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We’ve been hard at work creating a new FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to provide answers to the most frequently-asked questions we receive via email and through social media.  Of course, if you have other questions, you can always check out our other FAQ pages (General FAQ’s, Donor FAQ’s or Trek Geek FAQ’s) or send us a question via our website.

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About The Lawsuit

Who is suing Axanar Productions and why?

Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios are the plaintiffs and are suing Axanar Productions and Alec Peters for alleged copyright infringement.

Why didn’t Axanar Productions get CBS and/or Paramount’s permission to make PRELUDE TO AXANAR and AXANAR?

Our understanding is that CBS doesn’t establish guidelines or give out explicit permission to fans to produce fan films (despite what you may have read to the contrary). According to CBS, every fan production relies on the benevolence of CBS in order to exist. Nevertheless, Axanar Production’s executive, Alec Peters, met frequently with CBS representatives seeking guidance.

The last meeting between Alec and CBS took place at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention in August of 2015. At that meeting, CBS’s representatives told Alec they would not say what a fan film could or could not do but that they’d let him know if AXANAR went too far.

Did Axanar Productions know it was going to get sued?

No. In fact, Axanar Production’s executive, Alec Peters, read about the lawsuit online—after it was filed—the same day it was published by the trade press. There was never a “cease and desist” letter or any other notice delivered to Axanar Productions or Alec Peters in advance of the filing. No phone call. Nothing. Which, considering Alec Peters’ history of volunteering for CBS on the CBS Star Trek Archive, and being a licensee at one point, is disappointing. It was also disappointing given that based on his meetings with CBS, Alec Peters believed he would be given some warning that would have allowed him to consider, and ideally resolve, CBS’s concerns before CBS sued him.

Has Axanar Productions attempted to settle the lawsuit?

Axanar Productions made a settlement offer to Paramount and CBS within 24 hours of the lawsuit being delivered to the production’s offices, but it was rejected without a counter proposal. Axanar Productions continues its efforts to try and resolve this case as soon and as efficiently as possible, and remains optimistic that there is a mutually beneficial solution for all parties here.

Is it possible to make changes to either PRELUDE TO AXANAR or AXANAR so Paramount and CBS will find them acceptable?

PRELUDE TO AXANAR was released over a year and a half ago, in 2014, and we again heard no complaints until this lawsuit was filed in December 2015. So it is too late to change PRELUDE TO AXANAR.

AXANAR, on the other hand, hasn’t been filmed yet. We don’t know yet what changes will make it into the final product. There are many ways we can tell the story and we feel it’s prudent to leave our options open. Our hope is to find a solution with CBS and Paramount that will allow us to move ahead and tell the story over ten thousand fans have supported with their donations.

About the History of Axanar Productions

When did Axanar Productions come into operation?

Axanar Productions was created in 2013 in anticipation of a March 2014 crowdfunding campaign to finance the twenty-minute short film, PRELUDE TO AXANAR.

What kind of company is Axanar Productions?

Axanar Productions is registered with the state of California as an S-Corporation. We are also operating as a California Non-Profit Corporation which is the first step towards achieving registration with the IRS as a federally tax-exempt non-profit corporation (commonly referred to as a 501(c)(3)). To date, Axanar Productions has not charged viewers to watch PRELUDE TO AXANAR, and had no intention of charging viewers to watch AXANAR. All fan donations raised have gone to the costs of producing the film.

After the lawsuit and the fate of the AXANAR feature film is determined, will Axanar Productions still remain as an operating business?  If so, what will it do?

Axanar Productions’ mission is making fan films inspired by Star Trek. What the company does in the future will depend on the outcome of this lawsuit

How many people are employed by Axanar Productions?

Everyone who works on Axanar Productions projects is an independent contractor; the company does not have any employees. Of all the contractors, there are three who spend 40-60 hours per week working on Axanar Productions-related projects and tasks.

About Funding PRELUDE TO AXANAR and AXANAR,

When did Axanar Productions launch the first crowdfunding campaign for PRELUDE TO AXANAR?

The first Kickstarter campaign to fund PRELUDE TO AXANAR was launched in March of 2014.

