Like fans, celebs revel in Montreal Comiccon’s return

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Malcolm McDowell likes to go to fan conventions like Montreal Comiccon.

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The British actor has made more than 150 films, including several classics, notably A Clockwork Orange What If…, but he’s still happy to hit the convention center and chat with fans at comics and pop culture gatherings.

“I don’t do a lot of them,” McDowell said in a recent phone interview from his home in Ojai, California, near Santa Barbara. “I think it’s important to greet fans from time to time. It means a lot to these fans to be able to meet you, get a photograph.

“I know how much you think about it. … I receive these sincere messages. And that’s when I know, ‘Wow, it’s really important to communicate.’ … I enjoy doing it. I wouldn’t do it if it was a difficulty.”

After a break due to the pandemic, Montreal Comiccon, which usually attracts around 60,000 visitors, returns to the Palais des congrès from July 8-10. The two guests of honor are McDowell and Dave Foley from Kids in the Hall and News Radio.

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Other high-profile guests include actors James Marsters, Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright from the Harry Potter movies, Jim Beaver and Laz Alonso.

You can pay to take photos with your favorite celebrities. There are also 450 exhibitor booths with people selling everything from video games and T-shirts to comics, toys and other collectibles.

If you meet McDowell, he’s willing to talk about A Clockwork Orange even if fans have been talking to him about Stanley Kubrick’s legendary film almost from the moment it hit screens and shocked audiences with its violent dystopian vision there. by 1971.

“Sometimes I’m sick of it, but of course I’d rather have done the movie than not,” McDowell said. “I want to say that it’s an amazing movie in many ways and people love it.

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“When I first made the movie and was working on other things, I got tired of being known as the guy who did Clockwork Orange when I was doing this other work that I thought was so good in a different way. For the first 10 years after the movie came out, I really didn’t want to talk about it much. But after that, the penny fell. ‘Hey, this is a great movie. The people love it. So accept it. So that’s what I did.

“I’m happy to talk about it. Of course I have answered all the questions I could. The whole experience of working with Kubrick was very extraordinary. But no matter how extraordinary working with Kubrick has been, I have to say that working with a director named Lindsay Anderson was my favorite experience. She considered him a genius without a doubt. An amazing man.

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Anderson directed three movies starring McDowell: yes…. (1968), O lucky man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982).

Foley, fresh from The Kids in the Hall’s return to television with a new Amazon Prime series, is also thrilled to be performing at these Comiccon conventions.

Foley’s first time attending one was in Calgary in the fall, at the Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo.

“It was an interesting experience,” Foley said by phone from his home in New York City. “I just stood there looking confused. It’s kind of like the meet and greets we used to do after our shows, but without the show part.

“In Calgary it was great. I met a lot of people I hadn’t seen in years. John Cleese was in the one I did in Calgary. Kevin Smith, who is a friend of mine, was there. It was nice meeting people one on one. It is gratifying to hear what our work has meant to them. It’s an interesting but very strange experience because you’re not there to do anything. You are meant to be yourself.”

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For Cliff Caporale, director of programming for Montreal Comiccon, it’s about giving a little something for everyone, from autographs and photo shoots with actors to selling superhero comics and merchandise to letting people come dressed in the full costume of their superhero. Favorite Marvel hero. .

“The way I look at Comiccon, it’s like the jazz festival,” Caporale said. “You go to the jazz festival and there is all kinds of music. But there is a common thread and it all relates to what jazz did. It is what modern music is based on. … The same thing happens at Comiccon, where you have a kind of storytelling in popular culture and comics tell these very character-driven stories that people are passionate about. And that is the essential.

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“Comics go back to the 1930s and have evolved. It’s not just superheroes. While the superhero part is the most lucrative part, they haven’t always been superheroes and they still aren’t just superheroes. They tell interesting stories that inspire movies and TV shows.

“The rhythm of a comic is cinematic. It is a medium that inspires all the other media that we have in our event. So that people feel passion for the guests. Like Children in the Hall. My friends, we still do ‘I’ll smash your head in’ just for fun. It is part of our vocabulary. So we want to bring that passion to ‘Con.

“Like Clockwork Orange is a huge influence, but it’s not just Clockwork Orange for Malcolm McDowell. He has done every genre you can imagine, from horror to drama to comedy. He is also a god among men. Comic books, video games, science fiction, fantasy, horror, it’s all in that realm.

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“Look, we’re not going to invite Dr. Phil on our show. That wouldn’t fit.

Dan Parent, coming to Montreal Comiccon, is the perfect example of a comic book writer and artist who doesn’t deal with the superhero genre in its entirety. He has been writing and drawing Archie comics since he graduated from the prestigious Kubert School of Cartoon Art in New Jersey 35 years ago.

“The characters just connected from the beginning,” Parent said, by phone from his home in Milford, Penn. “All versions of Archie seem to work. That is a testament to the characters. That’s part of the charm, that they represent ordinary teenagers. small town life I think that’s attractive to a lot of people. I think that’s why people watch old TV shows, sitcoms. There is a familiarity with Archie.

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“Then there is also the love triangle of Archie, Betty and Veronica. That’s always something people come back to.”

Like McDowell and Foley, Parent likes to meet fans.

“It’s really fun because I mostly work from home, so I don’t see a lot of people buying my work,” Parent said. “So at conventions you can meet the fans and mingle with your co-workers. It’s a fun social gathering. I do more shows than a lot of people, but I really enjoy them.”

TAKE A LOOK: montreal comiccon (montrealcomiccon.com) takes place at the Palais des congrès from July 8 to 10.

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