Luckily the internet is forgettable. Also, Alec has been a model client and hasn't said anything to the contrary multiple times in the past year.
CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
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I don't know, the opening seems big enough for his head.
But, come on, he paid it ALL back!
Until I see the transactions proving he paid it back, I call bullshit. But, why pay yourself if you had money to begin with?
Based on Alec Peters' recent post claiming he'd "said many times" Axanar had $267,000 left at the end of 2015 (p.s. I don't remember him having EVER said so), I've calculated how much at least (and at most) he had to have spent on finishing Industry Studios to have been out of money by May 2016. Here's how that totals up.
tl;dr the studio cost $475,957-$742,957
tl;dr the studio cost $475,957-$742,957
Wow. They sorta glossed over a ton of details. The warehouse. The merchandise. If you just listen to them, it's like Axanar is just like any other fan film.
The woman who was making the Jem fan film said, "I'm following it closely" just totally never brought up those details.
Would you except hand written receipts?
Basically:Based on Alec Peters' recent post claiming he'd "said many times" Axanar had $267,000 left at the end of 2015 (p.s. I don't remember him having EVER said so), I've calculated how much at least (and at most) he had to have spent on finishing Industry Studios to have been out of money by May 2016. Here's how that totals up.
tl;dr the studio cost $475,957-$742,957
Alec Peters: "Don't listen to what I said...listen to what I'm saying now!"
Actually, if they try to argue that Axanar is different from TOS because it has huge multi-ship combat culminating in a massive fleet action over Axanar, I would point out that DS9 also featured large space battles in The Dominion War. Also, it's already been pointed out that DS9 had at least one narrative-style episode, so the Prelude "documentary" format was not unique.
Indeed
Hobby = How many many times I've read the defendant 'himself' saying this is and has been a full time job, that he has worked on this full time, even if I'm remembering correctly sometimes mentioning 60-80 hours a week. Ms. Diana too. Which was repeatedly his explanation for why they 'deserved' those salaries. (before they became not-salaries I mean)
"Don't listen to what I said...listen to what I'm saying now!"
Exactly
Wait, what? Multi million dollar film?
I don't EVER remember him saying that either.
"Don't listen to what I said...listen to what I'm saying now!"
Indeed
No Klingon For You! On AxaMonitor: In a ruling today, the judge in the Axanar case avoids issue of whether Klingon language can be copyrighted by rejecting Language Creation Society's request to submit yet another amicus brief alongside the defense.
Daaaaamn. Klausner wasn't pulling punches. The whole thing screams, "the rules force me to let the jury determine your guilt, but I sure as hell want to!"
My only question: can the sarcasm (in the form of so many highly amusing Trek references) come back to bite the judge? Can Peters' team go to the appeals court and suggest that this implies the judge was biased?
I hesitate to ask such a question for fear of giving them ideas, but it does need to be asked for those of us not so well versed in legal shenanigans.
My only question: can the sarcasm (in the form of so many highly amusing Trek references) come back to bite the judge? Can Peters' team go to the appeals court and suggest that this implies the judge was biased?
I hesitate to ask such a question for fear of giving them ideas, but it does need to be asked for those of us not so well versed in legal shenanigans.
Nah. Appeals court judges engage in similar shenanigans. Witness this pithy Ninth Circuit decision from 2015:
New bloggeroonie about the various Axa-stuff which has happened recently.
http://www.semanticshenanigans.com/axanar-summary-judgment-motion-rulings/
As always, thank you so much for your kind support.
http://www.semanticshenanigans.com/axanar-summary-judgment-motion-rulings/
As always, thank you so much for your kind support.
They (the Defense) can argue ANYTHING they think was 'improper' to get an Appeal. BUT, (and I've said this before) - Judges are Human - meaning they often interject anecdotes and quips in rulings depending on the case/situation. Judge Klausner's rulings and actions (if Axanar 'loses' and Appeals) will be judged on their legal merit only (IE are they properly supported by existing laws/proper rules of Trial procedures.) Hell, I've seen amusing quips in U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
I will say that after reading Judge Klauser's full Summary Judgement motion, and particularly this:
In the bolded part above Judge Klausner is effectively saying the Jury must agree that the 'Axanar Works' are subjectively and substantially similar to the official Star Trek productions that CBS/Paramount holds copyrights for. I have a real feeling Alec Peters somehow believes in court he can charm/get 9 (of the 12 Jurors) to NOT find the 'Axanar Works' are NOT subjectively and substantially similar to official Star Trek - and effectively he's 'off the hook' completely - although were that to happen CBS/Paramount could (and probably would) Appeal on the basis that the Judge himself found both contributory and vicarious infringement; and that the Judge tying his findings to a further specified Jury finding is improper/unfair, etc.
