titania

With all due respect we all get that its a hectic time of year Mighty Mo but when a thread has reached 7 pages long its because there are a sufficient number of people who are duly concerned about the status of the event. Plus its not simply a question of booking a day off and then staying at home if the event is cancelled - holidays are pretty precious and I don't want to waste a day of my holiday time at home if the event is cancelled. Hotel/Travel arrangements? The earlier you book - the cheaper it is. Look we all get that Showmasters are tired/recovering from Christmas yada yada yada but with no info forthcoming about an event which is taking place in a scant 10 weeks time it will become increasingly difficult for people who to do want to go to the event to make the necessary arrangements. Negative buzz grows and grows - Showmasters are astute enough to realise this - which is why they should make a brief holding statement even if it is only to say that they are currently in negotiations with Wembley/alternate venue/guests and that they will update us when they have more concrete information.

Most valuable item is probably my When Harry Met Sally programme which is signed by Alyson Hannigan, Joss Whedon, Tony Head and Luke Perry. I also have a The Boy From Oz programme signed by Hugh Jackman (much shorter in person than he appears on screen but a really nice guy) However I think my most treasured item is a theatre programme signed by Judi Dench simply because I was so excited about meeting her - she was unbelievably nice - it was like meeting royalty!

I have a great deal of faith in Showmasters. They do after all have a proven track record of running these kind of events. I am not concerned about the fact that the website has not been updated or the fact that guest annoucements have not been pinned on the forum - it is after all the holiday season and these are internal administration matters which can be dealt with very quickly in the new year. However, the fundamental cause for concern is the simple fact that the event is not listed on the Wembley website. If you click on the website and go to March it very clearly states that there are no current exhibitions planned for that month. This to me is an external sign that all is not well. It could, of course, be a simple mistake on the part of the organisers of the Wembley website. But if so it is a mistake that is costing Showmasters dearly as people who may need to book plane/train tickets in order to come to the event are going to be extremely concerned that a scant two months before the event is due to take place, the website of the venue itself gives no indication that the event is actually happening. Of course all this speculation can be put to rest by a simple statement from Showmasters as to whether the event is going ahead or not. I have no wish to appear negative but I like many others need to start making travel plans for that weekend and as the event draws nearer with no definitive response from Showmasters I am becoming increasingly wary of booking trains/hotels when it seems entirely possible that the event will either not take place or will take place at an alternative venue. A simple clear response will keep every happy - if you wait too long you will alienate all those who need to make travel/accomodation arrangements which may result in the event being even less well attended that the previous event.

I would have to agree about the appalling quality of the 10x8's on offer. The last Collectormania and LFCC taught me the very valuable lesson that I had to get my ticket for the guest - and then wander around the dealer stalls and buy the 10x8's from them before joining the queue. I actually walked out of the Michael Biehn queue because the choice of photos on offer were very grainy screen grabs and I couldn't quite bear to part with £20 for one. The choice of Nick Brendon photos at Collectormania were also very poor - all season 1 promo shots - making them 8 years old! If Showmasters aren't going to allow a difference in price for the 10 x 8's or personal items then the 10x8's need to be worth the price being paid for the autograph. I would never join a queue now at either event without having my own item to sign. Also a further suggestion would be to allow a greater price range in autographs. I understand that the big guests need to be £20 - but you cannot just lump everyone else in under the £15 category. Many of the Alien guests (with the exception of Michael Biehn) at LFCC were overpriced at £15. Had they been priced at £10 for a 10x8 or £5 for a personal item (if say you wanted the Alien Quadrilogy boxset signed) then I actually believe they would have made more money. I think it is this blanket £20 for the big guests - £15 for everyone else policy that ensured that the last LFCC was so very quiet. £15 is an awful lot of money to spend on an actor who may have had one iconic signature role - but has done little else since. Whilst I love both events I think that unless the prices are addressed you might find attendances beginning to drop (particularly at LFCC where of course you have to also pay to get in.)

The New Zeland actor Kevin Smith who played Aries in Xena did indeed die in a tragic accident two years ago. The Kevin Smith everyone would like to see at one of Showmasters events is the very funny writer (and comic book writer), director and star of the films Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl.

