Why don't the stars sign in the Bay Area?

George Lucas' backyard and we cant get a Star Wars celeb to sign?

Greg Proops voice of one of the Pod Race Anouncers is doing some comedy shows in SF this month. Any chance we can get a mini group signing?

Thanks

You'd have to stay after one of his shows and ask him yourself. Of course, if he's performing with Scott Capurro that night, you can get both announcers for the price of one! As for the celeb signings, I'm not sure who you can talk about that. Just keep your eyes open. After all, I was able to get George's autograph when he came by my work!

We don't arrange for "stars" to sign here. It would be cool and all but it's not something we do or something I would want to force on anyone. Personally I like the more interactive one on one with stars is you ever get that chance. As much as it's cool to have some ink on paper I rather meet the person, shake their hand, and thank them for a job well done and if that blossoms into a conversation that's even better! If they like to give an auto out of the goodness of their heart I think that's worth so much more overall.

Like that evening dinner with Daniel Logan we had at Comic Con. That guy is freakin cool and we had an awesome time. I didn't even have to ask for an auto, and he sign a menu from the resturant for me AND an autograph pic the next day too.

It's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

It may be Lucas's backyard, but the rest of the acting community does not live near here. And unless they are doing a national tour, they probably won't go out of their way to come to SF.

Being that we've been in the Star Wars Insider and Bantha Tracks so often, (as well as a couple of DVD's) I think WE could be considered Star Wars celebrities, so sure I'll sign stuff!

Thought maybe your crew would wanna get together for a mini group signing. Hope you didnt take offense it was just an idea.

Nah!

There are not many on going Sci Fi cons in the Bay Area except for Wondercon.
Well, there was not a major SW con since 1997 with SE release.

Perhaps as this being the last film, there is a possibility. It would make a good opportunity, but as been mentioned, most are overseas or S. Cal.
The logistics would be complex. However, it could be done.

The best bet is Celebration 3 since they could bring people who have not done a con in the past or in a long time.

The other possibility is the Ep. 3 Charity Premiere.

The future always in motion.

END TRANSMISSION

haha... offense... none taken, but thanks for offering. I'm personally not a autograph hound but I know there are a few in our club. Dunno where or when people sign things outside of Cons. I think Matt and Dale are more briefed on such things.

The major convention circuit in the Bay Area currently consists of:

- Wondercon. Presidents' Weekend 2005, Moscone Convention Center. We may not have stars off the screen, but San Francisco is home to some pretty impressive names from the comics industry.

- BayCon. Usually around Memorial Day weekend in San Jose. Tends to be more oriented towards literary SF than 'media' SF.

- FanimeCon. Unfortunately, also around Memorial Day weekend in the San Jose/Santa Clara area. (In 2004, both BayCon and FanimeCon were the same weekend at different venues in San Jose.)

- Silicon. A much smaller convention, without 'star power,' but run by longtime fans. Dates change, but usually around September-October.

Westercon, the 'Western Regional Science-Fiction Convention' is held in a different Western Region state every year, usually on the July 4th weekend. Still mostly literary SF, but a Thursday evening - Monday event. Recent Westercons have been mostly outside the Bay Area - look for San Diego in 2006, and possibly Silicon Valley in 2007.

On occasion, Worldcon, the World Science Fiction Convention, makes its way to the Bay Area or California. This is THE major SF convention, where they hand out the Hugo Awards and the masquerade has an awful lot of 'master' level entries. Held over the Labor Day weekend. Worldcon will be in Anaheim in 2006. It has been in San Jose (2002) and San Francisco (1993); Anaheim has hosted it several times (1984 was the first screening of the original Trilogy ... folks were lined up from around 4PM for a showing that started at midnight.)

We now come to the Very Important Message portion of our program.

The face of conventions is changing, because some segments of fandom are growing old. For something like Baycon, it's the same folks running it year after year (though new ways to make old mistakes are always found). I worked on BayCon in the 1980's (and I have friends who are threatening to rope me into a possible 2012 Worldcon Bid for San Jose or San Francisco).

I'd mentioned that Anaheim had hosted Worldcon before, in 1972, 1984, and 1996. As those happen to be the Year of the Rat in the Chinese Zodiac, the nickname 'RatCon' was quickly spread. Technically, the next 'RatCon' should be in 2008; instead, it's happening in 2006 because - quite frankly - we're losing the folks who know how to plan these things. Bruce Pelz, a long time fan and convention ace, passed away recently. Some of the convention pros are my age or better ... and we're not seeing the 'younger generation' stepping up to the plate with any interest in planning something like a BayCon, or a Worldcon, or something like Celebration III.

So if you want to see conventions oriented towards media-based SF and have stars/GOHs (guests of honor) available for autographs, get in touch with the folks who put on existing conventions and get involved. Start by doing 'gopher' work (also a great way to get into the convention if you're a student or working with a limited income) and see how things tick.

(The downside is that if conventions shift from fan-run to 'business' run, we run the risk of getting more 'shows' than 'conventions' - things like CreationCon. You pay premiums to get in the door, you pay for photos, you pay for autographs ...)

Bob