FAME APPEAL

The fruits of four years of labor finally paid off for independent film studio BMB Finishes when its Zelda-based movie, The Hero of Time, was released for public consumption over the internet. Reaction to the film was mixed, but it seemed like everyone appreciated the 1,460 days of hard work that went into the feature-length film’s creation. Apparently, that’s not the case — the movie’s official site was updated, explaining that the studio had come to an agreement with Nintendo to stop distributing the film online. (source)

Techflaws.org was the first of a few to point out that Nintendo, decided to completely shut down a fan made film based on the immensely popular classic video game The Legend of Zelda. Apparently the fan-made film took a few years to produce, but once it was done, it was released and even shown in a few theaters before Nintendo threatened legal action. The movie makers caved and as a “concession” the move was allowed to be shown online but only through the end of last year. Source

Although this movie was a free promotion for the Nintendo corporation, the movie makers did not have the legal right to use the characters of Zelda in order to promulgate their own film. In order to make a Zelda movie BMB should have obtained a license.  The issue remains though that in this age of online movies, how many other independent filmakers are making their own versions of protected media through film?