I happened to have Cawley and PII as connections on Facebook and even though he had recently been posting happy thoughts from the set of Mind Sifter, he recently posted a cryptic tirade (a common FB posting convention of sharing mood but no context to explain it) to say he was done with fan Trek. My initial thought was that he was just venting and nothing would come of it, but tonight I can't even get to his FB page. It looks like he deleted it, and the PII production seem to be confirming that he's stepping aside, although I can't find any official word anywhere. I haven't visited their forum in a long while but when I tried to get to it, it said it was down for maintenance. Does anyone know what really is going on?
I've seen enough "I'm out!" and "I'm back!" oscillations in fanfilms that I tend not to put much stock in such declarations in the heat of the moment.
I don't have any information, but it's seemed pretty joyless for him for quite some time. I wouldn't at all be surprised.
Hopefully not, it would be a loss. But I can see no sign of the PII production confirming anywhere that he's "stepping aside."
Let my start by saying this: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Phase II as a show. I love how they have enhanced the Enterprise gearing towards the movies, I love how they have brought in elements from the lost series, I love how they have made stories like Blood and Fire & Kitumba and I love how they have brought in people like DC Fontana and Walter Koenig. However over the past few years I know there has been trouble behind the scenes which has effected the production in numerous ways. Origins, practically a whole episode, was scrapped as with the original Mind-Sifter. I'm speaking as an outsider here but also release dates have been muddled, Bread and Savagery, the Holiest Thing and Mind-Sifter was the shooting order but that now seems to have reversed. The Holiest Thing was due last Valentine's Day but it never materialised. Compare that to other groups who record then release within months. I know that James is a perfectionist and post-production takes effort with the amount of FX shots etc but Kitumba took 5 years to come out - yes there were problems I know but that is a big delay, especially with Kickstarters and the like. James is the Senior EP for Phase II so he has the biggest say - he founded the project; built the sets and designs the costumes, but it has got so big that perhaps someone else could take over. Axanar's Alec Peters and the legendary David Gerrold are both producers. This is as strictly non-profit venture not a professional production - it is easy to forget that, but I think they have to reach deadlines and get the episodes out to the fans quicker somehow. There is some AMAZING talent working on the production and it would be nice to see more of their work finished. I'm not having a go at James, if he feels it's too much pressure working on P2 as well as touring as Elvis then maybe he should rethink things. It's meant to be a fun production that brings a group together for a 2week shoot then of course there's post-production. It would be sad to see him go as over the past decade he has given so much to fans not just in New Voyages/Phase II.
If I understand the american concept of show runner (canadian here, folks) David Gerrold as show runner is the guy now in charge of pushing the production from idea/concept stage to full script, to casting to shooting, through post-production all the way to final edit. He'll be the one approving things and hiring (or naming) the various crew to get the episodes done. From what I can read with the latest version of Mind-Sifter already in full post-production phase and imminent release, looks like Gerrold is close to getting his first webisode out to the public. Bread and Savagery may take a bit longer since the director recently died whilst in the process of completing his episode. I assume someone else, possibly Gerrold, will take it over and finish it in due time...
This update this hour FROM FACEBOOK: _____________________________________ James Cawley 34 mins · Edited · I will clarify my earlier post, I will not be involved in helping or making any other Star Trek fan films, except my own. I have been doing this for far longer than ANY of the current crop of others out there. Unlike others, it is not my desire to sell my show to CBS, and be the next big thing in their franchise. I do this for fun, not financial gain, nor reward, Something many folks can't seem to grasp. It is my desire, to work with MY FRIENDS, and celebrate our mutual love of the subject matter. My free time, energy and resources are my own and they will be directed solely at making my projects a reality. I will be far more careful moving forward in whom I place my trust and friendship. Thank You to all who have expressed friendship and concern. I will not be on Facebook as much for awhile. I have a very full life, outside of fandom contrary to popular belief and my fall is shaping up to be a busy one. Peace, Love and May God Bless all of you! and a Very Special Thank You to Brandon Stacy, you are an Amazing guy and a true friend. I Love you Brando! _______________________________________________________________________ For any edits, updates, and to read the comments, if you are on Facebook, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/james.cawl...&total_comments=32¬if_t=feed_comment_reply
Thank goodness. The Holiest Thing was due on Feb 14th but got pulled about 24hrs before. As a Kickstarter backer I got the PDF shooting script and poster for that episode while I believe some were able to download a rough cut! Mind-Sifter is apparantly the next release, yes, as it involves less FX shots.
