by Hayley Charlesworth
Last weekend marked the inaugural Film and Comic Con Manchester, the newest addition to the Showmasters convention family. But with Manchester already having the popular MCM Manchester Comic Con in July, is there space in this city for another event? I’m With Geek went along to find out.
The short answer to that question is yes. Film and Comic Con Manchester attracted a smaller crowd, but this can easily be explained by its freshman status. A large venue and well-organised event means that FCCM has plenty of potential to expand in coming years, and even with this first event, they were able to attract some huge names, including horror legend Robert Englund, Red Dwarf’s Craig Charles, Lance Henriksen, David Hewlett, and a whole host of Doctor Who stars. While there was only a small showing for comic artists, and the event did not have the variety of independent comics available that MCM does, the event was an impressive enough first outing to attract more comic names in the future.
Last weekend marked the inaugural Film and Comic Con Manchester, the newest addition to the Showmasters convention family. But with Manchester already having the popular MCM Manchester Comic Con in July, is there space in this city for another event? I’m With Geek went along to find out.
The short answer to that question is yes. Film and Comic Con Manchester attracted a smaller crowd, but this can easily be explained by its freshman status. A large venue and well-organised event means that FCCM has plenty of potential to expand in coming years, and even with this first event, they were able to attract some huge names, including horror legend Robert Englund, Red Dwarf’s Craig Charles, Lance Henriksen, David Hewlett, and a whole host of Doctor Who stars. While there was only a small showing for comic artists, and the event did not have the variety of independent comics available that MCM does, the event was an impressive enough first outing to attract more comic names in the future.
Given the guests attending, this particular event was very focused on genre film and television, and an intimate talk area let fans get up and personal with some of their favourite stars. Agents of Shield and Castle’s Maya Stojan, probably better known to you as Agent 33, let slip a few details about her challenging role in the action packed series compared to her Castle character. “On Castle I played this tech expert. I wanted this to show my fans that I can do something different, and I wanted Cara to not just be perceived as this bad person, because that’s not who she is. She has this vulnerability. She got brainwashed. I wanted that to come through, that she’s not just a baddie.”
As for if she acquired anything from set? “I went to a costume fitting, and they give you underwear and bras, nothing you wear is your own. And I went home with their bra, and had to make that phone call to say ‘I’m sorry, I took your bra. I will return it!’ That was embarrassing, but I gave the bra back.”
Craig Charles, as always, was an entertaining speaker who commanded the audience at his panel, even though he’d travelled through the night from Brighton and was a little hungover. “I don’t really have favourite [Red Dwarf] episodes,” he admitted. “I have favourite scenes. I did like Back to Reality, but if you look back at Back to Reality, there’s not that many laughs in it. It’s just a really good, clever story. I’ve got favourite scenes, like where Kryten’s trying to get my shrinking boxer shorts off me.” That infamous scene, in fact, caused a few problems in filming. “The live audience were laughing so much that we were screaming our lines at each other and we still couldn’t hear what each of us were saying. I had to wait until Robert’s [Llewelyn] lips stopped to talk, then he had to wait until my lips stopped.”
On the recently announced Red Dwarf XI and XII, Charles remained tight-lipped. “I could tell you, but I’d have to take a machine gun to you. I’m sworn to secrecy…It’s slightly daunting. Red Dwarf X went really well, we went back to the way I wanted to do it which was in front of a live audience. I’m really looking forward to [the new episodes]. I’ve seen some of the scripts, proper funny. We’re all raring to go. And the reason we’re doing XI and XII back to back is, let’s face it, pretty soon I’m gonna be like Captain Kirk in a toupee, boldly going in my pants, getting wheeled onto the stage. We’re trying to get as many done as we can while we’ve still got memories.” There’s no hope for a Red Dwarf movie either, with Charles preferring to just continue making episodes, and as he says, “Galaxy Quest is the Red Dwarf movie, they just beat us to it.” And for those of you wondering which his favourite Robot Wars robot was, we have the answer. It’s Hypno-Disc.
As for if she acquired anything from set? “I went to a costume fitting, and they give you underwear and bras, nothing you wear is your own. And I went home with their bra, and had to make that phone call to say ‘I’m sorry, I took your bra. I will return it!’ That was embarrassing, but I gave the bra back.”
Craig Charles, as always, was an entertaining speaker who commanded the audience at his panel, even though he’d travelled through the night from Brighton and was a little hungover. “I don’t really have favourite [Red Dwarf] episodes,” he admitted. “I have favourite scenes. I did like Back to Reality, but if you look back at Back to Reality, there’s not that many laughs in it. It’s just a really good, clever story. I’ve got favourite scenes, like where Kryten’s trying to get my shrinking boxer shorts off me.” That infamous scene, in fact, caused a few problems in filming. “The live audience were laughing so much that we were screaming our lines at each other and we still couldn’t hear what each of us were saying. I had to wait until Robert’s [Llewelyn] lips stopped to talk, then he had to wait until my lips stopped.”
