Under The Tents: SDCC News for June 19, 2013

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We’ve started a new, quasi-regular column on the Blog titled “Under The Tents”. The title is symbolic, as it’s representative of the times we all line up under the tents waiting for those big moments to happen inside Hall H or Ballroom 20.

Here’s the stuff you might have missed for today:

  • First off, we’d like to welcome Kerry Dixon to the SDCCBlog team! Kerry has been great in digging up information for our daily UTTs, so we asked her to come aboard to help us out as we hit our busy season of SDCC news. Please welcome her!
  • No surprise, but it’s good to know- USA’s Psych will be returning to Comic-Con this year, according to this tweet from actor Timothy Omundson [thanks kerrydixon]:

  • Actress Sarah Shahi from CBS’ Person of Interest revealed via Twitter she will be a guest at the show’s panel, confirming it’s appearance at SDCC this year.

  • The Dreamworks Animation Filmmakers panel will be on Thursday morning, as mentioned on a tumblr post from a DWA employee. No specifics on time, location or even films discussed in the panel, but it looks like there will be a special invite-only cocktail hour sponsored by the company [thanks kerrydixon]:

We’ll be there Weds/Thurs. So if you’re going to cosplay as a DWA character, do it on one of those days so I can take a picture of you! ;)

We’re also gonna give away passes to a special cocktail hour on Thursday, stay tuned for the announcement closer to SDCC.

  • The Official Blog of Comic-Con International’s first update in its month-long “Toucan Tip of the Day ” is one we agree with completely – Have A Back-up Plan for Attending Panels! Here’s a snip:

With a schedule this big and busy, you’re almost sure to find a second—or third—choice in the same timeslot, or use the time-honored back-up: Visit the Exhibit Hall and do more shopping! Get to your panel rooms early and allow yourself walking time to get to your alternate panel choice, if the line looks too forbidding.

  • Ashley Scott, star of Jericho, will be appearing at the Jericho Fan Table and Autograph Alley July 18-20. Check out her schedule for specific times and locations.

  • Wacom, one of the leading manufacturers of digital drawing tablets, has an interesting proposition for SDCC attendees.

Wacom is looking for 40 people attending Comic-Con to report LIVE from the show via social media. You will be supplied the Bamboo Stylus duo prior to the show to take with you as part of your reporting toolkit. Photos, live tweeting, vine videos, live drawing on smartphones, iPads or other devices, you name it! We are looking for a continuous stream of awesome content from the show.

The person with the most creative and in-depth coverage at the end of the show will win a Wacom Intuos5 Medium and Wacom Inkling. Check out the post on the Wacom Community site for more information.

  • SpankyStokes.com has the scoop on Rampage Toys’s “X-Ray Ugly Unicorns”, which will be available at Dragatomi’s Booth, #5350:

Pictured is certainly what appears to be a micro edition of Ugly Unicorns cast in glitter purple sofubi (Japanese vinyl) with pinkish-purple skeletal inserts, which are typically used to make X-Ray Ugly Unicorn runs.

Legendary and award-winning animators Bob Singer (character & background designer-Bugs Bunny/Scooby Doo), Art Leonardi (designer/director-Pink Panther) , Willie Ito (layout artist/Bugs Bunny, Flintstones) , and Iraj Paran (character & title designer-Super Friends/Josie and the Pussycats) share their vast experience shaping the history and creating hundreds of classic characters and cartoons we love from Disney, Warner Brothers, & Hanna Barbera, with over 100 years of experience between them.

  • VinylPulse.com has the sneak peak of the BAIT SDCC Exclusive Kidrobot Street Fighter Akuma:

It will be $22 and there will be 100 pieces available, out of 200 – the other 100 will be sold by Lunartik in Europe later this summer. You can get this at the DKE Toys booth, #5045.

  • No surprise here either, but Stan Lee’s World of Heroes panel will be returning, and Examiner blogger Amy Galante confirmed some panel details via Twitter:

Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, drop us a line or tweet us at @SD_Comic_Con.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Finds Its Director, Felicity Jones May Star

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I could care less about this Fifty Shades of Grey movie, but it has taken Hollywood by storm, and it’s sure to be a huge hit. Twilight “mommy-porn” fan-fiction really isn’t my thing, but there’s a huge fanbase out there for it, so of course Hollywood has to capitalize on it.

