A Com-Con Story, How I Tried To Get A Princess Leia Pop! Signed.

I have been a geek for as long as I can remember, decades before one could claim that title with pride. Years before Geeks and Nerds would revolutionize everything with computers and gadgets, I was a picked-on, video-game-playing, Star Wars watching geek.

A BIG Star Wars watching geek.

I was the right age for it too, born after the original movie’s release, I was a kid during the 80’s and the hype of Star Wars was all around. I had the C3PO blue sheets that are are now iconic, played with toys that would be worth hundreds of dollars today, and was 20 years old when Phantom Menace was (disappointingly?) released. The prequel trilogy was something I shared with my daughters over the course of the next few years and a family wide love of Star Wars was solidified.

So when my closest Comic-Con announced that Carrie Fisher was going to be not only attending, but signing autographs, I just knew it was something I had to do. I, despite my geekiness, had not ever attending a Comic/Star Wars/Geek based convention (the closest being Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios). Despite this, I was the kind of person that people would ask “how was comic-con?”

I supposed I have the “just returned from Comic-Con” look about me most days; geeky t-shirt, action figure in one hand, ranting about the latest comic book crossover – even I was surprised I had never been to one. This was to be my first one, and the mission was clear; to have Carrie Fisher sign something. Little did I know it was going to be it’s own Space Opera.

Episode 1: The Pop Menace.

Despite having a love for Star Wars, my actual Star Wars memorabilia collection was quite sporadic. An action figure here, a few Disney pins there, and since I am relatively NEW to Pop collecting, I had mostly resisted buying the amazingly done Star Wars pops – there was just so many to collect I didn’t know where to begin. However, recently Chewbacca and C3PO exclusive Pops had made their way into my otherwise largely Disney collection. So without any retro comic books or vintage toys to get signed, which I would’ve preferred, I decided a Pop would be the perfect thing to get autographed, but which one?

I searched the local stores for the week leading up to Comic-Con to find a Leia Pop, and despite finding several Slave Leia Pops, there were none of the classic white dress and cinnamon bun hairstyles I would’ve preferred. I later even looked for one after I arrived at the convention, and despite being common just weeks ago (and the Slave Leia being vaulted previously) there were no classic Leia’s to be had. Slave Leia it would have to be. Would Carrie Fisher OPPOSE this? Would she bad angry that some fanboy wanted to have her sign a action figure of her in a bikini? All thoughts ran through my head, but I would later learn that these were mild compared to what was requested of her.

Again, I had never done one of these events, but I had been to Disney World events, and had to endure my fair share of long lines. I was quite confident going in that I could handle what they would throw at me, and my goal for the entire day was to get an autograph, even if it was the only thing I did at the convention. I did internet research using the convention hashtag on Instagram and Twitter on Friday and Saturday, before I went Sunday, but there was little talk of meeting Carrie Fisher, and what talk was there was less than encouraging. I was told I’d probably be in line all day, and I was still fine with this, because nowhere in my mind had come the concept of waiting all day and NOT getting the autograph. There was a 10am signing and a 2:30 signing, so they had to expect a decent number of people. I figured it was simple – show up, get in line, and wait until she got through the line, but boy was I wrong.

Episode 2: Attack of the Wait Time.

My brother and daughter in tow we arrived in a rainstorm and ran into the event mere moments after it opened at 9am. We rushed passed the Info booth, asking where Carrie Fisher was mid-stride, and they pointed us in the right direction. I ran up to the line, seeing her face on a sign nearby and attempted to get into the line…

“Sorry, line is capped at 150 people, we’re not allowing anyone else to get in line” the volunteer said.

My group and several others probed him with questions, and there was (already) a palatable anger in the air. How could we have already missed out on this? We had paid our money to get in, rushed here as fast as humanly possible and 150 people had already beat us? When would they open the line again, and most importantly, was there a standby line? The volunteer pointed towards a crisscrossing line set up behind us, and we all slid into the line, my brother, daughter and I at the front. We still had so much hope and optimism. We were first in line of the second line, surely they would get through 150 people in the 10am shift, and they even if we had to wait for the next signing, we would be the first or at least near it!

