Movies

Here's a roundup of stories about rare fandom activities that might be of interest to fans:

• As this article at the Daily Beast points out, "The surprise revival of Tupac Shakur in hologram form at Coachella...stunned audiences--but Japan's been onto the hologram game for years." The article discusses concerts performed by fictional character Hatsune Miku. "Though her voice is sampled from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita, Miku is literally the collective product of her legions of fans...who create her songs and videos via collaborative websites...One Miku enthusiast might compose an original song for her using Vocaloid, for example, and then upload it for others to hear. That song might then inspire illustrations, videos, or remixes from other fans...It's the perfect formula: Miku gives fans exactly the music they want without the scandals and dramatics of real-life pop stars and all their real-life flaws."
• Fans of inanimate objects are legion as well. In a live-tweeted story, The Washington Post covered the journey of the space shuttle Discovery on its way to its future museum home in Washington, DC. "To the delight of fans on the ground, the shuttle completed extra passes over the National Mall and Dulles." The article wrote about varied people stopping their day or setting aside time to try and catch sight of the shuttle's journey. "At the National Mall, cheers, whoops, and hollers erupted from the crowd, entranced by the sight of a space shuttle anchored precariously on the back of a 747. 'It's a spectacular view to see the big shuttle on the back of a 747,' said JJ Morgan, a 70-year-old Silver Spring resident...His wife, Carol, was a little less jubilant. 'I’m a little sad because I can remember when the space program first started, and I'll miss it. I'll miss following it.'"
• "Nerdcore rapper" Adam WarRock has written songs about various TV shows such as Parks and Recreation, Downton Abbey, and Justified, but it was his rap inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at The Atlantic, that made the news. Coates is a favorite blogger of WarRock's, one who WarRock sees as "a welcome and comforting voice when it comes to speaking on race and America, specifically America's complex relationship when it comes to race in all elements of our culture and ethics." The rap, called "Ta-Nehisi,""came partly out of [WarRock's] own struggles with racial identity" growing up as an Asian American in Memphis, Tennessee. But "even though 'Ta-Nehisi' covers more serious territory, WarRock still found room in the final stanza to squeeze in one TV reference, a nod to HBO's The Wire."
• Hollywood.com turned to a museum owner to discuss Three Stooges fandom as the new Stooges film adventure opened in theaters. Said owner of the "Stoogeum" Gary Lassin, "'Half thought it was blasphemy to try and make the movie, half were eager looking forward to it. Now that people have seen it, the people looking forward to it liked it, the people who weren't looking forward to it weren't going to see or didn't like it.' Lassin hits the nail on the head: babyboomers who grew up on Stooges aren't that different than the target demographic that clamors for the latest comic book movie or installment of Twilight. They just haven't had a movie to flock to the last few decades."

If you are in a small fandom, or part of Vocaloid fandom why not write about it on Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories about women in fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• An urgent call is going out to any female fan artists in the New York City area! The PBS program Off Book did a piece on fan artists on May 2. "The fan art community is one of the most creative and active online. Taking pop culture stories and icons as its starting point, the fan community extends those characters into new adventures, unexpected relationships, bizarre remixes, and even as the source material for beautiful art. Limited only by the imagination of the artist, the fan art world is full of surprises and brilliance." Apparently it is also "limited only" by the gender of the fan artist in the show's eyes, as not a single woman appeared to speak despite some of their fan art being shown. Super-wiki owner missyjack protested the exclusion of female artists on the YouTube post, and received a request from a show representative to gather the names of fans willing to be interviewed. If you're a female fan artist in NYC who would be willing to take part and broaden this representation of fan artists, comment at her blog.
• Also infuriating to many female fans was the representation of female audience members by MovieFone with regards to the new Marvel movie release, The Avengers. More than one female fan protested the representation of women as passive audience members dragged to the film simply to please boyfriends. The Discriminating Fangirl wrote "Instead of writing an intelligent guide to the movies for people who aren’t already fans" the article included "idiotic, sexist stereotypes." She summed up the problem with "Yes, because every girl going to see The Avengers is a giggling twit who’s obsessed with being pretty, watching inane rom coms, and who never got over high school. That’s insulting both to fangirls AND to girls who dig rom coms, because it...downplays womens’ intelligence and their taste in films. If girls like it, it must be fluff." She added that "superhero genre stuff AND romance genre stuff...[are] two interests [that] are not mutually exclusive."
• By comparison the just-completed ROFLcon III, a "State of the Web Union" conference held in Cambridge, Massachussetts, had a panel on Fangirl Culture alongside other panels on internet memes and supercuts ("those densely packed, tightly edited video compilations that usually hone in on an idiosyncratic film or television trope"). The Fangirl panel "brought together several fanfic creators-slash-experts, who discussed the increasingly mainstream visibility of fanfic, as well as the bad rap it sometimes gets — despite the fact that most of us grew up daydreaming ourselves into the lives of our favorite characters." It also spawned a related online article about the origins of vidding.

