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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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From the annual report:

The first Axanar Kickstarter was launched with some very specific goals in mind, namely building the infrastructure that would allow us to make Axanar and other Star Trek properties.

Axanar is a professional production in that we do pay people who work on the production. This is not a group of fans getting together and having a great time playing Star Trek (although we certainly enjoy it). That means we do things like a studio would.










Infrastructure - We built the infrastructure that will allow us to make great Star Trek and great science fiction films for years to come.

Ares Digital - This technology, which is the entire back-end of fulfillment operations, is critical to any crowd-funded project. Its creation not only gives Ares Studio an advanced product that will make donors’ lives easier, by putting all their perks and information in one, easily-accessible web page, but it allows Ares Studios to create a product it can eventually distribute to other crowdfunded projects as well. This will create a new revenue stream for Ares Studios.



Come on... this document alone is dynamite.

It can't be a coincidence that Alec Peters was sued after this document was released, can it?

Neil
 
I was thinking the same thing.........someone at CBS saw this and was like "Awwww HELLLL NO"............
 
Anyone want to speculate on how much liability Tobias might have? I thought he doesn't charge James for work on NV/PII, but he hardly donated his time to Axanar... Considering how critical the FX were to selling Axanar, he's a key contributor.

Richter lives in Germany, correct? If so, he's probably safe as it it's going to be hard for the court to assert personal jurisdiction over him.
That all depends one what structure exists between the US and Germany for the enforcement of foreign judgments.

He has contributed original artwork to the "Ships of the Line" calendar and "Star Trek Rivals" game, so even if he's not held financially liable, he may have blown any chance of producing more officially-sanctioned material.
 
945899_10156376943465082_4906578464430077591_n.jpg

One: The sets still aren't completed. Two: Shouldn't 'Sound stage and set construction' be part of the production budget?
 
Richter lives in Germany, correct? If so, he's probably safe as it it's going to be hard for the court to assert personal jurisdiction over him.
That all depends one what structure exists between the US and Germany for the enforcement of foreign judgments.

He has contributed original artwork to the "Ships of the Line" calendar and "Star Trek Rivals" game, so even if he's not held financially liable, he may have blown any chance of producing more officially-sanctioned material.

If he cooperates with CBS and testifies against Anaxar then I'm sure CBS would take that into consideration - esp if he was told that all this was legit.
 
I can't believe they wrecked a dolly on Prelude. Talk about ineptitude.

When would a dolly have even been used? Everything was talking heads against green screen and CGI!

I can't think of a single moving shot that wasn't entirely digital.
 
Something else to note. Releasing an "annual report" and referring to donors as "shareholders"--which Peters has said more than once on his podcast--means you're basically tempting securities regulators to look into your business. There's a plausible argument here that Axanar Studios' raising capital for their infrastructure, not just a "fan film," constitutes an unregistered securities offering. I don't necessarily believe that's the case, but I know enough about how regulators think to realize someone at the California Securities Regulation Division or the SEC might attempt such an argument.
 
And remember that Cawley was given a cameo in Trek 2009 and then wrote (to those of us who hadn't seen it yet) how amazing the bridge looked, that everything "worked". When the film came out I was shocked that a TOS purist who is obsessed with recreating the retro 60s vibe would find something to compliment about the Applestore design.

James-Cawley-cameo-300x200.jpg

Did he? All I remember him saying about the bridge was how it was "not what [he] would have done."
 
Something else to note. Releasing an "annual report" and referring to donors as "shareholders"--which Peters has said more than once on his podcast--means you're basically tempting securities regulators to look into your business. There's a plausible argument here that Axanar Studios' raising capital for their infrastructure, not just a "fan film," constitutes an unregistered securities offering. I don't necessarily believe that's the case, but I know enough about how regulators think to realize someone at the California Securities Regulation Division or the SEC might attempt such an argument.

However you slice it, that annual report was as valid as my Aunt Fanny's bakewall tart recipe :)
 
Did he? All I remember him saying about the bridge was how it was "not what [he] would have done."

Yeah, he said it was impressive but not the direction he would have gone. Also New Voyages did put out this:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axTdv68wIvk[/yt]
 
And remember that Cawley was given a cameo in Trek 2009 and then wrote (to those of us who hadn't seen it yet) how amazing the bridge looked, that everything "worked". When the film came out I was shocked that a TOS purist who is obsessed with recreating the retro 60s vibe would find something to compliment about the Applestore design.

James-Cawley-cameo-300x200.jpg

Why couldn't someone like both? They are damned near 50 years apart, there were going to be massive differences.
 
How more official can it get than two whole articles about the case? Here and here.

