Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published
More than a decade ago, one man dealt Star Trek a blow from which the franchise has never recovered. No, I’m not talking about Alex Kurtzman, although it’s true that Trek will be recovering from his influence for a very long time. I’m talking about Alec Peters, the man behind Axanar Productions. Peters’ goal was relatively simple: to raise money from fans to create the largest and most ambitious Star Trek fan film yet (Aksanar) ever made. However, with the money received (more than a million dollars), he built a professional studio and made a real profit from the project. For First prioritythis was the last straw.
For years, the studio mostly looked the other way when it came down to it Star Trek fan projects, including movies. It only seemed fair, as fanzines, fan merch, and especially fan conventions supported Trek through its darkest periods. But Peters was so brazen in his actions that Paramount sued him and later issued guidelines that severely restricted all future fan films. This left a bad taste in the mouths of the fandom, with many calling Peters a crook. Now, more than a decade after it was sued by Paramount, the man behind it Aksanar is back, trying to profit from Star Trek again.
Flying too close to the sun
For Star Trek fans in the know, the name Axanar still conjures up bad memories. Back in 2014, Alec Peters released a fan-made short film titled Prelude to Axanar. It was designed as a mockumentary that covered what was then completely unexplored: the years-long war between the Federation and the Klingons. The fans loved it Prelude for high production value and quality acting. Peters soon used the positive reception to launch campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo to fund much more Aksanar the movie. This endeavor was a resounding success, and he ended up raising over $1.4 million.
however, First priority felt that Peters raised so much money to set up a production studio, hire professional actors, and make an entire movie using licensed Star Trek characters and designs. They ended up suing Peters, who eventually settled out of court. Later, Paramount issued guidelines for fan films that severely limited future production, with an emphasis on never trying to profit from their IP. Although it left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans, it did not stop Peters: he continued to refuse to create Aksanar comply with these new restrictions and is now selling USS Geronimo class blueprints on Backerkit.
Deception remains illogical
The “Geronimo Class” is a type of ship that was originally built for Prelude to Axanar and will presumably appear in the full movie (if Alec Peters ever actually releases it). Will Peters get in trouble for selling these drawings? It’s up to Paramount, but it seems to be something of a gray area. On the one hand, the drawings are for the original design; on the other hand, Peters is once again making money off someone else’s IP. This might surprise some, but it seems less outrageous now that everyone and their brothers are making money selling unlicensed Star Trek merchandise at conventions and on Etsy.
Peters, the company that sells the drawings, has sparked outrage in the fandom that dates back more than a decade. Many still resent what he’s trying to cash in on Star Trek, which has led to Paramount’s strict guidelines restricting fan films, preventing creators from making anything as ambitious as, say, Star Trek continues. Others have many different claims about some of his actions, including allegedly lying to fans and even actors (including Tony Todd) about a project he used to make money. Ironically, some of his haters are disposable Aksanar fans are annoyed that over a decade after raising all that money, we still haven’t seen the finished film.
None of this recent draft drama is likely to land Alec Peters in more trouble than he already has. However, more Aksanar drama feels like a kick in the teeth to Star Trek, a franchise whose 60th anniversary feels empty without new shows in production. Peters attempted to fill the earlier gap with a fan film that would cover the plot described later Star Trek: Discovery. Unfortunately, while we’re experiencing a multi-year drought in official Trek content, Aksanar remains the reason we can’t make fan films longer than 15 minutes or with professional actors.
Is it any wonder the fandom wants to throw this guy in jail?