A few weeks back, the internet was abuzz with a fan film about Darth Vader coming to terms with his new role as Sith apprentice and the loss of Padme. Star Wars Fan Theory and Danny Ramirez produced the film, a story worthy of canon placement. And then… Disney “steals” Vader fan film out from under them.
Star Wars Fan Theory posted a video about Disney (not Lucasfilm) laying claim to the project based on a piece of music that sampled the Imperial March. Disney now has 100% rights to the Vader FAN FILM and will add commercials as well as profit from it. You can watch that video here:
Star Wars Fan Theory talks about how making movies and YouTube content is his job, his life, his passion. He went to Lucasfilm and asked if he could crowdfund the project or monetize it in any way. He was told absolutely not! This then turns into him doing his job for free. How many of us would volunteer to go to work for the next six months for free?
Disney “Steals” Vader Fan Film, Producer’s Passion
This Vader fan film project was his passion., so he did it. He hired his own composer to do all of the music for the film, but because one part sampled the Imperial March, a henchmen of Disney consciously went in and filed claim on the film. Where he was prohibited from making money (as much as $80k in just a couple of weeks), a multi-billion dollar company swoops in, claims the project and then profits from it by adding commercials and doing what ever they choose with it!
Dedication, the Dream, and Class
Anyone else pissed off yet?! This is disappointing on so many levels. Fan films have long been a mainstay of the Star Wars fandom. While the pain and disappointment radiates off of SWFT, he swears he has no desire to become one of the poisons that are attempting to rip Star Wars apart. He believes in positivity and is going to move forward. The negativity is not his style.
Not only is SWFT not going to the dark side, but he insists he is going to move forward with episode 2 of the Vader fan film series because he believes in the project that much. He is going to do another project for free and risk a single note giving an entertainment bully the opportunity to swoop in and steal it.
Help Us Lucas, You Are Our Only Hope!
George Lucas I hope you are out there. I hope you hear of this! You have long supported fans and fan-films. I cannot see this being a course of action you would support. While you may not own the property, your power is great and your strings plentiful. Do not let this travesty stand!
