SDCC: Smallville Screening and Q&A

It’s kids day here at San Diego Comic Con, but the many panels are still going on throughout the day for the older crowd. One of the first panels of the day was the ever-popular Smallville screening and panel. Jeph Loeb took the stage to thunderous applause as the lights dimmed. “You are the reason why this show is on for eight seasons,” said Loeb. “You are truly the best fans in the world.” Jeph Loeb introduced the star-studded panel which included series veterans Allison Mack and Justin Hartley, newcomers Sam Witwer and Cassidy Freeman, and showrunners Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer.

Although this announcement came nearer to the middle of the panel, it’s just that important. Superstar DC writer Geoff Johns has signed on to write an episode of Smallville! This season, Johns will be writing an episode introducing the amazing Legion of Super Heroes.

The screening turned out to be a never-before sneak peak of season eight. The trailer began with, “Every journey has a beginning” and showed iconic clips from the first season of Smallville: Kal-El as a baby being launched from Krypton and Martha and Jonathan Kent finding the baby Kryptonian. “Every boy becomes a man” showcased all of Clark’s powers. “Every man will fall in love” showed clips of his star-crossed romance with Lana Lang. “Every hero discovers his destiny” showcased the creation of the Fortress of Solitude, Clark’s battle with Lex, and the introduction of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Green Arrow, the Justice League, and the Phantom Zone. “Every hero says goodbye” showed Jonathan’s death, and Martha’s exit from the series, and Lex leaving Clark at the graveyard. Finally, “but every hero has a future…” We are introduced to Tess Mercer, see Clark getting beat up in Russia, Chloe saying she’s not special while battling to get away from an assailant. The clips teased more Justice League, Chloe and Jimmy together, and Clark and Lois together at the daily planet. We also saw Green Arrow shooting Clark. Finally, the teaser ended with a S-pendant in Clark’s hand, and a close up on Sam Witwer with a voice over saying, “There’s something out there, and whatever it is, it can kill you.”

Allison Mack mentioned that Tom Welling and Erica Durance wanted to be at the panel, but were busy with filming. An ovation was also given to the writers of Smallville who were present in the crowd. The panel then opened it up to the audience for questions. The first audience question concerned the “No tights, no flights’ mantra of comic books. The creative team mentioned that they are “going to hold to the no tights part of that.” The next questions revealed that the origin of Green Arrow would be revealed sometime during this season, as well as new details about Sam Witwer’s character, Doomsday. “His name is Davis Bloom, paramedic, really nice guy, and eventually he’s going to start blacking out and losing time, and what he finds out…it’s not great,” said Witwer. “Eventually the character will have to deal with that. This guy is actually a really, really nice guy.” Later when asked about villains, Witwer said, “Lex was a great villain, but he couldn’t kill Superman.” Cassidy Freeman also spoke about her character, Tess.”Tess is kind of Miss Mystery. You’re going to find out her backstory. She’s the new girl at LuthorCorp and nobody knows why; but she is and I think she’ll find an inner strength within her self to run this company.”
One of the most disappointing news for fans was the news that Michael Rosenbaum was leaving Smallville. Brian Peterson explained the situation. “Obviously Michael Rosenbaum is one of the best actors,” he said. “You definitely haven’t heard the last of Lex. The door is open to Michael Rosenbaum when he’s done going out and pursing his other endeavors.”
One of the fans was so well-dressed as Green Arrow, that Allison Mack and Justin Hartley took out digital cameras and said they would show them to the costume designer of Smallville. The Green Arrow lookalike was invited to show off his costume and his moves in front of the panel. The panel was then asked about whether the Smallville Justice League will make another appearance. Kelly Souders teased, “I will say watch the premiere episode of the season. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you’re a Justice fan.” Brian Peterson teased a possible crossover with Supernatural by saying, “I can’t confirm or deny anything right now.” If you’re looking for more characters, the creative team mentioned that DC has been great about working with them in order to open the door for a lot of new characters.

Check out the new season of Smallville, premiering this fall on the CW network.

[REVIEW] ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’

Wizard Staff Writer Kevin Mahadeo and I were lucky enough to attend an advance screening of the first three episodes of the upcoming Marvel animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men.” After series writer Craig Kyle took the stage to introduce the film, the episodes began rolling. The introduction sported a star-studded cast of mutants including Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, Shadowcat and—of course—Wolverine.

