At the end of August, we attended Fan Expo Canada 2023, Canada’s largest convention, which took place during the SAG-AFTRA strike. Many attendees, us included, were unsure of what to expect from a convention during a massive industry strike. Here are our observations on how different attending Fan Expo Canada was this year and how to enjoy an event like this while respecting the strike.
Panels, Signings, and Photo Ops
Actors that fall under the striking unions will have to do things differently while guesting at a convention during the strikes. The most significant change is that they’re not allowed to discuss any of their works that fall under the SAG-AFTRA banner. This made panels during the weekend a bit of an uncertainty. What will actors talk about if they can’t talk about recent or popular projects?
Luckily for attendees, the guests had some ideas up their sleeves. Stephen Amell (The CW’s Arrow), a Toronto native, filled his time slot by talking about growing up in Canada and his love for the Toronto Blue Jays (which he left the con early to attend a game later that day). Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) held a quiz show during his panel. The biggest and most extravagant panel belonged to the Scream cast, though.
Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, and Jamie Kennedy spent their time playing Family Feud. They called attendees onto the stage and even had Lillard run through the audience. Overall, it was a memorable spectacle that allowed them to avoid discussing their projects.
Another difference is what actors provided during autograph sessions. During a convention outside the strikes, celebrities would have 8x10s of all their most famous characters and movies/TV shows spread across their table. Due to the strike and inability to promote work, guests offered regular headshots of themselves (as an actor) instead of character shots and movie stills. However, fans can get things that they bring themselves signed.
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Photo ops were also affected. A huge-name celebrity in attendance had a full schedule of photo ops throughout the day. As attendees lined up for their 3 seconds of starstruck bliss, they were run through a list of rules, including one big one: no props. That definitely scared some people, as almost everyone in line had props.
However, it was clarified we learned that we could not hand props to the guests for them to hold. This would count as promoting a character or work and against the strike rules. This was a change attendees hadn’t really considered. But the photo op sessions were still amazing nonetheless.
While the current strikes didn’t change the convention as much as many feared, some of these can be a big deal to fans. But some things remained the same as well, including voice actors. These talented people are some of the best you can meet at a convention, and they’re under a different union. This means they have no restrictions that we saw with writers and actors. The same will go for comic creators.
The Artists’ Alley also remained unchanged and is still one of the best areas to stroll through. We never miss an opportunity to support small geeky businesses!
Fan Expo Canada 2023 Proved Cons Are Worth Attending
Creativity was on display, resulting in Fan Expo Canada 2023 being the best Fan Expo in years. We were grateful that fans and celebrity guests could come together and have a great time while respecting the strike!
