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[img width=601 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140907_22_22_17_Pro_zpsa45f215f.jpg[/img]
We went to the 2014 Salt Lake City Comic Con Fan XPerience in May, and it was awesome for me. I got to meet Elvira and two of the Boondock Saints, plus some other celebrities. This time, it was almost unbearable. I had some fun, but was very disappointed overall for two big reasons:
#1) The amount of tickets sold/people in the building was terrible on Saturday. At one point, the fire marshall stopped people from entering. According to the event site, over 90,000 people attended the Saturday events (our day to be there). The convention center was just not big enough for those numbers. Trying to prove your validity should never take a back seat to fan enjoyment.
#2) The ability to meet and greet with the celebs was all about the heavy cash. Seriously, to get an autograph was one fee and to take a picture while you were standing there was another. One picture to show that you got to meet someone that you admired. The autograph fee was PER autograph. I took some things down to get signed for friends and figured that the story behind them was enough for the celebrities to want to sign. Their "handlers" wouldn't allow it before I made it to the table, so no story possible. It was an assembly line. Yes, they had security guards of sorts, and usually some balding fat guy or teenager that volunteered and didn't have a clue who he/she was fan-blocking. Imagine, if you will, spending your $30 to $70(Stan Lee) to pander to someone's ego and tell them how much you appreciate their work.
So, we drove ALMOST FOUR HOURS down, and then the same distance back, to meet far fewer celebs than hoped.
Here is the much less exciting slide show this time around:
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140907_22_38_39_Pro_zps041b9b61.jpg[/img]
I had Ernie Hudson sign a NES Advantage. I was disappointed that he didn't seem to recognize/remember it as I was talking about the Statue of Liberty scene from Ghostbusters 2. HE FORGOT. And then I was handed a Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary card after I paid.
Hulk Hogan signed my NES WWE Steel Cage box, but looked at it in confusion, He was as arrogant as was warned. I shook his hand, and he made a point to introduced me to his daughter Brooke. Did I get a thrill out of meeting the wrestling legend? No, but guess what...
I did get the thrill of getting my picture taken with this one!
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_05_50_Pro_zps8cdd20c3.jpg[/img]
Jimmy Hart was great and let me hold the tool of his trade.
[img width=700 height=697]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140907_22_47_44_Pro_zpsa1dc9cf5.jpg[/img]
One of the celebrities that was I very anxious to meet was Gigi Edgley, Chiana from Farscape. She was as open and talkative as anyone you might meet on the street. Very cool, and we chatted for over 10 minutes before I remembered that others behind me might be getting impatient. And yes, there is an actual Farscape movie script in existence, straight from the Nebari.
Since the girlfriend bought a Marty POP! figure for me the other day, I grabbed Doc.
And the man that created one of my favorite movies as a kid, The Last Unicorn, Was promoting his national screening tour of the movie. Peter S. Beagle signed the DVD that I already owned for free and we had a great chat about the music from the film and his tour. I look forward to seeing him again in November.
And finally, some items from Artist Row:
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140907_22_46_21_Pro_zps7250095a.jpg[/img]
The Mario pixel interpretation is hilarious.
And some other pictures from the show:
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_52_46_Pro_zps925da59d.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_52_15_Pro_zpsd42f8978.jpg[/img]
[img width=450 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_09_42_Pro_zpsb4033c52.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_12_38_Pro_zps3d6d4a8f.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_17_41_50_Pro_zpsb9144011.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_34_34_Pro_zpsa08a4116.jpg[/img]
[img width=450 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_17_39_Pro_zps237b1dc1.jpg[/img]
Will I attend next year? It is really going to depend on the celebs and if the promoters consider slimming down the tickets sales by a bunch, which won't likely happen.
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Looks like a great time! Thanks for sharing the pics and pick-ups. The Hudson signed Advantage looks like a great Gameroom conversation piece. If you don't mind me asking how much were they charging for an autograph?
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1. That "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart photo just rattled my head this A.M. Awesome!
2. The Last Unicorn is one of those shows you watched as a child and wonder if it every truly existed or if it was just a fever dream. I found it at a used DVD store a few years ago and bought it for my at the time, 3 year old daughter. I forgot how kind of terrifying it was, but she loved it!
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I had a sneaking suspicion you'd hit this con after I saw it advertised on the back of the Fan XPerience program you sent me a few months back. Looks like Jimmy Hart's hardly aged at all. Was Bobby "the Brain" Heenan there? He's only the greatest color commentator in WWF/E history. I'd have been one happy humanoid ham-&-egger to have seen him in person...
@singlebanana: In my case, The Last Unicorn was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my childhood. It blew my mind how much of a downer it was. Definitely a sharp 180 from all those classic Disney animated features they'd rerelease in the theaters every several years or so back then. Still a top fave of mine, though...
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@Addicted: Ernie and Gigi: $30 for auto/$30 for a photo. Hogan: $60 for auto/$40-$70 for photo. Stan Lee:$70/$80!!! Bruce Campbell: $40 for auto, and he wouldn't take photos at the signing table so $50 professional photo. We said to heck with that attitude.
Jimmy Hart: $10.
Here is the guest list site: http://saltlakecomiccon.com/salt-lake-comic-con-2014-master-guest-schedule/
There were quite a few people I wanted to meet, but we aren't all made of money.
@Zagnorch P. Welinskivich II, Esq.: Unfortunately, Heenan wasn't there, but it would have been sweet.
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I wonder if that Kit car is the same one I took a picture of at last year's PRGE?
https://flic.kr/p/gvzhNd
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