CONTENTS |
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Saturday, January 23: Republic
& Treklanta Dinner Meeting
Saturday, January 30: Star
Trek: The Ultimate Voyage Concert
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carel
Struycken confirmed as Guest of Honor for Treklanta
Treklanta
to screen Browncoats: Independence War fan film
Plant joins Ind. Star
Trek Fan Film Awards judges panel
Personnel Records
Library Computer
Recent Chapter Event Photos
SIDEBAR
Belated October
Birthdays
September
Member Reenlistments
December Membership
Renewals
About the Republic
For More Information
USS Republic Online
Crew Roster
|
News from HollywoodReporter.com |
|
Crowdfunded Star Trek movie draws lawsuit
from
Paramount, CBS |
|
News
from Variety.com |
|
Star Trek crowdfunded film's producers sued by CBS,
Paramount |
|
News
from Deadline.com |
|
Paramount sues producers of Star Trek fan
films |
|
News
from TrekMovie.com |
|
Star Trek: New Voyages releases "The Holiest Thing" |
|
UPCOMING
EVENTS
USS
Republic Early Winter Dinner Meeting & Treklanta
Staff Meeting
7:00 p.m. Saturday, January 23, 2016
Marlow's Tavern
4156 Lavista Road, Tucker GA 30084
(678) 987-1197 |
All
members and friends of the USS Republic, as well as
all current Treklanta
directors and staff volunteers (and anyone who's interested
in becoming one), are cordially invited to attend our Early
Winter Dinner Meeting at Marlow's Tavern, adjacent to the
DoubleTree by Hilton Atlanta Northlake hotel in Tuckerwhere
this year's Treklanta will be held! This meeting
will be a mixture of business and pleasure, social and serious,
as we discuss plans for both the Republic over the
next six months as well as the convention, all while enjoying
a delicious dinner from Marlow's excellent menu. Interested
in joining the Republic? Join us! Need
to renew your membership dues? Join us! Want
to become involved with the convention? Join us! Just
want to hang out for a while with a great group of folks who
love Star Trek? Join us!
Marlow's management has asked us to let them know if we expect
more than 15 people to attend, so if you're planning to join
us, please click "Join" on our Facebook
event page.
Marlow's
Tavern has a warm neighborhood yet contemporary feel and features
the "Best of the Best" in American tavern fare served in a
modern atmosphere. The menu offers a diverse combination
of classic dishes that are updated and elevated to a higher
level, including a wide variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches,
burgers, entrées and desserts, as well as a full-service
bar. Appetizers range from $4.50 to $13.00, sandwiches
and burgers range from $8.50 to $15.50 and dinner entrées
range from $14.00 to $20.00. For more information about
Marlow's Tavern, visit their web site at marlowstavern.com. |
|
Away
Mission to Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage Concert
8:00 p.m., Saturday, January 30, 2016
The Fabulous Fox Theatre
660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta GA 30308 |
Star
Trek: The Ultimate Voyage brings five decades
of Star Trek to concert halls for the first time
in this galaxy or any other.
This lavish production includes an impressive live symphony
orchestra and international solo instruments. People
of all ages and backgrounds will experience the franchise's
groundbreaking and wildly popular musical achievements while
the most iconic Star Trek film and TV footage is
simultaneously beamed in high definition to a 40-foot-wide
screen.
The concert will feature some of the greatest music written
for the franchise including music from Star Trek:
The Original Series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture,
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV:
The Voyage Home, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star
Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and much more. This
never-before-seen concert event is perfect for music lovers,
filmgoers, science fiction fans and anyone looking for an
exciting and unique concert experience.
USS Republic Away Mission!
Make plans now to join your friends and fellow
Republic crewmates for this awesome once-in-a-lifetime
musical event!
|
PLEASE
NOTE: THE USS REPUBLIC WILL BE SEATED AS A GROUP
IN SECTION "UP GRB" (Gallery Right B, Upstairs),
WHICH IS IN THE LEAST-EXPENSIVE, "NOSE-BLEED"
SECTION OF THE THEATER.
|
The
least-expensive tickets available for this concert are $27.50
plus a $12.70 "ticket fee" for a total sales price
of $40.20 each when purchased online. Note:
"Better" seats are still available in the theater
at a total sales price of over $60 each, but the Republic
has decided to sit as a group in the lowest-priced seats
available.
|
TO
PURCHASE YOUR TICKET AND SIT WITH THE REPUBLIC:
CLICK
HERE, THEN SCROLL DOWN TO THIS IMAGE:
|
|
Click
on the "GRB" section to be taken to the following
image:
|
|
The
green circles represent seats that are still available for
sale. Make sure to click one or more green dots
in the "Section UP GRB" section to choose one or
more seats with the Republic, then click "Continue"
to pay for your ticket(s).
