The Poster Memorabilia blog

Chasing After John Wick from City to City

Two premieres, two coasts, and one poster carrying the whole cast.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

You know, as an autograph hound, I'm pretty proud of my work. I've gotten plenty of autographs in my time, and when I go to movie premieres, I usually complete the entire cast. I leave no stone unturned to get as many autographs as possible, even if I have to travel far.

I remember feeling particularly challenged with the first John Wick movie. I first thought it would be enough to just get Keanu Reeves' autograph, but that wouldn't have satisfied me. I knew I could get the whole cast to sign my poster, and I went on a crusade to get them.

The big names were easy enough, especially Reeves. The actor may be known to be reserved, but not when it came to his fans. I went to the film's New York City premiere, and it wasn't too hard to get his autograph. He signed my poster when I politely asked him to, and shook my hand when I congratulated him for the movie.

Willem Dafoe was just as nice about it, too. He didn't look annoyed, nor did he scoff at me when I asked for his autograph. He just signed my poster, gave me a smile, and thanked me for attending the premiere. It felt a bit less personal than my encounter with Reeves, but it was great just the same.

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Meeting John Leguizamo that night was the biggest honor for me, though. I've been a fan of his since the 90s, and I actually started my autograph-hounding at the premiere of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet in 1996. He was one of the first celebrities I ever got an autograph from, so I was determined to get his again this time too.

Seeing him was definitely the night’s highlight, especially since he recognized me. I had just gotten his autograph again at the Tony Awards in 2011. It was a whole three years since we last met, but he still recognized me and giddily signed my poster because of it. I'll never forget it!

Rounding out the rest of the cast who also signed my poster at the New York premiere were Bridget Moynahan and Alfie Allen. I had just watched Allen in Game of Thrones not too long before, so I was pretty excited to get his autograph. And Bridget Moynahan looked very beautiful and was extremely nice when she gave me hers.

“I leave no stone unturned to get as many autographs as possible.”

I would've been happy with what I got that night, but as I said earlier, I always aim to complete the cast. Dean Winters, Adrianne Palicki, and Ian McShane weren't there, but I was determined to get their autographs, too. Luckily for me, Winters and Palicki attended the Los Angeles premiere a week later.

Both were very agreeable, which I really liked. I know I traveled all the way to the West Coast to get their autographs, but it would've been a bummer had they given me attitude. Winters was pretty chill about it, while Palicki was all smiles as she signed my poster.

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All that was left was Ian McShane. He didn't attend either premiere, so I figured that autograph just wasn't in the cards. I wouldn't have held out hope if he was just another actor, but this was Ian McShane! The guy is a bona fide icon and a gem for us autograph hounds.

Then, while I was still in Los Angeles, luck handed me one last gift: I happened to cross paths with him in the middle of the day, completely by chance. Any celebrity would get annoyed at a fan stopping him like that to ask for an autograph, but he was a good sport. Though I still think it helped that the poster already had the rest of the cast's autographs.

This is the life of a true autograph hound. To get what you really want, you're gonna have to go above and beyond. Or, in my case, travel from east to west.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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