 Who’s the hardest-working man in show business? It might be Al Jean. If you watch an episode of “The Simpsons,” Jean’s name is the first that pops up in the credits at the end. Cartoonist Matt Groening created the family from a blank piece of paper and producer James L. Brooks shaped much of the spirit and tone once they hit the screen, but Jean is the day-to-day engine that keeps the franchise going.
On Sunday, I saw “The Simpsons Movie” for the second time, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Jean’s name flash on the screen. As a writer and producer for the film and the show-runner for the series, Jean had a year of seven-day workweeks and days at the office that stretched well into the night. I got to talk at length with Jean (as well as with Brooks, Groening and fellow “Simpsons” stalwart Richard Sakai) for a Calendar Weekend cover story that ran on the eve of the film’s release, and he looked weary but plainly excited about the movie. “I am really looking forward to the response; I want to see what the public and the critics say. I know we are very happy with the movie.” (Sakai, an especially wry character, had a different response when I asked him his thoughts on the movie: "It just won't die. I keep thinking we're done. But it just ... won't ... die."
I haven’t talked to Jean since the movie opened July 27 to stellar reviews and a robust $74 million at the box office (it's total has reached $128 million in the U.S. as I write this, $236 million worldwide), but I hope he’s enjoying the success -- and some time off.
“The hours and the schedule are difficult, absolutely, but that’s what it takes to do a film and TV show at the same time,” he said during the interview. I pointed to his wedding ring and asked, “How’s that going?” He laughed. “My wife is very understanding. Very, very understanding. Can you put that in the story? Please? And can you put in that I love her very much?” That didn’t make it in the story, Al. Sorry. But I'm hoping this blog item counts for something.
Jean's name popped up in The Times on Monday in a fun story by my colleague Jerry Crowe on all the sports stars who have passed through Springfield, while Lorenza Munoz (who was my partner covering the crime beat in Orange County a decade ago) wrote up an insightful piece on the global resonance of “The Simpsons” for our business section.
-- Geoff Boucher
We missed out on seeing any of the films in the Comic-Con International Film Festival, but here are the winners:
- Action/adventure: "Razor Sharp"
- Animation: "Fission"
- Comics-oriented: "Rocketboy"
- Documentary: "Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures"
- Horror/suspense: "Eli"
- Humor/parody: "Zombie Love"
- Science fiction/fantasy: "Man vs. Woman"
- Judges’ Choice Award: "Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures"
With Jean "Moebius" Giraud's "Moebius Redux" being the big winner, here's a tease (actually just the intro) to the Heavy Metal magazine co-founder's winning film. Maybe we can get more later.
Read more "Fan film winners: They might surprise you" »
Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! seemed to take the world by storm, both as anime and later as marketing juggernauts, each with a card game at the center of the melee. Now another 4Kids Entertainment property stands poised to reach into the wallets of parents everywhere when it is released in September: Chaotic.
 Already a TV show, the Danish TCG (trading card game) incorporates the same type of basic structure with monsters battling and energy points that can be lost as the fight wears on. Chaotic, though, takes a more interactive approach, according to the news release:
Chaotic's revolutionary feature is its patented alphanumeric code technology. In the cutting-edge, multimedia Chaotic Trading Card Game, each paper trading card has its own code that not only ensures that virtually no two cards are alike but also enables players to upload their collection of Chaotic cards free to battle and trade online at the Chaotic Trading Card Game portal.
Crazy, but definitely one of the most inventive ways to draw young eyes to the website and create online communities, which will then be able to take advantage of the chats. I got to take a test run of the basic card game without all the multimedia bells and whistles.
Read more "Card gaming can be Chaotic" »
A new band came through L.A. this weekend with a name that caught my eye: Comic Book Heroes played their very first West Coast gig at a showcase last night at the Knitting Factory. The band is four young Philly guys (all 14 or 15 years old, in fact — geez, I’m getting old; I have concert T-shirts with more years than that). They’ve built quite the following back home and they’ve caught the ear of Nickelodeon with a music video they did for “Jack’s Big Music Show.”
I dropped by their website and their MySpace page and they sound pretty good. And Fall Out Boy has already shown that using a cape-inspired name can lead to big things, right?
Anyway, I called up Dana Gordon, the publicist for Comic Book Heroes, and put the question to her: Are these guys true comic-book geeks? And if so, who are their favorites? The answer came back quick. And, if these guys become the Next Big Thing, please remember you read about them here first:
Ned (lead singer): “Batman because he's an ordinary guy that does amazing things.”
Collin (drums): “Ghost Rider is my new favorite, definitely! Skulls, flames, motorcycles … that rocks!”
Sam (lead guitar): “Captain America because he represented the spirit of America and good morals.”
Steve (bass): “I'd have to say Aquaman because I've always had a connection with sea creatures.”
