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Gale Ann Hurd rose to the pinnacle of Hollywood by producing some of the biggest and brashest films in history, none more so than “The Terminator,” directed by her then-husband James Cameron. Yet when thinking about the current state of the movie business, Hurd referenced another one of Cameron's movies – “Titanic.”
“They can see the iceberg coming,” Hurd told TheWrap at Comic-Con.
Hurd is no longer on the ship. She has moved on to television, producing “The Walking Dead,” the highest-rated cable show in America. She will have no involvement in the upcoming reboot of “The Terminator,” nor does she seem to have much interest.
Also read: Why Television Is Trouncing Film at Major Media Companies
The rise of TV in both power and prestige has been well-chronicled, and there is no questioning its importance from a financial perspective. Media companies rely on television to deliver the vast majority of their profits while movie studios are an afterthought in Fox's pursuit of Time Warner, owner of HBO, TNT, TBS, CNN and a host of lucrative sports TV rights.
Comic-Con this year reinforced the changing balance of power. The buzz around movies was minimal compared to even last year, when “Batman v. Superman” was the big news.
The loudest cheers at this year's convention were reserved for TV shows such as “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead,” and the actors who elicited the most felicity – even during movie panels — were TV-bred thespians such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Karen Gillan.
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Here comes the caveat: several movie studios left their big guns on the sidelines. Still licking its wounds from the decline of its “Spider-Man” franchise, Sony did not preview a third movie or its “Sinister Six” spin-off. Instead, it convened a panel for two of its non-comic-book movies, “Pixels” and “Goosebumps,” in the Indigo Ballroom, a smaller venue than Hall H, its normal home.
Fox left its “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” in Culver City, opting to preview a number of movies all targeted at the same young, male demographic. Like Fox, Paramount offered up a taste of five upcoming movies, but none of them got much time to shine. The only one that did, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” opens in two weeks. The panel is part of its last-minute marketing push, not a tease of bigger things to come.
Lionsgate brought “Divergent” to its booth and “The Hunger Games” to the Hard Rock, but neither entered Hall H, the cavernous atrium that hosts the event's biggest panels.
The two exceptions to this rule were Marvel and Warner Bros., with Marvel in a class of its own. Fanboy excitement transformed Hall H into an Ohio State pep rally around 5:30 Pacific Time on Saturday evening. Fans clamored “We Want Marvel” and “We Will Rock You,” while others attempted to initiate the wave.
In an era when everything is on-demand, Marvel has crafted a strategy that is Netflix-proof. Some of that is intrinsic to its fans, but the studio has weaved together its storylines and created TV shows to sustain interest in the characters between each movie.
Also read: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ for Dummies: The 12 Comic Book Origins of Marvel's Strangest Superheroes
Many other studios have tried to ape this formula by establishing “film universes” of their own, none more so than Warner Bros. The studio has dated its “Batman v. Superman” movie on the same date as Marvel's “Captain America 3,” a direct challenge to its more established rival.
Warner Bros. devoted the majority of its Comic-Con panel to the final installment in its “Hobbit” trilogy, granting director Peter Jackson and his cast an hour to talk about the film, offer up a teaser and get in character.
Yet the length of the panel also imbued it with a tone of farewell; this may be the last time Jackson appears in Hall H alongside Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Cate Blanchett. Though there is no telling what Jackson will make next, he has exhausted The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books.
Those franchises have buoyed Warner Bros. six of the last 14 Decembers, ensuring that they would boast one of the year's biggest movies. Warner Bros. split The Hobbit, a miniscule book, into three movies to maintain its ATM, frustrating many fans. Everyone except Colbert, who said Jackson now owed him six more Rings movies.
“If Warners could find the way to do that, they would certainly be very happy,” Jackson responded.
The joke holds within it a kernel of truth: Warner Bros is in need of new franchises. With the conclusion of “Harry Potter,” the departure of partner Legendary Pictures and denouement of the Tolkien movies, Warner Bros. cupboard is not as full as the studio likes it to be.
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That is where DC comes in. Warner Bros. is banking on the Justice League to seed many new franchises, establishing a pipeline of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman movies for many years to come.
Studios have sold their corporate bosses on the allure of prestige and spectacle. The Oscar still matters more than the Emmy, and no TV station can make a movie like “The Hobbit,” “Avatar” or “The Avengers.”
The prestige argument has faded in this golden age of television, as directors such as Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher and Guillermo Del Toro create TV shows and movies in equal number.
The spectacle argument has endured, if only by sheer will power. Movie studios have turned to 3D and comic books, handing Michael Bay, Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams the keys to the kingdom. (They all came out of TV and music videos, by the way.)
Also read: Legend3D Founder on 3D TVs: ‘It Was Too Much Too Fast’
Comic books facilitate sequels, which reduce risk thanks to pre-existing fans. Sustaining fan interest is easier for television shows, which run for weeks on-end, but TV networks have also invested more in materials that ensure their loyalty.
“When ‘Walking Dead’ isn't on the air, we have tons of behind the scenes footage, fan content, marathons and webisodes,” Hurd said. “In the offseason, it's not like people aren't learning new things or exploring new worlds in the show. We do think the movie companies should build out the universe a little bit more.”
The movie industry has begun to take this advice to heart. Both Fox and Legendary crafted virtual reality experiences for their movies in partnership with Oculus, the maker of the Rift headset.
Fans could visit Legendary's booth to enter the cockpit of a Jaeger in “Pacific Rim: Jaegar Pilot” and stop by Fox's booth to enter the world of Professor X, Charles Xavier.
“We're invested in making ‘Pacific Rim’ a Transmedia franchise,” Barnaby Legg, Vice President of Theatrical Marketing at Legendary told TheWrap.”We don't just want to make ancillary content.”
Though some tech enthusiasts have branded virtual reality the future of movies, Del Toro, the director of “Pacific Rim,” sounded less certain.
“It's great for a single user,” Del Toro told TheWrap, citing video games as a better outlet. The Rift is an individualized experience for someone sitting at home. Movies still rely on a larger ship, something more like the Titanic.
SEE ALSO: Why Fans Should Be Excited That George R.R. Martin Isn't Writing A 'Game Of Thrones' Episode Next Season
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Director Peyton Reed’s 
We then cut to a rooftop where Lang is wearing the Ant-Man suit and has shrunk down to insect size. He is clearly still very uncomfortable with the whole thing and just a bit uncoordinated, as he runs, trips and falls on his face. Pym communicates with him over a radio and tells him to work on communicating with ants as a flying one comes down from above and lands right in front of the newbie superhero. Lang attempts this, but fails – apparently his fall has damaged the translator device within the helmet. After a few frustrating moments, Pym tells him that he has run out of time and that what he needs to do is jump. Lang leaps off of the edge of the building, but as he is falling he lands on the back of an ant that is flying as part of a swarm. As they take off towards a vent, Lang proclaims, "Okay, I got this!" 
Once inside, fans could sit beside
5. Thanos Will Eat Your Flowers
Here comes the caveat: several movie studios left their big guns on the sidelines. Still licking its wounds from the decline of its 
That is where DC comes in. Warner Bros. is banking on the Justice League to seed many new franchises, establishing a pipeline of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman movies for many years to come.
