part was going to be met with some negativity thanks to Marvel’s crappy handling of the entire thing.

So of course, we got the Avengers teaser voiced by Sam Jackson, who then walked out on stage to announce the line up of the already known Avengers…all of whom were in attendance. It was a great moment for all the fans who started screaming and freaking out, especially when Tony Stark walked out (with some really long hair) and took over the PA for the “new” parts of the crew.

Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye came out on stage which was wasn’t much of a surprise as it had been rumored for well over a month. But then Downey decided to do something I thought was well….dicky. Which granted that’s his character, but still…when he said “And reprising his role as Bruce Banner…” I heard many in the audience gasp in joy that either Norton or even Eric Bana would walk out. But no, “Mark Ruffalo!” And guess what ladies and gents…I called it. He got boo’d and loud enough that I could hear it where I was, even over the noise that was hitting the rafters.

So yes, good job RDJ, you just helped throw Ruffalo under that bus Marvel already had him wedged under that much harder. As I’ve said already, we’ll still all go see the movie because frack, it’s the Avengers and yes…it’s directed by Joss Whedon (something else that wasn’t a surprise.) But this makes it slightly less shiny.

A concern by many about the film is the ability to juggle all these characters well within a limited time frame. Is two hours long enough for a movie of this scope? No, I don’t think it is. I think if Marvel is smart they’ll look at this as their Lord of the Rings and make it 3 hours long. Cause if its well written and as bad ass as say Serenity, I’d sit there till my butt fell off watching it. And I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one.

So here’s hoping this doesn’t turn into a failure. Marvel has already pulled some bad moves. But Whedon is the man. He’s good at ensemble as evident by Buffy and Firefly. Super powered characters (or at least super characters with normal powers) that have witty dialog and are smartly written. He’s got a gang of Hollywood talent and a studio given him their biggest heavy hitters from their universe to play with. So hopefully he remembers that “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Here’s the announcement.

Thor was personally my favorite part of the entire Marvel panel, that’s including the Avengers thing at the end. I like story and style with good character development and I think that’s what we are going to get with Thor after seeing the chunk of footage they showed in 3D.

Kenneth Branagh brings cred to the directors chair just by being Kenneth fracking Branagh. He’s classy and he’s from the world of Shakespeare who is the granddaddy of mythic tragedy and tortured family lives. And that’s what Branagh’s point was when he described why he was sort of perfect for this.

Chris Hemsworth, also known as Daddy Kirk, LOOKS HUGE. I’m not sure what the hell happened or how much gamma radiation was required, but he looks three times the size he was in Star Trek. His neck is as big around as my torso. So yes, he fits the part of a god just fine thank you.

Hopkins as Odin is perfect. There’s nothing else to say about that.

The rest of the cast also looks spot on, with Tom Hiddleston as Loki looking as though he’d just stepped right out of the comic book. The design etc is beautiful too. We got a LOT more footage of Thor than we did of any of the other comic films (this includes Green Lantern.) It’s been filming longer so they had a headstart.

The thing that I found amusing the most out of the panel was the nice way Natalie Portman was trying to convey her dislike of the Star Wars Prequel filming experience. She should have just said “I’m so glad to be working with a REAL director who knows how to get actors to act instead of just tossing them in front of a green screen and making “pew pew” laser noises.” Story is important George, even though we know your Hutt like sensibilities (and neck) are all about the money.

Here’s part 1 of the panel:

The biggest event of the SDCC was Saturday’s Marvel panel which gave us all the first glimpse of Capt America, Thor, and the not so secret announcement of the Avengers movie.

On deck first was Capt America. Chris Evans who had already starred in another Marvel franchise by way of Fantastic Four and director Joe Johnston as well as Hugo Weaving discussed the new film and we got our first glimpse of Evans in the suit (albeit briefly with required shield throwing shot.)

I have to say Evans got bulked up for the part. He’s also aware of the divide his casting has caused since many fans feel he’s not Cap material. He’s considered the smart ass twenty something due to..well…that’s mostly what he’s been in every film he’s done.

I actually want him to succeed in this. He seems genuine in his determination to make this work. And while I still am iffy about him being able to boss around people like Robert Downey Jr as Stark or guys like Thor etc, I’m willing to give him more of a shot after seeing what he’s already done in the way of work for the role.
Here’s some of the panel

Weaving was very Weaving and seemed not to know quite what to make of the Comicon crowd. He panders well though. But it didn’t matter; he’s perfectly cast as the Red Skull. While we didn’t get to see him in full on Red mode, we were shown a clip of him doing the accent which nicely tied into the Thor film and the Avengers. Marvel is hardcore about this universe crossing over thing.

While of course the footage is not available (yet) here’s some cheesey 90’s Cap for you to chew on while we wait.

The footage and panel for The Green Lantern was limited on the pretty images. But we did get to see Ryan Reynolds nearly adopt a young un who who was wearing his Green Lantern t-shirt and stole the show from everyone when he asked Reynolds “What’s it like to say the Green Lantern oath?” which of course got Reynolds to recite it on command. He also signed a comic for the boy and then brandished rings at one another.

