|
NSU Home | NSU Store | In The Current Issue... | Contact Us | |
Non-Sport Update's Card Talk Shows & Conventions London Film & Comic Con, 28-30 July 2017Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| London Film & Comic Con, 28-30 July 2017 | Login/Join |
Member |
I only picked up one single card last year, but after Cardiff event in March was more or less a washout for cards (  ), I'm looking forward to a larger haul in London this year!As for the guest lineup, that is VAST. The main interest to card collectors might be that Alyson Hannigan is attending, charging a whopping £75 for an autograph but compared to her recent Rittenhouse cards it's still a nicer price (and more within my budget!) Other guests include John Cleese, Adam West, Ron Perlman, Christopher Lloyd, Steven Yeun, Mike Colter, Alexis Denisof, Wil Wheaton, Alan Tudyk, Terence Stamp... and so many more - way too many to list. Seriously, the lineup is impressive! I've only got the budget to meet about five or six of them though, so it's going to be interesting. Planning on meeting Alan Tudyk, Michael Rosenbaum and Phil LaMarr as definites, and trying to decide on a few others. Anyone else attending? | ||
|
Gold Card Talk Member |
There needs to be a serious rethink about entry/guest price conditions. If a guest drops out, you get a refund if you've paid for a photoshoot, but the entry price is non-refundable. This may be the only reason you're going and £21 has gone down the pan  | |||
|
| Member |
It's difficult - I largely had that experience with Cardiff this year, where two guests I wanted to meet, one of them dropped out a few days in advance. I was very happy to meet the second guest but they're also attending London now making the trip to Cardiff a bit unnecessary. The first guest has now rescheduled for a later Cardiff event this year and I'm not really sure whether I'm prepared to go or not. With London I don't think it's as much of a problem, since the event is so big (there's over 100 guests so far this year already), that the logic will be if one guest drops out, there's always somebody else people will be interested in meeting. I mean, there's over 25 people I'd be happy to see from the guest list personally. With the regional ones where they only have about 15 guests and one or two 'main' headliners, if they drop out it's way more disappointing. I can understand why they won't refund entry tickets - they fund the show and it's not directly their fault for the cancellation.This message has been edited. Last edited by: rwn410, | |||
|
Titanium Card Talk Member |
I don't think this show is going to be much good for dealers. With a massive line up of guests all charging loads of money how is anyone going to have any spare cash to buy things from the stalls? I guess this goes for all the shows these days. ____________________ Come, it is time for you to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man. | |||
|
Gold Card Talk Member |
Whenever I go to LFCC, due to the sheer onslaught of guests, I very rarely have money leftover for stalls and I imagine many attendees are in the same boat. Still, I don't think these vendors have a better audience for their wares than in central London in front of geeks from all over Europe! I echo what others have said about prices getting a bit out of hand. As an example, no interest in Alyson Hannigan myself but one hell of a guest for general geekdom, and one whose rarity and inaccessibility warrants (IMO) a £75 price tag. Then you've got Conleth Hill for £65 because he's been in Game of Thrones and near enough nothing(!) else. I'm pleased GOT fans have a chance at him but the organisers can throw out all the "rare signer" announcements they like - how can he cost over double what Gillian Anderson charged for an auto at her last event? I'm sorry, all that money for comparative nobodies doesn't register with me. And the thought of anyone being mad enough to bother with a "Diamond Pass" for such a guest seems an even more ludicrous idea when I predict a very quiet day for Conleth.... | |||
|
| Member |
I was taken aback by him being a rare signer since he seems to be one of the most prolific signers of the cards. I like him as Varys, but I also like Gemma Whelan as Yara for example and she is asking £15, so I'm more likely to use the money to meet her and several others instead. I had to pass on meeting Stan Lee, Carrie Fisher and Jeremy Renner in previous years who were all in that same £60-70 range as well, which I regret losing those chances but the cost was too steep for me. I'd say they were all comparatively more deserving of asking that, though. To be honest I usually forego the Game of Thrones actors on the basis that the show is likely to go the way of Red Dwarf and Dr Who and be a staple on the UK convention circuit for many years, so presumably there'll be chances to meet a lot of them later on. I believe Deep Roy was advertised as a rare signer in his first appearance and has been back several times since, coincidentally. Steven Yeun is another example for me. There are two other stars of The Walking Dead, both charging £25, and I met Laurie Holden last year for about the same. But as great as Glenn is to fans, he's asking £60. I'll have to pass on meeting him (but I'm hoping to see at least one of the other two!) but also, being fair, Steven Yeun needs another few hits on his filmography in the next handful of years or he'll be charging less for autographs at conventions as The Walking Dead wraps up and fans are less passionate (especially if the show has a less than satisfying conclusion)This message has been edited. Last edited by: rwn410, | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
