Any TORONTO area Deadites headed to Fan Expo?

eViL DeAdiTe

eViL DeAdiTe

Loud Mouth Braggart
Staff member
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
So, I'm planning to go down tomorrow as BC isn't doing any signings outside the event, and I don't know the first things about comic cons, or how one sifts through all the chaos to get what they are looking for.

Apparently, there's no schedule for signings, but there is for photo ops. Do they tend to happen together, and therefore can I assume the photo op schedule aligns with the signings?

I'm just going for BC, and nothing else. I may stick around for Last Fan Standing, but possibly not.

Halp! I'm all confused about this stuff :-/
 
Gah, this is way too late but helpful advice for anyone else who's having problems navigating cons:

Usually a convention will list the locations of the various celebs who have booths by number on the convention website. Photo ops definitely happen and are bought separately from autographs.

If given the choice, I recommend the convention experience over the solo Last Fan Standing shows, since Bruce is charging forty bucks extra on top of the ticket fee for an autograph signing experience you can generally get at a convention for less money.
 
Yeah, I just went early to the con so I had some time to figure it all out.
 
I did the photo op and the autograph w/ Bruce, and decided to wait on Last Fan Standing, as the crowds were heavy and I wasn't certain my mental fortitude would hold out until the evening when that was taking place.
 
Photo op was in and out, and Bruce was very much in control of the situation. No time for chit-chat, just "stand here baby" *snap* then move along. The photo wasn't great so I won't post it here.
 
Bruce's autograph line was surprisingly looooong. It wrap around the hall like a snake. This was so much different than the bookstore signings I was used to from years past. Ten years ago the turn out would’ve been about 50 people, but he must’ve seen a few thousand before the weekend was through. 

There was Bruce, looking sharp in a finely tailored suit, a snooty assistant, and an a-typical bodyguard doing his best bodyguard pose. As we got closer I watched how he worked each fan and timed how long I'd have to do or say anything. I counted about 20-30 seconds, in and out.
 
I had the new book, and a prop. Though I've sold much of it, I still have a few select props from AoD which I acquired years ago when nobody cared. This one was a latex deadite mask from KNB.
 
Bruce signs the book, then his attention turns to the mask. He picks it up then drops it back on the table dismissively. "...the hell is this thing?". I explain to Bruce that it's a prop from AoD, without even examining it he very sarcastically quips "It's nice that you believe that sir, but I'll sign your little horror mask".
 
I ask him to sign the inside of the mask, but he ignores me and starts signing it on the outside in silver sharpie. I explain that I came into possession of this years ago when nobody cared about the props, and did my homework extensively, and that some items, including this mask, have been verified.
 
"Oh yeah, who verified it" Bruce asks with his voice dripping of sarcasm. I tell him Howard Berger did. He pauses, “Look I’ve seen a lot of horse shit over the years, man. That movie was made 25 years ago and everything from it has turned to dust.”. I reiterate that I’ve done my homework and the mask is genuine and screen matched. He continues to act dismissive, and says it's wonderful that I believe it is real with a big, smarmy grin on his face.
 
So I kind of gather my things, with a bewildered/pissed expression on my face “oooook, well thanksss.. I guess”. Bruce kinda lurches forward extending his hand “No, no.. look, thanks for coming sir”. Me: “Uh-huh...”
 
I didn’t stick around for Last Fan Standing.
 
Sorry to hear about your experience. But yeah Bruce can be a real dick sometimes. Sad but true.
 
I'm so sorry things went poorly for you when you met him, eViL DeAdiTe. Meeting Bruce can be such a crapshoot, and if he's in a bad mood it shows way, way too easily and sometimes he takes his "teasing" too far. He at least seemed to realize at the end that he was being an ass. Sorry you even had to go through that.
 
Fortunately, it wasn’t my only experience meeting Bruce.

The other 4-5 times over the last 20 years were all positive experiences, but things have obviously changed a lot since then. He’s an industry now.

My favourite encounter was during the tour for the first Chins book. It was relatively small turn out at a book store here in Toronto. Bruce was more humble back then too, and really appreciated the fans. The signings were always free, as long as you had the book.

When it came time to get my stuff signed, I sat next to him and we chatted for a good 2-3 minutes. Talked about the no-budget horror films by buddy and I used to make. He seemed genuinely interested in those anecdotes, or at least did a great job pretending to be. Asked lots of questions. When it was over, my appreciation for the man and his attitude toward his fan-base as a working actor made me respect him that much more. The next few meetings were great as well.

