#lfcc 2016

One convention that has come dangerously close to tipping off that high-wire act with its previous efforts is the London Film & Comic Con from Showmasters, held at the Olympia in the Capital, over the weekend of 29th-31st July. The headline event of its ever expanding roster of conventions across the UK, and two weeks after San Diego, the Summer edition of LFCC is always going to get its fair share of attention. Here, Neil Patel cast his opinion over the areas of London Film & Comic Con that caught his eye – especially the Comics Zone…

All pictures: (c) Neil Patel – check out the rest of Neil’s Flickr gallery for this event.

Neil Patel: If you ask anyone who’s been to London Film & Comic Con in recent years, chances are you’ll hear tales of a horror story. “It’s the worst con I’ve been to!” “I’m never going back there!” “Massive queues, cramped areas and the staff didn’t seem to know what they were doing!” Yet, for all the gripes, the event still manages to draw in the crowds. When I attended last year, I found I could hardly move on the First Floor as it was filled with various dealers and exhibitors on Friday.

This year was no different. Aside from the vast presence of actors and actresses from genre TV and film, Showmasters have been attempting to capitalise on various sectors of fandom with varying levels of success.

You end up ticking off the constituents that make up a modern comic con. Aside from a massive signing hall, there’s a Gaming Area (admittedly, which looked comparatively empty): check. A Young Adult Authors area: check. You want a Manga Zone, you got it! And finally, there’s the Comics Zone, which is run by comic writer Mike Conroy.

The Zone this year was made up of a mix of small press and indie exhibitors, featuring an impressive line up and including the likes of Todd Nauck, Steve Englehart, Mark Verheiden, Dave Johnson, Tim Truman and Dave Ross. These could be found alongside European creators such as David Baldeon, Ramon Rosanas and Ariel Olivetti, and alongside home grown talent which included Jamie Delano and Gary Frank.

Whilst at the show, I managed to speak to Dave Johnson, who talked quite candidly about his convention experiences. “My limited aspect of this show is, it’s not been too bad. Sizewise, it’s a pretty damn good show – yes, it’s more for the celebrities and other things, but I’ve been to worse and I’ve been to better so it’s right there in the middle, I guess.”

For regular convention goer, Leo Sunderland believed the show was “a vast improvement on last year as far as layout and organisation goes, while communication between organisers to creators and fans still needs work. I never thought I’d get to meet Takeshi Miyazawa so they delivered guest wise.”

The Comics Zone was very busy at times, especially on the Saturday, as JUDGE DREDD co-creator Carlos Ezquerra had attracted his usual large queue of dedicated fans, a queue which was non-stop as he signed and sketched for fans at a booth complete with props from the 2012 film. Aside from such attractions, there were also panels and talks by various creators. SPIDER-MAN / DOCTOR WHO cover artist Todd Nauck gave a lively talk about his craft as well as he revealing that he wanted to be an actor, had he not chosen the path to becoming a comics artist. Lucky for us, then!

Karen Berger, with Richard Bruning

This year also saw heralded the return of former Vertigo editor Karen Berger, attending not only to give portfolio reviews to eager creatives but also help promote the upcoming Image Comics mini-series, SURGEON X, which sees her much-anticipated return to editing duties and working alongside writer Sara Kenney and artist John Watkiss.

In a retrospective Vertigo panel, she spoke about the early days of the imprint of DC Comics, alongside the likes of Andy Diggle, Peter Hogan, Dave McKean, David Lloyd and Jamie Delano, and how the imprint changed all their lives. Berger regaled the audience with a couple of wonderful anecdotes, including the tale of how she and David Lloyd went out for drinks with friends during her talent-scouting visits to the UK in the ’80s – unfortunately, she often couldn’t get served because she didn’t have ID to hand!

This year, it seemed that Showmasters had listened to the various complaints leading up to the event, and that had reached boiling point on the various message boards and social media, and, in making efforts to tackle these issues, made sure that the convention itself felt a lot more spacious at the Olympia – I can say, from personal experience, these efforts were very welcome, amongst many con goers like myself.

Cosplayer: Alysia Magen

Mark Searby: “Nothing stokes the fire like a good reunion panel at a nerd convention, especially if it is to do with a much loved ’80s film or TV show! This year, Showmasters attempted to reunite the cast of the comedy crime franchise, BEVERLY HILLS COP. With Eddie Murphy occupied in completing his latest project, MR. CHURCH, and LFCC guest Bronson Pinchot (Serge) cancelling at the last minute, it was left to Steven Berkoff (Victor Maitland), John Ashton (Sgt. Taggart) and Judge Reinhold (Det. Rosewood) to regal the fans with stories from the films…”

All photo credits: Samantha Payne

Q: Have you done anything like this (a reunion panel) before?

