I was one of the first people to accept an invite from United Fan Con up in Springfield, MA, in November…and, as of last night, was the very first one (and, to my knowledge, the only one) to be disinvited. As opposed to Orlando where I was simply summarily dumped from the roster, this time I was contacted by the convention organizer who explained that, well, they only had so much money to go around, and they were so busy paying for the appearance fees and hotel rooms for the–y’know–important guests, and their advance registration or interest in purchasing photo ops or signed pictures in advance had been so far below projection, that they could no longer afford to have me out even though I don’t charge appearance fees. They had to cut the budget somewhere and apparently I’m it. They couldn’t afford hotel stay and travel costs for the guy who signs tons of comic books and such for free because they needed to be able to accommodate all the folks who charge fans $20/$30 a pop for signatures.
I doubt that anyone was coming to United Fan Con just to see me–certainly the convention organizers are banking on that–but if you were, and you were hoping to get free autographs, you’re out of luck.
You know, I just can’t get enough of having regional conventions use my name for initial promotion and then dump me at the last minute. Actually, now that I think about it…I can. I’m going to be thinking long and hard before accepting invites for any smaller conventions; I’m just tired of having my face stepped on.
PAD
• 
Ajay: “All Peter needed to say is that his appearance was cancelled.”
Uh, no. It is entirely appropriate to publicly “call out” someone for poor business practices. If UFC believes Peter is misrepresenting the situation, they can respond right here. I can tell you from experience that Peter will not censor them unless they cross the lines Luigi mentioned in his prior post.
I doubt UFC can claim such a thing, though. Peter’s initial post was pretty cut-and-dried: UFC invited him to be a guest, he accepted this commitment and therefore declined others that would have conflicted, UFC cancelled at the last minute, and that costs Peter money. I don’t think any of those facts are in dispute.
Ajay: “A circle is a circle. A square is the square. Going onto a blog and detailing all of your pain and heartache over the cancellation is childish and unprofessional.”
If you have to distort and mischaracterize what someone else has said in order to support your argument, you’ve pretty much lost. Peter cited the facts, said he is angry about being mistreated so often by small conventions, and may resort to declining their invitations from now on.
Your criticisms of Peter are actually more applicable to you than they are to him.
Ajay: “If the promoters did him wrong, they will suffer in their own way due to poor business practices.”
Think about this for a moment — and by think I mean THINK, not emote — how can they suffer the consequences of this poor practice if no one discusses it openly???
Ajay: “That’s how I feel. You won’t change my mind and I won’t change yours.”
Well, that’s where you’re wrong. I maintain a very open mind. The evidence of that is in prior threads in this blog. I’ve changed my mind more than once when faced with an argument that was clearly superior to mine. The fact that you haven’t persuaded me isn’t indicative of a closed mind on my part — it’s indicative of a weak argument on your part.
Ajay: “But it had to be said.”
No, it didn’t. But I’m getting the feeling this is less about principle and more about you getting a thrill from taking swipes at Peter David. A man with whom I’ve disagreed in the past, by the way, sometimes quite vigorously. But in this case, unless you can prove that something he has said is false, he’s just plain right and you’re not.
as ps i’d say he also posted as a warning to other conventions who would look to book him, that he will not take any shabby treatment.
Ajay, f the promoters did him wrong, they will suffer in their own way due to poor business practices. all PAD is doing is telling people about their poor business practices, why is that not allowed.
If i go into a Best Buy and the salesman treats me like crap, then am I considered whiny if I tell my friends that this guy at the Best Buy was a jerk?
I do think it’s possible PAD is wrong when he says he was a safety guest, and that it is possible they expected the presales to help cover the budget shortfall, but UFC is certainly free to state their position if that’s the case.
In any case i think overspending in hopes of making it up later is a bad sign, and it’s certainly not a good thing to do to a guest who has been to your convention more than once.
wowza! hey peter, matman from secret identity. i was the one who helped organize the comic room at fan con for the past few years. after last years show, i told the organizers i’d never do it again because of the way the comic creators and my guests were treated! after reading your post, i did the right thing by getting out!
