Well if you’re a fan of movies, TV, video games, books or comics, and you’re not in San Diego this weekend, you’ve probably already been following coverage of the San Diego Comic Con this week via one or more of your favourite websites. It’s basically the largest convention of its kind anywhere in the world, and while it used to be primarily focused on comics alone, the explosion of comic book movies, licensed properties and media crossovers in recent years has turned it into perhaps the biggest annual pop culture event, period. But what is it about this gathering that keeps people coming out? When something becomes so huge and so crowded, does the average attendee really get their money’s worth, or do they just end up spending all their time waiting in lines?

I’ve never been to the SDCC, but I have been to the Fan Expo in Toronto a few times, and I have to admit that while the atmosphere was fun, I didn’t really get much out of it other than a couple of autographs and a few graphic novels (which I probably could have just bought online anyway). I know part of the appeal is that it’s a gathering of like-minded people, but once it gets so big that it includes everyone on the planet, does that camaraderie still exist? It seems to me that what once was a place for fans to interact has now become a big PR event dominated by major corporations. But I guess free swag and celebrity appearances are still irresistible to some people. What do you think… are fan conventions worth all the effort? Is Comic Con still about the comics, or is it now being overshadowed by the Hollywood presence? Do you wish you were in San Diego right now? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

Canadian horror guru David Cronenberg continues to move away from the creepy genre films that filled the first 25 years of his career with the announcement of another new project being added to his plate this week. In addition to the Robert Ludlum adaptation The Matarese Circle which he is currently developing, he will also be adapting a novel by postmodern author Don DeLillo called Cosmopolis. It will be a co-production of Paris-based Alfama Films and Cronenberg’s own Toronto Antenna Ltd, and starts shooting next year in New York and Toronto.

Cosmopolis is the story of a 28-year-old multi-billionaire who drives across Manhattan in a limo to get a haircut. Yep… that’s it. Of course, a few things happen along the way, but the story all takes place in the course of a day. As far as I know, it doesn’t involve any orifices or bodily fluids either. Clearly this is not typical Cronenberg territory, and what’s more, it doesn’t even sound like a book that many people would find suitable for the big screen. Still, he did adapt J.G. Ballard’s Crash, and even Cronenberg’s other recent, more mainstream films like A History of Violence and Eastern Promises maintained elements of his style throughout. Are you a fan of the “new” Cronenberg, or would you rather see him get back to directing something horror-related?

While the jury is still out on whether or not we’ll ever see a live action Halo feature film, it looks like the popular video game will be making is about to make the transition to yet another medium: 2-D animation. In the vein of The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, Microsoft and Bungie have announced Halo Legends, a series of short anime films to be available via Xbox Live sometime in 2010 (and also, eventually, DVD and Blu-ray).

Studios involved in the project include Production I.G., Studio 4C, Bones, Casio Entertainment, and Toei Animation, while the creative director of the whole thing is Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina). For more info on the project, check out an article over at the L.A. Times where they also reveal that Ubisoft is working on some live-action films based on Assassin’s Creed. The first teaser trailer for Halo Legends is embedded after the jump.

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Some lucky folks at the San Diego Comic Con this week were among the first audiences to see footage from James Cameron’s highly-anticipated sci-fi film Avatar (not to be confused with M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender). Approximately 25 minutes of 3-D footage screened yesterday, showing off an unparalleled marriage between CG and motion capture technology including an action sequence where Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana fight a group of alien creatures in a jungle. Reactions seem to be very positive, raving over the detail in the CG and the fluidity of the animation, but stopping just short of a creating a complete shift in the medium.

So here’s the good news: you too will be able to check out a preview of Avatar before the end of the summer, and it won’t be in the form of a simple trailer either. Fox is going all out to create hype for the film by proclaiming Friday, August 21st to be “Avatar Day”, where as many IMAX and digital 3-D theatres as possible around the world will screen a 15 minute preview of the movie — absolutely free of charge. What a great idea. This will guarantee that people see it for the first time in an optimal environment, and after giving them a little taste of the magic, they’ll be sure to come back for more. So be sure to mark August 21st on your calendars, kiddies… do you think Avatar will deliver the goods?

With the first trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland getting mixed reactions from people around the web this week, it seemed like a good time to go back and look over the man’s filmography and discuss the highlights and lowlights. Some people think he’s a brilliant filmmaker, while others say he is overrated and has been repeating himself for years, but I think we can all agree he has still done some pretty memorable flicks. My question is, which one is the best? Cast your vote in this week’s poll and then try to justify that choice in the comments below!

The first trailer for the post-apocalyptic drama The Book of Eli has finally hit the web this week. It’s been a while since The Hughes Brothers have directed something for the big screen (2001’s From Hell, to be exact), but this looks like a movie that will probably put them back on the map. It’s certainly no Menace II Society; rather it falls in the action/sci-fi realm. I am guessing it will get more than a few comparisons to I Am Legend, but the main difference here is that for once I don’t think there are any zombie-like creatures involved (don’t quote me on that).

Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a man wandering the scorched desert landscape with the goal of protecting a book that can save humanity. It seems like there is probably some kind of spiritual prophecy type deal going on here, although the trailer doesn’t focus on it too much save for the final word “Believe”. The supporting cast includes Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Michael Gambon. Check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think. The Book of Eli is scheduled to hit theatres on January 15th, 2010.

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This weekend is one of the few that doesn’t wasn’t claimed by a highly anticipated blockbuster this summer, probably because no one wants to follow up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. While that movie will still probably dominate the box office, there are three new wide releases competing for your money including the animated action-comedy G-Force, the horror film Orphan, and the Gerard Butler/Katherine Heigl romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. In select theatres we have the political comedy In The Loop and the Kevin Spacey dramedy Shrink, but it’s also a good weekend to catch (500) Days of Summer or The Hurt Locker if you still haven’t seen either one. What are you planning to see this weekend?

