The £45 question

[MikeDonovan]

You could see the Christopher Lee / £45 thing as a bit of a test - i.e., whether SM can get a guest of his caliber and still make money. Now I think this is fine - CL is going to want more money than Stormtrooper#1, and that's fine - SM are going to have to make that up by increasing the price.

 

I also think that if CL does well, this might be a good thing for future SM events, where we could have 1 (or 2) biiiig guests, who might charge around the £45 mark. That way, SM might be able to attract the Mark Hamills and the Jeri Ryans of this world. I guess the danger is that certain other people see this and think 'well maybe I can get away with £45 as well'.

 

So I'm cautiously optimistic about it. If it means that even bigger guests come along, then it's done it's job - I will certainly pay £45 for Jeri Ryan, for example. But what does everyone else think?

 

PS : - How about a late Alison Doody and Kate Capshaw double bill announcement?

[jamie1138]

jeri ryan?

forgive my ignorance... was there something else she appeared in besides star trek?

[I'll Never Tell...]

He was only charging £30 at another event about 1 to 2 yrs ago but happy to pay £45

[DavidB]

I think it has to be a unique situation with a guest of exceptional calibre for them to justify charging that amount of money.

 

After all, they have to estimate the number of attendees that'd be willing to fork out that much - it pretty much eliminates all the casual attendees etc but there will always be those collectors who will need autographs from certain people to complete collections, and they understand the rarity of certain autographs.

 

It all depends on what opportunities arise, and whether they believe it's going to be worth it. After all, getting a guest with a resumé like Christopher Lee isn't going to happen every event. His age has to be taken into consideration, as well as the number of public signings he does. All things like that contribute to the justification of paying £45 for those who will do it.

[nicky]

If the guest is right then The Price Is Right too...ergo:

 

John Carpenter and Kurt Russell!!!

 

COME ON DOWN!!!!!

[Stevie79]

It's been discussed in other threads and has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Hamill for £45 ok, but then you may have others like Carrie thinking if Mark's £45 then I'm undercharging for my autograph.

Maybe once every now and then.

[Victor Van Dort]

Yes, this is a good thing for SM.

I think that in order to get "bigger" (ie: those who don't often do cons) guests, then a price increase is warrented. I would gladly pay between £50-£100 (I am not joking) for Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Kiefer Sutherland, Michale Chiklis, etc.

 

£45 for Christopher Lee is a good price.

[Gray Fox]

I would gladly pay £45 to meet Christopher Lee and get his autograph, I mean his contribution to cinema is phenomenal. I think he has starred in like.....240+ films

[MikeDonovan]

If the guest is right then The Price Is Right too...ergo:

 

John Carpenter and Kurt Russell!!!

 

COME ON DOWN!!!!!

 

Damn now there is a plan! Would pay £50 each for those two no question!

 

[Prepares Escape From New York Poster]

[jamie1138]

victor,why would you pay one hundred quid for peter jacksons autograph?

or any of the others,come to think of it.

[Stevie79]

I know where Vic is coming from. I'd go into treble figures for Harrison Ford

[MikeDonovan]

jeri ryan?

forgive my ignorance... was there something else she appeared in besides star trek?

 

Well she's doing pretty well in Boston Legal at the moment. Plus and that, she is somewhat attractive I think you'll agree

 

 

I know where Vic is coming from. I'd go into treble figures for Harrison Ford

 

Me too - although I would get an Indy picture rather than Han Solo I think...

[jacksparrowsmistress]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

 

Everyone has their 'biggies' and luckily for me I've been able to meet most of the stars I love for free at premieres. One of the most thrilling was Michael Caine, I was seriously excited to meet him and he is one of the nicest men I've met. And then of course there's my first love, Johnny Depp, 3 meetings so far, the 4th next Monday

[Keeper]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

from what i've heard, unless the money was goin to charity, he wouldn't accept it for an auto?

 

 

not sure, just heard it off a friend

[jacksparrowsmistress]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

from what i've heard, unless the money was goin to charity, he wouldn't accept it for an auto?