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are pushing the project into production, and they’ve hired Sam Taylor-Johnson to direct it. Prior to this, she directed the 2009 film Nowhere Boy, which was about the early life of John Lennon, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson who is now her husband in real life. I thought Nowhere Boy was a great movie, she’s a talented director, and a project like this could launch her career to a new level.

The script for the film was written by Brit Kelly, and it’s based on E.L. James’ book that follows the relationship between a 27-year-old billionaire named Christian Grey and a college student named Anastasia Steele. Producer Michael De Luca had this to say in a statement,

Sam’s unique ability to gracefully showcase complex relationships dealing with love, emotion and sexual chemistry make her the ideal director to bring Christian and Anastasia’s relationship to life.

Jeff Snyder of The Wrap offered up some additional info saying:

FELICITY JONES in mix for ANASTASIA! Aaron Taylor-Johnson won’t pursue role of CHRISTIAN! Aronofsky passed a month ago.

I’m sure a lot of our female readers will be excited to see this movie, but are any of our male readers looking forward to seeing this story adapted for the big screen? Or just excited about the prospect of seeing Felicity Jones naked? Here’s the official description of the book:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

This book is intended for mature audiences.

Mary Jane Watson WILL NOT Be in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 !!!

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Even though actress Shailene Woodley has completed shooting her scenes as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it has been revealed that the character will not show up until the third movie. Webb explained, 

The report comes from the latest print issue of EW, who say that Mary Jane Watson’s role is now being saved for the third installment of the Marc Webb-directed franchise. When asked about it, Woodley said,

Of course I’m bummed. But I am a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason…Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand the need for holding off on introducing [Mary Jane] until the next film.

Webb explained in a statement:

I made a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship. Shailene is an incredibly talented actress and while we only shot a few scenes with Mary Jane, we all love working with her.

Her role in the sequel was not going to be that big anyway, that it basically set up her character for the third one, so I doubt it will impact the story at all. This news comes to light shortly after Felicity Jone’s response to a question made it clear that she is playing Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, in the movie.

There’s no word on whether the footage that Woodley already shot will be used in the third installment. I imagine it will just end up on the cutting room floor, and they’ll end up giving her a new introduction. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be released in the US on May 2, 2014 and part 3 will be released on June 10th, 2016. 

Peter Parker’s (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner, with a previous draft by James Vanderbilt, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are the producers.

Age of Ultron #10

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The Good

AGE OF ULTRON was a series I wanted to like. From the beginning, you could see just how ambitious this story could be. Earth in the Marvel Universe had been utterly affected by Ultron‘s attack. We saw incredible changes and devastation with the promise that this was a story happening NOW and its affects would be felt.

With the final issue here, we see how that will be the case.

All the pieces fall into place here. How can the destruction of New York City and the deaths of countless main characters be reversed? There is a way, as we’ve seen slowly building the last couple issues. Brian Michael Bendis ties it all together. The how is explained and it’s not just a simple bandaid placed over what happened. As Marvel promised, there will be affects trickling off from this. There is a big one seen towards the end, actually a couple things happen towards the end that will carry over into other books/series.

During one crucial moment, even though we know things have to work out, there is a high level of tension. Just because we think we know how it has to end, doesn’t mean it will. There are many great artists on hand for this issue. Normally I have huge issues when the art changes but it doesn’t feel like the usual distraction. Perhaps it’s because you get pulled in, looking at each page carefully to try to catch any underlying clues or details about what could result from all this.

The Bad

This may be a series better read once collected. Partly in part of the delay in getting released in the beginning along with the numerous different directions the story took, it felt like this was all over the place. There were moments when readers weren’t sure if there was an overall plan or outcome prepared. For a story with ULTRON in the title, we didn’t see very much of him. This story was more than just about Ultron. A lot of what we saw almost feel unnecessary now with the way things were resolved. It’s understandable to see the destruction and death in order to get a scope of how big a problem and threat was present. The inclusion of Wolverine being thrusted to the center of the spotlight also felt weird.

This isn’t to say the series didn’t have a purpose. It appears it will be changing the way things move forward in the Marvel Universe. It just didn’t seem necessary to have it be told over ten issues. We were introduced to different things in the different time periods and now that it’s over, it didn’t really feel necessary.

