Ernie Hudson wants to do "Congo 2"

[Andrew NDB]

Surely this means it will be produced any day now, right?

https://www.darkhorizons.com/ernie-h...ld-do-congo-2/

[IMJ]

Love Ernie Hudson.
Met him at a convention once and told him I was a fan and thanked him for entertaining me and my family with Ghostbusters and the Crow and Stargate.

He tried really hard to sell me a photo for an autograph. Still love Ernie Hudson, but... ehhhh. I dunno. I get it.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by IMJ

Love Ernie Hudson.
Met him at a convention once and told him I was a fan and thanked him for entertaining me and my family with Ghostbusters and the Crow and Stargate.

He tried really hard to sell me a photo for an autograph. Still love Ernie Hudson, but... ehhhh. I dunno. I get it.

Poor dude needs any scrap he could get. Shoulda gone for it. Most of the convention booths are kind for the intention to buy autograph or signed items with them. They're rarely there to talk just for talking's sake.

[Leo656]

Yeah, that's literally the entire point of them even doing a convention. They're not there to say "Hello".

Sometimes (most times) they even have to pay a cut of their earnings that day to the vendor/promoter, so every item sold is important.

I've seen numerous people get yelled at by their promoter for spending too much time making friendly talk and not enough time signing autographs. The "talent" generally hates that, as they have no problem with the "friendly talk" and genuinely enjoy it, but it's a business. It's a HUGE business. Every "free handhsake" is taking money out of someone's pocket and the "talent" might not get to come back next year if they don't hit a quota. That's how these things work.

I would'a dropped some coin for Ernie Hudson. He couldn't have been any worse than F*cking Virgil.

You know F*cking Virgil. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase's manservant Virgil. This guy's notorious. He will literally corner you and hard-sell you for whatever he has, and very loudly "COME ON, man!" you if you try and get away. He was never even "a star", just a guy who got beat up by "stars", but he THINKS he's a star, or at least "star-adjacent". He always has this big tablecloth set out that says "Wrestling Superstar VIRGIL", which is... an exaggeration at best. I mean the "Virgil" part is true, the rest is a stretch. If you say HELLO to this f*cking guy he wants ten bucks. Most people have caught on to him by now, so "Lonely Virgil" has become a meme on the wrestling convention circuit; pictures of him just sitting there by himself, with no line and a stack of unsold pictures, looking annoyed. But he did it to himself by being so goddamn pushy. Nobody likes you, Virgil!

I got cornered by the guy once, thanks to my wife. We had literally just showed up at a convention, not even five minutes in, and there were a LOT of Must-Meets that day. But only a few of the lesser names had their tables set up yet. So my wife, bless her heart, looks up and hollers "Dude, omigod it's VIRGIL!", and it took everything I had not to groan out loud. Sure enough, we were caught in the tractor beam; "HEY man, HOW YOU DOIN'!" as he starts showing off all the 8x10s of him and people who were Much More Famous. I was polite, and I figure at this point I need to at least humor the guy and get SOMEthing - I've had to hustle my own merch, too, I know how annoying it is when people just walk away so I try and pay it forward as much as I can - but he was literally trying to sell me the store.

"Luckily", he did have an 8x10 of almost the entire nWo, signed by almost all of them. So he "cut me a deal" and offered me that and one of just him signed for a total of $50. At that point, it was a small price to pay to get along with my day (and to be fair, the nWo pic was definitely worth that price by itself). I was a little ruder than I meant to be, but seriously, This F*cking Guy was relentless. So I was like "Okay, I'll take this one, that one, here's fifty, now seriously, get away from me." We said our goodbyes, I made up some story about how I had to meet someone as a way of "apologizing" for my rude comment, and that was that.

As soon as we turned around, I shot my wife a "You see what you DID?" look and she was like "Dude, I know, I'm sorry." I never let her live it down. To this day, when I wanna get her goat I'll just yell "OH MY GOD IT'S VIRGIL!" and watch her squirm. She knows what she did.

But yeah. F*cking Virgil. Ol' Winston might've been giving you the Hard Sell... but I promise you, he ain't no F*cking Virgil.