Once you have completed your purchase, please contact
the Captain and let him know so we'll know how many
people to expect and plan for. |
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carel
Struycken confirmed as Guest of Honor for Treklanta
|
Treklanta
is delighted to announce that Carel Struycken has
been confirmed to appear at our 2016 convention! Treklanta
is the annual Star Trek and space opera convention
hosted by the USS Republic.
|
|
Best
known to the general public for playing Lurch in The Addams
Family (1991), Addams Family Values (1993) and
Addams Family Reunion (1998) motion pictures, Mr. Struycken
is best known to Star Trek fans for playing Mr. Homn,
Lwaxana Troi's assistant and valet, in five episodes of Star
Trek: The Next Generation (1987-92) and The Spectre in
the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Thaw" (1996). Mr.
Struycken also played King Terak in the Star Wars TV
movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), The Giant
in five episodes of Twin Peaks (1990-91), Trader in
the Babylon 5 episode "Soul Mates" (1994) and Arquillian
in Men in Black (1997). He most recently played
Matthew Kinkaid in The Blacklist episode "The Mombasa
Cartel (No. 114)" (2014).
Mr. Struycken was born in The Hague, Netherlands. When
he was four years old, his family moved to Curaçao, an island
in the Caribbean, where, at age 15, he composed several Caribbean
waltzes. At 16, he returned to his home country, where
he finished secondary school and graduated from the directing
program at the film school in Amsterdam. After that,
he spent a year at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
An avid photographer, Mr. Struycken lives in the Los
Angeles area with his wife, with whom he has two children.
Mr. Struycken will attend Treklanta's exclusive VIP Champagne
Reception on Friday night of the convention, host a Q&A hour
with his fans on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, serve as
a judge for the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant on Saturday
evening and serve as a presenter at the Independent Star
Trek Fan Film Awards on Sunday afternoon. He will
also be available for autograph signings and portrait photo
opps throughout the weekend.
Additional Guests of Honor include Mr. Jack Stauffer
(Lt. Bojay from Battlestar Galactica), Fan Guests of
Honor Mr. & Mrs. John & Bjo Trimble (the "Saviors of
Star Trek") and Author Guest of Honor Mr. Keith
R. A. DeCandido, whose Star Trek writing credits
are... well, enormous. Treklanta will present live performances
by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company and puppeteers
Felt Nerdy, as well as Dirty Harry's Karaoke Cantina,
our second annual Star Trek Stand-Up Comedy Show, Mr.
Stauffer's "How Come I Never Got the Girl?" cabaret, our annual
Treklanta Masquerade, the Independent Star Trek Fan
Film Festival (presenting two dozen new fan films released
in 2015), two tracks of programming devoted to Star Trek
and space opera, and MUCH more.
Treklanta will be held April 15-17 at the DoubleTree by Hilton
Atlanta Northlake hotel in Tucker, Georgia. Memberships
are only $40 for adults, $20 for children 6 to 12, and free
for kids under 6 (with registered adult). Hotel rooms
are only $91 a night. Prereg and book your room NOW at www.treklanta.org!
|
Treklanta
to screen Browncoats: Independence War fan film |
Treklanta
is pleased to announce that Browncoats: Independence War
will be screened at our convention in April.
Browncoats: Independence War is a not-for-profit fan
film inspired by the universe created in the Joss Whedon TV
show Firefly. It is a labor of love by a group
of "Browncoats" (Firefly fans) that span both northern
and southern California, though the epicenter of the project
is California's Silicon Valley. It is a not-for-profit
production designed for contests, festivals and fan conventions. |
|
Originally
planned as a 25-minute fan film short and funded with multiple
crowdfunding campaigns, writer and director Francis Hamada
later expanded the film into a full-length, 98-minute feature. Treklanta
supported the production of this film with a donation in July
2014 and received a copy of the final film in December 2015.
It is April in the year 2511. For six months, sixteen
combat brigades of the Independence Army had held off an Alliance
assault on the planet Hera. After fighting for months,
the final battle of the war begins. This film deals
with several squads of the 5th Battalion of the 76th Combat
Brigade. The soldiers are tasked with a dangerous mission:
Evacuate civilian refugees who have been caught in the Valley
before they are all killed by the inevitable Alliance assault.
