Comic-Con 2011 is merely one week away, and today FilmDistrict has released some details about their Thursday panel in Hall H. The studio will be bringing Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark co-writer and producer Guillermo del Toro and Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn. The two will engage in a conversation about each other’s films, the creative process of making genre films, their favorite genre films and more. Stars from each of their films will also be present to take part in the conversation.Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a horror film that stars Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes, and tells the story of a family who looks to restore an old mansion, but in turn is plagued by hellish beings. Drive is an action caper that stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks and Albert Brooks. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark opens August 26th, while Drive hits theaters September 16th. Hit the jump to read the full press release regarding the Comic-Con panel.Here’s the full press release:

FILMDISTRICT ANNOUNCES THE COMPANY’S DEBUT AT COMIC CON FEATURING A FIRST-TIME EVER FILMMAKER MASH-UP SPOTLIGHTING FILMDISTRICT’S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FILMS GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S ‘DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK’ AND NICOLAS WINDING REFN’S ‘DRIVE’

NEW YORK  (July 13, 2011) ­ FilmDistrict announced today details on the company¹s debut panel at Comic Con 2011 on Thursday, July 21 from 2:00 p.m.

­ 3:00 p.m. in Hall H.  The panel will feature a first-time ever Filmmaker Mash-Up, which will be a conversation between acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (FilmDistrict¹s DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK) and breakout director Nicolas Winding Refn (FilmDistrict¹s DRIVE) on a wide range of topics including each discussing the other¹s respective films and their own, the creative process of making genre films, their favorite genre films of all time, and much more.  Members of the cast from DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and DRIVE will also be joining the filmmakers in conversation during the panel. This unique Comic Con experience will also feature footage from both films.  On-hand to moderate the panel will be Eric Vespe aka Quint of Ain¹t It Cool News.

In addition to the panel, fans will have a special opportunity to meet the filmmakers for both DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and DRIVE and receive signed never-before-released posters for each film at Bar 207 in the Hard Rock Hotel (207 5th Avenue) that evening from 9:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

As a new distributor, FilmDistrict has established themselves out of the gate with the box office successes of INSIDIOUS and SOUL SURFER.  With DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and DRIVE, FilmDistrict will be releasing two of the most highly anticipated films opening in the upcoming months.

DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

Blackwood Manor has new tenants.  While architect Alex Hurst (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) restore their Gothic mansion¹s period interiors, Alex¹s young daughter Sally (Bailee Madison) -- neglected by her real mother and brushed aside by the careerist father -- can investigate the macabre history and dark corners of the estate.  Spurring Sally¹s investigation are the voices-rasping whispers who call out to her from the basement, who promise her understanding and friendship, who are so very hungry and would like to be set free.  When Sally gives in to her curiosity, she opens a gateway into a hellish underworld from which an army of beady-eyed, sharp-clawed monsters emerge, small in size but endless in

number:  the homunculi.

Confronted with the horror that now threatens to take her life and destroy her family, Sally desperately tries to warn the whole house, but there¹s just one problem:  no one believes her. Will she make them understand in time, or will they become another chapter in the centuries-long horror story of Blackwood Manor?

Based on the 1973 telefilm that Guillermo del Toro believes to be the scariest TV production ever made, DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK was co-written and co-produced by del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey.  Akin to PAN'S LABYRINTH, DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK focuses on a young girl's struggle against menacing and terrifying forces.

Starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison and Jack Thompson.

Written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins.  Produced by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson.

FilmDistrict will release DON¹T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK nationwide on Friday, August 26.

DRIVE

Breakout Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (THE PUSHER Trilogy, BRONSON, VALHALLA RISING) throttles into the Hollywood fast lane with the precision-crafted action caper DRIVE.  Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night.  Though a loner by nature, Driver can¹t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).

After a heist intended to pay off Standard¹s protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk<that they¹re coming straight for Irene and her son -- Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

DRIVE was written by Academy Award® nominee Hossein Amini (THE WINGS OF THE

DOVE) and adapted from the eponymous novel by James Sallis. It was produced by Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Michel Litvak, Adam Siegel and John Palermo; executive producers are David Lancaster, Gary Michael Walters, Bill Lischak and Linda McDonough.  The cast includes Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston (³Breaking Bad²), Ron Perlman (³Sons of Anarchy²), Christina Hendricks (³Mad Men²), Oscar Isaac and Albert Brooks.

FilmDistrict will release DRIVE nationwide on Friday, September 16.