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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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cultcross said:
I realise I'm a bit behind the times but I just got through reading the leaked script and the Axanar Sporkings. Firstly, a great commentary. Very balanced, and picks out the problems with the script (primarily, Garth Sue) while making it clear what bits were good and what bits could have been good if they hadn't insisted on doing a 'glory of war' show with a flawless lead.
I'm imagining an alternative Axanar, where Garth shows the seeds of his megalomania as he risks everything for personal glory against the D7s and we see him almost become Khan in his obsessiveness, seen through the eyes of his crew. That could potentially be an awesome story, it's a shame that the ego of the writer playing the lead couldn't bring himself to write that.
What we have instead is poor fan fiction.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just read through the Sporkings, though not the actual script, and what surprised me most was that I just assumed the whole point of using the character of Garth of Izar in a prequel is to show his fall from grace. On the other hand, if it was going to be a hagiography, what I liked about Prelude was that, while it was going to be a Trek war story, it looked like it would be a Trek war story, in that it would be less about war than it would be about how to end a war through empathy. The Sporking summaries certainly didn't read that way either.

There is a great Garth story to be told, but this didn't seem to be it.

The analysis was spot on and fair, though it did certainly expose a lot of the problems with official Trek storytelling, as well as fan fiction Trek. It kind of bummed me out a bit, but in what's probably a good and productive way, as it made me question what I think I know about storytelling. It made storytelling seem appropriately hard, and showed just how much work goes into great storytelling.
 
Krandor said:
In today's installment of Alec Peters Douchbaggery he spends a blog about the new fan film studio taking credit for the studio, accusing cbs of ripping off axanar with discovery, and ends with talking about how his film school is going to be so much better then this one and praises cawley for taking his idea and making it happen.

http://www.axanarproductions.com/cbs-announces-star-trek-film-academy/
Click to expand...

Next on Megalomaniac Musings, credit is taken for the concept of movies, the concept of written words, and all the technologies thereto, because there was a time when within a radius of 6 inches of the center of Lord of Garth's brain, those things were not known to that consciousness.

The entire Axanar enterprise is derivative, an attempt to feed off of the creativity of others. Even the excuses are derivative. No, "fill in some of the story with details from an existing game" is not original, or stealable. No, creating a nonprofit arts organization in support of amateur filmmakers is not original. The SF standard of "posit a new plausible concept and explore its implications" is utterly absent. In its place is fan-bathing in extant dearly held Trek identity, and nothing else.
 
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Krandor said:
In today's installment of Alec Peters Douchbaggery he spends a blog about the new fan film studio taking credit for the studio, accusing cbs of ripping off axanar with discovery, and ends with talking about how his film school is going to be so much better then this one and praises cawley for taking his idea and making it happen.

http://www.axanarproductions.com/cbs-announces-star-trek-film-academy/
Click to expand...
Lazy cross posting. I felt that steaming pile of horse manure deserved a response.


My response to Alec's latest. He's a special special, so I used some words. His words are set aside in quotes and mine in brackets because Facebook makes it hard to format.

"On Saturday, August 6th at the Star Trek Las Vegas Conveton, CBS announced that they are licensing James Cawley and his Original Series Set Tour attraction to create Star Trek Film Academy, basically a film school for Star Trek fans. In addition to James, Star Trek alumni Doug Drexler, Mike and Denise Okuda and Daren Dochterman were also involved in the project."

<Please use spell check – it’s free, and even you can afford free.>

"And to this we say Bravo!"

<How nice – who is the “we” you are referring to?>

'You know why?"

<I’m sure you’ll tell us!>

"Because when I was working with producer Gary Evans to help James find his new studio location, I wound up talking to the economic development people in Ticonderoga about the landlord’s desire for the location to offer something that would be a positive influence to the community."

