Fred Savage Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

I bought Fred Savage’s autograph ticket on Friday. The signing was for Sunday. I did ‘clear it’ with The Wife first. We were planning on leaving early Sunday morning to drive home.  This was delaying us a smidge. 

The stressful part was this signing session was scheduled for only 15 minutes. If I missed that, I needed to wait several hours until his next signing. That meant we were getting home late.

Fred arrived on time and jumped right into signing.  The handlers weren’t very well organized as they had people criss-crossing each other and blocking other people from moving forward. Since I was close to the front of the line this didn’t impact me much.

There was some ‘fun’ when the handlers moved a man in a wheelchair to the front of the line.  I understand the reason. It’s a good thing. The man in the wheelchair also had diminished mental capabilities. Where the wheelchair was placed, prevented others from moving around him. While he was attempting to ask Fred a bunch of very personal questions that shouldn’t be asked in public, no one else was getting anything signed.

After 5 minutes, it sorted itself out. The man was wheeled out asking why his questions weren’t answered.  

I got my photo signed with a couple of minutes to spare. Then I hustled out to meet the wife for the long trip home.

AH

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

When Yahya Abdul-Mateen arrived, he brought his own music. It wasn’t anything I had heard before. However, someone in line grooved to it and that made Yahya break out in a big smile as he pointed out the fan.

I actually picked up the table photo to get signed. I had the same photo with me but his version included the Manta’s Helmut.

AH

Lee Pace Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

I waited to buy Lee Pace’s autograph ticket until Friday. I wanted him but I wasn’t sure how much chaos this show would have with lines and I didn’t want to buy an autograph I couldn’t get.

Lee Pace has been on my radar since Pushing Daisies. I saw the first episode previewed at SDCC. I loved it. After the panel, about half the audience got a slice of cherry pie. That was a very unusual piece of swag.

I found several photos of Lee from Pushing Daisies I thought about printing. But the photo I choose to get signed came from the Hobbit. It looked so good that I printed that one instead.

When I got the autograph, we both got distracted by someone else. He handed me the photo and I walked off.  When I looked later, I thought he didn’t finish his signature. I looked online and he does sign ‘Lee’.

While disappointed in what I received, I try not to complain. Everyone has they own style and reason for how they sign. I know if I handing out autographs, people would be disappointed with the scrawl I call a signature.

AH

Amber Heard Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

Amber Heard was the other marque guest for me. I know for everyone else; Jason Momoa was THE draw. But I had gotten him a decade ago when nobody but Stargate fans knew who he was.

I previously gotten Amber Heard at SDCC for the movie Drive Angry. She and Nicolas Cage signed that day. But I wanted an 8x10 because that is how I nerdy.

Again, she was another celeb behind a curtained wall. When we got closer our bags were checked and then security used the hand held metal detectors. I was glad I printed my own photo. She had 2 choices. I didn’t like either.

She was signing fast. She was trying to say hi and smile but she had a long line and they were cracking the whip. She looked very pretty even with the pinkish hair. Nope, I wasn’t a fan of that.

As I got closer, I recognized someone. It was the female security officer from the WB booth at SDCC. The same lady I saw last year in Austin for the Black Lightening signing. I was trying to catch her eye but she was all business. She was watching the person in front of Amber, she was giving a quick check of the person ‘on deck’, and she was instructing people to keep their hands out of their pockets.

I’ve mentioned before I like this person. When I was the ‘on deck’ person, she looked at me and we said hi. I got a big smile from her. She recognized me.

Amber signed my photo. A nice large signature. I would have preferred another color but that was not going to happen. I briefly told her about SDCC many years ago. she paused and wondered how long that was. I knew I took too much time and left.

I exchanged a few words with my security friend. I kept that very brief as she was busy.

AH

Alexandra Shipp Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

My Saturday started with two signing more or less at the same time. I got the show early and jumped into the first line.