The PRELUDE TO AXANAR crowdfunding campaign raised $101,171. How much of these funds were spent to make the short film?

PRELUDE TO AXANAR actually cost over $125,000 to make. The shortfall between the amount raised and the actual costs were covered by the subsequent crowdfunding campaign for AXANAR.  You can review a detailed cost breakdown for the production of PRELUDE TO AXANAR in Axanar Production’s annual report.

When did the first crowdfunding campaign launch for AXANAR?

The first crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the production of AXANAR launched in July of 2014 following the premier of PRELUDE TO AXANAR at San Diego Comic-Con International.

During the first crowdfunding campaign for the AXANAR feature film, Axanar Productions said it needed $400,000 (inclusive of perks and fundraising fees) to cover the cost of set construction, one year’s rent on a sound stage, renovation of the space, installing a lighting grid and soundproofing. What did those things really cost?

As explained in the Axanar Annual Report, all of the costs associated with the studio space ran over budget. Part of this was due to the delay in receiving Kickstarter funds following the first campaign and the resulting lost opportunity to rent a lower-cost space to use as a studio. But most of the overrun resulted from decisions made to ensure the studio space could accommodate the physical space required for longer-term set storage and meet the production demands of future projects.

This first crowdfunding campaign for the AXANAR feature film (on Kickstarter) presented a production budget (for the feature) of $650,000 – $750,000. Did that budget include the $400,000 budget for soundstage rent, renovation and set construction?

No. Axanar Productions explained in both the pitch video and web copy that the Kickstarter campaign was intended to address two significant cost centers: acquiring and building out the production studio space, and funding the feature film.

If you add those two cost centers together, you come to an ultimate financial goal of approximately $1.15 million (after including crowdfunding charges and the cost of perks).

The second crowdfunding campaign for the AXANAR feature film (on Indiegogo) kicked off almost a year after the previous campaign ended and presented the project as four “episodes” with a budget of $330,000 each (inclusive of perks and fundraising fees). This meant the revised production budget ($1.32 million) was estimated to be nearly double the original budget ($650k-$750k). What happened?

With the enthusiasm behind AXANAR telling us fans wanted to see something spectacular, the scope of the original production grew past the original budget level. Similarly, the cost of the soundstage build-out also exceeded the original budget.

Axanar Productions attempted to address these budget shortfalls in the revised production budget presented as part of the crowdfunding campaign launched in July of 2015 on Indiegogo.

How much money is still left from the crowdfunding campaign?

The amount of money left over from last year’s crowdfunding changes every month due to the “burn rate” of maintaining the studio while Axanar Productions works through the details of the lawsuit with CBS and Paramount.

Whether it’s enough money to fund the production of AXANAR in whatever form the story will take (assuming a timely and satisfactory resolution to the suit), remains to be seen.

About Producing PRELUDE TO AXANAR and AXANAR

PRELUDE TO AXANAR was released on YouTube a matter of months after it was funded. What has taken so long with AXANAR?

PRELUDE TO AXANAR and AXANAR are two very different kinds of films. As it was originally envisioned, AXANAR was to be a full-length movie while PRELUDE TO AXANAR is a mockumentary.  PRELUDE TO AXANAR was a two-day shoot with actors sitting (for the most part) in front of a green screen. AXANAR, on the other hand, was envisioned as a narrative film requiring sets to be built, a larger cast and a larger number of professionals involved in everything from music to visual effects to editing and post production.

In generally takes an average of three to five years to make a feature film. Effects-heavy films (i.e. science fiction, fantasy, horror) can sometimes take even longer.  Unforeseen events – like a lawsuit – can delay production even more.

Why do other fan films seem to take less time to produce than AXANAR?

This question usually results from a comparison of AXANAR to other Star Trek fan projects like Star Trek: New Voyages or Star Trek Continues.  Other Star Trek fan projects, like New Voyages, Continues, Farragut, etc. are only 45-50 minutes in length and able to re-use sets, costumes and props they’ve built/acquired over time. And because several of those fan productions are set during the time period of the original series (TOS), they are able to share assets and copy already-designed assets from the 1960’s TV show.

