Atlantic City Broadwalk Con plus a couple of other meets

Before the week long NYC haul me and stopped by AC broadwalk con. 

Thankfully my wants there were limited. Edward James Olmos was a Bladerunner name that always fell through the back burner for me. Either his price was too high, or I had other priorities. But I figured no time like the present to get him out of the way. I also wanted Teddy Sears AKA Zoom in The Flash. And a "you never know" name in Tyler Hoechlin. 

Luckily I managed to find somebody to split Edward James Olmos with me so that made his photo op price a lot more affordable. I then waited at Tyler Hoechlin which was taking forever to go through due to people telling him life stories. When I finally get to him I get the photo op. 

Then I wait for Teddy Sears who is not at his table yet. He arrives and I'm almost first in line. I ask him to remove his cap for the photo op and he does that. 

From the "barely valid" realm I ended my AC con trek with a free photo op from Jeff Schultz who worked in Archie comics. 

Full list of photo ops

Edward James Olmos

Teddy Sears


Then it was off to NYC (see previous post). 


After we left NYC we stopped by Joresky's place then I dropped Joresky to a spot for Gary Sinise. While I needed to upgrade my photo op I had other non-celeb related engagements. I would later meet up with Joresky at an art gallery for the one arm Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen. Normally I wouldn't do anything after a grueling week but this was indoor and almost a guarantee. So I figured might as well. 

After he took care of his customers he did one combo per person for free. 

Photo op

Autograph


A few days later I had an incoming for singer Richard Marx. So this would be quick. I arrive and see him walking with his mother. I ask for autographs and he is nice as can be. I thanked him and told him I already had a photo op from before and didn't need to bother him with that. He said ok and his mother laughed in a "wow look at my son" type of laugh. 

Autographs

A Multi Day NYC Haul in May

This is a week dread all year to a point where I question if I should even continue doing it. It is the week where you will score a lot, and you will miss a lot. It is a week where crowds are the wildest. It is a week where you score the most in terms of quantity and sift through them all to figure out the diamonds in the rough. 

This year was all that and worse. Many of the setups changed, and not for the better. The crowds seemed to be bigger and more insane than they ever were. It got to a point where I even wondered if I was too old to be fighting tooth and nail (literally and figuratively) for mediocrity. 

Autographs would also be limited in this event as it's difficult if not impossible to do both. Plus it's a risk to print things for that event given how volatile it can be. But I did get some autographs.  

Despite all that it was good seeing everything and BS-sing with everyone, both markedout board members and non-board members. And I did get quite a bit of extra fruits in that mess.

Let us begin. 


Day 1

I arrive in NYC withafter Atlantic City broadwalk con and found a free parking spot. The first spot we try we score a some names, then Woodmo and Greg arrive from another spot. Shortly after I decide to hit up that other spot mainly because I want to get Mary Steenburgen from Back to the Future 3. 

Some notable things from that spot: 

I broke the barriers to get the Mary photo op. But in hindsight that effort would be a waste as I got both her and Ted Danson when they returned. 

I was devastated when I didn't get Matt Lanter after I realized he was the voice of Anakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars cartoon. But I would later make that up and get the shot. 

I tried tooth and nail to get Ray Liotta after adelta got him but he cursed me out and gave me invalid shots despite eventually saying "just fucking take it already". Thankfully I would make that up later in the evening when I approached him yet again as he returned. He looks at me, he laughs, takes a valid shot and asks "did it come out this time?". Since this was somebody I missed multiple times in the past, my reaction was this face 

Arnold Schwarzenegger came in and out, and did nothing each time. This was including a time we had him 4 on 1. This of course caused devastation for Joresky who didn't have an Arnold shot. 

Carl Weathers from Rocky and Predator would do nothing for no one throughout. Sucks for me cause I wasn't at the Monstermania he did. Hopefully he does another con. 

Full list of Day 1 photo ops part 1

Full list of Day 1 photo ops part 2

Sampling of photo ops:

Ray Liotta

Matt Lanter

Ted Danson

Mary Steenburgen 

After everything was done, we moved the car to another spot in order to commandeer our free parking spot for the rest of the week (which happened to be our sleeping arrangements for the rest of the week). 

Day 2

This day would start at a spot for Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and the band American Authors. Gordon Ramsey was also there but I had him. Gordon comes out first and I get another shot. Priyanka then comes out and does a roll down. I manage to get a car shot and 3 items signed. The band then comes out and I score photo ops with all the band members. 

With this success on to the next spot. Sadly many names didn't come over but I got some good scores such as Famke Janssen from Goldeneye and X-Men. Also got an upgrade with Vincent D'Onofrio from Daredevil. 

