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It started at 13, when she landed the role of Hello Kitty. She's since voiced hundreds of this era's cartoon icons, including Bubbles in "Powerpuff Girls," Dil in "Rugrats," Timmy Turner in "The Fairly OddParents," Batgirl in "Batman: Gotham Nights" and now Twilight Sparkle, the lead pony in "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic."

HuffPost Canada TV caught up with her on her 40th birthday at the Princess Coronation Party, celebrating the third season finale of "Friendship Is Magic."

You've been the voice of so many iconic characters over the years. How do you keep them all straight?
When I do these characters I don't think, 'Oh, right now I'm a baby,' and that I'm in those moments as that person and as that entity. A lot of times people say, 'Do you get your voices confused?' and I don't because they all live in my head. So, when it's time to pull out Timmy Turner from "The Fairly OddParents," or Twilight Sparkle, or Raven, they are just there fully-formed and ready to be used. Once you create a character, they live up there waiting for their time on stage. I can't explain it, but the people at my level who do 10 shows at a time don't mix up these characters, because once they're created, they are an actual being. In a voice-over session we close our eyes and actually see these moments happening to them. You'll often see voice actors adding physicality to their performance and not even realize they're doing it.

Of all the roles you've taken on, do you have a favourite?
When I was a little girl, I, of course, loved The Little Mermaid. What little girl didn't want to be Ariel? So, when I first moved to L.A., I got to audition to play her daughter and was blown away when I actually booked the role. When I met Jodi Benson [the voice of Ariel] , she was so gracious I started to cry. She was like, 'Are you OK?' and I said, 'I just loved you for so long!' To get to sing with her in studio was really surreal, so that was my all-time, I-could-die-tomorrow favourite role.

"Teen Titans" is returning in 2013. What was it like coming back to Raven after so many years away?
That's a show that ended and the fans would not stop begging for more. I myself was sad when that show ended because it was so much fun to do. They ended the show at such an incredible character arc for Raven and her dad Trigon, so we all hoped it would come back, and when we read the script we were so excited. Then, we all came to the studio and realized it wasn't a continuation of where we left off and I was nervous because I know the fans are like, 'What happened?' But I've seen some of the new episodes and I have to say the fans are going to go nuts.

On February 16, the third season finale of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is airing -- and it seems the Bronies have never let up through the years.
I've noticed that too. It has definitely gotten stronger. The Bronies are such a sweet fandom. I can't even say enough about these fans. First of all, through my Twitter account, I've raised $100,000 for a little girl with a Stage 4 brain tumour. She would not be alive today without the Bronies. I've never seen a fandom this vocal and supportive. Anything I put on Twitter, they bring it to life. Their whole philosophy, which they get from the show, really is love and tolerance and getting to know one another.

What do you think about the show challenging traditional gender norms?
Well, Lauren Faust, the creator of the show, never intended it to be just for girls and really wanted to create a show that you could sit and enjoy with the whole family and your children. There's nothing on that show where you'll go, 'I can't let my children watch that.' Even when I was doing "Rugrats," parents would complain that Angelica's too mean. With this "My Little Pony" series, literally any age and any gender can enjoy it. There's some really funny stuff.

Even though Bronies started out as mostly guys, the show hasn't lost its 'Girl Power' appeal. Is that by design?
The show isn't changing to make the fans happy, it's staying true to itself, which is why the fans are happy. We tell these stories that are relatable to your own life. There was one time, I was in a tiff with this girlfriend of mine because she was friends with this girl that I can't stand, and I couldn't understand why she could be friends with her. The episode that day was about a pony that no one liked and Twilight writes this letter at the end where she's like, 'Dear Princess Celestia, sometimes you're not going to like a pony that your friends like, but that's OK if you just love each other anyway,' and I was like, 'Oh my god, that just happened to me today.'

How do you feel about the term 'Brony' expanding past just adult guy fans?
It just shows that they didn't want to be exclusive and that's what the fans like. Nobody is excluded, everyone is welcome in the fandom. I think sometimes in other fandoms they feel like, 'You don't know enough about this' or 'You're a girl.' The girls were initially calling themselves Pegasisters and some people hated that. They were looking for other names and I think, at the end of the day, people were like, 'Well, we're all Bronies!' It doesn't really matter. They all love each other and a lot of these guys are saying they're using an emotional side that they've never used before. If it's making people feel good and do good, it's completely fine with me.

How do you feel the show has evolved?
I think the show has grown so much and Twilight herself has spent so much time learning about friendship and growing as a woman. Now, she's becoming a princess and is fulfilling her destiny. She's been working hard on her magical studies and is now sharing that element with her friends. A lot of the fans were worried she is going to leave, but she's going to stay in Ponyville and have adventures with them.