Here’s how that went down

It was a great moment in the panel and the footage which as said was lackin due to the movie still being shot gave us at least some glimpse at what we can expect. We did get to see a giant green fist emerge from the ring during fight Hal is in. But no sign of Sinestro. We do get a very quick glimpse at one of the corps.

It was also obvious that the filmmakers had heard the grumbling of the fans in response to “the suit” which they defended, saying it was still in the early stages yet. I still need to see the suit (and Reynolds in it) moving around before I call party foul completely.

In any event since we don’t have the footage to share, here is a dream Green Lantern trailer with Nathan Fillion in the lead role made by a fan with way too much time and talent on his hands.

I liken Sucker Punch on first glance to the bastard offspring of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Moulin Rouge…only on steroids with big fracking guns.

We got to see a large chunk of footage from the film which is set in the imagination of the lead character who’s been taken to a mental institution by her step-father for a lobotomy. And that’s really all I could tell you about it. The rest of the film looks like fangirl wet dream with dragons, steam punk, kung fu, Nazis, and burlesque routines all thrown into a blender with some high grade E and Led Zepplin.

It’s beautiful and nuts and its one of the few times Snyder has done something that’s all his and not based off of someone else’s work.

I personally can’t wait to see it because I want to know what just what the hell it truly is. Its so insane looking it can either be REALLY REALLY GOOD or REALLY REALLY BAD. I’m thinking good because just the fact you’ve got WW2 looking bombers fighting dragons on screen makes me way giddy.

Check the short trailer below.

I was lucky enough to be the second person to ask Del Toro a question during the panel for his newest production, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

Part of the reason I love Guillermo del Toro is he’s a giant fanboy and he’s a great and amazing person. He appreciates talent and helps those who might not have a chance to get their work seen.

That’s what happened in this case where he communicated with the films director Troy Nixey. He saw his work and the two came together to work on the film which Del Toro co-wrote with Matthew Robbins.

The film is a remake of a TV movie of the same name from the 1970s. It was the stuff of nightmares and just like Trilogy of Terror (another mean mother of a TV horror flick) the evil little creatures that populate the film stuck in many a young kids nightmares.

Del Toro and company have taken the little evil demons and made them way worse…they look like something that climbed out of an acid trip that Lovecraft had during a bad night. Oh, and they eat teeth. Kids teeth to be precise. The three demons live in an old fire place and haunt and stalk a woman who moves into their old house. As said, the stuff of nightmares.

The trailer was cringe inducing enough, but the clip they showed was even more brutal. The film has no profanity or sex, not even really over gore. Its just DAMN scary…so scary in fact it got hit with an R-rating, with made Del Toro happy.

But as said, I got to ask a question during the Q and A. And that question had to do with Del Toro ever doing something for TV horror like say a mini series. Don’t Be Afraid came out of that golden age of TV horror films in the 70′s and 80′s. Movies like Salem’s Lot, Trilogy of Terror, and Chiller. And Del Toro is a huge fan of those type of films.

When I asked this he brought up the great Dan Curtis (another reason I love this man, he gives Dan Curtis props for The Nightstalker etc) and then the whammy dropped. He told everyone he was getting ready to do a new anthology series on cable that would be officially announced in a few months. (OOOps…I think you just announced it to 10,000+ people)

So there you go. Anthology horror back on the small screen via Del Toro and old school good scary TV on the big screen. I’m okay with this.

Here’s the original films trailer. Listen for the voices of the demons toward the end. They ratchet this to eleven in the new movie.

Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show happens to be made of fairy dust and haggis, which means its magic. It also has its own robot skeleton army. Geoff Peterson is the leader of that robot skeleton army.

Geoff was at Comicon and talking to people at the CBS booth. And so I headed over to converse and have him do a shout out to Fangirl friend Christina.

For those who have never been, the convention floor of Comicon is sort of a legend. Your friendly neighborhood editor here decided to share the experience with you via video.

Here is part final of three videos to give you a first hand view of what it is like to walk the floor of Comicon in San Diego. And yes, it really is this crowded. I even run into someone from my homebase of Eugene, OR in this mass. Let’s hear it for local geeks!

For those who have never been, the convention floor of Comicon is sort of a legend. Your friendly neighborhood editor here decided to share the experience with you via video.

Here is part 2 of three videos to give you a first hand view of what it is like to walk the floor of Comicon in San Diego. And yes, it really is this crowded. I even run into someone from my homebase of Eugene, OR in this mass. Let’s hear it for local geeks!

For those who have never been, the convention floor of Comicon is sort of a legend. Your friendly neighborhood editor here decided to share the experience with you via video.

Here is part 1 of three videos to give you a first hand view of what it is like to walk the floor of Comicon in San Diego. And yes, it really is this crowded. I even run into someone from my homebase of Eugene, OR in this mass. Let’s hear it for local geeks!