Comic-Con Superfans Blog

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The bound-to-be-controversial superhero flick "Kick-Ass" is getting closer to coming to the big screen. The Matthew Vaughn ("Stardust") directed movie floored fans at Comic-Con in San Diego and the big studios are taking notice.

The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog is reporting that Lionsgate, Paramount and Universal are battling it out for the distribution rights despite the presence of graphic violence and extreme profanity.

The movie is based on the creator-owned comic book series by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr., which tells the story of high-school nerd who decides to become a superhero despite his lack of athletic training or powers. The hero runs into real world villains who repeatedly beat the kid for attempting to get involved. He ends up inspiring others to do the same including a young pre-adolescent girl who enjoys cutting up evildoers with a samurai sword.

The movie stars Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Chloe Moretz.

Millar appeared at the Chicago Comic-Con last weekend where he answered questions about "Kick-Ass" and a possible sequel to last summer's action movie "Wanted" which was inspired by a comic book series he created. Millar told fans that the studio has a couple of ideas for sequel to "Wanted" but he doesn't have plans for a comic book sequel.

Check out the three posters for Joss Whedon's upcoming horror/thriller "The Cabin in the Woods."

By Don Kaye

That's the title of the fifth season premiere of "Supernatural," which will air on Thursday, September 10th at 9:00 p.m. on NBC. I don't know about the Devil, but I'd like some sympathy for my ears: the young lady next to me at this morning's "Supernatural" presentation was screaming her head off throughout the entire five-minute preview clip that they just showed us.

She's still shrieking. Stars/hunks Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles aren't even here -- the fans are screaming for creator Eric Kripke, for Pete's sake.

Is this the show's last season? Kripke has said for a while that he always wanted to do a five-year run. But now on the panel he is saying half-jokingly that his low self-esteem prevented him from ever thinking the show would go for five seasons. He maintains that it's too early to think about season six -- but that it is not beyond the realm of possibility. So "Supernatural" fans, take heart, and keep screaming.

By Don Kaye

They're really pulling out all the stops for Season Nine of "Smallville," in the hopes I suppose that they get to Season 10. Panel moderator and comic book great Jeph Loeb just introduced fellow comic writing king Geoff Johns, who says he's coming back to write another episode, and that it will involve the Justice Society.

Show runner Brian Peterson also says that the deadly Metallo will make his first appearance in the season's opening two episodes, and also confirms that supervillain Toyman will return. And do we want more of Green Arrow? Hell yes, judging by the audience response.

By Don Kaye

6,000 "Smallville" fans in Ballroom 6 are going nuts over the teaser footage for Season Nine, which will introduce legendary Superman nemesis Zod (Callum Blue) into the mix, with Clark himself rumored to be donning the cape and tights at last. We get a brief glimpse of what looks like the costume at the end of the footage.

And speaking of young Kal-El, comic book and television writer Jeph Loeb just brought the cast and showrunners for the panel, but has saved the best for last: series star Tom Welling strides out for what his, incredibly enough, his first-ever Comic-Con appearance in the show's eight-year history. He gets a standing ovation from a good chunk of the audience. Let the questions begin...

By Don Kaye

Sunday morning at Comic-Con hurts -- the accumulated lack of sleep and intense work of the last four days are really kicking in now -- but there's a slate of panels on well-established and still popular TV shows to wade through.

But first I actually spend a delightful 15 minutes with Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, the creators of the Disney animated series "Phineas and Ferb." The two men are relishing the show's success, and it's great to talk to the creators of a children's series whose goal is, as Marsh says, to "never talk down to the kids."

Meanwhile, one of the big Sunday events is the debut Comic-Con appearance from David Tennant, who played the Doctor to huge acclaim for the last four years on the BBC's "Doctor Who." That's going on in Ballroom 20, while Ballroom 6 is preparing for the Smallville panel. Is the show finally going to put young Clark Kent into the tights and cape? That's the rumor.

-- By James Rocchi

In the Sony preview this afternoon, the dead were walking and the room was rocking, with director Reuben Fleischer's "Zombieland" the first offering of the program. Fleischer quickly introduced a Comic-Con exclusive new trailer, full of rough language and funny stuff -- including a shot of Woody Harrelson drying his tears over the apocalypse with hundred-dollar bills, a close encounter between Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg being interrupted and plenty of zombie-killing action, set to the strains of Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some." It kills, and when the lights came up, Fleischer brought out Harrelson, Eisenberg and Stone.

