CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
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... They are workable for one off stories, but even short form series like Potemkin seem torpedoed by them....
A commercial tv hour is about 43 minutes already. 30 mins is not that much less for an episode, especially if doled out say in 10 min increments to web watchers.
A key question will be what the studios care to define as a 'series'. If characters appear in more than one cycle, is it a series? Do the actors have to be the same? Is it reference to backstory / unique assets like ships / etc. published in other fan works (another 30 min work) that makes a series? Is it that it came from the same group of production people? Sharing production assets? Some combination?
One could imagine a self-assembling project wanting to tell a larger story getting together multiple independent fan groups and define a world and characters. Have each group in sequence (having seen the prior works) do one stand alone show that doesn't explicitly backreference events although they share charcters (perhaps by different actors), and isn't deliberately coordinated as a single predefined story arc (that the studios can prove), but which fans could stitch together in their minds as a 'movie'. Like many word games in threads.
Self-assembling fundraising: our Kickstarter wants to contribute an independent production to the "vulcan dreams" art festival starting on June 30. Please fund us. We will conform to guidelines by not directly coordinating with any other production of the festival. Festival curates the security and colocation of the assets funded by each independent project.
Fun one here. Only took an hour to start working around the guidelines that seem to be combatting large story arcs and well known characters being created and massive fundraising occurring.
If I can beat it in an hour, they haven't got a chance of keeping it under control
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I hope Peters doesn't get a wink of sleep tonight.
He's destroyed all the hard work that so many fan productions have put in. He should hang his head in shame, not that he will, being the loathsome egomaniac he is.
He's destroyed all the hard work that so many fan productions have put in. He should hang his head in shame, not that he will, being the loathsome egomaniac he is.
Since he blocked me on Twitter, I'll respond here:
No, Robby, you aren't fighting for ALL FANS. You certainly aren't fighting for this fan. Nor are you fighting for all fan film productions. You've been fighting for yourself and your "independent STAR TREK production." Nothing more. Nothing less.
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At this point, Robert Meyer Burnett has clearly decided he wishes to never work for CBS or Paramount ever again.
So true. I checked out Star Trek's Facebook comments out of curiosity, and it's the same thing. Some people.....
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Those people are beyond deluded.
Mr. Burnett, you are not fighting for all fans or even all donors to your production. You know this. You know full well many donors have been speaking to you, the production website, on Twitter, on FB saying we do not agree with what is going on with this production.
Granted, most of us have been blocked, deleted, and banned by you, the production, and the others involved with it from talking directly to you or them anymore. But you still know we do not agree with you, this production, and the others involved with it, or their, and your, actions toward us, the fan film community at large, or this litigated matter.
Mr. Burnett, you are not speaking for me, a donor to your production. I do not agree with what this production has become and I do not agree with what the people in this production are doing.
You are not fighting for me and many many many more like me who are offended by the actions of this production - and the people who are involved with it. You are one of these people. You know this.
You are not speaking for all fan film productions. You know this too. Many of them have told you this. Many of them have now 'publicly' spoken out against what has been going on with this production and fearing the repercussions of what this production and the actions of people involved with it have put into play.
Sir, you are incorrect and you know it when you say you are fighting for all fans and all fan films. You are not even speaking for all donors anymore.
As a donor, as a fan, I request you immediately stop saying you speak for ALL fans, are fighting for ALL fans and ALL fan films.
I 'AM' a fan. You do not speak for me.
You are not speaking for all of us. You are not fighting for all of us. We have told you we disagree with you many many times.
You know this.
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Guidelines analysis will be up this weekend. Draft is done but I want to make sure it's right. Plus we are interviewing someone tonight and that will take precedence (and yes it is related). That's all I can cryptically say.
The goat barks at midnight.
The goat barks at midnight.
I think he's probably delighted that he's single-handedly shut down RENEGADES, STAR TREK CONTINUES and PHASE 2/NEW VOYAGES.
