With little sleep and almost zero vegetables eaten during the day, Robert Fure, Cole Abaius and Jack Giroux gathered in their hotel room overlooking the San Diego Convention Center and a giant cargo freighter loading container after container of bananas to discuss what their favorite moments were.
After a quiet start to a roaring event, the day was filled with fantastic little moments that made us all wish you were right here in the hotel room with us. Each and every one of you. In one room.
While we’ll be calling dibs on the bed, check out the 8 best things about Comic-Con’s opening day.
Awkward Questions at the Twilight Panel
I never expected the Twilight panel to be so good, but it not only gave me some hope that the movie will have more life to it than its predecessors. The audience also managed to creep me out, but the best of all was a toe-headed 5-year-old girl who asked Robert Pattinson, “Did you like having the baby with Bella?” and proceeded to stare him down like she was a child from the corn. Pattinson laughed that awkward way he seems to at every question (made better since a fourth of his hair was shaved for the new Cronenberg flick) and then straight out said, “the way you’re looking makes it seem like you’re asking something else.” Wow. As if the innuendo wasn’t already out there enough. Thanks, Team Edward. -CA
Heart Butter
The only time you’d ever say ‘that’s sweet’ at Comic-Con would be if you saw Andy Serkis playing with his kids. Towards the end of the Fox press day, I got a chance to see Serkis interacting with his children… and it was the type of magic that you don’t even come close to seeing at Disneyland. My heart was turned to butter. -JG
The Hasbro Toy Booth
Every year I’m always happy to go waste a little time walking around the Hasbro toy booth, as I’m still a kid at heart. This year, like all years, it’s just full of awesome Star Wars, Transformers, and GI Joe stuff. The highlights for me were some amazing new Transformers toys in the “MechTech” line that look amazing in robot and in vehicle form. Also awesome? A giant aircraft carrier diorama complete with jeeps, jets, and plenty of COBRA! -RF
Steampunk Grandma Criticizing A Blues Brother
The costumes here are often incredible, but they seem to have thinned out over the past few years. I salute anyone who still goes all out, so I loved seeing an elderly woman dressed to the 1880 nines complete with her brass fittings. I also loved overhearing her tell a woman dressed up as a Blues Brother that, “you’ve got the wrong hat. If you’re going to dress up you might as well do it right.” As far as I know, no Werther’s Originals were handed out, but this is only place on the planet that I could have witnessed that exchange. -CA
The Black Envelope
Outside of the convention center stand dozens of sweaty people (either attractive young women in skimpy shorts or guys dressed as geek cultural icons) handing out flyers for shows and events and restaurants and most of them litter the ground around them. It’s annoying (unless you forgot your sunglasses and grab a few promotional pairs), so it was truly impressive when a young man was standing quietly on the street corner handing out black envelopes that had a Confidential sticker on them. The card inside was an eye puzzle that revealed a website for something that might be really cool. Regardless of the product, it was great to see true viral marketing going on in a sea of people yelling with paper. -CA
Refn on Film
Seeing Nicolas Winding Refn owning the Hall H panel was a delight. He’s the type of filmmaker that won’t get nerds’ juices flowing discussing how ‘Star Wars inspired me too!’, but by his clever sense of humor and distinct personality. Not only that, he made his best film yet with Drive. -JG
The Spartacus: Vengeance Set-Up
I’m a sucker for the Starz! Spartacus series which is gearing up for a new season sans Andy Whitfield who unfortunately had to withdraw while battling a recurrence of cancer. That sadness aside, the Spartacus set-up gave you the opportunity to pose with a sufficiently buff guy in Roman attire and a smoking hot lady in a toga, all while holding gladiator training equipment and wearing helmets. That’s cool enough, but the backdrop was a two story ludus (gladiator training score) complete with cardboard character cut-outs on the second floor and animal hides on the ground level. Sure, it may be a hyperviolent, hypersexual, hyper300ripoff, but it’s hypercool to me. -RF
Geek Honeymoon
By far, my favorite thing of the day was meeting a young couple after the Masters of the Web panel who were fans of the site. It’s always great meeting readers, but it’s even better when they both just got married a month ago and came to Comic-Con as their honeymoon. How can you top that? (Congrats, you two!) -CA
Related Topics: Conventions
