KLS Festival Remarks

[michael c]

does anyone follow KLS's personal Facebook page?

this weekend she's put out a statement on potential future festivals or lack thereof. she says nothing's been planned for the year (which we pretty much knew) but curiouser and curiouser claims she is not in tough with Jim Pierson at all and is urging US the fans to "reach out to him" directly to plead the case.

Scott has been the principal player in this whole thing for decades. while she accurately states the cast and crew are not the event organizers but simply invited guests i find it astonishing she's not in contact with Pierson on this. she even suggested the fans "take over" the planning and get the mailing list from JP.

has there been some weird backstage falling out? Pierson must be in possession of the financials. and if it's no longer viable than so be it. make that announcement and everyone can move on. but the limbo around it and the fact that Scott's out of the loop is very odd. 

[Uncle Roger]

I saw the thread but refrained from commenting because I really had no desire to get into a confrontation with some of the rabid fans
I have no idea what kind of relationship that KLS has with Jim but they have done business together. He's written or collaborated on many of the Pomegranate Press books. It's conceivable that she and DS are no longer of any use to him.
Is he bored with the festivals? Quite possibly. While he may no longer have the interest in promoting them, I can't really see him giving control of it over to anyone else.
And, while some of the fans are definitely enthusiastic about future festivals, they are not realistic about a lot of things. Every tine they have tried to hold events in areas outside the NYC area (and, to a lesser extent, the Los Angeles area), attendance has suffered. There are also factors beyond the control of the festival organizers that impact attendance as well. Having a festival in Maine is not really feasible. Portland is not a major airport. There simply aren't as many flights that go there, with connecting flights almost a guarantee for most. And likely more expensive air fares.
It's going to be June in a few days. It's too late to get an event going anywhere this summer. Hotels with convention facilities are booked by now. Maybe something can be scheduled for the fall but I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

[michael c]

whether or not JP is "bored" with them is somewhat beside the point. he never did it for his own entertainment. there must have been some financial viability around them there no longer is.

it was always a promotional vehicle.


i just find it very peculiar Scott is not in touch with him at all. the product categories all work in tandem. her books and CDs and whatever else the cast is peddling. the Big Finish audiodramas. the DVDs and other assorted and sundry MPI offerings. 

you would just think all the various merchants, which is really what they are, would be in some sort of contact with him for the purposes of planning.

[Gothick]

I am not at all in the loop with the fandom now and haven't been for years, so had heard none of this. It does seem quite odd that Scott is writing this kind of thing on social media, particularly since the tone of the remarks, as reported, could hardly do much to help salvage whatever business relationship (none?) she has with Pierson at this point.

Scott and Parker both do several personal appearances each year at various non-DS specific events. The only one I can remember at the moment is something called Chiller Theater, which I guess was named after a creature feature program somewhere or other. I know there are several others since people report on the appearances here.

Again, this is purely speculation, but I would think Pierson's career has moved on and he has a lot of other things on his plate. I seem to recall that a few years ago he tried to announce that an event was going to be the LAST "Festival" and he was bombarded with complaints and outrage. So, would not surprise me at all if he just decided the easiest thing is to say nothing at all and move on with his own life.

G.

[michael c]

more than anyone i'm sure Scott understands the "rights" and liabilities around the "property".

i mean can anyone just throw a "Dark Shadows Festival" or is that trademarked and needs to go through JP? the fact that she no longer speaks to someone she's been in a working partnership with for decades suggests perhaps a "falling out"?

the tone of her remarks were strange.

[Uncle Roger]

Is the festival part of Dan Curtis productions? If so, the rights to use the name would probably have to be licensed or, at least, given written permission.
Others have tried to launch DS events over the years (Friends of the 1991 DS, the Collins Association, one in Missouri that was going to center around Diana Millay) but they never lasted more than a year or two. The only exception that I can think of is Shadowcon, which preceded the festivals. Shadowcon ran close to ten years but lost its way by focusing too heavily on outside elements (The Girl From UNCLE one year, V another) and burnt itself out sometime in the 1980's.

