Just call CBS legal to hear it directly from them. They may tell you they don't have a problem with it but Viacom and/or Bad Robot might.
Regarding Fan Films set in the Abramsverse
- Thread starter Captain Jed R.
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Just call CBS legal to hear it directly from them. They may tell you they don't have a problem with it but Viacom and/or Bad Robot might.
Answer to what? From who? Oh, and sorry if real life prevents some people from being here constantly....
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
I'm fairly certain Maurice is referring to this post:
...which has been roundly ignored by everyone from Phase II so far.
Personally, I find it rather disingenuous and highly suspect that such a large miscommunication could actually have existed between you and James (who in this very thread publicly denied your assertion that it was CBS Legal who put any fan film activity tied to the Abrams films continuity was taboo) all this time. Too, you guys at P2 (all of you) could really stand to take some advice when it comes to your PR machine. From James publicly bitching and moaning about the Abrams films on his Facebook page months before they're released while at the same time you go and use mockups of the advertising campaign of those same films to promote Phase II all the way to here on this very board where it takes constant hounding to get the simplest answers out of anyone (see: Vic Mignona's credit on "Kitumba," or this thread here.)
Perhaps if you guys weren't so sensitive about every last minute detail, you might not have as many vultures circling.
I don't know if you meant this to read as snide, but it's awfully hard not to read it that way. Maurice posed his question on October 31. The question went unanswered and he inquired again on November 2. By November 11, two days ago and nearly two weeks after posing the question for the first time, he posted the response you are now having an issue with.
Nobody expects you to read this site constantly, but it's beyond obvious you guys don't like the spotlight when it comes with tough questions because time and again, you just disappear. You put your titles of all the cool things you do for P2 in your signatures, so it's great when there's praise to be had but the minute there's any kind of accountability, any kind of inquiry that might not make you guys look great, WHOOSH! No one can be reached.
She didn't say 'get a life.' She said that she (and I) have lives. And frankly, she asked me privately who that 'crickets' was aimed at, and I told her I thought your attack was aimed at ME. So if it wasn't, you should get an editor. I was the most recent person you had attacked, clearly an activity you feel a need to do. And do again. And again. I had decided I would let you have the last word. My primarily purpose when I come here is to make sure I don't miss fan film releases. Ideally, I also track fan films that are being produced. It does not help the accuracy or completeness of Star Trek Reviewed for me to engage in fights.
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doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Why wouldn't Andriech just respond here? I mean, it's pretty evident that the repeated query Maurice posted was about the glaring discrepancy between what Andriech had been telling us all along re: Abrams-continuity vs. what James revealed last week. I just don't know how that could be misconstrued to anyone who tool the time to read the two pages of this thread.
This indictment is as laughable as it is unnecessarily rude.
Please, cite for us examples of Maurice "attacking" you.
I could understand if you were leveling this criticism at me because I do, admittedly, have a tendency to get ahead of myself, but Maurice has never, ever been anything BUT professional and polite on this board.
Unlike most of you in this forum, he's a professional filmmaker and unlike even more of you, he actually knows what he's doing and even more amazing (especially based on how some people have reacted to him here and elsewhere) he continues to share his wealth of knowledge in the Fan Filmmaker and Fan Film Writer's threads.
Except that Maurice's post ("crickets") came nine days after the previous one. Do you think it's possible he might not have been altogether worried about what your opinion is, Barbreader, as you are just a bystander like the rest of us?
Alternatively: In the nine days between those posts, is it possible that he was referring to you as you also had not taken any time to respond?
You guys have lives! That's wonderful. Guess what? Everyone does. It changes nothing though with regard to how lousy Andriech, Loken, James, and David Gerrold have been with their handling of PR here.
But at the end of the day - Andriech is a no-show, unable to answer any of the tough questions. Which, let's be honest, if she can't even get the legal issues right about the production she spends day and night working on and that her boss comes in to publicly dispute with her about, her absence might not be such a bad thing.
Too, now Barbreader you are inserting yourself in to the fight, despite previous suggestion that the comments were not directed at you.
Once again - being in the spotlight is great when things are going well. ""World Enough and Time" is the best fan film ever!" ---> You just won't get enough of Loken, Patty, etc. showing up to answer questions and take the praise. The only person on that damn staff that seems to be any good at answering questions and dealing with the public is GSchnitzer.
"How could you guys have such a ghastly misunderstanding about continuity and what's allowed?" ---> CRICKETS.