"HEY man... HOW YOU DOIN'!" I'm gonna be hearing that in my nightmares for the rest of my goddamn life.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Poor dude needs any scrap he could get. Shoulda gone for it. Most of the convention booths are kind for the intention to buy autograph or signed items with them. They're rarely there to talk just for talking's sake.

I knnnnooooowwwww.
I just.... I don't know. I'm not a big fan of paying for autographs when a guy is standing right in front of you. I feel like delivering on an autograph is part of the appreciation of a fandom who appreciates you. If I had any life of socially popular stardom I'd sign **** all day long for my fans as an endless thank you for following whatever I did. I swear to God that would be part of my operating model to do that. But I understand completely. To be honest, had I known he was going to be there I would've brought my Crow DVD cover which I've had signed by J. O'Barr.

I'm basically into two kinds of autographs - cover jams meaning one thing signed by a bunch of people. Or themed sets - like right now I've been putting together a pretty fly Blade Runner 2049 Beckett authenticated set.

But the point is that I was legit happy to talk to the guy and I think amidst that I was a little turned off by "the sale" because I was being very genuine with him. But I get your point and he probably gets that all the time.

[Leo656]

Practically nobody signs autographs out of the goodness of their heart anymore, that model is extinct, at least in a convention environment. Once retired celebrities figured out that they can continue eating and paying rent simply by writing on things, that changed the entire game. "Free" autographs are looked down upon because you're lowering the bar for everyone else.

Early on in my wrestling career, I got scolded by a few of the guys backstage for doing free autographs. My reasoning was, "I'm a nobody yet, I should be grateful that they even asked." But their reasoning was twofold. 1: "I'm at the next table over signing for $5 (or whatever). Why should anyone pay me to sign their shirt if you're over here giving it away?" and 2: "Even if you're Nobody, they don't know that. Present yourself as a Somebody, if you ever wanna get paid." And those are good points; I was still super-green, so I didn't know, but in that business, you get paid a ton more at the merch table than you do for actually wrestling - I had nights where I made twenty bucks for my match but over $100 on gimmicks - so if a guy's giving out "free" sh*t he's kinda ruining the curve for everyone.

So my buddy says, "Here's what you do. Say 'If you want something signed, 8x10s are $5 and I'll sign it for free.' That way you're at least TRYING to make a sale. Obviously you're gonna sign the picture anyway, but they don't know that, make it sound like it's a Bonus you're throwing in because you're such a nice guy. And if they don't even have $5 to spend then they're just holding up your line anyway, so there's no reason to spend a ton of time talking to them, you're just cutting your own neck. Don't be a dick, but remember you're here to work."

He was right; Be Nice, but Always Ask For The Sale. Obviously a "movie star" probably has more wiggle room in how they deal with these interactions, but changing my approach at the gimmick table was how I went from making my gas money back to actually earning profits.

Having been on both sides of the table, I look at it like, "If a guy's at his table/booth, he's On The Clock. If I interject myself knowing full well that I'm not giving them any money, I'm hurting their business." So if I just wanna say "hello" and shoot the breeze, I personally just catch them at the hotel bar after the event. That's a gamble in itself, as some guys just wanna be left alone, but like anything else you just read the room and if they seem approachable then they usually are. If they're off in a corner trying not to draw attention, probably best to leave 'em be.

But yeah, I personally only go to a signing situation if I have a lot of money to spend. I hate being That Guy. I have a buddy who runs a local con and I have a standing offer to come down and get a "Staff" bracelet, just so I can meet people and catch up with folks, but I only do that very, very rarely. They're there to get paid and I always feel like I'm butting in. If they wave me over, that's different.

I'unno, all different kids of scenarios. I know a lot of guys will actually sign something if you catch them randomly out and about or whatever, but that's different. Like if someone sees me at the mall and asks, then that's fine. If I have a whole table full of shirts and 8x10s in front of me and they just want a free autograph, they're kinda S.O.L. unless I have literally nobody in my line. "I'm workin' here, buddy!"

Everybody's different. Michael Keaton notoriously only carries blue and black Sharpies on him, for example, because he generally refuses to sign any Batman stuff and hates when people ask. "Hey, sorry, I can't sign that, it won't show up." You KNOW the only thing anyone's ever gonna have you sign is Batman stuff, Michael. That's his way of not being the heel, as if they don't sell silver Sharpies for exactly that purpose. BUT, "plausible deniability" and all that.

