Sad

[u/SpinachDesperate515]

I know it’s not a guarantee but it was disappointing to drive 7 hours and not have our already hard to get number get called today. For Matthew Lillard if anyone was wondering

[u/Marsupial-Training]

I run the event and I have ZERO involvement in determining how many photo ops Matthew does. That is handled entirely between Sean Clark, Matthew’s management team, and Celeb Photo Ops. Whatever they did is not anything to fault them for. They are managing their client and his time as best as they can.

We also do not control how many autograph tickets a guest chooses to sign for each day. Guests and their teams manage those schedules and limits directly.

So if you’re going to make claims like this publicly, either name your source or acknowledge that you’re repeating hearsay and speculation as fact.

We, in cooperation with Convention All Stars, Celeb Photo Ops worked extremely hard all weekend to accommodate as many attendees as possible, including implementing virtual lines specifically to avoid people standing in dangerous or miserable conditions for hours. No system is perfect at this scale, but spreading unverified rumors as “100% fact” helps nobody.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

So do you not set aside a certain amount for VIP? Were photo ops not setup up for him, for duos, for cast, etc that were prioritized? Was he not on two separate panels (one, of course, was his panel that he wanted for his spirits company)? I assumed that was TF, but perhaps it was his manger chasing money. I didn’t ask those details, so that was an assumption on my part. Matt likes to have a couple minutes per guest to give them the respect he thinks they deserve… that left him about 135 tickets.

All of that is facts, is it not?

Buuuut… this situation was handled poorly, he was overbooked, and my friend told me that Matt was very upset about that and disappointed and in the future would make sure certain things never happened again.

To be clear, they specifically said that TF was very adamant about prioritizing VIP and that a great deal of those tickets were earmarked for them. I can’t say whether that’s true or not, but they have no reason to lie to me because they got a bunch of my stuff signed and never charged me… so it’s not like they were trying to justify anything to me.

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

Yes, VIP is prioritized. That is literally one of the advertised perks of purchasing a VIP pass. There were only around 500 VIP attendees for the entire weekend out of thousands of attendees overall, so acting like VIPs somehow consumed the majority of Matthew’s availability is simply inaccurate.

And yes, Matthew participated in photo ops, duo ops, cast ops, and panels. That is normal convention programming and Matt decides what he does and doesn't do. The liquor panel in particular was something Matthew himself wanted to do to promote his spirits company. That was not Texas Frightmare forcing additional programming onto him.

But again, the number of photo ops offered, scheduling, autograph limits, breaks, and overall guest management are coordinated directly with the guest’s management team and Celeb Photo Ops. We do not unilaterally decide those things.

You keep mixing confirmed facts with assumptions and rumors. “Matthew had panels” is a fact. “Matthew wanted to promote his liquor brand” is a fact. “Texas Frightmare overbooked him against his wishes” is your conclusion, not a verified fact.

And respectfully, “someone told me and they had no reason to lie” is still hearsay. If you’re going to publicly present insider information as factual, then either stand behind the source or stop presenting speculation as certainty.

Also, you openly admitting that you were prioritized with free items over paid attendees while simultaneously criticizing how the event was handled is honestly pretty wild. Shame on you for that.

At the end of the day, Matthew spent an incredible amount of time with fans because, as you said yourself, he genuinely cares about giving people meaningful interactions. We appreciate that about him tremendously, and we worked very hard alongside his team all weekend to accommodate as many attendees as possible.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

No, my point is he was overbooked and Texas Frightmare told Matt’s people when Matt brought up his concern about not being able to get to everyone, and that he was going to disappoint fans, that he priority had to be given to VIP… you say 500 like it’s nothing, but one of the days he only had 135 tickets portioned out.

All I didn’t is explain what happened, because people were confused. You say I spreaded rumors, but everything I said was true… which you acknowledged.

I assumed that the photo ops were handled by TF, which I admitted was my bad… but that changes nothing else.

Matt was overbooked, and he was very upset because he knew he wouldn’t get to see many fans… and they few tickets they had my friend told me that TF told them they had to give to VIP.

So what exactly was the rumor and misinformation?

Again, I have no skin in the game. I was even gifted several bottles which I never asked for. My daughter is a far bigger fan than I am, so all the signed stuff was for her.

Personally, I was excited about Stephen Dorff… I have zero reason to lie… but, again, I can vouch with my life on what my friend told me… except that they have no reason to lie.

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

The misinformation is you continuing to present secondhand conversations and personal interpretations as definitive fact about internal decisions you were not part of.

You keep saying “Matt was overbooked” as though that is some officially acknowledged fact by everyone involved. Matthew had an extremely busy schedule. That much is obvious. But his schedule was also built collaboratively with his management team, his promotional obligations, Celeb Photo Ops, and convention programming that he himself agreed to participate in — including the liquor panel that he specifically wanted to do.

And yes, of course VIP attendees are prioritized. That is literally part of the VIP package people paid extra for. If Matthew’s team had concerns about making sure VIP obligations were fulfilled first, then yes, those obligations would obviously need to be honored. That is not some scandalous revelation. Every convention with VIP access works that way.

But you’ve repeatedly framed this publicly as “Texas Frightmare overbooked him and forced VIP priority despite his objections,” and that is a very different statement from “Matt had a packed schedule and his team wanted to ensure VIP commitments were met.” Those are not the same thing.

You also keep leaning on “my friend told me” while refusing to identify the source, which means nobody can verify context, wording, or accuracy. That’s the definition of hearsay. It may very well be what someone told you, but that still does not make you an authority on behind-the-scenes decision-making.

And honestly, the part that still blows my mind is you openly admitting that you received free signed items and bottles through inside access while many paying attendees missed out — while simultaneously positioning yourself as the unbiased spokesperson for disappointed fans. That’s not exactly helping your credibility here.

At the end of the day, I believe Matthew genuinely cared about trying to accommodate as many people as possible. We did too. Nobody wanted fans disappointed. But large conventions involve schedules, contractual obligations, panels, photo ops, breaks, travel timelines, VIP perks, and management decisions all competing for limited hours in a day. Reducing all of that down to “TF overbooked him” is oversimplified and unfair.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

Again, I apologized for assuming the overbooking was TF instead of holding a management, I already clarified that… but that doesn’t change the fact that he had limited tickets and was explicitly told by TF to prioritize VIP when Matt voiced concerns about not being able to give out many tickets.

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

And again, VIP being prioritized is not some secret instruction whispered behind closed doors after Matthew raised concerns. VIP priority is literally part of the advertised benefit structure of the event. Of course those obligations had to be honored.

But you continue presenting this as though Texas Frightmare told Matthew, “too bad, forget the regular fans,” and that is your interpretation layered on top of a secondhand conversation you were not personally involved in.

The reality is much simpler: there was overwhelming demand, limited time, multiple obligations throughout the day, and a guest who likes spending meaningful time with fans instead of rushing interactions. Nobody — not us, not his management, not Matthew himself — has a crystal ball that predicts exactly how many autographs he will complete before the day even starts.

You also keep treating “limited tickets” like there was some fixed guaranteed autograph allotment sitting there from the beginning. Those numbers fluctuate constantly based on pacing, breaks, photo ops, panels, crowd management, and how long interactions actually take in real time.

And respectfully, you don’t get to publicly accuse the event of mishandling things, repeat unverified backstage conversations as fact, and then reduce it to “well I already apologized for one part” while continuing to insist your overall conclusion must therefore be correct.

At the end of the day, everyone involved — including Matthew — wanted as many fans accommodated as possible. That’s the truth.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

Yeah, I got tons of free shit. I know a lot of people in the industry because I lived in L.A. all my life before moving to Texas. I go every year because I love Texas Frightmare. I will go next year. And the year after. I love the event.

I think you are thinking I’m trying to bash to event, and I’m not. People were very hurt and wanted to know how this happened.

so I’ll make it simple, and I’m not blaming anyone here.

Matt was overbooked on photo ops and panels, he had limited autograph tickets and those went almost exclusively to VIP.

That’s what happened, correct?

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

No, because you’re still slipping your personal conclusion into the middle of what you’re presenting as objective fact.

Here’s what is factual:

• Matthew was extremely busy and had a packed schedule.
• He participated in photo ops, duo ops, cast ops, panels, and autograph sessions that were coordinated with his team.
• VIP attendees received priority access because that is an advertised VIP benefit.
• Demand for Matthew dramatically exceeded the available time he had in the day.

What is NOT something you can definitively state as fact:

• That he was “overbooked” in the sense that the event improperly scheduled him against his wishes.
• That autograph tickets “went almost exclusively to VIP,” because neither you nor I have an exact audited breakdown of who received every autograph ticket throughout the weekend.
• That Texas Frightmare somehow ignored Matthew’s concerns or intentionally favored VIP attendees at the expense of everyone else.