The group behind us was a mix of excitement, anger and disappointment. There were vocal people behind us still, upset that they weren’t in the regular line. Then, a small Important Brunette with a clipboard and and a walkie-talkie came up to us and asked what we were doing. As I told her, Important Brunette told us that we were wrong, there WAS no standby line, and that we were doing is foolish. I tried to explain what we were told, instead she addressed the entire line. What she said broke at least a few hearts.

“Hi guys, please listen to me! So, the line you are in is a standby line on some off chance that Carrie Fisher is going to get through the people over there in the regular line. There IS A NINTENY NINE POINT NINE NINE NINE CHANCE that you will NOT get to meet her, you will NOT get anything signed by her and that you will spend ALL DAY in this line for no reason. She already told us she is going to be late today, and we cannot control her. She signs when she wants, takes breaks when she wants, and does whatever she wants. I highly doubt that she will get through the line of 150 in front of you, and many people are going to be disappointed. If you want to do ANYTHING else today I suggest you leave the line.”

All of this was done by 9:20am. The convention had barely been open, and the tension was palatable already. Several people grumbled, and asked for more information. Important Brunette was steadfast in her information, and while it’s important to point out that she never SAID as much, it felt like she was saying “you are all stupid for standing here, she is never going to sign anything, and you’re wasting your day”. Many people had their spirit broken then, some shuffled off into the convention, others stormed towards the ticket line to demand their money back. One father and daughter turned to me for advice (again, I probably look like someone who has done this a few times), and I honestly told them at that moment I had my own doubts, but was sticking it out as it was our mission, but they decided to go out and try back later.

Episode 3. Revenge of the Long Lines.

Time had a weird effect. Before 10am I was already feeling antsy. I grew jealous of the toddler behind me with a stroller and iPad playing Disney movies. However, Important Brunette had given her speech to the attendees in the main line, and a few of them had decided to leave as well, and we assumed we’d be moved up to take place, to become a part of the coveted 150. We were informed, politely, that we were not. Again, it was reiterated that there was likely no chance even the first line would get to see her, so they didn’t see the point in letting us join the other line, as to us false hope. This persisted throughout the day. Both lines lost people as the first signing time of 10am came and went. Carrie Fisher wasn’t on site yet, and people were losing hope for a number of reasons. Some had plans to visit other people who WERE showing up, and others were going to panels or just didn’t want to wait anymore.

By now though the line had become a friendly group of people. This became our saving grace, and the reason we were able to wait and wait (and wait). I met a really nice teacher who was getting an old rare action figure signed, a couple whose toddler daughter was patient beyond any reasonable toddler level who were getting an old comic book signed that already had two Star Wars signatures on it, and other people line for various reasons. Some of them had never been to a Convention, like me, while others attended the day previously and had struck out. The rumors about Carrie Fisher were rampart then as well. She was mean, she was on medication, she was rude and took 3 hours to “walk her dog”, etc… and then the opposing rumors came in right after; she took the time to sit with a young girl who was very excited, she stayed an hour late to sign EVERYONE’s autographs after 6pm the night before, and that she was doing all of this while catching a cold. It was difficult to see where the truth lied, but it seemed more likely that it was the latter, or at least we were optimistic of such. The group of us had worked out a system and we all got a chance to walk around the convention, albeit in small intervals, to use the restroom, get food, and shop for a bit and it relaxed us all. By now we had even made friends with the volunteer bouncer who was helping us by not letting anyone else into the line.

Episode 4. A New Hope.

Watching others walk up was the most infuriating and saddest part of the day. As people walked up they had no idea that we were waiting for hours already for a celebrity who hadn’t shown up at site yet, to maybe get through a line to get into another line to line up for a chance to get in line. It was madness, but every person that walked up to our bouncer friend filled the line with dread; were they going to get through somehow, lowering our chances by 1? Were they going to fight and argue? We had decided, silently but collectively, that being quiet and not bothering the staff was the greatest chance we had to meet her; we wanted to give them NO reasons to cancel our line. Still, as angry as we thought of the idea of someone cutting us, we, as fans, also felt for them as they would come up hoping for a chance to meet Carrie Fisher as we did hours and hours before, and then were told that they could maybe get behind US in line, and hope.

