Dragon*Con's Walk of Fame: The cost of being a fan
Editor's note: Emma Loggins is the editor of Fanbolt.com, an fan news site that specializes in behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the casts and crews of entertainment franchises with organized fan bases. She can also be found on Twitter @EmmaLoggins.
Dragon*Con's Walk of Fame gives fans a rare opportunity to meet their favorite sci-fi stars: This year celebrities including Gillian Anderson, Richard Dean Anderson, and Dean Cain held court as fans waited in line at the Hilton hotel in Atlanta to meet the stars they idolize.
The event also gives celebrity guests an out of this world opportunity to make some serious dough, with merely the swipe of a pen.
Out of nearly 400 celebrity guests that attended Dragon*Con this weekend, about 100 stars were available to meet their fans at the Walk of Fame. Some of the longest lines were for the cast members of "The Vampire Diaries," who charged between $30 and $45 dollars for autographs and $45 to $55 dollars for photos with fans. Fans could even get a photo with the all of the show's cast members in attendance for $240 dollars.
At one point there were more than 40 fans in line for "Torchwood" star John Barrowman, who was charging $55 dollars for a signed picture, with a consistently long queue of fans waiting for him throughout the weekend. It's not hard to do the math. FULL POST
Alien geeks unite in Roswell
Editor's note: Emma Loggins is the editor of Fanbolt.com, a fan news site that specializes in behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the casts and crews of entertainment franchises with organized fan bases.
This year marked the 65th anniversary of a mysterious object crashing down just north of Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and launching decades of speculation about the truth behind the wreckage.
The Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) released an initial statement claiming that a "flying disk" had been recovered. The following day, a second press release was issued which stated that the 509th Bomb Group had been mistaken, and the wreckage was actually that of a weather balloon.
Years later, believers and skeptics alike flock to Roswell for the annual UFO convention. The event attracts scientists, doctors, engineers, and of course alien enthusiasts. This year, there were two festivals commemorating the event: One was put on by the city, and the other festival was hosted by the International UFO Museum.
Cameras in hand, Barry and Ann Lasky stood outside the museum waiting for the opening ceremonies to begin Sunday. The couple moved to Roswell a few years back after attending an earlier festival and falling in love with the city. They moved to Roswell from Los Angeles, California, and began selling collectible memorabilia.
"My official reason for moving to Roswell is I wanted to be kidnapped and probed by aliens," Lasky joked. "But the other reason is it's too expensive to live in Los Angeles. We know people out here, and we're into the science fiction. We sell comics, magazines, and collectibles, so this seemed like a good place to go. We're having a lot of fun here." FULL POST
‘Walking Dead' And 'Vampire Diaries' fans start their own tour companies
Editor's note: Emma Loggins is the editor of Fanbolt.com, an fan news site that specializes in behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the casts and crews of entertainment franchises with organized fan bases.
Atlanta, Georgia is no stranger to the supernatural when it comes to film or television. AMC's hugely popular “The Walking Dead” and CW's “The Vampire Diaries” both film episodes around the city. With local fans stargazing at the (heavily makeuped) undead, it was just a matter of time before their geek out sessions turned into money-making business ventures.
And that's exactly how several Atlanta-based tour companies were born.
Carrie Sagel Burns and Patti Davis, both fans of “The Walking Dead,” recently started Atlanta Movie Tours, and launched their first tour this March. Their signature tour, the Big Zombie Tour, features a number of rotating guides - all local actors who appeared in “Zombieland” or “The Walking Dead.”
The "Big Zombie Tour" is a 3-hour walking and driving tour of Atlanta's zombie hangouts. Fans can count on seeing locations they’ll recognize from season one and two of “The Walking Dead.”
In fact, one of the most surprising parts of the tour may be that some of those sets are still fully intact, in downtown Atlanta. Chains used to keep the zombies out of the fictional store Bradbury's (where Andrea debates stealing a mermaid pendant for Amy in episode 2) are still wrapped around the logoed doors. FULL POST
The resurgence of fairy tales
Editor's note: Emma Loggins is the editor of Fanbolt.com, an fan news site that specializes in behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the casts and crews of entertainment franchises with organized fan bases.
ABC and NBC have added new spins to classic fairy tales with their fall lineup, Syfy has a Peter Pan mini-series planned and there are not one but two Snow White films headed to the silver screen.
It makes you wonder, why are fairy tales making a comeback? Is it just because Hollywood has nothing new to offer anymore? Because vampires have been done to death?
Perhaps it's a financial decision. After all, no one has to pay for the rights to these classic tales.
ABC’s "Once Upon A Time" premieres on October 23rd, fittingly in the old "Wonderful World of Disney" time slot. Disney, widely known for their versions of "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," and "Snow White," painted fairy tales in pastel shades, making them comfortable, family fare. But ABC's new fairy tale show is not as friendly. FULL POST
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