Waht are the rules concerning......

[dodgytrotter]

Free autographs. I mean, if the celebrity signed something for you for free. Eg: you have paid for 1 autograph on your item, but you pick up a free photo and as the celebrity has signed your item, they see the photo and sign it as well, or say something like "I'll sign that as well if you want". What are the rules/law. Because it is really a gift from the celebrity to you.

[Raylenth]

Probably wouldn't happen - you have to go through a crew member sitting next to the guest first - the take the ticket saying how many auto's you've paid for, so if they saw you had additional stuff (even if it's not your intention to get them signed) they would stop it being done.

[Little Miss Idiot]

It rarely happens as you have a ticket which says how many autos you've paid for, I just smile and say thanks and accept it as a very nice bonus.

[dodgytrotter]

i know the set up. But i want to know, by law, can you be stopped or the autograph taken awaay from you.

[Raylenth]

Well, by law, probably not. There probably isn't a law covering cons/signing events

 

In reality I suppose if the guest wants to sign it for you free of charge it's their perogative.

[Little Miss Idiot]

i know the set up. But i want to know, by law, can you be stopped or the autograph taken awaay from you.

846572[/snapback]

 

No course not.

 

I've seen Ray Park sign sabers for kids before, can you imagine people taking those off him.

[007paul007]

When I went to get Brian Blessed he sign my Flash cover and then saw I had the free photo in my hand and offered to sign it , no one stopped him , also there was a time when my daughter came with me get Christana Lokon she had her autograph book with her i got the picture signed and then the lovely Christana signed her book as my little daughter stood there with it , it all depends on the celeb at the end day , there is nothing much the crew member can do once you are talking to the celeb.

[a2k]

i've had it happen to me many times the guest has seen me with a spare picture and signed it

 

micheal beihn even gave me a completely free autogrpaph when i went through his que to just say hi as he was sitting on his own looking bored

 

if it happenes it happens

 

never look a gift horse in the mouth but dont go there expecting anything

[Steviefull]

I refer you to the Sala Baker act of 2002

 

yes it is against the law and you will be punished by a reprimand by an SM official

Edited August 18, 2005 by Steviefull

[Little Miss Idiot]

I refer you to the Sala Baker act of 2002

 

yes it is against the law and you will be punished by a reprimand by an SM official

846600[/snapback]

 

[Doc Bones]

I was the first in the queue to meet Jeremy Bulloch at an event in Birmingham a couple of years ago. There was nothing up to say how much he was charging. He signed my OT poster and asked for £15. Then he said as I was first he would give me a free auto as well. He signed a Boba Fett postcard and handed it over. Later I saw he was charging £10!!!! Got my "free" auto for a fiver!!

Charming!!

[Crostini]

depends totally on the celebrity. if you have a photo and they say i'll sign that if you want. and you say you havent paid for it but they say it doesnt matter just give it to them and sign it.

 

[DavidB]

There are people who will deliberately try to get extra stuff signed for free, and so the crew member should point out that they haven't paid for that many items.

 

Of course there are circumstances where guests will sign something extra for free if they offer, and I've had it happen before when I've sat with a guest myself.

 

If they see you have something and they offer then that's up to them, as long as people arent actually asking for the extra stuff because it would be stopped by a crew member.

 

There have been people in the past who pay for like 1 item and then come up with 5 posters and just lay them on the table and hope the guest will sign them without query, and obviously this can be pretty uncomfortable and embarassing for all involved when a crew member has to step in and say sorry but you've only paid for this number etc ..

 

But no I've never seen anything taken away or whatever if a guest has actually offered themselves and they're fine with it

[Too Tall]

When I was sat next to Alexander Siddig at C7, I stopped a couple of people doing it. But TBH that was because they were obviously trying it on. Whilst their personnel item was bring signed they tried to hand over the free photo as well. I could see they knew they weren't meant too.

 

The same with Leslie Schofield. We had a couple of people asking for free autos or asking for a discount etc.

 

If the guest "wants" to then there's not much we as crew can do to stop them. But sorry if I think someone is trying it on (i.e. asks or implies), I have and will step in and stop it.

 

As David has said, if it is a genuine gift from the guest the crew is not going to stop you.

Edited August 18, 2005 by Too Tall

[MikeDonovan]

When I was sat next to Alexander Siddig at C7, I stopped a couple of people doing it. But TBH that was because they were obviously trying it on. Whilst their personnel item was bring signed they tried to hand over the free photo as well. I could see they knew they weren't meant too.

 

The same with Leslie Schofield. We had a couple of people asking for free autos or asking for a discount etc.

 

If the guest "wants" to then there's not much we as crew can do to stop them. But sorry if I think someone is trying it on (i.e. asks or implies), I have and will step in and stop it.

 

As David has said, if it is a genuine gift from the guest the crew is not going to stop you.

846629[/snapback]

 

OK Too Tall, well what about this situation - lets say that Jeri Ryan comes along to C8, and when I get to the front of the Queue I ask her for a kiss, and she grabs hold of me and gives me a huge snog.

 

How would the SM crew react to that?

