What to expect when meeting Shatner?
- Thread starter BlueMetroid
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Denny Crane!
That's excellent advice. Ask yourself how much you'd like to be told that something you did fifty years ago was your best work?
you can't compare work that's not famous to work that is, that's apples and oranges. Actors' works are always out there, no matter how far back, and widely known, whereas a project you did for accounting thirty years ago isn't.
I've met a few "celebrities/actors", have a couple have friends as well.
The latest ones I met were at the series wrap party for Eureka. I met Joe Morton and Wil Wheaton. Both were extremely nice.
The key is to treat them as you would want to be treated. Don't fawn all over them, compliment them on whatever you like, but don't expect them to 'perform' for you. If that makes sense. They've met millions of fans and are doing you a favor giving you 5 minutes of their time. Be polite to them and they'll be polite to you.
The latest ones I met were at the series wrap party for Eureka. I met Joe Morton and Wil Wheaton. Both were extremely nice.
The key is to treat them as you would want to be treated. Don't fawn all over them, compliment them on whatever you like, but don't expect them to 'perform' for you. If that makes sense. They've met millions of fans and are doing you a favor giving you 5 minutes of their time. Be polite to them and they'll be polite to you.
I will most certainly report back! Thanks for the input!
NuShatner. The toupeeline split, and this version of the Shat actually has hair.
Thanks for everyone's insight and input! He's going to be at Wizard World this weekend in Portland, OR. With such a large event I doubt I'll get much personal time with him, but who knows?
My mother raised me on ST and has been watching it for almost 50 years, I thought it only right to bring her along. She wants to bring a picture of my grandfather, who is said to identically resemble the Shat back in the day. I don't know if she'll get a chance to show it to him, but we'll see.
And as dorky as it sounds, for the life of me I can't think of anything I'd rather have him autograph than my Captain Kirk life size cardboard cutout. I've had it since my college days, and all my friends loved my bachelor pad with the Captain Kirk wearing a sombrero to greet them when they walked in the door.
It folds up nicely, so taking it won't be an issue. Thoughts?
Sounds interesting. The grandfather of my ex-wife looked like Tom Hanks. Guess which modern films her grandmother loved to watch...
Sounds great to me, finally something other than these ordinary photos for Bill Shatner to sign - and an item with a "story" to tell.
(You might want to bring a picture with the sombrero along, just in case you have one)Bob
I concur with Maurice, my best celebrity interactions were similar.
Michael Dorn: spent a minute or so talking to him about jet planes (turns out he'd just bought one)
Kevin Sorbo: golf
John deLancie: outside of a convention about how obnoxious it was that Rene Auberjonois always slows the autograph line to a crawl trying to sell you Sebastian the crab junk
I'll take ten seconds! That's actually better than I thought. I plan to observe his interaction with others in the line ahead of me to gauge what I'll say.
Sounds great to me, finally something other than these ordinary photos for Bill Shatner to sign - and an item with a "story" to tell.
That's a great idea! I'm going to do that! Thanks!
Dorn was at an event recently that Brent Spiner put on...he was a special guest and not announced. I went downstairs during intermission (I didn't want to bother him during the show) to try and meet him, but he was whisked away so fans wouldn't mob him. I later found out he walked past where I was standing literally 30 seconds after I left.
Bah. Oh well...he'll be at Emerald City Comic Con in a couple months, along with DeLancie, so hopefully I can meet him then!
Shatner's fuzzy memory isn't that odd. Nichelle Nichols mentioned in her book that he remembered nothing from the production of the show, and I think I've also heard that from one or two of his other past actor friends, but I'd have to look it up.
As far as meeting him goes, I wish the OP luck. After all the stories I've heard about him over the decades, He's the one Star Trek actor I can honestly say I have zero interest in meeting. That, plus the stories about the way the conventions are run now, complaints from both fans AND some of the actors, I think I'll just leave my one and only convention attendance on my birthday in 1994 (actually got to meet, and spend some time with Robin Curtis, the GOOD Saavik) as a happy memory and let it go at that.
I have a funny story. I was watching a Twilight Zone ep, and was struck by the beauty of a woman in the background. Well, as the episode progressed, it turned out she actually had a good-sized role so when the ep was over I watched the credits to catch her name. "Arlene Sax"
So I looked her up and saw Arlene Sax was Arlene Martel. I was like "T'Pring?? Wow." I took a stab at finding her email on the internet, saw she has a website* and told her she was just as beautiful now as she was in the TZ ep. She actually wrote me back to say thanks and that I should look for her in a different TZ episode too.
*Yes, I know that sounds stalky. Sue me.
Haha, I'll be sure to pick some up on the way 
Here is our memento of meeting Shatner:
As you can see, they are sitting. We lined up and they filed us in behind them. They took the picture and shuffled us off. No interaction at all. Some of that, to be sure, is the long line.
When in the autograph line, I said what I always say at conventions: "Thanks for all the great entertainment." Nimoy looked up and said "No, thank you." Shatner did not respond, or make eye contact at all.
