Ghøstbusters International® and Ghostbusters - NJ

Add Chills At Winter Expo

Written By: Richard Roy, Director Of Franchise Ops.

At first glance this may seem like a real "news" article. Its not. Think of it more as a blog type of entry/report that I am writing as I sit here recalling the events of Saturday, January 28, 2006.

This was Chiller Theatre's second "Dead of Winter" expo and GBI/GBNJ's first. Their were plans to attend the very first last year, unfortunately real winter weather among other things prevented us from attending. In fact this would be our return to the famous sci/fi-horror expo in more then a year! Prior, we had made an impact at October 2004's Chiller. The "big one" if you will. Yes, we did put the chill in Chiller that year. This year we just added to it. That old gag.

Actually global warming or maybe something we did caused the temps to be somewhere around 55º F. When you're inside a hotel attending such an event as Chiller, especially suited up, the last thing you want is the heat on. I have other reasons for feeling personally warm. A couple hours into our spook check and more, I was in great need of a soda. Its suppose to be Chiller, where was the air-conditoning. :p I promise, that's the last time I play on the whole chill/temp./weather connection.

As Bill and Dave were coming up from GBNJ HQ and I live closer to GBI Corp. HQ we decided to take two company cars, the ECTO Interceptor and ECTO-C. Winston had already been to the expo. the day before, presumably to hang out with Ernie Hudson. He had told us if he had time he'd meet up with us later in the day. Thing is Winston can't always make timed plans in advanced (unless its specific to an appearance) because he will be stopped by his fans. Yeah, Bill, Dave, and I did save NJ, (maybe even parts of the eastern seaboard) we're just not as easily recognizable. You would think Bill would be with those various shades he's always wearing. Least he doesn't have the mustache.

After parking on the garage roof of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, I suited up, leaving most of the equipment behind. I believe Bill sleeps in his uniform and is always prepared. We make our way down the stairs, already getting a couple of remarks about being Ghostbusters. Its our career, usually to the general public they just think we're in "uniform" because of the movies. Which leads me to believe GBI's public relations dept and I need to have a meeting. We walk a little across the property, going inside the hotel. Where we see and meet our first Chiller case file. His name was Animal and works for Chiller. And if he was a person, looked kinda like he was serving some dark force. The P.K.E didn't show anything out of the oridinary. Unfortunately we didn't get a pic, (you can find his pic on the Chiller site) I think we should keep an eye on him anyway. Its also a way for us to make more money. Sure, their could be a law suit. This is why we have Louis.

Mr. Animal steers us through this organized line, holding us back with those ropes you see at movie theaters. Not the old fashioned ones attached to metal poles. I'm talking about the black, "space aged" plastic type. Other parts of Chiller would be "roped off" by caution tape. We're barely settled in and these kids (Hah, you thought I was going to say it right? Not quite yet.) turn to us and basically tells Bill and I (see, Dave this is why you should have been in uniform. You did do major PR work with Leeds' Curse so its ok) that they like Ghostbusters, love the movies, and pretend they're Ghostbusters. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the 3 of them. I admit I wasn't quite in "con mode" yet. Plus we were in a moving line and getting a good pic would have taken time. We would run into these 3 kids again, however, I'm not sure why I didn't ask their dad (who would later talk to me about GB merchandise) if it would be alright to get a pic. One of the questions while we were in line was "Which Ghostbuster are you?" Usually an annoying question to be asked. These are kids who were somehow unaware that Ghostbusters International® and its franchises exist. Bill and I cleared it up. As they, then us would pay to get in (we can business expense this right?) I dubbed them the "juinor ghostbusters." They were excited. Now only if GBI can get that running.

