Oh and I was reasonably sure that someone would attack me for asking the question.
Thanks for not disappointing me Maurice.
Thanks for not disappointing me Maurice.
CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
- Thread starter Richard Baker
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How much longer is this exercise in public masturbation going to go on?
The same dozen or so posters have been jacking off with joy over this project failing for over four thousand posts.
Aren't you guys all out of vitriol yet?
Just wondering.
I'm not happy at all. I thought Prelude was awesome and would love to see the full movie.
That said, if that is what you think this thread is, why are you reading/posting in it? Or did you just want to get covered in whatever you are describing above?
Interesting comment on the CBS Facebook page:
"There is no message option on this page, CBS, so I'm posting this here. I wish to say that I support your decision to sue Axanar. I July 2014, I donated $125 via Kickstarter to Axanar. I am disabled and live on a fixed income, but I really wanted to donate, as I've been a Star Trek fan since I was a child. From time to time, I would inquire as to the status of the perks donors were promised, but each time I inquired, I was rudely blown off by Diana Kingsbury and Alec Peters, treating me as though they couldn't be bothered. They inappropriately blocked me from their Facebook page when I took issue with their continuing disrespect of donors, and Alec Peters was yet again, disrespectful to me on another page. They refuse to refund my $125, so yes, I am thrilled that CBS is suing Axanar, as neither Axanar nor Kickstarter will refund my $125."
"There is no message option on this page, CBS, so I'm posting this here. I wish to say that I support your decision to sue Axanar. I July 2014, I donated $125 via Kickstarter to Axanar. I am disabled and live on a fixed income, but I really wanted to donate, as I've been a Star Trek fan since I was a child. From time to time, I would inquire as to the status of the perks donors were promised, but each time I inquired, I was rudely blown off by Diana Kingsbury and Alec Peters, treating me as though they couldn't be bothered. They inappropriately blocked me from their Facebook page when I took issue with their continuing disrespect of donors, and Alec Peters was yet again, disrespectful to me on another page. They refuse to refund my $125, so yes, I am thrilled that CBS is suing Axanar, as neither Axanar nor Kickstarter will refund my $125."
While someone may in fact attack you, Maurice certainly did not.
How much longer is this exercise in public masturbation going to go on?
The same dozen or so posters have been jacking off with joy over this project failing for over four thousand posts.
Aren't you guys all out of vitriol yet?
Just wondering.
1) Maurice did not attack you, so let's drop this disingenuous attempt at coloring the narrative right here and now.
2) I'm not happy that hundreds or thousands of well-intentioned fans (whether they be as delusional as Alec Peters or not) have been, essentially, gypped out of their hard-earned money for a product that will now, seemingly never get made. That part of the equation troubles me greatly, and I sympathize with those who are the true losers in this entire debacle.
However -- I (and others) called it, years ago, that this entire thing was going to be a scam and end badly and that Alec Peters had no clue what he was doing. Whether he intentionally set out to screw over all of the fans who contributed to his vanity project or not, the end result is the same.
Likewise, Peters made no bones about attacking, bullying, harassing, insulting, threatening, and generally annoying anyone who disagreed with him or tried to point out how inept his approach to all of this was. On that level, I am not so humble or sincere that I am not savoring karma finally coming home to roost for an arrogant blowhard like Peters and his getting his just desserts. And I'm not the only one who feels this way because I'm far from the only person he has mistreated over the years. If you think people are enjoying this, maybe you should consider why there are so many in that camp.
Wake up and smell the Axanar coffee. You've been had.
Or, let me put it in terms you'll understand, Duncan McLeod:
When it comes to ownership of the Star Trek brand, there can be only one: CBS.
There has been some actual information reported on in this thread, mostly from oswriter but also from those who frequent the Facebook groups.
The idea behind it is to casually report and inform on the latest Axanar-related information. As some of that information has dried up today, there's been a bit more off-topic jibes and the like.
I have found many posts here humorous, but that's probably just schadenfreude. I'm on the anti-Mr. Peters camp, but I feel bad for Mr. Burnett and previously felt bad for Mr. Gerrold (although I'm leaning towards ambivalence there).
The idea behind it is to casually report and inform on the latest Axanar-related information. As some of that information has dried up today, there's been a bit more off-topic jibes and the like.
I have found many posts here humorous, but that's probably just schadenfreude. I'm on the anti-Mr. Peters camp, but I feel bad for Mr. Burnett and previously felt bad for Mr. Gerrold (although I'm leaning towards ambivalence there).
Well, when you take that tone, that's a reasonable assumption.
Look, I'm not gleeful that what looked like it could be a neat film doesn't look like it is getting made, or about donors getting ripped off. I am somewhat gleeful when asshats who rip people off and try to get away with stuff that is just wrong get their comeuppance. And this story is going to be an open matter, probably for a while. Posters have two choices - either continue having fun with the subject matter in between actual news, which seems to be the choice of those still posting in this thread regularly, or, look elsewhere on the board for discussion and check in here periodically to see if there is any news. The latter is my choice, and I would suggest that it could be yours, as well - unless you've actually made the first choice, and taking the stance that you are is your way of stirring the pot for greater entertainment value?
Congrats to the PRELUDE TO AXANAR team for picking up yet another Film Festival Award! That's the 46th festival award for the film! - Robert Meyer Burnett
Questions:
1) Just how bad were the other entries that this film 'won'?
2) Just how fair was it to the other entries, which one presumes were more original at least, in that they had to compete against a film with an unfair advantage - namely, the Star Trek connection?
