COMIC-CON 07

Comic-Con Live: Paramount Panel - Star Trek, Indiana Jones IV, and More...

by Alex Billington
July 26, 2007

The first panel of Comic-Con 2007 features films from Paramount Pictures, including looks at Star Trek XI, Indiana Jones IV, Cloverfield / 1-18-08, Sweeney Todd, Drillbit Taylor, Spiderwick Chronicles, Hot Rod, Beowulf, and more.

1:26PM - Waiting for the lights to go down and the first panel to fire up...

1:30 - "Please put your cellphones on vibrate... I just put mine on vibrate."

1:32 - Comic-Con's Program Director introduces the panel and some basic starting notes on this year. Including to make sure that nothing gets on YouTube, like last year.

1:39 - With no further ado, let me introduce the Lonely Island comedy troupe - Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone from Hot Rod.

Hot Rod:

1:40 - Launching the first clip from Hot Rod. Rod goes to his quiet zone after a fight with his step dad and dances to some awesome 80's music and does some gymnastics in the wood. Then trips and rolls down a hill for about 2 minutes straight. Great clip.

1:44 - Asking Akiva about music videos he's directed, including SNL's videos... Was more of a compliment, not a question.

1:46 - "Bob Stencil" wants to know where he got the idea for a Dick in a Box, because he tried it and his girlfriend sent it back. Answer: Talked with JT beforehand, then Lorn was like "no, you're doing one" so we decided we'd do it in the vein of an early 90's RnB song.

1:48 - I heard you on the radio this morning and they didn't seem to know Akiva directed this, so how did this compare to other stuff you've made. Answer: Well it was much longer, and it's not surprising how different it is, but it's how when it got similar to 3 dudes together in an apartment with a video camera. Says it was interesting how similar things are between 3 guys filming with a video camera and making a full movie.

1:51 - That's all from the Hot Rod guys...

Stardust:

1:52 - Neil Gaiman, Comic-Con's Guest of Honor this year, and screenwriter Jane Goldman.

1:54 - First up is a (long) clip from Stardust...

1:55 - Michelle Pfeiffer uses her magic to convert goats to people and build a house out of nothing (but magic). It's now an Inn that she's using to trap the fallen star. Claire Danes (the fallen star) shows up and she lets her in and lets her take a room. Pfeiffer wants to give her a massage before she goes to bed. Another guest unexpectantly shows up and thwarts her plan... Per accident and chance they get the chance to escape with the guest's stable boy and just about escape before it ends...

2:03 - Q&A: How much of the book is in the movie? Answer: If you've read the book, you will feel at home. There is stuff that will surprise you, there is stuff that simply couldn't be done. We've translated things from the book to make it more filmic. The film feels like it's 100% of the film and the book is 100% of the book.

2:04 - Was Robert De Niro's part expand before or after his casting? Answer: It was expanded before, but also a little bit more after they knew they had De Niro. Gaiman "it embiggened."

2:05 - "I was wondering Neil, what it's like to be God... Nah I'm just kidding." Question about seeing Sandman anytime soon? Answer: I've been saying since 1991 that I would rather see no Sandman than a bad Sandman. I think the time to see a Sandman movie getting made is closer. It will take someone who had the same passion as Sam Raimi in Spider-Man or Peter Jackson on Lord of the Rings...

2:07 - That's all the time for Stardust today... Gaiman: "We're doing it the way we've been told, okay."

Beowulf:

2:08 - Neil Gaiman comes BACK out as well as Roger Avary - the same two we saw last night at the Beowulf presentation.

2:09 - World premiere of a trailer... at Comic-Con. Has already appeared online at Apple - watch it here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/beowulf/

2:11 - Same talk last night about working together and how Avary had his ideas, then he'd ask Gaiman and it'd fit together perfectly, it's like it all came together perfectly. So they went down to Mexico for 2 weeks and wrote it.

