Kumo
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Posts posted by Kumo
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Jo, and everyone else: There IS a LOTR party going on all the time. It's in the various Tolkien Societys of the world. TS's are not a bunch of dusty academics sitting around discussing whether balrogs had wings or not, refusing to see beyond the books.
They've seen the films, they attend cons, they know how to party like you wouldn't belive it. And the thread holding it all together is the professor's wonderful work.
And it's open for everyone to join. There's a TS in nearly every country, and in some countries in every major town. They visit each other for huge banquets/themed parties in which the costumes made during the year is proudly displayed, and "new" medieval recepies tried out on questing palates. In other words: Parties!
We're going to "Mithlond" next weekend (that's a TS in Sweden) with this years themed party: "Mirkwood fall party - only the trees can hear you sing!". Yup, it's a three-day long musical! Cant' wait to see Thranduil's hills come alive.
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If they were indeed joint partners, then surely it is equally RC Germany's responsibility to help organise it and get guests? They can't expect to have Showmasters do 100% of the work yet be associated with its success regardless.
From what I have heard from some people behind RC Germany, it was mostly the named that was lent to RC UK, not much else. It was supposed to be SM's event to run.
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I think one of the problems here might be that SM are used to running signing events, not cons. A signing event is relatively easy to put up (to be very basic, you need names, a room and some tables!), whereas a con takes months and months of everyday planning; putting a schedule together, which alone is h***, and all those other things that you don't really need to have signings.
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I apologise, I misunderstood your posts.
It can happen to anyone.
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Excuse me, I have read through all 10 pages of this thread so I think I'm entitled to comment, especially since you are being disingenious with regards to the contents of your posts. It wasn't just "a shame", it was scandalous. If someone employs you for a job and you have an agreement with them then it is their responsibility to pay you what they owe you.
*sigh* That is what I'm saying... well, not that it's scandalous as there's not much you can do when you simply don't get enough money to cover your expenses, let alone pay anyone. I have said as much all the time; it's a shame, it's horrible, but what could have been done? Yes, there could have been hoensty about it instead of the complete disappearance of some people. But I can't do much about that. How is that disingenious? I've had the same opinion all the time; you're the one who keeps claiming I don't care that people didn't get paid.
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As to the guy who is bashing Showmasters,
ROFL I'm bashing Showmasters? As opposed to all the people in this thread who have said they regret bying their tickets etc.? Perhaps you need to look up the word "bash". I merely pointed out there was no point in blaming the fans for lack of guests and information. The attitude of the fans has absolutely nothing to do with a show's ability to get good guests and advertise properly, and it is ridiculous to claim as much.
if I understand you correctly you don't seem to care that your favourite actors did not get paid for appearing at an event.I don't know if you saw my post in which I wrote the following:
I agree that the situation afterwards was, actually, not just handled badly but rather not handled at all, which is a shame. It could have gone down with more grace.
Apparently, I do. The show went bankrupt; that should have been made very clear. Apologies should have been made, but there was no way anyone could have gotten paid as there were no money. As for the "favourite actors"; I have had a talk to some of them about it; and so far, people have agreed that nothing could have been done about the money situation but there should have been honesty about it. I always have been, but that particular ball was never in my court.
Perhaps you need to actually read the topic you post in before commenting on things taking out of its context.
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'Kumo' post
"horrid spelling" i am dyslexic its a disabilaty i am not proud of it i am what i am
Ehm, I haven't said a word about your particular spelling. All I said was that, ironically, there is someone on this board with the exact same pattern of "speech" and the exact same spelling mistakes as the person who went on and posted some rather untrue things about TFF. Unless that is you, you shouldn't have to feel particularly touched by that.
"Kumo" what was your involment with TFF ? you seem to have a lot of missinfomation for a fan ?I wasn't in the financial team, thank God.
But I was very much involved, and so I think you can take it from me that what you call "misinformation" is, actually, the truth. I know exactly what went on "behind" the even and what didn't - I was there all the way through. So before you claim that what I say is false, perhaps you should ask yourself how much you know for a fact yourself.
pps have you ever thourt that a word for a speling disorder should be easer to spell than "dyslexic"Well, at least it's a word even non-dyslexics have problems spelling...
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Either way, whatever reason or term, money was lost. If they can see reasons to avoid that, they're going to avoid it. There's nothing wrong with that, except in the eyes of those who think that the 500% enjoyment of the attendees is more important than whether a business goes bankrupt.
Oh, you mean someone here actually thought so? Can you quote that part for me (I can't find it - neither the figures you mention nor the post saying that finances doesn't matter at all.)
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Obviously if the event lost money/went bust, was a financial rip off,
Err, no. A ripoff is deliberate. A bankrupcy is not. I think any good dictionary would tell you as much...
they're not going to try to emulate that at another show.Oh, you mean they won't actually try to lose money? Dang... so that's where TFF went wrong!
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Ok, instead of helping us try to save the event it seems that a small group of you just want to blame us for trying to run a another show in the UK in the first place.
Yes, obviously people sign up at the forum, pay for tickets, and spend night after night here debating simply to put some blame on some people they've never met.