Professional production indeed!
So, Barbreader, unless you're actually a part of the Phase II production team and can answer any of these questions, try to accept that perhaps your ruffled feathers here may just be due to unfortunate timing and sequnce of posts made.
You may not miss any of the fan film releases, but you sure as hell miss the point.
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Yes, I said I am up to my eyeballs with my real life right now and haven't been able to visit the boards. (closing 5 halloween stores, booking James' shows, planning and promoting James' shows, planning/designing/creating museum exhibits, getting P2 the stuff they need to film, moving after 21 years....etc etc etc) so if someone was being snide about not getting an answer (which is sounded like) from me, they had higher expectations than I am able to meet.
And I guess I wouldn't have answered. While I believe I am quoting actual emails from the head of CBS legal to me, even if I had time to search through them, I always bow to what James says, as should everyone consider him the "ultimate voice" when it comes to CBS. As he is the primary contact and something may have been communicated in a phone call to him later that made it turn into his "opinion" that it was unwise to do JJverse fanfilms. That's my firm opinion...as it IS direct competition and they even shut down an "official" TOS museum exhibit...but my opinion isn't really worth a hill of beans..just a voice in the wind. James should always be the last word on these things...
And I guess I wouldn't have answered. While I believe I am quoting actual emails from the head of CBS legal to me, even if I had time to search through them, I always bow to what James says, as should everyone consider him the "ultimate voice" when it comes to CBS. As he is the primary contact and something may have been communicated in a phone call to him later that made it turn into his "opinion" that it was unwise to do JJverse fanfilms. That's my firm opinion...as it IS direct competition and they even shut down an "official" TOS museum exhibit...but my opinion isn't really worth a hill of beans..just a voice in the wind. James should always be the last word on these things...
I never "attack" anyone. I do point out hypocrisy, misinformation posing as fact, and I call out claims that do not have factual support. In my posts I rarely even use the word "you" or they. Argue the argument, not the arguer.
In short, a claim was made about the topic, it was contradicted, and several times I asked for how this could be, with no response, hence "crickets".
Hopefully that clarifies a matter which I assumed was self evident.
In short, a claim was made about the topic, it was contradicted, and several times I asked for how this could be, with no response, hence "crickets".
Hopefully that clarifies a matter which I assumed was self evident.
CBS can neither prohibit nor authorize any matters involving copyrights that aren't actually theirs. And while CBS holds the copyright to the overall Star Trek property itself, the rights to anything that's JJ-verse specific is held, not by CBS, but by Paramount and Bad Robot. So when CBS says that they simply will not permit fan-film use of the JJ-verse, it's likely that what they're really saying (in a round-about legalese fashion) is that they can't give you that permission as it's not actually theirs to give.
What defines the "JJverse" in legal copyright terms? It can't be the characters, because you can always say these are based on the original ones.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
This much has been made quite apparent by yourself, Loken and David Gerrold in the past few weeks.
We obviously can't speak for CBS or Bad Robot, but any competent legal department is going to keep its options open, and while they might turn a blind eye to things like fanfilms most of the time, they'll want to retain the option to slam the door closed and sue if they feel the circumstances merit it. If they ever were to say "you can do this and we won't act" that could effectively tie their hands if they ever felt the need to go to court.
Can we make fan-films in the JJ universe? I don't know. But I do know that a BBS member was planning an animated fan-series set in the JJ universe, and he posted artwork of the characters and ship designs. He was contacted by someone at the studio and asked to set his fan-cartoon in the prime universe, so as not to ruffle any feathers with the movie guys. Now it is going to be set in the TNG time period.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Too, and a point which I think is very much worth remembering in this precise context, is that no stipulation from CBS/Paramount has ever been simultaneously or equally applicable from one fan film to another. New Voyages/Phase II may have their marching orders, but that doesn't necessarily mean that CBS/Paramount would issue the same directives for, say Starship Exeter, Project: Potemkin, or Yorktown.
Historically, it seems (to the best of my recollection anyway) that any contact with the studio has come with varied instructions and guidelines. Phase II (andriech, really) was just the only one I remember going in to any explicit detail about.
Now, the majority understanding that I had been aware of until just recently was that CBS/Paramount had vetoed any fan films set in the JJ Abrams' film continuity. That information came to me from andriech's post a while ago where she spelled out all theg guidelines New Voyages/Phase II was (allegedly) given from Mallory at the studio. James Cawley has since debunked this particular point bringing us to where we are now.
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