Comic-Con Preview 2009

According to Brooks Barnes of the New York Times, Peter Jackson is scheduled to make his first appearance at the legendary fan convention, Comic-Con. Hard to believe, but Jackson has never been before. Due to scheduling conflicts, he was never able to appear to promote any of the, "Lord of the Rings" films or, "King Kong".

Over 100,000 fans flock to San Diego every year for the famous event, that is well known for its high profile panels with filmmakers, actors, writers, and producers. Fans fight for the chance to get to sit in and even ask questions of directors like Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, and more. It's also tradition for fans to attend in costume, typically dressing up as their favorite film characters. They also often get the chance to see advanced footage of upcoming films before the public. (Pirated footage from these events is such a problem, Barnes states, that night-vision goggles are distributed to security guards so that they can catch those attempting to tape footage illegally.)

Jackson will be in attendance to promote a sci-fi film he produced entitled, "District 9". Also possibly in attendance will be film legend James Cameron. (The man responsible for, "Aliens" and "Titanic".) If he is able to attend, as rumors suggest, it will be to promote his upcoming film, "Avatar".

Also featured will be footage from "New Moon". The Comic-Con website also hints at some of the other programming that is set for this year, stating, "In addition, the Programming schedule will feature panels and events devoted to some of this year's special themes. And Comic-Con keeps on rockin' after the Exhibit Hall closes at 7:00 each evening! Programming, anime, gaming, film screenings, and other events continue well into the night, with several big events planned for the weekend. On Thursday night, it's the return of the Star Wars Fan Film Awards; on Friday night, it's the comic book industry's version of the Oscars: the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards; and on Saturday night, it's the gala Comic-Con Masquerade.

This year's Comic-Con is taking place at the San Diego Convention Center on July 23-26, with a preview night set to take place on July 22. This is the 40^th year for the convention, the original one taking place over one day in 1970. To get the most up-to-date details about Comic-Con, you can check the website often or subscribe to an RSS feed created by the site just for eager fans. For more details on that, visit http://www.comic-con.org/rss/

Will you be at Comic-Con this year? If so, what are you most looking forward to?