2009 WonderCon

I enjoy learning pretty much anything related to the wizardry that goes on at Pixar which is why I jumped at the chance to chat with director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera at WonderCon all about Pixar's forthcoming film, Up.

We spoke directly after the two men previewed clips from the movie to a large and enthusiastic crowd and later that evening I watched a special screening of the first 45 minutes of the film. I don't want to give anything away because I know how much I enjoyed my first peek, but I'll say there is much more to this movie than the trailer implies.

The footage I viewed contains everything we've come to expect from Pixar: outstanding animation, charming characters, and big laughs. And like Wall-E, the movie touches on some adult concepts. In fact, the entire audience (including myself!) was crying within the first 15 minutes.

We talked about this sophisticated nature of Pixar's storytelling compared to other animated films and lots more during our roundtable with the guys. To check out the interview, read more

Remember when I said there was plenty of cute to be found on the expo floor of Wondercon? Well, I kind of couldn't get over these little guys, called Putrid Pals which as described by artist Michael Fleming, were "undead French boys." I could see how that description may gross some people out, but look at them! Totally cute, and only $20 bucks each. If I were a rich girl, I may have come home with lots of little trinkets that would have overrun my desk here at work. But Michael doesn't just create toys, he's also a great artist who does prints, comics, and posters for a local dance troupe based in SF. Check out a few more pics of his work in the gallery.

Although it seemed that the expo hall at this year's Wondercon was a little less robust than years' past, there was plenty of cute to go around among all that geekiness. Take Loter for example. Makers of tees, toys, cards, and prints, their booth caught my eye from across the room with its retro vibe. I picked up a few of their prints and cards on my way out, which remind me a little of the stylized art of Eric Tam, who draws the awesome 60's era Disney movie posters. Obviously I'm a fan of retro, so this little figurine would fit in quite well with the other nicknacks I keep on my desk.

Check out some more pics of Loter's awesome booth and their sweetly geeky goods.

On Sunday, Buzz got the chance of a lifetime for any Chuck fan: she hung with the cast backstage and moderated the panel at this year's Wondercon! Since I don't watch the show on a regular basis (um, where have I been?!), I totally geeked-out when Adam Baldwin took the stage. He plays super spy John Casey in the show, but of course I (and apparently the rest of the audience) love him from his time on Firefly. But that wasn't the only surprise of the day: BSG's Number Six, Trisha Helfer, will be guest starring on a few new episodes, and Chuck star Zachary Levi is a total gaming nerd.

When asked about how similar he is to his character, Zachary started chatting about his gaming skills, how he plays Fear 2, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and how excited he is for Resident Evil 5 to hit store shelves. He also went off about how the controls on Street Fighter IV were a little too wonky for his liking. With his previous displays of geekiness at the TCAs, and now knowing that he's also a gamer, Zachary Levi may just be the dark horse that swipes the crown of Celeb Geek King from Ashton! He better watch out.

It was an insane — not to mention insanely fun — weekend at WonderCon here in San Francisco. I already reported back on the exciting Watchmen panel, and now I'm giving the lowdown on the panels I attended for Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. The directors of both movies showed up to explain to a crowd of devotees how they think they've done right by fans with these reboots. To read what J.J. Abrams and McG had to say about reviving beloved franchises with care, read more

I look forward to Wondercon all year, mostly because it's in my hometown so I don't have to worry about flying, hotels, and cabs, but also because I get to check out tons of upcoming movies. Day two of Wondercon was packed (and I mean packed) with geeky and celebrity goodness. There's a lot to cover, but first up, is Up! We got a sneak peek at Pixar's newest film at the Up panel, plus I got to chat with director Pete Doctor and producer Jonas Rivera about the movie, and check out an exclusive screening of the first 45 minutes of the film.

Up (which is coming out in 3D this May) is about a 78 year-old man who attaches a ton of helium-filled balloons to his house in order to float his way to South America. Up also stars an eight-year-old "Wilderness Explorer," a few hilarious dogs, and a really big bird. But by far the star of the film is the animation! To hear what the guys had to say about working in 3D versus 2D, and hear about some hidden tidbits you'll find in the film, just read more

As I said on Twitter over the weekend, there was a party going on at Wondercon, and it was called the Terminator: Salvation panel! I witnessed firsthand how quickly McG can get a crowd of geeks excited for a killer robot flick, and he started the hour off with a call to his buddy Christian Bale, who unfortunately was not at the event on Saturday. Whipping out his Blackberry Pearl, we all got a chance to chime in on the message left on Christian's home voicemail, and the director even slipped in a little jab referencing the stars' —ahem— freakout on set. Check out the fun in the video below.

The highest point of my WonderCon experience came Sunday afternoon, when I moderated the Chuck panel with Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, and cocreators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz. It was an absolute delight: Everyone on the panel was lively, funny, and eager to chat about a show that obviously makes them all proud.

The crowd definitely reciprocated their warmth. I couldn't see all the way to the back of the Esplanade Ballroom, but folks in the crowd estimated that somewhere around 2,000 people showed up for Chuck. There was a huge line for audience Q&A and lots of enthusiastic cheering, especially for references to the Chuck/Sarah romantic entanglements, Scott Bakula's first appearance in the five-minute trailer we screened, and pretty much anything Adam Baldwin did. In fact, Levi gave a very genuine and impassioned thank you to the crowd at the end of the panel, and everyone told me they're thrilled with — and extremely thankful for — the kind reception they've always gotten at fan events. If you couldn't be in the room, read on for some of the highlights:

• First of all, the five-minute clip from the upcoming episodes was intense; I'll discuss some of the more spoilery stuff after the jump. But it also drew a bunch of big laughs from the crowd. In one section, we saw Tony Hale's Emmett fighting (and, it seems, losing) a battle at the Buy More. In another, Chuck appeared to be undergoing some kind of torture and seems proud to be rating it at about an eight out of 10 — until Sarah tells him the torture hasn't even started yet. Oh, and there was also a scene of Jeff clad in nothing but a bathrobe.
• Does the entrance of Chuck's dad signal that wedding bells are on the way before the end of season two? Schwartz said there will be not one but two weddings before the season is up (which prompted Levi and Gomez to joke — I think — about the impending Chuck/Morgan nuptials).

To find out the details of Chuck's first spy move, what's coming up in the Chuck/Sarah relationship, which past characters might be returning before the season's up, and a special bonus answer to a question I ran out of time to ask on stage, just read more

Saturday at WonderCon started with a bang: Watchmen director Zack Snyder appeared before an extremely packed house along with his cast to reveal about 20 minutes of footage from the movie, including the opening credits.

The conversation was lively and the footage very exciting. Of course, I can't give my final opinion till I've seen the movie start to finish, but based on what I saw this weekend, it's hard for me to imagine this film stumbling too hard. I'm a huge fan of the graphic novel, so I may be a wee bit biased — though it's hard to tell if that would make me easier or harder on the film. I guess I'll know soon, but to see my thoughts on the panel and more details about the clips, read more