Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Abrams Says Paramount Will Drop Star Trek/Axenar Lawsuit (gizmodo.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the live-long-and-prosper dept.

An anonymous reader writes:At a fan event Friday for the upcoming Star Trek movie, producer J. J. Abrams said Paramount Pictures' lawsuit against Axanar Productions was "going away." Director Justin Lin had been outraged by the lawsuit against the crowdfunded fan Star Trek film, and when he'd started discussing the situation with Abrams, the two "realized this was not an appropriate way to deal with the fans. The fans should be celebrating this thing. Fans of Star Trek are part of this world. So he went to the studio and pushed them to stop this lawsuit and now, within the next few weeks, it will be announced this is going away, and that fans would be able to continue working on their project."
In a statement, Axanar said they still "want to make sure we go through all the proper steps to make sure all matters are settled with CBS and Paramount..." adding "There is still a lot of work to do, but receiving this kind of public support helps immensely."

13 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sanity reigns??? by irving47 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's wait and see.... I am slightly optimistic and a tiny bit relieved... Unfortunately, even if it's true, it doesn't mean the "full" version is going to get made.

    But we're talking about companies that allowed film rights to go to one, and tv rights to another.... For the same franchise that had been under the same roof for 30+ years.... Sanity is not the first word I'd use for either of them.

    --
    I had a sucky sig.
  2. Of course Paramount and CBS are nervous by davmoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can understand why Paramount and CBS are nervous about Axanar. Having seen the trailers for "Star Trek: Beyond" and the short "Prelude To Axanar", I think that Axanar is going to be a hell of a lot better than Beyond. And Axanar looks like Trek. Beyond looks more like "Star Trek: Fast and Furious In Spaaaaace!!!!"

    --
    I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
    1. Re:Of course Paramount and CBS are nervous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Holy God. I had been ignoring the Axanar news until I read your comment. Then I looked for it on YouTube and saw the faux-documentary about the lead-up to Axanar. That was better than anything Trek has ever produced, and yet it did still look like Trek. It wasn't cheesy or self-absorbed in fan-ishness. My only complaint is that I had a hard time believing that the Klingon commander would sit down for an interview; other than that, it was gorgeous and good.

      Thanks, dude. You made my evening.

    2. Re:Of course Paramount and CBS are nervous by malditaenvidia · · Score: 2

      "Beyond" what?

    3. Re:Of course Paramount and CBS are nervous by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Kirk makes out with a chick who looks like a zebra, ho hum.

      Trek used to be a show about ethics and the prime directive where they'd solve a mystery of the week, overcome a paradox of time travel or Wesley would be sentenced to death.

      Now it seems all about the explosions and space warfare.

    4. Re:Of course Paramount and CBS are nervous by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      From what I saw it looked like Axanar is a bunch of talking head shots with zero crew, no real sets, and an astonishing marriage between making what they have look impressive while actually having nothing to look at.

      That's actually pretty good for, so far, having nothing to look at.

      It's easy (very easy) to mock a new Star Trek that boldly goes mostly where the existing franchise has gone before,

      Especially when it's going to go places it's gone recently.

      but the fan films seem to be... well, fan films.

      And yet still better than anything official in ages.

      Paramount/CBS really don't have any reason to be nervous beyond confusion in the marketplace,

      That's not a problem anyway, because the existence of any quality Trek content increases the value of all Trek content.

      The whole prelude thing is clever and they did a great job dressing up a zero-budget talking head thing with nice CG and familiar actors, but there would be an open revolt if this is the quality of the upcoming "All Access" Star Trek product.

      You just said the quality was good, and now you're complaining about the quality?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Axanar by gavron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The company is Axanar Productions: http://www.axanarproductions.c...

    The movie is Prelude to Axanar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    There's no "e" in Axanar, unless the E is for the missing slashdot editor who approved it without bothering to read.

    E

    1. Re:Axanar by NormAtHome · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is Slashdot remember, the day that everything is spelled right and the grammar is all correct will be the internet apocalypse

  4. Re:Sanity reigns??? by rtb61 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It looks bad, straight off the get go. Jar Jar A can not afford any worse of a reputation with sci fi fans, his dumbed down (for us not for him, I really think he is doing the smartest possible off which he is capable) content, is really annoying those for whom the science and story is the most important part of science fiction and not empty action scenes which suit the cheetos crowd. The star trek series teaser is pretty bad, wrong music, really wrong voice for the narrator, all cheetos action and no science, all indicates Saturday afternoon cartoon fare shown on a week night. The law suit was doing even more damage and reality is that content in the fan made pick is more science and story and does not really compete with Jar Jar's which is targeted at a completely different audience, all science 'from the gut' action and you just know they will being tossing more Christianity into star trek to appeal to their target audience.

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  5. And that folks, is why there was a lawsuit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You just nailed the entire reason for the lawsuit.

    Everyone knows the property is being trashed.

    No Trek fans are genuinely excited about Beyond. It looks like gatbage.

    And here comes a fan film that cost next to nothing and it's actually awesome. It's true Star Trek to its core. No cheesy stunts. No action heroes. No "genius" twenty-somethings who look like models. No stupid banter in the face of imminent death.

    Just narrative and character.

    Paramount should be scared. They hired a formulaic hack to repackage Star Trek for the action-movie crowd and it's wearing thin on the fans.

    1. Re:And that folks, is why there was a lawsuit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No Trek fans are genuinely excited about Beyond. It looks like gatbage.

      Well, guess what: they don't care about Trek fans. It's a tiny market that doesn't matter to them, they want the rest of the audience. They're willing to turn Star Trek into an action series, as long as regular people not into Star Trek go and see their movie. The Trekkie market is minuscule in comparison to what a multi-hundred million dollar movie needs to make a profit.

    2. Re:And that folks, is why there was a lawsuit by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Trek fans are an irrelevant slice of the market, and trying to appeal to them is what made the franchise horribly unprofitable.

      Excuse me? When did Paramount or CBS try to appeal to Trek fans, past the first couple of movies? DS9, maybe? Other than that they've aimed straight at schlock central, nonstop.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Re:Sanity reigns??? by wbr1 · · Score: 2

    It looks bad, straight off the get go. Jar Jar A can not afford any worse of a reputation with sci fi fans, his dumbed down (for us not for him, I really think he is doing the smartest possible off which he is capable) content, is really annoying those for whom the science and story is the most important part of science fiction and not empty action scenes which suit the cheetos crowd. The star trek series teaser is pretty bad, wrong music, really wrong voice for the narrator, all cheetos action and no science, all indicates Saturday afternoon cartoon fare shown on a week night. The law suit was doing even more damage and reality is that content in the fan made pick is more science and story and does not really compete with Jar Jar's which is targeted at a completely different audience, all science 'from the gut' action and you just know they will being tossing more Christianity into star trek to appeal to their target audience.

    Science is important? Where is the real science in a jefferies tube or a tachyon beam or dilithium? While I prefer the older stuff to Abrams, he hasn't done terrible with the story. It is fair to good, which is what many of the old shows and movies are with some exceptions (Amok TIme, Wrath of Kahn, City on the Edge of Forever).

    And please, tell me where he is shoving Christianity in?

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.