Here’s what you might have missed last week:
• 30 Seconds to Mars Cover Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”
• Mediated Mortal Kombat
• Modern Warfail
• Trololo Cat
• San Francisco Bound: WonderCon 2010
• Henry Selick Returns to Disney!
• In San Francisco and a Little WonderCon Treat…
• True Blood: The Comic Series

Uhm, hello. Who’s excited? ME!!!!

For those who don’t know the name– you should. He (not Tim Burton; Tim was the producer) directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as Coraline… and he just signed a contract to make stop-motion features for Pixar.

YESSSSSSSS YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YESSSSS!!!

To read details, click here for the Variety article.

Here is what you might have missed last week:
• New TRON LEGACY Trailer
• Electrolightz: The Making of ‘Outta Control’
• Wario Papercraft at GDC
• R.I.P. Corey Haim
• Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer
• Important Rule
• One of the coolest websites EVER.
• I want a casket full of bubbles…
• Creepiest Coraline Doll I’ve Seen Yet
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
• Electrolightz, Electro Wars
• Playstation Move Introduced at GDC 2010
• Now Smartphone Friendly!
• Eclipse Reaction
• Official Video: Lady Gaga (ft. Beyonce) “Telephone”
• Official Video: Kerli “Tea Party”
• Zombie Kittens!
• Wall of Deaaaath
• NOoOoOoOoOoOoooo…

So I’ve been a little behind on catching up on my blogrolls. I revisited Evil Buttons today to find what is THE creepiest Coraline doll I have ever seen so far:

That is one doll that I don’t want staring at me in my apartment.

Hahahahaha… Too funny! Coraline meets Clint Eastwood:

Spotted on Evil Buttons.

Probably the best one I’ve seen so far!

Cake by Erica Thordarson. Seen on Evil Buttons.

photo by Chad Michael Ward, snapped at the Bloodfire booth

I don’t think anyone can deny that SDCC is getting bigger and bigger every year. Last year, I went down with a plan and failed and being able to keep up with half of it. I thought that this year, I had outsmarted the system… however, things went a little more chaotic than I had anticipated.

First of all, before anyone puts words in my mouth and jumps down my throat, let me just state for the record that I have done my fair share of “research” on Twilight. I own and have read the first four books. I read the first one before I originally saw the movie. I saw the movie five times, and I even own it. I am far from a “Twihard,” but I’m not an absolute hater, either. I walked into all of it knowing exactly what I was getting into. These books were written to cater to young teens and the idea of romanticism. I get that part. I really do. However, I don’t get the absolute hype of it all. The movie, to me, was just okay, and that is my honest opinion. Did I expect crazed Twilight fans at this year’s convention? Sure I did. I expected about the same amount that were there last year. Did I expect it to be 10x as worse as last year? No. No I did not. Was I slightly annoyed? Yes. Yes I was.

The last time I checked, it was COMIC Con, not Twilight Con… and that was, as it has been in the past, the reason for my attendance. Although yes, I can respect and do appreciate the film portions that get bigger and bigger every year, but the diehard artist in me goes mostly for the comic and graphic art aspect of it all. Anyway… instead of giving a play-by-play of each day, I suppose I’ll just point out my highlights.

Ridiculously giant Alice ad outside of the convention

First of all, I get really excited when I see creative marketing. It’s one of the things I love about living in Los Angeles.. it’s not always just plain ol’ words on a billboard. So I was really stoked when I read all sorts of Comic Con tweets about helicopters air dropping crates of deodorant to promote the upcoming movie 2012… or how there were MNU trucks driving around as a promotion for District 9. Speaking of D9, I managed to catch one of these giant banners in the halls one day:

Some other cool advertising includes:

In the Omni. The elevator buttons are where the bitemarks are.

The panels seem to have gotten crazier this year. I had a list of a small handful.. and only successfully made it to ONE panel this year. Fortunately, it was the one that meant the most to me: the Coraline panel with Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman. They showed some behind-the-scenes footage, as well as concept art. Henry mentioned how he was interested in trying to turn Sandman into stop-motion. Hello, YES PLEASE. This needs to happen.

Neil Gaiman with Coraline puppet

Henry Selick and one of the Other Mothers

Teri Hatcher with Bobinsky and another Other Mother

I decided next year I am making sure I am all taken care of when it comes to panel passes.

