BREAKING: Official Fan Film Guidelines Issued

[STEPhon IT]

It's probably not worth the trouble since these so called fanfilms with Hollywood professionals working on them could divide fans from CBS official property. It's so easy to blame Alec because he's passionate about his ethics, but there should be blame all around. I had issues with STC claiming it was an extension of Star Trek just to raise money from supporters, and really how many episodes a group of Hollywood people needed to produce???

Then there were others spawning more and more self-claimed fanfilms but were looking more and more like big budgeted hollywood productions. This gradual inflating of budget raising was bound to create a monster like Axanar. So the blame should be shared all around, all are responsible for CBS to act this way.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Judging from JJTrek and ENT, I doubt it. ENT had profanity on a NETWORK. If the new show is going on streaming, which doesn't have any kind of decency restrictions, why would they follow their own rules? I know many people have said CBS/Paramount doesn't have to be fair but it's completely hypocritical. As your video from a few pages back says, it might not be the smartest thing to do in terms of fan relations.



It's more of a response to RCAM, whose post I can't find. But I was under the impression that Disney's guidelines for Star Wars were just for the contest (which was the only thing I could find when I googled it). Trek guidelines are a lot broader, for everything on Youtube. He (or she?) was talking apples and oranges. FYI, many in the pro-Axanar camp call Disney the good guy for sanctioning fan films.

It's not hypocritical. It's rules for fanfilms, not rules for Star Trek.

 

[jespah]

@jespah and any other attorneys here...

Do the guidelines create any sort of enforceable reliance interest (using the term generally)? If someone makes a public statement "If you do X I won't sue you" and you do X and they sue you anyway, do you have any sort of detrimental reliance-ish defense?

Oh, you mean estoppel? Hmm. I would certainly brandish the guidelines in court if I were sued. Furthermore, any ambiguities in documentation are, as a standard, construed as against the drafter. This is one of the reasons why I keep telling people that, say, audio dramas are probably not included because no one said they were. Plus there's no umbrella statement saying something like, "... and all other live or recorded or animated or audio or intra-mind beaming media ..." (or whatever).

PS @BillJ At least some of the policing of videos is done electronically. G & T was briefly dinged when we had Jen Usellis on the 24 Hours of G & T last year, and she sang a few bars of Bad Romance in Klingon. She has a license to cover the song, and so we presented that as I recall, and the restriction was lifted.

 

[BillJ]

It's so easy to blame Alec because he's passionate about his ethics

What ethics?

So the blame should be shared all around, all are responsible for CBS to act this way.

Blaming everyone for the actions of a single person is non-sense. No one forced Alec to pay himself a salary, no one forced him to sell coffee with CBS IP on it and no one forced him to build a studio with donor money.

 

[trynda1701]

It's so easy to blame Alec because he's passionate about his ethics

He has ethics? That is debatable!

EDIT: Ninja'd by @BillJ !

 

[T'Arwen]

It's not hypocritical. It's rules for fanfilms, not rules for Star Trek.

Isn't having a different sets of rules for different sets of people the very definition of hypocrisy? The most annoying thing is that the decency rules have nothing to do with Alec's behavior. Axanar has a lot of issues but there's no evidence that the film would have included profanity, too much skin, etc.

 

[Maurice]

It wasn't "obvious" to me. Your snark is unwarranted.

If you think that gentle comment was snark then your snarkometer needs replacing.

THAT was snark.

 

[Timewalker]

If you think that gentle comment was snark then your snarkometer needs replacing.

THAT was snark.

The word "obviously" is what made it snarky. I honestly thought the poster had made a mistake. You decided to make a snarky remark about it. Instead of snark, you could have just clarified the post.

I don't post in this section very often, so do forgive me for not being able to read your mind or be familiar with your posting style.

 

[mos6507]

decency rules have nothing to do with Alec's behavior.

Queen Bitch anybody?

The larger disconnect with the profanity rules is the degree to which swearing and sexuality has lost its stigma in casual contexts, thanks largely to the internet. I've lost track of how many F-bombs that Hollywood celebrities drop in mainstream interviews, even if they're talking about mainstream family projects. Then you have Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy referring to how he painted the walls of his ship with his DNA. Culturally speaking, that ship has sailed.

 

[trynda1701]

Neil

Another instance of unfortunately!!

 

[Maurice]

The Enterprise was obviously a large ship.

Is that snarky? No.

Moving on...

 

[Professor Zoom]

Isn't having a different sets of rules for different sets of people the very definition of hypocrisy? The most annoying thing is that the decency rules have nothing to do with Alec's behavior. Axanar has a lot of issues but there's no evidence that the film would have included profanity, too much skin, etc.