Contract alternative #2 that avoids collection/suing issue:
$750 signing/reservation/appearance fee that is due upon signing or some date certain before the event.
And a clause that the fee is waived or paid back upon/after your appearance or if you had to cancell.
I don’t know whether the finances of the con would allow for this, but it would put them in the position of honoring your reservation or not getting their $ back – “cutting PAD screws our rebate!”
AJAY:
This “thread” is no more un-professional than one person saying to another “Whatever you do , Don’t got to ABC AUTOMOTIVE for your car repair.” If someone agreed to fix your car for $X.XX and then said “Sorry , Don’t bring us your crap in here , we can make more money on this Cadillac”, you’d be plenty pìššëd øff. And what’s more, you’d do whatever you could to tell everyone you know (and admittedly, some jerks who you don’t know who just don’t get the concept of “blogging”).
I don’t blame PAD at all for making sure a questionable and un-professional program get’s it’s proper due and everyone goes somewhere else. And no, I don’t “blindly” agree with everything PAD says , simply because he’s a friend. I read this ’cause he’s a freind. I agree with him because I feel he’s right. I WANT to know about his moral outrage, whether it’s UFC or ORLANDO or VULCON or CREATION or even George Bush. Or even AJAY.
I’m really concerned that you’ve decided to stop buying his books… I’m sure his publisher is on his phone right now telling him to knock the šhìŧ off and get professional. It’s not the first time someone’s personality was in conflict with his writing talent. God knows Heinlein was a bit eccentric and had a questionable public persona. I still read his books.
But I emplore you. Please stop buying Peter David’s stuff. Pete. When I see you at Farpoint, I’ll buy two of whatever to make up for this a$$hole.
Be. A. Professional.
Find. A. Mirror.
For what it’s worth regarding putting a cancellation clause in your contract in the future: you don’t actually have to enforce these things to make them worthwhile. The mere presence of such a clause in the contract would make organizers think twice before cancelling you on a whim. And if the organizers are unwilling to sign a contract including such a clause, then you’re probably better off skipping the convention.
And as for Philcon: you can trust those people to make good on their promises. I know the organizers personally, and I will personally beat them about the head and shoulders with my baseball bat (foam rubber) if they cancel on you. :^)
“No, you didn’t piss me off, but at this point if I were approached by any small convention I’d probably just reject it out of hand. Who needs this? PAD”
To say you are not going to accept an invitation to a small con because of 2 incidents seems a little like overkill to me.
When someone asks you to come to their convention, check them out. Ask around to your buddies, post on here, that sort of thing. There are plenty of good, honet convention organizers out there that don’t just so happen to live in San Diego or New York or whathaveyou.
But then again, who am *I* to tell you how to handle your professional appearances? 🙂
PAD has every right to complain if he feels as if he’s been wronged. Though, personally, I don’t think being told 3 weeks before the con is exactly “last minute”.
By the way, am I the only one hoping UFC says something, anything, about what Pad said??
I wouldn’t go so far as Ajay, but I do think there’s an overwrought quality to all of this. Most anyone who is self-employed or does contractual work has experienced this sort of thing. People screw up.
In PAD’s shoes I would not have posted this, because the fear that he will “vent” about mishaps might discourage other people from associating with him.
I think Ihnatko’s idea of an appearance contract makes more and more sense. Yeah, you’d have to sue them to enforce it if they breached it and didn’t pay you, but it’s also possible that they’d at least be honorable enough to pay you if they’re forced to cancel for some reason.
Plus, cancelling you and then NOT paying you the fee adds a whole other layer of bad publicity that they may think twice about, even if you don’t take them to court.
At any rate, it’ll weed out the conventions that don’t take you seriously. As long as the terms aren’t too draconian, I think a sensible well-run convention would have no problems signing such an agreement. And, as Ihnatko pointed it, if they don’t even have their šhìŧ together enough to sign and return the thing, it probably isn’t a convention you want to spend your time on . . .