Browncoats: Independence War will be screened at Treklanta
as part of our Space Opera programming track. Treklanta
will be held April 15-17 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Atlanta
Northlake hotel in Tucker, Georgia. Memberships are
only $40 for adults, $20 for children 6 to 12, and free for
kids under 6 (with registered adult). Hotel rooms are
only $91 a night. Prereg and book your room NOW at www.treklanta.org!
|
Emmett
Plant joins Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards
judges panel
|
Treklanta
is pleased to announce that Emmett Plant has joined
our panel of judges for the 2016 Independent Star Trek
Fan Film Awards. Treklanta is the annual Star
Trek and space opera convention hosted by the USS Republic,
and the Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards were
introduced at this past year's convention.
Mr. Plant is a writer, composer, sound designer and producer
who has produced over twenty Star Trek audiobooks for
CBS Studios and served as the audio engineer for "How to Speak
Klingon," in stores now. As a writer, his work has been
featured on Salon, The Wall Street Journal and
Gawker Media's io9.com. He has served as a Slashdot
Author and the Editor-in-Chief of Linux.com.
In addition to his work on Star Trek that has spanned
the last decade, Mr. Plant has composed soundtracks and designed
sounds for over fifty video games on many different platforms,
including PC, Mac and mobile devices. He currently serves
as the creative director for his production company, Clockwork
Jetpack.
Mr. Plant was a guest of honor at TrekTrax Atlanta (now Treklanta)
in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He lives in Arizona.
Mr. Plant joins previously seated judges Diana Dru Botsford,
Keith R. A. DeCandido, Matthew M. Foster, Robert
Greenberger, Lawrence M. Schoen, Rick Sternbach
and Bjo Trimble. The Independent Star Trek
Fan Film Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 17,
at Treklanta. Memberships to Treklanta are currently
only $40 for adults. Please visit www.treklanta.org
for more information about Treklanta and the Independent Star
Trek Fan Film Awards. |
Personnel
Records
|
STARFLEET
Academy Course Completions |
|
Congratulations
to Ens Charles
Brent Chapman, who received a grade of HONORS for
the STARFLEET Academy course "Officer's Training
School" from the Institute of Leadership Studies,
completed on December 15, 2015. |
|
Congratulations
to Ens Charles
Brent Chapman, who received a grade of DISTINCTION
for the STARFLEET Academy course "TOS Rank Recognition"
from the Institute of Military Studies, College of Security,
completed on December 16, 2015. |
|
Congratulations
to Ens Charles
Brent Chapman, who received a grade of DISTINCTION
for the STARFLEET Academy course "Citizens' Band
Radio, Family
Radio Service & General
Mobile Radio Service" from the Institute of Science
& Technology, STARFLEET Officers Radio School, completed
on December 15, 2015. |
|
Congratulations
to Ens Charles
Brent Chapman, who received a grade of DISTINCTION
for the STARFLEET Academy course "Amateur
Radio" from the Institute of Science & Technology,
STARFLEET Officers Radio School, completed on December
15, 2015. |
|
|
STARFLEET
Academy is a special collection of correspondence courses
available to every STARFLEET member. Over 60 Academy
Colleges offer courses spanning all aspects of Star Trek
and science fiction; some courses even cover non-sci-fi real
world topics. Each college offers dozens of different
courses at varying levels of challenge from super-easy to
really hard. In total, there are nearly 1,000 different
courses available. Take
a course today!
Something
special going on in your life? Submit
your Personnel Record for publication in the next
issue of The Republiqué! |
Library
Computer
CLICK IMAGE TO SEE TRAILER |
|
From
the 2002 Dragon*Con, here's the 7-foot-tall Carel Struycken
at his TrekTrak Q&A with the 6-foot-tall Eric L. Watts,
when the latter was Dragon*Con's Director of Star Trek
Programming and four years before being elected Commanding
Officer of the USS Republic. In case you missed
it, Mr. Struycken has been confirmed as a Guest of Honor
for this year's Treklanta in April.
|
Recent
Chapter Event Photos
CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
North
DeKalb Mall Halloween Bash &
Star Trek Fan Film Mini-Festival || October
31, 2015
|
|
|
ENS3
Carly May, ENS3 John May, Lt. JG Tiffany Johnson, Lt. JG
Lee Johnson, Ens Gaylen Greve, Ens Vicki Greve, Russell
Adams, ENS1 Tracey S. Harwell, José Cepeda, FCapt
Eric L. Watts, Renee Cooper
|
|
|
Ens
Vicki Greve and
Ens
Gaylen Greve
|
Lt.