Now on to the next spot where I traditionally have huge success. Unfortunately they changed the setup to a point where success was a million fold harder. Police even closed off a large chunk of the area so one couldn't run around as much. I even tried another area of that spot where some Masters were stationed but sadly the Masters had pretty much taken over that area where unless you had a front rail position it would be worthless. So I went back to my original position. 

With the crowds and bad setup I was only able to get chump change. Among other things I did get Erin Richards no shades upgrade. First time the sun ruined the shot but she did a second shot which was better. I got another David Boreanaz shot, Miranda Otto from Lord of the Rings, and I failed on getting upgrades with Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller (I got them a year ago both with shades). 

Left this spot and joined Woodmo and got some more names. At this spot I cursed out and threatened someone who photobombed two of my photos. Luckily one of the shots was someone I had, and the other I got a redo. 

Then we went to scout out another spot but one side was filled with a million people. So we tried the other side where we saw both Arnold and Jennifer Lopez. Arnold signed like 4 autographs but didn't do much else. And J-Lo did one selfie and signed some autographs. While this was happening adelta was having a rack fest at another spot. 

Quickly left to another spot where I ran into Greg but no one great there. Saw Erin Richards again I figured I'd get a much better shot without the sun ruining it. Sadly she remembered me and went "oh, you again" then went inside. Joined adelta at the final spot for the evening where I got more names including a much needed Jimmy Smits upgrade. 

Traditionally this day was always my best. While I wouldn't call it a bust, this time it was sub par. In part because the setup for the one spot's setup was shattered, and in part because we tried for Arnold and J-Lo while adelta was killing it somewhere else. Also missed Miley Cyrus photo ops at yet another spot. 

Full list of Day 2 photo ops part 1

Full list of Day 2 photo ops part 2


Full list of Day 2 photo ops part 3

Sampling of photo ops:

Priyanka Chopra

Zac Barnett

Famke Janssen

Vincent D'Onofrio

Erin Richards

Miranda Otto

Jimmy Smits

Lauren German

Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney

Day 3

This spots start with informing me of Mariah Carey's arrival into a spot. Since she was not due for a little bit and likely won't do it going in we go wait at a spot for Ellie Kemper from Bridesmaid. Sadly she takes so long to come out that we missed Mariah completely but she did nothing anyway. When Ellie did come out she saw us and went to her car. Three of us went after the car in the hopes of a roll down and she rolled down. 

Moved on to the next spot where we got some names, then scouted out another spot with Greg to check out if there would be activities but there would be none. 

Then went to a spot for Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, and the band Coldplay. Eugene and Catherine did nothing going in, with Eugene promising to come over when leaving. 

At one point the Chris Martin from Coldplay apparently went in the door and only one girl noticed him. We asked that girl why she didn't call him over she said she was so in shock from seeing him she was choking on her own voice and couldn't call him over. My reaction was this face 

Eugene and Catherine both come out pretty much at once. At this point I was fighting and screaming and begging to get the shots. I managed to get Eugene but Catherine was ignoring me as she took photo ops with others. 

At one point I was behaving so frantically I got between two German lesbians and they shruged me away. I then quickly went to the left of them (my original railing spot) and one of them pushed me away using her full arm. I quickly shrugged her away saying "don't fucking touch me" as I continued to scream for Catherine and finally got the damn shot! WOW I couldn't believe that happened. After this I got in a spat with the lesbians and with another garpher who said I shouldn't touch a woman and he would kick my ass if I did. I told him I would kick his ass back. Meanwhile Vanessa got in a spat with whom she accused of preventing her from getting Eugene Levy. 

Next up we wait for Coldplay. All but the lead singer leave and do nothing. The lead singer Chris Martin comes over but refuses to take photo ops despite me begging him and telling him I have nothing to get signed and only want the photo op. He then gives me a stupid band pin as a consolation prize. After this is done I give that fan girl the pin telling her it means more to her than it does to me. After all for me it's basically a reminder that I failed to get the photo op. Nothing more.  

Me and Joresky go to grab a bite to eat. While we were eating members of cold play returned because they forgot something. And since the crowd mostly cleared out they actually came over! Damn. 

At this point we go with two of our buddies to try a spot for Selma Hayek and others but the setup is bad. We then drive downtown to checkout a Mariah Carey spot but we don't anticipate success there. We go to yet another spot where we get chump change. We then decide to give the Mariah spot a shot on exits but she does nothing. Though some people tried her at her living quarters and scored.  

My main success for this day was Eugene/Catherine, the rest was pretty much dire.