The series is set during the Mutant Registration Act, and begins with Wolverine leaving the X-Men. We are introduced to the academy as Wolverine travels the grounds, saying goodbye to Colossus, Beast and Rogue (who takes his leaving as a very personal insult). That’s about as far as we get before all hell starts to break loose. There’s some kind of explosion, and the scene flashes to one year later. Troops known as the M.R.D’s have begun to arrest mutants and imprison them in maximum security prisons. It’s very reminiscent of the beginning of the events that spawned “Days of the Future Past.” Suffice it to say, Wolverine has been traveling alone, and events transpire that inspire him to get the X-Men back together.

The series is extremely well put together, giving many different takes on some characters, while staying very true to the comic counterparts of others (Angel’s costume is exactly the same, Animated Rogue is still incredibly annoying and emo). The strength of this series, though, lies in its compelling storyline. In “X-Men: Evolution,” the formation of the core cast always felt forced and deliberate, while for this series, there seems to be a real reason to introduce each of the characters throughout the first few episodes.

By the end of the first three episodes, we still didn’t have the entire cast as shown in the credits. In fact, for the first episode and a half, the only real X-Men that are on the team are Wolverine and Beast. However, that doesn’t mean that other mutants don’t appear. In those same two episodes there are cameos from Pyro, Boom Boom, Rockslide, Wolfsbane, Dust, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Quicksilver, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler and Domino. The creative team has spared no expense putting in some of the lesser known, but still fan favorite, characters of the X-Men mythos. Nothing demonstrates this faithfulness to fans more than the inclusion of Emma Frost. Emma’s character is spot on, and Kevin and I can’t wait to see exactly how she’s going to be manipulating the X-Men to her own will.

These days, it’s difficult to find Emma in the comics without Cyclops. This series is no exception. However, this series’ version of Cyclops is one like you’ve never seen. He’s lost Jean and he lives alone, blasting his television with optic beams as he sees fit. He no longer serves as the leader of the X-Men, but is much more reminiscent of the brooding, serious Cyclops in Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men than has ever been seen in animation before. It’s a change that fans will have to get used to, as it seems as though it’s in the series to stay.

Overall, the series has an excellent premise, a great voice cast and fans will be excited to see where it goes.

“Wolverine and the X-Men” will air in January 2009 on the Nicktoons network.

‘Fringe’ Q&A

After the limited preview pilot showing on Wednesday night, the “Fringe” panel today began with an extended trailer for the highly anticipated new series from “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams.

After the trailer, the panel—which included series creator J. J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, executive producers Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinkner and stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble—took the stage and began with a question about ground rules for Fringe.

“The rules are going to try to make this show—the only thing that scares us is finding the right pace. We don’t have any of these rules that we’ll find ourselves breaking anyway,” said series creator J.J. Abrams. “A lot of the stuff dealing with ‘Fringe’ has to do with stuff I liked as a kid…This is really about saying what do we love and how can we do a show that lets us play with those toys.”

The panel was then opened to general questions from the audience. Joshua Jackson was asked about his decision to come back to television.

“The decision to come back was based on the pilot script which read as an incredibly dense movie, frankly. I wasn’t really anxious to get back into the TV world, so it was the [show that got me back.]”

“In fairness the role was originally called Pacey,” joked Abrams, “What’s great about having Josh is that he’s obviously a very smart guy and we think what Josh brings is an incredible wit with great skill. He’s just a pro.”

“Fringe” boasts one of the most eclectic staff of writers, drawing on scribes from “The X-Files” to “Gossip Girl.”

“We looked for and hired writers…to find as many talented people as we could no matter what genres they came from,” said Jeff Pinkner. “We were looking for people who could bring different things to the show. We were very lucky to have Darin Morgan who was one of the signature ‘X-Files’ writers, we have one of the Whedons on our staff. We have perhaps the best writing staff in Hollywood, so we’re going to try hard not to f— it up.”

For those unaware, “Fringe” will have a comic produced in tandem with the series. Abrams explained, “[The comic will allow us to] tell some stories about characters and create this peripheral world.”

Roberto Orci echoed this sentiment, explaining, “I think it’s something we haven’t done before.”

Abrams agreed saying, “There are certain things you can’t do in TV that you can do in a comic book.”

A certain fan asked about the value of internet criticism.

Jeff Pinkner responded, “I think that feedback from the internet is not only valuable, it’s necessary.” He went on to describe some of his experiences with internet feedback during his time on “Alias,” and continued, “We’ve found feedback from the internet was very valuable.”