Once Bill, Dave, and I were in, our reason for being there could begin. Dave had a map (as did I which I folded and put into my uniform pocket) showing what was going on in the 3 floors of the Expo. We weren't sure where to start, we went to where we thought the 2nd floor was (so much for a map). It led us to a basement area which was pretty much the dealer room. We probably scoped it out a little, however we wanted to go to the mostly has been celeberity room before it became crowded. Plus get in what thankfully was a short line (early in the day) to meet again, talk to, and give Ernie Hudson a copy of our case file turned movie, Leeds' Curse.

We make our way back up the main floor where all the celebrities are. I will say this much, its a lot better then the way Chiller use to have it set up. Two tents outside where you'd wait with everyone to get in. Now all the celebrities have there own areas and you're not waiting hours just in case there are only a few people you want to meet and/or get autographs with. At the early hours of Chiller's opening, the lines aren't really long for most of their guests. We walk some across the room and we see Mr. Ernie Hudson signing autographs and posing for pictures.

Before we go over to him we're kinda stopped by George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost. If you ever wondered, Space Ghost has the same voice as Mr. Lowe. We're sure Mr. Lowe is a fan of ours and the Ghostbusters franchise. He told us how recently Al Roker on The Today Show made a GB reference, I think something about the Keymaster. I told him that wasn't a surprise as Al's a huge fan (not a pun about his weight) and has been known to make references to Ghostbusters in the past. We talk to him for a little longer until someone else approaches "Space Ghost." If you're wondering, I did picture us talking to Space Ghost on his "TV" show. Probably would have been more fun that way.

We take that as our cue to leave to walk over to Ernie Hudson's area. While we're in line the following happens. Bill is asked to pose for a picture. This is nothing new for us as every con we go to, we're stopped for pictures. My dark uniform combined with not wearing a proton pack may have hidden the fact that I'm a Ghostbuster. That's alright, its not like we're ever going to see that photo. If I was smart (these ideas always come as an after thought) I would have taken a pic of our fan with Bill. Up ahead we see our "junior ghostbusters" getting autographs and their pictures taken with Ernie. We're talking and waiting when these two guys approach us. One has a mic, the other a video camera. They tell us how they're shooting a documentary which I guess will air eventually in Canada. We're unprepared to get actual information on any of this, like names. One of the guys kinda reminded me of the way Egon was drawn in The Real Ghostbusters. The interviewer asks Bill and I why we're at Chiller, what has us into Ghostbusters so much, (its not obvious to everyone?) and what makes us like the movies over other types of sci/fi-horror movies of its kind. That's a great thing about our movies, based on a real business and real events, they can fit into so many categories. If the two gentleman happen to be reading, you can send any information about your documentary (ie: your info, website if it applies, etc) to me at ghostbustingops@ghostbustersinternational.com. While they were filming, we made sure to plug this site, Ghostbusters-NJ, and of course Leeds' Curse. Which seemed to be the main reason we made our return to Chiller so early in the year. We (or was it mostly me?) kept shamelessly plugging until they let us go to meet Ernie Hudson again.

Its just about our time to meet Ernie and we're wondering who should give Ernie his copy of Leeds' Curse. It was almost a no brainer for me. I know we were all honored for him to have it. Based on personal events from last year that are still on-going I felt like it would mean a lot to me to give Ernie Hudson a copy of our film. I tell Ernie how we all made this fan movie (sure we call it a fan movie, we know what it really is...a fan movie) based on Ghostbusters and its concepts. He checked out the DVD cover, said something how this was great and how he had a DVD player upstairs. Nice! I speculate later on that he made time to check it out. While we're babbling (again, mostly me) I try to see if he remembered us. Basically networking. Too bad I again came unprepared, not even one business card. Fortunately our DVD has the address to our franchise site. And I will be able to contact Ernie, even if not directly, then to his webmaster.

