Celebrities that charge for an autograph

[kade67]

Depends on the "celebrity" for me. A lot of the older stars who charge money probably rely on that extra money rolling in. And even if they are well off (when I mean well off, I don't mean mercedes and mansion on the beach, I mean enough to pay the bills with a little bit extra, etc), an extra $10-$20 is good for everybody.

And I would say that most of the *more then well off* stars who charge money, donate most of it.

There are always exceptions but I think for the most part charging is ok.

I actually think it is pretty selfish to think that they are supposed to sign for us :neutral:

Selfish ? And, exactly how do you think they got to be the stars they are today ? Had it not been for YOU, they would be slinging burgers right now. If nobody came to see that movie, they would not be making $10 million a picture. As for charity, I will be the one to decide what charity I want to donate too. As for older stars not making enough salary, most of them are still seeing residuals from reruns and syndication, as well as merchandising. When you are getting close to the end of your career, I think they should start thinking about that. I am sure they do most of them, and have that money put away. It all comes down to greed because they know people out there will pay that money for their signature. Imagine if Angelina Jolie sat at a table and told you if you want her autograph, you will have to pay $25 and that money goes to the relief effort in Darfur - oh yeah, and so she can adopt another kid, and feed the poor hungry starving kids there. Guess what ? We don't have kids here to adopt ? We don't have starving and homeless people ? Hey, when the celebrities start taking that ten million and putting it toward opening a new homeless shelter and food bank instead of a new Ferrari , then I will think about donating a little money. Until then, yes, they do owe me the courtesy of not being a jerk when I ask for an autograph. I asked nothing in return when I saw that movie I payed $10 to see, and then bought the DVD. That is their salary you are helping to pay. And some of that money they have in the bank, they have already given to charity. Come on people, sports stars ? You pay $50 for a half-way decent seat to a baseball game, spend hundreds on the family and kids for souvenirs. Buy packs of baseball cards just to see if you get the lucky rookie card. The team ends up sucking that year, but the half-way decent second baseman wants $30 to sign a ball and $50 for a bat ? Yeah, ok, sure. And when they start only accepting a million a year instead of $30, let me know.

[margotchanning]

Depends on the "celebrity" for me. A lot of the older stars who charge money probably rely on that extra money rolling in. And even if they are well off (when I mean well off, I don't mean mercedes and mansion on the beach, I mean enough to pay the bills with a little bit extra, etc), an extra $10-$20 is good for everybody.

And I would say that most of the *more then well off* stars who charge money, donate most of it.

There are always exceptions but I think for the most part charging is ok.

I actually think it is pretty selfish to think that they are supposed to sign for us :neutral:

Selfish ? And, exactly how do you think they got to be the stars they are today ? Had it not been for YOU, they would be slinging burgers right now. If nobody came to see that movie, they would not be making $10 million a picture. As for charity, I will be the one to decide what charity I want to donate too. As for older stars not making enough salary, most of them are still seeing residuals from reruns and syndication, as well as merchandising. When you are getting close to the end of your career, I think they should start thinking about that. I am sure they do most of them, and have that money put away. It all comes down to greed because they know people out there will pay that money for their signature. Imagine if Angelina Jolie sat at a table and told you if you want her autograph, you will have to pay $25 and that money goes to the relief effort in Darfur - oh yeah, and so she can adopt another kid, and feed the poor hungry starving kids there. Guess what ? We don't have kids here to adopt ? We don't have starving and homeless people ? Hey, when the celebrities start taking that ten million and putting it toward opening a new homeless shelter and food bank instead of a new Ferrari , then I will think about donating a little money. Until then, yes, they do owe me the courtesy of not being a jerk when I ask for an autograph. I asked nothing in return when I saw that movie I payed $10 to see, and then bought the DVD. That is their salary you are helping to pay. And some of that money they have in the bank, they have already given to charity. Come on people, sports stars ? You pay $50 for a half-way decent seat to a baseball game, spend hundreds on the family and kids for souvenirs. Buy packs of baseball cards just to see if you get the lucky rookie card. The team ends up sucking that year, but the half-way decent second baseman wants $30 to sign a ball and $50 for a bat ? Yeah, ok, sure. And when they start only accepting a million a year instead of $30, let me know.

Wow, you are an angry person!

You don't want to pay a celebrity for an autograph - that's fine, it's your prerogotive! The thing is, celebrities aren't there to provide an autograph signing service for us! They work long, unsociable hours making movies for us to enjoy or recording albums for us to listen to & at the end of the day, we pay to see their movies and buy their albums because we want to. They don't force us to buy merchandise or ball game tickets. It's our choice to spend money on these people because we admire them. They already provide a service to us by making great movies or training hard to keep our favourite football team at the top of the league. Why should we ask for more?
I admire people for their talent. I don't expect my admiration to be reciprocated with a signed photo!