Do you have anything you can tell the fans about the finale without giving too much away?
Yeah, do you have your pen ready? It's very cute.

Catch Tara as Twilight Sparkle on the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" Season 3 finale Saturday, February 16th at 10:30 a.m. EST on The Hub in the U.S. and Treehouse TV in Canada.


]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:26:00 EST 2697884 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" follows the adventures of Twilight Sparkle and her friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinky Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity as they travel through the land of Equestria studying the magic of friendship.

You would think such a plot, along with strong female characters, whimsical settings, pastel colors and high moral messages make it the perfect show for little girls. Surprisingly, that's not the case -- its fastest-growing and most dedicated fanbase is not little girls, but actually late teen and 20-something straight-identified single men who vocally celebrate their true love for the show through music, fiction, art, fashion and memes ... tons and tons of memes.

They are called "Bronies," and their very existence on the internet and beyond may be moving the needle toward a new definition of what it means to be a man. Relax, we know there are probably a million questions running through your head (not the least of which is: what attracts a grown man to a cartoon for little girls?), but you can rest assured that there are no psychological pathologies or paedophilic motivations among the members of this fandom.

In fact, a study done by two American clinical psychologists, Dr. Patrick Edwards and Dr. Marsha Redden, compared 24,000 Bronies with about 3,000 non-Bronies and found there were virtually no personality or emotional differences between the two groups, especially when it came to gravitating toward things thought of as female. "The only significant difference in personality between Bronies and non-Bronies was that Bronies were more agreeable, which is consistent with the show's message of conflict resolution and tolerance," says Redden.

Tolerance is what Brony fandom is built on. A week after the "Friendship is Magic" premiere in October 2010, blogger Amid Amidi wrote an alarmist commentary on Cartoon Brew titled, "The End of the Creator-Driven Era in TV Animation," using "My Little Pony" and its Hasbro-owned network Hub TV, as its main target. A discussion of the piece erupted on 4chan and eventually men on 4chan decided to watch the show and ... they liked it.

Battle lines were drawn on the 4chan boards, as the first Bronies faced their detractors in heated arguments. But, instead of matching vitriol with more venom, the Bronies decided to subdue their haters with kindness -- inundating the boards with hundreds of ironic "My Little Pony"-themed memes. The boards were so overrun that administrators decided to ban all mention of ponies on the site, which only intensified fan dedication, as Bronies spread into cyberspace determined to create their own discussion boards and fan sites.

The largest of these is Equestria Daily, a fan site created by Shaun Scotellaro in January 2011 out of his parent's home in Glendale, Arizona. At 175,000 hits a day, if anyone knows what men like about this show, wouldn't it be him?

"Honestly it differs for everyone," he says. "Some just like the cute ponies, others get lost in the setting, and the newer guys tend to flock toward the incredibly friendly community aspect. It's a mixed bag."

While it's difficult for Bronies to narrow down what they like about the show (animation, relatable characters, community etc.), many say "Friendship is Magic" gives them permission to reject what media and society feeds them as traditionally male.

"There are all these shows that are 'male' with violence, guns and explosions, but 'MLP' is a different take. It's a more peaceful kind of thing and that's why I like it. Sometimes we just need some peace in our lives," says Trevor Buntin, a Brony from Hamilton, Ontario.

"I never really considered myself a manly man," says David Kong, a 15-year-old Brony, who believes the the fandom is a movement of guys breaking the traditional handcuffs society has placed on them.

"I don't like the common perception that guys have to be strong or uber-macho. I never could reconcile that idea in my mind, and the show gives guys an opportunity to express their inner femininity. The idea that the show is for girls enticed me to keep watching because I knew I was breaking that 'typical guy' perception."

So, why this shift from traditional gender norms? Joe Kilmartin thinks he knows. The manager of Toronto's Comic Book Lounge and Gallery has his theories after seeing more male customers surreptitiously approach the blind bag pony figures on his counter.

"As culture gets more brutish with things like Fox News -- the bully's idea of what a news network should be -- there's a certain kind of geek that takes comfort in having more female friends than male friends. These guys are looking for something to belong to and they know it won't be sports. Fandom, by it's very nature, is subversive and most geeks get a kick out of the perverse. Nothing embodies both more than a show that relies on gender stereotypes for its marketing, but has a level of humor and wit that takes a certain acuity and intelligence to appreciate."

To be a geek is to already be judged for what you like, and Bronies are still self-conscious enough to shorten "My Little Pony" to "MLP" when speaking about it publicly, and to skip past the saccharine opening theme. However, beyond the occasional razzing, Bronies say the public is actually pretty accepting. Does that mean what's considered manly could be changing?

