It wouldn't be Comic-Con without a little restless anticipation, and today's late start-times for key panels and presentations had us all on the edge of our seats. 
Starting with a surprise screening of the FIRST 18 FREAKING MINUTES of Watchmen, announced by artist Dave Gibbons himself, you could have sworn there was a slight scent of urine as hundreds of fans pissed themselves in complete rapture. Many sites and blogs have already gone into each scene in full detail, so I'll spare you the spoilers. Let's just say the just the opening credits of the film alone does more than justice to the long-awaited adaptation. Plus, you'll never hear Nat King Cole sing Unforgettable the same way again after this one.
Also a big highlight during the Warner Bros. session was a little glimpse at the upcoming Friday the 13th. Derek Mears, who plays Jason in the revamped release is a towering dude at 6' 5", but the coolest down-to-earth guy you could meet, as discovered when I randomly ran into him on the show floor. Turns out it was his first experience watching a portion of the film with an audience of this size, and it just has him completely psyched for the upcoming week of full-out promotions. 
Costume of the the show by a long shot is, of course, Rorschach from Watchman, followed a close second by The Joker in every form from Cesar Romero to Heath Ledger. 
Last, but not least, I must mention the absolutely thrilling FIRST 45 MINUTES of Pixar's Up, which I luckily squeezed into before they capped the audience at only 300 guests. This was the longest sneak of a film ever done for a Disney/Pixar film (this is the 10th), and after watching the film you'll understand why even the trailer showed such a long sequence. I'm finding it pretty difficult to explain what happens in the first half of this film because it involves an old man launching his home into the air by thousands of helium filled balloons, a tagalong kid looking for snipes, an oversized South American bird and a pack of dogs that can talk through an advanced voice-box dog-collar. This is Pixar at their most imaginative—the heart of Wall-E with the humor of The Incredibles. It's going to be absolutely jaw-dropping in 3-D. CLICK HERE to see all of my photos from this year's geek-out!