[kade67]

Depends on the "celebrity" for me. A lot of the older stars who charge money probably rely on that extra money rolling in. And even if they are well off (when I mean well off, I don't mean mercedes and mansion on the beach, I mean enough to pay the bills with a little bit extra, etc), an extra $10-$20 is good for everybody.

And I would say that most of the *more then well off* stars who charge money, donate most of it.

There are always exceptions but I think for the most part charging is ok.

I actually think it is pretty selfish to think that they are supposed to sign for us :neutral:

Selfish ? And, exactly how do you think they got to be the stars they are today ? Had it not been for YOU, they would be slinging burgers right now. If nobody came to see that movie, they would not be making $10 million a picture. As for charity, I will be the one to decide what charity I want to donate too. As for older stars not making enough salary, most of them are still seeing residuals from reruns and syndication, as well as merchandising. When you are getting close to the end of your career, I think they should start thinking about that. I am sure they do most of them, and have that money put away. It all comes down to greed because they know people out there will pay that money for their signature. Imagine if Angelina Jolie sat at a table and told you if you want her autograph, you will have to pay $25 and that money goes to the relief effort in Darfur - oh yeah, and so she can adopt another kid, and feed the poor hungry starving kids there. Guess what ? We don't have kids here to adopt ? We don't have starving and homeless people ? Hey, when the celebrities start taking that ten million and putting it toward opening a new homeless shelter and food bank instead of a new Ferrari , then I will think about donating a little money. Until then, yes, they do owe me the courtesy of not being a jerk when I ask for an autograph. I asked nothing in return when I saw that movie I payed $10 to see, and then bought the DVD. That is their salary you are helping to pay. And some of that money they have in the bank, they have already given to charity. Come on people, sports stars ? You pay $50 for a half-way decent seat to a baseball game, spend hundreds on the family and kids for souvenirs. Buy packs of baseball cards just to see if you get the lucky rookie card. The team ends up sucking that year, but the half-way decent second baseman wants $30 to sign a ball and $50 for a bat ? Yeah, ok, sure. And when they start only accepting a million a year instead of $30, let me know.

Wow, you are an angry person!

You don't want to pay a celebrity for an autograph - that's fine, it's your prerogotive! The thing is, celebrities aren't there to provide an autograph signing service for us! They work long, unsociable hours making movies for us to enjoy or recording albums for us to listen to & at the end of the day, we pay to see their movies and buy their albums because we want to. They don't force us to buy merchandise or ball game tickets. It's our choice to spend money on these people because we admire them. They already provide a service to us by making great movies or training hard to keep our favourite football team at the top of the league. Why should we ask for more?
I admire people for their talent. I don't expect my admiration to be reciprocated with a signed photo!

Boy, aren't you missing the point. How old are you ? If you don't mind me asking. Please, just a ballpark figure. Yes, that is right, it's our choice to buy their album, pay to see their movie. And, if it were not for you and me to make that choice, exactly what kind of career would they have ? Do you think they would be successful if we chose NOT to support them ?
What if you opened a restaurant and no one came ? Perhaps you open the world's greatest restaurant with a waiting list to get in every night. Wouldn't you at some point thank the patrons for visiting, by say, offering a free dessert or drink ? You are missing the only real point. An actor chooses the profession primarily because they love the art of acting. With the exception of the few that really only do it for the money and fame. Along with that job, comes the publicity end. In the movie industry it's all about publicity. But, if you are going to work to make a movie that you are hoping I will pay to see and then you shun me by not wanting to be bothered with my one request for a signature, or think you can milk some more money out of me then you are in the wrong profession. This has absolutely nothing to do with me being angry. I am far from angry. I feel ashamed for those celebrities that insist on constantly bilking the public and using their name to see just how much more money people are willing to spend on them. So, if you enjoy an actor or actress that much that you have no problem paying them to sign a picture (that you probably bought or printed) then go right ahead. And then, the next time you read about their unfortunate DUI, how they owe taxes to the IRS, or the new African baby they just adopted, or that new car they just bought, you remember one thing: thank your wallet for their good fortune. After all, you'll get that $300 rebate back from the IRS this year anyway, right ? It's for charity. Sure, their charity. I will decide what charity to donate to. While I have the choice to go see their movie, they made the choice on a career, and with that career there are given responsibilities. One of them happens to be to at least be courteous to their fans. If it happens to mean signing a picture, then so be it. I have supported their lavish lifestyles long enough. More people are too enamored with celebrities and hold them in too high a regard. They are human. No superpowers people, that is, after all, just a fictitious story, or have you forgotten ?

