"The Reverend Mother always says, 'When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window'."
New Voyages Site Update?
- Thread starter JoeRalat
- Start date
I've enjoyed most Phase II/New Voyages outings - but I have to say Mr. Crawley seems a glutton for self punishment here if he really has had no fun with it for the past 9 years.
As I recall James has made big final sounding proclamations in the past and yet the sky didn't fall. Until I see the sets being dismantled or sold off it's just wind.
Would you believe him if CBS announces a prohibition on fan films or if they release very restrictive draconian rules?
That would be different because that wouldn't be coming from him alone. I'm not dissing James. He just has a history of dramatic statements.
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This is very unfortunate news. Is there any possibility James would simply remove himself and hand over responsibility for the show to a lieutenant (say... maybe that guy Greg Schnitzer? I've heard he's good, right?)?
It's absolutely right for him to do what makes him happy; this is just a hobby, after all. But STNV is an institution that touches a lot of people, and I would like to see it continue beyond James.
It's absolutely right for him to do what makes him happy; this is just a hobby, after all. But STNV is an institution that touches a lot of people, and I would like to see it continue beyond James.
I'm flattered.
If CBS is shutting down fan films and or crowdfunding to fund those fan films--and if this is just a preemptive "change before you have to" move by James, I probably can't do any better at producing no-longer- allowed fan films than James can.
If CBS is shutting down fan films and or crowdfunding to fund those fan films--and if this is just a preemptive "change before you have to" move by James, I probably can't do any better at producing no-longer- allowed fan films than James can.
As regards my earlier use of the term "dust-up", it was pretty clear to even casual browsers of this forum that something was going on and that seemed the most general term to pop into my head. It was always my hope that any competitive energies would manifest themselves in the productions and that, as a consequence, we the viewers would get better product from both sources.
Is there stuff that you guys (and Vic and his guys) know but can't/don't want to say? (Not asking you to spill the beans of what you know, but only whether or not you know something.)
I ask that (non-hostile-y) because at least to me, your posts can be read as if you have some knowledge/buzz of something bad coming down the pike. And a couple of days ago on the STC home page someone said in a comment something along the lines of "I hope [Axanar] doesn't end up goading CBS into draconian restrictions" to which Vic responded "that's EXACTLY what has happened." The most obvious reading of that is that Vic knows or expects there will be guidelines and they will be nasty.
So when two of the biggest fanfilm products seemingly hint at evil on the way, well, it makes a fanfilm fan kinda worried.
What a shame. I have nothing but respect for James Cawley and all that he's accomplished. I've enjoyed all the NV/Phase II episodes, but I'll always be especially thankful that we got to see filmed versions of Kitumba and Mind Sifter.
I have no insider knowledge of what Paramount/CBS might decide in the Axanar suit. nor do I have any information on what, if any ramifications there might be in the Guidelines CBS has indicated they are working on (which I suppose are unrelated to the Axanar suit). If the Guidelines are anything like the Star Wars fan film Guidelines, it would be pretty disruptive to our Business As Usual at STNV--especially if it impacts our ability to fundraise. (Perhaps you simply haven't heard that CBS is working on fan film Guidelines--and some have speculated that they could be draconian.)
If it's not a ground-floor window then it's not much of an exit strategy.
Let us assume, for the sake of discussion, that that doesn't happen. (It could, but it hasn't, and might not.) What then?
"Change *before* you have to."
Without getting into specifics, we have a fairly high monthly burn rate. How to support those costs monetarily in a (potentially) "no crowdfunding" era seems not immediately obvious--and somewhat problematic. Interested in gifting a grand or two?
I think the exit strategy is not through a ground-floor window--but we have some interesting ladders in the works.
I'm really glad to hear there are some exit strategies being considered! It is unfortunate that we've come to this point, of course, but STNV has evolved before under pressure, so hopefully the next evolution works out.
And, yes, I hear you on the money stuff. Excelsior's typical annual out-of-pocket costs probably couldn't buy ten square feet of the STNV set. We are doing our first episode that costs real money this year, and fundraising was an insane three-week headache. I spent two weeks afterward just recovering, and I still sank several thousand dollars of my own money into covering costs despite our wonderful community's support. I have no idea how you guys do it day in and day out, forever. Props on keeping it up as long as you have.
Search this very forum for anything you can find about Kitumba. There lie the answers you seek. Spoiler Alert: Everyone's favorite asshole, Alec Peters, played a huge part of that process too.
I sincerely hope however that James will not be shutting down New Voyages. While I have had my issues with the production but I do not want to see it go away.
One of the issues I recall was a swipe James made where he accused a past PII/NV participant who went on to work on STC as betraying loyalty. He just has a habit of banging away at the keyboard in a fit of passion only to brush it under the rug later while accusing anyone who cross-posts or comments on the drama as seeing things that were never there in the first place. If he thinks this is none of our business he should not share his thoughts so openly.
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