Fandom Fest/Frightnight Film Fest 2013 (in Louisville)

[kevinbellamy]

This weekend!
July 26-28th
^^ I'll be there on the 27th.

Guest list:
William Shatner
Stan Lee
John Barrowman
Gillian Anderson
Norman Reedus
Alan Tudyk
Jewel Staite
Adam Baldwin
Jason Momoa
Jon Bernthal
Chandler Riggs
Saul Rubinek
Eddie McClintock
Adrian Paul
Jason David Frank
Sean Patrick Flanery
Al Snow
Jim Cornette

Gene Simmons
Kevin Smith
Jason Mewes
Micheal Rooker
Lew Temple
Vincent Ward
Iron E. Singleton
Deborah Foreman
Zach Galligan
Kane Hodder
Fred Dekker
Jason Lively
Ashley Bank
Mary Ellen Trainor
Butch Patrick
Colin Baker
Quinton Flynn
James Horan
Ed Gale
Angus Oblong
Garry Chalk
Grant Wilson
Kate Norby
R.J. Haddy
David House
Beki Ingram

http://fandomfest.com/en/
http://www.frightnightfilmfest.com/

[Adcatalano]

And me! I'll be in the Galt House Grand Hall a few booths down from the Monster Squad folks and across from Horror Hound. Convention exclusive limited first printing of my screenplay in competition, "Plaything," on sale for $10. Stop by and talk about blu-rays

[kevinbellamy]

Originally Posted by Adcatalano

And me! I'll be in the Galt House Grand Hall a few booths down from the Monster Squad folks and across from Horror Hound. Convention exclusive limited first printing of my screenplay in competition, "Plaything," on sale for $10. Stop by and talk about blu-rays

Will do! I'm def meeting a few ppl from MS

[FinkJuice]

Very excited for this show. Been there every year. Heading to the Kevin Smith/Jason Mewes show tonight! Then Taking time off work to enjoy the show for the whole weekend!!

[kevinbellamy]

Originally Posted by FinkJuice

Very excited for this show. Been there every year. Heading to the Kevin Smith/Jason Mewes show tonight! Then Taking time off work to enjoy the show for the whole weekend!!

I went in 2008 when the Phantasm crew was there. Again last year - Way crowded. I think this makes my 17th convention since 2006. I'll be at Scarefest later this year also

[FinkJuice]

Yeah Scarefest is probably one of the most organized conventions ive ever been to. It will be interesting to see how fandomfest goes with it being in two different locations.

[kevinbellamy]

Originally Posted by FinkJuice

Yeah Scarefest is probably one of the most organized conventions ive ever been to. It will be interesting to see how fandomfest goes with it being in two different locations.

Last year was congested and frankly totally chaotic but that's a given with Walking Dead cast. I'm only meeting Lew Temple from that group. I need my Devils Reject poster signed. On a positive note: I think everyone else I plan to meet will be in a single building so that's gonna save me a lot of time.

[kevinbellamy]

Fred Deeker


Lew Temple


Kate Norby

[Adcatalano]

A review.

I went back and forth about doing a write up on my experience at the Fright Night Film Fest/Fandom Fest/several other titles encompassing a large horror, sci fi, comic book, anime, toy, and gaming convention. I did so much shameless self promotion I felt I should post my misadventure.

When my screenplay got into the writing competition, I considering getting a booth to try to raise money for a short based on the feature length script. I heard negative things about the previour years con, so i was hesistant. I then got really sick for 3 months, and on the other side I had a newfound sense of excitement and urgency to go ahead with my idea. I booked the con and began months of preparation.

In the weeks leading up to the convention, I frequently checked the various websites. At this point my first concerns were raised but I dismissed them. The websites would often have broken parts. Schedules would be posted, disappear, replaced with something else, disappear, etc etc. Thursday night the program was finally uploaded in QR code but it had so much traffic that the host shut it down. A foreshadowing of things to come.

Thursday my wife I moved into our booth. All we were provided was an uncovered, beat up wooden table... No cover, no barriers between tables. We rented table clothes for cheap for the Galt House (one of the con locations and host hotel), so all was well. We got everything ready and were excited and good to go. I looked at my vendor badge and noticed the times were listed differently than the vendor packet we previously received.

Friday I woke up to find the program was fixed. I downloaded it, reviewed it, and was set. We got to the booth early, made final preparation, and sat anxiously for 4:00. People drifted in as early as 3:45, while many vendors were still setting up. The booth next to us, Thong Girl, was a no show that day. Guest traffic picked up and I sold 4 books in the first 3-4 hours. Slow, but making progress and talking to people. I had a genuine smile the entire time. We wrapped for the night and had a bright outlook for the sure to be busy Saturday.

Also on Friday I talked to Fred Dekker, super nice guy and he had original rolled one sheets from Monster Squad. I stood in line 90 minutes to get Stan Lee's autograph out of the way (took so long because his photo op started 1/2 hour late - another sign of this to come). I spent about 5 seconds with Stan, he signed and I shook his hand and was herded off. Only now, after the con did I find out cgc reps were there and that I could have gotten a signature slab. No info on this was provided prior or during the con (lots of my fault, some of the con, some of wild storm comics).

