CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

[sttngfan1701d]

Personally I've never understood the "_____ must be afraid of _____ to shut us down!" mentality. Fill in the blanks. Why would a huge network and studio be afraid of a small project with a budget that equals the salary of 2 Big Bang Theory cast members per episode? It's not about CBS being afraid. It's about their stupid Team Axanar or whatever they call themselves screwing up royally and mismanaging funds and not keeping their mouths shut.

A bunch of us wanted to see this film. I know I did. But it ain't gonna happen now. It's over. And adopting some sort of cult siege mentality isn't going to accomplish anything. Why can't they see the mismanagement that in all likelihood wou;d've sunk this project even if CBS hadn't sued? The writing's been on the wall for months.

 

[Zaminhon]

http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/31/media/star-trek-axanar-cbs-paramount/index.html

It's ironic that Axanar has made the headlines and has unparalleled publicity of any fan film yet it will never be made.

 

[Woulfe]

What a way to start 2016, the 50th year of Star Trek...
You know what, I could do a parody call Axenerd w/ zero costs to anyone...
Then watch folks try to shut me down simply out of spite...
Yea, I could do that, just to take the piss out of this whole mess...
Humor... It is a difficult concept...

 

[Amaris]

I've noticed that before the lawsuit, Axanar was going to be the superior Trek, the best fan letter ever, but after the lawsuit, "it's just a couple of fans with some cameras doing something they love."

Yeah, it's waaaaaaay more than that. It may have started that way, but it became a merchandising / donation machine.

 

[OpenMaw]

See, back in the day, a donation was like "Hey, send us five bucks so we can keep the lights on and make this thing." Or "Hey, help feed the cast and crew so we can make this thing. We'll put your name in the credits."

 

[Danlav05]

I'm thinking of writing a docudrama about all this when it's done, a comedy about 2 nerds who use unorthodox methods to make a fan film but I need advice.

In order to raise funds for my indie film, should I pitch it as an unofficial sequel to Free Enterprise?!

 

[YellowSubmarine]

That's an incredibly depressing, if not unexpected, development. I still hold some hopes things take another turn, which somehow allows for the film to be made. I really wanted to see it. And I certainly hope that other fan productions, particularly Renegades, are not halted – but I am not optimistic about that either.

Whatever the Axanar guys did crossing the line, that was unethical first and foremost to the people who donated to it. CBS or Paramount wouldn't be genuinely affected by this release (and for them to be would be an utmost complement to any fan production out there). And the worst thing that could happen to those who donated is for Axanar to not be made at all, which is what is about to happen, so however you spin it, a fatal lawsuit makes the whole thing worse for everybody.

And that's what is making me pissed. Star Trek is integral part of our popular culture, it's an established classic with which half of the world, even non-fans, has grown up with. When it, and the story of Garth, and the Battle of Axanar, first came out many of us weren't even born. Many of those who were to star in the revisit, or wrote it weren't born. I suspect some of those now holding the rights and suing weren't born then. Gene Roddenberry, Lee Erwin, Jerry Sohl and Herb Wallerstein are, sadly, no longer among us. If there was any fairness to it, we would have been able to explore the classic story anew without the need of approval from some kids who found some rights in their backyard. It was enough that the project was mismanaged to begin with, sinking it completely is something I could do without.

For all the questionable behaviour that came from the Axanar guys, the court action makes me be on their side on this one. (Or maybe I just like being on losing side? Who knows.) I am almost ready to declare a boycott, although I was forward looking to Beyond more than I was looking forward to Axanar (duh!) But I can claim boycott on the TV series – neither I know anything about it, nor it will air where I live, so I can do that safely (only to change my mind later).

 

[OpenMaw]

For all the questionable behaviour that came from the Axanar guys, the court action makes me be on their side on this one. (Or maybe I just like being on losing side? Who knows.) I am almost ready to declare a boycott, although I was forward looking to Beyond more than I was looking forward to Axanar (duh!) But I can claim boycott on the TV series – neither I know anything about it, nor it will air where I live, so I can do that safely (only to change my mind later).

A boycott only works if you have something to trade. If you never could have watched it legally/legitimately in the first place, you're not really boycotting anything.

Axanar is flat out in the wrong here. There's not a question at this point.

 

[Relayer1]

I think Axanar's pleas that they're just like all the other fanfilms and 'Why us ?' routine just amounts to throwing everyone else under the bus too. They'll take everyone down with them.

Could anyone really blame CBS / Paramount for going 'To hell with it all, it's too much trouble.' ?

 

[Smoked Salmon]

I'm not on Facebook, but for those who are and haven't been banned from the Axanar page, here are some stats you might want to point out to the people who think a boycott will be effective:

Star Trek Beyond trailer: 12,979,118 views after a month
Prelude to Axanar: 1,767,868 views after a year

I think it's quite clear which one people are more interested in. Even the STID gag reel has more views than Prelude.

That's a false comparison. Axanar simply doesn't have anything close to the marketing budget or media exposure that the movies have. Only fans with more than a passing interest in the franchise even know about it.

But, I agree, a boycott doesn't stand a chance. If the other JJtreks are anything to go by, the vast majority of ticket sales will be from the general audience, and thet sure as hell don't care about Peters' little ego trip or something that looks like it came out of the 60s.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

Peters seems like a.. someone insert a colorful metaphor or several here.

