HOLLYWOOD TRAVELS TO COMIC-CON FOR SPECIAL BIG-SCREEN EFFECT.

Byline: GLENN WHIPP 

>FILM WRITER

When Zack Snyder brought his beautifully shot bloodbath "300" to San Diego's Comic-Con International last year, he figured he would get a pretty good reception from the reverent fan boys who attend the annual event.

"There was nudity and sex and people getting beheaded -- everything a young boy needs, right?" Snyder told the Daily News, laughing.

But the roar of approval that greeted "300" gave Snyder -- and his bankrolling studio Warner Bros. -- an idea that he had made a movie that people would bust down the barricades to see.

"The studio was always behind the movie," Snyder says. "But after Comic-Con, they got way behind it. They knew the passion was there."

Passion isn't a quality in short supply at Comic-Con, a sci-fi convention that began life 37 years ago in the basement of San Diego's U.S. Grant Hotel and has since grown to the point where its numbers (123,000 people attended last year) are putting a strain on the city's cavernous convention center.

For years, Comic-Con has been a gathering place for gamers, comic book fans and sci-fi geeks, many of whom famously attend dressed as Imperial Storm Troopers, Spider-Man or the lethal vegetables from "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."

But in recent years, Hollywood has been devoting more attention to Comic-Con, shuttling stars and filmmakers down to San Diego to screen film footage and take part in panel discussions. Sci-fi and comic-book movies have naturally dominated, but, increasingly, studios are also showcasing comedies and event movies to generate advance buzz.

This year, Disney, Sony, Paramount/DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, New Line and Universal will hit Comic-Con. Notably absent from the list is 20th Century Fox, which pulled out of the event Wednesday because "the material wasn't ready," according to a studio publicist.

That explanation hasn't stopped some Internet types from speculating that Fox bailed to avoid the wrath of the fan boys.

"Comic-Con isn't a place where you throw anything against the wall and hope it sticks," says Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, whose studio has had a huge Comic-Con presence the past four years, particularly with the "Saw" movies.

So who will be at Comic-Con this year?

Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow will be showing their raunchy teen comedy "Superbad." J.J. Abrams will be talking "Star Trek" and "Cloverfield" (aka "Untitled J.J. Abrams Project," aka the monster movie whose trailer is killing online).

Paramount has clips from Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd," 3-D footage from "Beowulf" and something from the new "Indiana Jones" movie.

Babes Jessica Alba ("Good Luck Chuck"), Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter (both from "Resident Evil: Extinction") will throw caution to the wind to roam among the costumed geeks.

Snyder will be returning to talk about his next movie, the comic book adaptation "Watchman," which hasn't begun shooting and won't arrive in theaters until 2009.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"Movie presentations have grown from kind of a low-key, grass-roots sort of thing into something more sophisticated," says David Glanzer, Comic-Con's director of marketing and public relations. "Studios have realized the event is an effective way to directly reach the people buying the tickets."

Some filmmakers have been quicker studies than others. Lucasfilm came to Comic-Con in 1976, when the event was held at downtown's modest El Cortez Hotel. The company purchased space for one booth and, in front of a couple of hundred long-haired teens, presented slides for a little movie coming out the following year -- "Star Wars."

"Comic-Con was the first place anyone heard about 'Star Wars,' " Glanzer says. "Those fans told other fans, and that's when the anticipation began to build. It was viral marketing 20 years before anyone ever heard of the term."

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

[e-mail]

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2007

>Where: San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive.

>Cost: Single-day admission ranges from $15 to $30 with three-day passes priced at $55 for adults, $27 for seniors and kids. Four-day passes are sold out.

>Tips: Downtown San Diego parking is scarce. Consider riding to the convention center on the trolley (www.sdmts.com/trolley/comiccon.asp). Wear comfortable shoes. Bring water.

>Info: www.comic-con.org.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) "300," starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, received more support from the studio after it was screened at Comic-Con and given overwhelming approval.

(2) "Superbad," with Michael Cera, left, and Jonah Hill, will be screened at this year's Comic-Con.

(3) "Resident Evil: Extinction" star Milla Jovovich will make an appearance at Comic-Con.