Forget the Director's Cut--Now Presenting ''Jason's Cut'' (or, I'm Building Websites Today, but I Really Want to Direct)
by Jason McCabe Calacanis editor@siliconalleyreporter.com

www.SiliconAlleydAily.com


Images:Fintan Friel
info@anyminutenow.com
www.anyminutenow.com


I recently downloaded the trailer for Star Wars Episode II with great enthusiasm. I was one of the fanatics who went to see Star Wars at 11 A.M. the day it opened, and when the trailer for Episode I was released, I painfully tried over and over again to download it from George Lucas' over-burdened Web-servers. Yes, I'm a freak.

To my mind, Lucas is a genius despite the flaws in Episode I (no plot, no interesting characters beyond Darth Maul, who had less than five lines--what were you thinking, George?). Lucas is one of those rare traditional-media types who doesn't try and stop a wave--he surfs it. In truth, he's a radical guy despite the fact that he's GEORGE LUCAS. He constantly pushes the movie business to adopt technological advances (i.e., only showing Star Wars in state-of-the-art theaters, pushing the boundaries of special effects, etc.).

The trailer has been built, it turns out, from clips from the original movies, scenes from movies the new Star Wars actors have been in previously, and some computer generated glue. The creator put Walken in the trailer based on the rumors that he was being considered for a part. Cool.

The trailer got me thinking about Star Trek and The X-Files, and how those franchises fought to shut down multimedia-enhanced fan websites and (in Star Trek's case) fan artwork and fiction sites. "How dare you use our intellectual property without our permission!" was the tone of the cease-and-desist letters.

If you're upset with the idea of a fan writing a story based on your characters, how do you like the idea of some clever kid producing an entire episode or movie?

In the not-so-distant future: Some empowered fan feels let down by the length of X-Men, so she adds 20 minutes of character development and changes the ending. We're only a couple of years away from this happening. Heck, we're only a couple of years away from fans making their own films based on say, Wolverine, the greatest of all X-Men.

If those in the entertainment industry have a hard time embracing the Grateful Dead theory of generating revenue (that is, give away the music as a promotional tool and make it back on the concerts, merchandising, and eventually legit CD sales), how do you think they'll respond to people creating serious derivative works based on their intellectual property?

In a sense, the industry has gotten off easy with Napster and Scour; it should be thankful that some clever programmer hasn't created a piece of software enabling kids to create their own Eminem tracks. If I could create a program that let kids type in their own lyrics and have Eminem, Snoop, or Dre (or even some combination of those artists) sing them, how much could I charge for it?

A new set of issues is on the horizon, and it's much more complicated than the outright theft of intellectual property. If our commercial systems and our government can't effectively combat theft of copyrighted material, how on earth are they going to deal with people kidnapping it and holding it hostage? Not well, I can tell you that.

However, as with all changes, you can fight progress or you can ride it. Some clever creator and/or businessperson will realize the bankability of empowered consumers by building the framework of a story, filled with interesting characters and environments, and letting the fans take over from there.

There is a reason why George Lucas hasn't sent army of lawyers to attack TheForce.net for posting the Episode II fan trailer. He gets it. He always did. (I hope his lawyers don't see this and convince him otherwise).