If you are a female creator of fanworks, you can help correct the media assumption that there are only one or two of you out here. Why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on the stifling of fan production that might be of interest to fans:

• In "A ‘Trek’ Script Is Grounded in Cyberspace," The New York Times discusses the case of well known sci-fi writer Norman Spinrad's unproduced 1967 script for Star Trek being resurrected by the fan-produced Web series, “Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II.” Unfortunately CBS, the current rights-holder to Trek, barred the script from being produced, and is currently negotiating with Spinrad to sell licensed copies of the script. The article's author nicely sums up the core conflict for fans: "At issue is the extent to which fans can participate in a franchise that has yielded more than $4 billion in merchandising as well as 11 feature-length movies that have grossed some $1.5 billion."
• However, toymakers can apparently be more difficult to deal with than movie studios. In a rather bizarre case, an Australian hobbyist blogger was apparently tricked by an offer of free merch from Hasbro employees into giving up his street address, which the blogger believes the Hasbro legal team then used to send him a cease and desist about photos on his site of an unreleased Nerf gun, insisting that he reveal the photos' source. Though the blogger refused to give up his source and informed the Hasbro lawyer that said photos were easily accessible via a targeted Web search, Hasbro followed up with concerns about his access to other unreleased products, and then allegedly sent a private investigator or lawyer to confront him about the photos and products. Hasbro has also upset Transformers fans with their decision to restrict fan art being sold at BotCon 2012. As one fan commented, "It sounds to me like Botcon is eating itself. What was a fan con became a company convention and is now a corporate presentation that we are graciously allowed to pay to attend."
• For fans who have never profited from their fan works, the Transformers case may seem out-of-touch, but it isn't always rights-holders crushing fan spirits. A story that celebrates fan art, "Fan Fiction Meets Graphic Design in the Groovy Online Subculture of 'Alternative Movie Posters'" nonetheless distinguishes between alternative movie posters, "unimaginative commercial posters," and "the creepy/sad DIY fan art thriving on the Internet" of the Mary Sue variety.
• At least some artists not only recognize the value of remixing works, but also welcome what it says about their art. In this video, Gwen Seemel notes that not all art gets copied, and that which does is more likely to endure. What's more, no copy copies exactly, and copying isn't predictive of her own future work. (No transcript available).

If you are a Star Trek or Transformers fan or a creator of fan art, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on Hunger Games fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• The launch of the Hunger Games film has prompted fan activity to hit the news. A piece in The New York Times focused on the fandom's partnership with Oxfam to fight hunger and suggested that fandom can be a pathway for social activism, mentioning the upcoming issue of Transformative Works and Cultures that explores fan activities on this front. However, while it mentions the need for outside organizations to work with fan-originated groups, the article fails to discuss the fact that fan efforts are supported only if they go through official channels to do so. The Hollywood Reporter posted about the film's distributor, Lionsgate, sending a cease and desist letter to the Harry Potter Alliance's Imagine Better Project--the group featured in the Times' article. Lionsgate cites the Project's website and marketing as "causing damage" to its own efforts, and because Lionsgate had already paired with the United Nations' World Food Programme and Feeding America to pursue similar goals, the company wants fans to work through those two organizations. Though a source close to the studio said that Lionsgate would not pursue legal action, they did threaten a take-down of the fan site. Twilight fans can probably sympathize, as the films' distributor, Summit Entertainment, has been so aggressive in searching out related merchandise that it attempted to remove an artist's work for using the film's release date in her otherwise completely unrelated work.
• Unfortunately, some fans have been effective in squashing the squee of other parts of the Hunger Games fandom, as a post in The Guardian made clear. Says the article's author, "I am a woman of colour with a deep--almost unhealthy--love of popular culture. It is a love that is sorely tested in the face of such prejudice when I am told, loudly and with few qualms, that the stories of people who look like me just aren't viable in a specific universe. It is often explicitly stated by my co-fans that I am not–-ever-–what they picture when they read these books or hear about these movies. The language may be coded: 'She's not how I imagined' or, in the case of interracial couple Sam and Mercedes on TV's Glee, slightly more explicit: 'They don't look right together, like, they don't . . . fit.' But the message is clear. We get to be supporting characters-–the redshirts--or the villains. But heroes? Um, no. That would make things too . . . ethnic."
• A Connecticut high school produced its own version the story: "Teacher Janet Kenny dressed up as Effie Trinket to conduct the reaping and selected the names of one boy and one girl tribute from 'districts'--grades nine through 12. The students, or 'tributes,' then scrambled to collect items from the 'cornucopia' in the middle of the gym. Two months into the games, the tributes competed in games related trivia, fashion, cake decorating, and archery. The lucky winner [received] a pair of tickets to see the film opening weekend."
• A piece in Salon suggests that recent film successes have demonstrated "the awesome cultural power of young readers, especially young girls." Arguing that the film's marketing team can't take credit for fan enthusiasm, writer Laura Miller states "[A] good movie and a canny promotional campaign aren’t enough to make hundreds of people camp out in a tent city to await a movie’s premiere. That kind of enthusiasm only comes from a fandom, an organized, well-networked, convivial mass of people who really, really love something and want to talk about it—a lot." While prior to the film's opening, some coverage suggested that fanboys rather than families would be the core of the film's success, Miller counters this. Referring to a New York Times article that attributed Hunger Games' box office defeat of Breaking Dawn: Part 1 to its larger percentage of male viewers, she writes, "Like the Times, you could look at these figures as an indication of how much better a movie franchise can do when it appeals to young men as well as young women — or you could just acknowledge the fact that a movie can now be a big hit without appealing to young men at all."