The Verdict

Will AGE OF ULTRON change everything? It appears that it will. There has been some debate over the direction and purpose of certain elements of this series. We now see where it’s been leading to. Brian Michael Bendis has opened the door to future storytelling possibilities in the Marvel Universe. That is the important thing about this series. It is the key moment that will allow different stories to come. The Marvel Universe has been affected by this story. It will be interesting to see how it pays off. You have to commend the series for the ambitious nature it took on. Ten issues may not have been needed but I am deeply curious to see what will result from Bendis’ story.

Under The Tents: SDCC News for June 18, 2013

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We’ve started a new, quasi-regular column on the Blog titled “Under The Tents”. The title is symbolic, as it’s representative of the times we all line up under the tents waiting for those big moments to happen inside Hall H or Ballroom 20.

Here’s the stuff you might have missed for today:

  • The resurrected ComicsAlliance had the scoop on BOOM! Studios’ annual SDCC exclusives. Lots of awesome variant exclusive covers abound from Adventure Time, Regular Show, Snoopy and Robocop.

No news yet on the annual Get-A-Sketch covers the publisher offers at its booth. Let’s hope news of those fan-favorites are forthcoming.

  • If you’re going to Comic-Con, one event you don’t want to miss is The Walking Dead Escape at Petco Park. We ran it in the spring and reported what you can expect for this year in San Diego. Well, if you’re still on the fence, they are running a promotion for today only – purchase a Walker Ticket for a chance to be upgraded to a Horde Hero. Upgrade to Horde Hero includes an extended professional makeup session, Walker training, and the option to haunt the course as long as you please. Remember the first 8,000 receive a special collectible copy of the book “The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor“. Sign up today.
  • Hidden deep inside a Warner Bros. press release from the 2013 Licensing Expo in Las Vegas was news of a Big Bang Theory/DC Comics exclusive 2013 Comic-Con edition t-shirt. No details are yet available, but we’ll let everyone know as soon as we do.
  • Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of the popular Nickelodeon animated series The Legend of Korra, hinted via his tumblr page what we’ve been hearing for a couple of weeks now, that the show would get a big promotional push at this year’s SDCC:

Speaking of panels, we are getting everything ready for San Diego Comic-Con, which is only a month away. In typical fashion, I’m not allowed to announce any specifics yet but I will say that we have a lot planned over more than one day, so hopefully those of you in attendance will be able to take part in one or more of our things that I’m not allowed to announce! Looking forward to seeing (many of) you there!

  • The Toucan Blog, the Official Blog of Comic-Con International, has begun its annual Imperial march into Comic-Con. Today the Official Blog announced it will be releasing tips and information that can only come from CCI on a daily basis, from today until the start of the convention.

Every morning at 10:00 AM (Pacific time) in the 30 days leading up to Comic-Con (from June 18 to July 17), we’re going to offer our “Toucan Tip of the Day,” a tiny tidbit of terrific information that we hope will help you enjoy the show just a little bit better.

We expect to start seeing things like the Exhibit Hall map, the trolly and shuttle schedules, the annual exclusives guide, and more important information. Stay tuned, we’ll let you know as soon as we see an update.

  • Another day, another SDCC contest. But this ticket to the hottest show in town is a little sweeter for video game fans. Win a Four Day with Preview Night badge and five nights accommodations for the winner and a guest, front row seats for the Video Games Live concert, and “VIP tickets to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag party to be held in San Diego, CA on July 19″. We want that, honestly.

You can enter by liking the Amazon Video Games and Amazon Students Facebook pages. Good luck, and remember to invite us as your “+1″ if you win.

  • BioWare has announced it will be moving into the Dark Horse Comics booth for Comic-Con this year, and Community Manager Jessica Merizan will have members of the Dragon Age and Mass Effect teams, along with special guests.

Come out and meet Jessica, along with Mass Effect producer Mike Gamble, Dragon Age editor Ben Gelinas, and Dragon Age artist Nick Thornborrow. Ben and Nick are the creators of the Dragon Age: The World of Thedas lore book, and will be on hand at the BioWare section of the Dark Horse Comics booth to sign autographs with fans; they look forward to talking with fans in attendance. We are also working to have some special guests visit us; we’ll update everyone when they are confirmed.