Yet, around 12:45 we got a message of hope. The father and daughter combo from earlier had just attended the Photo Op and confirmed something that no one in staff had; Carrie Fisher was there, with her dog in tow, and taking photos. They were excited that they had not wasted their time, and several of us debated whether we should try to go for the photo instead. It was the same cost ($75 dollars) but 5 of us could share the photo, whereas the autographs were $75 EACH signature. It seemd logical, but without the signature we all felt we weren’t getting the full experience, so none of us left. Besides, the idea that she was there, interacting? It was almost enough to make us giddy!

Until nothing changed. Hours went by. She started the photo ops 45 minutes late, after missing the first signing altogether, and as suddenly as the photo line started it had stopped. We were going to get a chance? Important Brunette was back, silently counting us, but there was no information being shared, nothing happening. The walks to restrooms and to get food or visit the convention had stopped, no one wanted to miss the moment if and when we got selected. Again things seemed dark and desperate.

Another employee, told us what we were dreading; Carrie Fisher had not even decided if she WOULD sign anything. She was not feeling well, and they really had no control over her staying or going, or if she perhaps would just do photos today and never sign anything(where she sat with a blanket on one side of her and her dog at the other.) At this point, a curmudgeonly older gentleman gave up, and did so in an angry fashion. His wife spoke for him, apologizing as they stomped through the line, and explaining that he wants “nothing to do with that woman now” and will not “stand in line any further”. We all sort of halfheartedly sympathized. Before they left though, she held up a Carrie Fisher poster and offered it for sale for $5 if anyone wanted it. We didn’t see what it was, but it was in a nice case, and since my brother had nothing of his own to get signed, he bought it. Their loss, our gain… or so we thought until we looked at the poster. I won’t describe it as the artist was at the event and I don’t want to offend ANYONE who does art for a living, but let’s just say it was over-sexualizing a character who was already well-known for wearing a bikini for a film in the 1980s, which wasn’t an easy thing to do. It wasn’t flattering, and we destroyed it instead of having her subjecting her to seeing it herself. It also felt like at least a little bit like a ritualistic sacrifice; we were willing to do anything to make the Star Wars Gods happy.

Like Han Solo covered in carbonite; we waited.

Step 5. The Princess Strikes Back.

Suddenly and without warning, the first line started to move. The line that had seemed impossibly long had suddenly moved forward to the actual Carrie Fisher cue, and a few minutes later a cheer erupted from that line, and we cheered right along. Carrie Fisher was, at least apparently, ready to sign. We looked with hope towards our Bouncer Friend and told us to wait, he was trying to get info. The moments ticked by. It was almost 3pm now, and we had been waiting since 9 but somehow it felt at that moment that we hadn’t waited at all. Our aching feet that were in much pain we swapped around the only chair we were able to obtain all day suddenly felt light. We stood up, anticipation rushing through the crowd and we watched as the Friendly Bouncer made hand gestures with the Important Brunette who was 40 yards away. We couldn’t make out the signals, but a pair of thumbs down signals sent a chill down my spine. He gave us the wait symbol again, and the next few things happened so quickly I can barely remember the sequence.
Se signed something for someone. The first person came away in tears, and there was muted discussions on whether she was happy or sad. She had posters and memorabilia in her hands. The reporter in me wanted to follow her, get information, find out what happened – but Friendly Bouncer gave us a smile and a wave to join the regular line as it surged forward. It was happening. As we passed by him voices were telling us “nothing was guaranteed” and that we shouldn’t “get our hopes up” but joining that line felt great. I was first in line, and the back of the other line was excited to see us. I high-fived everyone as we went passed, and we were congratulated. CONGRATULATED on being able to join the original line. When the line finally stopped and we were now one group of people, those of us from the standby line now at the end of the original line, a woman looked at me, put her hand on my shoulder and said; “We are so happy you made it.” That’s the kind of people that were here.