If you are a Hunger Games fan why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fan activities that might be of interest to fans:

• K-pop fandom made the pages of the Wall Street Journal which wrote about how the "true measure of a fan's devotion is sending lunch to the stars." "The trend, which has spawned a little industry of specialist lunch providers, reflects the desire of many South Korean fans to nourish their idols rather than just shower them with gifts they probably don't want." The trend has profited the providers of the lunches, although the needs are quite specific. "Food should be low-fat because most of the recipients are weight-conscious pop stars, and it should taste good even when served cold. She also varies her charges to reduce the burden on younger fans." There is also a concern for security. "Applicants are usually asked to fill out an online order form, including the proposed menu, delivery date and the name of a catering service, which is sent to the management agency of the artists for review and approval."
• While K-pop fans treat their idols' tastebuds, one man has found a way to satisfy his own fannish desires. "Popping up in nearly 30 comic books, he has become the industry’s Waldo—a lurking stowaway who has managed to hijack the unlikeliest panels. 'It's the ultimate bragging right to go into a comic store and pick up a book you're in,' says [Jeff] Johnson, a 30-year-old Kmart electronics clerk from Leavenworth, Kansas."
• Both fans and companies do look beyond themselves, however. As part of a Make-A-Wish effort one company created an oversized R2-D2 for a boy to drive and presented it to him at a school assembly that also featured a lightsaber battle.
• PC World recently featured a live-action Minecraft fan film and noted "At this point, there must be more live-action fan films for Minecraft--a bit of a blank slate, from a fiction point of view--than there are for franchises with rich settings like Half-Life. It's surprisingly genre-flexible, isn't it? I suppose that's the kind of creative adaptability that comes from material that literally has been designed to be taken apart so you can invent something new."

