This summer’s convention extravaganza featured a bunch of shows that can be best described as mega-cons. I mean, there were over 55000 people at PAX, and something like 179 million people showed up for Comic-Con. Most of the conventions I’ve done over the last several years have been pretty huge, attracting crowds in the thousands, so this summer wasn’t much of a departure from that.
From the Land Beyond in Sacramento, where I spent this weekend, was small by comparison, but I still had a great time and will likely go back if they invite me next year.
Saturday was the SciFi and Horror con, so there were lots of people there dressed as awesome zombies (zombie goth girls are way hotter than they have a right to be) and tons of people in Star Trek and Star Wars costumes. There were a lot of families (yay for affordable cons!) and the vibe in the whole place was really laid back and positive. It seemed like everyone there was having a good time, whether they were fans or guests or vendors.
I spent the entire day sitting at a table next to Aaron Douglas, who plays the Chief on BSG. We hit it off pretty quickly (it turns out that we have a mutual friend in Yuri Lowenthal, who I worked with on Legion and who I currently work with on Ben 10: Alien Force). If you get a chance to see him at a con, and you’re even a tiny fan of BSG, you should go for it. He’s really nice, totally unpretentious, and seems like a really good guy. I’m way behind on BSG (Nolan and I are still in the 3rd season on DVD) so I worked really hard – and Aaron helped – to avoid spoilers all day. As I said on Twitter, ” Aaron Douglas is awesome. A++++ WILL SIT NEXT TO AGAIN!1!”
I had a panel on Saturday, which I thought was going to be shared with some other Star Trek alumni. Turns out I was wrong, and I’d be on the panel by myself. I had a little bit of a last-minute panic when I learned that I was going it alone, because I hadn’t prepared anything, but I thought quickly, and decided to read my Datalore review from TV Squad, because it’s in Sunken Treasure. I figured this would let me perform and entertain whoever showed up, while fulfilling the “Wil’s going to be talking about Star Trek” portion of the program. Thing is, I haven’t really looked at it since I wrote it several months ago, so I needed to prepare (being super prepared is very important to me) before I attempted to present it. I spent about 20 minutes reading it, remembering where the beats were, figuring out where it would be safe to drop some ad-libs in and where I should just stick to the material. It wasn’t as funny as I remembered it, but Datalore wasn’t as good as I remembered it, so I figured those things cancelled each other out. Besides, it’s not like I had anything else to perform that fit the bill, so I just went with myself (thank you for that timeless advice, Fiona Apple.)
I thought the panel went well. The room held about 100 people, and it was completely filled, which really surprised me, because I didn’t think I’d draw such a large percentage of that day’s attendees. I think they had fun, though, and I didn’t totally suck, so I was ultimately happy with the whole thing. I took a few questions after, and then signed some books and pictures at my table before the day came to an end.
I didn’t get to wander the vendor’s room as much as I wanted to on Saturday, but I did leave with something totally awesome: a vintage copy – damn close to mint condition – of the Dueltrack expansion for Car Wars. When I opened it up and saw all the little pieces together on one card, the catalog, the instructions, and everything else so perfectly unspoiled, it made me tremendously happy. I could see and smell and feel and so clearly remember standing in The Last Grenadier in Burbank when I bought my copy. I could see and smell and feel and so clearly remember getting it back to my house, opening it up, carefully using an exacto knife to cut the pieces out, and building a track on the dining room table.
It’s unlikely that I’ll play with this set – I have my Car Wars Deluxe Edition on the shelf right behind me, after all, and it has everything I need – but just having it again, and just being able to hold it and pet it and squeeze it and love it and call it George makes me incredibly happy.
Sunday was … interesting. It was an anime con, so the average attendee was probably 15 or 16. As I said on Twitter, “There are a TON of cosplaying anime kids here today. I am as relevant to their lives as the war of 1812.” It was a much slower day for me than Saturday, but it was still enjoyable. I didn’t read the program, so I didn’t know that I had a panel on Sunday as well (I know, WTF is wrong with me? FAIL, Wheaton. EPIC FAIL). However, I dug into Sunken Treasure again, and pulled out the excerpt from Just A Geek that includes The Trade. It’s part of a chapter about the moment I turned the switch from actor/writer to writer/actor, so I thought it would fulfill the “Wil talks about blogging and writing” portion of the program. Incidentally, nobody was admitted during the exciting rock climbing portion of the panel on either day.
