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How to Take Home "Garbage Bags Full of $20s"

hollywoodreporter.com

20 pointsyarapavan9 comments

And I guessed that the celebrities in panels at cons often looked so enthusiastic because they enjoyed it (the fan energy, the recognition, or whatever), it was promoting their brand, or they were playing a role.

But I didn't realize quite that much money was in play. So, for some celebrities, hundreds of thousands of dollars could also be something to be enthusiastic about.

(Obligatory Galaxy Quest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEdyNyQCjwE )

They are literally paid actors.

This clickbait title is about comic book movie actors making money at conventions.

"Fan conventions, where stars can take home hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for a few hours of time, once were the domain of has-beens and sci-fi novelties. But the business has become so lucrative — think $500,000 for Captain America‘s Chris Evans or The Walking Dead favorite Norman Reedus to appear — that current TV and film stars are popping up at events like Salt Lake City Comic-Con and Heroes and Villains Fan Fest."

2016

Do they still make this much post-COVID?

So what? Fans are happy, stars are happy, everyone's happy.

I'm not sure fans are happy per se with how much they have to pay to meet some of these celebrities. Plus even if you aren't interested in pay to have a photo with them, their appearance fees often increase the overall ticket costs to these conventions and such.

if they don't like paying that much, they can just not do it

there are a bunch of cases where the simple economic argument is more thorny (like food). "pay to meet someone famous" is one of the least thorny cases i can think of

“Happy” here is hard to quantify - it’s a market. I’ve been to many of these conventions (DragonCon and NYCC for 15+ years) and while people certainly complain about the autograph & ticket prices, the lines snake around the block. The hotels are full. People brag and post on social about every celebrity interaction. I’ve made lifelong friends at these conventions and while I don’t personally stand in line for the latest Marvel stars, many of my friends do. It feels like a healthy market for parasocial relationships in which harm and deception are minimal. You know exactly what you’re getting for $80 and a few hours in line to see whoever is playing Spider-Man this year.

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