Nintendo Blocks Zelda Fan Film After Two Weeks Online
When we first saw the trailer for a feature-length film called The Hero of Time, replete with LoTR-style music, kitschy-but-lovable props, and some questionable wig choices, it looked like a fun romp in Hyrule that was just on this side of the believability scale for being an actual production, produced by a plucky team called BMB Finishes. The trailers teased a feature-length film with plenty of characters from our beloved Nintendo franchise, including Link, Zelda, Ganon, Saria, and one emo twink named Sheik. Obviously, the movie loosely follows the story of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time.
Well, BMB Finished, and they began very limited screenings of The Hero of Time around the US, the first of which was in Atlanta last June. Finally, after much trepidation and a deal with DailyMotion.com, the 90-minute movie was put online just last month on December 14, 2009, followed by a free release of the DVD image file a week later.
As it happens, however, the countdown had already begun for the film's public demise, and there's no fairy in the bottle to bring it back. BMB Finishes had already struck a deal with Nintendo to have the film taken down at the end of the year:
Hey, everyone. We just wanted to let you know that Dec. 31 was the last day that The Hero of Time was available for viewing. We came to an agreement with Nintendo earlier this month to stop distributing the film. In the spirit of the holiday season they were good enough to let us keep the movie up for you to watch and enjoy through the end of 2009, but not past 2009. We understand Nintendo's right to protect its characters and trademarks and understand how in order to keep their property unspoiled by fan's interpretation of the franchise, Nintendo needs to protect itself -- even from fan-works with good intentions.While it's defintely sad to see a fan project end in obscurity after so much work has gone into it, the team behind it understand and talk of closure of having the project done. Still, it does lead one to wonder whether fan films are more a blessing or a curse to the brands on which they're based: while they all definitely raise awareness of a game series, some properties (such as the Halo-based 'Red vs. Blue' machinima series) are easier to integrate into their respective fan cultures than others. Even if it means extra sales for the latest Zelda title, do the brand managers at Nintendo really want to give an implicit nod to a story which takes fantastical characters and makes them real, giving them voices and dye jobs? In my opinion, it's more likely that an official Zelda movie would take the Advent Children route and stay CG for that reason, if no other.
Regardless of your opinion on Zelda, what do you think? Is there room for fan films in our culture of microblogging and one-off fads? Or is the free marketing not worth the risk of diluting the brand?
[via: Joystiq]
faePuck
Posted to Miscellany on 4 January 2010
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: bmb finishes, fan movies, fandom, legend of zelda, the hero of time
Can you really blame Nintendo? They probably still have the bad taste of Super Mario Bros. The Movie in their collective mouths. "The Hero of Time" wasn't commentary, parody, news reporting, research or an educational piece about TLoZ, So it's not covered under fair use. The plot was ripped right from "Ocarina of Time". To compare it to "Red vs. Blue", something with a completely original storyline is (not to be rude) kinda silly. Although, it should be noted that using in-game digital assets is a legal gray area. Machinimists often site fair use in their own defense, but it's never been tested in a court of law.
Two words: Streisand Effect.
All Nintendo's action did was promote the movie even more. I'm sure it's already all over the torrent sites with more people downloading it than would have in the first place.
I think BMB's main misstep was having public showings in theaters, though. That makes it more than just a fan thing, IMO.
I dont know if it becuase he is dressed as link. But HAWT is that actor that play link. I mean those buns in a tunic is great. I usually go for bears but he is scrumptious. Watching them now on youtube 5 more parts to go!!
They'd throw a fit if they watched 'There Will Be Brawl'...