Elainec Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 (edited) This is a difficult one, but I suppose I would step in on the side of being happy to sign anything sensible put in front of me. I can understand that a person may feel far happier only promoting the part they are currently playing, which I had heard was the case for Patrick Stewart. However, sometimes they have to remember that fans come in all ages and genres and some will have become one because of repeats on tv of ST:TNG or the latest X-Men film, or indeed because of a play he may have appeared in 30 years ago. A fan is a fan at the end of the day and whilst some fans may have come along at any particular time, they have still taken the time and paid money to come along to see you in your latest incarnation and support you. Fans, like actors, can be fickle and we have all no doubt had good and back experiences with either actors or indeed other fans. However, refusing to sign an item because it doesn't promote your latest project can sometimes mean one less ticket sale for your next project. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool and a fan with a bad experience will not necessarily encourage someone else to go alone and see your new play or latest film. My hope is that we are not rushed through Patrick's queue like cattle and in and out inside 20 seconds like William Shatner. James Marsters has had the best idea, at least shake hands and say hello so that the fans feel as though they have met you. Since I have not had the experience of meeting Patrick (yet) I hope that he is the latter rather than the former and if I pay £25 to be pushed by him in record time my word of mouth comments will not be particularly kind. Elaine Edited July 23, 2007 by Elainec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terihatcherfan Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I very much doubt that he would be performing in that West End production if it wasn't for the fans of Star Trek that strengthened his career and gave him the chance. Star Trek has nothing to do with him bagging theater productions. Stewart was a classically trained actor by the Royal Shakespeare Academy (RSC along with Ian McKellan) way before 1987 when he landed Picard. My apologies; I shouldn't have made an uneducated assumption. :) Just wanted to say that I'm a big fan of Patrick Stewart; granted, only of X-Men fame, but I think he's a very talented man. The say goes for Sir Ian; I met him in Lincoln when he was filming The Da Vinci Code. He was absolutely lovely. Although that reminds me, I have a little story about personalising. I met Sir Ian and he signed my bag for me. I asked him if he could please make it out to 'Olly' (my name, obviously) and he said, "Well I don't really need to do I Olly, I'm sure we'll both remember your own name!" I smiled and thanked him very much for the autograph and said it was a pleasure. He didn't really want to personalise for me. At the end of the day, I had nothing to sign, handed him a £20 Topman shoulder bag I'd bought that day, and he signed it, plus made a nice comment about remembering my name. He wasn't rude, and I completely respect his wishes. Just thought I'd put that story out there. :) Olly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teroknor34 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Just to put two pennies worth in I managed to get Patrick to sign an X-Men photo when I was last in London in March.BUT this was BEFORE he went into the theatre as I was already prewarned by a friend that he would sign one item from anything he has done,but when leaving after the play he would only sign items to do with the play ie programme,flyer etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi 7 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I want a signed photo & my autograph book signing, & I want them undedicated, so it suits me fine, but what I would like is a photo with him for my website. Now at £25 an autograph, the least he can do is lean over the table for a few seconds to have a photo, after all, it's the fans that keep him where he is. I really hope he dosen't do a William Shatner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertderidder Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Thats so cool you have that! Where (when if you can't say the name of a show) did you get that? How did you manage it? Fingers crossed I can follow you and get that!! I sent to a play he was doing. I guess I lucked out and he wasn't flooded. Could be secretarial I guess, so I will be seeing him at LFaCC for my Star Trek cast picture, but it looks good to me. So I was actually replying to the fact that he doesn't personalize TTM. If the only reason for not personalizing at the show is time, I think this could be handled better. With the post-its they use for your name, I can't see it taking so much extra time. He still doesn't have to chat with you or take pictures, which is the thing that really slows down. As for the whole it will cost Showmasters money, that's stupid. Apart from the fact that prices are already up again, there's also such a thing as customer satisfaction and a lot of people wouldn't be satisfied with a non personalized picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot182 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I want a signed photo & my autograph book signing, & I want them undedicated, so it suits me fine, but what I would like is a photo with him for my website. Now at £25 an autograph, the least he can do is lean over the table for a few seconds to have a photo, after all, it's the fans that keep him where he is. I really hope he dosen't do a William Shatner. ive heard from many ppl he doesnt do pics at all... hence no photo shoot anyone have anything to say on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugaziuk Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Ian Mcdiarmid is exactly the same as Patrick Stewart and I see what people are saying but gotta to agree with Nicky and Mike Donovan on this one. Ian appears in many theatre production in england and is obviousley over run with people wanting him to sign star wars merch. He refuses and gets a bad name for it. However he is more than happy to sign progs from the play and ticket stubs. When he appeared in Lear at Sheffield crucible last year he was more than happy to chat about the play and sign progs - as it was a reimagining of lear I heard one person ask him loads of questions which he was more than happy to answer and chat about rather than rush off down the road and get his lunch. So like everyone says the actor will appreciate it more if you go and see the play and ask them about the play they are appearing in rather than a film or tv show they did ages ago. By the way - at Patrick's Q+A why doesn't someone ask him why he doesn't sign etc outside theatres? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 By the way - at Patrick's Q+A why doesn't someone ask him why he doesn't sign etc outside theatres? He does sign outside theatres. He won't always sign, but he does sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufresne Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I want a signed photo & my autograph book signing, & I want them undedicated, so it suits me fine, but what I would like is a photo with him for my website. Now at £25 an autograph, the least he can do is lean over the table for a few seconds to have a photo, after all, it's the fans that keep him where he is. I really hope he dosen't do a William Shatner. A very common opinion, and you are certainly entitled to it. However ! "at £25 an autograph" you get exactly that - an autograph. No guarantee of a photo, a chat, or even a handshake. You get a Patrick Stewart autograph signed in front of you and is beyond dispute authentic. Also "it's the fans that keep him where he is" ?? OK if we ALL boycotted his movies, the studio would be quick to pick up on it, but it's basically his considerable talent that keeps him "where he is". His Star Trek involvement since TNG finished has been almost non-existant, except maybe a VERY rare con appearance when he wants to pay for his bathroom to be redecorated or something. I don't really agree that he "owes" the fans anything other than 176 episodes and a few movies, which he has provided. Yes, it's nice if he indulges us now and again, but I don't think he owes us anything ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDonovan Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The thing about Patrick Stewart is that, unlike the rest of the TNG cast, he doesn't 'need' the Star Trek fans to provide him with a living. People like Michael Dorn or Marina Sirtis are going to be trading on Star Trek for the rest of their lives, just as, for example, Nichelle Nichols did. It would be very hard for them to make a living in any other way, because the offers just aren't there. On the other hand, someone like Patrick Stewart can comfortably make a few million for a picture, do some guest stars on a few other shows, do a bit of theatre etc and never do anything ST related again. And make no mistake, all of the other cast would kill to be in the same spot, without exception. As far as Stewart is concerned, it was a job. An interesting one, one that opened new horizons for his career, but ultimately just a job. And I think the fact that he evens bothers doing any ST related stuff is a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giuseppe1969 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 To personalise or not to personalise? May I offer a complete different experience? I met Claudia Christian (Babylon 5) and spent 20 minutes talking (she found out I am Italian and she wanted to practise with the language - her Italian was very good, anyway). When the time came to choose the picture to sign she asked to look at her collector with special photos. They were pictures of her, naked! I was so embarassed (my wife was there as well) that I vaguely muttered something like "...these are not interesting ...the B5 picture will do..."! People react differently because they are different. If all our experiences with the guests were all the same it would be boring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDonovan Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 When the time came to choose the picture to sign she asked to look at her collector with special photos. They were pictures of her, naked! I was so embarassed (my wife was there as well) that I vaguely muttered something like "...these are not interesting ...the B5 picture will do..."! What are we talking about here - an FHM photoshoot or something? Or full frontal nudity? Can we get Claudia Christian to LFACC please SM?? I recently went to a rival, very much poorer, convention purely to meet Amanda Tapping. I had a quite 'sexy' shot of her for her to sign. I intially thought I might be a bit embarassed about it, but it was fine - believe me I wasn't the only one there with a picture like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosfer2 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Continuing the discussion about Patrick Stewart, I wonder if he would have signed 'I, Claudius'? When I met him in January he did a talk first and spoke about his forthcoming RSC productions so when I was getting my autographs I told him that I was hoping to see the RSC and he replied "Well I hope you do!" The way he said it was really friendly and made me determined to see him in a production, and it meant that it was really special when I saw him in Antony & Cleopatra a few weeks later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDonovan Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Continuing the discussion about Patrick Stewart, I wonder if he would have signed 'I, Claudius'? When I met him in January he did a talk first and spoke about his forthcoming RSC productions so when I was getting my autographs I told him that I was hoping