I heard Led Zeppelin once had an unusual connection to a sea creature — a mud shark to be specific — but these guys are way too young to hear that story....
-- Geoff Boucher
 Join us as we discuss flannel shirts, coffee and catching fish with newspaper…
That was a funny line from the invitation sent out the other day by the good folks at Secret Headquarters, the signature emporium for underground comics and graphic novels over on Sunset. What’s the event? It’s a visit next Friday, Aug. 10, by Peter Bagge, the idiosyncratic cartoonist (aren’t they all?) who may be best known for creating the slouching Seattleite named Buddy Bradley, who ranted and meandered through the rainy Emerald City and the pages of the series "Neat Stuff" and "Hate."
It was great watching those Buddy tales unfold from the mid-1980s up through the 1990s to see the scruffy side of the coffeehouse metropolis. If you want to hear the powerful sonic angst of grunge, buy a Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Mudhoney album; if you want to chuckle at the scene’s street-level ennui and overreaching self-importance, pick up a copy of "Hate" from Fantagrahics.
Bagge’s kinetic characters jump (and scream) right off the page. His work has appeared in Reason, Hustler, the Oxford American and the Weekly World News — now how’s that for a resume? He also did some parodies for Marvel Comics of the Hulk and Spider-Man and quite a few record covers for a number of indie-band stalwarts.
The reception is open to the public; I know I’m going to try to make it by. The free event starts at 8 p.m., and a good-size crowd is expected. Bagge doesn’t make it to L.A. often and there's curiosity about "Apocalypse Nerd," the six-part series due early next year from Dark Horse Comics.
-- Geoff Boucher
(Art by Peter Bagge, image courtesy of Fantagraphics.)
 When I was a kid, Steve Gerber was the guy who wrote the weird comics.
I remember picking up "Howard the Duck" in the 1970s and, as a young reader accustomed to superheroes, it was downright unsettling to read its edgy satire and oddball stories. Unsettling but also fascinating. I didn't get all the jokes, but I sure wanted to. Compared with the rest of the Marvel universe, his books were like off-kilter David Letterman pranks intruding into a Johnny Carson world of mainstream capes.
Later I would learn the word for it: "subversive."
(All of this makes it especially disappointing that Howard is now known best as the title character of the excruciatingly bad 1986 film.)
Gerber also wrote a "Phantom Zone" miniseries I loved as a kid, and he did a definitive run on Man-Thing and many other quirky characters that always seemed more sly and strange than the superhero stiffs who battled monologue villains in other titles. Gerber also wrote the Marvel Comics adventure of KISS, cementing his persona in my mind as "the weird guy." He also created Korvac, the bad guy who single-handedly offed the Avengers. These days Gerber is writing "Dr. Fate" for DC.
Why this Gerber retrospective? I got a note this morning about Gerber from Hero Initiative, which endeavors to help comics creators past and present deal with major financial and health challenges.
Why? It turns out that Steve Gerber is in a bind and is turning to the public for help. He's a candidate for a lung transplant at UCLA, but to get on the formal waiting list he needs a place to recuperate here in Southern California. Keep reading to see a letter from Steve himself on the situation.
-- Geoff Boucher
Read more "'Duck' and cover: Steve Gerber needs help" »
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Here are a few of our personal highlights, low points and some of the projects we saw at Comic-Con that we look forward to catching in the future.
Read more "Comic-Con 2007: It's a Wrap" »
 On Sunday, the stars and stargazers have mostly left, except for those who came for Nicolas Cage. But there was still activity in the convention center and an enterprising fashionista from Poway, right, who made this dress out of one of the highly prized Warner Bros. bags.
The anime rooms were at about 75% capacity, still showing many programs that may not ever air on U.S. TV. A group of people near the rooms displayed handwritten "free hugs" signs, and commenced to squeezing passersby.
The Browncoats –- fans of “Buffy” and “Firefly” creator Joss Whedon -– congregated in a room as raffled prizes were dispersed. Last year, the space was big enough to accommodate the group, but this year there was at least three times the number of people who could comfortably sit in the room.
And then there was the final talkback -– Comic-Con’s feedback session where the fans are allowed to express their complaints, or compliments, to an assembled group of Comic-Con show runners. More than 20 people paraded in front of the microphone with various amounts of frustration and praise.
The positives: an excellent shuttle service (could use more stops), great disabled-access folk, a general feeling that the crowding had subsided on Saturday in contrast with last year’s craziness (though the same number of people showed up) and kudos on keeping the show relevant and continual. The negatives: courtesy not being enforced (cellphones, line cuts), strollers in the aisles bruising up ankles and calves, giveaways being gone too quickly (not a function of the Con, actually), being hassled by the elite security personnel and the debacle at Ballroom 20 that left possibly hundreds of "Heroes" fans out of the panel. An aside to Ballroom 20 were numerous complaints about the announcer. Both her style (someone called her a "'hot-pants-wearing show guide") and her tone were questioned: Many called Erin Fetters' dry wit and sarcasm demeaning, as if she were talking to children and name-calling. I wasn't offended by her comments, but I can see how another opinion could be reached.
