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!