The Official FanForce Cleveland Celebration III Thread

My guess is that some of the autographs are $20 for one of two reasons: 1) the actor/actress is more high profile (major character) or 2) the actor/actress couldn't afford the trip without charging more. Some of these people come an awful long way for the con, and may be missing out on other work that they depend on for a living. Financially, they have to make it worth their while. And really, $20 for an autograph is pretty standard anyway at other conventions.

I was disappointed at the no-show announcement this morning:

As of 3/10/05, the following headline guests that we regularly work with can not attend due to schedule conflicts: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Samuel L Jackson, and Christopher Lee. If their schedules open, rest assured we will do everything we can to get them to the show!

I was hoping for the last three (already met the first three). That really sucks.

Well, if the no show list doesnt change, Im pretty down too. I was thinking/hoping that this would be my chance to get my vintage ESB poster signed by some of the main cast.

Oh well....less money to spend.

That no-show list is a disappointment. I was hoping Hamill might show up. Never thought about Christopher Lee appearing, but he would have been nice, too. Fisher I already met; Daniels has already been announced as not attending; Jones I couldn't care less about meeting; Jackson would never appear at a con signing autographs.

Daniels hadn't yet been announced as not attending...he just couldn't be master of ceremonies. A lot of people were hoping to see him for a couple days maybe.

And I heard from a reliable source that Jackson was actually very interested in attending, and then very disappointed when his schedule wouldn't allow it.

Why aren't you interested in meeting James Earl Jones? Just curious.

I'd kinda hoped Mark Hamill (and a few other main characters) would have made it to C3...I mean, this is going to be the biggest SW party of them all (could be the last of it's kind) and I wanted it to have a sorta end-ROTJ feel to the place.

I'm just excited to be going to this thing, period!

Roseanna, I kind of had an epiphany with CII. Before that I would get every Star Wars actor/actress's autograph I could. Then CII comes along and all of a sudden there are around 30 people there. I couldn't afford to get all their autographs so I decided to really look at what that person has done and what characters I liked the most. I realized "third Ewok from the left" wasn't really worth spending money on. It actually got to the point where, with CII, I went from wanting everyone's autograph to having trouble finding 10 I wanted (tickets were $15 or 10-for-$120). Jones was perfect as the voice of Vader, but he's the first to admit he didn't really do a whole lot. Meeting him would be cool, but I wouldn't spend money on his autograph. That's why I've already ruled out people like Matthew Wood and Rena Owen. Looking at the list right now, I don't think I'll need more than 5 or 6 coupons.

Jones may not have done much Star Wars related, but the man is a film icon. I'd jump at the chance to meet him anyday.

And really, it's the people that play the bit parts that turn out to be the most interesting sometimes. Michael Sheard was killed off in the beginning moments of ESB, but honestly, I think he is the funniest, most outrageous Star Wars celeb I've met. He has an amazing personality. Also, David Barclay and Mike Quinn are super-friendly and full of entertaining stories. For me it really doesn't matter how important a character they played, or whether they even had lines. The thrill of meeting one of the big celebs sometimes doesn't really compare to the experiences I have had with the lesser-knowns.

I'm not trying to argue or anything, I know everyone has different reasoning in their autograph choices. Just wanted to give my point of view. I suppose I don't need an autograph to memorialize these experiences, but getting the autograph is what usually provides the opportunity.

I know what you're saying, Roseanna. William Hootkins' Porkins dies fairly quickly in Star Wars, but he was a blast to talk to, especially since he was in Tim Burton's Batman. And I've met my share of bit players. But in the case of Jones... I don't know. Maybe it's that in the past he's always been the first to say how little he did that makes me uninterested in a signed Vader pic from him.


Like I said, meeting him would be cool, but if it were contingent on paying $20 to do so, I would pass.

Passes are starting to arrive.

I hope I get mine soon!

btw: what is this no show list? who is on it?

The "No-Show" list was actors and actresses who have appeared at worked with C2 Ventures in the past, but aren't doing CIII. It was Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels and Sam Jackson.

Im so sad now, i was so excited to meet Mark i had this stupid little childhood excitment all built up and now it has been wrecked :/

Yeah, it would've been nice to meet Mark. I remember when he was supposed to have come to Cleveland for the Superman celebration way back in 1988, I think? He couldn't make it then since his wife went into labor. Nice timing!!!!

Wow - Uncle George will be at CIII! Awesome!
http://www.starwars.com/community/news/2005/04/news20050405c.html

I never thought that he would come, and he is coming! I want to work that show!

I can just imagine having to get in line two hours or so before going to the talk he's giving. Ah yes, once again the waiting in lines to get into the actual line.

Unfortunately the lines will be very long, but where else on Earth will you ever be surrounded by thousands of fellow Star Wars fans. I only hope some of them remember that bathing and deordorant are daily necessary rituals, not just something to do every month or so. Bleah.

I wonder...if it was anything like the Hayden shows I don't have a problem. I spent more time in line waiting for the three Hayden shows then actually IN the show!

Hopefully George's show will be not too bad (like the Carrie Fisher line)!

Cleveland Rocks!! Woohoo!!! (And so does CIII!!)

First off, great job by the folks at GenCon, OfficialPix and Lucasfilm for putting such a HUGE event together! Too many fans expected the world to revolve around them...and we didn't HAVE to be there.

