JAMES CAWLEY SPEAKS!

[BrEnDoN]

I never saw this campaign and I've never really paid much attention to fan film crowd funding so I can only speak in general terms but it's less about the final product and more about the perk because you're buying a reward, not the end product (I have no idea what the perks were here though). If donating something like $10 or so gets me like a signed poster or whatever (maybe a patch or some coffee ) as long as I still get the thing, i can't really complain if the final product isn't made. Even if I donated because I wanted to see the finished product or because I wanted to help them meet a certain goal, as long as I still get whatever my level of donation entitled me to, maybe something small like a poster or script or maybe something big like a set visit, I haven't been cheated out of my money. Now if your donation entitles you to a physical copy to own, that's a different story as you've essentially bought the finished product before it was made and are owed that, but I didn't think fan films were allowed to do that.

Again, I'm just speaking in general terms because I'm unfamiliar with this particular campaign.

 

[HerbFlynn]

I think there's some kind of notion that works that are already shot and which are in postproduction are "grandfathered" in and are not subject to the new guidelines. Others more knowledgable than me on the subject can address that.

James claimed in his statement that there was No Grandfathering of projects. (See First Post in this thread) We can assume he got this directly from CBS, but who knows.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Looking forward myself to touring Cawley's sets this spring. Even if STC is the superior fan series.

You'll have a great time on the tour! I went in October when Doug Drexler was running the tour as a special event. You can see photos from my trip here.

When you donate to a kickstarter you accept the risks associated with a project, and CBS stepping in and saying 'enough' was the biggest foreseeable risk in any fan film Kickstarter. James is not obliged to risk being sued and financially ruined in order to release additional NV episodes. He's especially at risk these days as a license holder, who will have contracts with CBS about the use of their IP which is and isn't permitted.

Agreed. I can understand donors wanting to feel like they got something for their money, but saying "Release these episodes and risk getting sued just because I want to see them" strikes me as a bit much.

I can't begrudge anyone saying "too risky for me" and packing up shop. Because frankly that would be the ethical thing to do, in my mind. The rights holder has said 'this is the line' and it is in very poor taste to continually dance over it.

Again, agreed. I would LOVE to see "Origins: The Protracted Man" someday, but realistically, it's probably not ever going to happen. It's a shame, but that's the way it is.

 

[alensatemybuick1]

You'll have a great time on the tour! I went in October when Doug Drexler was running the tour as a special event. You can see photos from my trip here.

Thanks. Actually I am going in June, for a special tour run by Doug Drexler and Michael and Denise Okuda. I'm guessing Mr. Cawley's 11 foot Enterprise replica won't be done by then, so will probably have to go again some time in the future to see that.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Thanks. Actually I am going in June, for a special tour run by Doug Drexler and Michael and Denise Okuda. I'm guessing Mr. Cawley's 11 foot Enterprise replica won't be done by then, so will probably have to go again some time in the future to see that.

Drexler was very knowledgeable, and I can only imagine what the Okudas will add! You'll also get to see some stuff that wasn't finished yet when I went, like the Jefferies Tube or the window grid in Engineering. They were also just starting work on Dr. McCoy's decompression chamber when I went. I'm not sure where that one is the process right now, as I don't believe that Cawley has shared any photos of it on Facebook.

 

[alensatemybuick1]

Funny you should mention the decompression chamber...I was at EMP in Seattle last year, where Jefferies' maquette of the Stage 9 sets was on display, and there was some discussion of the decompression chamber door leading to no-where (the other side was a corridor normally, so a "wild" wall must have had to be changed out for the chamber itself). At least I think that is what Will Smith (Feek61 here) had told me. Anyway, I shared a recollection of reading somewhere years ago that the chamber turned up in the movie "The Big Bus". Memory is a funny thing, and I hate to pass along mis-information, but does ANYONE here know if that is true or at least recall reading that (maybe in one of Gerrold's or Asherman's books from the 70s or 80s?).

 

[Treadwell]

Yes it intrudes into the Jefferies Tube corridor. The cameraman's elbow would practically be in the tube when shooting actors in front of the chamber.

Never heard that about the Big Bus, would be need to find out. It didn't show up in a google image search.

 

[trynda1701]

I'm guessing Mr. Cawley's 11 foot Enterprise replica won't be done by then, so will probably have to go again some time in the future to see that.

There's going to be an Enterprise replica at the tour? Does anyone know who is supplying it?

 

[feek61]

I believe James is building it with help from some of those who help restore the original miniature. Should be fantastic!

 

[cultcross]

I'm definitely going to have to make a special effort to visit the set tour next time I'm in the States

 

[Ronald Held]

Hopefully it will be completed by Trekonderoga.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I also would like to mention that the TOTAL raised by the KS in question was $50,000 - all of it spent as promised, not to mention previous fundraising efforts that contributed to FINISHED and RELEASED product.

There seems to be a concerted effort in some circles to use the actions of Mr. Cawley as a "hey, they did it too!" to justify the actions of Mr. Alec Peters.
Mr. Peters took in $1.4 million, and only has some unfinished sets, an unfinished "studio" (being vacated this month) a handful of short "trailers" that sound like they were recorded in a trash can, and two minute walk and talk scene shot in a parking lot to show for that total amount.
Slight difference, eh?

 

[Kelso]

It sucks that Mr. Cawley is experiencing the inconvenience of people inquiring about the unfulfilled Kickstarter promises.

Seems like it would have been easier to just send out a backer update.

 

[GSchnitzer]

It sucks that Mr. Cawley is experiencing the inconvenience of people inquiring about the unfulfilled Kickstarter promises.

Seems like it would have been easier to just send out a backer update.

By your reckoning, what promises remain unfulfilled?

 

[Phoenix219]

Uhm. The episode?

 

[GSchnitzer]

Yes. As stated earlier in this thread, work continues (at a snail's pace) on "Torment of Destiny" to get it finished and released.

What else? (Kelso mentioned "unfulfilled promises." Since the plural indicates "more than one," I'm wondering what all the unfulfilled promises are--apart from the one that has already been acknowledged as being still outstanding.)

Other than "the episode," I'd like to try and close out whatever else is outstanding. What are they?

 

[Kelso]

I know it's been a while, Greg, but a DVD copy of "World Enough and Time" was offered as a perk.

 

[GSchnitzer]

Thank you. I thought all the DVDs offered as perks went out. I'll double back with James and find out what's up and try to shake loose whatever needs shaking.

 

[Kelso]

Honesty, I'm not even concerned about that. I know the risks when I put my time or money into a fan project. Hell, I've been waiting ten years or more for a Starship Exeter "Making of The Tressaurian Intersection" DVD to materialize.

What annoys me is the is the attitude that anyone who asks about it is being a nuisance. You accept $50,000 of other people's money, delete your website and Facebook page, don't send out a backer update for a year, and then respond to your supporters with "OK, I am going to answer this Fan film question one last time..."

Give me a break.

Edit to clarify that I'm not talking about you, Gregg. You've never been anything but courteous and gracious.

 

[MCKurland]

Dammit, Jim! Are you just going to let those brainless Ferengi at CBS smash you down?!? Jim, get back your command before you turn into part of that museum.