Comic-Con 2006: 300 Conquers Crowd

Comic-Con 2006: 300 Conquers Crowd

July 23, 2006

IGN.Com

By Stax

Fans go wild for Frank Miller adaptation.

July 23, 2006 - Warner Bros. presented new footage from its upcoming big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday. The extended footage, cut in the style of a trailer but roughly five minutes or so in length, went over so well with the crowd of thousands that it was played three times to resounding applause.

The footage was accompanied by appearances by director Zack Snyder, comic book legend Frank Miller, and two of the film's stars, Gerard Butler and David Wenham. The panelists answered questions from the crowd, mainly of the "how was it like working on this film" variety.

The 300 segment included striking images of the Spartans in battle against the invading Persians, with many a limb, eye and even a spinning severed head lost in the bloodshed. The highly stylized cinematography and direction was, like Sin City before it, an almost direct translation of Miller's and Lynn Varney's imagery to the silver screen.

The footage tracked Leonidas (Butler), king of the ill-fated Spartans, from birth, through his lifelong training as a warrior to the threat posed to the Greek states by the invading Persians. The 300 Spartans of Miller's imagination are recreated here in exquisite detail, down to the way in which their capes flow and their battlefield moves.

Along with the crowd reactions to Spider-Man 3 and Grind House, 300 proved to be one of the big winners at this year's Comic-Con.

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