Comic-Con 2010 is here. The first day kicked off with plenty of excitement. Of course Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams were at hand to discuss about their projects (and Whedon officially confirms that he is directing The Avengers). Plenty of awesome panels took place including Tron Legacy, Battle: Los Angeles and The Expendables. Also, what would Comic-Con be without the epic of epic epicness Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?

Tron Legacy

For the third year in a row, Tron Legacy has made an appearance at Comic-Con (which apparently sets a record) and once again they did not disappoint (despite a fairly dry panel). However for the first time out of the three appearances, there’s actual footage this time!

The folks at the event were treated to an 8 minute preview of the film. You can catch a description of it here. There’s still hope for everyone else that weren’t at SDCC this year because they also released a brand new trailer which features some of the action of the exclusive Comic-Con preview.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBgFoac0M8s]

If you thought X-Men: The Last Stand did a good job de-aging Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, well, it seems like the folks behind Tron Legacy stepped it up a notch. Notice how Jeff Bridges appears as two different characters. One is the elder Flynn while the other is ‘Clu’ (who is pretty much a 35 year old version of himself). Take a look at the trailer above and see for yourself. I say Hollywood has finally mastered the art of de-aging actors. Slippery slope? Who knows?!

For a second year in a row, the awesome Patton Oswalt was there as the moderator the panel. It’s always nice to have some comedic presence at the event. So here’s what we learned at the event.

• Tron Legacy is ‘true 3D’ as it used the latest 3D cameras (at the time) to make the film – Sony F35 camera.
• Suits are skin-tight but practically illuminated.
• The people at the event were asked to participate in recording crowd audio for the film.  Technicians from Skywalker Sound were present at Hall H to do this.  Everyone was given instructions on the screens in a kind of “follow-the-bouncing-ball” thing about what to say and when to say it. No guarantees that it’ll make the final cut, but what a way to get everyone excited.
• Daft Punk are fans of Tron and actually requested to be a part of the movie. That’s how the landed the gig to make the score of the film.

Battle: Los Angeles

Sony Pictures was in Hall H to promote some of its film releases including Battle: Los Angeles and Salt (which opens today). I couldn’t be bothered with Salt (since it’s release is today and the fact that the movie doesn’t look all that appealing) so let’s just focus on Battle: Los Angeles.

The film opens on March 11, 2011. The fans were treated to several minutes of footage and followed by a panel featuring producer Neil Moritz, director Jonathan Liebsman, and stars Michelle Rodriguez and Aaron Eckhart.

The footage lacked action sequences, but you can’t blame them since the film is far from finishing all its special effects. However, what was shown didn’t quite generate the buzz I was anticipating since the concept behind the film is quite interesting. Since there were no real shots of the aliens or the big picture of the action, this is more of a ‘wait and see’ sort of thing. At least the panel made the film seem a lot more interesting.

• Liebsman said he wanted aliens that weren’t exactly creatures, like in Aliens or bugs, like in District 9. He said the aliens in his movie are “literally alien” and almost defy description though they have a bio-mechanical influence.
• The actors spent three weeks in boot camp before shooting. According to Eckhart, it really bonded the actors to a point where he thought they were actually looked and acted like Marines.
• Michelle Rodriguez didn’t go through the intensive training the boys did, but she did learn how to disassemble a M4 in under a minute. Impressive.
• Rodriguez also noted that after watching 40 minutes of the film, it reminded her of a first person shooter like Modern Warfare or Halo. Ok, this is really starting to sound promising.
• Highlight of the panel: Someone asked Rodriguez if she would ever take a less macho role to which she replied, “You mean like get raped and win an Oscar?” which got quite the response. She then added that she’s drawn to kick-ass roles at the moment and hopes that these roles will be more prevalent for women in the future.

The Expendables

Sly’s still got it. The hall chanted “Rocky, Rocky!” as Sylvester Stallone shadow boxed. The panel featured Terry Crews (who was so excited he ripped off his shirt), ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone. Bruce Willis also made a brief appearance and then thanked Stallone for getting him and the Governator into the same scene. Stallone initially had an idea for Willis and Ah-nold to be in separate scenes, but Willis suggested that they do it all together.

A few more things from the panel.

• Stallone tried to get Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal, and Chuck Norris. Too bad that didn’t work out.
• He also prefers directing to acting because there is more to do and he sees himself as a “control whore.”
• Several stunt men had to leave the movie because of Randy Couture’s awesome ability to kick-ass.
• The most difficult challenge for the cast
  • Couture and Lundgren: dialogue
  • Austin and Crews: almost getting blown up
  • Stallone: directing a pivotal scene under heavy time constraints

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

It’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the Comic-Con! Director Edgar Wright moderated the panel himself and brought the entire cast with him for the event (with the exception of Chris Evans who happens to be filming Captain America). Even Wright’s favs Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made a brief appearance on stage before being told that they weren’t in the movie.

This was indeed one of the best panels of the day. Here are a few tidbits from the event.

• Wright offered a “big announcement”: “Scott Pilgrim will be released in 2D. With regular film prices.” Then he proceeded to ask, “How do you feel about watching a film without sunglasses?” While it’s not the first time someone took a shot at 3D, but everyone appreciated the joke.
• Since Chris Evans couldn’t make it to the event, Michael Cera came onstage in a Captain America costume, capping off a joke about Cera losing the role to Evans.
• A fan asked Brandon Routh questions addressing him only as ‘Superman’. He admitted nothing compares to playing Superman. He joked that playing a super villain was about doing everything the opposite of Superman. Hmm perhaps that role in Chuck was a good example too huh?
• Fun fact: Wright said there are sound effects taken from Tekken, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario and Zelda in the movie.
• Fun fact 2: The stunt coordinators of the film are part of Jackie Chan’s fighting team. Whodathunkit?
• To win the hearts of all the fans out there, Wright then announced a FREE screening of the movie in full at Comic-Con!

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check back for more updates and even more Comic-Con tidbits in the upcoming Entertainment Link-Off!

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