One thing that all autograph collectors have to come to terms with is that things don't always turn out as planned. Sometimes for the better and you will be pleasantly surprised and sometimes for the worse. Several venues in Los Angeles host events and I've been to many of them as a patron or to collect autographs but I still come across events being held at a venue or location that I am not so familiar with. On 8/22/2011 a party to celebrate the release of the Blu-Ray of the iconic "Scarface" film (originally released in 1983). I had limited information on the event, not knowing for sure but hoping that Al Pacino would show up, and had never been to the venue, a place called the Belasco Club. I got there a little late, missing most of the arrivals, but hoped to do well with the "Scarface" cast members as they departed.
Mark Margolis, who portrayed Alberto "The Shadow" in the film signed and posed for anyone who asked. Generous with his time, Margolis was friendly and talkative, spending time hanging in the area with collectors for a few minutes after satisfying everyone's requests. He mentioned that he lives in New York City but was visiting his son in Los Angeles, in addition to appearing at the "Scarface" event.
The Skull is Alejandro Sosa's professional henchman and chief assassin in "Scarface. His real name is never given and he has no on-screen dialogue. He is apparently nicknamed by his gaunt face and he always wears large, circular, dark sunglasses, giving his face the appearance of a skull which is his assassin trademark. He was portrayed by Mexican-American actor Geno Silva. Silva was walking by as Mark Margolis was signing autographs and perhaps would have gotten unnoticed but Margolis made sure that was not the case. As he signed, Margolis said to us, "Hey, you guys need him. He was the assassin in the film." Thanks Mr. Margolis for the autographs and the tip! Silva happily signed and I think was surprised that collectors even cared to get his autograph. Margolis joked that all the "Scarface" fans out there would be angry at Silva as his character was the one who killed Tony Montana in the film. Both men were great with the fans and collectors.
One thing that all autograph collectors have to come to terms with is that things don't always turn out as planned. Sometimes for the better and you will be pleasantly surprised and sometimes for the worse. Several venues in Los Angeles host events and I've been to many of them as a patron or to collect autographs but I still come across events being held at a venue or location that I am not so familiar with. On 8/22/2011 a party to celebrate the release of the Blu-Ray of the iconic "Scarface" film (originally released in 1983). I had limited information on the event, not knowing for sure but hoping that Al Pacino would show up, and had never been to the venue, a place called the Belasco Club. I got there a little late, missing most of the arrivals, but hoped to do well with the "Scarface" cast members as they departed.
Mark Margolis, who portrayed Alberto "The Shadow" in the film signed and posed for anyone who asked. Generous with his time, Margolis was friendly and talkative, spending time hanging in the area with collectors for a few minutes after satisfying everyone's requests. He mentioned that he lives in New York City but was visiting his son in Los Angeles, in addition to appearing at the "Scarface" event.
The Skull is Alejandro Sosa's professional henchman and chief assassin in "Scarface. His real name is never given and he has no on-screen dialogue. He is apparently nicknamed by his gaunt face and he always wears large, circular, dark sunglasses, giving his face the appearance of a skull which is his assassin trademark. He was portrayed by Mexican-American actor Geno Silva. Silva was walking by as Mark Margolis was signing autographs and perhaps would have gotten unnoticed but Margolis made sure that was not the case. As he signed, Margolis said to us, "Hey, you guys need him. He was the assassin in the film." Thanks Mr. Margolis for the autographs and the tip! Silva happily signed and I think was surprised that collectors even cared to get his autograph. Margolis joked that all the "Scarface" fans out there would be angry at Silva as his character was the one who killed Tony Montana in the film. Both men were great with the fans and collectors.
Al Pacino's known personal vehicle was across the street in front of the Belasco so it made sense that Pacino would leave in his car, even though he arrived in a limousine. That was not the case as Pacino left out the back of the theater, jumping in the limo and leaving the event. Along with another collector, we had information on where Pacino was heading so we made our way over to Beverly Hills. Unfortunately, we missed Pacino's arrival to his destination by a couple of minutes so we didn't get Pacino after all.
Knowing that porn star and current Playboy Playmate Bree Olson was making an appearance at a local radio station, I headed over there with plenty of time to spare. After about a 30 minute wait, Bree left the building and came over to the assembled collectors. The seven of us were standing in a line with our items and Bree started with me, taking my blue Sharpie and signing my photograph. Bree is known to write lengthy and risque inscriptions on collector's items so that fact, along with personalizing every item meant that it took Olson a bit more time to sign just one item than it typically does for a celebrity. One of my friends there engaged in conversation with Bree, her telling us that she was still friends with actor Charlie Sheen even though the two had ended their highly-publicized relationship. I realized that some of the other collectors were getting not just one but two items signed so I got in the back of the line of collectors. I figured Bree would sign at least another item for me since I had only gotten one. Once Bree got to me, I noticed she now had a black Sharpie in her hand so I asked if she would sign my photo with my pen since I prefer the look of autographed photos in blue. She kindly obliged and as she signed I mentioned that I had just another photo and if she would also sign and personalize it to me. Bree happily signed it as well, so I ended up with a total of three autographed photos from Bree Olson, more than any other collector there. Two of us snapped photos with Bree who told us she was sick so she didn't "look that great" but Bree looked just fine.
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