The panel for Attack the Block on Friday at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 began with the Red Band trailer, linked below. The moderator then brought out director Joe Cornish, producer Edgar Wright, and lead actor John Boyega.

Cornish and Wright met in a DVD store, and ever since they’ve written together, including Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Tintin film.

Cornish was inspired by ’80s creature features like E.T., Aliens, and Gremlins, but wanted to set his film in a neighborhood he was familiar with, namely South London.

Cornish was getting tired of the “samey” CGI aliens, and wanted to create one unlike any seen before, and to do this, he employed a rotoscope technique he borrowed from Ralph Bakshi from his animated Lord of the Rings film.

They then showed a clip where the protagonists had to make their way down an alien-infested hallway by first clearing it with fireworks, then creeping down the smoke-filled hall to “Ron’s Weed Room” (Nick Frost’s character’s room full of weed) at the end of the floor, avoiding the encroaching aliens. Once in the weed room, the crew are held at gunpoint by a gangster type, who gets his comeuppance by a team of aliens who come in through the window to tear him apart.

Edgar Wright mentioned that he’ll start writing the third part of his Cornetto Trilogy with Simon Pegg next month, and when working with Steven Spielberg, he had to keep touching him to see if he was real. He mentioned he’s on the third draft of his Ant Man adaptation, and it keeps improving.

Joe Cornish’s inspiration for Attack the Block was An American Werewolf in London, for its horrific/comic tone, and it’s portrayal of London, and was also inspired by the films of John Carpenter.

Young actor John Boyega announced he’ll be starring in Law & Order UK this fall. Joe Cornish was proud of his cast and crew, many of whom were first-timers, including himself. He lovingly refers to the film as “Super 8 Mile.” If he were to do a sequel, he’d pick up right where the first film ends.

Photos

[Photos by Dave3]