Full list of Day 3 photo ops

Sampling of photo ops:

Ellie Kemper

Eugene Levy

Catherine O'Hara

Day 4

We start this day at a spot for Zac Efron, but sadly he is a dick and goes out of his way to avoid everyone. Move to the next spot where I score more names most notably a random in Puff Daddy! When going after him I had no idea who I was getting and just got the photo op. Then after I got it I was told it was Puff Daddy. Pretty good score for a random especially since I missed him in the past. 

Now there were two spots that would have the same set of names, but the setup of the first one was absolutely horrible. Even though Radioman was there I decided not to waste my time. So I walked over to the second one with and Cancer Free Dave. This spot had multiple points of entry but I eventually figured out the right one and called them both over. Eventually I would be joined at this spot by Joresky. 

I would score several good names here. Dermot Mulroney (who I also got to sign my Young Guns laserdisc), Matt LeBlanc from Friends, got a major upgrade photo op with Bill Paxton, among others. Kevin James sadly did nothing going in or leaving but I went after the car and got a roll down shot. Had a photo op with him before but not too find of my first shot. 

After this spot Vanessa had the scoop on where these people were staying. I went there in the hopes of seeing Kevin James but sadly no luck. I got some folks from Big Bang Theory though. And I got to charge my phone which was good. Plus this spot was low key so no huge crowds like at other spots. 

Went back to the crowded spot and got a couple more names but sadly they were all just upgrade shots me (Jenna Elfman, Lana Parrilla, Katy Mixon). 


Full list of Day 4 photo ops part 1

Full list of Day 4 photo ops part 2


Sampling of photo ops:

Puff Daddy

Dermot Mulroney

Matt LeBlanc

Bill Paxton


Kevin James


Day 5

For this day we decided not to go too early as the madness was just too much for the expected rewards, plus we needed some rest. 

First spot we wanted to try for Julianne Moore. The first thing amiss was the total lack of Masters for her. Sure she's not the biggest name but one would think SOME would show up for her. Turns out she was not at the spot and only Rose Byrne was there. Since Rose isn't known to be the nicest coupled with other stuff going on that all made sense. 

Given this upsetting discovery we were about to leave the spot. As we were leaving to our shock Rose came out and did combos with the few girls waitingWe got upgrade shots. 

Go to the main spot for the day. Turns out Luke Perry is there! Holy crap a want of mine! Sadly I miss him but Joresky gets him. 

Highlights from this spot 

I get some actors from the new Riverdale TV show, namely Camila Mendes (Veronica), Cole Sprouse (Jughead also he was in Big Daddy), Ashleigh Murray (Josie), and Lili Reinhart (Betty). This is a show I would probably enjoy and now I'd watch it since I got photo ops from it. 

Scored a movie name in Alice Braga as a random 

Get an upgrade with Victoria Justice which I had to really beg and plead for 

Got a Stephen Baldwin upgrade photo op. He even removed his shades when taking pictures

Finally saw Luke Perry again and via INTENSE begging I got him to pose with me 

Cheech did photo ops but he had a had and shades so I had no reason to get this downgrade shot with him. 

Left this spot briefly to get a Charlie Cox upgrade. Picked up a few scrubs while at that spot. Back to the main spot where the evening ended with a Rachel Bloom shot,. 

Full list of Day 5 photo ops part 1

Full list of Day 5 photo ops part 2



Sampling of photo ops:

Rose Byrne

Luke Perry

Alice Braga

Victoria Justice


Charlie Cox


Day 6

The day starts on a good note. Got KJ Apa AKA Archie! After I got the first shot he removed his cap and I got an instant upgrade. Because he is essentially Archie haired. Also got a random movie name in Marie Avgeropoulos, among other things. 

After a while we finally quit the boob tube festivities and moved on to a spot with Jessica Lange, Gabrielle Burns, and Michael Shannon. 

At this spot we were joined by a Florida grapher. And also there was a girl who said that Jessica Lange "saved her life" and she had a note to give her. I asked her how Jessica Lange saved her life. Apparently she has mental issues and Jessica's movies helped her pull through. Honestly people who say such things make me feel sane, and that's pretty bad. 

But anyhow, while we were waiting a guy comes out of the theater saying we are harassing people at their work place and this is illegal. He was saying he have to move away. The Florida grapher went in a back and forth argument against his idiotic claims that we were somehow not allowed to stand on the sidewalk. In the end he said he'd agree to move just to make him happy. As the Florida grapher told me, this guy is lucky none of the NYC graphers were here because they really would have gone off on him. 

Jessica Lang arrives and we approach her. As expected does nothing from no one. The Florida grapher points out the girl's note and she does take the note. After Lang is in the guy who yelled at us goes inside. So essentially he came out just for her. 

