Wolverine makes the scene

  Thursday, July 24

Sharon:

SAN DIEGO -- The 20th Century Fox exec was saying goodbye after introducing panels for a remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Max Payne," inspired by the video game, when he was handed a piece of paper. He muttered, "Geez," and announced that there was someone else ready to come out who wasn't in the program.

And out walked Hugh Jackman, in full Wolverine hair, just arrived from Australia. No panel, no planned speech. It was the big surprise this con is known for, and it made my day.

Jackman grabbed the microphone and said, "I know what you're thinking -- he's too tall to play Wolverine," which was the online buzz three movies ago, before he made Wolverine his own. He said he wouldn't have missed this year's con, the summer before his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opens the 2009 blockbuster season, adding that he'd never been to Comic-Con as Wolverine. He ran into the audience to shake hands with Wolverine creator Len Wein, saying he owed his career to the character, then presented a few minutes of the movie, which just wrapped filming, he said.

The fans (including this one) went wild.

Liev Schreiber appears to have a bigger role then I had expected, and I loved seeing Gambit (Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch), Kestrel (will.i.am) and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). There was a young Stryker (this is an X-Men origins story, after all) and a lot of screaming from the audience. It certainly made my day.

So when I complain that a lot of Comic-Con is spent in line or in a seat in a darkened auditorium, waiting, waiting, waiting ... sometimes it's even worth it. I figure the fangirls who waited overnight to get up close for the "Twilight" panel feel like it was time well spent. Josh and I arrived at the convention center at 9:30 a.m. and waited in line for only about an hour to get into Hall H, the center's largest space, for the 20th Century Fox and Summit Pictures movie panels that included the stars and author of "Twilight."

Setting the stage for Jackman were Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly with the "The Day the Earth Stood Still," which I'm eager to see more of, because I think the story of the original movie holds up well in today's world. Next was the action of "Max Payne," and a panel with the personable Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Ludacris. At that point, all of the teen girls in the auditorium, and there were many, were getting antsy for "Twilight."

Then Wolverine made his unexpected leap onto the stage, and for a while they were drowned out by the long-time fans.

Next came Summit's first visit to Comic-Con, with first "Push" and "Knowing." Chris Evans, Camille Belle and Djimon Hounsou were there to support "Push" while co-star Dakota Fanning was caught in terrible traffic (she came onto stage much later, just to say hi and bye to the crowd."

Next came the screaming girls and the "Twilight" stars, plus the director and author Stephenie Meyer. I have to say, I felt so old. As excited as I was to see Jackman, my screeching days are over. It was like The Beatles had arrived, except it was a bunch of little-known actors playing beloved book characters. Well, it's nice to know kids are reading these days.

Today was also my day to talk to Samuel L. Jackson, who is here to support his anime show on Spike, "Afro Samurai," and Frank Miller's "The Spirit." He was the same guy talking to the crowd, the press and the folks from Bandai who are putting out the new "Afro Samurai" video game, due in January when the show comes back for its second season -- charming and commanding presence. In his trademark beret, he talked about how honored he felt to be involved in the TV show that merges Western culture with his own sensibilities. He said he wished 12-year-olds could see it, but realized that the violence was a bit much, so he figured 16 and up was more like it. When I asked to take a picture of him, he offered to take one  with Josh. More with Samuel L. at a later date ...

We ran from to the USS Midway to the red carpet for the straight-to-DVD "Stargate: Continuum," which arrives next week. I talked to Michael Shanks about a disabling injury that befalls his character and how little it was covered in the story. He agreed it would have been great to explore that storyline as an actor but in action-driven shows, character development often is the first thing to go. There is plenty of action and excitement in "Continuum," which is in stores next week, as there was on the red carpet. Like when Beau Bridges goosed Ben Browder, who said, "I just got felt up by Beau Bridges."

Stargate: Worlds was also represented, but I'll let Josh tell you more about that. He had a conversation about it that, I have to admit, was mostly a foreign language to me.

The fun was followed by a screening of Continuum as the sun came down over the harbor. Very cool.

My son tells me that I've been writing for over a half-hour, and this is supposed to be a blog post. More tomorrow ...

Josh:

If yesterday was just a taste of what was to come, today might have been the appetizers.  It was an action packed day full of surprises and free stuff, but I have the feeling that tomorrow will be even bigger.

I used to think Harry Potter fans were the most obsessive group on the planet.  Then I met Twilight fans, mostly teenage girls screaming their lungs out.  Luckily for them everyone showed up for that panel, including author Stephenie Meyer, director Catherine Hardwicke, stars Rob Pattinson (Harry Potter IV's Cedric Diggery) & Kristen Stewart and most of the supportting cast.

They showed some footage from the movie, which was kind of lame -- mostly because I had seen most of it online already. The only suprising thing was how inarticulate some of the cast was. Stewart seemed to be suffering from a combination of OCD and stage fright, but Pattinson was either too flustered by all the hysterical screams and applause to utter a coherent sentence or is just kind of dim.  Either way, fangirls got what they wanted, even the one who asked Pattinson, "What's it like being the hottest guy ever?!" (paraphrased)

So that was a lowlight, but the highlights were great.  Some footage of Max Payne (based off the popular video game series) was shown. and it looked pretty awesome.  Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Ludacris (who according to Wahlberg is a great actor) all made for a great panel.

The most fun I had was on the show floor.  Even though it was impossible to move more than an inch at a time, just about everything offered was worth your time.  I got an autograph from Amanda Walsh (a cute actress who has a number of cool credits), some actors from "The Mist" and Pamela Jean (whoever that is).

I love that my friends are incredibly jealous that I'm in San Diego while the weather back in Pittsburgh is pretty dismal.  I'll go bask in that glory and I'll talk more tomorrow!