Flipping the coin
Feb. 22nd, 2010 04:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grayhawkfhThere's an article in The Frisky(?) about 14 Celebs Who Are Jerks In Person (and a related article at Cinematical.)
I've been fortunate in this respect; the few celebrities I have met have been very kind and gracious. I'd like to take a moment to illustrate the flip side of the coin:
Now, I didn't actually meet Tom Savini. I was working in the dealers room for one of the early HorrorFind conventions. The guy I was working with, John, made fantasy and horror masks and prostheses as a side business. When he heard that Tom Savini was there, John took some of his work over to him to show him. From all accounts, Mr. Savini was very gracious, pointing out the good and bad parts of the pieces, and made suggestions on how to improve them. I believe they spent a good half-hour together. While I admit that I was a bit annoyed at being left alone for a half-hour to mind the booth, I'm glad that Mr. Savini was willing to take the time to give pointers and advice to John.
I only briefly met Tyne Daly at one of the Helen Hayes award shows.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mousecat0, however, spent a good deal of time talking to her. Again, from all accounts, she was most gracious to the people swarming around her.
Ah, my second favorite story. I had the good fortune to meet S. Epatha Merkerson at a subsequent Helen Hayes awards; she was acting as Mistress of Ceremonies, IIRC. After the awards ceremony, there is a reception afterwards; the company I worked for at the time provided the lighting for it. While there, it was obvious that she was trying to find a quiet moment to sit and eat something. I grabbed one of my shop techs (who was roughly the same size as myself), found her a empty chair that had limited sightlines, and formed a human wall so that she had a bit of time to herself to eat and drink without being mobbed by people. Really nice person, very appreciative.
This man rocks. I'm sure most of my readers know this. At the same Horrorfind mentioned above, he was signing his new book. I've seen many signings where people show up, pay their money, stand in line, get the book signed with little more than a "Hi. Thanks for coming" and are shuffled out the exit. Not Bruce Campbell. He had each person sit down and talk to him for a few minutes while he signed/personalized their book. No one really complained about the line or the wait.
Far and away, the best celeb story I have. At GenCon 1996, Thunder Castle Games was releasing their Highlander CCG (1) this year, and Adrian Paul was scheduled to show up to do autographs. They were selling the tickets (3 sessions, 150 tickets per session) for something like $10 or $20 apiece. Apparently, Mr. Paul learned of this, and either he or (more likely) his agent contacted TCG at GenCon and told them that the tickets were to be given away and any monies collected refunded or he would *not* show up for the autograph sessions. I know they gave the rest of the tickets away, and Mr. Paul was there for the autographing.
(1)I really liked this game; the mechanics gave a good swordfight feel, and though the characters had distinct advantages, "generic" immortals could still put up a worthwhile fight. Still think that Connor MacLeod should have had a "Seduce" card. I mean, come on, in damn near every movie, he would give the "I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod" speech, and the next scene had him banging the hell outta the female lead.
Anyway, wanted to show the flip side of that coin. Not all celebs are assholes.
I've been fortunate in this respect; the few celebrities I have met have been very kind and gracious. I'd like to take a moment to illustrate the flip side of the coin:
Now, I didn't actually meet Tom Savini. I was working in the dealers room for one of the early HorrorFind conventions. The guy I was working with, John, made fantasy and horror masks and prostheses as a side business. When he heard that Tom Savini was there, John took some of his work over to him to show him. From all accounts, Mr. Savini was very gracious, pointing out the good and bad parts of the pieces, and made suggestions on how to improve them. I believe they spent a good half-hour together. While I admit that I was a bit annoyed at being left alone for a half-hour to mind the booth, I'm glad that Mr. Savini was willing to take the time to give pointers and advice to John.
I only briefly met Tyne Daly at one of the Helen Hayes award shows.
mousecat0, however, spent a good deal of time talking to her. Again, from all accounts, she was most gracious to the people swarming around her.Ah, my second favorite story. I had the good fortune to meet S. Epatha Merkerson at a subsequent Helen Hayes awards; she was acting as Mistress of Ceremonies, IIRC. After the awards ceremony, there is a reception afterwards; the company I worked for at the time provided the lighting for it. While there, it was obvious that she was trying to find a quiet moment to sit and eat something. I grabbed one of my shop techs (who was roughly the same size as myself), found her a empty chair that had limited sightlines, and formed a human wall so that she had a bit of time to herself to eat and drink without being mobbed by people. Really nice person, very appreciative.
This man rocks. I'm sure most of my readers know this. At the same Horrorfind mentioned above, he was signing his new book. I've seen many signings where people show up, pay their money, stand in line, get the book signed with little more than a "Hi. Thanks for coming" and are shuffled out the exit. Not Bruce Campbell. He had each person sit down and talk to him for a few minutes while he signed/personalized their book. No one really complained about the line or the wait.
Far and away, the best celeb story I have. At GenCon 1996, Thunder Castle Games was releasing their Highlander CCG (1) this year, and Adrian Paul was scheduled to show up to do autographs. They were selling the tickets (3 sessions, 150 tickets per session) for something like $10 or $20 apiece. Apparently, Mr. Paul learned of this, and either he or (more likely) his agent contacted TCG at GenCon and told them that the tickets were to be given away and any monies collected refunded or he would *not* show up for the autograph sessions. I know they gave the rest of the tickets away, and Mr. Paul was there for the autographing.
(1)I really liked this game; the mechanics gave a good swordfight feel, and though the characters had distinct advantages, "generic" immortals could still put up a worthwhile fight. Still think that Connor MacLeod should have had a "Seduce" card. I mean, come on, in damn near every movie, he would give the "I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod" speech, and the next scene had him banging the hell outta the female lead.
Anyway, wanted to show the flip side of that coin. Not all celebs are assholes.
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Date: 2010-02-22 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 11:57 pm (UTC)Rollins is just fine in person. Get him talking about something he's passionate about -- he has little patience for suckups or toadies from what I've seen.
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Date: 2010-02-23 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 10:33 pm (UTC)AngelVixen :-)
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Date: 2010-02-23 02:49 am (UTC)There are plenty of just plain ol nice celebrities out there... they just don't sell the trash mags like the others.
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Date: 2010-02-23 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-23 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-24 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-23 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-23 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-24 12:05 am (UTC)