Leonard Nimoy Photo Op? Or Dragon*Con parade

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

Apparently this is the choice I'm left with, or so I discover upon looking at the changes made to Mr. Nimoy's Photo op schedule.

I love Mr. Nimoy. I am a VERY long time Star Trek fan and was one of the first to sign up to get a photo op with him. For me... it was a momentous event that I felt I would remember for the rest of my life. He was supposed to be doing photo ops on Friday and Saturday... for $60. Ok. I paid it. I happily paid it. Then.. it's an additional $20. Ok. I paid it. I happily paid it... though to their credit Frogger refunded the extra charge. Then the Friday Photo op disappeared... then his Saturday panel disappeared in lue of an appearance at the Dragon*Con Awards Banquet, though he is still doing a Sunday panel I believe... unless that TOO has been canceled.

And yet... even though Mr. Nimoy is CLEARLY going to be at Dragon*Con all day Saturday (for the awards banquet) and on Sunday for his panel, the ONLY time when one can get their photo up with Mr. Nimoy has been scheduled by Frogger at 8:45 AM Saturday morning, 1 hour and 15 minutes before the start of the Dragon*Con parade. So we have one of the biggest stars at this year's Dragon*Con scheduled for his ONLY photo  opportunity for those of us who paid for it.. and have waited for this moment for months... at the EXACT SAME TIME that we need to be getting into our costumes and joining up with our groups for the parade.. one of the biggest EVENTS at this con.

There are also many, many people who are trying to position themselves to WATCH the parade who will also have to choose between that... and their photo opportunity.

I am very, very angry about this. All due respect to Frogger I think this scheduling is an outrage and needs to be reconsidered. I don't care if they have to hire another photographer... or what they have to do. Mr Nimoy is at the con on Friday, Saturday and on Sunday. Surely there is SOME other time.. an hour SOMEWHERE.. that can be spared so that those of us who have put so much time and effort into our costumes and who wait so joyfully for the Dragon*Con parade aren't forced to choose between participating in that event... and getting our photo with Leonard Nimoy, an opportunity we may never get again.

This needs to be addressed.

Thank you.

Comments

[jarissa.livejournal.com]

Maybe that's the only time Mr. Nimoy feels up to the slog of greet-pose-flashy-thanks-NEXT! I can only imagine that's pretty exhausting for the celebrity in question at any age, much less someone born in nineteen thirty-one.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I can only imagine that's pretty exhausting for the celebrity in question at any age, much less someone born in nineteen thirty-one.

1. Then he was certainly free to decline doing photo ops.

2. Although I have no way of knowing for sure, of course, Leonard Nimoy does not strike me as a doddering, infirm, falling apart at the seams old codger who's not up to an hour or so of having his picture taken. The man was at a booth at Comic-con a month ago, enjoying himself on the vendor floor. Doesn't sound to me like he's ready for a walker and the old folks home.

So I don't think your arguments actually hold up.

Oh dear, I seem to have hit an Angry Button

[jarissa.livejournal.com]

In reasonable health, I have done the stand-and-pose-for-pictures-with-strangers shtick before, at charity events (especially around the holidays). I'm no Platoan ideal, but I found it difficult over long periods ... as did those younger and/or healthier than myself, in our group.

I'm very sympathetic and very sorry you're so unhappy. However, I cannot support or even humor anyone's attitude that "My affection for this person entitles me to have my personal desires accomodated by said person." That is creepy in large doses, and pure selfishness in smaller ones.

I hope you find enough things to enjoy this weekend to make up for this particular very large disappointment.

Re: Oh dear, I seem to have hit an Angry Button

[spike20.livejournal.com]

Seconded on all points. Mr. Nimoy will be coming off doing the same thing at FanExpo in Toronto all weekend long the weekend before D*Con... it's not unreasonable for fans to bend to his preferred schedule and not the other way around. Living in hotels and being "on" for fans at all hours isn't as glamourous as one might think.

[sonata-ix.livejournal.com]

Wow, umm...thanks for the heads up. As a first time Froggy-er, I would have shown up hours late for my Nimoy photo op. WHY does Froggy not email people who already made reservations to tell them of these time changes?

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why this arrangement was made. I just know it needs to be changed.

http://www.froggysphotos.com/faq.html

Maybe if you went to the website you could drop them a line and ask them yourself? You might get an answer, and I really feel they need to hear from their customers in this matter.

Thanks for commenting.