The audience was extremely small. The room that held 100 people Saturday had about 20 people in it on Sunday, and though it should be easier to play to a more intimate crowd, it’s always been much harder for me than maybe it should. I fucosed, though, and had a hell of a lot of fun (maybe a little too much fun) reading for them. I had time for about 20 minutes of questions after, and everyone seemed to leave happy, including me, so I’m marking it down as a HUGE SUCCESS.
The very best part of the entire weekend for me – even better than getting my hands on Dueltrack – was meeting people who came to the show because I mentioned it on my blog and sent an e-mail using Eventful. Because I wasn’t busy at all – I think I signed as many autographs over the entire weekend as I signed in one session at PAX – I didn’t feel rushed, and I was able to do more than just talk for a moment or two with my fellow geeks. You know who you are, and I really enjoyed meeting all of you. Thank you for coming to the show!
If they invite me back for next year, I probably won’t attend on Sunday, simply because I’m not relevant to the demographic, but I’ll totally go back for the SciFi/Horror con, because it was what conventions are supposed to be. I think a lot of the bigger Sci-Fi cons have lost their way in the last few years, and forgotten what they are supposed to be about. They’ve become expensive autograph shows where you can’t even get close to the people you’re there to see, unless you shell out even more money to sit close to the stage. It was nice to be a a sci-fi con that was about celebrating the things we geeks love, instead of squeezing every last dime out of our pockets before sending us on our way with a bunch of hastily-scrawled autographs and disappointing, over-priced photo-ops. This show was small, but it was still a whole lot of fun. If the promoters stay focused on giving fans the kind of experience they got this year and find a way to add a little more programming, this convention is going to grow into something wonderful, because their hearts are really in the right place.
I couldn’t find a place to fit this into the post, but I wanted to say: Anne drove most of the way home last night, and I didn’t have to take over until the last two hours. We walked into our house around 12:30 this morning, and I’m not sure who was happier, us or our dogs.
I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve felt more of a sense of gratification from your posts of the last two or three weeks than I have for a long time. Perhaps it was your successful negotiation with the Top Men to have access to all those boxes in the garage that unleashed the monster we call Nostalgia (way more bad-ass than Gozdilla), which is even as we speak leveling cities and sending thirtysomethings rushing back to Mom’s garage to find that box with the 2600 cartridges in it. Those Top Men, they’re doing a bang-up job. And perhaps Nostalgia has caused classic-style cons to spontaneously appear in strange lands like Sacramento, I don’t know, but this post of yours plays into that same rich vein. I’ve had a really shitty last couple of weeks, and to be able to turn to old Wil’s blog for a major head-trip back to the sweet, sweet memories of gaming, comics, [other nerdy pursuits redacted] — that’s a worthy service, sir.
Oh, but you bring up Car Wars again. Oh, and how this tears at my heart, and makes me rend my flesh with agony — for my copy is gone, gone, gone! Car Wars Deluxe Edition is a holy grail of my gaming past, and I grieve for my fingers cannot trace its delicate lines and rejoice. Ahem. In any event, many have been the attempts to get another copy of late, and all I hear in my head every time EPIC FAIL blinks on my monitor is “The more you tighten your grip, Raphael, the more Car Wars systems will slip through your fingers.” Car Wars appears to provide the same heady cocktail of nostalgia for you that it does for me. It’s just that in my case, my weekend didn’t end with the pleasure of a NM/M copy of Dueltrack in my hands; it ended with a NM/M copy of Truck Stop going to another buyer. Not that I’m jealous or anything, certainly not.
Weren’t those snap cases great, though? Nothing beats the Deluxe Edition (even the vaunted Compendium) but I sort of used to love those little black plastic snap cases that SJG put all their games in for a spell in the 80s. I’m pretty sure that’s what enclosed my copy of OGRE as well.
“It was nice to be a a sci-fi con that was about celebrating the things we geeks love, instead of squeezing every last dime out of our pockets before sending us on our way with a bunch of hastily-scrawled autographs and disappointing, over-priced photo-ops.”
From your blog to the con gods’ ears, my dear Wheaton. More cons should be concerned with everyone’s enjoyment – for both the guests and the fans.
Angela
Thank you for coming, Wil.
