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Shatner cancels Chicago appearance...

T'Cal

T'Cal

Commodore
Commodore
...due to low interest. He was supposed to be at a viewing of ST:II & III at a theatre in Chicago. Here is his press release, which you can read in its entirety at www.startrekchicago.com:


CAPTAIN KIRK IS OUT, CAPTAIN PIKE IS IN
Star Trek Chicago Film Expo Goes On​



CHICAGO, IL (August 30, 2009) – “The plan was that William Shatner would fly from Dragon Con in Atlanta to The Expo in Chicago for the September 5th appearance on Saturday night at The Portage Theater,” said Prestige Entertainment CEO Daniel Bruening. However, slow ticket sales has caused the cancellation of Mr. Shatner’s appearance. “We’ve only sold 46 tickets, we needed to sell 1000 to pay his fee,” stated Bruening. The Expo will go on both Friday and Saturday, the 4th and 5th of this week. Appearing in Shatner’s place will be Sean Kenney, the actor that played Captain Pike in the TV series episode called, “The Menagerie.” This is not to be confused with the Captain Pike from the original Pilot. Mr. Kenney was the replacement for the original Captain Pike. Kenney will be signing autographs both Friday and Saturday night before the 8pm showings of, “The Wrath of Khan” and “The Search for Spock." He will also do a brief Q & A session in the auditorium before each film begins. There is no extra charge to see Kenney, as there was for William Shatner.​
 
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If he likes, he can come and watch Star Trek 2 and 3 at my house instead. I'm pretty sure I can sell more than 46 tickets once word got out.
 
Film prints of Star Trek II and III? I would so be there, if I wasn't a thousand miles away. A shame. And I'm surprised by the low interest.
 
NIUPonyBoy said:
Very poor marketing. I don't blame the Shat.
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Yeah, as you know, I live in Chicago, and this is the first time I've heard of the event.

Heck, i'm pretty that just getting a couple people to spread the word on Facebook or Twitter would have gotten 1000 people, easy.
 
SFRabid said:
I wonder how much the extra charge was? That may have been the factor.
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Shatner has always charged much more than others for appearances. Interesting that no one blames him for the lack of interest. I would not pay money to see him again.
 
If they had sold five hundred, maybe, but forty-five tickets indicates to me that it's more a lack of marketing on their part than anything to do with Shatner.
 
Yes, there is no way this is anything but a marketing screw-up. It's possible that even with adequate marketing, they still might have problems getting 1,000 people. That would surprise me a little, but it's not impossible. I wouldn't pay to see him but that's because I am cheap and therefore extremely reluctant to pay to see anybody. But plenty of people would.

But only 46 tickets? No way. Either somebody is fibbing, somebody (or several somebodies, more likely) screwed up, or both.
 
There are 9.5 million people in the greater Chicago area, the marketeers should be ashamed of their career choices.
 
Only 46 tickets in the greater Chicago area? I could do better than that by myself while incarcerated.
 
I live near Chicago, stationed in it and this is the first time I've heard of it and I so would have gone.

It's too late for me to reorganize my schedule and yes I would have seen the Shat.
 
Had I known I would be #47, I would've bought advanced tickets! Living so close to this theatre, I'm so tempted to go but STXI was just rereleased for IMAX nearby so I'm torn.
 
Piper said:
If he likes, he can come and watch Star Trek 2 and 3 at my house instead. I'm pretty sure I can sell more than 46 tickets once word got out.
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Love it, Piper! :techman: And put me down for two tickets!

And it's not surprising nobody's going to see him. He's famous for charging outrageous fees for appearances and being one of the first actors to CHARGE for their autograph.

He might have cheated us when we were kids, but not anymore. Sorry, Bill.
 
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