If you are a Star Wars, Comics, K-pop fan or are a gamer, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of legal issues stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Creators and copyright holders have various different types of engagement with fans, and these sometime end in conflict. A remix of Samuel Jackson's reading of "Go the Fuck to Sleep" posted on YouTube was taken down although the remixer "maintained that his creative works don’t violate copyright, thanks to exemptions in copyright law that allow for “transformative” uses of copyrighted material." And the basketball team the L.A. Clippers recently asked that their most recognizable fan stop using the name Clipper Darrell, which outraged many fans who noticed the team was perfectly happy to allow him the title when the team was doing poorly.
• An actor who briefly appeared in the U.S. show Community's Dr. Who spoof Inspector Spacetime sought fan funding for a six episode web-series based on the character/show premise. "Inspector Spacetime, has developed such a devoted internet following since it first showed up at the beginning of the fall season. So much so that it has its own Tumblr and history, which is as extensive as the show it’s spoofing." However, he recently explained that "Lawyers from Sony and NBC have contacted me demanding that I cease production" but asked that contributions continue. "Richey is now calling the project “Untitled Webseries About a Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time” but [is] otherwise going ahead as planned."
• The results of copyright struggles remain in debate, with some arguing that piracy is the natural result of producers' actions. Citing a recent study on the effect of the lag in movie release times worldwide and how it had a noticeable effect on the decrease of movie downloading, one blogger asks "If you’re in the U.S., is piracy less of an issue than it used to be depending on the particular media and market? If you’re overseas, do you find that it’s easier to get pirated copies online of things that take months, if ever, to come out where you are?"
• A blogger who posted Fan Fiction: Moral Rights v. Transformative Use cited the OTW's argument that fan fiction is "an act of transformative creation constituting fair use under 17 USC § 107" while examining the case of Diana Gabaldon and George R. R. Martin. He suggests Gabaldon "is trying to build a case...for an author’s moral rights." While the aspect of noncommerciality as a fair use factor is not mentioned, he argues that "much fan fiction originates from a more participatory impulse. Gabaldon and Martin ask why fanfic writers don’t just develop their own characters, or at least appropriate old characters in the public domain (Jane Eyre, for instance), but I think they’re not accounting for this impulse, a desire to participate actively in the culture."
• Copyright holders themselves may have trouble participating in the culture depending on what their work focuses on. PayPal has issued directives to online ebook retailers that is erasing particular forms of erotic content from the marketplace. "Smashwords founder Coker said that the rise of e-books has shifted more power in the book world to payment processors and banks. In the past, readers walked into a physical bookstore and could purchase a book with cash, leaving such companies out of the equation. "Electronic payments have become the oxygen of e-commerce and e-books, so PayPal, banks and credit card companies have enormous power," Coker said. "What right does a financial institution have to censor legal content? Authors are being caught in the middle.""

If you write fan fiction, are a Community, or Inspector Spacetime fan, or you remix content, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fandom clout that might be of interest to fans:

• One of the clearest signs of fandom clout is that an increasing number of content producers consider fans and geek culture to be a draw. In Australia, iiNet’s TopGeek seeks to find "Australia’s most talented geek through a series of challenges that have been designed to test gaming, fandom, creativity and Internet skills."
• Fans are behind the reboot of soap operas in the United States. With only four traditional soap operas still airing on network television, producers have reached out to their fans. Greg Meng, executive producer of Days of our Lives, took cast members on a multi-city tour and met with fans to discuss the show. After hearing that their fans were disappointed that their favorite characters were no longer on the show, Meng says that, "We realized we needed to take the show back to where it was." Other productions have also decided to cater to their core fans rather than try to hook a mass audience. Bradley Bell, executive producer of The Bold and The Beautiful, notes, "The old theory says: Keep things moving slowly, because if people are only watching two or three times a week, they need to know what’s happening. Our new theory is: Something has to happen every day, and it’s more important to feel as though you’ve missed something by not watching."
• Fandom outcry over changes to their favorite works has also taken place when major movie projects altered the nature of the canon characters. One case was that of Gene Luen Yang, "a notable member of the Avatar fandom. He was brought to the attention of the creators of the series during his campaign against the whitewashed cast of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender." In Yang's case, however, he was offered the chance to write a comic for the series, and it is pulling in a large audience from bookstore customers as well as comic shop visitors.
• Comics Beat recently promoted crowdsource funding for the documentary WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which "examines the evolution of Wonder Woman and other kick-ass heroines, with a look at "how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation." They note, "With the rise of geek girl fandom, it couldn’t be more timely."

If you write comics or are a fan of soap operas or Avatar: The Last Airbender why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on awareness of fanworks that might be of interest to fans:

• An increasing number of media outlets are noting the influence of fan practices in a variety of areas. For example, a review of a new "active publishing" platform claimed that its ability to incorporate reader input was something previously sequestered in the nerdiest of fan-fiction forums, while CNN's GeekOut blog opened an interview with a new filmmaker by citing how "The fan who created the recent "Voltron" short, did so in part to show that he could possibly direct a feature film. And that seems to be an inspiring concept. Fan conventions like Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia, are increasingly including panels on how to create science fiction and fantasy content, from books to online comics to films."
• Other stories focus on the inventiveness of fanworks such as this piece on Starwars Uncut in a physics blog titled "Crowd-Sourced Star Wars: Combining 500 Clips into One Film," or this feature on the BBC America site featuring a Dr. Who/Sherlock crossover vid as an example of "the Wholock phenomenon, which has been expressed in various ways from fan fiction to Deviant Art works."
• In some cases the awareness is leading to paying gigs for fans. One cosplayer "began as an amateur, but her talent has landed her a paying job this year with Red 5 Studios." The article notes "At first glance, cosplay seems like a hobby too specific to require its own social network. However, stories like Graziano’s are becoming more and more frequent, making the case that social networking can mean the difference between an amateur fan and cosplay pro." Certainly the visibility of fans and their work online is likely to lead to an influence feedback loop to creators as this essay about Madonna's superbowl halftime performance suggests.