The panel on Saturday was fine. I pulled out my copy and read along, but I was sitting next to a friend who had never heard your TNG reviews before, and he was laughing like crazy. He’s going to go look up the reviews you’ve done. I think he’ll enjoy it.
You were my main reason for coming (I’m not a big media or comics fan, mostly because I don’t have an idea what’s good) and I had a good time not only talking with you as you signed my books, even if it was mainly about the evil Scalzi perpetrated on you.
If you get to come again next year, I’ll be there.
-kat
It was so cool, man. I haven’t been to a con in at least 15 years. When you mentioned it I thought it might be an awesome place to take my son. I figured he’d be blown away by everyone in costume and I had an idea that Billy West could possibly speak in a voice or two that he may recognize. I could finally get my signed copy of Happiest Days. Awesome. The absolute coolest part was that everything went exactly according to plan. Billy West was so great. He did a Ren and Stimpy for my son and sent him into a smile coma. I finally met you in person and even though I found that I babble incoherently in your presence, I was still happy to be there. You even let my boy take a picture of the both of us. Thanks man. That was cool. As we walked out and down the entrance stairs my son looked up at me and exclaimed, “that was the best day of my life”. Yeah.. I need to take him out more but it was still a great day.
You know what, Wil? I know you don’t talk about your spirituality at all, but I’d like to share this with you:
I did a funeral (I’m a liberal Christian minister who IS NOT a fundamentalist) for this guy and about 20 people showed up. I put my notes down, prepared as I was with them, and walked out from behind the pulpit, sat down, and just talked to the people there. I mean, just opened my heart about this guy who died (and I didn’t know him, and they were all just ordinary people) and you know what? It was more inter-active, inter-esting than I could have imagined. I felt we all connected that day as human beings. Some of them asked questions about faith, but most importantly we talked about this guy who was dead now but when he was alive was really, really interesting. He ran a Karoke, of all things, at a local pub. And his name was Muzzy. We talked about how we can remember and honour him. How we can do something in our lives that would honour how he lived his. No one had any ideas that day. And we laughed a lot, as I recall.
So one day I’m rushing off to some stupid meeting about some stupid thing with some people who think they are holier-than-thou and I’m at the stop light and I look and see this bar in a strip mall with a sign on the front: “Muzzy’s Karoke: All Welcome”
It took all the strength I had to go to that meeting that day, rather than go and sing RADAR LOVE.
do you have any idea why so many people are following you on twitter? at all? even a clue? I can not for the life of me figure it out. Also, just a comment, it is high time to change the picture there, yes, that one up there looking like you’re a geek biker or 10 feet tall. That was cool for a few days but it has to go .. really.
re: Mad Monk. I may have to give a eulogy this week, and simply because the audience will be primarily Jehovah’s Witnesses I’ll stay with the format. However, there is this voice inside me screamign to break the process a little and talk about a man I have known for 15 years. Ah geez .. I’ll go sing Radar Love now …
@blastwave: don’t be a dick.
You did great, Wil. Being able to buy your book directly from you and being able to sit and watch your panel were the only reason I came to the con on Saturday (had already sit the dealer room Friday night before the Warp 11 concert). I also appreciate your sending out the email via Eventful. I did think it was kinda strange when your posted about being there for the Anime con…
After reading the book I bought from you all the way through that night I thought about things, and was thinking that it is too bad your are so well know for doing ST:TNG, and that it has had such an impact. Someone with your talent for writing should be know for that, even more. Ah well. You never know what might happen.
yay, wil up north! yay!
I wasn’t. I am a geek .. and I really am .. at a loss with well over 18,000+ people following twitter. That is a small town. as for the pic .. sorry dude .. I stand by the idea that a change is in the wind.
@blastwave Maybe because its fantastic that someone like Wil lets us into his daily lives that way. How many celebs do you know share their random thoughts an experiences throughout the day. Not many because they forget that they are real people too and have a huge stick up their ass. My fiance laughs cause I “stalk” Wil until he realized Wil’s updates pop up in my browser and since I am at a computer all day working, it gives me something humourous to read while I deal with a staff of 80.
/rant
@Wil I had to laugh the day you were in the store and the footloose thing happened. That night was my geeky pleasures show and I was talking about you, Shatner and the Hoff and asking people to share with me their geeky pleasures. What do you know, but someone’s geeky pleasure was the footloose song. Coincidence? Bah, who am I kidding, most likely. If it weren’t for twitter, I would have never been able to extend by geeky pleasures talk and include that besides your blog.