-- Jevon Phillips
Judd Apatow, the Mayor of Comedy, wants the world to know about stand-up comedian Charlyne Yi.
Why else invite Yi onstage for Sony's "Superbad" panel Saturday night in front of a room full of 6,000 fans and media in San Diego? She's not even in "Superbad."
And unless the personal practices of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank were the inspiration, being "Superbad" costar Michael Cera's girlfriend alone wouldn't seem relevant enough to earn Yi a spot on the overflow dias, alongside Apatow regulars Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, producer Shauna Robertson and newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse. (Although Yi did have a memorable part as the stoner Jodi with Rogen and Hill in Apatow's "Knocked Up.")
Her surprise appearance must be because Yi is seriously funny, and Comic-Con's massive Hall H is the perfect venue, not only to launch new movies but also for new stars. And Apatow is nothing if not loyal to his comedy coterie. But there may have been something more intentional afoot, not only bolstering Apatow's rep as the sage of send-up but also demonstrating his commitment to finding funny ladies in addition to his headlining slovenly guys.
"Knocked Up" inspired David Denby, writing for the New Yorker last month, to devote 4,872 words to Apatow's misogynistic breed of romantic comedy and its presumed detriment to a future generation of comedic heroines.
Read more "Charlyne Yi kills at the Con; Apatow ushers in a comedian" »
 As a newbie to "the Con," I was struck by just how friendly -- overwhelmingly friendly -- everyone was. Costumes, smiles and so much talent. Wookies, Klingons and fairies -- oh my. And Batman and Robin, father and son John Whitt and Adam Whitt, 12. The dynamic duo, hailing from Minneapolis, enjoyed their time in San Diego. It warmed this photographer's heart to see them sharing a really cool experience, fully.
-- Spencer Weiner
Black Entertainment Television is not known as a popular source for animated programs, but the network is trying to change that with releases featuring the voices of actors Vin Diesel and Orlando Jones.
Announced last year, Diesel's "Hannibal the Conquerer," telling the story of the African king of Carthage famous for crossing the Alps with a herd of elephants, has a release date of February 2008. And "BUFU," an animated sketch comedy show, comes from the minds of comedian Jones and "Everybody Hates Chris" creator Ali LeRoi.
With a slate of 16 new shows coming out on varying dates, BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin says the network is set to release "the biggest array of black programming ever."
"These shows ['Hannibal' and 'BUFU'] will help put people on notice about the new direction that we're going in," said Hudlin. "Everything that's being put on makes a big statement" about the network's commitment to programming.
Senior Vice President of Animation Denys Cowan was encouraged by the "great response" the shows received at their Comic-Con panel. At last year's panel, a short entitled "Bid 'Em High" was a highlight, and although the short called "Read a Book" was out before the convention, it also garnered some attention this year.
"But we're working on some things that will be bigger," says Cowan.
-- Jevon Phillips
 The press coverage of Comic-Con focuses on the Hollywood stories and costumed fans, but for most fans its the ultimate bazaar of the bizarre and the name of the game is shopping. Here are some of curious items I spotted today walking the merchant floor:
Life-sized bust of Arnold Schwarzenegger as T-800, $550. Here's a conversation piece. It shows our right honorable governor but with half the flesh on his face blown off, revealing his cyborg skull and a glowing red eye. It's from a movie, I'm told. Well, that's a relief.
Chewbacca backpack, $40. A hot item this year. The kind-faced furry friend may not be the best for schooldays, though. The hair clogs the zipper, and on a hot afternoons its like wearing a huge back toupee.
ThunderCats sword, $49.95. A spiffy replica of the bejeweled weapon of Lion-O, the leader of the brave feline beasties. I didn't know of this; it's from my colleague Jevon, who is pretty damn geeky apparently.
FOR THE RECORD: Jevon's geek cred took a hit. Lion-O is the ThunderCat leader, not Lionel as earlier posted.
Robin action figure, $200. The 1979 doll (sorry, that's what it is) from Mego is still in the box. I noticed it said "Les Extraordinaires" on that box. Simple reason: "It's from Canada," the dealer told me. "But I can't guarantee that it wasn't sold in Detroit." Well, forget it then.
Photo: Spencer Weiner / LAT
-- Geoff Boucher
In the 15 years I have been writing for The Times, I have covered wildfires, riots, gang murders and plenty of other mayhem. I never got hurt. This weekend I covered a comic book convention in San Diego and I'm going home with staples in my head.
