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not sure i truly agree with that seems there professional lives are dedicated to LOTR and Tolkien

Ah perhaps I'd better clarify, Alan & John are professional artists and work on all sorts of book covers & illustrations, plus films, and other artworks of their own so may have their time committed to projects and publishers or friends and family (John has I believe recently held an exhibition in Europe). As for the TS the people who run it, and anyone giving a talk or workshop, does so in their spare time - even if their professional job is as an academic - only a few academics have the luxury of doing Tolkien and calling it work even Michael Drout (who isn't a TS bod afaik) does his Tolkien stuff mostly as a 'hobby'.

Edited by D20
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not sure i truly agree with that seems there professional lives are dedicated to LOTR and Tolkien

Ah perhaps I'd better clarify, Alan & John are professional artists and work on all sorts of book covers & illustrations, plus films, and other artworks of their own so may have their time committed to projects and publishers or friends and family (John has I believe recently held an exhibition in Europe). As for the TS the people who run it, and anyone giving a talk or workshop, does so in their spare time - even if their professional job is as an academic - only a few academics have the luxury of doing Tolkien and calling it work even Michael Drout (who isn't a TS bod afaik) does his Tolkien stuff mostly as a 'hobby'.

 

Good points, but lets not forget that these particular people won't generally have there schedules run for the next 6 months by a personal team around them. Two months, though shortish notice will not be a big hurdle like for one of the stars of the film

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Good points, but lets not forget that these particular people won't generally have there schedules run for the next 6 months by a personal team around them. Two months, though shortish notice will not be a big hurdle like for one of the stars of the film

 

Oooh I wouldn't say that was a given, although I can't speak for Alen & John, I do know that many academics will be very busy right now as the new term/semester starts at the start of a whole new year intake (in the UK at least). And with friends and family spread across Britain and Europe I think I've got about one weekend free a month until January.

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Good points, but lets not forget that these particular people won't generally have there schedules run for the next 6 months by a personal team around them. Two months, though shortish notice will not be a big hurdle like for one of the stars of the film

 

Oooh I wouldn't say that was a given, although I can't speak for Alen & John, I do know that many academics will be very busy right now as the new term/semester starts at the start of a whole new year intake (in the UK at least). And with friends and family spread across Britain and Europe I think I've got about one weekend free a month until January.

 

Yeah I guess you can't say and neither can I :whistling:

 

Although I can unfortunately agree with the new year/semester, as I start my third year at uni in a weeks time ;)

 

Luckily this is not an obstacle when it comes to my 'hobbies' :spidy:

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I know some of you think I'm being overly negative. I don't think I am, I'm trying to be realistic. I went to the last FF and had a great time, I booked this back in February because I was excited about this event and paid for a Silver Pass because I knew it'd help me have an even more wonderful time, but *counts on fingers* 7 months later, I no longer care. I feel like I've wasted my time and effort and a large chunk of money on something that personally I feel hasn't been given the chance that it should have, by Showmasters not trying to organise the smaller guests and speakers first and then trying for the bigger guests. To not have a single scholar, stunt guy or other background person is unforgiveable to me this late in the game. The FF might only have had Billy as it's main guest, but it was people Craig and Mark, Jed Brophy, Sala Baker etc etc that made it work for me. Ok it was a financial disaster, I get that, but those of us attending didnt know that and we had a good time while we were there.

 

Three cheers, hip hip!!

 

I wanted to make this point earlier - but refrained from doing so as I was involved along the way with the another show. There was hardly ANYONE who knew there was a finacial problem here and with the exception of a few (who made it their business not to enjoy themselves and just bitch) everyone had a blast at both the events held.

