It was the day of the big beasts at the annual CinemaCon convention on Wednesday as Universal and Warner Bros. locked horns with rival presentations of their upcoming movies.
Both studios delighted delegates in Las Vegas with star turns by their actors and previews of their in-production blockbusters, but Universal had the edge when it came to pizzazz.
Its morning presentation proved an emotional rollercoaster, with laughter provided by The Mummy and Despicable Me 3 - and heartfelt tributes paid to Fast and Furious star Paul Walker.
Universal kicked off with a first look at Despicable Me 3, with star Steve Carell provoking gales of laughter at Casar’s Palace as he mercilessly made fun of Chris Melandandri, the founder of Universal’s animation division.
Carell described the franchise’s villain-turned-softy Gru “as the best character ever in the history of cinema” but lamented to the entirely bald Melandandri that “men without hair are outcasts.”
The laughter continued as the cast of horror blockbuster The Mummy revealed how Tom Cruise cajoled them into emulating his famous habit of performing his own stunts.
Annabelle Wallis, 32, said Cruise convinced her to join him in a zero gravity plane crash stunt that could easily have been faked by computer wizardry.
And Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), who plays Cruise’s sidekick in the movie, out on June 9 in the US, said working with the star was a terrifying experience.
“We jump off buildings and towns explode, and Tom really does it all, and he insists his cast do it, too,” said Johnson, 38, joking that he “almost died.”
