I am convinced that this is going to be the best Comic-Con ever. Why? Let’s count the reasons. 1) I am attending 4 days for the first time. 2) I have a room with a spectacular view just a shorting walking distance from the con. 3) I have a professional pass for the first time, which means I basically walked right in and already picked up my hubby and guests’ passes. 4) There are two — yes, TWO — panels with the Whedon.
Oh, and when I arrived at the con, I was greeted by this:
No idea what they were promoting, but I support their efforts.
The start of yesterday was all about swagging for me. Let me re-phrase that: The start of today was supposed to be all about swagging for me. I don’t know if it’s the economy, but it feels like there are less people trying to get me to take buttons, stickers, and fake tattoos that I will never use. So, instead I decided to wait in a line for a T-shirt that I will probably never wear. It seemed like a good idea… but an hour later, I regretted the decision. Why did it take so long to hand out shirts? They were personalized. Neat-o, you think.You would be wrong. Not neat-o at all. Basically, you get to pick a color: red or black. And then you choose which logo goes where – front or back. And then large or x-large. They could have they offered color and size choices instead of making them in front of you, which took forever. Whatever, at least the shirts were from the movie RED which looks like a good movie.
Anyway, enough complaining. It really was a successful day overall. I attended two panels — RED and the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel with JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon (the first of his panels. Did I mention that there are two? Because they are. Two.)
At the RED panel, they revealed the premiere of the new trailer, and it continues to look like an awesome movie. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Helen Mirren blasting people away? Apparently, the hardest part about shooting a gun on a movie set is not looking surprised by the sound. And Mary Louise Parker shared her acting tips for appearing like you are in danger: just look like you need to pee.
How true will the movie be to the comic book? According to the script writer and producer, they “broadened” the book.It seems like they were really faithful to the character Frank and the themes of the book but expect some major changes.
There were many shrieking fans of Karl Urban. I wasn’t one of them, but by the end of the panel, I could understand where they were coming from. Something about the way his shirt was unbuttoned just a little too far down that made you want to finish the job. Oh, and he said some stuff too, but I wasn’t really listening.
From the Visionaries panel, we learned that both Joss and JJ have internet plans. We all know that Joss eventually plans to make a Dr. Horrible sequel, but he will also be collaborating with Warren Ellis on a project called Wastelanders. He’s directing; Ellis is writing. Unfortunately, it’s currently on the back-burner because of a little movie you may have heard of, The Avengers. Yes, he confirmed it. He’s officially the director. I hope to have more Whedon news from his panel today.
I also attended the Geek Girls Exist panel and part of the Magic the Gathering panel (I’m just nerdy enough to attend but not quite nerdy enough to understand everything that was going on.)
More details later. About to enter Ballroom 20 for today’s panels: Caprica, Big Bang, that Whedon panel I may have mentioned once or twice, True Blood, and more.
Follow me on Twitter @jul_weiss for a live report.
Juliana Weiss-Roessler is a writer living in Los Angeles. Read her work at WeissRoessler.com.
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Juliana Weiss-Roessler is a writer living in Los Angeles. To read more of her writing, visit WeissRoessler.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @jul_weiss. 
