Comic-Con 2007

I have no idea who came to Comic-Con in anticipation of the ping-pong comedy “Balls of Fury,” but whoever stuck around in Hall H to catch the panel at least got their laugh quota filled for the day. Costar Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911!”) came in full costume – spandex, headband and all – while veteran actor James Hong rushed the stage midway through the panel to jokingly strangle director Ben Garant and tango with costar Dan Fogler. The first-ever public screening was announced for later Saturday night in downtown San Diego, with tickets distributed to lucky fans later down at the Rogue/Focus Features booth.

Later on, Liv Tyler made her first ever convention appearance and seemed completely in awe of the 5,000-plus crowd in Hall H. “It’s like a rock concert,” she said. Joined by director Bryan Bertino and Comic-Con vet Scott Speedman (a favorite of mine since his days on “Felicity”), two clips were previewed from their horror film “The Strangers,” due out next year. They also fielded questions from the audience, including a request for Tyler to speak Elvish (in reference to her role in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), which she gracefully obliged.

Concerning the horror film, Speedman said he “got up and locked the doors” while first reading the script and Tyler commented that it was “amazingly fun to kick some ass.” The presentation ended with an incredibly suspenseful trailer that even had my horror-film-hating self wanting more.

The panel ended with a ho-hum trailer for “The Descent” director Neil Marshall’s new film “Doomsday,” which also comes out next year.

– Kate Stanhope