Exploring the world of Star Trek fan films.
It you haven’t yet seen “Come Not Between the Dragons,” the sixth full-length episode of STAR TREK CONTINUES, you can click here to watch it. It’s one of their best efforts yet.
And then once you see it, check out their blooper reel and you can see how much fun they all have on set making these fine fan-produced episodes…
https://vimeo.com/166340512
Last time: we began a great conversation with Ryan T. Husk, executive producer of the new independent sci-fi series Blade of Honor, currently holding a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $30,000 for its pilot webisode (which they’ve reached, but they’re now trying to raise enough for a second webisode!).
This exciting project stars a number of major Star Trek actors like Tim “Tuvok” Russ, Aaron “Nog” Eisenberg, and Cirroc “Jake Sisko” Lofton, plus professional actors from other series, including Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica and James Kyson from Heroes. There’s also a bunch of veterans from Star Trek fan films like New Voyages and Horizon.
Beyond simply talking about Blade of Honor itself, Ryan shared some amazing insights into what producers do in Hollywood and why the same people frequently seem to keep working together project after project after project. And that was just part 1!
So let’s jump right back in as we learn even more about what goes into an independent film production from the bottom up and top down….
Pretty clever lyrics–whether or not you like John Denver (which I do!)…
Walter Koenig has already announced that he will be playing the character of Pavel Chekov one final time in the Star Trek: Renegades 2-part finale episode “The Requiem.” Now it’s official that Nichelle Nichols will be joining him to reprise her role as Uhura (previously, she was only “in talks”).
Her scenes will be shooting in Los Angeles on June 22nd, and Renegades is offering fan donors a unique opportunity to attend the filming…for a $2,000 donation. It might seem like a lot, but this will be the last time these two actors will be playing their characters together in the same scene(s), and that’s quite a special moment to see live (if you can afford it–I certainly can’t).
Here is the announcement from the Renegades Facebook page:
CONFIRMED. Nichelle Nichols will be reprising her role of Uhura in “The Requiem” parts I & II. We are so thrilled to be working with this science fiction and cultural legend. What is your favorite Uhura moment?
We want you to be a part of the historic “Legends Day” shoot on the 22nd! Join us to watch, in person, what is likely the FINAL TOS scene between two Original Series actors, portraying their beloved characters Chekov and Uhura. Follow this link to be a part of this momentous event, that is 50 years in the making: http://
The third episode of Project: Potemkin‘s fourth (and final) season–the 5-minute “Inquiry”–was recently posted online just weeks after their previous episode… continuing a run of rapid-fire new releases.
This latest episode reveals why Captain Grigory (played by actor Jeffrey Green) was called away from the USS Potemkin by Starfleet Command. The episode features Jeffrey Green’s real-life wife, fellow actor Deborah Liss-Green, in a major guest starring role.
Watch “Inquiry” now!
Read PART 1 of our interview with Project: Potemkin creator RANDY LANDERS.
Read PART 2 of our interview with Project: Potemkin creator RANDY LANDERS.
One of the longest-running Star Trek fan series still in production, Star Trek: Intrepid released its first episode just over nine years ago in late May of 2007. Based in the town of Dundee, Scotland, Intrepid has produced seven original, live-action episodes plus two additional projects in conjunction with its American “sister series” Star Trek: Hidden Frontier.
On Thursday, Intrepid show-runner Nick Cook announced on their series Facebook page that his series would suspend production on any new episodes not already filmed and in post-production. The reason Nick gave was the uncertain environment for Star Trek fan films at the moment due to the CBS/Paramount lawsuit and forthcoming new guidelines.
In comments after the post, Nick clarified the point: “This may not be permanent. We’ll see.” His primary concern at the moment is that “[G]uidelines are coming. We have no idea what those will entail or if we’ll be able to continue under them. Until we have those answers, I cannot in good conscience ask people to work on things that we’ll never be able to finish. Once we have some answers we’ll be able to make that determination. But I ask that people respect that stance and not try and read anything more into it.”
Continue reading “STAR TREK: INTREPID temporarily suspends production on new episodes!”
Initially, Ryan T. Husk was going to sit in on that fascinating conversation that I recently had with Alec Peters and Mike Bawden about the Realities of Crowd-funding. But ironically (or perhaps appropriately) Ryan couldn’t participate because he was busy launching a Kickstarter campaign for a brand new, original sci-fi fan series call Blade of Honor.
Even though Ryan’s new project wasn’t technically a Star Trek fan film, it features a number of Star Trek actors both from the various television series as well as several Star Trek fan film veterans. So even though I usually limit myself to mainly Star Trek fan films, I was intrigued enough by Blade of Honor that I figured I’d make an exception.
What I didn’t expect was to get some of the most amazing insights from Ryan…so much so that I was almost tempted to turn this interview into parts 5 and 6 of “The Realities of Crowd-Funding” 4-parter! Instead, just sit back and enjoy one of the most thoughtful fan filmmaker interviews I’ve done so far…
The planned Star Trek short film, CHANCE ENCOUNTER, launched a Kickstarter 30 days ago with a humble goal of just £1,700 (about $2,500). Fan Film Factor is happy to announce that the production hit its goal and exceeded it slightly by about £187 (or $235)…meaning they get to keep the money they’ve raised through their Kickstarter campaign. Show-runner Gary O’Brien has thanked all of his backers and reports that his team is ready to get underway with this production.
The much- anticipated latest release from Star Trek Continues is now available for viewing to the general public. Released early to donors, the 42-minute episode is another tour de force example of why Star Trek Continues continues to lead the way in the Trek fan film arena.
It’s best to watch this episode with no spoilers or preconceptions. Just know that it features some amazing visual effects, impressive stunt work by many in the cast, and liberal use of STC‘s brand new Engineering set. It’s another MUST SEE offering from the folks in Georgia, full of action, suspense, and even a bit of social relevance.
You can watch “Come Not Between the Dragons” by clicking here.
And you can read a 3-part history of Star Trek Continues starting here.
Last time:
we continued our in-depth discussion of crowd-funding with Alec Peters (Axanar executive producer) and Mike Bawden (Axanar director of public relations), two veterans of Trek fan films who, together, have raised nearly $2 million through multiple Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns for various projects.
Alec and Mike possess a wealth of knowledge about running successful crowd-funding campaigns. And whether you’re planning to do a campaign of your own someday or simply thinking of donating to one, we now conclude this compelling conversation on the realities of crowd-funding…