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Axanar Is Many Things, But Not Transparent Fan-film producers owe its donors a full and complete financial audit
While Winston & Strawn attorney Erin Ranahan has media outlets — and, she hopes, a judge — jumping through hoops trying to compare Mr. Spock to Nosferatu, a much bigger question looms. A question that seems to get bigger and bigger as both sides rack up legal costs, and the thought of there being a fan-film called “Star Trek: Axanar” becomes more and more unrealistic. Where has all the money gone? Just before CBS Corp. and Paramount Pictures …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Apr-1-2016 |

William Shatner Is 85 Today — Really? We take a look at how everyone seems to be getting better with age
The Earth stopped on March 22, 1931 for just a few seconds, because yes, even Terra Prime needed to mark the moment William Shatner came into the world. It’s hard to believe that today’s he’s 85 years old. We see him in the original “Star Trek,” in six movies, and how active he is today — this man is never going to retire. And we don’t want him to. In fact, Shatner has the energy of a 35-year-old, which is exactly how old he was when “Star Trek” first premiered in 1966. If someone told him — or anyone else from the cast and crew — that 50 years later, we would still be hono …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Mar-22-2016 |

Context Is The Key To Understanding The lawsuit against ‘Star Trek: Axanar’ is not big corporation vs. fans, Michael Hinman says
I think it was the late artist Kenneth Noland who said it best: “For me context is the key — from that comes the understanding of everything.” A decade or so ago, I mentored a few journalism school students, providing a real-world look at how journalism was operating at the time to compare and contrast what they were learning in college. One of them asked me once what I felt were the most important elements in journalism, what I held most sacred. The obvious answer, of course, is truth. But a very close second is context. That’s because without appropriate context, truth is …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Mar-18-2016 |

The Troll That Alec Peters Built Guest columnist Sandy Greenberg talks about how Axanar case affects him
I think I was destined to love science-fiction. I was born while the Apollo 9 mission was in Earth orbit testing the lunar module. I like to think my first moments of life were listening to the live broadcast of it. When I came home from the hospital, my mum would nurse me while watching the last few episodes of the original “Star Trek.” It’s mainly because of her I love sci-fi. Growing up, the only books in the house were by Asimov, Bova, Herbert and many more. One of my beliefs regarding science-fiction is that more is better, and I like nearly everything. From cl …

SANDY GREENBERG | Mar-16-2016 |

Star Trek Dream Team? It Failed 30 Years Ago Roddenberry, Meyer, Fuller, Kurtzman … what does history say about this?
For the first time in 12 years, Star Trek will be back on television with a new episode. Well, kind of, I guess. It will be on CBS All Access, the online subscription-based streaming platform that will bring Star Trek into the future. And many fans, including myself, have drawn many parallels between what CBS is doing now in terms of distribution, and what it did 30 years ago, when it launched “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” You remember that, right? First-run syndication was practically unheard of. Back in 1987, if you wanted a television show produced, you approached NB …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Mar-10-2016 |

Boldly Going Nowhere Near … The ‘Axanar’ script and good Star Trek films
When I was asked to read the script he’d gotten for the controversial fan-film “Star Trek: Axanar” and write up my thoughts regarding the script, I was more than happy to oblige. I’d already expressed my doubts over the “professional” nature of the project’s production plan. Taking a look at the script and seeing how if it worked based on what I’ve learned about writing, directing, and producing, was definitely of interest. Besides, I just really wanted to know if the script …

JODY WHEELER | Mar-3-2016 |

‘Axanar’ Must Stop Trying To Control The Conversation There’s passion, but then there’s crossing a line
Last weekend, 1701News was provided what was claimed to be an early draft of the screenplay for “Star Trek: Axanar.” “Axanar,” in case you missed it, was an “independent” fan-film production that has raised more than $1.1 million in crowdfunding to create what was supposed to be a feature-length look into the backstory of the original “Star Trek” episode “Whom Gods Destroy.” I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with the script. I skimmed through it, and to me, it really looked like something you should expect from a passionate fan. There’s nothing wrong with having that …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Mar-3-2016 |

Tony Todd Is Awesome, But Still Misunderstood Latest rumors appear to be completely off base
I’ve received a few messages over the last couple days asking why we are covering everything there is to cover about Star Trek, but we’re completely ignoring Tony Todd. In fact, one person asked why I hated Tony Todd. Really? I guess it’s not unfair to ask me that. I mean, there are a couple people in Trekdom I really could live without. But Tony Todd is not one of them. I loved him as Worf’s brother Kurn in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” I loved him as a much cooler adult Jake Sisko in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” I picked up “Candyman” on DVD to watch him there, even …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Feb-25-2016 |