<When you were "working with someone" you name (whose viewpoint towards your own actions is unknown) you met other people you don’t name and allegedly discussed some vague positive desire on the landlord’s part. This is a remarkably fluffed statement – even for you. Surprisingly, very few landlords wish for their properties to be NEGATIVE influences on the community, so I am sure the economic development people for a town of less than 10,000 people really appreciated you stating the obvious, even though you were just an assistant for a person working with a potential TENANT, not a representative of the landlord. I hope you paid for their coffee, or at least didn’t bug them too much when they were using the urinal next to yours. >

"A film school was part of those original discussions (as I was reminded by one of James’s former crew members the other day). "

<I notice you do not state that YOU were part of the discussions about a “film school” just that they took place. If you HAD been part of those discussions, trust me, no one would have to “remind” you.>

"It was part of what that studio was meant to do from the beginning and kudos to James for tenaciously seeing it through."

<Correct. Seeing a project through to the end is indeed something worth complimenting. I’m sure that since you are a gracious person, you will stop here.>

"Now, many our fans have noted Axanar announced a Sci Fi Film School in my January 11, 2015 and have concluded that CBS is ripping us off. In fact, that really isn’t the case."

<Oh. You didn’t stop. Wish you would have.
Quick note – CBS can’t “rip someone off” when they don’t use any of your original characters, settings, story ideas, ships, or even costumes that were derived from their IP. So just stop it, and tell your fans to stop it.>

"Oh sure, we can have fun discussing how Star Trek Discovery may have been influenced by Axanar (e.g. the show takes place the same year as Prelude, it involves the conflict with the Klingons, and that ship sure looks like the Ares…); but the Star Trek Film Academy is something that was originally envisioned to be done at the Ticonderoga studio."

<I can have fun discussing how The Force Awakens was influenced by the doodles I made on my notebook when I was a teenager, and my discussion would be just as valid.
The ship (which one?) looks nothing like the Ares – which is based on designs that have been part of the CBS IP for decades, so EVEN IF IT WAS AN EXACT COPY…it was already owned by them, so they can use it anyway they see fit.
“Conflict with the Klingons” is an idea that came from a series your mother used to wake you up to watch. It’s not your idea, bub.
The show’s date means nothing. The little documentary that was made by actual industry professionals that gave you access to almost 2 million dollars that you used poorly or squandered on your personal expenses has nothing to do with Discovery, isn’t canon, and could take place at any chosen fictional date and it wouldn’t matter. Get some perspective.>

"So even though CBS knew about our plans for the Sci Fi Film School – I pitched the idea of licensing it as a Trek-related project to John Van Citters from CBS in 2015 and was turned down – I don’t see CBS ripping us off."

<I love passive-aggressive people. You stated a few sentences back that a “film school” was part of the original discussions when James Cawley was looking for a place to house his project.
So fast-forward several years later, and you pitch the SAME idea to JVC, presumably around the same time James was working with CBS to finalize the license for his Studio Tour? HAHAHAHAHAHA!
I’m shocked they turned you down. I’m grateful that you don’t see CBS as “ripping you off”, because that notion is delusional.>

"Furthermore, the Sci Fi Film School, which we hope to launch after we’ve finished Axanar, is a completely different animal."

<Correct, it’s an imaginary animal. Perhaps you ought to put a tiny bit of effort into finishing what you promised the Axanar donors, before planning to do something else you can’t afford and don’t know how to complete.>

"As I understand it, the Star Trek Film Academy is meant to be like the old Universal Star Trek ride, where you get to don a uniform and be put into a scripted movie, most of which has already been shot."

<How prescient. Your level of understanding allows you to contradict all the public comments on the project, even though you aren’t involved in the project in any way. I can see how you were able to make such a wise choice when you signed a three year lease for a warehouse that needed major renovation before it could be not be used to produce any of the fan film you didn’t complete.>

"Our intended market for the Sci Fi Film School is people who want to become sci-fi film makers."

