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SALT LAKE CITY — Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck is the latest addition to a star-studded lineup for this year’s FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
FanX representatives announced Affleck’s appearance on the event’s website Friday.
“We’ve announced some amazing guests so far, and we wanted to get somebody at the ‘A list’ level that would just make people go crazy,” said FanX producer and founder Dan Farr.
FanX, which was formerly known as Salt Lake Comic Con, takes place Sept. 6-8 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The event’s lineup already featured numerous celebrities, including David Tennant, Evangeline Lilly, Dick Van Dyke, Rainn Wilson, Chuck Norris and others.
Farr said it’s far and away the best lineup FanX has ever had.
“It’s easily — by a long shot — our biggest … of any lineup we’ve had,” he said.
Affleck will sign autographs and meet with fans, as well as participate in a question-and-answer panel, Farr said. The actor has already been thinking about what to talk about during the panel, according to Farr.
The announcement won’t be the last, Farr said. Event organizers are still finalizing the lineup.
There are some other people from the DC Comics realm that might make appearances at the event, Farr said. They’re also still building the list of guests that will appear during the Twisted Toonz panel, in which voice actors read movie scripts as various random characters.
“We still have more guests to come,” Farr said. “We want to make sure we deliver something spectacular.”
Related:
FanX adds Chuck Norris, Tom Welling to celebrity guest lineup
It’s been said when the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks under his bed for Chuck Norris. Well, the monster can rest easy in early September because Chuck Norris will be far away.Also new this year is a harassment hotline that will be operated through a partnership with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. The hotline will be similar to the line at Sundance Film Festival that was put in place this year, according to the FanX website.
In May, FanX co-founder Bryan Brandenburg announced he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence following controversy over the event’s handling of harassment complaints.
Farr said the new hotline will be a valuable asset for anyone who is being harassed, bullied or experiencing any issue where they feel they need help.
“We’re putting some new things in place to make this event better for everybody,” he said. “We’re hoping that the education around it will make it more comfortable for everybody too.”
