Despite being heralded as a demi-god by the Comic-Con crowd for years, Peter Jackson has never set foot on the hallowed nerd ground and is set to finally make his debut appearance at the San Diego convention this year for his role as producer on Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9.”
According to the New York Times, Jackson will appear with Blomkamp to raise awareness for the mysterious “District 9,” a film about an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth who find help in a government agent sympathetic to their plight. Obviously just Jackson’s presence will boost and build buzz on the project.
“I’m thrilled that I finally have the opportunity,” Jackson said of his appearance. “Neill is a tremendously talented young director, and he’s made an extraordinary film, so it was important to me to come to San Diego to spread the word.” The director also promised “quite a ride” for attendees of his panel. You know the kids are now immediately stoked.
Jackson’s appearance could be upstaged though by one of few people on this planet that could demote the “Lord Of The Rings” director from any geek’s wish list. An executive for 20th Century Fox reportedly revealed that the studio was currently contemplating whether or not to screen footage from “Avatar,” James Cameron’s sci-fi 3-D epic and first narrative feature since “Titanic” (note, for the gamblers out there, David Poland recently bet that it’s highly unlikely that Fox reveals footage so early, but we’re not so sure of that).
Add to that the monstrous tween bandwagon that is “New Moon,” which is also set to appear at this year’s convention – brace yourself, San Diego.
