Ricky Whittle DragonCon 2021

When I entered DragonCon’s ‘Walk of Fame’, on Saturday, I was specifically looking for Ricky Whittle. I loved him in American Gods and I really enjoyed The 100. In the past, at SDCC, I was lucky enough to get cast items signed from both of those shows but I wanted something with just him.

When I got the table, there were two people behind the plexiglass. They were moving boxing and setting up the table. I have to do a double take to make sure that was Ricky.  As I approached, he did some last-minute straightening and greeted me with a big smile.  I was the first customer of the day.

He signed and then came out from behind the table. Then we talked. About The 100 and working with those fresh faces. Then we talked about working on American Gods and how he tried to be a sponge trying to suck up all of the nuisances that those actors displayed. He spoke glowingly about Ian McShane.

As we chatted a lady walked up and joined the conversation. After a minute she asked if Ricky recognized her. With masks on, it’s hard. She removed her mask and he did know her. They started a new conversation recalling how they met before. That was my cue to leave but he included me in the conversation. The three us continued chatting. It was really nice.

AH

American Gods SDCC 2016

Starz had a booth for American Gods at SDCC. Like the previous years, you had to really invest some time to get a winning autograph ticket.  The booth was an ‘experience’.  You slowly waited for your turn to pull a winning ticket and then you were sent into the booth to stand by a white buffalo and get your photo taken.

All well and good.  I do not mean that with any sarcasm. It is a good.  It’s a fun way to generate some interest and do something cool. While you might have lost on the autograph ticket, you could receive a shot glass, or IPhone cover, or t-shirt or etc.  All pretty nice swag. However, being an autograph collector, nothing satisfies except for the autograph ticket.

The booth isn’t large.  The line to do the ‘experience’ will wrap around the booth in an instant and be capped.  Meaning, you can’t get in line.  A standby line along a wall was created and hopefully that line doesn’t get capped too. If you are lucky, you might spend 30 minutes waiting in line. Then try for the winning ticket and get back in line.

Now remember, we are at ComicCon. Nothing is easy, nothing is quick, and nothing is guaranteed.  You are in a constant mode of do I invest time ‘here’ or do I invest time ‘there’.  Is the risk/reward worth the time spent?

Preview night my buddies and I attempted the booth. We excitedly took our chances and failed.  We may have even tried again. I got a couple of nice key chains. Thursday I tried once more and then I gave up.  However, one buddy actually won.  Now, ego gets involved.  So I tried again and had no luck.  Then something magical happened and I had a winning ticket. That was pretty exciting.

Friday was the signing.  As I waited for the signing to begin, the cast walked past.  The movie has a large cast and 5 actors were signing along with 3 crew members:  PabloSchreiber, Bryan Fuller, Michael Green, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, DavidSlade, Ricky Whittle, and Ian McShane.

It was very well worth the effort for this signers.

AH

 

The 100 cast signing SDCC 2015

I have said this to a lot of people. The 100 Is not what I expected.  I really expected show about teenage angst, unrequited love, relationship triangles, and star crossed (pun intended) lovers with a veneer of sci fi.  Okay, it is a cast of ‘beautiful people’ with glowing skin that is cleaner than expected after a crash-landing. It has the romantic tangles that viewers crave (at least WB viewers) but they didn’t throw the romance out there in the first few episodes and there is good story writing. I really like the series.  I liked being surprised.

I was happy when I pulled a winning ticket for The 100.

I saw the cast walk to the WB booth.  The ladies were dressed very glamorously. Stilettos, makeup, glossy lipstick, short hems, etc.  They dressed to turn heads and they did.  The guys were more chic causal.

First up was Isaiah Washington, he saw my badge and asked me where in Texas I was from. I said Dallas, then he asked if Dallas, or Plano, or Ft Worth.  Stunned, I said just north of Plano.  I asked why he knew the area. He said he grew up in Houston. He asked if I was a Cowboys fan. I turned that aside and said I was a Rangers fan.  Then I asked what he thought about the Astro’s moving to the American League.  He lowered his head and shook it. He said he didn’t want to get involved in politics.  We both laughed. I got the meaning.  Baseball is like relation and politics.  It’s an emotional topic. You just don’t jump into that topic casually.