M--maybe I'm missing something here. Does Rod run 1701News?
I thought the link I was talking about was referencing Rod Roddenberry "taking a stance".

1701News is the latest incarnation of Airlock Alpha/SyFy Portal. It's a fan news site (and one noted for printing tabloid nonsense and moronic opinion pieces). As far as I know, it's totally unrelated to Roddenberry Entertainment.
 
How more official can it get than two whole articles about the case? Here and here.

M--maybe I'm missing something here. Does Rod run 1701News?
I thought the link I was talking about was referencing Rod Roddenberry "taking a stance".

1701News is the latest incarnation of Airlock Alpha/SyFy Portal. It's a fan news site (and one noted for printing tabloid nonsense and moronic opinion pieces). As far as I know, it's totally unrelated to Roddenberry Entertainment.
Well, it says “© 2016 Roddenberry Entertainment Inc. & Nexus Media Group Inc” at the bottom of the page, so I think it's pretty clear that it's a site operated by Rod Roddenberry's company.
xnzpli.jpg
 
Re Gene's vision: Axanar is based on FASA RPG lore. And does everyone remember what Gene did to FASA? Hint: there's no FASA RPG any more.

Wouldn't that have been Paramount?

FASA had a licence from Paramount. When Gene returned to Trek with TNG, he wasn't happy with some of the war game/militaristic stuff FASA was doing. ISTR that they overstepped the bounds of their licence by doing a couple of TNG-related books as well. At any rate, they very quickly no longer had a licence, and what I've read strongly suggests it was Roddenberry (or Richard Arnold) who was behind that, and that publications like the starship combat simulator were a major contributing factor.

Trek books are really just curated fan-fic, IMHO, and usually not curated that carefully, due to the various tangents that continuity has gone, usually self-contradicting.

You're muddying the waters with this one. The whole point of the Axanar mess is that they don't have a licence. Star Trek tie-ins are written by professionals working within a legally structured framework involving editors and licencing people. You may not like their less rigid approach to continuity, but they are in no way fanfic.

That's not quite correct. From what I recall FASA released a couple of TNG sourcebooks BEFORE the series was officially aired, and was based on some pre production comments and notes, and conflicted with what was actually going to be in the series -- they also did so because they ASSUMED their license applied to ANY Star Trek aspect (released or not released). Paramount didn't see it that way; brought the specifics of their contract to their attention and asked to stop selling anything related to TNG. FASA refused; and Paramount took them to court (and won); and then refused to renew their license - which ended FASAs involvement with Star Trek. The whole "GR was unhappy because FASA's stuff was too militaristic" is fan made BS. The decision was 100% Paramount's - and based on the fact FASA violated an existing license agreement.
 
M--maybe I'm missing something here. Does Rod run 1701News?
I thought the link I was talking about was referencing Rod Roddenberry "taking a stance".

1701News is the latest incarnation of Airlock Alpha/SyFy Portal. It's a fan news site (and one noted for printing tabloid nonsense and moronic opinion pieces). As far as I know, it's totally unrelated to Roddenberry Entertainment.
Well, it says “© 2016 Roddenberry Entertainment Inc. & Nexus Media Group Inc” at the bottom of the page, so I think it's pretty clear that it's a site operated by Rod Roddenberry's company.

Yep, turns out I was wrong.

http://www.roddenberry.com/entertainment-1701news

Thanks for the correction. That site is...embarrassing, to say the least.
 
Well then that's what I was missing.....I was looking at the by-line and not the owners. Thanks!
 
As for the "second coming" tbh I have had enough of hearing people insist that whatever fan film they are talking about is the "real" Star Trek while the actual one made by the people who own it isn't (not just JJ as there are people on boards like this who insist the other shows aren't real Trek either).

If Alec IS going to be tried in the court of public opinion, IMHO, then the "but everyone else is doing it!" argument matters. It might not matter in court, but it matters as far as overall sympathies of bystanders.

So on the "bite the hand that feeds it" count of bashing JJ Trek and saying "we're true Trek", here is New Voyages doing it more, um, metaphorically and tongue in cheek:

https://vimeo.com/101235559

And remember that Cawley was given a cameo in Trek 2009 and then wrote (to those of us who hadn't seen it yet) how amazing the bridge looked, that everything "worked". When the film came out I was shocked that a TOS purist who is obsessed with recreating the retro 60s vibe would find something to compliment about the Applestore design.

James-Cawley-cameo-300x200.jpg

To be honest that wasn't aimed at Alec or Axanar but more a comment on how elements of the fan base talk about fan film productions.

As for James Cawley yes he initially said he liked it but not what he would have done, but he has since not been shy to share the fact that he doesn't like it in the least. I like the bridge, but too would say its not exactly what I would have done.
 
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