May 282016
 

I’d like to follow up yesterday’s post about Trek fan film guidelines by pointing out a little something that seems to be getting lost in the shuffle. About those guidelines…

Since when have they been necessary?  Many productions have asked for some, thinking they might step over a line, and that is understandable. But was there any other problem with the way things were, other than not knowing, for certain, where ‘the line’ was?

Those standing with Axanar are buying into this narrative that Trek fan film guidelines will make things better than they were, and therefore are necessary.

No. Nope. They are not necessary, and they could not possibly make things better because

EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT BEFORE PETERS WROTE HIMSELF A CHECK

And, they were perfect without officially sanctioned written guidelines.

Perfect. Continue reading »

May 272016
 

hypnotoad2Oklahoma City based Starbase Studios’ Scott Johnson made it very clear today that neither he, nor others affiliated with the studio, are in any way backing Alec Peters and his recently released Fan Film Guidelines.

In a post on the Starbase Studios Facebook page and in a short talk with this site personally, Mr. Johnson has made it very clear that the appearance of fan film unity on the matter is a mere facade, another embellishment by Mr. Peters to advance his ‘negotiating position’.

Mr. Johnson said he was added to the secret Facebook group and he looked through the proposed guidelines, without adding any comments. “Then I went to watch the (NBA) Thunder game on TV and I went to bed. I woke up this morning to a phone call telling me I was some sort of big time producer. One site is reporting that I am the producer of several films and it is being repeated all over the place. I’m not a producer, I’m a volunteer.”

Achieving Unity, The Hard Way

Clearly the guidelines were intended to show a unity among filmmakers, and perhaps unity has been achieved. Not the unity Peters envisioned though. “We are all in agreeance so long as one of us is not in the group.” said Johnson via telephone. “We are now all against Peters. None of us, as far as I am aware, want to be affiliated with the guy. He’s like the black plague. Everything gets blasted out online and no one is happy.” Continue reading »

Apr 222016
 

This.

This is why I stated my own blog in the first place…moderation. I’ve been accused of not being able to keep my nose out of others peoples business before…and there’s some truth to that. Of course, that business is usually public (meaning I have every right to an opinion) and messy.

And you learn a few things too I suppose when you run a blog that does interviews. Things I never understood before about why people lie or just how bad most of us are at it. The petty things they say to make you go away that just makes you want to know…”what the heck is this guy hiding?”

I’ve had to let a few go, quite a few. And for the blog, that’s probably for the best. This is ‘Moby’s: A Happy Place’ after all, not ‘Moby’s: Spotlight’. Actually that sounds rather good…like it might be a big, big hit.

Anyways, it’s a combination of keeping politics (mostly) off these pages and not needing to write about artists lying through their teeth about using digital vs. hand-drawn work, or some dude peddling overpriced Kickstaters. Nope, I’ve learned to walk away from a few, and the blog is better for it.

And Then Alec Peters Wrote Himself A Check. Continue reading »

Jan 032016
 

D6DecafBy now, you might have heard that Alec Peters’ Axanar, the non-Trek Star Trek Fan Film, is being sued by CBS and Paramount. I am still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing, but so far a few things seem to be coming into focus, for me at least.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece made by someone looking down from the cheap seats.

This is not a news article.

Look, it’s real simple. The envelope, the line, just kept getting pushed further and further.

At first, it was all out-of-pocket, and the only rule was don’t sell it. Then the caterer had to get paid, and that was OK because people gotta eat. Then someone outside donated to pay for the caterer, but nothing was being sold so no one cared. Then came the crowdfunding, and the big worry was that the production was driving that extra mile to the directors brother’s store to buy lumber, using the production to funnel a bit of the funds to friends or family. But nothing was being sold, so no one cared. 

Then Peters wrote himself a check…

In a nutshell, Axanar’s revised 2015 Annual Report clearly shows Alec Peters drawing a salary of $38,000 for the year, or about 6.5% of the budget. 

Salaries

 

That Report was released on December 15, 2015. About a week later the lawsuit was filed. Coincidence?

The issue seems to be hard for a lot of fans to grasp. Surely it must be about the amount of money raised! Or maybe it’s that Paramount is jealous at getting shown up over quality!

No, I am starting to think it’s where that money was going.

The concept of ‘making no money’ has somehow turned into ‘not making a profit’, which is not the same thing. A hat tip to Michael Hinman over at 1701news.com for pointing this out. Seriously, it’s a great opinion piece, way better than mine, you should go read it Continue reading »

Sep 202014
 

4years

Star Trek fans should really check out this Kickstarter by author Stephen Fender. Stephen is a published author with a pretty neat hobby; he likes to write Star Trek ‘fan fiction’. And he is working on a series of new Trek novels set during The Four Years War.

What is Star Trek: The Four Years War?

The Four Years War was a protracted conflict between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, which took place roughly ten years prior to the events depicted in Star Trek: The Original Series.

The entire war was outlined in a supplement for the FASA version of Star Trek: The Role Playing Game. While the supplement goes into some detail concerning battles, tactics, and political motives, it is lacking a great deal.

Being an avid fan of military history, I felt that this was a great project to test my abilities at novel writing. Thus, in 2011, this series was born.

Continue reading »

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