[waterdaughter.livejournal.com]

I seriously doubt Froggy made those rearrangements- why wouldn't they want to have more photo op times and make more money? They were probably requested by Nimoy or his agent, in which case I'm not sure what can be done.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

You may be right. But It is an ill advised decision. I wonder if Mr. Nimoy wouldn't have been open to reason if he had been informed about the the conflict between his photo op.. which everyone who paid for wants VERY much, of course... and the D*C parade which is a high point for many of us... and something we've worked very had on.

Maybe he would have been willing to work with Froggy. Did they even try? That is my question.

I'm not sure what can be done either.. I just know something needs to be done.

Thanks...

[aideon.livejournal.com]

I don't see where his only photo ops are on Saturday. On the website, I see:

Friday -11:15 AM: William Shatner/Leonard Nimoy
Saturday -8:45 AM: Leonard Nimoy

And I know that it sucks to be yanked around. I honestly hope that they don't get to come back next year to do photos with the way things have been going, but it does say all over their website that they reserve the right to change the schedule without notice. :/

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

Yep.. he's also doing the photo op with Mr. Shatner on Friday. I was referring to the one he's doing by himself. And, as you see.. it is scheduled and hour and 15 minutes before the D*C parade.

And I understand that they reserve the right to change the schedule without notice. And.. I reserve the right to let them know how I feel about this horrific scheduling conflict. All due respect... they need to work on changing this.

Thank you for your thoughts on it. I appreciate it.

[aideon.livejournal.com]

From the Froggy Faq:

We are doing all single and group shots together, so if you see your actors name in a line w other actors that IS your time to be at the photo room!! Do NOT come late, we will NOT hold up the guest if it is beyond 5 minutes after the shoot time and there are no other customers. We will NOT refund tickets because you were late. We can exchange them for another actor, if you cannot show up to next shoot.

You can still take a solo photo with Mr. Nimoy at this time.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I'm unsure of what you're saying. Are you saying that at the time I get a photo with Mr. Nimoy and Mr. Shatner I can get a solo photo with Mr. Nimoy? That was not my impression. Am I wrong?

Thank you...

[aideon.livejournal.com]

I don't work for Froggy, etc. I'd still send them an email to double check, but the impression I get from the FAQ is that you can do your solo photos any time they are doing group photos also.

For them, it's probably a matter of saying "Hey Mr. (Nimoy/Shatner), could you take a seat for a sec?"

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I will write to them and ask them. If that were possible I would be one very happy person. But.. I would still hold the opinion that scheduling Mr. Nimoy's photo shoot at a time that conflicts with the D*C parade is a very, very bad idea. It's not just me I'm thinking of here. It's of EVERYONE who will be faced with this conflict.

Thank you for your thoughts.. I will try your idea and hope.

[thunder24.livejournal.com]

Well, I feel for you, I do. But the truth is, there will be a zillion other parades, but how many times will Spock be there?

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

Agreed. However the Dragon*Con parade and the costume I created for it is also important to me. I worked hard on it. I spent a ton of money on it... and this is the one time a year I can be in that costume with other like-minded people enjoying ourselves together, doing what we love. It's a big deal to me. And, frankly, given the fact that Mr. Nimoy WILL be at the con on Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday.. I don't see why it should be so very hard to reschedule his photo shoot for a time not conflicting with the con's biggest, most anticipated event. There are NO other hours in the day when the parade can or will take place. There are LOTS of other hours in the day when the photo shoot could easily happen. That's my only point here.

Thank you.

[kittenspeaks.livejournal.com]

Can't you get up early, get in costume- take the picture at 8:45 then head to the parade?

I do agree that schedule conflicts often leave us with having to prioritize at Con which can be harsh. The frustration is compounded when there are schedule changes- but this one doesn't seem un-doable.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I do not want my picture taken with Mr. Nimoy while dressed to the nines as Samwise Gamgee. It feels wrong. It feels inappropriate.

But even if I was willing to do that, the greater issue is time. What makes you think I would get my picture taken at 8:45? I'd be somewhere in a very long line at 8:45. Since they canceled Mr Nimoy's Friday photo op... EVERYONE will be getting theirs at the Saturday time. I'd be lucky to get out of there by noon. I'm supposed to meet my Tolkien group at 9 AM to walk to the staging area.

I thank you for your thoughts.. but even if I wanted to, there just isn't time to do both.

Thank you

[meaninglesscog.livejournal.com]

He did do that "Bilbo Baggins" song didn't he?

I would think a Samwise costume might actually work in this case.

[fiawol.livejournal.com]

There are SOME things people don't WANT to be reminded that they did.
:-)

[meaninglesscog.livejournal.com]

I thought it was quite...."quaint" actually. :)

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

*laughs* oh my god, I remember that!!! *rolls eyes* Like the person who posted before me I think I would hesitate to remind Mr. Nimoy of this particular moment in his carer.

