CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

That's not exposition.

 

The exposition comes as Coyote shows us what he will do to try to catch the Road Runner. The "Bad Guy" telling (showing) us what he will do...

 

Then you needed a different screenshot to illustrate that.

 

I wasn't trying to show it, specifically, with the screen shot. The screen shot was to show the "Latin" associated, and try to make a joke. The exposition connection was in a more general way, as we always see with the Coyote, as many who have watched the cartoon may know. But, I really appreciate your Posts and words associated with my attempt at humor. They are very instructive, and will help me in future Posts!

 

Ah, it was Jedi's joke, not Bawden's... Sometimes I feel just old... or am I?
Great joke, Jedi_Master! Fooled no one but me...

 

Don't feel bad, wt!

Pass the wasabi, will ya' ?

 

Here y'are, Hij!

 

Wow!...good stuff, but...ya' got any iced coffee?...little hot, oh, yeah!!!

 

Too much Downton Abbey

Now I have an image of AP & RMB pulling a Jerky Boys - Crank Yank

 

Hey guys, I know the whole thing with Axanar is controversial, but since I'm the guy who did the parody, I can tell you it wasn't a conspiracy.

Jonathan featured my 2012 Stalled Trek: Amutt Time parody on his Fan Film Friday a month ago and when he emailed to tell me it was up on the blog, I jokingly suggested I was doing a parody of Axanar. I actually hesitated, since I didn't know just what Jonathan's connection to the production was and didn't want to insult the guy who'd just promoted my work. But it was funny, so I figured, what the hell. He had a strong reaction to it and I thought it was a golden opportunity to do something "relevant/current."

Doing a parody of a 50 year old TV show doesn't make you feel like you have your finger on the pulse of current culture. :-)

In two years of being on YouTube, Amutt Time only had 1,300 views before being featured on their blog. "Prelude to Ax'd-We-Are" has had over 5,000 views in the first 24 hours!

So, if you're looking for the secret motivation behind my choosing the subject matter, you might want to compare those numbers.

I insisted that Jonathan be my co-writer for a couple of reasons. I knew if left to me alone to do it, I'd just consider it too much work at some point and drop it. It's only funny to me when I first come up with the gags. After that, it's all labor. Having somebody else involved would keep it fun. I've never met Jonathan in person, but he seemed like a nice guy and he liked Amutt Time, so I figured he might have a similar sense of humor about things.

I think it was better for having him be part of it, but it is not "his" film as someone has suggested. As he would likely point out in his frustration that I wouldn't always incorporate his suggestions.

I'm not an official Axanar supporter, as I did not back the Kickstarter or Indie-Go-Go campaigns (I don't even have access to their closed Facebook group), but I did really like Prelude to Axanar. Probably the only Star Trek piece that has appealed to me in recent times. I couldn't have made a parody of something I didn't like. Can you imagine the sustained hate you would have to muster to watch something you hated over and over again, find out everything you could about it and then spend weeks toiling away at something that (at least for me) isn't easy at all to do, losing sleep and ignoring friends and family? I only just watched my blu-ray of the new Star Wars movie last night after purchasing it on the day it came out.

That's "scary" levels of hate. :-)

Alec Peters, to my knowledge was not made aware of the parody until yesterday. I'd certainly had no contact with him prior. So, to suggest that my puppet parody was a puppet of somebody else is false.

My biggest fear and what drove me to finish it as quickly as I did (33 days from concept to completion, by the way) was that the lawsuit would be settled before I could finish it. I was not and still am not "in the know" about any of the legal goings on. As a cartoonist, I'm pre-disposed not to side with the suits, but I purposely chose not to take a side on the lawsuit in the parody. Jonathan and I discussed the fact that the film could be viewed from either perspective as being on their side.

As a guy who wants to reach as big an audience as possible, that's a bonus.

I grew up reading old Mad Magazines from the '60s that I inherited from my uncles. I view parody like a roast. Yes, you are holding something up to ridicule, but if you didn't know the thing well enough, you couldn't write the jokes. I love Star Trek and Amok Time is one of my favorite episodes. The exact reason I so mercilessly skewered it in Amutt Time.

I tend to see the humor in everything. It's just how I am.