Is the script for the AXANAR feature finished?

In August of 2015, Axanar Productions “locked” the script for the purposes of budgeting, set construction and costume design. However, it is common practice that scripts continue to be developed, which is why most shooting scripts have many pages of revisions.

Scenes may be added or eliminated; dialogue may change; characters may be dropped or new characters created, as we’ve just heard about with the new Star Trek feature film. According to writer/actor Simon Pegg: “…the way moviemaking works these days is that as soon as you have a structure and all the sets, and the kind of physical aspects of the film are locked in, the dialogue and stuff is always a moveable feast so we’ll be writing it right up until the edit…it’s a work in progress.”

Has AXANAR been cast?

No.

Will the cast of PRELUDE TO AXANAR reprise their roles in the AXANAR feature?

All of the cast members from PRELUDE TO AXANAR – with the exception of Tony Todd (Admiral Ramirez) had agreed to consider reprising their roles in AXANAR. To this point, however, no deals are in place, so casting could still change due to scheduling conflicts or other reasons.

When will principal photography start on the AXANAR feature film?

This depends on how the suit is resolved.

How long will the visual effects take?

Axanar Productions relies on outside contractors to provide the visual effects (VFX) for AXANAR. Our main contractor started working on VFX last October and managed to create about a quarter of the shots needed for the feature before the lawsuit stopped production.  How long it will take to complete the VFX needed to tell the story of AXANAR will depend on what kind of shape the production takes once the suit is resolved.

How long will editing and post-production take on the feature?

Axanar Production’s original production schedule called for 10 weeks (about 2-1/2 months) to edit the feature-length film.

Doesn’t everyone work for free on a fan film?

No. Several fan films have paid professional actors to appear in their films and crew to work.

But what other people are paid, if they’re paid at all, is a mystery to us. No other fan film production besides those produced by Axanar Productions has been as forthcoming about how their donations are spent by making any kind of public financial disclosure.

Join the discussion 19 Comments

  • nice! =)

    …cbs-trek sure did pick a cherry there, getting Tony Todd! (i *HOPE* he plays a Klingon!) =P

    …*IF* i ever watch it, grumble, grumble… =(

  • Jerry says:

    I’m glad you drew all this material together. You answered a couple of questions I did not know I had until I read what you had written!

  • Ed Darlow says:

    [Editor’s Note: This is a comment left by a frequent contributor to an anti-Axanar Productions Facebook Page. The antagonistic tone of this and his other comments is indicative of his outrageous and unfounded claims he makes on social media and his disparaging remarks made on both social media and in the comment section of articles reporting on the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by CBS Studios and Paramount Pictures Corporation against Axanar Productions.

    As is our new practice, I’m posting Ed’s comment and providing additional notes in the body of his comment to address the (usually unfounded) claims he makes. – Mike]

    It is unfortunate that Alec Peters and Axanar Productions keep changing what they say to suit to current circumstances.

    [So here we go with a common theme for Ed. If we work to clarify a matter or correct something that might not have been accurately stated in the past, he accuses us of “changing our narrative.” On the other hand, he gleefully misconstrues our statements and comments in discussions in attempts to further discredit both the production and our personnel. We will continue to clarify and correct statements when it’s appropriate. Sorry if that doesn’t work to your advantage, Ed.]

    Suddenly Axanar is not a professional production, which has been claimed for the last year but suddenly it is only a small little fan production designed for nothing but the enjoyment of Star Trek fans.

    [Once again, Ed’s sense of perspective is off. When we first started talking about AXANAR and PRELUDE TO AXANAR, we said they were professionally-produced productions made by people in the industry who were fans. We also said we were independent of CBS and Paramount Pictures. Once PRELUDE TO AXANAR was finished, we submitted it to a variety of film festivals which recognized it over 40 times as a tremendous “fan film.”

