Hello!

This is a bit of an odd musing overall since this is a common sight at conventions, but does anybody feel a tinge bad for the guys and gals who are placed in these seat placements and sign a plethora of photographs and memorabilia for several bucks?  As one of my friends put it, it feels like a celebrity petting zoo as these folks are attempting to get attention and cash for works, whether they’re relatively recent or in the far past.

Granted, some celebrities seem to have fun at these get-togethers (e.g., the Star Trek folks going around Las Vegas after their convention), but this is just a random musing on my part as I’ve used such services for my own collecting habit.

What do you folks think about this?  Is it a dignified, profitable venture or more financial desperation overall?  It seems to have picked up in recent years due to the rise of pop culture after all.

As a newcomer for conventions I started going to conventions 11 years ago, but where I used to live there wasn’t any guests. But last year and this year it changed everything. When I became an adult and enough savings I started going to conventions and being interested in meeting celebrities, I want to know your experiences, and I will leave a comment the 2 people that stand up the most by me. (It can be photo-ops, panel, booths, etc).

I did and it was fucking awesome

Ignore the fact I look stoned I had to wake up at 5AM to get there

Is it basically their job to appear?

I see Alec Baldwin has done some conventions in the last year or so.

How have people responded to Alec Baldwin doin cons?

Is there a lot of backlash when he's announced, or when he's there signing?
Are people generally excited to meet him?

Only curious due to the controversies that happened due to the Rust tragedy and I know a lot of people are still very opinionated about it. Curious how people feel about guests that have some controversy with their careers? Thanks!

Hello all,

I know that this topic has been brought up before but i'm very curious in hearing stories. I am new to the Con world and I attended one of my first conventions last year. I had a blast and the culture was great. I do think some people can be a bit irritating and i think the celebrities get exhausted from it, which i can understand. That being said, who would be the best and worst interactions you had?

I'll throw my hat in the ring and say that I did get to meet Mick Foley but it was end of day and I think he was ready to wrap up. Didnt seem like a conversationist but it was nice meeting someone i watched growing up.

I was able to meet Dan Green and Eric Stuart. I've heard mixed about Eric, i wouldnt say he's unfriendly, just not much of a people person. This girl i seen at the front was in awe and a huge fan of his and he didnt flinch much. Not that it was mean, just that he didnt really respond or say extreme gratitude. Dan was awesome, i chatted slightly since his line was long but it was absolutely awesome getting merch signed and a picture with him.

I met Lisa Ortiz but the guy in front kind of ruined it for us. He was dressed up and just being obnoxious as all hell being mega cringe so when Lisa got to me she started to push the line though more. She was SUPER awesome though and it was awesome meeting one of my childhood sonic VAs.

The one who doesnt deserve it enough is Pete Capella, the OG voice of Silver. He deserved WAY more people in his line. Dude was so cool, did his voices, and loved talking about his experiences. Honestly one of the best down to earth guys ever like seriously. I havent seen him mentioned in these threads but this guy deserves the best i swear.

Let me know your stories. I'd be interested to hear what people have to say!

Prices have made the front page of Reddit in the last few days, most notably Mark Hamill's minimum $400 prices. This is a loooong way from when Anthony Daniels charging $60 at Wizard World Chicago in 1997 was considered egregious. It's also a long way from when I got Hamill's autograph at an LA comic shop for $20 in 2001.

I've been going to cons since '89, and I've noticed they've really shifted away from "buy all of the collectibles you can" to other experiences. People work on cosplay all year, and lining up for a panel for half a day has become the norm. And now there's autographs.

I'm not bashing people who love getting autographs or the celebrities who do it. Hamill's probably like "Yeah, if you want me there, here are my prices..." and they did it. More power to him in that case.

For me, I can have fun getting an autograph here and there for $30, but it was never a priority. It was typically when there was next to no one in line, or it was when it was someone a little more obscure (like an old-time writer or artist) and I could tell they were happy someone wanted to discuss their work.

I can see why cons have evolved from collectibles, the younger generations aren't like my GenX ass who grew up watching toy commercials disguised as cartoons and drooling over a Sears holiday catalog every year. At the same time, paying a few hundred dollars for an autograph really isn't my thing.

So I'm just curious, what's your take?

The title is a little bit of an exaggeration

But I wanted to talk about people going into lines just to meet talent and not purchase anything.

Now I don’t find anything wrong with that bc not everyone can afford autos…but there’s a time and place.

When it’s a 12 pm on Saturday, peak convention hours, you standing in line for 4 hours, just get a 5 second interaction is a waste of time for yourself and everyone around you. Most if not all talent charge for photos now so you can’t even get that out of the experience.

What people should do is go towards the end of the day or when they see the line short with maybe like 10-20 people go ahead and wait and you’ll probably have a much more memorable and meaningful interactions.

For A listers you can’t even meet them without a ticket so this mostly applies to voice actors and non A listers actors.

Went to my first comic con today, got to meet Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner. Truly one of the best experiences of my life. They were absolutely amazing. And I am beyond happy. I became friends with the people in the lines with me. People were kind and gracious, and friendly.....truly one of the best experiences of my life!!!!

For once instead of the Baulders Gate 3 VAs why not bring any of these examples. Especially Cree Summer whos genuine voice of my childhood

Hi all!

I just wanted to share my experiences from the past three weeks—and also ask about yours! I’ve driven about 7,000 km (around 4,350 miles) just to meet Hayden Christensen at Comic Con Amsterdam and Ewan McGregor at Comic Con Brussels. And it was worth all the money, waiting, and driving through Europe!

I was a bit worried about meeting Hayden because I saw the chaos at the spring convention in Brussels—how many people had to stand in line and how difficult it was( I was also worried that he will cancel last minute since he was at Comic Con Scotland on Saturday and was coming to Amsterdam one day after on Sunday). This time it was better organized, but I still had to wait for hours in line, even with fast-track tickets, and there was a huge delay. Maybe it’s just because Hayden is so nice with fans and takes the time to chat for a few words or even minutes while signing autographs.

I was also worried about Ewan, since his tickets sold out even faster than Hayden’s. But this time, everything went perfectly—he even started his session earlier than scheduled! With the fast-line bracelet, I was able to get my photo and autograph after waiting maybe 10 minutes at most. He was super nice too, though he signed a bit quicker, so the line moved faster. He still had a few kind words for everyone, even if he didn’t chat as long as Hayden did!

I’m also thrilled with Ewan’s quote since I’ve heard he doesn’t always do quotes!

Since other Star Wars actors were there too, I also met Temuera Morrison, Ian McDiarmid, and Anthony Daniels, who were all incredibly kind.

Temuera even liked my blue paint pen (he only had Sharpies) so much that he offered to exchange an autograph—with personalization and character name—for the pen! The next time I saw him, I asked how the pen was, and he said it’s his favorite and that he tries to use it as much as possible everywhere he can!

It was one of the nicest (and also longest and most tiring) three weeks of my life!

Let me know if you were also in Brussels or Amsterdam, and share your favorite stories about Ewan, Hayden, or the others!

Which con guest are y'all most looking forward to meeting this year or have already met and at which con. For me it the entire daredevil cast, Frank miller, and Chris Claremont.