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Why LFL is actually cool (I know we need some reasons right now)...

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From TFN, here.

Basically, it comes down to the Lucasfilm statement:

Lucasfilm has been informed that YouTube recently removed from its site several fan-made Star Wars spoofs and parodies. We would like the fan film community to know that this was not done at our request. Apparently the action was taken by YouTube as a result of a misunderstanding of a request to remove an item containing material taken from starwars.com without our permission. We have asked YouTube to restore any works that they inadvertently removed.

Whereas most corporations would have just as soon thrown the baby out with the bath water and insisted on a blanket removal of all material they own the rights to (in addition to never allowing fan films to use their materials in the first place), Lucasfilm goes out of their way to make sure that the misunderstanding is righted, and that all the non-Hyperspace fan material gets restored.

I have to give them a huge thumbs-up on this. Lucasfilm is responsible for pioneering this kind of progressive thinking in the first place, setting the standard for other companies to follow (Paramount with Star Trek, for one - remember how tight they were before?). First with websites (LFL learned their lesson quickly and set a very fan-friendly policy after some initial missteps), and then with fan films, allowing fans to freely use their copyrighted material in a non-profit way.

I know we're all pretty sore at Lucasfilm right now due to their unwillingness to spend the required time and effort to fully restore the OUT, but let's not forget that they're also on our side... from time to time.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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They do that now. Wasn't there a huge uproar years ago when they tried to shutdown some fan websites? They had a huge backlash from that, so now, as long as you're not making money on it, they're ok with it. Making money is where they draw the line (that's from Sansweet himself).

And no, none of those sites make money from Star Wars specifically. They make money from ads and partnerships from Star Wars licensees, so they're essentially making more money for GL, not themselves.
F Scale score - 3.3333333333333335

You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Pissing off Rob since August 2007.
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One of the things I totally love LFL for is thier release of the Behind the Magic CD-ROM. Sure, the thing is ancient now, and on old technology, but the content on there is incredible. Who would have thought we would be able to see the Biggs scenes from Star Wars? If thess discs hadn't come out, there would be no Deleted Magic, and that would suck.
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Originally posted by: lordjedi
They do that now. Wasn't there a huge uproar years ago when they tried to shutdown some fan websites? They had a huge backlash from that, so now, as long as you're not making money on it, they're ok with it. Making money is where they draw the line (that's from Sansweet himself). Yes, that's what I meant by their taking a few missteps in the beginning. They learned quickly, though, that it's much better to look the other way on strict enforcement of copyright for the sake of letting the fans flourish... as that can only be good for the company and fan relations in the end.

Originally posted by: Sluggo
One of the things I totally love LFL for is thier release of the Behind the Magic CD-ROM. Sure, the thing is ancient now, and on old technology, but the content on there is incredible. Who would have thought we would be able to see the Biggs scenes from Star Wars? If thess discs hadn't come out, there would be no Deleted Magic, and that would suck.
Totally, totally agree with you there, of course. The significance of that one release (Behind The Magic) cannot be understated. What a wealth of info and multimedia that was.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Behind The Magic is the best official product, besides the OT films themselves, ever, IMHO.
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They're some good books, too: The Art of, Star Wars Chronicles, and the Incredible Cross-Sections and Inside the Worlds books (I'm only talking about the OT books, of course)

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?
Lando: Well, what’s left of her isn’t scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.
Han (exasperated): Knocked off?!

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Well, on the subject of books and the official products, I have to mention the Star Wars Chronicles.

That massive tome is the best 150 bucks I ever spent. And the best book regarding Star Wars, period. Plus, it's pre-SE, so there's no digital crap in it.

It's even got a number of photos from cut scenes as well as some of the oddball spin-offs like the Ewok movies and the Holiday Special. It's just downright fantastic. With that and Behind The Magic, you own most of the Star Wars universe.

Sadly, pretty much anything put out in recent years will be tainted by CGI additions.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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^^I know. You know that book tht came out after ROTS with Vader's helmet on it. It had Jabba in ANH, Hayden, Ian in ESB. I shut the book and put it back.
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I say credit where credit is due, and I agree SKot. This does say a lot in favour of LFL and it wins them a lot of respect from me. I'm still so cut that we aren't getting the OOT in the modern quality that I think we, as devoted fans, deserve, but I have to say I am happy to see this kind of thing which shows that they have not abandoned all respect for the fans.
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Originally posted by: generalfrevious
LFL is Big Brother, enough said
No. If they were, they would have squashed all fanfilms and websites long ago. They may frustrate us, but they are not our enemy.

As a character said in a film somehow related to Star Wars and yet somehow not, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Originally posted by: THX
Behind The Magic is the best official product, besides the OT films themselves, ever, IMHO.


It is pretty cool. Still hard for me to believe I pulled it out of the bargain bin for $1.99, wasn't even sure exactly what it was at the time but for 2 bucks? They had three copies of it all together, now I wish I had bought the other two. Might have been the best $6 plus tax I had ever spent.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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i bought the Behind the Magic set, and it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I was fascinated with the cantina sequence from the lost cut, Greedo with a British accent, etc.

Unfortunately, for some reason it doesn't play on my machine ever since we switched to XP. Did anyone do a fan preservation of this? Replicating all the menus and everything?

This would make an INCREDIBLE fan preservation disc.
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I considered it, but it wouldn't be possible to retain all the functionality of the CD-ROM in a stand-alone playable DVD.
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Originally posted by: SKot
Originally posted by: lordjedi
They do that now. Wasn't there a huge uproar years ago when they tried to shutdown some fan websites? They had a huge backlash from that, so now, as long as you're not making money on it, they're ok with it. Making money is where they draw the line (that's from Sansweet himself).
Yes, that's what I meant by their taking a few missteps in the beginning. They learned quickly, though, that it's much better to look the other way on strict enforcement of copyright for the sake of letting the fans flourish... as that can only be good for the company and fan relations in the end.

--SKot


Whoops! I totally missed that part of your message. My eyes flew right over the first paragraph and skipped the rest. My apologies.
F Scale score - 3.3333333333333335

You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Pissing off Rob since August 2007.