"I think the definition of what it means to be a man is unfortunately still what it was 50 years ago, but this is a signal that things are ready to change," says Kilmartin. "If it doesn't happen immediately, it's going to happen in generations after ours because if it's something as casual as this, it says a lot about where things will go. It's a signal that those old tropes about what it means to be a man, and the things you can like as a guy, are falling away."

]]> Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:30:49 EDT 2005566 Fan Expo Canada is over for another year, so if you were planning on donning that Captain America costume and sauntering over to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, you're too late. It's time to put those star-spangled underpants and that winged cowl back in the closet until next year. Lucky for you, we've got you covered. Just because you couldn't be there in person, doesn't mean we couldn't bring you all the star-studded highlights from the final day.

John Barrowman Doesn't Give A S--t
The noon panel kicked off with Britain's favourite time-traveling renegade -- no, not Dr. Who, but the leader of "Torchwood" and the first openly gay character in "Dr. Who" history -- Captain Jack Harkness. That's right, John Barrowman, who shares his TV character's sexual orientation, brought his love of sci-fi and musical theatre to a thrilled Fan Expo audience. Being an openly gay actor hasn't been easy, but Barrowman has no fear.

"I don't give a s--t what other people think, and if you're allowing someone to dictate the fear in yourself so you can't be who you are, then you should really grow a set of cojones and speak up," said Barrowman.

"I've had producers say to me -- in fact, this one producer was gay themselves -- and they said, 'You shouldn't talk about your partner, you shouldn't talk about this, you shouldn't do that, you shouldn't be who you are and I went back to my partner and said, 'What do I do?' and he said, 'What do you want to do?' I said, 'I'm not going to ask you to hide and go to a party with a girl on my arm just because some people aren't comfortable with it.' That's not my problem and I basically said, 'No, I'm not going to do it.' They weren't happy with that, but you know what? That's their bad and if they're going to cut me out or put me out of a show because of that? I don't care."

Sometimes such openness can lead to hilariously awkward situations, like when a Toronto cab driver, with what Barrowman called a Minnesota accent, recognized him from "Torchwood": "Oh, 'Torchwood.' Didn't they cancel that show because that guy was gay?" asked the cab driver, with no idea what he was walking into.

"Actually, they just don't know whether the show is coming back and they didn't cancel the show because that guy was gay because I'm that guy," said Barrowman. After that, the colour fell from the taxi driver's face and all he could muster was a long string of "Ohs."

"It goes without saying, he didn't get a tip," confirmed Barrowman.

Candid Christopher Lloyd
Speaking of "Taxi," Christopher Lloyd also held court, running through many of the classic lines from "Back to the Future" -- from "Great Scott!" to "Roads ... where we're going, we don't need roads." He also took particular relish in the fact that he scared an entire generation of kids with Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."

"Yes! I feel good about it!" he exclaimed. "A lot of people at the signings here have come up and said how when they were children and they saw that movie, it horrified them. They were so scared of the character and that's OK. I love to do that. I don't want anybody to be damaged for life, but that's fun."

Even his co-stars aren't immune from being afraid of him. Just ask Hank Johnston, his little co-star who played Gunther Beckman in "Dennis the Menace." "I played a villainous guy in that," said Lloyd. "Which I relished. I loved doing it. There's this scene where I'm going through this alley and I'm passing by these rich homes and I'm kind of scouting out what home I'm going to burglarize next. There's a fence in the alley and on the other side of the fence, there's a boy getting ready to eat an apple. It was just a kid that they got -- five, maybe six years-old -- and I reach for my knife, take the apple, eat it and walk away. That boy, for the rest of the shoot, whether I was in costume or out of costume, he'd see me and he could not come near me. He'd be with his mom and he'd hide behind her. So, I hope that, wherever he is, he's OK."

Billy West, Voice Legend
The last panel of the day Fan Expo 2012 featured voice acting legend Billy West. The 62-year-old divulged some of the inspirations behind his most recognizable voices. For example, "Futurama"'s military captain Zapp Brannigan was based on a compilation of what West calls "the big dumb announcers" that he grew up listening to.

"These guys were hanging onto every syllable, milking every word like a gospel singer, with five syllables for one word. They were just so afraid to leave dead air. Take a breath, for God's sake. It's like the Hamburger Helper of words. They loved far and away, above anything else in their life, the sound of their own voice. But, those guys started getting phased out for people who sounded like real human beings -- somebody you could actually have a talk with and not feel like you're in the middle of the 11 o'clock news."

