My rant about fan films

My rant about fan films 

For those of you who don't know, Fan films are films or videos made by fans for fans. They are inspired by popular or well-known IPs. They have been around on the internet since the early or mid-2000s. No one talks about them because there was a handful of them at the time. That changed ten years ago when a Power Rangers fan film got a lot of attention on the internet. Plus, the director of that fan film became successful. 

After that, we've been getting more of them left and right. With that said, it's a shame that no one talks about them outside the internet because they are outstanding works of art. Part of the reason why is because the people behind them don't have to worry about studios undermining them. 

Yes! All of them are not good, and they are not above behind-the-scenes drama. However, I would prefer the film to fail because of that over dealing with the middleman. 

 

      

  

If you are not happy with Hollywood movies or how they handle your favorite franchise, this is a nice alternative. I'm also surprised to see celebrities be a part of these films. The reason why fan films are tolerated in Hollywood is because the people behind them don't make money off them. That was about to change when a trailer for a fan film called Legend of the White Dragon was released. I was looking forward to that, not just because of the late JDF. It's because this could have been a milestone for independent films and cinema. 

This film was suppose to be a Power Rangers fan film, but the late JDF doesn't own the rights to Power Rangers, so the film was turned into its own thing. Doing that makes it easy for it to get a theatrical release. It mostly stars actors and actresses from the Power Rangers franchise. (Plus, an actor from Arrow.) The film had a budget of over 500 grand, which makes it one of the most expensive films of its kind. It even has some merchandise like toys and shirts. If this film becomes a hit, we could get more fan films to be released on the big screen. The film was suppose to be released in the fall of 2023, sadly, that didn't happen. Aaron Schoenke (The director and star of the film.) said the film is being delayed because of production problems, or the film needs polish, allegedly. 

If the film ever gets released in theaters, it will mean nothing because it lost its momentum. This isn't the first time Power Rangers fans have been let down. There was a short film called The Order that stars mostly Power Rangers actors and actresses. That film raised money for the film to get made, and some of the people who donated were suppose to be extras. The film wasn't released because the people behind it violated SAG or union rules allegedly. There's more to it than that, but I don't have time to get into that.

The idea of fan films getting the big screen treatment is a fantasy because of the studios being greedy or controlling. There is a Power Rangers fan who goes by the name Drew Danger, who has history with Hollywood. For example, he had an idea for an Alien film or fan film and presented it to 20th Century Fox at the time. He would give it to them if he's involved with the film, but the company didn't take it. Nintendo shut down a Legend of Zelda fan film because the people behind it had to raise money for it to get made. See what I mean by being controlling and greedy? I find it funny that Nintendo wants to stop a fan film but not Microsoft making their own Mario game. 

Do get me started on copyrights, it's such a joke that it's not worth talking about. Another thing that can hurt a fan film being made is yourself. Rican Ranger is an example of that. Rican Ranger is part of the Power Rangers fandom. He has an idea for a fan film called Rise of Ninjetti. Whenever someone tries to help him, he ruins it with his ego, ignorance, not willing to do his part, and stealing other people's ideas. The only person willing to help him is someone called Nerd Talk, and that guy has no self-respect. I say that because Rican admits that he's just using him, and he will drop him once he's done with him. 

Rican needs to forget about that fan film getting made because he burns bridges, crashes out, threatens, and harasses the same people who tried to help him. Who in their right mind wants to help him after doing all of that? Plus, he could face some jail time. This is not a good look for any fanbase. We proved to Hollywood that we can make better films; why can't we prove that we can conduct ourselves better as well? 

In closing, it doesn't matter if these films get the big screen treatment or not, as long as the general public is aware of them. Plus, if it becomes mainstream, it would suffer the same fate as everything else.