Prior to even going into the hotel, Bill and I were talking about the courtroom scene in Ghostbusters II. Now we all know according to Dr. Venkman how Winston left the courtroom before the trial began for a lunch date. Then again, Dr. Venkman was the one who said this, he was also laughing at the time. We all love Dr. V, sometimes his information is...questionable at best. Bill decided to ask Ernie about the scene when they filmed it. Straight from Mr. Hudson himself, he said how they wanted to re-establish the going into business aspect. I told him how I thought he was still in the courtroom and had tried to find him. He didn't deny this, but didn't confirm either. I also told Ernie what Dr. Venkman's answer was. He laughed. I'm pretty sure Ernie enjoyed that response. With a continued smile he said he was glad to have a job. I also thought it helped that Mr. Hudson looks so much like Winston. Afterwards Bill and I got Ernie's autograph and as you can see from the above picture, posed with him. It was great to meet him again. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to do so again. He did mention his next con would probably be in May. And we could check his site for information.

After leaving his area, we began to walk around. Dave scoped out some other celebrities while Bill pretty much decided to give another copy of our movie to the "junior ghostbusters." They were near by with their parents. They thanked us and one of their father's told me about the newest GB merchandise he bought, showing it to me. Posters, 1:21 scale Ecto 1, that sort of thing. He seemed happy that he was able to get it autographed. I offered, seems Ernie's autograph means a lot more. :p

Bill and I caught up with Dave, walking around more we'd see other celebrities. Which included Robert Picardo, Zacherely, (celebritiy used in the loosest sense of the word) Mark Goddard, Christopher Knight and his reality series career chick, Capt. Lou, The Iron Shiek, other wrestlers, and other celebrities. Most celebrities charge for autographs and pictures so Dave and I took pictures somewhat incognito. A few are below. Its unfortunate not all of the celebrities who attended Chiller were there at the same time.

As we kinda circled back towards the exit, we saw this guy and his friend. (why don't we ever get names or our own pictures?) One of the guys was wearing a black t-shirt with our classic "no ghost" logo. Bill and I were talking about our fan base, (Ghostbusters, not ours) especially about N.E.C.A products. I think the comic came up. Since they're on all the boards, they probably know what's going on with the comic by now. Since they seemed devoted and one of them were the only people we met that day wearing a GB t-shirt, Bill gave him a copy of our movie. Hope he, they have been enjoying it. After talking with them, we made our way out, figuring we'd go back to the dealer rooms.

I'll use this time to say that overall when it came to what we've known about Chiller, the "dead of winter" show was a let down in some ways. Sure, it could have been because we went early on a Saturday. We were hoping to see more fans of whatever thing they're into. That really wasn't the case. As we would find out later when we were ready to leave Chiller, some local Star Wars chapter was late to the con. Also as far as the dealer rooms, they were selling more DVDs then collectibles. Seems the kind of dealer at these cons has changed in recent years. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense. It would be good if the 'old' vendors were there as well.

We're in the "basement" dealer room, checking things out for a little. This was when Bill decided there wasn't a need at this point to still be wearing the proton pack. At least unlike past Chillers you had a little more room to wear a pack in the dealer room. I needed to go back to ECTO-C and was in dire need of a drink. Bill and I left to head back to the parking garage. We'd meet Dave back in the lower dealer room. Bill and I were outside the hotel, near the stairs for the parking garage. I'm not sure if they had an elevator. I don't recall seeing one. Since Bill was wearing a proton pack, we opted to wait for the people who were coming down. This is where I thought a GB quote should be "unleashed." You know what's coming. I asked this older guy (not like senior citizen old) "where do these stairs go?" He didn't get it at all. I forget what he said to me, my brain raced to get out of it. I'm sure my look was priceless. Bill and I talked of it on our way up. I still can't believe that guy didn't know where my question came from. If I wasn't wearing a uniform it'd be one thing. More so that my friend and colleague was wearing a proton pack. I guess we found the one guy whose been living under a rock for 22 + years.

After we checked on our company cars and packed some of our gear away we returned to the hotel. This is when we split up. No, not to cause more damage. So I could get a drink from the hotel gift shop and Bill could hit up the facilities. I'd catch up with him and Dave a little later. I bought my drink and not knowing I'd be returning later to the celebritiy room, I decided to go in there and try to get more pictures. I'm a wrestling fan so I thought it'd be cool to meet some of the wrestlers too. Then I remembered more or less it would cost to get the pictures.