<So your “intended market” for a thing that doesn’t exist is people who want to something you don’t know how to do? Jeff Bezos wishes he could be like you.>

"Star Trek Film Academy is meant for Star Trek fans, Sci Fi Film School for film makers interested in telling their own stories and raising their game. Both can exist in the same universe, and in my opinion, they should (and hopefully will) support each other."

<A business that has an established infrastructure, corporate support, and an actual plan of action can co-exist with a business that is entirely conceptual? That’s true, just like the New England Patriots can co-exist with my team consisting of the clones of NFL All-Stars.
Will they support each other? I’ll let you know when Robert Kraft answers my emails. Don’t you go and rip me off! We both know that’s bad.>

"Now we know that’s unlikely (we don’t expect CBS to do anything to help us), ..."

<Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.>

"...but we certainly hope fans who just want to get a feel for what it is like to make a Star Trek fan film on some amazing, TOS-era sets will go to the Film Academy."

<That’s the idea.>

"Other fans who have compelling stories of their own will come to the Sci Fi Film School."

<When it’s created, and its location is chosen, and its built, and it’s funded, and you market it. Hopefully those ‘compelling stories’ aren’t all that necessary to make in the next decade or two. Also, I think you might want to remember what happened the last time you publicly tried to create a competitor to a corporation’s product. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well.>

"On a side note, I think it is interesting that CBS has finally found a way to monetize fan films."

<Hold on, you shared your understanding with us that this whole thing was just a pre-made VHS tape they could star in and show their family. Now they have “monetized” fan films? Internal consistency is something that is needed both in blog posts and movie scripts, which is something I’m sure they will teach at the Star Trek Film School. Perhaps you should sign up for a class.>

"I had been encouraging them to develop their relationship with fan film producers since 2012 and give fan films more exposure."

<You have spent more than five years encouraging them to make it easier for you to make money… I mean, “fundraise”? How altruistic of you.>

"That James has managed to turn a donor-funded studio into a licensed, for-profit business is a positive step forward."

<In contrast with YOUR donor funded warehouse which was turned into a free improvement for the landlord when you couldn’t afford the lease anymore and your haphazard fundraising campaign crashed and burned.
Funny how things work out when you do it the right way, but I know you will have lots of fun in Lawrenceville, GA - the next hot spot in the burgeoning prop storage business.>

"Congratulations James and good luck!"

<I’m sure he was waiting with bated breath to hear your response to the news.>

"Alec"
 
Jedi_Master said:
Lazy cross posting. I felt that steaming pile of horse manure deserved a response.


My response to Alec's latest. He's a special special, so I used some words. His words are set aside in quotes and mine in brackets because Facebook makes it hard to format.

"On Saturday, August 6th at the Star Trek Las Vegas Conveton, CBS announced that they are licensing James Cawley and his Original Series Set Tour attraction to create Star Trek Film Academy, basically a film school for Star Trek fans. In addition to James, Star Trek alumni Doug Drexler, Mike and Denise Okuda and Daren Dochterman were also involved in the project."

<Please use spell check – it’s free, and even you can afford free.>

"And to this we say Bravo!"

<How nice – who is the “we” you are referring to?>

'You know why?"

<I’m sure you’ll tell us!>

"Because when I was working with producer Gary Evans to help James find his new studio location, I wound up talking to the economic development people in Ticonderoga about the landlord’s desire for the location to offer something that would be a positive influence to the community."

<When you were "working with someone" you name (whose viewpoint towards your own actions is unknown) you met other people you don’t name and allegedly discussed some vague positive desire on the landlord’s part. This is a remarkably fluffed statement – even for you. Surprisingly, very few landlords wish for their properties to be NEGATIVE influences on the community, so I am sure the economic development people for a town of less than 10,000 people really appreciated you stating the obvious, even though you were just an assistant for a person working with a potential TENANT, not a representative of the landlord. I hope you paid for their coffee, or at least didn’t bug them too much when they were using the urinal next to yours. >

"A film school was part of those original discussions (as I was reminded by one of James’s former crew members the other day). "

<I notice you do not state that YOU were part of the discussions about a “film school” just that they took place. If you HAD been part of those discussions, trust me, no one would have to “remind” you.>

"It was part of what that studio was meant to do from the beginning and kudos to James for tenaciously seeing it through."