Plus a lot of "real" celebrities refuse to do free autographs because they know 99% of people are gonna flip it on eBay. "If you're getting paid, then I should too." And with that, I definitely see their point.

[Musashi]

I feel like it's too soon for Congo 2. Let people decide what they think about it for a while first.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, I've had a few experiences at cons. It was odd, idk if it was either Vegas was new to the con concept, or anime VAs were just not viewed as actual actors and whatnot or maybe this was still at the very start of their careers, but back in the day you could get their autographs for free. You could either sneak one after their panel was done or step in line during their autograph sessions. I got autographs and/or pics taken with the likes of Laura Bailey and Brad Swaile for free. I got a Death Note full of em and my Super SF4 with autographs of several of the VA on the packaging. It was until one con back in I wanna say 2009 or 2010 where they actually got Tara Strong on board where it actually cost something to get her autograph and picture, while the rest were still free. I'm assuming because they did anime only and she did actual big-time American cartoons like Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans and MLP.

It was til we started going to more and more cons that we realized that smaller anime cons were exceptions to the rules, everyone charged for autographs.

Funny story, we met Billy from the OG Power Rangers and got in line. Sweet innocent us didn't know we had to pay but the closer we got to him the more we noticed people in front of us getting their wallets ready. When we were close enough to see the sign with the prices my girl at the time said loud enough for him to hear 'you have pay? I don't like him that much!' and that was awkward, though funny in retrospect. I didn't care, I wanted my pic with Billy so I proudly paid.

We did see Virgil a few times. A friend of mine and her kid got too close to him and he started the hard sell and they walked away thinking we was rude, lmao. The funny thing is for a while he was always a last minute addition. Like the week before the con we'd get updates like 'we just found out that wrestling superstar Virgil will also be attending!'. After a while we kinda used that as an in-joke. Like whenever we heard the last minute news about Virgil we'd be like 'dang, now I gotta go'.

But yeah, a lot of these guys are kinda 'washed up' so they do rely on that extra cash to get by.

Obviously nowadays with how huge anime has blown up, you do have to fork out some cash to get an autograph from Laura Bailey and all them, their days of signing em for free and 'just being happy to be there' are behind them, lol.

[Leo656]

He's the guy everybody pays to see!


True story, apparently him and DiBiase don't speak anymore because Ted got hot at him for putting up posters like the one above when he does appearances, making marks think BOTH of them were gonna be there when in truth it was just Virgil. Maybe they squashed it but I know Ted had serious heat with him for a WHILE over that.

I'd probably pay to meet Tara Strong, depending. I like her. Plus, she's a f*cking goddess. Too bad she's a filthy Vegan.

Originally Posted by Musashi

I feel like it's too soon for Congo 2. Let people decide what they think about it for a while first.

I lol'ed.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Leo656

He's the guy everybody pays to see!
https://64.media.tumblr.com/536ae124...f4ro1_1280.jpg

True story, apparently him and DiBiase don't speak anymore because Ted got hot at him for putting up posters like the one above when he does appearances, making marks think BOTH of them were gonna be there when in truth it was just Virgil. Maybe they squashed it but I know Ted had serious heat with him for a WHILE over that.

I'd probably pay to meet Tara Strong, depending. I like her. Plus, she's a f*cking goddess. Too bad she's a filthy Vegan.



I lol'ed.

IDK, I'm sure Tara still enjoys a good sausage every now and then.

Also holy ****, I might have been at that con from that pic, that's exactly what we was wearing one of those days.

I remember there was a con with Ted Dibiase and he kept trying to get in on it or suggest group photos and whatver.

But you see, the funny part is.... all the other guests have their own autograph lines, one next to the other. Virgil's is always far away from them all in some corner of the con. LMAO

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Leo656

True story, apparently him and DiBiase don't speak anymore because Ted got hot at him for putting up posters like the one above when he does appearances, making marks think BOTH of them were gonna be there when in truth it was just Virgil. Maybe they squashed it but I know Ted had serious heat with him for a WHILE over that.

