FANDEMIC CONVENTION IS BACK IN HOUSTON.
Sean Patrick Flanery doesn’t like bad shows of any sort. He says as much.
“I love a good (expletive) concert,” the actor says. “A bad concert, don’t waste my time. Theater, same thing. I like a good stage play. A bad one? Get me the (expletive) out of there. But Johnny Mac …. We met years ago and his was the first convention I’d been to that felt like a party. And I love that (expletive). I respect and admire it.”
Johnny Mac is John Macaluso, a fan convention veteran who is bringing Fandemic to Houston for its second year this weekend. The three-day convention had a snakebit beginning when it was forced to cancel its inaugural weekend because of Hurricane Harvey. But last year, Macaluso brought it to town a year after the storm, and this year he’s hoping to expand it.
Houston native Flanery — star of “The Boondock Saints,” “Powder” and “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” — is among the guests. Also on board will be the Marvel mainstay Sebastian Stan, “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia, WWE stars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch and other stars from “The Walking Dead,” “Stranger Things,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the “Harry Potter” films.
“For me, this event is the same mentality as having people over to my house to have fun,” Macaluso says. “Sean …?”
Flanery: “Not too clinical, not too antiseptic. Relaxed like a party. So yeah, I love this (expletive). I love these events when they’re done right.
“I’ll be incredibly frank with you …” he continues. And indeed, he gets frank …
“There are actors that will tell you, ‘I only do this for the fans.’ And that’s cool. But being 100 percent honest, it also strokes my ego and makes me feel good. There’s no way I can lie about that. It makes me feel good when people tell me their opinion about something I’ve done. I was already compensated for it years ago. So it’s like a second form of currency. Maybe it’s a burden for some people. But I love the fans. I love talking to the fans. I hope it makes them feel good. Because it definitely makes me feel good. Man, it does.”
Last year’s Fandemic was pretty easy to navigate. The crowd was sizable, but paled compared to other conventions like Comicpalooza. Some sluggishness may be attributable to the show’s newness, and also that its inaugural year was postponed, then canceled. Macaluso admitted to falling into a deep funk in 2017, as he tried to reschedule the event in hopes that it could bring some small amount of fan-centric joy to a city that was dealing with a catastrophic storm. Because convention centers and other major gathering places were turned into shelters during and after the storm, the show couldn’t go on until a year later.
Macaluso then dealt with a minor setback last year when Stan, a star in the “Captain America” and “Avengers” movies, had a scheduling conflict with the event. So a makeshift one-day Fandemic was scheduled at NRG Arena to allow fans who had purchased photos and autographs to meet their superhero.
“This year, I’m hoping to have new talent and more programming and a better experience on the floor,” Macaluso says. “People gave us good feedback about the way we ran the show last year. We’d like to continue that and also make it bigger. The response was heartwarming. And the only way to do these is to take care of the fans.
“Some celebrities are just better with attendees. Sean’s a great example. Those are the people I want. You never hear, ‘What an (expletive)’ about him.”
Flanery: “At least not to your face.”
Macaluso: “Right. Maybe they think that the next day. But being serious, the idea is a fan-first show.”
He’s aware of Houston’s Comicpalooza, the annual early-summer convention that takes over the George R. Brown Convention Center for three days.
“I think this city is so big, there’s space for us to exist along with them,” he says. “I see a world in which we can both exist here in Houston.”
Last year, Fandemic dispatched with a lot of the things that fill up space at Comicpalooza: Q&As and panels. The idea was to fill the NRG showroom with vendors selling wares and also stars selling momentary interaction.
“That’s the idea here,” Macaluso says. “Come in and interact. Whether you want an autograph, a photograph or a handshake or a hug.”
Flanery says, “It’s the movie equivalent of a concert’s backstage pass. You’ve already seen the show. This is the chance to see somebody after the show is over and talk about what you saw, what you liked and what you didn’t. But mostly what you liked.”