On the recently announced Red Dwarf XI and XII, Charles remained tight-lipped. “I could tell you, but I’d have to take a machine gun to you. I’m sworn to secrecy…It’s slightly daunting. Red Dwarf X went really well, we went back to the way I wanted to do it which was in front of a live audience. I’m really looking forward to [the new episodes]. I’ve seen some of the scripts, proper funny. We’re all raring to go. And the reason we’re doing XI and XII back to back is, let’s face it, pretty soon I’m gonna be like Captain Kirk in a toupee, boldly going in my pants, getting wheeled onto the stage. We’re trying to get as many done as we can while we’ve still got memories.” There’s no hope for a Red Dwarf movie either, with Charles preferring to just continue making episodes, and as he says, “Galaxy Quest is the Red Dwarf movie, they just beat us to it.” And for those of you wondering which his favourite Robot Wars robot was, we have the answer. It’s Hypno-Disc.
When it came to the legendary Robert Englund, he was particularly passionate about his horror idols, much like the passion his fans have for Freddy Kruger. “I really like Karloff, and Klaus Kinski as Nosferatu. I’ve sort of sidled my way into Vincent Price’s shoes post-Freddy, playing the old torturer, the old scientist, the old professor. Always somebody old. I try to work in a little Terence Howard, and a little Max von Sydow. I like hearing my name mentioned with those icons.”
But it was not just the horror greats of the past that Englund enthuses on. He is, in fact, a huge fan of both Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen’s turns as Hannibal Lecter, and the TV series Penny Dreadful. “Right now my must-see horror is Penny Dreadful. It’s what I think a mash-up should be, aside from the fact that I can see Billie Piper naked. I love the writing on that show.” He also revealed his excitement about the latest innovations in future horror classics such as It Follows, and scientific horror like Ex Machina. “[Oscar Isaac] has taken the mad scientist to probably the best it can be. The mad scientist meets Steve Jobs.” He even gave his own thoughts on the recent remake of Nightmare on Elm Street, praising the performances but blaming both the confused opening and the release coinciding with the deluxe blu-ray boxset of the original movies for its poor return. “
They re-shot the opening at great expense. I like the opening, but it casts the whole story under a dark cloud. The original film meets the kids before they are tainted, only Nancy has a little suspicion. We need to go through that process where we see them become fatigued and exhausted. [In the new film] they are already fatigued and exhausted when the movie starts, we never see them happy-go-lucky, and we need to invest emotionally with these kids before Freddy starts to knock them off.” But perhaps the most enthralling part of Englund’s talk was his detailing of the Nightmare on Elm Street prequel that sadly never happened. “It opens with the child killings, and Freddy gets caught, with the parents turning him over to the police. He’s in jail for most of the movie, and the stars are the lawyers who get him out. The horrible, ambulance chasing lawyers who get Freddy out. Then Freddy’s released, he kills again, and the parents burn him alive. That would have been fun to do.”
But it was not just the horror greats of the past that Englund enthuses on. He is, in fact, a huge fan of both Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen’s turns as Hannibal Lecter, and the TV series Penny Dreadful. “Right now my must-see horror is Penny Dreadful. It’s what I think a mash-up should be, aside from the fact that I can see Billie Piper naked. I love the writing on that show.” He also revealed his excitement about the latest innovations in future horror classics such as It Follows, and scientific horror like Ex Machina. “[Oscar Isaac] has taken the mad scientist to probably the best it can be. The mad scientist meets Steve Jobs.” He even gave his own thoughts on the recent remake of Nightmare on Elm Street, praising the performances but blaming both the confused opening and the release coinciding with the deluxe blu-ray boxset of the original movies for its poor return. “
They re-shot the opening at great expense. I like the opening, but it casts the whole story under a dark cloud. The original film meets the kids before they are tainted, only Nancy has a little suspicion. We need to go through that process where we see them become fatigued and exhausted. [In the new film] they are already fatigued and exhausted when the movie starts, we never see them happy-go-lucky, and we need to invest emotionally with these kids before Freddy starts to knock them off.” But perhaps the most enthralling part of Englund’s talk was his detailing of the Nightmare on Elm Street prequel that sadly never happened. “It opens with the child killings, and Freddy gets caught, with the parents turning him over to the police. He’s in jail for most of the movie, and the stars are the lawyers who get him out. The horrible, ambulance chasing lawyers who get Freddy out. Then Freddy’s released, he kills again, and the parents burn him alive. That would have been fun to do.”