The panel wrapped up with some tidbits about other highly anticipated projects from the creative team. When asked about the upcoming Star Trek film, and whether or not George Takei would appear, J.J. Abrams mentioned, “We had a meeting with that guy and he was awesome, he was just the greatest guy. So…sure.”

Orci and Kurtzman were also asked about the upcoming Transformers sequel, and were unable to reveal any details except Orci who mentioned, “If you like giant robots, you’re going to LOVE Transformers 2.”

That’s it from “Fringe,” look forward to it this fall on FOX.

-SS

[SDCC:] LOST PANEL

Hey there Wizard fans! Kevin M. here, and I just managed to sneak my way into the Lost panel here at San Diego!

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof took questions from the audience and handed out prizes. Just as I came in a fan asked a question about Jack and Kate. Pulling out a Jack action figure Cuse and Lindelof argued about how close the figure resembled the actor Matthew Fox, WHO THEN WALKED OUT ONTO THE STAGE!

The questions continued, with a fan dressed as Hurley receiving a Darma jar of Ranch Dressing as a prize. Another fan asked a Richard question and received a “I asked a Richard Alpert question and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt” shirt. Apparently, the two knew someone would ask a Richard question.

Near the end of the panel, a person ran on stage claiming to have important footage he received from the Darma Booth. The footage then played on the screen.

The video started with the fan being escorted to the Darma booth on the show floor, where he is shown a Darma video:

The vieo showed Dr. Marvin Candle, who said his real name was Peter Chang.
A baby started crying and he told someone off screen to stop it.
Chang/Candle said, “I’m a professor of Theoretchical physics” and that on the island they were looking for a “solution of Enstien Field equations.”
He said we should be receiving message about 30 years and told us who the President is in our time: George W. Bush and that we’ll share messages instantaneously on the Internet.
He also said he and his collegues are all dead. “A violent purge. One we are powerless to escape.”
He begins to say he got his info from a creditble source, but a voice off camera (sounding like Faraday) says none of it matters. Just get one with it.
“This place has extraordinary properties,” Chang said, and he ssked for the restart the Darma INitiative. “This isn’t of the essence. It is the essence. Find a way to change the past.”

The fan runs out after being caught with a camera in the Darma booth.

The Darma rep from the video who escorted the fan came out after the video and declared the panel over.

SDCC: Iron Man Armor Adventures

At the Iron Man Armor Adventures panel this morning, the audience was treated to a very special presentation of the first two episodes of the new animated series that won’t be shown until next spring. The episodes dealt with the origin of a teenage Iron Man, and they look amazing. The animation is all CG, done by the same company that animates a series called Skyland. The dialog was very kid friendly and tongue-in-cheek with an attitude very reminiscent of X-Men: Evolution. The series includes teenage depictions of Tony Stark, James Rhodes, Pepper Potts, and the Mandarin. The first episode deals with the most basic origin story for a teenage Iron Man, complete with some of the best Howard Stark-Tony Stark Father/Son dialog that I’ve seen in a very long while. Unfortunately, Howard’s fate is known as soon as you see him onscreen verbally battling with Obidiah Stane. However, the character development and personalities are well developed for each of the characters, and it keeps the spirit of Iron Man while creating a whole new mythology that fans will both appreciate and enjoy.

After the two episodes, Josh Fine, Christopher Yost, and Kieth Dawkins took the stage to talk about why they decided to do a teenaged Iron Man. “I love Iron Man, I think Tony Stark is one of Marvel’s greatest characters, but some of the issues that Tony Stark deals with are not necesarily the most kid friendly of issues,” said Yost. When asked about guest spots on the series from other heroes, Josh Fine responded, “I think there’s a very good chance you’ll see some other heroes that you’ll recognize in this series.”

The panel then showed some villain redesigns and new twists from the ground up were shown for Mandarin, Blizzard, Whiplash, Crimson Dynamo, Madame Masque, and Ghost.

Iron Man Armor Adventures will be airing next spring on the Nicktoons Network.

-SS

SDCC: Joss Whedon

I was lucky enough to get into the Joss Whedon panel. The panel included Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog writers Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, cast members Felicia Day, Simon Helberg, Nathan Fillion, and Neil Patrick Harris who walked in holding up the Freeze Ray, fell off his chair, and turned out to be wearing the same shirt. The panel then just jumped into the Q&A with the fans. Here are the highlights!

