LucasFilm and Comic-Con

[NatGertler]

Steven, I think you've gotten the wrong end of the stick when it comes to signings at the Lucasfilm Pavilion at the San Diego Con. Within the pavilion there are individual booths for individual companies; I don't know whether the companies are buying the booth space from LucasFilm or if Comic-Con organizes it. The Star Wars stars who are there are brought in by the booth company, not by LucasFilm, and they are brought in primarily to sell autographs, not in promotion to something else. I don't know who was running this year's signing, but last year's was C2 Ventures (http://www.seetwo.com/). As such, it's pretty much the same thing as any other celeb who rents booth space on the floor.

[Steven Grant]

That may be true, but a) it's still LucasFilms' name on the booth, so they're ultimately responsible, and b) if they're there to sell autographs, they still need to make that apparent from a visible distance, not solely at point of purchase after fans have stood in line for sometimes half an hour. If that's what they're there for, they should be upfront about it. Otherwise it's just a bait and switch routine, and it's bad for business all around.

[NatGertler]

if they're there to sell autographs, they still need to make that apparent from a visible distanceThat I'll certainly agree with.