h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Recently, I've written entries which feature celebrities and on doing some research have found they could be contacted. Question is: should I write to them? yes it would allow for them to have input but what if they don't like it? should I (not) disturb them?

You´ll probably be talking to their agents anyway, who are paid to be disturbed. However your entries might become less objective with their input.

Well, why not write to them? You'll hardly be the first person to do so, therefore they'll have worked out a strategy. That may well be "ignore everyone who writes to me", but you don't have anything to lose by trying.

well I've just written to two hope it's

They are celebrities, hello!

They LOVE being contacted, how do you feel when someone rings you or writes you a letter?

Well like that but multiplied by a very big number indeed is how they will feel.

As to objectivity, I dont think that will be harmed unless you let them dictate the re-writing of the whole entry. If they have anything to add either fresh information orpoints to contend as long as you make it clear that its them you are quoting then the reader has the choice to accept or or be sceptical just as they should be doing with every other inormation source.

Good luck.

The problem arises if they (or, more likely, their agents) start going on about copyrights and image rights. Admittedly, journalists do it on a routine basis...

I came across a few websites a while back where you could look up the agent/contact details of a load of celebs. Did consider writting to one or two myself, but the sites charged a yearly subscription to actually get the details so I didn't do it. Bit expensive I thought.

Thpugh if you can get a letter to them wiithout spending a fortune fire away!!

Who you writing to anyway? You'll have to let us know if they write back.

If they write back I'll let you know

I have gone through their websites rather than anything paid

That's a great idea. Just hope you don't get a standard agent reply.

It doesn't matter either way I will have learnt something

True. But it's more fun to hear from the actual person.

oh definitely

So has anyone written to a celeb and got a response??

I know quite a few "celebs" who hire someone to read their mail, write replies and autograph photographs for them. However, not all are like that. My wife had a correspondence going with Julian Cope through most of the 80's and some of the 90's.

That's just really bad. Worse than not replying. It's one thing to have your agent send a standard agent reply, but totally wrong to have someonbe reply pretending to be you. Doesn't show much regard for your fans.

Terry Pratchett says he has his fan-mail vetted by his publisher, and censored before it gets to him, so no one can accuse him of stealing their ideas. That was in one of the Discworld Companion books.

TRiG.

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I've written to a few lesser celebs, and got replies (one hand-written!). I have always been lucky and written fan mail to people before they got really big.

When I was a teenager, a friend and I sent some jokes to "I'm Sorry I'll Read that Again" and they used them on the programme and wrote and thanked us. No idea what I did with the letter.

So - What would you write to them? "Hi - I'm a researcher for the BBC and am writing an article about you ........."

I, for one, look forward to hearing as to whether you get any replies.

Suppose you're more likely to get a response from a lesser celeb that a huge one. Though when they get big, you can be sitting on a fortune!!

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though you have to be careful with that too coz they probably get loads of journalists and stuff wanting info.