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Lucasfilm Sanctions Star Wars Fan Films

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-sorta-anyway dept.

BigBragger sent us a story that talks about a deal between Lucas and Atom Films to allow Star Wars parodies to be distributed legally. It's a mixed bag: Lucasfilm gets a piece of the pie, and gets to choose what goes online at the site. But it does create an official place to get those vid clips like Troops which are just awesome but somewhat underground. I guess as long as they don't go after other parodies I'm cool with it, but there's something that I can't describe about this leaving a funny taste in my mouth. It's probably just paranoia.

3 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. It's not just a coincidence that... by dfay · · Score: 4

    ...it leaves a funny taste in your mouth. Lucasfilm would like everyone (including our government) to believe that we need their permission to use the words "Star" and "Wars" in the same sentence. In reality, parody is a protected form of speech, which people can engage in without the permission of those being parodied. Just ask Weird Al Yankovik. After that, you can ask him how many times he's had to legally defend himself from jealous or offended pop stars and their rabid attorneys, and how many times he has kept his right to parody.

    If Lucasfilm controls what parodies are allowed, do you think that anything beyond delicately poking fun would be permitted? What if you have another "Star Wars meets South Park" type of idea and you want to distribute it. Do you think Lucasfilm will give their blessing, no matter how funny it is?

    It's time for Hollywood and Lucasfilm in particular to be reminded that we live in a country in which personal freedom is more important that a corporation's ability to make money. Actually, it's about time for a lot of people to be reminded of that.

    Dave

    If you build a man a fire he's warm for a day,
    If you set a man on fire he's warm for a lifetime.
    -- Unknown

  2. they aren't "allowing" anything by L-Train8 · · Score: 5

    The way I read it, this will be the "official" SW parody site. LucasFilms cannot restrict parody, that fair use right has been upheld by the supreme court. What they can do is work with parodyists whom they like in order to make the "official" website.

    LucasFilms gets some advertising money from the deal, so does Atom Films. The parodyists get exposure. No unauthorized or unapproved parodies will be restricted, they just won't be hosted on the "official" site. They are actually throwing their support behind the people who make good parodies. That sounds great to me.

    --

    Don't forget that Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.
  3. ATTN: Paranoid /. First Amendment Freaks by Shiva+Lingham · · Score: 5
    READ-THE-FUCKING-ARTICLE. They (LucasFilms) are not hunting down or trying to restrict in any way unauthorized Star Wars parodies on the web, and this is not implied in any word of the article. They (LucasFilms) are sponsoring and judging a Star Wars parody contest on AtomFilms, and are generously providing original sound effect files from the films. They are also getting a piece of ad revenue from traffic generated by this contest. Your rights under the law to spoof, satire, and parody to your hearts content are still protected. This is still Amerikkka the Free.

    We now return you to your scheduled paranoid ranting.