LONDON FILM AND COMIC CON 2011

Oh what fun. It's definitely convention fever what with Kapow! popping it's cherry back in April and fan boy mecca San Diego kicking off on 21st July.

London Film and Comic Con 2011 sandwiches nicely between the two, held at London's Earls Court over the course of three days.

Now, I've been to a few conventions now, and I am happy to report that LFCC was, by far, the medal winner for star access and star turnout. Row upon row of desks, row upon row of stellar sci-fi and fantasy names, I honestly didn't have time to meet them all! The only exceptions to this rule were Doctor Who hot property Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston, who were strictly shepherded to and from the stage, with no brazen photo ops in between (unless you paid the princely sum of £15+).

It wasn't all pleasure for me though as I worked hard, running a live Twitter feed for all who couldn't attend, with as many of the juicy exclusives and surprise moments to come out of the panels that my typing ability would allow. Any faster and there may have been smoke.

My highlight's included:

• Voice of Doctor Who's K-9; John Leeson doing his finest K-9 for me
• Having Brent Spiner wave finger guns at me as we passed each other
• Singing 'Happy Birthday' (along with the rest of the audience) to Corey Feldman, who celebrated his 40th birthday on the day of his panel
• 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy showing me to my seat as I budged up to get closer to the action.
• The life size R2D2 replicas that were scooting around causing mischief 

Skunk Anansie's Skin has confirmed for our October event

WE RETURN ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 6TH TO KOMEDIA WITH TWO MORE GREAT GUESTS INCLUDING ROCK SINGER, DJ AND ICON – SKIN

A groundbreaking presence, Skin is one of Britain’s leading female rock singers, having made a huge impact with Skunk Anansie. She is also a fashion icon, a renowned DJ, a charity activist, and an inspiring role model for different generations of fans.

After giving up her career as an interior designer to write songs and devote herself to music, she played in bands in the London indie scene before forming Skunk Anansie. Within a year after their first gig, they were voted Best New British Band by the readers of Kerrang! In 1997 they were nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The latter 90s saw them dominating the UK album chart with their top twenty albums: Paranoid and Sunburnt, Stoosh and Post Orgasmic Chill. The decade saw them achieving ten top forty hit singles, including Weak and Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good). Skunk Anansie toured globally with such acts as U2, Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz, and headlined Glastonbury in 1999. In 2001, however, they split up.

Skin later launched a solo career, releasing and touring the albums Fleshwounds in 2003 and Fake Chemical State in 2006. Spawning the hit single Trashed, Fleshwounds was a pared-down, soulful album. Skunk Anansie reformed in 2009 and the same year they released a greatest hits album. In 2010, they recorded their fourth album, the sensual and funky Wonderlustre.

As well as fronting one of the UK’s key rock bands, Skin is a multi-talented artist involved in varied projects. She is also an established DJ, playing house and rock. She has modelled for top fashion designers, such as Alexander McQueen and Gucci. Skin does a lot of charity work, from The Medical Foundation and the Baobab Foundation, charities that focus on torture victims and asylum seekers.

www.skinmusic.net

www.skunkanansie.net

Chris Dickens & Andy Parfitt

Presented by Lisa Holloway, the highly acclaimed Space event returned with gusto and a powerful line-up of Oscar winning editor Chris Dickens and Controller of Radio 1, Andy Parfitt. What ensued was a clear juxtaposition of personalities, but also a convergence of determination to follow what comes naturally, demonstrating that success beyond your wildest dreams can be achieved…

The Space present Chris Dickens & Andy Parfitt: Review

• July 7th: Latest 7, by Steve Clements

"An essential event."

July's Event: Another Oscar calibre lineup

With two stellar guests, The Space is back with a bang after a little break. Well, we all need our beauty sleep, don't we?

Thursday 7th July / Komedia, Brighton

7.30pm / £8.50

Joining us on stage, we are very excited to welcome Oscar winning film editor Chris Dickens and BBC Radio 1 Controller Andy Parfitt for a unique and imtimate Q&A, Space style.

Film editor Chris Dickens’ credits include Slumdog Millionaire, for which he won an Oscar, the highly acclaimed Submarine, Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's comedy film Paul, Edgar Wright’s popular sitcom Spaced and The Comic Strip Presents.

BBC Radio 1 Controller Andy Parfitt has been in charge of the radio station since 1998. He is also responsible for 1Xtra, the new black music station, and the Asian Music Network.

Indiana Jones 30th Anniversary Event: Review

• April 17th: The Argus, by Paul Bradshaw

"With credits between them that include both the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, they wowed the crowd with stories of filming in 125-degree heat, where to go when you need 7,500 live snakes and how to melt the face of a Nazi henchman."

We are 5 years old!

 

Bravo to all involved in making The Space events the fabulously, highly acclaimed triumphs that they have become.

We would like to thank everyone who have played their part over the years, and especially to anyone who has attended one of the events, we do what we do, for you all.

Please remember that The Space is a 'not-for-profit' event and it is purely through ticket sales that we have survived this long. Well that, and lest we forget the amazing Wayne Imms; founder of The Space, his sheer determination, passion and organisational skills that warrant Indiana Jones: Raider's of the Lost Ark Art Director Norman Reynolds to hail: "Wayne, you deserve an Oscar".

Hear, hear! Three cheers to The Space team. May we all live long and creatively prosper.