2:15 - They got their dream cast, not a single person said no. It'll be release in 3 different formats: IMAX 3D, RealD and Dolby Digital.

2:17 - Q&A: How do you make the choice of who'll be your artist? Answer: You read a lot of stuff and look at a lot of pictures. You build a great big world in your head of artists and you suddenly go, this would be the perfect person. At Comic-Con in 1993 or 1994, somebody brought me a drawing and later that person was the person who had drawn that and he met her and a year later she was doing one of the stories. "You just go to places where artists are and make noises like a writer and they'll find you."

2:18 - Asking about timing since there was a recent Beowulf movie in Europe. Answer: We wrote our script in May 1997 and we were making this in early 2005. You can't stop making because someone else is making a movie.

2:20 - Debut of the trailer for Beowulf mentioned above.

2:22 - Sweeney Todd mini posters debut, everyone in attendance will get one.

Cloverfield / 1-18-08:

2:22 - The original trailer in front of Transformers for Cloverfield / 1-18-08 debuts. JJ Abrams heads to the stage. His very quick statement on the film (as he'll be back for Star Trek XI):

"I want a monster movie, I've wanted one for so long. I was in Japan with my son and all he wanted to do is go to toy stores. And we saw all these Godzilla toys, and I thought, we need our own monster, and not King Kong, King Kong's adorable. I wanted something that was just insane and intense. It's almost done shooting and I watch dailies and I'm more excited for them than the trailer, which has had an overwhelming response. We have 6 months before this comes out. We're going to have a whole bunch of things, a whole bunch more." He said a full trailer, more clips, full posters, and much more will be coming out over the next 6 monts, including the name, which he will NOT reveal today.

"You think we'd call it Monstrous? No..."

So, the film is NOT a Godzilla movie, it is an original monster movie, and it is NOT called Monstrous!

Debut of the first teaser poster for the film:

Spiderwick Chronicles:

Authors of the Spiderwick Chronicles head to the stage.

2:30 - Talk with all of the Spiderwick Chronicles guys about their ideas and inspiration and seeing it all come to life.

2:31 - Step-by-step Goblin Character Creation slideshow. More concept art and maquettes and design of characters. Pre-vis and all kinds of boring stuff. Sorry for those of you who wanted to hear about this: we're getting ready for Indiana Jones IV and Star Trek XI.

2:44 - The teaser trailer for Spiderwick Chronicles - see it again here: http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/07/10/spiderwick-chronicles-trailer/

Drillbit Taylor:

2:47: - Taped video from Judd Apatow and the director with the first world premiere of the trailer. It's about a bunch of kids who hire Owen Wilson to protect them. They think he's a Navy SEAL, he's in fact a homeless bum on the street.

2:48: - Looking for a bodyguard? Some Mexican judo, as in "judo know what you want." Looks like pretty funny, but not as good as Superbad.

Iron Man:

2:51: - Taped greeting from Jon Favreau about Iron Man. Thanks for everyone, so come back on Saturday. Some early tests from visual effects is what is being shown, a very brief taste, is what he said.

2:52: - Preliminary animation from Iron Man. Some old school cartoon movie, very simple, a hoax. Favreau hits the stage with the Iron Man song (by Black Sabbath) playing the background and holding a video camera! He doesn't want to be the only person who doesn't put this on YouTube, so he's filming all of us, too.

2:53: - "We finished filming, and it went great, and as you know we did a lot of stuff with practical effects thanks to Stan Winston. I wasn't scheduled to come out but I was able to get away a little bit early because we're in good shape. Having a big panel on Saturday with Marvel." Asks the audience if we should show the footage now. They cheer - let's roll it.