And here's the thing if any Axanar donor happens to be summoned for Jury duty and gets on the panel:
You'll be asked to answer questions UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY. That means if you misrepresent yourself in your answers and that is discovered (and believe me Lawyers WILL look into all perspective Juror backgrounds); you'll be facing criminal perjury charges; and as a result (depending on the situation) a mistrial could be declared and any verdict reached set aside (thrown out); and the case re-tried. <--- And this could happen even after the case was concluded if verifiable evidence was shown that you lied.
So yeah (and IMO), any hopes Alec Peters has of somehow 'stacking the Jury' in his favor are remote; and once empanelled, most Jurors do take things very seriously and listen to the Judge's instructions, etc. So yeah, I don't think Alec Peters will succeed in converting 9 of 12 Jurors to 'Axanar Fans' who rule based on the fact that because of what they saw/heard on the case; THEY want to see the Axanar feature film get made.
However, I honestly do think that somewhere in the back of Alec Peters delusional state of mind with regard to all things 'Axanar'; he believes he CAN convert 9 or 12 Jurors into 'Axanar fans'; and avoid a finding against him.
We'll see.
The reported statement from Mike Bawden...
"Alec told me earlier today, it’s just a lawsuit. It’s just business. It was essentially a hobby for him. He didn’t work in the film business before Axanar, and if he loses this case, he likely won’t work in the film business afterward. That’s not a sinking ship; it’s just status quo.
...just made me go "Huh!?" Just a lawsuit, just business? To misquote Star Wars "the Kool-Aid is strong with this one!" Who thinks like that?
"Alec told me earlier today, it’s just a lawsuit. It’s just business. It was essentially a hobby for him. He didn’t work in the film business before Axanar, and if he loses this case, he likely won’t work in the film business afterward. That’s not a sinking ship; it’s just status quo.
...just made me go "Huh!?" Just a lawsuit, just business? To misquote Star Wars "the Kool-Aid is strong with this one!" Who thinks like that?
You just keep telling yourself that, Peters.
This is a transcribed excerpt from the August 30, 2015, Axanar Podcast (#31):
"I, I’ve often said, “Look, in my world the best case scenario is that, when they go to make the next Star Trek series, someone says ‘We need to talk to those Axanar guys ‘cause they’re really sharp. And that, that would, like, be the all-time great win in my book—is to get a meeting with them. Other than that, we have no illusions. I know Rob and I have talked about this many times. We have no illusions that anything will ever happen with Axanar. And, you know what, that’s fine. The fact that the fans—so many fans—consider this canon and in their little headcanon and love it to death and believe that we are carrying the flag of Star Trek that’s been basically dropped—there’s no Star Trek on TV and, you know, what Paramount’s putting out is more like Guardians of the Galaxy than Star Trek. So, you know, fans love us and that’s what we’re going for. We wanna continue to please the fans and do as best we can to not offend CBS. And if they do get offended by us, sorry, we’re tryin’ our best. And I think, I really thing that Axanar is nothing but good for CBS. They can—you know, yes we’re using your IP and, you know, you may get upset that we’ve raised so much money, but, you know what? We are doing more positive for the Star Trek franchise than anything CBS or Paramount is doing outside of making a movie. ‘Cause what else are they doing?"
I think, despite paying lip-service to the unlikelihood of the scenario, Peters really was hoping to jump start a Hollywood career. If this had been a "once and done" sort of thing then he wouldn't have built a studio, talked about producing all sorts of sci-fi content, or tried to arrange a Netflix deal. Peters doesn't appear able to handle failure, however, so now that he's failed he has to rewrite the story so that he never wanted it in the first place.
"Awwwe this is a dumb old game anyway. I"m taking my toys and going home!"
Did he get paid when he was the "Star Trek Archivist" or was it unofficial? Cos if he was, doesn't that count as being in the film business?
Either that, or he believes that he has the Kilgrave magic pheromone breath.
Don't let him breathe on you! If you value your net worth, don't let him breathe on you!
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