puppetmaker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
puppetmaker) wrote2007-10-15 08:30 am
puppetmaker) wrote2007-10-15 08:30 am
Just Compounding the Issue
United Fan Con has decided that Peter is not a worthy guest for their convention so he was dropped after they advertised his appearance for almost six months. This is the second time that has happened this year. I think that their explanation is what sticks in my craw more than anything else.
From the United Fan Con Website (which I am not going to link to)
Running a convention is a very difficult and complicated job. Often things that are planned are canceled or changed due to work commitments by guests or the lack of support, staffing or funding for that activity. For the last few years we tried to add comic book tracks and guests to our event. Unfortunately, we have not been able to organize a reasonable guest lineup or track for this year’s event. So, it was with great regret that a decision was made to cancel comic book writer Peter David. Mr. David was personally contacted and made aware that, under the current convention plans, budget and staffing, his appearance was not going to generate the interest needed to cover the expense. We are sorry that some of you will be disappointed by the decision, but sometimes hard decisions have to be made for the best interest of the event.
Comic Book writer Peter David who also wrote for Babylon 5 and Crusades? Who has a number of movies under his belt? Who created a series with another one of your guests, Bill Mumy, for Nickelodeon called "Space Cases"? New York Times best-selling author? The guy who has gotten you in touch with some of the guests you have brought to your convention because you asked him for some help? That Peter David? Won't generate the interest? You mean won't charge for his autograph which you get a cut of don't you?
My bet is that you have a couple of guests on your roster that aren't going to generate the interest which will allow you to recover your expense but you have signed contracts with their agents so cutting them would cost you money since there is a kill fee. Peter took a handshake agreement with you since we had done the convention for the past two years which just goes to raise the veil upon the character of the people running the convention which right now is not too high in my book.
I am grateful that we were able to cancel our car reservation for that weekend without incurring an expence.
From the United Fan Con Website (which I am not going to link to)
Running a convention is a very difficult and complicated job. Often things that are planned are canceled or changed due to work commitments by guests or the lack of support, staffing or funding for that activity. For the last few years we tried to add comic book tracks and guests to our event. Unfortunately, we have not been able to organize a reasonable guest lineup or track for this year’s event. So, it was with great regret that a decision was made to cancel comic book writer Peter David. Mr. David was personally contacted and made aware that, under the current convention plans, budget and staffing, his appearance was not going to generate the interest needed to cover the expense. We are sorry that some of you will be disappointed by the decision, but sometimes hard decisions have to be made for the best interest of the event.
Comic Book writer Peter David who also wrote for Babylon 5 and Crusades? Who has a number of movies under his belt? Who created a series with another one of your guests, Bill Mumy, for Nickelodeon called "Space Cases"? New York Times best-selling author? The guy who has gotten you in touch with some of the guests you have brought to your convention because you asked him for some help? That Peter David? Won't generate the interest? You mean won't charge for his autograph which you get a cut of don't you?
My bet is that you have a couple of guests on your roster that aren't going to generate the interest which will allow you to recover your expense but you have signed contracts with their agents so cutting them would cost you money since there is a kill fee. Peter took a handshake agreement with you since we had done the convention for the past two years which just goes to raise the veil upon the character of the people running the convention which right now is not too high in my book.
I am grateful that we were able to cancel our car reservation for that weekend without incurring an expence.
no subject
Though judging from the comments (and the site itself) the thing seems to be on the verge of a meltdown anyway. Though I wonder if they're going to blame Peter for a "smear campaign" when the thing comes crashing down under its own weight.
They seem to operating under the utterly false impression that people go to conventions for The Big Big Stars. How utterly wrongheaded. People go to conventions, year after year, to hang out with their like kind and celebrate their various fandoms. DragonCon has probably managed to get as massive as it has precisely because it gets that, and has Medium Stars and Smaller Stars along with the Big Big Stars, and has tracks of programming for fans to just go crazy with.
Conventions aren't about just Meet The Famous Peoples, and the fact that they assumed Peter was disposable shows that these people have no clue how to run a convention. I give them two more years, tops, if they don't come to their senses and realize this.
no subject
This show has almost died more than once and managed to resurrect itself usually with a slightly different name.