London Film & Comic Con 2011 - Part 3: Sunday's Talks & Other Stuff

This article can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Compared to the packed-beyond-belief state of Saturday, Sunday was markedly more sedate. That’s not to say it wasn’t heaving, as it certainly was, but it felt like there was enough oxygen in Earls Court to go around - the same cannot be said for Saturday! Once more I arrived early at the scene to see who I could grab for a few quick words, and attend the first talk of the day.

Sunday

9:55 - Morgan Sheppard & Walter Koenig

Sunday started with a talk that was initially listed as Brent Spiner, but was in fact Morgan Sheppard (Mark Sheppard’s father), and Walter Koenig. Koenig is almost certainly best known for his role as Russian crewman Mr Chekov in the original series of Star Trek (and received a round of applause when he quoted the line “Where are the nuclear wessels.”). Whilst Morgan Sheppard has a vast array of work under his belt, including four collaborations with his son, he too is quite well known for his roles in various Star Trek episodes and films. Questions were therefore fairly Star Trek centric.

Any fan of the original series would have noticed that the Klingons suffered a sudden evolution when they made the leap to the silver screen, developing a series of ridges on their foreheads. Koenig stated that this was to make the whole thing more visually appealing, but in Star Trek lore this was explained as them being an offshoot of the original Klingon race.

This led to another question, this time directed at Sheppard, who had been cast in a Klingon during his many Trek incarnations, regarding his experiences. “It was Hell,” He stated, rather matter-of-factly, “The make-up took four hours the first time round, but we eventually got it down to two hours after that.” Evidently being a Klingon isn’t easy!

11:15 - Richard Hatch

Richard Hatch, as the star of Battlestar Galactica back in the late 70s and a recurring character in the re-imagined series in the 2000s, spoke extensively on life after the original series ended. As the show had only enjoyed a short run and was taken off the air after a year, the studios never conceived of the possibility that Galactica may have actually been popular. “I was attending conventions and meeting the fans of the show,” Hatch said, “And there were more of them than you’d imagine!” He approached Universal about perhaps reviving the series, but until he mentioned it to them they had no idea they were even in possession of the license.

He went on to detail his efforts to revive the show, even to the extent he made his own (and, frankly, illegal as he didn’t own the license!) trailer for a hypothetical Galactica movie. He took this trailer to show at conventions, and was eventually approached by Miramax who wanted to buy the movie. “Obviously, one of the major problems with that was, we hadn’t made the movie. But what kind of person makes a trailer for a movie if there isn’t a movie?!” However, despite the attention the trailer had gathered, Universal were still in possession of the rights to the Galactica franchise and were not interested in Hatch’s vision.

His campaign for a sequel of the 1978 show was scuttled in favour of a re-imagining of the series produced by Ronald D Moore, which Hatch then went on to be cast in as recurring character Tom Zarek.

13:55 - Christopher Lloyd (& Jeffrey Weissman, Lea Thompson, Ricky Dean Logan)

This session had been listed as Christopher Lloyd, but a few minutes in and Lloyd was joined by Jeffrey Weissman, Lea Thompson, and Ricky Dean Logan - his Back to the Future cast-mates. They reminisced on their favourite aspects of filming the classic time-travelling trilogy.

“Chasing the train on horse-back.” Lloyd said with great certainty. He had already expressed his love for the third film of the trilogy, in which they travel to the Wild West of 1885, citing the depth of character the script had added for Doc Brown, including a romantic interest, as a reason for this. That, and chasing the train on horse-back.

Thompson’s favourite moment was dancing in the 50’s scenes and meeting Christopher Lloyd (although not necessarily in that order). Weissman added “My favourite moment would definitely have to be dancing with Lea.” Logan, on the other hand, decided that the hover-board was his highlight of Back to the Future, which led on to a further discussion as to why no-one had invented a prototype yet.

16:25 - Alex Kingston

The concluding talk of the event was Alex Kingston, otherwise known as River Song in Doctor Who. Given River Song’s recent revealing of identity after being an enigma for nigh on two years, the audience was rife with questions pertaining to any more surprises regarding Kingston’s character, as well as how long she’d known for and how that effected her acting style.

“I knew since the beginning of this season.” Kingston answered. “In the first episode I turned to comfort Amy and gave her a hug, and Karen just leapt back and looked at me [as if to say] ‘What are you doing?!’” She laughed, recalling the moment. “It was only a few months later when Matt, Karen and Arthur were told who River Song actually was that Karen realised why I was playing it that way.”

Evidently, Moffat has had the idea for a long time, and only revealed the real ending to the four central cast. “He kept the whole thing very close to his chest,” Kingston spoke on the matter, “I didn’t expect this to happen in my first episode [Silence in the Library]. She was just a one off character, but afterwards we discussed [River Song] being a returning character, and when I heard how they intended for her character to develop, I couldn’t resist!”

