Sorry for the length guys, but I don't know if any of you are aware that there is a major storm brewing in Star Trek Fandom against CBS and Paramount over Fan Films. Fan Films have been around for decades, and even Star Trek actors have made them. They were always considered as companion films to supplement the canon of the Star Trek Movies, TV series and books that have been published through licensed channels. The age of ST: Fan Films is basically over, and here is why, new rules: http://www.startrek.com/fan-films , where none had been before. Why did this come about? Star Trek: Axanar. Here is what is happening...
Star Trek Axanar started in 2010 as a 2 film project - A Prelude to Axanar (mini, documentary style) - 21 minutes, and then the Full Length Feature film - Star Trek: Axanar was to follow. Axanar needed to raise an estimated 1.2 million dollars to produce a "Big Screen" quality Fan Film. So, a Kickstarter fund was created for Star Trek fans and the film's supporters to donate. The donations of varying levels got you a certain amount of Axanar swag and gave them operating capital to produce the film. Alec Peters, the producer and writer of the film, knew most of the CBS licensing staff from previous projects. He had contact with them and they knew of his project nearly from the start. Paramount and CBS never issued rules for any of the previous Fan Films, including Walter Koenig's involvement in ST: Of Gods and Men and ST: Renegades.
Alec Peters completed and published the "Prelude", and did the Con circuit to drum up more support. By the end of November or beginning of December, the project hit the Million dollar mark and that is when the shit hit the fan: (what follows is from Wikipedia)
On December 29, 2015, CBS and Paramount Pictures filed for an injunction and damages in the US District Court for the Central District of California, stating Axanar works infringe their rights by making use of the Klingon language and "innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes."[21]
On March 28, 2016, Axanar Productions filed a motion to dismiss or strike Paramount and CBS's claims, saying the elements mentioned in the court filing are not protected by copyright and it is seeking premature relief from a work, the Axanar film, that does not exist.[22]
On May 9, 2016, the motion to dismiss the lawsuit was denied. Later that month, J.J. Abrams said that "within the next few weeks, it will be announced this is going away". Abrams said he pushed the studio to stop the lawsuit because "we realized this is not the appropriate way to deal with the fans."[23]
On June 23, 2016, Paramount released new fan film guidelines, which Axanar staff described as "disheartening" and "draconian.
Paramount isn't the problem. I think they know that Internet films won't effect the box office numbers. In fact, I think they are starting to see fan films as good publicity. But, CBS is like a pit bull. They own the licensing of everything outside of the Motion Picture Box Office. Normally, I wouldn't take notice of this stuff, but there is a major push to get CBS and Paramount to leave the fans and fan films alone. Huge numbers of Facebook and Fan websites are popping up calling for CBS and Paramount to leave the fans and Fan Films alone:
Most of these are calling for a one week boycott of the film "Star Trek Beyond" - as a protest. Others are calling for a complete boycott of all "licensed items and filmed products" owned by CBS and the studio. But, I will state again, I don't think Paramount is the main problem. I think this is CBS - they own www.startrek.com - the website with the new Fan Film rules, they license all the authorized products, and they own all the rights to the TV shows and Star Trek symbolism (copyrighted and trademarked materials).