Harrelson explained the appeal of "Zombieland" began as he read Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick's script, noting that it was "A little rawer-and-realer." Fleischer interjected: "I remember you saying you'd spent your whole career avoiding zombie movies … but you started reading this and couldn't put it down." Harrleson leant back: "That's exactly true." Jesse Eisenberg explained how "I had the same initial reaction as Woody -- What is this, a zombie movie? -- and the same initial response [to the script]: It was riveting." Stone explained her preparation for playing a survivor of a zombie apocalypse: "We went to a shooting range." Fleischer added, with admiration, "She loved shooting that gun."

Fleischer then introduced a clip, a scene that captured the mix of bloody horror and dry humor in "Zombieland," as Jesse Eisenberg's shy apartment-dweller comes to the assistance of his next-door neighbor, played by Amber Heard … and then has to fight her off after she's gone all zombie, scrambling through his apartment and bludgeoning her while apologizing for having to do so. Eisenberg was asked why he followed work in indie comedies like "Rodger Dodger" and "The Squid and the Whale" with a genre movie like "Zombieland," and he explained "I knew that people would actually see this one. …"

Fleischer explains that the film's large-scale scenes of destruction involved "Over 500 extras, so we had all types of zombies; it takes a special type of person to really inhabit the fast zombie." Asked about their favorite ways of dispatching the walking dead, the cast's responses vary. Harrelson smiles and grunts one word: "Chainsaw." Stone offered the time when "I got to butt a zombie in the back of the head with my shotgun and he fell 80 feet to his death." Eisenberg demurred to another moment in the film: "My favorite is from the first trailer, the zombie-kill of the week where we drop a piano on a zombie."

But being tough on zombies is one thing; a questioner asks if the cast would wipe him out if he were a zombie, and is met with the immediate, no-hesitation answer: "Yes." Stone explains the survival strategy behind why Eisenberg's character is known as Columbus, Harrleson's as Tallahassee and Stone as Wichita: "The reason we go by the names of the city we're from is in order to keep enough emotional distance that if one of us gets bitten, we can take them out, because it's every man for himself in "Zombieland."" Harrelson mentions that he'd probably be willing to dispatch the questioner "… even if you weren't bitten. …."

Someone asks if the rumor that Bill Murray appears in "Zombieland" is true: Eisenberg deflects, dryly. "I can confirm that there is a rumor about Bill Murray being in the movie. …" The cast were then asked about their favorite zombie films. Harrelson explains " … zombie movies really scare the s**t out of me, but I liked -- what was it -- "28 Days Later"; that was a sleepless night after watching that. Stone admits how "I just watched the Zack Snyder "Dawn of the Dead" for the first time -- that was pretty great." Eisenberg again sneaks in a laugh: "I'm scared of every movie. Even "Shrek". Because he's green. "

Fleischer introduces another clip, explaining how Harrelson's character is obsessed with finding a Twinkie in the wasteland, and we get to see Harrelson and Eisenberg Twinkie-hunt and zombie-slay in a supermarket, then meet Stone and Abigail Breslin -- and a zombie-movie scene we expect gets flipped upside down: "Better you make the mistake of trusting us than we make the mistake of trusting you."

Eisenberg's asked about his characters rules for surviving the zombie onslaught, and he explains a few: "Carry all your stuff in Ziploc bags; do cardio; carry all your stuff in a suitcase with wheels so you can run instead of in a duffle bag, which slows you down." Finally, asked about a possible sequel, Harrelson runs with the joke: "Yeah, and you guys are all in it as slow zombies …" before adding "There'll be at least three or four, probably, sequels -- it'll be nice to have steady work." Fleischer raises his hands and shrugs: "I think the audience will determine that. …"

-- By James Rocchi

The second half of this afternoon's Sony panel featured new footage from the latest effort by that master of disaster, "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow" director Roland Emmerich, whose Mayan-apocalypse film "2012" is due later this year. The new footage featured Woody Harrelson as a conspiracy-minded DJ who tells John Cusack's character about the background information on the Mayan apocalypse, while we also saw Oliver Platt's Machiavellian government aide try and manage President Danny Glover's response to the crisis. In terms of special effects and destruction, we also saw St. Peter's in Rome and the Washington monument destroyed, along with Rio's colossal statue of Jesus and the White House. (I briefly imagined a collaboration between Ken Burns and Roland Emmerich focusing on great world landmarks -- Burns would explain their history and significance, and Emmerich would then blow them up.)

