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May 07, 2003

EhSteve!

I just found out that I'll be on ABC tomorrow night!

They interviewed me for a program called "Our Favorite Stars, Then and Now." I guess they are doing a bit on Stand By Me, and they picked me as the guy they'd interview. We did the interview at the ACME a few weeks ago, and I talked about how none of us expected Stand By Me to be so popular, though I always felt like we were working on something special. I also talked about what it's like to be famous for previously being famous, and why I'm writing now. I think I mentioned the WWdN in there, too.

It should be interesting . . . it seems like just about every mainstream media interview I do gets edited or spun into "Wil Wheaton is a has-been," so we'll see what happens with this one. Seems like I get burned more often than not.

Speaking of getting burned, I read a wire story (warning: pop-up and cookie hell) that talked about the explosion of "celebrity weblogs." In it, he mentioned me, failed to mention that I was doing this LONG before it became a marketing tool for Big Celebrities, and portrayed me in what I think itsn't a very positve light.

Take a look:

Most celebrities combine the writing and promotional element. For example, while Star Trek: The Next Generation alum Wil Wheaton uses his blog to discuss his life and air his opinions, he also urges fans to write Star Trek convention organizers "a brief, polite, friendly letter, to tell them that you'd be willing to fork over 5 bucks to meet your old pal, TV's Wil Wheaton."

That quote, of course, is taken out of context from the Convention page.

Here's the entire quote from that page:

"Many of the convention promoters won't book a guest unless they feel that the guest will bring people into the show. It's simple economics, really. I mean, why bring out The Guy Who Was The Red Shirt in Episode 22 when the people really want to see The Guy Who Was The Red Shirt in Episode 61?

If you'd like to see me at a con, you should let the promoters know, by writing a brief, polite, friendly letter, to tell them that you'd be willing to fork over 5 bucks to meet your old pal, TVs Wil Wheaton.

It's hardly "urging," you jackass.

I wonder if this "journalist" even bothered to read this site? I wonder if he took the time to find out about my focus here: my real life, my struggles as an actor and hopes as a writer? I think it's far more likely that this person came here with an agenda, just like the idiot who slammed WWDN in Entertainment Weekly, and looked for a quote to support his pre-determined conclusion.

Of all the "celebrity" weblogs out there, I've been told that I'm the most accessible. How hard would it have been to e-mail me a question or two about this site? Would it have added to this guy's story if he'd taken fifteen minutes and asked me why I do this?

I shouldn't care, but I do. Maybe I'm over reacting.

Maybe I need to walk away from the computer for ten minutes.

Maybe I should switch to decaf.

Posted by wil at May 7, 2003 11:37 AM

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» Fanboi Moi from missed
My favorite Star Trek geek, Wil Wheaton is going to make a brief appearance on an ABC program called Our Favorite Stars, Then and Now. I'll be watching, simply because I have no life... unless, of course, it's opposite Friends... [Read More]

Tracked on May 7, 2003 02:16 PM

» That's not cool! from manshorts
WIL WHEATON DOT NET: EhSteve! Wil Wheaton is a cool guy (in that geeky, lets play D&D way). And, well it just pisses me off that people have to dog on him. He says Entertainment Weekly dissed his website for no apparent reason. I challenge you to visit... [Read More]

Tracked on May 8, 2003 06:12 AM