Comic Con, Day 3: Inflatable things are awesome!

Friday and Saturday are the busiest days of the Comic Convention. I made the mistake of thinking that the parking lot I had chosen was sufficiently far away from the Convention Center that it wouldn't be full at 9 AM. I was wrong. I had to park across the street, at a lot that was considerably more expensive. It was my own fault, really. I shouldn't have expected any nearby lots to be empty, especially the cheaper ones. Oh well, live and learn.

Friday was all about interviews. For some reason, each interview was scheduled on the opposite side of the Center from the previous one. I began my day by interviewing Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Jessica Hynes, the talents behind the excellent UK sitcom Spaced. Some of you may also recognize the trio from Shaun of the Dead, and Pegg and Wright from Hot Fuzz. The group was all good humored, and the first question was how Pegg really felt about The Phantom Menace. "It was disappointing," Pegg conceded. He then told the story of how the show tried to use Star Wars figures and images in the first season of the show, and Lucasfilm squarely denied them. Then, having seen how reverential the series was to the original trilogy, Lucasfilm offered them any licensing rights they wished, but since Pegg had seen The Phantom Menace in the interim, they no longer wanted it. Asked why they thought British comedy in general, and Spaced in particular got such an enthusiastic response from Americans, the trio attributed it to the popularity of the show on the internet, which doesn't know international boundaries, and the strength of the writing.

From there, I raced over to the Marriott hotel next door, where I was set to interview cast members of the cult classic show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Specifically, I spoke with Joel Hodgson, the show's creator, Trace Beaulieu, who played Crow T. Robot, and Jim Mallon, who voiced Gypsy. They talked about the show's origins, as a filler program for a UHF cable station. The reason they chose the bad movies they did is because that's all the TV station had in its library. I asked Joel if there was ever a film that was so bad that they couldn't riff it, and he said that they almost didn't do Manos: The Hands of Fate because of all the long driving shots where seemingly nothing is happening. I asked if he knew the show would last as long as it did, and he replied that the only reason you make a show is because you hope it will last, but he never expected people to be celebrating the series' 20th anniversary.

While I was there, I also interviewed Martin Baynton, creator of Jane and the Dragon, WETA Digital's first TV series. Made with motion capture, the digitally created show is designed to look like a moving storybook. Baynton was very proud of the achievements of the staff, and the end product. He said the goal of the books and the show was to give young girls of today a role model. He pointed out that unlike almost all other fantasy, Jane and the Dragon has no villains. Instead, Jane learns the consequences that her actions have on the people around her, even if they're well intentioned.

At this point, I was actually able to see a few panels. First up was the Star Wars panel, showcasing two things: The Force Unleashed video game and The Clone Wars movie and TV series. Despite a few good clips, the panel itself was probably the most boring out of all the ones I attended during the Con. Still, here are a few pictures from it:








After that came a panel called "Visionary Filmmakers." I don't really know why the called the panel that, except that I suppose it sounded better than "Four guys who make comic book movies." The panel consisted of Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, Zack Snyder, and Frank Miller. Smith and Apatow dominated the proceedings. Snyder tried to keep up as best he could, and Frank Miller seemed like he wasn't even paying attention. However, the quips from Apatow and Smith came fast and furious (I didn't even bother trying to count how many times the word"penis" was uttered aloud). The worst part of the panel was when a lady came up to ask the question of whether or not Kevin Smith thought the Superman film franchise should be rebooted. Turns out, she runs a website dedicated to the subject, and pimped it during the Q&A, causing my groans. Smith was actually quite complementary to Bryan Singer, and broke the unease by joking, "Nobody cares about my own work. They just want my opinion on other people's."








And then it was time for what was, in my mind, the best panel of the entire Convention. I've been a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for many years. And at this panel, all of the members of the cast, and crew appeared together on the same stage for the first time in over a decade. The panel, moderated by comedian Patton Oswalt, was quick and witty, as the panelists continually tried to one-up each other, just like the riffs they did on the show. In addition, four episodes were announced for release on DVD that had never been available before: "First Spaceship on Venus," "Laserblast," "Werewolf," and "Future War." All of them have great original artwork on the cover and can be purchased separately, or in a box set together with some additional physical goodies, including a Crow T. Robot figure.






Finally, we ended the night with a screening of three episodes of Spaced. The episodes, voted on by fans, were introduced by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Jessica Hynes. All three were, as expected, hilarious.






The episodes ended after midnight, which was going to make life less than happy in the morning, but it was great to see the trio do their thing (including a finger gun fight with the entire crowd!). Eventually, I made my way back home and stumbled onto my bed, tired and wondering how I was going to get through two more days at Comic Con.