Sunday was a lot less hectic than the other days, but still brought in quite the crowd because of celebrities that were still attending. People were still clamouring in for the last set of panels, a last purchase or two, or even just a last minute photo-op!
On Saturday, Tom Felton announced that he would be staying an extra day so fans came back to get some autographs and a photo-op. Along with Tom Felton, other celebrities that were available were Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who), Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf), Chandler Briggs (The Walking Dead), Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter, Captain America: The First Avenger), and James & Oliver Phelps (Harry Potter). The last morning also provided the opportunity for guests to have breakfast with select celebrities for $99, which had to be purchased beforehand. The proceeds went to Sick Kids. I unfortunately was unable to attend the breakfast, but I’m sure it was awesome!
As it was the last day, it was the opportune time to wander around the booths and see what was up for grabs. After little success in the main building hall, I ventured down to the lower levels of the south building, where one would find the “artists’ alley” as well as big-name booths like X-Box, Showcase, and EB Games. The EB Games surprisingly had great deals – some even better than the vendors selling them just one building over.
ONE LAST PANEL BEFORE I GO
There were a few panels available and I found myself most interested in the remaining celebrity panels. In particular, Tyler Hoechlin (he was taking Tyler Posey‘s slot), Jenna Coleman, and Hayley Atwell. Those three were rather large panels as they were big ticket celebrities, meaning I would only be able to attend one, due to the fact that I’d have to wait in line to get a good position. I opted for a smaller panel titled “How FanFiction Will Take Over the World,” which ended up being extremely fun and enlightening. The panel was moderated by Aron Levitz (head of business development at Wattpad) and included Sam Maggs (author of “The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy” and host of the Cineplex pre-show), Soha Kareem, YouTuber NerdyAndQuirky, and kfan the author of a viral Kim Kardashian fanfiction.
The fanfiction panel was a lot of fun and the low-key nature of it meant that it provided a great community to talk about the little nuances and quirks of fanfiction. It offered good insight into the world of fandom and what it meant to be a fan in today’s participatory culture. The panelists touched on the effect that fandom has had on mass media and how many television shows and movies are now responding to this particular aspect of fandom, meaning that they are aware of how fans are creating transformative works.
HAYLEY ATWELL
Okay, I lied. This was the absolute last panel, I promise! One of the highlight panels was Hayley Atwell’s, where she touched on a wide array of topics ranging from the future of Agent Carter, the famed Dubsmash Wars between Team Carter and Team AoS (see a compilation here), and of course, Chris Evan‘s kissing skills.
On the topic of Agent Carter:
She was very happy that the show was renewed for a second season, and she hopes to see more development between her and the relationships she’s already developed. She is proud to play a strong female character and touched upon the fact that Hollywood needs more of those strong female leads. The on-screen relationship between Peggy and Angie is a favourite of hers because of the way they can confide in each other and the way their relationship is not founded on men or the needs of men, which is extremely important for today’s industry.
On the topic of the Dubsmash Wars:
Hayley was fairly confident in her skills against the Agents of Shields team, which brought the crowd to screams and cheers (#TeamCarter!). She recalled the story of how she got Chris Evans to participate in a couple of videos because they were desperate to come up with a rebuttal to the Agents of Shield video. The impromptu flight out to Atlanta where Chris was shooting Civil War was very much a spur-of-the-moment trip. She also retold the amusing moment when she found out that Clark Gregg had dressed up as Peggy Carter for one of Agents of Shield videos.
“I was livid.”
On the topic of relationships:
She said she was single and not particularly looking for a boyfriend and that she was happy with Dubsmash. Although, much to the fangirl’s delight, she went off on a tangent while describing Chris Evans (dreamy!) and paused in the midst of her description, stating that she should probably just marry the guy.
Nobody was complaining.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Each year, Fan Expo gets better and better. I’m constantly seeing more stars, more improvements, and an even better experience for fans everywhere. It’s absolutely phenomenal how many people flock to Toronto for this event and just knowing that it’s one of the largest conventions out there makes it all the more special.
The wait begins again, this time for the Fan Expo 2016 convention where there’ll be even more exciting things to come.
As always, remember to check out our Facebook album for more pictures!
(All photography by Theresa Shim)
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