This weekend's FanX promises to be the biggest pop culture convention yet • Salt Lake Magazine

FanX returns to Salt Lake City this week, September 26-28, for its 11th year at the Salt Palace Convention Center. FanX founder Dan Farr says it will be the biggest year yet, with over 100 celebrity guests.

The list of celebrity guests includes actors from popular and fan-favorite television and film franchises, such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, star Wars And Ghost Hunters.

Farr says that's something that has changed over the years, namely the ability to bring together the entire cast of a film or multiple celebrities from the same project or franchise. This year, all the actors who played hobbits were 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 played Gimli in the films. Convention attendees have the opportunity to pay for a group photo with “the hobbits,” including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.

According to Farr, the problem he has found over the past few years is not finding enough guests, but having to say no to some people and being a little more selective about who you invite.

As for deciding who to invite, Farr says, “My secret is that I don't rely on my own likes and dislikes. I really have to rely on an army of people and get other people's feedback and then implement it.”

“It comes a little more organically from employees and often from the community suggesting things that we listen to and implement,” adds Farr.

One source for suggestions for the guest list is his daughter, about whom Farr says: “She's always sending me names of voice actors for an anime series. She knows quite a lot.”

Farr admits that when the convention first started, he didn't fully realize how appealing it was to have voice actors on the guest list. “Eight years ago, I would never have imagined that one of our biggest panels would be a reading panel for cartoon voice actors.”

He is referring to the Twisted Toons panel, which has been a staple of the program ever since. The idea is simple: a handful of voice actors read a movie script to the audience – and while they read the script, they alternate their voice repertoire. The panel produces improvised and hilarious pop culture mashups, such as voice actor Jim Cummings, who reads Voldemort's lines in Harry Potter with the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

Farr is now convinced of 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 turned to another genre that used to fascinate him: anime.

“I didn't really understand what the power behind it really was. The entertainment value of these things. But as time went on, I really enjoyed it,” he says. In fact, he watched the entire season of A piecean anime based on the manga by Eiichiro Oda, currently on Netflix. And yes, actors who do the English dubbing for A piece will be at FanX again this year.

Another surprise is the popularity of seemingly niche shows like Hazbin Hotela musical animated series for an adult audience set in Hell, in which the brave daughter of Satan plays the lead role in a group of misfits. Yes, even in Hell there are misfits. “I can't believe how popular this is. I've been to other conventions. I'm just seeing how long the lines are to meet the voice actors for this,” says Farr. The voice actors for Hazbin Hotel should also be part of FanX.

Sometimes the choice of celebrity guests is a matter of fate. Patrick Warburton will be at the convention because he happens to already have a show booked at Wise Guys SLC at the Gateway on September 26th.

“It's always nice to try new things and see how people react,” Farr explains. “You don't want to do the same thing every year. Sometimes you step out of your comfort zone a little bit… but at the same time you really want to explore new things and keep it interesting too.”

Before you go to FanX…

A few tips for both new comic convention attendees and returning champions:

• Check out the schedule in advance to plan your day at the convention. The program schedule is now available online.
• Download the FanX mobile app to have the most up-to-date conference schedule at your fingertips and receive notifications of changes.
• Read the rules! Whether it's about wearing cosplay and costumes at the convention or updated ADA protocols, they can save you headaches and heartache later.
• Ride TRAX, which is just blocks from the Salt Palace Convention Center, so you don't have to fight with 10,000 other people for a parking spot downtown.
• Book your tickets, photo sessions and autographs online in advance. This means fewer queues on the day itself.
• Consent is key. You want to take photos of activations, art, booths, celebrities, cosplayers, robots… but ask if the subject is okay with being photographed first!

For more information and tickets to the 2024 FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention, visit fanxsaltlake.com.

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