There wasn’t a chance to speak to Kingston regarding her current role in Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse, and in the much the same case as Gillan she was largely inaccessible throughout the day.

My next and final LFCC article, The Cosplay Collection, will tell the tale of my encounters with the likes of Darth Vader, Jessica Rabbit, and a Cylon, and will be online soon.

London Film & Comic Con 2011 - Part 2: Saturday's Talks & Other Stuff

This article can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Over the course of the weekend, LFCC held numerous talks and Q&As by the guests, featuring an audience with Karen Gillan, Cosplay masquerades, auctions and demonstrations. Amidst my attempts to have quick interviews with the guests, I attended some of these Q&A sessions.

Saturday

10:55 - Sylvester McCoy & Sophie Aldred

After doing a few rounds of the guests first thing in the morning, I made my way to the main stage for an audience with former Doctor Who star Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor) and Sophie Aldred (his companion, Ace). The place was a hive of activity as Doctor Who fans both young and old sought their tickets and tried to find a seat. I smugly flashed my press pass and seated myself with Josh Harris and Richard Neal from What Culture, whom I had met the night before in the queue to talk to Christopher Lloyd.

McCoy and Aldred took to the stage, with the Seventh Doctor enthusiastically greeting the audience whilst his companion took a rather more neutral welcome. There’s no denying McCoy’s eccentricity, especially once he’s amongst the audience exclaiming “Hello hello hello. Welcome. Come, sit down. Make yourself at home. Hello, are you leaving?” Aldred just stood watching in amusement.

Amongst the Doctor Who related questions, McCoy managed to briefly talk about his recent casting as Radagast the Brown (necessarily pronounced by extensively rolling the Rs) in the upcoming Hobbit movies, and his experiences working on the set. Aldred mockingly asked whether the character had been thusly named with so many Rs especially for McCoy. “No no no, no no, no, no, yes, no, no, they didn‘t.” He replies, adding, “The character already existed. The reason why they cast me was because I was the only one who could say it that way. That’s how I actually got the part.”

I attempted to catch up with him towards the end of the day for a few quick words, but he insisted “I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t have the time. Funny old business, time...” So I simply shook his hand and told him I thought he was fantastic. “Thank you, and so are you.” He said in return, which I thought was rather nice of him, but guessed he must have mistaken me for somebody else!

11:35 - Mark Sheppard

Mark Sheppard’s talk was notably more sedate than McCoy’s, with an added layer of sardonic humour. Sheppard is probably best known for his recurring roles in shows such as Supernatural (demon, Crowley), Battlestar Galactica (lawyer and later president, Romo Lampkin), and more recently Doctor Who (former CIA, Canton Delaware III, although we have yet to see if he recurs, I might add…).

He has a rather refreshingly cynical take on the media industry, talking about one of the major differences he found between working in the US and the UK. “In  the US, they give you $100 dollars a day and provide you with food. At the BBC, they give you an allowance of £10 a day and you have to buy your own breakfast, lunch and dinner. I considered myself lucky if I was left with £4 at the end of the day!”

Sheppard also went on to talk about his role as Canton Delaware III in Doctor Who. “I got to do all the stuff I’d dreamt of as a child. You know, the bigger on the inside bit and getting to say ’Doctor… Who exactly?’ It was a dream come true.”

Whilst Sheppard has a rather frank and quite cutting sense of humour, he’s an incredibly down-to-earth man with little to no pretence and is a pleasure to chat with. Even if he is a little sarcastic. Adds to his charm I think. (And yes, I’m still perfectly heterosexual despite this bizarre man-crush I seem to have developed!)

13:35 - Brent Spiner

As a substantially large fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I couldn’t pass up the chance to sit in on a talk with Commander Data. People were eager to grab the opportunity to take photographs of Brent Spiner when he first got on stage, so he began by performing a series of tableaux for the cameras, ranging from jovial poses to more outraged expressions. He’s certainly a natural performer!

It wasn’t long until he launched into Star Trek anecdotes, recalling the first few weeks of filming with Patrick Stewart. “Patrick had never performed in the States before,” He began, “And he clearly didn’t know what to expect. We were continuously goofing around and having a laugh, whilst Patrick, as a former member of the Royal Shakespeare, was appalled by our behaviour!”

“By the end of the first week, Patrick had had enough, and stood up and said…” He now went into a rather impressive impersonation of Patrick Stewart…“’We are here to act!’ And we all just fell about laughing.” He then redeemed Stewart from the portrayal of an intolerant actor, saying “But it wasn’t long until Patrick joined in, and he was easily one of the worst of us.”