Edited August 18, 2005 by MikeDonovan

[a2k]

dunno how they would react but i'd be buying u a drink in celebration

[ptenbob]

Let's be fair here, and without wishing to stir up a storm...

 

You go to an event, you know the rules, which are: "You want one autograph, you pay for one. You want two autographs, you pay for two" and so on. If you go to meet the guest, pulling along your son/daughter/nephew/niece/whoever, that *JUST SO HAPPENS* to be carrying along their autograph book? c'mon, be fair here - Most guests would not want the negative publicity that could be generated from refusing to sign that book, if the sweet little child asks them.

 

In effect, yes, obtaining free autographs with intent, is obtaining goods by deception.

 

I've crewed a number of queues before, stopping this is the job of the crew member.

 

If the guest asks you specifically, "Would you like me to sign that photo", then yes, that's all well and good - but to go to the trouble of having a child bring along their autograph book.... That is out of line in my eyes.

[a2k]

i never understand how people get so worked up all the time about the rules and how they must be so rigid with no flexablity where does the fun go

 

i read so many posts of people who think so highly of themselves or the event and sound to me to be very anal about the whole thing and makes it sound so boring and regemented lighten up and relax

 

if you get a free autograph then enjoy it feel pride in being lucky enough or have impressed the guest enough to get that

 

dont try or it ruins it for the rest of us just enjoy

 

what the worse they going to do throw you out of the public shopping centre ?

[DavidB]

How would the SM crew react to that? 

846636[/snapback]

 

Personally I'd:

 

(1) Throw a bucket of water over ur head to wake u up.

 

then

 

(2) Put u into rehab for whatever drugs ur on to make u hallucinate that bad

[Aragorns_Princess]

I actually had this happen to me at C7. I went up to meet Alan Cumming, with a dvd in my hand completely uindecided if to have it signed or get a picture then at the last second picked up a picture got moved forward and hadn't had chance to put my dvd away. as I got to the table trying desperatly to make conversation with a reluctant Alan he saw I had my dvd tucked under my arm and asked if i'd like it signed, I looked at the crew member who made sure I knew I had only paid one and said it in a sort of snappy way. I had had no intention of getting it signed as a freebie but was made to feel like I'd done something wrong. I explained to him I had just brought it along cause I'd loved the series (he co-wrote it) and where I'd first seen him (the phrase blood from a stone springs to mind with him and speaking) but that was my experience so thought I'd share

 

Ellie x x x

[DavidB]

Unfortunately, like Troy mentioned before, you do get people who are obviously trying it on so it can make crew members a bit wary of people if they're holding more than one item. That doesn't justify a snappy nature but it can get very annoying when people try to take advantage. I myself have seen parents pay for things, and then they're all like "oh and my child ...", and guests often feel bad turning down children so it puts them in a VERY awkward position!

 

A lot of the time guests are actually more generous towards children, but it doesn't mean people should try and take advantage.

 

I remember one guy myself who was going from guest to guest with his posters all rolled up together. He'd gone to a guest a couple away from mine, and tried to get all his posters signed while only paying for one. Then he headed in my direction, so the crew member came over and warned me and said what he'd done.

 

So what did he do? Lay all of his posters out on the desk and the guest started to sign and I had to intervene and say that he'd only paid for one. The guest said it was ok, so then I chose to explain to the guest what this guy had been trying to do! The guest actually got very angry about it, quickly signed the one poster and then didn't say a word to the person. They looked really embarassed and walked off!

 

I can only imagine how a guest would feel in that situation and it doesn't make anyone involved feel comfortable or happy with meeting people if they're gonna try it on like that. I can understand that some people genuinely do get offers from the guests because I've seen it happen before but crew members HAVE to be wary and alert due to a very small amount of people.

[Glitz]

When I met Sylvester McCoy at C3 he offered to sign a flyer for his latest theatre show for free. Of course I took him up on the offer!

[jonathan]

I have heard of this happening. Someone has paid for one item to be signed and taken a free 10x8 but decided to have their own item signed.

While both items were on the table the guest signed both and the person only paid for one. I guess it can happen sometimes and if a rare occurence would probably go unnoticed.

Be cool if it happened a lot but it wont.

[007paul007]

ptenbob

I hope you were not refering to me and my daughter when you wrote what you did about turning up with your son/daughter etc. My daughter always takes her book with her to these events , like I always take a camera and some of the stars don't like their picture taken, yes I will treat her to a signed picture , if there is someone she likes, and with her having communication and learning difficulties as well I do not leave her standing alone some place , while i am in a queue. Actually she is quite lucky as she is the one that is always in the pictures with the stars , if she wants a picture herself after I have paid for it I stand behind her and try to get her to talk to the celeb , a way of building up her confidence, just like when I go to the book signings , some celebs won't sign anything but the book because of the queue and when I get to the front after buying the book I will ask them to sign my son's autograph book and explain why he cannot be there and they often will , unfornately there are a lot of people out there trying to make a profit now that things are pretty tight.

[DavidB]

But do you ask them to sign more than you've paid for? Sorry I can't quite work out whether you pay for both books to be signed or not.