Can I just say on Nick Brendan's behalf that he is generally very nervous meeting fans and he also has a stutter (which he fought to overcome to be on Buffy) which reemerges when he is nervous. Therefore he tends not to say a lot when he meets fans - my friend has met him on 4 separate occasions and he never says very much - he just tends to smile. Michael Dorn - I've met him before and he is a bit brusque with the fans - I think its just his nature As for the no photos rule for Carrie and Nick - this argument emerges every single time there is an event and much as people complain refusing posed photographs normally ensures that several hundred more autographs get signed than would have if every body was allowed to pose for pictures. If photographs with the guests are your primary concern then consider attending one of the many conventions which are staged each year which allow you to pose for a professional photograph with the guests (at a separate cost of course!) In my humble opinion major guests, posed photographs and signing events do not mix due to the simple need to ensure that all of the people who attend to see the guest do not go home disappointed.

Promoting a film is part and parcel of a stars job - but promoting a movie usually only extends to press junkets and individual interviews with specific press (i.e Jonathan Ross). I can't see any star agreeing to sign a film contract in which his or her promotional duties included sitting in a shopping centre in Milton Keynes for 3 days signing autographs for six hours per day. I think you are rather missing the point that events like Collectormania are nice earners for the guests who attend. Whether they are being paid a set fee to attend or are receiving the money from each autograph sold events like this supplement an actor's income. For actors whose careers are not as illustrious as they once were (Margot Kidder for example) events like Collectormania frankly afford them the opportunity to pay the mortgage for another few months. If the autographs were free guests would not come and Showmasters would be unable to stage the event. What I do believe needs to be addressed is the arbitrary £15 per autograph figure which Showmasters seem to set for the "lesser" guests. I have no quibble with paying £20 for the bigger guests but the actors in the £15 band seem to range from very busy actors who are still appearing in major roles in film/TV to third alien from the left. I think if a £10 band was introduced for some of the lessor known actors then a lot more autographs would be sold over the course of the weekend.

Selma is indeed a lovely person. She unexpectedly showed up for a screening of Hellboy at a film fesival last Saturday along with the director Guillermo Del Toro, Ron Perlman and Rupert Evans (who plays John Myers and who I didn't realise is actually British). Afterwards, they all signed autographs for everyone. Selma was incredibly nice and very genuine and I think she would be a killer guest for the show.

You pay per item - so if you want a photo and Nemesis figure signed by Brent Spiner it will cost you £40. Showmasters can correct me but I don't believe there is a reduced rate for personal items as what you are paying for is the actual act of the guest signing - the item it is signed on is irrelevant.

I have plenty of signed personalised photos from actors from, Buffy, Angel and the Lord of the Rings. But my favourites are my signed theatre programmes which have been signed by actors such as Hugh Jackman, Alfred Molina, Judi Dench, Julia Stiles, Aaaron Eckhart, Glen Close, Matt Damon, Matthew Lillard, Woody Harrelson, Kyle Machlachlan and Gillian Anderson. Pride and Joy is my When Harry Met Sally programme which has been signed by Aly Hannigan, Luke Perry, Joss Whedon and Anthony Stewart Head.

Very cool guest. He is also going to be starring in Smallville this season as Lois Lane's father.

Just got back from watching him as the assassin in The Bourne Supremacy only to find that he has been announced! Very cool guest - loved him in LOTR and he was fantastic in Xena as well.

Whilst I would absolutely love to see some Angel cast at Collectormania (Alexa Davalos and Adam Baldwin in particular) I think that other events in the UK cater very strongly for the Buffy/Angel market which is why its nice that Collectormania try and cover other shows and films such as Star Trek, Stargate, A Team, Harry Potter, LOTR and all. I think that if Collectomania focuses too strongly on Buffy and Angel it may make them indistinguishable from other events - the fact that they have such a wide range of guests from different shows gives Collectormania a distinctive brand that they can be very very proud of.

I've met her a couple of times when she has been performing over here in various plays and to be honest she isn't all that fan friendly. I mean nice enough woman and a very impressive actress but not really into the whole fan thing. Plus she point blank refuses to sign X-Files merchandise any more. So I'm not sure that I can see her agreeing to do an event like Collectormania. You probably have a better chance of catching her at a stage door next time she does a West End play.

What a fantastic guest! Hellboy is a wonderful film and I can't wait to get him to sign my dvd!