See I don't think that's fair. Virgil's presence was associated with DiBiase. It'd be like Burt Ward showing up - he's going to have a sign that says "Robin From Batman '66 With Adam West!"

Maybe Virgils signage should've said something like "Virgil! From the famous duo of Team DiBiase!" I just made that awful line up, but you get the point.

Originally Posted by Leo656

I'd probably pay to meet Tara Strong, depending. I like her. Plus, she's a f*cking goddess. Too bad she's a filthy Vegan.

HOLY $#!( I had to google this person and HOLY $#!(. See it's just better that I don't meet her at a con. It would be like one of those pathetic meetings where you are hoping that this famous chick way above your skis takes a liking to you, which of course is a completely impossible wish in that situation.

But HOLY $#!(. Talk about the face of your dreams and a Cadillac of boob jobs. Holy $#!(. And you know I'm taken aback because I don't do this.... hahahahahaha

On another note entirely I was at a Chicago Con once and for some reason I zoned out while staring in the direction of Lou Ferigno. He ****in' looked at me and winked. HAHAHAHHAAH it was hysterical! I laughed.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, Tara Strong is pretty damn hot. I'd say she's even hotter than some of the characters she voices. Hell, she'd look amazing dressed as Harley Quinn or Juliet Starling.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by IMJ

See I don't think that's fair. Virgil's presence was associated with DiBiase. It'd be like Burt Ward showing up - he's going to have a sign that says "Robin From Batman '66 With Adam West!"

Maybe Virgils signage should've said something like "Virgil! From the famous duo of Team DiBiase!" I just made that awful line up, but you get the point.

No, no, Virgil's an ass. He would DELIBERATELY put up posters showing both of them even if Ted wasn't going to be there. And look closely at the tablecloth; you can see up top where it's folded over it says "Ted DiBiase" above the "&". See, Virgil had that made up for ONE show they did appear at together... but then he KEPT using it at EVERY appearance he made whether Ted was there or not, with DiBiase's name fully displayed. So he'd basically fast-talk people over to his table and make them think Ted was just taking a leak or something, he'd be along any minute, "while they're waiting" he'd hard-sell them some of his own merch... and by the time they figure out DiBiase's not there, "Oops, too late, no refunds." THAT'S why he has to fold the tablecloth over, now. Ted flat-out refused to do any shows or even talk to the guy for years after he kept doing that sh*t, and basically said "If I find out you're using my name on that stupid tablecloth to push your f*cking gimmicks it's gonna be your ass." And promoters got sick of it too because THEY get yelled at for "false advertising" even though THEY never even said DiBiase was there, it was only F*cking Virgil doing that.

It's one thing to sell 8x10s of you and your more famous partner, that's a given. Even a banner saying "Ted DiBiase's Bodyguard Virgil" is in-bounds. But putting a guy who isn't even in the building on the poster and using their name in giant bold typeface letters to attract people to your table... yeah, that's borderline false advertising. It's all in how you present yourself. And F*cking Virgil is Shady As F*ck.

Like, he's KIND of a nice guy. But he's shady. He's not very well-respected by his peers. That's why he's "F*cking Virgil". Everybody in the business had a run-in with him at some point. Go up to anyone in any locker room and say his name, it's the same reaction: ((Deep breath, heavy sigh)) "F*cking Virgil, man." ((Shakes head, laughs)) "F*cking Virgil."

Every time. Pick a guy at random, that's the reaction. I hear if you turn off the lights, light a candle, and say "Soul Train Jones" in the mirror three times, Virgil shows up behind you like the goddamn Candyman hawking 8x10s. "Twenny-five each, TWO for thirty! For forty, you get ALL that AN' I'll let you take a picture wit' me. COME ON, man!"

I will say this... he's got hustle.
----------------

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Yeah, Tara Strong is pretty damn hot. I'd say she's even hotter than some of the characters she voices. Hell, she'd look amazing dressed as Harley Quinn or Juliet Starling.

You're right.



Although I can't find any of her as Juliet. That'd be hawt.

She cosplays her characters somewhat often. She rocks Raven pretty hard:


And of course... Twilight F*CKING Sparkle!



