JAMES CAWLEY SPEAKS!
- Thread starter HerbFlynn
- Start date
The "brainless Ferengi" in this case are the ones who tried to make an ongoing commercial venture out of CBS's intellectual property in gross violation of the law. James is a victim, yes, but he's not a victim of CBS.
Maybe, but I still don't like the idea of him having to give up just because of that. Unless he assumes command once again, we may never see Richard Hatch's final performance in "Torment of Destiny." Don't tell me that James T. Kirk is giving up because of a seemingly "no-win scenario." If he is, then may whatever god you believe in have mercy on your soul.
This doesn't actually touch on reality at any point.
James T. Kirk is a fictional character.
The captain that you speak of has a licensing deal with CBS so he can have official tours of his sets.
So, do you want him to fuck that up?
Or, going by how you feel about CBS, how do you feel that the "captain" just made a good deal with the Ferengi?
And maybe he chose to give up because of totally unrelated reasons.
^^^
Hardly simple. They (CBS) would either have to license one or more episodes (no, not easy because if they give one group special licensing or a reduced license fee - it would hurt them in any future licensing negotiations with companies seeking a license on something Star Trek related.) So, no, it's not all that simple a situation here.
I have always thought fan films should have been licensed like they did video games or the comics. Why not? They licensed almost everything else under the sun! Different projects, different arrangements,different fees.
You'd have to create a department to monitor fan films' content if you did that. That alone would cause licensing fees that FAN films couldn't afford.
I think ST Continues is certainly a good test case regarding the rules v. guidelines semantics. They still have a few episodes to release and at least one was released after the guidelines if not two.
They seem ok.
And if nothing happens to ST Continues, then we should tip the hat to Paramount for having the sense to leave people who have done nothing but good for the franchise alone. It would also mean a lot to not only the fans, but to ST New Voyages, because it would show that Paramount IS taking it on a case by case basis.
With this tour, and his cameo in ST09, I would guess that Cawley is not as much a fan anymore as he now has a business relationship with Paramount. If that's true, maybe that's why he wants to set an example and doesn't want to be seen as going against Paramount in any way. And if that's what happens, I think he earned that with the hard work and time he put into these projects.
I would love to see his final episodes though not because he owes anyone anything, but because I enjoyed his work from the beginning. He not only made quite a few good episodes, I don't think ST Continues happens without him, so I owe him a thank you.
They seem ok.
And if nothing happens to ST Continues, then we should tip the hat to Paramount for having the sense to leave people who have done nothing but good for the franchise alone. It would also mean a lot to not only the fans, but to ST New Voyages, because it would show that Paramount IS taking it on a case by case basis.
With this tour, and his cameo in ST09, I would guess that Cawley is not as much a fan anymore as he now has a business relationship with Paramount. If that's true, maybe that's why he wants to set an example and doesn't want to be seen as going against Paramount in any way. And if that's what happens, I think he earned that with the hard work and time he put into these projects.
I would love to see his final episodes though not because he owes anyone anything, but because I enjoyed his work from the beginning. He not only made quite a few good episodes, I don't think ST Continues happens without him, so I owe him a thank you.
Star Trek would be so awesome if it weren't for the fans.
I don't get this statement. It doesn't mean he's any less than a fan because he has a business relationship with CBS. It just means he's found a way to turn his fandom into a living. And good on him for that.
The guidelines don't guarantee that you won't get hit if you follow them and they're no guarantee that you will be hit if you don't follow them to the letter. They simply represent the mindset of the current regime at CBS/P. There is no guarantee that a new regime won't have a completely different take. The guidelines are useful, but they don't supersede the LAW and the constant whining from certain people that CBS/P refused to give them any before suing them is completely disingenuous and/or stupid.
Well, I think if you follow them, and you get hit, Paramount looks very stupid, and it would be hard to defend that. I think a group would win against Paramount should they follow Paramount's own guidelines.
As for not following them, I think ST: Continues is showing that it's not impossible to ignore the guidelines. You just have to not piss off Paramount. That said, I get why anyone would feel that they don't want to take a risk.
To my knowledge, only one group made Paramount so mad that Paramount did something about it, and I feel that group hurt the whole genre for everyone, which is a shame. They have no complaint either.
As for not following them, I think ST: Continues is showing that it's not impossible to ignore the guidelines. You just have to not piss off Paramount. That said, I get why anyone would feel that they don't want to take a risk.
To my knowledge, only one group made Paramount so mad that Paramount did something about it, and I feel that group hurt the whole genre for everyone, which is a shame. They have no complaint either.
You would not win. Fan Films violate the law and guidelines are NOT permission to violate the law. No one has the power to give you permission to violate the law. Yes, CBS/P would look stupid/arrogant whatever, however, there is no guarantee that the people who came up with these guidelines will always be calling the shots. A new regime might see the matter differently.
People have an innate sense of justice. When one person gets slapped and another gets a free-pass, they feel that it's a miscarriage of justice. That is, unfortunately, how copyright violations work. It's not just here, it's also on Youtube where you see millions of songs and even albums floating around seemingly immune from flagging where others get immediately flagged.
Citing the law doesn't change the fact that at a deep level humans strive for equal treatment. I know it seems ridiculous to mention this in the context of fan-films in the sense that nobody's entitled to use the Star Trek property, but that sense of fair-play doesn't give a crap about IP law. All it wants is for there to be a level playing field in which one person isn't allowed to get away with stuff and another person gets smacked.
The guidelines were intended to try to clue people in on what kinds of things would be construed as crossing over the line. While Axanar is the worst offender, the fact of the matter is Continues DOES cross the line too. It does so creatively but maybe not monetarily, but cross the line it does.
For CBS not to act basically throws everything back into the gray area of implied favoritism. No matter how much we'd like to see Continues wrap unimpeded, it does not feel fair in comparison to other aspiring fan-filmmakers who have canceled or curtailed their projects. It basically punishes the little-guy for not being able to create something high enough quality to be protected by a shield of fan-love.
IMHO, it would have been better had the guidelines not veered into putting creative shackles on fan-films and only put restrictions on fundraising.
Like it or not, as long as copyright law allows IP holders to enforce it as they see fit, the only way to avoid claims of favoritism is to simply shut everyone down the way Anne Rice does. No favoritism there.
It's not a miscarriage of justice. Please show me ANY other group that was actively marketing their own Star Trek themed merchandise in an online donor store or claiming they were 'the true 'gatekeepers' of the Star Trek IP. Its apples and oranges here.