 

In 2005 Billy was the only "main guest", but he was announced approximately two weeks before the event actually happened - in effect a bulk of the tickets had already been sold to the public. Billy being added was just a bonus to a line up of over 25 guests, including Richard and Tania Taylor. What other event has had such a wealth of guest in the UK LOTR related?? The another show was a truely wonderful experience for me. It was a pleasure to have had fan contact through the forum boards and AA Events listened and delivered what they wanted. Guests, panels, scholars, feasts, dances and entertainment. I miss those days terribly. While it might get bashed and slated by those who know better, it was the best darn convention this country has had. Surely if there were "minor" guest added in the run up to Ring*Con UK, tickets here would have been sold, thus leading to larger amounts of cash to pull in the "big guys". It so easily could have been a case of "oh my god I can't believe I didn't get a ticket. Now *so and so* is going it's all sold out!" Which is what I thought was going to happpen.

 

*Gets off soap box. I haven't used that since 2005 and it felt great*

 

I am very disappointed with how this has turned out. If the event does go ahead, there will be negative vibes amongst some that will attend. After all, for those that have booked yet want their money back already, will surely feel begrudged if they have to attend the event if it actually does happen. I'm holding back on a little I want to say here as there may be no need for it soon, but I'm peeved to say the least. This could have been a fantastic event if only arrangements had been made for the helm to be in other people's hands. For me this isn't what Ring*Con is all about. I'm glad I'm going to Germany in a few weeks where it is done properly. There simply isn't enough time to fit eveything that needs to be done now. Especially as working out the event programme takes some real shuffling........

 

 

Sorry, I really will put my soap box away now. But I'd just like to wave at Ian *waves* and say hello stranger! Apparently, according to one of these threads, I run the TS *LOL*. I can't help it if I know how difficult it is to book The Tolkien Society, yet people don't listen you know!! It simply will not be right with out all of you - I should have come to Oxenmoot and remembered what the real spirit of Tolkien is about.

 

Just my voice. I really wanted this to happen, still do if the right people are on board :whistling: . It just hasn't been handled right.

 

Lisa.

 

Oops. I didn't realise how long this post was. My apologies.

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I think the main answer to the 'how can you see your favourite too many times?' is MONEY. Many people cannot afford to keep meeting the same people time & again. I have my favourite actor (Elijah) who I would pay for numerous times (but however much I would want too I still couldn't justify going to another show just for elijah), but since I have met Andy numerous times, David twice & JRD once before, I couldn't justify paying out that amount of money to see them again!

It would have to be a good rare guest for me to be able to justify spending and I can understand showmasters dilema here, I imagine for most LOTR actors LOTR was a long time ago now and I imagine most of them have moved on!!

And here is perhaps the "problem" with some of the target audience. I may be wrong here, and I apologise if I misinterpret your drift, but you seem to view the event primarily as a reason to "meet" some of the big names; and by "meet" I mean the 30 seconds to a few minutes chat whilst you fork over the dough for a signature. If that's the case, then perhaps the event is not for you anyway. The whole idea of traditional conventions is workshops, panels, discussions, demonstrations, a whole panoply of events. If you set all that at nought and are just after five minutes of face-time with Elijah, then yes, it's a very pricey "do", and crikey, hanging around all weekend just for that brief meeting... Some of the best times I've had at conventions have been chatting with people with similar interests, or being wowed by stuff I never expected to see, that on paper wouldn't sound particularly interesting. I and several other people once spent a very pleasant hour or so in a bar at a convention discussing all sorts of thing with a middlingly famous author - hugely interesting, and none of us even asked for an autograph, but a totally unplanned and unscheduled happening that turned out as pure magic (and left us all with great respect for the guy).

A look at the list of things promised in this post of SM's of Feb 7 (http://showmastersonline.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31261#) - this is the sort of stuff that interests me:

1 Guest talks

2 Friday night Party which will be themed and dedicated to the dark lord Sauron

3 On Saturday night there will be the Rivendell banquet, which will consist of a 3 course meal held in an amazing part of this 5 star hotel

4 After the banquet on Saturday night will be the Bag-end ball, going on until 2 or 3 in the morning with live music and a DJ

6 Costume Workshops with a catwalk show, open for all to enter

7 Make up Workshops with demonstrations on how it is made and applied

8 Writing Workshops

9 Stage play written by you and performed by the guests

10 Guest Photo sessions at fair prices. Each photo with a guest will be around £10 to £20, taken by a professional photographer and will have a LOTR background in every picture

11 Signing sessions with all guests staggered over the three days.

Again fair prices with a minimum of 2 free autos for all attendees

Each auto will be from £10 to £20 each with a numbered queue system to avoid a lot of time waiting around to get your autographs.