Not too long after Gabriel Byrne arrives and does combos with us no problem. Score! 

Finally only Michael Shannon is left. I got him before but I wanted to Virgilize him. 

I see him approach from a distance and then he just sits down to eat and smoke. Me and the Florida grapher are now simply waiting for him to be done. Wow it was quite a sight, there you have General Zod sitting down, tons of people passing by him, and no one blinks an eye or gives a crap. 

Finally he is done and he stops for us no problem. I get my General Zod figure and Man of Steel blu ray digibook signed.

I then go to the car and rush to an Emilia Clark book signing. Sadly they are not allowing photo ops. I wait by the exit door and way WAY too many people gather around. She does nothing for no one. In hindsight perhaps I should have tried to buy the book and beg.

I then join Joresky downtown to go for Penelope Cruz. We join our buddies at the Cruz spot. Masters and minions are waiting outside. But we had tickets to go inside and hopefully score. 

She snuck inside and apparently signed some autos. Greta Gerwig leaves and I get a photo op. 

When they tell us to line up we all go inside the theater and as she is doing her introduction we take our seats. When she is done we ask for photo ops and I beg for a selfie. I grabbed the shot! HOLY CRAP I COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS WORKED! 

As we were getting our shots others in the crowd actually laughed and giggled at us. Reminds me of a time years ago when I was mocked in a similar setting for asking Arnold for a photo op. But you know what? I'll take it. I can't think of too many better ways to be mocked than with a celebrity photo op (especially if that photo op is Arnold). When the photo ops were done I didn't even stay for the movie I just quickly exited the theater. 

When there I showed some of the Masters my photo op. I also offered my assistance to one Master and he gave me an 8x10. But Cruz rushed outside into her car. 

After this it was time to go. But there was a spot for Ben Foster and Gillian Anderson that ended late. In my Ben Foster shot he is wearing a cap so the upper front of his face is covered. Since this did not conflict with anything and the night pretty much ended this upgrade was worth a try. 

We arrive at the spot just as it's letting out. The free parking spot I found was littered with lots of trash on the side which is probably why the spot was empty. So naturally I took the parking spot. 

After people mostly cleared out I befriended a girl and had her wait at one door while I watched a side door and Joresky watched a front door. I saw Ben Foster come out and called Joresky. I got my upgrade shot then Joresky chased him down to get his shot. He is wearing a top hat in this new shot. Not perfect but MUCH better than a cap. 

Unfortunately for the girl she came for Gillian Anderson and Gillian rushed out yet another door none of us were watching and did nothing for no one. I asked that girl where she was heading she said midtown. I told her we were heading there and she could ride with us if she wished to. She accepted. She then asked if we knew a place to eat that's still open at this hour. I told her we were going to Two Bros Dollar Pizza so this works perfectly. 

We drive to mid town, get some pizza with the girl, then we part ways and leave the city.

Full list of Day 6 photo ops


Sampling of photo ops:

Archie haired KJ Apa

Marie Avgeropoulos

Gabriel Byrne

Michael Shannon

Penelope Cruz


Ben Foster


Now to showcase the limited autographs obtained: 

Young Guns laserdisc

Michael Shannon autographs

Priyanka Chopra and Gabrielle Burns Signed 8x10s

Superman Returns DVD signed by Brandon Routh

some AVENGING is coming in the WINTER

Despite my grueling 3 days, a few days after that there was an event with Joe and Anthony The Russo Brothers. They directed You, Me, and Dupree, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and will direct two upcoming Avengers movie. 

While I generally don't like venturing shortly after a grueling spell, in this case I found exact train info and I knew they were basically Chiller guarantees if you see them. Essentially they are so nice that if you ask them you are guaranteed they will agree to a combo as if they had a table set up at Chiller. 

So I had the times, Chiller guarantees if you see them, and they are good names to get. So this was a no brainer to try. 

I go to the spot and I study how they look like. When I arrived there was a Master waiting to record video footage. The train arrives and people are letting out. But strangely enough no signs of them. At one point the Master is no longer standing at his spot and I begin to panic. Could it be they somehow passed by me? I frantically run across the the station and I see no signs of anyone. I come back to my original location I see the Master. Apparently he was simply going out to see if cars were waiting. Damn! And still no signs of the Russos. Then like 30 seconds later I see a group of people conversing and I spot Joe (the one without glasses). As I approach him I also see Anthony speaking to someone within their group. 

I first go up to Joe and extend my hand to shake his. He shakes my hand and I tell him hello. I then ask if I can have a photo with him and his brother. He calls over his brother interrupting the conversation and I get the dual shot no problem! I then get them to sign 3 posters which they were both happy to do. When I pulled out the poster one girl in their group laughed (I guess that's when she figured out I didn't randomly bump into them). After they were done I then shook both their hands and thanked them both. 

