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endgame [2016/04/09 03:21] – created Carlos Pedraza | endgame [2018/03/09 14:19] (current) – [Speaking Out] format fix Carlos Pedraza | ||
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====== Endgame ====== | ====== Endgame ====== | ||
- | A Hollywood producer, and former collaborator of //[[Axanar]]// director [[Robert Meyer Burnett]], lays out how he believes the production' | + | <wrap lo>//See also: [[endgame_2|Endgame II: The Settlement]]//</ |
- | Lukas Kendall, who worked on Burnett' | + | A Hollywood producer, friend and associate of // |
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+ | Lukas Kendall worked on Burnett' | ||
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+ | He posted a [[http:// | ||
[{{ :: | [{{ :: | ||
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===== Axanar' | ===== Axanar' | ||
+ | <WRAP right box 50%> | ||
+ | // | ||
+ | </ | ||
For its part, Axanar and its producer, Alec Peters (whom, curiously Kendall does not mention by name, preferring to call him "the Axanar principal" | For its part, Axanar and its producer, Alec Peters (whom, curiously Kendall does not mention by name, preferring to call him "the Axanar principal" | ||
- | > This is something they and their followers will dispute…but please. They raised over a million dollars in multiple efforts. They used their donor funds to lease a warehouse … and turn it into a soundstage which [[axanar_myths# | + | > This is something they and their followers will dispute…but please. |
Kendall notes that Peters himself lies at the center of Axanar' | Kendall notes that Peters himself lies at the center of Axanar' | ||
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> By his own admission, he paid himself a salary because Axanar is his full-time job. Sorry, but this is the opposite of what making a fan film is supposed to be. Axanar is not a hobby, it is a profession, allowing him to enjoy the lifestyle of a film producer and specifically a Star Trek film producer: adulation, creative fulfillment, | > By his own admission, he paid himself a salary because Axanar is his full-time job. Sorry, but this is the opposite of what making a fan film is supposed to be. Axanar is not a hobby, it is a profession, allowing him to enjoy the lifestyle of a film producer and specifically a Star Trek film producer: adulation, creative fulfillment, | ||
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+ | // | ||
+ | </ | ||
===== Why Axanar' | ===== Why Axanar' | ||
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- Use [[discovery]] to turn up unflattering facts about CBS and Paramount’s finances, business deals and ownership of Star Trek.(([[http:// | - Use [[discovery]] to turn up unflattering facts about CBS and Paramount’s finances, business deals and ownership of Star Trek.(([[http:// | ||
- | Indeed, the defense [[motion to dismiss# | + | Indeed, the defense [[motion to dismiss# |
+ | |||
+ | But Kendall warns that none of those reasons actually gives Axanar much leverage: | ||
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+ | > All they are doing is making CBS dig in their heels. Legally, politically and in every possible way, CBS will never agree to a settlement that allows Axanar to be made. It would be a massive humiliation and an admission that they can be abused and bullied by people they perceive to be thieves.(([[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Why Axanar Can't Win ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Kendall doesn' | ||
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+ | > It would basically [mean] there’s no such thing as copyright. I would be shocked if they got as far as depositions, | ||
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+ | Kendall said he believes Peters is fighting the lawsuit because he can't see any other way out: | ||
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+ | > To some degree … the principal is delusional, and he found a law firm that loves the publicity and is egging him on. … He just wants to postpone the disgrace of admitting he has failed his donors.(([[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== What CBS Wants ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Kendall suggests a phone call from Axanar to CBS could end the lawsuit by offering to: | ||
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+ | - Wind down operations completely. | ||
+ | - Refund donors' | ||
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+ | He also believes CBS would insist on a third condition: That Alec Peters " | ||
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+ | That would include Peters' | ||
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+ | > They want him to vanish off the face of the earth. That’s how much they loathe and distrust him.(([[http:// | ||
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+ | Unfortunately, | ||
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+ | > I would bet anything that CBS would accept this — but CBS cannot propose it legally. Axanar needs to propose it and have CBS accept. … Will Axanar do that? No. Not right now. It’s too painful for the principal.(([[http:// | ||
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+ | Kendall called for public pressure to get " | ||
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+ | [{{ : | ||
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+ | ===== Aftermath ===== | ||
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+ | An end to the lawsuit leaves some hanging threads however, which Kendall addresses: | ||
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+ | ==== Disappointed Donors ==== | ||
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+ | He suggests soothing donors who will never see the movie by giving them the script, even though he admits, " | ||
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+ | Donors may be hurt, but the script may let them nurse their wounds. Kendall observes: | ||
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+ | > Axanar successfully made their donors think they were getting the best thing since sliced bread. When they eventually read the script, some people will still believe that. But most will go, “Oh…Okay.”(([[http:// | ||
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+ | ==== Ares Studios ==== | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
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+ | The assets Axanar built out in its leased warehouse, which it refers to as [[Ares Studios]] are currently up for sale to a [[investor_group|secret private investor group]]. This poses a problem even if the lawsuit ends, Kendall noted: | ||
+ | |||
+ | > That [sound] stage has a significant “burn rate” that will exhaust the donor money and get Axanar evicted—unless Axanar leases it for commercial use. Both options are problematic. The stage cannot be liquidated (dismantled) in order to repay the donors, but clearly somebody—be it the landlord or the next tenant—is going to benefit from the donors’ largesse.(([[http:// | ||
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+ | What are the options? Kendall observed: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * CBS won't let Peters or any of the [[Does|unnamed defendants]] operate the studio; they " | ||
+ | * A trustee of some sort could operate the property in order to earn back donor money sunk into the studio. | ||
+ | * Possibly, a public auction of the rights to operate the studio. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yuck, what a can of worms," | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Speaking Out ==== | ||
+ | Finally, he explained his reason for speaking out: | ||
- | If you think any of that (particularly no. 3) gives Axanar | + | > As much as I love hate-watching |
- | It’s also impossible | + | <WRAP round info> |
+ | <wrap lo> | ||
- | So why is Axanar fighting | + | His Star Trek credentials include producing most of the recent collector’s edition soundtrack CDs, including |
+ | </ | ||
- | Kendall is a producer and actor, known for //Lucky Bastard// (2014), //Basil Poledouris: His Life and Music// (1997), in addition to //Free Enterprise//, | ||
- | He is also known as the editor and publisher of the film music appreciation newsletter and website, [[http:// | + | ---- |
+ | **Keywords** {{tag> |