Wow, thanks, Ajay, for helping inform us all as to what a blog should be for. I’ll make sure to use my personal blog…should I ever decide to creat one…for only professional, non-personal things. I’ll certainly refrain from putting my opinion on my blog, because who wants to see personal opinions on personal blogs?
Yeesh, you’d think “blog” was short for something like “web log,” or some other kind of personal diary that you can share with others on line.
I like to think of this place in particular as PAD’s extended den. He invites any and all to hang around and chat. It’s not a public forum, but it’s not especially closed off, either. There’s a small amount of regulation, but very little, if any, censoring, unlike just about all other blogs I’ve been to. To that extend, this isn’t PAD going down to the village square to call out the UFC folks. Heck, he’s not made one suggestion (although at least one non-PAD post has) that other guests cancel because of this act. To me, that’s a pretty civil act.
As for professionalism…what does that even mean? So-called professionals do some fairly mean, maybe even downright evil, things in this world. Check out the Darfur investment ad I saw on TV this morning.
Off-topic a little…
PAD, do you have your con schedule planned for next year yet? We made it to Wizard World Chicago this year, and I didn’t see you listed, which bummed me out greatly. I’d still love to get my Death of Jean DeWolf issues signed by you and say “hi.” I know they’re moving WW Chicago up at least a month so it’s not so close to Gen Con. We had a really good time at WW, and actually having some artists that I know…not having been too involved in comics the past 10 years…would really add to our day.
The biggest problem that I continue to face when I am being victimized is learning what my life lesson in it is, and how long I’m going to choose to remain a victim. In a way, it goes back to that old idea that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting a different result. Yes, I get screwed over from time to time, but if I choose to not change my ways, I will run into people who will take advantage of my good will, good nature and generousity. So, I can stay the path and get upset the next time “x” happens, or I can choose to take measures to change the outcome.
What can I do to support you in this experience?
“I wouldn’t go so far as Ajay, but I do think there’s an overwrought quality to all of this. Most anyone who is self-employed or does contractual work has experienced this sort of thing. People screw up.
In PAD’s shoes I would not have posted this, because the fear that he will “vent” about mishaps might discourage other people from associating with him.”
Well, in my thoughts there’s a world of difference between Joe Contractor and a Name Creator who carries a following and audience with him from project to project, and who has shown a pretty good amount of success in crossing over between mediums. As PAD’s stated, he’s not just some comic book guy. In the world of comics, he’s a pretty Big Name. Outside of comics, he’s someone you can include in the same sentence as the likes of Joss Whedon and not get laughed at by your audience.
And maybe it’s good that he vents like this, so that other struggling cons that might not have the budget to invite him don’t issue an invite, advertise for months, sell non-refundable tickets (some at least that were influenced, if not outright sold because of said advertisement), and then uninvite said guest a mere two weeks before the event.
Lingster, were PAD here making the same statements months before the event, I’d agree with you. It wouldn’t be a big deal. But that’s not the case. It’s not as though the UFC folks just last week looked at their budget and said “oh, crap, we don’t have enough to pay all the expenses for all our guests…we need to cancel.” Even the worst run organization would realize their monetary constraints long before this time. They used PAD’s name for as long as possible to get the most out of his name, and then dumped him on short notice. I’d be pìššëd, too, if only because my family had been looking forward to the trip. Add in the business implications, and I think maybe you can start to see why PAD’s a little steamed over this.
You need a lecture agent.
Hmmm. My belief that not only does Peter have the right to issue such comments about UFC, but as a professional, he must. If he does not, his fans attending UFC who have carted books and comics and dvds for his signature are going to blame him. If Peter kept quiet, he could potentially permanently alienated his customers.
By the way, three weeks notice of cancellation is “the last minute” when it is too late to replace one con appearance with another.
Think of it this way, UFC not only cheated Peter and his fans by the late cancellation, but cheated another convention from the opportunity of booking Peter for the same weekend.
“In PAD’s shoes I would not have posted this, because the fear that he will “vent” about mishaps might discourage other people from associating with him.”
I have no problem with a convention balking at the idea of inviting me because they may look bad should they subsequently dump me from their line-up. No problem with that at all.
PAD
Ajay,
In case you’re still reading, try thinking before you post. You’re not only wrong on several of your points, you’re also insulting.
There’s no cult of personality here. Fans of Peter come here and discuss things. Do we agree with him sometimes? Yeah. Do we disagree with him at other times? Yeah. I agreed with him strongly on this topic do to past personal experiences like this. I’ve disagreed with him a number of times before. Hëll, we were having a boarderline pìššìņg contest for a day or so back in the Poopypaints thread. Peter is, and he’ll love this soooo much, sometime irrelevant to the blog outside of hosting it. Seriously, read some past threads. Peter throws out a topic, it plays itself out, Peter moves on to a new topic and the inmates then take over the asylum and discuss matters that Peter never brought up and, in some cases, hold absolutely no interest to him at all.
Second, this is Peter’s blog. He posts casually here. If he wants to give a reason for why he did something or elaborate on why something was done to him, then he has every right to do so and do it in any manner that he so chooses. It doesn’t reflect in the least bit on his professionalism.
Third, what was done to him was šhìŧŧÿ as hëll. He was invited as a guest months ago. That means that any offers he got from other conventions or for special appearances, some of which may have been more lucrative for him, he had to turn down. Any event that might have come up since then that required reservations and could have been a good family outing would have to be turned down. Any other plans he had for the days just before and just after the con will have been planned around his expected trips down and back with all that this would entail. And now, two weeks out, he’s blithely informed that he’s not needed after all.
Let me tell you why this irks me. It’s not because I like Peter, Peter’s work or am somehow in a cult of personality. It’s because I’ve been there. When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I worked for a small construction company. We only got paid when we worked. Well, there were several times when we had jobs lined up that fell through at the last minute. When that happened, not only did we not get paid for the job that was no longer there, but, if the notice was too short, we couldn’t get anything else lined up. That hit our wallets. It was also annoying as hëll in regards to our personal life. I missed out on a couple of good concerts and one really great NWA event at the Coliseum because I had to work and, when the word came down that the gig was called off, I either couldn’t get tickets anymore or I couldn’t get tickets that would have me anywhere near the seating area of my friends that were going.
Well, UFC did that to Peter. They also did it in a poor way. He was, as he pointed out above, invited prior to several other guests. They should have kept an eye on the money they were handing out and, barring that, they should have cut the last person that they asked to attend rather then someone who they have been stringing along for months now. I’d feel this way if the person were Peter David, John Byrne, Gary Groth or even you.
As to UFC eventually getting what it deserves in the end if it’s conducting itself poorly… Can I ask you a question? How will they get what they deserve in the end if no one, by the Ajay Standards of Professional Conduct rules, is allowed to point out when UFC has treated them shabbily? If the only word on this had come from UFC and simply stated that Peter David was no longer attending without elaboration, who’s to know why he wasn’t there.
You didn’t think your position through very well and you were insulting. Bravo on your being one of the “more open-minded people” out there under what can be only called the loosest and most inaccurate definition of the term.
bobb alfred wrote:
…there’s a world of difference between Joe Contractor and a Name Creator who carries a following and audience with him from project to project…
Why would there be a difference? Expediency may oblige you to treat important people better than normal people, but your ethics should pull you in the opposite direction.
bobb alfred also wrote:
It’s not as though the UFC folks just last week looked at their budget and said “oh, crap, we don’t have enough to pay all the expenses for all our guests…we need to cancel.”
See, I think that’s probably exactly what happened. There’s no shortage of either, but I think there’s a lot more incompetence in the world than malice.
PAD wrote:
I have no problem with a convention balking at the idea of inviting me because they may look bad should they subsequently dump me from their line-up. No problem with that at all.
You’re assuming that only “bad actors” will reach a negative conclusion about you. Some honest people may conclude you’re in the wrong (i.e. “three weeks is ample notice”), while other people may conclude that you’re in the right but made a mountain out of a molehill.
Lingster: “Expediency may oblige you to treat important people better than normal people, but your ethics should pull you in the opposite direction.”
Yeah… I’ll point out to you what I posted just before your last post. They had him on the hook for months, he would have had to, and likely did, turn other things down and worked his plans around this, they contacted other people after confirming him and then cut him loose with very short notice.
You wanna talk “expediency” and “ethics” here? The only expediency shown here was in the manner that UFC cut Peter to make up for their screw up for booking other guests after Peter that they didn’t have the cash for. The only ethics that shows on UFC’s part is a lack thereof.
Just to follow up on what you were saying Jerry, the convention website also announces the presence of three so-called ‘bonus guests.’ The use of that terminology would suggest they were added the guest list after the main guests were already invited and confirmed. Otherwise, I presume they would just be called ‘guests.’ At any rate, it would seem reasonably safe to infer that these bonus guests were invited long after Peter, who said he was invited way back in November. Since all these of those BGs come from LA, I would think travel expenses alone would add up to a couple of thousand dollars.
By the way, having just written the above, I went back on the convention site in question to see how these bonus guest were being described, just in case these people are paying their own way and are using the sale of photos and other merchandise to offset their expenses thus not costing the convention a dime. Other than a few differences in autograph/photo session policies, there is nothing to suggest that the con isn’t paying their expenses as well. I’m simply querying the terminology and why a ‘bonus guest’ would jump the queue ahead of a previously invited guest.
And to follow up on somebody’s previous point about why it’s important to bring this sort of unprofessional behavior to light, I’m reminded of Wizard’s attempt not too long to hold a convention down south on the same weekend as a long-established and very well-regarded con had long been announced. After news of this attempted coup began coming to light, comic professionals came out of the woodwork to support the established convention- I think a few of them went so far as to say they would pay their own way to be there. In the end, Wizard backed down and pulled out, but if this bad bahavior had not been brought to life through various forums, I suspect the results would not have been as positive.
UFC IS A OLNEY.
My understanding is that anyone attempting to post to the “Peter David” topic over at the UFC website is being thwarted in that endeavor.
I wonder if anyone here who accuses me of trying to stifle disagreement is going to hold UFC to a similar standard of behavior?
I have to say, this really saddens me considering what a good time the family had at previous UFCs.
PAD
From what I see, though, the Cult of Personality is a scary thing, and you have people ready to back you up without question. Good for you, but although I don’t give a dámņ either way about United Fan Con, you have a lost a customer in me, and I certainly wouldn’t book you for a child’s birthday party with your bad attitude.
When a lot of people think you’re wrong it’s not automatically because they are in the sway of a personality cult.
The idea that PAD can make any statement he wants and it will be accepted by we. the PAD lemmings, indicates you are new to this forum. Why, even the occasional conservative has been known to show up here daring to disagree with our host’s politics (whereupon they are delivered a sound thrashing the likes of which they shall long remember and sent whimpering on their way).
Out of curiosity, just what is it that PAD does at children’s parties? Balloon animals? Acrobatics? Recite saucy limericks?
The point is: take it up with them! The public shouldn’t hear about it. The court of public opinion is usually biased and unwieldy, which is why there are no more lynchings in the town squares.
It became a public issue when UFC advertised him as a guest for people who wanted to buy their nonrefundable tickets.
Dude, I have no idea what your agenda is but this is such a no-brainer it’s kind of natural to suspect some motive for slamming PAD on this. You’re not being reasonable (and your “cult of personality” preemptive snark only makes it obvious that you are aware of this).
I genuinely like Peter David’s writing and am interested in the entire entertainment industry from a promoter/client perspective, but am disappointed with his behavior and will not be buying any of his product in the future.
Your right. Your loss.
I’m still trying to figure out how this has managed to become a discussion.
I know. It’s nuts. There isn’t even a grey or gray area here. That’s what probably makes it a discussion–someone says “Bush sucks!” and someone else says “No he doesn’t.” and it’s not really worth commenting on because, well, they both have their points. But this…I just don’t see Ajay’s point and I guess I never will, being as he has left the cult compound.
To that extend, this isn’t PAD going down to the village square to call out the UFC folks.
And if he does I hope he makes sure it isn’t the other UFC that shows up. He’s slimmed down quite a bit but my money would still be on Chuck Liddel.
On topic/off topic question/vote here.
The UFC has Adrian Paul listed as a quest who cancelled based on professional commitments. I’m not sure that this is true. We have two options here.
1) Adrian Paul had a commitment elsewhere that popped up at the last minute (filming running over, pick ups, etc.) and had to bow out. The story is true.
2) Adrian Paul is in hiding ever since he sinned against mankind by allowing the Sci-Fi Channel to unleash Highlander: The Source on an innocent world. He tried to make amends with the serviceable movie Wraiths of Roanoke, but the damage was done. He’s just too ashamed to allow himself to be seen in public ever again.
I go with #2.
Jerry, please don’t mention the existence of Highlander: The Source. I’m trying to repress those memories.
Let it out, man, let it out! Repressing that much trauma and pain isn’t good for a man!!
Do you people have any idea how much it costs to run a small convention? The cost of the actors alone runs into the 5-figure range, PER ACTOR. They do NOT come because they love their fans, they come because they are paid. Peter, sorry about you being cancelled, but honestly, you’d be better served attending an Arisia or Boskone than a UFC. Not that you aren’t a great writer, but the fans of UFC are there for the actors. It’s not a sci-fi con, it’s an actors and celebrity con. Also, United Fan Con is a mom-n-pop convention with no backing from any big sponsor like Wizard or DC or any corporation. The prices for the convention are exactly what the convention runners pay for everything, divided by the number of paying attendees they hope will come. This is a not-for-profit labor of love. UNLIKE those holier than though non-profit 501c3 conventions that charge their attendees the same amounts, authors who make their money from the books they sell, and somehow get the hotels to waiver all the food and beverage corkage fees, with the plea that they’re just a little non-profit trying to educate and make the world a better place. Peter, come on, UFC’s pop was very good to you the past couple of years, even working hard to get your daughter a one-on-one interview with Bill Shatner. Peter, I understand the need to vent, especially since this was in the wake of another con cancelling you, but to let this forum degenerate into a way to make a nice man who just makes conventions to make other fans like himself happy is just wrong, just plain WRONG.
Oh that was so painful. I watched it by myself because Peter was off on a trip. He got back and I told him that there can only be one and it is still the first movie.
I did enjoy the TV series for various reasons and I even watched Highlander:The Raven.
But I think that last movie cured me of needed to see any of this series again ever.
I want my time back and the necks of those responsible for my wasting my time in such a spectacularly bad fashion.
Oh that was so painful. I watched it by myself because Peter was off on a trip. He got back and I told him that there can only be one and it is still the first movie.
I did enjoy the TV series for various reasons and I even watched Highlander:The Raven.
But I think that last movie cured me of needed to see any of this series again ever.
I want my time back and the necks of those responsible for my wasting my time in such a spectacularly bad fashion.
Oh that was so painful. I watched it by myself because Peter was off on a trip. He got back and I told him that there can only be one and it is still the first movie.
I did enjoy the TV series for various reasons and I even watched Highlander:The Raven.
But I think that last movie cured me of needed to see any of this series again ever.
I want my time back and the necks of those responsible for my wasting my time in such a spectacularly bad fashion.
Oh that was so painful. I watched it by myself because Peter was off on a trip. He got back and I told him that there can only be one and it is still the first movie.
I did enjoy the TV series for various reasons and I even watched Highlander:The Raven.
But I think that last movie cured me of needed to see any of this series again ever.
I want my time back and the necks of those responsible for my wasting my time in such a spectacularly bad fashion.
Gosh Mary, if what you say is true and the fans indeed come to this particular convention for the actors as you say, here’s a question for you: why did they invite Peter in the first place?