Alexandra Shipp was all smiles and high energy. She looked glamorous. While getting there slightly late, the issue wasn’t her but her handlers that got lost coming from her panel session in another building.

I was actually the first to get her signature. I normally don’t like being first but I had an eye on the clock and the other autograph I wanted. Once she signed, I thanked her and rushed away.

AH

Jeremy Renner Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

Jeremy Renner was the big reason I went to San Antonio. For me, he was the marque celeb at this show. My line queue group was 'B' for Jeremy. After I finished Robert Wuhl, I got into the Group 'A' line for Renner. The fast pass line was hundreds of people. The general admission line was 15 people. I was trying to get out of the convention early to avoid being late for dinner with The Wife’s Uncle.

The Group 'A' line was cut before I got my signature. I had to come back when Group 'B' was supposed to queue. This time, the line moved faster. I was told by one of my autograph buddies, who was in Group A, Jeremy was trying to interact with people the first time. Since they had him behind a curtained wall, he had no idea how long his line was. This time, he cut the chit-chat.  He wasn’t switching pens. The color worked for my photo. It did not work for everyone.

He did try to smile and look up but he was signing as fast as he could. Once I got my signature, I was headed back to the hotel to wash up and look presentable for dinner.

AH

Ray Fisher Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

Ray Fisher was nice. He got there and start right away. The line moved fast. He gave a nice large signature. He seemed to enjoy being there as he laughed a lot when talking to the fans.

AH

Robert Wuhl Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

My autograph ticket time for Robert Wuhl was Friday at 6:15 PM.  I had dinner plans and did not want to be at the show that late. When I saw Robert at his table earlier, I walked over and he signed. Yeah!

While he had a nice selection of photos, I used the one I printed. I printed photos for all of the celebs at this show. In the past, at shows where I paid in advance, the photo selection at the table were not very good. I did not want a black and white head shot like I have seen in the past.

Robert was nice. I caught him as he was just setting up. The bar code on the ticket had to be scanned and the handler had to rush over to do that. He had to vamp for a few seconds while that was done.

AH

Celebrity Fan Fest 2019

The Wife and I drove to San Antonio for a long weekend away from home and cats. The Wife did some fabric and quilt shopping. Friday night we had dinner with her Uncle, who we really like. We went to an Irish pub. It was good. Then Saturday night we had dinner with her Cousin and niece at a place not far from the Alamo. The hotel we stayed was older and remodeled. It had a great view of the Alamo from our room. The hotel was supposedly haunted although we never saw anything. It was a great trip.

And oh yeah, I picked up some autographs; as if you didn’t know.

Celebrity Fan Fest was in San Antonio and had several guests I was interested in adding to my collection. I didn’t go to the first year of this con as I was worried it would fold tents in the middle of the night and run with my money. This year I took the plunge.

The show was at the Freeman Coliseum and Expo Halls next to the where the Spurs play. It’s not far from downtown and the Alamo. The show used a separate building to house a celebrity car show and a small arena for the panels. This event spread people out.

It was hot and humid in San Antonio. A few sponsors/vendors were placed outside in the weather. The attendees had to long walk going to panels and sweated a lot.

The Fan Fest wasn’t that crowded. People came for the autographs and photos ops. I did not see a lot of people carrying bags of items they purchased from the vendors. As I listened to my fellow autograph collectors, they seemed to have been coming from all over the country. Most of them were spending the summer going to the shows with the big name Marvel and DC actors.

The food was decent and there were lots of chairs for resting. Since it wasn’t that crowded, people were able to sit on the floor too.

This show had you buy tickets in advance and you are in ‘groups’. The problem is you don’t know when the group is scheduled until a few days before the event. I had no idea that I had 2 signings at the same time until after I purchased the tickets. It did seem that if you were in group A, you could easily join group B if needed.

The autograph signing schedule was in odd chunks of time. My group A Fred Savage was 15 minutes long. It worked out for me but it was odd. If he showed late, he signs for 1 person and then leaves?