Wow, why can't everyone be that nice.

The Russo Brothers

Signed posters 

A whole host of meets at the end of April

This trek is one that stresses me out every time I embark on it. You get a lot, and you miss a lot. And to attain the most fruitfulness, you have to dedicate the most time possible. 

Normally I also have flights for this, but this time around I couldn't find flights for most of the people I wanted and the flights I did have were for one reason or another not worth going for. 

Day 1

I embark on the only flight I actually go to, namely for Sela Ward. I arrive at the flight and apparently people are waiting for actor Adoni Maropis for an unrelated event. Meanwhile other graphers spot REM bassist Mike Mills and I get a photo op. Adoni shows up and I get the photo op. Sadly I never see Sela so she must have walked passed me (she blends in very well). However as I would later find out she ignored markedout's adelta the next day so she probably wouldn't have stopped for me anyway. 

After this disappointing failure I waited with graphers for another flight in the hopes of someone being there, and turns out we see director Jay Roach. I needed a better shot with him so I got a photo op. 

Jay Roach

Full list of Day 1 photo ops



Day 2

With tough times ahead, I chose to skip on early events for that day. A Master even managed to obtain a Rachel McAdams flight (a want of mine) but she did nothing for no one. So I meet up with adelta at my first spot for the evening. This spot was primarily an autograph spot for me as the only fresh photo for me is Emily Ratajkowski who isn't known to be nice. 

I wait for people to enter and to leave. Between everything I got autographs from Nina Dobrev, Rosario Dawson, Neve Campbell, photo op with Lisa Edelstein, and combos from AnnaLynne McCord, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Got an invalid shot with Constance Zimmer but since I have her I didn't worry about it. Emily did nothing. 

Two items I got Rosario on were projects. One was an 8x10 already signed by Clive Owen and the other is a Daredevil poster that I got at NYCC a couple of years back. It was nice to add her to that. 

We are joined by the girl a befriended from LA and after exits are done it was off to the next spot which in hindsight I should have gone to sooner cause I missed names. Jared Leto went in but did nothing, Helen Mirren went in and did photo ops but thankfully I had her so that didn't affect me plus I had nothing for her (apparently a Master got Radioman on the phone to tell her to do photo ops). 

One huge miss for me was actress Bridget Moynahan who did combos. I had other misses but I would make them up later on. 

But despite coming late to this spot, it wasn't without fruitlessness. Jared Leto leaves and I get him to sign my 8x10. Since I got tipped about both Jared and Helen in advance (neither one were expecting to be coming for this event) I was able to scramble in my trunk and get random 8x10s I had for Jared Leto. Regarding my random 8x10s in the car, as one Master put it "you're moving up".

Sadly, despite begging and running after Jared to his car, he would not stop for a photo op. Wow that hurt. I would have had the best name I could possibly get so early on. It was really really a painful thing. 

I also got photo ops with Michelle Dockery, ebay CEO Devin Wenig, Michael Kelly (had him already though), Dule Hill (Psych), Gabrielle Union, and Omarosa. Gabrielle wouldn't sign at first but we went to her car where she signed photos for us. She rejected a Master's photo saying she wanted to sign photos with clothes on and I quickly presented my photos to her which she signed. 

Other blow offs include Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Keegan-Michael Key. 

After this we called it a night, but when adelta discovered some activity going on by looking at Instagram we rushed to that spot. While we saw a lot sadly we either couldn't recognize what we saw or it was people we already got earlier. We did see Damian Lewis who was a want of mine but blew us off for photo ops two on one. I spotted REM bassist Mike Mills for adelta, and adelta spotted Darren Criss who I already had. He may have actually recognized me as he asked me "have we met before" I go "uhhh....probably". 

Gabrielle Union

Full list of Day 2 photo ops



Day 3

adelta was cool enough to let me crash in his hotel room. I had a flight on Indian actress Priyanka Chopra but decided to go to a spot where I had a shot at many VS a shot at one. I dropped adelta at an airport so he can do a Sofia Bush flight but decided not to join him since I had a photo op with her already and nothing to get signed. After dropping adelta it was off to my spot (which adelta would go to after he was done).

First I get Jeff Goldblum to sign. I get an invalid shot with him but I had him already so I didn't care. Got Ashley Graham, Scott Foley, Jesse Usher (Independence Day 2), Brett Baier, Jamie Alexander (autos and update photo op).