You know, this is probably the sort of thing you WOULDN’T do, but I have an overwhelming urge, if I see you at a Con, to get you to sign my not-so-mint condition copy of Dueltrack.
And that Car Wars game is still a go if you make it to the MBCC 😀
@ blastwave Speaking for myself, I follow Wil on twitter because I find him a fun and interesting guy. I admit, I don’t get some of the geek lingo, especially the D&D stuff, but I don’t mind because I like adding to my geekcabulary. I also follow Olivia Munn and Barack Obama. Its fun to read whatever is on a person’s mind at the time. It’s a unique new way to get to know a person. Barack Obama’s tweets however, seem to be written by a campaign staffer and they mostly say what events he is at and give a link to watch it live. This makes his tweets way less interesting to me than Wil’s or Olivia’s because they tweet themselves and they tweet more interesting stuff. I use the twitterfox add-on for Firefox. It makes it quick to check for tweets and, unlike other add-ons I have tried, it remembers your username and password after you clear your private data from your browser to get rid of those tracking cookies.
first .. I get it. Second, drop the “celeb” concept because there is no such thing. Maybe it is because I’m a Canadian but an actor is just an actor. No big deal at all and it changes nothing. In fact .. it has no bearing at all … I have his book because its a damn fine fun read and thats cool but I also have textbooks and manuscripts and articles published by various friends and professional contacts. No big deal .. they are all programmers and sysadmins and I read the journals etc. My twitter talk is always technical and software related .. that works for a “geek crowd” but this whole celeb thing .. forget it. There is no such thing and I defy you to name the emperor that followed after Marcus Aurelius or, more recently, the lady that worked with Crick and Watson in the DNA structure discovery project. You probably can’t and those were very very famous people. The concept of a celeb is nothing but a sales tag on a counter being pushed out the door to make way for next weeks product. Focus on the here and now as well as the work that lasts potentially forever. A writer is what the man is .. and a good one too. I still don’t see the *big* deal however.
@blastwave I am Canadian as well. Like it or not, Wil falls under a celeb title. I am not one to fawn over someone in the public eye, since I myself am in the public eye and know that privacy is so hard to come by. That being said, many others in N.A. culture do not think that way. If they did, there would be no idiots chasing people with a camera and celebs running away to the area I live in, to get away from the insanity. A good percentage of people who live in the Lime Light become stuck up and lose sight of the fact they are real people doing a job and they wouldn’t be enjoying the lime light if it weren’t for people enjoying their craft. Wil is one the great exceptions to that rule and has not forgotten his beginnings. He has a sense of humour and graciously makes it available to other to appreciate. That is one of the many attributes that Wil portrays that make him loved and people wanting to read his twits. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean you should knock the pleasure that others get from it. THAT I do not understand. You have basically just put down a small city of people that have never done anything to you. Commodus and the other no idea
@Wil I am sorry if I have overstepped a boundary here but the negativity is just not needed. I almost used the don’t be a dick thing as well and normally it takes a lot to piss me off. Personally, I think the comments are just rude and uncalled for. Sorry if I have offended, not my intention at all.
I love The Last Grenadier in Burbank! It’s got that messy, stuff everywhere, random games kinda thing going on that a shop like that should truly have. I picked up all the Catan stuff there and gave it to my wife for a birthday present. HUGE SUCCESS, indeed!
-= Chris
Hey Wil,
We’re TOTALLY with you on the con-size thing. Having filmed the show on Friday, we were very nervous about the lack of traffic. However, having talked to the organizers it seems the show did well enough despite the slow first day. Glad you got some rest on the way back from the show… you sounded dead tired. Had we known you were recovering from back problems, we wouldn’t have pestered you so much.
Soon as we get the episode up, we’ll let you know… and yes, we’ll leave that flub on the cutting room floor. 😉
Heya, Wil. How come I never saw you at any of the AADA World Championship events, back in the day? I was World Racing Champion (since you were speaking of Dueltrack!) in 2038. (Actually co-champion, but since I gave my co-champion the advice he needed to tie me in the final few phases, well … ) I was one ill-timed “1” on a crash roll away from repeating in 2039 … rolled and burned, baby, rolled and burned.
