 |
| Here I am with Paul Picerni .who played the detective in 1953's House Of Wax,not to be confused with the wretched 2005 remake. |
No thanks Norman, I'll happily watch interviews with you on You Tube for free. And Patrick, I can live without your autograph. I really can.
It's a trend I've been noticing since the late 1990's; movie stars charging outrageous amounts of money for an autograph or picture taken with them. You see, I remember a time when they charged either nothing or a small fee, like five or ten dollars. When Linda Blair charged ten dollars to sign my Japanese mini poster of The Exorcist plus posing for a photo with me, the money went to an animal rights agency, not her pocket. Dee Wallace( The Howling, E.T) said her autograph was five dollars,but was apologetic about it,which I thought was rather sweet and endearing.
These days, many of the other celebrities I've encountered sit at their table along side their manager stuffing the convention goers money in a lock box. Why not place a cash register on the table instead? I was surprised when director John Landis( An American Werewolf In London, Amazon Women On The Moon,ect) was charging thirty five dollars for his autograph. I mean, with all the high profile movies he's made the man has to be quite wealthy. Does Landis need the money that badly? He ought to sit outside the hotel with a tin cup and a sign reading: Need money. Give what you can. Yes sir, it's greed on parade and it ain't very pretty.
And how about Sid Haig? Before his runaway success as Captain Spaulding in House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects, he was a cult actor who starred in dozens of drive-in fodder movies in the 1970's and 1980's. Back in those days, Haig would have probably been thrilled to death to have someone come up to him and ask for his autograph. However,since his sudden success,he now commands $20.00. Maybe his fee has increased as of this posting. You know, when you factor in inflation and the economy.
To add insult to injury, Tony Moran(brother of the late Erin Moran who played Joanie on Happy Days) was in the film Halloween for a few seconds. He was the face of the unmasked Michael Myers. Yet, despite this micro bit part, Moran signs photos of himself from the film and has the nerve to charge money for his autograph. He was in the film for a couple of seconds, for Christ's sake! That's hardly a starring role. I wouldn't give him a stick of gum in exchange for his autograph, much less $20.00.
It's a trend I've been noticing since the late 1990's; movie stars charging outrageous amounts of money for an autograph or picture taken with them. You see, I remember a time when they charged either nothing or a small fee, like five or ten dollars. When Linda Blair charged ten dollars to sign my Japanese mini poster of The Exorcist plus posing for a photo with me, the money went to an animal rights agency, not her pocket. Dee Wallace( The Howling, E.T) said her autograph was five dollars,but was apologetic about it,which I thought was rather sweet and endearing.
These days, many of the other celebrities I've encountered sit at their table along side their manager stuffing the convention goers money in a lock box. Why not place a cash register on the table instead? I was surprised when director John Landis( An American Werewolf In London, Amazon Women On The Moon,ect) was charging thirty five dollars for his autograph. I mean, with all the high profile movies he's made the man has to be quite wealthy. Does Landis need the money that badly? He ought to sit outside the hotel with a tin cup and a sign reading: Need money. Give what you can. Yes sir, it's greed on parade and it ain't very pretty.
And how about Sid Haig? Before his runaway success as Captain Spaulding in House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects, he was a cult actor who starred in dozens of drive-in fodder movies in the 1970's and 1980's. Back in those days, Haig would have probably been thrilled to death to have someone come up to him and ask for his autograph. However,since his sudden success,he now commands $20.00. Maybe his fee has increased as of this posting. You know, when you factor in inflation and the economy.
To add insult to injury, Tony Moran(brother of the late Erin Moran who played Joanie on Happy Days) was in the film Halloween for a few seconds. He was the face of the unmasked Michael Myers. Yet, despite this micro bit part, Moran signs photos of himself from the film and has the nerve to charge money for his autograph. He was in the film for a couple of seconds, for Christ's sake! That's hardly a starring role. I wouldn't give him a stick of gum in exchange for his autograph, much less $20.00.
As you can imagine, the vendors at these conventions are none to pleased with all of this, because after the fans have spent money to enter the event and then shelling out more money to obtain autographs from their favorite actors and actress's, there's not a whole lot to spend at the vendors tables. And they pay a pretty hefty fee to set up tables at these conventions. Now here's the kicker: the conventions pay for the celebrity's air fare, hotel accommodations and, I've been told ,their food as well. So in addition to all of this, the celebrities charge exorbitant prices for their autographs? The fans, being the sheep that they are, gladly fork over the money without complaining.
 |
| Yours truly and actress Kelly Stables in 2005 who was known as the little dead girl in The Ring before going on to co- star in Two And A Half Men and The Exes. You're not going to believe this, but someone saw this picture and thought Kelly was my girlfriend. I reluctantly admitted she wasn't, though I was sorely tempted to lie. Believe me folks, when it comes to women I'm not that lucky. |
It's gotten to the point where I'm wary of approaching a celebrity just to say hi because they might want to sell me an autograph. It used to be that you went up to a celebrity, they'd shake your hand. Nowadays when they extend their hand, it's to take your money. So I've stopped attending to horror/science-fiction conventions because it's no longer about the fans, it's about how much money celebrities can suck out of a fans wallet. For me, it's just not fun anymore.
*Update 2017.
Well folks, it was bound to happened. The cost for an autograph and a picture with your favorite celebrity has gone up. Nowadays, there are two sets of prices: $30.00 for a signed autograph and $30.00 for a picture with them or(and this is a real deal) $50.00 for both! So when you go to these conventions be sure to bring plenty of money with you because you're sure gonna need it. Hell, maybe even take out a loan to cover expenses. Naturally, the the fans, or sheeple as I call them, will gladly hand over the cash without protest. To which I say: shame on them.
The late actor Ed Kemmer (TV's Space Patrol and the horror film The Spider) never charged for his autograph. He said that signing an autograph for a fan was a privilege. It's not that way in this day and age, sad to say. As I said previously, conventions just aren't fun anymore. It's all about the money and not the fans.
Well folks, it was bound to happened. The cost for an autograph and a picture with your favorite celebrity has gone up. Nowadays, there are two sets of prices: $30.00 for a signed autograph and $30.00 for a picture with them or(and this is a real deal) $50.00 for both! So when you go to these conventions be sure to bring plenty of money with you because you're sure gonna need it. Hell, maybe even take out a loan to cover expenses. Naturally, the the fans, or sheeple as I call them, will gladly hand over the cash without protest. To which I say: shame on them.
The late actor Ed Kemmer (TV's Space Patrol and the horror film The Spider) never charged for his autograph. He said that signing an autograph for a fan was a privilege. It's not that way in this day and age, sad to say. As I said previously, conventions just aren't fun anymore. It's all about the money and not the fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment