Jesse Eisenberg

Apparently I spoke too soon...I wasn't done receiving replies for 2011! Today I received MY LAST reply for 2011 from the incredibly talented Jesse Eisenberg, who is known for his performances in Adventureland (my personal favorite), Zombieland and The Social Network.  The Social Network was the first film of Eisenberg's I had seen, and needless to say, I was hooked. He was so good, so captivating, as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg that I knew I had to see some of his previous films.  Zombieland was great, but it was Adventureland that really resonated with me. It was a great coming-of-age film and, dare I say it, Kristen Stewart was actually tolerable to watch! Her onscreen chemistry with Eisenberg was spot-on...the girl's actually got talent! But Jesse's character was so innocent and he played the role perfectly. I highly recommend it.

But what I really admire about Jesse is how much he has accomplished at such a young age. I mean, the man just finished writing, directing and starring in his own play, Asuncion, alongside Justin Bartha of The Hangover.  The show received great reviews and I was ecstatic to receive my two photos back signed from him on this final day of 2011. Thank you very much, Jesse Eisenberg, and Happy New Year to you all! Thank you for helping me surpass 10,000 blog views within my first year -- wow, that's awesome -- and I look forward to another wonderful year of sharing my stories and autograph replies! Ta ta for now.

2011: A Year in Review

As the year comes to a close, I thought it would be enjoyable to spend my day off ranking my favorite autograph replies over the past 12 months. While I will say this year was incredible for autographs, I have picked my Top 5 favorite replies (I thought a Top 10 list would be too easy) which can be seen below.

5. Brooke Shields

Date Received: Tuesday, September 6

I received Brooke's autograph on my 21st Birthday, which is why I consider her reply to be so special.  As mentioned in my original post, I loved her on Suddenly Susan and thought she was hilarious at this year's Tony Awards.  Brooke is truly America's sweetheart and I am thankful she signed my Morticia Addams photo since I am quite the fan of The Addams Family.

4. Marina Sirtis

Date Received: Monday, December 12

This is a pretty recent reply, but I was so excited to receive my photos back from Deanna Troi herself, Marina Sirtis.  As mentioned in my original post, I was planning on attending the 2012 Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas with hopes of purchasing both Marina's autograph and a photo with her, but now that I have two signed and dedicated photos for a lot less than they would have cost me out in Vegas, I am undecided whether I will be attending the convention.  Troi has been one of my favorite characters since first watching The Next Generation within the past few years (I love her accent) and, although I really would like to meet Marina in person, these two signed photos are keeping me at bay for the time being...and I stress 'for the time being.'

3. Joy Behar

Date Received: Tuesday, April 5

So what?! Who cares?! Well, I care!! You know I'm in love with Joy Behar and watch The View religiously, so you can understand how excited I was to receive a signed photo from Ms. Behar. Plus, now that her HLN show, The Joy Behar Show, is now a piece of history, the photo is even more special.  The co-hosts of The View are on vacation this week and I'm already going through withdrawals only three days into their mini-break.  Joy continuously brings the humor both on the show and on Twitter (follow her @JoyVBehar), and it only helps that I agree with her political views 99.9% of the time.  Again, so what?! Who cares?! :)

2. Jim Parsons

Date Received: Saturday, July 16

Oh, Jim Parsons.  I don't think I need to reiterate how much of an enormous fan I am of The Big Bang Theory and how much I absolutely love Jim's performance each week as the one and only Sheldon Cooper, but I actually quit our summer series of Rochester Survivor just so I could see the photo waiting for me at home.  I mean, the man has had an incredible past couple of years (winning a Golden Globe AND two Emmys) and I only hope he continues his flawless work on The Big Bang Theory in the coming seasons. 

1. Dame Julie Andrews

Date Received: Thursday, June 23

Words cannot truly express how absolutely thrilled I was to receive my copy of Dame Julie Andrews' autobiography Home signed and personalized after almost nine months of waiting.  She has been one of my all-time favorite actresses since first seeing Mary Poppins as a child, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have received her autograph since she rarely signs photos or other items.  Today, my book is proudly displayed on my entertainment center in my bedroom.

"Godspell"

Today I received what might possibly be my last reply for 2011...a playbill signed by the Broadway cast of Godspell.  Thanks to my father introducing me to the wonderful soundtrack when I was a child, I have always loved the upbeat music (Day By Day, anyone?) and thought it would be neat to add the playbill to my collection.  The show stars Hunter Parrish of Weeds fame, although I know him as the awkward Earl Gornicke from RV with Robin Williams, so I made sure to request his signature on the playbill since I am a fan of what productions of his I've seen.  This brings my playbill collection up to some crazy number -- I never know how many I have until I take the time to alphabetize the newest addition -- but I do think they're pretty cool to collect.  Once the show ends, there will never be another playbill, or another cast, quite like it!

If, in fact, this is my last reply for the year, I look forward to seeing you in 2012. However, if I do receive an unexpected surprise in the mail, I'll be sure to post it here! Enjoy! Happy Holidays to you all!

Marina Sirtis & Angela Bassett

Received two great responses to start out finals week today...

Marina Sirtis is best known for her performance as Counselor Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG).  Troi has been one of my favorite characters since I first started watching TNG within the past couple of years -- admit it, she was a hottie back then and still looks amazing today -- and I was planning on attending the 2012 Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas with hopes of getting a photo with her.  However, now that have TWO dedicated photos in my collection, I find myself rethinking the decision...

In addition, I received my photo back signed and dedicated -- as well as a playbill from Broadway's The Mountaintop with Samuel L. Jackson -- from the elegant Angela Bassett.  She has appeared in such wonderful films as Malcolm X and Akeelah and the Bee, and was most recently seen in the summer blockbuster, Green Lantern, with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.  Today, however, she is starring the aforementioned Broadway play, The Mountaintop, alongside Samuel L. Jackson; the show has received AMAZING reviews and both Angela and Samuel are poised to win Tony Awards for their excellent performances.

As always, I am THRILLED to add these photos from two great actresses, two of my favorite actresses at that, to my growing collection.  Happy Holidays to you all! :)

Kim Cattrall

The dryspell is over once more! I received an amazing reply today from the incredible Kim Cattrall, who is known for her sultry performance as Samantha Jones on Sex and the City (including six seasons on HBO and two very successful motion pictures), as well as Lieutenant Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Linda Romanoli in Meet Monica Velour.  This is the second reply I have received from Kim; the first being from when I wrote her during the filming of Sex and the City 2.

The cast of Sex and the City, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Cattrall, ranks as one of my all-time favorite ensemble casts in television and movie history, and I pray for a third film reuniting the girls (well, if only I was a praying man).  Some may say the second film was garbage or had no heart, but in my opinion, those who diss the second film are not true fans of the series.  If you were true fans, you would welcome any opportunity to see the girls reunited once more.  She was HYSTERICAL in the second film and had me laughing every moment she was onscreen!

In addition, Kim was great as Vulcan Lieutenant Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  She and Leonard Nimoy had great chemistry together (well, as far as the script is concerned), and I was debating on sending her a third photo -- a Star Trek photo -- but decided three pictures was too many and instead sent the two Sex and the City photos seen above.  Now here's the cool part...when I opened my envelope this afternoon, there were three photos enclosed: my two Sex and the City photos and a black and white photo of her from Star Trek! She must have read my letter! I am THRILLED.  And since it's a 4x6" photo, I may just frame it and put it on my Star Trek wall...I think it would look great next to my other autographs. 

Thanks Kim! Now bring on Sex and the City 3!