The annual geekfest nonpareil known as Comic-Con officially got underway Thursday in San Diego with plenty of festivities for the fans to shriek about.
There was a preview of Bella and Edward’s honeymoon for the Twi-hards, many of whom camped out overnight to assure entry into the morning panel.
Appearances included Hugh Jackman (left), Justin Timberlake, former “Buffy” star Sarah Michelle Gellar and the lusty “Game of Thrones” cast.
Plus, directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez and Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”) did panels. So did “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin, who had the Comic-Con audience eating out of the palm of his burly paws.
A team of editors and writers from TheWrap is down in San Diego covering the fan pandemonium.
Here are some highlights from the first full day of Comic-Con 2011:
>> When Robert Pattinson, the adored Edward in the “Twilight” series, took off his shirt in the honeymoon clip screened during the panel session, “the room erupted in a burst of deafening hysteria.” Pattinson told the crowd that the child-birth scene in “The Breaking Dawn, Part 1” made his character aware of his helplessness.” Much like many of the fans in the audience.
Read also: 'Breaking Dawn' Comic-Con Panel: It Rained on Bella and Edward's Honeymoon!
>> “Game of Thrones” author Martin confided that he mourns “all the characters as I kill them,” before promising more controversial rubouts in coming episodes.
Read also: 'Game of Thrones' Gang Wows `Em At Comic-Con
>> Guillermo del Toro, at Comic-Con to promote “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” used potty-mouth language to describe his love of monsters and other freaks during his panel. “In our castrating society, you don’t have to sweat, you have to be thin, smiling.” Pause. “Fuck you. Monsters are a living, breathing fuck you.”
Read also: ‘Drive’ Director Winding-Refn: 'Casting Is Like Sex'; and Guillermo del Toro Swears Like a Sailor
>> “Prometheus” director Ridley Scott, beamed into the Fox presentation from Iceland, where he is shooting the movie. He said that he would never shoot in 2D again, telling the Comic-Con audience that 3D “opens the universe of even small dialogue scenes.”
Read also: At Comic-Con: Fox's Dystopian Outlook, Courtesy of Ridley Scott, Justin Timberlake, Andy Serkis
>> “In Time” star Justin Timberlake said that he was happy to not make films of “men in tights,” which might seem a strange confession for Comic-Con. But hey, the guy now has serious work ahead as a creative visionary for MySpace.
>>The "Dexter" gang talked a lot about faith — and the main character's murderous tendencies — while promising trouble with interns in the coming season.
>> And Winding Refn, a “terrifyingly talented visual storyteller,” confessed a distinctly awkward, tear-stained moment when he was courting Ryan Gosling to star in “Drive.” “There was this awkward silence between us,” he said. “Ryan turns on the radio. It’s soft rock — REO Speedwagon, ‘I Can’t Fight This Feeling.’ And I start to cry. Literally,” he said, explaining that he found the movie’s story in that moment.
As usual, many of the fans showed up in costume at the event. For a glimpse of their outfits, check out our photo gallery.
And check back here for the latest Comic-Con news.
