10- Anytime I saw Tom Hardy Quite literally 6 months ago I did not know the name Tom Hardy. With a role in Inception firmly on his resume now, and a 3 month pit stop in Vancouver to film This Means War with Chris Pine, its hard not to know the man who has already been penned in to a role in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises now. What makes Hardy so memorable is, he truly likes everyone. He doesnt let Hollywood politics decide who he will & wont be nice to. Some of the people Tom was friendliest with while here were autograph hounds & paps. Always said hi, chatted with us & didnt at all seem phased by the cameras being focused on his work while he was on set. Everytime I saw him, he made the meeting memorable. Whether it was chatting for 20 minutes about filming stunts on other films, or play sparring with a pap while in fight make up just after a scene, Hardy was always an adventure to meet. Even with the miserable Reese Witherspoon trying her hardest to make people hate the film, Hardy and his free caring personality likely won over far more people than Witherspoon alienated. 9- Getting Stargate Universe cast going to & coming back from Gemini Awards. The entire cast (minus 1 or 2) of Stargate Universe went to Toronto for the Gemini Awards & a couple promotional events. Knowing now that the show was going to be prematurely cancelled, I am glad I took this 1 last chance to meet them. Almost every single member (Alaina Huffman being the 1 exception, as her husband frowned with disapproval) was happy to stop, sign & take photos with all that were out there. Robert Carlyle & Louis Ferreira chatted with us before departing, as did the likes of Julia Benson, David Blue, Ming Na & Brian Jacob Smith. Upon their return, the group was just as excited. Patrick Gilmore regaled us in how the weekend unfolded. Telling us about stories with cast members in the hotel playing human bowling. Elyse Levesque talked about the show & that her group "Coupla Hot Chicks...Maybe Three" would soon be working on a new video. Julia Benson chatted at length about Canadian television & many of the challenges of it. Each cast member seemed genuinely happy to see us. It is a rare thing for us to have an entire cast be so great. I am truly disappointed this show was unjustly cancelled so soon. 8- Roger Waters in Vancouver One of the largest living music icons came to Vancouver this year. Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd fame was here for a show. Waters just the day before coming to Vancouver made a very public statement on his facebook page telling anyone who would listen, that he would no longer be signing anything but albums, and would only personalize, in an effort to prevent reselling. With little to no notice, the hounds of Vancouver were ready for this still. Armed with albums, CDs & official tour merchandise, the man who just 2 days earlier told the world he didnt want to sign for professionals, willingly did it every time he was seen. In fact, his only issue was whether the item was something official or not. If it was an album, CD or item from the tour, he would sign it without hesitation. Items that he may not have received any payment for however, he did abide to his newly enforced rule. Even on his 3rd time stopping, with many of the same faces coming up, neither his handler or him griped about it, he did it with a smile on his face & thanked most people for coming...even though he had to know that most of them were still professionals. Funny story, I had the chance to go for him in Toronto, and didnt. I admit, it was one of the less smart things I have done in my hounding career...certainly near the top of the list for this year. 7- The 2010 Leo Awards. Sure, its not the Academy Awards, but in Vancouver, there is probably no larger annual awards event than this. The Leo Awards celebrate TV & Movies in British Columbia, and it actually gets a reasonable list of talent at it. With stars like Twilight castmates Chris Heyerdahl & Jodelle Ferland, former Smallville star Kristin Kreuk and Sci-fi stars Amanda Tapping, Lou Diamond Phillips, David Blue & others there, it gives local hounds a chance to see a lot of the local actors that you dont always get to see because of their shows being primaraily done in studio. This year, I did far better than my last endeavour to these awards...mostly, because I was more prepared. Getting lots of autographs from the cast of Sanctuary, Stargate Universe, as well as Jodelle Ferland, Lorne Cardinal & Kristin Kreuk, the day was a big success. It was also the first time I would meet the girls from "Coupla Hot Chicks.. Maybe Three" (Elyse Levesque, Devon Weigel & Leah Gauthier) so, all in all, pretty great day. What I really like about this event is that the public is welcomed to stand right up near the red carpet, where the entertainers do their interviews & can get autographs & photos right there. Considering it is at a venue that has on multiple occasions over the years gotten in actual fist fights & called the cops on autograph seekers, it really says a lot about the class the Leo Awards has to essentially tell the staff at the venue "back off its all good". 