Jan 29 2009 Miike's 'Yatterman' Preview, Premiere, Trailer, Dinosaur on a Disappearing Bridge
Hey, everyone going to New York Comic Con: I just realized that Takashi Miike, the director of great Japanese films like Audition and Happiness of the Katakuris, is one of the special guests. He'll be speaking and showing a 7-minute clip from his new film, Yatterman, February 6 at 4 PM, and tickets to the 8 PM premiere will be handed out at the Nikkatsu booth earlier in the day.
Why is this exciting?
1. Takashi Miike is pretty great.
2. This film involves giant robots, at least one dinosaur, and an overall feeling of madness.
Here's the trailer:
Apr 22 2008 'Wanted' NYCC Poster: Behold the Dangers of Anorexia
At the New York Comic Con this weekend, some lucky attendees were given the above poster to sell off on eBay. It's kind of surprising she can hold up a giant gun with that spindly, malnourished arm, isn't it? Also kind of surprising: where that knee is coming from.
NY Con Wanted Poster [JoBlo]
Apr 22 2008 NYCC Report: WB's Surprise 'Dark Knight' Trailer
Warner Bros. was scheduled to have a surprise panel at the con, and I had heard from a few people that this surprise was going to be something to do with Speed Racer. So it wasn't that much of a shock when the husky kid playing Spritle took the stage and started talking about the candy-coated car race hallucination flick. Though it was a bit surprising when this boy started orating like a political candidate, explaining, "This is my first Comic Con... but it won't be my last. (Actually, not that surprising now that I see this publicity shot of him).
But as it turns out, the real bombshell wasn't that this chubby little man could run for office. It was a new Dark Knight trailer! Here is what I recall:
- The whole thing was very Harvey Dent and Joker-centric--about the same ratio of Dent/Joker to Batman as the ratio of people on the convention floor dressed as Joker and Two-Face compared to those dressed as a pudgy Colossus with a metallic shirt on to simulate bare-chestedness. (6:1?)
- Joker singles-out Rachel Dawes at a classy party, and it feels sort of reminiscent of Joker's infatuation with Vicky Vale in Tim Burton's Batman. Not really though.
- Joker seems like less of a maverick than I thought he'd be, as he's shown trying to rally other crime bosses to kill Batman. He closes by saying, "Here's my calling card." Guess what it is! Yeah. It's a joker.
- There's a shot of a vial of liquid crashing to the floor, then a shot of a panicked Harvey Dent, his face pressed to the same floor. Something gave me the feeling the liquid may have been some sort of acid.
- Harvey Dent explains a theory to Bruce Wayne: "Either die a hero or watch yourself become the villain." Then a giant graphic comes up that says "IT'S FUNNY HE SAID THAT, BECAUSE, STRANGELY ENOUGH, HE WILL LATER BECOME THE VILLAIN KNOWN AS TWO-FACE!"
- It will be about two weeks before the new trailer is available to the general public. No suggestions were made as to how to spend these 14 meaningless days.
The end.
Apr 21 2008 NYCC Report: 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'
Despite suffering what he described as "grotesque weight gain," director Guillermo Del Toro was in attendance at the New York Comic Con to discuss Hellboy II: The Golden Army--and he brought along creator Mike Mignola and stars Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, and Doug Jones to sit mostly-quietly alongside. From what I can pull from my memory and scrawled notes, here's what happened:
- The entrance of each Hellboy player is received with thunderous applause and a standing ovation, followed by shouts from the back to sit down. Del Toro begins his typically expletive-filled discussion.
- A "sizzle reel"--essentially a trailer with some unfinished effects, meant to spark interest--is shown. It features even more freaks than the last trailer, and hints at a romance between Abe and the priestess and disputes between Hellboy and the ectoplasmic psychic, Johann. Conflict!
- When the lights come back up after the trailer, a batch of the aforementioned freaks are lined up on the stage. One holds a skinless man in a basket; another has a disgusting head with something like a birthday cake perched atop; a mutant wearing a single Victorian-era puffy sleeve holds a fetus emerging from his stomach. All are brilliantly disgusting.
- Del Toro discusses how many freak designs had to be dropped because of time and budget limitations, including a ten-three-headed bulldog licking itself. Mention is made of the dog's "red part," and that he'll post the design online soon.
- Seth MacFarlane is doing the voice of Johann? Apparently so. I guess that's just the most efficient way to ensure Family Guy can easily reference the film.
- Doug Jones, who played Silver Surfer in the last Fantastic Four movie, says he knows no more than the online rumors about a Surfer solo picture. He gesticulates just as much as he did in Pan's Labyrinth.
- Del Toro reveals that he's working on a picture called Saturn and the End of Days about a boy watching the apocalypse happen as he runs errands.
- Selma Blair's glazed expression screams "why the hell did I come here?"
More later!
Apr 21 2008 NYCC Report: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
This weekend, a cloud of nerdiness loomed darkly over New York's Javits Center, bringing with it a storm of body odor, sword salesman, and more costumed, overweight versions of famous characters than Frank TV. It was the New York Comic Con, and I braved the crowds and movie panels to bring you special reports.
After showing up horribly late, the first panel I attended was on the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It was a packed room, eager to find how how Lucas would further dilute their cherished series. Here's what I learned:
- Anakin's padawan--a new character named Ahsoka Tano--was described as "a feisty, fiery, and very funny character." As funny as Jar Jar? We could only hope.
- The producer or whatever (I came in late and didn't catch who was speaking) said the new film is so immersive that "it will almost be like the clone troopers walked off the screen and into your living room." At this point, several fully-costumed clone troopers walked onto the stage, simulating the claimed effect. It would have been more impressive if I hadn't already seen forty other guys walking around dressed as Star Wars characters.
- Lucas was originally going to be only marginally involved in the production; now he's gotten hands-on, stopping by to monitor progress once a week. Take this as you will (it's probably bad).
- Just as the previous Star Wars episodes attempted to create a new battlefront environment with each film (ice planet for Empire, jungle for Return of the Jedi, etc.), The Clone Wars does the same: this time it's fighting up a sheer cliff. The clips I saw weren't as Wile E. Coyote-inspired as it sounds, and it looked reasonably entertaining.
I don't think the preview has arrived online yet