The ever-delightful Eve Myles was thrown a little off-guard by her first question, about a particularly raunchy story involving her and John Barrowman in Germany. “We did dance naked in Germany and got caught. And everybody in the hotel opposite, that we didn’t know was there, saw.” While a fifth series of Torchwood is not yet in the pipeline, she is already busy recording some new audio adventures. But that didn’t stop her musing on what would happen in her ideal future episodes. “When the cast do conventions all over the world, it’s very obvious that we’re all keen to do a series five, because the fans are still keeping it alive. I think the best is yet to come. The thing is, with Torchwood it can be set anywhere and in any time, and I think it’d be cool to have dream sequences in season five. Then we could have everybody back: Susie, Owen, Toshiko and Ianto. I’d like it to be another five-parter event week, because there was a special vibe about that with Children of Earth. Or setting it in Sydney, Australia, with zombie surf dudes. They could be naked! I know for a fact John Barrowman will be up for that series.” Myles’ talk ended on a serious note, when a fan asked her about her recent fundraising efforts. For details of Myles and co-star Kai Owen’s charity work, please visit Eve and Kai’s Nightmare.
It was a meeting of the old and the new on the Doctor Who panel, as Sophie Aldred (Ace) and John Leeson (K-9) were joined by Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) and Samuel Anderson (Danny Pink), along with props man Matt Irvine. On the Doctors other than their own that each actor would like to work with, John Leeson was left with only a few to choose from, though he is keen to work with Peter Capaldi, saying “I love energetic actors because I’m such a torpid one. He’s fantastic.” Aldred picked Jon Pertwee, her reasoning being, “I have this theory that the first Doctor you ever see, you fall in love with.”
Meanwhile, Camille Coduri is keen to “slap Peter Capaldi about”, and Anderson is a big fan of the War Doctor. As for if we can see a return for any of the characters, Anderson is doubtful about Danny Pink, saying “I didn’t expect to be back for the Christmas special.” Coduri, having returned a number of times already, thinks Jackie’s current goodbye is final, and while Aldred’s planned appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures sadly didn’t come to pass, she is still recording Big Finish audio dramas. As for K-9, it surely isn’t long until Leeson voices the lovable robot again.
While there were few independent comics vendors, there was a whole host of merchandise stalls for a variety of fans, from portraits of legendary wrestlers, to signed artwork, to customised jewellery, and even fudge! Due to the large venue, the stalls were very well spaced to prevent overcrowding and that distinct comic con sweat smell. The downside to this is, of course, even though there was a reasonably large crowd in attendance, the place often looked empty. And the entire venue space, at Manchester’s Event City near the Trafford Centre wasn’t even used. The venue is a good investment for the growth of the event in the future, and perhaps in a few years’ time, Film and Comic Con Manchester could become the primary event of its type in Manchester.
It was a meeting of the old and the new on the Doctor Who panel, as Sophie Aldred (Ace) and John Leeson (K-9) were joined by Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) and Samuel Anderson (Danny Pink), along with props man Matt Irvine. On the Doctors other than their own that each actor would like to work with, John Leeson was left with only a few to choose from, though he is keen to work with Peter Capaldi, saying “I love energetic actors because I’m such a torpid one. He’s fantastic.” Aldred picked Jon Pertwee, her reasoning being, “I have this theory that the first Doctor you ever see, you fall in love with.”
Meanwhile, Camille Coduri is keen to “slap Peter Capaldi about”, and Anderson is a big fan of the War Doctor. As for if we can see a return for any of the characters, Anderson is doubtful about Danny Pink, saying “I didn’t expect to be back for the Christmas special.” Coduri, having returned a number of times already, thinks Jackie’s current goodbye is final, and while Aldred’s planned appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures sadly didn’t come to pass, she is still recording Big Finish audio dramas. As for K-9, it surely isn’t long until Leeson voices the lovable robot again.
While there were few independent comics vendors, there was a whole host of merchandise stalls for a variety of fans, from portraits of legendary wrestlers, to signed artwork, to customised jewellery, and even fudge! Due to the large venue, the stalls were very well spaced to prevent overcrowding and that distinct comic con sweat smell. The downside to this is, of course, even though there was a reasonably large crowd in attendance, the place often looked empty. And the entire venue space, at Manchester’s Event City near the Trafford Centre wasn’t even used. The venue is a good investment for the growth of the event in the future, and perhaps in a few years’ time, Film and Comic Con Manchester could become the primary event of its type in Manchester.
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