The line moved, and briskly. We moved around the corner, towards what was the front of the original line with such speed I could barely comprehend. Was it really happening? People were walking by with autographed things, and chatting excitedly. Again I wanted to get more information. What did you get signed, where did she sign it? Did she have her own pen? I couldn’t get the words out fast enough and felt complacent to stand in line.

Soon we reached an employee, with our Friendly Bouncer next to him.

“What do you want her to say?” he asked me, holding a sticky pad.

“I don’t… what?” was the only reply I could muster.

“Who should she make it out to, or what do you want her to say?”

“To Ryan. NO WAIT – May the Force Be With You!”. He wrote down “force be with you” and placed it on my pop figure. I was holding it in my hand, and we were getting closer now. I was first in the party and went to the table in front of me. There was a selection of 8X10s in front of me, in case I didn’t bring anything to sign. They ranged from Carrie Fisher alone in white outfit or Slave Leia outfit (making me feel more comfortable about her signing my Slave Leia pop) to scenes from the movies with Han and Luke flanking her. (This was the one my brother chose.) They were nice glossy photos with a Star Wars seal, would make a nice keepsake.

The cost was $65 to $75 dollars. Cannot remember exactly, but for that amount of money we got a orange ticket. That ticket was to be given to her assistant at the front of the line. Here we entered a third line, the FINAL line, the line that was leading to her. Now we all stood in exuberance and a freshness as if we hadn’t been waiting for 6 hours, nourishing our bodies on overpriced chicken fingers and soggy ketchupless fries. We discussed what we were all getting signed with the new line. Someone had the White Leia pop I wanted, someone else had an OLD comic book that already contained several Star Wars signatures, a few had posters from several movies including one that was for Episode 7.

I was 16 people away, and then I was 15, and then 14. It was coming fast, and I had my Bronze Sharpie ready. We were all arching our heads to watch her sign, laughing in line, and everyone was having a great time. Until Carrie Fisher got up and left. She removed herself through curtains behind her signing station, and we could see several silhouettes as her and her team walked past us. She lingered and opened up a curtain that was directly in front of me, and with the held of one of her handlers realized she was in the wrong place, and she closed them and took off down the hallway to backstages unknown. No one said anything to us, no one made an announcement. Our hearts dropped, our conversations melted from carefree laughs into concerned whispers. The pain in my feet returned as suddenly as it had disappeared, and twice as strong. I was ten people away from getting an autograph from Princess Leia herself, but there was no Princess Leia.

Episode 6. Return of the Jedi.

A man came forward through the curtain, collected something off the table, and left again. Her assistant did the same thing, and the man came back. Gone were there familiar faces of Friendly Bouncer and Important Brunette. The man said that he was sorry and that he was “trying to get her to come back and sign for us”. He told us she was actually running a fever, and not feeling well, and wasn’t sure if she would return. The doubt came back.

But then, so did Princess Leia.

She was back, and I could see her now. She was sitting low and nearly reclined into laying. She was smiling though, talking quietly and signing things that her assistants put in front of her. She didn’t seem to be any of those things that we were told she was; she was just a person, probably a sick person, signing autographs for fans. The pain flew away again, and the sting of the cost of the autograph was gone, and now was only the hope that she wouldn’t leave again.

Soon I was at her assitant, holding my pop. She looked at it, sticky note declaring “Force Be With You” and said loudly to me and the group behind me “SHE WILL NOT DO MOVIE QUOTES!”

“Wait, no? The guy back there said-”

“No, Sorry, she won’t really do it. She might use initials for it instead like M.T.F.B.W.Y. – she can do your name or just her name.”

“Oh man, what should I do? My name too or JUST her name?” I asked the group, but the assistant answered me.
“If you’re the type of person selling it, just get her name, but if it’s for you, than have her personalize it, it makes it more special when you look at it.”

So I grabbed a new post-it note and wrote just one word – my name.