6- Getting Simon Pegg at the movie theatre Recently, Vancouver has had some notable names in town for films. While the attention for filming Mission Impossible 4 will certainly be centred on Tom Cruise, his co-star, Simon Pegg made the biggest impression so far with the locals, On his arrival to town, Pegg signed several items per person at the airport. Later that week, he tweeted he was going to see a movie. The detective skills of the group went to work & 3 of us summarized it was going to he at this theatre & this was the showtime that made sense. Sure enough, the Hott Fuzz & Shaun Of The Dead star, came out from the movie & was greeted by 3 of us waiting for him. He happily took the time to sign and do photos with. He joked with us that it was some good detective work. He thought so much of our skills, he tweeted about it moments later. http://twitter.com/simonpegg/status/10519962170953728 "Kudos to the enterprising young Canadians who figured out what cinema I was in and waited in the lobby. That's quality stalking that is." I have seen Pegg 1 more time since then, and he againw as all class, signing without hesitation... even with the handler for Jeremy Renner there chirping about people selling. Neither Renner or Pegg seemed to care. Maybe 2011 Pegg can make the list again? 5- Stephen Colbert brings The Colbert Report to Vancouver Yes, this did happen during The Olympics. I am aware. But this was not an official Olympic event, so it is technically, a different event. Stephen Colbert, the satirical pundit on the Comedy Central hit show "The Colbert Report" brought his show to Vancouver for 2 days during the Olympics. Colbert brought the show up north after his show & the city of Richmond had some back & forth banter when Mr. Colbert (a major sponsor for the U.S. Olympic Speedskating team thru donations from his fans at Colbert Nation.) attacked the city for unfairly giving Canadians the chance to practice on the Olympic rink and not other nations in advance of the games. With a setting in the middle of a field in a small park only a couple minute walk from the Olympic Village, Socchi World, Canada Hockey House & GM Place, it was a huge party type atmosphere at the free admission event. Thousands of fans came both days to the event. many came with signs, and some, like myself, came with items for him to sign. The first day Mr. Colbert arrived moments before his taping in a van & pulled up along the impromptu road to the impromp pathway they had set up for him to get in. Colbert got out of his van & immediately starting signing for fans. With a mob like mentality of dozens of people pushing & clamouring to get their item infront of Mr. Colbert, he never once got annoyed, concerned or upset over the mob like mentality, infact, seemed to perhaps eat it up. He signed his way thru the mob & signed down the fence till he was into his tent where he prepared for the shows. Upon leaving the venue after the show ended, Colbert was less receptive to signing, as he only signed 2 total items (1 being mine) & was soon on his way. Day 2 he again showed up, with security a little more prepared this time, the autograph chances were more limited upon arrival. But he made up for it during breaks & after the event, as he signed everytime he would go to or come out of his tent during breaks on the backside of the stage where some people chose to stand, since the front was literally 100s of people deep. After the show ended, Stephen did 1 final massive signing, where he went all the way around the back, back across the front, around the back again, along the pathway & off into his van. It is hard to imagine that anyone didnt get an autograph from the man if they truly wanted 1. 4- Getting Jim Beaver to sign his book "Life's That Way" As a huge Supernatural fan, when I found out the man that plays Bobby Singer had a book out, I was curious. When I found out the material in it, I was eager to find it. I am not a big reader of books. It was in fact, the first book (that wasnt filled with stats or top lists) that I had purchased in more than a decade without the intent of reselling it. The book is a collection of emails (most of them in the raw form, some revised slightly) to his friends & family over the course of a year updating them on his wifes battle with terminal cancer that eventually would claim her life, their daughter coping with the major changes, and his own feelings & fears. It is a very moving, and real book that makes you cry as often as you smile. My next goal was to get it signed....but that turned out to be more of a challenge than I ever expected. It appeared after I bought the book, tracking down Mr. Beaver turned into quite the challenge. On no less than 2 occasions, I thought I had him. Even with back up on 1 occasion, he managed to sneak by (not on purpose). On the last unsuccessful mission, I actually let my friends paranoia get to me & thought maybe Jim was being deceptive in tweets to avoid being seen coming in. What happened next I would rather not get into again...but lets just say, Jim & I had some words in private (not bad, just miscommunication & just dont feel like repeating the details) where I explained how I felt about a situation, he described that he meant no ill will...and it ended with him offering me a time & place to get the book signed. It was early morning & he was heading back to Los Angeles after filming an SPN episode, and sure enough, he came out of the drop off vehicle, instantly saw me standing there & immediately came over to sign my book, my photos & my friends photos. He apologized for any confusion, I apologized for even making an issue out of it. He went on his way. Most stars would simply shrug their shoulders at your misfortune & would not think twice of it. But Mr. Beaver went beyond what was expected by responding to me, then exchanging messages & offering a solution. You really cant ask for much more form someone. 3- Conan O'Brien in town with his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On TV tour. While 2010 saw the end of the shortened Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, it was a sort of blessing in disguise for his fans in other areas of North America. After a couple months of sitting around & tweeting, the man who has become "Coco" to his legion of fans decided to take his show on the road. O'Brien embarked on a 32 city tour. The idea of the tour was not for him to get rich, but to give his devoted staff, many of whom followed him from NYC to L.A. when he changed NBC timeslots, work after the sudden firing. Coco had 2 Canadian stops on the tour, 1 in Toronto, and 1 in Vancouver. The Vancouver stop ( a 2 show stop) was the 2nd on his tour & came just a day or 2 after TBS announced they had signed the funnyman to a deal to man a talk show for them. I was lucky enough to see his first performance here in Vancouver, and from someone who often gripes about the price of live events, the $100 price tag for my last row in the lower level ticket, actually seemed like a deal by the end. What made the event more special was the fact O'Brien was exceptional with autograph requests, photo ops & even joked around with photographers & fans alike when approached. By the 2nd day of his show, Conan was familiar with me, and still, didnt hesitate to sign for me, or take a 3rd photo with (1st looked dreadful, 2nd had too much light...so 3rd time was the charm). Stories of him signing & taking photos with fans on the patio of the restaraunt he ate at the day after his 2nd show tells you all you need to know about how cool he was. Shortly before he left town, I saw him 1 last time out with a friend getting into a cab after hat shopping. Most celebs dont go out of their way to acknowledge people they have only seen a couple times. O'Brien however, in a cab on his way back to the hotel, several blocks from where I had just seen him, rolled down his window, gave me a smile & a wave as he drove off to his destination. 2- The 2010 Toronto International Film Festival If I took the names that were there individually, probably 1/2 my top 10 list would be made up of this event. But I decided it was 1 event, and even though the likes of Sam Worthington & Michael C Hall probably deserve their own spots, they go in with this entry. Like the Olympics, it was a long, nearly non-stop event that saw me get little sleep. unlike the Olympics, every day started & ended with a 1 hr bus ride to & from to where I was staying. Also, unlike the Olympics, where the amount of autograph hounds numbered in the low teens, this was an event where the hounds numbered in the 20s or more at times.....along with 100s or 1000s of onlookers & fans. The likes of Sam Worthington & his "I dont care what you are doing with it" attitude, signing everything put in front of him & doing it with a smile, and some smart ass comments, like when he called me a "lying fucker..... I dont care, just curious really, its all good" after I insisted I didnt know what his graph was worth, then proceeded to keep signing, or how a really cute Japanese girl asked him to take off his sunglasses for a photo with & without hesitation he repllied "sure, if you take off your top" & although I am sure he was serious in the trade off, he didnt actually demand the trade off & still removed his glasses for their photo with anyways, made the lack of sleep most times worth it. It was exciting to get Michael C Hall, who was my top priority going on & see that he was a really nice guy on top of it. Even in the press row of his after party, Mr. hall took the time to answer a couple quick questions for me on camera & posed for a photo with. With the effort every adventure at TIFF takes, getting ANYONE, at times seems like a small victory. Like the night I got ONE autograph total. Sally Hawkins. She ho was a mere couple inches away from leaving me shut out that night, but came back to sign for me when she realized I was the only 1 