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09-28-2013, 12:12 AM | #1 |
Webmaster, Administrator
@TokuChris Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,697
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What an interesting story that this entire thing has turned out to be.
A year ago, a guy by the name of Dominick Sivilli decided he was going to make his own Power Rangers movie - and it was going to be dark and gritty. They teased the tagline: "MMPR", used various references to Power Rangers in their logo, and when the first trailer came out, it featured Lord Zedd brought back to the dark side, plotting some evil revenge scheme in a setting that can only be described as "knock-off Christopher Nolan". Why, a little girl was even killed in the trailer! (NOTE: It was never shown, but the creators hinted that she died and that the film would be Rated R. Since then, the creators have backed away from that stance saying the girl didn't die and stated the film would be PG-13. Now, it's a web series) To show their dedication, they even got Robert Axelrod to do the voice over for Lord Zedd, and put it in a revised trailer. They got David Flemming (the voice of Zordon in the actual Power Rangers series). They got Ron Wasserman (music composer for the actual Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). They contacted various Power Rangers actors to see if they'd reprise their role - they even have been in contact with Jason David Frank (who has turned them down each and every time we might add). And then the problems started. People who have done their research on Dominick Sivilli have concluded that they believe he is nothing more than an egomaniac - someone so egotistical that any criticism on his projects are seen as direct attacks on him, and he responds in kind. There is a firm belief, taken from others in the fan community (I do not have the links to these points I'm about to make and I apologize) that his entire goal was to use Power Rangers fans and their money to bring him in to the spotlight and eventually amass him his own fame and fortune, and that he stated as much privately to a former co-worker. This is, however, a case of he said/he said. Dom and his team immediately took to RangerBoard to hype up their project and were disappointed that it was not met with open arms and open wallets. Dom and his team refused to answer hardly any questions regarding the project - continually saying "trust me/trust us" - and eventually the "MMPR" account at RangerBoard was banned, with an immediate follow-up from Dom stating he was about to reveal everything, but because RangerBoard banned him, he was no longer going to do so. The original plan was for MMPR to be a "Fan Film" of around 2 hours in length, and a Kickstarter that raised over $40,000 promoted that idea. Somehow, along the way, it's been reduced now to a "web series", with only 1 episode actually "produced" as of this date (we have a still image and that is all). There are reports that Dom is now seeking private donations - because he can't publicly ask for more money. However, they did manage to land a former WWE star in to their cast. The fan community is torn down the middle - half seem to love this thing, half seem to hate this thing. It continues to be split in half over such things as the discovery that the actors of this "dark and gritty web series" visited children with autism claiming to be "Power Rangers". In an interesting article that the Morphin Legacy website put up, where one of their staffers traveled to NYC over July 4th to meet with Dom, which you can read here, has Dom state he has "Nothing" to say to the 'haters' of his project, because the 'haters' are going to watch it. The fans are going to watch it. "EVERYBODY is going to watch it." He speaks negatively of RangerBoard, and the staffer of Morphin Legacy seems to share the negative sentiment towards RangerBoard, which no matter your opinion of their site and crew, is still the largest Power Rangers message forum out there. In recent days, like, the last few, the MMPR twitter has sent out tweets stating that they are non-profit, that all their things are copyright to them and that they are in no way related to Power Rangers, Saban Brands, Saban Capital Inc, etc. Which, if you've been following this whole thing, is pretty ironic as they've been riding the coattails of the Power Rangers intellectual property since the conception of their film-thats-now-a-web-series. Not to mention they use the name "Lord Zedd", "morphers", "Silver Guardians", and their teaser poster has the Red Rangers Tyranno coin in the background. People say that Dominic actively badmouths any specific individual or internet community that doesn't support MMPR. TokuNation.com has neither expressed support, or lack there of, of the MMPR project. However, based on some reader comments of their official Facebook page, we have also been a target of his and his fans angst and anger, probably because of the last discussion thread we had where support was 30/70. TokuNation.com has made repeated attempts to contact the production staff of MMPR: A Fan Film/MMPR: A Web Series and have not once received any communication back from the team regarding interviews, press releases, or even a "No thank you". So the question now arises - with these latest tweets, were they hit with a C&D from Saban's legal team? Staffers stating something is just from a Saban internet, that Saban has no legal grounds, they're going to fight this, etc. etc. etc.? Let's re-open discussion on this. I'm curious what people's perception to this whole jumbled mess is these days. And since they won't talk to us, we'll just talk about them, and maybe something interesting will come to light.