 

 

not sure, just heard it off a friend

 

That's quite possible, it sounds like something Viggo would do. It's a good idea too, more stars should donate their fees to charity. I did hear once (and this is only hearsay) that if he did a convention like this, he'd require a separate room/signing area away from the rest of the guests. That wouldnt be possible at something like Collectormania but I could see them doing something like that at LFCC or GMex. And oh...he's going to be filming in London later this year I believe in a new David Cronenberg film...so not a total fantasy.

[Victor Van Dort]

victor,why would you pay one hundred quid for peter jacksons autograph?

or any of the others,come to think of it.

 

Because of the fact that they do few or no public signings, and the chances of running into these people while you just happen to have a movie poster in your hand is pretty slim. An autograph is only valuable to the person who collects it, so some people will not see the point of paying £20 for Elijah Wood because they do not see him as "worth it". I would gladly pay that, simply because I enjoy his films and would consider a £20 autograph a great reminder of having met him. I don't buy autographs off of dealers, and only get things signed at cons, so the selection of autographs which are obtainable are limited. A signed photo of Peter Jackson or any of the others will cost between £50-£100, depending on what dealer you go to, so £100 for an in-person possibly personalised) autograph on an item of my choice doesn't seem like a huge amount of money for what I would be getting.

 

As has been said, if the price is right, then the guest is right.

Rarer guests would no doubt require higher auto prices.

I'm just ststing some of the extreme examples of what I would be prepared to pay should SM be able to obtain certain guests.

 

And yes, I'll be there on Saturday in the Christopher Lee queue

[Keeper]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

from what i've heard, unless the money was goin to charity, he wouldn't accept it for an auto?

 

 

not sure, just heard it off a friend

 

That's quite possible, it sounds like something Viggo would do. It's a good idea too, more stars should donate their fees to charity. I did hear once (and this is only hearsay) that if he did a convention like this, he'd require a separate room/signing area away from the rest of the guests. That wouldnt be possible at something like Collectormania but I could see them doing something like that at LFCC or GMex. And oh...he's going to be filming in London later this year I believe in a new David Cronenberg film...so not a total fantasy.

 

i reckon the seperate room thing would be because of the need for higher security... i also reckon the same would be needed for orlando, though i've heard more along the lines that his fee would be too high, rather than goin to charity!

 

 

nah, with viggo, i understand he doesn't think its right to charge for autos, and will sign for anyone for free - if they can hunt him down...

[SerbianJanet]

He was only charging £30 at another event about 1 to 2 yrs ago but happy to pay £45

 

Yes, but that event had a higher ticket price to get in, so it works out pretty fairly I think :)

[Victor Van Dort]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

from what i've heard, unless the money was goin to charity, he wouldn't accept it for an auto?

 

 

not sure, just heard it off a friend

 

That's quite possible, it sounds like something Viggo would do. It's a good idea too, more stars should donate their fees to charity. I did hear once (and this is only hearsay) that if he did a convention like this, he'd require a separate room/signing area away from the rest of the guests. That wouldnt be possible at something like Collectormania but I could see them doing something like that at LFCC or GMex. And oh...he's going to be filming in London later this year I believe in a new David Cronenberg film...so not a total fantasy.

 

i reckon the seperate room thing would be because of the need for higher security... i also reckon the same would be needed for orlando, though i've heard more along the lines that his fee would be too high, rather than goin to charity!

 

 

nah, with viggo, i understand he doesn't think its right to charge for autos, and will sign for anyone for free - if they can hunt him down...

 

Viggo writes poetry and publishes books of photography. He does regular signings in the U.S. to promote his own small press publishing company, so perhaps this may be another route to tempt him to attend an SM show? Buy Viggo's book of poetry & get your LOTR stuff signed at the same time!

[Keeper]

I'm not going to pay that amount to meet Christopher Lee, despite being an admirer of his. I would however be prepared to pay it to meet Viggo Mortensen and from what I've heard, that's what it would take for him to do an event like this.

from what i've heard, unless the money was goin to charity, he wouldn't accept it for an auto?