Judge Reinhold: This is the first time in thirty years Jon and I have done anything like this. We have hung out together, but this is the first time we have every done anything [like this].

Q: When was the last time you all saw Steven [Berkoff]?

Judge Reinhold: Gosh!

John Ashton: I saw him a couple of weeks ago in Colorado, actually.

Steven Berkoff: I was there doing some climbing. It’s good for the arms, it keeps you fit and it’s good for the prostate!

Q: I read that originally Beverly Hills Cop wasn’t a comedy.

JR: Judge Reinhold: Rourke turned it down. It was a story of vengeance about a guy who is on the wrong side of the tracks in Detroit who comes to avenge the death of his friend. His friend is a young rookie…

  Q: That was going to be you?

Judge Reinhold: Yeah. I had to be approved by Sylvester Stallone because I was taller than him and he was Paramount’s biggest star. He re-wrote a crash sequence, a huge action sequence of Axel driving his messed up car into bits all the way down Rodeo Drive. Stallone re-writes this and that and [Paramount] say “No, we aren’t going to spend that much money on this movie.” However, they can’t say no to Stallone!

So Jeffrey Katzenberg goes to Stallone and says, “I know you are crazy about this movie but we have this movie called COBRA that we think is much better for you.” So, Stallone did that and suddenly I was out of a job because I had been cast with Stallone. I was really broken hearted about that! Then they meet with Eddie. There was one scene in 48 HOURS… the scene where he walks in and pretends to be the new sheriff in town. Marty [Brest, BHC’s director] called Jeffrey and said “That’s Axel Foley!” Suddenly I was back in the movie.

Q: Were you familiar with Eddie from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE?

Judge Reinhold: Oh yeah. He single handily saved SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE at nineteen years old! The show was terrible, the ratings were terrible, the writing was terrible and Lorne Michaels found Eddie Murphy at Catch A Rising Star nightclub at the age of nineteen and he single-handily brought that show out of the ratings toilet.

Q: Do you remember how you all came to be involved in the project?

John Ashton: I had done a play with Ed Harris called TRUE WEST. The New York casting director saw the play and called me and she said “John, I have nothing in this movie for you. But I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your performance in TRUE WEST.” A couple of weeks later – and, I guess, after all this stuff with Stallone which I didn’t know anything about – they called me to read the scene where I punch Eddie and that’s the only scene I ever read. They called me back two or three times and then, on the fifth call, they paired me up with Judge and wanted to see us together.

Judge Reinhold: It was a breeze.

John Ashton: Originally Taggart was meant to be this real Beverly Hills blonde hair good looking guy and they got some fat bald guy to do it. At the audition Judge came up to me and said “I hear we are reading together. What do you think to the script?” I said, “I haven’t read a script. I’ve only read one scene!” Hurriedly, in ten minutes, he tried to fill me in on what the story was about. We went and improvised and got the job!

Steven Berkoff: I was so fascinated with American movies and I was dying to be in them and, eventually, I found a job. I had been going around agents and producers and I had written a play in England called DECADENCE. We found a little slum-y theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard that seats about ninety people and I was doing that. By luck or chance, being in America, the casting agent was looking for the bad guy for BEVERLY HILLS COP. I happened to be there so I went for an interview with the director Martin Brest. I didn’t think I had much of a chance, it was all very casual. I said “That’s a funny title for a film – BEVERLY HILLS COP. Bit unimaginative.” He liked me!

That’s when I met Stallone. He was seated behind a desk with about twenty people. I sat there and I was amazed, here I was a simple limey from London and in front of me was one of the greatest stars of the universe. He had just made the colossal films of ROCKY. He said, “Nice to meet you. I like British actors because they have projection in their voice, they know how to speak from being on stage.” I said, “Well, they get that projection because the pubs close at eleven, so when you rush out of the theatre at ten thirty, you rush into the pub and say, ‘A PINT PLEASE!’” He found that a little bit amusing. Then I heard he wasn’t doing it so I lost the job. The director said, “We’ve changed the lead but it won’t affect your role.” I was sorry it didn’t work with Stallone, but working with Eddie Murphy was an experience unlike no other. So, in the end, it came out well.

John Ashton: If I can add to that. Martin Brest who directed BEVERLY HILLS COP, he also directed me in MIDNIGHT RUN, I just want everyone to know what a terrific director Marty Brest is. He gave us the freedom to create our characters and a lot of the stuff that’s in that movie was not in the script and Marty let us improvise. I can’t say enough about Marty. A lot of the quotes [in the films] were improvised. There is one in the car where Judge said, “Boy, you know it says here that by the time the average American is fifty, he’s got five pounds of undigested red meat in his bowels.” I said, “Why are you telling me this?”

Judge Reinhold: It’s the best reading in the movie. He slowly turns to me and says “What makes you think… I would possibly want to know that?” I loved it!

