'Piranha 3-D' footage is too hot for Comic-Con

Jerry O'Connell in "Piranha 3-D"

Credit: Weinstein Company

After debuting on last week on Comic-Con International's announced panel schedule for Friday, July 23 last week, The Weinstein Company's "Piranha 3-D" panel suddenly disappeared from the convention's official listings over the past weekend. Rumors spread that the panel of the expected R-rated extravaganza was rejected by the Comic-Con powers that be.  Well, after speaking to David Glanzer, Comic-Con's Director of Marketing and Public Relations, that's only partially true.

The decision to pull the panel wasn't the Con's according to Glanzer.  The organization did reject the footage the Weinstein Company wanted to show in front of hall H's 10,000 fans, but that was because it wasn't suitable for the Con's family audiences.

"My understanding is that thee footage wasn't all ages appropriate," Glanzer told HitFix. "We don't check ID to get into those meeting rooms, so we don't want something inappropriate."

Glanzer says the organization asks to see all the material previewed to audiences, but doesn't actually "ban" anything. They just have to make sure it's PG-friendly.  Additionally, Glanzer says the film could have proceeded with a panel without any footage, but decided against it.

HitFix reached out to The Weinstein Company about what plans they have for "Piranha 3-D" now that they have pulled it from the panel schedule.  There has been scuttlebutt the film will have an "off-con" event in San Diego, but they have not responded by publication. It's worth noting, however, there's more than enough time for "Piranha" to still take a bite out of Hall H.

"This is not uncommon. They could resubmit," Glanzer says about "Piranha 3-D" returning to the official schedule. "It's a little over a week so it could happen."

Look for complete Comic-Con coverage leading up to and during the four-day pop culture festival on HitFix.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.