CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

[KennyB]

I've been thinking, and maybe we're all being a bunch of fact-obsessed killjoys, what with our notions of "reality" and "copyright law".

But not the Axanar fans (or Axanerds, as they call themselves). They get it. And they come from a long line of it-getters.They're not a bunch of joyless factinistas from the dork patrol. What right does the US legal system have to define what is or isn't a copyright violation? The Axanerds know that it's their right as Americans to individually decide what the laws mean. And that goes double for the Axanerds from other countries! You see, this isn't about the law you know with your head. It's about the law you feel with your gut. After he killed Hitler in the Civil War, did Gene Roddenberry write the Constitution with his head? No way! It would've been too hard to hold the pen in his mouth for that long, and his assistant's mouth was too busy doing other things. No, Gene Roddenberry wrote the Constitution with his gut. That's why it's got all that weird squiggly writing and the strange lowercase Fs where the letter S should be.

Most people don't know this because they're not real Star Trek fans. But the Axanerds are. And why are they real Star Trek fans? Because they donated to Axanar. And the more money they donated, the realer of a Star Trek fan they are. That's why they're so good at interpreting the law with their gut. And what does their gut tell them?

It tells them that copyright law is a vast unsettled expanse, one that isn't decided by "lawyers" with their useless "facts" and "legal precedents". It's decided by volume, by which I mean loudness. And there is nothing louder than Axanar's self-reinforcing Internet echo chamber with its tens of dedicated members. That's why Axanar will win. Because its fans believe. And because they stick to Gene Roddenberry's One True Star Trek Vision, which he had when he got really high on acid that one time in the 70s after the studio wouldn't let him put more than two belly buttons on Mariette Hartley.

Their gut also tells them that Alec Peters could use one of the many law firms that's lining up to represent Axanar for free. Or he could raise money for the Axanar legal defense on Kickstarter and get like a billion dollars in five minutes. But he doesn't need to do that, because he's a lawyer. All he needs to do is walk into the courtroom and say "FAIR USE!", then smile in satisfaction as everyone looks at him weird, because he walked into the wrong courtroom and interrupted the testimony of Mrs. Stella Weemble tearfully recounting what happened after she found her husband Elroy in bed with a RealDoll in a Donald Trump mask.

But after he goes into the correct courtroom and shouts "FAIR USE!" the judge will immediately rule in Axanar's favor and sentence the CBS/Paramount lawyers to death. And then Axanar will be made, and the whole world will boycott Star Trek Beyond and it'll make negative zillion dollars at the box office while all creation revels in the glory, nay the dream, that is Axanar.

And then Alec will be crowned Lord Garth and rule the world from Ares Studios. Boomer the Cat will be his Vice President.

Yep, all of that is totally, for real, going to happen. I know because I read it on Facebook.

L. Ron Hubbard says Alec has potential.........

 

[Zaminhon]

.

I hope you are joking about ST:ID. Among the many problems was the Magic Blood, the miscasting of Khan (yes, in 2013 "whitewashing" should be a thing of the past) and the total rip-off of the "KHAAAN!" scene which was sorry, never earned. .

 

[Amaris]

I've been thinking, and maybe we're all being a bunch of fact-obsessed killjoys, what with our notions of "reality" and "copyright law".

But not the Axanar fans (or Axanerds, as they call themselves). They get it. And they come from a long line of it-getters.They're not a bunch of joyless factinistas from the dork patrol. What right does the US legal system have to define what is or isn't a copyright violation? The Axanerds know that it's their right as Americans to individually decide what the laws mean. And that goes double for the Axanerds from other countries! You see, this isn't about the law you know with your head. It's about the law you feel with your gut. After he killed Hitler in the Civil War, did Gene Roddenberry write the Constitution with his head? No way! It would've been too hard to hold the pen in his mouth for that long, and his assistant's mouth was too busy doing other things. No, Gene Roddenberry wrote the Constitution with his gut. That's why it's got all that weird squiggly writing and the strange lowercase Fs where the letter S should be.