14:55 - Karen Gillan

The final talk of the day I attended was with Karen Gillan, who only recently shot to fame in Doctor Who as companion Amy Pond. Needless to say it was one of the most packed of the day, with people literally climbing the walls to see. I and the guys from What Culture stood on the sides, largely because there weren’t any seats available.

The questions focussed mostly on her role on Doctor Who, and the things that come with playing the companion. “It’s awesome,” Gillan said when asked what it was like having an action figure of herself, “I’ve got two of them already. I’ve kept them in their boxes, apparently they could be worth quite a lot in the future.” She laughed. Presumably she can sign them herself to double their value, too?! When asked about her favourite episode, Gillan stated “I love A Good Man Goes To War, but I still think there’s magic about the Eleventh Hour.”

I had hoped she would have spoken a bit more about her recent role in upcoming BBC Four television-film We’ll Take Manhattan, but unfortunately she had run out of time before I got an opportunity to ask about her experiences on work outside of Doctor Who.

And that concludes Saturday’s Q&As. The next article will focus on the talks held on Sunday, and will be online soon.

London Film & Comic Con 2011 - Advice For Aspiring Actors

Also on Step2Inspire featuring video footage by Liana Stewart.

One of the main appeals of events such as London Film and Comic Con are the guests. Ranging from the recognisable faces from old classics to the stars of today’s more popular SciFi, the guests draw crowds of fans eager to meet them. It was difficult to get to some of the guests due to the crowds they pulled (Karen Gillan, for example), but I was fortunate enough to get to meet with quite a few of the guests and grab some advice from them.

The main question on my lips was, as successful actors, what would they consider the most indispensable piece of advice for aspiring actors trying to break into the industry...

Richard Hatch said on the matter, “If you want to be an aspiring actor you’ve got to also be an aspiring business man. The business side has got to protect the artist side. You’ve got to build both sides of the coin if you want to be successful.”

Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Weissman and Ricky Dean Logan (all of whom worked together during the Back to the Future films) said that their indispensable piece of advice would simply be to “Never give up.” An attitude which translates to all walks of life as well.

Vivica A. Fox, probably best known for her role in Kill Bill as Vernita Green, noted that having a repertoire of talents is always helpful, saying “Be prepared to sing and dance and play an instrument. Never miss out on an opportunity.”

Charlie Bewley, one of the cast from the Twilight saga, said “Perseverance. Don’t give up on your hope or motivation, and believe in yourself.” Bewley never had professional drama coaching and considers that life as a successful actor is possible even without a background of formal training, “It’s your motivation and your drive to succeed that will make you.”

Mark Sheppard, on the other hand, when asked his advise for aspiring actors, merely responded with “No,” before adding, “It’s all about the cheese,” as he took another bite of manchego. A little later, as I was leaving, he called after me saying “You want some advice? Don’t listen to advice.” So take from that what you will.

London Film & Comic Con 2011 - Part 1: Mad Man with a Press Pass

I apologise in advance for this lengthy article, but please stick with it. It’s worth it. Honest!
This article can also be found on Step2Inspire.

One’s first impressions of London Film and Comic Con is that it’s really quite big. Then again, I’ve never been to a convention like this before so my perspectives were inevitably going to be skewed by the newness of it all. I met with Step2Inspire’s publisher and Step2TV co-founder, Liana Stewart, on the opening press night and discussed our first impressions of this magnificent and bizarre event.

The press night was initially fairly sparse, with only a handful of other reporters and a selection of the stars in attendance, whilst the dealers and exhibitors were setting up their stalls. It was then very much a free-for-all to talk to the guests, albeit a free-for-all with orderly queues. Liana and I took the opportunity to get a few words with people such as Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who), Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill), Charlie Bewley (Twilight), and Veronica Cartwright (Alien, Witches of Eastwick) and before long, the preview evening was in full swing. Hordes more people poured into Earls Court, clambering around stalls and guests, and Liana and I spent our time mingling with other press-pass holders, talking with guests and visitors, and just browsing the stalls.

Mark Sheppard and I

My primary goal of the event was to attend the Q&As being held all weekend and to talk to some of the actors, hoping to gain some insight into their perspectives on their characters, and finding out what they consider to be a vital piece of advice for aspiring actors. My secondary goal was to track down Cosplayers (costume-roleplayers) and find out how they first got into cosplay, as well as to discover what it is about conventions that encourages so many people to go in costume. My tertiary goal (because I couldn’t just have two things to achieve) was to meet as many new and interesting people as possible. There certainly was no shortage of interesting people!

The main problem I encountered was juggling attempts to talk to the guests around the times of the various Q&As. As I had a press pass, I didn’t need to pay to attend the event or speak with the guests, whereas plenty of people had booked photo and autograph sessions months ahead. Thus the organisers had to fulfil their obligation to the customer first and foremost, and in most cases I was advised to return later when the queues had died down.

