Adam Nimoy – Fan Film Factor

DS9’s WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND is finally COMPLETE – will debut exclusively to backers in April and in theaters for one day in May!

It wasn’t even four weeks ago that I posted the HUGE news that the crowd-funded Deep Space Nine documentary WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND had been acquired by distributor SHOUT! STUDIOS. But now the news is even huger (yes, that’s a word!).

Shout! Studios opened up a whole new realm of resources and opportunities for both completing the production as well as exposing more of the fan community (and general public) to this high-quality look back at the history of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and into the minds and hearts of the people who made it all happen.

With Shout! on board, it was announced this week that the documentary has finally been completed and delivered. The recent delays had been mainly due to a decision made by show-runner IRA STEVEN BEHR and director ADAM NIMOY to digitally remaster into high definition all 20 minutes of footage from various episodes rather than only about 25% of the footage, leaving the rest in lower quality standard definition. Additional crowd-funding beyond the $650K raised from Indiegogo backers was necessary to acquire and remaster the footage, but Ira has assured everyone that the difference in quality is worth it. You can check out the comparison below…

The other major announcement(s) concerned when the completed documentary would be shown both to backers and to the general public. With Shout!‘s connections in theater distribution, in partnership with Fathom Events, What We Left Behind will be showing in over 800 theaters across the US for one screening on Monday, May 13th at 7:00pm. Fathom will be providing giveaway 11×17 posters at the door while supplies last, and this one-night event will include exclusive content with a new roundtable discussion following the film. You can order tickets here.

Of course, backers at levels of $15 or more were promised an early sneak peek, and so they shall get it! On Thursday, April 25th at 9:09pm EST, eligible backers will be able to stream the full documentary from home or on a mobile device for the following 99 hours. (Hmmm, there’s an awful lotta 9’s…oh, I get it!)

Backers will still have many more chances to watch the documentary when they receive their DVD/Blu-ray combo sets. More details for backers (instructions for how to stream, planned shipping dates, etc.) will be coming soon.

For now, the documentary team has just released this FANtastic new trailer. I challenge you not to tear up while you watch it (I got goosebumps)…!

So where’s that darn DEEP SPACE NINE documentary??? (update revisited)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. So there’s this fan film project that’s going to feature veteran Star Trek actors and production crew, and it’s going to be presented in documentary format. Although people are excited about the project even before the crowd-funding campaign begins, the show-runners are nevertheless blown away when donations blast through the initial goal and reach nearly $650,000.

Emboldened by this unexpected abundance of production funding, the show-runners decide to expand the scope of the project far beyond what was initially planned, and a year later, they go back to the donors and fans to ask for even more money.

But then stuff happens, and the release date gets delayed…and then delayed again.

Nope, not Axanar. This same sequence of events happened with the ambitious Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND, directed by ADAM NIMOY. Crowd-funded in early 2017 with more than $647,000, the original release date was estimated as February 2018. But by April, with no documentary in sight, show-runner IRA BEHR updated fans with a written message that I featured in a blog titled “So where’s that darn DEEP SPACE NINE documentary???“

Ira didn’t make excuses so much as provide reasons why things were taking so long…including the fact that there were over 100 hours of new interviews with cast and crew to go through, plus fan submissions, archival materials, animations, audition tapes, convention footage and more than 170 broadcast episodes…all of which needed to fit into a final documentary that was no longer than a few hours! Plus, they were remastering some of the original standard definition footage into beautiful high definition footage.

By September, there was still no completed documentary, and Ira posted yet another update…this time as a video and asking for even MORE money! Why would he “tap the well” again so late in the game?

Continue reading “So where’s that darn DEEP SPACE NINE documentary??? (update revisited)”

DS9 documentary is looking for a LITTLE MORE MONEY…for something REALLY COOL!

Ah, scope creep…

You’ve got your budget, the money is available, but suddenly you realize that you want to do something really AWESOME, and now you need more money. It happens all the time in Hollywood. It’s happened to Star Trek multiple times. It happens for Marvel movies and other blockbusters. It’s happened to fan films like Renegades, Space Command, and Axanar. And now it’s happening to the Deep Space Nine documentary WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND.