Apparently she never did any Cosplay until she did Twilight for an MLP convention, and that's what got her into it. Whatever It Takes!!!

I don't even mind that she's a vegan. That's her business. What I don't like is that she's a scold-y, finger-wagging type of vegan who mocks and shames people who don't agree with her lifestyle. And she's older than she looks so I'd expect better from someone like her. That's college kid stuff, not Grown Woman stuff. Some of the stuff I've seen on her Twitter is just very disappointing.

That said, I can't be TOO mad. Cuz... she's hawt.

[Wildcat]

I never really saw the first one. I think we rented it but I personally didn’t watch it. I must have rented a video game or something else.

As for Ernie Hudson I would have bought an autograph but I don’t agree he needs convention sales. He’s had a nice career and is still doing things.

I hate when people make out celebrities as desperate for money just because they’re not in the spotlight or take rolls in other stuff.

I always see comments like “they need a paycheck” or “they must have run out of that [Title] money”. As if they were home just hoping for a call to do anything.

People can do other things. Many celebrities do not act as consistently as they used to but I’m sure are very well off. Past projects and whatever work they do now is more than enough.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I never really saw the first one. I think we rented it but I personally didn’t watch it. I must have rented a video game or something else.

As for Ernie Hudson I would have bought an autograph but I don’t agree he needs convention sales. He’s had a nice career and is still doing things.

I hate when people make out celebrities as desperate for money just because they’re not in the spotlight or take rolls in other stuff.

I always see comments like “they need a paycheck” or “they must have run out of that [Title] money”. As if they were home just hoping for a call to do anything.

People can do other things. Many celebrities do not act as consistently as they used to but I’m sure are very well off. Past projects and whatever work they do now is more than enough.

I mean... that's the thing, you THINK they're well off, but they're not.

IDK maybe it's horrible money management, or they got screwed out of a royalties deal or whatnot. But it happens.

[Leo656]

Everybody's an individual. Some guys are well-off, some guys are hard-up. Only they probably know for sure.

Like Nash does a lot of cons. Nash is definitely NOT hard-up. And he didn't used to do many appearances at all because he was kind of more of a dick in his younger days, but he's mellowed with age and now that he's not in "the grind" all the time he actually enjoys going out and meeting people. Obviously he's not doing it for free but he absolutely doesn't NEED the money. He could just sit at home getting fat residual checks and never leave his house again, but he gets bored doing that. But he's got "F*ck You" money, he doesn't NEED to do appearances, that's just him gracing the world with his presence.

Then there's Other Guys. Like Virgil, most likely, needs the money. I don't *know* that but I'm gonna hazard a guess.

But either way, Money's Money and cons are a very lucrative gig. I've heard stories of guys in the wrestling business who made almost as much doing conventions in the last ten years as they did in their whole career. That's nothing to sneeze at; whether they "need it" or not, that's some sweet f*cking cake, right there. I think Cornette said something like he and the Midnight Express made almost or as much money doing cons in the last decade than they did during their hottest run in the NWA when they had the Tag belts. And that they were all sad Ray Traylor/Big Bubba/Boss Man had died before that could take off, because they loved him and he could have made as much money at the signing table with them as he made in his whole wrestling career, if only he hung around a few more years.

So yeah, regardless of what part of the entertainment business they're in, SOME people are gonna need to do the signing stuff because it's their lifeline, but other guys are already set for life and it's just the cherry. Either way, it's a lot of money for very little work, so Everybody Wins. I ain't mad at 'em.
---------

Speaking of "sweet f*cking cake", way to no-sell those Tara Strong pics, Coola. I imagine you were left speechless. Sorry I couldn't find any Juliet ones, I don't think she's done that one yet. There was a Batgirl, too, but the picture was too small.

[Wildcat]

Ya some do need money. There’s stories about falling on hard times. It can happen to anyone.

Ernie Hudson has always done other things though. Do people think he’s just been waiting around for a new ghostbusters?

Some celebrities that are out of the mainstream have social media accounts and you can see they’re doing perfectly fine. Financially at least. Also because they’re married to other celebrities.

Sometimes I come across stuff talking about so and so never became as big a star as they should have been. Did it ever occur to people they might have taken the roles they wanted and were actually happy with their level of fame?

