Warhammer fan film banned
>>General | November 7th, 2007 @ 0:25 | by Timo VuorensolaWhoops, I smell some company getting a truckload of shit at their doorsteps pretty soon…
A copyright row means that one of the most ambitious fan films ever made may never be shown before an audience.
One of the things today’s company people should’ve learned is that you don’t wanna be asshole to your fans. Never. Ever. Because no matter how big a company you are, you don’t want to end up in the same shithole as Metallica and others who’ve gotten the undivided hatered of the Internet folk on them, lost their believeability and will only be rememberd as the assholes who hate their fans by the generations to come.
It seems Games Workshop, the publisher of Warhammer, is desperately wanting to hop on the same ship, although they are hoping to push the blame on somebody else. GW is pretty well known for their tremendous work they’ve done on creating the world of Warhammer - first in board game format, later in tabletop RPG and then immortalized in a computer game. The world has meant a lot to roleplayers around the world, who’ve been writing and playing adventures to the setting since ‘83.
So it’s not a wonder somebody might want to make a film set in the world of Warhammer, not at least nowadays, when it’s actually possible. Well, the lawyers down at GW say something cryptic about German copyright laws and deny the fan film, after it’s been filmed, spent tousands of dollars on it and almost being released. Although I can understand that it’s not easy to cope with copyright laws, I smell shat pants… To quote the aural equivalent of Warhammer, Manowar - wimps and losers, leave the hall!
Ok, it’s not like I’ve been waiting for this film - called Damnatus - but I’ve been following them distantly and would’ve really like to see the film once finished. What I’m more angry than the crap GW is giving to these individual filmmakers is that this is a clear message to all the paranoid IP owners around the world to start shitting their collective pants and start banning the healthy and ever-growing fan film culture born on the Internet - which nowadays in many cases is the only one really nurturing and treating rightfully the IPs!
I feel GW is gonna have a nice little hatestorm coming their way, and I certainly hope they’ll re-think the case. If a person does a fan film set in a RPG world - which has been turned into hundreds, even thousands of fan-made adventure, unofficial world appendixes and everything, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of adventures, hundreds of live RPGs, tousands of dioramas… well, you get the picture - it will not spoil the IP and GW won’t lose trademark, I’m quite sure.
You may read the whole story on BBC.
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November 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Well! This is, I just realised, the first time I’ve actually watched the Damnatus trailer, and it sure looks cool! Even if their guns aren’t nearly bulky enough for WH40K and the acting leaves something to be desired, their wardrobe and props look pretty good, and especially the CGI. Kinda reminds me of Star Wreck… ^_^
I’m no Warhammer fan, but I would definitely watch this. What is it about this that GW feel threatened by? The fact that German amateurs produced something with a lot more feeling than official Warhammer products?
November 7th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Timo - Overall i support your quest, although your firebreathing tone was passionate, but off-putting. For GW to put a bullet in the head of an almost finished product was certainly dumb, and it WILL piss out the WH40K community.
But there are several real significant differences between Damnatus and Star Wreck that would affect the interest of corporate lawyers:
- Star Wreck doesn’t claim to be a Star Trek movie. And it’s a parody, with parodies facing less strict laws and treatment. Had Damnatus not claimed to be a WH40K movie, instead maybe being WH40K inspired movie, there would’ve likely been no harsh response.
- Was Damnatus planned for free distribution? I could not find out on their website with a quick browsing. If they planned to make money with it, while placing it in WH40K, that would sure be a red flag for the copyright holders. Remember, even you consider copyrights to be important, although you wish they were treated differently.
- True, some companies allow fan films. And i think that is in their best interests. But whether they allow them or not is their choice and right! That’s why it’s called copyright - whether you choose to enforce it or not is your call. Imagine if someone else made a Star Wreck movie, called it such, and tried to sell it for profit without consulting you - i’m sure you’d not be all that understanding…
I just think the Damnatus makers and GW should’ve been smarter with this: Damnatus by not claiming to be a WH40K film or by asking for permission early, and GW by communicating with the filmmakers earlier to let them know what they allow and what not. That would’ve saved some heartache.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
They did, but apparently there was a mistake between the filmmakers and Workshop.
ALSO: Star Wreck could have easily been stopped, just by the name. MAD Magazine here parodies many movies and games - and they profit off of it. There isn’t a (C) next to every Goddamn movie there is.
And when it seems that a small fan movie - a small one! Just a fucking tribute - is going to just make a little money, it blows all over the place. Ever seen “Batman: Dead End”? He didn’t get sued over the use of Batman, the Predator and Xenomorphs, right? What about when Stormtroopers make appearances in public and are filmed online? Will they get sued?