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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

We need more Star Wars in the UK!!!

Discussion in 'Archive: London UK' started by TheDarthVader, Apr 27, 2005.

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  1. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Myself, the all powerful TheDarthVader and ChrisLyne, FanForceUK's Poster Boy (note: reference to Anakin, from the Clone Wars) have been discussing the organization of more Star Wars related Fan Activities in the UK. The absence of fan activities in the UK, has always been much to my frustration, furthermore to this, i have always seen it suitable to blame Lucas and Co. and Fox and Co.

    However CIII changed my viewpoint on this:

    Firstly Lucas and Co. will always seek to make risk free profits. Maybe we don't agree with the manner they make profits (i believe, they could have used a more mature and metaphoric based directing style on the NT and made more at the Box Office). That however, is irrelevant.

    The Fans in the US, are a lot more proactive; they costume, roleplay, Produce/Direct SW FanFilms, SW paintball/LaserQuest and organize all sorts of events, games and get togethers. Don't get me wrong, these are not "kiddie" events, most of them are attended by the 18 - 37 age group (mostly adults of all ages).

    In the UK, fans hide themselves, too embarrassed to admit they are huge SW geeks. I love SW so much, I went to the CIII, and even I, lied to some people about my whereabouts.

    Well, I belive, we have waited in the shadows like the Sith for too long. Myself and the Emperor brought the Sith to the forefront. Now it is our turn to bring SW events in the UK to the forefront.

    The main point of this is:

    If we want more SW related stuff in the UK, we have to fulfil our duties as fans, and arrange events for ourselves. I know it will start small, but it will grow. We have to take the pioneering role here.

    There will be two new SW small screen ventures by 2007/2008 (the 3D cartoon and the Live-Action Show). I pledge, we set a target, to have some real meaty fan events by then.

    To achieve this, we will need patience, and we will have to be willing to start small, but, with organization and passion, (passion, that will come easy for something as fun as SW) we may build something really cool.

    So please, join ChrisLyne and I, TheDarthVader in our crusade to bring the SW galaxy to the UK.

    PS - please do not use this thread as an opportunity to complain about the lack of official events in the UK. This will achieve nothing, and everyone is already aware of this. This is a forum for the UK SW fans to construct events with the future aim of rousing the interest of the Lucas officials.


    PS2 - sorry for writing so much, i hope it does not look like i waffle on too much
     
  2. Stuey

    Stuey Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    that is actually the whole point of fanforce, it's meant to be a place to plan meets and chat. sadly UK meets have been dwindling of late, last one i went to was in 2003 i think.

    hopefully something like the marathon and all the new people it has brought in will bolster the FFUK ranks. in which case i suggest you start posting in the UK forums too rather than just London

    i'm all for meet-ups and would like to help/attend at any you have planned :)
     
  3. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    That great, i am glad to see you want to help. The FanForce gives us the means to do this, but we still have to take responsibility and organize things. Unfortunately we don't have protocol droids to do everything for us.

    I guess it's time for us Fans to revive the FanForce again.
     
  4. Stuey

    Stuey Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    anything too complicated just make Yoshee do it, that's what he's there for :p
     
  5. Yoshee

    Yoshee Former RSA & CR star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    Well, as far as meets in London go, I am here to make/help arrange meet ups. But I'm not a droid! [face_mischief]
     
  6. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    i am glad you are not a droid, being 75% droid myself, i can tell you, i hate droids!

    You agree, right? We need to rally the fans more, in order to increase the frequency and attendance at fan events.

    I know we are no America, but we are in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world, with a population of 70m and the City of London (which has a larger population than NY). We have all of this, but we cant even arrange 10% of the stuff they do there. I think, it is time we use our resources, so we can have something big by the TV shows air.
     
  7. Yoshee

    Yoshee Former RSA & CR star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2002
    I agree entirely my friend! It's nice to see someone with a positive attitude for a change. ;)
     
  8. Achilles_of_Peoria

    Achilles_of_Peoria Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2005
    Greetings all. This thread brings a swell to my heart. I myself am a Canadian currently living in the US and reading this thread has given me a whole new appreciation for the fandom on this side of the planet.

    Post boards are a great place to start the momentum and it was destined to happen with the biggest baddest movie of them all about to release to the world.

    When I was at C3 I had the very unique pleasure of meeting George Lucas and before that, seeing him answer a question live in front of an audience from someone who had come from the UK. When the guy's only wish is to have a UK ticket to the movie since he can't be in two places at once and Rick McCallum says, "we'll take care of you." you know you're involved in a franchise where the creator appreciates his fan base.

    Being a Star Wars fan has never been anything to be ashamed of and I would be willing to bet that these people you think will make fun of you, are closet fans too. You never know until you start being more open about it.

    I used to hide that stuff from my co-workers until one day I just said, ah screw it and displayed my hardcore fandom on my sleeve. No one cared, I even converted some of them and found out about fellow fans I never would have known existed.

    The classic trilogy was filmed in the UK. Be proud. Never before has there been so much acceptance and freedom in the worldwide community of people representing their allegiance. I wouldn't walk inot a pub dressed as a Nautolan but a t-shirt with the logo on it, why not.

    Glad to hear you're all seeing the light.
     
  9. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    thanks so much for the message, that is the exact essence of our crusade. We kind of missed the boat on ROTS,we cannot allow that to happen again for the TV shows.
     
  10. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    Glad to see this is a popular idea!