It’s not like producer/show-runner IRA STEVEN BEHR and director ADAM NIMOY just squeaked by with their Indiegogo campaign last year. Not only did they exceed their initial goal of $150,000…they more than QUADRUPLED it with nearly $650,000! They even blew past four different stretch goals along the way.

So why do they need even more money now, just months away ? I’ll let Ira Behr explain it…

So that’s the story. The resampled footage looks amazing, incredible, AWESOME! There’s five minutes of clips from various episodes that now appears in glorious, vibrant, and crystal clear high definition.

But there’s also 15 minutes of standard definition footage, captured from the same DVDs you probably have on your shelf or the episodes you watch on Netflix or All Access. The problem is that, because the HD footage looks so good, the SD footage palls in comparison and makes the viewer think, “Why do some of the clips look so crappy?”

Unfortunately, although TOS and TNG were digitally remastered to HD from the original film negatives, the same treatment is highly unlikely for DS9. The process is expensive (even more so for DS9…as Robert Meyer Burnett explains in this interview), and the TNG remastered Blu-ray sets didn’t sell nearly as well as expected, so CBS is unlikely to throw more money down the Bajoran wormhole.

And thus, this is pretty much the one shot fans have to get more footage from DS9 remastered. Sure, it won’t be all seven seasons, but even another 15 minutes sure would be nice.

The documentary makers are now taking new donations for the remastering exclusively through their website. For $50, you get a special challenge coin. But for $500—and this is REALLY cool!—your name will appear superimposed over the remastered footage. Take a look…

Click to enlarge to REALLY see the difference!

To donate (or donate again!), visit their website:

https://ds9documentary.com

So where’s that darn DEEP SPACE NINE documentary??? (update)

Has the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND been left behind? Hardly!

Just over a year ago, IRA STEVEN BEHR, DAVID ZAPPONE, and ADAM NIMOY unexpectedly blasted though all expectations (an initial $150,000 goal) and ever-higher stretch goals to reach a staggering $647,891 in donations for their ambitious full-length documentary about the beloved Star Trek TV series Deep Space Nine.

Fans were excited about nearly every aspect of this planned project. Clips, behind-the-scenes stories and footage, and round-table interviews with nearly all of the major cast members and many of the production team were, of course, a given. But there would also be a special 20-minute “what if” segment in which the original writers would brainstorm a theoretical 8th season of the show. There would be licensed footage, customized graphics, and an original score…all directed by Adam Nimoy, who has already given fans the excellent For the Love of Spock documentary.

But most exciting, though, was a promised HD remastering of certain scenes from the original DS9 series along with new CGI animations produced and overseen by veteran Trek VFX alum DOUG DREXLER. And since Paramount and CBS have stated that they have no intention of remastering DS9 like they did TOS and TNG (yeah, sacrilege!) this will probably be our only chance to have at least at a small taste of what could have been. Most of us “Niner” fans couldn’t wait!

And we thought we wouldn’t have to wait for too long. Although the original estimates were February of 2018, that was before the campaign took in nearly 325% over its original goal. So an update from last November said that February wasn’t gonna happen, and “[W]hile we still are aiming to have the film done in early 2018, it is likely these release timeframes will shift back (slightly) to accommodate.”

So now “early 2018” is rapidly turning into “mid 2018,” and fans are beginning to wonder where’s that darn DS9 documentary?!?

Two weeks ago, we got our answer when the team issued a new update with more information, a bunch of optimism, and a fair amount of good-natured humor. Here’s a look at what they had to say…

Continue reading “So where’s that darn DEEP SPACE NINE documentary??? (update)”

Congratulations to ADAM NIMOY and TERRY FARRELL on their ENGAGEMENT!

With word spreading of the happy and surprising news that actor TERRY “Jadzia Dax” FARRELL (of Deep Space Nine) will be marrying ADAM NIMOY, the son of Leonard “Spock” Nimoy, Fan Film Factor just had to include a shout-out of congratulations, as well.

Both of these people do have connections to the Star Trek fan film community. Terry recently appeared in Renegades‘ first full episode, “The Requiem,” while Adam recorded this promo for Axanar in 2015 and then went on to produce For the Love of Spock (honoring the work of his late father) and is working on the upcoming DS9 documentary What We Left Behind, which raised nearly $650,000 from fan donations via Indiegogo back in March.

This will be the second marriage for both people. Adam (61) and Terry (53) both have children from each of their previous marriages.

