I was also taken. There was no sign of the con at the time, but I was taken. My contribution was to make a fan flim, not an independent Star Trek feature, and certainly not for a studio.
I got the same email from Ares Studios earlier this week. I can remember being on this board being pro-Axanar when it didn't seem like it was a scam. I sensed something was up when I got their "annual report" and saw that salaries had been taken, and that there were auto expenses and cell phone bills paid. That became an instant red flag. Also this new person in charge of the studio, they claim was involved in 6 other fan films. Which ones? The email didn't say.
I'm no longer active in the donor Facebook group, and haven't been for several years. I remember once asking AP why he couldn't have it be the Constitution-class ships that turned the tide of the war. I also pointed out that there were sets out there that he might have been able torent in order to make the movie if he'd adapt his script to it. He gave me some excuse about how he had to have the Ares, and couldn't make Axanar without the Ares. I thought it was a lame excuse.
Axanar has really soured me on wanting to make or be involved with fan films. I still watch them, but I have no desire to make one or contribute to any financially anymore. Even ones I contributed to in the past that followed through with their film, and perk. It makes me think of the phrase one bad apple spoils a bunch.
I really believe Axanar will never get made. I no longer want to see Alec Peters version of Axanar, and my blu-ray of Prelude has been in a drawer in the back of my closet since the lawsuit and hasn't been watched since. The Interlude film was not good at all, and I've read 2 versions of the Axanar script that was all space battles. There was no growth or character development.