I'm well aware that there are people out there lacking in a sense of humor. Many of my grade school teachers who didn't approve of the doodles on the sides of my test papers introduced me to the concept very early on in life and getting slugged by a bully for saying, "You're sorry," after he told me to say "You're sorry," kinda' crystallized it for me. :-)

I did not know which side of the fence that Alec Peters fell on and I'm happy to say, that he does have a sense of humor and was great about it. He could have taken enormous offense, but he didn't. And I'm glad he didn't, because my intent wasn't to offend him or anyone, really.

I'm in it for the laughs.

 

I don't see why so many like these fan productions anyway. I watched the axanar preview and frankly it stinks. I have tried watching fan productions of Star Trek before and they are almost always poorly done from the acting to the badly dubbed music. Nope give me a professional Star Trek production any day.(Well not an Abrams production) The professional productions have better effects. The CGI in fan productions always looks rushed. CGI effects have advanced enough where it is possible to make much of what we see look as good as practical models used to look. I hope this law suit ends Alecs career. He was making money off of this and actually selling merchandise. He knew the rules of fan productions and he dismissed them. I really hope Paramount no longer allows any fan productions because they are mudding the waters with too much poorly done Trek.

 

In their purest form, the fan films are just labors of love done for fun in whatever time the folks doing them can set aside while also living the rest of their lives (making a living). More sacrifice go into making them than the viewer probably realizes. Some people golf, some join community theaters, some play basketball four nights a week at the YMCA, some make jams and give them out as gifts, some play in a band on Saturdays, and some join softball leagues. Others make fan films. I'd venture to guess every person doing those things realizes they're not Rory Mcilroy, Tom Hanks, Steph Curry, Smuckers, Eric Clapton, or Bryce Harper. And, they don't care. They enjoy themselves and like pushing their own creative limits. Any comparison with "professional Trek" (especially the wonderfully produced Abrams versions -- see what I did there? ) is unfair. In a way, that's also why Paramount let them go. No product confusion.

 

Oh yeah, having that current culture relevance would always be a comedy sweet spot.

LOL Very sensible. LOL

Then apologies if my own post indicates a stronger emphasis for Axanar proper than may be warranted. I literally took my information directly from Jonathan's blog. Again, apologies.

:-) Yup. Sustained hatred takes a toll on clarity anyway.

I've watched it over half a dozen times now and it never fails to keep me laughing. And the little intricacies were brilliant: The pinnacle of [society] with the cell phones, seflies. The guy in the virtual world head gear happily wandering around in his fantasy while his real world blowing up around him, then him being blown up too. "Just Buy" "Tromp" building "Aim Here" just to 'begin' pointing out some of the stuff there. This is terrifically multilayered Funny!

The vacuous eyes on the females just cracks me up. Amutt Time was my own introduction to your most seriously excellent talent!!

I'm awfully glad to be able to tell you how much I love and laugh with this parody.

 

You know, since watching the video last night, I hadn't realised this was actually shown on the Axanar Indiegogo page. I thought Philip had found the video and was making a joke!

Still like it, and thanks to @mark R Largent for posting his thoughts too

 

Well, at least you were.

 

I'm sure they are labors or love and they do them for fun but it still doesn't mean they don't stink. I don't like the idea of fans trying to shoehorn their ideas into established trek. Why not come up with something for themselves instead of making a substandard product of someone elses idea?

 

Because of fun. Who didn't want to be Captain Kirk or Mister Spock when they were a kid?

 

That does sound like something I would do, but no

 

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Axanar has crossed the line from these things being fun. I really hope Paramount and CBS puts a stop to these amateur productions. Plus if the creators of these productions want to just pretend to be Captain Kirk or Spock there are plenty of role playing games, video games etc. they can play. These amateur productions do not do the professional ones any favors other then make us appreciate TOS and the other shows all the much more for their excellence. Fan productions being allowed to flourish has also run the risk of others thinking TOS(So many fan productions tend to take place in the TOS era) is a joke. I watched one of the fan productions and just could not stomach it. The only think I can say they have done half right is the classic TOS bridge but other than that I cannot say I am impressed at all.

 

Then just don't watch. Why should your dislike dictate what other people do with their time and money?