Anyway, hie thee to GenCon and say the word on the blog, and I will find us space for a few hours of Car Wars, i promise you. I haven’t played for years, but I also still have my Deluxe Car Wars. (I had literally everything, but sold it off back in the mid-90s. Er, 2040s.
Hey Wil, as much fun as this sounds all it makes me wonder is when if ever I will be able to catch you in Chicago.
OMG! I’ll admit, it was my first time going to one of these but I had a cool time with my nephew. Was trying to take a picture of you, but I was way too nervous. Ended up with a profile shot and that’s ok.
They WHAT? You can PAY to get better seats at the panels? W. T. Bloody F.ing Hell?!?? I know that DragonCon has jumped the shark in some ways, for one it’s just too big, but even they don’t pull that kind of crap. If you stand in line for an hour and a half for a panel, you’re in the first four rows. Even if they have to change the venue 25 minutes before (happened in 2007 for the Mythbusters build team) you end up with a decent seat.
At D*C, they make it clear that paying for autographs is the signer’s call. It could be that the BSG actors charge, but I don’t know. I got signatures from Trace, Frank, and Joel from MST3K on my “Hercules Against the Moonmen” DVD that I brought and on a “Cinematic Titanic” card that I bought from them, and they were happy to do it.
I’ve heard about Cons where you stand in line forever and pay to get a 15-second photo with $big_screen_star, and are told not to talk to them or interact. I guess that’s what you mean. Yick.
Oh, and it’s great to hear that Aaron Rogers is cool in person too. He was really great at the panels at DragonCon a few weeks ago. From the stories the other cast were telling about him, he goes and hangs out in the bars at the Cons and chats with fans.
His imitation of Edward James Olmos’s voice (they call him “Eddie”) is hilarious and not be missed.
I went to an anime con in Atlanta this past weekend. I felt so old walking around there. It seemed that all the attendees were my son’s age.
Wow, it sounds like it was a really fun time and a great con. I’ve been jonesing to go to a scifi/horror con like that in my area but I don’t think they exist anymore. Really glad it was low-key and you got to talk to people. That’s always what makes any con a good time. 🙂
Hiya Wil. Re: Sunday’s panel…
Is it hard to overstate your satisfaction?
@ Jules For what it’s worth I don’t think you’ve overstepped any boundaries and I actually want to thank you for what you’ve said. I almost wanted to reply with a “Don’t be a dick.” myself but since you replied so well I thought my two cents to blastwave would be overkill. Without trying to sound like I’m making Wil a saint or trying to ingratiate myself by being overly complimentary I have to say that your reasons for following Wil have been mine for years. My husband used to tease me for “Wil-stalking” and liked to call me “Wil’s unofficial PR manager” until I reminded him that the world is full of enough jerks and that it’s refreshing to find someone who could totally get away with being a jerk but has choosen not to be. I like to support people who are talented and aren’t jerks. It’s really awesome to find that a person you used to admire for a pretty surface level thing (“OMG! Wil Wheaton is sooo cute! He’s totally my teen idol! I’m 14 and Star Trek RULZ! Wheeeeeee!”) turned out to be someone you admire for concrete reasons (“Wow, Wil Wheaton is a pretty erudite guy who is very gracious, brings up issues that make me think and/or generally amuse me because I’m a big geek, too, and has built a following based on just being himself and sharing part of himself with the world through his blog and books. I’m so glad he’s not a dick, at least not more than a normal person is at times.”). For the record, that’s why I am one of his 18,000 twitter followers.
I hate to sound like some sort of vigilante, obsessed internet defender of Wil Wheaton – after all it’s not my blog and I don’t think Wil needs me to defend him – but I agree with not understanding the culture of people coming to anyone’s blog and being rude (“Change your picture!”) or posting criticisms that might better belong in a personal email (“I went to a con and you totally WEREN’T gracious to me when I expected you to be. What gives?” – This showed up a while ago and while it chafed my hide I said nothing because I didn’t want to overstep a boundary of appropriate response.). I just guess after all this time people would try not to be dicks on WWdN.
blastwave is entitled to his/her opinion but probably should have dropped it after Wil’s “Don’t be a dick.” I hope I haven’t been a dick for saying all this. Like Jules said, if I have it wasn’t my intention.
@Craig Steffen: I wasn’t talking about Dragon*Con, Comic-Con, Emerald City Comic-Con, or any of the shows I’ve participated in during the last year. I’ve never been to D*C, but I understand that it’s awesome and everyone there, guests and attendees alike, has a great time.
