By BetteAndTinaForever

Guests Update

With less than three months to go before the exciting L5 Convention in Blackpool, the fans of the show are already counting down the days and minutes, eager to see Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman and Rachel Shelley who will return to The L Word in season 6. Anne Ramsay who played Robin, Jenny’s girlfriend in seasons 1 and 2, will also attend. This is Anne’s third Convention and she is really excited to meet with the fans and talk about the show and her current projects.

Anyone would think that three main cast members and a recurring guest star would be enough…think again. The news is out that Janina Gavankar, whose character, Papi, mysteriously disappeared after season 4, has been added to the guest line up for the STARFURY: L5. This will be her first Convention appearance. How exciting is this?!

While Papi was away, walking Shane’s dog with Shay and Carmen (this was a joke that Kate made at the LA Convention when she was asked what happened to some characters that disappeared without explanation), Janina appeared in a few TV shows, including the role of Sgt. "Dusty" Mehra in Stargate: Atlantis. You can read an interview with Janina about her experience on the show here: http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/july-6-2008-actress-janina-gavankar-swings-by/

Rumors and Questions

With the excitement of the Convention, some rumors began circulating about the number of fans attending and the photo shoots. If you have been visiting our L5 Convention thread (http://discussion.l-word.com/viewtopic.php?t=15736&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) , then you are already familiar with some of the answers. For those who haven’t read it, here’s the latest updates and information.

Attendees

One particular rumor about the number of attendees stated that we could expect as high as 4,000 fans at the L5 Convention. I went to the L3 Convention in Blackpool last year where we had close to 2,000 attendees and combined with a big group of older ladies who were attending something else at the same hotel and on the same weekend, that was a nightmare.

To dispel this rumor, Sean Harry, the Convention organizer, posted a reply on the STARFURY Message Board that not even a half of the rumored number of tickets will be sold. The main reason for that is to give everyone a fair chance to have their photos taken with all the guests and get their autographs.

Photo shoots

According to the Convention staff, the photo sales will be open on Thursday around 3 pm, probably right after the registration desk opening.

There will be a separate desk where the Gold Ticket holders can purchase their photo shoot tickets that are reserved for them. To ensure that everyone else will have an opportunity to purchase photos, the Gold Ticket holders will only get one ticket per photo shoot. The staff members will have a list of ticket numbers and names, and once the attendees buy the photo shoot tickets, their names will be crossed off. To get more tickets, the fans would have to go to the regular line to get them.

The Gold Ticket photo sales desk will only be open on Thursday and Friday. First thing on Saturday morning any remaining tickets will be available to all other attendees, and Gold Ticket holders will have to queue with them if they want to buy more photo shoot tickets.

Regular tickets holders can also purchase the photo shoot tickets starting on Thursday but they are not reserved for them and will be sold on a first come-first serve basis. As of this moment, the restrictions on the number of photo shoots only apply to Jennifer Beals and Laurel Holloman photos.

Another rumor appeared on the Internet regarding the price of the photo shoots, especially with Jennifer Beals. It was rumored that to get a picture with Jennifer Beals, fans would have to pay up to $100.

I have no doubts that some would pay any price for a photo with Jennifer Beals or TiBette because this could be their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve met her a few times and I know how hard it can be to get a picture with her or her autograph. Right now, the high price is just a rumor. Here’s Sean’s reply regarding this issue.

“Just so you know, JB will not be £12. A photo with her will be more (the price is still to be determined). Pretty much every other convention charges between £15 to £20 for a photo with the guest (and upwards of $70 to $100 at US events), so given Jennifer’s status as star of the show, and that this is likely to be her only convention appearance and only opportunity for you to get a photo with her, we will be charging more in line with other events. The number of tickets will be limited for each photo shoot, so if you want one then I would advise purchasing your photo ticket as soon as you arrive at the event.”

Convention DVD

Another update is about DVD sets from the L Conventions. Each year after the Convention is over, STARFURY completes a compilation DVD, featuring some of the Meet&Greet moments, Q&A sessions, guests greetings, disco parties and autographs signings.

So far, there are DVD sets from all four conventions in England, including the L4 that will be completed soon. However, for contractual reasons, there will not be a DVD set of L5 Convention. And here’s another message from Sean Harry regarding making a personal videos during the event.

“Please don't attempt to video the event or put footage on youtube. Apart from breaking the terms and conditions of the ticket sale, you’ll end up with a whole bunch of nasty lawyers on top of you, who’ll probably financially cripple you for life as a result. From my own dealings with them, I wouldn't want to get on their bad side!”

In the past, some fans disregarded the rules and filmed parts of the Q&A sessions and then posted them on youtube, even though they were asked not to do it. I guess this time it’s more serious and I hope that fans will listen and won’t break the rules.

But to get a taste of the Conventions, Sean added two mini documentaries on the past L-Events to youtube. They can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/seanharry. Check them out because the conventions are a lot of fun and maybe this will help you to decide to attend one, if having a chance to take a picture with TiBette is not enough.

The latest update from Sean was that almost 70% of the tickets are now sold, so if you haven't got yours yet make sure to book soon. For further information please visit the website at: www.starfury.co.uk

So, once again, the upcoming L5 Convention is going to be filled with fun, excitement, laughter, friends, TLW cast members…and possibly, bad weather and bad food. If you’re not from that area, bring your own supply of Ramen Noodles and a raincoat and you should be just fine.

For more information about Starfury Conventions or to buy tickets, go to http://www.seanharry.com.

Keep an eye on the L5 Convention thread right here as well because we’ll be posting the updates and news until November.