The fan film formerly known as STARSHIP TRISTAN releases its newest episode

Starship Tristan logo 2It’s interesting to watch the various reactions of the current Star Trek fan series to the new CBS/Paramount guidelines.  In the case of Star Trek: Renegades, they dropped the name “Star Trek” from their title, took off the comm badges, and named Walter Koenig’s character “The Admiral.”  Of course, we all know who they mean…don’t we?  But with no “obvious” Star Trek content, the fan guidelines no longer apply to Renegades: The Series.

On the other side of the United States, Alabama-based Potemkin Pictures has taken a different approach.  For the last half-decade or so, the vast majority of Potemkin Pictures’ fan films have actually followed most of the guidelines (before they even came out!): short-duration episodes, no crowd-funding, no perks, original music, home-made costumes, and store-bought props.  Their only real “violation”–now that the new guidelines are in place–is “no additional seasons, episodes, parts, sequels or remakes.”

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PROJECT: POTEMKIN releases its latest episode!

Potemkin - Cover 2

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.

PROJECT: POTEMKIN releases its latest episode!

Potemkin - Cover 2

The second episode of Project: Potemkin‘s fourth (and final) season–the 10-minute “The Hunt”–has just been posted online…barely a week weeks after posting their previous episode!  Talk about fast and furious!!

Watch “The Hunt” 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.

PROJECT: POTEMKIN releases its latest episode!

Potemkin - Cover 2

The first episode of Project: Potemkin‘s fourth (and final) season–the 8-minute “The Talinar Incident”–has just been posted online…barely two weeks after posting their previous episode!  This fan series is beginning to proliferate faster than a tribble!!

Watch “The Talinar Incident” 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.

PROJECT POTEMKIN (interview with Randy Landers), Part 2

Potemkin - Cover 2Last time, we posted the first half of our really FANtastic interview with Randall “Randy” Landers, the creator and driving force behind of Project: Potemkin.  Unlike the more dazzling fan films out there with six-figure budgets, Potemkin has essentially no budget.  And yet they’ve still managed to produce 28 separate episodes in four years… and they’re still going strong.

We’ve already learned some of Randy’s secrets (well, they’re not really secrets!), but he’s got a lot more to talk about.  So let’s pick up where we left off…

Continue reading “PROJECT POTEMKIN (interview with Randy Landers), Part 2”

PROJECT POTEMKIN (interview with Randy Landers), Part 1

Potemkin - Cover 1Without a doubt, we live in a veritable renaissance of Star Trek fan films… one after the other they come, dazzling us with intricate and expansive sets, elaborate green screen backgrounds, meticulously crafted costumes, breathtaking special effects, professional level make-up and lighting, and rich music and sound effects. Production teams in the hundreds often include veteran Star Trek actors and professional screenwriters who have worked in Hollywood. Heck, some of these fan films are even being shot in Los Angeles with crowd-sourced budgets well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But what if your budget is missing four or five zeros at the end? What if you’ve got virtually nothing to spend on your fan film? With all the blazing supernovae of independent Star Trek cinematic achievements out there, is it even worth it to make just a simple “fan film” anymore?

Apparently, the answer is wholeheartedly yes, and Project: Potemkin has more than two dozen episodes online to prove it! Continue reading “PROJECT POTEMKIN (interview with Randy Landers), Part 1”