I was walking alone to my hotel after late Saturday night interviews with Neal Adams and Darwyn Cook. I was also talking on my cell to Spencer Weiner, the photographer for The Times shooting Comic-Con. Spencer heard everything that happened next.
I (literally) bumped into a young guy walking with three friends in the Gaslamp Quarter. They were tattooed and wearing the street uniform of baggy pants, white T-shirts and shaved heads. The guy started mad-dogging me, rasping threats. I told him I was just walking by, no offense meant. He got in my face, and I told him it would be stupid for us to make something out of nothing.
"You calling me stupid?" "No, I'm not." Then I stopped talking, because my mouth was bleeding. One of his buddies, standing off to my side, cold-cocked me, and the ring on his fist took a chunk out of my face. I never saw it coming. I was at the emergency room until dawn.
They stitched up the triangular gash on my face and put staples in my scalp for the nasty cut on the back of my head left when I hit the curb. The cops at the scene said this sort of incident isn't that rare, and the ER folks said I was lucky the guys didn't kick me, which might have happened if the street hadn't been packed with closing-time crowds headed home.
Today, I talked to Bill Weakley, a Seal Beach antiques dealer who nodded solemnly when he saw my face. "A guy I know came down here for a show and got jumped almost the same way. He lost an eye."
None of this gives Comic-Con or San Diego a bad rap. It's just a reminder that the real world doesn't stop when the fantasy crowds wander the city with their convention badges marking them as new in town.
-- Geoff Boucher
Comic-Con is winding down and you can see people checking their watches and getting ready for plane flights back to the real world. At the Omni Hotel, I spotted Joe Turkel getting ready to head back home to Santa Monica. "It was a great weekend. I got to tell the old stories again."
Turkel was here promoting the 25th anniversary of "Blade Runner" and the release of the souped-up version that Ridley Scott has made by melding the original theatrical release with alternate versions and even some new footage.
Turkel was not only in "Blade Runner"; he was the ghostly barkeep at the hotel in "The Shining." That wasn't his first film with Stanley Kubrick: "Kirk Douglas and I are the only living members of the cast from 'Paths of Glory,'" Turkel told me.
"I miss Stanley so much. I cried for a month when he died. He was the inspiration of my life."
Turkel said Kubrick would arrive on set in rumpled clothes with a pure focus on the movie at hand. "One of these" -- Turkel pulled out a black plastic comb -- "never touched Stanley's head."
Turkel has a salty mouth and a backslapper's grin. "Let me tell you this, when I did 'Blade Runner,' there were two or three times where he [Scott] would say, 'Joe, do you think Stanley would have shot it like this?'"
Turkel said he had to catch his ride. His last thought was on how different Kubrick was from his severe reputation.
"He was as sweet as sugar."
-- Geoff Boucher
Comic-Con visitor Brooks Klein dresses as a biker scout from "Return of the Jedi," with a toy-sized version of himself, while touring the halls of San Diego Convention Center. "Bikerscout" and his mini twin travel the world, attending events and participating in general mayhem. You can see their adventures at bikerscout.net.
Photo: Spencer Weiner/ Los Angeles Times
-- Jevon Phillips
 Nicolas and Weston Cage are the archetype of a father-son relationship. With Weston's long black hair and goatee, he doesn't look much like his movie-star dad, but the closeness of their relationship was on display in Ballroom 20 as they presented "Voodoo Child," their first collaborative effort and a comic book being published by Virgin Comics.
Cage, a well-known comic-book proponent, reared Weston with images of superheroes.
"We had them all over the house," said the senior Cage. "They were even framed and hanging [on] the walls."
And the opportunity to create and produce a comic book is not lost on the younger Cage, who is 16.
His friends "say it's pretty radical." Weston says. "I mean, it's pretty awesome for somebody my age to create a comic book."
"Voodoo Child" writer Mike Carey described the book, which centers around New Orleans, as having supernatural horror and even political themes. But the main character is something we may not have seen yet.
"There's actually not enough of him left to even be a zombie. He's more like a living shadow."
An EMT from New York and a paramedic from New Orleans who happened to be in the audience each thanked Nic -- for his work in "World Trade Center," and his general support of post-Katrina New Orleans.
Here's the article on Nicolas and Weston Cage that appeared in the print edition of the L.A. Times
Photo: Spencer Weiner / LAT
-- Jevon Phillips
When I walked in, one of the masters of horror was having his makeup done after what may have been a particulary brutal TV interview. One that had Clive Barker calling it "a different form of torture."
I was hoping our talk would be better, and it was. The man who brought us "Hellraiser," "Lord of Illusions" and "Candyman" was actually a nice guy. As a long-time comic book collector, he counts himself among the faithful here at Comic-Con.
