A celebrity’s signature was once something you only got from a chance encounter or sending a fan letter. Now it comes for a price.
Actors with even a modest amount of fame (preferably in a genre movie or TV series) make tidy salaries for signing autographs and taking photos with fans. Big names such as Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Marvel guru Stan Lee can rake in nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Even the guy who once played Boba Fett can pull down five figures in a couple days.
This burgeoning economy built around appearance fees coincides with the growth and mainstreaming of the comic-book conference industry.
Gotham’s premier show, the New York Comic Con, started back in 2006 with around 30,000 attendees. This year’s edition, which kicks off Thursday for a four-day run at the Javits Center, is expected to draw 180,000.
“There’s a passionate fan base that we found,” says Lance Fensterman, senior global vice president at ReedPop, the company behind NYCC. “If you give them what they crave and treat them well, they’ll reward you by coming out in big numbers.”
Tickets are $40 for Thursday and $50 for the other days. (Though you’d better have the power of invisibility to get in Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Those days are sold out.)
“Back in the day when [the con culture] first started, some of the original ‘Star Trek’ cast members were invited to fan meet-ups, and they would drive out and meet fans, and they didn’t charge,” says Galactic Productions’ Zachery McGinnis, a con-booking agent who says he gets calls every day from talent looking to get on board the con train. “Someone saw that and realized there was an opportunity, and this industry evolved.”
The humble days of the “Trek” cast meeting Trekkies for free are long gone. William Shatner, for example, now commands $80,000 an appearance, industry insiders say.
“I’ve been in comic con business 10 years and I’ve seen the landscape changing,” says John Cimino, a collectibles dealer and talent agent for cons. “The venues are bigger and they’re more celebrity-driven than anything else. All the big companies are trying to outdo the other by bringing more and more celebrities. The bigger the celebrities, the bigger the take at the door.”
‘I’ve been in comic con business 10 years and I’ve seen the landscape changing … They’re more celebrity-driven than anything else.’
- John Cimino, a collectibles dealer and talent agent
These A-list names come with a price, however. They’re often guaranteed a hefty hunk of change to show up, which they earn by signing autographs and snapping selfies for a fee. (If those revenues fall short of their guarantee, the promoter will make up the difference.)
“They’re cleaning up,” says one con organizer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of hurting his business. “You could buy a house for these prices.”
Prices are set by the talent’s agents and managers. “Someone that has a long career may have more value than someone who has one movie out,” says Joe Lamothe, president of Celebrity Authentics, a company that books autograph sessions at cons.
At the top of the heap, as with the box office, sit the Avengers. The franchise’s spandex-clad actors are not only among the biggest draws for fans, they’re among the most expensive gets. According to con sources, Chris Evans (Captain America) can command a $350,000 guarantee for a weekend. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) can get just below that, while Anthony Mackie, who plays Falcon, nabs around $70,000.
Perhaps the biggest coup would be Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), who so far has not done meet-and-greets at cons. He is rumored to ask $1.5 million, according to an insider. It’s unlikely anyone will meet that price, which is probably just what the actor is counting on.
Lee, the 93-year-old Marvel Comics figurehead, is worth some $200,000 for a weekend. (He’ll be at NYCC signing and taking photos for $100 a pop.)
“He goes up $50,000 every year he gets closer to retirement,” one source says.
DC heroes also have clout. Red-hot Gadot, the breakout star of “Batman v. Superman,” can command around $250,000 for a single day.
At this weekend’s New York Con, you can take a photo with Carrie Fisher for $90, or Matt Smith from “Doctor Who” for $105. Jack Gleeson, who played Joffrey Baratheon on “Game of Thrones,” will sign something for $60, while Nichelle Nichols of “Star Trek” charges $50. Two former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will pose with you for $90.
Those fees pale in comparison to Sylvester Stallone, who in 2013 was asking an eye-watering $395 for a signature and $445 for a photo op.
“Fans do complain about pricing,” admits Lamothe, adding that it’s only fair for the talent to be paid for their time.
