Comic-Con geeks mob 'Hobbit' & 'Twilight' tasters
You'd think she'd smile a little after getting everything she wanted.
Fans descended on San Diego yesterday for the annual Comic-Con festival, with highlights including the long-awaited Hobbit and last Twilight movies, in a four-day geekfest.
Some 130,000 devotees of comic books, movies and TV shows—many dressed up in costumes—are expected to throng into the sold-out Convention Centre and myriad events around the Californian city through Sunday.
Other big draws at the 43rd annual Comic-Con International include Hollywood veterans Arnold Schwarzenegger—returning from politics in The Expendables 2—Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man 3), Jodie Foster and Matt Damon.
Twilight fans were greeted by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, in town to promote The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, due out in November. In a sign of the frenzy generated by the movie, they had been lining up since last weekend for the Twilight panel. One fan died when crossing the street nearby on Tuesday, triggering a tide of grief on Twitter.
Taylor Lauter shows fans how big he really is.
The other big movie event will be the screening of more footage from Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, due for release in December.
Anticipation is particularly intense because a first glimpse of the movie, shot in groundbreaking 48 frames per second format, drew mixed reactions when it was screened in Vegas in April. In an interview with the LA Times, Peter said he would screen the footage at Comic-Con in the normal 24 frames per second.
"With our 48 frames per second presentation, negative bloggers are the ones the mainstream press runs with and quotes from," he said. "I decided to screen the Hobbit reel at Comic-Con in 2-D and 24 frames per second, so the focus stays firmly with the content and not the technical stuff. If people want 3-D and 48fps, that choice will be there for them in December."
Weta workshop's life-size trolls from 'The Hobbit' tower over fans.
TV bosses will also be showcasing their wares in San Diego: small screen highlights include HBO fantasy hit Game Of Thrones, a new season of Glee and Britain's Doctor Who seeking to build on its US fan base.
Video games have also played a growing part at Comic-Con. Those presenting new material this year include Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4 and Resident Evil.
Many Comic-Con attendees openly embrace the description of them as geeks or nerds, and there will be a predominance of young men dressed up as superheros, or Middle Earth thronging the San Diego streets over the next few days. But a growing number of women are also joining the party.
'Twilight' fangirls challenge fanboys to see who can out-geek each other.
"The key demographics remain male 16 to 34. However, we have seen a marked increase in female attendance over the years. Currently the male to female ratio is about 60/40," said David Glanzer, Comic-Con's marketing chief. And he declined to predict what will emerge as the overall highlight of the festival.
"When asked what the big thing will be at Comic-Con this year, I always say we have to wait until the end of the show. There are always predictions, but it's the fans who will let us know when all is said and done," he said.
Source: Relaxnews
Published: 13th July 2012
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