It turns out that dopey Stimpy from "Ren and Stimpy" is just a sped-up version of Larry Fine from "The Three Stooges," said West. "Everybody could do Moe and everybody could do Curly, but nobody could do Larry and I was blown away by the little he did, so I auditioned as a sped-up Larry."

Ren comes from a much darker place: "He's a little bit of Peter Lorre, but then he was south of the border because he's a chihuahua. Sometimes he had a Slavic accent and sometimes he had a Mexican accent -- I didn't care. Kirk Douglas was also in there from the movie "Crime Story," where he hates lawbreakers because he can't do to them what he really wants to do. One day, he just broke down in the office and they say, 'What's the matter?' and he says, 'I hate CREE-MINALS!"

West also claims that he was a nerd. "I hate the fact that it's cool to be a nerd now, it wasn't 50 years ago. Trying to explain comic books was like trying to explain the desert to a polar bear. But now, even the jocks want to be nerds."

Fan Expo ran from August 23-26 in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Fan Expo: Day 3

Fan Expo: Day 1 & 2

]]> Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:19:18 EDT 1833270 Saturday is traditionally the busiest day of Fan Expo at The Metro Toronto Convention Centre, as the fire marshal often caps attendance to prevent capacity issues and fire code violations. The possibility didn't scare us -- we brought you all of the day's highlights despite the ever-present wall of bodies wandering the convention floor.

Life And Language Of Lafayette
First up was Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds on "True Blood") and he had big news. He almost let it slip that zombies would make an appearance on the show this season when someone asked about "The Walking Dead."

"First of all, I might get in trouble. Are you recording this?" he asked, pointing to me. "All supernatural creatures are welcome on 'True Blood' and zombies may be on there at some point. It's just a matter of if they can deal with the vampires or not because vampires are at the top of the food chain."

If you went by the book series, you'd know Lafayette was not supposed to last the first season, but then creator Alan Ball pulled him aside:

"Before the show had aired, Alan Ball had decided that he was going to keep Lafayette, but he didn't tell me until before the last episode and it was in such a cavalier way too. He said, 'Nelsan,' and I was like, 'Yes sir,' and he was like, 'You know you're not dying, right?' and I was like, 'I didn't, but thanks for telling me.'"

Thus began the journey of a character so popular that fans insist he call them "hooker" or "bitch" in public, just as Lafayette would. Such interplay gets a little awkward when his five-year-old son asks what an AIDS burger is (another memorable reference from the show). It seems all the credit for Lafayette's popularity should go to Ellis' mother, because that's where the character gets his effeminate mannerisms.

"Ball wanted a masculine and feminine character. He wanted a tough character. I was just going in trying to act real gay and it didn't come off as real," said Ellis. "My mother was a tomboy, so she was feminine sometimes and she was real manly sometimes. I mimic my mother all the time and I'd been watching for 30 years of my life, so I was like, 'What would my mother do to be more authentic?' So, I just took on my mother's persona, which is the sass, the hair thing and even some of the more masculinity of Lafayette comes from my mother. All the parts of Lafayette are also me. We may not be interested in the same things, but the humanity of Lafayette is Nelsan Ellis."

The Chemistry Of Spike And Drusilla
"True Blood" wasn't the only vampire show represented at the convention. In fact, one of the most popular couples of the genre reunited on the Fan Expo stage -- James Marsters and Juliet Landau (a.k.a. Spike and Drusilla from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). The pair's chemistry was palpable throughout the series, so much so that Marsters' girlfriend, at the time, actually got a little jealous.

"The thing was, we both came from the stage and we both cared a lot about what we do, and I think we kind of hooked in almost instinctively at the auditions and we just rolled on," says Marsters of their chemistry.

"To the point where -- my girlfriend at the time -- do you remember Liz?"

"Yeah," affirmed Landau.

"She was greatly jealous of you."

"You told me that later, but she used to come over all the time."

"There was that time we came over to your house to watch one of the episodes and I think either you leaned over to me or I leaned over to you, just to say that a moment worked, and she's kind of noticing that and told me later that she had a crush on David Boreanaz to get me back," he continued. "So all the stuff early on with David, I actually hated him. That whole time he was really nice to me, but I was set up by my ex-girlfriend."

On Death And Rebirth -- "The Walking Dead"
The last panel of the day celebrated the newest television monsters in vogue -- the zombies of "The Walking Dead." Specifically, Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) and Jon Bernthal, who played Rick Grimes' partner turned sociopath, Shane Walsh.

Bernthal campaigned hard for the role of Shane, turning down two confirmed jobs, just to audition. Then, the casting director handed him the graphic novel where he learned of his quick and untimely demise.

