On the morning of Saturday 12th May (prior to our "Eurovision" revelry that evening - see my last post) I went down to a sci-fi collector's fair at the Leofric Hotel in Coventry. I had never been to this particular event, and as it was local I thought I would check it out. I wish I hadn't bothered, as it was, well, rubbish! Still, it was free entry and I got a couple of laughs out of it, and I managed to chat to a pal who was there as well as some other fan types. Anyway, disorganised chaos and small (about 8 dealers) was the order of the day here, at least for the first couple of hours. Most of the celebrity guests I didn’t recognise as they either appeared in sci-fi tv or small grade-B films, so no real need to bother with autographs this time. Have a look here at the guest list.
There were fans milling around not knowing where to go, bored and confused looking staff, and a general sense of disorganisation about the place. I think the real chaos came from the fact that there was a Smallville/Supernatural convention ("Asylum") going on in the same hotel at the same time, hence hundreds of fan girls clogging up the crowded corridors getting excited when they glimpsed Jensen Ackles. I really think the two events should have been kept separate. One table sold me a photo of actress Alison Mack, which they said I could get signed. Ok, groovy. However, they failed to tell me that this actress was part of the convention ONLY and not the sci-fi fair. So in the other part of the hotel I wasn't allowed to see her as I wasn't a convention guest! Oh well, at least they gave me my money back for the photo (I then found the photo on the net later….for free!)
The most bizarre thing happened early on as the crew/bouncer types were escorting actor Jensen Ackles from one room to another: a mad fan girl leapt on him and kissed him on the lips! Of course, she was wrestled to the ground while Jensen was hurried into a nearby lift. She then tried the "lemur leap" attack again and was restrained and removed from the hotel! In 17 odd years of going to shows, I've never seen anything that bad! I guess they had a crowd control problem. When I left to pop over to Forbidden Planet, she was crying outside and her mother was giving her a talking to. Haha!
(Mentions it all here.)Still, before meeting up with Sarah I managed to have a mooch around Coventry shops including Waterstones, where I picked up the fantastic "The Making Of Star Wars" by J.W.Rizler. This was as birthday pressie to myself. Great book, worth buying even just for the photos. It covers the original 1977 film from its early conception, script development, casting, filming, the visual effects and release. The hardback version has additional stills and drawings in the back, so go for that one, collectors.