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Everybody's an individual. Some guys are well-off, some guys are hard-up. Only they probably know for sure.

Like Nash does a lot of cons. Nash is definitely NOT hard-up. And he didn't used to do many appearances at all because he was kind of more of a dick in his younger days, but he's mellowed with age and now that he's not in "the grind" all the time he actually enjoys going out and meeting people. Obviously he's not doing it for free but he absolutely doesn't NEED the money. He could just sit at home getting fat residual checks and never leave his house again, but he gets bored doing that. But he's got "F*ck You" money, he doesn't NEED to do appearances, that's just him gracing the world with his presence.

Then there's Other Guys. Like Virgil, most likely, needs the money. I don't *know* that but I'm gonna hazard a guess.

But either way, Money's Money and cons are a very lucrative gig. I've heard stories of guys in the wrestling business who made almost as much doing conventions in the last ten years as they did in their whole career. That's nothing to sneeze at; whether they "need it" or not, that's some sweet f*cking cake, right there. I think Cornette said something like he and the Midnight Express made almost or as much money doing cons in the last decade than they did during their hottest run in the NWA when they had the Tag belts. And that they were all sad Ray Traylor/Big Bubba/Boss Man had died before that could take off, because they loved him and he could have made as much money at the signing table with them as he made in his whole wrestling career, if only he hung around a few more years.

So yeah, regardless of what part of the entertainment business they're in, SOME people are gonna need to do the signing stuff because it's their lifeline, but other guys are already set for life and it's just the cherry. Either way, it's a lot of money for very little work, so Everybody Wins. I ain't mad at 'em.
---------

Speaking of "sweet f*cking cake", way to no-sell those Tara Strong pics, Coola. I imagine you were left speechless. Sorry I couldn't find any Juliet ones, I don't think she's done that one yet. There was a Batgirl, too, but the picture was too small.

Lol they are pretty hot. You can even see a bit of nip in one of the MLP ones. I'm more of a booty guy though, I woulda dropped everything if Tara did one of those 'back to the camera but turning to face you' poses.

In a way I did feel bad for Hudson mostly cause the others did more stuff and Hudson felt kinda like 'and he was there too' Ghostbuster. It didn't help he was brought in kinda late in the first movie, but at least he was there since the start of the second. Idk maybe cause he was more the straightman to the other three and their antics? Idk.

[Leo656]

Hudson got screwed over in both Ghostbusters movies because his part was originally written for Eddie Murphy, and once Murphy said "Nah" the studio had no interest at all in the Winston character anymore, and he was basically left in because "They needed a Black Guy." It's a pretty well and oft-told story and while Ernie's always been glad to have the role and is proud of it, to a man he'll tell you how excited he was when he read the script versus how disappointed he was when he showed up to actually shoot and found out almost all his material had been cut.

He's basically an afterthought in BOTH movies, if you notice. Even in the second one, where the role was actually written for him specifically this time, he disappears from the plot for huge stretches at a time. He does the Birthday Party scene, then he's gone. He shows up in the courtroom scene just to show you that he's still around, then vanishes without explanation while the Other Three Guys get to make their big heroic comeback. Montage Scene, he's there in a few shots. Toaster gag scene, then gone again. He gets more to do in the second half from the Subway scene through the end, but for the first half of the movie it's like they just completely forgot to write him into any scenes. You never even find out what his "real job" was while they were all struggling between Ghostbusters movies. I mean you see that Ray owns a bookstore to pay the bills in-between Birthday party gigs with Winston, but what's Winston up to? They never tell you. He's the only one they DON'T tell you. Everybody else gets showcased at their "real job", but you can only assume that Winston is surviving on Birthday Party money because that's all the movie shows you.

It's a real shame. I really like Ernie Hudson. He was an underrated villain in "The Substitute". He usually gets cast in semi-heroic roles so that was a nice change of pace. But it sucks that he's mostly known for his role in two movies, and in the first one it wasn't written for him and so they cut 98% of his material for the crime of not being Eddie Murphy, and in the second one they just plain "forgot" he was in half of it. He auditioned for the role of Winston in the cartoon show, too, and they passed on him in favor of Arsenio Hall. What a rip.