Now, I'm not going to bash the guy. He's busy, there are lots of people waiting to see him, and a lot of them say the same things (or frankly, ask stupid continuity questions). But having met tons of Sci Fi actors over the years at conventions, he was the least engaging of all (with us). Some of the actors are so great, you really have a good time talking with them (my favorite convention star: Marina Sirtis). Shatner is not one of them, but I didn't feel like he was purposely being a jerk or anything.
JMHO
Have realistic expectations, and have a great time!
As you can see, they are sitting. We lined up and they filed us in behind them. They took the picture and shuffled us off. No interaction at all. Some of that, to be sure, is the long line.
When in the autograph line, I said what I always say at conventions: "Thanks for all the great entertainment." Nimoy looked up and said "No, thank you." Shatner did not respond, or make eye contact at all.
Now, I'm not going to bash the guy. He's busy, there are lots of people waiting to see him, and a lot of them say the same things (or frankly, ask stupid continuity questions). But having met tons of Sci Fi actors over the years at conventions, he was the least engaging of all (with us). Some of the actors are so great, you really have a good time talking with them (my favorite convention star: Marina Sirtis). Shatner is not one of them, but I didn't feel like he was purposely being a jerk or anything.
JMHO
Have realistic expectations, and have a great time!
I actually thought it was a photo montage before reading the text.
Here is our memento of meeting Shatner:
As you can see, they are sitting. We lined up and they filed us in behind them. They took the picture and shuffled us off. No interaction at all. Some of that, to be sure, is the long line.
When in the autograph line, I said what I always say at conventions: "Thanks for all the great entertainment." Nimoy looked up and said "No, thank you." Shatner did not respond, or make eye contact at all.
Now, I'm not going to bash the guy. He's busy, there are lots of people waiting to see him, and a lot of them say the same things (or frankly, ask stupid continuity questions). But having met tons of Sci Fi actors over the years at conventions, he was the least engaging of all (with us). Some of the actors are so great, you really have a good time talking with them (my favorite convention star: Marina Sirtis). Shatner is not one of them, but I didn't feel like he was purposely being a jerk or anything.
JMHO
Have realistic expectations, and have a great time!
I had almost the same experience except that I'm in the background of the same photo. Nimoy and Shatner have almost identical poses in my photo.
Still glad I did it though
Here is our memento of meeting Shatner:
As you can see, they are sitting. We lined up and they filed us in behind them. They took the picture and shuffled us off. No interaction at all. Some of that, to be sure, is the long line.
When in the autograph line, I said what I always say at conventions: "Thanks for all the great entertainment." Nimoy looked up and said "No, thank you." Shatner did not respond, or make eye contact at all.
Now, I'm not going to bash the guy. He's busy, there are lots of people waiting to see him, and a lot of them say the same things (or frankly, ask stupid continuity questions). But having met tons of Sci Fi actors over the years at conventions, he was the least engaging of all (with us). Some of the actors are so great, you really have a good time talking with them (my favorite convention star: Marina Sirtis). Shatner is not one of them, but I didn't feel like he was purposely being a jerk or anything.
JMHO
Have realistic expectations, and have a great time!
Thanks for sharing! Great picture!
Nice photo 1001001. I would love to have the Shatner/Nimoy double! I was shattered to read Nimoy is done with conventions, so sadly I will never get the chance to say 'thanks for everything' to him like I was lucky enough to with Shatner.
I guess Maurice, it's different if you've been around Hollywood people a lot like you, and you've probably had the chance to have casual photos and the chance to chat. No chance of that for most of us, so this is the best way to do it.
Shatner would pocket, what? $5k-10k for an hour's work, and the fan has a memory to last a lifetime. Everyone wins.
Our photos with Shatner are displayed prominently on the way into our place. I love the reactions they get. "Oooh so you guys met Spock once"
I guess Maurice, it's different if you've been around Hollywood people a lot like you, and you've probably had the chance to have casual photos and the chance to chat. No chance of that for most of us, so this is the best way to do it.
Shatner would pocket, what? $5k-10k for an hour's work, and the fan has a memory to last a lifetime. Everyone wins.
Our photos with Shatner are displayed prominently on the way into our place. I love the reactions they get. "Oooh so you guys met Spock once"
I can confirm these statements about Shatner. My advice to the OP is to keep your expectations low. I mean REAL LOW. Chances are you will not be acknowledged
In Feb 2004, I went to a convention, where Shatner was the only Trek actor in attendance, at an upscale hotel. It was my first, only, and probably will be my last Star Trek convention I attend. It wasn't necessarily a negative experience in that nothing bad happened and I did get EXACTLY what I paid for (mostly), but was it satisfying? Well, meh.
Here is how the experience was for me.
I don't remember all the dollar amounts, but it was tiered where you could go.
1.cheapest ticket allowed you into the outer convention area, where all kinds of Trek and sci fi souvenirs and memorabilia are sold. It is all over priced and all of it can be had online for tons cheaper. You don't see anyone famous in this area. Not even on the way into or out of the convention hall..it's like they moved Shatner through secret tunnels or something.
