Comic Con sign in San Diego Convention Center.
Held annually in San Diego, Comic-Con attracts tens of thousands with its presentation of horror films, anime, the latest videogames, and of course comic books. This year's convention runs from July 23-26 with a preview day July 22 at the San Diego Convention Center. The massive event will feature 3 separate theaters showing back to back anime throughout the day, several rooms with panels for everything from Korean vampire flick Thirst to New Moon, and hundreds of exhibitors lining the convention halls. With so much going on, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Here are some of the highlights of the convention on Thursday, the convention's first official day.
Astro Who?: In a rather clever marketing move, Summit Entertainment lumped Twilight: New Moon, Sorority Row, Astro Boy in the same panel, with the latter two films openning the panel. Astro Boy is the forthcoming 3-D remake of the classic 1963 Japanese television anime of the same name and Sorority Row is a college slasher film with Audrina Patridge from The Hills. While both films would attract interested press and fans by themselves, it is no coincidence that Summit paired them with this other film with a much larger fan base. While there are several stars confirmed for New Moon, rumors had been flying for quite some time that Robert Pattinson would make an apperance and of course many excited fans were pleased Thursday when he did show up. But whether he had been there or not, screaming fans and reporters hoping to get the latest scoop were going to be there... but they had to see the panel for Astro Boy and Sorority Row first. Since crowds for New Moon undoubtedly showed up hours (days) in advance, it is not as if people can show up after Astro Boy's presentation was done and hope to get in. Clever Summit, but we're on to you.
Wall to Wall Anime: The convention has three separate theaters that show wall to wall anime form about 10 am to 9pm, it would be completely possible to just let your eyes glaze over as you watch approximately 11 hours of anime. These screenings are all rather informal events showing episodes of various anime TV series so if you just show up randomly, chances are you'll be able catch something within a couple of minutes at one of the three venues.
View of Exhibitor Hall from the second floor.
I was able to catch an episode of You're Under Arrest, a female centered cop comedy. This particular episode involves a elderly woman who, hell-bent on making every sale, drives erratically around the city on her scooter. Completely bizarre but at times hysterical, this screening was definitely worth my time. If you find yourself with a couple of minutes to spare between panels, consider popping into the screenings. These screenings also offer a slightly more low-key event compared to the crowds at the panels or in the exhibition hall.
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Still from Park's forthcoming film Thirst. Photo Courtesy of Focus Features.
Thirst Panel with director Chan Wook Park: The final panel on Thursday featured director Chan Wook Park (Oldboy) promoting his vampire film Thirst. Presenting a new trailer that hypes up the horror aspects of the film along with a second previously unreleased clip, Park answered a number of questions about what drew him to a vampire film. The forthcoming Korean film was recently picked up by Focus Features, and is set for a U.S. theatrical release. For more on the panel, click here.
Opens in select theaters July 31- Click here for new, subtitled trailer.
What to do when you have nothing to do: Some of the hottest panels are simply impossible to get in to but that is no reason to feel like you've missed out on all the fun of Comic-Con. There's no end to vendors selling everything you can think of, see the amazing costumes of the convention, or play games in the meeting rooms. There's no way to get bored.
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