As I mention in my Thursday First Look, it’s important to remember that conventions change their schedules for a myriad of reasons. These first looks and subsequent schedule proposals are just a way to get some focus for the day while trying to find the one thing I want to do during that day at the convention. The FanX 2024 Friday panel schedule, as of Sept. 12, contains the most important panel of the convention for me; I will be presenting “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” at 1pm.

That means I will miss Patrick Warburton because he’s scheduled for 12:30. I will also likely avoid any panels before one, so I can be sure that I am ready to do my panel. (High School the Musical celebrity panel is at noon.) The next big panel is Priscilla Presley at 5:30pm. There’s a high probability that Jenya and I will make that presentation. Everyone knows Elvis, and Jenya’s seen a recent biopic on Priscilla.

However, between my panel and Priscilla’s panel is the Thelma and Louise celebrity panel at 2pm. At 3pm, there’s a presentation on 1950s Scif-Fi: Monsters vs. Aliens and Jason Isaacs of Harry Potter fame. Lou Diamond Phillips is at 3:30pm.

At 4pm, the panel Tolkien: Back and There Again will examine the media adaptations of Tolkien’s fantasy writings. At 4:30, writers might want to attend the panel on the Realities of Being a Full-Time Author; with Halloween around the corner, others might find the Nightmare Before Christmas panel more entertaining. Marissa Tomei is at 5pm and the Once Upon a Time celebrity panel is at 6pm, so we’ll probably miss both of those. At 7pm, Jon Heder will likely try to recreate his dance from Napoleon Dynamite during the movie’s panel. Vote for Pedro!

Likely Schedule:

• 1pm – The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity; Don’t forget to order your book.
• 2pm – Thelma and Lousie celebrity panel
• 3:30pm – Lou Diamond Phillips
• 4:30pm – This is a toss-up, but I’m leaning towards Nightmare Before Christmas.
• 5:30pm – Priscilla Presley
• 7pm – Napoleon Dynamite