There are 87 days to go before The Best of 2024 list is published, the list of fan films to choose from grows which is good because it makes things interesting.

Farragut Forward, the big budget (for a fan film) fifty minute long fan film was released on October 1 and has recorded 50,000 views in under four days.

It doesn’t look like CBS and Paramount cares much about the guidelines unless any of them have been broken in a major way, doing something like having like TV stars or steadily working actors in a production and having over $50,000 public fundraising would be attention grabbing but stuff like Farragut Forward usually just get a shrug and be moved along.

Having a couple of 50 minute or so fan films this year has caused a little bit of a problem for The 2025 Trekzone Fan Film Awards and The Best of 2024 List as fan films in the over 10 minute fan film category can have fan films having a running time 40 minutes over the minimum to play with.

Most fan films do run for about 15-20 minutes apiece so perhaps a five minute adjustment (or how about 17:01 minutes?) to make it a fifteen minute and over category will be in order and anything over 30 minutes will have to take its chances with shorter fan films.

Farragut Forward was not the only release for the week as Potemkin Pictures released ‘Slingshot’ for our enjoyment.

It is a Starship Deimos Creative Group production and the story was written by Fred Lassiter, ‘Slingshot’ was directed and edited by Randall Landers, do check it out.

For those new to the Potemkin Pictures experience, these fans films tell stories that are thought provoking and are never simple, there is always a twist in the storyline and you must always watch until the very end of the fan film.

SciTrek had an Ask Me Anything about Axanar, obviously this idea did not go to plan as the heat got turned up on the production in other words ‘haters’ found the AMA and asked questions of Axanar.

Interesting the title says that Axanar is a ‘Star Trek Fan Film Making Maverick’.

A Maverick means an unorthodox or independent-minded person or a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way.

Based on the lawsuits, problems with directors and casts etc., Axanar is a Maverick in fan films because no other production has been sued or owes CBS and Paramount money or has had director or cast problems therefore it is different from the expected or usual way fan films are made and released.

There is only one preferred Maverick on the Paramount Pictures lot and that Maverick is played by Tom Cruise.

That’s the news for this week, regular service should resume from this week after enjoying a couple of weeks among Stock Car racing friends.

Until next time, be good to each other.