In May I had planned to go to NYC for the festivities of the Televisions like I did in 2022. But with the writer's strike, the fruitfulness of this event was in question for 2023. After much research, I correctly concluded that it would largely be a dud. So instead, I set my sights on the festivities of films a month later. That turned out to be one of the greatest decisions I've ever made.
One thing of note, there was a ton of things going on that week, even by NYC standards. This helped in many ways because first off it spread out all the NYC combo hunters and thus kept the crowds manageable, and second while many of the hunters were busy with bigger names that I had, this further helped out with crowd control in spots with people I actually didn't have. While there I would also mix in activities that had nothing to do with the festivities of films.
Day 1
I arrive in NYC at my first spot for actress Denise Richards. I see markedout's Greg2600 who just got actor Alden Ehrenreich AKA young Han Solo at a nearby spot. He advised I go there since I could catch him leaving. I decided to take his advice. As I was waiting, Tom Holland and his brother Harry Holland left very quickly. Luckily, I have Tom already. Then finally as the spot was letting out, I see Alden Ehrenreich just exiting like a normal person. I manage to get a combo from him. He was actually nice which is contrary to most reports I hear about him.
Came back to the first spot and sadly I missed people going in, including actor Lewis Pullman (Bill Pullman's son) from Top Gun Maverick. Tried calling him but he said he would get me on the way out so that meant I would have to come back. I also missed producer Frank Marshall who did nothing going in and barely stopped leaving. Went to another spot with the cast of Outlander where my main goal is Sam Heughan. I didn't want to pay his high prices at NYCC so this was a good opportunity. Unfortunately, it was chaos when the cast came out, but by some odd miracle I got Sam. People even asked me "how did you get a picture with Sam?". I also got actor Charles Vandervaart.
Came back to the previous spot, where I got actor Will Ropp. I was looking for Lewis Pullman and found him. He remembered me from earlier and took a photo op with me. And finally got actor Bo Mitchell from Cobra Kai.
Went to the hotel for Tom Holland to try to get an upgrade shot, but never saw him. Did see Laura Dern check in but she did nothing (I actually need the auto).
Day 2
For this day I would start at entries for the "easy" NYC shows. First off I wait for actress and singer JoJo. She comes in and is nice for a combo. Sadly wearing shades. Then up to the next spot where I try for actor Okieriete Onaodowan (A Quiet Place). I arrive and thankfully he isn't in yet. While waiting Scott Foley is just walking by and I grab another shot. Then Jessica Chastain comes. She stops for everyone, and I just grab another shot with her since everyone else is. She is wearing shades but I have a couple of no shades shots with her. Finally see Okieriete Onaodowan and he is nice as can be. Then I wait a little bit more for wheelchair bound actor Michael Patrick Thornton (Private Practice) and he does photo ops no issue.
Back to the festivities of films, it's a good start with actress Yasmeen Fletcher (fresh). I also get Mina Sundwall (update), Alex Hibbert (fresh), Ewan Manley (fresh), and Alysia Reiner (update).
I was then thinking of waiting at the Tom Holland hotel to kill some time. But then I got a tip for a Vince Vaughn hotel. I met him before but my op is really bad. So I go wait. There's a handful of people waiting. Not 20 minutes later we see Vince walking towards us. He is nice as can be for ops but refused to sign for anyone. I got a selfie with him, but he was being so nice I thought to myself let's get a full body shot since after all he is known for being tall. So I get a second shot. This was a huge, unexpected score! This is such a major upgrade over my old op that I consider this as good as a first time shot. Alexander Skarsgard also came out and I got another shot with him.
Back to the festivities of films, I wait for Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli. He is super nice and I get a combo. Back to the Vince Vaughn hotel to see what else could be had, but then I decide to try for Juliet Stevenson at a show. Sadly I never see her. Come back to the Vince Vaughn hotel in the hopes of getting Ed Sheeran coming back from his show. Sadly I never see him but I do get an op with Chris Robinson, lead singer of The Black Crowes! A great way to end the night.
Day 3
I would spend this whole day at the festivities of films between two spots. We will call them Spot A and Spot B. I start out at A the morning, and there's a crowd of people. Not graphers but a whole bunch of people that came off a bus. And Laura Dern comes off the car. I knew she wouldn't come over to the railing, and I needed her autograph on my Jurassic Park laserdisc. I break the barrier and go to her as she got off the car asking for the auto, much to the chagrin of security. Thankfully she signs it as I get yelled at. I have two ops with her so I didn't bother with that.
Next up, I got Pam Grier combo (upgrade/update), then fresh ops with David Iacono, Hailey Kilgore, Jacob Tremblay, Bel Powley, and Lola Tung. Damon Wayans who I needed sadly no showed. I also got two autographs from Tracee Ellis Ross. She did ops but ignored me when I asked for the ops. It's ok I already had a couple of ops with her, so I didn't care (which is why I focused on autographs here).
Went to B but sadly I missed actor Steve Witting going in. I got updates with Christine Taylor and Jai Courtney, and upgrade with Erin Moriarty. I was hoping to see actors Dina Shihabi and Ryan Corr but they no showed. I also saw actor Ben Stiller but I had no reason to fight for that photo op since I have him. Go back to A for actor Charlie Day, but unfortunately, he no shows. I get updates with Chris Lowell and Nina Dobrev. Back to B in the hopes of catching actor Steve Witting but I'm too late. I go inside a bar in the hopes that he went there, but I see Ben Stiller and not him. It's incredible, if I were looking for Ben I would not have found him. I had no reason to ask Ben so I go back to A.
