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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Ian Smith (this IS a personal web site and a PERSONAL report!) and do not reflect the views and opinions of any other organisations or clubs that Ian Smith belongs to or may be involved with. Specifically this article does not purport to represent in any shape or form the views or opinions of TheOneRing.net or the Official Lord of the Rings Movie Fan Club or any of its members.
In early November I contacted RingCon's organisers to say that I probably wouldn't be attending their event this year. The event coincided with my final weekend before 'the trip of a lifetime' to New Zealand and my last week of a four year contract with an important client. I felt I was burning the candle at both ends and reasoned that it was probably better to write off the convention fee costs and air fares I'd paid out rather than risk another 'Collectormania 4' situation of endless hassle and stress for very little reward. More importantly I did not want to find myself burnt with no sleep, risking flu or some other sickness as I got on the plane to New Zealand five days after RingCon 2003 ended. The Ring*Con organisers persuaded me to change my mind, assuring me I would have a better experience than I'd had at Collectormania 4. This assurance, and a free press pass for an assistant to help me out, persuaded me to change my mind. I'm so glad I did. To summarise the following 'verbal diarrhoea' (Hi Reiner! ;-)): this was the most fun event I've attended in a long, long time. Ring*Con 2003 rocked - big time! And to think that I almost missed out on it!
Last year I had been lucky enough to hook up with Leo from TheOneRing.net, and he had been able to cover me in terms of looking after photographic gear from a vantage point on the ballroom balcony, while I kept ducking down to the main stage to take pictures. Leo was busy this year with a small film crew making the Ringers fan documentary and so I asked an old friend and former work colleague, Reiner Harth, to assist me this year. It is thanks to his efforts that this year there are panel transcripts and that I got to understand some of the things that were being said in German.
		Before I charge fully into this report just one point worth making: I get more than a few emails saying they wish the pictures around these web log reports had captions. They do! Each page here tells you (admittedly lost in all the copyright and disclaimer nonsense at the top of the page) that if you move your mouse over a picture the appropriate caption appears. I do it this way rather than as an always visible text caption because it takes less time to do it this way and frees up room for more photo's on the page! From what I've seen, outsiders often look at events like Ring*Con, see the rather 'C list' movie guest names, note the abundance of people in costumes, and think 'uho! sad freaks', wondering what the appeal of such an event can be. I think Reiner probably fell into this category and it's the best recommendation I can give for Ring*Con that by the end of the event he was asking if he could assist at Ring*Con 2004 and talking about possibly attending the Star Trek convention that FedCon, co-organisers of RingCon, were promoting! Enough said! I often worry that these weblogs have become so high profile now that I'm getting a very jaundiced, and untypical, view of these events. As an 'official reporter' for the fan club magazine I'm no longer experiencing what the typical attendee experiences. All I can say, in my defence, is that I pay for my own ticket to these events even although free press tickets are always offered, and do my best to assess each event on a 'value for money' basis. I also talk to friends to get their impressions. This year I spoke to several first-time attendees who had not only had to pay the convention fees but flights too. All were enthusiastic about the event and glad they'd come. I mention this early in this report because one very negative report was published back in early December (I've lost the URL, sorry!). All I can say, by way of response, is that if you're attending this convention as a fan of just one cast member, expecting them to spend extensive quality time with you personally then this is NOT the event for you. I was annoyed that the reporter described the event as a 'money making rip off' - clearly they have no idea of what it costs to stage an event like this, taking over an expensive hotel, flying in guests and providing free autographs for all attendees. Whilst organisations will always try and make a profit on an event (well duh!) I can only say that I think Ring*Con 2003 represented incredible value for money. That comes from someone who paid air fares from the UK, hotel and convention fee and spent most of the time 'working', so there! That being said, it is only fair to add a slight note of warning about RingCon 2004: neither The Tolkien Society of Germany in the shape of Marcel Bulles, nor Stefan Servos from the movie fan site are involved in organising this year's event, with their 'marketing partner' Fed Con now having taken over completely. I think this is a great shame, but time will tell if it has any real impact on this year's event. I understand that Stefan is talking at this year's RingCon so hopefully the departure of the two 'founders' of this event will not have a negative impact on this year's event! Anyway, moving swiftly on to RingCon 2003... Wanting as hassle free a trip as possible I arrived the day before registration this year late in the evening. Reiner and I went to the bar for a drink and made the mistake of not saying 'Hi' to Sala, Lawrence and the rest of the guests who were gathered around the main bar. I did say a quick 'Hi' to Colleen Doran, who I felt I knew well enough to do so without appearing like a groupie, but in doing so committed a faux pas where Sala Baker (a lovely guy) thought I was deliberately ignoring him. The truth is I don't like intruding on the 'private time' of the cast and crew. When I'm representing a publication (as I was here) I often try and get 'special access' to the guests at the event, but the night before an event kicks off does not strike me as the appropriate time to do this. Many of the organisers were in the bar and Marc B Lee, who has enough energy and enthusiasm to light up the planet, rushed up and insisted on giving Reiner and I a personal tour of the venue. If you're reading this Marc I appreciate your taking significant time out from having a drink with friends to give us the lowdown on everything that was going on. Thank you! For me the tour was an eye-opener - hundreds of volunteers everywhere, beavering away to get things ready in time in what to the outsider looked like total chaos. The organisers had, very generously and in response to the concerns I'd raised over the treatement I'd had at Collectormania 4, given us 'Access all areas' passes, including the party rooms and although it was interesting to see 'behind the scenes' the night before the event I didn't use the pass for the backstage area or the party rooms during the event because I think doing so makes it even harder to give a report that represents what attending this event is like for the typical attendee. Nevertheless the pass meant I had a special advantage in being able to leave equipment in the balcony area and move around freely, without which I wouldn't have been able to get the transcripts that appear here, or many of the photographs. So thanks guys! Friday was a bright and early start (or felt like it) with registration. Check-in was fast and efficient although it was worrying to see my name, alone out of two pages of press names, emphasised in bold type on the printout. "That means you're the most important" a friend said, clearly impressed. I tried to bask in the glory of this compliment, ignoring the voice inside me that was saying 'What the bold text really says is "Warning: Primadonna and trouble maker. Be careful and make sure you don't upset him!"! Click here for next page of report (page 2) Click here for index of Ring*Con 2003 reports
Don't forget you can check out reports of lots of other Lord of the Rings -themed events in the Web Logs section

Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk