At The Westin Hotel near Los Angeles Int. Airport, celebrities from the past congregate to let us fans meet them. It's a LITTLE awkward in that you pay for autographs. But fair, since most of the assholes there re-sell it on EBay. It's a pretty solid business since it's really busy there. And a celeb who just wants to meet their fans and talk about the films/music/television can re-live it with us.
I love that aspect of the show. Because many of these actors have been marginalized in today's media world. No one really knows these people unless they seek them out. But, in their day...fuck...I met Leigh Taylor-Young AFTER (without knowing she was going to be at the show) watching "Soylent Green" again WITH the commentary track, which she recorded. I regaled her with the trivia she and director Richard Fleischer was talking about and she gave me great bits. A story which I will never forget...Edward G. Robinson was a tiny guy, and she was tall. Every morning he'd go up to give her a hug. And Leigh started laughing, and pointed to her chest and said, "he came right up to here." She had a laugh at the old pervert. And if you watch Leigh then, MAN! You understood why. Supple and sexy and made for boning. Her role in the movie was simply to...be someone's sex doll.
Quite honestly, the thing that really endeared her to me was...she had no idea what a cult classic it would become. And she is so grateful for the fans who've made it into the vernacular. The idea of "Soylent Green" instantly triggers the meaning. And practically becomes it's own brand.
She was also so gracious to write on an 8x10 a personalized message. To which we shared a laugh. It didn't seem like anyone ever got her to write something like that. Then the friend I went with mentioned casually..."we may be just the real fans here." Him being a convention vendor in the past...seemed to know that it's still a business. I had the two people I've met autograph it with my name on it, which makes it only valuable to me.
I'm not sure how celebs take that. That their value now is that their handwriting fetches money on an open market. That a great deal of people simply see it as a business transaction which...if you're a creator of any kind, seems to diminish the importance of the event. My friend also told me..."I'm positive they really appreciate that you are here only as a true fan."
Because I love the ol' Hollywood of bygone era that no one seems to embrace.
No comments:
Post a Comment