Autograph Hound's Blah Blah Blog

Friday, August 25, 2017

Westworld Cast signing SDCC 2017


Saturday morning I had The Wife get in the WB line. I headed straight to the DC line. I had dreams of getting the Justice League wristband. As I was walked down the stairs at the back of the convention center and passing hundreds of other fans in the same line, I should have given up then. But I hoped against hope...aka I was stubborn.

I was past the point of no return with the WB line. So I might as well stay where I was. However, once I heard the announcement filter to the suburbs of San Diego that Justice League was done, I left the line. I hustled (well, a hustle for me) over and joined the line to get onto the expo floor. I didn’t hesitate nor cry about my failure.  SDCC is all about lines and getting into the right one as quickly as possible. I would have time later (like with this blog) to bemoan my luck and my decision.

After I was in my new line and embracing my inner cow, I updated The Wife and friends about where I was so they could join me. Then I got the news that all three of them won Westworld wristbands.  That gave a nice rush of adrenaline to a slow morning.

This image is from IMDB
While the love of my life and mother of my cats could slip her prized wristband off, I could not slip that treasured bracelet on. We would need to visit the WB booth and ask how they would handle a transfer from her to me. Based on everyone’s schedule, The Wife’s, mine, and The WB’s; the only time we had was when we needed to line up for Westworld.  We politely asked the security guard at the booth’s entrance.  He politely explained that we could both go through the line but only I could get a poster and interact with the celebs.

Seemed simple enough. But this is SDCC and just because one person said it, did not mean the next one would agree. When we reached the head of the line (where they cut off the wristband), the head of security came over. He remembered The Wife from the morning. He said hello. He asked if this was the hubby she mentioned. Think about that. How many people had he seen over the course of SDCC? How many people had he seen that morning? How many people had he seen since then?  He remembered The Wife after a few seconds. I have seen him the last 5 years or so. This guy and I see each other a couple of times each day. I even exchange words with him as I try to butter him up.  He doesn’t know me from Adam but remembers her and how she said, my hubby really wanted this. Wow.

Is that a complaint? No, it’s an observation. No wonder the Wife thinks this is easy.

Head of security repeated that we both could go through the line but she needed to stay behind me so she was out of the way.

The WB booth was packed with Westworld people. It was insane how many people were signing. As I made my way through the line, I would see the next guest and just say ‘wow’. I muttered to Ed Harris how much I liked Kinghtriders.  He lamented the loss of Romero. As he followed up, security gave me a gentle nudge forward.  All I said to Thandie Newton was Mission Impossible. Her smile grew even bigger and told me that was the best of the Mission Impossible movies.  She admitted she might be slightly bias. And then she stated talking. Security moved my poster and me to the next guest. I tried to be good after that.  To Jimi Simpson I only said I was amazed how EVERYONE was here. He turned to Shannon Wood and asked if EVERYONE was here. Apparently that was a running joke and they laughed and bantered about stuff that was meaningless to me. And then security moved me again. I swear it wasn’t my fault.

14 people signed my Westworld poster!

Rodrigo Santoro (top right), Jonathan Nolan (Top center), Lisa Joy (top right), Angela Sarafyan (middle right), Shannon Woodward (middle left), Ben Barnes (middle right), Jeffrey Wright (middle center), Evan RachelWood (middle right), Ed Harris (lower left), Thandie Newton (lower center), Jimmi Simpson (lower right), Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (bottom left), SimonQuarterman (bottom center), James Marsden (bottom right)

This signing ended my Saturday and it was best thing I did at this year’s SDCC.

AH

PS: The Wife gave me some grief. She asked if I was ‘that person’. I didn’t follow. She told me I had just finished complaining about the Wynonna Earp signing and the Sisters that talked to every guest.  Then I did the same thing at WB.

My feelings were hurt. I hate being a hypocrite (we all are more than we think we are) but I think I was just being polite. I wasn’t trying to join the Scooby Gang like they were. She laughed at me as a reminder to be little more sympathetic and more self-aware.

AH

2 comments:

  1. This is awesome. How would you say was your favorite to talk to?

    -B

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    Replies
    1. Thandie Newton was the ‘funnest’. But ideally, you’re only supposed to say ‘hi’ and ‘thank you’ so the line does not bog down. As you read, security moved me along fairly quickly as I went off script. I was getting the nudge from security after 10 seconds. This isn’t an opportunity to bond with the actor. I just try to slip in a few words as they are signing. However, each time the actor was being talkative with me.

      The ultimate goal is for each fan to get their chance to get the autograph and say hello. The WB booth has the most intense signing schedule and the biggest shows/stars. All of their signings cause crowd control issues around their booth. They want their actors in and out as quickly as possible and then get them in a more controlled environment.

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