From Filmoria:
London MCM Comic Con Round-Up – Day Two
On what was a blisteringly hot and beautifully bright day near the Thames, it seems almost apt that an even bigger wave of resplendent costumes and characters appeared for day two of the London MCM Comic Con. Following a rather teasing first day at the Excel Centre, today brought no shortage of guests, presentations and fantastic things to get excited about.
Starting the day with another look around the famous stalls and browsing any newer additions to the floor, I soon found myself back at the Gamespot UK area where a particular game of interest was set for a walkthrough. That game was first-person shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines. Quizzed about the upcoming title, now unfortunately delayed until an early 2013 release, Brian Berneson from Gearbox was on hand. Explaining that the game was heavily influenced by just the Aliens film in the famous saga, there was a fabulous show of graphics in store for fans, a trailer compiled with simply gameplay footage representing this. Aside from impressive graphics, it was clear that the whole Alien feel was to be maintained through a truly atmospheric and claustrophobic setting players would get accustomed with. At quick glance, this could well turn out to be the best Alien-based game available yet.
Moving swiftly on from the gaming world, I briskly stepped into an arena where excitement levels were at a peak and one of, if not the, most exciting presentations of the whole weekend was set to begin. Bringing back childhood memories personally, and I’m sure for a lot of you, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are set to return on Nickelodeon in the near future and two men involved in the reboot were present to show us more.
Co-creator Kevin Eastman and Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Animation, Current Series Rich Magallanes appeared as excited as the audience when their presentation began and rightly so, the project is one to be admired. Explaining that while they wanted to stay faithful to the original comics and TV series, a change was required and the move into CG-Anime was a necessary one. Confirming that the turtles themselves would be very much teenage in their actions and nature, the foursome looked brilliant and each had their very own unique looks as well as personalities.
Throwing into the mix a very diverse April O'Neill (also now a teenager to fit in with the age of our turtles), Magallanes also confirmed the return of infamous villains Shredder and the alien race The Kraang. The Turtles, of course, wouldn’t be complete without their sensei either, and also styled into a new look was Splinter, who has been made slightly taller than in the series’ predecessor and this time around younger, therefore allowing for more action in regards to the character.
Fortunately, we were treated to some world–exclusive footage of the new show and I must say, even as a 23-year-old man, it’s a show that has to be checked out. Fluid animation and some top-notch voice acting from the likes of Jason Biggs and Sean Astin, the new series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is just what the kids of today need and will also provide a nice touch of nostalgia for the older viewers. Incidentally, Eastman also gave an update on the much maligned Michael Bay film version and gave some comforting messages. Having been working in collaboration with Bay on the film, he stated that the criticism was somewhat unfair and that early signs were extremely positive and exciting. Watch this space on that one.
From TV to film now, and a big British name was centre stage following the television buzz, in the form of urban scene legend Noel Clarke, along with director Johannes Roberts, promoting their June 29th release, Storage 24. Dubbed as a sci-fi/horror, the gentlemen started proceedings with a trailer giving us an idea of what to expect and, although visually promising, even Clarke admitted it didn’t quite do the film justice. Despite a trailer lacking some oomph, the men proceeded to explain the basis of the story and also went on to talk about their influences and how the project came to fruition.
Beginning as a first draft script by Clarke, Storage 24 eventually found its way to director Roberts, who closely collaborated with the British star and thrust him into the main role for what was to be a survival in a storage facility with an alien running loose. After talking through the creation process, the pair both could not hide their excitement in revealing that the finale was to be ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘iconic’. In describing the film as mild horror rather than full-blown genre-specific, Roberts admitted that all films containing aliens had one aspiring film, Alien. With that, we were shown an exclusive clip of the film giving a look at the alien in the film and, containing a mix of suit and CG, considering the film is of a low budget category, commendation must be given to those involved as the creature hits realism spot on.
After the clip it was the audiences’ turn for posing questions and a variety came the way of Clarke inevitably. When asked about both his role in Star Trek 2 and a possible return to Doctor Who for the 50th anniversary, he revealed nothing and also quashed any thoughts of a follow-up to Adulthood, using Spider-Man 3 as an example of threequel gone wrong. Finishing the Q&A with a nod to the pair working together again, Clarke and Roberts exited what was a fine showing of a promising British film.
Of course, Comic Con would not be the same without some cosplay action, and in both the sunshine and the crowded exhibition centre I waded through the crowds in the hope of gaining some pictures for those who love to see just what characters have been strolling the arena so far. Enjoy them below and check back tomorrow for a round-up of the final day (including a special Danny DeVito feature).
