CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

[Karzak]

Peters saying again tonight that they're talking to "top lawyers" and going on about "unsettled law" makes one thing clear: if they've tried to talk to CBS about this, they've gotten nowhere and aren't pretending that they will. They're talking about a court fight.

Axanar turns into Waterloo if they go to court.

Peters does come across as rather Napoleon-ish.

Axanar turns into Waterloo if they go to court.

Napoleon had like 70,000 troops at Waterloo. This is more like the guys occupying the federal building in Oregon.

I take back my above comment.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

I have to say this... these people need a frigging pR person... they are doing themselves no good favors.....

 

[Karzak]

I have to say this... these people need a frigging pR person... they are doing themselves no good favors.....

They really, really, really do. Between Peters, Burnett, and Terry, they are fucked six ways from Sunday when it comes to public relations.

No wonder the Axanerds are so rabid and foaming at the mouth.

 

[Red Shirt]

"We have stopped taking donations on our Indiegogo as we don't want to mislead anyone with the uncertainty!"

Which is why they left the Indiegogo active for the past couple of weeks and didn't even add the note about the lawsuit until a couple of days ago.

Excellent!

 

[Noname Given]

Here's Alec over in the Axanar fan group a few minutes ago:

Hey all, here are some updates:


1) We are in deep talks with one of the top 20 IP firms in the country who is very interested in taking our case pro-bono. This is VERY exciting. The quality of lawyers we are talking with who want to represent us is amazing. This is a very high profile case with a high profile defendant and unsettled law.


2) We are all meeting every day about the way to move forward. As I have said before, you the donors are our PRIMARY focus. What will you like? What do you expect? How freaking cool are you guys to be so supportive!


3) Really, all your love is keeping us fired up!


4) Don't believe the haters. I have heard so many outrageous lies that today we were trying to top each other in the office reading our FB feeds, laughing about the lies.


5) We have stopped taking donations on our Indiegogo as we don't want to mislead anyone with the uncertainty!


Keep your chins up soldiers! We are pretty fired up at the studio, so you should be too!


Alec

They're getting a bit lightheaded down in the bunker.

Oops, ninja'd by Ryan.

I blame bad Sushi, and too much liquor in their coffee.

 

[Tim Thomason]

And the sad thing about that is, I so much wanted to see an adaptation of Gerrold's novel The Galactic Whirlpool from Bad Robot and Paramount (I'm sorry, but a two part episode of Phase II won't cut it with me-this needs a million dollar budget to get it right.

This probably also means no more use of Tribbles, too (per what happened with Harlan Ellison and City On The Edge Of Forever). Sad.

It's too early to tell. If Burnett is out now, he might be able to salvage his reputation. Gerrold should have better contacts in the industry, and has had technically no involvement with Axanar (just a supporter) as far as I can tell. He might be able to duck out fine if he does so soon.

Peters does come across as rather Napoleon-ish.

Except he's better at volleyball.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I'm curious what "unsettled" law Axanar believes they are dealing with. Copyright infringement is some how "unsettled"?

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Optimum outcome: Peters loses everything. Not just for the whole IP business, but for the fuckover committed on the fans he supposedly has such high regard for. People like Tobias, Sean Torongeau (I went to school with a Torongeau, BTW) get treated like the dupes they were whose only crime was wanting to be part of some new great thing.

Other fan films get left alone as long as they don't make the same kinds of "mistakes".

CBS/Paramount acquires all assets of Aries Studio, which would, of course, include Axanar and all related material. They polish up the script and do it as a straight-to-DVD feature. And actually get tons of good publicity out of it, as well as whetting the appetite for the new series.

That's a win/win for everybody but Peters.

I'll go you one better:

CBS/Paramount acquires all assets of Aries Studio, which would, of course, include Axanar and all related material. Trying to compete with Lucasfilm/Disney and the upcoming Star Wars: Rouge One movie, they polish up the script and do it as a separate feature film. And actually get tons of good publicity out of it, as well as whetting the appetite for the new series.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Are the Axanar sets even finished?

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Are the Axanar sets even finished?

No... it looks like they have the comm station light up.. with the pic of RMB.. but those graphics look real rough IMO....

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Are the Axanar sets even finished?

Nope. They're still in a state of construction: https://www.instagram.com/p/BATFB4nk3eD/

 

[Professor Zoom]

I'll go you one better:

CBS/Paramount acquires all assets of Aries Studio, which would, of course, include Axanar and all related material. Trying to compete with Lucasfilm/Disney and the upcoming Star Wars: Rouge One movie, they polish up the script and do it as a separate feature film. And actually get tons of good publicity out of it, as well as whetting the appetite for the new series.

That seems as likely as Peters getting to make his movie.
Why on Earth would they want fan made sets? Fan made costumes?
I would also expect there to be copyright issues, oddly enough, because of material that Peters had created.

The whole thing is toxic. They have no good reason to touch Anaxar. They have plenty of material to pull from that they own free and clear.

 

[Karzak]

And the sad thing about that is, I so much wanted to see an adaptation of Gerrold's novel The Galactic Whirlpool from Bad Robot and Paramount (I'm sorry, but a two part episode of Phase II won't cut it with me-this needs a million dollar budget to get it right.

This probably also means no more use of Tribbles, too (per what happened with Harlan Ellison and City On The Edge Of Forever). Sad.

It's too early to tell. If Burnett is out now, he might be able to salvage his reputation.

Doubtful. As small potatoes as this has been, his little temper tantrums aren't helping him at all.

Gerrold should have better contacts in the industry,

You'd think so, but there's a reason all his work of late has been rooted in fan films.

Peters does come across as rather Napoleon-ish.

Except he's better at volleyball.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

By the way, here's someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight: https://www.instagram.com/p/2wlGQzk3YW/?taken-by=rmburnett

Or does he?

 

[Karzak]

He keeps using that phrase. I do not think it means what Gerrold thinks it means.

 

[GSchnitzer]

And there's this:

 

[BeatleJWOL]

Oh hey, the whiny Instagram post is gone.

FOR POSTERITY:

(click for larger)

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Oh hey, the whiny Instagram post is gone.

FOR POSTERITY:

(click for larger)

You know that set has the footprints of production designer John Iacovelli, of BABYLON 5 fame, who is [was?] the set designer for AXANAR.

It shares a lot of similarities to Iacovelli's sets for BABYLON 5.

However that photo my be gone from Instagram, but it's back on the Axanar Fan Facebook group with a different spin: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153149882197130&set=gm.536943729815129&type=3&theater

And now Robert Burnett was making a joke instead of being a bit depressed:

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

[/url] pic host[/IMG]

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Here is something that popped into my head that I don't know if we have thought of.

Currently Axanar has not submitted their application for tax exempt status, which means, they are presently not tax exempt. Should they have any tax liability for the donations they received?