Have you met any Celebrities lately?

[Cmonster]

You should've Dead End karate chopped his arse right on his adam's apple...

Hec,

It's funny you should say that, because "Adam's" apple almost got karate chopped by more than one irate fan. He was charging 75 dollars for his signature. LAME.

SC

[Hector]

Well, I didn't call directly to him! I called the hotel actually to ask them if they might tell me if I could wait by the desk the next day and try to catch him on the way out so I could ask for his auto. I fully expected them to say no, and even if they said yes, I would have risked that he would not sign. However, not only did they not say no, they asked me if I wanted them to ring his room. My response was "YOU CAN DO THAT??" and they said no problem and rang his room and he answered immediately.

I was just messing with you...




P.S. BTW...that was very cool of him.

[SUPERUNDERDOGGIE]

I met Oprah Winfrey's husband/boyfriend Stedman Graham a couple years ago at a conference. He was speaking to a group of about 300-400 of us and I don't think anyone knew who he was until he mentioned Oprah about half way through then everyone was like "Man, that's Oprah's guy".

He was nice. Gave out books and signed them for anyone interested.

That same day I met Chris Daughtry and the rest of the band in the Chicago airport and strangely enough they had just been on Oprah that day so we had something to talk about. I had him sign Stedman's book which we all thought was pretty funny.

I had given him my info and later he sent me some autographed photos and even one for my kid congratulating him for getting A's on his report card.

Needless to say he is an amazingly cool guy and fellow Christian so I dunno maybe that helped.

[megoapesnut]

I would have called the police...

Well, I didn't call directly to him! I called the hotel actually to ask them if they might tell me if I could wait by the desk the next day and try to catch him on the way out so I could ask for his auto. I fully expected them to say no, and even if they said yes, I would have risked that he would not sign. However, not only did they not say no, they asked me if I wanted them to ring his room. My response was "YOU CAN DO THAT??" and they said no problem and rang his room and he answered immediately.

[CaptainTrenchcoat]

Do you think maybe some celebs charge so much for autographs because they don't want to have to sign that many? They know the higher prices will discourage a lot of people. Just a thought.

Years ago, I got to meet Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Studios and the Toxic Avenger. I was working at my local Barnes & Noble and his press agent called, I just happened to be the one that answered the phone, asking if he could come in and sign some books. He had just released, "Everything I learned about filmmaking from the Toxic Avenger." I told them of course. Unfortunately not many people showed up, mostly industry people and investors. This was in Grosse Pointe, MI. Wealthy investors there. He gave a speech and answered questions for over an hour. He even joked alot with me as I hosted the event. He had asked if I wanted to join him and his people as they drove around that day making other appearances too. Couldn't make it but wished I could have. Tremendous fun that day.

[Hector]

Reading about all of the celebrities and sports figures who charge for autographs, I had to share my experience for a someone who went out of their way to give me an autograph for free. I think I already posted the whole story here in another thread, so I won't bore everyone with it again. To sum it up, I missed going to a sports card show that Tony Dorsett was signing at. I called his hotel hoping to possibly meet him on his way out the next day and he invited me right up to his hotel room and signed his rookie card for me and then proceeded to sign for the people who had lined up behind me. He was very pleasant and didn't mention payment in any way.

That and Bruce Willis handing me a T-Shirt are my only brushes with celebrities.

I would have called the police...

[Hector]

When I'm rich and famous

I have absolutely ZERO interest on EVER being famous...I just wanna be rich...lol.

Seriously...being super rich and absolutely unknown...is the way to go.

[megoapesnut]

Reading about all of the celebrities and sports figures who charge for autographs, I had to share my experience for a someone who went out of their way to give me an autograph for free. I think I already posted the whole story here in another thread, so I won't bore everyone with it again. To sum it up, I missed going to a sports card show that Tony Dorsett was signing at. I called his hotel hoping to possibly meet him on his way out the next day and he invited me right up to his hotel room and signed his rookie card for me and then proceeded to sign for the people who had lined up behind me. He was very pleasant and didn't mention payment in any way.

That and Bruce Willis handing me a T-Shirt are my only brushes with celebrities.

[Gorn Captain]

I've more or less stopped collecting autographs.
You can't trust the internet sellers, and at conventions you are easily out of $30 (and up). In an ideal world, celebrities should hand out autographs, or just charge for the print of the photo.
I can understand that "smaller celebrities" need some money to get by, but major league actors don't need that money.
But then again, if they charge nothing, people will ask for one, then sell it on Ebay for $50.
So I've kind of stopped. Honestly, my hero worshipping days are also more or less over. They're just guys, making a living.

When I'm rich and famous, I'll give away so many autographs, they'll be worthless on the secondary market. Then again, they might be worthless to start with.....

[mego73]

Well, I do agree in a way. But the thing is that this is a business (from what I hear some of the stars have to conduct their business better). The stars also are keenly aware that many that get autographs from them do it so they can sell them on Ebay. I think one of the main culprits of the cash and sign movement was the awareness of autographs going up on Ebay.