Besides.. it's not as much that as the time factor. I can't do both. There just isn't enough time. Mr Nimoy's going to be at the con all weekend. One would think there would be just a BIT of flexibility in his schedule. The same can not be said for the parade.

And.. I DO want to be in the parade. I worked hard on my costume and I don't know that I'll ever get the chance to be part of something like this again.

Thank you for your comment

[edenskye.livejournal.com]

From my expereince last year what they do is Single photo's first Nimoy/ Shatner then the do the group photo's afterwards. So if you see Shatner/Nimoy together you can get your solo photo at that time. Unless they changed it this year. Hope this helps.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I thank you so much. I wrote and asked Froggy about this AND if this was going to be Mr. Nimoy's only time for photo ops. they ARE, apparently, trying to gain another photo op time though this has NOT been finalized in any way.

I don't know about getting my solo photo with Mr. Nimoy at the time of the duo shoot... I didn't really get an answer on that.. at least not one that I understood. If another time for Mr Nimoy's shoot isn't forthcoming, I will ask again. But I honestly do not think that they have ANY plans to allow solo shots during the Shatner/Nimoy photo op. It's apt to be pretty crowded as is.

*sigh*

[eclectic-spirit.livejournal.com]

Froggy's presales page originally said that Mr. Nimoy would be doing his single photo shoots only on Saturday and Sunday, not on Friday morning when he would only be doing doubles with Mr. Shatner. Now Sunday has been dropped, apparently leaving only the Saturday morning time to have your picture taken with just him.
I totally understand your frustration with this. Because the photo-op schedule wasn't posted until less than two weeks out from Dragon*Con, I will miss the opportunity to be shot with the two of them Friday morning because I had already made my flight arrangements and don't even arrive in Atlanta until after noon. If I had know earlier - and I just made my travel arrangements on August 22nd - that Mr. Shatner was only doing a Friday morning shoot, I would have taken an earlier flight. Why do they wait until the last possible moment to announce this stuff? I just don't get it - and I know I'm not the only Trek fan in the same predicament with this.

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

Actually, when I signed up for the Nimoy solo photo op the choice was Friday or Saturday. This was before Shatner came on board. The schedule and pricing has been all over the place on this one and, like you, I am VERY frustrated with the whole process.

I totally understand your unhappiness with all this and I'm sorry you won't get the photo op you desired. It puzzles me. These are professionals engaging in a professional event that they signed on to do and for which I'm sure they're making tons of money. Why does this have to be so damned hard?? They're going to be there anyway... why can't these times be more flexible?

I respect Froggy's work and appreciate their service... but this last minute dancing around with the schedule is ridiculous.

[eclectic-spirit.livejournal.com]

I emailed Froggy as soon as I saw Mr. Shatner's schedule and asked if there was any way he could be convinced to add another day, or even move his shoot to way later in the day on Friday. I got a very nice response back in a few hours, and was told they wished it could be done, but that they were lucky he gave them as much time as he did. I guess we really are at the mercy of the actors on this. I mean, when William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy says "Jump!", everybody answers "How high?" There is no negotiating. **sigh**

Of course, as a consolation, I was really looking forward to getting shot with Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, as I adore both of them. Now he has canceled. **bangs head on desk**

[agirlcalledbob.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of peeved myself, the photo-op for Ben Browder and Claudia Black is schedule from 10-11 Saturday, so I have to bail on marching with my group so I can get the photo.

WHO SCHEDULES THESE THINGS???

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about scheduling... I would assume it's negotiated, however, maybe their negotiations need to EXCLUDE the time set aside for the Dragon*Con parade. I don't think there are panels for any other major celebrities during that time frame. And certainly, there should be some notice taken of the fact that we pay large amounts of money for these photos. Once-in-a-lifetime, A-list, celebrities who will attending the entire conference COULD be scheduled at a later time. Panels can be viewed later on D*C TV in some cases... one does not have that option when it comes to participating in the parade.

*sigh*

[rakshi.livejournal.com]

And.. frankly... though I'm sure not many would agree with me... I don't think ANYTHING else should be scheduled during parade time. We bust our butts and our wallets on these costumes just for THIS event. It's at the heart of the D*C experience.

[eclectic-spirit.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely. Even though I'm not doing a costume, I can totally understand and sympathize with the predicament you're in. You are correct - NOTHING should be scheduled Saturday morning until after the parade. EVER.