I kinda knew Iron Shiek for example from his past appearances at Chiller, from being on radio, and of course WWE television. I felt like I'd try to meet him. I don't know what it was about the Sheik, (could have been his security) I didn't feel like I could get the picture I wanted for free. In fact Mr. "Shiek" tried to sell me his autograph, videos, etc.

I did talk to him. It was half tooling/being serious about his greatness, championships, about being a WWE legend/hall of famer. Also how I hoped Vince would use him, his tag partner, and would give WWE legends more opportunities. They seemed to appreciate my words. BTW I have that belt and mine's better....because it was autographed. Unfortunately not by a then world heavyweight champion.

I walked around more, taking pictures. (some were posted above) By then the room was getting more crowded and I had to exit, then re-enter just to get to certain areas of the room. While I saw some other wrestlers, (King Kong Bundy) I couldn't get close enough to get incognito pictures. I probably could have talked to King Kong. I had met him years ago and didn't feel like I had much to say. I know, that's rare. On my way out I snapped more incognito pictures of Christopher Knight (who was being protected by Chiller security) and his woman. I also said loudly, not loud enough that it would make a difference, "Its not like its Johnny Bravo people."

On my final exit, I returned to the dealer room, meeting up with Bill and Dave. I admit I didn't pay a lot of attention to the little collectibles their were in my opinion or the umpteen number of DVDs. I knew I wouldn't be buying anything, I looked around some anyway. Of note to GB fans, one vendor was selling "no ghost" patches. Another was selling a compilation fan film DVD which included Freddy Vs. Ghostbusters. In case Hank and crew weren't aware.

This was also the first time I believe I saw a network promoting themselves at such an event. It made perfect sense. I guess this is why I should have taken some information. Dave, Bill, and I met the CEO of this horror network which you can get on Direct TV. He told us a little about it, offered us posters and a folder containing more information about the programming. Horror alone isn't my genre so personally I didn't care too much. And I didn't feel like carrying anything else.

When we were done with the dealer room we took the stairs to the second floor. From past visits, the second floor usually has a couple of events or exhibits. One of the big ones were different styles of art work. Everything from original creations to classic monsters to Zacherly. (See his painting above) I think its illegal to take pictures of copyrighted works of art. Especially when a lot of such art work was for sale.

Another exhibit was "Batman." I haven't visted the website yet. My impression of what I saw was that "Batman" or the "Bat people" handle real bats and educate people about bats. It also looked they had some bat things for sale.

They had two real bats who were doing their bat thing by hanging on this cage like thing. Except it was open. Interesting to me was the background behind the bats were these fake spider webs and spiders. Do bats eat spiders?

The next to last thing to check out upstairs was this "puppet" room. Think Jim Henson mixed some with Crank Yankers kind of puppets. Which isn't a surprise as one of the guys worked with the late Jim Henson. These two guys made a show called Monster TV. They were promoting it. I stuck around a little longer to talk to them about the show. Apparently they had met with networks and were trying to get Monster T.V syndicated. For more information, I think you can check out billdiamondproductions.com.

Before we headed back to the main floor, we went into this small "video store." It was another dealer rooom, selling mostly or all Mexican DVDs. From the covers and some of the titles, they seemed like B rated films. I'm not positive about this. It didn't interest us and we left as quickly as we had entered.

By then taking the elevator is just what we needed. Bill commented on how if we had the packs, we could have done one of the famous scenes. Yeah, it would have been nice. There were other people on the elevator, that wouldn't have mattered much. By now it was about mid afternoon and it didn't seem like there was much left to do or see in the "dead of winter." I asked how much longer they were going to stay. I was ready to call it a day, as they weren't staying much longer, I hung in there.