12 Deals room and fan table were you will be able to pick up collectibles, photos, etc, and if you are a fan making LOTR items then this is a great place to show others what you can do.

13 fan art competition and gallery

 

that's the stuff that really makes the fabric of the event, in my opinion

 

So, in answer to the question

 

IN SUMMARY: What we need to know - if we add David Wenham and John Rhys Davies, then will those of you out there who haven't yet booked do so?

 

then the answer is no, but if I'm assured that all that other good stuff is still going to happen (and I know a few of those items were confirmed again a month or so ago), then yes, I may very well book.

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The events list definitely sounds amazing, but a lot of it can't take place without guests, eg. the make up workshops, the costume workshops (maybe), and obviously you need guests for guest talks, autographs and photos. It's not really worth the money the gold and silver pass holders have paid if the attendees have to do all the work themselves to make it a good event.

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I think that both David Wenham and John Rhys-Davies are great guests. I know from past experience what a good speaker John is and I'm sure David and Andy Serkis would be brilliant too. Tje programme of events sounds really good and I will be booking tickets for myself and my daughter when I get paid. I really hope this event goes ahead and that Showmasters don't take notice of all the negative comments.

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I just typed up a long and ranty reponse to your post Julia B...but I deleted it and decided to take a deep breath and just say that everyone is entitled to their opinion, including those of us who've already paid our money and so have a right to complain that we're not about to get what we paid for. Showmasters need to take notice of ALL comments, not just the positive ones.

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I'd like to add my two pence here if I may. I'm a huge LOTR fan and this con sounds like it could be a really good event if it goes ahead. Probably my biggest concern is in regards to the price for a standard ticket, £70 sounds alot of anyone's money and after the uncomfortable experience I had of my first proper con at the LFCC this month (purely down to the dire venue, heat and the enormous queues, I had no issues with actually meeting each guest and the talks for example) I would need reassuring that another show would be organised better were it to go ahead.

 

As I've not attended a another show before or any con based around events previously I wouldn't be sure whether or not I'd take to the events and really be able to enjoy them as I'd probably be going by myself (boo hoo). I'd love to meet Andy, John and David and get their mark on my dvd boxes as well a nice photo, but that's more money I'd need to fork out and at what would likely be £20 a guy for each box set and another £20 for a photo sess, that's a fair bit of cash right there smack ontop of the entry fee.

 

And one other point I'd like to raise, according to the list of what you get for each type of entry ticket, a basic £70 ticket will get you 2 free autos from 2 random guests - does no one see a problem with that? Imagine if you managed to secure for a future another show big name guests such as Sir Ian or Christopher Lee as just 2 examples.

 

You also manage to book one or two lesser known actors such as a couple of guys who played Orc dressup, now picture the scene that would occur if someone got a free Sir Ian and Christopher Lee auto whereas the next guy only managed a pair of free guy in Orc dressup autographs. A mass complaint would be the least of your concerns - this point I feel needs addressing, a pair of random autos from lesser known or lower costing (autograph wise) guests from a range of lesser known or lower costing guests would be fairer, or a pair of free autograph from a random guest from a range of more recognised and more expensive guests would be preferable and more suitable for the cost of the entry ticket.

 

I hope my fairly lengthy and perhaps confusing paragraphs don't put off people from reading them :)

Edited by stavrosb
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I am cheating by purely posting to mark my place in this thread :D I swear it's taken me like 4HOURS to read through all 15 looooong pages. O M G. :o

 

I've come accross alot of things I wanted to comment on but unfortunately I've forgotten/lost them now :D (it being so late/early doesn't help!!!)

