AMC: No Truth to the Convention Rumors About The Walking Dead

by Michele Pearson:

Rumors and speculation travel fast on social media.  Sometimes, an innocent statement can turn into something larger than life or a flat out lie can spread like wildfire.  So when a rumor started a couple of weeks ago that the official word from AMC was that they planned on pulling cast members of The Walking Dead from conventions, a fandom went into an uproar.  It began with a  message:

Urgent News for the Walking Dead Fandom

I found out yesterday that AMC is trying to prevent the cast members from doing conventions.  I heard this from a very reliable source and this is NOT a hoax-it’ serious sh*t.  This is absolutely ridiculous but there IS something we can do about it.  If you love the show and going to cons to see the stars as much as I do PLEASE email ******@amctv.com and give them a piece of your mind and tell them why they shouldn’t do this.

Of course, anyone familiar with the Internet knows that you shouldn’t take these random postings at face value.  Anyone can write these.  Look at how many “Daryl Dixon is going to die in the next episode!” posts we as a fandom have to deal with.  However, there were some people who have inside knowledge as to the validity of this particular posting and they confirmed that there was SOME truth to the statement and that we would know more after MonsterMania weekend.  We were urged to sit tight and wait and see.  Some fans did just that while others took to email, AMC’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and blasted the network for even considering this course of action.

Another sign that this might be a rumor with legs was that Dave Hagan, President of MonsterMania, made the following public post on Facebook on March 1^st (which has since been removed): “We have been asked by AMC to notify the fans ‘that no one can autograph any photos/images that belong to AMC or the Series since AMC is not a licensee of the convention.’”  Of course, this was taken as AMC trying to dictate what could and could not be signed at the convention and added fuel to the rumor fires.  Then the word came down that AMC would be on hand at MonsterMania to enforce their new rules.  So, without any official, public statement from AMC contradicting these rumors, a fandom waited.

MonsterMania was held this past weekend (March 9-10) and Dave Hagan once again took to his Facebook page to reassure the attendees: “Please disregard any posts that were made from us over the weekend. Business as usual.  Enjoy the show! :)”  People breathed a sigh of relief until stories began to appear on Twitter.  That suspected AMC representatives were watching all members of The Walking Dead cast who were on hand carefully.  That people were told they could not take photos at the table with a paid autograph.  Paid photo ops with professional photographers were available at later times, as they typically are, but most of the people in this fanbase have grown accustomed to the warm and welcoming actors and actresses from the show and are generally able to get a picture taken with the purchase of an autograph at the table.  A couple of attendees reported that they were yelled at by people with Laurie Holden for even asking to get a picture at the table, even though the actress herself was very nice.  Some other attendees reported that Michael Rooker was also not taking pictures at his table, something else that seemed out of character for Rooker, especially given the warm welcome he gave fans a few weeks before at Wizard World-Portland.  Fan suspicion fell on AMC and the prior week’s fear that this was just the beginning of a crackdown on Walking Dead cast ever being seen at conventions rose again.

After researching on the web and through all of AMC’s social media outlets and being unable to find a single response from the network, I emailed AMC.  I asked for a comment on the rumors that they were attempting to pull the cast from conventions and also about the incidents reported at MonsterMania.  Today, I received a response from AMC’s Vice President of Publicity, Olivia Dupuis, assuring us that AMC has no intention of pulling their cast from conventions:

“AMC is fully supportive of The Walking Dead cast engaging with its loyal and dedicated fans. We would not cancel events, and understand that cast members, who independently book these events through their representatives, would only do so if their production schedules conflict.”

As to the suspicion that AMC reps were on hand at MonsterMania to make sure the rules were followed?  “There were no AMC representatives at Monster Mania.”

Despite this statement from AMC, some people may feel that MonsterMania was a test run of AMC’s new rules and that they decided to back down in the face of fan backlash.  While the merchandise issue was not addressed by AMC in their response to me, I did not get the feeling from fans that this was the primary concern.  Most people expressed concern and anger about guests being pulled from events.  Some people have not yet finalized their convention plans, stating that they were putting their plans on hold due to the possibility that the actors would not be there as announced.  Others who already had made non-refundable purchases (like me) were nervously awaiting the verdict this week after MonsterMania.

Whether AMC backed off of their plan or there was never was such a plan to begin with, I feel confident that attendees can go ahead and finalize their schedules for the remainder of the convention season.  Of course, any circumstance can occur that can cause any guest to cancel.  Work does take priority, no one would fault them for that and sometimes other events happen that are beyond the control of the guest and the convention.   It was announced that filming for season four of The Walking Dead is not scheduled to start until May 6^th so unless another conflict arises I believe it will be business as usual for TWD fans who want to meet their favorite cast members live and in person.

Keep calm and I will see you all at Texas Frightmare in Dallas, TX May 3-5!

Michele Pearson is a contributor for DarkMedia. She covers Vampire Diaries and any other films, books, etc that come her way. She reads everything from Lonesome Dove to Game of Thrones and loves epic tv series like Doctor Who and Star Trek: TNG. Michele also loves a good horror film and was able to channel that love as a judge for Shriekfest 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @GirlInRowB and check out her blog at http://www.girlinrowb.com.