"They're like, 'It's based on this comic, check it out. I sit down and I'm like, 'Holy guacamole! That motherf--ker is dead, like dead fast. I was really happy and excited that they let me last as long as they did. You take a magazine, or in this case a comic book, into the bathroom when you do your thing. I think it only lasted one trip to the bathroom and he was gone, like so much for this source material."

But he loved being on the show and he loves the people who work on it, so even though he's filming Martin Scorcese's new movie, "The Wolf of Wall Street," based on the book of the same name, and following "The Walking Dead"'s original showrunner Frank Darabont to his new show "L.A. Noir," he would love to come back if he could.

"I'm really grateful that they didn't let Shane just be that one-dimensional crazy-ass from the comic and they let it be grounded in the fact that he was trying to do the right thing all the time. That's all I wanted for this character, I wanted him to be real. I didn't want him to be a villain and I hope that resonated. I hope he ends up being a figure that tortures Rick and The Grimes Family for many years to come."

Norman Reedus's character Daryl has gone through his own transformation, one that may be set back by the return of his racist and abusive brother Merle in season 3. Reedus hinted how Daryl may respond to his brother being back among the living.

"Imagine growing up with a big brother like Merle where you're constantly put down all the time and put in your place. I think that now that world is gone for him, he's being appreciated for the first time by other people, and I think it's making him want to fight to keep these people alive and be part of this new family. He always wants to be with his big brother, but it's kind of like taking your drunk uncle to a Christmas party."

Fan Expo runs from August 23-26 in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Fan Expo: Day 1 & 2

]]> Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:10:28 EDT 1831392 We stood in the line-ups and wound our way through the circuitous halls of The Metro Toronto Convention Centre to bring you all the key highlights and happenings from Fan Expo Canada 2012.

Stan Lee, The King
On Thursday, the convention kicked off in style. Marvel's charismatic Chairman Emeritus, Stan Lee, was introduced as only he could be, with his mighty sign-off, "Excelsior!"

Moments later, he captivated the audience with his trademark wit and winking ego: "Did I tell you why "The Avengers" made so much money?" he asked, baiting us all. "They made my cameo very brief and they put it at the end of the movie, where some people were apt not to see it. So, if somebody misses my cameo, what does he or she do? They go and buy another ticket and sit through the movie again because they don't want to miss it. So, I figure that half of the sales of "The Avengers" were due to me." He also promised that his cameo in "Iron Man 3" will be his funniest one yet.

He also revealed why Marvel is more scientifically advanced than their rivals at DC:

"Now, Superman can fly," he began. "How does he fly? He has no visible means of propulsion. Marvel is a lot more scientific. When I wanted Thor to fly, I had him wrap a leather thong between the hammer and his wrists and he twirls the hammer like a propeller, as only a thunder god can, and then he lets go of the hammer. Well, the hammer goes flying off, but he's attached to it at the wrist, so he goes with it. A valid scientific explanation."

"Stars"-Crossed Lovers
Wedding bells were ringing on Friday as uber-fans Robert Bridges and Amy Banman became Mr. and Mrs. Bridges. It was your typical wedding ceremony with more than a few atypical accents. The bride entered after a procession of Storm Troopers and Bounty Hunters to the Imperial March, which quickly dissolved into Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting singing 'All for Love.' When the pastor asked if anyone knew any reason why the two should not be wed, he told those in attendance, including family and friends "To speak now or forever hold their peace -- and their Kryptonite."

He punctuated his words on the sanctity of marriage with that famous line from "Spider-Man": "Today I empower you to keep these covenants and build a home of love and peace because with great power, comes great responsibility." He then presented the newly-minted couple with the parting words, "May the force be with you!"

Getting Candid With Geordi And Gimli
Later, LeVar Burton lead an appreciative audience in the theme song from "Reading Rainbow" and explained why an iPad app is the new place you'll find the show. "It's the multi-tasking, wired generation. So, in order to have impact on education going forward, it was absolutely essential to be where the future generations of kids are going to be." The actor also announced he will be returning to "Community" and announced that CBS called last Friday, asking about his availability for a return to "The Big Bang Theory."

John Rhys-Davies is primarily known as Gimli in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and Sallah in the "Indiana Jones" films, but all everybody at his panel really wanted to know was why he got fired from "Sliders."

He had this to say: "'Sliders' is still an open wound to me. It could've been the Fox Network's 'Star Trek' franchise. We could've gone anywhere in space and we could've gone anywhere in time, but we ended up just copying everybody else's show. We did 'Tremors,' we did 'Night of the Living Dead,' and we even used the same masks that they got from 'The Island of Doctor Moreau.'"

The end came, he said, when he went into the writer's room and they were all poaching premises from the DVD release of 'Species' to put into a script.

