The Axanar Problem | Star Trek Fan Films & The Trouble With Alec Peters

The Star Trek Fan Film 'Axanar' is back in production, and news headlines. While supports of Axanar are rejoicing over the release of a new trailer showcasing footage from the upcoming 2-part featurette, Alec Peters, the Axanar Producer/Ares Studio President, is wrapped up in another financial scandal. In today's video, I recap the previous lawsuit between Axanar and CBS/Paramount and share a few potentially troubling stories surrounding Alec, the sale of Star Trek memorabilia, defamation, and potentially violating the CBS/Paramount settlement from 2017.

LLAP!
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Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise based on the television series created by Gene Roddenberry. The first television series, simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons on the television network NBC.
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I do NOT own the rights, images, sounds or videos for Star Trek. These belong to CBS, Paramount, and their parent companies.
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#StarTrek #Axanar #Lawsuit

[Ketwolski]

*CORRECTION: **5:50** Robert Meyer Burnett was listed as the director for the AXANAR Feature Film, not PRELUDE. He edited PRELUDE, whereas Christian Gossett directed it.*
Yes, I know I miss-pronounce 'Alec' a few times. Try not to have a crap-attack over it 😜 So what do you think about Alec Peters and his many lawsuits? Do you think CBS is going to take Axanar back to court? SOUND OFF!
*LINKS*

[simonchambers]

I believe axanar was a Missed opportunity to help reinvigorate the franchise. I think the entire situation was mishandled and could have resulted in a success story for everyone. All the money spent on lawyers was a waste. A profit sharing deal with some oversight to address other concerns would have been better

[tdrewman]

I knew they were in trouble when they raised more than a million dollars.

[TriAngulumAudioStudios]

I completely agree with everything you said here... I gave Alec the full benefit of the doubt... But it's clear now that he is simply a liar... I know editing can create clever facts... BUT his statement was not edited and as such he admitted to something that he had sworn was untrue before... Also my own personal experience with him leads me to believe that he is far shadier then he'd like everyone to know! This was a brave video to make and I hope that people can discuss this topic like adults and not let feelings degenerate this discussion in to a crazy hate free for all! Keep up the great work Ketwolski! You have great hair!

[bovnycccoperalover]

CBS and Paramount are killing the "goose that laid the golden egg" not just by going overboard with their guidelines but with quality of the rebooted Star Trek films by Paramount and the series named Star Trek without feeling like Star Trek.

There's enough real trek in the movies and series to satisfy everyone!

[brucesmall]

Alex Peters paid himself roughly $60, 000 for a salary which was a serious no-no if doing a fan production film.

[Opnnd]

I remember when they made that comment about them being "Professional Filmmakers and that they intended to bring Star Trek fans the star trek they really want. These two statements, taken together, is a declaration to compete against CBS with their own IP.

The problem is that prior to this, CBS had never posted any sort of official guidelines for fan films. They didn't have to. Until this, no fan film runner ever declared themselves a professional with an intent to deliver what CBS wasn't delivering (the star trek the fans really want). They just made fan films, enjoying the process, and enjoying the community's reception of it. If they managed to get an official trek alumni involved, in front of or behind the camera, then it was a plus for everyone concerned. But they always knew, at the end of the day, they neither owned nor could they claim any rights to Star Trek, and that their work was allowed to continue by the grace and mercy of those who do own the rights.

Axanar was the disrespectful upstart that needed to be slapped down. BUT, because there were no written guidelines drawing the lines in the sand, CBS could not do anything to them that they were not also willing to do to everyone else. So the guidelines were rolled out. And going forward, deviations from them will prompt CBS to take action without any bias.

We do not live in the United Federation of Planets, where nobody owns anything. We live in the real world, where the United Federation of Planets is just a piece of the intellectual property owned by a corporation. That intellectual property known as Star Trek was in fact created by an individual for the purpose of being sold to a studio so he could pay his bills, but was smart enough to ensure he retained creative control. At no point in the history of Star Trek did its owners grant or imply any rights to fans beyond the right to be fans.

Now a very smart thing CBS COULD do, but probably won't, is look at the fan films being produced completely within the guidelines, and identify the most resourceful ones that do not serve to contradict the canon of the era in which they are set, and then legitimize them, offering a 60/40 revenue split and authorization to produce an series of 15 - 30 minute episodes. The result would be an influx of diverse content under the Star Trek name. The caveat would of course be that acceptance of legitimization would mean that only the pilot episode which would have been produced under the guidelines, would be allowed to legally exist on any platform other than CBS All Access, unless put there BY CBS. Another restriction would be that these series cannot be set USS.Discovery, on the USS Enterprise from any official TV series or Film (no bloody NX-01, NCC-1701 Prime, A, B, C, D, E, F* or J), on Deep Space Nine, on the USS Defiant, or on the USS Voyager. In other words, the settings and crew must be unique. Alternate universes would be allowed where the rules of the Prime universe or any officially-deployed alt universe may be contradicted, but classified as a branch of the era in which they are set. CBS could take 60% of all calculated revenue for legitimized series, and the 40% share would be distributed among all the series based on their overall monthly viewership. By this token, anyone could potentially become the producer of a great Star Trek series that would run parallel to official shows and films, but they would have to earn their funding based on viewership. Crowd funding would be allowed, but it would be managed by CBS, meaning that it, too would be subject to the 60/40% split. but the 40% in this case would go directly to the series being supported. This would allow smaller productions to survive, even if viewership is low. I say CBS should get 60% because the only way something like this could EVER happen is if it serves to really benefit CBS and ensures that what is produced does not step on their toes.

