Starting in 2010, when Trek fans heard the words STARBASE STUDIOS, they thought of the 360-degree TOS bridge set (originally used for the second Starship Exeter fan film), rescued from a barn in Texas, brought to Oklahoma City, and restored for fans to use essentially for free. Over the years, countless fan films were shot on that bridge and, later, on the transporter, sickbay, briefing room, and other sets added into that small Oklahoma warehouse.
In 2017, however, everything changed…and not necessarily for the better. Forced to relocated when their free-rent warehouse was sold to a new owner, the sets were moved to Arkansas. An ownership struggle ensued that eventually gave way to a lawsuit and many months of discussions. When the dust settled, an agreement was signed between GLEN WOLFE (50% ownership) and SCOTT JOHNSON and GLENN MILLER (25% ownership each).
A previous owner, KENT “WORDS” EDWARDS, divested himself of any ownership of the sets but continued to operate a business entity known as Starbase Studios, LLC. Kent brought on VANCE MAJOR to help run the company, which was (and is) now acting to help fan filmmakers find resources to produce their projects…including sources of props, costumes, equipment, production team members, and sets to shoot on.
No longer limiting themselves simply to the TOS sets in Arkansas, Starbase Studios, LLC now works with a number of different set owners, including RAY TESI who owns the Stage 9 Studios TOS sets (formerly used by Star Trek Continues) in Georgia and RANDY LANDERS who built modified movie-era sets for Potemkin Pictures in Alabama.
Starbase Studios, LLC had fully intended to keep working with the owners of the Arkansas TOS sets…even shooting a commercial for their services there a back in May. However, last month, “Words” and Vance announced that they would no longer be referring fan filmmakers to the Arkansas sets.
Naturally, with such a major (and troubling) development, I reached out to “Words” and Vance and asked if they would care to go on the record to explain what had happened to trigger this significant decision on their part. You can listen to our 3-way discussion below…
This does not surprise me one bit.. What a loss for the fandom after all that mess of a lawsuit grown adults can not be fans… I gotta agree they need to put their big boy pants on and get along get off their butts and agree this is beyond stupid at this point….. But does this not violate what ever terms were on the lawsuit and if so could the 2 of the 3 be in trouble if Wolfe decides to take the lawsuit route again?
Technically, the only portion of the agreement that might be in violation is that certain items were not yet returned to the set location. However, there is still a question of whether those were among the items that needed to be returned. But in order to make an issue out of that, another lawsuit would need to be filed that would have a very fast and easy resolution: the items would be returned. And even if they weren’t, here are no material damages that have resulted from the items not being returned. No one lost money or opportunity. So at best, you’ve got a minor breach-of-contract complaint which doesn’t solve the larger issue at all…which is what happens to those deteriorating sets now and on December 31?
Honestly it is much cheaper and easier to get to the Stage9 Studios in Kingsland than it is to get to Dogpatch , due to no major airport near by and the cheaper airlines didn’t fly there plu you would need to rent a car and drive a good distance. It is very sad that the owners can’t agree on anything.
For folks in certain areas, that’s true. But many people live in and around Arkansas, and driving there and back can be done for $130 worth of gas. Flying round trip to Jacksonville and renting a car would cost easily four to five times that much.
this is soooo sad and even makes me upset. star trek fan films from that studio were a blessing for my family. the others are to far based on where we live. i hope it works out before december.
…not again…geez…
Doug
Yeo.
Nice interview. You should considering going to a vlog format… uploading to YouTube and embedding here.
Thanks for suggesting I do even MORE work, Joe! 🙂
All i heard was show me your script and we pissed away 20k in donated funds on sets .. Nice job .
Define “pissed away,” Alan. At last count, I think there were several dozen fan films shot on those sets. Even if they do wind up in a dumpster or at Burning Man, they have played a significant role in the long and rich history of fan films. I don’t think you can say “pissed away” with any degree of accuracy, dude.