It should be noted that many stars appearing at cons are doing so as part of their promotional duties for their latest project and are not being paid by the con organizers. Keanu Reeves, for example, will show up at the New York Comic Con to plug his upcoming “John Wick: Chapter 2.” He won’t be signing autographs or taking photos with fans. Margot Robbie has signed autographs for promotion, but has yet to do paid appearances; if she did, her fee would be “in the Garbo range,” one agent said.
The NYCC offered “minimal” paid autographing its first year. Those opportunities have expanded in subsequent years. Fensterman says he tries to program the show with a diverse mix of talent, and that only about 2 percent of the guests are so-called pay-to-play types — far less than some other large shows around the country, which are built around celebrity hand-shaking.
Some in Hollywood are apparently uneasy with stars freelancing in this new way.
“AMC has had conflict with ‘The Walking Dead’ actors,” Lamothe says. “They like the appearances to be approved. Some actors comply, some don’t. That’s true also for ‘Gotham.’”
Stephen Amell, star of TV’s “Arrow,” is a big draw on the convention scene, and is evidently so taken with the earning potential that he recently founded his own con-focused talent agency, WFA Entertainment. The move has created friction with agents who would prefer to continue collecting a percentage of his fee, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
‘A lot of what you might call A-listers would kind of look down at the comic con industry … until they realized how much money could be made.’
- one industry insider
For whatever reason they show up, there’s no denying the draw of celebrities. Steve Perry, founder of the upcoming Rhode Island Comic Con, says that 70 to 80 percent of his ticket buyers come just to meet big names, such as Kate Beckinsale and Alice Cooper. With each new guest announced, ticket sales jump.
The newfound respectability of cons has a lot to do with the popularity of superhero movies.
“Eric Bana from [2003’s] ’Hulk’ was the first signing I did that Hollywood took seriously,” Lamothe says. “He was so well respected in Hollywood. If I say we did a signing with William Shatner, [other agents] will just hang up on me.”
Hemsworth’s appearance at the 2011 Chicago C2E2, off the back of “Thor,” was also a watershed moment.
“I’ve talked to talent and they’ve said, ‘If Chris is doing it, I’ll do it,’ ” Lamothe says.
“A lot of what you might call A-listers would kind of look down at the comic con industry because a lot of the celebrities that appear are cult-classic icons,” says one industry insider, who declined to be named for fear of backlash. “They looked down upon it — until they realized how much money could be made.”
“The stigma has gone away and it’s a thing that [celebrities] now want to do,” Perry says. His con has grown from 15,000 to 75,000 attendees in four years.
The stars are well-compensated, but the work can still be taxing.
Last year, one overzealous walker-wannabe bit “The Walking Dead” star Norman Reedus on the chest during a New Jersey con appearance. “I lost my mind,” the woman admitted on Instagram.
Other times, the toll is psychological.
“I was with Rose McGowan at a con, and a girl came up to her crying,” Lamothe recalls. “The girl said, ‘Thank you for answering my social media post. I was going to kill myself that day, but your kind words saved me.’”
These big names certainly draw more attention to the cons and bring more bodies through the door. But Hollywood may be pushing out those who were there first: the comic book creators and fans.
“In the next two or three years, I think some cons will erase artist alley [where comic book artists are positioned] altogether and replace it with actors alley,” says Joe St. Pierre, a former Marvel and DC artist who’s exhibited at NYCC.
Some complain that the celebrities are also sucking up all the cash from other vendors.
“I had one customer come to my booth and he said, ‘Carrie Fisher didn’t show up [to sign autographs] so I have money,’ ” says one con dealer.
The vendors resent the cons going Hollywood (one actor literally demanded a bowl of all-yellow M&Ms in his contract, Van Halen-style), but a show focused solely on comic books might be a thing of the past — at least in New York City. Smaller regional cons like Connecticut’s TerrifCon could fill the void.
Fensterman says the economics of doing small-scale events are “difficult.”
So for now, make sure your Batman suit has pockets sewn in. You’re going to need a place to carry your $100s.
Here’s what you can expect to pay across the country for a celeb to autograph a book, photo or (not recommended) some forbidden part of your body. Typical fees run from $20 to $100.
