CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
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Thanks for that! Where to read more?
Sorry, but I still don't see how J.J. Abrams is in the loop on this deep enough to know what will and will not be allowed to happen. His word isn't even second-hand -- it's third-hand. He heard it form Justin Lin who heard it from "somebody" at the studio (was that Paramount or CBS??), and who know whether that "somebody at the studio" was in the decision-making loop.
Broken Allegiance. Revan
I like I suspect many others would not like to see such harsh guidelines, as I would like axanar to continue.
I was not aware of the star wars story.
Axanar did fuck up, but hopefully they will have learned a valuable lesson, if they still dont learn then it will not only be stupid on their part, but sad for the fans who looked forward to the possible movie
For CBS and Paramount, at this point, they have to tread carefully. JJ announcing this puts them in a very bad position if an agreement is not reached.
Yes and no. There are ways to spin a retraction and still look good.
What they can NOT do is let Axanar use this as a club to make CBS give them anything they want.
Nope, I think it puts JJ in a bad place if he wasn't authorized. JJ doesn't work in the legal/licensing department and is not a Paramount or CBS corporate officer. He produces movies under license from the IP owners.
LOLOL I doubt it. Well, to a few of course. But on the whole - I doubt it. LOLOL
This.
STC and the others will continue. But CBS/Paramount may kick AP's rear around in the settlement.
Revelations, 2005
Dark Redemption, 1999
Broken Allegiance, 2002
Revan, 2015
so the last one is recent, and is long. I dont find any lawsuit against it. Do you have any info about whether Disney said it is ok with it?
thanks!
I could see them grandfathered in, but consider where the technology is going.
Anyone can set up a video sharing site with a pay per view front end. Video production technology is undergoing the same drastic price reduction that professional audio did going from sound studios to laptops 10 years ago. Even scripted avatar animation is getting within the reach of more people all the time.
How could media companies which depend on hooking audiences on a story pitch, allow that pitch to be instantly drained of all juice by a hundred "fan" variants popping up and seeking revenues from youtube ads or the like?
The studios will have less control over this than Facebook and Twitter have over 'like' farms around the world, if there is money to be made and no way to enforce copyright on their story ideas and content thereof.
They have to start locking it down. Allowing full length "fan" films unfortunately looks like a barn door anymore.
I can't imagine Disney saying anything about any fan film that doesn't meet their requirements outside of a C&D and/or lawsuit. It strikes me as very risky to acknowledge an infringing work without taking action against it.
True, but as the current Executive Producer of the film franchise he has gotten attention to this, even if he wasn't authorized it's still generated the attention. This being at a fan event wont help matters. Plus, the average person doesn't realize it's a licensing arrangement. Many just see the title and think he's in control of the franchise as Executive Producer.
LOL, no. While I don't think it's fair that someone so ethically challenged comes out ahead (assuming that's how this ends up), Life isn't fair. Hollywood really isn't fair.
Small companies have a devil of a time fighting piracy, ripped films, even the occasional unauthorized derivative work. I think people have come to expect that they can do whatever they want with media; permission or purchase is entirely optional. One self-admitted ripper once said to me he was entitled to watch anything made all the way through, then decide if he's going to pay for it, how much he's going to pay for it, and if he's going to share it with others.
I asked him if he lets his employer decide how much he'll get paid at the end of the day or if he could walk out of a meal without paying the full balance on the check. He said that's different, and ended the conversation.
Would CBS pressing this issue to the end change all of that? No. I'd hoped though it would change a part of it, though. That there would be at least some accountability required. While a fan, Star Trek isn't mine. So I don't get a say. But I was hoping, no doubt because it was Star Trek.
This quote is making the rounds in online news sites now so it seems to be an accurate transcript:
"Justin was sort of outraged by this as a longtime fan. We started talking about it and realized this wasn’t an appropriate way to deal with the fans. The fans of Star Trek are part of this world. [Justin] went to the studio and pushed them to stop this lawsuit, and now, within the next few weeks, it will be announced that this is going away and that fans would be able to continue working on their project."
Note it says 'going away' and 'continue working on their project'. Not 'dropped' and 'get to do their whole film'.
If all he knows is that a settlement is anticipated within a short time, there's nothing in this wording committing to anything more.
Also it says 'fans would be able', not 'the fans would be able' (e.g., the fans in the lawsuit), or 'Axanar productions staff fans would be able'. It could be its for *some* fan makers of *some* fan films, not necessarily Axanar.
Grasping at straws? Nope. Not looking for some way that Axanar could get a boot. Just observing that the language is notably vague. This could very well be an attempt to forstall an absolute shutdown of fan films that letting this drag out to the end could create (and Mrs. Lin and Abrams may hope to avoid Alec or the studio creating), but still have a Star Wars framework installed, and Axanar canned.
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Um, you do realize that Alec Peters is snapping selfies all smiles next to Justin Lin? The odds that JJ just went rogue and mis-spoke is nil. JJ did not get to the position he is in Hollywood being that reckless.
Yes, but most of those aren't licensed. Rules have changed over the years, but the only licensed, non-infringing works were the ones submitted to a Lucasfilm contest of some sort. The random group of fans making a fan film is still violating IP. Lucas may not sue them, but it's the same situation as Axanar.
If CBS does what Lucasfilm did, they'll issue some list of requirements, you'll sign a form, and a legal transaction will take place. Then you can make your film within whatever guidelines set out. Don't have the license or violate it and you potentially run afoul of CBS legal.
Unless JJ Abrams likes your work. :-)
Selfies with Justin Lin mean nothing. How many people took selfies with him. I don't know. What I know is that if there was a settlement on the table, why was Peters surprised by the announcement. Don't you think he'd have been read in before hand. This is a legal proceeding and he should have been notified by the legal team (his lawyer included). The fact that he didn't know at the time means more to me than JJ's statement, and lends credence that it wasn't official.
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