Comic-Con International. Hall H. The single most crazy, frustrating hall in the history of halls. Fans, Press, Professionals and the rest have been lining the outside of the San Diego Convention Center since last night, tents pitched, anticipation through the roof.
I arrived for the 11AM panel around 10:45, luckily I got in. I’d like to say it was my charm or some sort of magical maneuver on my part to convince the lanky, geeky looking guy gaurding the “special” entrance that I deserved to pass without waiting in line, but the truth is he was being bombarded from so many different angles by so many different people that for whatever reason he simply told me to pass.
Thus we come to the first panel of the day: Disney’s 3D Panel. Which so happens to be the first ever panel held in 3D. Walt Disney Pictures presented previously unseen footage of three highly anticipated films, A Christmas Carol staring Jim Carey, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and the film I’ve been waiting over twenty-five years for TRON Legacy-yes kids TRON 2 no longer has the lame tittle of TR2N.
Patton Oswalt moderated the panel and Q and A session which featured Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Sean Bailey, Steve Lisberger, and had many more.
Opening the panel was a sneak peek at the 3D experience. The lights went out, a pre-recorded voice booms to life informing everyone to put on their 3D glasses, and numbers begin to count down on screen, in 2D at first and then switching magnificently to 3D.
After a short introduction Patton Oswalt walked on stage and introduced Robert Zemeckis. I have to admit of the three films A Christmas Carol held the least interest for me, mainly because it stars Jim Carrey, so I neglected to snap pictures of the presentation. A stupid error, because after seeing the clip prepared by Zemeckis I am hooked. The Motion Capture finally seems to be above par, rather than the not so impressive Polar Express, and the only slightly better Beowulf. Carrey, playing eight different roles in the film, nailed Scrooge, the accent is impeccable.
The clip shown was of Marley’s visit to Scrooge, post death. Gary Oldman as Marley evoked the late Alec Guinness from the musical masterpiece Scrooge. And though the story has been told so many times over the years, this version seems fresh, and the lines spoken draw you in and captivate you with each new frame. This owes a lot to the spectacular animation, a bombardment of glorious colors and hews that enliven the environment of Victorian England like never before. When asked if the story would take a more comical look at the Dickens classic, Zemeckis, who also wrote the screenplay, said the film will follow the original story completely. This will be a true ghost story.
Tim Burton arrived on stage next, and though he seemed a bit awkward and eluded to the fact that he’d much rather be editing Alice in Wonderlandthan be hanging in San Diego, he was engaged with the audience, and seemed genuinely gracious and interested in what people had to say. Stills of various characters were shown and discussed, followed by a trailer that was shown four different times. The trailer was everything you would expect from a Tim Burton film, colorful and hallucinogenic. Burton seems the perfect fit to bring Lewis Carroll’s classic to life in the most fantastical way.
Patton Oswalt pushed for the possibility of more footage but to no avail. And just before this portion of the panel ended Oswalt introduced Johnny Depp and the crowd went wild. In seconds everyone were on there feet, applauding The Mad Hatter, and though he was only on stage for a few brief moments, his pressence gave hyped the crowd better than any footage Tim Burton could have brought with him. If nothing else expect a visually stunning film.
Finally was the panel I had been anticipating the most: Tron Legacy, though at the time I was unaware of the new tittle. Joseph Kosinski was on hand, along with stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedland and Olivia Wilde. Also participating in the panel was original TRON director Steven Lisberger who wholeheartedly endorsed the sequel. Last years footage, easily the most talked about surprise of last years Con, was re-shown, along with a scene setting up Sam Flynn’s (Hedlund) search for his father Kevin Flynn (Bridges). When asked about the meaning of the title Bridges said, “It’s basically a story about a son’s search for his father.”
Since principle photography literally wrapped last week and Kosinski had virtually nothing new to show other than a few stills of the many different vehicles in the film, such as the updated versions of the Recognizer, Solar Sailor and Lightcycle. Though all the new designs remain surprisingly faithful to their predecessors, it was a treat to see that Flynn’s “vintage” Lightcycle closely resembles the original design.
Kosinski also confirmed that Daft Punk will be performing the musical score for the film, and that over twenty tracks have already been recorded. The score will incorporate electronic and synthetic themes as well as orchestral. I don’t know much about Daft Punk but from the few scenes shown with their incorporated score I’m pretty excited.
Overall the Disney Panel was very promising, and I look forward to more news on these upcoming films.
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