"I spend $200 every Wednesday on comics," says Barker. "I'm not just here saying I'm a comic book fan; I'm a comic book freak!"
Like-minded freaks will also enjoy the new "Jericho" video game that Barker also helped design. A first-person shooter, it also adds supernatural elements. You play the ghost of a character that is killed 20 minutes into the game! That character then possesses others around them, using their different attributes (like telekinesis and pyrokinesis) to take out the bad guys.
Understanding story structure, Barker believes that games nowadays must have a certain level of "sophistication" and "passion" to succeed and surpass the "sameness" that occupies many of today's shooter-type games.
"The passion of novels, the passion of comic books, [and] the passion of storytelling is being poured into this game," says Barker. "The game allows for a length of storytelling that you can't get in movies."
The storyline, the graphics, the gameplay, and even the music all had Barker's stamp of approval.
-- Jevon Phillips
Matt Groening took the stage again later in the day on behalf of the long lost brother of “The Simpsons” — “Futurama.”
Groening was joined this time by John Di Maggio (Bender), Billy West (Dr. Zoidberg and others), Katey Sagal (Leela), Maurice LaMarche (Kif, Calculon and others), director Dwayne Carey-Hill and producers Ken Keeler, Eric Kaplan, and David X. Cohen. Cohen actually began the panel with an announcement that, it seemed from the response, was the most exciting made this year at Comic-Con: the return of “Futurama.”
Cohen presented the audience of fans with a never-before-seen-in-public five-minute trailer of “Bender’s Big Score!” the first of four “Futurama” movies to come. It’s hard to describe the energy that filled the room. You could feel that it was the dream come true of everyone there (including Yours Truly). Suffice it to say that the modest crowd of Ballroom 20 was louder than any I heard in the 6,500-seat Hall H the whole weekend — even for the “Iron Man” trailer.
The panel spent most of the time answering questions, but the highlight of the event was a live reading of the brief, complementary comic book that greeted each audience member on entry. Next year will also see the move of the syndicated episodes from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim to Comedy Central, to be joined by the movies rehashed into half-hour episodes. Fans should be extremely excited by the return of the show, and I think we can expect great things from the show that one fan audaciously described as “better in its 4-season run than the whole run of ‘The Simpsons.’”
--Andrew Hiltzik
Matt Groening — along with various producers, animators, directors and Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson — took the stage today in Hall H. Groening expressed a deep gratitude to the audience for the overwhelmingly positive response to the new movie (no “Worst Episode Ever” here) and thanked us by showing us a scene deleted from the movie, in which a truck driver discovers that Homer, while hitching a ride, has eaten the entire truckload of sausages. The panel spent their time answering questions about their favorite characters (Groening’s is Ralph Wiggum), discussing the future of the show and leading the audience in a sing-along of the “Spider-Pig” theme song. They hinted at plots and guest stars for the upcoming season and even played a raw, unfinished clip from this fall’s Halloween episode.
— Andrew Hiltzik
Read more "Who doesn't love the 'Spider-Pig' theme song" »
 Well, we can see what Shaky Bacon was doing on Saturday night (brain freeze!), but what about Comic-Con denizens?
They were busy with the Masquerade -- either performing in it or watching it unfold on a big screen in another room.
Or they were dancing the night away in the converted autograph area. Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat were particularly good, but the Jedi needed some work.
Or they were singing at the top of their lungs along with Tara's "I'm Under Your Spell," one of the many songs presented in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling."
Comic-book creator Warren Ellis also drew a crowd. "The Authority" writer is known as one of the most critically acclaimed and outspoken individuals in comics.
Read more "...midnite Squishee" »
Marvel Studios held their first film presentation in Hall H tonight with a first (for me) at the 2007 Comic-Con: a standing ovation, for "Iron Man."
IRON MAN  Marvel exec Kevin Feige, producers Gale Anne Hurd and Avi Arad, director Jon Favreau, with actors (from left to right above) Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. took the stage. All of the actors were Comic-Con first-timers and their camaraderie was palpable as they joked and whispered with each other throughout the presentation. Exclusive footage was about to be shown and, as Favreau told the crowd, "This is about comic-book fans."
The crowd LOVED the footage, and the panelists were seeing the images for the first time as well. They all looked stunned and happy, with Downey Jr. asking, "Couldn't there have been more of me?"
Some of the Q&A:
 Paltrow was asked about her role as Pepper: "I love the dynamic between Pepper and Tony.... I was incredibly honored."
Terrence Howard was asked how it felt being in a movie like this (comic-book adaptation): "What do you mean ... a movie with a budget?"
Read more "The panel of iron and rage" »
 What's a Ping-Pong martial-arts romantic wire-fu comedy cast to do without its villain played by Christopher Walken?
