There just isn’t room for creativity in this world these days – at least not if you are a multi-billion dollar Jabba the Hutt like Fox Studios. With Fox’s own Max Payne movie just around the corner, starring Mark Wahlberg as the classy “nothing to lose” anti-hero cop who’s lost it all, the movie studio has decided to eliminate the competition in a move that would make Vladimir Lem real proud.

And who’s the competition, you ask? Why, it’s none other than Payne & Redemption, a non-profit fan film that got over a million fans foaming at the mouth and the stamp of approval from Max Payne’s creator, Sam Lake, himself. A movie that’s been over three years in the making and has burned a hole deep in the pockets of the producer, Luke Morgan-Rowe and the director Fergle Gibson, Payne & Redemption fell foul last month, just after the team released a spanking new trailer, with their MySpace page getting suddenly pulled down citing copyright infringement concerns.

Shortly thereafter, Fox’s crack legal team sent a cease and desist letter to Mr. Gibson that told them in no uncertain terms:

Your activities and materials, including your film, trailers, and one-sheet posters violate Fox’s rights as well as the rights of Take Two Interactive in the underlying video game. As a result, we must demand that you immediately cease all further development and/or distribution of your film and accompanying materials and remove the film and materials, including any clips, trailers, one-sheet posters and other materials bearing the MAX PAYNE mark or elements of the MAX PAYNE property from this website and anywhere else you have posted them on the web.

After “negotiations” with Fox, the production team was told they could not distribute the film publicly and could have only one screening of the movie, adding Payne & Redemption to the list of canned fan projects, including the Warhammer 40,000 fan film, Damnatus, that got canceled after the copyright owner demanded that it be taken down. With more and more companies like LucasFilms and DC Comics actively encouraging fans to come out with their own films, it is depressing to see such great works get pulled down when they should be encouraged and promoted.

While I appreciate the fact that the copyright owner has to protect their assets, what differentiates a fan film done by a professional with a taste for art from one made by a 13-year old acne-riddled teen with a Handycam and a penchant for YouTube? How can one be a copyright infringement and not the other? If you can’t at least help such ardent fans and recognize their work, at least get out of their bloody work and let them work! After all, we’ve all seen what Hollywood has done to videogaming franchises.

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By N2H

• Pallab Says:
  June 6th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

  This really really sucks. Gotta feel for the producer of the movie. Why couldnt Fox intervene earlier? They purchased the rights to MP quite sometime back.

• Drakken Ranulf Says:
  March 12th, 2010 at 5:40 am

  good entry. I will add it as favorite! Thanks

• Asmodai Galfridus Says:
  March 12th, 2010 at 5:42 am

  Hey, fantastic entry! I will bookmark this one! Thanks