News – Page 78 – Fan Film Factor

Star Trek/Dr. Seuss “Mash-Up” creators received a CEASE & DESIST letter from CBS!

Is CBS switching back from copyright infringement lawsuits to cease & desist letters? It’s hard to read the tea leaves when it comes to a multi-billion dollar corporation, but we may have just gotten a clue.

The year 2016 was a turbulent and uncertain time for the world of Star Trek fan films. It began with a copyright infringement lawsuit against Alec Peters and AXANAR, and then by the summer, fans were presented with a series of fan film guidelines listing the things fans were and were not allowed to do if they wanted to avoid legal action on the part of CBS and Paramount.

But were lawsuits now the “new normal”? Would fan films that violated the guidelines find themselves dragged into court for expensive litigation? The studios weren’t saying. For many years, most fan film producers had (perhaps naively) assumed that the worst that would happen would be they’d get a call (or letter or e-mail) from the studios saying, “Stop what you’re doing.” Even Alec Peters himself figured he’d probably get a call long before ever being served with a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Man, was he wrong!

Ironically, had the studios simply sent Alec a cease & desist letter instead of suing, they could have saved themselves nearly a million dollars in attorneys fees and 12 months of polarizing publicity with likely a similar result of a scaled-down Axanar. But that’s a “what if” scenario that we’ll never see played out in this universe.

But here’s a question: did CBS’s and Paramount’s experience with the year-long Axanar lawsuit leave a bad enough taste in the studio execs’ mouths that they’ve decided to dial things back from battlestations to just yellow alert? Are the studios ready to return to good ol’ fashioned cease & desist letters to get the job done?

The answer to this question might come from another copyright infringement lawsuit going on right now involving Star Trek…and Dr. Seuss!

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AXANAR Comic Book NOW AVAILABLE!

Last month, I presented an interview with uber-AXANAR fan TREY McELWAIN, who was planning to release a 4-page (including cover) Axanar comic book. The cover itself was already completed, and Trey told me that his artist (and personal friend) DANIEL FU was working feverishly on the artwork.

Apparently, “feverishly” was indeed the adverb to use, as it is less than a month later and the comic book is now finished! It debuted earlier today in various places on the Internet (it’s a free comic, after all), and I’ve been allowed to feature it here on Fan Film Factor, as well.

Trey greatly enjoyed the creative process, and he told me that he’d really like to produce more comic stories and adaptations of Axanar:

I am not sure what the future holds for “Trey’s AxaComics.” My hope, my dream, is to continue on, and get the Parts 1 and 2 out.

“Trial By Fire,” which I’ve just released, would actually be Part 3, with the Ares going up against the D6. Parts 1 and 2 are going to cover the Klingon Invasion, and the construction of the Ares.

And then when we all get to see Episodes 4 and 5 from Alec, I’d like to follow suit and continue on with the adaptation process! One thing is for sure though, this entire experience has been a blast, and I am thrilled to share it with everyone!

I’ve included lower-resolution images of the pages below. But if you’d like to see the artwork in beautiful higher resolution, feel free to download and view this Axanar Comic PDF file.

Otherwise, take a look right here…

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2-YEAR-OLD version of full AXANAR movie script purposefully LEAKED! (news and editorial)

This morning I face a bit of a dilemma. There’s an 800-pound mugato in the cave (a more appropriate metaphor than “elephant in the living room”), and I needed to decide how to deal with it.

On the one hand, it’s fan film news…major fan film news, in fact. A version of the 90-minute AXANAR script that was “locked” prior to the lawsuit (meaning it would be used to determine line item costs) was leaked yesterday by disgruntled (man, is that an understatement!) former CTO and Marketing Director for Axanar Productions, TERRY McINTOSH. It was actually an earlier version than the one used for the lawsuit (Terry released version 7.3, but the version submitted in the legal filings was 7.7—and the latest version that exists now actually goes to 11). But the fact is that a version of the Axanar script is now out there…and that’s news.

On the other hand, Terry violated a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in doing so. The thing about NDA’s is that, for a project like Axanar, they are unlikely to be enforced because ALEC PETERS would have to prove financial damages and injury. Since Alec is unlikely to lose any money from the release of an outdated script that’s been rewritten multiple times since 2015, there’s little reason to bother taking legal action. (But hey, who knows?)