Just ask "Balls of Fury" star Dan Fogler and writer-director Ben Garant, who spent much of their Comic-Con panel on Saturday doing Walken impersonations. (The lithe actor is currently promoting "Hairspray" and was apparently unable to attend the Con.)
Garant told the crowd that Walken pretended it was his birthday three times during production. He'd stop by Ralphs on his way to the set and pick up a birthday cake. Then he would sit alone in the makeup trailer, looking forlorn, until some unsuspecting crew member walked in. And then he'd spring his trap.
"Is it your birthday?!" a crew member would ask.
"Oh, no. It's nothing," Walken would reply. "It's not that big a deal." Inevitably, Garant said, someone fell for it every time. The production ended up have three birthday parties for Walken.
Although he may love birthdays, Walken apparently doesn't know from interwebs or e-mail.
"Yeah, he doesn't know the @ symbol," Garant said. "He looked at it for so long and then said, 'What is that? Is this a letter or a number?' We [said], 'It's like 'at' but one letter shorter.'"
-- Sheigh Crabtree
Photo: Walken in "Balls of Fury" / Rogue Pictures
Mark Johnson, producer of "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, made what sounded like an impossible promise during a Comic-Con panel devoted to the sequel "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."
"Every May, starting this May 2008," Disney will release new "Narnia" films based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy novels, Johnson said. The "Narnia" production company plans to start shooting "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the third film in the seven-book series, in late January or February with an anticipated release date of May 2009.
Director Andrew Adamson does not plan to return for more films after "Voyage."
The next three books follow the adventures of Prince Caspian. Ben Barnes, the actor who plays the young royal, was introduced for the first time publicly via satellite: He and Adamson are in Prague where the production is 106 days into shooting with 30 to 40 to go.
-- Sheigh Crabtree
Photo: from left, Barnes and Adamson, via satellite from Prague
Joel Silver's producing "Whiteout," with Kate Beckinsale; "The Invasion," with Nicole Kidman; "Speed Racer"; "Return to House on Haunted Hill"; and a new TV series, "Moonlight." And that's just the slate of projects that are being touted at Comic-Con.
Silver, the "Matrix" man, was whisked from here to there by his assistant while at the show. I, and a few other roundtable folks, caught up to him after his presentations of "Return to House on Haunted Hill" and, before that, "Whiteout," for a very quick interview.
One of his newest endeavors, which stems from the Oct. 16 DVD release of "Return to House on Haunted Hill," is the use of navigational cinema -- a process of filmmaking that makes it possible for the viewer to help choose the outcome and decisions that the character must make. Silver, with director Victor Garcia, introduced the concept to a panel, then told the select group of journalists about the technology's benefits.
"This is definitely a new idea, and I don't think it'll work with everything," Silver said. "The actors were very confused."
"We are always trying to be cutting edge, and we're always trying to be cutting edge. We're always trying to do things that other people aren't."
He recounted a story about how he went to the movies as a child and the audience had to vote on which way the story would go by pressing red or blue buttons. Navigational cinema should make him feel right at home.
-- Jevon Phillips
Seth Rogen spoke publicly for the first time about "Green Hornet" at Comic-Con on Saturday.
Rogen was in San Diego with his "Superbad" co-writer Evan Goldberg, director Greg Mottola, producer Judd Apatow and cast members Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Apatow introduced two clips from the film, which played like bonkers with the crowd, then he opened the floor up to questions from fans.
The majority of those questions were from teen girls who asked some variation of "Michael Cera, will you marry me?" or "Michael, can I have your children?" There were also the mandatory "Do you know if 'Arrested Development' is ever coming back?"
But one bold fan asked Rogen about his involvement with Columbia Pictures and Original Films' upcoming superhero remake.
"What's all this about 'Green Hornet'? And how did you get involved?" the fan asked.
"Well, I'm a writer and I gotta work," Rogen said.
He later added: "It's something that Evan [Goldberg] and I are big fans of.... We wrote 'Pineapple Express' together ... and we thought, 'What if we make an even bigger action movie? And what if I wear a mask? Evan really wanted me to wear a mask because he is so sick of seeing my face."
-- Sheigh Crabtree
Photo: from top left, Rogen and Goldberg; bottom, Cera
 Michelle Ryan, television’s new “Bionic Woman,” got on a roller coaster that no one totally prepared her for by coming to Comic-Con, and costar “Battlestar Galactica’s” Katee Sackhoff did not help prepare her for the crush.
“Yeah, I didn’t know it was this huge,” said a beaming Ryan in her English accent, winding down from numerous broadcast interviews. “We’ve [she and Sackhoff] been meaning to go out for drinks.... We’re going to have to have a few girly nights out.”
In terms of the show, Ryan shied away from looking at the original too much.
