Superman Homepage

2005 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News Archives

June 21, 2005: Another Fan Report on the Metropolis Illinois Superman Celebration

Superman fan Gary Ormsbee emailed in the following report and photos of his time at the 2005 Metropolis Illinois Superman Celebration...

The Superman Celebration 2005, the good, the bad, and the ugly!!!

Well another Superman Celebration has come and gone, and in many ways this was easily the best of the 4 that I have participated in. It boasted a real celebrity line-up, headlined by John Schneider, with strong follow-up by Margot Kidder, Mark Waid, some artists who do amazing renditions of the Man of Steel, local "Superman" Scott Cranford, and last but certainly not least, in her sixth appearance, the first lady of Metropolis, Noel Neill.

I started the day by going to wait for John Schneider at his first signing opportunity. John showed up early and was clearly in good spirits and was just a plain down to earth good sport. He signed whatever items people brought with them (up to 2 items), and took 1 picture with each person. That is until he saw the picture I brought for him to sign in Smallville magazine, which showed Lionel Luthor and Jonathan Kent, face to face after obviously coming to blows. When he saw that he said "Oh wow, I haven't seen that before." He had already posed for my 1 picture but then he grabbed me and told me to face him and try to do the best imitation of the photo he signed, and had his helper shoot a picture of that. Needless to say he had my appreciation and admiration after that.

Then it was on to the Celebrity Q&A which was a little disorganized at first, but picked up quickly.

John Schneider and Margot Kidder had yet to show up for this portion of the festivities, so Noel Neill and Mark Waid and the 2 artists came out on the panel.

Noel was asked about her role in the upcoming Superman Returns movie, and she said she couldn't talk about it, except to say that she had a scene to shoot with Kevin Spacey. As previously reported here, she mentioned that Jack Larson had already shot his scene, as the bartender. Her scene was said to be shooting in August. Of course she had much to say about working with George Reeves, who she said she only heard complain once about having to wear the "long underwear" as he called it. There were questions asked of Mark Waid concerning Kingdom Come, and other Superman related writing he has done.

Then to a loud cheer, John Schneider & Margot Kidder arrived and sat down. As soon as John Schneider saw Noel Neill on the panel, he got back up, went down to her, kneeled down and introduced himself to her, all this while someone else was being asked a question. He seemed to be extremely respectful and almost a little star struck. It really touched me deeply that he treated her with such respect. More on his comments later.

Margot Kidder talked of course about Christopher Reeve and working with him, as well her stint on Smallville, and what it felt having her last appearance on the show as a corpse! She joked that she hated Annette O'toole because she hadn't aged at all since they worked together on Superman III.

John Schneider talked about the upcoming season on Smallville. He said that he definitely would be returning next season, and that Annette O'toole had e-mailed him the previous day to tell him she would be returning as well! He talked about the family values that the show stood for, and the positive role model he got a chance to be as a result. He mentioned that he modeled Jonathan Kent on Denver Pyle's Uncle Jesse from the Dukes of Hazard. Speaking of the Dukes; someone asked him how he felt about the upcoming movie. He said he wished them well, but added that he was a fan of the Star Trek movies which successfully used the original cast. He spoke about why he was there. He said he believed in the values that Superman represented. He spoke of how pleased he was to meet Noel Neill, and that she represented a happy memory from his childhood. Then he pointed out an individual who was at the celebration in a wheelchair and said, that was why he was there for the fans of all walks of life. Needless to say it was another touching moment.

The Tonight Show was filming, and the result was a funny bit they ran the Thursday after the celebration.