No. Because the rules apply exclusively to fanfilms. If the rules were for everyone and then CBS said "meh, they don't apply to us" then, yeah, I would agree with you.

For example, there are rules for my 3 year old son that don't apply to adults. Does that make me hypocritical? Of course not.

You are applying equanimity where there is none.

 

[Amaris]

Isn't having a different sets of rules for different sets of people the very definition of hypocrisy? The most annoying thing is that the decency rules have nothing to do with Alec's behavior. Axanar has a lot of issues but there's no evidence that the film would have included profanity, too much skin, etc.

I can drive my car through a mud puddle if I feel like it, because it's my property. You cannot drive my car through a mud puddle if you feel like it, because it's not your property, and you're only borrowing it with my permission.

 

[Indysolo]

Isn't having a different sets of rules for different sets of people the very definition of hypocrisy?

You actually think the professional Star Trek productions made by CBS and Paramount (the legal rights holders) should be made to comply to the same guidelines fans have graciously been given? If CBS and Paramount said, "No fan films" do you honestly think it would be hypocritical if they continued making new Star Trek movies and TV shows?

Neil

 

[STEPhon IT]

He has ethics? That is debatable!

EDIT: Ninja'd by @BillJ !

Well, meaning Alec's were twisted and f'ed up, but are his ethics; he thinks he's doing the right thing. Strange as is, but it is his own ethics.

 

[Timewalker]

The Enterprise was obviously a large ship.

Is that snarky? No.

Moving on...

Not the same thing, and I think you know that.

 

[BillJ]

I can drive my car through a mud puddle if I feel like it, because it's my property. You cannot drive my car through a mud puddle if you feel like it, because it's not your property, and you're only borrowing it with my permission.

Simple ownership seems to be lost on many people.

 

[STEPhon IT]

You actually think the professional Star Trek productions made by CBS and Paramount (the legal rights holders) should be made to comply to the same guidelines fans have graciously been given? If CBS and Paramount said, "No fan films" do you honestly think it would be hypocritical if they continued making new Star Trek movies and TV shows?

Neil

It's so strange how some members just don't get it??? But great example, Neil, but I fear another member may have to provide some more examples for so many to understand your point.

 

[Philip Guyott]

Why would they? These guidelines are for fan films, they aren't anything to do with official product.

Exactly.
its chutzpah to think that CBS and the fanfilms have to play by the same rules. That equates equality in this relationship. Fanfilms are the neighbor's kids playing in their sandbox. They get to make the rules, but they don't have to apply to them. And, no, it doesn't have to be fair.

I agree that CBS is not bound by the same guidelines as that they have chosen to impose on fan film producers. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise and I certainly was not intending to suggest this in my previous post. However providing a guideline that fan films should be family friendly is not about protecting copyright, but is about protecting the image of Star Trek. This is a positive guideline. I was simply expressing a hope earlier that CBS would wish to continue to protect the image of Star Trek not only in regards to fan films but also when it comes to their new series. They don't have too, I just think they should. There have been suggestions that producers might want to push certain boundaries.

 

[T'Arwen]

You actually think the professional Star Trek productions made by CBS and Paramount (the legal rights holders) should be made to comply to the same guidelines fans have graciously been given? If CBS and Paramount said, "No fan films" do you honestly think it would be hypocritical if they continued making new Star Trek movies and TV shows?

Neil

No to both questions. I did enjoy JJTrek (though I'm not wowed by them) and my avatar should make it obvious I'm an ENT fan. I'd be the last person to say they should go back to the 50's. I might disagree with authors with oppose fanfiction but hypocrite was never a word that came to mind.

Queen Bitch anybody?

The larger disconnect with the profanity rules is the degree to which swearing and sexuality has lost its stigma in casual contexts, thanks largely to the internet. I've lost track of how many F-bombs that Hollywood celebrities drop in mainstream interviews, even if they're talking about mainstream family projects. Then you have Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy referring to how he painted the walls of his ship with his DNA. Culturally speaking, that ship has sailed.

I agree the Internet has made FCC rules and filters like V chips obsolete. But even under these constraints, swearing and sexuality have less stigma on TV. If the Internet wasn't invented, it might have taken longer for the ship to sail but it would have eventually happened.

I remember that when ENT premiered, people on message boards were lamenting that they couldn't watch with their kids because of Archer threatening to knock T'Pol on her ass. That Trek was getting less family friendly. I find it ironic that all of a sudden, they care about that with fan films. As Phillip said, there's a disconnect between the image they want to project through fan films and the ones they put out through their official stuff.