Are Expectations Too High In ‘Axanar’ Lawsuit Response? With an answer due just days from now, Michael Hinman looks a what we might see
It’s been quiet on the Axanar front lately. And while many expect that will change next week when the legal team representing the Star Trek fan film files an answer in the copyright infringement suit from CBS Corp. and Paramount Pictures, they might come out of it a bit disappointed. Since CBS and Paramount sued the “Axanar” production as well as its main producer, Alec Peters, last December, the fan production has brought in pro bono representation from Winston & Strawn …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Feb-18-2016 |

‘Axanar’ Misses Mark As Professional Film Indie film producer, director Jody Wheeler takes hard look at lawsuit-plagued production
Independent filmmakers, like me, have a tough job. Without the deep pockets of a studio, we’re forced to be creative when we compete with the “big boys.” Our key weapon, the singular advantage we have in creating a memorable work that will impress audiences and engage imaginations, is to put the most money (and there’s never enough of it) on the screen as we can. The smarter decisions we make, the more creative we get with utilizing limited resources, the better we differentiate our needs vs. our wants, the more money we’ll have to put invest in the meaningful tools that mak …

JODY WHEELER | Feb-9-2016 |

What Does A Fan Film Need With $2 Million? Robert Meyer Burnett is out of touch with how to marry filmmaking with fandom
A few nights ago when Robert Meyer Burnett messaged me out of the blue on social media, I wasn’t quite sure how to react. I mean, here is the man who so entertained me back in the late 1990s with “Free Enterprise,” a fun film that starred William Shatner as an alternate version of himself, and celebrating Star Trek fandom with the likes of Rafer Wiegel and a pre-“Will & Grace” Eric McCormack. Such a wonderful script written by Burnett and Mark A. Altman, and it was probably one of the first times I really felt like it was truly OK to be a Star Trek fan. So speaking out …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Feb-5-2016 |

A Quote Is A Quote Is A Quote Is A Quote After high-profile interview, ‘Axanar’ head expresses quoter’s remorse
When John Kirk approached me on the idea of doing an interview with Alec Peters, the man who was leading the “Axanar” Star Trek film production and the defendant in a copyright infringement suit, I was not keen on it. Not that every journalistic bone in my body didn’t want to scoop competitors on an interview no one else had … but because I knew that no matter how we handled it, Peters would go back to his isolated little social media world and spin anything he said as if Donald Trump was his mentor. But here’s the thing: Quotes don’t lie. And I put in safeguards to ensur …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Feb-2-2016 |

The Klingon Story We’ll Likely Never See It’s time we give the greatest alien warrior race some respect
While thinking about what Alex Kurtzman might be cooking up for his new Star Trek series planned for CBS Interactive, I started to get anxious. This show is set to premiere in less than a year. But has Star Trek on television evolved enough to compete with how television itself has evolved? The last time there was a Star Trek series in production, it was 2005. There was no such thing as “binge-watching,” unless you were rich and could afford massive DVD sets. Amazing shows, like SciFi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica,” was getting hammered because it ditched episodic stories …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Feb-1-2016 |

DeForest Kelley’s Personal Life Spotlighted In Memoir ‘Fan Who Knew Him Best’ reflects on a Star Trek legend
It’s hard to be in a hospital room with a loved one. Final moments are labors of love built upon the foundations of devotion. One never resents or regrets this time because of all the love and good times shared with that person, and it’s an honor to share that remaining time with this special person. In the personal memoir “DeForest Kelley: Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best,” Kristine Smith was in that room with Star Trek legend DeForest Kelley, and in a way that could never be forgotten by her … or us. This is a personal me …

JOHN KIRK | Jan-31-2016 |

‘Axanar’ Will Ruin Fan Trek For Everyone Guess what? Fans aren’t entitled to Star Trek franchise, Michael Hinman says
There always was a slippery slope when it came to what I always felt was a generous move by Paramount Pictures and CBS Corp. to turn a blind eye not just to Star Trek fan fiction but Star Trek fan productions as well. Some of the early attempts were very low budget. It was more about good writing and some extreme technical know-how to make some of those early fan-produced episodes, and it seemed there was nothing for CBS/Paramount to worry about. Then James Cawley turned the entire fan production industry on its head with an elaborate continuation of the original “Star Trek” s …

MICHAEL HINMAN | Jan-2-2016 |