standing out there with an actual item of her to sign. Good thing she did, because the rest of the night still goes down as my WORST TIFF night ever. Names like Clint Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon, Woody Allen & Josh Brolin were out, 3 of themw alked right past where I was, NONE of them stopped to sign. if it werent for Hawkins, it would have been a complete disaster. Of course TIFF has all sorts of cool 1 off fluke hounding ventures. Like when I got Jill Hennessey on a street corner after her & her sister had done an impromptu busking performance infront of a building for a TV interview. Or meeting Yeardley Smith at 1 party, while waiting for people coming to another party across the street. But at the end of the day, its the premieres, the airport & the parties where success is had mostly. While all anyone really cares about at the end of the day is how well the Eastwoods, DeNiros, Springsteens & Hopkins of the festival were, its the small little victories that make the Fest fun & rewarding. A 4 hr nightmare trip thru Hamilton & Toronto transit inconveniences that shut you out of 2 other events can be redeemed slightly by 1 great outing at the Easy A premiere & running out of items for Emma Stone... an event that I didnt originally think I would be doing because of scheduling conflicts. Or the night that I got over 20 autographs from two A list celebs at 1 premiere, Megan Fox & Mickey Rourke both were exceptional signers that night & I did so well with them, I started helping out other hounds with their stacks. My stats this year were up from my first TIFF. While the quantity of elite names I got was smaller than I really hoped for, it was still IMO a great success, a lot of that can be put on the shoulders of Sam Worthington, Michael C Hall, Mickey Rourke & Megan Fox. 1- The 2010 Winter Olympics. I looked forward to this for 8 years, and it lasted less than a month. Now almost a year has gone by & I have had a chance to reflect on it, it was pretty awesome....even with the severe foot aches, lack of $$ & occasional lack of sleep. How many times in your life do you get to experience a massive worldwide event in your hometown? For most, MAYBE once? Maybe. For me, its been twice now, Expo 86 was the first major event in Vancouver I experienced. It wasnt a hounding venture, but it was a major building tool in my youth. Now the 2010 Winter Olympics. A combination of hounding & elite sports in my town for 17 days? Its as if Christmas came 17 days in a row for a sports fan & autograph hound. For every Lindsey Vonn, Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky & Katerina Witt I hounded during the games. The names people know & idolize, there was the likes of Shiva Keshevan, Britteny Cox & Slovakian Womens hockey team, who in many cases, probably wouldnt be recognized in their own countries, let alone Vancouver with 2000 other notable names roaming the streets. They were often just excited that someone recognized them & I loved that rarely seen humility in an athlete. They truly appreciated anyone that noticed them, they didnt scurry away into an awaiting vehicle, or look for an alternate pathway to avoid people, they ate it up. It was those experiences that overshadowed the Jaromir Jagr, Shawn White & Steve Yzerman's of the games. I got to experience hounding the Gold Medal winning mens & womens Team Canada hockey teams...on their home turf the day they won their medals. Theres literally a handful of people & I really do mean a handful, in the entire city who can claim the same. It is certainly an experience that might never happen in Canada again, at least with the elite of the elite in the tournament. My totals during the games were far less than I had envisioned (budget had a lot to do with it) but I got a lot of cool items signed, some were profitable, some were clearly for keepsakes, and the best thing of all is, 75% of them I got less than a 10 minute walk from my house. With 2010 in the books now, 2011 will be full of new experiences that I probably never expected to have. The only real sure thing I knew going into 2010 was that the Olympics were coming, but I did not know how good or bad they may be. Everything else on the list... was an unknown surprise before the eyar started. Can 2011 be better than 2010? Unlikely. But, I also didnt think 2010 would be as good as it was either. I guess we'll see in 12 months just what was worth talking about.
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**In my review of this, I have given some very minor info on details that happen in the on stage show...but I have done as much as I can from explaining too much...if you want to know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the show, do not read this....otherwise...continue**
