For more than 30 years, I've been involved in some aspect of independent film, or related media. In that time, I've crossed paths with many celebrities, and most are genuinely nice people, and the encounters are beneficial on both sides.

When I began to attend the larger comic and horror conventions in the 80s, I noticed that many of the fans were blatantly greedy, asking a great deal of the celebrities in time and energy. From obscure questions to endless autographs and photo ops, the fans demanded an awful lot of someone they've just met. I decided that I'd try to give back, and began the practice of giving small gifts to the celebrities as a way to offset the expectations I placed on them. And because something made has a more personal touch than something bought, these gifts were often a drawing of the celebrity in character.

At the 2019 Motor City Comic Con, John Cleese of Monty Python fame was scheduled to attend. Being a huge fan, I spent days on a stippled drawing of Mr. Cleese as Sir Lancelot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The stippling technique is very time consuming, but the results are usually worth the effort. I was pleased with the drawing (included here) -

So, it was with some excitement that the day of the con arrived and I got there just as the doors opened, to be guided to the line of fans to meet John Cleese. We waited two hours before he showed up, while in the meantime, other convention goers were enjoying the festivities and meeting other guests. The line moved slowly and an additional two hours later, I finally met one of my lifelong idols.

After paying the required $80 for an autograph, I gave him the drawing and he looked at it a moment, declared it "good" and passed it to an assistant who quickly set it aside. Obviously dismissed, I then exited the line, feeling a bit worse for wear.

Not to get too discouraged, I then decided to line up to meet Kristian Nairn, Hodor from Game of Thrones. This time, the encounter went as well as I had hoped. I waited 15 minutes, and then paid only $40 for an autograph in order to meet the gentleman who came to be so loved by fans throughout the world. I didn't have a drawing for him, but my friend Gonzalo sent a painting all the way from Mexico and asked that I give that to Mr. Nairn.

He received the painting in the spirit in which it was given and we chatted for a bit. Kristian spent time with each of the people in line and seemed to be having a great time with the fans. It's amazing how a few kind words and a genuine smile can rescue what would have otherwise been a bad day.

Gonzalo's painting is fairly large, but in the hands of the man who played Hodor, it seems quite small. People have called him a gentle giant, and now that I've met him, I have to agree with that sentiment.