On the bright side of not making it into most of the panels I had planned, this gave me some more time to shop and visit my friends who had booths! I picked up a couple of comics and toys for myself, then did a whole lot of shopping for my friends. I was also given more time to look around and all of the cool stuff on the floor, and notice some rather entertaining costumes.

Coraline puppets at the NECA booth

Lightsaber chopsticks at the Kotobukiya booth

Master... CHEF!

Rad Michaelangelo costume

Pocky bags

Alicia and I with our good ol' friend Amie Nicole

Disney's Stitch tour. These are some of the ones that stuck out the most.

Limited edition hand-crafted doll by Toffee. I bought this for Karri as a late bridal gift and she loved it!

Last, but not least… the PARTIES, dinners, and events with a handful of good friends!

Let’s see… Wednesday, we hit up the Activision party at Stingaree. Free food and drinks plus videogame testing? Why, yes, thank you!! “Singularity” was fun. Reminded me of “Bioshock”… but I was definitely more into “Marvel Universe 2.”

GWAR onstage

Thursday was the GWAR show! My very first time seeing them live. I already knew what to expect from seeing other peoples footage from the past, but yeah. Really cool stuff for a gore-lover such as myself.. plus a handful of my L.A. friends came down for the show, as well. Blood and slime everywhere… and for the record, I just want to say that it’s really scary when one of your friends is introducing you to one of the guys (who is in full costume) as, “This is my really good friend, Sarah. She works for Disney.” I just kind of imagined the “monster” grabbing an ace and decapitating me in the dressing room.

Friday, before we headed off to the convention center, we checked out a Bandslam screening… and honestly, it was really good! It’s a funny, cute, feel-good movie.. which is something I need from time to time so my life isn’t 100% gore and horror. It’s movies like that that are probably preventing me from becoming a serial killer, haha. Oh, and speaking of, follow BugAndOmar on Twitter– the REAL stars of the flick!

Friday night was a little chatoic. It started off with dinner with Jim Lee, Dan Didio, and a rather large handful of our mutual friends. Somehow, this is what it looked like in front of me:

Straight up DANGEROUS.. especially for a small gal like me who hardly ever drinks anymore. Needless to say, I ended up wasted.. and somehow, we all ended up at the Daughtry party instead of Planet Illogica…?

Onto Saturday night: stopped by the True Blood party (w/ Joel Madden spinning) and Image/Mayhem party. Never made it to Radical Comics/Gene Simmons… or Suicide Girls… or Adult Swim…

During the daytime of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we spent some time at Wired Cafe in the Omni, enjoying the free lunches and drinks. The boys got some rad free stuff during gifting… and I enjoyed checking out the NVIDIA 3D TVs! I kind of need one for all of my gaming… no, really. To read up on them, visit www.nvidia.com.

Although I was made aware of the Tru:Blood drink bar parties, I never made it to any of them. Bummer. If only I could clone myself…

Let’s see… what else, what else. Sunday we spent a few hours shopping on the floor before finally heading back to L.A. Wanna see what our car ended up looking like?

First the trunk was stuffed as much as possible... literally.

...then the backseat, leaving little space for me and Angie to sit!

Insane, insane, insane. I’ll have some more SDCC related stuff coming soon when I have more time… but that’s about it as far as personal matters go!

Oh I have been waiting for this day.

First and foremost, Coraline was released out on DVD and Blu-ray today. The DVD can be watched in both its 2D version, as well as its FABULOUS 3D version!

Secondly, Watchmen came out, as well…

Third… For those who, after all these years, kept up and stayed a fan of the show Prison Break, they just released the series finale on DVD. “The Final Break”…

So tomorrow (July 21, 2009) is the release of Coraline on DVD! AND.. it’s coming out in both 2D and the FABULOUS 3D!!!

So. Excited.

Don’t forget to grab your copy in stores TOMORROW!

So Day 2 (Friday, July 24th) of this year’s Comic-Con was just announced! (For the full schedule, click here).