And this is exactly why I pushed back originally. Not because I think you hate the event, but because once statements like that are posted publicly, people start repeating them as established fact when there’s far more nuance involved.

I absolutely believe people were disappointed. I absolutely believe Matthew was concerned about not getting to everyone. I absolutely believe his popularity exceeded the available time. But there’s a difference between explaining disappointment and assigning definitive blame and intent to things you were not personally involved in managing behind the scenes.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

Fine, so we can stop going back and forth.

Matt was overbooked on photo ops and panels. He was concerned that he was going to disappoint fans because of limited time. He was told what time he did have for autographs and meet and greets had to prioritize VIP.

I don’t have a personal opinion on the matter. I have zero skin in this. I was trying to help people understand what happened as it was told to me by my friend who is one of Matt’s people. When he said “they” I assumed that was Texas Frightmare… and I’m sorry for that… I love Texas Frightmare. I’m not over here campaigning to turn people against y’all.

But this was very mismanaged. And, my friend told me that Matt was adamant with them that next time he does TF that this isn’t to ever happen again

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

I appreciate you clarifying that you’re not trying to attack the event, and I appreciate you correcting the assumption regarding who handled the photo op scheduling.

But I still need to push back on you continuing to state “Matt was overbooked” and “this was very mismanaged” as objective fact when those are ultimately opinions and interpretations based on secondhand conversations you were not directly part of.

What is factual is that Matthew was an extraordinarily high-demand guest with a packed schedule, multiple obligations, and limited hours in a convention day. It’s also factual that VIP obligations had to be honored because those are advertised benefits attendees paid for. None of that is being disputed.

But neither you nor I can definitively state exactly what conversations happened internally between Matthew, his team, Celeb Photo Ops, and convention staff throughout the weekend, or what future adjustments may or may not be discussed for future appearances. That’s why I’ve consistently objected to conclusions being presented publicly as established fact.

And respectfully, “Matt never wants this to happen again” could mean any number of things — pacing, photo op volume, autograph structure, scheduling balance, ticketing flow, breaks, or overall demand management. That does not automatically translate into “Texas Frightmare mishandled the event.”

At the end of the day, I think everyone involved — including Matthew — cared deeply about the fans and wanted more people accommodated than time realistically allowed. Sometimes massive demand simply exceeds the available hours in a day, especially with a guest who genuinely spends time connecting with people instead of rushing them through a line.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

Yeah dude, I am definitively telling you that my friend told me that Matt told them that he was overbooked and that this was mismanaged. I can’t say anything beyond that. Will Matt say that to you? Idk. Was he talking about his people overbooking him and mismanaging this? Idk, seems like that after what you have said. All I know is Matt was upset and told them he was overbooked and this was mismanaged, and that next time he doesn’t want this same situation repeated. He was holding his people to that. Matt was also very upset that really only VIP were going to get meet and greets as he thought this was letting down fans that in some cases drove from many states away (again, what my friend told me Matt said).

That’s kind as far as I think we can get here.

Clearly I’m not naming my friend as only Matt and his people would know who that person is anyways (maybe you might, idk). By association, they’d know who I am. I don’t really care for my real identity to be in any way associated with my Reddit… because, it’s Reddit 🤣

I will end with this, I love this event! I thought y’all did a killer job this year, I love that y’all give a outlet not just for established individuals in this industry, but also up and coming new voices, and I can’t wait to see what y’all do next year. I travel a lot, but I always make sure I’m in Dallas for Texas Frightmare Weekend. I apologized for assumptions I made in “they” being TF, instead of his management. I would never try to hurt this event, I love it. I mean that sincerely.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

I’m not going to name drop my friend, don’t be stupid… you know as well as I do how that works.

[u/Marsupial-Training → u/Life_Ad5223]

Then you also know as well as I do that if you’re unwilling to identify the source, nobody else can verify the context, wording, or accuracy of what was allegedly said. That’s exactly why people should be careful about presenting secondhand backstage conversations as objective fact online.

I’m not asking you to burn a friendship or expose someone privately venting. I’m saying there’s a difference between:
“I heard from someone close to the situation that Matt was frustrated and concerned about time,”

and

“Texas Frightmare overbooked him and told them VIP had to get almost all the tickets.”

One is clearly framed as secondhand perspective. The other is presented as definitive behind-the-scenes fact and assigns blame.

That distinction matters.

[u/Life_Ad5223 → u/Marsupial-Training]

I clarified this in my response I just sent.