That's some nice view you have of your fans, there.
Next, I know that some of you went to the another show, and many of you had a good time there. But that convention didn't work either. It went bust and lots of the guests and New Line itself never got paid, so not only did the event not work but lots of people were ripped off. So it may have been good for some of you but it was far from perfect,Ah, nevermind that people had a good time while being there? Good idea; people going to a con really only go there because they're interested in the financial reports, not for the fun...
Second, funny though how that con got so many good reviews (here, as well) even though there was someone - interestingly enough with the same horrid spelling as I've seen in some posts here - who kept spreading lies about it, claiming it would never happen and that some of the guests had even signed contracts that they would never attend the con. Guests that, miraculously, showed up anyway... Life's funny that way, innit?
and it's certainly not how we want to run a convention. Maybe some the problems we are encountering now are the same problems the FF suffered from, not enough fans wanting to pay for tickets to see these guests in a convention setting rather than at a big event such as Collectormania.Actually, the FF suffered more from the arena charging ridiculous amounts of money only to then not devlier what was promised; it suffered from not being able to set up proper decorations because the arena threatened to set everything on fire to make sure it was fire proof; the arena doing everything it could to make sure things got as unpractical as possible for the people working there (such as moving the stunt fight due to "security reasons" and then moving it to a far more dangerous place but allowing the hobbit dancing and make-up session to be held on a crowded balcony and yet demanding that there be an opening in the crowd (fire regulations) - and for all this, said event was charged so ridiculously much that not even twice as many attendees could have saved it.
I agree that the situation afterwards was, actually, not just handled badly but rather not handled at all, which is a shame. It could have gone down with more grace.
But as for getting attendees, there was no problem.
And for those of you that want to take a chunk out of us for failing, then go for it if it makes you feel better.Once more, perhaps some work should be done on customer relations... telling possible paying customers to take their complaints and shove them won't sell you many tickets. Or hire you the Tolkien Society.
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I would say that in my opinon that since i have a silver pass i would expect there to be between 15 and 20 guests at least and five big names of which 2 would be new signers to most of us...
Can I just ask why you expected there to be that many guests? I'm not quite sure what you're basing that expectation on?
Well, both another show (the original...) and TFF (hurray for freedom of speech!) had around that number, so that might be where it comes from.
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That said, I must agree with many of you that film actors do not a convention make. The costume makers, language experts, dance instructors, book experts, are the fabric that holds it together.
*shrugs* Depends what you're interested in. I think it needs the film actors and the costume makers and the language experts and the book experts and the make-up people, etc. Something for everyone! I'm sorry, but I wouldn't attend if it was just the things you listed because I don't have a lot of disposable income and it wouldn't be something I'd be interested in.
Same here - it needs to be a very diverse range of events to appeal to the wide range of people who may well be attending.
Exactly what I'm saying. Actors alone don't cut it for an event like this. A bit of everything is needed to make a good convention and make everyone happy.
Sorry if you girls thought I meant that they didn't need to be their at all. They are the spice on the meat and po-ta-toes which is the professors story. But you will never make a proper meal of it if you forget where the story came from to begin with (and no, I'm not a member of the British Tolkien Society )
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Davi...err, Daisy. Sure, very nice. Would like to meet him but would not buy a flight to London, hotel room and con tickets for him alone. Particularly not if JRD is the other "main" guest.
I had the displeasure of hearing him talk at the original another show in Germany, and a big part of his speach was so out of order; If people don't like muslims it's sorta their own problem, and I have no beef with it if they wail about it in private - or in public if they are politicians. But to use your platform as an actor, at a Lord of the Rings event, to complain that your granddaughters - who are not even born yet - could possibly some day be forced to wear a veil in public if the world continues on it's present course.... and so forth.
He's very entitled to his opinion, but in my book, he used the very worst forum to voice it in.
I went there to hear him speak about his experience making the films, and hopefully his love for Tolkien, but ended up hearing the joke "No, I don't have Orlando Bloom's phone number, but if I did I WOULD give it to you" seven times, plus the aforementioned, and so out of place, political speach about the fate of the western world. Again, don't get me wrong: if he doesn't like muslims, religious domination, and some of the terror born out of that fanatisicm I could totally agree with him. And I'd gladly participate in a debate about society today and the dangers facing it - like say... in a BBC themed evening. As long as it wasn't at all LOTR related. Consequently, I have avoided events that included him, so in my book he's a minus, not a plus.
That said, I must agree with many of you that film actors do not a convention make. The costume makers, language experts, dance instructors, book experts, are the fabric that holds it together.
UK, my vote is thanks, but no thanks. I shall rather keep an eye on the developments in Germany and see if the "multi film" con prospect can be viable. That future could be fun too, as long as it keeps the format that another show Germany has managed so well over the years.
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Well so far there's only one guest announced for Collectormania Manchester(?), and that's taking place just a couple of weeks before another show - I'm taking it that this means there'll be a mad flurry of activity in the next month or so and we may hear something soonish.
