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The Trailer Cometh: 'Avatar' Producer Jon Landau Talks Blue Skin & White-Hot Hopes
"Avatar" producer Jon Landau embraces star Zoe Saldana at July's San Diego Comic-Con 2009 (Shea Walsh/AP Images for Ubisoft) For years, mention of writer-director James Cameron's much-anticipated 3-D sci-fi project, "AVATAR" was often followed by two other words: "Game...
By Michael Cavna | August 21, 2009; 07:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
Lasseter Celebrates 'Ponyo' Creator Hayao Miyazaki
The Great Hayao Miyazaki-san & the men of Disney/Pixar. Immediately to the right of Miyazaki is Pixar founder John Lasseter. (Michael Cavna/The Washington Post) When the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki took the stage last month at cavernous "Fanboy...
By Michael Cavna | August 14, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Quick Hit: 'Iron Man 2's' Sam Rockwell Discusses His Call to Arms
This time around, Jon Favreau had just a wee bit bigger role to offer Sam Rockwell. Eight years ago, Rockwell played an uncredited hotel clerk in the Favreau-directed "Made." This time out, though, Favreau called on the actor to...
By Michael Cavna | August 8, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Quick Q&A: 'Iron Man 2's' Scarlett Johansson Totally Understands Fanboy Skepticism
THE HOLLY WORD: "Iron Man 2" Week continues here at Comic Riffs, during which we've rolled out some of our favorite quotes from cast members who spoke at San Diego Comic-Con. In terms of conquering-hero popularity, Robert Downey Jr....
By Michael Cavna | August 6, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
Quick Hit: 'Iron Man 2's' Don Cheadle Revs Up the War Machine
THE HOLLY WORD: Comic Riffs does A Week-Long Look at "Iron-Man 2"... It's a shame for Terrence Howard that he got bounced from the "Iron Man" franchise, because by the looks of early footage, the super-suited War Machine could...
By Michael Cavna | August 5, 2009; 01:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
Quick Hit: Robert Downey Jr. Talks 'Iron Man 2'
THE HOLLY WORD: Today's featured quote from the Hollywood vine... In San Diego, I got the chance to ask ROBERT DOWNEY Jr. what his working relationship with director Jon Favreau was like on the set of the recently wrapped...
By Michael Cavna | August 4, 2009; 10:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Jon Favreau: How the 'Iron Man 2' Director Uses Twitter
I'm not as fascinated by Twitter as much as I am by how artists use Twitter. Many stars, "personalities" and demi-celebs prove themselves clueless at micro-blogging. Then there are those creators, though, who use it to great and smart...
By Michael Cavna | August 3, 2009; 01:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
G.I. Joe to Salute the Troops at Andrews Air Base
The new G.I. Joe movie doesn't hit theaters till Aug. 7, but some members of the military will see it a week early. Paramount Pictures is announcing that it will screen "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra" tomorrow...
By Michael Cavna | July 30, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (1)
Pearls of Wisdom From 3 Top Cartoonists
Cartoonists Stephan Pastis, left, Keith Knight, center, and Richard Thompson, seated. (Michael Cavna/The Washington Post) NOTE: San Diego Comic-Con the Behemoth Event has trampled out of our town, but our notebook remains mammoth. Here's another jaunty dispatch... Once this...
By The Reliable Source | July 29, 2009; 01:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
Twenty Questions: What Hollywood's Comic-Con 'Sneaks' Taught Us
NOTE: Today at 11 a.m., Comic Riffs hosted a live chat about San Diego Comic-Con International 2009. At times during this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, the seemingly constant unspooling of Never-Seen-Before! Footage -- typically interspersed with Acts of Random...
By Michael Cavna | July 28, 2009; 01:25 PM ET | Comments (0)
Comic-Con Wrap: Vote Now for Best Fan Costume
NOTE: Today at 11 a.m., join Comic Riffs for a live chat about San Diego Comic-Con International 2009. One in a series of occasional photographic forays into the world of San Diego Comic-Con 2009. Previously: Fan costume photo gallery. More...
By Michael Cavna | July 28, 2009; 08:45 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Truest Thing You'll Read About San Diego Comic-Con. Perhaps.
Note: If you're looking to read about the glitzy side of Comic-Con -- yes, Robert Downey Jr. was genuinely cool to talk to -- or are eager to see the Top 10 Con Costumes, please check back shortly. We'll...
By Michael Cavna | July 27, 2009; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (5)
San Diego Comic-Con: The Top 10 Moments (So Far)
Greetings from the Land of Con... As this Riffster hits the midpoint of Marathon Comic-Con, here's a rundown of Top Ten Highlights so far: 10. Pixar founder John Lasseter telling several of us the advice he gives to aspiring...
By Michael Cavna | July 25, 2009; 10:10 AM ET | Comments (5)
Dispatch from Comic-Con: Fan Costumes
One in a series of occasional photographic forays into the world of San Diego Comic-Con 2009. BELOW: Going only by their aliases, Catwoman and Black Canary get righteously black-leathered for the Big Con's Opening Day at the San Diego Convention...
By Michael Cavna | July 23, 2009; 02:20 PM ET | Comments (4)
Twittering from Comic-Con
Follow me live from San Diego Comic-Con. Today I'll Twitter from sessions featuring filmmakers Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron. Latest Tweets: MultiTweetUsers = "comicriffs"; MultiTweetMask = ""; TweetsPerUser = 4; getUserTweet(MultiTweetUsers, TweetsPerUser);...
By Nancy Kerr | July 23, 2009; 02:00 PM ET | Comments (2)
Comic-Con: No One Knows What to Call This Thing
San Diego Comic-Con International suffers from an ailment, a nagging symptom, a tsetse fly in the ointment. Call it the Curse of the Lame Name Game. Comic-Con -- as great an event as it is -- cannot seem to...
By Michael Cavna | July 23, 2009; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (7)
San Diego Comic-Con: 5 Star Cartoonists Do the Time Warp Again
Greetings from San Diego: The Land of 'Con... As San Diego Comic-Con: International hits 40 years old this week, Comic Riffs asked five veterans in advance of the 'Con to recall their first impressions of the once-toddlin' event, which...
By The Reliable Source | July 22, 2009; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (3)
'Cul de Sac's' Richard Thompson Shares Some Personal News
"Cul de Sac's" Richard Thompson (Courtesy of Richard Thompson) If you're a true Richard Thompson fan, as I am, you read his "Cul de Sac" -- with all its warmth and gentleness and keenly observed sense of human nature...
By Michael Cavna | July 16, 2009; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (2)
Iron-Man to Otterloop: San Diego Comic-Con Announces Its Schedule
DAVE GIBBONS on Graphic Novels in the Digital Age. The legendary STAN LEE on his new digital motion comic series "Time Jumper." MATT FRACTION on the "Mondo Marvel" universe. And a spotlight on comic-stripper RICHARD THOMPSON. San Diego Comic-Con...
By Michael Cavna | July 12, 2009; 04:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
Countdown to Comic-Con: "Cul de Sac's" Maiden Voyage
If there's anything more fun than talking "San Diego Comic-Con" with a decades-long attendee, it's the polar opposite: A chat with a Comic-Con rookie who can only imagine what awaits. "Cul de Sac's" Richard Thompson (Courtesy of Richard Thompson)...
By Michael Cavna | June 24, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Countdown to Comic-Con: Stephan Pastis's First Impression
Today, with San Diego Comic-Con exactly one month away, Comic Riffs -- which will trek West to cover the four-day event -- officially begins its Countdown to Comic-Con. I first discovered the 'Con in the '80s, when both of...
By Michael Cavna | June 23, 2009; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
