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See the Life-size ‘Watchmen’ Owlship, and Other News From Comic-Con

Photo: Heidi MacDonald/The Beat

Yesterday was day one at ground zero of Hollywood nerddom, San Diego Comic-Con, the once-sleepy comics convention that’s turned into the place where Hollywood geek hits are made. (Last year’s Con, for example, was the launching pad for this year’s megahit The Dark Knight.) The convention floor is reportedly 10 million degrees and packed tight, so aren’t you glad you’re in your comfy office instead? Yeah, us either. We took a look around the Web to see what nerdly excitement day one of the Con brought.

•The loudest screaming of the day, though, was saved for the cast of Twilight, the teenage-vampire drama that will soon take over the pop-culture world. If you know the books, presumably you will be excited to hear that director Catherine Hardwicke showed a tidbit of “the climactic ballet-studio scene,†and revealed that star Robert Pattinson “sang Bella’s lullaby himself.†If you don’t know the books, better read ‘em quick … OR ELSE. [Popwatch/EW]

• Hugh Jackman showed up to screen a preview of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was also met by wild rejoicing but sounds a little cheesy and Ratnerian to us. Slow-motion explosions, Wolverine strutting, Wolverine roaring at the camera, etc. Whatever, we’ll obviously see it. [/Film]

•The loudest screaming of the day, though, was saved for the cast of Twilight, the teenage-vampire drama that will soon take over the pop-culture world. If you know the books, presumably you will be excited to hear that director Catherine Hardwicke showed a tidbit of “the climactic ballet-studio scene,†and revealed that star Robert Pattinson “sang Bella’s lullaby himself.†If you don’t know the books, better read ‘em quick … OR ELSE. [Popwatch/EW]

• Holy shit, it’s a life-size Owlship from Watchmen. [Beat/PW]

• Wait, are Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan together again? Who can tell anymore? She apparently is still in Red Sonja, though, and licks blood off a knife in the poster. Also, it seems like despite some other dude being the ostensible director, Rodriguez is basically still in charge in violation of his Dimension contract. [/Film]

• Stephen King is promoting his new story collection with a weird Marvel comics/animation hybrid. This news brought to you by … The Wall Street Journal? Wha? [WSJ]

• Stung by our complaints about the lack of a clever viral-marketing gimmick for Fringe, J.J. Abrams & Co. have whipped up a clever viral-marketing gimmick. [Thompson on Hollywood/Variety]