For 3 days, the biggest name in the talk show industry currently not talking on a talk show, was in Vancouver, Canada for 2 performances. Of course, I am talking about Conan O'Brien, the ostracized funny man, and former host of the Tonight Show... who will be returning to television later this year with a program for relative newbie in the talk show game, TBS. "Coco", as his fans have labelled him during his tumultuos battle with his former station that I refuse to acknowledge, brought himself, his sidekick Andy Richter, as well as his band and several others like his writer turned skit performer Deon Cole & opener Reggie Watts on his 32 city tour thru the U.S. & parts of Canada. For avid Conan fans, this night was a near dream come true. For casual fans, it was still an amazing show. Even the one middle-aged (40s/50s) lady who was with a friend who knew him, but she did not, was thoroughly impressed calling it "some of the funniest stuff I have seen". His show, without giving out too many of the punchlines, contained a variety of Conan based materials. He had the Masturbating bear there...who has now transformed into the Self-Pleasuring panda, a video skit featuring Triumph the Insult Comic dog, who used his style of humour to poke fun at the city (thru dubbed in voice overs that made the skit even funnier), its people and other things. As well, The Walker Texas Ranger lever was in town, now known as the Chuck Norris Rural Policeman Handle, which ended with the classic clip of "Walker told me I have AIDS" clip. He had a variety of chatter with sidekick Andy Richter, who also did 2 impromptu "commercials" for local Vancouver establishments that were, to say least comical & degrading the products. Deon Cole did a few minutes of his stand up, and of course the band played a few songs. Reggie Watts did an exceptional job of comedic & brilliant music as the opener. Most notably an incredibly well worded song that contained a lot of long & not often used words to describe a situation that could have been described with more common words, all while winning the crowd over with the randomly tossed in line of "I love you tits". Many of the people were so focused on trying to keep up with what Reggie was singing that when the line came in, the laughter was slightly delayed as the crowd had it sink in what he just slipped in to a song that was up to that point incredbly "wordy". Then after a 10-20 min intermission, came the band who did a breif number that included members of the group going into the aisles of the crowd. Once back on stage, a video started showing a rough, overly obese & wildly beared O'Brien laid out on his floor with bottles & 1/2 eaten pizzas scattered around him. As the video plays it shows O'Brien being glum & lethargic after being fired, before he gets a call asking if he wants to do a tour. Then it breaks into Conan "getting in shape" for the tour and just after it ends, out comes Conan. Coco opened with a monologue of jokes & insights that was a continual cavalcade of laughs. Thru the evening he did a variety of songs, most were his re-worded works of other songs. Some of them were really funny, others to be honest, seemed to maybe drag on at times. In an evening of Gold medal efforts, this was maybe the only SLIGHT drawback of the performances. Some of the songs were great, but not all were in my opinion. He ended the evening by doing another musical performance as he made his way thru the aisles of the Orpheum Theatre, being slightly mobbed by fans who patted him on the back & took tonnes of photos, he made his way thru a row of seats where he eventually would stop, get up ontop of a seat & play for a few seconds, before getting back down & making his way thru the other side of the row, down the aisle back onto the stage. He then wrapped up his performance, did his encore & left the stage. My grades go like this... Reggie Watts A/A+ Conans stand up A+ Andys "commercials" B Andy/Conan interaction B+ Deon Cole A- The band B+ Conans songs B+ Skits (panda, triumph, Chuck Norris etc) A Value A+ I paid $98.50 for a ticket. The most I have ever paid for a non-sports event. In the end, I was absolutely, thoroughly and completely, entertained. He joked at the start that he was hoping to put on a show that made us leave there thinking "it was almost worth it"...well, he exceeded that level of value. Now, as for my adventures in meeting him....the day started off earlier than the show when I went by the Orpheum in the early afternoon hoping to maybe catch them doing a sound check/rehearsal for the show. No luck, as they were still setting stuff up. Shortly after I was there, Conan tweeted a photo of him walking downtown & I instantly was on the trail. Having a good idea where it was, I headed in that direction. However, I never tracked him down & shortly after myself & a friend headed back to the venue. He never came in the door that entertainers usually come thru. The band did, Reggie did, but Conan and Andy Richter did not. After the show I instantly headed outside & waited with a crowd of 25-40 people. Shortly after one of the vans used to often transport entertainers that had been parked there, took off & my friends & I immediately knew what was up. We headed to a door in the alley behind the theatre that is not too often