Roland Emmerich, the man behind such disaster porn films as “Independence Day”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Godzilla” and the upcoming “2012″ recently spoke with the folks over at The Guardian. He stated that, aside from the famous religious icons seen destroyed in the films trailer, his plans were to also destroy the Kabba. It is a Muslim object of faith where Muslims all over the world turn to in prayer.

In an attempt to keep the peace, the director decided not the destroy the iconic cube shaped structure in the grand mosque stating:

“I wanted to do that, I have to admit,” Emmerich said. “You can actually let Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have … a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. So it’s just something which I kind of didn’t [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out.”

So whether it was in fear of the so called death sentence (fatwa) or just trying to be politically correct, Emmerich feels only Christian and Buddhist objects of faith were in good taste to completely destroy.

Source: The Guardian

Source: Trailer Addict

So far what we know is:

All memberships have already been sold out for only the second time in the Con’s history.

Though no official word has come there may be a massive push for James Cameron’s Avatar as well as the man himself making an appearance  (and hopefully showcasing the first footage from the film).

Sherlock Holmes and Jonah Hex are set to make an appearance at the Warner Bros. exhibit.

Disney will showcase Jerry Bruckheimer’s Prince of Persia which may include the films first trailer.

Richard Kelly‘s followup to his divise Southland Tales, The Box will be showcased along with the films main stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. MYSPACE

No date given but Zack Snyder will be in attendance to showcase a Blu Ray Live screening of Watchmen.

The upcoming apocalyptic thriller from the guys behind Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow will show 2012 for Sony Pictures.

Peter Jackson will be in attendance to help promote District 9, the alien invasion film he helped produce. NY TIMES

Television shows in attendance for the con: Dollhouse,Mythbusters,Chuck,Fringe,Caprica,Flash Forward, V remake,Eastwick, Past Life, and Human Target ZAP2IT

The complete series of G.I Joe and Transformers will be available for sale at the con. TVONDVD

While this is a RUMOUR a this point but word is that James McTeigue’s Ninja Assasin will have its first screening at the fest.

While Heroes is an annual mainstay at the con since 2006 this year the popular television show will NOT appear.  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

THe CW will showcase The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and Smallville at this years fest. WPIX

Clive Barker will be in attendance for a screening of A Book Of Blood. EXAMINER

The entire cast of the fantastic series True Blood will be in attendance along with series creator Alan Ball for recap of Season one and to promote the Season 2 which debuted last week. EXAMINER

The first real footage from Kate Beckinsale‘s anticipated horror film Whiteout will showcase during the fest as well. LA TIMES

And last but not least for the ladies out there the cast of New Moon is also scheduled to appear, though main star Robert Pattinson is still debatable as he is currently filming another film at the day of the fest. LA TIMES