Well, I haven't been to a convention for anything since about 2001, and it seems the Convention World has gotten a lot more itemized and expensive in my time away. I had some questions on some things in regards to Ernie’s appearance at this show this weekend and just got a response back so I thought I'd share with everyone so they know what to expect.
Ernie will be at a booth and available for autographs and photos throughout the entire convention except for when he’s on stage for his panel (which is scheduled for 12-1pm each day), and immediately following that when he'll break for lunch. Also, he will be leaving a little bit earlier at 4pm on Sunday to catch his flight home.
Ernie will be seated in front of/next to Ecto-1A which will also be indoors in the hall. Cool!
All prices COULD go up AT the show, so pre-order online now BEFORE the show if you want to lock in these rates.
If you want to see Ernie’s speaking panel, you have to buy a ticket for a seat, and the tickets are $5, which is very reasonable.
As to autographs and photos, as I understand it from the show runner(s), these prices are all set by Ernie’s people, as they (Ernie’s people) take the monies directly, and not the show runners themselves, (except the online pre-orders, which they then pass onto Ernie’s people). So, bear that in mind.
If you want to have Ernie autograph something, the cost is $30 per item. Whether that's just "Ernie Hudson" or more personal like "To Bill, keep on bustin'! All the best, Ernie Hudson" I don't know.
If you want to have a photo taken with Ernie, it’s $40 for a professional photo, which you COULD then bring back to Ernie to have him sign (as they immediately print it out). However, an autograph is NOT included with the $40 fee. So if you want the professional photo and an autograph, it’s $70. Also, I’m not sure if you get a digital copy of the photo, but I have re-asked that question (ie: Can the purchaser also receive the .jpg/.png/.raw/whatever file as well). When/if I hear back, I'll post an update.
As an alternative, they’re really pushing having your autograph session videotaped, which is then immediately emailed to you, and the videotaping is only $20, but again does not include the autograph itself, so that’d be an extra $30 still. This one option is set by the show as they themselves provide this service.
If you would like to just take a candid shot with Ernie while he’s signing your photo, apparently there is also going to be a fee for that, (which I’m not really a fan of being charged to do as we're talking a cell phone or small form-factor camera pic here and not a professional photo, but it is what it is). It’s “guesstimated” right now that that fee will be around $15 for a “you supply and take the photo” picture, but they don’t know the exact fee as, again, Ernie’s people will set that.
There’s other packages too, like if you want to be part of a breakfast or dinner function with Ernie, but I figured the above is what most people will be interested in and ready to afford. All-in-all, the pricing at Pop Culture Expo is still a lot cheaper than the complete fan shakedown that Creation Entertainment does with their several hundred dollar tickets et al (serious, Creation puts the word “con” into “convention” and is why I stopped going when they became a big player).
So, I think that’s about it for now. I just wanted to let folks know so they could better plan for whatever they may want to do/have done this weekend. You can find and pre-order all of these things at the link in my first post above. If I learn more, I'll be sure to post an update.
- Xanath