Still cryptic. Do "his own" mean still Phase II? Has he been helpimg other productions? Or is he out of Phase II and doing his new, own thing?
Wasn't there discussion on the Axanar page of using Phase II's sets to film some short vignettes? I know there was a mention of it, and that then that mention disappeared from subsequent literature. Perhaps something to do with Axanar has soured things somewhere along the line.
With all the sniping I've seen between productions on this forum alone over the past year, I can't blame Cawley for wanting to distance himself from other groups.
The various forms of carping and poo-flinging from outside the productions probably don't help either.
YES. James owns Phase II, Retro Films, and pretty much the whole thing. New Voyages/Phase II is his playground and uses his toys.
Possibly a little Kickstarter results envy? It sounds like he feels 'Renegades' (whose production staff supposedly is trying to put it over as a 'proof of concept' that they hope CBS might take notice of) and 'Axanar' (whose production staff are doing their best to make a 'fan-professional' production front to back with the leads - except for one - all being industry or former Star Trek actors) are trying to be more than fan films; and he's tired of some people's feedback asking for more professionals, or something akin to that. IMO interesting given Phase II was the first to also do a LOT of old Star Trek actor stunt casting in most of their episodes in the past. But, bottom line: It DOES take a lot of work/effort/money to do what he's doing; and even with Kick Starters, he' poured a lot of his own money into these projects; and the only thing he'll get from it is his own personal satisfaction for what's been accomplished, and (and as someone who ran any Anime related fan production group for 12+ years back from 1989 - 2001 and completed 12 productions over that time - and probably spent $14000 of my own money doing it over that time) fan response; - and sometimes negative feedback of any type (justified or not) can start to get to you. When it gets to the point it's overall no longer fun/enjoyable in the long run, it's time to call it. Seems it may be getting closer to that point for him.
Hmmm some people he's worked with have been on Renegades/Axanar - I'm a huge PHASE II supporter but James aught to be careful or he'll lose friends. Axanar is made by a group of professionals who don't want their film to be a second-rate job even though it is always going to be a fan film - the internet is a small thing now; why would they want to produce second-rate work? They want something for their portfolio to be proud of. Renegades is practically the same just they wish to submit to CBS as a pilot (which I see no problem with) I remember around 2006/07 when Farragut, New Voyages, Hidden Frontier and Intrepid were the only main fan series and each and every one of them somehow crossed over either on camera or behind the scenes. I hope this community isn't further dividing. But the thing about his own money and effort -- I think Phase II has got such a following as a show that it's definitely it's own beast. It has a worldwide fanbase that enjoys the show and loves it, and sometimes through Kickstarter puts money into it. I'm not saying "the fans own it" but with people they have involved it is far more than just James and his pals making their own Trek episodes. James as Senior EP has a say on what does and does not happen, and that too is fine, big shows need regulation of sorts, but like I said the perfectionism of Mr Cawley is perhaps holding the show back a bit - episodes have been delayed; Mind Sifter was dropped and reshot with a different script; Origins was mostly filmed but dropped altogether.
Funny how one group gets characterized as not wanting to produce anything second-rate but another individual gets charged as being a perfectionist and holding things back. Funny how it can't be the case that both groups have their own standards and criteria for their own work that they want to see upheld.
I don't think the problem is that they're the perfectionists. I think they just move slowly. And that's fine (though they'd be better off giving more regularly updating their fan base if they want to sustain and grow it).
I bet James has found his organization now requires him to be Admiral more often than Captain Kirk, and instead of filming fun things he attending lots of meetings about budgets and choosing the reception area wallpaper. It often happens that the fun of starting something becomes lost when you have to start managing it.