Hey folks, Harry here... Let's hope Fox releases this Wizardworld / Showest footage from FANTASTIC FOUR online. If it's as convincing as this report makes it out to be... then it could only help the FF. I recently checked out the ELEKTRA dvd - and in Fox's usual, kinda cool INSIDE LOOK feature... all they had was the old FANTASTIC FOUR trailer and zero inside look at all. What the fuck is up with that? Eh? Here ya go...

Wizard World! A good day at the con and a FANTASTIC time at the Fan 4 panel. Here's what happened:

First panel was Amityville Horror, but thanks to L.A. traffic I missed most of it. The stars were there, Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George (she is gorgeous - much hotter than I remember from Alias.)

Next came what I considered the main event: Fantastic 4 panel with Chris Evans (Human Torch) and Avi Arad. Both had a good time with the audience and came off very passionate about the movie. But the best news was the awesome footage they showed, from the reel they prepared for the theater convention Showest. How amazing was it? Let me put it this way: I wasn't convinced by the first trailer, but this sold me 100 percent. It had what we're looking for: great effects, humor, super-hot Jessica Alba (what a year she's having!,all the stuff we love from the comics

Highlights: Reed's stretching down a huge building, Johnny yelling "Flame On!" as he turns into a fireball, The Thing vs. truck collision, Doom battling Sue, and The Thing's signature line: "It's Clobbering Time!" (which got the biggest cheers from the audience). During the Q&A, someone asked to see the footage again, and the reaction was just as strong the 2nd viewing. Great stuff. I hope you guys get to see it in some form.

More on the Q&A: Chris didn't know the comics at first, but did a lot of research when he got the role; Avi said it took 11 years to get effects technology where it needed to be for the film, plus that amount of time to get the script right. Chris is signed for 2 sequels and he can't wait to do them. Avi got some questions about other Marvel projects, most of which he couldn't/wouldn't answer. What about the rumors of a director signed for X-Men 3? Can't say yet. Etc. Etc. But when Avi was asked if James Marsden, who's filming Superman for Bryan Singer, would be returning as Cyclops, Avi seemed to indicate he would be.

Next panel wasn't really a panel at all, but a bunch of clips, filmmaker greetings, trailers. First off was some special footage of Batman Begins, which the moderator introduced as "the Batman we've been waiting for." Know what? He might be right - it looks dark, cool, serious as a heart attack, and dead on. I think this footage was screened elsewhere, but it was the first time I saw it. For War of the Worlds, Spielberg and Cruise filmed a special greeting to the con, later the new trailer was showed. A behind the scenes piece on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was fun.

Tomorrow (Sunday): Joss Whedon and the Firefly/Serenity gang. Who wants to bet he doesn't get a shitload of Wonder Woman questions. Another must see.

Cin