JG Lee Johnson and
Lt. JG Tiffany Johnson
|
|
|
Republic
CO FCapt Eric L. Watts with Star Trek Natures Hunger
creator, producer and star José Cepeda (left) and
longtime friend of the Republic Kathy Graham Wynn
(right)
|
|
Ens
Gaylen Greve, Lt. JG Lee Johnson, Kathy Graham Wynn and
Lt. JG Tiffany Johnson enjoy some delicious pizza from Dantonio's
|
|
José
Cepeda, Lt. JG Tiffany Johnson, FCapt Eric L. Watts, Lt.
JG Lee Johnson
and Russell Adams (Admiral Robins in Star
Trek Natures Hunger)
talk about what's happening in the independent Star
Trek
fan film community
|
|
|
Four
of the best independent Star Trek fan films to be
released recently were screened at the Mini-Festival. Renee
Cooper made sure that hailing frequencies were open.
|
|
Adm
Kelly S. Hilliard, CDT4 Zarena Tucker, ENS1 Zannetta Tucker,
ENS1 Richard Tucker, Adm Mike Henigan, ENS1 Tracey S. Harwell
and Ens Gaylen Greve enjoying food, friendship and fan films
|
|
ENS1
Tracey S. Harwell, Kathy Graham Wynn, Russell Adams, Lt.
JG Tiffany Johnson and Lt. JG Lee Johnson are captivated
by a fan film
|
|
Vic
Mignogna as Captain Kirk and Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock
in an emotionally charged scene from "The White Iris,"
a recent episode of Star
Trek Continues
|
|
|
BELATED
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
Friday, October 2
ENS1 Nelson M. Barnhouse
Wednesday, October 7
Ens Richard Blake
Wednesday, October 14
Ensign
"Wolfy"
Saturday, October 24
ENS1 Mark A. Ozanick
|
MEMBER
REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in September. Thank you!
ENS1 Russell J. Broomfield
ENS1 Tasheka Gipson
|
DECEMBER
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
These members' dues expired in December.
Please renew now!
CRR Karl Dissinger
ENS1 Todd Dissinger
ENS1 Germaine M. Webb
|
|
ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
|
The
USS Republic NCC-1371 was originally commissioned
as a chapter of STARFLEET International on May 14, 1988,
at the Dixie-Trek convention in Atlanta, Georgia. As
of January 17, 2016, the Republic crew includes 40
members who are active members of STARFLEET in good
standing.
|
The
Republic plans and coordinates an active schedule
of events for its members, but does not hold meetings
on a consistently fixed date each month.
|
Because
the USS Republic is a duly commissioned chapter
of STARFLEET International and is bound and governed by
its Constitution and By-Laws, membership in STARFLEET
is a prerequisite for membership in the Republic. STARFLEET
dues for one person are $20 for a "Standard Membership"
or $10 for an "E-Membership" and chapter dues are $10
per person for either membership option. A
combined payment for all dues is collected by the Republic
(family discounts are available with certain conditions
and restrictions). Additional information about
the two STARFLEET membership options, amounts due for
additional family members, payment options and payment
instructions is on the "How to Join" page of our award-winning
web site.
|
MEMBERSHIP
DUES
|
PDF
STARFLEET NEWSLETTER EMAILED TO YOU
|
#
PP
|
SFI
+
|
REP.
=
|
TOTAL*
|
1
|
$10
|
$10
|
$20
|
2
|
$15
|
$20
|
$35
|
3
|
$17
|
$30
|
$47
|
4
|
$19
|
$40
|
$59
|
*CASH;
PAYPAL FEES APPLY
|
|
PRINTED
STARFLEET NEWSLETTER MAILED TO YOU
|
#
PP
|
SFI
+
|
REP.