Saturday we got to the booth. Lots more traffic and an early sell. Then six hours of nothing. Decent traffic, some talking, zero buying interest. Thong Girl decided to show up and they stuffed 5 people into a 1-2 person booth. They often blocked my booth. My smile disappeared. I was disappointed and needed to get a way for a little bit. I accepted the fact my plan wasn't going to be a success so I decided I was going to go ahead with my fallback plan - enjoy the con as a fan. Another 5 copies sold wasn't going to as satisfying as seeing people I admire.

The first panel was a history of the power rangers. It was nothing more than 2 unprepared fans rambling about the series. Then was Jason David Frank's q&a. It was amazing and inspirationa, but there was no moderation which i thought unusuall. The room was was surprisingly small for the talent that was going to show up. After the q&a, the room was cleared. You couldn't stay for panel to panel. I walked out of the room and a series of lines ran from the hallway to the lobby. Polling people in the lines, no one knew if they were in the right place.

Went back to the booth for a while to try to get the passing crowds from the panels to no avail. Went to the waxwork panel (in a different room than the main panels) that was supposed to start at 4, but Ed gale was just starting his Chucky panel. Turns out no one told him he was scheduled so he was late.

After his panel, one with Deborah foreman and zach galigan was supposed to start but they weren't there. Other guests had to go down and tell them there was a panel. They finally showed and it was great. Following was supposed to be a trio of horror icons, but again no show due to no communication. Only 1 ended showing up an hour later. The monster squad panel was (maybe) cancelled. I didn't stick around to find out.

At this point I hear rumbling that the other con location was shut down by the fire marshal and that people were locked in rooms and others were being turned away. I was shocked. Others were so confused by a lack of communication or maps, they didn't know where anything was. Potential customers that couldn't find they're way or weren't allowed in. Great. No full programs were available. All registration was at the kicc location so most didn't come over to the galt side.

Didn't make it to the panels I most wanted, didn't many books. Vendors in the kicc seemed to have more traffic, but I heard one author beg "I've only sold 2 books..." It was not just me, others were somehow being affected by the cons disorganization.

A bunch of celebrities were a no show. Times were completely wrong. Major events were cancelled with no warning. Zero communication. Celebrities showed up when they wanted and left when they wanted. Misinformation was spread by the volunteers. The complaints started to pour in on Facebook http://www.reddit.com/r/Louisville/c...st_complaints/

While clearing out my booth Sunday, a petition was going around to provoke change. 3 pages were already filled. Again, I was not the only one who had these experiences. As both a fan and a vendor, it was a complete disaster.

Lots more to the story than I wish to continue to list here. These are just my observations, I'm sure some had a great time.

[kevinbellamy]

Thats heartbreaking.
I actually thought this year was a vast improvement over 2012 but using two buildings did seem to add a lot of confusion. I was lost there at first with no idea where to go.

I did pass by your table on Saturday but no one was there.

[shredking9000]

Originally Posted by Adcatalano

A review.

I went back and forth about doing a write up on my experience at the Fright Night Film Fest/Fandom Fest/several other titles encompassing a large horror, sci fi, comic book, anime, toy, and gaming convention. I did so much shameless self promotion I felt I should post my misadventure.

When my screenplay got into the writing competition, I considering getting a booth to try to raise money for a short based on the feature length script. I heard negative things about the previour years con, so i was hesistant. I then got really sick for 3 months, and on the other side I had a newfound sense of excitement and urgency to go ahead with my idea. I booked the con and began months of preparation.

In the weeks leading up to the convention, I frequently checked the various websites. At this point my first concerns were raised but I dismissed them. The websites would often have broken parts. Schedules would be posted, disappear, replaced with something else, disappear, etc etc. Thursday night the program was finally uploaded in QR code but it had so much traffic that the host shut it down. A foreshadowing of things to come.

Thursday my wife I moved into our booth. All we were provided was an uncovered, beat up wooden table... No cover, no barriers between tables. We rented table clothes for cheap for the Galt House (one of the con locations and host hotel), so all was well. We got everything ready and were excited and good to go. I looked at my vendor badge and noticed the times were listed differently than the vendor packet we previously received.

Friday I woke up to find the program was fixed. I downloaded it, reviewed it, and was set. We got to the booth early, made final preparation, and sat anxiously for 4:00. People drifted in as early as 3:45, while many vendors were still setting up. The booth next to us, Thong Girl, was a no show that day. Guest traffic picked up and I sold 4 books in the first 3-4 hours. Slow, but making progress and talking to people. I had a genuine smile the entire time. We wrapped for the night and had a bright outlook for the sure to be busy Saturday.