- On the possibility of happy endings, Nathan Fillion laughed and said, “How do you know I didn’t have one? I’m sorry. IT’S FUNNY!” Joss Whedon continued to Felicia Day, “I remember you emailing me and saying it was awesome that you died.” “I was the sacrificial girl.” said Day. “And you got to die with your eyes open,” said Fillion. “Yeah you do kill a lot of chicks.” quipped Neil Patrick Harris. Whedon put a decisive end to the conversation with, “My personal life is not at discussion.”
- A question was asked as to what the cast does when they’re absolutely devestated. Joss Whedon responded, “For me it is the comfort of the people around me and the stories that I love. Those are the things.”
- Will Fray get her own series? “Um…I’ll kill her. I don’t know how to do anything else,” joked Whedon. “Not in the foreseeable, but she’s out there.”
- When asked what the meaning of Dr. Horrible not wearing his uniform on his final blog post, Neil Patrick Harris said, “I think it was just a moment of watching Billy not having anything to say having succeeded in his task”
- A fan asked about the possibility of Webisodes in the Verse, Nathan Fillion gave Joss Whedon a pointed look. After a pause, Whedon said to Fillion, “You will actually make more than you did on Doctor Horrible – Dozens and dozens of dollars.” Fillion responded, “He’s already killed all the guys I done like working with, so sure!”
- The panel’s most memorable Joss ‘verse projects:
“The whole verse? Um…THIS.” – Joss Whedon
“I just want to say The Hammer is My Penis.” – Nathan Fillion
“I like that Brand New Day opening.” – Neil Patrick Harris demonstrates how he memorized the song through repetition.
“There was a scene in the homeless shelter where I had a pair of really attractive shoes that were never in the shot.” “I kept falling so that was fun.” –Felicia Day “We just thought you were drunk. Again.” – Nathan Fillion
“I think it was watching Joss be captain hammer singing to Felicia in the universal backlot.” – Marissa Tancharoen
“[I think it was Joss saying,] ‘We can’t afford a dance number! Let’s have him be a giant.’” – Jed pretending to be Joss
- On his favorite Death to write, Whedon replied, “Death of Joyce. That was the most time I got to spend to something that close to me.”
- On possible storylines for the non-existent fourth part of Dr. Horrible, Joss Whedon said he couldn’t tell the audience because, “The idea is that there WILL be another part.”
- “Neil Patrick Harris invented the blog.” mentioned Nathan Fillion in reference to Doogie Howser, MD.
- Neil Patrick Harris turned to Nathan Fillion at one point and remarked, “You’re still Captain Hammer.” “You think that was acting?” Whedon rejoindered. “It’s actually shaped like a little hammer,” closed Fillion.
- When asked why it was Willow that was outed and not Xander in Buffy, Whedon responded, “I was going to out EVERYBODY. I have two tricks. You’re out, or you’re dead.”
- Oz will be returning in season eight!

- The Dr. Horrible DVD will have director’s commentary as well as a unique contest: you can submit a video for consideration of entry into the Evil League of Evil and the top ten best submissions will be included on the DVD.
- You can get your own iPhone Dr. Horrible remote at http://www.thesoftwire.com/horrible/horrible_remote.html

That’s it from the Joss Whedon Panel!

-SS

Hasselhoff on new Knight Rider?

Don’t scoff at the Hoff!

“He would just bust out in song in between takes.” – Deanna Russo

“David and I actually had breakfast. He’s super busy, he’s got a bunch of other plans. At the point that I met him we were already about 8 scripts down. Maybe if you cheer loud enough, NBC would give us the full 22! [Audience cheers] It has to be something that’s really good. We both agreed that there’s no reason to bring him back unless it’s for something really specific. It’s contingent on his schedule. He’s got a lot of projects going on. We are openly speaking, yes.” – Gary Scott Thompson

-SS

Smith Cho and Yancey Aries Arrive!

Hollywood continues to arrive! Smith Cho and Yancey Aries have arrived at the panel!

Bruce Davidson arrives at Knight Rider Panel!

Amidst audience questions, Bruce Davidson arrived to the panel!
-SS

Favorite Cars of Knight Rider Cast

- Paul: “I drive an Audi. I would like to drive a 66 Chavel.”
- Deanna’s dream car is KITT. “When we were in the predicament this morning, I was like I need KITT right now! I need him to do my hair and makeup and jump over all these cars.”
- Justin “I drive a Mustang Bullet which is kind of my dream car right now”
- Gary “I drive a pickup since I was 12 years old!” His dream car? “The Batmobile.”

-SS