John Ashton: That wasn’t in the script. Marty just let us run with it!

Judge Reinhold: We hadn’t met Steven and everyday Marty would say “Wait till ya see this guy I’ve found. He’s so evil! Wait till you see this guy!”We shot more film than any other film in the history of Paramount. It’s hard to believe but we had multiple cameras all the time. We did do multiple takes and a lot of great stuff. But he [Martin Brest] really sweated it. I forgot to say: Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson protected him. They really really fought for him. We got nothing but encouragement from those two guys.

This summer’s London Film & Comic-Con featured a number of panels with some high-profile names from the big screen; one of the smaller – yet, no less interesting – Q&A panels was with NAPOLEON DYNAMITE himself, Jon Heder. I was lucky enough to put a couple of questions to him… GOSH!

Q: Jon, it’s safe to say that NAPOLEON DYNAMITE was the film that really put you on the map…

Jon Heder: NAPOLEON DYNAMITE was my first film. It was like a glorified student film because we were all in college and I saw we – the writer/director, producer, myself, half the cast and all of the crew – we all knew each other. It was like a bunch of friends all hanging out and being stupid. We made a short film first a couple of years prior to that. That was 2001, so we made a short film that was actually a student project. It was homework. [It was] called PELUCA. To the uber fans that have watched the DVD extras you can see it. PELUCA is a little black & white, 16mm film that we did and is based on the same character but his name is Seth in that one.

Because we had such great reception to the short, which basically meant our friends and family and maybe a few other film people who loved it, Jared Hess, who wrote and directed it, said “Hey, we gotta shot a movie! We gotta get some money together. We want to shoot a feature film next summer. I want to base it on this character. I love this guy! I think people want to see more of him.” Well, I was a poor college student with nothing more to do!

Q: It opened other doors for you?

JH: Yeah – my life changed at Sundance Film Festival. That was where NAPOLEON was first shown to the world, then it was purchased by Fox and it got out there. There is where my life changed. I was interested in acting, I liked it. I got an agent, a manager and all that stuff. Anything else I have done since is due to that film.

Q: Where did you get the voice? Is it based on someone you know?

JH: Ha! It’s just my friggin’ voice! I didn’t borrow it from anybody. It’s stupid because wherever I walk people recognise me because of my dumb voice. I’m not even putting on the voice. It’s like… it’s no fair. When I read the original script for the short film and in the feature… by the time of the feature we already had the character… so when I read the short film script I was… never in the history of film – well, maybe once or twice – has a writer/director and actor been on the same page. It was not on any genius on our part – it was just luck. He heard me and was like “Yeah, I think Jon gets this.”

I see my brothers. I see me as a young ‘un. That’s how my brothers talked. That’s how I talked when I was pissed off and my younger brothers they were the same thing. I have a couple of younger brothers and I am a younger brother, it was always around the house. “Idiot! What you guys doing?” So we grabbed on to that sentiment and we went out and got the outfit and the character really came to be when the character got the perm.

Q: Ha, So, you had two perms, one after the other?

JH: Yeah. The first perm… You know when you’re doing an independent film you don’t have professionals always involved. So we had a perm from these local students. This is for the feature film – I was so particular because we nailed it in the short film. The short film was perfect. I got a perm from these local girls… and they had no idea, they hadn’t seen the short! I was like, “I look too much like a Soccer player! You gotta get tight. It’s gotta be pubic looking.”

We shot one or two scenes with the original perm and if you notice, I’m trying to remember which ones, it is looser curls and we were like, “This isn’t working – I got to get another perm.” Which is bad for your hair, it will fry it. You make sacrifices for your art! So, for anyone who asks if you have any advice? That’s the advice: ‘Sacrifice’!

Q: Off the back of the film’s success, you got to host [U.S. late night comedy show] SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

JH: Yes, that was a huge deal! I put it right up there with WWE Raw, which I hosted. That was amazing. It wasn’t a dream come true… it became a true come true because after I did it I was like “That was the best thing.” I hosted SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and it was huge.

I had a sit down with Lorne Michaels and that was kind of a weird tease because he wanted to talk to me about doing a project and he was thinking about it. But it was more about he just wanted to meet me. He goes out and meets a lot of people. I remember in the lunch, he said, “I know some people know NAPOLEON but not enough people know. So maybe not SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE yet.” He waited about a year after that meeting and they called me back – I was like, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Meeting the man himself wearing my "Green Butchers" Tshirt. Needless to say, he approved! (fan photo from twitter)

I got to meet someone that I look up to a lot, Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed from Rocky films) and had a great time, even though I had no sleep whatsoever the night before... Also met Hoodooorr

Day out in London video will also be in editing and uploaded asap (forbidden planet and lush)