I started my Saturday morning with a coffee, as per usual, followed by a quick interview with Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica fame. Talking with Hatch is by no means part of my usual morning routine, but it was a very welcome addition! As he played two very different characters in the series, the heroic Captain Apollo in the 70s, and notorious terrorist Tom Zarek in the re-imagined series, I decided to ask about his experiences in these rather distinct roles.

“These are two characters that are 35 years apart, I was in two different places when I played those characters so I loved each character at the time I played it, but as an actor, Tom Zarek was a far more complex, enigmatic, you know, conflicted character [than Captain Apollo], so for an actor it’s a lot more fun to play,” Hatch says on the difference between his roles in the 1970s series and the reincarnated 2000 series of Galactica. “There’s a lot of Tom Zarek in me, but there’s also a lot of Captain Apollo in me.”

When asked about his views on Zarek’s change from terrorist to slightly dubious president, Hatch said, “He was a much better president than Roslin was.” That includes executing the council when they didn’t vote in his favour, does it? “I thought everything that I said was true. I hate to say it, but if I was judging it from Tom Zarek’s perspective, Roslin was not listening to anybody but herself, and Tom Zarek had the council on his side. He was fighting for democracy, whilst they wanted a theocracy. They wanted to make the decisions for everybody, they didn‘t want to listen to the council. But I certainly would have to say that Tom Zarek was equally as good, and equally as bad, as Roslin and Adama.”

“The whole show’s never about Good and Bad,” continues Hatch, having detailed Zarek’s plans for electoral reform, “It’s about how good people are capable of doing bad things. They had good motivations to do what they did, but so did Tom Zarek.” Child trafficking, murder, terrorism, and mutiny not excluded I take it?!

There was a similar response from Mark Sheppard when I asked him about his character on Galactica, Romo Lampkin. “Shifty?!” Sheppard retorted, when I accused him of portraying a shifty lawyer. “Shifty? No. He was the last sane man in the Universe!” Fair point, but Lampkin had subtly manipulated the court, even to the extent he’d faked a limp and the need for a cane. “They wanted to throw Baltar out of an airlock for treason but without evidence. Treason requires intent, doesn’t it? Baltar never had that intent, and Roslin and Adama never had any evidence to prove it. The minute you start throwing people out of an airlock with no evidence, the human race is in trouble, and Lampkin saw this. So no, he wasn‘t shifty, he was defending the system of justice.”

That’s what I consider to be one of the main joys of Battlestar Galactica. There is no distinct right and wrong, and it really explores both the best and the worst of humanity. Something I feel is nicely encompassed in Hatch’s and Sheppard’s answers.

I did also attempt to catch a brief interview with Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) at various points throughout Saturday, but due to her overwhelming popularity it was advised I return later. As later did not have a specific time set to it, aside from ‘later’, I frequently returned to the scene to try my luck again. After a while, I think the staff were becoming somewhat bored with my persistence, and elected to send me on a quest. This started off as “Talk to Adam, he might be able to book you in.” to “Sorry I can’t guarantee it. Have you spoken to the staff at Karen’s booth?” followed by “Did you speak to Adam?” immediately adding “Are you sure you spoke to the right Adam?”.

After a few hours of to-ing and fro-ing, I rather unexpectedly found myself in Mordor with the hefty task of disposing a magic ring right under the Dark Lord’s eye. I don’t see what this had to do with an interview, but apparently Gandalf insisted on it.

Eventually, I ended up trying to gain access in the final few minutes of the day (as suggested by numerous staff). They denied me twice, then allowed me in by accident, then chased me around the signing area for a bit, before I wound up back at the sodding entrance pleading for access. After all my efforts, and surreptitious attempts to distract the staff with wine gums, the closest I actually got to an interview was a brief “Hello” as Gillan was ushered past by her agent and an entourage of staff, none of whom were called Adam.

My next article, Talks and Other Such Stuff, will focus on talks and other such stuff and will be up soon, so keep an eye out!

London Film and Comic Con 2011

From the 8th to the 10th of July, London’s Earls Court will play host to London Film and Comic Con. LFCC, now in it’s 7th year of annual conventions, will be holding a number of talks, photoshoots and autograph sessions with some well known faces from film and TV, as well as prominent figures in the comic industry. Guests this year include the likes of Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd, Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan and Star Trek’s Brent Spiner, to name but a small number of the guests!

The star-studded event will also play host to video game enthusiasts, budding artists, and cosplayers. It is the quintessential convention in every sense. Full information on LFCC can be found on the website at www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

I will be covering the event over the weekend, writing about the talks held by the stars and guest speakers, as well as any news from the industry and the inevitable encounter with a gold bikini clad Princess Leia!

I’ll also be tweeting from the event, so be sure to follow @Step2DramaTV on Twitter for live updates.