Most people don't know this because they're not real Star Trek fans. But the Axanerds are. And why are they real Star Trek fans? Because they donated to Axanar. And the more money they donated, the realer of a Star Trek fan they are. That's why they're so good at interpreting the law with their gut. And what does their gut tell them?

It tells them that copyright law is a vast unsettled expanse, one that isn't decided by "lawyers" with their useless "facts" and "legal precedents". It's decided by volume, by which I mean loudness. And there is nothing louder than Axanar's self-reinforcing Internet echo chamber with its tens of dedicated members. That's why Axanar will win. Because its fans believe. And because they stick to Gene Roddenberry's One True Star Trek Vision, which he had when he got really high on acid that one time in the 70s after the studio wouldn't let him put more than two belly buttons on Mariette Hartley.

Their gut also tells them that Alec Peters could use one of the many law firms that's lining up to represent Axanar for free. Or he could raise money for the Axanar legal defense on Kickstarter and get like a billion dollars in five minutes. But he doesn't need to do that, because he's a lawyer. All he needs to do is walk into the courtroom and say "FAIR USE!", then smile in satisfaction as everyone looks at him weird, because he walked into the wrong courtroom and interrupted the testimony of Mrs. Stella Weemble tearfully recounting what happened after she found her husband Elroy in bed with a RealDoll in a Donald Trump mask.

But after he goes into the correct courtroom and shouts "FAIR USE!" the judge will immediately rule in Axanar's favor and sentence the CBS/Paramount lawyers to death. And then Axanar will be made, and the whole world will boycott Star Trek Beyond and it'll make negative zillion dollars at the box office while all creation revels in the glory, nay the dream, that is Axanar.

And then Alec will be crowned Lord Garth and rule the world from Ares Studios. Boomer the Cat will be his Vice President.

Yep, all of that is totally, for real, going to happen. I know because I read it on Facebook.

This... is art.

 

[Indysolo]

L. Ron Hubbard says Alec has potential.........

So he's got that going for him.

Neil

 

[Franklin]

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Watched this and then went straight to YouTube to watch "Rocket Man". That completed the daily double.

On topic. Is anyone posting odds on whether or not this even gets to discovery? I've tried to find this on my own, but has Axanar secured any real legal representation, yet? Would the Does need their own lawyers?

 

[KennyB]

Watched this and then went straight to YouTube to watch "Rocket Man". That completed the daily double.

On topic. Is anyone posting odds on whether or not this even gets to discovery? I've tried to find this on my own, but has Axanar secured any real legal representation, yet? Would the Does need their own lawyers?

Last thing I saw was the "Deep talks" for pro bono......which reeks of spin and doesn't sound like it is secured by any means.

 

[drt]

I hope you are joking about ST:ID. Among the many problems was the Magic Blood, the miscasting of Khan (yes, in 2013 "whitewashing" should be a thing of the past) and the total rip-off of the "KHAAAN!" scene which was sorry, never earned. .

We almost have the equivalent of "magic blood" now in the form of stem cell treatments that can repair radiation damage. It's far less "magic" than the Genesis device.

 

[Noname Given]

I hope you are joking about ST:ID. Among the many problems was the Magic Blood, the miscasting of Khan (yes, in 2013 "whitewashing" should be a thing of the past) and the total rip-off of the "KHAAAN!" scene which was sorry, never earned. .

Nope - not at all. Again, VMMV (And in case anyone here thinks I'm a 'new fan' - I've been watching Star Trek first run since 1969 on NBC - first episode I ever saw was "Elaan of Troyius" at age 6 and was hooked ever since.) Again, given all the Star Trek McGuffins over the years, (do I need to bring up ST:III and ask WHY would the Genesis wave rejuvenate Spock's body in a way that morphs it back into a fetal through 8 year old, etc as the Genesys planet ages, and sorry, IF the Genesys planet is aging millions of years in the space of days - why did rejuvinated 'Spock' not age at a similar rate - EG - it would be dust by the time the Grissom arrived); the so called 'magic blood' didn't bother me; now did Spock's "Khaaaan!" - Spock did state that he was curious and had mind melded with Pike as Pike died - and that it affected him in a way he didn't expect; and gave him more perspective on human emotions - so no, it didn't bother me - and I am at a loss as to how it was 'never earned'. Spock had an emotional reaction to Kirk's death.