=
|
TOTAL*
|
1
|
$20
|
$10
|
$30
|
2
|
$25
|
$20
|
$45
|
3
|
$27
|
$30
|
$57
|
4
|
$29
|
$40
|
$69
|
*CASH;
PAYPAL FEES APPLY
|
|
FOR
MORE INFORMATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USS
REPUBLIC ONLINE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CREW
ROSTER
AS OF JANUARY 17, 2016
|
|
|
NEWS
from
|
|
Crowdfunded
Star Trek movie draws lawsuit from Paramount, CBS |
By
Eriq Gardner
December 30, 2015
|
Axanar
aims to be a professional-quality prequel and has raised
more than $1 million. |
For
decades, Paramount and CBS have tolerated and even encouraged
fans of the Star Trek franchise to use their imagination
at will, but on Tuesday, the entertainment companies went
to their battle stations and launched a legal missile at
a production company touting the first independent Star
Trek film. |
Axanar,
the subject of a lawsuit filed on Friday in California federal
court, is no ordinary Star Trek film. The
forthcoming feature film (preceded by a short film) is the
source of more than $1 million in crowdfunding on Kickstarter
and Indiegogo. The producers, led by Alec Peters,
aim to make a studio-quality film. As the pitch to
investors put it, "While some may call it a 'fan film' as
we are not licensed by CBS, Axanar has professionals
working in front and behind the camera, with a fully professional
crew—many of whom have worked on Star Trek itself—who
ensure Axanar will be the quality of Star Trek
that all fans want to see." |
Paramount
and CBS see a violation of their intellectual property. |
"The
Axanar Works infringe Plaintiffs' works by using
innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including
its settings, characters, species and themes," states the
complaint. |
Axanar
has become one of the biggest film projects in Kickstarter
history and has been nearing warp speed with the reported
help of Star Trek actor George Takei. The film
mines subject areas referenced in the late 1960s Gene Roddenberry
television series and appears to be a prequel. |
According
to a description of the movie on the defendants' web site,
"Axanar takes place 21 years before the events of
'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' the first Kirk episode of
the original Star Trek. Axanar is the
story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain
who is Captain Kirk's hero. ... Axanar tells
the story of Garth and his crew during the Four Years War,
the war with the Klingon Empire that almost tore the Federation
apart. Garth's victory at Axanar solidified the Federation
and allowed it to become the entity we know in Kirk's time.
It is the year 2245 and the war with the Klingons
ends here." |
By
August, Peters was giving interviews expressing confidence
that the project would survive any legal heat. He
spoke to The Wrap that month and reported having
a meeting with CBS. He says he was told the film couldn't
make money—and evidently, he took that to be a good sign
that his film would be tolerated as long as it wasn't a
commercial endeavor. "CBS has a long history
of accepting fan films," Peters told the entertainment site.
"I think Axanar has become so popular that
CBS realizes that we're just making their brand that much
better." |
Not
so fast. |
Paramount
and CBS, represented by attorneys at Loeb & Loeb, are now
demanding an injunction as well as damages for direct, contributory
and vicarious copyright infringement. Although the
plaintiffs have allowed ample cosplaying over the years
and even permitted other derivatives like amateur Star
Trek shows to circulate, the lawsuit illustrates that
there is a place where no man has gone before, where
the entertainment studios are not willing to let be occupied:
crowdfunded, professional-quality films that use copyrighted
"elements" like Vulcans and Klingons, Federation starships,
phasers and stuff like the "look and feel of the planet,
the characters' costumes, their pointy ears and their distinctive
hairstyle." |
In
an interview with The Hollywood Reporter following
the filing, Peters says, "We've certainly been prepared
for this and we certainly will defend this lawsuit. There
are a lot of issues surrounding a fan film. These
fan films have been around for 30 years, and others have
raised a lot of money." |
Peters,
who notes he is a lawyer and has licensed other products
from CBS, says he asked CBS to give guidelines similar to
what Lucasfilm has done for fans of Star Wars, but
that CBS/Paramount haven't, in his opinion, "because of
fear they are going to give up some rights." |
Paramount
and CBS gave us this joint statement after the posting of
our original article: "Star Trek is a treasured franchise
in which CBS and Paramount continue to produce new original
content for its large universe of fans. The producers
of Axanar are making a Star Trek picture they
describe themselves as a fully professional independent
Star Trek film. Their activity clearly violates
our Star Trek copyrights, which, of course, we will
continue to vigorously protect." |
|
NEWS
from
|
|
Star
Trek crowdfunded film's producers sued by CBS, Paramount |
By
Dave McNary
December 30, 2015
|
Paramount
Pictures and CBS Studios have sued the makers of the upcoming
crowdfunded Star Trek film Axanar for alleged
copyright infringement. |
Axanar
Productions and Alec Peters have been named in the suit,
filed in federal court in Los Angeles. The project
raised $638,471 on Kickstarter and another $565,531 on Indiegogo. |
The
producers have asserted on their web site that Axanar
uses the intellectual property of CBS under the provision
that Axanar is totally non-commercial. |
"That
means we can never charge for anything featuring their marks
or intellectual property and we will never sell the movie,
DVD/Blu-ray copies, t-shirts or anything which uses CBS-owned
marks or intellectual property," they note. |
Paramount
and CBS are alleging three claims of copyright infringement
in the suit: "The Axanar Works infringe plaintiffs'
works by using innumerable copyrighted elements of Star
Trek, including its settings, characters, species and
themes." |
The
action alleges that producers of Axanar have "unabashedly"
taken the CBS and Paramount intellectual property to "look
and feel like a true Star Trek movie." Paramount
and CBS are seeking an injunction along with damages for
direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement. |
Peters
told Variety he's perplexed that Paramount and CBS
had filed the suit since he's pledged that it won't be a
money-making venture. |
"All
the money that's been donated goes into the production and
our goal is to do good for Star Trek," he added.
