Washington, DC – March 9, 2017 Universal FanCon is pleased to announce stars Orlando Jones, Terri Doty, and Sumalee Montano as official celebrity guests at the first annual Universal FanCon. The convention is set to take place at the Baltimore Convention on April 27th – 29th, 2018 with a focus on Anime, Gaming, Television, and Movies. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, where over $55,000 was raised in support of the convention, more and more talent is gravitating towards FanCon’s mission of diversity and inclusion.
Actor, writer, producer, and comedian Orlando Jones will not only be attending the Con, but also headlining a Stand Up comedy event with possible surprise celebrity guests. In a career spanning 30 years, Jones has embodied versatility. MTV crowned him the King of Fandom in 2015. In 2016, he hosted and produced content for the digital broadcast of the Academy Awards, and his one man show and international tour kicked off with a Comedy Central special in Johannesburg, South Africa. 2017 will be an exceptionally exciting year: Jones stars opposite Maisie Williams and Jason Sudeikis in Book of Love; he stars opposite Laurence Fishburne as Oliver Tambo in Madiba; and Jones will bring Anansi to life for the highly-anticipated American Gods series. Jones is also the CEO of Driveby Entertainment, an immersive content studio that specializes in building franchises by creating stories that speak authentically on any platform and engaging fans year round with the content they love.
“The United States most influential export is entertainment & culture. Only seeing yourself as a 2nd class citizen in movies & TV shows reinforces & promotes the idea that disabled people, women & men of color are sub human. It is vitally important to tell stories that show a more diverse group of heroes. Events like FanCon shine a light on just how much demand exists in these communities. Raconteurs need only provide heroines.” said Jones in response to why he chose to be a guest at Universal FanCon.
Terri Doty has been the voice of some of our favorite cartoon and anime characters. Her incredible voice work has been included on FairyTale, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’, Wolf Children, and One Piece, just to mention a few. The American actress and director explained the need for diversity and representation in entertainment. “Growing up, I wanted to see myself in geekdoms. As someone from two drastically different cultures, that wasn’t often an easy thing. It’s gotten better over the years. What better example than Universal Fan Con? Their message is one of hope. There’s no way I’d miss out on being part of such an important event.”
Sumalee Montano is an actress and video voice over personality. Her voice work has been featured on some of the largest video game releases of the last decade, including Fallout 4 and Mass Effect. When talking about her participation in Universal FanCon, Sumalee stated that she “loves cons for celebrating geek culture. [Yet], having a con that’s specifically focused on diversity and inclusion? Yes, please. I’m there!”
Jones, Doty, and Montano are just the first line of what is sure to be an impressive and varied ensemble of celebrity guests. The Universal FanCon team is spending countless hours developing and planning innovative ideas to truly make the weekend event one for the record books. The convention’s hope is to fill the void of diversity, and give fans the chance to see the geek community through a diverse set of eyes.
For more information, and further exciting announcements, be sure to follow Universal FanCon on twitter @UniversalFanCon, and the official website at universalfancon.com.
About Universal Fan Con
Universal FanCon is dedicated to being the first ever large-scale, multi-fandom con dedicated to inclusion, highlighting women, LGBTQ, the disabled and persons of color. Universal FanCon takes place April 27-29 at the Baltimore Convention Center.