In comics its happened-- for years Marvel editors didn't want to hire John Byrne because of the way he badmouthed their handling of the Fantastic Four.
It is build around elements associated with Star Wars (Jedi, the Force and Lightsabers) and it violates the rules assumed by some to be universal for all Star Wars fan films.
That the film is out for 13 years without any reaction from TPTB is a strong indicator, that that assumption is not correct.
This all goes back to my initial comment, and let me clarify, that what I meant was that a short run time has been a rule for Lucasfilm at least for their fan film festivals-- and if they're sanctioning any kind of fan films (such as in festivals) and one of the rules to enter is to be short, seems to me to be an indicator that producing a short film probably is a loose rule to avoid Lucasfilm's attention.
The idea here being that when you create a long form product that emulates the actual product, which is why if I were CBS and I were creating a "fan film management" division, that would be one of my blanket rules:
1) no professional actors or crew (loose rule, as "professional" is tough to define)
2) no films beyond 16 minutes in length
3) distribution only on dedicated websites/apps/etc (ie: not on youtube)
4) creators cannot actively seek professional endorsements/promotion (like enlisting George Takei to post on facebook)
5) must feature "fan film" in the title anywhere it appears
6) no crowdfunding on 3rd party platforms such as Kickstarter, IndyGogo, GoFundMe, etc.
7) project creators cannot collect any money beyond direct expenses for creating the film. No cast or crew may collect a paycheck for their efforts.
The point here is that fan-films should be given
creative freedom, but their purpose should be limited to passionate fans who just want to make fun little movies and share them with other fans. Hiring actors who are paid, crew who are paid? I would bar that. I know everyone deserves to be paid for work, but
the intent here is to limit projects scope to people who want to do this for fun. Big projects with marketing, publicity and writers, directors and actors who've worked on the show is something i'd avoid.
