Alien Trespass @ WonderCon 2009

Not all of the films presented at WonderCon on Saturday were big blockbusters. The set up for the Alien Trespass panel and movie was familiar, but different from any I've experienced in person. Our intro was memorable -- a reel setting up Alien Trespass as a "real" 1950s sci-fi movie that starred some beloved actors from that era.

According to the reel we watched, Alien Trespass was never released due to a bitter contract dispute. The film was locked away in the studio vaults and eventually forgotten about. Film aficiandos thought it was lost forever until it was discovered by a pair of hapless construction workers not long ago.

Familiar faces such as Robert Patrick, Dan Lauria and Eric McCormack talked about how thrilled they were that the "classic" sci-fi flick their "long-gone relatives" had starred in had been unearthed. In Eric McCormack's case, the star of Alien Trespass was his "grandfather," M. Eric McCormack, lovingly dubbed "Merick" by his fans in the '50s.

The set up and the deliberately low-tech, true-to-the-period scenes we saw definitely set the tone for what to expect from the film. As director R.W. Goodwin (The X-Files) told the audience, the film isn't a spoof of B sci-fi movies, it's a loving, winking homage to them.

What we saw of the film certainly looked fun, but the obstacle this film faces is a question of audience. Namely, who is the audience for a film like Alien Trespass? Is it the sci-fi fans who are looking forward to the effects-heavy Star Trek film? Is it the generation that grew up watching the original '50s sci-fi films? Is it the fans who've put flicks like Free Enterprise and Ringers: Lord of the Fans on the map?

According to the film's official website, Alien Trespass didn't show in theaters, but was screened at WonderCon and a Fangoria convention. But maybe that's for the best since its natural home feels like a DVD that you watch during a movie marathon with your best buds for a good hour-and-a-half of fun, retro entertainment.

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Elijah Wood for 9 @ WonderCon 2009

Oh Elijah! Why?

You did a great job onstage introducing us to your upcoming, Tim Burton-produced, animated film, 9, but WHY WERE YOU ROCKING A '70s PORN STAR-LITE LOOK??

Don't give me an "ummm" Elijah. You're cute even when you're not toting around the uber-Ring o' Doom, so why are you doing this to us? Just tell us it's for a role and this look isn't a personal choice, it's an employment obligation.

Okay, okay -- I understand that this is hard to hear. But unclench your jaw Elijah. Let me hold a mirror up to you for a moment instead. See that fuzzy caterpillar walking across your upper lip? See those side-swept, kinda greasy-looking bangs? Is that really what you want when you're out promoting a new movie? Is that going to help your cause?

Oh, thank goodness. You finally understand and share our well-founded concerns.

It's okay Elijah. The panel's almost over so why don't you head out for a nice shave and a haircut and we'll forget this ever happened.

* * * * *

And since this blog is supposed to be about reviews, the footage for 9 looked good. The animation is beautifully done and has a disctinctive look since the story's set in a post-apocalyptic world and follows the adventures of living rag dolls (think Nightmare Before Christmas not Raggedy Ann).

The footage we saw featured a lot of exciting action sequences complete with explosions and scary-looking mechanical monsters. The voice cast is strong -- it includes Martin Landau, Jennifer Connelly and John C. Reilly. 9 is definitely not an animated film geared toward little kids and it looks like it will have plenty going on to keep an adult's attention. It caught my interest and I'm not a fan of the darker, gothic-feeling animated films.

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Star Trek @ WonderCon 2009

The Star Trek movie panel was one of Saturday's highlights at this year's WonderCon. We knew that "a special guest" would be attending for the panel and it was pretty easy to guess that it would probably be J.J. Abrams. It was also pretty easy to guess that some of the cast members would probably be rounding out the panel -- it was just a question of who. After a really energetic intro, J.J. brought out his fellow exec producers/writers Roberto Orci and Bryan Burk and Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock). The fans, of course, were thrilled!

(Apologies for the less-than-stellar video quality -- all the people walking around wreaked havoc on my camera's light sensor during this panel.)

We got to see the brand new trailer for the movie and it was incredible. I wasn't the only one in the audience who got chills watching it. They imploded a planet in the trailer. Imploded a planet in a matter of seconds. They also showed Kirk on the losing end of a bar fight during a clearly misspent time in his youth before he joined Starfleet Academy. The trailer included the moment when Kirk first takes command of the Enterprise. Bones (aka: Dr. McCoy) says that there's no one qualified to take over the captain's role (the context seemed to be that the original Enterprise captain--Captain Christopher Pike, perhaps?-- had been killed during a battle). Kirk replies that yes, there is, and the next shot we see is him taking his place in the "big chair" for the first time.

[Edited to add that the trailer is online now at http://www.startrekmovie.com/]

If the new stars of the Trek franchise were overwhelmed or (not unreasonably) terrified by the thousands of devoted fans who came to see them at WonderCon, they did a great job of hiding those feelings. JJ and Chris were especially appreciative and respectful, with JJ buttering up the audience with a well-worded soundbyte about how he knows Trek fans are smart enough to understand that the movie has to appeal to both them and the uninitiated to successfully reboot the 40+ year old franchise. It might have been a good soundbyte to get out there, but it's also a smart one that makes sense.

More pics and video from the panel below--including JJ and Chris performing a live "Star Trek Rap!"

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