Rock of Ages premiere with Tom Cruise and more

The Rock of Ages premiere was Friday and I showed up super early to make sure I had a front row spot for me and some buddies.  After hours of waiting we heard from the people running the event that Tom was probably going to show up at around 5pm.  True to form, that's exactly what he did.  He stayed with the fans for about an hour and ten minutes, but he did not sign a lot of autographs.  If you wanted to get your picture with him, or have a conversation with him, and have him look you in the eyes and thank you for coming out it was your kind of day.  Johnny Depp signed for forty five minutes at Dark Shadows and was signing the whole forty five minutes.  Johnny probably signed at a rate of 15-20 autographs per minute.  Tom on the other hand was signing at a rate of about 2-3 autographs per minute.  I managed to get four autographs from Tom but let me tell you it was not easy.  I worked my butt off to get the four (one Rock of Ages cast 11x14, two Mission Impossible 11x14s, and one Last Samurai 11x14).   It was an hour of me getting pushed and shoved and annihilated just to get the four.  Whereas Johnny Depp signed five for me immediately when he was in front of me in a matter of thirty seconds.  So while I would say Tom Cruise is a really good interacter with fans,  he by no means was a good signer last night.

Next to arrive was Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman.  He signed my Rock of Ages cast 12x18 and my cast 11x14. 

Then came Julianne Hough and she is always pretty nice.  She was again today.  She signed my cast 11x14, cast 12x18, and three individuals 11x14s too. 

A few members of Poison showed up and I was able to add C.C. DeVille and Bobby Dall to my Rock of Ages cast 11x14. 

Then came Catherine Zeta-Jones and I lucked into one but she was being pretty difficult.  She was skipping sections of people, skipping photos, moving really fast in some areas, then moving really slow in others.  I'm happy I got my one 11x14 signed. 

Malin Akerman came next in a pretty revealing dress on a windy day ( I'm not complaining).  She is also someone who is really nice.  I got a bunch of autographs from her at Wanderlust so I only brought one individual 11x14 along today.  I  got her on my cast 11x14, cast 12x18, and the individual 11x14.

Neal Schon from Journey came and I got his autograph on a microphone.  I didn't have my camera ready and he walked right to me very quickly so all I got was a photo of him walking away after he signed it for me. 

Russell Brand came and was pretty eccentric looking and acting.  I added him to both my cast pieces. 

Fergie and Josh Duhamel showed up.  Josh was wearing an 80s rocker costume and came with a beer in hand.  I took video of them. 

Tobey Maguire also showed up and quickly came over and shook some hands.  I saw he wasn't signing anything so I just took video of him too. 

And that was all I got.  Not a good day at all.  Here's my completed cast photos.  The 11x14 has: Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Adam Shankman, C.C. DeVille, and Bobby Dall on it.   My 12x18 has Julianne, Malin, Russell, and Adam on it. 

Paul Giamatti signed for about five people then left. 

Bryan Cranston signed in a different area then I was standing.  

Alec Baldwin also signed in a different area. 

Diego Boneta was being super erratic and just skipped my barricade completely when signing. 

Mary J. Blige did not sign. 

Justin Theroux did not sign. 

Let It Shine premiere with Bella Thorne and Ariel Winter, and big blow offs by Zendaya Coleman and Cody Simpson

Well I've been working on a Modern Family cast piece for a while and it just needed Ariel Winter so when I heard she was going to attend the Let it Shine premiere I decided to go.  Also attending was Bella Thorne and Bella always comes early to premieres and is always really nice.   Once again tonight she was the first to show and she signed a good amount.  I got her on eight 11x14 photos (I think her fame is only going up so I want to get as many as I can now). 

Next came Ariel Winter and she was also really nice.   She signed a bunch and between arrivals and departures I managed to get her on two 11x14s (one of which was my completed cast piece) and six 8x10s. 

Jake Short came next and I happened to have an A.N.T. Farm 8x10 along so I had him sign it. 

The main cast of Let It Shine were all in attendance too.  Tyler James Williams came over and signed quickly.  I got him on one of my two 8x10s but his publicists quickly pulled him away to go do more interviews. 

 Trevor Jackson came over and was really nice to everyone.  He signed both my 8x10s. 

