When Supercon celebrities take themselves too seriously

Luis Santana / Staff Writer

 

I took the time out this weekend to head over to the Florida Supercon alongside my best friend  and my girlfriend.

What an amazing experience it was! We dressed as the crew of the Enterprise and we  boldly went where we had never been before. I’ve been to things like Renaissance Faire before, and so I was expecting the more humble and homegrown entertainment it had to offer.

Little did I know, Supercon was completely different. The attractions weren’t the home-made games and shows the volunteers of Renfest would set-up, but instead different panels hosted by celebrities such as Ernie Hudson, Brian O’Halloran and Lloyd Kaufman.

And while most of these celebrities were down to earth and kind to their fans, there were some who seemed to just be there to make a quick buck and get going or even go so far as to make fun of the very people who keep them steadily employed.

As we were making our way throughout Supercon our trio bumped into the independent film director Lloyd Kaufman. While he was personable to our group, he told us that we didn’t look like the “typical fat sweaty nerds” he had seen around here.

I was in shock.

These “fat sweaty nerds” are your fans Mr. Kaufman and the only difference between them and you is a bit of fame. These are the people who buy your movie again and again and show it to everyone they know. They’re the people who worked at your booth the whole day selling off all of the things you made not asking for a penny in return as you walked around Supercon hoping to send people to your booth.For Kaufman to just write them off in such a way is disturbing and makes me wonder what other things he might say about his fans.

Ernie Hudson on the other hand showed nothing but kindness towards his fans even saying on stage that his work was worth
doing “because of the love my fans give to me.” The difference between these two people is clear, and one is clearly worth more praise than the other.

The silver lining in this cloud is that I ended up seeing more people at Ernie Hudson’s booth than the one or two people who went over to Kaufman’s stand. Hudson knows that his fame is directly related to his fan base. He loves that these people appreciate him and you can see it in the way that he interacts with them.

Another thing you can’t help but notice at Supercon is the long wall of tables with celebrities behind them. You also shouldn’t fail to notice charts next to them showing how much they are charging just for you to take your picture with them.

I understand that these actors need to make a living, but are you going to tell me you haven’t made enough money from your respective TV shows that you need to now charge people to take a picture with them? My friend Kevin argued that these were professional photos that you were being given, but even so I can’t justify paying $60 to take my picture with Kal Drogo from the Game of Thrones series.

Not only were they charging money, but volunteers of Supercon were standing by to make sure no one took pictures on their phones of these actors. Is this really necessary? When I went to go see Mike Birbiglia in Coral Springs I wasn’t charged to take a picture with him. When I went to Brian O’Halloran’s booth he didn’t even chargeme for the recording of him speaking that I got for my podcast!

It seems to me that some of these actors have lost touch with their fans and instead more preoccupied with making money. Is an extra $200 dollars really going to mean much for Kal Drogo? Will it help him finance his rise to the Iron Throne? Wouldn’t you rather be like O’Halloran and just take free pictures with his fans and have them love you that much more?

All things considered, Supercon was an amazing experience. It was great to meet the kind  celebrities that have given me so many laughs throughout the years and to be able to tell them what  they’ve meant to me. They were the true heroes of Supercon and the people who will make me go back  every year.

As for the Kaufman’s and Drogo’s, they will have a fan base as well but it will never be the  loving and sincere group that O’Halloran and Hudson have behind them.

 

luis.santana@fiusm.com

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