The event had a VIP/Fast Pass badge and general admission wristband. They had separate lines and they were fairly well marked out. Most everyone bought the VIP or Fast passes. It SEEMED that the ration was 30 to 1.  30 Fast pass to 1 general admission. The fast pass lines were very long and always longer than the general admission.

I enjoyed the show. Depending on the guest list next year (if there is a next year), I would go again.

AH

Simon Williamson and Gerald Home – Order 66 Toys May 2019

I didn’t take off early from work. In theory, I had enough time to drive from Addison to Allen before the end of the event. However, traffic was interesting and I got to Order 66 Toy Store (where you can fulfill all of your Star Wars needs) at closing time. Luckily, no one was in a rush to leave and lock the door.

A couple of my fellow collectors were already there and they were chatting with both Simon Williamson and Gerald Home. It was very casual and relaxed with lots of laughing.

The two actors signed my photos and then we started talking about my work. Being that there were not from the US, they claimed they never heard of the company. I was a good representative for my employer and explained we were in 40 markets worldwide, including the UK and Ireland.

We continued to chat and then a few more stragglers arrived. We left to allow Simon and Gerald to get back to work and to chat with some others. My fellow hounds and I left to get a nice dinner where we caught up on the last few weeks and future plans.

AH

Emilia Clarke Comicpalooza 2019

The autographs for Emilie Clarke were pre-sold and they sold out fast. I barely had time to absorb the high price for her autograph before the decision was taken out of my hands and the ‘sold out’ notice was displayed. 

Then there was an announcement that 'some' autographs tickets would be available the day of the signing.  That 'possibility' was why I drove down to Houston the night before. I wanted to be at Comicpalooza bright eyed and bushy tailed when they opened. I had convinced myself I wanted that autograph. I spent Friday night in Houston and then I would drive back Saturday night after the convention. Easy peasy.

When I got to the autograph booth, the first thing I learned was yes, some autographs MIGHT be sold but that would be decided later.

After ‘later’ arrived, they said the line would form at noon. One of my collecting buddies helped with his VIP pass. I got to stand in that line with him which put me ahead of others.

Then they gave you a numbered ticket and those numbers would be called in order: later.  The time was not set. Just check back ‘later’. I love how specific they were.

My Saturday morning was productive and I got the other autographs I wanted. The afternoon was spent hoping for Emilia’s. Not as productive.

I went to a late lunch with my friend and as we were eating, he got a call from another buddy. His number was called and he could now buy an autograph ticket.  He left and did that. 

When he came back, he actually had his autograph in hand.  The lines were short and he thought I should go and check my number.  It was now my turn to rush out of the restaurant. (Hmmm, did I ever pay for lunch?).  When I got to the booth to buy tickets, I was told my number was good. Yeah, me!

I saw a LONG line to buy tickets and I saw a short line to buy tickets.  The difference?  The short line was ‘cash’.  Yes, of course, I went into the cash line. After a minute, they went though the cash line and asked for someone that was REALLY paying with cash. Apparently nowadays ‘cash’ means debit card. When did that happen?  I pulled my money out and held it tightly in my grubby hands. I was then escorted to the front of the cash line. Yeah me, again!

There was some sticker shock when I had to pay handling fees for cash. Ugh. That does not seem fair.

I now had my autograph ticket in hand and dashed over to the very short line to get my signature.  Houston PD stopped me. No, I was not speeding. I showed my badge, my ticket, and asked if this was the right line. Right line, wrong time. The signing was over for the day. Oh, so NOT ‘yeah me’…. I explain they just sold me the ticket. They can’t be selling tickets if she stropped signing. My logic was not strong enough for an appeal. Others were turned away too.

Even though I was told to ‘move along’ I refused. Not in a rude way. I just stepped back a few feet to give the Officer some space and I waited. This could not be the final answer. I waited some more.  And I waited some more. It ended up being the final answer. Emilia had left the building.