I think the autograph should be worked into the price of a ticket if there are a couple stars at a show. For shows with a whole bunch of stars, I see no other way.

When I used to go to cons in the 80's and early 90's, an autograph was part of the ticket but it was only one star.

Last con I went to a few years ago had Robert Picardo, Peter Mayhew, Ethan Philips and Robin Curtis.

They all were fine that day, I even got a laugh out of Peter Mayhew by telling him I recognized him because "you walk just like Chewbacca"

Still, it was a bit of a sight to see these stars at the autograph tables with a money case, taking money and making change just like someone selling tickets at a school play.

I just thought "things sure have changes".

[starsky]

My worst experience was with Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca).
He misspelled my name on the photo (even though I wrote it down, "Rik"), and wrote "Rick". I pointed this out (politely).
He took the photo, and more or less crossed out the "C", and gave the photo back.
I asked for a new one (hey, it was $40!), and I got one with a complimentary grunt.

For $40, he could have cheered up IMO....

well, i saw him at the wondercon too, and his table had no one. he was sitting there all by his lonesome.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Sandy, do you know if any of the celebs give some of their proceeds to charity? I know some ball players do stuff like that. Sign a baseball, charge money for it, but the money goes to their fund or something like that.

[Hector]

A few years ago at a show, I got into an argument with an actor because I wouldn't charge any money and the fans started asking all the other celebs, etc, why they were charging money when I wasn't? It just turned into a big mess... All I'll say is that this guy asked me; "Why do you give something away for free, that people will pay money for? Don't you think your time is worth something?" I replied "Yeah, my time is worth something. As a matter of fact, it's worth quite a bit, but this isn't work. We're hanging out here, chatting with people, getting to know our fanbase, and I'm not gonna charge some 8 year old kid wearing a Batman costume, who tells me he loves my movie to find his mom and get 20 bucks for my autograph." Which is EXACTLY what this idiot did when a little kid came up to him and asked for an autograph. Dick... I think it's kinda pathetic... I mean, how long does it take you to sign your name on something and pose for a photo with the very fans that put you there.

You should've Dead End karate chopped his arse right on his adam's apple...

[Hector]

Having said that...I don't mind signed autographs...even for a fee...as long as the celebrity is NICE to his/her fans.

[Hector]

I've watched this thread from the beginning and didn't really want to comment, but when people started bringing up all the convention autograph stuff, I couldn't resist. I'm sorry, but this is a REALLY sore spot for me.

In my humble opinion, charging money for your autograph is lame. That's a big reason why I don't go to conventions anymore. All those people with tons of photos on their table and charging money to sign them... I dunno, I never liked it to begin with and now it's super old. I get the fact that not a lot of these actors really work anymore and it's kinda their only source of income, but I'll tell you something a lot of you probably don't know; The SAG residuals these actors get, especially for shows that are still in syndication, is quite a lot. Someone like Patrick Stewart??? Why does HE need to charge money for his autograph? How many millions and millions of dollars has he made on Star Trek and X-men? How much is enough? Wouldn't you think that someone like that, who is already super wealthy and has a huge fan base, would sign autographs for all the people that actually helped PUT him where he is today by supporting him and watching the shows/movies?

I used to get asked to be a guest at conventions all the time, and the first thing I would tell the promoter, is that I do not and will not charge money for my autograph OR a picture. As a matter of fact, I spend money out of my own pocket to get little 4x5 cards or photos printed up, to sign and give out at conventions and screenings and the like, because there's no way I'd ever take money from anyone for my signature.

I'm there as a guest and have achieved the small amount of success I've been fortunate enough to achieve in my career, because of THOSE PEOPLE at the shows, who downloaded my films, bought my artwork, and have supported my many endeavors. I feel in addition to the work itself, it's important for me to give something back to the people who appreciate my work, because I appreciate them.

A few years ago at a show, I got into an argument with an actor because I wouldn't charge any money and the fans started asking all the other celebs, etc, why they were charging money when I wasn't? It just turned into a big mess... All I'll say is that this guy asked me; "Why do you give something away for free, that people will pay money for? Don't you think your time is worth something?" I replied "Yeah, my time is worth something. As a matter of fact, it's worth quite a bit, but this isn't work. We're hanging out here, chatting with people, getting to know our fanbase, and I'm not gonna charge some 8 year old kid wearing a Batman costume, who tells me he loves my movie to find his mom and get 20 bucks for my autograph." Which is EXACTLY what this idiot did when a little kid came up to him and asked for an autograph. Dick... I think it's kinda pathetic... I mean, how long does it take you to sign your name on something and pose for a photo with the very fans that put you there.

That's why now, instead of cons, I lecture and do Q&A's at film festivals, cinema schools, and also do sketches for disabled, sick, and underprivileged children. That's what professionals should do. Especially those fortunate enough to have very lucrative careers and have become financially well off, instead of trying to charge someone money to sign your name.

End rant. Sorry...

SC

Sir...dead on post...I'm on your side regarding this matter.

You DA man!