Horror con, horror con… We’re going to a horror con…
How many of you have ever been to a horror convention? These festivities are a great way to meet your favorite actors and actresses, shake hands with an icon of fright, and even make some friendships within the community. I’ve been to five different conventions since I started working at HorrorSociety and I can’t look back and remember one that wasn’t a fantastic time. Personally, I go to them as a way to rub shoulders with other people in the industry and check out cool merchandise before it gets a wide release. When it comes to meeting celebrities, I’ll go up to just about anyone and at least introduce myself, but it’s rare that you’ll actually see me spend money on an autograph. Short of them being a “Bitten,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” or “Walking Dead” star or leading performer/director from titles like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, or Halloween – I don’t see myself spending my hard earned money on an autographed DVD from someone I’m not completely gaga about.
I think event managers at horror conventions try their hardest to offer a wide variety of guests at each convention. Looking at last month’s Monster-Mania in New Jersey, they were specifically advertising cast-members from “The Adventures of Batman,” Austin Powers, “Bates Motel,” “Hannibal,” Insidious, Return of the Living Dead, They Live, “True Blood,” “The Walking Dead,” “WWE” Superstars, and many more as guests. As with any other horror convention in America, it also housed dozens of vendors who were selling t-shirts, VHS copies of movies, toys, paintings, jewelry, literature, music – literally anything you could think of. However, Monster-Mania is one of the few horror conventions in America that does not bill background extras as recognizable, pay to meet talent…
Several months ago a very well known scream queen dropped out of a horror convention because she was dissatisfied with the other talents being advertised alongside her. To be fair, the convention had a lot of background extras and minor behind-the-scenes jobbers on the line up next to people from “Baywatch,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Friday the 13th, Star Wars, and “The Walking Dead.” It was a bit confusing, but it was still a convention I would have gone to none the less. Still, that whole debacle really kickstarted a debate amongst horror fans: what deems a man or a woman, actor or actress, as a reputable and coveted celebrity guest? Since when did being a background extra in a single episode of “The Walking Dead” make you a star?
Now, the point of this article is not to point fingers at background extras or people who aren’t recognized in the mainstream presses. Lord knows I’ve been a background extra on two big network television shows, three movies, and one web-series. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it lets you enjoy the feeling of being on a real set. I’m never going to knock someone for doing what they love to do and helping behind-the-scenes, because every production needs background extras to make certain scenes more believable. How realistic would a diner look with no other customers? How realistic would NYC look after the apocalypse with no zombies?. My biggest gripe is with event managers who are advertising nobodies like they’re stars.
The lines aren’t always so black and white, either. I’ve mentioned “The Walking Dead” several times already so let me use it as an example. The AMC show is obviously vastly popular and one of the highest rated shows on television. It’s a beast. During season three (technically the season two finale) viewers were introduced to Michonne’s pet walkers, Mike and Terry – two male walkers whose jaws and hands were cut off to prevent attack. They appeared as background extras in five episodes. Despite being featured extras in less than ten episodes and never having any lines, I would 100% consider them actual characters despite their qualifying characteristics. They’re memorable, they’re recurring, and they served a purpose. Hell, even think way back to the first time you watched John Carpenter’s Halloween. At first, Michael Myers was credited as The Shape, and he was basically just a featured extra until 2/3 of the movie was over. Does that make him unimportant? No! Again, the lines are not always clear as day as to what makes someone a CHARACTER and an EXTRA.
My problem is with, literally, someone who stood in the background of a major production, is visible for 5 seconds, and is given a spot at a horror convention. Let me first get out of the way that everyone is entitled to making a living and should be proud of something they accomplished. Yadda yadda yadda. Being nothing but an extra in a movie and given a table at a horror convention is problematic for two reasons: First, that extra is taking up a spot that could have been used for someone much more important. I don’t pretend to know how a convention works because I’ve never run one myself, but I’d assume that you book things much like you would renting a hotel room or car. First come, first serve. If they rented a spot in the guest hall out to an extra, I don’t think they can cancel on them in hopes of bringing in a bigger named talent. So, how many cool guests have we – the horror fans – missed out on because conventions are cluttered with background talent? How many scream queens and horror celebrities like the above mentioned one have dropped out of conventions for a similar reason?
Secondly, my problem with booking background extras at horror conventions is that it does nothing but boost delusional peoples’ egos. “Come see me, [Insert Name], at this year’s big horror convention in Connecticut! I was the classmate two rows behind Laurie Strode in the classroom scene in Halloween!” As with any other community and workplace environment, there are always crazy people. I think I can sometimes be roped into that category as well! You don’t want to feed the egos of these people because then they think they’re better than you and somehow on the same level as people such as Liv Tyler, Brad Pitt, and Robert Englund. “Here’s a picture of my table and I’m right across from Robert Englund! I’ve made it to the big time now!” It just looks messy, and it’s kind of sad for the background talent to pretend to be somebody who’s reached a certain level of success higher than they really have. Convention promoters should take note of how desperate unrecognizable talent appear when booking tables and plan accordingly. Plus, doesn’t it just waste the extra’s time? Why would anyone pay to meet an unnamed camper from Sleepaway Camp when they could pay to meet Felissa Rose? Hello, reality is knocking at the door.
To conclude, I want to restate that my problem is not with background talent because I’ve been one in a few titles, too. The problem lies with convention promoters promoting them as guests. All of us are working hard just to get by in life and for some of us its only pocket change coming out of every paycheck in hopes of saving up to attend a great horror convention. The least you can do as a reputable venue is book us guests deserving of our time and money. Not only that, but you can boost the caliber of your event as well by cutting down on the amount of unrecognizable talent. Because no one wants to go to a horror convention to meet a couple of extras when another event next month has a Hellraiser cast reunion! This concludes my rant, but while you’re at it: read this article about the pricing crisis at horror conventions. Seems to me like the whole thing may need a little revamp!
While I am in total agreement with you I have to say I doubt we’ve missed out on big names because a show booked an extra from TWD. Conventions have a budget to work with and the bigger the star the bigger the money to get them there. Many of those extras are actually buying their table just as a vendor would do. So if they weren’t there it wouldn’t get filled with Robert Englund or Norman Reedus, it would get filled with the next vendor who wanted a spot. Sometimes if the extra is a bit more known a con might comp them a table but thats about it. I doubt seriously any of the big conventions are paying the background extras to be there.
Now small conventions they might be, because again they have a budget to work with and it doesn’t allow for bringing in top names. My state (Virginia) only has one decent size horror con (Scares That Care July 24, a great show) but recently we’ve seen an influx of small shows. They’re held in best westerns, bars, pool halls and malls and the guest list if you’re lucky has one decent name on it and a bunch of extras, background actors, and wannabee filmmakers. I went to one last year and when I walked in all the guests looked at my hungrily. It was one room and I think I was the only person who wasn’t either connected or friends with someone connected to the show. I was their one chance at making a few bucks. Sorry to say I disappointed them. These small shows are where the extras belong, at least theres a reason there and you kind of expect it. And if a show does well and grows then they can up the caliber of their guests as well.
Maybe horror cons could do like the comic cons do with their “artist alley” those are people who are either trying to break in or revive a career, Their prices are usually well under what a regular guest costs and sometimes among all the hopefuls you find a talent and you can get something cheap before they make it big. We could call it “death row”