It’s also not fair to put 100% of the blame onto the shoulders of promoters who are using their monopoly to give as little and take as much as they can from fans; there are actors who demand fees in excess or $10,000 to show up for a weekend, and promoters have to figure out some way to make that money back.
I’ve chosen not to be part of that system, though, because I think fans get screwed by it.
After reading all of these posts, I think we have a new word for the followers of this blog: Fumas.
As in, “Wil Wheaton is fumas; Mad Monk is almost fumas.”
Wil- it was great seeing you in person. I didn’t think I could get nervous in the presence of a celeb anymore, after all the cons I used to go to. I was wrong. I was so nervous, I forgot to take a picture. The last non-gaming convention I went to was Dragon*Con in 2000, so I felt out of place on Sunday. Getting a copy of “Sunken Treasures” made it all better. You’re a great writter Wil, I look forward to reading more of your work.
I probably won’t attend on Sunday, simply because I’m not relevant to the demographic.
Not relevant *yet*. As a voice actor, it’s only a matter of time before you star in an anime knockoff of a popular video game. Get used to saying things like “You’ve activated my Waterloo Trap Card!” and “We’ll win the Eggshell Guitar Hero Cup no matter what it takes, Fender-Chu!”
Re: Car Wars
While rearranging some stuff after Hurricane Ike, I found one of my gaming collectables: the prototype box for Car Wars. See, I went to college with Steve Jackson and taught him white box D&D, later playtested for him, and got him to sell me the prototype at a con.
Oh, and Ike is/was annoying but not damaging. No damage to house, no power for two weeks, still no Intartubes or Cable.
This inspired me to go out and look for a con in my area and I found out that there’s Vulkon coming up next month! Alas, no WilW, but there will be Terry Farrell!!! Wheeeeeee!!!!
It sounds like an extraordinary amount of fun!
That’s what I really like about the smaller cons – the intimacy and the less hectic pace.
Wil
Thanks again for coming up to Sac. Your panel on Saturday was great. I’m sorry I missed it on Sunday. I’m still tripping that this convention was in the same building where my 3rd grade Christmas play was held. That place was SO much bigger 25 years ago. Looking forward to seeing you again next year.
Wil, I want to thank you so much for making my wife’s day/week/month/year/etc. by coming to the con in Sacramento and having a good conversation about Standy By Me. It is her absolute favorite movie ever and that meant a lot to her to talk you for that long about the film. She has been so excited since it was announced you were coming and she even had a countdown clock on her MySpace page – XX number of days ’til I meet Gordie LaChance!! Everyone knows her love of the movie and she received tons of calls that afternoon wondering how it went from family. They also asked if I told you the leeches stoy and how she used to get real close to the tv screen and try to look down your shorts. Everyone knows the story in this family! Once again, thank you. You were truly about as down to earth and nice as we could have asked. We hope to see you again next year.
Wil,
My wife and I really enjoyed meeting you at the convention. We also made a six hour drive to get there, and while my reason for coming was to attend my great uncle’s 80’th birthday celebration, I suspect that her’s was to see you.
The birthday was on Saturday, so we attended on Sunday. We really enjoyed the small size of the event and getting to converse with some very interesting people. We concluded that it was our favorite convention for that reason on the drive home, so I’m very glad to see that you enjoyed it as well.
I am a fan of Star Trek and I introduced it to my wife. We were expecting to get an autograph and maybe a photo of Wesley, so we were both surprised to find that you are a really cool guy and a great writer. Your panel was great, and you were very nice about letting us talk your ear off afterward. Of course, my wife did all the talking while I stayed quiet. We came away with a copy of your book and have hunted down your blog and your twitter. I hope you return to Sacramento so we can catch up with you.
@Wil,
I wasn’t talking about Dragon*Con, Comic-Con, Emerald City Comic-Con, or any of the shows I’ve participated in during the last year.
Right. Yes, I understand. You were using that point as a contrast. I was just stunned and appalled that there were cons ANYWHERE that let you get better seating by paying. Sorry my post sort of exploded.
It’s also not fair to put 100% of the blame onto the shoulders of promoters who are using their monopoly to give as little and take as much as they can from fans; there are actors who demand fees in excess or $10,000 to show up for a weekend, and promoters have to figure out some way to make that money back.