"There was a memorable exchange where someone said, 'John, all we want you to do is be the bad scientist from 'Lost in Space,' to which he responded: 'Well guys, listen, if you want the bad scientist from 'Lost in Space,' why don't you employ him? I'm happy to go. Science is too important to me and too important to this country and clearly, there's certainly no scientific mind working on this show.' In the end, there's no cure for stupid!"

Fan Expo runs from August 23-26 in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

]]> Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:56:21 EDT 1830090 Fan Expo Canada. This four-day genre convention spotlighting comics, horror, sci-fi, gaming and anime is this country's answer to San Diego Comic-Con, with huge names in cult entertainment making it an annual stop.

Think about it -- where else in Canada can you see Christopher Lloyd, Levar Burton, Stan Lee, John Carpenter, Gillian Anderson, Lou Ferrigno, John Rhys-Davies, Rose McGowan, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and so many more all under one roof?

Yes, it's a true collision of cult, but not just on the guest list. This year Fan Expo will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man, screen upcoming fall TV shows like J.J. Abrams' 'Revolution' and The CW's 'Arrow,' bring together the entire creative team from DC Comics' controversial prequel to 'Watchmen' and ... there will even be a wedding taking place. Utterly perplexed? Don't worry, we've isolated the real gems of the weekend just for you.

Celebrate Spider-Man at 50 with Stan Lee
Stan Lee, The God of Geekdom and the co-father of the Marvel Universe, returns to the Expo after driving a record-setting attendance in 2010. This time, he comes to help celebrate 50 years of his greatest co-creation during what could be his last convention appearance in Canada (the man is 89, after all). Face time with him will likely be once in a lifetime, but it comes at a price: $50.00 for an autograph and $60 for a photo-op. To truly gain insight into Spider-Man as only Stan can deliver it, we recommend the free Q&A session on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Hall G. Then, on Saturday at 1 p.m., head over to Room 714 to find out what the webhead's future holds, including the story behind his new teen sidekick Alpha (a.k.a. Andrew Maguire) -- named after two actors Spiderfans are very familiar with.

A Marriage Made in Hall G
Fan Expo Canada requests the honour of your presence at the superhero-themed wedding of Rob Bridges and Amy Banman. It will be officiated by a Protestant pastor in front of friends and family, but that's where the church comparisons stop. The wedding party will be split into heroes and villains, the flowers will be made from comic book origami, the groom will be wearing Green Lantern accents over his tux, the bride will don her Harley Quinn Converse Chuck Taylors with her dress, the best men are patterned after Superman and Batman, the maid of honour will go as Catwoman and any Expo attendee can be there to witness history. The San Diego Comic-Con fields many proposals each year, but this will be the first fan convention wedding. The "I dos" begin in Hall G at 1 p.m. on Friday.

Watch Jay and Silent Bob Get Old
Technically Kevin Smith is still a filmmaker, but after 'Hit Somebody' (his alleged final film), he plans to focus on telling stories through other media, particularly through his growing podcast empire. 'Jay and Silent Bob Get Old' is just one of an ever-growing list of shows available on his Smodcast Podcast Network (or on iTunes) and it will be broadcast live from Fan Expo for one episode. The show features Smith and Jason Mewes' characters struggling to come to terms with middle-age. The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday in Hall G and requires an additional ticket for $39.00. Doors open at 7:20 p.m. sharp.

See Fall's Hottest TV Shows Before Your Friends Do
If you've been clamouring to check out J.J. Abrams' new upcoming series or The CW's effort to take Green Arrow from the comic page to the TV screen, the wait ends at Fan Expo. CityTV will be premiering the Jon Favreau-directed pilot for 'Revolution' -- the J.J. Abrams vehicle that sees society try to rebuild 15 years after a global blackout permanently shuts off all electricity. Meanwhile, 'Arrow' follows shipwrecked billionaire Oliver Queen as he seemingly returns from the dead to protect the citizens of Star City as an archer called The Green Arrow. The cast of 'Arrow' will also be signing autographs, along with the cast of 'Flashpoint' and 'Lost Girl.' The 'Revolution' screening happens on Friday at 7 p.m. in Room 701. For the 'Arrow' screening and signing times, visit CTV booth #650.

The Art of 'Frankenweenie'
In 1984, a young Disney animator named Tim Burton made his first live-action short film based on Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein.' It was a comedy that saw a boy successfully reanimate the corpse of his dog. Unfortunately the project was mired in controversy, never to be released in theatres after Disney determined it was too scary for children. Now, the film is being remade, using stop-motion animation, for release later this year, and attendees at Fan Expo will get an exclusive look at its making through the actual puppets, sets and finished shots. This is the only Canadian stop for The Art of 'Frankenweenie' as it tours the globe, so catch it while you can at booth #950.