[Moridin]

Boy, aren't you missing the point. How old are you ? If you don't mind me asking. Please, just a ballpark figure. Yes, that is right, it's our choice to buy their album, pay to see their movie. And, if it were not for you and me to make that choice, exactly what kind of career would they have ? Do you think they would be successful if we chose NOT to support them ?
What if you opened a restaurant and no one came ? Perhaps you open the world's greatest restaurant with a waiting list to get in every night. Wouldn't you at some point thank the patrons for visiting, by say, offering a free dessert or drink ? You are missing the only real point. An actor chooses the profession primarily because they love the art of acting. With the exception of the few that really only do it for the money and fame. Along with that job, comes the publicity end. In the movie industry it's all about publicity. But, if you are going to work to make a movie that you are hoping I will pay to see and then you shun me by not wanting to be bothered with my one request for a signature, or think you can milk some more money out of me then you are in the wrong profession. This has absolutely nothing to do with me being angry. I am far from angry. I feel ashamed for those celebrities that insist on constantly bilking the public and using their name to see just how much more money people are willing to spend on them. So, if you enjoy an actor or actress that much that you have no problem paying them to sign a picture (that you probably bought or printed) then go right ahead. And then, the next time you read about their unfortunate DUI, how they owe taxes to the IRS, or the new African baby they just adopted, or that new car they just bought, you remember one thing: thank your wallet for their good fortune. After all, you'll get that $300 rebate back from the IRS this year anyway, right ? It's for charity. Sure, their charity. I will decide what charity to donate to. While I have the choice to go see their movie, they made the choice on a career, and with that career there are given responsibilities. One of them happens to be to at least be courteous to their fans. If it happens to mean signing a picture, then so be it. I have supported their lavish lifestyles long enough. More people are too enamored with celebrities and hold them in too high a regard. They are human. No superpowers people, that is, after all, just a fictitious story, or have you forgotten ?

Yes I do know that if it weren't for the fans the star in question would be a nobody - but that also doesn't mean they should have to spend a lot of time signing for people. I know you keep saying "My one autograph I want" - Well there are many people who just want one autograph, and that time adds up.

Yes, you can choose what charity you donate. Sure, whatever. But if a celebrity endorses that certain charity and wants people to donate to it in order to get an autograph, tough for you I guess. I don't see how it is greed when the celebrity wants to donate the money to an organization. Yes we do have problems in our home country, and just because a celebrity wants to donate to a foreign organization doesn't mean that they don't care about what happens on our own turf. The issue in Darfur is a lot worse then things that are happening here.. however this isn't a political discussion. And you can't assume that celebrities use the money that you supposedly donated to charity for something else because it is an outlandish claim.

I will just say right now I have no clue when it comes to sports guys, but all I can think of is that they do not owe anything to anybody, and they got to where they were through hard training, not fans.

Older celebrities - you can't assume that they all get money from reruns or a pension plan, and even if they did, how do you know how much they get? I know that the remaining munchkins from the Wizard of Oz charge a small fee, and they do not get any money from that movie.

I think a lot of this boils down to who and how much they are charging, and if there is a charity involved. Just because YOU don't want to donate to certain charities, doesn't mean that the celebrity should just open up for you.

And just one last thing - how many A-list.. actually no.. How many B-list and up celebrities do you see charging money that they pocket? If anything, the C-list celebrities are the ones who donate to organizations (Tippi hedren, hayden panatierre, etc).

Also, have you ever thought about photo and/or shipping prices? If you don't include something to be signed in a TTM request, and that celebrity includes their own photo - that costs money for them. ANd once again, you are NOT the only one requesting autographs. Money adds up and I definitely would not want to be shelling out 500 dollars for a stack of photos. Photos are not cheap. Same goes for conventions. With shipping, ok, sure you probably include an SASE. What about the time it takes this so-called celebrity to go to the post office? Or if they have a secretary, what about the pay for the secretary to sort the mail etc?

The world doesn't revolve around you.

And how dare you patronize Margotchanning by asking age. Age has nothing to do with anything. If you really want to get down and dirty, people can attack you up and down for not dividing your long posts into paragraphs. I think the question is, how old are YOU? You're selfish and arrogant attitude, inability to make decent points, and lack of proper paragraph structure, SCREAMS young and ignorant.

[RuleroftheWorld]

This topic has gotten way out of hand, mainly sue to the way kade67 has voiced his/her opinion. I'm locking this thread now, and kade67, please be more polite in future and dont be so aggressive with your opinions.