Asked why he keeps on making megabuck disaster films, Emmerich offered, paradoxically, "I think I destroy [the world] so many times because I love it so much." Emmerich also explained how he was working on an idea for a film where floods destroyed the world, but altered that idea when he learned more about the Mayan prophecies predicting an apocalypse in 2012: "I always like to use something which is real which is out there -- we did a similar thing in "Independence Day" with Area 51, which tied into the movie. …"

Emmerich then offered a clip which he called " … only 70 percent done," where Cusack grabs his family, puts them in a limo and drives them from the earthquake-waves destroying Santa Monica to a plane on an airstrip; the Dolby splendor of the destruction couldn't quite drown out the hoots of laughter coming from some of the press corps sitting behind me. Asked what was next for him, Emmerich cracked a joke: "I have to retire; there's nothing more to [destroy] after this movie. I always say I don't want to make another disaster movie, but I find the story so fascinating -- so I figured I might as well make the mother of all of them." He then mentioned how, if his next film were his call and his alone, "I want to do the "Foundation" trilogy, from Isaac Asimov, which is one of my favorite science-fiction series of all time ... it's very ambitious, I think it's bigger than this film. "

A young member of the crowd objected to the film's thesis, noting that if the world does end in 2012, that would be a year before he was able to drive. Emmerich sympathized: "I don't believe in aliens, and I also don't think the world will end in 2012." He did, however, close the panel by offering how his actual vision of the world isn't just as a playground for destruction: "If we would stop -- [if we were] having less wars and kind of think a little bit more about our planet, that would be a good thing, and we wouldn't have to live on a planet which is dying. …"

-- By James Rocchi

It's one thing to come to Comic-Con as a plucky underdog with something to prove. After a spectacular, film-launching presentation for "Iron Man" two years ago, Jon Favreau and his cast are back to preview the May 2010 release "Iron Man 2" with all eyes upon them -- and the crowd was not disappointed. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, asked how you raise the bar with a sequel, spoke with the fervor of a true believer: "How do you raise the bar? You work very hard, and you do what you did last time, and improve where you think there could be improvement and keep the tone that worked the first time around. " Director Jon Favreau came out recording the hall with his Flip-cam, excited and proud: "You don't know how much we were looking forward to this! It all started here -- nobody cared before you guys did."

Favreau introduces a clip -- a quick-cut series of making-of shots with big titles and a clumsy tone; when the light come back up, Robert Downey Jr. -- or, rather, Tony Stark -- has stalked onstage. He ripples with fake fury: "Feige, you kidding me with this? What was that? What was that unadulterated garbage you just showed?" Feige and Favreau are defensive, with Favreau noting "We just wrapped a week ago." Downey speaks for the fans: "This is ***, dude, we got 5,000 people waiting here!" And then the lights dip and the real fun begins.

The real clips start with Downey's Stark, Iron Man armor on but helmet off, enjoying a donut perched inside the iconic sign for L.A.'s Randy's Donuts; Samuel L. Jackson's super-spy Nick Fury calls him down: "Sir, you have to step away from the donut." Fury and Stark clash and mock each other, with Stark dismissing Fury's "Avengers Initiative" plan to assemble a group of special individuals: "I don't want to be in your superhero boy band." We also get to see Stark being grilled by a U.S. Senator played by Garry Shandling, who wants the government to take possession of " … The Iron Man weapons system." The government calls a new witness -- Col. James Rhodes, with Don Cheadle stepping in for Terrence Howard. Stark confronts him, but Rhodes' reply is meant as much to acknowledge the casting change for the audience as it is to confront Stark: "I'm here. It's me. Get used to it."