And I can’t speak for anybody else on this forum, but I know how much it costs to run a small convention. I’ve been to hundreds of them, in several countries, as a guest, as a fan and as a volunteer. I’ve helped provide guests for many conventions and acted as intermediary so I’ve heard just about every deal, good and bad. I even ran my own one-day convention in the late eighties, just because I was so annoyed at seeing how so many organizers were doing a piss-poor job and wanted to show that it wasn’t exactly rocket science. I sat down and made a business plan, I invited my guests, I created the advertising (before the Internet made life a bit easier) and we broke even with a little bit left over. So I would like to think that the observations on this thread were made from an informed point of view. I don’t see anything in your post that should change anybody’s mind, let alone Peter’s. For somebody who usually gives good value for money, for far less than five figures, I think he’s owed a bit of common courtesy. Even if his daughter got a Bill Shatner interview, and having done a few of those over the years, I wouldn’t place a huge value on it.
Kath, Jerry, you guys are right, that movie sucked so hard.
But I still think it was better than the second movie.
I’m just amazed that the series was as good as it was after two bad sequels. Yet everything that came after the series has been so bad, even the recently released Highlander Anime. You’d think that if either it would all be good or it would all be bad, but somehow this franchise is so inconsistant. They do something good, then make you pay for it for years. It’s the Ike Turner of sci-fi.
And PAD, if we’re too off topic… I blame Kath!
Ugh. I’ve tried to erase Highlander: The Source from my memory. From the wife that came out of now to the end where they don’t even f*@king tell you what the Source is, it was worse than even the theatrical release of Highlander: The Quickening.
I think just about anything in the Highlander saga is better than the 2nd movie although the Source was really pushing it….
I think just about anything in the Highlander saga is better than the 2nd movie although the Source was really pushing it….
I think just about anything in the Highlander saga is better than the 2nd movie although the Source was really pushing it….
I think just about anything in the Highlander saga is better than the 2nd movie although the Source was really pushing it….
Joe N. wrote: “Gosh Mary, if what you say is true and the fans indeed come to this particular convention for the actors as you say, here’s a question for you: why did they invite Peter in the first place?”
Gee, Joe, maybe it was because they thought Peter was a nice guy, who they liked and thought would enjoy the UFC, like he seemed to the past couple times. And maybe, just maybe they didn’t think he’d be the kind of guy to take this to a fan-forum. Honestly, I didn’t think he was that kind of guy.
To turn to SciFi (and away from Ajay bashing, fun as it may be), I’m always amazed at the difference in quality between their tv series, produced (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and obtained (DOCTOR WHO), and their movies and specials, from FRANKENFISH to BOA VS. PYTHON, to the latest HIGHLANDER.
What always bugged me about HIGHLANDER (and a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen the first movie; in the last 20 years or so) is that the movie ENDED DUNCAN’S TIME AS AN IMMORTAL. He slew the last immortal, he won the prize and became mortal, and that is the end of that. Or it should have been. Instead, they adopted the Slasher Movie Selective Amnesia trick, where even if the otherwise unstoppable killer is defeated with the one thing/technique that will get rid of them FOR GOOD, they’ll still come back in the sequel. Heck, they brought back Connery’s character after he was most definitively killed! This series should have quit when it was ahead: before it became a series.
Actually, the first Highlander movie ended Conner’s time as an immortal, not Duncan. It should have been a complete story there, but it became a cult hit, so the sequel was inevitable.
I went to UFC last year to meet PAD (ok and Grace Park) but it was a pretty poorly organized show. There weren’t even any signs directing people where to go. And when I came off of the elevator on the “wrong side” on the promoters started yelling at for “trying to sneak in.” This type of behavior seems par for the course for these shows that centered around celebrity autographs. I’m just glad there are plenty of straight up comics shows in the New England area where you don’t have to shell out tons of money to treated like crap.
I used to be on the UFC staff, so let me clarify what they mean by “Bonus Guest.” A “Bonus Guest” is someone who is there to sell autographs, and whose signature is not included in your ticket price. The convention doesn’t pay them a dime–they earn their money that weekend from sales at their table. “Featured Guests” are those whose autograph is included in your ticket price, and who the convention is paying to attend.
