Episode 131 last week took us all the way up to Ogden! Pretty sure that is the farthest we’ve traveled! We were super stoked to finally get a chance to sit down with special FX artist and founder of the Ogden UnCon, Russ Adams.
We went way back to the beginning where Russ grew up in small town America, got sold to the military, and then went camping and never went back home. Spending the beginning of his lifetime being told that he couldn’t get anywhere as an artist by his grandfather, Russ joined the military and finally after years of serving his country, he made his move into special effects. Russ told us that it wasn’t until his grandfather saw him on television on Jim Hanson Creature Shop Challenge that he said that “there might be something to this art thing…” Now you can find Russ on IMDB doing things like being the poker dude and fabricating for movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and 50 First Dates, just to name a couple.
Russ has written a handful of books about his experience on reality television and about his special FX designs with his company, Escape Design FX. You can find those books HERE.
Alright, now to the UnCon! If you were wondering why Russ started this event, he calls it his “retirement plan.” Yes, even with air quotes.
Russ and his team have a vision for this micro-con and that is to create a space that is 24 hours, non-stop, over 3 days with panels, workshops, networking with publishers and industry people, celebrities, parties, and more! But what IS a micro-con? It is a convention that stays under a certain attendance number which in turn offers a more intimate experience than a larger convention. So far Ogden Uncon has announced guests such as Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story), Walter Welsh (SyFy’s Face Off), Chris Kattan (SNL, Night at the Roxbury), guests from Land of the Lost, voice actors, and more! And that is just the tip of what is to come from Russ and Ogden UnCon. Russ wants to make sure that the people that are coming to Utah for his UnCon haven’t been here before, so far he is on track. Walter is the only one that has visited an event in Utah! **you can check out our interview with him HERE*
The Ogden UnCon will be utilizing many spaces throughout Ogden; The Egyptian Peery Theater, The Monarch which is a new art space, and the Ogden amphitheater.
We promise this is an event that you won’t want to miss! You can follow Ogden UnCon on their Facebook where they post super silly pop culture items, updates on the event, and their UnCast podcast episodes. You can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram. Tickets ARE available now and you can get them for the all weekend event at OgdenUncon.com
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