My ticket would be good for tomorrow. I was not planning on staying another night. While I always bring an extra’s day clothes, I really wanted to get back home. It was a long day. Since I could return the next day, I wasn’t getting a refund on the ticket. To be truthful, I did not want a refund. I wanted the autograph. I called The Wife and told her. She didn’t mind me out of the house for an extra day. She was having quality time with her crafting.

The cost of this auto just got more expensive as I had to spend another night in Houston. I hung out with my friend and his wife. We had a good time.

The next morning, I returned to the convention center. I got there early so I could be near the front of the line. As with other ‘big names’ security was tight. We had to leave out backpacks and packages outside of the little curtained off signing table. Then go through a metal detector. The process went smoothly. It was a cattle call, just move through the gates and get your autograph. 

She was smiling and trying to say hello, but they were moving the crowd quickly. At this point I just wanted to go home. Once she signed my photo, I picked up my autograph and left the building.

AH

Wilson Cruz – Comicpalooza 2019

While I have not watched the new Star Trek series, I think I’ll end up getting a lot of those actors’ autographs like I have done for the shows Flash, Gotham, and Smallville. Those are also shows I have never watched. One day…

Wilson Cruz was in Houston for Comicpalooza. He was friendly with his fans.  He had a nice selection of 'dead' photos scattered around him. He was struggling with matching the color of sharpie with the background of the photo.  After he signed, if he didn’t like the results, he tossed it to the floor. Finally, his handler said to take a few minutes and sign each photo with each sharpie to see which one’s work best.  That seemed logical.

The line did move faster after that.

AH

Nathalie Emmanuel Comicpalooza 2019

How could I not make the long trip to Houston for Games of Throne alum Nathalie Emmanuel? More on that later.

 While the line was long, it moved fast.  She had the process down pat. Eye contact and smile with a quick ‘hi’. Then she figured out where to sign. She let you say a few words and then handed back your item. Next.

Best laid plans of mice and 'adviser to the Khalessi'… the girl in front of me gushed. It was handled well. The guy behind was stressing on which paint pen to use. But the line went smoothly and I got my photo signed.

AH

Erick Avari Comicpalooza 2019

You know Erick Avari from dozens of fandom roles over the years.  The first thing that comes to my mind is Stargate.  You might remember him from Star Trek, the Mummy, or Heroes.

A nice guy. He was willing to chat about different roles.

AH

Jeremy Davis Comicpalooza 2019

The weekend after the Texas Frightmare and Fan Expo doubleheader in Dallas, I was drove to Houston for Comicpalooza. I drove down Friday night was ready to tackle a new convention Saturday morning.

The first autograph I picked up was Jeremy Davies. Being a Lost fan, I had to get a photo from that show. The Saving Private Ryan photo was very tempting too.

He was dressed in a vest and tie. He was at his table when the show opened. He was squared away when I walked up. We shook hands and I mentioned the first time I saw him was in Ravenous. He lit up.  He told me a buddy wrote the script. He was curious how I saw it. I’m assuming it wasn’t in the theaters long. Maybe it was straight to video.  I told hm I saw it on HBO or Showtime a long time ago. We chatted about that movie and Lost for a few more minutes.

A very nice guy.

AH

Mia Farrow Fan Expo Dallas 2019

I won a raffle to get Mia Farrow’s autograph for Sunday of the convention. I still had to pay; buy I won the raffle. The disappointing thing: everyone won the raffle.  The convention was still selling autograph tickets while I was in line. Oh well.

Mia was friendly. She came in wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. The day before was May 4^th (May the fourth be with you). She thought we was appearing on the 4^th and showing her nerd pride.  She apologized for being a day late. It didn’t matter. It’s a ComicCon, we are all nerds and we all wear Star Wars t-shirts. Well, not me. I wear U of A shirts. I’m really nerdy and not a poser hipster nerd like a lot of attendees.

She signed two photos for me. She took the time to switch pens and find a good spot to sign. I liked that.