A posterior orifice?

Sorry to derail, but what's the deal with Propworx and MGM? Someone mentioned some controversy between the two a while back, in this thread.

http://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-myth-of-propworx.html

Take with a pinch of salt. I know nothing of the author.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

For all the questionable behaviour that came from the Axanar guys, the court action makes me be on their side on this one.

Why? Just because you want to see the finished product?

The studio has been more than flexible on fan productions. It was within their right to tolerate none of it. But there must be a limited. This one clearly overstepped the mark.

 

[Kegg]

I think it's quite clear which one people are more interested in. Even the STID gag reel has more views than Prelude.

That's a false comparison. Axanar simply doesn't have anything close to the marketing budget or media exposure that the movies have. Only fans with more than a passing interest in the franchise even know about it.

That doesn't make the comparison false. People are more interested in Star Trek Beyond for a number of reasons and that that film has a much bigger marketing budget would be one of the reasons why.

Axanar is hardly unique in this regard - one will find that fan films of Batman, Mad Max, Star Wars or whatever will elicit less interest than the works of the license holders regardless of their perceived quality.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

I think it's quite clear which one people are more interested in. Even the STID gag reel has more views than Prelude.

That's a false comparison. Axanar simply doesn't have anything close to the marketing budget or media exposure that the movies have. Only fans with more than a passing interest in the franchise even know about it.

That doesn't make the comparison false. People are more interested in Star Trek Beyond for a number of reasons and that that film has a much bigger marketing budget would be one of the reasons why.

Axanar is hardly unique in this regard - one will find that fan films of Batman, Mad Max, Star Wars or whatever will elicit less interest than the works of the license holders regardless of their perceived quality.

It's false because the "fan" production has no possible way of having the same reach as the studio offering, therefore it is not on equal footing from the outset....as you yourself acknowledge.

 

[9gs]

I think Axanar's pleas that they're just like all the other fanfilms and 'Why us ?' routine just amounts to throwing everyone else under the bus too. They'll take everyone down with them.

Could anyone really blame CBS / Paramount for going 'To hell with it all, it's too much trouble.' ?

I was told 5 months ago by someone who works on fan productions that Axanar was trouble and had already caught the attention of CBS. This has been brewing for awhile. Everything they said has come to pass including the claims they were making, how they were spending the funds, the studio, etc. if they try and pivot into "we will release Axanar as episodes" like the other fan productions, the studio will only make "Axanar" fan episodes, and none of the producers will get any $$, then all us lost.

 

[Kegg]

It's false because the "fan" production has no possible way of having the same reach as the studio offering, therefore it is not on equal footing from the outset....as you yourself acknowledge.

That doesn't make it false. We're talking about reality; not some hypothetical scenario where the playing field is levelled and Axanar gets to be treated as a potential equal (and even if we were, Axanar aims itself rather narrowly at what David Gerrold called 'the core audience,' while Star Trek Beyond is clearly pitching itself to moviegoers in general.)

 

[Search4]

Peters seems like a.. someone insert a colorful metaphor or several here.

A posterior orifice?

Sorry to derail, but what's the deal with Propworx and MGM? Someone mentioned some controversy between the two a while back, in this thread.

http://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-myth-of-propworx.html

Take with a pinch of salt. I know nothing of the author.

Alec's auction company, Propworx, went bankrupt a few years ago owing their consigner, MGM studios, over $330,000. And after going through court and retaining the name, Alec sold a variety of MGM items online.

To this day I don't understand why anyone consigns with him.

 

[SeerSGB]

See, back in the day, a donation was like "Hey, send us five bucks so we can keep the lights on and make this thing." Or "Hey, help feed the cast and crew so we can make this thing. We'll put your name in the credits."

I mentioned this a few pages back, I seem to recall one production that just wanted Lowes or Home Depot giftcards to pay for the lumber. Like you said, some just wanted a few bucks to help with the lights or the food bill. No one was trying to make a buck, indeed the opposite was true.

 

[captainkirk]

That's a false comparison. Axanar simply doesn't have anything close to the marketing budget or media exposure that the movies have. Only fans with more than a passing interest in the franchise even know about it.

That doesn't make the comparison false. People are more interested in Star Trek Beyond for a number of reasons and that that film has a much bigger marketing budget would be one of the reasons why.

Axanar is hardly unique in this regard - one will find that fan films of Batman, Mad Max, Star Wars or whatever will elicit less interest than the works of the license holders regardless of their perceived quality.

It's false because the "fan" production has no possible way of having the same reach as the studio offering, therefore it is not on equal footing from the outset....as you yourself acknowledge.

My main point was that the "billions" of Axanar fans (according to them) make up a very small percentage of the fanbase and couldn't hope to accomplish anything with a boycott and that Paramount isn't even remotely threatened by Axanar.

 

[Warped9]

It's easy to assume that everyone at CBS could be corporate dicks and just decide to shut everyone everywhere down. But it's possible there could be some fair minded folks there interested in shutting down only one particular troublemaker and leave everyone else alone who has been playing nice for years now.

Actually I think that could send a powerful message: you play nice and everyone wins: fan producers, fans and CBS. It would say CBS isn't interested in pissing on anyone's parade as long as folks play by the rules. Now go back to having fun and forget about the doofusses who got swelled heads.