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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, the Official Lord of the Rings Movie Fan Club or any of its members or of the organisers and workers behind Ring*Con 2004.
Ring*Con, the annual European fan convention held in Bonn, Germany, was back for its third year. This time round the attendance numbers were significantly higher than in previous years, possibly thanks to the appearance of 'one of the hobbits' (cue loud screams). Would the increase in numbers, and the addition of actor Billy Boyd prove to be 'a reach too far' for what has been the biggest and best annual convention, albeit one that has had to do without the 'big hitters' from the movie until now? Read on....
The larger numbers were immediately noticeable in the hotel on my (delayed) arrival on the Thursday night. Last year the hotel bar had been quiet with just the convention guests and a few of the organisers sat around quietly drinking. This year there were fans everywhere and the hotel bar was already pretty busy. Next morning the growth was even more obvious with long queues of people streaming in to the registration desks, seemingly for the whole of the day. That being said, the Maritim must be like Dr Who's TARDIS because aside from the occasional glitch it really wasn't that apparent in the main hall or the party areas in the evening that things were any less comfortable than they had been in the past. So, for me at least, there may have been more people but the Maritim was more than able to cope, assuming you turn the usual blind eye to the problems with trying to get breakfast buffet food that has run out, a coffee or even a smile from the restaurant staff, which has always been a problem at this hotel and would, one suspects, still be a problem if there were just 25 people in attendance! In fact the bar service this year, at the parties in the evening, seemed faster, less cramped and friendlier than it has been before (maybe I just found a better spot each night?) - kudos to the hotel's bar staff, whoever they were, for remaining smiley and fun throughout all the party madness (and yes I got rather drunk most nights, but not that drunk that all critical faculties left me :-P)
		Coverage is going to be less than usual, and slower than usual, this year, partly because I feel I've said most of what needs to be said in my reports on earlier events, and partly because I have more urgent priorities than 'blogging' in my (so-called) 'real' life right now. If you want to just look at the pictures and get an overall impression, let me just say that I felt Ring*Con pulled off another fantastic event and did nothing to sully their already excellent reputation, at least where I'm concerned. It may be bigger. It may be slightly less personal. But it's just as good an event as it's always been (You can stop reading now :-)). This was the first year the original 'architects' of Ring*Con - Stefan Servos from the German movie web site and Marcel Bulles from the German Tolkien Society - had decided to step back and reduce their involvement in the event and certainly Stefan and Marcel looked considerably less stressed than when I've seen them in previous years, and appeared to be having as good a time as I was. Both turned out to be the most fun guys to hang out with in the bar in the evenings. One of the highlights of this year's trip for me was getting to meet Marcel away from the stage area - he is not only one of the more intelligent and erudite fans (of the book) I've met but also, to quote an old Monty Python song, 'a bugger when he's pissed' (in case non-native English speakers are wondering, that's a compliment!). He was a fun guy (I feel I should get a joke about hobbit mushrooms in there somewhere, but am too tired to bother!). Front-of-house things seemed much as they always are here. Lots of costumes - probably even more than in past years. Lots of people appearing to have lots of fun, with the occasional minor gripe about something that really isn't that important when viewing the convention experience as a whole (queueing for autographs is always going to be what you have to do anywhere in the world, as is having to pay towards the cost of something that hasn't come for free!). I had the same admission problems I always have (the change in press officer late in the day was probably the cause this time round) but at the end of the day problems can't be avoided when an event is this large and this popular, and what matters is that problems are dealt with appropriately and quickly. In my case whenever I hit a problem and asked that it be fixed it was, and quickly. And that's really all that matters! I was a lot lazier in attending program events this year. With the Official Fan Club Magazine deciding to adjust its editorial policy on coverage of these sorts of events I had the excuse I needed to just chill out and relax a bit more, and spent more time this con hanging out with friends, old and new, which probably explains why I felt this was my best Ring*Con experience yet. I've always tended to focus on the panels in these reports - what the actors have to say is always what's attracted me, and what best fills a magazine article - but this year even the actor panels became less of a priority. It's some measure of how many of these events I've attended I guess when I choose to miss a high profile actor's panel to talk with a couple of friends where two years ago I'd have made sure I was in my seat half an hour before that same actor's talk had begun! It's important to at least note here that my Ring*Con experience may be very different from yours, and as in the past, this weblog represents what I was interested in at the event rather than comprehensive coverage of all that was going on. So, anyway... a quick review of the Friday panels first.... Friday had the most panels, and was therefore of the most interest, albeit with a couple of panels from people I'd class as 'extra's rather than actors. If there is a problem in the Ring*Con panel system it's that guests with little real experience of the movie shoot, or with limited screen time, often struggle to have enough interesting stories to tell to fill fifteen minutes, let alone the hour that the Ring*Con format makes them endure on stage. The UK's Fellowship Festival event addressed this problem by grouping such guests together so that they could help each other out, and I feel this would work better in certain cases for Ring*Con too. Mark Ferguson and Craig Parker are a prime example of 'the exception that proves the rule' in that their panels are for many people the highlight of each year's event. But it's unfair and unrealistic to expect the same talent and professionalism from everybody else with limited screen time or only the role of 'extra' on their acting cv. The first panel was hosted by Jarl and Jorn Benzon. For me this panel didn't really work - I just felt there was no real 'meat' to the panel and that the brothers don't have the natural ability or confidence to entertain or perform that would make their hour onstage more interesting to the average movie fan. These guys work hard behind the scenes at these conventions, and have built up a growing fan base through being ultra-friendly and working every hour of the day at the conventions they attend - but answering questions or performing on stage is not their forté. It felt a bit like asking your best mate to stand on stage for an hour and 'perform' despite having no history of being able to do so. I suspected there would be more of the same from Sandro Kopp on his panel, and was pretty much resigned to a second rather dull hour. The name is relatively new to me and, I suspect, to most of you reading this report. I was aware that he had a fan site, had been an extra, and was an artist but had no real idea who he was and suspected he would struggle to fill an hour. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was impressed with the way he filled an hour in an animated and seemingly interesting way and could presumably have gone on for several more hours if need be. I say 'seemingly' and 'presumably' because unfortunately (for me and the other small percentage of attendees who don't speak German) I didn't understand a word of it. A German friend says it was a very good panel and indeed the attendees seemed to love it. Unfortunately I missed the start of Paul 'The King of the Dead' Norrell's panel because it conflicted with one Tolkien lecture I really wanted to hear. The one aspect of the movies I am 100% happy with is Howard Shore's music, so a lecture entitled 'Soundtrack - Pearls Before Swine' (which is the way I've felt when people start clapping in the wrong places whenever Howard's symphony is performed - just call me a snob!) was a 'must see'. Unfortunately I'd misunderstood the title and the talk was an intellectual one about the lyrics and how much work had gone into them. I'm not an academic or linguist so ducked out of that lecture to catch what remained of Paul's panel instead. I'm told that Paul was very nervous on stage when he started (he said later, when asked, that it had taken a while for the adrenaline to kick in) but by the time I got there - 10 minutes in - he had the audience completely in his control. A humble man, he was a great convention (his first) guest and quickly cottoned on to what conventions are about: 'have a good time, and the fans will have a good time with you'. His was another enjoyable panel that was warmly received. Click here for Page 2 of Report
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