As I started to scroll through the list, I was about to say I was all in for the Warner Bros. panel this year, mainly for Nightmare on Elm Street…. however, a few lists later, and I see this:

• 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Coraline— Visionary director and screenwriter Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman discuss the making of the LAIKA/Focus Features 2009 breakout animated hit film Coraline. In celebration of Universal Studio’s Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD release of the critically acclaimed stop-motion film, Selick and Gaiman will be joined by lead animator and LAIKA CEO/president Travis Knight, producer Bill Mechanic (CEO of Pandemonium and producer of Dark Water and The New World), character fabrication supervisor Georgina Hayns (Corpse Bride), and voice talent Keith David (Crash). Panelists will offer an in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpse at how this astonishing and suspenseful adventure—the first stop-motion animated feature originally produced in stereoscopic 3D—was painstakingly brought to life. The panel wis moderated by IGN movies/DVD editor-in-chief Eric Moro. – Room 6A

Considering I am a big Gaiman fan… Freddy Krueger can wait… so can Disney/Prince of Persia and Image Comics…

If I manage to become Wonder Woman and sift through everything rather quickly, perhaps I will try to fenagle a way into this one:

• 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM – DisDisney: Animation Panel— Walt Disney Pictures, Disney•Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios present a director panel with previously unseen footage from its upcoming animated slate, including Toy Story & Toy Story 2 – Double Feature, Beauty And The Beast, Toy Story 3, Prep & Landing, The Princess and the Frog and Ponyo. Special guests include Lee Unkrich, Kirk Wise, Ron Clements, John Musker, and Hayao Miyazaki. John Lasseter hosts the panel, with Patton Oswalt moderating. – Hall H

Hmmm.. actually wait. There are also these:

• 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – CBLDF Master Sessions: “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?” Life Drawing with Camilla D’Errico, David Mack, & Terry Moore— Bring your sketchbook and witness how illustrative masters Camilla D’Errico, David Mack, and Terry Moore draw from life as internationally renowned performer Amanda Palmer poses at this CBLDF Master Session! Amanda is the creative force behind Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, a book of photographs accompanied with stories by Neil Gaiman, and the critically acclaimed album of the same name. Palmer will establish the mood for the event, while the artists translate her dramatic poses into their own distinctive styles. The original art from this session will be auctioned off on Saturday night at the CBLDF’s auction! – Room 30CDE
• 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM - Focus Features: 9— Focus Features and Comic-Con present an exclusive look inside director Shane Acker’s animated fantasy epic 9, the feature-length expansion of his short film of the same name. Directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov are among the feature version’s producers. The action-packed adventure—opening nationwide 9/9/09—takes place after our world fell to pieces, when a group of “stitchpunk” creations must summon individual strengths well beyond their own proportions. While showcasing a stunning steampunk-styled visual brilliance, 9 dynamically explores the will to live, the power of community, and how one soul can change the world. Join Shane Acker, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov, and actors Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly LIVE for this panel presentation! – Hall H
• 3:45PM – 5:00 PM Sony Pictures Entertainment: Legion and District 9— Sony Pictures Entertainment and Screen Gems introduce two great new movie projects exclusively to Comic-Con attendees!

  Legion—When the last angel falls, the fight for mankind begins. Having lost faith in the human race, a legion of angels descend to Earth to bring about the Apocalypse. Humanity’s only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael himself (Paul Bettany). Appearing on stage: Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, The DaVinci Code), Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights, Supernatural), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers, Death Race), Doug Jones (Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Abe Sapien in Hellboy), and director Scott Stewart (helming his first feature film after working on VFX for Sin City, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, and Iron Man, among many others). From Screen Gems.

  District 9—Peter Jackson makes his eagerly and long-awaited first visit to Comic-Con to introduce you to the world of District 9, which focuses on a world in which extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa. Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them—as well as their powerful technology and advanced weaponry that can only be activated by Alien DNA. Please join Peter Jackson as he gives fans a first look at scenes from District 9 and takes your questions along with director Neill Blomkamp and star Sharlto Copley. From Sony Pictures Entertainment

  Hall H

• 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM - FEAR Clinic (A FEARnet Original Production)— Don’t miss this panel discussion with actor Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), director Robert Hall (Laid to Rest), and guest moderator Clive Barker. In this series, Dr. Andover (Englund) seeks to cure his patients’ deepest fears with a device that allows them to confront their fear head-on. His extreme method is so effective, it has a 100 percent success rate, at least for all those who live through it. Join the panelists and featured cast and crew live on stage for a sneak peek and Q&A about the highly anticipated series. – Room 5AB

OH GOD.. and… and… and…

….obviously I don’t have a set plan for Day 2 yet. Guess I’ll have to get back to ya.

Decisions, decisions….