If you are a vidder, a cosplayer, or a filmmaker, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of "fandom everywhere" stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Mardi Gras in New Orleans now has an open-source side. "Bar2D2, as the robot is called, is the mascot of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, which runs a ragtag operation dedicated to all things science fiction. In two years, the group, which started as a drunken joke in a bar, has become the quickest-growing krewe in the city, and a center of the amateur costume culture in New Orleans." Aside from giving people a chance to be creative, "Chewbacchus and krewes like it are a response to the exclusivity of the older groups. Chewbacchus does not have any waiting lists or recommendation requirements, and dues are only $42 (an arcane numerical reference to the novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”)." Rather than change old traditions, the krewe believes they are modernizing it. "“The old Mardi Gras krewes play off of Greek gods,” Mr. Powers said. “We believe sci-fi is the strongest mythology of our time.”"
• Star Wars fandom was also in focus at the Hollywood Theater in Pittsburgh. The Fandom Meant Us is "a romantic comedy about Star Wars fans’ love for Star Wars, and their love for each other" that was advertised as "an awesomely geeky Valentine’s Day date."
• Media scholar Henry Jenkins ran a three-part interview with authors Catherine Belcher and Becky Herr-Stephenson, authors of Teaching Harry Potter: The Power of Imagination in the Multicultural Classroom, which Jenkins recommended as "one of the most powerful and engaging books I've read about American education in a long time." In discussing student reluctance, the authors write "The first thing we question is the idea that the "whiteness" of the books negates their use in multicultural classrooms. The nature of the books themselves - their complexity and Rowling's willingness to take on difficult and contemporary issues such as racism, genocide, classism, and difference - make them uniquely valuable." They add "On another level, it is also important because so many white, middle to upper middle class kids DO have ample access to Potter and other popular series at home and at school. In many ways, building students' reading confidence, helping them discover that yes, they too can tackle a book of this length or "that style," whether they end up feeling it is ultimately for them or not, is the most valuable accomplishment."

If you are a Star Wars or Harry Potter fan, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fandom works in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• Indiana Jones fan Jeff Gurwood created a stop-motion film of the Raiders of the Lost Ark opening which gained media attention. The film took "six months of work, 45 hours a week" and "cost him about $500 to $600." The fan film was undertaken only after he and his creative partner attempted to sell a film based on an original work they had made and after the "Syfy channel came close to green-lighting a series. And Adult Swim, the late-night arm of Cartoon Network, talked to the pair about a year before producing Robot Chicken, which also features action figure stop-motion." He currently has at least one offer: "A major toy manufacturer saw the Raiders video and is looking to hire Gurwood to make videos for its toy lines."
• The band My Chemical Romance's new video was partially created by a fan. "Emily Eisemann, a 21-year-old from New York, had created a collage-like YouTube video called “My Chemical Romance - Celebrating 10 Years as a Band,” which singer Gerard Way and crew stumbled upon while mining for footage to use in a similar purpose." Now available on YouTube "in a nod to Eisemann, her original video -- and story -- is also linked prominently."
• Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak "was better known on YouTube for his glittery remakes of Katy Perry and Rihanna videos as gay love stories" before he turned his hand to a new project, a successful fund raising effort to create "a full-length documentary, called Second Class Citizens." The current trailer "takes the viewer on a fast-paced journey through the gay rights movement, starting with historic footage denouncing “homosexuals.”" A major supporter was actor George Takei. "“This young filmmaker made my Spidey video,” he tweeted, referring to a campaign to have Takei play Spider-Man on Broadway. “If you watch one clip today, let it be this.”"
• Less inspiring is a recent trend to get celebrities to read fan fiction on camera, the more potentially embarrassing the better. Ralph Fiennes' appearance reading Harry Potter fanfic was covered by dozens of sites including TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, The L.A. Times and Vulture. A post at Crushable mentions a similar recent case in Twilight fandom. While it has been considered poor etiquette for fans to confront celebrities with fan fiction written about them or their projects, the media seems to be setting different boundaries for ratings fodder.

If you're part of My Chemical Romance, Twilight, Harry Potter or Indiana Jones fandoms, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.