Visit the Fan Expo website for a complete list of all the things on offer over the weekend.



Here's an old video we shot back in 2010, when Fan Expo Canada was much smaller: ]]> Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:11:44 EDT 1819827 Chris Sarandon.

Actually, we're pretty sure you know him, you probably just don't realize it yet. After all, it was Chris Sarandon who played Jack Skellington, the lead role in The Nightmare Before Christmas and the fruit-obsessed vampire next door, Jerry Dandridge, in the original Fright Night. He was also Chucky's original nemesis, Det. Mike Norris, in Child's Play and the villainous groom-to-be, Prince Humperdink, in The Princess Bride.

He's the ultimate "Oh, that guy!" Sarandon took a break from taking care of his grandson to talk to Moviefone about, well, everything.

A lot of people will recognize your last name because of your first wife. So, we gotta know, when you see her name in a trailer or on a movie poster, does it feel kind of weird?
No, not necessarily. I'm used to it by now. This was a long time ago, when Susan and I were together, and we were both very young. I was in my early 20s and she was 18 or 19 when we met, and we were together for about ten or 12 years. We both live very different lives now and we're both very happy. So, I think it's great -- it's her name now. It's who she became, so I certainly don't begrudge her the name.

Did you help her break into the business?
Well, sort of. We were both in school together and then after school I got a job in New Haven, Connecticut at the Long Wharf Theatre and Susan was doing assorted things just to make a little money here and there. She had graduated from college and I from graduate school. We were living in New Haven. I was making very little money at The Long Wharf Theatre, working on the first rung of the ladder when you're an equity actor. The guy who ran the theatre, and directed a number of the shows I was in, Arvin Brown, had an agent who was very interested in me and asked me to come in and audition. Arvin said to the agent, 'Just tell Chris what to do,' and she said, 'Well, he should come in with someone and do a scene.' So, I said to Susan, 'Come on, come with me and we'll do a scene together.' She said 'Fine,' and we both went in and they signed both of us on the spot.

You got an Oscar nod for playing Al Pacino's pre-op transsexual wife Leon Shermer in Dog Day Afternoon, but it was 1975, so was this a role that could've risked your career?
Well, I didn't see it that way. I think there were certainly people around at the time who did. Gay liberation was in its infancy, it was very early on in the general population's awareness of gay characters in literature, on film, on television and on stage. So, I think probably there were people who thought, 'Gee, why do you, a straight actor, want to play this role and be pigeonholed in some way?' But, it was a great script, the people involved were the best around: Sidney Lumet was a great, great film director, John Cazale was amazing, and I knew Al from a previous show that I'd done. He was going out with a woman in the show that I was in. So, I knew Al socially and by then he was a pretty major star. The script was fabulous and I just thought, 'Gee, you know, I'll be lucky to be cast in this part,' and it was a great part.

What attracted you to the part specifically, just the gender dichotomy?
Not so much the gender dichotomy. It was the fact that this was the story of a love affair gone very wrong and, in a sense, this was everyone's story of a dysfunctional relationship. It wasn't necessarily about gay or straight, it was just about dysfunctional relationships and how they can end in these tragic comic ways. In that sense, that's what was great about it, the script wasn't written from the point of view of gay characters necessarily, but just those people who are having difficulty in their relationships and the extreme lengths to which they will go to try to rectify the situation."

What was the Oscar nomination experience like?
In a way, it was almost surreal. At the time, this was all very new to me. We had done very limited publicity. The studio had done limited publicity for me for the movie because I think they thought to themselves that I was a long shot in terms of getting a nomination and I didn't take it that seriously. Then, when it was announced that I was nominated, I was thrilled of course, but it was the same year as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and there was a nomination for that movie. Plus, the person who ultimately won, George Burns, was nominated for The Sunshine Boys. So there were a number of factors that mitigated my winning anyway.

So, you walk down the red carpet, then there's this aisle that you walk up, with fans on either side, and it was interesting because we're walking up this thing and people scream, 'Chris! Chris! Chris!' and I'm thinking, 'Wow, I'm pretty hot shit here!' and halfway through a red carpet interview, I realize they weren't screaming for me anymore, they were screaming for the next person coming down. So, it really put things in perspective; the attention and adulation is transitory and it really has nothing to do with the work. It's a kind of beauty contest, in a way -- a very prestigious one -- but, it's not why we do it. Acting is about the process and that's what the evening brought to the forefront for me.