"We are huge fans. They are picking a fight
with the wrong guys." |
The
project's web site says the film will go into production
in January. The producers posted a short film,
Prelude to Axanar on YouTube as part of their fundraising
efforts. |
The
production company describes Axanar as taking place
21 years before the events of the "Where No Man Has Gone
Before" episode in the original Star Trek television
series. |
"Axanar
is the story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain
who is Captain Kirk's hero. We met Garth in the
third season TOS ('The Original Series') episode 'Whom Gods
Destroy.' Kirk called Garth the role model for
all future Starfleet officers. Garth charted more
planets than any other captain and was the hero of the Battle
of Axanar, the story of which is required reading at the
academy." |
The
first Star Trek episode aired in 1966 and the series
ran for three years. Four other TV series have aired
and Paramount has released a dozen Star Trek movies
with Star Trek Beyond due out in July. |
Paramount
and CBS are represented by attorneys at Loeb & Loeb. The
news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter. |
|
NEWS
from
|
|
Paramount
sues producers of Star Trek fan films |
By
David Robb
December 30, 2015
|
Paramount
Pictures and CBS Studios have filed a copyright infringement
suit against the producers of Axanar, which bills
itself as a "ground-breaking independent Star Trek
film." The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court
in Los Angeles, seeks monetary damages and an injunction
restraining the producers from distributing, marketing and
selling the film. |
The
producers already have produced a short film titled Star
Trek: Prelude to Axanar and have raised close to $1
million through crowdfunding to produce a full-length Star
Trek movie. |
"The
Axanar works infringe plaintiffs' works by using
innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including
its settings, characters, species and themes," the suit
states. "The Axanar works are intended to be
professional-quality productions that, by defendants' own
admission, unabashedly take Paramount's and CBS's intellectual
property and aim to 'look and feel like a true Star Trek
movie.' On information and belief, defendants have
raised over $1 million so far to produce these works, including
building out a studio and hiring actors, set designers and
costume designers. The Axanar works are
substantially similar to, and unauthorized derivative works
of, plaintiffs' Star Trek television series and movies,
in contravention of the copyright laws of the United States." |
The
suit notes that the two films are "substantially similar
to the Star Trek copyrighted works," with Vulcans,
Klingons and many of the original franchise's characters
portrayed throughout. |
"We're
doing what other fan films have done for 30 years," Alec
Peters, the producer of the Axanar films, told Deadline.
"Maybe CBS feels threatened by the quality of what
we're doing." |
Peters,
a named defendant in the suit, declined to comment on the
specifics of the suit, but said, "We plan to fully defend
it." He said the feature film will start shooting
in February. |
|
NEWS
from
|
|
Star
Trek: New Voyages releases "The Holiest Thing" |
By
Brian Drew
January 18, 2016
|
The
fan production Star Trek: New Voyages has released
the latest installment in their long-running series. |
The
new episode, "The Holiest Thing," is the tenth entry in
the series and features an appearance by someone very familiar
to Star Trek fans. |
From
the episode summary: |
Captain
Kirk and the Enterprise investigate the devastation
of Lappa III, apparently by the terraforming efforts of
Dr. Carol Marcus. |
The
episode is written by Rick Chambers and stars Brian Gross
as Captain Kirk, Brandon Stacy as Mister Spock, John Kelley
as Dr. McCoy and Jacy King as Carol Marcus. Daren
Dochterman, who was the visual effects supervisor for the
Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture,
directs. |
|
|