This was the last autograph I obtained at Fan Expo. I quickly left and drove to Texas Frightmare Weekend to get my last autograph over there.

That was two conventions in 3 days and Sunday I was at both shows.

AH

Charlie Hunnman Fan Expo Dallas 2019

Okay, I will be very honest. I would not know Charlie Hunnman from a hole in the wall. Never watched Sons of Anarchy. Never seemed interesting to me. Hey, don't judge. I watch shows you ignore too.

But my Dad watched the show. He liked it. I was surprised as this series did not seem his ‘thing’. I’m glad he’s not watching endless reruns of Murder She Wrote and Bonanza all day long.

From what I hear Charlie is an incredibly nice guy. I agree with that statement.

I know, a few years back, when a Convention in Houston had ‘issues’, a lot of people did not get his autograph even though they payed in advance.  I know on his next trip to Houston, at a different convention, he honored those autograph tickets.  That was classy.

Here's my tale of his character.

I was in line a long time for Charlie. I’m been in longer lines and waited longer to get an autograph. The point: Charlie is popular, even if I don’t know who he is.

As I stood in line, the young lady in front of me was antsy. The concrete convention floor is a killer when wearing sneakers. It’s more brutal when you are wearing a dress and heels. She fidgeted and bumped into the people in front of her and behind her (that means me).

She frowned as she counted the people in front of us.  She tried to pass the time by chatting with me but I was in my own world of activity ignoring people.

When Charlie left to do a photo op, she gave up. She turned and said she had to go. I dutifully moved a step forward. I was surprised she came back about 30 minutes later. I was nice and let her back in. I’m a Saint that way.

As we snaked our way to the front of the line, she snuck a couple of photos of Charlie. It’s a ‘no no’ but everyone does it.  I even moved to the side so she could get a better shot. Then she started talking again. Ugh. I was almost done without having to be friendly.

She didn’t have money for an autograph, she only wanted to say ‘hi’. She flew in from Mexico City this morning just to see him. (Are you thinking scam?  I was.)  Then the typical, I’m a huge fan. I want to marry him. I only want to get close. She asked if she could walk up with me so she could be in front of him longer. Remember, I’m a Saint. I said ‘sure’.  She told me she wouldn’t say a thing. Okay, I can work with that.

Charlie had a large selection of photos.  I found one I liked.  My new friend approved.

When we stepped up, Charlie looked at both of us and said hello. He shook both our hands.  My friend was in heaven. I handed over my photo and Charlie signed.  My mission accomplished.

Since I was done, I decided to help my friend. I mentioned that she was a huge fan. She flew in from Mexico City just to see him.  Now Charlie’s halo started to shine. He smiled for her. That smile was just for her. He chatted with her. She was blushing and embarrassed but loving it. She mentioned she just wanted to see him up close and now she was happy.  Charlie asked if she had some for him to sign.  She said she didn’t have money. That was not the answer he wanted.  He told her that wasn’t a problem.  He walked her over to the other table with the selection of photos.  He suggested a shirtless one.  I told you he had a large selection of photos. She clutched the bare chested image to her chest as they walked the 5 feet to the signing table. He gave her a nice signature and then thanked her for coming all that way to see him.  Very classy.

We left. She thanked me a dozen times as we walked to the exit and parted ways. Yep, I’m a saint. And I still had my wallet.

AH

Rose McIver Fan Expo Dallas 2019

Rose McIver plays a zombie, who solves murders. Yeah, who would have thunk that was a winner. But it is very good. I enjoy watching the show.

In the series, she wears a lot of makeup to make her face pale. Now and then she will wear a ‘normal’ face for an episode.  While it was a surprise to see her in public with a minimal to no makeup, it makes sense to give her pores a chance to breathe clear air.

She had a nice selection of photos to choose from. She also selected different color paint pens when she signed based on the photo you selected. That was a nice touch.  Often the celeb will sign everyone with one color.

AH