[Gerard]

I didn't even realize there is no festival this year, at least so far.  There could by a myriad of reasons, including the various hypothesis that you-know-who is losing interest as the franchise is running out of steam and therefore $$$$, and everyone knows you-know-who is interested in $$$$.  But there is something we DS fans might have to face.  Our beloved show, over 50 years old, might be coming to the end of running its course.  That happens.  We'll always be around; there will always be websites.  But as fandom ages there will be less of it.  While culturally popular, DS has not reached the massive status of, say, ST.  That has been recycled in hosts of television spin-offs and sequels and scores of movies.  It manages to bring in new generations to keep it going, at least for now.  The '91 revival lasted one season, through no fault of its own (damn that war).  The Harper-Collins novel reboot got off to a good start, but after a few books it fell apart because of money battles between H-C and DCP.  The '04 TV remake was rushing to air in great fanfare and then suddenly had its plug pulled.  The '12 cinema version did turn a profit, but not enough for the studio's suits. 

All good things come to an end.  Hopefully, we'll all be around for quite a while and continue to reminisce about one of our favorite shows.  If that's all we'll have left (no more festivals; no more filmed remakes/continuations; no more publications), let's be grateful for that.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Last year it seemed like JP was more and more involved in the retro music specials that PBS loves to run from T J Lubinsky. I can't say I've noticed if there have been any new ones this year. However, people might recall this post:

A, Uh, Unique Logo

from last December and the very strong suspicion that JP is behind it. If so, he's been a very busy boy there because that site is offering all sorts of merchandise now. So, if as we suspect, it is a JP operation, he may be devoting most, if not all of his time to it and has little interest in DS any more. Who knows?

[michael c]

perhaps the festival has simply run it's course...


but again what i find so astonishing in this situation is the fact that KLS is not in touch with him in any way. or that she thinks we might have sway with him where she does not.

i mean it's not like she doesn't have his telephone number. she's been doing this with him for over 30 years. just in the name of planning her own agenda how hard would it be to pick up the phone and say "Hi, Jim, i need to plan the rest of my summer and fall. any plans for an event? No. i see. Thanks and have a nice weekend".

that's what's so bizarre about all this. 

[Gothick]

Didn't Scott recommend the fans push Pierson directly for more Festivals a year or two ago? My memory says this isn't the first time she's suggested that.

Perhaps the social media post was her way of telling the fans who keep asking her: "Sorry, it's not my call. Let the powers that be know if you're interested. In the meantime, let me tell you about my new 4th of July gift set..."

G.

[Uncle Roger]

I definitely remember her doing that, Gothick. KLS is an extremely shrewd woman.

[michael c]

Didn't Scott recommend the fans push Pierson directly for more Festivals a year or two ago? My memory says this isn't the first time she's suggested that.

Perhaps the social media post was her way of telling the fans who keep asking her: "Sorry, it's not my call. Let the powers that be know if you're interested. In the meantime, let me tell you about my new 4th of July gift set..."

G.

lol! i always appreciated her "personal pitch" at the festivals too. one year she REALLY gave me the hard sell on her non-DS fiction 'Down and Out in Beverly Heels'. i had to walk away. 

[Gerard]

The only festival I ever attended (for just one day) was back in '03.  The pics are archived here, I imagine.  It was a wonderful day.  I went with two friends to the Brooklyn hotel; one was an uber-DS fan, the other not so, but he went to see celebrities, especially David Selby since he was a huge Falcon Crest fan.  He went apoplexy when we got to meet him and have our photo taken with him.  I, of course, almost went into a coma after meeting TLATKLS.  When we were in line to meet James Storm (and had photos and autographs collected), we heard a woman shout:  "Hey, boys!  Come by me!  I'm lonely!"  It was Marie Wallace - "Crazy Jenny."  No one had made it to her table and she was alone.  We had the time of our life with her.  She was funny and warm.  She and my one friend found out they both volunteered for the same charity organization for children with AIDS.  They exchanged phone numbers and stayed in contact for years until my friend (who was "Barnabas Collins" here) died from kidney failure.  It was truly a marvelous day with thousands in attendance.  Even my DS-skeptic friend said he never had such an enjoyable time. 

Those were the days.  Maybe now they're, like I said, coming to an end.  I have the items I purchased at that festival, including two autographed by TLATKLS.  If all we have left are memories, that's what we have.  And they are marvelous.  We cousins are still here to share them.  I'm so grateful for that.  We don't need another festival for that.

Gerard

[michael c]

that was my first festival too and it was magnificent. huge crowds.

i recall Diana Millay was there early setting up her table and it was the first time i had ever seen one of "them" in person and i was just dizzied.

those big Brooklyn fests (of course i live there and was a 15 minute subway ride away) were always the best.

[Gerard]

Michael, I and my friends were at Ms. Millay's table where she was setting up at the exact same time.  We were probably standing right next to each other!

Gerard