What would Axanar look like?

July 7 2018

I keep thinking about Axanar’s two 15 minute video parts, the news that the Ares bridge is not currently in the script was a shock to many considering the lengths people went to get what is built set up in a new location and a bridge is important for the great moments of the battle.

Would the two parts be like Prelude with all characters talking just about the battle and the space battles are just exterior shots?

Prelude had only two interior starship shots and and one shown frayed wires in the foreground and windows in the background with Captain Alexander being side on and in the second scene you see red alert in the background with the camera facing Captain Alexander.

There were no turbolifts, consoles, railing, monitors etc in either shot.

Prelude’s 18 minutes and 42 seconds told the story of several battles between the Klingons and Starfleet, Axanar would only tell the story of one.

One battle using only people, maps and exterior shots sounds like a pretty tall order to keep interesting over say 26 minutes and Axanar will also have to change the cast due to various reasons.

So let’s just imagine we see the ‘talking heads’, space shots and Garth is explaining what he had done to save the Hercules (below is not proper scripts it is just a rough example as I’m not a scriptwriter).

Garth : My helmsman said a D7 was closing in on the Hercules and so I ordered helm to close in on the D7, we got in range and I ordered the firing of phasers. 

Exterior shot shows the Ares firing at the Klingon D7 forcing it to break off from the Hercules and fight the Ares instead

Garth: The D7 broke off its pursuit of Hercules and turned its attention towards us.

But if there is bridge shots even if brief are thrown in, the story would change to accommodate the action.

Garth: A D7 was closing in on the Hercules and so I had to do something to get the D7 to break off its pursuit.

Interior shot of the bridge shows the Ares helmsman reporting the D7 was closing on Hercules, Garth orders his helmsman to increase speed and intercept the D7, the Ares gets into firing range, Garth yells out Fire! and phasers are fired.

Exterior shot shows the Ares firing at the Klingon D7 forcing it to break off from the Hercules and fight the Ares instead.

That’s just an example of a difference between talking heads and space shots and talking heads, bridge shots and space shots in the one scene.

There is also one more thing to think about, Prelude to Axanar cost over $100,000 according to the financial record and you’d figure that Axanar’s parts would be around $200,000+ if they’re going dollar for dollar on the quality of Prelude.

Fans, Critics etc have pointed out that private fundraising will be needed to get the two parts rolling as there is a shortage of funds at this stage.

Guess we’ll just have to see if something or nothing comes in the future.

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15 thoughts on “What would Axanar look like?

  1. Getting over $200,000 on private crowdfunding alone is going to be nearly impossible. I think Alec needs to realize this and manage his expectations if he actually plans on making this movie. (Spoiler Alert: It isnt going to be made ever.) I am interested in how he plans to replace the cast. He isn’t allowed to use professional actors that werent in Prelude.

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      1. Actually based on the publically released details of the settlement, the same actors from prelude ARE allowed to be used. This is something that has been talked about ad nauseum. The only actors who WON’T be in Axanar(publically stated) are Tony Todd, and Richard Hatch(RIP). The other actors positions(saying yes or no) is known to Alec and the rest of the production staff.

        As to whether or not Axanar can raise the money…… there are enough supporters to raise it. The naysayers constantly say “no” simply because they want Axanar and Alec in particular to fail, so they can say “I told you so”

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      2. Nah, there’s no way they’ll find the money without public crowdfunding. Their last Indiegogo to save the studio barely made 20k.

        How many die hard supporters are left? 1000? They’d need to come up with $200 each. 100? They’d need to find $2000 each. With Peters poor track record, no professional help from the likes of Christian Gossett and his Metamorphic Productions it just won’t happen. Peters will then be able to blame everyone else but himself for his failure.

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  2. An Axanar Supporter, clearly you either didn’t comprehend what I said or you misread. I’m not sure how to explain to you what “He isn’t allowed to use professional actors that weren’t in Prelude.” means. Its a factual statement. Alec Peters is not allowed to use any professional actors that weren’t in Prelude to Axanar. There are not enough supporters of Alec left to raise 200,000 if there were Alec would still be in LA at industry studios. He couldn’t get enough to save the rent on the location he planned to shoot Axanar in. What makes you think he can raise 200,000 through PRIVATE donations?

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  3. Axanar is never going to happen. 1.7 million of donors money spent to send Alec to conventions EVERYWHERE for 4 years. Paid his SAG entry dues and so much more…sorry donors, you’ve been had. PT Barnum is alive and well.

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  4. My cellphone auto corrects Axanar to axanotgonnahappen because I have typed it so much…

    Unless Peters has some wealthy donors willing to drop some serious coin (the way Vic had when the last ST:C didn’t hit its targets)

    If Axanar gets made, I imagine it will be similar to Prelude, but not quite up to that quality…

    The whole Axanar thing is a shame… regardless if you are a supporter or detractor.

    Fan films are spoiled now for most, and that has nothing to do with the guidelines. The toxicity in fandom is sort of a huge turnoff.

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  5. An important point to note about the cost of Prelude you rarely hear from Alec Peters, though it is buried deep within the bowels of his 2015 annual report, is that the short film’s actual cost was actually $123,000 — nearly $10,000 more than Peters actually raised via Kickstarter. That deficit was paid out of money raised that was *supposed* to go toward production of the Axanar feature film.

    Throughout Axanar’s financial history, Peters has spent more than even the astronomical (for fan films) amount he has raised. By 2017, he had raised an impressive $1.4 million. But he spent $1.7 million, all with no film being made. The studio he tried to build alone sunk nearly three-quarters of a million dollars without a single frame of Axanar shot inside. All this is documented in even the few financial records Peters has deigned to publicly release.

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    1. $117,294 apparently was the number according to below, the numbers get confusing after awhile.

      We’ve estimated $200,000 for Axanar ($117,294 + 50% of that + overruns) to be completed if it is shot exactly like Prelude that’s with no bridge set etc.

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      1. It was another $6,000. That rather flimsy “financial report” uses weasel words like “production-specific expenses,” which strictly speaking could leave out pre- and post-production costs. I’d put no faith in the cost reflected on that ¾-page report. The 2015 annual report is a line-item accounting for Prelude’s costs. Search the AxaMonitor website for “annual report,” and you’ll see all the costs broken out in detail in a spreadsheet.

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