Wonder Con report

Attended the annual WonderCon show for comic fans last weekend. Since the San Diego Comic Con folks took it over, they've really improved the show. Most importantly, they are attracting major talent and Hollywood studios.

I caught a few of the Saturday afternoon movie panels. First up, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy preview. I read these books when I was in middle school and i loved them. The filmmakers really seem to have captured the essense of the books. I'm psyched for the flick.

I skipped Paramount's War of the Worlds panel. From what I understand, they didn't show any new footage, so no loss there.

Caught the tail end of Kevin Smith's talk. I really like Smith as a person and I find his films entertaining, but I think my brother summed it up best when he said, "His popularity has exceeded his talent." Going to a Kevin Smith panel is like going to a taping of Oprah: wild, crazed fans who will applaud anything that comes from Smith's mouth. Sad.

Next up was the Warner Brothers panel for House of Wax. Elisha Cuthbert and producer Joel Silver were on hand. Co-star Paris Hilton cancelled "due to scheduling conflicts" or as I like to call it, the NBA All-Star game. See, if she just flew up to San Francisco, she never would have had her Sidekick Mobile hacked and she wouldn't have all those people pissed at her.

Well, no worries because Cuthbert is ten times the babe Paris is. I did feel sorry for Joel Silver though. It was pretty evident that he had no illusions about the quality of the flick. It sounded like he was just hoping for a big opening weekend and crossing his fingers for strong DVD sales.

Christian Bale showed up for the Batman Begins presentation. Fans were jazzed by the new 7 minute clip reel he brought along, but I was unmoved. I've been burned too many times waiting for a decent Batman flick. I will say that Bale said all the right things about Batman being the real identity and Bruce Wayne being the mask he uses to keep the real him in check. If anything will make me see this picture, it's his sell job.

Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon was on hand to promote the Fantastic Four movie. The trailers have been mediocre at best and I'm not holding my breath for a decent movie.

As for the comic book portion of the weekend, nothing too exciting. I did pick up a Art Adams's Man-Thing pin-up for my comic art collection though.

The Almost Top Ten Films of 2004

I've finally had a bit of time to slap together my Top Films of 2004 list. A lot of good movies this year, but apparently not enough to make my list ten films long.

9.) The Incredibles. Directed by Brad Bird
While not as good as Bird's Iron Giant, he's still made a film that kicks Disney's ass and also moves Pixar into a new genre.

8.) Collateral. Directed by Michael Mann
This movie is on the list as much for Mann's precision as for the film itself. He's one of the smartest, most meticulous directors around. The third act is a bit weak but the performances are fantastic. Cruise and Foxx are incredible.

7.) In Good Company. Directed by Paul Weitz
Just a well-made comedy that doesn't go for cheap laughs.

6.) Million Dollar Baby. Directed by Clint Eastwood
First off, it's an amazing boxing picture, one of the best Hollywood's made. Second, it has a moving second act that you wouldn't see coming if not for the press the film has been getting.

5.) I Heart Huckabees. Directed by David Russell
Weird and wonderful. Lightweight and meaningful. Just see it.

4.) Spider-man 2. Directed by Sam Raimi
The best superhero movie ever made and it's about the comic character I collect! Action and heart.

3.) Sideways. Directed by Alexander Payne
Payne has yet to make a bad picture. There's a lot of talk about overhyping on this film, but if you go in cold, you will love it. Giamatti was robbed of an Oscar nomination.

2.) The Aviator. Directed by Martin Scorsese
Scorsese's in top form. This is what Hollywood pictures should be about; exhilarating entertainment with top notch acting and big production values.

1.) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by Michel Gondry
Gondry's previous collaboration with screenwriter resulted in the interesting, but uneven Human Nature. This time, the duo hit the mark. Jim Carrey's never been better and Kate Winslet is amazing. A movie about what love and heartbreak feels like.

Who let the gay escort into the White House press room?

In case you haven't been following the whole Jeff Gannon/James Guckert White House press room scandal (and why would you, since the mainstream news is ignoring it), head on over to AmericaBlog's coverage.

