At Comic-con, I saw the pilot episode of Fringe, J.J. Abrams’ new television show. This was the first time that Comic-Con scheduled programming for the relatively new Wednesday preview night at the Con. They had 2 showings, but could have condensed it to one since neither screening was very full. I think everyone was a little exhausted from waiting in line for hours to get their badges and a quick burst of maniacal exploration of the exhibit hall. There were also three screenings of Fringe on Thursday night at a downtown movie theatre. After the Q&A panel there was a scavenger hunt that culminated in an outdoor screening of the pilot.

The show was good. My snap summation: The X-Files meets Numb3rs. I don’t want to give away too much. If you are one of those people (like me) who doesn’t want to read any spoilers… maybe you should'nt read on.

The Phantom sounds like the name for a superhero or villain so I guess it's thoroughly appropriate that two panels at this year's Comic-Con would sing the praises of the Phantom HD camera. Both John Moore, director of the film version of the video game Max Payne, and Frank Miller, who's adapting Will Eisner's The Spirit to the screen, were singing the praises of this new digital technology. 

20th Century Fox's remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still

As I left preview night, I saw people with blankets already lined up for tomorrow's 20th Century Fox panel on the remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. I always wonder why they go back and remake good films but I guess with science fiction the attraction is the new technology that allows for those stories to be brought to the screen with improved special effects. The film stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, who are both scheduled to attend this year's Con. At Anchor Bay's booth, you can also pick up posters of a 15-year-old Connelly in her first lead role in Dario Argento's Phenomena (a.k.a. Creepers). Anchor Bay deserves praise for continually going back and reissuing classic horror films.  And for Max Payne...