<Correct. Seeing a project through to the end is indeed something worth complimenting. I’m sure that since you are a gracious person, you will stop here.>

"Now, many our fans have noted Axanar announced a Sci Fi Film School in my January 11, 2015 and have concluded that CBS is ripping us off. In fact, that really isn’t the case."

<Oh. You didn’t stop. Wish you would have.
Quick note – CBS can’t “rip someone off” when they don’t use any of your original characters, settings, story ideas, ships, or even costumes that were derived from their IP. So just stop it, and tell your fans to stop it.>

"Oh sure, we can have fun discussing how Star Trek Discovery may have been influenced by Axanar (e.g. the show takes place the same year as Prelude, it involves the conflict with the Klingons, and that ship sure looks like the Ares…); but the Star Trek Film Academy is something that was originally envisioned to be done at the Ticonderoga studio."

<I can have fun discussing how The Force Awakens was influenced by the doodles I made on my notebook when I was a teenager, and my discussion would be just as valid.
The ship (which one?) looks nothing like the Ares – which is based on designs that have been part of the CBS IP for decades, so EVEN IF IT WAS AN EXACT COPY…it was already owned by them, so they can use it anyway they see fit.
“Conflict with the Klingons” is an idea that came from a series your mother used to wake you up to watch. It’s not your idea, bub.
The show’s date means nothing. The little documentary that was made by actual industry professionals that gave you access to almost 2 million dollars that you used poorly or squandered on your personal expenses has nothing to do with Discovery, isn’t canon, and could take place at any chosen fictional date and it wouldn’t matter. Get some perspective.>

"So even though CBS knew about our plans for the Sci Fi Film School – I pitched the idea of licensing it as a Trek-related project to John Van Citters from CBS in 2015 and was turned down – I don’t see CBS ripping us off."

<I love passive-aggressive people. You stated a few sentences back that a “film school” was part of the original discussions when James Cawley was looking for a place to house his project.
So fast-forward several years later, and you pitch the SAME idea to JVC, presumably around the same time James was working with CBS to finalize the license for his Studio Tour? HAHAHAHAHAHA!
I’m shocked they turned you down. I’m grateful that you don’t see CBS as “ripping you off”, because that notion is delusional.>

"Furthermore, the Sci Fi Film School, which we hope to launch after we’ve finished Axanar, is a completely different animal."

<Correct, it’s an imaginary animal. Perhaps you ought to put a tiny bit of effort into finishing what you promised the Axanar donors, before planning to do something else you can’t afford and don’t know how to complete.>

"As I understand it, the Star Trek Film Academy is meant to be like the old Universal Star Trek ride, where you get to don a uniform and be put into a scripted movie, most of which has already been shot."

<How prescient. Your level of understanding allows you to contradict all the public comments on the project, even though you aren’t involved in the project in any way. I can see how you were able to make such a wise choice when you signed a three year lease for a warehouse that needed major renovation before it could be not be used to produce any of the fan film you didn’t complete.>

"Our intended market for the Sci Fi Film School is people who want to become sci-fi film makers."

<So your “intended market” for a thing that doesn’t exist is people who want to something you don’t know how to do? Jeff Bezos wishes he could be like you.>

"Star Trek Film Academy is meant for Star Trek fans, Sci Fi Film School for film makers interested in telling their own stories and raising their game. Both can exist in the same universe, and in my opinion, they should (and hopefully will) support each other."

<A business that has an established infrastructure, corporate support, and an actual plan of action can co-exist with a business that is entirely conceptual? That’s true, just like the New England Patriots can co-exist with my team consisting of the clones of NFL All-Stars.
Will they support each other? I’ll let you know when Robert Kraft answers my emails. Don’t you go and rip me off! We both know that’s bad.>

"Now we know that’s unlikely (we don’t expect CBS to do anything to help us), ..."

<Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.>

"...but we certainly hope fans who just want to get a feel for what it is like to make a Star Trek fan film on some amazing, TOS-era sets will go to the Film Academy."

<That’s the idea.>

"Other fans who have compelling stories of their own will come to the Sci Fi Film School."

<When it’s created, and its location is chosen, and its built, and it’s funded, and you market it. Hopefully those ‘compelling stories’ aren’t all that necessary to make in the next decade or two. Also, I think you might want to remember what happened the last time you publicly tried to create a competitor to a corporation’s product. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well.>

"On a side note, I think it is interesting that CBS has finally found a way to monetize fan films."

<Hold on, you shared your understanding with us that this whole thing was just a pre-made VHS tape they could star in and show their family. Now they have “monetized” fan films? Internal consistency is something that is needed both in blog posts and movie scripts, which is something I’m sure they will teach at the Star Trek Film School. Perhaps you should sign up for a class.>

"I had been encouraging them to develop their relationship with fan film producers since 2012 and give fan films more exposure."

<You have spent more than five years encouraging them to make it easier for you to make money… I mean, “fundraise”? How altruistic of you.>

"That James has managed to turn a donor-funded studio into a licensed, for-profit business is a positive step forward."

<In contrast with YOUR donor funded warehouse which was turned into a free improvement for the landlord when you couldn’t afford the lease anymore and your haphazard fundraising campaign crashed and burned.
Funny how things work out when you do it the right way, but I know you will have lots of fun in Lawrenceville, GA - the next hot spot in the burgeoning prop storage business.>

"Congratulations James and good luck!"

<I’m sure he was waiting with bated breath to hear your response to the news.>

"Alec"
Click to expand...

Great work there. Bravo. and so to the point.
 
Jedi_Master said:
<Please use spell check – it’s free, and even you can afford free.>
Click to expand...
I love that. May I borrow it sometime?
<Correct. Seeing a project through to the end is indeed something worth complimenting.
Click to expand...
Given that Mr. Peters didn't even see the law suite thru to the end, after declaring that he was ready to Appeal any negative ruling, how much faith do you have in him setting up a competing "film school"??
 
Sgt_G said:
I love that. May I borrow it sometime?
Given that Mr. Peters didn't even see the law suite thru to the end, after declaring that he was ready to Appeal any negative ruling, how much faith do you have in him setting up a competing "film school"??
Click to expand...
I'd love to see him try to secure funding for the film school, given his history with financing his projects.

I'll bet he'll be the instructor for the writing class, as well.
 
Sgt_G said:
I love that. May I borrow it sometime?
Given that Mr. Peters didn't even see the law suite thru to the end, after declaring that he was ready to Appeal any negative ruling, how much faith do you have in him setting up a competing "film school"??
Click to expand...
Go for it. I've applied for 501(c)3 status anyway, so making a profit on this stuff might be "uncool."
 
The Alec Peters' Sci Fi Fan Film School, Studio, and Coffee Shop presents its 2024-2025 catalog
Please note that any class scheduled to be taught by Alec Peters, Professor Emeritus and Keeper of the Faith™ may at any time be taught by a volunteer adjunct. Students who purchase the premium access package are not exempt from this, although they can request additional graduation patches (selection may vary and is determined by the school).
AP1701: The Principals of Success Fundraising
Learn how to leverage large corporate intellectual property, lax oversight, and large legal loopholes to create a perpetual source of large and small donations. Special emphasis is placed on creating "safe spaces" for the largest and most faithful donors, how to get donors to donate repeatedly for the same donor rewards, and how to use vague text messages and poor communication to drive creative (unpaid) assistants to innovate. (Prerequisite: Appropriate donation package, effusive praise for Alec Peters on social media, ability to pay for all course materials and three - to four oil changes for Alec Peters' vehicle)

Feel free to add courses.
 
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