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Authenticity is Everything
The Walking Dead's Ann Mahoney on Convention Autographs
My friend just posted this interesting blog by actress Ann Mahoney of The Walking Dead fame. Interesting read for sure, especially for newer con-goers. The article begins with an apparently clueless con guest who was irked by the thought of having to pay a (fairly minimal) fee for a selfie with Ann.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on
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That's a great blog post. Is it her blog and your friend works for her?
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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No, I meant she just posted it on her Facebook. I should have clarified that.
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I honestly don't understand how someone ends up at one of these conventions without any clue that everything costs something.
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If it's their first time, that's not too surprising.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on
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I am a little torn on this topic, as I understand her points completely. I have paid for autographs at conventions and have paid insane prices for meet and greets. I get the whole process and understand "time is money"
That being said, most of the people at a convention are there because they are fans. You aren't mostly going to pay for an autograph at a convention and expect to resell it and make a profit. $35 might not seem like a lot to her to ask someone for her time, but a signature is something that doesn't take a ton of effort and a photo is just a pose and a snap...Granted once again I understand you can't do it free for everyone that shows up, but comparing the pay they make acting to a nurse or a teacher is actually a little offputting to me as those professions deserve to make more money for the work they do...And they can't sell their autographs for money.
$35 a person times X amount of people an hour can add up to a big amount of money (once again this is a job for them I understand) but most of these moments are not personable at cons because the celeb is trying to get through so many people.
So to me, rather than write a blog on how you are trying to put your kid through summer camp, just smile and take the picture and feel blessed someone ekse is willing to pay for your signature and photo.
Sorry if that is harsh...
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I haven't been to tons of cons, but the experience can vary drastically. If I'm being shuffled through a Stan Lee-like assembly line, then that has very little appeal to me. If it's a low key convention (like most horror cons), then it can be very enjoyable with more loose interaction to go along with the lower prices.
The first year I went to Wizard World in Chicago, it was already a big, heavily attended event. But I think it was only $25-30 to attend and all the autographs were $20 - 40, with perhaps William Shatner being the only exception. Most of the celebs offered a free photo op or selfie (non professional) with an autograph purchase.
The following two years were still enjoyable, even as the prices and attendance rose noticeably. But a few years down the road, I just found the event barely tolerable. You couldn't freely photograph or video the event as you could years before. Traffic was disastrous and the entire event, despite have much, much more physical space available, was overcrowded. Add to the fact that they rely on unpaid, untrained volunteers, the whole event can just be overpriced and miserable.
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Yeah for sure Rich. I have never had to pay for a photo at the conventions I have been to. I am fully aware at other conventions that is an extra fee.
I just think when you are paying it seems so inpersonable to begin with, I think if a fan and a little girl ask for a photo, you can maybe be discreet and just do it quick for free.
I am not taking away from the acting profession or her work to get where she is, but she is where she is too because of the fans who probably are more a long the lines of just wanting to complete cast pieces and need her as we can all be compulsive in the collecting world.
She benefits from the fandom she didn't create, but was a part of.
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Rich, Adam...this is a great debate. What hit me half way through it was that for many people these days, the photo with a celebrity is replacing the autograph.
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Again, it comes down to what you want. Obviously, autographs can be bought and sold. Photo ops - not so much. That's sort of what my blog post was about a while back, and before that a debate about whether the selfie/photo op was better than an autograph. The answer is that it depends on the individual fan and the celebrity. It didn't realize until fairly recently that there were people who collected photo ops in a manner very similar to pro autograph collectors. With social media being what it is, and the quality of personal photography equipment having grown significantly over the past 15 years, I can see how the photo op has drawn even with or perhaps even passed autograph collecting.
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A professional photo op I would definetly say should be paid for as it would involve a professional photographer being involved.
Once again, I just want to say I am not faulting a "celeb" for charging for an autograph or a photo...They are working.
Still I am not as sympathetic to someone who can charge between $35-$50 for something that doesn't involve having to do nothing more than try to be pleasant, sign, and take a photo per person. Being part of The Walking Dead means she can now do that for the rest of her life.
The shows fandom was already established before her and after, I think some celebs get it for sure, but respect that us fans are paying because we are sort of crazy and need your graph...It was perhaps either the tone of the blog or my own implied sense of it that bothered me a bit.
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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on
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Having a collector mentality and being a fan of any franchise, tends to put the fan in a situation where they want to get everyone involved in a particular show or film. I am sure that Ms. Mahoney will be able to sign plenty of posters and photos for those die-hard fans, but in reality I had to look at her photos to see who she was. I have seen every episode fo TWD, yet I had no clue who she played. She is not Norman Reedus or Andrew Lincoln or even Chandler Riggs. She was a bit part player for a couple of seasons of one of the top shows on TV. If she was in Star Wars, she was in essence: an Imperial or Rebel officer with a few lines. Most casual fans will not be lining up to get her autograph or take their picture with her. It is highly doubtful that she would be involved in any professional photo-op, unless there is one featuring a cast grouping.
Many larger shows, especially those with a guarantee for the guest, require the celeb to charge for everything, and many times the person seated at the table is keeping track for the promoter.
The shows where celebs take a selfie with the fans are pretty much a thing of the past. You can thank Froggie's and the other professional photo-op providers for that.
Promoters are at a point where they are making more on the photo ops than they are at the autograph halls......what do you think that they will focus on at upcoming shows?
A celebrity guest at a show is spending better than half of their show time doing photo-ops, while autograph collectors wait at an empty table, standing in line,l hoping that the guest gets back on time....or at least before the show ends.
I can certainly get behind a guest offering a free selfie with the purchase of an autograph, but if a fan wants to take time away from a guest's ability to sign for just a selfie with no signature......I can completely understand a small fee for the guest to do so.
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