You're probably best known for the role of Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride.
I had read the book many years before, when the film rights were owned by Robert Redford and he was trying to do it, but could never quite get it together. Ultimately, when I heard it was being done as a film, I thought, 'Oh God, this is fabulous. I love that book. I just want to go in and read for it.' I did, I got it and the experience lived up to every expectation that I had because we were a very collegial group. We had a really good time. We were together in the midlands of England for six to eight weeks before going back to London to shoot in the studio. We hung out together and ate together every night. We all went to the set together and we were all staying in the same small hotel and it was an almost perfect experience.

Do you have any Andre the Giant memories?
Andre was one of the sweetest human beings alive, just the nicest man. My children were just dying to see Andre. My two girls -- my third children hadn't been born yet -- were four and two at the time and they kept bugging me: 'There's a giant in the movie? I want to see the giant. What's the giant like, Daddy? Is he as big as a house? As big as a car? What's he like? What's he like?'

Jump to a couple weeks later, there's finally an opportunity for them to meet him. He's sitting in his trailer, which was a specially-made trailer just for him because he was so immense. We walk in, I'm carrying one of the children and I think there was a nanny with us who was carrying another, we walk up the steps, turn the corner and Andre is down at the other end sitting in a chair and he got up to greet them -- he was only 15 to 20 feet away -- and they started to scream. They were just terrified out of their wits. We had to take them away and calm them down. It was just so embarrassing. I went to Andre afterwards and I said, 'Andre, I'm so sorry. They were so anxious to meet you and for them to have this reaction...' He said, 'No, no, no, don't worry please, either they run to me or they run away from me!' And that was Andre. He had a very philosophical way of looking at his unusualness.

Many people say their favourite role of yours is Jack Skellington in the The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've noticed that it has an enduring influence on the goth subculture. Why do you think that is?
First of all, it was one of the first great stop-motion animation films. Also, the story is very unusual, it comes from that vivid imagination of Tim Burton. Even though Tim didn't direct it (Henry Selick did), the vision was Tim's, the story was Tim's and it was executed brilliantly. There are so many little details in the movie, so many incredible visual jokes and macabre little touches all the way through the movie It's done with such artistry that it's one of a kind.

What was working with Tim Burton like?
After we finished the animation with Henry, and once the movie was all put together, I went back in the studio with Tim and he and I went through the whole picture and re-did a few scenes. It was stuff I wasn't happy with and stuff that Tim had questions about. He's a lovely man and a wonderful person to work with. He has this great openness and is very giving and very collaborative.

Jack Skellington is a role you keep going back to over and over in video games and theme park rides, so would you be up for a movie sequel?
I'm always happy when Disney calls and says, 'We're doing ringtones now, come in.' Yeah, I'd be up for a sequel, but I've never heard anything about a sequel being done, so I don't think that will necessarily ever happen. Tim has moved on to other things.

So, which Fright Night vampire would win in a fight, your original Jerry Dandridge or Colin Farrell's Jerry Dandridge in last year's remake?
[Laughs] I leave that one up to the vampire gods. I have no idea. I have a feeling that Jerry number two would be a tough customer because, and we had conversations about this, Colin went for a much more animalistic Jerry, just to create a different point of view for the character. So, I don't know the answer. They're both pretty powerful guys.

Both characters have this weird obsession with fruit, what's up with that?
I will take credit for that one. Initially, we were first doing work on the movie and [the writer and director] Tom Holland, very graciously, allowed us to rehearse and create histories for our characters. One of the things that I thought was interesting, as I was reading about bats, vampire bats and what have you, was that the vast majority of bats are not vampire bats, they're fruit bats. So I thought, wouldn't it be interesting if somewhere in his DNA, Jerry had some fruit bat and just had fruit cravings, as well as the obvious blood lust. Tom thought it was a great idea, so we sort of ran with it and did a number of things in the movie that use that. I'm flattered that they chose to pick that up in the second one.

You're one of the only actors I know who has played both a vampire and Jesus Christ. What's the secret to playing the Christian messiah? Is it the look?
You gotta just approach him like he's a guy, there's no other way around it. The fact is, this was a real historical figure and he was not a God when he was walking the earth. Depending on your theological point of view, you may take exception to my description, but the fact is, he was a man. If you're of the opinion that he became one with the father, et cetera, et cetera, the fact remains that he was born of a woman, he walked the earth, he was a great, great teacher and someone who had to be given life. This is the only way you can approach it, which is to say, 'What would this guy do when presented with these circumstances? What if?' If you start thinking, 'Oh boy, I'm playing Jesus Christ. What am I going to do?' then you're in big trouble.

You can meet Sarandon yourself at Canada's Fan Expo, which takes place in Toronto from August 23-26.]]> Fri, 3 Aug 2012 13:49:24 EDT 1737948