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09-28-2013, 12:24 AM | #2 |
Energon Warrior 3 Red
YEEEHAWWWW Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Crockett County, TN
Posts: 6,958
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I honestly dont care if this made or not. Its a "darker" version of the original series, from what I think. But if JDF wont join them, they must be doing something wrong, seeing as how he is willing to do anything for PR.
But I really dont want to support this if the guy in charge will badmouth and bitch about everyone and everything that doesnt agree with him. If you dont answer people and give vague statements, youre gonna get negative response. Plus if you and your supporters will badmouth forums that are in the neutral zone for this, then you need to suck it up and deal with criticism. Theres my nice little late night rant.
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09-28-2013, 12:26 AM | #3 |
Amateur Procrastinator
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Colombia
Posts: 7,491
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I had no frigging clue this existed, and it seems to me that speaking negatively of the community goes against the purpose of a fan film.
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09-28-2013, 12:28 AM | #4 |
Webmaster, Administrator
@TokuChris Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,697
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Quote:
I honestly dont care if this made or not. Its a "darker" version of the original series, from what I think. But if JDF wont join them, they must be doing something wrong, seeing as how he is willing to do anything for PR.
But I really dont want to support this if the guy in charge will badmouth and bitch about everyone and everything that doesnt agree with him. If you dont answer people and give vague statements, youre gonna get negative response. Plus if you and your supporters will badmouth forums that are in the neutral zone for this, then you need to suck it up and deal with criticism. Theres my nice little late night rant. They say JDF has turned it down because he doesn't want to reprise Tommy as "weak or beaten" or that he did something to cause him to be on the outside of society looking in. Jason David Frank did let it slip in San Diego that he's working for Saban Brands again, and I assume that's something contractual regarding public appearances (the right to promote Power Rangers and use the images). I doubt he'd want to ruin that relationship, especially if he's pining for a Green Ranger movie.
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09-28-2013, 12:29 AM | #5 |
Go beyond...PLUS ULTRA!!!
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Higher than you'd think, but lower than you'd hope.
Posts: 7,044
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That certainly is...interesting.
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09-28-2013, 12:32 AM | #6 |
Energon Warrior 3 Red
YEEEHAWWWW Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Crockett County, TN
Posts: 6,958
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Quote:
According to the Morphin Legacy interview/exclusive/whatever, they wanted JDF to reprise the role. He would be in his "post MMPR state", so I'm assuming that means after he leaves Turbo, and he's in "exile" and that's why he has the tattoos.
They say JDF has turned it down because he doesn't want to reprise Tommy as "weak or beaten" or that he did something to cause him to be on the outside of society looking in. Jason David Frank did let it slip in San Diego that he's working for Saban Brands again, and I assume that's something contractual regarding public appearances (the right to promote Power Rangers and use the images). I doubt he'd want to ruin that relationship, especially if he's pining for a Green Ranger movie.
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Find me at places- YouTube / Twitter Check out my Tokusatsu articles on JustUsGeeks! |
09-28-2013, 12:35 AM | #7 |
Blistering Barnacles
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Virginia
Posts: 947
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Saban certainly has legal grounds to shut this down from what I've seen of it. The references are too direct.
Honestly, whether or not the people making it are "real fans" or not, I just don't understand why people put so much time and effort into making fan films like this. Suppose you succeed beyond your wildest dreams and it's a great movie, everyone likes it - and you can't release it, because you don't own the rights. It's a waste of effort and resources, IMO. Like people making Star Wars fan films. George Lucas was a fan, too: of Kurosawa samurai movies and old serials. But he made his own characters, his own storyline(to a certain extent), so instead of an unreleasable Commando Cody or Hidden Fortress Part 2 fan film, he built a franchise that he owned and that became beloved. And frankly even the best possible MMPR fan film would be of far less interest to me than some new, MMPR-influenced original property they created themselves. People who want to watch MMPR can watch the actual show. Put your effort into something new. I'm not talking about fan fiction btw - I get that. That's relatively easy(and free) to make and if it gets C&D'd, it's not a waste of months of effort by a lot of people. |
09-28-2013, 01:01 AM | #8 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Eh. I'm not really surprised, since PR isn't his IP to use.
Not a fan of how he reacts to criticism, either.
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09-28-2013, 03:59 AM | #9 |
GOKAIPOP
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,786
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Quote:
But anyway, I don't care eitherway, I saw the trailer and it seemed like it was trying to be too mature and in the end becoming the opposite of it. "Ooh, look! We killed a little girl! HARDCORE!" Last edited by Starscream Gaga; 09-28-2013 at 04:03 AM.. |
09-28-2013, 04:22 AM | #10 |
Kawaii 5-0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Posts: 12,851
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Agreed. Nothing of value has really been lost here.
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