2. I don't remember what I paid exactly, and I've since lost the ticket stub, but I want to say something like $75-$100, and I was towards the back of the room. My admission was the absolute cheapest I could pay in order to see Shatner. The ticket I had allowed you to go into the hall where Shatner was speaking. About 2 hours before Shatner showed up, people were seated in the large hall it was held in.
3. THe more you paid, the closer to the front of the room.
4. If you paid more, you were allowed to be filed into a line with a microphone, and ask a question. I remember the line being pretty long, and ultimately maybe a quarter the people even got to ask a question.
5. If you paid even more, after Shatner convention, you were filed off to go have an autograph
6. If you paid even more than that, you got to have your photo with Shatner
During the 2 hour wait in the large hall, the organizers would show a clip of a Star Trek show, followed by a clip of an interview of one of the Star Trek actors (IE show a Voyager montage followed by an interview with Kate Mulgrew) which had been filmed a few years prior to the end of Voyager (this was 2004).
Then they would pause, and have a few of the organizers come out, and auction off memorabilia. Some of it was props from various shows, but nothing cool like phasers, or communicators, but things as insignificant as a plastic bracelet worn by some extra in episode# XXX of show blah blah blah. Other items were autographed pictures. None of it was anything you couldn't find on ebay. Nothing spectacular. The auction lasted like 15 -20 minutes, then they went back to more Star Trek Montages for 15-20. Rinse,and repeat a few times. It was pretty surreal, and felt like I was at an Amway convention.
Shatner was like 15 minutes late to the convention. On stage, all he did was talk about how he liked to ride horses. Just on and on, it was horses. He mentioned he loved his new at the time wife, but nothing really specific. Nothing about Star Trek at all. Nothing about any works he had been engaged in at the time. Not even talking about his priceline commercials. I never watched Boston Legal, but I think this was before that show, because I don't remember him mentioning that.
Then they allowed the people in line for questions to ask them. No one but the people in the line were allowed to speak, and only when at the microphone and prompted by Shatner's handlers. No one was allowed to snap photos, or offer Shatner anything, either. I half expected them to say something to the effect of not making eye contact, no sudden movements, etc, too. And like I said, not all people in line got to even ask their question. It was maybe 1/4 of them.
Some of the questions were specific to Star Trek, which he was visibly annoyed by, and most answers were non answers, or he didn't remember. The ONLY Star Trek related question he was remotely engaged in was one about whether he regretted Kirk died in Generations, and he said essentially, if he could do it over again, he wouldn't have agreed to Kirk's death.
Some tried to sound sophisticated and tried to ask him horse questions, or some other stuff they thought Shatner was in to, which Shatner wasn't really impressed by. Others just sounded like babbling fools and tried to say something to compliment Shatner, of which he was polite, yet again visibly annoyed or bored by. The vast majority of the questions he was asked, Shatner either only half answered, or rambled on about something he wish he had been asked, never actually answering the question the fan had asked.
Then came the announcement by one of the handlers that time had flown, and "Mr. Shatner had a very busy schedule," so his visit had to be cut short (I think by 10 minutes...so the "hour" with Shatner was really around 35 minutes). Shatner was whisked away, almost like how the Secret Service do the President, when he is in danger. People who paid extra for the photo ops and autographs were then shuffled off to the other hall where the autographs were being held.
I can't speak to what went on with the photo op\autograph session that day, but I have spoken to other people who have done those with Shatner. One who did a photo op seems to agree with previous posters that he doesn't say anything: it's just him there, you are filed next to him, then SNAP the picture is done, and off you go. Another who had him sign an autograph, pretty much the same thing...you were lucky to get a hello, he signed the autograph, and off you went.
All and all, for me, the experience was a let down, and just unsatisfying. I guess the anticipation of the experience far outweighed the actual experience. I really wasn't expecting much. In fact, I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly didn't expect much from Shatner himself, considering he has done a ton of these conventions with having probably "met" literally hundreds of thousands of people. And I get that they had to limit exposure, because quite frankly some fans are just nut balls and you don't know what they will do. It would have been nice if Shatner had talked about Star Trek, though, and not just horses the hole time.
But the way the convention itself handled the fans was on some levels insulting. It was like their attitude was "oh great, we have all these dumb ass trekkies in a room...let's show them a bunch of star trek montages to get them pumped up, then fleece them by auctioning off a bunch of crap, or get them to buy over priced souvenirs. I am glad I went the route I did, because if i had spent more, I would have felt ripped off. The thing is about these conventions, they are there to make money. It's that simple. So things will be cold and business like.
I mean an autograph or a photo with Shatner, where he doesn't acknowledge you or is personable to you, even if for a brief 3-5 seconds, in my mind takes the specialness out of it, and said photo or autograph just could be another object you can get off ebay. And with photoshop, hell you can insert a picture of yourself with one of Shatner, if you wanted, hang it on your wall, and no one would be the wiser.
Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.
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