Jeff Gannon is the "reporter" in the White House press room who was known for lobbing partisan softball questions at Scott McClellan and George W. Bush. He worked for Talon News Service, a site funded and operated by Bobby Eberle, a Texas conservative who also runs the site gopusa.com. He also was suspected of ties with Tom DeLay and Karl Rove.

Some left-wing bloggers managed to out the fact that Gannon got his press pass under a pseudonym. His real name is James Guckert. This unusual practice of admitting a person into the White House under an assumed name naturally aroused some suspicions, especially when coupled with his ties to the GOP.

Gannon/Guckert then challenged anyone to dig up dirt on him. Guess what? Bloggers did. They discovered his affiliation with three gay porn sites, one of which was for a illegal escort service.

When confronted with the facts, Gannon/Guckert said that he was designing the sites for a customer, and at any rate, they had never gone live. Liar.

AmericaBlog was contacted by the real designer of those sites, who then informed them that he designed the sites FOR Gannon. Yes, Jeff Gannon/James Guckert was a male prostitute.

So someone in the White House press room approved Gannon/Guckert's use of a pseudonym for his daily press pass. This was AFTER it was discovered that he was refused similar passes for the House and Senate, arguably a lower security risk situation.

Watch Anderson Cooper tear Gannon/Guckert a new one at the Crooks and Liars asite.

Many people suspect another Karl Rove dirty trick, an effort to spread disinformation akin to the Armstrong Williams payola scandal. Gannon/Guckert denied it, saying he only met Rove once. Fine, except his boss at Talon, Bobby Eberle seems to be rather tight with Rove.

Tonight, a new connection between Talon News, GOPUSA and Karl Rove has been discovered. From Bobby Eberle's GOPUSA 2004 Christmas greeting:

"In particular, I'd like to thank Terri Hillhouse and the entire GOPUSA team for their drive, dedication, and support. I'd also like to send a special thank you to all those who personally provided me with their assistance, guidance, and friendship, including Kathleen Eberle, Bruce Eberle, Mike Hiban, Don Stewart, Paul Teller, Tim Goeglein, Stuart Richens, Matt Smith, Jen Ohman, Bob Johnson, Liz Sheld, Julie Cram, Phillip Stutts, Chuck Muth, Grover Norquist, Karl Rove, and G. Gordon Liddy."

CNN has been covering this story a bit, but Fox has avoided it completely. John Stewart did a send-up of Gannon/Guckert last week and Bill Maher did a bit on Friday night. Today, the network news media has finally joined in on the story. Here's hoping that Rove and Bush don't get away with it this time.

Stupid Bowl commercials

This year's Superbowl was perhaps the lamest year ever for commercials. Not a single laugh. Some of the work was so damn painful to watch. The worst were the spots that fall into "trying too hard" camp.

Careerbuilder.com
Chimps. Lots of chimps. Can you say cliché? I think eTrade did chimps five years ago. Enough with the chimps. The saddest thing was that Careerbuilder wasn't the only advertiser to use chimps. Verizon did the chimp thing too and almost pulled it off, but they had to go and put the "do you hear me now" guy at the end, which totally fucked it up. Even FedEx/Kinkos parodied the use of animals in their spot.

McDonald's Lincolnfry.com
This is McDonald's pathetic attempt to play catch-up with Burger King's Subservient Chicken site. Too little, too late, too lame.

Pepsi's Sean Combs ad and Guy Watcher spots
The BBDO school of celebrity overkill. The celebrities in the spots were not even relevant anymore. Sean Combs? Carson Daly? Cindy Crawford? The Queer Eye fashion guy? Proof that throwing money at a commercial will not make it a more memorable spot; you have to start with a decent idea.

Pepsi' iTunes promotion
"Scratching" with Pepsi caps... just plain annoying.

Other spots that sucked off the top of my head:
Verizon's miniaturization commercial with Kid Rock, Deion Sanders and Shaq. Horrible.
AmeriQuest's Surprise Dinner with the cat. Suckage.