Monday Afternoon QB'ing Musings: Cons, Meet & Greets and Money Wars

Are any of you starting to feel a bit of pocketbook pain from the rapidly increasing costs associated with attending your favorite fan convention these days?  

Take for instance, one of the top dogs on the convention circuit, Creation Entertainment, which sponsors most of the Supernatural gatherings.  In April 2019, for the Chicago con alone, the Copper weekend admission package will cost $429 (and that's early bird pricing subject to increase at any time!).   Of course the Silver and Gold packages will be even higher. And this doesn't even include photo ops or other scheduled events.  Want a tour of Chicago while you're in town with Rob Benedict as tour guide? That'll set you back another $349.  

By comparison, back in the year 2015 at the Supernatural San Francisco convention, I paid $509 for a Silver Package (which included an autograph from Jared and Jensen), plus $249 for a J2 Sandwich photo op (both Jared and Jensen).  Now, at the Chicago 2019 convention, what price is being charged?  How does $429 for a duo photo op sound?  "Due to time constraints", Jared and Jensen will only be signing autographs for the Gold and Silver package holders".  So, the price for the Gold package?  $1,025.00  The Silver?  A paltry $629.  Again, Creation tells everyone these are "early bird" prices and subject to scalping, I mean increases.

More like,

Isn't it?  LOL!  Geez, I think I would have to dip into my 401K to be able to even attend a Supernatural convention these days.  And with the stock market plunges that have been happening, no thanks, I need something to retire on, fellas!

Interestingly enough, Creation tells everyone that there will be fewer conventions in 2019 than in the past, so "you do not want to miss out!"  Hmmmmm, wonder why???  *wink*

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With our OTP half Jake Gyllenhaal FINALLY confirmed for the role of Mysterio in Spiderman:  Far From Home, 

the prospect of Jakers needing to appear at Comic Cons and Wizard Worlds looms ahead as likely pretty necessary.  So, perhaps Jake might be testing the waters with this little trial run to see how these arranged fan encounters work:

9/ Are you a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and the theater? How about 2 tickets and backstage passes to meet Gyllenhaal in the production of Sea Wall/A Life starring him and Tom Sturridge at the Public Theater in NYC? https://t.co/F376i1BzSG

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 9, 2018

Woohoo!  Here's your chance to meet Mr. Jake while he is in New York City next winter.  Let's see what one gets with a winning bid.

YOU ARE BIDDING ON:

Two Tickets and Meet & Greet with Jake Gyllenhaal in Sea Wall/A Life

Two tickets to meet Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal in the production of Sea Wall/A Life (January 26-March 24, 2019) starring him and Tom Sturridge at the Public Theater in NYC.

Experience to be scheduled on a mutually agreed upon date between January 26, 2019 - March 24, 2019 based on production availability; flexibility in scheduling is advised. Exact seat location may not be determined until the day of the event. Brief meet and greet for the 2 ticket holders only. Background check required for winner and guest within 24 hours of purchase. Travel and accommodations are not included. This item may not be resold or re-auctioned in any circumstance.

A background check may be required for the winner and guest. If the winner fails the background check, he/she will forfeit the prize. Please bid accordingly. This package does not include any items/services that are not detailed in the above description. Any travel, meals or accommodations are the sole responsibility of the winner. This package must be for use by the winner only unless given as a gift. If given as a gift, the recipient's name must be provided immediately following the auction. Otherwise, this is not transferable by the winner and may not be sold, otherwise transferred or used for any other purpose, including promotional, commercial, advertising, or other trade purposes. Respect for talent and their staff will be expected at all times. Inappropriate behavior by the winner could result in the immediate conclusion of the experience with no refund.

Hmmm.  Okay, so you won't have any idea of where you're sitting until possibly when you pick up your ticket. And a mutually agreed upon date, but basically the fan will need to concede on this point.

And....a background check.  Wait, a what?

via Gfycat

Note in the tiny writing in the last paragraph, the background check is listed as "may be".  But up in the big writing, it's downright going to be required.  So, if you're thinking of bidding on this opportunity to meet Jake, better pay up those credit card bills, renew the green card, and don't eat any poppyseed muffins in case a drug test is required!

