By Tonie S. Ong
This is a pretty straightforward story but it's a good one at that. I mean, it's not everyday one gets to meet two of the finest actors in the movie industry. One is even a legend. And perhaps the best part about all of this was that most of these encounters happened by chance. It's all pure luck, which, quite honestly, defines most of the autograph-hounding game.
I first met John Cusack. During his heyday, he lived in LA. I would often see him strolling the city, wearing shades, of course, hoping that the paparazzi won't see him. Most of the time, they did, but sometimes, he was clear. It was one of those times that I went for the attack. I seemed like a spy—or stalker, whatever floats your boat— observing him while he sipped his coffee at a cafe in Downtown LA. It was a quiet day. Not a lot of people were in the city. And it's days like these that, for me, are best when approaching celebrities.
I did so carefully. With movie posters in my left hand and my right ready to shake his hand, I gently and politely told him how big a fan I was. It was a big risk cause I wasn't sure how he would react. Thankfully, he was in a good mood. I told him how great he was in "City Hall" and asked him to sign my posters. He happily obliged. So that was one down, another to go.
Now, with Al Pacino, I knew I need luck on my side. Approaching one of the greatest actors of all time, known for playing dangerous gangsters? I was, for sure, would have been beaten up if my timing was wrong. Even though Pacino is known to be a quiet and shy man off-screen (and he was), you never really know how'd they react when fans suddenly swarm them. But, surely he wouldn't vent out at people in his own meet-and-greet.
I was already lucky then, cause I only found out about it when I was strolling down the street and saw that the legend was holding one in a restaurant near my place. So I hurried up to my apartment, got the posters, and went to the event. It was a small gathering of die-hard Pacino fans. He told behind-the-scenes stories when he made his classics: "The Godfather," "Scarface," etc. Pity he didn't mention City Hall.
When I eventually got to him, I asked him about it. All I can remember was that he chuckled and confessed that he doesn't remember a lot about filming that movie anymore. It made sense. Fans probably asked him most about "The Godfather" and all those gangster movies. He probably conditioned his mind to remember those times instead of this underrated classic. Still, he signed my posters, shook his hand, and left the restaurant on cloud nine!
The best part about autograph-hounding really is meeting all these great actors off-screen. They may be bigger than life on the big screen, but in real life, they're just like everyone else!
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