Also on Friday I talked to Fred Dekker, super nice guy and he had original rolled one sheets from Monster Squad. I stood in line 90 minutes to get Stan Lee's autograph out of the way (took so long because his photo op started 1/2 hour late - another sign of this to come). I spent about 5 seconds with Stan, he signed and I shook his hand and was herded off. Only now, after the con did I find out cgc reps were there and that I could have gotten a signature slab. No info on this was provided prior or during the con (lots of my fault, some of the con, some of wild storm comics).

Saturday we got to the booth. Lots more traffic and an early sell. Then six hours of nothing. Decent traffic, some talking, zero buying interest. Thong Girl decided to show up and they stuffed 5 people into a 1-2 person booth. They often blocked my booth. My smile disappeared. I was disappointed and needed to get a way for a little bit. I accepted the fact my plan wasn't going to be a success so I decided I was going to go ahead with my fallback plan - enjoy the con as a fan. Another 5 copies sold wasn't going to as satisfying as seeing people I admire.

The first panel was a history of the power rangers. It was nothing more than 2 unprepared fans rambling about the series. Then was Jason David Frank's q&a. It was amazing and inspirationa, but there was no moderation which i thought unusuall. The room was was surprisingly small for the talent that was going to show up. After the q&a, the room was cleared. You couldn't stay for panel to panel. I walked out of the room and a series of lines ran from the hallway to the lobby. Polling people in the lines, no one knew if they were in the right place.

Went back to the booth for a while to try to get the passing crowds from the panels to no avail. Went to the waxwork panel (in a different room than the main panels) that was supposed to start at 4, but Ed gale was just starting his Chucky panel. Turns out no one told him he was scheduled so he was late.

After his panel, one with Deborah foreman and zach galigan was supposed to start but they weren't there. Other guests had to go down and tell them there was a panel. They finally showed and it was great. Following was supposed to be a trio of horror icons, but again no show due to no communication. Only 1 ended showing up an hour later. The monster squad panel was (maybe) cancelled. I didn't stick around to find out.

At this point I hear rumbling that the other con location was shut down by the fire marshal and that people were locked in rooms and others were being turned away. I was shocked. Others were so confused by a lack of communication or maps, they didn't know where anything was. Potential customers that couldn't find they're way or weren't allowed in. Great. No full programs were available. All registration was at the kicc location so most didn't come over to the galt side.

Didn't make it to the panels I most wanted, didn't many books. Vendors in the kicc seemed to have more traffic, but I heard one author beg "I've only sold 2 books..." It was not just me, others were somehow being affected by the cons disorganization.

A bunch of celebrities were a no show. Times were completely wrong. Major events were cancelled with no warning. Zero communication. Celebrities showed up when they wanted and left when they wanted. Misinformation was spread by the volunteers. The complaints started to pour in on Facebook http://www.reddit.com/r/Louisville/c...st_complaints/

While clearing out my booth Sunday, a petition was going around to provoke change. 3 pages were already filled. Again, I was not the only one who had these experiences. As both a fan and a vendor, it was a complete disaster.

Lots more to the story than I wish to continue to list here. These are just my observations, I'm sure some had a great time.

Sorry to hear that it didn't pan out the way you'd hoped. I haven't gone to any horror fests/cons as I tend to avoid crowds (aside from concerts,) but I've read plenty of horror stories about them. Poor organization and (in some cases,) snooty celebrities seem to be a common theme.

[kevinbellamy]

I'm a little burnt out on them honestly. I think this weekend made the 18th convention Ive attended. Theyre becoming more popular it seems or maybe that's just the result of The Walking Dead?

[MTRodaba2468]

From everything I've been seeing online, I'm apparently in the minority, in that my overall experience of the con was positive. While I didn't get to meet the Firefly cast (which was the only thing I was looking forward to that I missed out on), I did see their Q&A, along with John Barrowman's, and I met Barrowman, Brian O'Halloran, Joey Lauren Adams, Kane Hodder, Fred Dekker, Ashley Bank, Al Snow and Michael Rooker, getting autographs and photos with all of them (with Barrowman not only signing an autograph for my brother for his birthday, but also signing my Torchwood Blu-Ray box set for free). I also met Jerry from Synapse at their booth and talked to him a little bit, and added some horror shirts and movies to my collection.

I do agree that the con was VERY disorganized, and I think it was more luck on my end that I wasn't affected by the disorganization as much as other patrons. It was quite annoying having to spend two hours attempting to figure out where the Firefly Q&A was being moved to (eventually, me and this woman I met there managed to work together and eventually find someone that knew where it was), along with the photo ops being oversold and moved around. During Barrowman's Q&A, he commented on the disorganization, stating that if those that had paid for a photo op with him were unable to do so due to the rescheduling, they needed to go to the organizers and DEMAND their money back (to huge applause, very telling).

I've heard it wasn't as bad in previous years, and overall, I did enjoy my time there. So I'm going to take a wait and see approach. I'm going to see whom will be there next year (apparently, I shouldn't expect anyone that was here this year to show up next year, especially not Barrowman or Colin Baker). If there's anyone that I REALLY want to see, I'll consider going. But if it's on par with how it was this year, or worse, I'll forgo going to future ones.