    We never called either PRELUDE TO AXANAR or AXANAR a “small little fan production designed for nothing but the enjoyment of Star Trek fans” as Ed claims. PRELUDE was a significant departure for a traditional “fan film” and with the talent brought to bear both in front and behind the camera, it would be a mistake to think it could only be enjoyed by Star Trek fans. By the same token, we’ve said from the beginning that the AXANAR feature film would be unlike any other fan film seen before.

    Ed, you’re wrong. Again.

    In the next to last paragraph, Ed goes on to complain about things not covered in this FAQ and not relevant to discussion on this page – so those comments have been deleted.]

    I’m going to stop here even though I have more to say, but I know that this comment will be deleted and I’d just be wasting my time. When a group is afraid to acknowledge criticism, that is pretty much a group with plenty to hide.

    Ed Darlow

    [Well, Ed, we posted most of your comment here and freely acknowledge criticism (so there’s two more things you’re wrong about. I will say this, though, your claim that this is a “group with plenty to hide” is just one more of your wild accusations that are usually without basis and presented without any substantiation or fact. I suggest you take time and support your accusations with facts or ask sincere questions with a modicum of respect. – Mike]

  • Sandy Greenberg says:

    [Editor’s Notes: Sandy Greenberg has commented here before. He is one of Axanar Production’s (and Alec Peters’) critics. Feeling he was mistreated by both Alec and one of our social media moderators, Sandy has continued to try and fan the flames of controversy.

    I’ve had professional back-and-forth’s with Sandy, though. And while we tend to disagree more often than we agree, there are times when Sandy brings up important points that need to be addressed. Here are Sandy’s latest questions …]

    Pretty much anywhere in the world a non-profit company needs to have independently audited books.

    [An interesting assertion and, on its face, it seems true. Only it’s not. According to the National Council of Non-Profits, non-profit organizations are not required to have independently audited books (http://bit.ly/1qhpMl9). In fact, many don’t.

    A lot of people confuse an independent audit with a tax audit. The two are very different and produce completely different outcomes. An independent audit should result in authenticated financial statements that a third party (the auditor) vouches for with regard to accuracy and completeness. A tax audit results in an adjustment to an organization’s (or individual’s) tax liability.

    What is often confusing here is that a tax-exempt organization has some IRS-mandated disclosure requirements it has to meet in order to retain its 501(c)(3) status. But what has to be disclosed are a series of tax forms that relate to its status as a valid organization, not a balance sheet or P&L with any specific information that could be used to judge the validity of the organizations claimed income or expenses.]

    Your first annual report was clearly full of holes and not done by professionals. Are you getting your books done? Are they going to be public as required?

    [Dealing with the last question first, should Axanar Productions become a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, it will comply with required IRS disclosures but that won’t include the organization’s financial statements (audited or not).

    As for the completeness of the first “Annual Report” produced for donors, I’ve gone on record questioning some of the information and the way it was presented. After further discussion, Axanar Productions has hired an accountant to provide a full accounting of operations to-date. When that work is done, Alec and his team will review it and decide how much of that information will be shared with backers, etc.

    Given the amount of financial detail provided by other fan films to-date and the amount of scrutiny and unfair criticism leveled at the organization by its detractors for the information provided so far, I would be surprised if anything other than general, consolidated financial information is provided from this point forward.]

    Also, there were two questions you didn’t answer. How many people are employed by Axanar? You copped out by not giving a number and saying they are all contractors. Fine, how many contractors are working on Axanar? The second question was “how much money is left”? Again you copped out by saying it’s being spent at the moment so we can’t say. Give us a number. As of the exact moment your read this how much cash is left?

    [So, in this part of the comment, Sandy is asking for details related to personnel matters and corporate financials. The polite answer to this is “no.” Sandy, you can choose not to believe us when we provide the answers we provide to our FAQ, but what you’re asking for is, quite frankly, none of your business.

    And, let’s be realistic here, even if we provided you with the information you’re asking for, you’d just try to find ways to claim it’s all a lie and is not credible – so I’ll spare you the time and tell you right now you’re not going to get it.]

    • Jashuh says:

      Smoke and mirrors !!! The crowdfunding people will never get balance sheets detailing where all this money goes, anybody can put out numbers on paper and expect you to buy it !! When this ride is over the donated funds will be exhausted and nothing will be produced – you bet on it !

