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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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I can't speak to his original intention when he was trying to raise $100k to make Axanar. But the success of that first Kickstarter definitely went to his head.

You can see selfish, arrogant, vane, self important traits in him even before that, like when he snitched on Star Trek Continues to CBS because he felt their production might attract CBS' crackdown on fan films which could in turn threaten his plans.

Even if he might not have had the megalomaniacal plans for a giant private studio, merchandising everything, subscription streaming services and whatnot it sure seems even back then it's all about him and his fame, not about doing service to Star Trek fans.
 
STC was not the only one. Well, look at The predicament he is in now, serves him right.
 
Everybody keeps talking about the donation perks that Axanar is giving out, but Renegades also has perks, including ship models, and I think possibly even a novel. Is there a difference in the ways they are doing them that makes Renegades OK, but Axanar not?

You can't really argue letter of the law because on that basis all the fan-films are liable. It's merely a difference in scale.
 
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"must of knew"... "could of." snicker.
I liked your post simply because of this. I didn't read the rest. ;)

Such grammatical abuse eliminates credibility of the writer for me. I guess it's grammatical snobbery, but I can't seem to help it - the message is diminished. And when I otherwise agree with the writer's message, I question how I can possibly be right when I have formerly aligned myself with the message being so poorly expressed.

Fixed.

Neil
You missed, and were also culpable in, two additional violations. See if you can find them. Sorry, I have to be even-handed about this despite the 'like,' which is much appreciated.
 
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Ask for 100k. End up getting 600k.

Actually, the first time around, he asked for $10,000 and got $100,000 (actually even more than that...and it still wasn't "enough" to cover the costs of Prelude to Axanar; another $7,000 of the budget was covered retroactively by the second Kickstarter that you mention).
 
I liked your post simply because of this. I didn't read the rest. ;)

Such grammatical abuse eliminates credibility of the writer for me. I guess it's grammatical snobbery, but I can't seem to help it - the message is diminished. And when I otherwise agree with the writer's message, I question how I can possibly be right when I have formerly aligned myself with the message being so poorly expressed.
For reference "could of", "should of", and "would of" should be "could've", "should've", and "would've". It's an abbreviation for "could have", "should have" and "would have". The misuse of the word "of" drives me crazy, too.

Now to get this back on topic...

Axanar could've been made by now if Alec would have used the money responsibly. He should've had a better plan.

Neil
 
"must of knew"... "could of." snicker.

First, do you really think a fan film-maker could ever negotiate a license with a studio? It would never happen. There'd have to be a fundamental shift in the entertainment business. Seriously, the idea that Paramount or CBS would license a fan film the rights to Star Trek some of the dumb shit that Axanar supporters spout. Some even went so far as to contend that doing so "would be smart and forward thinking."

As far as how someone inadvertently makes money from a fan film, it's quite simple, and it's been covered on every other page on this 245 page thread: you crowdfund, fully expecting to use every dime you raise, but raise more than you end up needing, and don't know what to do with the rest. It could be an overage of $5, $5,000 or $500,000. Either way, it's profit.

In fact, a lot of people here contend that this is what happened with Axanar, perhaps even as early as Prelude. Some people have argued that they went in with the best of intentions but raised more than they needed, and rather than refund the overages, they concocted a way to pocket the extra money while saying it was being spent (or spending it on things that weren't truly necessary-- like the formation of a studio for future use, or paying off the rent of property used by their other business).

I'm fairly certain about 2-3 different posters were making this very argument just a page or two ago.

My point is: they didn't accidentally raise more than they needed. They got overtly ambitious and decided to keep raising money.

They did it on purpose. Not inadvertently. Or accidentally. They could have closed their Indie go go once they reached their goal. They didn't need to sell coffee.

It takes a lot of work to raise money. There is no inadvertently.
 
My point is: they didn't accidentally raise more than they needed. They got overtly ambitious and decided to keep raising money.

They did it on purpose. Not inadvertently. Or accidentally. They could have closed their Indie go go once they reached their goal. They didn't need to sell coffee.

It takes a lot of work to raise money. There is no inadvertently.
They went to multiple cons and set up displays hustling money at every opportunity. Merch, Ares Digital, Retroactive Donor Store - they went after as much fan money as humanly possible.

And are still taking "donations", BTW

http://www.axanarproductions.com/donate/
 
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And then charged the costs of visiting these conventions against their budget (fan money, in other words).
Actually, I don't have a problem with that. It's marketing and it works to drum up more business (whoops, I mean "donations"). I see it as a legitimate expense. Leasing an expensive studio in the Hollywood area and taking forever to build a set? Not so much.
 
Actually, I don't have a problem with that. It's marketing and it works to drum up more business (whoops, I mean "donations"). I see it as a legitimate expense. Leasing an expensive studio in the Hollywood area and taking forever to build a set? Not so much.

Peters and his squeeze going to conventions isn't what people donated to.
 
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