 And CoCo Jones was really nice too, she also signed both my 8x10s. 

 Here's my Let It Shine cast 8x10s. 

BooBoo Stewart also came and he is always really nice.  He's always with his family and you can tell his parents are really good people and do a good job of keeping their famous children humble.   I had two 8x10s along and BooBoo signed them both for me. 

Madison Pettis also went and she was really nice too.  I had two 8x10s along and she signed them both.

Joel Courtney showed up out of the blue and I happened to have my Super 8 cast piece on me so I quickly pulled it out and had him sign it as he was leaving. 

And now for the blow offs.  Cody Simpson showed up and there were only three people in the fan pit asking for his autograph.  The way the set up was he had to walk directly in front of us and stand only ten feet from us waiting to get on the red carpet.   Well immediately when I saw him I called him and asked if he could sign.  He was only fifteen feet from me so I know he heard me, but he just looked over and gave a wave (acting like he didn't hear me say "can you sign an autograph").  He then stood directly in front of us for a couple minutes and we called him again.  He ignored us.  Then he got moved and had to come and stand three feet from us, so close I could have reached out and put the sharpie in his hand if I wanted.   I asked him again if he would sign and he said, "I'm sorry guys I can't do that".   Three people safely behind a barricade asking him to sign.  That's about as low key as you can get, and he blew us off.  Not cool at all. 

But that might not be as bad as Zendaya Coleman.  Or more specifically Zendaya's publicist and father.   On the way in Zendaya arrived and also had to stand 10 feet in front of us.  Again there were only three people asking her to sign.  My buddy had a 12x18 Shake It Up photo for his daughter that Bella Thorne had already signed and personalized to his daughter.  He asked Zendaya if she could sign it and personalize it to his daughter too.   Zendaya hesitated then asked her publicist "Can I sign for him" and I heard him give a one word response, "No".  Incredibly uncool.   Then on the way out Zendaya was not with her publicist but instead her father.  My buddy again asked her, "Can you sign this and personalize it for my daughter".  Zendaya said yes and started to walk his way when he father stopped her and said "We're leaving".  We didn't want to give up that easily so instead I walked up to her dad.  I walked next to him and said, "Sir, is there any chance she can sign one autograph it's for his daughter and Bella already signed it".   He looked at me and these were his exact words, "For a hundred bucks".  WOW!  Real classy buddy real classy.   Someone wants an autograph personalized to his daughter and you ask for a hundred bucks.  Really freaking classy.  

Raymond Cruz aka Tuco Salamanca signs my Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is one of my favorite shows on TV and I have wanted for a long time to get Tuco Salamanca's (Raymond Cruz's) autograph on a Breaking Bad image.  I had a chance back in January at a network party but when we tried to call Raymond he blew us off.   Well I was not ready to give up that easily.  I heard he was going to be at an event Monday night and I had to try it.  Well, I am happy to report, not only did Raymond sign but the guy was super freaking nice.  He came right over when I called him, and told his driver, "give me a minute I'm gonna sign for this kid". When we told him how much we love Breaking Bad and how sweet his character was he said, "You guys are awesome, I love you guys".   He thanked us for coming out and I went home happy with my 11x14 signed.  

Mark Wahlberg and Christina Ricci sign; Mila Kunis doesn't

Well I decided to graph Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday and I have to say I'm more and more frustrated with this place every day I spend there.  I was fighting 50 people for a 15 foot section of rail and it was 4 deep at all times.  I just don't like the atmosphere there at all.  

But at any rate Marky Mark Wahlberg was on, along with Mila Kunis and Christina Ricci.   Wahlberg is really nice, unfortunately he got there late and didn't sign going in.  On the way out he was also rushed as he had a flight to catch.  I managed to get three 8x10s signed, but it was not fun fighting the masses. 

Right as Mark was signing Mila had her car pulled up directly to the door so she would not have to walk in front of us common folk.  She got in without even a wave and left.  Weak sauce. 

A few minutes later Christina Ricci came out and signed.  I think she was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people there though.  She is really nice, but you could tell the 50 plus people crammed into a 15 foot section, throwing photos over fences and rails, and everyone yelling her name were a little much for her. I got a 12x18 and 11x14 signed by her though.