      • Mike Bawden, PR Director says:

        Jashuh,

        While we obviously disagree on what the eventual outcome of this experience will be (you’re betting nothing will be produced, my money is on the opposite outcome), I would like to point out something about crowdfunded projects …

        I don’t know how many crowdfunded projects you’ve participated in, I’ve been involved with a lot of them. But none of the projects I’ve donated money to have ever provided a balance sheet and only two provided any financial information at all. One provided a laundry list of expenses after the project was done to show how they spent all the money they raised and explained that the artist involved wound up out-of-pocket. The other was Alec’s “Annual Report” which, as I’ve said before, provided a lot of information but should not be misconstrued to be an “Annual Report” of the type a publicly traded company might publish each year.

        What a crowdfunding backer can/should expect from a project manager is, in my mind, very different from what an actual investor can/should expect from a company in which they own shares. The crowdfunding backer has made a donation and should have no expectations of any benefit beyond the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped someone “kickstart” their dream project. There is some obligation on the part of the funding recipient to complete that project (they have to make their “best effort” to do so according to TOS for most crowdfunding platforms) and, part of that project reaching completion is fulfilling the promised perks to donors.

        But a lot of people – including some of those associated with Axanar Productions – make the mistake of calling backers’ donations “investments” when they’re not.

        We’ll see how things turn out with Axanar Production’s latest project once the lawsuit with CBS and Paramount has reached its resolution. I’m hopeful, but then again, I’m an optimist.

        LLAP,

        Mike

    • Sandy Greenberg says:

      Now Mike, lets keep this civil shall we? I am an intelligent as reasonable guy. You are making assumptions that that I will automatically take anything the Axanar team says is a lie and not credible. That is incorrect.

      If you produced a detailed and independantly verified financial report I would beleive it is at least mostly accurate (depending on the credentials of the auditors of course).

      I am not just a mindless “hater” and you know that.

      • Mike Bawden, PR Director says:

        Sandy,

        I’m all for keeping things civil and I agree you’re a intelligent and reasonable guy.

        I also agree with you that financial reports need to be detailed and independently verified to be truly useful tools for evaluating the financial stability and viability of a company. Axanar Productions has recently hired an accountant to do that very thing.

        Where we might not agree is that I don’t feel any privately-held company should be required to publicly disclose its financials. There is no obligation to do that for donors or financial backers (unless it’s a condition of their backing) and there’s no such obligation to provide audited/independently-verified financial reports if you’re a non-profit organization (unless you meet some specific rules/limits established by the IRS as part of their rules governing 501(c)(3) organizations.

        I know you’re not a “hater” but I guess you might be a pretty strong “disliker” of our position on that. I think there’s probably much more we can agree on down the road though.

        Thanks for your follow-up.

        LLAP,

        Mike

  • Henry says:

    Why can’t Axanar be filmed while the lawsuit is pending?

    • Mike Bawden, PR Director says:

      Hi Henry,

      Thanks for asking. We’ve voluntarily suspended principal photography for AXANAR while we try to work things out with CBS and Paramount. We understand they have concerns, but we haven’t had an opportunity to sit down with them and find out precisely what those concerns are. We’re hopeful that if we can all sit down together, we can identify their concerns, address them and then move ahead with the production at full speed.

      We’ll keep you posted when (or if) anything breaks on that. Thanks for your continued support.

      LLAP,

      Mike

      • Edward Darlow says:

        [Editor’s Note: … and the hits just keep coming.]

        so it’s no longer the mean corporations CBS and Paramount as has been said since January? There is a tune changer right there…as I mentioned in my first comment. Nice try Mike Bawden. Oh, just curious, how much are you being paid?

  • Edward Darlow says:

    [Editor’s Note: Apparently, Ed didn’t like the way I added commentary to his previous post …]

    Thats really funny guys, say part of a comment is irrelevant and deleting it without even letting readers make up their own minds.