This is not the first time celebrity Star Trek-crossed lovers have found each other thanks to the show. In 1996, Alexander “Dr. Julian Bashir” Siddig (who had changed his name from Siddig El Fadil) started dating his co-star Nana “Major Kira Nerys” Visitor and got her pregnant (something which was worked into the plot line of Deep Space Nine). Their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, was born on September 16, 1996, and the couple were married in June of 1997. The marriage lasted for four years before they divorced in 2001. Also, Star Trek: Voyager Executive Producer Brannon Braga and Jeri “Seven of Nine” Ryan also had a relationship while that show was in production. They have since split up.

And of course, perhaps Star Trek‘s most famous celebrity relationship was between its creator, Gene Roddenberry, and the actress who played both “Number One” in the original pilot and Nurse Chapel in the original series, Majel Barrett. The two started dating while Gene’s previous marriage was falling apart, and they got married in 1969 right after the cancellation of Star Trek. They had a son, Eugene Wesley “Rod” Roddenberry, who is now very active in the Trek fan community and runs Roddenberry Entertainment and also founded the Roddenberry Foundation. Gene and Majel remained married for 22 years until Gene’s death in 1991.

Today, however, we wish a lasting and happy future together to Adam Nimoy and Terry Farrell. May they both live long, prosper, and continue their wonderful relationship with Star Trek fans everywhere!

DEEP SPACE NINE’S “What We Left Behind” takes in $170,000 in donations in just 24 hours!

If you’re like me, whenever someone asks you, “What’s your favorite Star Trek series?” you don’t even hesitate before answering with a confident smile, “Deep Space Nine.” And then you usually get one of the following three responses: 1) “Really? I never got into that one and didn’t even watch most of the episodes…”; 2) “Are you kidding? That show was so dark! Next Gen/Voyager/TOS was sooooo much better!” (they never seem to say Enterprise); or 3) they immediately get it because they agree completely.

(And usually when we encounter a member of the first response group, we beg them to binge-watch the series in episode order!)

People like me find it inconceivable and frustrating that DS9 is so often seen as the “bastard stepchild” of Star Trek…the series that, instead of boldly going, boldly stayed in one place. But that was the point. By not having to constantly introduce and explain a new culture and/or alien threat or spatial anomaly each week, it left much more time to fully develop certain key races like the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, Kligons, Vorta, Jem’Hadar, and Founders. And of course, it made room for so many more intriguing characters who got to develop slowly and compellingly over time. And hey, if you just want to see space battles…just wait’ll those last three seasons!

Despite its critical success among reviewers and a growing appreciation from the fans, as the years have gone by, DS9 seemed to be fading from the Star Trek totem pole. TOS and TNG each got remastered special edition DVD/Blu-ray sets with new VFX and all sorts of wonderful extras. But with DS9 next on the list, no remastered addition was ever announced, and it seemed the love-fest was finally over.

Would Ds9 ever get the credit and recognition that it deserved?

Well, not from CBS or Paramount. But as 50 years of fan films have proven, if you want something decent from Star Trek, sometimes you just have to do it yourself!

Continue reading “DEEP SPACE NINE’S “What We Left Behind” takes in $170,000 in donations in just 24 hours!”

FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK – a short review and a cool video of ADAM NIMOY’S talk in Hollywood!

You might not consider the new “Spockumentary” from Adam Nimoy to be a typical fan film, but I think it very much qualifies. Sure, it might not have needed to follow the fan film guidelines, but FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK still managed to raise more than $662,000 from nearly 10,000 fans! It was, for all intents and purposes, a labor of love and a product of love…not just of a son for his father but also of fans for a beloved character and actor.

As Adam Nimoy explains in the opening of the film, the original idea had simply been to produce a documentary film to be released for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, looking at the origins and the impact of the character of Mr. Spock on society and culture. Adam’s father, actor Leonard Nimoy, insisted the film be only about the character and not the actor himself. Leonard was always very humble and felt that his own life was hardly worthy of a full documentary–or even part of one. So Adam agreed to focus his film exclusively on the character of Spock and not on the actor who played him. The two Nimoys began their work.

And then Leonard Nimoy died.

Continue reading “FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK – a short review and a cool video of ADAM NIMOY’S talk in Hollywood!”

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

For the Love of Spock One 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…