Kent’s Official Blog

From NewTeeVee:

Since January of 2008, online video creators The Fine Brothers have been producing a comedic sendup of Lost called Lost: What Will Happen Next? using the series’ own official action figures.  Last week, ABC launched Lost Untangled, an comedic series of Lost recap videos … using the series’ own official action figures.

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NewTeeVee:  In the end, though, it’s not so much that you’re accusing ABC of anything; you’re lamenting the opportunity that was lost because they didn’t come to you for the Untangled videos.  Even if they’d never heard of you or Lost: What Will Happen Next, your feeling is that it would have been a much smarter move on ABC’s part to seek out someone already making successful Lost-related web content, right?

The Fine Brothers: We would have jumped to do it, and we know we would have been able to produce an even better product than they made themselves, based off our experience.  Not only that, but we had the ability get the video seen by more people online, not only because of our connections and following but because of the great success story it would have been for Internet filmmakers.

I don’t know anyone involved in this chain, either on the web side or on the ABC side, so here’s my blind analysis of the situation.

These guys are talented and they deserve to be paid for their efforts, but expecting a rights holder to embrace your unlicensed efforts are not the best way to go about it.

ABC would never in a billion years ever hire the Fine Brothers to do this series for them.

Here’s why, first and foremost, it would put them into legal jeopardy in regards to clearing the preexisting series.  Every joke and unlicensed figure would be viewed as a potential liability.  That sort of cost would aleready make execs twitchy.

Secondly, it’s low production value.  Why hire people that have potential leverage over the studio?  And the only people that could bite them in the ass in terms of the above liability.  They can hire a clean slate production company that can meet Disney’s hefty insurance requirements and produce in the way that Disney likes things produced.

Thirdly, they are being kind by not suing the Fine Brothers into submission.  The recaps are fairgame, but using the figures in that matter is pretty grey, arugments could be made on both sides and Disney has a pretty deep war chest.

As for the Brother’s Fine wanting to get paid to do such things, that’s a great idea.  But their best hope would be for someone like NBC to hire them to do Heroes recaps or CBS to do CSI, etc.  It’s the same principle that writer’s have used for years when writing spec TV scripts.

Never write a spec script for a show you want to work on, because they’ll never be able to read it or use it due to legal concerns.

Sometimes the stars do align and the rightsholder does love the remix and reuse of their IP, see roosterteeth.com, but that’s rare and should be viewed as the exception.  If you’re going to make your mark riding on the back of someone else’s IP, be sure that you’ve got a great follow up idea ready to go, because it’ll be very diffuclt to make a living off of that one.