Comic Con 09: The Friday Panels
I've been going to Comic Con since 1996.
There have been good cons, great cons, eh cons...
This blew them all out of the water.
I met a TON of fantastic, talented people, traded sketchbooks with them and many more, sold art... But this con trumps all because of one man: Hayao Miyazaki.
Friday, I was able to get into Hall H because of my disabled status. As a result, we were taken to some nice center seats for the programming, which started out with... Where the Wild Things Are. The clips shown made most of the audience misty eyed. Yes, that good. Then followed by The Book of Eli, Nightmare on Elm Street, Jonah Hex, the Button (from the director of Donnie Darko), and Sherlock Holmes. I have photos of Gary Oldman, Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz, ROBERT DOWNEY JR :D :D :D among others.
With the Warner Bros. panel ending, Disney/Pixar's began. They started out with The Princess and the Frog, which I'm withholding any comments on until I see the movie. Needless to say, I'm very very happy they're producing 2D again. They also gave us a sneak peek behind the scenes of the re-release of Beauty and the Beast in 3D. As in 3D glasses. No worries Erica, they didn't turn it into CG ;) You'll just enjoy Beast more up close and personal than before ;)
John Lasseter moderated the panels and then introduced Miyazaki to a standing ovation. He was, as I thought he was going to be: dignified, classy, and very handsome for his age.
His latest film, Ponyo, was getting a US release within the next few months and the clip shown was beautiful. I have seen very little of Ponyo, so I'm elated that they're releasing this in the US. Ponyo, The Princess and the Frog, and the Book of Kells will round out THREE 2D films to debut this year, and I couldn't be happier to see them all.
Miyazaki was gracious enough to take questions from the audience, and I was ecstatic to see a Laguna student made it to the front.
From all the questions gathered, he spoke about the strength of story and why he always chose female protagonists: Because they're strong and beautiful!
I didn't make the Ponyo screening later that night, but I'm still awestruck by his presence. All I wanted to do after seeing his panel was draw.
I told Brian, "Well I don't think we should stay after that, nothing could top that..."
The announcer came on to say, "Next will be the panel for 9."
Needless to say, we sat down. Shane Acker, Timur Bekmambetov (Daywatch, Nightwatch), Tim Burton, Jennifer Connelly, and Elijah Wood took the stage. As far as panels went, it was like a nice dessert after a fantastic meal. The whole crew for the panel was insightful, and again, many photos taken as they talked about the process of taking 9 from a short film to a feature length project. Previous rumors about the female lead (Connelly) being depicted as a weak character were completely erased during the panel.
It was, mindblowing to see so much talent in a period of a few short hours.
PICS TO FOLLOW.
There have been good cons, great cons, eh cons...
This blew them all out of the water.
I met a TON of fantastic, talented people, traded sketchbooks with them and many more, sold art... But this con trumps all because of one man: Hayao Miyazaki.
Friday, I was able to get into Hall H because of my disabled status. As a result, we were taken to some nice center seats for the programming, which started out with... Where the Wild Things Are. The clips shown made most of the audience misty eyed. Yes, that good. Then followed by The Book of Eli, Nightmare on Elm Street, Jonah Hex, the Button (from the director of Donnie Darko), and Sherlock Holmes. I have photos of Gary Oldman, Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz, ROBERT DOWNEY JR :D :D :D among others.
With the Warner Bros. panel ending, Disney/Pixar's began. They started out with The Princess and the Frog, which I'm withholding any comments on until I see the movie. Needless to say, I'm very very happy they're producing 2D again. They also gave us a sneak peek behind the scenes of the re-release of Beauty and the Beast in 3D. As in 3D glasses. No worries Erica, they didn't turn it into CG ;) You'll just enjoy Beast more up close and personal than before ;)
John Lasseter moderated the panels and then introduced Miyazaki to a standing ovation. He was, as I thought he was going to be: dignified, classy, and very handsome for his age.
His latest film, Ponyo, was getting a US release within the next few months and the clip shown was beautiful. I have seen very little of Ponyo, so I'm elated that they're releasing this in the US. Ponyo, The Princess and the Frog, and the Book of Kells will round out THREE 2D films to debut this year, and I couldn't be happier to see them all.
Miyazaki was gracious enough to take questions from the audience, and I was ecstatic to see a Laguna student made it to the front.
From all the questions gathered, he spoke about the strength of story and why he always chose female protagonists: Because they're strong and beautiful!
I didn't make the Ponyo screening later that night, but I'm still awestruck by his presence. All I wanted to do after seeing his panel was draw.
I told Brian, "Well I don't think we should stay after that, nothing could top that..."
The announcer came on to say, "Next will be the panel for 9."
Needless to say, we sat down. Shane Acker, Timur Bekmambetov (Daywatch, Nightwatch), Tim Burton, Jennifer Connelly, and Elijah Wood took the stage. As far as panels went, it was like a nice dessert after a fantastic meal. The whole crew for the panel was insightful, and again, many photos taken as they talked about the process of taking 9 from a short film to a feature length project. Previous rumors about the female lead (Connelly) being depicted as a weak character were completely erased during the panel.
It was, mindblowing to see so much talent in a period of a few short hours.
PICS TO FOLLOW.