Movie Theaters All Comic-Booked Up
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Comic-book movies are a big focus at Comic-Con (search) these days, with another one, "The Fantastic Four," just crossing the $100 million mark.
But the movie that had everyone buzzing at this year's comic convention was "Superman Returns," (search) the highly anticipated film from "X-Men" director Bryan Singer scheduled to hit theaters next June.
Warner Bros. even flew Singer in from the "Superman" set in Australia so he could show some exclusive footage to Comic-Con attendees — a strategy, according to Hollywood literary manager Jonathan Hung, that is getting more and more popular with studios.
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As Hung put it, Comic-Con has become the most effective test-screening for studio comic-book movies. If they don't get a favorable response from the core audience, "they will change the direction they are going with the movie," Hung said.
"Variety did a huge article about how 'Catwoman' and 'Electra' got booed there," he added.
Apparently it was too late to save either of those movies.
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But when you're dealing with a fan base as touchy as comic-book die-hards, why do studios even bother with superhero movies?
Two words: franchise potential. A built-in return audience is every studio's dream.
"These movies are so related to the core audience [and they] will come to see it two, three, four times," Hung said.
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Sure, summer and holiday moviegoers keep the numbers going, "but it's these 'kids' who can make or break these movies."
Other upcoming comic-book movies that were getting the geeks going at Comic-Con: Warner Brothers' "V for Vendetta," (search) starring Natalie Portman and set to come out in November; Columbia and Dimension Films' "Ghost Rider," (search) starring Nicolas Cage; and of course "X-Men 3" (search), slated for May of next year.
"My mother loved Wolverine," said Noah Meyers, an "X-Men" disciple hanging out at 2005's 36th Annual Comic-Con's Marvel booth. "'X-2' was even cooler; 'X-3' better be good."
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Fans were also already getting pumped for the follow-up to the geek-approved "Batman Begins."
"I loved 'Batman Begins,'" said Jerry Bennington of Upper Deck Entertainment, a company that creates card games for head-to-head superhero battles. "I'm a huge 'Batman' fan, so I'm probably biased anyway, but I was so excited. I can't wait for the next one, 'cause the next one's going to be even better."
Dark Horse comics, the publisher of "Sin City," has had quite a bit of success adapting its own comic books — enough that it formed an entire division called Dark Horse Entertainment.
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Some of its titles, "The Mask," "Alien vs. Predator" and "Hellboy," have made Dark Horse a serious contender in the world of comic-book films.
"We just optioned 'P.S. 238,' (search) a comic by Aaron Williams about a public school for the children of superheroes," said Chris Tongue, creative executive for Dark Horse Entertainment.
That's a concept not entirely unlike those of two upcoming superhero films: Disney's "Sky High," (search) (in a world where superheroes are just another part of society, how does a 13-year-old superboy cope with adolescence?) starring Kurt Russell; and Sony's 2006 release "Zoom," (search) starring Tim Allen (in a world where superheroes are just another part of society, how does a former superhero cope with obsolescence?)
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"We're aware that there are a lot of other projects like this out there," said Tongue, "but this one has more heart and more brains than all of those put together."
Aside from comic-book movies adapted directly from comic books, you have a whole separate genre of movies that pay homage to comic books.
In director Ivan Reitman's "Super X," (search) Luke Wilson breaks up with Uma Thurman, who he thought was just a normal, everyday girl who would become a normal everyday ex. Turns out, she's a superhero who decides to use all of her superhero powers to get him back.
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Wow, now that's wish-fulfillment for geeks.
Also generating excitement at Comic-Con: "Aeon Flux" (search), the movie — adapted from a short-lived series on MTV's "Liquid Television" — due out this fall starring Charlize Theron as an assassin after the head of a corrupt future government.
Theron even appeared at Comic-Con to promote the movie; the booth was so mobbed that this reporter couldn't even get through to get a free T-shirt.
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But the movies are not what keep the geeks coming back to Comic-Con. Sure, the flicks are cool, but for the true comic book fans, they're just part of the experience.