"The Ferryman" on sale in October

Legendary Hollywood producer Joel Silver ("The Matrix") was at Comic-Con International in San Diego last Thursday to present his company Dark Castle's upcoming films and other projects. First up was the direct to DVD horror movie "Hills Run Red." A trailer was shown and the cast gathered to take questions from the audience. We have nine more direct to DVD films in the works," said Silver. "But this is the most twisted Dark Castle movie yet."Silver introduced a trailer to "The Ferryman", a new comic that his company is producing with Wildstorm written by Marc Andreyko, the scribe behind DC Comics' acclaimed "Manhunter." The Comic-Con audience was excited by the trailer, which showed the comic's artwork by Jonathon Wayshack. Silver said he was always interested in making comics and now that Dark Castle's horror film label is strong, he feels that it's important to get the comic label off the ground.Andreyko was asked about working for Silver. "Its been an easy job, he's so collaborative," said the writer. "I'm allowed to let loose and let my imagination run wild," added Wayshak. Released October 8, "The Ferryman" is about a cop who dies in the line of duty and becomes a Ferryman in order to see his wife again. In the film, a Ferryman collects your soul after you sell it to the devil. When asked if there are plans to make the comic into a film, Silver had this to say. "We are developing the film by doing the comic first. If it catches on great but we want to do a series of comic books."

"Whiteout" opens in 2009

Silver moved on by listing a few of Dark Castle's upcoming releases including "Factory," a thriller about a cop hunting a killer who has kidnapped his daughter. The film stars John Cusack. Also coming up is "Whiteout," starring Kate Beckinsale ("Underworld") and Gabriel Macht ("The Spirit"), based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber.Next up was a trailer from the film "Ninja Assassin," followed by a panel with director James McTeigue ("V For Vendetta"), actress Naomi Harris ("28 Days Later") and Asian pop star Rain. "This film is about taking the action to the next level while using all the classic constructs of ninja movies," said McTeigue. Harris talked about getting her role in the film. "I was asked to do it and it was an the script was amazing. You really care about the journey these characters go on." The actress also talked about her disappointment in not returning for the sequel to "28 Days Later." "After the first film, I ended up sitting next to the director on a plane. He promised me that if we did a sequel both Cillian (Murphy) and I would return. I was heartbroken to not be in the sequel."

"RockNRolla" opens in October

Finally, Silver introduced the trailer for Guy Richie's new film "RocknRolla," out October 3. The film is a return to the British caper films that Richie is so well known for such as "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." The cast includes Idris Elba "(The Wire"), Chris Bridges ("Crash"), Jeremy Piven ("Smoking Aces") and Gerard Butler ("300"), all of whom joined Silver and Ritchie on stage to talk about the film.Also on stage was producer Susan Downey. Silver wrote "Mrs. Tony Stark" on a card and put it in front as a joke because she's married to Robert Downey, Jr.Richie said "RocknRolla" spilled out of his two previous films "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", reflecting the changing culture of Britain. Butler told the audience that he would like to do more movies like this one. "I read the script and was excited, I love Guy's films and that's why I did this one," said the actor.

(Left to right) Jeremy Piven, Gerard Butler, Guy Ritchie, Chris Bridges and Idris Elba at Comic-Con International 2008

Piven remembered meeting with the director for the first time. "I met with Guy and I told him that I really wanted to make this character different from Ari Gold, my character on 'Entourage.' Then I realized that Guy's never seen the show and has no idea what I'm talking about." He added, "I'm insanely proud of this movie."Butler summed the film up by saying, "The film speaks for itself. It's cool guys and cool girls and a great script. It defines cool!"The panel took questions from the audience and Richie was asked if he felt pressure to go back to making films more like his first two? Annoyed, he answered, "Yes!"Since an episode of Piven's show "Enterouge" depicted Comic-Con, the actor was asked what he thought of the event. "I'm in awe of all of you. Your dedication is amazing."

Producers Joel Silver, Susan Downey and the cast of "RockNRolla"

When Butler was asked what he thought of the convention, he replied, "It's an incredible experience. It's better than sex ... not with me but with Piven," joked the actor.When asked if there was a lot of improvisation in "RockNRolla," Butler answered, "Not much, it's a great script with great dialogue." To which Richie said, "No improv, I wouldn't allow it."Finally, Richie was asked if it was true that he was making a new Sherlock Holmes movie to which he replied, "Yes. We are in pre-production." The film will be produced by Silver and star Robert Downey Jr. "It's James Bond in 1891. It's Holmes the way he should be," explained Richie. To which Silver added, "It'll be a fun, wild ride."Now discuss this story in CBR's TV/Film forum.