Comic-Con: Best and Worst of 2010 SDCC

The 2010 San Diego Comic-Con has came and gone and we all made it out alive. Every over 100,000 fans of movies, television, video games, and comic books descend upon San Diego for four days of insanity. Comic-Con is an exhausting experience because there is SO much going on at any given time. Movie panels featuring big name celebrities rock Hall H, the convention floor exhibits the latest in entertainment, and the marketing for the latest films dominate the areas surrounding the convention center.

This was our second year attending Comic-Con. We had many memorable experiences that we have written about. We have seen the coolest footage for the latest big movies. We got to talk to big stars and production teams, and we recorded it all for you to see! If you missed any of our Comic-Con coverage you can check it all out here.

We have compiled our thoughts for the best and worst of the convention. Check them out below!

Comic-Con Highlights

Comic-TRON invades San Diego

This year was all about Tron:Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 movie Tron. Here we are 28 years after the first film and the hype is unbelievable. Banners lined the street posts featuring the cast of characters. Hall H dedicated a high profile panel to the movie where the audience was treated to 8 minutes of the film as well as a brand new trailer.

Along with the excitement in Hall H, Flynn’s Arcade was back this year! We were invited to attend a press line where we spoke with various members of the cast and crew including director Joe Kosinski.

Edgar Wright Should Moderate Every Panel

The director of Scott Pilgrim VS The World was the panel moderator for his movie, and he was hilarious, informative, and in general, a brilliant moderator. Letting the audience know they could only ask one question, and if they made any “two-part” questions, they would be shot, just added to the hilarity. Comic-Con should look into having him be a routine moderator in the future.

Scott Pilgrim VS Comic-Con

Advertisements for this movie overtook downtown San Diego. Even the hotel we were staying in had a huge window display that took over most of the front of the hotel. Instead of the actual title of Scott Pilgrim VS the World, Universal advertised the Michal Cera movie as Scott Pilgrim VS. Comic-Con.

We attended the panel for the film Thursday evening which showed us new footage and a Q/A with the entire cast. Best part was the chance to see the movie that night in downtown San Diego. Buttons were passed out to the crowd, if you got a specific button, you got to go. Sadly, we didn’t draw the right button, but we still enjoyed our Scott Pilgrim experience.

Will Ferrell Brings the Laughs

Starring in two upcoming movies (Megamind, The Other Guys) Ferrell was a big draw at this years convention. His panel for Megamind was hilarious as Ferrell, and co-stars Tina Fey and Jonah Hill kept the crowd laughing the entire time. Dressed as his animated character from the movie, Ferrell’s look was enough to make that panel a highlight of the entire convention.

He continued the laughs on Friday with his panel for The Other Guys where Ferrell and co-stars Mark Whalberg and Eva Mendes ripped on audience members at the Q/A session.

Green Lantern Lights up Comic-Con

The highly anticipated panel for Warner Brother’s Green Lantern lived up to they hype with Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, director Martin Campbell, and writer Geoff Johns all taking the stage. The footage was fun but the real highlight here was Reynolds, who may be the nicest, most charasmatic guy working in Holywood today. When a little boy came to the stage to ask Reynolds about his Green Lantern oath, the actor recited back to the kid the oath, along with a signed Green Lantern comic book. Very classy, Mr. Reynolds.

Jon Favreau is a Rock Star.

The Iron Man director took the stage in a rock star fashion to introduce the cast of his new film Cowboys and Aliens. Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, and making his first Comic-Con appearance, Harrision Ford, all took the stage. Favreau has only been shooting for a month now, but he didn’t let that stop him. He brought along a few clips for us to get a taste of what to expect for his western/sci-fi movie that hits theaters summer 2011.

The footage was spectacular, the cast was fantastic, and the vibe in Hall H was perfect.

Marvel Steals the Show

After a long day in Hall H, Marvel gave everyone what we all wanted: A boost of adrenaline. After the end of the Captain America and Thor segments, Marvel Studios president Kevin Fiege told audiences to wait just a little longer, as he had on more thing for us to see. And oh, was it worth the wait.

The lights went dark, and on the screen came a logo for The Avengers. Samuel L. Jackson comes on stage and introduces all of the Avengers as well as director Joss Whedon. Fans have been waiting for a long time for an announcement as rewarding as this was.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Lackluster Panels

Salt, Priest, and Resident Evil: Afterlife were all very dissapointing in the grand scheme of it all. This is a convention about exciting fans to flock to upcoming movies. Instead, the panels for these three new films, may have killed all the buzz that was out there. The footage was weak, the cast was boring, and when it comes down to it, you just can’t compete with the headliners of San Diego this year.

The Screw-Ball Schedule for Hall H

Thursday was an epic day in Hal H. It was also the longest day of my life. With high profile panels for Dreamworks, Tron: Legacy, Summit Entertainment’s Red, Sly Stallone’s The Expendables, and Scott Pilgrim VS the World, way too many panels were packed into one day. Which doesn’t sound like a problem until Friday came along and there was virtually nothing going on in Hall H. We didn’t even step foot into Hall H until 4 in the afternoon to catch the Sony Panel for Green Hornet and The Other Guys, but we didn’t even have to wait in line for that.

Saturday came along and it was even worse than Thursday! Way too much packed into one day with all big panels, and virtually no down time for the fans. Suggestion time? Spread the love out and make each day a little less exhausting for those of us who spent over 9+ hours on a folding chair hoping we wouldn’t have to get up to pee.

Hall H turns Violent

This may be a transition from what I wrote above about sitting in one room for an extended time, or maybe not. But it certainly was a moment for all of us sitting in Hal H. Around 4pm on Saturday, right after the Resident Evil panel concluded, an outburst occured about 50ft in front of us. People were standing on chairs yelling for security. The response time was embarrasing on the part of SDCC, as we found out that a man had been stabbed in the face with a pen. Apparently it began over a dispute over seating which led to one angry fan stabbing another with a pen. Subsequently the “pen stabber” was put in a choke hold by another atendee until he lost cousiousness.

This act of violence became most troubling (for us, obviously not the poor victim) when the rest of the evening’s schedule was delayed. An hour later things were back on track – but this was definitley a low of the convention.

Comic-Con has Outgrown San Diego

This is becoming a more significant problem over the last several years. There are too may people and there is not enough space. Hall H has one bathroom for the men and one for the women. The line for the men’s room in between panels is usually about 150 people long. There are over 6,000 in Hall H. You do the math. The city is crowded, the wait times at retaraunts are insane, and the overall look of the convention is one of overcrowding.

There has been talks about moving the convention to Las Vegas or Anaheim, California. Both of which have more space for convention goers. Guess we will wait and see what happens.

For those of you who attended Comic-Con, we hope you had a great time, and for those of you who followed our coverage, we hope we got it all. See ya next year!