Ellison, Paramount settle Star Trek lawsuit

Harlan Ellison, multiple award-winning writer of the famed teleplay for the original Star Trek episode, City on the Edge of Forever, sued Paramount on March 13, 2009 for failing to account to, or pay, Mr. Ellison for the merchandising, publishing, or any other exploitations, of the famous teleplay, from the 1967 'Star Trek' episode to date.

The suit also named the Writers Guild of America and alleged the WGA failed to act on Ellison’s behalf after numerous requests.

Read more By DAVE MCNARY - http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010298.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer

A memorable (and timely) rant from the upcoming feature documentary on Harlan Ellison, "DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH".

CLICK HERE to go to http://www.creatvdiff.com/harlan_ellison.php for more excerpts!

THE WEBSITE THAT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

FANCAST streams all the old TV shows to you (and also new ones) and this is the future: video on demand, where ever you are when you want it. Old shows and new shows, side by side with no more TV guides and no more waiting for the show to air; just video on demand. It's a feast and it's "all you can eat" at every sitting.

Although some of you may not be Star Trek fans or may not be familiar with the original series, you now have a chance to see the show that started it all.

"Menagerie" was the first Star Trek show Gene Roddenberry produced. Roddenberry, not William Shatner, changed the world with his writing and his visions. Shatner, a mediocre actor, was just lucky enough to be the star of the series and to outlive Roddenberry. The critics of the day called him a "ham" but Shatner's real skill was that he survived every time and kept re-inventing himself. Most actors in a role such as this are type-cast and the public remembers them only in their most famous role; they can never find work in any other genre.

Star Trek is terribly "dated" since it was conceived and made in the early to mid 1960's. Entering production with a very small "TV budget" for the small screen when most people still had B&W TV sets, it has many flaws that make it seem silly by today's standards. Much of the dialogue, the computers, the props and the sets seem second and third rate. They are unconvincing to our eyes because our reality is so far advanced, but you cannot deny the intelligent thoughts and concepts that went into the majority of the screenplays.

While I was never a "Trekker" or a "Trekkie", I was a dealer who made a good living traveling the country and selling to the fans. I was lucky enough to meet Gene and his wife, Majel, several times. I had seen Star Trek episodes before when they first aired, but I could never comprehend why his fans considered Gene a living God. Not until I looked at the episodes again years later with no expectations and with new eyes...

CLICK HERE TO GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE:
http://www.fancast.com/tv/Star-Trek/96413/619833476/Star-Trek%3A---The-Menagerie---Part-1/videos

CLICK HERE TO GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE - Part 2: http://www.fancast.com/tv/Star-Trek/96413/619835365/Star-Trek%3A----The-Menagerie---Part-2/videos

©2009, Stanley N. Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

IN YOUR FACE 003: In the Pirkinning

STAR WRECK

In the Pirkinning is the full-feature length movie.

Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning is a Star Trek parody/spoof/comedy made in Finland and released online in 2005. Get the movie on DVD from: http://store.starwreck.com/

The movie is subtitled in Arabic, Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

NO MORE INDIES???

Although the major studios continue to maintain that they are likely to feel little impact from the current economic downturn, the outlook continues to grow bleaker for independent producers.

Movie consultant Jeff Dowd, who found a buyer for the singularly successful, The Blair Witch Project, told Bloomberg News that independent filmmakers "are having a harder time getting money at the $500,000, $1 million level than they were a year ago."

He said he expects to see a significant drop in the number of independent movies next year, following more than a decade of growth. Bloomberg cited the case of producer-writer-director Neil Schulman, who used the equity in a second home in Nevada to finance his film, Lady Magdalene's, starring Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek fame.

He has been unable to find a distributor for the film and now, with the collapse of the real estate market, he says that his equity in the home has been wiped out -- leaving Schulman with a hefty monthly payment to cover the debt he incurred in making his film.

READ MORE and SEE "LADY MAGDALENE'S" and "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT" PROFILES - http://www.showbizdata.com/news/48197/INDIE-FILMMAKERS-HIT-HARD-BY-ECONOMIC-CRISIS

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