CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
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I never knew about the FASA game until the lawsuit was brought and I started my own research into this whole thing, but I sure did like Prelude. And told friends about it. Several of us became donors.
Now after I began learning that the feature presentation production was going to be a war movie and not like the Prelude presentation in style at all, I knew I, personally, wouldn't have been interested in it because it 'wasn't' the Star Trek I knew and loved.
But I sure did like Prelude!
I agree
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Okay, I'm confused. I can't figure out the timeline just by following the above discussion.
Did Alec put his own money into Axanar to get it off the ground before Kickstarter money came in, then later take money back out as "salary" and/or "repayment of the loan"???
--- OR ---
Did Alec take a salary from Axanar and later put it back as "a donation" and/or "repayment of a loan"???
Which came first, money in or money out??? And either way, if it was "a loan", was that defined at the time, or retroactively???
Did Alec put his own money into Axanar to get it off the ground before Kickstarter money came in, then later take money back out as "salary" and/or "repayment of the loan"???
--- OR ---
Did Alec take a salary from Axanar and later put it back as "a donation" and/or "repayment of a loan"???
Which came first, money in or money out??? And either way, if it was "a loan", was that defined at the time, or retroactively???
I think you will find that most people here agree with the sentiment that there was good work done on the trailer (even if some find the war story less true of Trek than other possibilities). I think you will find everyone agrees what has happened is unfortunate.
I think you will also find that there is a much finer analysis than simply "drama" which is needed to accurately identify what surrounds this project. A million and a half dollars apparently spent without producing the film. Diverting a lot of that into the buildout of a studio for non trek profit for the builder. Endless, and I mean endless, pronouncements from Axanar management that everyone in the world who questions these things is to be shunned, and if a donor, literally locked out. Refusal to provide refunds upon request, while claiming that for the CEO, money put in as 'donations' can be taken out as if it is a loan (via some reverse alternate timeline). Claiming on the one hand that Axanar is the absolute purest rendition of Trek as created and published by the studios, but on the other hand, that it copies nothing of significance and is fair use. Claiming to be "nonprofit" and "not for profit" (and therefore meeting 'guidelines' to 'not make a profit off of Trek') because they spent all their cash and had nothing left, and taking this to extremes worthy of a lawsuit with salaries and expenses ATOP of a profit making studio buildout. In spite of all this, being offered reconciliation and support by JJ and Justin Lin, and countersuing them instead. And on and on and on and on.
This is more than "drama", it is a long list of questionable specific paths chosen by the protagonist. And the million plus donor money being frittered away on studio buildout and personal benefit payouts in what is supposed to be a hobby effort makes it serious, not just a foible. It is IMO and apparently in the eyes of the studio, a large scale copyright infringement in its most classic definition, not just a little incursion by a fan film.
It isn't the attention that these choices draw that is the problem. It is the specific choices made to execute on this project.
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I never knew about the FASA game until the lawsuit was brought and I started my own research into this whole thing, but I sure did like Prelude. And told friends about it. Several of us became donors.
Now after I began learning that the feature presentation production was going to be a war movie and not like the Prelude presentation in style at all, I knew I, personally, wouldn't have been interested in it because it 'wasn't' the Star Trek I knew and loved.
But I sure did like Prelude!
I had a lot of fun with the FASA game back in the day. I still have my (mostly) complete set with the starmap, cardboard ship pieces, source books, etc. My friends and I had many great adventures with that gaming set. There are some errors in the books on some of the technical schematics, as the books sometimes conflict with the TV shows/movies and I believe the tv shows/movies are to be considered canon.
One example is that the Excelsior class of starship is listed as being capable of warp 14, while the Enterpise D is capable of warp 10. However, the measurement given by FASA for the Enterprise D is that it travels at "ultra warp" which is equivalent to the warp number to a factor of five. Ie, ultra warp 5 would be (5 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5) = 3125 times the speed of light. Whereas "regular" warp drive was the cube of the number, ie warp 5 is (5 x 5 x 5) = 125 times the speed of light. I don't remember the tv shows or movies ever making such a distinction, save for the mentions of "trans warp" in Star Trek III. I also don't remember any federation ships in the tv shows or movies ever reaching warp 14 based upon their own standard warp propulsion. There was usually some sort of gimmick such as Q, the Traveler, the Caretaker or something else involved if a ship ever jumped large distances or reached speeds in excess of warp 10.
Regardless, the FASA Star Trek game made for great reading for my 13 year old self.
The early years of complex strategy board games were certainly intriguing. Fun to read this, thanks.
Redaction Reaction. Asked by the lawyers to remove redacted Axanar financial info from the AxaMonitor article on plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, we refused—because Alec Peters' own lawyers had already made it public. Read more »
But that's not what his financials nor what he himself has publicly stated! What is the truth here?
Redaction Reaction. Asked by the lawyers to remove redacted Axanar financial info from the AxaMonitor article on plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, we refused—because Alec Peters' own lawyers had already made it public. Read more »
Tell others how critical it is to keep certain information under seal with public statements it would cause embarrassment, thus drawing intense attention to it, and then publish it yourself due to your own inattention?
Critics are right, you really do get what you pay for.