Ok, fair enough.
I’ve chosen not to be part of that system, though, because I think fans get screwed by it.
Well, and unlike some Star Trek actors who shall remain nameless, you go to cons largely to promote work that you’re DOING RIGHT NOW. You’re promoting and talking about your books and your other writing. For you, going to the con is an investment and an outreach activity that promotes your work, and you get to meet (hopefully not too creepy) people along the way.
The only way the business model of the con paying the star huge money makes sense to me is if it’s for something they did in the past which they haven’t topped yet. Which is why David Prowse is always in the autograph room at Dragoncon.
Wil, if you really want to get your geek on — and see some of the freakiest, most entertaining costumes ever (Jack Sparrow dressed as Slave Leia, anyone?) — you really should make the effort to attend Dragon*Con at least once. I know how awesome a con PAX is and that they tend to conflict, but hop the red eye to Atlanta for next labor day and you won’t be disappointed. Trust me.
Hope to see you there, I’d love to partake in one of your live readings someday.
The reason why I like this post so much is exactly the reason why “a small town” (including me) follows Wil on Twitter.
Wil, you’re a really great guy. Not a fake great guy like a lot of people who also happen to be in the public eye, but a real great guy. Even after playing to an audience of 100, you worked just as hard (if not harder) to entertain an audience of 20.
You understand that while it’s necessary and good to be recognized formally (and monetarily) for your accomplishments, the pleasure of entertaining people–even just a few people–is the real reward.
For a writer-who-has-not-published-anything-yet, that mindset–that ability to enjoy one’s work for the pleasure it gives to others–is inspirational.
@angie k Thanks for your words
That just figures. My first instincts were correct on practically everything that weekend. I really wanted to go on Sunday instead of Saturday because comics interest me and my little girls more than a horror/sci-fi day. Plus I figured everyone who would want to come rushing out to see you would come on Saturday. We had church commitments for Sunday, so I sucked it up and went Saturday instead. By your trip report, I was right with my first instinct darn it.
Plus when you first arrived on Saturday, my husband made me lol about getting in line right away because as he put it “the line always gets bigger, not shorter.” Srsly? At this little convention? =oP
Still, it was lovely to meet you especially with my three little girls still well behaved enough not to annoy everyone else surrounding us.
Unfortunately, you weren’t the highlight of the morning after all. After we left your table and were making our way out, we got into a conversation with Richard Hatch from BSG who was busy ooohing over our four month old daughter. After a moment or two, I amused myself by mentioning to him that our baby’s name is Athena, no kidding. LOL at appearing to be the crazy sci-fi fan family.
Anyway, I read your book and felt pretty darn pleased with myself that I bought it at a con more like you reminisce about in the book than at one of the gianormous cons.
ps – ARGH at trying to post a comment on this entry. Maybe the fifth time will be the charm.
MadMonk – maybe you can become fumas if you fucos hard enough on it.
Wil (and Nolan) – there will be a few episodes in Season 3 that will be a hard slog (The Woman King comes to mind). Apparently the network, not realizing how the show works, wanted more standalone episodes. Stick with it – it will all be worth it in the end… 🙂
Wil,
I was one of the 200+ folks who signed up on Eventful from the bay area – I drove 90 miles out to Sacramento to just meet you.
It was definitely worth it, even if didn’t go the way I’d hoped.
It wasn’t you.
It was me.
After speaking with a fan-girl that I know very well, I discovered that what happened to me also happens to many/most fans when they first meet someone they admire. It has even happened to you – as you’ve shared with us before.
So, I was inspired to put together the following heartfelt form letter for all the other fans out there…
=== Begin Form ===
Dear __A__,
I was so excited to see you __B__ at __C__ in __D__. This was the first time I’d ever gone out of my way to actually speak with someone that I admired. Before going, I thought about all the things we have in common, and the effect you’d had on the lives of myself and __E__. I decided on several things to talk to you about, if I was lucky enough to get the time.
You see, I’m pretty cool too. I know that if we’d ever get the chance to hang out, we’d get along great, even though __F__. Despite __G__, we’re so much alike and I knew you’d see that instantly when you heard my name when we met. We were gonna have a great conversation because I had so much to share with you.