    If we are to pull this off the first thing to do is probably try and see what the demand is (on both London and UK FanForce boards). And based on that try and determine where the best place to hold such an event is (in terms of hall size and cost, access for people not local to the area, parking, etc.). Also try and find a time that suits everyone. In the other thread I proposed something next summer as it leaves plenty of time to plan, plus those at school/college/university will find it easier to attend.

    Not sure what to think of being called Poster Boy! Guess I should take it as a compliment ;)
     
  11. Parm

    Parm Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Heyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

    Don't forget me again Vader! I'll get my girlfriend on you! :p
     
  12. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Noooooooo, i better go an spend some time in the meditation chamber. i am going to get my butt kicked, tell her, to easy on my leather cat suit though, this thing cost me many credits, and ImperialMart stopped making them long-ago.

    About the poster boy thing it is a compliment. I took it, from some article i read about the clone wars. Which states, Anakin becomes a poster boy for the republic, due to all his heroic feats.
     
  13. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    Lol, yeah Vader got his suit as a store exclusive when he attended Coruscant's Midnight Madness ;)

    I remember reading that somewhere now! Thanks :D
     
  14. Parm

    Parm Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2005
    I think we should all dress up as Storm Troopers and go to Alton Towers someday LOL!

    You just know that a Nemesis full of Storm Troopers will make the news hehehe.
     
  15. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    good suggestion Parm. We are still at a early stage, but, it is good to hear, as many ideas as possible. If you would be interested in helping out, or have some ideas to share, please post them here.
     
  16. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    Yeah the more ideas the better.

    I really like Parm's suggestion. A costume day (optional of course for those without!) at Alton Towers wouldn't be that hard to organise, wouldn't require funds for stuff like halls, and would be a great way to meet other fans and build interest in future events. It would also, like Parm said, be great publicity.

    I also think that if we do manage to build this up to a larger scale event, if we do manage to get cast or crew to come and do autographs, we should maybe also do a Q+A or a talk on thier SW experience, that way even if people already have the autographs from things like Memorabilia there's still something to attract them.
     
  17. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Well SW magazine would like it because it gets them publicity, and, Alton Towers would also like it, as it would also create publicity for them. With this in mind we could get a good deal from both organizations.

    Also, If we go as a large group, I am sure we will get very good rates at the hotels.
     
  18. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    Good points Vader.

    Hopefully there's interest in this? What do you think guys? Would you be up for it?
     
  19. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    At CIII, i made good friends with Barrie Holland (the legend that is "you, Rebel Scum". My friends and I, spent a few hours talking to him and he was giving us all sorts of advice about life etc. He was a really great guy, and lives here in the UK, in Hatfield. If something develops, I am sure I could send him an e-mail. Hopefully he would be willing to come down or help us with some othetr celebs.
     
  20. Parm

    Parm Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Last week, I took my team from work to Alton Towers.
    Everybody always enjoys it, it's a great day, easy to organise, not too expensive.
    It has all the benefits of a group trip. :)
     
  21. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    I like that idea. Plus, if there are enough of us, we could get really good rates at one of the Alton Towers hotels. How cool would that be a hotel full of mad SW fans, reminds me of CIII.
     
  22. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Copied from other thread

    TheDarthVader:

    "for our first event, i have an idea. However, it depends on a variable i have no control over:

    For EpII: the Imax did a marathon in the beginning of summer. It was cool, because, most of the people had already seen the film, and were willing to have a good time, and not watch the film in awe, and total silence. If they decide to do this again i guess we could try and arrange a trip en masse to the IMAX.

    If it is not the IMAX, i guess we can plan something else. In our own SW galaxy, the possibilities are endless."



    ChrisLyne

    "Yeah the IMAX SAGA would be cool!

    If they don't do that we should be able to think of something!

    Let's see if we can build this up to our own mini version of Celebration May take years but we have plenty of time to build up for TV series, 30th Anniversary, 3D. There's lots of things we can focus around!"

     
  23. Happy Ninja

    Happy Ninja Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2000
    I'm glad someone has finally said what I've been thinking. I know exactly what you are saying. As an honarary member of the New York Fan Force, I can tell you that from their experiences, maintaining a loyal fanbase is no easy thing...and they have had a lot of trouble in the last 3 years -- the details of which, I will not divulge here. But they have survived, and grown. The reason: PASSION.

    They enjoy what they are doing. The love bringing people together who all love the same thing, and they best thing of all, they make it work!

    In the UK, there is a sense of apathy, where people go to work all week, toil away, and then at the end of it all, they can't be arsed to do anything; they're knackered. And at the same time, they don't want to disclose to the outside world they are fans because they don't want to be ridiculed by their mates. And that to, I think is a difference between UK and US fans, is that they take it on the chin, and have a laugh at themselves, whereas over here, I think that because the British are more reserved, they don't like being teased about things, and take things more seriously than anyone else - even if the offending person is only doing it in jest, the person on the recieving end think they are REALLY having a go at them. So to avoid that, people hide that.

    I've tried to get a Fan Force Midlands going, but there is just not enough interest. It's a give and take situation, where if you want the reward, you have to put in some effort.
     
  24. TheDarthVader

    TheDarthVader Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2005
    Are you willing to aid us in organize events?
     
  25. Darth_Sata

    Darth_Sata Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2005
    I really like the sound of whats being discussed here. I would be nice to be able to attend something with some like minded people.

    For so long we haven't had anything major happening in the UK. It would be nice to have meet ups, give me the oppurtunity to dress up in my Sith outfit more than once a year for halloween.

    It would be great to see something come out of this discussion.
     
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