He probably figured, "well, I've already burned those bridges, might as well nuke them to be sure."
Wow, I've never heard you say a negative thing about anybody. This Alec guy must be one rotten hombre.
Alec Peters is also probably delighted because he did put a warning in his Kick Starter Campaigns that CBS could say "No you can't do this..."; which is now effectively what happened - so any lawsuit alleging 'fraud' can be countered with - "Hey we said CBS could decide to stop us at any point; and not only did the sue us; they released a set of Fan Film Guidelines that make it impossible to deliver what was promised. We spent the money as we said we would - for the studio to make the fan film - and I had every intent of delivering what I promised, but CBS asserted their rights - which I WEARNED every potential backer could happen..."
So, IF Alec peters gets a settlement that has no monetary damage component; he walks away with whatever is left of donor funds (at least from KS - and I was a KS Backer myself - I don't know what was posted for the Indegogo or other funding campaigns) he has remaining (and a converted studio space to rent out too.) If anything he's jumping for joy and thinking to himself: "I'm one hell of a Businessman; akin to my personal hero Donald Trump. Like him between bankruptcies and fortunate interventions (Justin Lin/JJ Abrams and the pro bono W&S law firm); I've made a pretty good living."
^^^
IMO - What an asshole! (Pardon my French
)
Yes, this is the perfect out for Alec, tell all the donors he fought long and alone, but now to give them what they deserve, Axanar will be reinvented, in the meantime they'll rent the studio so raise funds and time to produce Axanar Star Wolfe or Battlestar Axanar.
How do we know the dynamic 2 minute clip wasn't the whole movie?
To reiterate a point I made several months ago, there is the possibility that donors or state officials could seek to recover damages under the California Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits not just fraud but any “unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.” This one of the broadest consumer protection laws in the United States, and it would not be especially difficult for an aggrieved donor—or an enterprising prosecutor or county attorney—to bring a claim based on any number of statements acts made by the principals involved with this project. Merely issuing a general disclaimer in some advertising materials is not, in my experience, sufficient to avoid any and all liability under the UCL.
The fact that they put up a trailer this afternoon after guidelines were released this morning makes me want to see monetary damages awarded. They just don't care. They are being sued anyway, so what does it matter? Alec will just file bankruptcy (again). What's one more rule broken? I expect we will see more from our petulant child.
A commercial tv hour is about 43 minutes already. 30 mins is not that much less for an episode, especially if doled out say in 10 min increments to web watchers.
A key question will be what the studios care to define as a 'series'. If characters appear in more than one cycle, is it a series? Do the actors have to be the same? Is it reference to backstory / unique assets like ships / etc. published in other fan works (another 30 min work) that makes a series? Is it that it came from the same group of production people? Sharing production assets? Some combination?
One could imagine a self-assembling project wanting to tell a larger story getting together multiple independent fan groups and define a world and characters. Have each group in sequence (having seen the prior works) do one stand alone show that doesn't explicitly backreference events although they share charcters (perhaps by different actors), and isn't deliberately coordinated as a single predefined story arc (that the studios can prove), but which fans could stitch together in their minds as a 'movie'. Like many word games in threads.
Self-assembling fundraising: our Kickstarter wants to contribute an independent production to the "vulcan dreams" art festival starting on June 30. Please fund us. We will conform to guidelines by not directly coordinating with any other production of the festival. Festival curates the security and colocation of the assets funded by each independent project.
Fun one here. Only took an hour to start working around the guidelines that seem to be combatting large story arcs and well known characters being created and massive fundraising occurring.
If I can beat it in an hour, they haven't got a chance of keeping it under control
The only way, however, to know if you beat it would be to come out on top of a lawsuit. You may think you "beat" the rules, but CBS could disagree, and let a jury decide. Do you really want to pay an attorney to find out if you "beat" the rules?
I suspect, now that rules have been created, they will be more than happy to bring the hammer down. After all, you were warned.
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