So, here is my take (rant). Paramount needs to feel the pressure to push on CBS. I say this for a couple of good reasons. One, Fan Films and parodies of Star Trek have been around since the 1980s, and only were contested when Viacom came into the picture. There were a couple of court battles in the 1990s and the bad publicity caused Viacom to quietly back away. And in all of this time, there have never been any rules issued. And, two, (the most important reason) CBS waited until the fans put up a million dollars to squelch Axanar. THAT IS FAN MONEY THEY ARE SCREWING WITH! CBS knew of the project - for years, and could openly read the projections of the project's costs, and they waited. They waited until ONE MILLION DOLLARS OF FAN MONEY was donated to the project before they dropped the ax. But, the ax didn't really hit the production company (they are fighting it in court) as bad as it hit the fans. The court costs are coming out of the funds from the fans, which, if CBS backs out now, means (since CBS owns Star Trek licensing) CBS has screwed with their own fan base, and if CBS continues and wins the court case - HEY! guess what - CBS still looses, since it is their own fan base! In Star Trek terms - this is CBS's Kobayashi Maru! (To define this term, for the poor idiots at CBS - who just don't understand what fandom is, much less than one of the caliber of a Star Trek Fan - the scenario of the Kobayashi Maru is defined as a training exercise to understand how one will react to a "no win situation".) If you win the battle, you could very well loose the war. If you loose the battle, you can still save face with your shareholders by maintaining the cash cow you have inherited in the form of 5 decades of fans. (end rant)
Here is a list of rules that make sense:
1. You can make fan films and budget films in the Star Trek genre, so long as they are:
* free to watch.
* do not have a budget or funding projection of (X) amount of dollars.
* and do not sell DVD, or copies as part of the fund raising for production costs.
2. You can make a fan film that exceeds funding stated above, only if:
* you pay as part of the production costs (X) amount of dollars for the licensing fee.
* and, if you distribute DVDs of the film as part of the fund raiser for production costs, then (X) % of the proceeds are assessed to compensate the owners of the franchise (royalties), and said DVDs are a limited quantity - not going beyond the scope of the project.
3. You can make fan films and sell the DVDs outright, only with the consent of and a contractual agreement with the franchise owners.
4. Fan Films to be seen in large groups, such as theaters or conventions, need the explicit permission of the franchise owners.
CBS, you need to act like a business and charge for the right to use. Or, just give it up to the fans. But, one thing you really need to understand, the fans are not the enemy. The fans will watch, read and buy whatever you produce as "Official" Star Trek. But, the fans will fill in the gaps you leave as a companion to the franchise. If your information dips in their area, your information is canon - not theirs - and so fandom is the companion to the original. And, some of the fan fiction and film, if it peaks the franchise holders interest/attention, can become solid canon through valid franchise publishing in books or films.
In any event, CBS needs to understand, there would be no franchise without the fan. Yes, the fans need to be respectful of the owners, but the owners need to have respect in return. And so, to that end, I will not go the the next Star Trek movie during the first week, so the franchise owners understand - their is no franchise without the Fan!
JT
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VADM JT Kerry, USS Astoria, "Lucky" 7th Fleet, Starfleet Command, UFP
Sorry, for the length, and the odd spacing. I originally posted this on one of the "fan sites" that has been looking into offering alternative rules to those offered by CBS, and thought that our members should be aware of the shit-storm CBS is causing with an older segment of fans out there in the wild. Copy and paste sometimes doesn't translate well on our site. I just think, if it comes to it, we should support our fellow fans. I didn't donate to Axanar's Kickstarter, but had thought about it. If the call to wait a week is issued, I will do it.
Last edited by VADM JT Kerry on 07/11/16 14:48; edited 1 time in total
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VADM JT Kerry, USS Astoria, "Lucky" 7th Fleet, Starfleet Command, UFP
With all due honesty Sir, I will not see the new film at all. I have my own opinion regarding the re-boot which I will not subjugate you to. However, to help you in this effort I will further promise not to watch or take part in anything CBS does until they show us fans more respect.
I couldn't agree with you morel. I have seen the Axanar trailer and it is awesome. I think that the production values are what moved CBS to action. However, if the fans want to put up their own money and make a fan film that doesn't make a dime, then why not let them do it?
Frankly, I would love to see Axanar finished. I saw the trailer and got really excited for the project. By placing the tight strictures on fan films that CBS has done, they have made it impossible for fans to create a high quality film and relegated them to their garage.
As you have so ably pointed out, this is a war that CBS cannot win. Because in order to do so, they have to take out their own fan base.
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