to see the RSC and he replied "Well I hope you do!" The way he said it was really friendly and made me determined to see him in a production, and it meant that it was really special when I saw him in Antony & Cleopatra a few weeks later. I saw him in A & C a well. Again, it's about putting yourself in his shoes - it's the difference between meeting someone who is actually a fan of YOU, versus being a fan of a ROLE YOU PLAYED. I'll give you a perfect example - consider William Shatner. Now I wouldn't consider myself a huge Shatner fan. I was a big fan of Captain Kirk - a hugely iconic role that meant a lot to me. But I don't go out of my way to watch or see something just because little Billy Shatnoids was in it. Patrick Stewart on the other hand, different - I'd go to a play just because he was in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teroknor34 Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 (edited) When the time came to choose the picture to sign she asked to look at her collector with special photos. They were pictures of her, naked! I was so embarassed (my wife was there as well) that I vaguely muttered something like "...these are not interesting ...the B5 picture will do..."! What are we talking about here - an FHM photoshoot or something? Or full frontal nudity? Can we get Claudia Christian to LFACC please SM?? Claudia Christian posed for Playboy in the October 1999 issue Edited August 1, 2007 by teroknor34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagart Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 ive heard from many ppl he doesnt do pics at all... hence no photo shoot anyone have anything to say on this? I got this in 1994, outside the Old Vic. He was great; there were about 6 of us there, in the cold on a January afternoon. Maybe, he took pity on us!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Wonder why he wont do pics... and wow 1994 thats along time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDonovan Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Claudia Christian posed for Playboy in the October 1999 issue How can you post a comment like that without including at least one picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviegr Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 It's all very confusing this business about some actors at shows refusing to do dedicated autographs and other actors performing cartwheels to makes sure that they do dedicate them so that you can't sell them on eBay. I think that if you are paying someone a fee to sign something (and lets face it £25 a time is a lot of money for most people, particularly when you think of what the minimum wage is) they should really do exactly what you want them to do. A lot of people don't realise that the signers are providing you with a service because you are paying them and in doing so they fall into the same category as plumber, electricians etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakie_frenchi Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 hmmm... if you have got it personlised you are a very lucky person! xxx frenchi / harri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstlady1408 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 So can I check. Is it not custom for the guests to personalise autographs. I really wanted Mary McDonnells. But I already brought an autographed picture from Ebay. So in which case it would seem dumb to pay for a non personalised one. Though it would mean meeting her again, whiuch I guess would be worth the money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychosis Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Are the guests usually willing to sign drawings of them or something that they usually draw? I love sketching and I have quite a lot of comic stuff there in particular (and Futurama). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosfer2 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 So can I check. Is it not custom for the guests to personalise autographs. I really wanted Mary McDonnells. But I already brought an autographed picture from Ebay. So in which case it would seem dumb to pay for a non personalised one. Though it would mean meeting her again, whiuch I guess would be worth the money! It depends on the actor, and sometimes on the amount of time available. If an actor is really popular and there's a big queue the organisers sometimes specify 'no personalisations'. However some actors specify that you have to have a personalisation, for example Karen Allen when she was at CM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) So can I check. Is it not custom for the guests to personalise autographs. I really wanted Mary McDonnells. But I already brought an autographed picture from Ebay. So in which case it would seem dumb to pay for a non personalised one. Though it would mean meeting her again, whiuch I guess would be worth the money! If a guest does not personalise autographs, there will be a sign at the beginning of the guest's queue. That's the way they did it with James Marsters when he was there. Edited August 2, 2007 by Queen_Sindel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDonovan Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 It depends on the actor, and sometimes on the amount of time available. If an actor is really popular and there's a big queue the organisers sometimes specify 'no personalisations'. However some actors specify that you have to have a personalisation, for example Karen Allen when she was at CM. I agree with it 100% though. Obviously with Karen Allen she wasn't that busy (which I still find bizzarre - the 2nd largest role in on of the most iconic films in history??), so it didn't affect the queues - but most importantly that way the only people who came up to see her actually wanted to see *her*, as opposed to getting another autograph for E-bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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