Sela Ward left and me, adelta, and one Master all went to the other side to get her. She said she needed to find her car after which the Master said it's that one. She goes "how do you know my car". She then said two per person and she signed and I got the photo op. Yes a decent movie score right there. 

When Candice Cameron went in I got my Full House photos signed and leaving I got an updated photo op. Also got her husband who is a hockey player. This spot ended with an Anne Vyalitsyna photo op.

Blow offs include Bryan Cranston (said he'd do it leaving then drove out) and Uber CEO again. 

Went to where Jared Leto was staying but never saw him. At this point I decided it was time to go to the next major spot. 

First thing that happens I see adelta take a photo op then get a shot. Turns out it is John Wall. I also get photo ops with Tamera Mowry, Gabrielle Union, Chris Matthews, NeNe Leakes, and Megyn Kelly. Will and Jada Smith show up. People run after them. Since I have photo ops I let others take a crack. I did however try to beg and plead Will for an autograph but to no avail. 

Here's where something funny happened. A man and woman with a dog were approaching. The woman was looking pretty rough and I jokingly say "oh look it's Carrie Fisher". After looking again turns out it WAS her and she was with Tom Hiddleston AKA Loki. Tom was super friendly a total 180 from fairly recently. I got photo ops with both. Tom was an upgrade but Carrie was a downgrade as she has glasses. Carrie almost tripped at one point and I grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling. HCIT. 

Blow offs include my two biggest wants here, Rachel McAdams and Jared Leto. Despite the best begging possible both sadly ignored me. 

This phase ends with a photo op with young actor Cameron Dallas. 

A few hours pass and now it's time for total chaos, getting tossed out and reentering multiple times, missing people, and scoring people. 

I see both Will and Jada and try to run after them for an autograph but both do nothing. At one point Will carries Jada and runs to his car. 

First score is Gladys Knight who says "take it quick" and I get the shot. I see Aretha Franklin and we attempt to ask but police give a warning to back up. Since I don't want to kill my chances with everyone else I comply. 

I then get Tracee Ellis Ross, Bill Nye (sadly already had him), The Fat Jew, and Ryan Kwanten. Joresky spots Rachel McAdams and we ask for photo ops which to my shock she does as she's normally not nice. I then asked for an autograph which she reluctantly did. I was afraid to push my luck for more. 

Then got Ed Burns and his wife Christy Turlington. Emily Ratajkowski was walking fast and via some begging I get a valid selfie! This spot ends with Nyle DiMarco, Larry Wilmore, and Sway. While adelta did get Jared Leto, he was at another location in the spot and was the only one that got the shot, and it was via lots of beggings. After this spot was done adelta left. 

On to the next spot where again Jared Leto does nothing either going in our out. Wow so painful. Rachel McAdams rushes down the street and some people do get her. 

I got DJ Khaled, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jamie Alexander. Other people were stopping but I had multiple shots with them so I passed. I also tried to get Kerry Washington to sign for me but she did nothing and was rushed to her car. I also chase Tony Romo down the street and got an autograph. 

Joresky and most everyone else then left the spot. At the end it was me, a Master, and his minion. I told them they must have made like 5K this weekend (they hit lots of stuff including a rock festival I didn't go for and that Master has guaranteed buyers). They scoffed at that then I said ok then 4.5K? 3K? They tried to tell me about $500 after expenses like gas, buying albums, and other stuff. I laughed at them and told them if they can show me full accounts and evidence on how they made $500 I would give them $1000. 

Steve Aoki cames out and I got a photo op. Tom Hiddleston and Mike Mills also came out but I let the other two have them. They got Mike on many things. Finally Damian Lewis comes out and I tell him he denied me the night before he's like "I denied you?" and he did the photo with me. 

While Damian is an awesome score that score was negated cause when I got home I realized I got him in the past. This was before he was announced for James Bond. Moreover the picture I got in the past he is clean shaven and here he is bearded, so this shot is actually a downgrade. 

This ended everything and the three of us left. Overall I'm not upset at the results, but the results would have been so much better if a couple more celebrities were not acting like bitches. 


Sela Ward

Rachel McAdams

Tom Hiddleston

Emily Ratajkowski

Gladys Knight

Full list of Day 3 photo ops part 1 

Full list of Day 3 photo ops part 2

Autographs obtained part 1

Autographs obtained part 2

Autographs obtained part 3

Autographs obtained part 4

Sole sports autograph

For reference, my old Damian Lewis shot.

The Great Philadelphia Comic Con, Chiller, and more meets

This weekend the plan was to venture with to Oaks, PA, Chiller, a Kirk Cameron meet and greet, AND to spice it all up with some NYC meets. This would also be the first time I am in Oaks since brought guests there. Wow so long ago. 