3) Will they be stripped of any and all awards in the event that they are found to have broken the law to make this film? Will the runner-ups be allowed to receive the award in that case?
4) 46 awards? Really???
Questions:
1) Just how bad were the other entries that this film 'won'?
2) Just how fair was it to the other entries, which one presumes were more original at least, in that they had to compete against a film with an unfair advantage - namely, the Star Trek connection?
3) Will they be stripped of any and all awards in the event that they are found to have broken the law to make this film? Will the runner-ups be allowed to receive the award in that case?
4) 46 awards? Really???
From Robert Meyer Burnett via his Facebook page: "A hearty congratulations to everyone involved with PRELUDE TO AXANAR for winning FIVE Claw awards at the Creative Arts Online Short Film Festival. BEST SHORT FILM, BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT FILM, BEST ACTOR, Richard Hatch, BEST SOUND DESIGN Frank Serafine) and BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS (Tobias Richter). Proud to be amongst such esteemed filmmakers!"
Terms and Conditions for submitting a film to the Creative Arts Film Festival:
"To be eligible to screen, your film does not have to be a World Premiere or a USA Premiere. Films can be original or adapted works. However, ALL non-original portions of your film MUST be cleared and You must have permission to use someone else's work. If you submit a film with copyrighted or trademarked materials included and you do not have written permission to use them, you will not be eligible to screen at CAFF. This festival takes place on the internet, so it is VERY easy for owners of copyrighted work to find illegal uses. And we have no interest in getting sued. So, you must be legally authorized to represent the entire work, in writing. Also, you should copyright your film with the proper agency (in the USA, its the Library of Congress). It is not required for screening at CAFF, but it is smart on your part to protect your work."
http://www.creativeartsfilmfestival.com/tos.html
Terms and Conditions for submitting a film to the Creative Arts Film Festival:
"To be eligible to screen, your film does not have to be a World Premiere or a USA Premiere. Films can be original or adapted works. However, ALL non-original portions of your film MUST be cleared and You must have permission to use someone else's work. If you submit a film with copyrighted or trademarked materials included and you do not have written permission to use them, you will not be eligible to screen at CAFF. This festival takes place on the internet, so it is VERY easy for owners of copyrighted work to find illegal uses. And we have no interest in getting sued. So, you must be legally authorized to represent the entire work, in writing. Also, you should copyright your film with the proper agency (in the USA, its the Library of Congress). It is not required for screening at CAFF, but it is smart on your part to protect your work."
http://www.creativeartsfilmfestival.com/tos.html
You only got a response at all because you decided you had to use an (underlined in quote above) unnecessarily vulgar method to denigrate posters here. You can't expect to write something like that and not get called out for it.
And you're welcome.
There's no joy on my part seeing people hoaxed out of their money paying for a film based on willful IP violations that will in all likelihood never see the light of day.How much longer is this exercise in public masturbation going to go on?
The same dozen or so posters have been jacking off with joy over this project failing for over four thousand posts.
Aren't you guys all out of vitriol yet?
Just wondering.
Oddly enough, Peters and Co comment on venues wherein they control the conversations censoring out anything they don't like. Are you suggesting TrekBBs should do the same to please you?
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Well, being a dick to other people tends to get one called out for doing so.
I've only made my way through three of the film festivals which PRELUDE TO AXANAR won an award at, and they all include in the Terms and Conditions section very specific instructions to anyone submitting material for evaluation that they "represent and warrant that he or she owns or has the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to enter work (and all content included therein)."
Don't we pretty much know for a fact that they did not obtain the necessary license, right, consent and permission? Isn't that why they are being sued?
I would imagine that there are at least 46 cases in which the individual submitting PRELUDE TO AXANAR had to sign off on having had the proper permission to do this film. Now, to explain that, all Peters has to do is provide prove that he was granted permission by CBS/Paramount to use their intellectual property, and if he can do that, then he should be okay.
Otherwise, he committed fraud in misrepresenting his work to at least 46 different film festivals, and robbed other filmmakers of an opportunity to win these awards, which might have happened had the playing field been level.
Don't we pretty much know for a fact that they did not obtain the necessary license, right, consent and permission? Isn't that why they are being sued?
I would imagine that there are at least 46 cases in which the individual submitting PRELUDE TO AXANAR had to sign off on having had the proper permission to do this film. Now, to explain that, all Peters has to do is provide prove that he was granted permission by CBS/Paramount to use their intellectual property, and if he can do that, then he should be okay.
Otherwise, he committed fraud in misrepresenting his work to at least 46 different film festivals, and robbed other filmmakers of an opportunity to win these awards, which might have happened had the playing field been level.
Regarding some discussions about Fair Use, I got to thinking about the old case of "The Air Pirates" and Disney's total annihilation of that comic for Copyright infringement. In reading up on case again, I ran across this reference:
So even outright parody is not a bulletproof Fair Use defense.
Might be closer to Belushi as Ron Decline in the Rutles.Someone likened Peters to John Belushi's portrayal of Captain Kirk on the final days of Star Trek in the famous SNL sketch. Seems pretty spot-on to me.
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I didn't know that. Learn something new everyday. So Peters could lose those awards, be held liable for fraud and CBS/Paramount would have a field day with those admission documents. Ouch.
Plus, so many posts have a comment on the order of "I was really looking forward to Axanar."
Which makes me wonder why they didn't go with that for all the merchandising and profit making, it sounds like they would have permission for that as long as David Gerrold got his cut.
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