used at that venue, and sure enough the van was there. Less than 2 minutes later, Conan rushed out & got in the van. One of the hounds asked him for an autograph & Conan replied "sorry I cant, I have to get to the hospital. One of my people had to go there" (paraphrasing a bit perhaps). Unsure if this was a rouse or fact, we of course followed. Of course as you all know by now from the TMZ photage, it was fact. Conan Rushed over to St. Pauls Hospital where his tour manager was checked in & stayed for close to an hour. By the time he came out it was pouring rain, not ideal for autographs. So we simply took a few pics of him, I got a picture with him (that looks horrible) & we again, followed him. This time to his hotel. When we got to the hotel, we hurried up to the door where Conan stopped & signed for us. Doing between 3 and 5 items each. He joked with 2 people who did not even know who he was after they saw us getting autographs, they asked him "who are you" Conan asked them if they are Greek, they said yes, Conan said without missing a beat "so am I" then made up a name. The two older men seemed completely satisfied with the answer, but still were asking why is he famous, much to the amusment of us & I think even Coco. He then headed inside, and I waited around a few extra seconds to get Deon Cole, who was hanging in the driveway when Conan showed up. The next day I retured bright & early, eager to get more Conan autographs. I showed up at 9:15 AM & with the exception of leaving for about 5 mins to get something to eat early on, the door there was guarded by myself or someone else till he finally left at 4 PM. In the meantime we saw LaBamba go out, come in, come back out to get on the tour bus with the rest of the band. Reggie Watts came out & took a cab after missing the bus. I took the chance to get a pic with La Bamba and Reggie, as I was entertained by both of them in the night befores show. Eventually Conan came downstairs & stood around in the lobby for a few minutes with Andy & staff/crew of the show. At almost 4 exactly he came out, walked straight over to the 3 of us that were waiting, saw me and said in a tone that I have heard him use when he is mockigly talking bad about something & said "oh, its you again", as he came over. I had 2 posters I was unable to get signed the night before because of some miscommunication & bad luck on my behalf. He assumed I had got posters done the nght before, as the 3 people with me then did in fact get posters done. But he still signed them, making one out to me, and just signing the other one. He then hurried thru a few other requests doing 1-2 per person, I managed to get him to sign for me again, before he stopped signing, then got him to take a quick picture with me & 1 of the other 2 that was there...then he was on his way to the show. I attempted to beat him to the venue, which was not far on foot, and would have if it werent for a combination of a poorly timed dive/roll thru an alley after losing my footing on the uneven terrain, and an over-aggressive undercover cop who assumed I must have been running from a crime. If 1 or the other event didnt happen, i would have beat him to the venue. But, as it was, I got there JUST to see his hat going in the door....and that was the last I saw of Conan in Vancouver.... I thought... in fact, my blog report was initially done at this point. I was less than 10 minutes from publishing it. Then I got a text telling me he was eating at a restaraunt downtown yesterday... so I went out. As I strolled up towards the establishment, there was no denying the towering frame covered with orangish-red hair, it was Conan. He was out on the patio in the Cactus Club Cafe eating, not even trying to be hidden. I waited across the street for him to finish his meal/chat with a friend who had accompanied him. Several other fans, including staff at the restaraunt asked for pictures with him & he happily obliged. Eventually, he got up to leave...which still took 3-5 minutes, as more fans stopped him both outside on the patio he was eating on, and inside as he made his way to the exist. Eventually he got to the exit, opens the door & instantly sees me & greets me with a more upbeat "oh hey, its you again. Whats up?". I of course show him photos I would like him to sign, he asks me how many I have, I tell him several, and he proceeds to shoot thru my pile of 5 photos, laughing at 1 of the ones where he is posed with a monkey. As he was wrapping up, a woman showed up wanting to get a photo with him because her friend in South America was a huge fan of his. She explained to him how her friend was had a crush on him & that when they were younger played "would you rather" (which O'Brien didnt seem to know what that game was) & she picked Conan over Colbert and Leno for who she would rather sleep with, which O'Brien quickly replied "good choice, because I have slept with them and trust me, they arent very good". She then showed him a pic of the friend in question on her phone, which Coco responded with his