That said, despite the lack of legal “teeth,” signing an NDA is like making a promise…saying that you’re trustworthy and able to keep a secret. I’ve signed an NDA with Axanar Productions, as well. The things I know could potentially explode my page views. But I don’t share them because I gave my word—and at least for me, that means something.

So, yes, there’s an outdated Axanar script out there now, and you’ll probably be able to find it fairly easily if you look. But I am not going to post it here. Nor am I going to link to any of the numerous detractor sites that have sprung up in the last 24 hours to tear the script apart.

Have I read the script myself? Not yet. I’ve been too busy reading through Alec’s new scripts for the two 15-minute Axanar films and preparing my feedback for him, and I didn’t want to get distracted. I might read the leaked script eventually…maybe not. I haven’t decided yet.

But what I have decided is to honor my own signing of an NDA and not facilitate access to the outdated script, even though it is now public. Unlike some people, when I give my word, I keep it.

Anyone wanna buy a FAN FILM FACTOR T-SHIRT???

Hey, did you notice the “SHOP” button over there in the upper right corner on the main menu bar? Betcha didn’t! It’s right next to the “CONTACT US” option. (“Us”? It’s pretty much just me here. I should change that.)

It’s okay if you didn’t notice—no one did—for months! The button has been up there since late February, I think. Initially, I never even intended to sell FAN FILM FACTOR T-Shirts. But an amusing series of events led to the creation of an FFF online store. Wanna hear a funny story?

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RENEGADES announces WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING in North Hollywood on JULY 12th!

Back in August of 2015, STAR TREK: RENEGADES held a red-carpet premiere screening of its 90-minute feature film at the Crest Theater in Westwood in Los Angeles. It was a star-studded event with Star Trek celebrities galore, paparazzi, perks for sale, and even free popcorn (although tickets were a $20 donation for the fan film’s production costs).

Now on July 12th, 2017, RENEGADES: THE SERIES (now minus the “Star Trek“) will premiere in its entirety for the first time the full debut episode of its fan series: “The Requiem.” (Part 1 debuted online back in February, but only for donors. Two months later, Part 1 was made available for free to everyone.)

The big premiere will take place at 7:30 at the Leammle Theater (5240 Lankershim Blvd) in North Hollywood, CA. Many of the cast and crew will be there, including Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Tim Russ, Robert Beltran, Manu Intiraymi, Gary Graham, and Justin McQueede. After the screening of the full episode (Parts 1 & 2), there will be a question and answer session with the stars the creators.

Tickets are only $20 each and can be purchased here.

Although they set out to raise an additional $80K for their final post production efforts in a recent crowd-funding campaign (here’s a link to that), they only got as far as $30K. So to help raise additional money, for a little extra, fans attending the event can get special VIP seating with the stars along with appearing in autographed photos with certain cast members.Here’s a breakdown on prices for each photo option:

$75 – Photo with WALTER KOENIG (autographed)

$150 – Photo with WALTER KOENIG and NICHELLE NICHOLS (autographed by both)

$250 – Photo with WALTER KOENIG, NICHELLE NICHOLS, TIM RUSS, and ROBERT BELTRAN (autographed by all four)

All photos will be autographed at the event and ready for fans to take home.

You can learn more about this web series on their website. And here is an exciting trailer for Part 2 of “The Requiem”…

Foreign FILM FESTIVAL fancies FAN FILMS!

Hey, you–the one who made a fan film! Want to get it into an actual Film Festival?

This is the kickoff year for the BERLIN SCIFI FILMFEST, and they’re seeking out fan films (in English!) to join a slate of science fiction films being entered by independent producers from around the world!

Usually, fan films are relegated just to conventions and small fan gatherings. But the folks at the Berlin SciFi Filmfest are reaching out to fan film folks like me specifically to spread the call for entries for their inaugural festival on November 17th and 18th of this year at the Babylon Cinema in the heart of Berlin, Germany.