He seems to be saying significant recent expenses of Axanar Productions LLC were paid by some money source which may or may not (its a secret) have appeared as taxable income of or investment in Axanar Productions in the financials he handed over for the case, and then that money was intentionally retrieved back out as tax deductible operating expenses paid to a group of individuals in the past. He promises the independent review board appointed by him will explain everything, and he will get a 501c3 designation. Which one can observe on the side, if awarded retroactively due to the nonprofit nature of the business which has been claimed up to now, may make the inconvenient word 'tax' disappear to some extent. IANAL, but perhaps it would even make the recent 'donation' tax deductible, so one could take a deduction on donating to pay yourself via your corporation at a tax deducted rate in the past, which you could donate again, etc.
Hope that clears things up
I am looking forward to their independent experts' explanation of time travel getting put on record.
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Legal eagles, check out this article about Adobe redaction for law firms, from 2010... says "be sure to 'apply redactions' dont just mark them and save":
http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/2010/06/ricks-guide-to-using-redaction-in-acrobat-x-pro/
and this one, from 2011, that explicitly describes how to make sure your redaction stuck... step 1, copy and paste to doublecheck:
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/11jan/practice.html
http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/2010/06/ricks-guide-to-using-redaction-in-acrobat-x-pro/
and this one, from 2011, that explicitly describes how to make sure your redaction stuck... step 1, copy and paste to doublecheck:
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/11jan/practice.html
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The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time-travel is impossible...
Nobody knows. And we only have Alec's word for it. And he has just openly altered the books during a lawsuit. Stay tuned.
That looks incredibly familiar.
.... So... this legal document was placed in Public Domain by the defendant's own Legal Counsel? That probably made for an interesting conversation.
Paramount v Axanar 2-15-cv-09938 CD CA 2016-11-16 75-4 Exhibit 2 - Plfs' Amended Responses to Defs' First Set of Interrogator.pdf
INTERROGARTORY NO. 8
Identify and describe the harm or injury You claim to have suffered as a result of Defendants' actions as alleged in the FAC.
RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 8
(excerpts and the highlighting is my own)
--"Further, emails turned over by Ghristian Gossett, the director of Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar, show that Mr. Peters met with Netflix and Amazon regarding Axanar Productions. Mr. Peters was exploring methods by which he could distribute high-quality Star Trek content, without a license"
--"Mr. Peters' production team generated a marketing plan for his project stating that the first goal of Axanar Productions (Mr. Peters' corporation) was to complete the Star Trek: Axanar film, while the second “objective” of Axanar Productions was to “create and develop new models of sponsorship and funding that will help Axanar productions generate profits on low budget productions.”
--"Mr. Peters was also fully aware of the infringing nature of his activities, as over the course of several years, Mr. Peters (a trained attorney) repeatedly sent CBS notices informing CBS that Mr. Peters believed that other entities and fan film creators were engaging in “infringing” conduct. Again, Mr. Peters did not turn over these communications in discovery, although CBS did."
"Mr. Peters also used these funds to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in restaurant meals. Mr. Peters and his girlfriend were provided with debit cards that they used to pay for these expenses from the Axanar Productions account – which account was populated with funds contributed by Star Trek fans."
Paramount v Axanar 2-15-cv-09938 CD CA 2016-11-16 75-4 Exhibit 2 - Plfs' Amended Responses to Defs' First Set of Interrogator.pdf
INTERROGARTORY NO. 8
Identify and describe the harm or injury You claim to have suffered as a result of Defendants' actions as alleged in the FAC.
RESPONSE TO INTERROGATORY NO. 8
(excerpts and the highlighting is my own)
--"Further, emails turned over by Ghristian Gossett, the director of Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar, show that Mr. Peters met with Netflix and Amazon regarding Axanar Productions. Mr. Peters was exploring methods by which he could distribute high-quality Star Trek content, without a license"
--"Mr. Peters' production team generated a marketing plan for his project stating that the first goal of Axanar Productions (Mr. Peters' corporation) was to complete the Star Trek: Axanar film, while the second “objective” of Axanar Productions was to “create and develop new models of sponsorship and funding that will help Axanar productions generate profits on low budget productions.”
--"Mr. Peters was also fully aware of the infringing nature of his activities, as over the course of several years, Mr. Peters (a trained attorney) repeatedly sent CBS notices informing CBS that Mr. Peters believed that other entities and fan film creators were engaging in “infringing” conduct. Again, Mr. Peters did not turn over these communications in discovery, although CBS did."
"Mr. Peters also used these funds to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in restaurant meals. Mr. Peters and his girlfriend were provided with debit cards that they used to pay for these expenses from the Axanar Productions account – which account was populated with funds contributed by Star Trek fans."
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She knows she's representing a slimeball, but you gotta slaughter some targs if you wanna make blood wine.
He seems to be saying significant recent expenses of Axanar Productions LLC were paid by some money source which may or may not (its a secret) have appeared as taxable income of or investment in Axanar Productions in the financials he handed over for the case, and then that money was intentionally retrieved back out as tax deductible operating expenses paid to a group of individuals in the past. He promises the independent review board appointed by him will explain everything, and he will get a 501c3 designation. Which one can observe on the side, if awarded retroactively due to the nonprofit nature of the business which has been claimed up to now, may make the inconvenient word 'tax' disappear to some extent. IANAL, but perhaps it would even make the recent 'donation' tax deductible, so one could take a deduction on donating to pay yourself via your corporation at a tax deducted rate in the past, which you could donate again, etc.
That does not compute!
Error! Error!
In AxaLand, that's not a bug, it's a feature!
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