As for 'whitewashing' with regard to the casting of Khan in ST:ID -- Really? You're going to try and play the 'racist' card? Sorry, don't see it that way, as I understand it they weren't going out of their way to cast Benedict Cumberbatch (they were going to use Benicio Del Toro, but they couldn't get the scheduling to work out); so no, I don't think they went into the casting with "let's get a white guy and REALLY screw with the fans..." I had zero issues with Mr. Cumberbatch's portrayal of the character. Again, YMMV - but it's interesting how time will color perception in that the more egregious macguffins in STII:TWoK and STIII:TSFS are just 'accepted' now.

 

[Mudd]

Old TV writer yelling at cloud.

I didn't find any problems with STID that aren't endemic to Trek in general. Even the magic blood is a kind of "use once and forget" panacea all too familiar to TOS fans.

 

[Zaminhon]

As for 'whitewashing' with regard to the casting of Khan in ST:ID -- Really? You're going to try and play the 'racist' card? Sorry, don't see it that way, as I understand it they weren't going out of their way to use Benicio Del Toro, . .

You're the one who was surprised that no one was in an uproar about Ricardo Montalban being cast in 1966. Not quite understanding that it was the norm of the times?. Yeah, Benicio Del Toro, why turn back the clock and make the same damn decision they did fifty years ago? There's local talent as well as International Bollywood stars that can obviously fill a Sikh role much more believably. Hollywood needs to get out of their hole.

 

[Karzak]

Old TV writer yelling at cloud.

I didn't find any problems with STID that aren't endemic to Trek in general. Even the magic blood is a kind of "use once and forget" panacea all too familiar to TOS fans.

This.

 

[Mudd]

So, would there be any way to find out about a suit that Alec Peters supposedly brought against Jason DeBord in California in 2011/2012?

It appears to be a slander suit involving statements made by "The Original Prop Blog" about Alec and Propworx.

It's been described as a SLAPP suit that Alec lost.

 

[KennyB]

Nope - not at all. Again, VMMV (And in case anyone here thinks I'm a 'new fan' - I've been watching Star Trek first run since 1969 on NBC - first episode I ever saw was "Elaan of Troyius" at age 6 and was hooked ever since.) Again, given all the Star Trek McGuffins over the years, (do I need to bring up ST:III and ask WHY would the Genesis wave rejuvenate Spock's body in a way that morphs it back into a fetal through 8 year old, etc as the Genesys planet ages, and sorry, IF the Genesys planet is aging millions of years in the space of days - why did rejuvinated 'Spock' not age at a similar rate - EG - it would be dust by the time the Grissom arrived); the so called 'magic blood' didn't bother me; now did Spock's "Khaaaan!" - Spock did state that he was curious and had mind melded with Pike as Pike died - and that it affected him in a way he didn't expect; and gave him more perspective on human emotions - so no, it didn't bother me - and I am at a loss as to how it was 'never earned'. Spock had an emotional reaction to Kirk's death.

As for 'whitewashing' with regard to the casting of Khan in ST:ID -- Really? You're going to try and play the 'racist' card? Sorry, don't see it that way, as I understand it they weren't going out of their way to cast Benedict Cumberbatch (they were going to use Benicio Del Toro, but they couldn't get the scheduling to work out); so no, I don't think they went into the casting with "let's get a white guy and REALLY screw with the fans..." I had zero issues with Mr. Cumberbatch's portrayal of the character. Again, YMMV - but it's interesting how time will color perception in that the more egregious macguffins in STII:TWoK and STIII:TSFS are just 'accepted' now.

I enjoyed both of JJ's romps.......I'm a newbie. I only started watching about 1975. Trek needed a bit of an octane boost after Nemisis.....My kids would NEVER watch Star Trek with me before ST09 now all three (2 girls and a boy) are fans of NuTrek. So I think it is working........I like all Trek.