So, my chance came – you were sitting at the table and no one else was in line. I went up to you and said “Hi! My name is __H__. I’ve been a fan since __I__…” and handed you my copy of __J__ to sign. “__K__” was your pleasant and conversational reply, and you paused politely.
That is when it all went wrong. For some reason, everything I wanted to say vanished from my head. This is totally abnormal for me as I normally __L__. You gracefully recovered and continued “So I write this out to __H__ then?”. “Yes.” was the only thing that came out. I even forgot __M__. You wrote a wonderful line in the book:”__N__” and signed it, and I stumbled away muttering “__O__”.
By then, someone else had come up, and I’d realized I’d forgotten to ask for a __P__ (actually, a companion reminded me.) When I went back after a brief wait, and asked “What is the charge for a __P__?” you said “Nothing” and promptly fulfilled my wish. I was still dumbfounded and could only mouth polite gratitude.
Dude, seriously, I usually celebrate achieving goals much more demonstratively. So, instead of you seeing how cool I was too, I came off like all the rest of us fans at their first meeting – star struck.
Anyway. You were awesome, and thanks for being gentile and kind – but you didn’t meet the real me.
But, then again, what you wrote in my copy of __J__ seemed to indicate that you understood this even before I met you.
Thanks!
__H__
=== EOF ===
My form values (for illustrative purposes only):
A – Wil, B – speak, C – SacCon, D – Sacremento, E – my kids, F – I’m 12 years older than you, G – almost orthogonal political views, H – Randy, I – you were Wesley and doing interviews on Genie. You were a big hockey fan, J – The Happiest Days of Our Lives, K – I still am!, L- can’t shut up, M – to ask for a picture of us together, N – “Stay Awesome!”, O – Good luck with the fiction writing, P- photo of us together.
It all sounded so damn cool! I get to that part of the world roughly once a year, and I seem to narrowly miss things I’d really love to go to (for example – your Just a Geek book signing in San Fransisco a couple of years ago).
Oh well, one day. . .
It was great to meet you and my fiancee was over the moon happy. We both appreciated getting a chance to chat with you for a few minutes while you got set-up for the day. The reading you did Saturday afternoon was great. Both your delivery and your style of writing was excellent.
Do not forget to tell your friend to shop “Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show” with the folks at Adult Swim. I know they do not pay well, but the exposure will hopefully launch merchandising and licensing interest. Sadly, I am sure CN will get a cut of any merchandising, but hopefully the volume will make it so Tiny Chicken lays a golden egg. We need more unique programs like that. Send the Squid dildos, I mean “The Squidbillies” packing and bring on cool shows like Tiny Chicken.
Wil – first let me thank you for making it out to our con this past weekend. My name is Robert, and you met me as the Program Director for the con. Next year it’s more likely that the whole weekend will be a single Sci-Fi/Horror con (so we don’t have to split our demographic). On the other hand, as the poster above noted, playing up any of your Voice Acting work will earmark you for otaku explosions from the crazy cosplay/anime teens and tweens that make up our primary demographic for the Anime and Comic shows.
Additionally, thanks for the glowingly positive comments about our con. We take pride in the fact that it’s always extremely family friendly, and it’s still affordable (especially in our tough economic times).
My wife (Erin, Guest Relations) also wanted you to know that she (or me) is willing to fondly reminisce about the passing of GenCon SoCal anytime.
It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope to see you at a future event.
I second Craig’s comments about Aaron. Great guy, very active with the fans. At one of the BSG panels at DragonCon he wandered in with a bunch of late arriving fans all costumed up as the Chief. Initially a bunch of us thought he was just another fan in costume. “Hey, check out that guy, he really looks like the Chief” Until he walked up out of the crowd on the the stage. heh
Lets here it for the smaller Cons! The thought of ComicCon with its +100k crowd makes me cringe. I have a feeling from what I’ve heard and read that I’d spend 80% of my time at the convention standing in line and that just doesn’t sound like a fun weekend to me. DragonCon, is probably about as big as I would want to attend at about 35k to 40k attendees.
At one of the BSG panels at DragonCon he wandered in with a bunch of late arriving fans all costumed up as the Chief. Initially a bunch of us thought he was just another fan in costume. “Hey, check out that guy, he really looks like the Chief” Until he walked up out of the crowd on the the stage. heh
I was at that panel, sitting on the left side middle. We didn’t see the group coming in the door, just the reaction of the panelists on stage.
That is too funny! Thanks for the info.