I snapped a photo of Nic Cage and Amber Heard before their Drive Angry panel this morning, the first movie presentation of the day. Revenge stories are as popular as alien invasions in Hollywood at the moment, and the idea of Cage literally and figuratively driven to a breaking point after his daughter’s murder definitely connected with Hall H, who cheered at the ultraviolence, sexuality, and griminess of the sneak peek. I have to admit I left the panel curious as to whether Cage will top his performance in Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans. That said, I’ve seen Cage deal with the press and the public separately, and his responses definitely are prepared/canned; however, his thoughtful weirdness is as engaging as his increasingly bizarro characters. Amber Heard is poised for a breakout role — we’re still hoping for an All the Boys Love Mandy Lane release! — and Drive Angry could be her break, at least with action fans. I’m still a bit fuzzy on how her character fits into the story, and I like things that way.

Amber Heard: Looks Pretty, Fights Tough

After Cage & co. vacated, I was a bit confused by the Skyline presentation, mainly because it looked and felt so similar to yesterday’s look at Battle: Los Angeles — just substitute teens played by adults for Aaron Eckhart‘s Marines. And what’s with the deliberate lifting of District 9 imagery? Alien spaceships hovering over a city never looked more derivative. Though I’m curious to look into the movie’s “eerie light”, I’m wondering how much invention will be found within the city in crisis created by visual effects gurus Greg and Colin Strause in their directorial debut.

The Super panel was profane and mostly non-linear, with Rainn Wilson essentially moderating the event. Wilson stars in James Gunn‘s movie about a guy who transforms himself into a seemingly misguided superhero after his wife (Liv Tyler, who was in the house) leaves him for a heroin dealer (played by the absent Kevin Bacon). The low-budget project was shot quickly and doesn’t have distribution at this point; it’ll be interesting to see what theatrical path the movie takes in the post Kick-Ass era. Super looks as violent as that comic-turned-movie, and it’s centered on a dude who might be more dysfunctional/anti-social than heroic. Wilson probably gained a couple thousand new twitter followers with his steady stream of jokes, but the best part of the panel for me was when Gunn and Tyler offered their perspectives on shooting 50+ set-ups a day, roughly ten times the amount of a Hollywood production. Tyler admitted to feeling unsure of herself, and that she cried after the first day of production (though that was soon replaced by spinning in circles and sipping whiskey before filming her bits on subsequent days); Gunn spoke like a creative brain quite happy to be free of industry constraints.

I slipped out of Hall H before the Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark panel for three reasons: my laptop and phone batteries were dying, writer/producer Guillermo del Toro had already announced his once-secretive new project on Thursday, and neither Katie Holmes nor Guy Pearce would be on-hand to discuss the horror remake. Hopefully, del Toro will make like Kevin Smith and commit to annual ‘Con appearances, since he’s better at delivering self-deprecating wit — and great movies. Hitfix has a thorough write-up, and keep your eyes peeled for the first trailer … hopefully by early next week?

The Green Hornet and Kato Figurines

No trouble was had getting back into Hall H for Sony’s panel, consisting of Priest, The Other Guys, and The Green Hornet. I was somewhat shocked since normally the Friday/Saturday Hall H lines snake out and around the convention center all day. As interesting: the assembled crowd seemed to care most about the newest Will Ferrell project than Seth Rogen as Britt Reid. Ferrell, co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes, and director Adam McKay kept the crowd laughing with a stream of banter and audience engagement, and Mendes revealed Mrs. Robinson side that had every male — including Wahlberg — at attention. She also challenged a Hit Girl lookalike to an “Anchorman quote-off”. I think the buddy-cop action-comedy will notch itself underneath Blades of Glory and Step Brothers — levels above Semi-Pro and Land of the Lost.

Exactly what fate has in store for The Green Hornet is unknown at this point, but if I had to make a judgment, I think the character doesn’t engage general audiences, who are more willing to embrace a superhero in a cool costume, fighting to save a parallel version of our society. Personally, I like all the talent involved, but I don’t think they make a cohesive unit. If Michel Gondry were to direct Christoph Waltz in an original Gondry creation, I’d split into two to see it as many times as possible on opening day. And while Rogen is loved, I think the released footage hasn’t done anything to make him look like a good guy.

The best part of my day was sitting next to a guy named Ernell for the Sony panel. After introductions, we spoke in hushed tones about the Green Hornet character and the movie translation. We both felt as though he’s a tough sell in the era of Marvel superheroes, and that the movie itself seems like an underdog that might surprise us all with a knockout performance come January. Seth Rogen has definitely lost the weight, but there’s a bigger battle to be fought en route to opening weekend.

– Arno Kazarian