After the Q&A, it was time to go and wait on easily the longest line I have seen at one of these celebrations, to get all of the celebrity's autographs. The line was already around the block when we got there, and we ended up waiting 3 hours in heat and haze! In fact, this is where some of the bad and the ugly I mentioned earlier came into play. When we finally got to the door, we were told that everyone would only sign one item. The guy said that Margot Kidder would sign one item for free, and had pictures for sale for $20.00, John Schneider had pictures for sale for $10.00, and would sign your item for free, and that Noel Neill was in fact giving away free 8x10's! Well most of that turned out not to be true, except for John Schneider. The thing that upset me the most, was that I had brought my original Superman: The Movie program I had got at the first showing of the movie for Margot Kidder to sign, and imagine my surprise and disappointment when I was told that it would cost me $20.00 to have her sign anything but the program for the Superman Celebration!! It was impossible to hide my disappointment, and I must say that Miss Kidder was somewhat snippy about it, embarrassing me in front of everyone else in line. After waiting for 3 hours and being excited to get this personal item signed, something that I have treasured for all of these years, I decided not to pay to have it signed. I felt that it was wrong of them to do that, and to not tell us that as we were entering the signing building. I should add, that John Schneider, clearly the biggest star at the show, was signing anything, as was Noel Neill and Mark Waid, who was actually signing more than 1 item, (although I didn't take advantage of that). The poor communication and the lack of tact shown here really was a low point in a show that had thus far been full of high points.

After this it was time to hurry and get back to our hotel room at the same hotel as the Superman Auction and dinner. All the celebrities were scheduled to attend except for John Schneider who was flown in and out by private jet sent by the WB, and was scheduled to return to Canada.

This was the first time we had decided to participate in the auction and dinner. At $35.00 dollars including dinner, it seemed like a good way to spend the evening, and a good deal. The first clue I should have had, was the meal, which everyone involved in the auction kept saying was much better than in years past, and it was being catered for, etc. Well in a word, the food sucked. They ran out of liquids, and there was no bar or even a soda machine close, and the air conditioning didn't work. I truly felt sorry for Noel Neill, who stayed the through the entire auction which ran to midnight. I sincerely hope she at least had a cold water to drink in the heat. The Merv Griffen Theater where the event was held was in such dilapidated condition, if I was Merv I would have been ashamed to have my name on it. Then the auction itself, which was promised to include many rare one of a kind Superman items, was a let down. Yes there were a few signed items that were quite rare, but the bulk of the stuff sold were items one could find at Wal-Mart or their local comic shop, and for less money. There were a few groups of Superman comics obviously form the 90's that you can find at a convention in the 50 cent bins being auctioned. I sat at a table with some real collectors who had obviously come a long way, and were not very impressed. We were told that some very special items were coming out at the end, so most of us waited. There were no golden age, or silver age comics auctioned, and the oldest books were from the 70's I think and nothing special. There was a Christopher Reeve celebrity look-a-like who bid high on anything that had Reeve's image on it. Worse of all, one of the people putting on the auction was bidding in it! Oh and those "special" items that were saved for the end, were pink panties signed by Margot Kidder.

The following morning there were celebrity sightings at the continental breakfast bar where Margot Kidder was looking for a bagel and butter. I was able to find her some "whipped spread" which we both had a chuckle over. Noel Neill and her traveling companion (Larry Thomas Ward) came down and had breakfast.

I love the homey atmosphere of Metropolis, but it is a 9 hour drive for me, and it takes place shortly before Wizard World Chicago, which I go to every year. I decided last year, after being disappointed in the celebrity line-up of Noel Neil, Lou Ferrigno and Jackson Bostwick, that I would look at each years stars to decide whether or not I would be going. I never understand why they don't have an auditorium playing Superman movies, cartoons and serials around the clock, or radio broadcasts in the square. There could be so many ways to add to the celebration. So I will give this show a 3 out of 5 star rating for having a great line-up of stars, and for John Schneider and Noel Neill just being neat people.

Gary Ormsbee (Batmouse)

Gary Ormsbee and John Schneider Gary Ormsbee and John Schneider Gary Ormsbee and Noel Neill Margot Kidder


2005 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News

Listed below are all the Merchandise & Miscellaneous News items archived for 2005.

Back to the News Archive Contents page.

Back to the Latest News page.

DISCLAIMER: SUPERMAN and all related elements are the property of DC Comics. TM & © 2024

This Superman Homepage is Copyright © Steven Younis 1994-2024
All Rights Reserved

Dedicated to Andrew J Gould - the original keeper of the Superman Homepage!

Since May 2001, the address is www.SupermanHomepage.com

Our Privacy Policy.