Shelton’s James Tate is a teenage Internet sensation — but he probably won’t be an action figure.
Oxford’s Emil Vicale owns herobuilders.com. He turns pop culture phenoms — from Sarah Palin to the “Balloon Boy” dad — into action figures.
Just this week he released the President Obama “Rambama Action Figure,” to mark the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
However, Vicale said Thursday a “Team Tate“ action figure isn’t on his horizon — mostly due to legal complications.
Darn copyright laws.
Tate’s a regular guy, Vicale said, so he’d have to work out a business deal with Tate.
With public figures, such as the president, there’s no need to do that.
In addition “reality” people, such as Tate, don’t sell as well as political figures.
Vicale said he feels sorry for the Shelton teen — and was impressed by the way he asked Sonali Rodrigues to the prom.
“A man who is that much in love, he should be the prom king, no?”
The problem selling overnight media sensations is that tomorrow is another day. “Star power” doesn’t last.
“The news is very vigorous nowadays,” Tate said. “Tomorrow is another story.”
School Officials To Comment?
While Tate’s story continues to circle the globe — click here to read about the “Team Tate” appearances on the “Today” show and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” — the world is still waiting to see if Shelton school officials will talk about the issue.
A “Today” show reporter outside Shelton High School Thursday morning said headmaster Beth Smith may make a statement to the press sometime today (Thursday).
So far, that hasn’t happened. Students inside the school claimed on Twitter that students weren’t allowed out of classrooms Thursday.
Mayor Mark Lauretti said he spoke to Smith on the phone Wednesday evening, to try to find out more information about her decision to ban James Tate from the prom.
Lauretti said he believes the punishment doesn’t fit Tate’s actions, but he’s not about to tell Smith what to do.
“I think she’s done a very good job trying to establish discipline in the high school, and I applaud her for that,” Lauretti said.
But, he feels the punishment “deserves a second look.”
“They’ve got their policy,” Lauretti said. “But it’s not something that provides enough flexibility to allow for common sense.”
Lauretti said Smith is in a “tight situation right now and she’s got to take some time to think about this.”
