Subject:
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Re: The Lego Group will attempt to stop some "brickfilms"
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Date:
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Fri, 21 Dec 2001 19:53:47 GMT
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Hello folks,
Some of you may know me, others may not. I'm Jason Rowoldt, the founder and
webmaster of the site www.brickfilms.com.
Someone posted this article and the associate press frenzy in the Danish
media on the forum of Brickfilms.com. We have had several translations
already and been discussing this very issue.
First, it looks like the discussion here has dengenerated into a
gay/anti-gay or rather freedom of gender/sexual orientation portrayal of
minifigs. I'll try to stay away from that whole topic and focus more on the
relavant issue at hand, which is really at the core of this group and what
we are.
To me, LEGO bricks are a hobby. They are a really fun thing to collect and
to to build with for many of us. I know that some of us have started
reselling LEGO bricks via Brickbay, some of us have done commissioned works
for LEGO sculptures, and some of us have made movies. I'm one of the ones
that makes movies.
Brickfilms.com has grown over the past year (I launched it on Dec. 16th,
2000) and has caught the attention of a lot of media. The NY Times, the
London Guardian, various TV shows including ZD Tech TV, UK Channel 4, and
internet outlets such as Salon.com, Plastic.com, and on and on.
I'm glad it's been getting so much attention, because the sole purpose of
the site is to promote quality film-making from LEGO enthusiasts. I have
purposefully, however, not used the word "LEGO" that often, and of course
intentionally called the site _brick_ films, for a couple of reasons.
Below is my reply to a few questions by some of our regulars to the site:
=======
There is a huge difference, and I mean a HUGE difference, between LEGO
saying "We don't approve of this movie that was made" and "We are taking
legal means to shut down production and/or ban distribution of this movie".
I wholeheartedly agree with The Lego Company's right to say the former. I
even think that LEGO should "officially" stay as far away from violent /
abusive / non-family movies as possible. They can deny association all they
want. They can say "We do not endorse or approve of" a particular movie all
they want. They can even go as far as saying "This is not in line with our
corporate values", and even ask you politely to stop.
They can also endorse whatever they want. They have already endorsed,
supported, promoted, and financed one of the film-makers who used to
frequent this site, Spite Your Face. Good for them.
But I would not want to see "Girl", "Heart of Darkness", or "Catharsis,
Texas" on LEGO.com. That is not in line with children's tastes or a
children's audience.
But we are all more or less mature here (I'm looking at you, OCAP *grin*)
and can take some more adult themed movies. In fact I'd love to see more
movies like "Girl". The NY Times just recently did a story on us FOR more
adult movies. That reporter was asking me for directors who have done
serious stuff and I pointed her in the right direction.
There is room for serious, gritty movies and children's fantasy. There is
room for serious brick animations and whimsical comedies. There is room for
all kinds of movies here.
What I want more than anything is more movies like "ONE: A Space Odyssey",
"Barber of Seville", and "The Gauntlet". Really top notch movies that shine
out as great examples of the ART of film-making.
The thing we want to avoid is legal troubles with / pissing off TLC for
using their trademark or confusing people as to who made the film. The
simple way to do that is to follow a few rules. Take note:
1) Do not ever, ever title your movie "LEGO" anything. Such as LEGO wars,
"2001" A LEGO Odyssey", or "LEGO Ninja Attackers from Hell". Right there you
violate their trademark.
2) Take pains to not have the word LEGO in your film. Again, simply for
trademark issues. A block is a block. a LEGO block is a LEGO block.
3) Try not to use images created by LEGO, such as official models used by
them. They take pictures of all their completed models in order to put them
on boxes, promote them, etc. If you use these official models you blur the
line between what they own the rights to for the images and what you do.
Besides, I'm sure you can come up with cooler models than they do, even if
you change it a tiny bit. Same thing with characters used by them, such as
"Ogel" from the recent Alpha Squad.
==============
There is my general take on the matter. I hope everyone here can understand
my intentions and slight frustration at what LEGO has recently been quoted
as saying. I'd like to remain on good terms with TLC. I'd even like to
have them sponsor some prizes for our current contest. But I cannot in good
concious distrance myself from some of these controversial films and not
defend them with every fiber of my artistic integrity. It does not matter
whether I like a particular movie at all. As Voltaire said "I make not like
what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Jason
http://www.brickfilms.com
In lugnet.mediawatch, Jacob Sparre Andersen writes:
> News from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation yesterday:
>
> http://www1.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/article.jhtml?articleID=46165
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | The Lego Group will attempt to stop some "brickfilms"
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| News from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation yesterday: (URL) translations) »Minifigs having sex and going to gay bars is not a part of Lego's values« Thomas Reil, The Lego Group says: »It is something we distance ourselves strongly from. Therefore (...) (23 years ago, 19-Dec-01, to lugnet.mediawatch) !!
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