Showing the Iron Man footage. Robert Downey Jr: "Is it better to be feared or respected? Is it bad to ask for both..." Tony Stark debuting a Stark Industries weapon in the desert with the military. "I prefer a weapon you only have to fire once, that's how dad did it, that's how I do it." Robert Downey outside of the party, getting in his car, being interviewed by a Vanity Fair person. Back out in the desert driving hummers. Gets shot at, tanks blow up in the desert. Wakes up with IVs and pulls away shirt to find his logo on his chest. Guy saves his life by attaching the light/logo to his chest.

Keeping shrapnel from entering his heart and it's a battery in his chest to keep him alive. Montage of him building the first suit of armor - the Mark I (photo here). "What are you building stark?" "I'm working on something big." Iron Man song (from Black Sabbath again) plays while the Mark I suit debuts and kicks some ass throughout underground tunnels. Woohoo! Flame throwers, explosions, bigger than Michael Bay's explosions!

Finally shows the full Mark III suit in action. Flying through the air, dogfighting fighter jets that are chasing after him. The Iron Man title gets slammed into the metal. Iron Man song playing in the background full blast again. Last clip at the end after the title, he's flying through the air and breaks the speed of sound. Jets all around his armor and his feet.

Indiana Jones IV:

2:59 - The theme song plays in the background and the audience cheers, then the screens go live to Steven Spielberg on the Indiana Jones IV set!!!!

"I'm pleased to tell you after 18 years we've finished 25 days of filming." Sitting next to him is Harrison Ford, but not on camera yet, Spielberg still talking about passionately making movies for himself, but this picture, he is promising he is making for you guys and for fans.

Harrison Ford: "It's great to be back with Steven and back in the sweaty and dirty clothes." "Glad to be making a dynamite movie." Introduces his sidekick, Ray Winstone, who is also in Beowulf.

Shia LaBeouf: "I don't know what I'm doing in this movie..." Spielberg says he has a lot of talent, really praising him. We're all here (the full cast). Reveals the old Marion Ravenwood back again to work in this movie (she was in the first two Indy movies, too).

In shooting every single shot, Spielberg is asking how is everyone going to respond, what will the audience think? Making it for the fans more than anyone. Great to here!

Star Trek XI:

3:04PM - The old Star Trek theme plays and the new poster debuts (see below).

3:05 - Introducing producers, screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and JJ Abrams.

3:05 - JJ Abrams: Always was a Star Wars kid rather than a Star Trek but still excited. Starting production in November. Wanted to share a little bit of casting with all of us. "How do you possibly top and even match the cast that was in the original series?" We're desperately trying to figure out how to fit Shatner, and it needs to be worthy of him and the movie. "So we're on that." And we're looking for a Kirk. As in - no official Kirk casting yet...

3:07 - One announcement they have today is Spock: Zachary Quinto will play Spock, officially.

3:08 - Q&A with Quinto: First off, loved you on Heroes, how much will your performance be from Leonard Nimoy, how much will be your own. Answer: As much as he wants to be, I guess is the answer. I intend to bring my own spin and working with those guys I'm sure we'll find it.

3:09 - Wondering if George Takei has said anything about being Spock yet and who would you choose as Kirk? Answer: I haven't talked to Takei yet, and I put the decision in their hands and intend to work with what they choose.

3:10 - Teasing with "more casting stuff". He's going to play Spock again: Leonard Nimoy takes the stage and the audience goes wild. More photo flashes than anything and much applause.

3:11 - Q&A with Nimoy: Thanks for years of entertainment, and I've never seen a man wear a suit like you did in the video for Bilbo Baggins.

3:12 - What do you think of the casting choice that they chose to replace you in the new film? People have asked me why I've been doing this movie: because we have a great director and a wonderful actor, and the answer is: "it was logical." By the way, I should mention, a fabulous script, this is really going to be a great movie, and I mean that.

3:13 - Abrams: We look forward to seeing you next year with much more to reveal. Nimoy "Live long and prosper."

3:13 - Paramount Panel has wrapped up and all is done and finished with this one. Stay tuned for Lionsgate starting in just a few minutes.

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