It seems like everyone is doing a Star Trek fan-based production these days. I think it began with Star Trek: New Voyages (now Phase II) a few years back but now there's more than ten different productions out there, all led by Star Trek fans who want to create their own adventures. Some are a bit on the crude side, while others are incredibly well done. The acting quality is all over the place but, hey – they are amateur fan productions so that's understandable. Think Community Theater doing Star Trek.
The one thing they all have in common, though, is that the makers are passionate about Star Trek. Their love of the various shows can be seen in every frame of their creations. The time, effort, manpower and money are evident.
Now along comes a new project titled Star Trek: Axanar produced by Alec Peters, a person of my acquaintance. Peters' main claims to fame in the world of Star Trek is as a collector of props and costumes and through his now-defunct company Propworx, an auction company that did boutique-style auctions for various properties. And it's the "defunct" part that I want to hit upon.
In its short time of existence (2008-2012), Propworx executed several auctions while amassing lots of debt. Propworx filed for bankruptcy in August of 2012 (http://speedydeletion.wikia.com/wiki/Propworx), leaving creditors holding the bag for its debts to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. On one forum, Mr. Peters laughed at the thought of being concerned about owing money to MGM, a company that was undergoing its own bankruptcy.
That laugh should tell you everything you need to know about Alec Peters. He's willing to use – and squander – other people's money and then feel no remorse over it whatsoever.
And now he wants more money. Specifically, he wants YOUR money. For what? Is he curing cancer? Feeding the poor? Clothing the homeless? Alas, no. He wants your money to fund his own personal vanity project, the aforementioned Axanar project. According to Peters,
"We can't sell DVDs, but we can give them away if you make a donation." And who is the star of this production? Alec Peters himself, naturally.
It should be noted here that Mr. Peters at one time had a Star Trek prop and costume collection worth at least $100,000. He may well still have it and more. But he has not sold his collection to either pay back his creditors or finance this new project. His creditors were given the opportunity to pay for his past lifestyle, and now you, Star trek fans, are being given the opportunity to pay for his current one.
So here's my basic question: is Mr. Peters, the person who laughed at the notion of debt, your idea of a good custodian of donated funds? Is his character of the sort that you want to be turning money over to him? He drove a for-profit company into bankruptcy. What skill set did he learn from that experience that qualifies him to handle YOUR money on HIS vanity project?
Instead of throwing your hard-earned money at something like this, perhaps it can better be used elsewhere. In this time of need by so many, Mr. Peters is not worthy of MY money. Here's some who are:
Habitat For Humanity
American Red Cross
ASPCA
LLAP
Don
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