We also get shots of Mickey Rourke's Whiplash, a Russian inventor, assembling his high-tech weaponry, and later advancing on Stark with energy-whips crackling and coruscating as he approaches; Rourke looks terrifying, a thug with lightening crackling off the ends of his fists. We also get a few shots of Scarlet Johansson as the espionage agent codenamed The Black Widow, clad in form-fitting black leather, judo-throwing people and closing with a sultry look. Finally, Sam Rockwell's arms dealer Justin Hammer and Cheadle's Rhodes stand over a suit of Iron Man armor as Hammer brings out various machine guns to display them. Cheadle looks at the three different guns: "I think I'll take it." Hammer asks "Which? Rhodes fires back: "All of it." And then Hall H erupts in delight as, on-screen, Rhodey's armored incarnation -- the superhero known as War Machine -- appears on-screen, dishing out rock-and-roll bursts of ammunition from three different guns protruding from the bulkier, bigger, red-and-grey War Machine armor based on Stark's stolen designs. …

When the lights come up to applause, Favreau speaks humbly: "From the standpoint of marketing, everyone knows about our movie, but we wanted to hustle and show you guys something special." He explained the challenge of the "Iron Man 2" script: "As far as how we outdo ["Iron Man"], we wanted to add characters but not too many -- while adding people that would move us towards the eventual "Avengers" movie. …"

Cheadle talked about taking his first part in a science-fiction super-hero blockbuster: "I've never worked on a movie with this kind of scope and these kinds of effects … I was very nervous for the whole shoot, but [Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr.] gave me a lot of guidance." Asked about his suit of armor, Cheadle sighs: "It's heavy." Downey cuts in: "I can't believe your rig is cooler than my rig." Cheadle fires back at his co-star: "It was a contractual thing. …"

Asked how she earned the part of The Black Widow, Johansson laughs: "What did I do? A couple of deep knee bends, a few lunges … that came out the wrong way. … I didn't really have a formal audition, I met John and Kevin. …" Favreau cuts in to talk about their initial meeting: "She showed up and her hair was dyed red … and she said she wanted to work, to do the stunts, to get in shape to wear the costume …." Johansson explained that getting fit for the part took "A lot of egg white omelets and blood, sweat and tears."

Asked about the absent Mickey Rourke, Downey deflects the question: "I honesty barely even know what to say -- I thought I was eccentric. He wanted me to send his sincere regrets; he has most of his screentime with Justin Hammer, so I'll pass you over to Mr. Rockwell." Rockwell leans into his microphone and utters a few words: "I love Mickey." Downey's curious about his co-star's seeming hesitancy: "What's with the Oliver North answers?" Favreau stepped in to explain true tales of dealing with Rourke: "We informed Mickey the character had done time in a Russian prison, and the next thing I heard, Mickey is in a Russian prison. …." Rockwell explained what it took to bond with Rourke: "Mickey is a consummate actor. He was very great actor. We smoked a bunch of cigarettes together and that was it. …"

Then, knowing they had won the crowd over, the group sealed the deal by running the footage again at Cheadle's request-- and then there was a question to Cheadle about stepping into Howard's role. ""I tried to do the performance based on what the script dictated. I think we do it in an elegant way in the movie and move on. I tried to siphon everything I could off his performance so I could go on and modernize it." Meanwhile, told his will be the last question, a fan asks Downey if, based on his work in blackface in "Tropic Thunder," there was any thought of his playing Jim Rhodes. Robert Downey Jr., the king of Comic-Con, fixed the questioner with a blunt stare: "You're gonna waste the last question on that? God, I love you. You smart ass. … You and I have a lot in common." And with that, the panel closed -- leaving a hall full of people with heavy metal ringing in their ears all the more anxious for next May to arrive. ...

By Don Kaye

As the day winds down I find myself back in Ballroom 20, site of many victories and defeats when it comes to getting into television panels. There's been tons of stuff going on today, including interviews with the creators of "Fringe" and the stars of "V," not to mention the screening of the very strange "Glee." Now happening in Ballroom 20 is the "True Blood" panel, populated by creator Alan Ball plus stars Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Michelle Forbes, Sam Trammell, Alexander Skarsgard and others, including the author of the books, Charlaine Harris. (it's pretty packed up there).

Ball more or less lets us know -- although it's not official yet -- that the show will be back for a third season, and indicates that we will see the arrival of werewolves in Bon Temps. He also lets on that other elements of the books will come into play as well. It's also funny to watch real-life couple Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer at one end of the dais -- she keeps making little movements, like she wants to show Moyer signs of affection, but holds back (it's okay, Anna -- we're all in on it).

Someone just asked if the lovers will produce a half human, half vampire baby. The look on Ball's face is priceless (and the answer is "no"). LIke a number of show creators, he's a Comic-Con vet and knows how to work the room. I'm still mixed on the show -- its lows come almost as often as its highs -- but Ball is a smart guy and his cast is great.