Hey folks, Harry here... Just got off the phone with Quint in San Diego, he's got some great goodies lined up for ya over the next couple of days. He's hoping to land a chat with Asia Argento (uh huh, sure you just want to chat) from 'xXx' - more Richard Taylor goodness - coverage of BUBBA HO-TEP's unveiling at Comic-Con and much much more, including the superhero projects and other bouts of coolness. With out further adieu, here's the saltlicker himself....
Ahoy squirts! This is one tired seaman reporting in from San Diego... I've got a little update from my first day at Comic Con... Unfortunately, so much happened that I'm gonna have to give you folks the bulk of it (ie the stuff I have to transcribe) tomorrow. I've got news and interviews ranging from Hellboy to Shaolin Soccer...
To give a peek, Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola and Ron Perlman all did a panel, the highlights I will transcribe tomorrow for you folks. Guillermo did talk about AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (apparently the screenwriting god Matthew Robbins, of uncredited CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND fame, is co-authoring the screenplay with him) and COFFIN (apparently Tim McCanlies of IRON GIANT fame is writing the screenplay) but said all things not Hellboy are on the backburner. Guillermo and crew are bending over backwards to stay true to the comic and the movie will be mostly based on the first mini-series. I'll get you folks exact quotes tomorrow, when I don't have a long, long, long day ahead of me and am not already falling asleep at the keyboard.
I will also bring you an exclusive AICN interview with none other than the God of Cookery himself, Mr. Stephen Chow. We talk about everything from Shaolin Soccer making its way (not unscathed, unfortunately) through the American Distribution system, his upcoming epic Kung Fu flick and SHAOLIN SOCCER 2!!!! Yes, he's developing SHAOLIN SOCCER 2!!!
So, look for those bastards to hit the page this time Friday night/Saturday morning. Right now, to hold you over, I have a small account of my day wandering through the convention and a bunch of pictures of various movie themed toys including Big Trouble In Little China figures (due out in September), Matrix Reloaded busts and pics of some of the coolest fucking Lord of the Rings models ever.
I started the day getting my HELLBOY Comic Con exclusive teaser poster, which is even cooler in real life than on the computer screen. Next I ran over and met with the living legend of movie effects, Ray Harryhausen. This is the second time I've met the man and I always feel the same sense of awe and wonder around this god. He chatted about just returning from New Zealand where he showed a bunch of his films and about how much fun he had.
After getting my GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD one-sheet signed by the man, the myth, the legend himself, I proceeded to wander around the Convention Floor. It didn't take me long to notice the HUGE Weta/Sideshow arena, aptly called the Lord of the Rings Pavilion. It was there that I came face to face with the two below statuettes:
Oh my sweet God. Look at the Balrog!!! Look at the Balrog!!!!
I almost lost control of my senses, the collector/geek side of my personality nearly taking over my rational self, telling my arms to reach out, pick up the statue and run for the nearest exit. I was halfway convinced I could get away with it when I heard a New Zealand accent come from a small crowd of people behind me. Towering above the fans was Richard Taylor, quite obviously just in from the airport, small carry-on bag in hand. I met the man along with a lot of really cool Weta staff and they were all very warm and just plain excited to be there.
I got a real sense of energy from every one of the Weta guys, some of them looking almost as young as myself. They're doing incredible work and are down to earth, likeable blokes to boot. Taylor's doing a 2 hour movie make-up and weaponry demonstration tomorrow. I'll try to nab some photos for you squirts.
I reluctantly left the Lord of the Rings Pavilion (empty-handed... blast it) and wandered a bit more. I saw these badass busts for Matrix. Most of them were of known characters (Neo, Trinity, Agent Smith, Morphius) that looked exactly the same as the first film. There were, however, two busts for two of the white Virus guys. (BTW: MacFarlane Toys has landed the toy license for MATRIX 2 & 3!) It's pretty well known what they look like, but here is a pic of one of the busts anyway:
Not bad. I was off in a flash, though, as the Convention Floor was enormous and filled with more treasures to find. It didn't take long to stumble across the Big Trouble in Little China figures. I had seen the prototypes at last year's Comic Con, but didn't have a digital camera with me then. The figures make me geek out, but that's not really due to the design, more of just the idea of owning my own Egg Shen or Lo Pan or Jack Burton figure. They're not crappy figures, but I guess McFarlane toys have spoiled me a bit. They're certainly better looking than the Mad Max figures that came out a while back... That's for damn sure. Take a look:
I also found a figure of Steve McQueen as BULLITT, which is being put out by the same company, who also put out that Rambo figure a few months ago. I thought it was pretty nifty. Take a look:
After a bit more walking, I found myself in the Decipher booth, eyeballing the various Lord of the Rings posters, including one that had autograph schedules for that booth. There were two LOTR actors there signing at the time I walked into the booth, so I got to meet the guy who played LURTZ in Fellowship of the Ring, a big Kiwi who was quick to share stories of his adventures on set and was super-nice to boot. I also met the guy who played the greatest of all evils, SAURON, who, funnily enough, had just gotten a tattoo on his left arm depicting the eye of Sauron. Very cool chaps.
The last things I'm gonna mention before I wrap this up and get the sleep I need to tomorrow's adventures were two video games I happened across... Since we're still on a LOTR kick, I'll bring up the Lord of the Rings PS2/X-Box game... Now, I didn't get to play it, but sweet Jesus the graphics were amazing. It literally looked like the movie coming to life, except you can play Aragorn or Legolas or whoever else from the Fellowship that the game allows you to play. I'll be the first one buying this game when it comes out.
The other video game available for preview was THE THING, based on John Carpenter's classic film. I didn't see much of this game, but the graphics I did see were really intriguing. I only worry about the playability of the game. As we all know, a movie based game can have both great graphics and shitty gameplay (HAIL TO THE KING, anyone?). It looked like it kept the tone of Carpenter's brilliant film and had the potential to be really creepy. I'll check this game out more in the next few days to get a better idea of the gameplay.
The day was a whirlwind of activity and tomorrow promises to be even more hectic. If you're hanging about the San Diego Comic Con and want to meet up, feel free to call me on my cell phone (512-663-9146). I'll be back tomorrow with tons of coverage, including those transcriptions of the HELLBOY panel highlights and a full transcription of my interview with STEPHEN CHOW. Until then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
email: Asia Argento - Please Break Me, Glue Me, Use Me!