I don't know why, but I suddenly have the urge to sing "The Way We Were".  ♪ Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line, And if we had the chance to do it all again...♫♪

By the way, bidding right now is at $2,125.00 for this "opportunity".  Guess that leaves M&M and me out, as the business expense kitty for Narnia Dispatches is presently in the red right now.  LOL!!!

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And then there's these doggone One Tree Hill conventions, of which I have now attended one as a paying guest (along with Florida Tom!) and been able to see actor Austin Nichols.  I wrote about the experience in a two-part March 2018 post called Austin Nichols Makes a Return Visit to an Old Dearheart - One Tree Hill's Wilmington NC.    Eyecon was the event show runner and while it had its delay issues, once Sunday arrived and we had a chance to meet Austin, the experience was a positive one.  

It was barely a month later, however, before a loud ruckus was raised on Twitter involving Hilarie Burton, Sophia Burton and Eyecon.  I watched the battle evolve on social media, gain steam, and then leap off the high dive platform of national media, noted in our April 8 post, Sunday Evening Almost Monday Morning Musings - Nibbles 'n Bits.  The whole heated snark fest began with an obvious black-eye pelting of the convention show runner, Eyecon and ended with someone coming up with an "alternative" event.  

Things quieted down, or so it seemed, until this past week when a tweet caught my eye and what did the tweet lead me to, but yet another Hilarie Burton rant and verbal lashing out against Eyecon.  

Lee Norris had issued this professional statement through a podcast twitter account:

Message from Lee: Sadly I'm no longer able to attend Eyecon's March convention due to a last-minute change they made to their contract proposal. My statement below. I'm still looking forward to the @FWBevents Charity Event in February! pic.twitter.com/HD92Gaz6OI

— Married w/Television (@marriedTVpod) November 10, 2018

Then, it looks like "Hil" recruited her "husband" JDM to contribute.  This one made me chuckle, I have to say because the credibility is already shot by the "honest as they come" statement.

"as honest as they come."   Really, Jeffrey?  Are you sure about that one?

Certainly, Lee's tweet was well-written and without explicit disparagement, but Hilarie's above had to fire off a Sophia Bush-like "Don't F with" index-finger-point-to-the-chest jab warning shot.  

When you see accounts just created in March 2018, with tweets devoted to the Hatfields/McCoys mudslinging, you begin to see that this story is not going to have any kind of happy ending. 

So now Lee is a liar along w/ Sophia, hilarie and jana. Uh huh sure kenny...... Narcissism at its finest right here folks pic.twitter.com/oIVlbtqjrh

— Megan Carey (@megancarey2369) November 10, 2018

Cuz they r threatened by any "competition." They know fwb is better than them

— Megan Carey (@megancarey2369) November 11, 2018

 

Waiting for the day Chad and James stop doing ey*con conventions😪

— emily♡ (@chadxdanneel) November 10, 2018

 

Lol now Eyecon cancelled their tours they were going to do the weekend of FWB. This is YOUR fault Eyecon. Not Lee’s, not FWB’s, not Sophia’s, not Hilarie’s, YOURS. If you want to point fingers I suggest you look in the mirror. This is all YOUR doing. All. of. it.

— Allison (@AllisonSMalone) November 10, 2018

 

Nope, no happy ending for anyone.  It's only going to intensify and there will be loyalty pullings towards the actors, peer pressure applied, intimidating fan twitter accounts created and lotsa cursin'.  A live look at one of the sides right now,

Without any of us being privy to the contract signing dinner, private email chains, texts and whatnot, who's to say what is being exaggerated, conveniently omitted, embellished, and/or straight-out lied about.