No, there’s no way that the source is better then Highlander 2. Not saying 2 was great, but, once I decided that it wasn’t really a Highlander film, there was a short period where I good kinda-sorta enjoy the thing.
Source just blew. I kept waiting for any part of it to start getting good or to start making sense and that moment never even came close to coming.
If nothing else, when I went back in to work a few days later, it was emphasized to me just how bad that film was. I like Highlander. I’m a fan. I loved the first film and liked the series. I work with two guys who are Highlander fanatics. And I mean FAH-NAT-TICS. If it’s related to Highlander, they will own it. They make some Trekkies look like people with an only passing interest in their favorite show. These two would likely buy a steaming pile of poo if you stuck a Highlander sticker on it and claimed that it was an exact replica of the load that any of the film’s villains dropped just as the realized that they were about to get it in the neck. Fanatics. These guys also grew up on and liked the schlock films that were churned out in the 80’s like Deathstalker, Barbarian Queen and Gor enough to buy the former two when they came out on DVD a few years ago.
They hated Source. They flew into cursing fits when talking about how much they hated. They flat stated that there is no force on Earth that will move them to Buy the DVD or keep it if they get it as a gift. The film was an unholy abomination against the series (and that’s a quote) that should never have been made.
But they’ll buy anything related to Highlander (until now) and they dig schlock like Deathstalker.
Now, to me, that says everything about just how bad that thing really was.
“Gee, Joe, maybe it was because they thought Peter was a nice guy, who they liked and thought would enjoy the UFC, like he seemed to the past couple times. And maybe, just maybe they didn’t think he’d be the kind of guy to take this to a fan-forum. Honestly, I didn’t think he was that kind of guy.”
Well, when they informed me that they were dumping me from the roster, I made very clear to them that I wasn’t going to cover for them. I said I was going to be honest with the fans, as I typically am, and tell them that UFC was reneging on its deal with me because they were prioritizing their money for guests who command sizable appearance fees and $20/$30 a throw for pictures…as opposed to me, who basically asks nothing more than expenses being covered. And they said they totally understood and they were okay with my being truthful with the fans.
I had no idea, of course, that they would be less than truthful when announcing it on their own website. They couldn’t find “enough comic book guests.” I’ve written for every single aspect that their high-powered guests have been involved with: Doctor Who, Star Trek, B5, Battlestar Galactica. Granted, I haven’t written “Happy Days,” but I have written kids books. I can speak with authority on any subject covered there. To claim that it was because I couldn’t be programmed when it was in fact all about money…it’s ridiculous. I’ll bet you if I charged for my autographs and kicked a portion of it over to the convention, lo and behold, I’d be attractive to them. I just wonder how fans would feel about it. Because considering the number of fans who came to me for autographs at UFCs past and looked so relieved that I wasn’t charging, I’d have to think they wouldn’t be jazzed.
What “kind of guy” am I? Well, I’m not suing them for breach of contract. I’m not suing them for false advertising. I’m not bringing them to small claims court and demanding recompense for the money I could have made there. People are e-mailing me war stories of being ill-used by UFC in the past and I’m not posting them. I’m simply the kind of guy who’s had conventions promote him and them dump him two months running and is getting kind of sick of it.
PAD
I wanted to meet you at HeroesCon in Charlotte last summer, but Marvel seemed to have you locked up and away from fans. I wonder if now you will not ever come back to HeroesCon? Sorry, it was a bad trip in terms of the friend I was with and the schedule you were held to just added to the suck factor of what was an up and down trip. I really did want to meet ya though.
My schedule at Heroes Con was designed entirely by Shelton. I assume that he put it together in conjunction with Marvel. But I tried to be as available as humanly possible to fans. All i can tell you is that there are conventions I attend where every single minute is accounted for: Either at panels or at autographing tables, and STILL fans at the conventions claim they couldn’t find me.
Oh, for the record, UFC is now permitting angry posters to comment on the thread about me.
PAD