pattended growl. He then took a pic with the girl, then took a pic with me after I explained that the one from yesterday didnt turn out because his face didnt really show up in it, which he again without missing a beat responded "yeah, thats because I'm the anti-christ & dont show up on film". He then proceeded to leave with his friend across the street to do some hat shopping. He left the hat shop with a new lid and proceeded to go catch a cab. From there I thought I was done with Conan as I made my way back to a bus stop... but there was 1 more interaction with Coco to be had. As I crossed a street about a block from where I last saw him, his cab passed me. He rolled his window down & waved at me as he went by. Then was within seconds, gone. Out of my sight as the cab caught the green light and was outta there. All toll- 12 autographs over 3 days. 3 photos with him & several memories that I am sure will stick with me for years. Thanks for coming to Vancouver Conan O'Brien.... even if it was 3 months too late to take the offer I made you to work for me back in January. http://canadagraphs.weebly.com/1/post/2010/01/an-open-letter-offer-to-conan-obrien-to-work-for-me.html PS- sorry the pics from the show seem a bit fuzzy, I had poor seats, bad lighting & was being constantly nagged by the 1 usher who seemed to give a crap to not use my camera, or even my blackberry during the show...despeite the 200 other luminescent lights you could see thru the audience. Dear Mr. O'Brien
It has come to my attention that sometime soon (say at the end of today) you may find yourself no longer employed at "NBC" (Nothing But C****). This is a travesty. Everyone involved with the exception of Mr. zucker and perhaps Mr. leno realize it. Its a sad end to an awkward situation that they didnt need to create. Personally, I think you made the right move by putting your foot down. You stood up for television tradition & refused to be a push over. Its that type of attitude I can use. Conan, I understand that you may be for hire now. I am assuming your deal to leave comes with a clause about not returning to TV for awhile in any talk show manner?. So in the mean time you may try new jobs. Well, I have the job for you. You can help me get autographs during the 2010 Olympics here in Vancouver, BC. Now the pay is meager. It might even be below minimum wage to be brutally honest. But, I am putting the offer out there. If you need a job, to help feed your family. I'll find work for you here. It does come with some perks. 1- you can meet tonnes of world class athletes. Kinda cool, right? 2- There is bound to be countless NBC representitives roaming town for you to hurl insults at, you know, to blow off some of the steam you may have pent up. 3- Get away from all that rain flooding L.A......oh right. Nevermind. Scratch that, it will probably be here too. 4- Its closer to Seattle than L.A. So you could take a trip to see your wifes family faster (at your expense of course...do I look like I have money to throw away? I'm not NBC.) 5- You could get into a game/event & hold up an "NBC sucks" sign, which will air...on their station. 6- Theres lots of musical guests here you could chum up to...incase you get another talk show gig at FOX....or somewhere else. The pay may suck, it will certainly be a notable decline from your current pay rate. I can assure you it will be a longer & less rewarding day than a day of joke telling & celebrity interviewing. And frankly, you may have a better offer on the table somewhere. I will respectfully understand if you decline for a prior commitment. I just think its a job you can excel at. With your height, you have an advantage with reaching overtop of fans to get your items signed. This can come in handy. As a talk show host, you have developed a strong speaking voice, which will help in getting the attention of athletes who may not be paying attention & not hear a quieter person... and if all else fails, you can bribe them with the string dance.... if NBC didnt steal that in their raping of your intellectual properties. I can assure you a few things. 1- I have no intentention of replacing you after 7 months with Jay Leno if you dont seem to be doing that good. 2- If we see an NBC rep that you hate, I will assist you in hurling any rotting vegetables you may feel the need to throw. 3- Andy can tag along...but hes your responsibility to keep in check. 4- The gig will end at the end of February..... That is more of an advance notice than NBC gave you. 5- If all fails in your career as an autograph hound, I will still make you some money by setting up a "meet Conan O'Brien & get his autograph booth" nearest as possible to an NBC area. Prices to be determined. I hope you will take my offer seriously. I'm just trying to help you out, and get your feet back on the ground. I will gladly give you a job reference to any future employers you may be seeking employment from. Sincerely, Canadagraphs PS- thanks for the years of entertainement. |
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