    [The desire here is to keep conversations and comments focused on the matter at hand, not give platforms for run-on diatribes. Ed is a frequent poster to a Facebook page used by people who have a personal axe to grind with Alec and who, by and large, want to see Axanar Productions fail. He can post his diatribes there.]

    Once again we see how transparent Axanar is.

    [I’ve made not claims about transparency, but this blog now allows people who disagree with Alec and Axanar Productions to post their concerns and ask reasonable questions. If you don’t like the way we handle those, Ed, then you need to take your insults and unfounded accusations elsewhere.]

    As to the fact that I am making “outrageous and unfounded claims”, I’m sorry but just like the end of my first comment, this one will probably be deleted as well, so why should I make a major effort to present the facts I have?

    [Because if you had any facts, Ed, you should present them. But you don’t so you just keep making accusations and insinuations.]

    I’m pretty much sure you have these facts too but you’re trying to hide them from your loyal fans.

    [… and here we go with the conspiracy theories again. o.O]

    You talk about my anger, maybe we should talk about how I was banned from the Axanar sites for only asking questions…however they DID refund my donation.

    [So, just to be clear, you have received a refund and you’re still grinding away. And, by the way, you weren’t banned for “only asking questions.” I’ve seen you do everything from posting comments on blog articles and social media about Alec’s sex life to suggesting Alec should be waterboarded for what he’s done. No, Ed, you’ve gone waaaay beyond “only asking questions.”]

    One more funny thing, you immediately label me and don’t give your loyal fans the chance to read what I am saying and to make up their own ideas….that sounds suspicious to me and would to anyone with a thinking mind.

    [I labeled you a “detractor” – is that inaccurate? I think this post and all the others you’ve left this weekend prove the label fits.]

    Mike Bawden, You mentioned you were taking over the moderation of this site so that intelligent discussions would be possible but when you lead off any comments with your terrible opinions of that person, honest discourse is the farthest thing from your intention. There are two sides to every issue and if Axanar were transparent as they want everyone to believe, there wouldn’t be a problem with questions and different opinions.

    [Ed, if you’ll notice, I only “lead off” on comments coming from people who I know, first hand, as individuals who want to tear down Alec and his team at Axanar Productions as well as the work they’re trying to do. You know that. You’re one of them. You have a tendency to assign intent to people without knowing or understanding who they are or, apparently, reading what they’ve written.

    I understand there are two sides to every issue and that people and organizations can change their positions over time to reflect what they’ve learned and what they’ve done to accommodate the market. That’s life. That’s where differences of opinion and constructive conflicts do some of their greatest work. That’s the kind of environment we’re trying to foster here.

    Making broad generalizations, positing conspiracy theories, calling for people’s waterboarding, etc. – none of that is constructive Ed. You know that. It’s inflammatory bomb-throwing and it won’t be tolerated here without commentary.

    But you’ll notice one thing is different than a month ago. Your blog comments are getting posted. If you’d like them to show up here unedited, trying being more civil and constructive.]

    To paraphrase an article I read…”What does a fan production need with a PR person”?

    [Funny, my wife asked the same question. For now, I’m here and we all have to live with that for a while.]

  • James Hams says:

    [Editor’s Note: James Hams is a frequent poster to the anti-Axanar FB group I frequent. He and I may have some disagreements, but he seems like a good guy and has some reasonable questions about our FAQ which you’ll find below. I’ve interjected where necessary and I’m sure we’ll post additional follow-ups to some of the issues James raises – although the answers provided today are not likely to make James and the rest of my “frenemies” very happy …]

    Hi Mike,

    I have only a few points to ask and please bear with me as being British i have a very different take on how some of this info comes across.

    1 – How many people are employed by Axanar Productions?
    Everyone who works on Axanar Productions projects is an independent contractor; the company does not have any employees. Of all the contractors, there are three who spend 40-60 hours per week working on Axanar Productions-related projects and tasks.

    Soooo Alec and Dianna etc are not employees then?? As to me a Employee is someone who draws a salary and not contractors fees, so this claim to me is not only puzzling since he openly admitted a salary but also stated they both worked full time on Axanar and more hours than a normal full time job.

