Hi guys

I've uploaded some videos from the UK Twin Peaks festival last night.

With special guests Catherine Coulson, Charlotte Stewart and with performances from Julee Cruise.

The picture quality isn't the best but you can hear the discussion and performances.

I'll be uploading more ASAP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7N6gy9rjzc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTynHEPFP5k

Enjoy!

Marc

On the whole I was very disappointed with the fest yesterday- the support staff at the studio were very rude and flouncy- not allowing toilet breaks- speaking to guests like children...too many episodes were shown back to back and there were continuous scheduling problems- Julee was late for her second performance by an hour, Paula was a no show. The organisers should never have expected many members of the cast to appear or their energy levels to be correct just after Turkey Day and Black Friday and a long flight!

There was not enough interraction or time permitted between attendees like at the real fest. I did not feel like a guest despite having a front row seat- the event was overpriced. The guy that was put out front for Q&A was rude to the audience and the celebs and too self indulgent, he would talk over them and correct them, he seemed only keen to demonstrate his "number 1 fan" status and came across as a real ass, at times it was embarrassing. 

 The organisers were plain lucky that Charlotte and Catherine were so gracious with signing and photo opps. Also we were lied to about the cost of headshots/merchandise, I brought the correct cash but then the prices had increased (doubled! £40 for two unsigned pics!). Lots of people left before the movie. Next time the organisers need to think out of their inner elite circle and consider everybody who had essentially paid £50 to watch the gold box set with some occaisional cabaret- hell they even left the subtitles on the dvd at one point!?!

Admittedly the organisation wasn't the best and at times I did wonder what was going on, but it was the first time they had ever done it.  The event was also a non profit event and all proceeds were going to charity.

Julee was late the second time around as they were having problems contacting her at her hotel and she wasn't answering any calls.  When she did turn up she appeared sozzled and kept turning the conversation around to herself and how she didn't really like Angelo Badlamenti's music which was a slight bummer for the fans to hear.

Julee's pics were £10 more than the others but I think that was probably set by her people not the event organisers.

All in all I had a good day and Charlotte and Catherine were so accomodating and so sweet!  Hopefully I'll make it out to the US festival next year!!!!!!!

How ironic that Julee Cruise flew all the way to London to perform music written by Angelo Badalementi! Perhaps she would have preferred to perform a selection of her other hits?  

I have to say...that I really enjoyed myself.

Yes...there were a few hitches and delays...but I can forgive them, as I'm not that demanding. 

I thought the staff were fine and generally friendly, so no problems for me on that score...the coffee makers worked all day like crazy and never seemed to falter.

I really enjoyed the 'cabaret' aspect...thought it was original and a good spectacle to watch.

I loved Julee's performance...she was very emotional and possibly a little bit tipsy, but I'm not sure...either way I thought she was great.

Charlotte, Catherine & Julee...made plenty of time for the fans and were really sweet.  I thought it was good that both Charlotte & Catherine were there, as they truly are Lynch originals....from the beginning of it all.  I could've listened to them all night tbh.

I've not been to any festival related to Twin Peaks...so I have nothing to guage it by, but I honestly had a great time and would definitely go again.

I did OD on doughnuts and coffee...so I won't be consuming them for a while!!!

 A big congratulations to Lindsay and Helen for running the first ever UK Fest!

It's always hard to please everyone, and this was a first-ever fest for them to organize. But I think the think we should keep in our mind is that they actually DID it! It takes a lot of time and energy to run a fest like this, and they volunteered a lot of time and energy into putting it on.

So a big thank you to them for that! I'm glad people got to experience some Twin Peaks over there, especially on the 20th anniversary.

(On a side note, BlueFrank, have I ever told you how much I LOVE your avatar? I've always wanted to find one of those saturn lamps, but it's really hard to find the correctly colored one.)

I too would like to give Lindsey and Helen and their staff a huge round of applause for pulling together the event that they did. It is NOT easy to run a festival of any sort, big or small, especially when you're doing it for the very first time.

I'm not saying that it's wrong to be frustrated or angry with your experience. Everyone has different ideas of what they want to see or do for their ticket price, and sometimes ideals and reality don't mesh. I would say that if you are concerned that you really didn't get the experience you expected, send the festival organizers a (POLITE) e-mail letting them know your disappointment. Be specific about what you were upset with, but also do them a favor and let them know about the parts that you DID like. Pepper your negatives with a couple of positives and know that you're helping to improve upon things for next year (and from what i understand, there will most likely be a next year! :D).

And as far as the behaviors of the celebrity guests, I can tell you first-hand that celebrities are a unique group. You have some that are so lovely and gracious regardless of how tired or irritated or bored they may feel on the inside (and they will never let you know otherwise); and you have some that just feel like they need to climb upon a soapbox and rage against the machine and let you know exactly how they feel. Unfortunately you don't know who is who until you meet them in person. Thankfully the UK Fest got two of the best...Charlotte and Catherine. Had Kimmy been able to attend, you would have had three very gracious, wonderful actresses to meet and query. The behavior of the others...well, there's no excuse for it. No-showing or arriving late and then having a rant about something very personal and dear to the fans is poor behavior and I hope you don't let this sour your opinion of TP celebs. The poorly-behaved ones are very very very few. The majority are kind and lovely.

Overall I've heard much positive feedback from attendees, and many folks asking for the festival to be held again next year. Folks, this is exactly how the Twin Peaks Festival here in the US got its start...new, different, rocky and wobbly moments, but a good enough experience for fans to want to come back again and again. Hooray for the establishment of a UK TP Fest! :D

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Perhaps a Good Celebrities Guide is in order to help festival planners of the future avoid the pitfalls commonly associated with hosting a Twin Peaks themed event? i'm thinking ratings for ease of use and value for money and a troubleshooting guide with headings like 'Where is my celebrity?' and 'Help! My celebrity has bitten an attendee!'. 

God only knows what would have happened if somebody had booked Julee Cruise for a children's birthday party. 

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

As Lynch themed children's birthday parties go it might be safer to opt for a regressed Frank Booth delighting children with amyl nitrate filled balloon animals?

Edit: Speaking of Twin Peaks and music, I once queued to meet Chris Isaak after a concert in Manchester and he signed my Fire Walk With Me still and volunteered information (with no coercion whatsoever) about seeing David Lynch (who he described as a lovely man) a couple of weeks earlier at one of the INLAND EMPIRE screenings. I was so disorientated by this act of kindness that it didn't occur to me to tell him I've always considered Chet Desmond a fair swap for Dale Cooper.       

Chris Isaak is such a class-act fellow. I've seen him live a number of times and he always tries to make the effort to sign autographs and chat up fans afterwards. I think that's why he prefers to do small-to-medium venues even though he could totally sell out an arena. He enjoys that comfortable, personal feeling of the smaller audience and the chance to interact with fans. :)

And he very much enjoyed his time making FWWM. I myself asked him about it when I met him after a show and he was pleased to meet a TP/Lynch fan and we chatted briefly about the film and how much he enjoyed Chet Desmond and working for Lynch. I've heard from other fans who've met him that they've also had the same cool interaction with him over FWWM. Chris Isaak is one of us, most definitely. :)

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."