But how can you even begin to compare a "collectormania" to a convention where you should ideally fill several stages with simultaneous events that'll cater to every craving of Tolkien fans, be they book or film buffs? It's one thing to go to a show to get an autograph and perhaps a photo op, but it's not even close to the ballpark to compare it to a real another show.
I'm not even looking into flights or trains to London till I see some indication that this event will even try to pretend to have anything to do with the original another show. Film-guests are only one ingredient of many in the stew that makes a Lord of the Rings gathering palatable.
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As one of the planned activities available for Ring Con attendees to take part in over the weekend of the show, we will be holding a make-up demonstration, where a professional make-up artist will show how to turn people into Orcs, Elves and other denizens of Middle-Earth.
Hobbit dancing - make up demo - costume parade - team competition... copy of TFF much?
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There is also a different mindset in the US. Over here, Japanese animation (in fact animation of any kind) is still seen as kids stuff by the majority of the population, whereas in the US it does have a larger adult fan base.
Actually, I think that this is a very strong point. I'm also pondering whether or not that difference in attitude has an impact on the fanbase, making adults in general disinterested because they really do believe anime's only for kids. In general, I have cosplaying friends who happily take holidays to travel around, whereas people in Sweden (where I'm from), for instance, complain when there's two cons a year because due to financial reasons, they have to choose between them, clearly showing how young they are.
I guess my second question would be if there is any way to actively do something about it, or if one can only wait and hope that things will happen?
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I was just browsing one of my reguar cosplay haunts, one of which as a list of many of the cons going on around the world. I couldn't help but notice, though, that a vast majority of the anime cons held are in - surprise - the U.S.
Why is that?
Now, I'm aware that USA is biiiiiig and that there are, accordingly, looooots of people living there, so yes, the market would obviously be bigger.
But still, I get the feeling that even proporotionally, the market is bigger in the US than in Europe in general. Cons here struggle to survive - just look at the recent cancellation of AnikiCon, which saddened me a lot, whereas most cons in the U.S (Fanimecon, Ohayocon, Yaoicon) not only grow each year, many of them are also attended by the same people over and over again.
Does it have something to do with the delay of goods arriving into Europe (such as, in countries non-native to English, we only get shows/mangas after they have been translated from Japanese into English, and by then they have all been released long ago in the U.S? Or is it something else? Are people simply more obsessed in general "over there"? I know people who travel from state to state going to cons (can it have something to do with the American fans generally being older and having the means to travel?), but most people in Europe seem unwilling to go even across their own country to attend a con, even though travelling through states can be just as expensive as it would be for me to go to, say, Germany.
Any thoughts on this would be very appreciated as it has been puzzling me for a long time, being in the business. Thanks!
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And also he's just as well known for Lost now as LOTR, so he'll meet a lot more people at LFACC.
Though like QS said, you never know
And since Mark Fergusson had 2 seconds in LOTR and several seasons in Big Brother.... Orlando Bloom really being the pirate guy..., Viggo Mortensen outstanding in Hidalgo and nearly got an oscar nomination for his violence film..., Billy Boyd was soooo cute in Master and Commander ..., Lawrence Makoare was scary in James Bond..., Marton Szorkas smoked in Kingdom of Heaven..., Hugo Weawing rocked as V ... Craig is ...well really primarily a superb stage actor..., most of the extras appeared in King Kong... Sean Bean is better known for Sharpe..., Sean Astin more into writing books than telling the stories..., Elijah Wood actually making numerous non-hobbity films... etc. etc. etc.
... means we can generally rule out that the first choise, if any of them are available, would obviously be to sign them for a another show rather than a generic autograph purchase event?
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Stuart, thanks for answering, but have you actually ever attended a another show? It doesn't seem that you know what the question about mealtickets are about. I'm sure Dirk can tell you more about the admirable arrangement he's made with his hotels. It really works for us as congoers; That you can attend to the schedule of the many Tolkien events ongoing during such a day/night, and not have to worry about meals.
(edited because I... duh! mispelled another show! *lol* )
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Sorry if I'm going to offend anyone here but I wasn't to impressed with Dominic Monaghan when he was at the another show in Wemberley. He sat in a restricted room where you couldn't even go in and see him unless you paid £25 for an autograph and I just thought that was quite egotistical - if it wasn't for LOTR he wouldn't be where he is today! Rember the people who put you there mate!
It's no wonder you weren't impressed with him, GondorGirl, given the fact that he has never been a guest at the FF...
Future of RingCon
in Previous Showmasters events
Posted
Good on you.
You'll have a lot of fun, and restored insanity is indeed welcome.
I'm a member of Bree, the Copenhagen TS, and my wife is member in both that and a Swedish TS. As long as you're a member of one you're welcome to parties in them all.
And I'm not an intellectual either - I just love the stories, the films, the parties, the songs (oh man, the songs are a hoot: just wait till your first go at "High flies the Nazgul, O'").
You're welcome to write us at ethuil @ bree.dk if you want to know more about what goes on in our neck of middle-earth. Welcome to a guaranteed good time with likeminded Tolkien fans.
That goes for you too, Voronwe.