I have two main objectives here. I need Heather Graham's autograph on my Austin Powers 2 DVD and a fresh op with Judah Lewis. On entry I get updates with Johnathon Schaech, Heather Graham, and Barbara Crampton. And I get two autos from Heather including my DVD, essentially completing it (has Mike Myers, Verne Troyer, and director Jay Roach). Judah Lewis seems to ignore my calls to come over. So now I gotta wait for exits.
On exits Heather sneaks out but everyone else mingles, and I get Judah Lewis who is nice as can be. The night ended when Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan was spotted in the crowd, and I get a photo op.
Day 4
On this day I would briefly show up at the festivities of films. First up, I would do early morning activities. I missed Eva Longoria going in by 5 minutes because I was washing up. No big deal as I have her and would have another shot as she leaves. But I got actress Hannah Waddingham again. This is my third time seeing her this year, which may be a record for me. I can't recall seeing a movie or TV name on the streets three times within the same year. At least this op is better than my previous two.
On exits I get actress Annie Gonzalez and Eva Longoria. Eva signs two for me. Then to the festivities of films. I get Blake Anderson, Kate Berlant, and Natasha Leggero. And my main goal, an upgrade with Amy Poehler plus an autograph. Then I left the festivities of films for a spot where activities related to two premieres were taking place. Since the rain was pounding this was the perfect spot to be as it had an awning.
As I arrive I find out I missed out on actors Luke Hemsworth and Maya Hawke. I was upset, but spoiler alert I would get Luke soon after and Maya the next evening. Chris and Liam Hemsworth would also be around but were evasive. It's ok I have them both. I start with a fresh op from actor Steve Park. A good start. Randomly passing by was reality tv star Jonathan Cheban. Got an op. Then I get Jason Schwartzman (update), actress Olga Kurylenko (fresh), Tony Revolori (fresh), Luke Hemsworth (fresh). I follow Matt Damon into a building and much to the bitching of the handler I get an updated shot after he signed for someone. My first shot with him was 12 years prior. So that was kinda cool. I had missed Ed Sheeran going in because I wasn't paying attention, but as he left, I managed to barely get the op. He initially wanted to do a group shot with multiple people. No thank you! Luckily I was aggressive and pleading. Then I get a fresh shot with actress Kelly Coffield Park, and an update with Hope Davis.
In the final leg of the evening, I waited for more exits. I got twins child actresses Mariam Kovziashvili and Marta Kovziashvili (Extraction 2). My big score here was actor and martial artist Daniel Bernhardt from Bloodsport 2, Mortal Kombat Conquest, The Matrix Reloaded, among other things. The night ends with actors Irakli Kvirikadze and Adam Bessa. I was hoping to see actress Golshifteh Farahani but sadly never did.
Day 5
Start this day with early morning activities. Ken Jennings (Jeopardy) did nothing in or leaving. I also see actor Jesse Tyler Furgeson who does nothing, but I have him. My main goal is actress Keke Palmer. On entries I barely get the op and I am one of only two people to get it. On exit I barely get the auto. She is not very nice. I also get singers Deborah Cox and CeCe Peniston.
On to the spot where I got so many people the prior evening, I get there and immediately get a photo op with Lil Nas X as he is leaving. Then I get stunt actor Bobby Holland Hanton and stunt actor and director Sam Hargrave. Was hoping I'd be able to redeem Golshifteh Farahani but never saw her. Then I got the husband of Hope Davis who is also an actor, Jon Patrick Walker. It was chaotic at the spot and sadly couldn't get director Wes Anderson. BUT I did get a fresh shot with actor Adrian Brody who was being nasty and not really trying to stop. This was my miracle for the day! Unfortunately, since I chose to stay here, I missed actress and model Iman in the festivities of films. It wasn't 100% she would show up and I was afraid to risk going there and missing out on everything. Especially since so many others no showed. I guess you can't be in two places at once. Not like I failed in the choice I made as I did get Adrian Brody and other things. I get another op with Tony Revolori (upgrade from the prior evening) then head back to the festivities of films while most graphers are trying for bigger names like Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson (both of which I have).
At the festivities of films, I have two goals. Actress Hilarie Burton (wife of Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and actor Zeljko Ivanek. I start with actor Gaius Charles. Then Jeffrey and his wife arrive. As the crowd is going wild for Jeffrey I break the barrier and ask Hilarie. Security tries to stop me but she says yes and I get the op. Then I get updates with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, fresh shots with Mahina Napoleon and Cassady McClincy, and finally Zeljko Ivanek who is nice as can be. At another spot of the festivities of films I missed Michael Cera and Sophia Lillis (both of whom I have) and Hannah Gross (who I don't have). Again, can't be in two places. I go there to see if I can somehow get Hannah Gross but no dice as she enters. This meant I had to come back later.
Go to spot where all the action is and all the big names are, but I fail to get anything besides an update with Greta Gerwig. People either left or snuck out. Then to the festivities of films to try to get Hannah Gross exiting. And by miracle I get there and she hasn't left.
For the final spot of the evening, it is crowded and chaotic and very little can be had. Bill Murry and Uma Thurman show up. Have Bill need Uma. But none do anything. I get another shot with Jason Schwartzman. Wes Anderson doesn't do anything. I try to go after him to no avail. While I was doing that Maya Hawke is leaving the spot and by miracle I make it back on time to ask her for the op! A great way to end the night and my time in NYC. With that, I left the city.
Now to showcase autographs:
Blanks are Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Fab Morvan, Alden Ehrenreich, Pam Grier