 

[Ion]

Spock had an emotional reaction to Kirk's death.

Nah. The writer thought he could get away with doing something cute.

I actually like most of ST:ID, but that particular scene made me laugh the first time, and pretty much just irritated me after that. The movie would be better if it were edited out.

If I have one complaint about nuTrek, it's that it tends to lean a little too much to the slapstick side at times. Beyond that... I'll watch 'em, and that says enough.

 

[Mudd]

I dunno if this has been posted or not, but it's a good read.

http://mightygodking.com/2016/01/02/the-axanar-faq/

Q: Oh. Well, what happens now? I mean, how do they keep actors like Tony Todd in the face of this setback?

A: Tony Todd left the project back in September, citing creative differences.

Q: Then why his his face still up on the Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and company page as being attached to the product, on pages where they’re actively soliciting donations?

A: You’d have to ask Alec Peters about that. We’re a FAQ, not a mind-reader.

Q: So basically, Axanar was doing things that Paramount specifically forbade, raising money by selling bootleg merch to fund their own production company, flaunting their professional credentials until such time as they became inconvenient, and using an actor’s likeness to promote a project he wasn’t attached to? Wow, the fans must really be upset at Axanar Productions.

A: Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh, you sweet summer child, you. They’re threatening a boycott of the Trek movie and upcoming TV series if Paramount doesn’t back down, and saying that Paramount is only doing this because they’re afraid they’ll be embarrassed by how good Axanar is compared to the J.J. Abrams movies. Some of them are claiming that Paramount would lose a lawsuit anyway because it was fan enthusiasm that kept Trek going in the 70s so the property really belongs to them anyway. Oh, and at least one fan has suggested “doing a Kickstarter” to buy the rights to Star Trek completely.

Q: I’m not entirely sure how to respond to that.

A: Maybe heavy drinking?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I hope you are joking about ST:ID. Among the many problems was the Magic Blood, the miscasting of Khan (yes, in 2013 "whitewashing" should be a thing of the past) and the total rip-off of the "KHAAAN!" scene which was sorry, never earned. .

Not seeing the problem with "Magic Blood"
1) Blood base therapies are a real thing.
2) Khan's miraculous recuperative abilities are established in "Space Seed".
3) The "Magic Blood" is established in Act One.
4) It's reiterated in Act Four.
5) Miracle cures are common place in Star Trek and rarely laid out as well.

 

[Ion]

I dunno if this has been posted or not, but it's a good read.

http://mightygodking.com/2016/01/02/the-axanar-faq/

I'm pretty sure it was posted before, but it's worth repeating. It's one of the better treatments of the whole situation.

 

[Karzak]

Agreed.

 

[oswriter]

On topic. Is anyone posting odds on whether or not this even gets to discovery? I've tried to find this on my own, but has Axanar secured any real legal representation, yet? Would the Does need their own lawyers?

To paraphrase Dr. Pulaski on the subject of odds, "If you mean mathematically... Yes, the probability is not zero."
Honestly, I don't know why Axanar/Peters would want to proceed to discovery. Nothing that will come out is likely to help them. And the longer this drags out, the more time and money will be eaten up by the litigation process. Even if the judge turns down the studios' request for a preliminary injunction, I don't see how Axanar will be able to proceed with production on a feature while the lawsuit remains pending. Their fundraising has already been halted, and the longer this goes on, the more donors and staff will desert the project.
The most likely scenario, as I see it, is Axanar/Peters will file a motion to dismiss on fair use grounds. That motion gets denied. The studios get a preliminary injunction. Peters turns around and tells his donors, "Hey, I tried, but I can't justify continuing to spend YOUR money on a cause where I can't guarantee success." He surrenders and hopes he's done enough to dissuade any of the donors from suing him.
To answer one of your other questions, if I were one of the Does, I would certainly get my own lawyer.

 

[Karzak]

It's a "high profile" case... in Peters' little pond where he's a bloated, 55-year-old big fish. But... "High profile" defendant?

Forgive me, but ... Who dat?