 

I will reply later properly (and I will laugh if I return and find my post to be the last one!!) but before I go,

to stavrosb-I gather from your post that LFaCC5 (2007) was your first show but lets just be clear that that or Collectormania is in no way a "convention" in the terms that RCUK or Eclipse or Lockdown are!! also my advice, (please don't hurt me everyone wanting more tickets to be sold :uhoh: ) is that if you just want to get piccies and squiggles, to wait for the guests to do signing events/shows like CM or LFaCC again rather than attend a full weekend convention!

 

catch you all later! -_-

 

surfy sah xx

 

ps-one comment I've remembered! :thumbup: re:David Wenham. I remembered being very excitable at the prospect of meeting Daisy Wenham at C10-which is saying alot as I rarely pay out for autos these days!!-but was totally disappointed when I actually met him and really bummed out that for £20 all I got on my auto was "cheers!" and he couldn't even look up when having a picture (which is hardly posing) :( I asked David about some of his pre-LotR stuff, mainly a little tv show called Return to Jupiter (1997) which I thought would be interesting and different from the endless discussions he must have had about LotR and Moulin Rouge but alas nothing. was so gutted. :uhoh:

 

pps-and guest wise, just to put my opinion out there, KARL URBAN would be a good option! never done a SM event before so technically a first timer ;):P and very yummy :wub::D though you may want to get some eye candy for the guys? :D

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I'm a tad traumatised after reading this thread and deemed it wise to keep my counsel til a more godly hour, but......community spirit's always a good thing and FLM's lovely attitude sweetened the reading for me. Wish the best for everyone on this forum who wants to go/make a go of it, I'm one of those people and whilst I understand the disappointment if it doesn't go ahead I will continue to keep the faith, do what I can to give support and wait to hear what happens next......and meanwhile hope that none of the many people who've obviously visited this thread and were potential attendees were put off by its tone. Or potential guests?

 

Anyway, brand new day tomorrow :thumbup:

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1 Guest talks

2 Friday night Party which will be themed and dedicated to the dark lord Sauron

3 On Saturday night there will be the Rivendell banquet, which will consist of a 3 course meal held in an amazing part of this 5 star hotel

4 After the banquet on Saturday night will be the Bag-end ball, going on until 2 or 3 in the morning with live music and a DJ

6 Costume Workshops with a catwalk show, open for all to enter

7 Make up Workshops with demonstrations on how it is made and applied

8 Writing Workshops

9 Stage play written by you and performed by the guests

10 Guest Photo sessions at fair prices. Each photo with a guest will be around £10 to £20, taken by a professional photographer and will have a LOTR background in every picture

11 Signing sessions with all guests staggered over the three days.

Again fair prices with a minimum of 2 free autos for all attendees

Each auto will be from £10 to £20 each with a numbered queue system to avoid a lot of time waiting around to get your autographs.

12 Deals room and fan table were you will be able to pick up collectibles, photos, etc, and if you are a fan making LOTR items then this is a great place to show others what you can do.

13 fan art competition and gallery

 

The big question here is- are there people available to run all these events?

 

A stage play written and performed by the guests? As there is only one truly confirmed guest so far, I can't see that happening.

 

Make up work shops - are Weta attending then?

 

Costume workshops - I presuming experienced costume makers are on hand for this?

 

Friday night party themed and dedicated to Lord Sauron - I guess all the props etc have been made ready for this?

 

To be honest it looks to me like TFF 1 program has been taken and put in place for Ring Con. It worked fantastically at TFF1 (didn't attend the second TFF) . Ring Con has a lot of work to do.

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I just typed up a long and ranty reponse to your post Julia B...but I deleted it and decided to take a deep breath and just say that everyone is entitled to their opinion, including those of us who've already paid our money and so have a right to complain that we're not about to get what we paid for. Showmasters need to take notice of ALL comments, not just the positive ones.

Yes! Because surely some of the "negative" comments could be construed as being constructive criticism or suggestions - even if owing to whatever constraints they're not practical! :blush:

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The big question here is- are there people available to run all these events?

 

A stage play written and performed by the guests? As there is only one truly confirmed guest so far, I can't see that happening.

 

Make up work shops - are Weta attending then?

 

Costume workshops - I presuming experienced costume makers are on hand for this?