Yeun is another prime example. Just checked IMDB... what has he done besides Walking Dead? I'm planning to meet David Morrissey and what a comparative bargain he is at less than half the price. I wish I had written down how much people cost when I met them over the years, as many of the same people have crept up. I'm glad I'm not one of these attendees who feel they have to meet everyone - the cost would be eye-watering. I always look forward to the big announcement threads but I am always quietly relieved when these expensive guests are not for me. | |||
|
Bronze Card Talk Member |
I think the organisers set the fees. I think the guest gets a set a fee, although the two could be linked, but it's probably got more to do with the organisers profits. ____________________ Never Tap Settle down Beavis | |||
|
| Bronze Card Talk Member |
I was thinking of going on the Friday as it might be a bit quieter and you can actually get to the stalls. I think most of the Guests I want to see are all stated to be there on Friday but I've had it before (the old Collectormania days in MK Shopping Centre) where the Guest never turned up on the Friday, so it was a wasted journey. At least it was free to get in ____________________ Never Tap Settle down Beavis | |||
|
| New Card Talk Member |
With regard to guest fees, they are usually done on an individual basis - either the guest is on a guarantee in which the event will pay if the guest doesn't meet their target, or the guest is on a percentage of all autos/photoshoots sold. It's usually worked out between the event and the agents/actors. Some guests are just given a table and will take everything they make, the fact that they are appearing will hopefully increase footfall through the door. I find that LFCC has a scattergun approach to guests - the thinking being that with so many guests at least one or two should appeal to everybody. All guests are subject to work commitments - this weekend at the MCM event at docklands, Billie Piper and Warwick Davis both had to pull out (although Warwick appeared on the Saturday) due to family commitments. What I hope doesn't happen is that guests are announced on an event website just for the publicity before any kind of contract has been sealed. The public pay for tickets expecting to see guests that will then drop out due to "work commitments" when there was no intention of them coming in the first place. Please understand I'm not defaming any event that this actually happens, but as fans and attendees I've heard through the usual rumour mill that this has been done before. Due to this I usually wait to get my tickets... | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
I will be attending on Friday and maybe Saturday, but am having serious reservations about these types of shows. It's great to see so many TV & film stars there, but are there too many? The days of a "special" guest star seem to be long gone, together with the affordability of a photo or autograph. Three people I would like to meet, get a photo with, and have an autograph of will cost me the minimum princely sum of £280. Diamond passes used to be reserved for the guest that would probably never attend again, or is such a big star that there would be a queue from here until Christmas if the accessibility was affordable to all. These passes are well named as most people would have to sell the family jewellery to get a sniff – and the price doesn’t include entry! One example is Alan Tudyk. The last Milton Keynes show in the shopping centre cost me £20 for his autograph and a posed picture at his table for free. I also had quite a chat about his role in I, Robot. At the upcoming show, the Diamond Pass guarantees a posed photo with him on a named day plus one autograph (but not necessarily on the same day) for a cost, including entry, of £112. He may be the only guest (and reason) for attending. If he drops out of the show, £95 would be refunded, but the entry of £17 can be kissed goodbye. The people I feel for the most are the dealers. Very few attendees seem to go there to actually buy something. Cosplayers have taken over floor space. I've lost count of the times I've been hit with oversized hammers/swords/wings etc. while trying to buy items at a table. It really feels like three different shows – the dealers, cosplayers, and film/tv stars.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Graham, | |||