Convention wise my top want was Meat Loaf at Chiller followed by Julian Glover at Oaks.

Friday

First stop is Oaks, PA. The first guest we go for is Joresky's top want Kel Mitchell and I split the photo op with him. Next up Jullian Glover who is nice as can be. I then get Deep Roy who for some reason I never got at past cons. He was in The NeverEnding Story, he was Droopy McCool of the Max Rebo band in Return of the Jedi, he was in the Depp Willy Wonka, among others things. So definitely worth the pick up. I then get a photo op with Johnny Yong Bosch, the second black ranger. This means that I now have photo ops with all living members of the first and second Power Rangers cast. 

At the table of Robin Atkin Downe who I was not planning to get. But then I find out he had a voice role in the Clone Wars cartoons and voiced Doomsday in Batman V Superman. So I got a photo op. Carol Spinney AKA Big Bird was the last guest I got I got at Oaks. 

Jullian Glover

Deep Roy

Full list of Oaks photo ops


We leave Oaks and it was on to NYC. Our first goal was actress Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland, The Longest Ride). Sadly she is gone by the time we get there. Next up is a spot for Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana. I already have Eric but he is hooded in my photo op. 

First we see America Ferrara. I needed a better shot with her but sadly she doesn't do very much and I get nothing. Eric Bana comes out next, I manage to get a full combo. This has a photobomb from a Master (who can be cropped out) and a minion of his (who has to be photoshopped out). 

Ricky Gervais sadly sneaks out another door. At this point I believe that we will not find the next spot for Ricky Gervais. Vanessa the Jersey Shore stalker wanted to come with us to Chiller, and I was so hungry. I decided to go to a dollar pizza place where I could eat, wait for Vanessa to meet us, then drive to the nearby tunnel to NJ for Chiller.

On the way to the dollar pizza place a Master tipped Joresky with the info for the next spot. So I quickly changed my plans and rushed over there. We see other Masters and minions standing and we wait. One guy asked someone there "did you tip him this spot?". 

Ricky Gervais eventually comes out and we all get combos! YES! This night went from bust to success! America Ferrara does nothing leaving, then Eric Bana comes out and does one photo op and leaves.

At this point it's raining, we all leave the spot and go to the dollar pizza place where I feast on $1 slices and wait for Vanessa. I also went on facebook and sent a thank you message to the Master that told us about that spot because thanks to him the evening went from almost total bust to a worthwhile and successful evening. 

We arrive in NJ and meet up with our buddy Martin. Joresky and Martin sleep in the hotel room while me and Vanessa sleep in the car. I slept on the driver's side while she took the passenger side. I had my pillow and we got a pillow from Martin's room for Vanessa. Without any snoring I slept like a baby. 

Eric Bana with Master/minion 

Eric Bana no Master/minion

Ricky Gervais


Saturday

Wake up in the morning, and after mooching some breakfast we head to Chiller. My main concern was not being able to shell out money for all my wants. Thankfully between splitting photo ops and the fact that many of the photo op prices were reasonable, I was able to squeeze in most everyone I wanted. 

First stop was to RF's table for Billy Gunn. RF was telling Billy Gunn and X-Pac how I got so many great photo ops with actors, wrestlers, etc. He asked what I needed I said Gunn combo. Gunn then wondered how I didn't have a photo op with him. I said (truthfully) that I did but it needed improvement. Billy Gunn also remembered seeing Vanessa at Big Event. X-Pac looked out of it but I did get a DX suited X-Pac photobomb on my Bill Gunn shot. 

Then I get Bull Dempsey photo op. Vanessa wanted Vincent Young so we split that shot. After that me and her went our separate ways (only other names she wanted was Erik Estrada and Kevin Sorbo both of which I had). 

I then split with Lanza George Wendt, Ted McGinley, and Tara Reid. I then get Erich Anderson, 50's Actress Terry Moore, a dual shot with Robert Pine and Larry Wilcox, Dominic Chianese, and Motels singer Martha Davis. I split Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell with Lanza, then get Geri Jewel ($5 photo op!), Bernie Kopell, Paul Trickey, and Tim Cappello. Split Barry Bostwick and Jonathan Lipnicki with Lanza. Then I got porn star Gianna Michaels and Mackenzie Phillips. 


The last photo op I got at Chiller was the main event, namely split a Meat Loaf photo op with Lanza. Unfortunately while we were at Chiller we found out Olivia Newton John did photo ops at a spot we knew about. So that was quite the PUNCH in the face. 