 

Friday night party themed and dedicated to Lord Sauron - I guess all the props etc have been made ready for this?

 

To be honest it looks to me like TFF 1 program has been taken and put in place for Ring Con. It worked fantastically at TFF1 (didn't attend the second TFF) . Ring Con has a lot of work to do.

 

Thank you, swan!

 

These were exactly the same queries that I raised a few pages back when I pointed out that organising something of this size is no mean feat. I'm sorry, but I can't recall the page off hand, and I can't be flipping arsed to go through the comments again, life is too short for that...!

 

I am going to refrain from commenting on this any further simply because it's now time for SMs to make a decision now! Some of us do have other commitments to consider and we can't put our lives on hold forever waiting for an answer. Either it goes ahead or it doesn't, as simple as that.

 

Rosie

Edited by RosiePosieDanderfluff
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The big question here is- are there people available to run all these events?

 

A stage play written and performed by the guests? As there is only one truly confirmed guest so far, I can't see that happening.

 

Make up work shops - are Weta attending then?

 

Costume workshops - I presuming experienced costume makers are on hand for this?

 

Friday night party themed and dedicated to Lord Sauron - I guess all the props etc have been made ready for this?

 

To be honest it looks to me like TFF 1 program has been taken and put in place for Ring Con. It worked fantastically at TFF1 (didn't attend the second TFF) . Ring Con has a lot of work to do.

 

Thank you, swan!

 

These were exactly the same queries that I raised a few pages back when I pointed out that organising something of this size is no mean feat. I'm sorry, but I can't recall the page off hand, and I can't be flipping arsed to go through the comments again, life is too short for that...!

 

I am going to refrain from commenting on this any further simply because it's now time for SMs to make a decision now! Some of us do have other commitments to consider and we can't put our lives on hold forever waiting for an answer. Either it goes ahead or it doesn't, as simple as that.

 

Rosie

 

Well said Rosie...

 

Lets hope SM just make a decision soon cause I'm getting really fed up with coming on the forum to check..

 

Much more important things to be getting on with... I must say that after my disappointment with LFACC the other week and this dragging on, unless someone comes up with an answer soon i will be put off most if not all of SM events...

 

Sorry thats just how i feel...

 

I just feel that they are taking too much on and not delivering because they are spreading themselves too thin..

 

Someone at SM said its not about the money but surely if you wont get a big name due to cost then its obv all about the money and slightly about the fans..

 

JUST MY OPINION so dont go flaming me!

 

Veasse xx

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Someone at SM said its not about the money but surely if you wont get a big name due to cost then its obv all about the money and slightly about the fans..

 

JUST MY OPINION so dont go flaming me!

 

Veasse xx

 

This isn't a flame - and I'd certainly hope you won't be put off attending SM events in the future, as they don't all go t!ts up like this one has - however, I think that was a kinda unfair comment.

 

It has to be detrimental to get a high-cost guest for a limited attendance convention as there's only a certain amount of money you can make, and if it would work out that SMs would lose money on it then it's just a sensible business decision not to aim higher than they can afford.

 

I don't see that as being 'slightly about the fans' - it'd just be more sensible to get a higher charging guest along to a signing event where there are a lot more attendees and the chances of them covering costs at least are higher.

 

After all, if they kept losing money time and time again, they wouldn't be able to run these events and that wouldn't be beneficial to any fans would it? :smile:

 

It's a hard task to balance between business decisions and wanting to please the fans out there too. I certainly don't envy them.

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I'm a tad traumatised after reading this thread and deemed it wise to keep my counsel til a more godly hour, but......community spirit's always a good thing and FLM's lovely attitude sweetened the reading for me. Wish the best for everyone on this forum who wants to go/make a go of it, I'm one of those people and whilst I understand the disappointment if it doesn't go ahead I will continue to keep the faith, do what I can to give support and wait to hear what happens next......and meanwhile hope that none of the many people who've obviously visited this thread and were potential attendees were put off by its tone. Or potential guests?

 

Anyway, brand new day tomorrow :D

Yeah agree with you!!!!!! :D

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