Fan fairs and comic cons are nothing new. They’re everywhere. Celebrities set up card tables and charge long lines of fans some dough for autographs or signed pictures.
But a coming celeb fair in Pittsburgh shows how badly even famous people need money when their unions are on strike.
Steel City Con is coming up in Pittsburgh from December 8th to the 10th. Most of the celebs have been booked, and there will no doubt be the autograph hounds from Star Wars, Star Trek and Marvel conventions all dressed up and ready to go.
Alec Baldwin has just signed on for Steel City despite the threat of another indictment hanging over his head. He’s charging $135 — for photo ops and an unknown fee for autographs.
Kiefer Sutherland is charging a similar amount, and “Stranger Things” actor Jamie Campbell Bower will get $100 clams. (Can Kiefer need this money?)
In the $50-$60 range are Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs from “Charmed,” John Cleese, 84, from “Monty Python” and some people who I thought were above this kind of thing like Neve Campbell, Dermot Mulroney, and Giancarlo Esposito. But hey, everyone has to pay their Con Ed bill, so I can empathize!
These things go on all over the country, I’m told. The equivalent, of course, is Cameo, in which you can get a digital greeting from almost anyone for a price.
Again, rent is always due. Remember — 100% of all the money does not go to charity!