Meat Loaf

Billy Gunn with DX suited X-Pac photobomb

Tara Reid

Ted McGinley

Martha Davis

Full list of Chiller photo ops part 1

Full list of Chiller photo ops part 2


After Chiller me, Joresky, and Vanessa went to Costco to pick up Kirk Cameron prints that Greg2600 sent over and we had some hot dog, pizza, and ice cream. Martin would re join us after we leave Costco then we all head to NYC. 

We knew of a spot for Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, but photo ops with him are generally not easy to get. We want to another spot in the hopes of seeing Tilda Swinton and Josh Hartnett walking around but never saw them. Jim Gaffigan did nothing for no one and we didn't spot Nicky Hilton in time. 

We then go to a spot for Claire Danes, Hank Azaria, Phylicia Rashad, and others. The main things I needed there was an upgrade photo op from Phylicia (she has a cap in my shot) and an autograph from Hank (had some cool Gargamel shots for him).

At the spot the first photo op is Robert Joy. Hank Azaria comes out and I beg for an autograph he does nothing. Phylicia comes out I ask for a photo op she goes "not tonight" even though she did photo ops with ALL inside! WTF! The main things I wanted at this spot are failure. Now the only hope is Claire Danes who was the person I needed the least. She comes out the front, does photo ops no issue. I get an update just because. Then I chase her across the street to get my item signed and she signed it. WOW, out of the three main names it was Claire Danes that was the nice one? I couldn't believe it. This shows you how unpredictable combo hunting can be. 

Thus far my trek in NYC is basically a waste. Cause all I really got is one Claire Danes auto. 

We go back to the first spot and I am bummed. Then I see Joresky take a photo op with someone. I get the photo op. Joresky was shaking and jizzling his pants as I asked him who it was. Turns out it was Josh Hutcherson! Damn, a decent name! While he is chatting with 3 girls I run to the trunk of my car and frantically go in my folders of random 8x10s. I quickly pull up two 8x10s for him and ask him to sign them which he does! 

We waited a bit to see more names but to no avail. We dropped Martin at the bus station, stopped for $1 pizza slices, and left the city. 

While I do not consider the evening extravagant, getting Clair Danes a autograph and Josh Hutcherson combo and extra means it was at least fruitful. Sadly it was not without a couple of PUNCHES in the face. 

At the Billie Joe Armstrong spot Joan Jett showed up, and she is a want of mine. And Olivia Newton John did combos for people. Damn, I won't lie I would have preferred Olivia Newton John over Josh Hutcherson. But I guess I could have not had Josh, so I should just look at it that way. 

Josh Hutcherson

Claire Danes

Robert Joy


Sunday

After pulling over and sleeping, we continue to Vienna, VA to meet Kirk Cameron. On our way we find info on where Deadpool director Tim Miller is staying in Washington DC. So we head there, park, and wait. We also confirm that he is still in the building. Sadly we never see him and it came to a point where we had to head to Vienna for Kirk Cameron. I must say it sure was painful to leave the spot. Cause I knew for a fact he was staying there, and I knew for a fact he was in the building still. Knowing this much for a fact is a rare luxury when it comes to street meets. 

We arrive at church, park, and find our way to the second floor where the event is. Before the meet and greet was a speech and q&a by Kirk. While I generally loath speeches and q&as and how they eat up my time instead of going directly to combos, this q&a was actually pretty quick and painless compared to all others I ever had to sit through. I still would have preferred they do combos to begin with, but compared to other similar experiences this was a breeze and no where near as nerve wrecking at most others.   

After this we are directed to the m&g area and they announce he will do photo ops but will not personalize. They also announce one photo op per couple but since me and Joresky are thankfully not a valid couple this means we should have no issue getting our individual shots. 

We get to him and he is nice as can be. Signed all our 8x10s, took photo ops, and even commented on the photos I had him sign. 

Honestly, of all the celebrity paid meets I've ever participated in, this was one of the least stressful ever. As sick and disgusting as it is to say, in this hobby/jobby even when you pay it's not stress free. For instance the Steiner Chevy Chase m&g where they charged 3 figures they didn't use flash and the photographer didn't check the pictures for validity (about 10-15% of the photo ops were invalid cause of blinking). All I can say is lucky for Steiner I wasn't there cause if I got an invalid shot after paying 3 figures Steiner would have really felt my wrath across all social media outlets. And at the Cameron Diaz book signing I had to fight tooth and nail for a retake. But this one was nice and smooth. No harassment from anyone, no one rushing you, and the celeb was friendly and appreciative. I suppose it's possible as the signing progressed they rushed people through, but we didn't stick around after we got our combos. 

We left and thought about going back to the Tim Miller spot, but we both decided we were beat and just wanted to go home. 

Kirk Cameron


Full list of weekend autographs