ARON “NOG” EISENBERG gets choked up answering a question

04Okay, this was kinda my fault.  Back last December, Aron Eisenbeg (who played the Ferengi “Nog” on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) needed a kidney transplant.  He’d found a willing donor, but there was still a problem.  It would take both Aron and his donor about three months to fully recuperate, during which time neither of them could work.  Aron’s partner, Malissa Longo, would need to be his primary caregiver and would not be able to work herself while also taking care of Aron.  Unfortunately, these are the sorts of expenses that insurance doesn’t typically cover (lost wages), leaving all three of them in a bind.

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Would the real McCoy please sit down?

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Hey there, folks.  I’m in Las Vegas this week (though there won’t be a lot of long Fan Film Factor posts).  But I had to share this photo from Day One of the 50th anniversary Creation con.  I’d only just met these two fun strangers (who had only met each other a few hours earlier) and I offered to take their photo together in the faux-to (photo) bridge are in Quark’s Bar.  They were nice enough to stay up there long enough so I could sneak in for a photo op of my own.  This McCoy is uncanny in his similarity to the late, great De Kelley.  His name is Frank Jenks and you can find him on Facebook.

Other photos from day one appear below…

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CHANCE ENCOUNTER, a Star Trek short film, begins shooting TODAY!

Chance EncounterBack in May (a month before the new fan film guidelines were announced by CBS and Paramount), a fan production out of the United Kingdom set out to raise $2,500 in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a short Star Trek fan film called Chance Encounter.  They were successful and immediately began to build their one set (the interior of a Type-15 TNG-era shuttlepod), create costumes, and hire cast.

Then the fan film guidelines came out.  Would it be a problem for this production?  Well, the production is already intended to be a short one-shot film, so the first guideline limiting run-time to 15 minutes and forbidding a continuing series won’t be a problem.  The title Chance Encounter doesn’t have Star Trek in it, so guideline #2 is safe.  In fact, nearly all of the guidelines have been followed, including a Kickstarter that raised less than $50,000 (significantly less)…although perks were distributed.  Of course, the Kickstarter happened before the guidelines were released, so it’s probably okay.

The only problem they might run into comes from this quote from their Kickstarter page: Continue reading “CHANCE ENCOUNTER, a Star Trek short film, begins shooting TODAY!”

JONATHAN LANE discusses the FAN FILM GUIDELINES and SMALL ACCESS on the SHANE PLAYS RADIO SHOW + PODCAST!

Jonathan LaneFan Film Factor founder (and the guy typing this right now), JONATHAN LANE, had the pleasure of doing a podcast interview alongside co-moderator DAVID HEAGNEY, JR. discussing the SMALL ACCESS protest campaign and the new fan film guidelines released by CBS and Paramount.

We were interviewed by super-fan and live radio podcaster Shane Stacks for an hour.  In the first half-hour, Shane covered recent sci-fi news and releases, and starting at the 30-minute mark, we dive into discussion about the guidelines and the SMALL ACCESS campaign.  Among the questions we answer: what are we hoping to accomplish, will the studios even take us seriously, and is Alec Peters hiding behind the curtain pulling our strings?

Take a listen…

 

 

 

FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK set for release on September 9, 2016!

For the Love of SpockOne could argue that a documentary doesn’t necessarily fall into the category of a Star Trek “fan film,” but one year ago, director Adam Nimoy raised $662,000 from nearly ten thousand Star Trek fans in a Kickstarter campaign for a movie about the life of his amazing father, Leonard.

To me, that’s the truest essence of a fan making a film about something he loves with the help of other fans who share that love (including $50 from yours truly)!

For the past twelve months, Adam Nimoy (who is both directing and writing the “Spockumentary”), worked tirelessly to research and assemble footage and to interview a vast array of fans and professionals alike about their love not only of Spock but of the man who created the character.  The film will feature such notable names as William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Neil deGrasse Tyson, J.J. Abrams, and the late Leonard Nimoy himself.

Two weeks ago, Nimoy delivered the finished film to his distributor for worldwide release.  And a week ago, he announced that the film will be released in theaters, on VOD, and via iTunes on September 9, 2016 (the Friday immediately following the 50th anniversary of the broadcast television debut of Star Trek).  Nimoy also released an amazing trailer that has me more excited than ever to see this tribute to an incredible actor who gave the world a universally beloved character…

PROJECT: POTEMKIN is no more…and it’s “ALL IN A DAY’S WORK!”

Potemkin-All in a Day's WorkThe fan series Project: Potemkin was nearly finished with its four-season run.  Thirty episodes had already been produced and released, and only three more remained.  Show-runner RANDY LANDERS (read his interview with Fan Film Factor here) had announced that the series would wrap up after the end of season four, although four other series–Starship Tristan, Starship Deimos, Battlecruiser Kupok, and Starship Endeavour–would continue with new episodes.

The remaining three episodes of Project: Potemkin had already been filmed over a year ago and were simply awaiting post-production editing, sound, VFX, and musical scoring.  Then the fan film guidelines were released by CBS and Paramount.

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Will STAR TREK RAVEN be IGNORING the new fan film GUIDELINES? (Interview with DAVID WHITNEY, Part 2)

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David Whitney, show-runner for Starfleet Studios and Raven

Last time: David Whitney, the show-runner for Star Trek Raven (and two other Trek fan films) produced by Starfleet Studios in central Iowa, shocked the fan world on July 1 when he announced his productions would be ignoring the new CBS and Paramount fan guidelines that, in his words, “do not directly support their copyright and copyright law.”

 A day later, in an apparent about-face, David eliminated the parts of his announcement dealing with ignoring the new guidelines and instead stated “We are going to try to conform our film, now called ‘Starfleet Studios Raven Part One’ to the new rules.”

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RENEGADES gets 96% of the way to their $60,000 KICKSTARTER goal in just THREE DAYS!!!

Renegades IndiegogoOkay, so maybe Renegades is no longer officially STAR TREK: Renegades, but we all know what it really is.  Sure, Chekov will now be referred to simply as “The Admiral” and Tuvok is now “Kovok,” the Federation is now the “Confederation,” and the comm badges are gone from the uniforms.  But it’s still a Star Trek fan film at heart, even if all the obvious and direct references to Star Trek have been surgically removed to avoid having to follow the new CBS and Paramount guidelines.

Continue reading “RENEGADES gets 96% of the way to their $60,000 KICKSTARTER goal in just THREE DAYS!!!”

Moving BEYOND Anger (my decision to fan up)

Beyond AngerCBS and Paramount ruined my 50th Anniversary!!!  The whole year–January to December–they just ruined it.  First, no sooner had Christmas ended, they sued Axanar, my favorite Star Trek fan film ever.  And in doing this, the studios split fandom into a Hatfield and Dr. McCoy feud.  Then, just when I thought the anniversary year might be saved after all when J.J. Abrams announced the lawsuit would be “going away” and fans allowed to make their films…WHAM!…ridiculously Draconian guidelines were created by the studios that seemed purposefully designed to end Star Trek fan films as we know (and love) them.

I…….was……PISSED!!!

I was so pissed that I started the SMALL ACCESS campaign on Facebook to protest these new guidelines and try to get them revised.  Hundreds and hundreds of fans joined me on my impassioned quest, sharing their anger and frustration, as well.  Some threatened a full-on boycott of all things Star Trek: the new movie, the new TV series, novels, licensed merchandise…you name it.  They suddenly wanted nothing to do with Star Trek anymore.  And several of them were encouraging me to do likewise.

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