YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — The 8th annual Astronomicon is attracting thousands of pop culture fans nationwide. 45-year-old Dan Escobar drove from Chicago just for the event.
"I've been to a lot of conventions and this is probably one of the most fun to go to. Everybody's relaxed," Dan said.
New this year includes the location at Ann Arbor Marriott in Ypsilanti. Spread across 4 halls, this year's edition features the best pop culture has to offer, with over 40 vendors and celebrity guests in attendance.
"I know you're going to be standing in line for Jason Lee. Are you getting goosebumps?" I asked Dan
"Oh, I'm excited. I have a Mallrats VHS tape that I've slowly been getting cast members to sign, and he was my big selling point for coming this year," Dan said.
This is Jason Lee's first Astronomicon. And the former professional skateboarder turned actor was ready to get the meet and greet going.
"How do you describe metro Detroiters?" I asked.
"So far very friendly. They're all lined up over here. Some of them have come down. This is the 8th edition of Astronomic. This gentleman has a skateboard here, assuming he would like me to sign. I love that," said Jason Lee.
"what you prefer more, signing movie merchandise or skateboards?" I asked.
"Oh, well, I mean, skateboarding was the first, my first love since I was 7 years old. Acting you're a piece of a bigger sort of, you know, creation," Lee said.
"When it comes to conventions like Astronomicon for, for someone like you, what's a big takeaway?" I asked.
"Just connecting with people, where are you from, you know, thanks so much for coming. What are you into? Like, it's cool to see what people like," He replied.
Actor, Director, and writer Lou Diamond Phillips is another celebrity guest who is grateful for such conventions... that attract thousands of fans.
"Well, first of all, the people are incredibly real. I mean, Detroit, Motor City, all of that, it's iconic, and the people here are really wonderful, and to be quite honest, that's what makes a con," said Lou Diamond Phillips.
"So it's not the coney dogs that brings you here?!" I asked.
"You know, the metabolism isn't what it used to be, you know, so, yeah, I'm not, not getting into the, you know, the, the coney dog, sorry, yeah, I'm not such a young gun anymore," said Lou Diamond Phillips.
"This is your first time at Astronomicon; when fans come to you, and they talk to you about your career, what's the one thing that you truly enjoy talking to them about?" I asked
"What I love hearing is the stories about somebody saying, hey man, I watched in Young Guns with my dad, or, you know, we watched Longmire, you know, with my family. My mother introduced me to La Bamba, and you knowm, I get a lot of 'my mother had a crush on you.' Like I said, it becomes this thing where, where you realize that, you know, in Hollywood or making movies or television, you're in this bubble, and you don't understand the impact on real people," Lou Diamond Phillips said.
Actress Christine Elise from Beverly Hills 90210 and Child's Play franchise fame was happy to be part of the event.
"Does it get old just talking about Chucky?" I asked.
"It does not. It's really because I, the, the, the fans are so excited it becomes infectious, you know, and, and people have actually interesting questions. They're, they're super fans, and this is the 35th anniversary of Child's Play too," she replied.
"What's that one thing about the original that you still cherish?" I followed up with.
"Well, Chucky, first of all, it's the birth of Chucky. My favorite part of the whole Chucky franchise, though, was the TV show. We did it 3 seasons of a show called Chucky, and, I think it was 8 episodes a season. You got 8 hours of Chucky content every year," Christine said.
"Speaking of 'My name is Earl,' we have a good number of cast members here at this year's Astronomicon. You got a chance to speak to some of them. What are some of the fond memories you guys discussed?" Faraz asked Jason Lee.
"Oh my gosh. I mean, it's mostly the bloopers. It's mostly breaking up on camera. I mean that show was so unbelievably fun. We, built such a strong kind of family. And there was just a lot of goofing off on set and making each other laugh," Lee replied.
That's why fans like Dan have no issues waiting in line.
"You get to meet the people, you get to talk to them, little personal moments. I've had so many cool little moments over the years at these conventions," Dan said.