    [As a general rule, blogs about science fiction films are bad places to discuss personnel policies and compensation, but the way it was explained to me was that Alec and Diana are both independent contractors working for Axanar Productions. I don’t live in California or work in the office and have no way of verifying any of this, so all I can do is support the FAQ answer the way it was written.

    I get the strong feeling that the questions asked about Alec and Diana’s employment relate to the “personal financial benefit” clause in CBS/Paramount’s copyright infringement complaint. This post (http://bit.ly/1PQpq9s) does a good job of explaining it.]

    2 – What kind of company is Axanar Productions?
    Axanar Productions is registered with the state of California as an S-Corporation. We are also operating as a California Non-Profit Corporation which is the first step towards achieving registration with the IRS as a federally tax-exempt non-profit corporation (commonly referred to as a 501(c)(3)). To date, Axanar Productions has not charged viewers to watch PRELUDE TO AXANAR, and had no intention of charging viewers to watch AXANAR. All fan donations raised have gone to the costs of producing the film.

    So again to me this makes me pause as in the UK there are vast records for things that operate in this way registered or not and I can not find any documents to confirm this is this something that is not a matter of public record yet and if not how can you prove to people (and NOT! the haters as we are called) but to the many on the outside who may see this comment and think hmmm.

    [From the limited amount of research I’ve been able to do into organizing a 501(c)(3) in California (I don’t live there, so I don’t have first-hand experience in this), it appears you have to set up your operation as a “California Non-Profit” first before you apply for Federal tax-exempt status. I haven’t been able to find any information on what kind of paperwork should be filed to create a “California Non-Profit” and whether or not that information is publicly available. It may be that applications for that kind of status are not available to the general public unless the non-profit status is granted, but I just don’t know.]

    3 – Is the script for the AXANAR feature finished?
    In August of 2015, Axanar Productions “locked” the script for the purposes of budgeting, set construction and costume design. However, it is common practice that scripts continue to be developed, which is why most shooting scripts have many pages of revisions.
    Scenes may be added or eliminated; dialogue may change; characters may be dropped or new characters created, as we’ve just heard about with the new Star Trek feature film. According to writer/actor Simon Pegg: “…the way moviemaking works these days is that as soon as you have a structure and all the sets, and the kind of physical aspects of the film are locked in, the dialogue and stuff is always a moveable feast so we’ll be writing it right up until the edit…it’s a work in progress.”

    As apart of your lawsuits defense you claimed this was not true and the fact a locked script does not mean its a finished version (minus alterations that are apart of the normal film making process) and ready to use to shoot Axanar.

    [I know the people who really want to see Axanar Productions fail don’t like it when I say it, but the script for AXANAR isn’t done. The day the lawsuit was filed, I had a conversation with Alec and it was clear that all of the work on the feature completed to-date had to be made available to change if CBS and Paramount were willing to explain their concerns and work with Axanar Productions to find some “middle ground” where the story could still be told and the promise kept to the over 10,000 donors who helped fund the project.

    That means everything could change. Ergo, the “locked” script in August is now effectively “unlocked.”

    Some people might see that as “wishful thinking” on Axanar Production’s part. It’s not. CBS has been known to work with other fan films and tell them what kind of adjustments needed to be made to their productions to avoid further action. We’re just asking for equal treatment.]

    I hope this does not come across as rude or invasive as the questions and comments i asked are merely the fact these are in contraction to what Axanar have stated in various blog posts and media releases previously.

    I look forward to reading your reply here.

    Many thanks
    James Hams.

    • James says:

      Hi Mike.

      Thank you for your reply although it does open up more questions and I will endeavour to find the answers to these myself if I can’t I’ll contact you for clarification but I am greatful you took the time to reply to me.

      Again thanks for your time.
      James.

  • Rufh says:

    Hello,

    I am afraid that AXANAR will never be shooting.

    I think that CBS will play the clock and will go to a long procédure.

    They know that every month you have fixed montly fees for building and other expenses and the crowdfunding money is not infinite. So every month you don’t shoot the film, another part of the money goes to ash and can’t be used for the film itself.