“I’ve seen a few clips but not much. I see this as an entirely new project.”
Though the show hasn’t aired, it’s being touted as a hit. Ryan knows that it’s a big deal, describing the show as being in the “big leagues,” with the same TV format that she’s used to but bigger budgets, bigger sets, more producers and a more fast-moving production.
With all of the time she’s spending becoming Jamie Sommers, I asked her if there was anything she wanted people to know about Michelle Ryan’s persona.
“I’m really close to my family,” Ryan said, knotting her fingers together to show their solidarity. “And I have a really bad sweet tooth.”
Photo: NBC
-- Jevon Phillips
 Last year, I walked into the press room for “Heroes” and was able to interview a majority of the show's actors in a semicircle. This year, I’ll be lucky if I’m able to get a glimpse of the back of Hayden Panettiere’s head. Luckily, I found the flying man alone.
Adrian Pasdar, who’s also promoting a new movie he’s in entitled “Home Movie,” is not like his "Heroes" character, the ascending (politically and altitude-wise since he can fly) Sen. Nathan Petrelli.
"I don't really seek the spotlight as you can see," Adrian said, pointing over to the Comic-Con media rush that was surrounding costars Zachary Quinto and Ali Larter. Adrian sat at a table, almost anonymously separate from the other cast members, but he willingly spoke about his character's ambiguous motivations.
"He [Petrelli] exhibits a morally liquid change," Adrian says. "He hasn't fallen on the side of good or bad. He's never really been bad, though maybe wrong at times."
For Adrian the actor, times have changed a bit since last year's convention.
"Last year, we were looking to talk to anybody who wanted to talk to us. This year, the degree of secrecy is a lot higher in what we can say."
So what can he say about this season?
"No matter who your favorite character is, the things that are going to happen in this season will be exciting to the point of being numbing for fans," he says. "This season is not about defining them by their own behavior ... there's a lot more at stake."
Photo: Associated Press
-- Jevon Phillips
It's easy to spot Andre 3000 from a distance, so when I saw him walking through the Gaslamp Quarter this morning I jogged to catch up.
"It's a gorgeous day, man," said the hip-hop auteur, who is at Comic-Con this afternoon to promote his animated series, "Class of 3000," on Cartoon Network. Andre is a natty dresser, and on Saturday he was resplendent in yellow trousers, a checkered summer jacket and a vintage Brooklyn Dodgers cap.
Andre is a Renaissance man with the Grammy-winning music of OutKast, with his fledgling film career and as executive producer of the cartoon series.
"I grew up loving 'Looney Tunes,' which of course had great music, and 'Peanuts' and 'Fat Albert.' Those were the standards I had going in for this series," he said.
As Andre walked toward the convention center, fans shouted out his name, but he politely declined to stop for photos and autographs: "Sorry, guys. If I do one I have to do all of them, and I'll never get where I'm going."
The soundtrack album for "Class of 3000" hit stores this month. Every episode has a music video by a different art director, and it's clear the Atlanta rapper is enjoying the endeavor.
"When I grew up in Atlanta, we weren't too fortunate, but I had a friend that had comics so I would look at his. I drew my own adventures for the characters. My favorites to draw were Wolverine and Colossus. I always thought I was going to be an artist, maybe a painter. But whatever you love when you're a kid, it comes back to help you later in life, even if it's not in the way you expected."
— Geoff Boucher
A fan asked Liv Tyler to speak in Elvish and she obliged in silky, dulcet tones. Another fan came up and told Tyler not to be embarrassed about speaking Elvish in public. The fan added that she had a tattoo written in the Tolkein tongue.
"Oh, really?" Tyler said. "What does it say?"
The answer: "Not all who wander are lost."
Tyler is here promoting "The Strangers," a new horror film directed by first-timer Bryan Bertino, in which she co-stars with Scott Speedman.
-- Sheigh Crabtree
When I was a kid there was no comics character I loved more than Batman, and the main reason was Neal Adams.
Adams, the top superstar artist of the 1970s, had a graceful, almost photo-realistic style that, for the first time, made Gotham City a place you believed was real. I got to spend a couple of hours with Adams and his wife, Marilyn, Friday night and it was an extraordinary treat for a grown-up fanboy.
Adams was not only a sublime illustrator, he was a lion for artist rights and, with his burly build and tough-guy talk, it struck me that he is the comics world's answer to Marlon Brando -- a brawny poet with a social conscience, a shining star of his generation who always clashed with conformity and took headstrong excursions from the predictable career path.
Read more "The Brando of comics" »
At the Hasbro booth you’ll find its new generation of Transformers toys. All the characters are there but at different levels of complexity, from tiny gadgets to “deluxe” toys. (The centerpiece there would be the foot-tall Ultimate Bumblebee). Also worth mentioning are Softimus Prime and Slumblebee: plushie toys that are, of course, still transformable.