 

 

not sure, just heard it off a friend

 

That's quite possible, it sounds like something Viggo would do. It's a good idea too, more stars should donate their fees to charity. I did hear once (and this is only hearsay) that if he did a convention like this, he'd require a separate room/signing area away from the rest of the guests. That wouldnt be possible at something like Collectormania but I could see them doing something like that at LFCC or GMex. And oh...he's going to be filming in London later this year I believe in a new David Cronenberg film...so not a total fantasy.

 

i reckon the seperate room thing would be because of the need for higher security... i also reckon the same would be needed for orlando, though i've heard more along the lines that his fee would be too high, rather than goin to charity!

 

 

nah, with viggo, i understand he doesn't think its right to charge for autos, and will sign for anyone for free - if they can hunt him down...

 

Viggo writes poetry and publishes books of photography. He does regular signings in the U.S. to promote his own small press publishing company, so perhaps this may be another route to tempt him to attend an SM show? Buy Viggo's book of poetry & get your LOTR stuff signed at the same time!

 

 

news to me!!

 

got any samples of his work? would be interestin to see it...

 

 

and yeah, LOTR stuff would be a-signin...

 

i;ve noticed some ppl have mentioned gettin books signed - i assume thats like tolkien's own work? or some of the companion things to the films?

[Charisma]

Would never pay £45 for him, but im not a fan, but even a person i was super huge on £45 is a lot.

[A007]

jeri ryan?

forgive my ignorance... was there something else she appeared in besides star trek?

 

The OC of course!!!

[robertderidder]

Really the prices are getting way too steep. Talking about paying 50-100 pounds for a guest? I personally find the 15 pound price high already. You have to remember that eventually this will trickle down to stormtrooper #xx, which shouldn't cost more than 5 at any rate.

[Rainmaker]

£45 certainly is a risk, especially if the overall attendence isn't as expected.

 

I don't know if I'd pay this amount to meet someone of Lee's stature at an SM event, knowing most people aren't going to be allowed anywhere near the signing table to even get the time of day from him. Think The Shatner experience all over again.

 

I reckon it's purely a money making exercise, and is a bit of desperation because so many guests have again cancelled. I doubt SM want to be charging this amount for a guest, but as Lee was available and willing for the right price, SM's hand has been forced by the fear of the event flopping big time if they didn't get a headliner.

 

£45 to meet a Lee or a Roger Moore at a non SM event where you can say hello and maybe have a photo is tolerable. Deep down everyone knows what their Lee experience is going to be.

[MikeDonovan]

£45 certainly is a risk, especially if the overall attendence isn't as expected.

 

I don't know if I'd pay this amount to meet someone of Lee's stature at an SM event, knowing most people aren't going to be allowed anywhere near the signing table to even get the time of day from him. Think The Shatner experience all over again.

 

£45 to meet a Lee or a Roger Moore at a non SM event where you can say hello and maybe have a photo is tolerable. Deep down everyone knows what their Lee experience is going to be.

 

Well there's a certain amount of truth to this. The fact of the matter is that you are not going to get to talk to him, or get a photo from him. I was utterly dismayed by my 'Shatner experience', as you put it (although at least he actually looked at me), but in all frankness I knew what it was going to be like beforehand, and just was not going to pass it up. I think a lot of people will be like that with CL. But no-one is forcing anyone to part with £45 - I won't be, but not because it's too much - CL just doesn't float my boat. But if it were Jeri Ryan, no problem

 

I reckon it's purely a money making exercise, and is a bit of desperation because so many guests have again cancelled. I doubt SM want to be charging this amount for a guest, but as Lee was available and willing for the right price, SM's hand has been forced by the fear of the event flopping big time if they didn't get a headliner.

 

I think you're being overly cynical. The entire event is a money making exercise - of course it is. SM is not a charity after all. Dreyfuss cancelling was a blow for the event to be sure, and pretty much leaves Carrie Fisher as the biggest draw. But SM have to cover their costs - if CL is charging more, they have to charge more, it's as simple as that.