|
| Member |
It's law of diminishing returns I suppose - the guest lists draw the potential stall customers into attending the convention, but too many guests and customers won't have the money. Wales Comic Con (which I've not attended due to travel cost/distance but I've paid attention to their guest lists in awe) seems to have hit a sweet spot at getting about 40ish guests, which would probably provide that safety net if one or two drop out, but not over saturate it. They are expanding to another convention, Fanatic Expo, in Harrogate this September (coincidentally they have another two Walking Dead guests, waiting to see how much they're asking for an autograph) which I'm thrilled about as it's only half an hour away from me. I've started to consider the pre-order service if there is only one guest I would like an autograph from. Of course you don't get to meet them, (but we don't meet them when they sign trading cards either I suppose) and there's that extra cost of using the service, but you will get a full refund if they cancel at least. | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
I would like it if entry tickets would be refunded if I needed to drop out but I dunno, I sort of think fair enough? I could be completely wrong but I imagine it could be tricky issuing and then recalling/cancelling entry tickets. It's the BS booking fee they tack onto every order that really chaps my ***. Money for nothing IMO. Prices do seem to be getting a bit daft for almost all guests but in defense of Tudyk, he's added to his CV with one of the biggest franchises going. Star Wars nuts wanting to see guests brings a whole new level of business. When I met Mads Mikkelsen in 2008 (my first guest ever!) almost no-one came to see him, even at £15. Fast forward to last year and after an being a Marvel villain and in Rogue One, he was triple the money and swamped. I can't blame the organisers for wanting to capitalise on a guest who will bring more business, but who may also be more expensive to book now. At least people like Mads and Tudyk will give the fans a good experience, whatever the price. As for cosplayers... I don't want to sound a killjoy (when some can look very impressive) but I find them so irritating. Just everywhere you turn, there they are: in the way. I don't tend to see too many of them going to get autographs or photoshoots - they do seem a distinctly separate bunch who just turn up to congregate and walk about a bit. Makes you wonder what the show would be like (in terms of space) without them there? | |||
|
| New Card Talk Member |
Cosplayers.... Yes, I know what you mean. The London MCM event was overcrowded with them but since they were the first event organisers to give a prominent platform to the whole Jap/Anime/culture/cosplay thing some years ago, it's blossomed to the point where the "regular" fans of whatever (comics/movies/tv,etc)feel a little pushed out.. They even have a cosplay masquerade late in the afternoon where they all get to do their little turn on the catwalk. Older fans would call it fancy dress and I totally get the whole visual thing, but some cosplayers seem to have an inflated sense of entitlement just because they're wearing an impressive costume that cost a lot of time and money to create. Not that I want to insult cosplayers (they're fans too!) but perhaps they could be a bit more liberal with the aerosols? I'm a full weekender attendee and I see these guys in their outfits from arrival on Thursday right through to going home on the tube on Monday!! Phew! | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
In case anyone has booked anything for Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof for the Friday and hasn't read their emails, they are now only attending Saturday and Sunday. Swapping to another day for Diamond pass holders is only available until 3.00pm Friday 2nd June 2017. Anyone who doesn't swap will automatically be refunded. | |||
|
Diamond Card Talk Member |
Which is great if you have booked train ticket and hotel accommodation to attend on Friday!!!!! | |||
|
| Titanium Card Talk Member |
have you got this under the wrong show? ____________________ Come, it is time for you to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man. | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
No | |||
|
| Titanium Card Talk Member |
fair enough.  ____________________ Come, it is time for you to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man. | |||
|
| Bronze Card Talk Member |
Pamela Anderson just announced (auto £45) ____________________ Never Tap Settle down Beavis | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata | Page 1 2 |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Non-Sport Update's Card Talk Shows & Conventions London Film & Comic Con, 28-30 July 2017 | View $GS_USERNAME's Public Profile |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Ignore List |
| View Recent Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
| Notify me of New Posts by $GS_USERNAME |