Actors prohibited from talking about shows at convention

Richard Dreyfuss flipped me off.

Really. I almost got a picture of it. I was taking his photo Saturday at GalaxyCon Austin – a major comic convention – when I started to lower my camera. Boom, up came his middle finger. By the time I got my camera back up all I got was a picture of him smirking. It got a good laugh from the handful of people who were hanging around his booth waiting to buy his autograph.

Dreyfuss, star of such movies as “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” was one of numerous stars to appear last weekend at the convention in Austin. It was also GalaxyCon’s first convention in the region. The three-day show was very Trek heavy with stars from across the older “Star Trek” universe.

William Shatner and Walter Koenig were there, representing the original series. The majority of the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” cast was there, including Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Wil Wheaton. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” actors Armin Simerman and Terry Farrell were there, along with a smattering of others. Other notables include Andy Serkis, Charlie Cox, Giancarlo Esposito, and Ming-Na Wen.

The convention was very different than most that I’ve been to because the stars were prohibited from talking about the movies and televisions shows that made them famous. Seriously!

The SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strike meant that they could not talk about movies and television shows past, present, or future in order for them to show solidarity with their union brethren. The absurd rule was put in place by the union so conventions could still go on but the actors would not be profiting from their work in violation of the strike. Or at least that’s the way I understood it. Trust me, at $40 to $120 a pop for autographs, they still made a profit off their work.

Each actor I saw who spoke about the strike rules gave different explanations of why they were important and all of them made fun of it as they tried to talk around the names of shows and characters. The experience was both ridiculous and insightful. William Shatner whispered “Star Trek” and “Captain Kirk” but kept almost all of his talk about other experiences. Andy Serkis, a noted motion-capture actor, referenced projects by their year of release or whether or not it was part of a trilogy of films. He mostly talked about his experiences of doing motion-capture from its start and its evolution to now.

Several of the actors talked bout their personal lives, hobbies, social activism, and what it was like for them get their big break in Hollywood. You got to learn more about them personally than you would under the normal line of questioning which usually focuses on their shows.

Unsurprising to me was the revelation of their liberal sides. I was disappointed to see what a socialist Wil Wheaton is and what a hateful person he can be. I lost a lot of respect for him the longer he spoke. He was also one of the few celebrities who wore a mask over his nose and mouth.

Several of the “Star Trek” actors I have seen before. I saw Shatner earlier this year in Sugar Land and twice before that in Denver and Houston. Spiner surprised me. Two or three years ago at a convention I asked him if I could take his picture, and he said it could only be of his face and could not include the banner he was standing in front of. It was impossible to comply. When he saw the picture I took and the portions of the banner behind him that I could not crop out, he got angry.

This time he allowed me to take several photos and said he didn’t want to be in the newspaper and suggested I use the photos for my own personal use. He was very friendly and we joked around a little bit. McFadden allowed me to take one picture and insisted I turn my flash on. That was the only unusual stipulation any of the actors made.

Come to think of it, none of the celebrities I asked to photograph said no. That is an extreme rarity at conventions these days, as photos are not allowed in autograph rooms and each celebrity has the say as to whether they are photographed or not. Since they get paid to pose for pictures with people, press photographers frequently get turned down.

The accessibility of the celebrity guests, the abundance of guests, the large vendors room, and the numerous panel discussions to participate in made GalaxyCon Austin very fan friendly and a pleasant experience. Visitors were friendly and courteous and several wore remarkable costumes.

It was well worth the time and expense to make the trip to Austin. I got to see several actors I had never seen before as well as get reacquainted with some I’ve seen several times. And if nothing else, I can now boast about the time Richard Dreyfuss gave me a close encounter of the bird kind.

Andy Serkis

Jonathan Frakes

Richard Dreyfuss

William Shatner