• G-Force
• The Ugly Truth
• Orphan
• In The Loop (limited)
• Shrink (limited)
• The Answer Man (limited)
• (500) Days of Summer (expanding)
• The Hurt Locker (expanding)

Well folks here it is, the most anticipated reveal of the entire Comic Con weekend… the very first teaser trailer for Saw VI! No seriously, I hear people are actually excited about this. Personally I don’t get it. I mean, they do realize this is part 6, right? Hasn’t the Saw series become a parody of itself by now?

I guess there are now different people taking on the identity of Jigsaw to keep the “game” alive. Or maybe that started a couple movies ago… who knows. They have also debuted a clip from the movie featuring some weird contraption that is like a cross between Russian Roulette and Musical Chairs. Doesn’t this feel like a scene out of Scary Movie 6 rather than Saw VI? I don’t know, maybe it’s just because it’s out of context… but probably not. Saw VI is directed by Kevin Greutert, the editor of all five previous Saw flicks; it hits theatres on October 23rd, 2009. Check out the teaser trailer after the jump.

Update: The clip has been pulled. Apparently the MPAA didn’t agree with it being open to people of all age groups.

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This weekend, Jaume Collet-Serra’s horror film Orphan hits theatres, and while it may seem like a story we’ve seen far too many times before, that is precisely what has a number of special interest groups up in arms. Various adoption and foster care groups in the United States are calling for a boycott of the film, which they feel depicts adopted children in an unflattering light. They are concerned that the portrayal of an “evil” orphan on screen will only reinforce negative stereotypes about the risks and anxieties that parents feel when going through the process of adoption. Does this sound ridiculous or what?

I’m always amazed by how many special interest groups there are in the world, and how almost every movie that is released nowadays manages to upset at least one of them. Clearly this is a fictional story and I seriously doubt that anyone would make a connection between this movie and the decision to adopt a child in real life. Still, I guess I can see how some people might be alarmed by the line in the trailer that says, “It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own.” I wouldn’t be surprised if this line ends up being cut from the movie. A spokesman for Warners also said they are thinking about adding a pro-adoption message at the end of the DVD release of the film. What do you think, is there any validity to these concerns, or is this just another special interest group clamoring for publicity? In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve embedded the trailer after the jump.

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Warner Brothers have been pretty tight-lipped about the upcoming Wachowski Brothers/James McTeigue action flick Ninja Assassin so far, but this week at the San Diego Comic Con they’ve finally tipped their hand by unveiling the very first trailer over at MTV. This is the same team who brought us V For Vendetta, and this time they’re telling the story of a shadowy killer who seeks revenge on the Clan that trained him.

The movie features Korean pop star Rain in the lead role, and he looks like anything but a pop star here as he is covered in blood wielding all kinds of shiny weaponry and pushing his body to the limit. I trust the Wachowskis to offer some decent eye candy and impressive action set pieces, but my main concern is the use of flashy CG effects. If a movie like this is selling itself on how hardcore it is, it will unfortunately have to compete with stuff like Ong Bak 2 and Chocolate. Hopefully they can find a good balance between the high-tech tricks and back to basics martial arts stuff. Check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think. Ninja Assassin hits theatres on November 25th.

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Last week’s Film Junk poll stretched beyond movies and into their marketing, and we asked you to choose the movie that had the best viral campaign to date. Coming out on top was Cloverfield, followed closely by The Blair Witch Project — two movies where the marketing played an obvious and essential role in their success. The Dark Knight and District 9 also received quite a few votes, while the rest of the choices were clumped together near the bottom of the pile. I’m a bit surprised Watchmen didn’t get more recognition, but perhaps all the comic book fans voted for The Dark Knight. Do you agree with these results?

1. Cloverfield — 27.7%
2. The Blair Witch Project — 25.8%
3. The Dark Knight — 15.4%
4. District 9 — 14.8%
5. Borat — 4.9%
6. Snakes on a Plane — 4.6%
7. Funny People — 2.5%
8. Watchmen — 1.5%
8. Tropic Thunder — 1.5%
10. Transformers — 1.2%

A couple of months ago there were reports that Paul W.S. Anderson’s live action Castlevania movie was essentially dead in the water, which had most fans breathing a sigh of relief. At the time, Stomp The Yard director Sylvain White was lined up to direct, but he eventually left the project to shoot The Losers instead. Well, don’t get too comfortable folks, because it looks like Paul W.S. Anderson hasn’t given up on Simon Belmont just yet.

Bloody Disgusting has the exclusive scoop from Comic Con this week that Saw director James Wan has officially signed on to write and direct the Castlevania movie. This kind of makes sense in a way since the last person to do a rewrite on the script was Ian Jeffers, who also wrote the Wan-directed revenge flick Death Sentence. Wan had this to say:

“The thing I love about what Konami did with Castlevania, was taking the iconic Dracula mythology and Eastern-European setting, and retelling it with a Japanese pop-cultural sensibility… That’s the East-meets-West tone I want to visually expand on for the film. I’m thrilled by the opportunity to make a highly stylized, fantasy, action film that focuses on the gothic storyline and the cool, anime-like characters.”

While I wasn’t a big fan of the first Saw film, it sounds like he at least has an interesting vision for Castlevania. Just from that quote it shows that he’s thinking about a way to capture the style and atmosphere of the games, which is good news. Mostly I’m just glad that it’s in the hands of an actual horror director this time. Does this announcement change your mind about the Castlevania movie?

Head over to Bloody Disgusting to check out a teaser poster for the film as well.