Now no one is suggesting that EyeCon is perfect.  And no one is saying the record books have been seen and behind-the-curtain activities witnessed.  But, after looking at the conflict of interest which has occurred already involving Hilarie Burton and One Tree Hill conventions, and witnessing how her "husband" Jeffrey Dean Morgan swears that Sophia Bush is as "honest" as they come, when we here at Narnia can state this is Laffy Taffy stretching of the truth, it's hard not to question what is really going on. After all, Sophia Bush served as a professional beard for Austin for years, and there was allll kinds of deception and outright lying going on throughout the public pairing, lying that actually began before the start of  One Tree Hill's Season 6 and pictures of her with Jake Gyllenhaal and Austin Nichols at the beach in 2006.  Therefore we're pretty sure it might not be the wisest idea to go there, Mr. Morgan.  *wink*  As they say, consider the source when evaluating the veracity of someone's assurances.

Ahem.  *mud slinging alert*!

Narnia will most definitely continue to watch this story as it develops because there is lots of money at stake here for the Hatfields & McCoys.  When 'Hil" and Sophia's Meet and Greets cost $350 each and another $500 to "Paint with Hilarie" [while Lee Norris's photo op only costs $40], well - you can see why both sides of this femme female collaboration are wanting a piece of this potentially very lucrative pie.

Make no mistake about it - money is made at these fan conventions.  So we'll see which One Tree Hill actor receives the next "Red Rover, Red Rover" call-out to cross on over to the other side.

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This was a sad and sincere sounding tweet from Liam's account  on Saturday the 10th,

My heart goes out to everyone caught in the fires please stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks. I think I’m about to lose my house and its memories 😔even worse tragically people have died thoughts and prayers with everyone it’s been a tough day let’s hope it gets better 🙏🏼

— Liam (@LiamPayne) November 10, 2018

 

The only eyebrow raiser occurred however, when his story instantly appeared on several gossip site twitter accounts as well.  Mere hours later,

Liam Payne is giving fans a personal update on how the #WoolseyFire is affecting him. https://t.co/WcAmuf7f5X

— Just Jared Jr. (@justjaredjr) November 10, 2018

Liam Payne 'praying' as he reveals he's about to lose his home in firehttps://t.co/xf1gCGW6AF pic.twitter.com/LxLI5kKrO3

— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) November 10, 2018

When you find out that this home was supposed to be the "home" that he shared with the beard, coupled with the way the story was picked up by other news sites, could the placement of "Liam's home" have been more about the cementing of his faux relationship with Cheryl Tweedy/Cole/Fernandez-Versini?  

Location wise, you really couldn’t ask for more. The house is situated in the stunning Calabasas region, just minutes from Malibu’s beaches, and your neighbours will include Miley Cyrus, Drake and the Kardashians – could it get any more showbiz? - Liam Payne's House That He Shared With Cheryl Is Up For Sale

Aaaah yes....that story is littered with faux relaysh insinuations.  As we have seen already with Austin Nichols and Louis Tomlinson, Management teams are not below taking advantage of tragedies and deaths in the family to sell narratives, particularly when it comes to the closet.  Which brings us to our final Nibbles 'n Bit.

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Narnia Blind Item:

A recent story came out following a sporting event involving a rising star player and extended family member.  This rising star is on the cusp (if not there already) of national greatness and it has happened in an astonishingly short period of time.  He is humble, engaging, and appealing.  He also has a girlfriend, one who appeared to play her hand with the subtlety of a Mack Truck.  By merely studying the star athlete's Instagram, not too much looks afoot.  If you study his career and community activities, everything looks tremendously admirable and promising.

One look at the beard's Instagram page however, and the photo shopping, repeated state of scantily clad activities, dearding pictures, and frequent showing of her long-term relationship with said athlete begin to hint towards her role as more of a long-term beard rather than girlfriend.  

The "girlfriend's" OTT social media postings were eyebrow raising and she, family members, and the athlete's agent should remember the region where the athlete plays.  Low-key goes over best.  Low-key doesn't draw attention, nor eyebrows.  

Of course, Narnia reckons this depends on income-driven aspirations (i.e., endorsements) further down the road.  

Then again, it might be worth pausing to take a look at where this similar-looking road took Eric Hosmer last season, when his high powered agent appeared to think he knew what was best for him and his career.  Headlines such as this was the result:

"Eric Hosmer’s first Padres season is a bad mix of more groundballs and more strikeouts"- theathletic.com

pic sources:  Popular Science, idealhome.co.uk, giphy, whsv tv,
                     gfycat
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