When I was first contacted, I noticed their rules had only one category for fan films with a run-time requirement of 25 minutes or less. I mentioned that some of the best fan productions in the Star Trek genre were at least a half hour and potentially at long as 100 minutes (I was thinking Star Trek: Horizon). So they divided fan films into TWO categories:

Short Fan Film (max. 30 minutes)
Feature Fan Film (min. 30 minutes).

Initially, I was concerned when I saw this rule:

You must have all copyright clearances, including music, for all the work you submit to us.

But then I noticed the very next rule:

Fan films are an exception as they are always homages to existing franchises. We do accept and want Fan-films in the festival.

Whew!

I also checked to confirm that there is no release date requirement for any entry. So even if your fan film was made three, five, or even ten years ago, it’s eligible.

Entry fees for submissions made before July 15 are a very reasonable $15 per film. After that, it goes up to only $20 through August 15, $30 through September 15, and an extended deadline until October 10 of $40.

You can enter your fan film in just a few minutes right here.

This is a full list of categories and rules…

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BATTLECRUISER KUPOK production team releases its third fan film: “A GATHERING STORM”!

If you’re looking for Klingons in a Star Trek fan film, you can certainly find them…but it’ll take some work! And usually the Klingons are just there to be the bad guys (at least in TOS and movie-era Trek fan productions).

But there is one production which guarantees a Klingon in every episode…and they’re not there just to be the bad guys. Well, yeah, they are the bad guys, but not to their way of thinking!

BATTLECRUISER KUPOK (pronounced “kuh-POOK”) debuted in September of 2015 as the eighth episode (“The Battle Of Alawanir“) of the third season of the long-running fan series PROJECT: POTEMKIN. It was a unique episode, self-contained and presented with its own opening monologue:

Space…it is ours for the taking. These are the missions of the Imperial Klingon Cruiser Kupok. Its never-ending quest: to seize unclaimed worlds, to seek new cultures and species to serve us, and to further expand the Klingon Empire!

The idea was to create a fan series completely from the point of view of the Klingons, to show them in their “natural element” without any influence from or even interaction with Starfleet.

Their low-budget fan series was later given an independent run of its own the following March with the release of their second episode, “Sanctuary.” A few months later, the fan film guidelines were released, and all of the Potemkin Pictures projects were forced to drop their series titles (like Starship Deimos, Starship Tristan, and of course, Battlecruiser Kupok) and instead treat every subsequent release as a new fan film with a completely new title.

Since then, the Deimos and Tristan production teams have released a combined total of nine new fan films (plus two that completed the run of Project: Potemkin), but nothing from the Kupok team…until now!

Based in Pelham, Alabama, Kupok‘s latest episode “A Gathering Storm” was written and directed by Potemkin show-runner RANDY LANDERS. It asks the question: what happens when the Klingons try to conquer a planet full of Renaissance Faire attendees? No, I’m just kidding! Well, I’m KINDA kidding.

Oh, just see for yourself…

AXANAR fan announces a new AXANAR COMIC BOOK! (Interview with TREY McELWAIN, Part 2)

Last time, I introduced everyone to TREY McELWAIN, a super-fan of AXANAR who is going where no Axanerd has gone before (yet) and releasing a short comic book based on the fan film Prelude to Axanar.

Based in Austin, TX, Trey works in the veterinary field and also runs the Axanar Fanpage on Facebook (different from the Axanar Fan Group). But his latest project takes his passion one step farther.

Trey told ALEC PETERS about his desire to create a 3-page comic book adaption of a portion of Prelude to Axanar, and Alec thought it would be a great idea. There was no official “permission” given, nor is there any direct oversight of Trey by Alec. This is simply a fan producing his own independent Axanar project to share with others (for free, of course).

As I mentioned in Part 1, this is not the first time a fan film has been adapted into comic/written form. In 2002, the fan film Starship Exeter was featured in an 18-page comic. Seven years later in 2009, Starship Farragut also got its own comic that was 48 pages long! Both comics were produced by Kail Tescar on his StarTrekAnimated.com website. And more recentkly, there has been a series of fan film novelettes released based on the fan production Star Trek: Phase II.

Our interview with Trey concludes this week, beginning with a very important question (especially considering that this is an Axanar-related project)…

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SMALL ACCESS HeadTalker – once more…with FEELING!