Then it was my turn, I handed the pop to another assistant who handed it to her. She looked at it, recognized it, and smiled. She signed it, and despite a conversation with the group about talking to her or not (we decided just polite Thank You was probably best) I couldn’t control myself.
“It’s… It’s an honor to meet you Carrie Fisher.” I said to Carrie Fisher. I said her full name, it was stupid sounding but it was out there.

“It’s an honor to meet you too sir” she said, smiling wider but not looking at anything by the pop.

“Thank you so much for doing this.” I replied, unable to stop. “I mean, especially not feeling well, it really shows the dedication to your fans!” I said other things, I cannot remember, but she polietly nodded and thanked me, handing me back the Pop.

As soon as she handed it to me, I realized – I never gave her the bronze pen! It was too late, she was now moving on to the person behind me, my brother. Then, I looked in HORROR as I smudged the writing with my thumb, right on her name! A sudden jolt of insanity hit me then as I realized with surprising clarity the fullness of my blunder – I had waited 6 hours, paid a chunk of cash, to have a smudged Carrie Fisher autograph. My brother’s signing was done now.

“I smudged it!” I announced. I couldn’t help it. It was word vomit. “I smudged it and I didn’t use the right pen and I smudged it!” My voice wavered. I looked to my brother who had a confused look in his face, and the friendly schoolteacher who we had made friends with who was about to get his own autograph. His eyes were wide with horror, he had feared my complaining was about to shut the whole thing down.

Instead though, the Princess was gracious. She looked at me, held out her hand.

“Give it to me” she said.

I rushed towards her, and handed her the pop and the pen. I rambled again.

“Thank you so much you can just sign it anywhere, on the top or whatever, here use this gold pen, I mean bronze, and thank you so much I am so sorry I smudged it, you can even sign it on the plastic.”

She smiled again, wrapped in her blanket. She gave it back to me. She had signed over the blue smudge with the bronze marker, then ALSO signed it again on the plastic. It was double signed, no, almost TRIPLE signed. I couldn’t be more excited. It reads:

Love to Ryan
Carri- -isher
arrie F
Carrie Fisher

I thanked her, and said, stupidly “Hey, you have my pen…nevermind you can keep it.” and to that I got an actual chuckle, and she continued to sign with it as I walked away.

I had done it.

Episode 7: A Smile Awakens.

The smile didn’t just awake, it hasn’t gone away since. I hung out with the nice schoolteacher for the rest of the convention, we had been through too much together to just part ways it seemed. I floated around the rest of the convention, literally displaying the autograph in front of me, telling anyone who would listen for more than ten seconds that I had met Carrie Fisher. There was jealousy, but there were other people who felt bad that I had this weird smudged signature and a half a signature and then a REAL signature, but no I argued with them, I have a unique piece. Nothing wrong for those that just have her name, but I really quite enjoy the weird 2.5 autographs I have. It will be a story to tell for years.

Something else happened when meeting someone that you’ve looked up to for literally decades. Carrie Fisher was not as regal as a Princess, she was not as chatty as other celebrities, but the one thing she was above all other things was REAL. She was a human being, a person, not a character. Carrie Fisher was not a personality, the way that some celebrities are when you meet them, the kind that can never turn the acting off – she was just HER. She had her dog with her, Gary, and you can see she loved him very much. She was probably ill or getting ill, but still signing autographs. She said, and didn’t say, so much in the moments we shared, and they’ll stay with me.

She has since favorite a few tweets I had sent her on the entire day, one thanking her for signing and resigning, and I’ve looked through her Twitter feed. It’s not the well oiled Twitter account of a P.R. Company. No, it’s the authentic conversations of a woman who somehow pulls off being one of the most famous people in the world, but a real person at the same time. She talked to fans sometimes on there, and not with the usual slick answers from a media savvy consultant but instead the truth and realism of a woman that has a large following and a few causes she believes strongly in. One of those causes, dear Fellow Fans, is Star Wars.

People have given the advice to never meet your heroes, that they can never stand up to the image you have of them in your head. However, Carrie Fisher did more than that, she was elevated in my mind. I was a fan of Princess Leia before I met her, and I always will be, but now I am am even bigger fan of Carrie Fisher.