  • SpankyStokes.com has been following the Luke Chueh x Jason Freeny’s “Anatomical Target” vinyl exclusive, and reports it will be available from Munky King during SDCC and is limited to 100 pieces. Check out the pics of the “Target” figure cast.
  • Just in time for our Video Games of SDCC 2013 article comes more gaming news, this time from Yoshinori Ono, Street Fighter Series executive Producer at Capcom. Shoryuken.com reports that an announcement regarding Street Fighter IV is forthcoming during SDCC, judging from this tweet from Ono-san:

Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, drop us a line or tweet us at @SD_Comic_Con.

Felicity Jones Trips Through Black Cat Question for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

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A lot of fans have speculated that Felicity Jones would be playing Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat in Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. She might have confirmed that she is indeed playing the character in how she trips and stumbles while trying to reply to a question about what it was like for her to play Black Cat in the film.

When talking to flicksandthecity, she is asked how it feels working on the superhero franchise to which she responded:

“I really enjoyed it because it was so different from anything I’ve ever done before. And just testing a different thing in you as an actor, because the scale is so enormous. but I had a really fun time.”

Then the interviewer throws a curveball and asks if she is looking forward to everyone seeing her as Black Cat in the film, and this was her reply:

“Um, well, uhhh… possibly. I don’t know, yeah. I kind of, it’s umm…yeah, if that happens, that would be wonderful, yeah.”

She was trying so hard not to saying anything because she obviously doesn’t want to get in trouble for saying anything. If she wasn’t playing Black Cat, she could have just denied playing the character, but she didn’t.

Here’s the thing. I don’t think we’ll actually see Black Cat in this movie. Like Mary Jane Watson, I think her character is just going to be set up in this film, but will end up playing a much larger role in the two other sequels that were announced recently.

Check out the video interview below and skip to the 1-minute mark.

Mimoco Announces 2013 SDCC Excusives

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Mimoco, makers of the collectible Mimobot USB drive, has announced its first San Diego Comic-Con exclusives for 2013. It will be announcing new exclusives each week from now through SDCC. With that, we’ve started a master post for its exclusives and will update as they are announced.

A portion of these will be made available for pre-order prior to SDCC via the Mimoco website.

Here are the updates for Week 1:

South Park x Mimobot Mysterion MIMOBOT: This Mimobot is hand-numbered and limited to 850 pieces. It is available in 8GB-128GB sizes.

Workaholics x Mimbot Blake Henderson MIMOBOT: This Mimobot is hand-numbered and limited to 1000 pieces. It is available in 8GB-128GB sizes

Which ones are your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Comic Book Question of the Week: Who Do You Want in ‘Man of Steel 2?’

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Man of Steel is finally here for most of us (apologies to some of our friends overseas) and, seeing as a wide amount of the general audience liked it and it raked in a lot of cash for Warner Bros, it’s no surprise they’re moving forward with a sequel. But now, that leaves us speculating like crazy over what’ll happen from here.

Zack Snyder and company littered the film with quite a few easter eggs for us to catch, and while having Lex Luthor in the sequel certainly makes plenty of sense, I thought we could have some fun chatting about who we want to see. So, would you really want Luthor to be the big bad in the follow-up or would you love to see someone else from Superman’s history take the focus? Are you itching for an epic Doomsday action sequence? Should Supergirl appear to bring back a connection to Kal’s roots? Would you want the sci-fi to go into overdrive and introduce Brainiac? These are just some of choices we’ve added to the poll (15 characters + an “other” option) and now we want to see what you think! So, click the link below to vote and speak your mind, Viners!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

GG, Zod.

Voting will remain open until Thursday morning (ET) and an updated feature will hit the homepage shortly after. If you vote for Batman, we’re not friends. I love the Dark Knight and all, but out of those options for Superman’s sequel? COME ON, BRODUDE.

MAN OF STEEL: Exclusive Clip of Faora and Superman fight with Director Zack Snyder Narrating in the background

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man4

The New York Times has released an exclusive clip from MAN OF STEEL which is accompanied by Director Zack Snydr talking about the scene.

Watch the clip below

In the video below, Director Zack Snyder narrates a scene involving a battle in MAN OF STEEL between Superman (Henry Cavill) and Faora (Antje Traue), the sidekick of the film’s main villain, General Zod (Michael Shannon). He discusses how he used a soundstage in Vancouver, British Columbia, to replicate (and destroy) an International House of Pancakes restaurant

Source: nytimes

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