My years of covering entertainment news on our outlet have gained me a plethora of interviews with celebs, meeting awesome fans from around the world, and being apart of truely mind blowing events. This year's Dallas Fan Expo raised the bar. Right now, it is the bar. Let's start from the beginning.
Without making this a long AITA-style story, I'll just bluntly say, 2024 is the second time our outlet was invited to cover this event and I'm so happy they approved us since I was so disappointed the first time. Let me explain. I'm not disappointed in Fan Expo, I'm disappointed in myself. Or at least the people I trusted to cover the event. You see, 2022 was the first time my outlet, T3Media Studios, was gaining attention and momentum to cover these types of events. Gaining press credentials is something I take very seriously because I'm hoping to do more and more next time around. I could not afford, to go to Dallas, and book a hotel at that moment because my personal finances would have suffered so I made the choice, as the editor-in-chief/owner to not attend but to allow a cohost (now former cohost) to go to represent the outlet by themselves since they had more experience with cosplay events and it was the main reason they were invited to join our team.
They never used the passes as they were attended. No footage, no blog, no posts, not even a 140-character tweet to use for the outlet to show Fan Expo we were not wasting time and resources. Don't get me wrong, those things were done, but for that person's personal account as if they were just a fan who paid for all the access granted on their own dime. I waited a week after the event ended, watching new notifications come up of this person posting pictures with celebs and other cosplayers in the manner a paying fan would, nothing about the outlet. I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt, but I got nothing. Not a word. A week later, I had it, I asked for the content they were meant to be delivered to showcase on our pages, website, and platforms. It was like pulling teeth. I eventually was given photos only. No interviews as was requested by me and offered by them when auditioning for the gig before joining us. I had to use was I was given, just a few pictures and excuses on why there wasn't as pinch of effort in the content needed for the outlet as for them personally.
Once I made the posts with the little I had, I gave them another chance at another event and the same thing happened again. Being to embarrassed I chose not to even apply for 2023. I'm sure we may have gotten in but this was literally this blogs first attempt at covering this type of event and it left a bad taste in my mouth on how we handled such a privilege. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the powers that be at Fan Expo HQ weren't like "What the hell Chris, you really screwed the pooch" but that's how it felt. I felt that we did not honor the agreement. Needless to say, I cut ties with that individual. I still see them from time to time at cons and other screening but a quick wave or 'what's up' is all that is there.
Now that my rant is out of the way, here's the tea. For a while now, we have been gaining a lot of love and attention from people when they see our outlet cosplay as the Fifth Element movie character; especially Ruby Rhod. I made a plan to get things in place financially for Dallas, reached out to HQ, and was approved for another pass to cover 2024. No word from the boss on why we didn't go last year, ha ha. This was going to be the year we made our splash.
Estimated over 50K in attendance. Wow! It was shoulder to shoulder. Jedi, Droids, the Whos Who of Dr. Who, anime, Trekies, heroes, villains, and Deadpool. This was a fan's paradise. Day one was jam-packed with so many people, I was not used to it. Usually, day one is a soft launch and a slow burn. Like Ruby says, 'it was fueled, LIKE FIRE'. We got there a few hours before the end of the day so we decided to just take it all in. See, the number of celebrities that were there on the first day was a surprise. Oh My God, the display stages made me feel like I was in Disney World. Is that a freaking X-Wing? A life-sized X-Wing? A guy sitting inside of an X-Wing? Yes, yes, and yes.
This was the final two hours of day one. I knew then I had to mentally prepare for day 2. Here we go. RUBY RHOD!!! My wife, life partner, and cohost, Joy and I walked in as Leeloo and Opera Ruby. We walked from the hotel down the street to the convention not knowing how we would be received. Well, honk honk, from a cement truck driver, head out the window screaming to my wife "LEELOO MULTIPASS" was enough to let us know, It's gonna be one of those days. We are used to being asked to take pictures in the cosplay we are in, The Fifth Element is always welcomed by fans as a cult classic. No one consplays in it much but this was different. There was a huge uptick in "May we take a picture" and the whispers of "That's ruby rhod". The difference was noticeable. We didn't want to make the same mistakes made by those who won't be named in 2022 so we had to focus up and get on with a few interviews.
We were nervous to ask if we were able to photograph celebs at panels or at signings but I'm not making that mistake next year. I may not have a fancy camera around my neck but I should have been more forthcoming on the content I needed to get for our audience and asked for more access but I did not want to make waves. People, don't make waves, but I later got the feeling we could have made more of a splash. The staff, the environment, and the organization as a whole is so welcoming and professional. I was worried for nothing. I don't overstep but I later got the feeling that I would have been granted more if I would have opened my mouth.
Okay, now its time for the finale. Opera Ruby is what Chris Tucker wore for the majority of the film but Leapord Ruby and the Flight Attendant are what the people want to make Dallas POP POP POP! We go back to the hotel. Rest for 30 mins and make the switch. Upon entering the door, you'd think we were the celebrity guest. Took 20 minutes longer for us to make it in the main area because the lobby was hot hot hot from people asking to talk with us. We made sure to network and interview as many people who asked to take pictures with us as possible. Yes, Ruby Rhod, still ALIVE! I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive that Giancarlo Esposito took notice, which made my day. There will be more of a discussion of everything that took place during our show 'Talking Through The Medias' as well as footage shared on our social media. Please follow and subscribe to our channel if you want to see more and lets keep talking. See you next year!
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