Weird legal things certainly impacted the LOTR production, so I can see this might be the case. Still, if there is an active fan base and money to be made, one might see a path to a series as well as some movies (and let's hope the series would be better than the most recent movie).

Jan

BTW, remember that Prelude was done for 80K, and was a proof of concept film made solely to show the kickstarter world what they could do. They actually got about 800K for the setup of the studio and then about 525K so far for the film.

Yep, one reason I chose to back Axanar, it is really a way to say what you believe should be going on in entertainment, just as I do not go see Fast and Furious 47. I vote with my ticket and money. Which is the way it should be.

I'd long meant to catch up on this series, and just watched the first episode "Pilgrim of Eternity" I look forward to seeing what "Divided We Stand" says about freedom, and I think the show I saw was very well done.

But I was saddened to see that episode 1 is an open encomium to self-sacrifice, featuring the metaphysical contradiction that at least one being can gain the energy of life itself from self-sacrificial acts. And Kirk endorses self sacrifice as the way to live. So sad. It's either rape and pillage, or self-sacrifice, because there is no such thing as long-term self-interest or a right to live and be happy, at least, that's the attitude of the screenwriters.

Yes, the Prelude looks good, but its just a narrative with some CG. I do look forward to seeing their finished product. The attraction of ST Continues is the authenticity to STOS (and the nostalgia factor, too.) STC is also putting the ethical, heroic message and connection to its characters into the productions, and that is sorely lacking in almost every current production regardless of budget.

Jan, the whole Star Trek thing is a great study in Intellectual property and rights. While Paramount and Sony both have allowed loose use of the material there have been 2 cases of "cease and desist". Both involved cases where they tried to put thier stuff onto DVD and sell it to help fund more work. Prelude is trying to stay away from the main bulk of std Trek material, and most of the others have just blown ahead and hoped for the best. I think Paramount and Sony are using them to keep the franchise alive. There is much debate in the support community of where Trek is heading. of course the bulk is asking why no series, but there is some weird legal thing that came up after the JJ movies started that stalled any other productions.

If you liked that go to Prelude to Axanar and see something that I think is tops of this genre:

https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA
All fan funded, and voulunteer based but with a plan for the future. The 1st half of the movie is funded, and will start production in January.

Thank you for letting us know about this. I will look forward to watching the episode.

Hmmm. I wonder if the studios would permit them to make a profit off ads accompanying their video...? (Or maybe the studios will eventually get a clue as to what people would like to watch. Not gritty, not depressing...After all, it worked to revive the VW bug.)

Jan

As I understand it, Paramount and CBS only allow these productions if they are on a not for profit basis. I think the copyright owners might not approve if they charged for them. (just my opinion)

Thanks. I am amazed at how good these fan produced episodes are. I never thought there would be any beyond the original 79. I used to buy books with hit-and-miss fan fiction Star Trek stories in the 80s.

If they charged for these fan videos, I would pay for them. I never thought I'd see a time with fan videos available for free.

Thanks, Freedom. Lol. I always meant to watch one of those fan-based episodes. Very creative.