Now in its 11th year, Salt Lake City’s FanX is back this week, September 26-28, at the Salt Palace Convention Center, and FanX founder Dan Farr says it will be the biggest year yet, with more than 100 celebrity guests.
The list of celebrity guests includes actors from beloved and fan-favorite television and film franchises, like The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars and Ghostbusters.
Farr says that is something that has changed over the years, the ability to bring in an entire cast of a film or multiple celebrities from the same project or franchise. This year, all of the actors who played hobbits in The Lord of the Rings (2001), and Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum, are on this year’s guest list, along with John Rhys-Davies, the actor who portrayed Gimli in the films. Convention attendees have the chance to pay for a group photo-op with “the hobbits,” including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.
According to Farr, the problem he has found in recent years is not trying to find enough guests, but it’s having to say “no” to some people and be a little more selective about who they say “yes” to.
As far as making those determinations for who to invite, Farr says, ”My secret to this is I don’t rely on my own likes and dislikes. I have to really rely on a whole army of people and get the feedback from other people and then implement that.”
“It comes in a little more organically from the staff and a lot of times, even from the community suggesting things and us listening and pulling it off,” adds Farr.
One source for guest list suggestions is his daughter, about whom Farr says, “She’s constantly shooting me names of the voice actors for an anime series. She’s quite knowledgeable.”
Farr admits that, when the convention was starting out, the appeal of having voice actors on the guest list was a bit beyond him. “Eight years ago, I would have no idea that one of our biggest panels would be a cartoon voice script reading panel.”
He’s referring to the Twisted Toons panel, which has been a mainstay on the program ever since. The idea is simple, a handful of voice actors do a table read of a film script in front of the panel audience—oh, and they rotate through their repertoire of voices as they read the script. The panel produces impromptu and hilarious pop culture mash-ups, such as voice actor Jim Cummings reading Voldemort’s lines in Harry Potter in the voice of Winnie the Pooh.
Farr has since come around to the power of voice actors. At FanX 2024, the cast of the popular animated series X-Men ’97 is on the guest list. He has also come around on another genre that use to mystify him: anime.
“I didn’t really even grasp what the power of it really was. The entertaining value of those things. But I’ve grown to really enjoy it,” he says. In fact, he’s watched the entire run of One Piece, an anime based on the manga by Eiichiro Oda, currently on Netflix. And yes, actors who did the English dub for One Piece will be at FanX this year as well.
Another surprise is the popularity of seemingly niche shows like Hazbin Hotel, musical animated series for mature audiences that is set in hell with the plucky daughter of Satan as the lead of a cast of misfits. Yes, even hell has misfits. “I can’t believe how popular it is. I’ve gone to other conventions. I’m just seeing how giant the lines are to meet the voice actors for that,” says Farr. The voice cast for Hazbin Hotel is also slated to be at FanX.
Sometimes, the selection of celebrity guests comes down to kismet. Patrick Warburton will be at the convention because he already happened to have a show booked at Wise Guys SLC at the Gateway on Sept. 26.
“It’s always nice to try new things and see what people respond to,” explains Farr. “You don’t want to just do the same thing every year. Sometimes, you know, you do get a little bit out of your comfort zone…but at the same time, you want to really just explore new things and keep it interesting, too.”
Before you go to FanX…
A couple of tips for both new comic convention attendees and returning champions:
- Check the schedule in advance to get a plan out your day at the convention. The programming schedule is now live online.
- Download the FanX mobile app to put the latest convention schedule in the palm of your hands and know when things change with notifications.
- Read the rules! Whether for wearing cosplay and costumes to the convention or updated ADA protocols, it can save you the headache and heartache later.
- Ride TRAX. With a stop just a few blocks from the Salt Palace Convention Center, spare yourself the pain of finding parking downtown while fighting 10,000 other people for a stall.
- Book your tickets, photo-ops and autographs in advance online. That means fewer lines on the day.
- Consent is key. You will want to take photos of activations, art, booths, celebrities, cosplayers and robots…but ask first if the subject is OK having their photo taken!
For details and tickets for 2024 FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention, visit fanxsaltlake.com.