What a weekend! In many ways, I think this was like a family reunion...there were soooo many people (besides the celebrities) I wanted to meet from the various message boards. There were people I've known and considered friends (having never met in person) that this was the perfect opportunity to get together. Dajuan...you are a FORCE of nature among SW fans!

The RAM...if you don't know, you didn't experience C3 at it's best!

Sure, some lines were pretty bad. I was lucky enough to get through the C3 Store with a Vader figure (just 1) and a T-shirt for myself and 1 for Em...all I wanted. With 44,000 people there you have to expect to wait in long lines! One of the reasons I signed up to help out with OfficialPix is that as a volunteer...I didn't have to wait outside (in that nasty weather) in lines. Once inside...sure, it's part of the game and I waited as patiently as possible.

I think the scene in the fan club lounge, where Jake Lloyd had to be taken out (for his own saftey) and moved behind a wall of tables and people pushing towards him (some even pushing kids out of the way) was a sad comment on US the fans...compared to the story of how Jerome Blake went out of his way to buy hot chocolate for a dozens of strangers waiting in line for George Lucas.

And spending the weekend, with various members of JKOC made the weekend even better. Even when I was working, looking at pictures and hearing the stories of how B, Don, Candii, Grn_Jalera, Drew, Eric (eventaully ) , Reborn-Jedi, Jade-Walker, CoyoteJim, Em, and all my friends from across the FF boards...made this a weekend worth remembering!

Krash, Im gonna have to disagree with you. Gen Con did the worst job in management of the event. Here are just a few of those highlights. Mismanagement of the Celebration Store...16 cash registers that were present, at the most 10 of them were being operated at any given time. Lines...ok...we all knew the lines would be long, that was not my issue. The issue came when there were no division for lines outside of the halls until the very last day. In addition, the closing of events/lines/exhibits early. Here is a prime example. I was in line waiting for Dave Dorman to personalize a print which I purchased from him. One of his friends (another artist) who was in the art hall came in at about 6:15 pm. Mr. Dorman asks him why he isnt back in the art hall. Gen Con closed them early. When Mr. Dorman was asked if he would be leaving early, he replied, this hall is open until 7, if I am not through with the people who are waiting for me, the convention center can wait until I am done. (Mr. Dorman had my respect before this, now, even more so).

As for the way the customer was treated, Stacey, the official Gen Con Customer Service Manager was nowhere to be found after Friday morning/afternoon as she "didnt want to hear any more complaining" Hmm. Customer Service Rep not available for Customer Service. Go figure.

Back to the store line. Great to hear you could get your things quickly, but for the rest of us, not so much. Volunteers who were stationed in the store (along with members of the 501st) came around with contact info for Gen Con due to the cluster F that took place in the line. This was a daily event. They said, that they had worked con's in the past, never had they seen something so out of control.

Lets talk now about how Gen Con relates to the public. They dont. In my opinion, if you are wearing a shirt with the logo of the company that you work for, you represent that company if you are at the event or not. That shirt IDs you as a member of the company. We were fortunate enough to have a few of the Gen Con staff (EDIT by Krash: let's not refer to people like that, please let's just say you were unhappy with their job performance) at our hotel (Embassy). While in the elevator we heard one of them brag about how many people he was able to remove from the con. When we asked about this. we were told in fairly few words to F-off and since he was 'security' at the con, he didnt have to deal with customer service. Hate to tell him, security has guns...he didnt, he was truly uneffective.

My last little rant about Gen Con....Sunday in the Fan Club Lounge, I went to see John Knoll (scheduled for 1 hour) 30 minutes into his meet and greet, a Gen Con "security" came up, said he had to go for a few Press Photos in the back room and that he had to leave now, or miss his plane. Mr. Knoll looked more surprised about this last comment than anything. While this may have been true, he clearly wanted to stay and chat with the people who were there to listen to him. As he left, he was apologizing for the confusion and thanking us for coming.

Emails, letters and phone calls are being made as we speak. Hell, read the review on TFNs main page ("And a lot of the same mistakes and horrible experiences for some folks were repeated as well. The lines were an absolute nightmare, the store was completely mismanaged, and a number of the volunteers were clueless."), you will see that they even agree that there was a serious mismanagement on the part of Gen Con. They continue to state that the personal experience was also based on attitude by the individual as well...this is true, and we did make the most of our time and did in fact have fun...However, by the last day, any volunteer in a red shirt was outright stating that they are not associated with Gen Con (and then clarified who they were affiliated with).

Think back to CII when Wizards of the Coast was in charge. Long lines...yup, Any other problems....none that I heard of with the exception of the selling out of the exclusive figure. Take a

I was going to post something but Douz said it more eloquently than I could. I agree with him completely on all points. This was the worst convention I have ever been to, and I've been to plenty to have a model of comparison.

Oh you have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! You are going to edit my post because of an opinion I expressed (if the shoe fits...)

Guess we know where you stand on free speech.

last time i checked, writing something that inflammatory is a borderline Code of Conduct violation. i would see it as defamatory and hateful, whatever your intent. regardless of the TF.N CoC, that type of hate speech is not constitutionally protected.

personally, i'm glad it's gone... there is no need for that type of analogous speech regarding a group that was that misguided in their pursuit of genocide.

-b-