But that will never happen, even though it could.

[keithnewton]

If cbs paramount had any sense they would have commissioned the film and used it themselves

[jerrygrimes]

What are your thoughts on the fan based Star Trek Continues? IMO and I think the law says this as long as you are paying homage and not making a profit it's fair game.

[directeducation]

In Japan, fan versions of popular manga are often published and the creators are okay with it because it only adds to the visibility of their product.

[bomat]

Trademark laws need to change. CBS and Paramount’s ownership should be loosened or altogether released.

[imptv]

Bravo on another great video, Ketwolski! As always, thank you for your research and dedication to accurate reporting and fair editorializing.

This whole situation is just so disappointing. I don't want to say that Alec Peters ruined all Star Trek fan films for everyone for all time, as we can't know that CBS wouldn't have cracked down on fan productions at some point in the future anyway, but it's unfortunate that one shady opportunist bent and eventually broke the generally accepted rules for producing this kind of content, forcing CBS to respond.

It's also unfortunate that CBS's draconian response was so unnecessarily overzealous that it alienated even more fans - the ones that hadn't already checked out after years of misguided prequels (Enterprise), alternate timeline prequels (the Kelvin timeline), and a long hiatus from television. When they did get around to making a new show (that's steadily improved, despite a lot of behind-the-scenes creative tumult), they isolated Discovery and all other live action Trek shows behind a paywall (in the US at least) to prop up their pitiful attempt at a streaming service.

I don't expect to see live action Trek back on network TV again any time soon, but I sincerely hope that in time, maybe after the merger finalizes, that CBS/Paramount will relax the rules and once again let fans express their love of Trek in longer-form stories.

[shankthebat]

There's a lot of people who have put out Axanar hit-pieces that were more emotional and salty than a balanced discussion of the facts. Though I would add that the world of fan films has been exactly like this from day 1. Drama, in-fighting, spats over money, and props. Leaders who leaded poorly, contributors who thought too much of their contributions, legal issues. It's all the same old song with different singers. The only difference between Anaxar and any other fan film that was a behind-the-scenes disaster is that Axanar looks too professional for Paramount to ignore.

[bcukdannage]

Yeah, everyone is hating on DBS for shutting down the fan community, but it felt very much (under the covers) like they were largely p*ssed that the crowd funding was paying for the studios, so he was basically monetising the IP, whereas all the other fan sites were simply doing their thing and then finishing.

[williampeck]

So I've personally donated to both Prelude, and the first Axanar Movie campaigns. This of course began in 2014, then they had another kickstarter for Axanar proper. Then right before the suit happened he had stated in one of his production update vlogs on the Axanar Youtube channel that he was going to be starting another.


At this point I don't care if it's ever made! I did receive some patches, and a Prelude blu ray, but all we really got for all that money and how many years, was 20 minutes of video, and some vlogs. I no longer participate in their Facebook fan page, nor am I subscribedd to the Youtube channel. Those production vlogs I spoke of, I don't believe they are up any longer, but I bet Robert Meyer Burnett still has them, as he's the one that shot them, and was a participant.


I still get emails asking for donations, I believe under the guidelines they can still raise a certain amount of funds, though I could be wrong. Basically stating that the suit bankrupted the production, and he can't make Axanar without help. So why was he going to do another kickstarter prior to the suit then? I'm just so disappointed by the whole mess that I want nothing more to do with it! I usually delete the emails, but after this video I saved the 2 most recent ones. If you ever want to I can send them to you and any future ones I receive. This is just my 2 cents, just how I feel. I mean no disrespect to anyone, just wanted to speak my peace. Thank you.

[drstewartshermanful]

Well if CBS is SO against this, then hire homie and put out some good shit instead of that trash they got goin now.

[Wayne_C_Kelly_II]

I Truly Do Enjoy Axanar. Even The Clip With Sarek.
It's A Shame If All Of These Legal Matters Are True.
Taking Fandom And Swindling Hearts Is Devious And Underhanded.

[MrBranboom]

Why didn't CBS look to build a mechanism to have successful fan film productions pay royalties? That would have solved so many future problems.

[TTony-tudm]

It’s really simple - CBS allowed fan films as long as you did not male money off them. Peters ignored this and used intellectual property he didn’t own to make profit, causing CBS to shut the door on everyone. CBS has the absolute right to protect the copyrights they own. Check out James Cawley’s essay on the subject; as a person involved in the fan film community he lays it out very welll

[stevew]

The thing that gets me is that the Enterprise fan film Horizon was about to crowdfund a sequel, but CBS contacted the creator and told him to hold off because the studio was having to deal with the Axanar production. They were apparently nice and polite about it, telling him that he should probably wait until they deal with Alec Peters. Then Alec acted like such an ass that CBS had to put the fan film policy in place ruining it for everybody.