Read more "Check out the endoskeleton on that Terminator" »
It’s really something when part of the attraction of an event is the attendees themselves, and at Comic-Con, they all come out.
Read more "Hey, Wolfman, Mummy -- you're falling behind!" »
What would a comic book convention be without autograph signing booths?
Oddly enough, the most popular autographs this afternoon weren’t even directly related to comic books. Nick Frost (“Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”) had a booth, as did Debbie Lee Carrington, the diminutive actress from “Total Recall” and “The Drew Carey Show” (she was Mini-Mimi).
The longest lines belonged to Katey Sagal, memorable to the general public as Peggy on “Married With Children” but to the Comic-Con crowd as Turanga Leela from "Futurama" and Rosario Dawson of “Sin City.”
--Andrew Hiltzik
Comic-Con has certainly gone mainstream over the years, but its geek roots were in full view in the gaming tournament rooms on the second floor. "Wizards of the Coast" had a room where in various corners players could participate in games of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering or "Star Wars."
There was another room with a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament and one with a Pokemon tournament. What did they win? Mostly boxes of cards or other merchandise.
-- Andrew Hiltzik
 He was frying in his own fat when he spotted that conical hairdo with its white-lightning streaks.
Maybe the striped highlights were reminiscent of the grill marks that come from using a high-end nonstick pan. Or maybe it was the sheer medical swabs useful for absorbing grease drippings.
It's impossible to say what makes two toys fall in love or the whys and wherefores of a couple of tchotchkes letting loose their foolish hearts.
What we do know is that Shaky Bacon found his new love in artist Spencer Davis' booth.
We only dread the scenario when the Boris Karloff figurine finds out.
Earlier: Shaky Bacon sizzles with Knight Seeker; Shaky Bacon and the death ray; Shaky Bacon peers into the crystal ball and Introducing Shaky Bacon.
-- Sheigh Crabtree
Readers of the print edition of the Onion know Shannon Wheeler's cartoons, as do readers of his syndicated strip How to Be Happy. I've been a big fan of comic book Too Much Coffee Man since it started in 1993. The character is a chubby, wide-eyed, jittery  mess of a hero whose head is a huge cup of coffee. "It's made me more and more money through the years, so I'm solidly in the middle class of the comics world." At his booth, as you might suspect, there was a pot of coffee brewing. "I actually don't drink that much. Only one cup a day. But, of course, it's a very, very big cup."
The character was a goof on the ubiquitous cafe culture back home in Portland, Ore. Now the over-caffeinated hero in red tights is on T-shirts, posters and, of course, coffee mugs.
"And then, of course, there's the opera," Wheeler said.
Opera?
"Yes there was this composer that bugged me for two years to do it, and then he sent music and I thought, 'Hey, this is great.' So now we have the Too Much Coffee Man opera."
It's subtitled "Cream in the Coffee of Love." There's a staging at 11 tonight and 1:30 and 11 p.m. Saturday at the Horton Grand Theater at 444 4th Ave. in San Diego, (619) 220-9583. It's free to Comic-Con pass holders.
The story is romance: TMCM falls for a barista, but our hero's conniving foe, Espresso Guy, stirs up trouble. Plans for a sequel opera are, uh, brewing. To find out more about the Too Much Coffee Man world, go to www.tmcm.com.
-- Geoff Boucher
(photo by Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
 It's easy to get so caught up in Hollywood angles of Comic-Con that the original purpose of the event -- to buy and sell vintage comics -- gets overlooked.
I just wandered through the dealer's tables and looked at some fantastic old comics, my favorites being the gorgeous Mac Raboy issues of "Captain Marvel, Jr." from the 1940s. Those books had a lasting impact on pop-culture in a curious way: Elvis Presley, in his Vegas years, designed his jumpsuits, high collars and short cape on Raboy's classic hero.
If I had a bigger bank account, what would I buy today? Some original art from comics I loved when I was a kid. These are the one-of-a-kind pages drawn by the artists at the first step of the production process of comics. The market for these singular, poster-size slices of pop culture has exploded in recent years, and with such icons as Neal Adams or the late Jack Kirby, the prices go into six digits.
Good thing I left my checkbook in L.A.
--Geoff Boucher
An original drawing for sale at Comic-Con of art by Jack Kirby, characters trademarked by Marvel Comics. (Photo by Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
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Sheigh Crabtree usually speeds past San Diego on her way to Tijuauna in search of clay monkeys. She will be covering Hollywood's looming shadow at the event, and seeking female-friendly graphic novels.
Jevon Phillips will be writing about booths, panels and the fan aspects of the show. Luckily, he will not be entering the Masquerade as Afro Samurai.