Fan Films

(more alternatives to network programming during the writers strike)
This post: Fan Films.

I'm talking about science fiction fan films that have their own websites, not the fan films that show up on You Tube, Atom Films, and I-Films (though they certainly can and have appeared there). They are usually longer (30 to 40+ minutes even) and have have actual budgets. (Yes, they spend money on them.) The most popular and successful fan films happen to be based on two of the most popular and successful franchises (imagine that!) - Star Wars and Star Trek. These groups make these films with the approval of the copyright owners and the understanding that they are not making them for profit. They certainly put in a lot of time and effort in producing them:

Trek:

Star Trek: New Voyages - with several actors from the original series - three episodes available now - with two more on the way. (2-19-08: new site/link)

Hidden Frontier - multiple episodes and downloads available

Star Trek Intrepid - group effort of several fan film groups

Starship Farragut - still more Star Trek fan films

Starship Exeter - two movies with multiple parts

Wars:

Star Wars - Revelations - huge production (for fan films)

FanFilms.com - from TheForce.net - mostly, but not entirely, Star Wars fan films

Fan Film Hosting Pool - downloads for ten different Star Wars fan films (part of the Fan Film Database)

And don't forget The Pink Five Trilogy, mentioned in a earlier post.