Unlike the USS Enterprise in Star Trek II, no, we didn’t make it. Our attempt to sign up 500 social media accounts to all automatically post/tweet the same message at the same moment last Tuesday came up short with only 109 participants.

But hey, live and learn, right? Or how about…if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. We’re doing a little but of both!

My Chief Social Media Officer (yeah, that’s kind of a thing), Commander LEE QUESSENBERRY, has just launched a NEW HeadTalker campaign. This one has a much less lofty goal of only 50 participants…and we’re already nearly there with 43! We can, of course, go over 50, and the more the merrier! And we’ve still got 15 days left!!

There’s a couple of other changes you might notice. First, the name of the campaign is now “United For Star Trek Fanfilms“. That works in THREE important elements of our message. Obviously, we’re all about Star Trek. And we’re also all about fan films. And of course, we’re united. No need to push the name “SMALL ACCESS” as few people outside of our group even know what that is. (And hey, that’s part of the problem…and the challenge!)

We also have a slightly new message that will be posted/tweeted on Friday, June 30 at noon Eastern Time:

“I am joining a cause (@smallaccesstrek) because I want to see #StarTrek #FanFilms succeed! #FF #FollowFriday https://hdtk.co/rWuJm“

As before, this one includes the @smallaccesstrek Twitter account and a hashtag for #FanFilms. But this time, we also included #StarTrek (yep, we forgot to include that one the first time—d’oh!) as well as #FF and #FollowFriday. What are those? I didn’t know either, so I asked Lee, and he said, “Follow Friday is an old twitter holiday like Throwback Thursday or Taco Tuesday. So on a Friday, if there’s someone you follow that you think others would find interesting, you #FF or #FollowFriday. It’s been a while since I actually did a FollowFriday request on Twitter, but it seems it is still a thing.”

So here we go again, folks! If you have a spare moment (and a Facebook or Twitter or other social media account), please click on the image below to help us out…

STAR TREK vs. STAR TREK – a new fan film project (interview with CHRIS ALLEN)

Ladies and gentlemen, CHRISTOPHER ALLEN Is back!!!

And now you’re wondering: “Who the heck is Christopher Allen…and what exactly is he back from???”

In 2006, Christopher Allen wrote and directed what was—and still remains—one of the most audacious and ambitious fan film genre crossovers ever: STAR TREK VS. BATMAN. This nearly hour-long production used amazingly accurate costume reproductions from the 1960s Batman TV series, built their own simplified versions of the Enterprise bridge and transporter sets, and even rented an actual batmobile replica for a day of shooting around the Indianapolis area. You can read more about it here.

Well, that was then. And although Chris produced some other independent films after 2006, Star Trek vs. Batman was the last the Trek fan production world heard from him.

Until last week. That’s when someone sent me a link to this…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GewHNIy6vIQ

Could it be? Are we on the cusp of yet another fan film parody out of Indianapolis??? It seemed so!

I checked around, and it turns out Chris Allen has launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $13,400. And not only is he planning to film in the Indiana State Capitol building (’cause, y’know, he lives in Indianapolis) but also on the TOS sets at STARBASE STUDIOS…one of the first Trek fan films to announcing booking the facility since they relocated from Oklahoma City to Harrison, Arkansas.

Here’s the synopsis from their website:

An ill-tempered, but gentle alien has summoned five of the most renowned federation captains from across space and time to the planet of Delta Fawcett Four. There, Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew face off against Professor Xavier’s Enterprise D, Voyager, that weird looking spiky thing from DS9, and the “guy from Quantum Leap” Enterprise in a forgettable, but timeless tournament that will leave your sides half-split with laughter.

SPECIAL GUEST STAR ASHLEY ALEXISS is taken hostage by an evil alien that has been knocking around the galaxy. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock beam down to rescue Kirk’s beautiful space vixen, only to be taken hostage by Captain Pike in a pimped out wheelchair.

Well, that sounded intriguing!

So I contacted Chris, introduced myself (turns out he already knew me from that blog I wrote about his first Trek fan film), and asked if he’d mind answering a few questions. He was delighted to…

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