RocShemp

So are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles going to cameo in the official movie?

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fumanstan

Looks he declined.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/26/811...-power-rangers

Makes sense given the comments, especially if he wants to be in the real movie i'm sure Saban wouldn't have taken kindly to him being associated with this.

Ash Ketchum

One quote from Frank's statement:
Spoken like a true Power Ranger!

Mike86

Which is also why what I said stands true. I think it'll be hard to find a way to make a film that appeals enough to adults, but at the same time also appeals to the younger audience the show has generally gone for. Its obvious that the overall popularity of the show with kids (and their parents letting them watch it) is going to override what an older audience might want. Jason David Frank's comments do make sense but I don't think a reboot is going to happen that will have an overall broad appeal.

fujishig

Or you could do something neither kids nor nostalgic adults want and release Bay's TMNT (wait, that made money... who did that appeal to exactly?).

Like Power Rangers, they even had a current day kid's TV show, but still went with radically different designs because, movies. Same thing with Transformers (I don't think GI Joe had a currently running cartoon when they did the movies, only a toyline).

hanshotfirst1138

As far as TMNT, I'd settle for them ever finishing the 2003 series instead of the piecemeal releases we got.

Mike86

Yeah the DVD sets for the 2003 series are a jumbled mess. I'd actually be interested in buying the series if it was released in it's entirety and in actual season sets.

Solid Snake

I only saw a few episodes but it looked awesome. Like a good mix of grit and humor.

resinrats

I think you could probably get to a PG-13 version (due to violence) of Power Rangers but not R like that fan film was. Ninja Turtles, Transformers, & GIJoe movies were PG-13 but they still kept the spirit of what made the franchises enjoyable & didn't take it too dark.

For all those saying this was good, think about all the R rated franchises that have had sequels and reboots that were now PG-13. Sure is a lot of bitching about that. Well that PR short was pretty much the same but in reverse.

asianxcore

Warner/Chappell sent Shankar a personal cease-and-desist letter claiming he stole the Power Rangers theme for use in the short.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6764594.html

Ash Ketchum

I have to side with Saban on this one, much as I hate to. Shankar did use the Power Rangers theme song at the end and he's lying when he says he didn't. Plus, he based the whole short on a specific franchise and a specific season of that franchise and widely known characters from that season who are identified by name and were the creation of the copyright holder. I'm sorry, but you need permission from the copyright owner to do that. If a film student had made this in school and then submitted it to a festival or TV show where they need full clearances with all the i's dotted and all the t's crossed, it would be rejected, no matter how good it was.

Mike86

I think if this film is made it'll probably have a very similar tone to the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which I personally hated.

Ash Ketchum

This seems like the perfect place to post this:

fumanstan

http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/27/811...be-vimeo-legal

Mike86

While I get what he's saying it isn't his property to have say over. Lionsgate/Saban is clearly just trying to protect the brand presumably so some kid doesn't come across it and their parents find out and have a fit and cause a larger issue.

Solid Snake

Since this is a fan film, isn't he in the right? He's not making a profit. It isn't actually doing anything to anyone.

I'm not seeing how wrong this all is.

Sounds like Saban is just being pissy for nothing. *makes jerk off motion*

Ash Ketchum

Maybe you should make a short film with Mickey Mouse cursing and wantonly slaughtering other Disney characters and put it up on YouTube and see how quickly Disney's lawyers swoop down. It's called "protecting the brand" and there are some very well-paid lawyers hired for that purpose. Try to imagine their reaction to your argument.

fumanstan

I understand both points, but leaning towards supporting the fan side of things. On one hand, having something like this probably can actively hurt Saban, especially as they actively try and make a new Power Rangers movie and because of the extreme nature of this particular short. If it was more toned down and "family friendly," or the property didn't happen to regain some interest lately, it probably wouldn't have a big deal. That said, the actual effect is probably far less then Saban acts like it would be.

On the other hand, I love fan takes on these type of things. There was a cool Dragon Ball Z one I saw the other day that no one cares about taking down, as well as countless other ones involving things like Batman, Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. It's fun to see the creativity behind some of them, as long as there's no profit being made.

Mike86

I guess I'm not sure how that works. I would think since Power Rangers is technically the property of Lionsgate/Saban that they have full control. Fan film or not I think they're within their right to say that they don't want that out there especially given that its potentially damaging to the brand they've created. I think it wouldn't have been as big of a deal if the film wasn't so heavy on adult content with the violence/gore, drug references, swearing, etc. The fact is though Power Rangers as a brand is geared largely at a younger audience and personally I see the point of Lionsgate/Saban in this instance.

Like I said before I'm sure they find the film damaging mostly because if a kid sees it and their parent happens to find out and get pissed off then they could potentially come under fire. Sure it isn't something that was made by them, but the way people are now days I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of the blame was pinned on them. Its bad publicity for them and its probably in their best interest to kill it before it spreads too far.

robin2099

Not really. This is an indenpendently financed movie that isn't being released for commercial sale. That's why fan movies like Grayson, Batmanead End and the Venom one aren't taken down. That also plays into one of the reasons they call it a parody because parody's are protected under the free use clause. That's how stuff like Superman XXX a porn parody and other things get released and DC/Warner can't get them pulled.

But it's not surprising that there trying to get it pulled because ultimately it is a kids brand and they are probably worrying about a ten year old searching for Power Rangers and stumbling on it.

mhg83

Would it help if they put up a disclaimer before the film starts stating that this is a parody fan film in no way associated with the real Power Rangers?

robin2099

Probably. It says it at the end but they should have made that more prevalent.

RocShemp

I remember reading an article some years ago that such disclaimers offer zero legal protection. People put them just in case but should the owners of the parodied property (in this case, Saban) choose to sue you, they have every legal right to do so and stand an excellent chance to win.

rocket1312

Aren't parodies protected under fair use laws? I know that this isn't an outright comedy or anything, but I don't see how it's any different than the hundreds of (for profit) porn parodies out there.

Ash Ketchum

I don't recall a single element of parody in Shankar's short film. It seemed like a very serious, gritty, R-rated sequel.