This last time was the first time I’d even seen him at an event of this scale, and I’m sure the volume and pace at these cons can become a little draining and dehumanizing after a while. So I get it.

If I choose to ever go to a con again to see the man, I’ll try and be there first thing, at the start of the convention. Otherwise I’ll just hold out for the smaller appearances.

In some respects, I wonder if the smarmy showman public persona is perhaps getting a bit overblown to meet audience expectation these days. At his worst moments, he seems less witty and sarcastic, and more insulting and bitter, as time goes on.

That guy in glasses with the vans and cocktail shirts seems long gone. Only Don Rickles 2.0 remains.
 
Smaller appearances are definitely more enjoyable. Seeing him with the cast of Ash of Evil Dead along with Sam Raimi at Paley Fest and Tumblr HQ the past few years was awesome. I avoid most cons these days. I'm not a fan of people who show up at them and ask Bruce the usual dumb questions.
 
Ottawa Comiccon was a huge turnout when I saw him there and I said hello on the last day. These celebs get exhausted. It's not easy to get a genuine meet and greet now. It seems like the book tour is more of a success for the fans right now other than the large cons.
 
That just makes me lose respect for Bruce. I know that you get drained doing these things, but for the sake of your fucking rep, play along. If he really didn't believe it was a real prop, then why voice that? I grant him, worries about being quoted for "authenticating" a fake prop could worry him, but there's a way to give a non-binding reaction. An "oh, really?" or just a fake "that's cool" would suffice.

I always say, you see what a person is really like when they get angry/tired--that's when a person lets their guard down. I honestly think Bruce doesn't like his fans anymore (it sounds/seems like he once did) and views them all as mouth-breathing jackasses. Granted, I've seen that he deals with A LOT of those--but if you want the convention money, you got to put up with that shit, and he plays to them for the money with that smarmy act (or is it an act anymore?).

I'm a fairly recent ED fan (within the last decade) and it's a shame I became a fan after Bruce stopped giving a shit. I'm not interested in ever meeting him because I expect a bad experience, to say nothing of an in-genuine one. I expect Bruce to only get worse if the show fails--he put a lot of "blame" on the fans for the show's existence and if it goes down because to him the "fans" didn't support it, fans will be dead to him.
 
I think it might just be that he lashes out when he feels like he's under pressure. Which is completely unfair for fans, utterly so. IMO his opinion about the fanbase tends to be influenced by either his level of patience or the vulnerability of the other person, which again isn't fair. He seemed a lot more laid back during the Burn Notice years, but I've noticed the prickliness in his behavior at conventions ramping up slightly. Doc's opinions are pretty close to mine - he doesn't seem to realize the show isn't popular because they took Ash's best qualities and ran them through a blender because of his personal prejudices RE his existence. The numbers for the season 2 DVD haven't matched season one's so he might know the writing's on the wall.
 
The thing is--the show is apparently as popular as it could possibly be with the actual fan base (going by places other than here), but the problem is that the franchise isn't gaining new fans--and I think he resents that. I'm sure he feels, deep down, that he wasn't interested in going back to Ash at this point in his life and he gained so much more mainstream acclaim for Burn Notice that he now feels trapped by Ash.

I think, had AvED come during the Jack of All Trades years, he'd have been pleased-as-peas (especially since it's made it to three whole seasons!), But now, he's had a taste of bigger fame and now he's been sucked back into obscurity, so I think he really does resent the franchise/character.

Sadly, if they had been willing to opt for basic cable's violence restrictions (From what I've seen, The Walking Dead gets away with plenty), and had treated Ash like a proper character instead of a joke... things would have gone a lot better, I think. The franchise goes wayyyy more mainstream, and Ash, written as a tragic and often dramatic character (the way any of US would have written him), would have gained him even stronger critical acclaim than Burn Notice, because this time, he's the star.

I dunno. I have a feeling the franchise is about to get pretty low, pretty soon. It seems like S3 is gonna be the last gasp and then that'll be it for the whole shebang--and Bruce? Well, he'll start distancing himself from fans and the franchise, hardcore. Mark my words.
 
I still wonder how much of AvED's existence happened because of the remake's success.  They knew the fanbase was split on it and it grew a fandom but one that's comparatively smaller.

ETA: Hey, Doc, you called it!
 
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