    How much time can you wait before the film project has to be abandonned or fresh money collected to continue?

    Thanks for you answer.

    • Mike Bawden, PR Director says:

      Hi Rufh,

      Thanks for your question and for following us from France.

      Your question about how long Axanar Productions can hold on until it runs out of money is a valid one and something we attempted to address in our FAQ. The money raised for the AXANAR feature production was meant to provide 12 months of space rental at our facility, but that period will be coming to a close soon. The rest of the funds raised were to pay for production and pre-production related expenses, some of which have been incurred/paid. We plan on holding on to the other funds, though, so they are there when we need them once the lawsuit with CBS and Paramount is resolved.

      That means we need to find additional revenue to pay for on-going expenses while the suit grinds on. Fortunately, we are working on a few other revenue sources to help pay the bills. We can’t disclose those sources at this time since they are, as of right now, still speculative. But our plan all along has been to rent out the soundstage space (our converted warehouse) to other productions to help cover rent, utilities, etc. We’re just pulling the trigger on that a little sooner than expected.

      Thanks for asking,

      LLAP,

      Mike

  • Edward Darlow says:

    [Editor’s Notes: It wouldn’t be fair to Ed Darlow to not add this post to the string of comments he’s left behind recently. I appreciate his passion for the subject, just not always his manner of expressing it. I’ve decided not to interject my thoughts into Ed’s post here – although I did add some paragraph breaks to make it a little easier to read.

    Ed, the floor is yours …]

    Maybe I have been a bit over zealous with my comments here and on other social media sites, but I must say it is funny how the ‘facts’ of this situation keep changing. You even mentioned how things are different here that they were a month ago (that might not be the exact time frame you mentioned).

    To be honest, I believe that if you had been around when this started Mike, there wouldn’t be nearly the amount of displeasure that exists now. You at least are willing to post what we say and to make an attempt to discuss what we are saying…as much as I might dislike the commentary you provide!

    I got angry when I originally started to ask questions and was ignored and ultimately got banned from the Axanar sites. As to that, I also wanted to mention Terry…from the beginning he has been above board and nothing but honest and helpful to me. He even reinstated me twice to the Axanar sites after other admins banned me. Between you and Terry, I see rationality and an openminded attitude that has been missing from the production since the legal ‘problems’ began and I hope the two of you are allowed to continue.

    Now, I won’t say I will not continue to post on the sites you mention. In some ways commenting on Axanar has become (for me) less of an anger thing and more of a humorous thing. A lot of the comments are made in jest and to provide entertainment for the people involved. I mean, most comments end up talking about the pie we are eating as part of the group!

    I won’t say that there are not people posting who are angry and out to ‘get’ Axanar and Alec. I’m not even saying that at times I haven’t been part of that group. What I will say is that from now on I will think about what I say before I say it and try not to come across as irrational….of course since I am that’ll be hard!

    I haven’t said it in previous comments or in this message, but thank you Mike and Terry for being reasonable and as open as you are allowed to be with us

    Ed Darlow

    [Thank you Ed.]

    • Edward Darlow says:

      Ha…are you saying I forgot to leave paragraph breaks? You’re just a hater!!

      Thanks for the polite response.

  • David says:

    Mike,

    Thank you for the information and the edits to comments so that we can better understand Axanar’s official stance. Unlike Ed, I understand that you guys are doing your best. Thank you for the communication and updates.

    As a man of faith who has had people constantly criticize my beliefs, or better yet tell me “what I believe,” all my life, I know that it’s always better to go to the source for information about anything rather than listen to others who may have an agenda. I wish people could quit assuming the worst in others. I also wish that instead of tearing each other down, we could all build each other up! That’s what made Star Trek so great to me. I believe in Gene’s vision of the future and I believe that he would be proud of what Alec and his team are trying to do with Axanar.

    I have met Alec and Diana both personally and spent time with them over the course of three days. I can say that I have no doubt that they are only doing what has always been their dream and passion and are really good, genuine people. Anyone who says otherwise is being irresponsible and I will defend them without reservation.

    Please continue to update us, Mike!

    David
    SLC, Utah

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