Saban Entertainment

Next up on the great, endless list of movies, TV shows, books and toys that Hollywood studios will “reboot” and repackage for a new generation of viewers and merchandise buyers is the beloved TV series, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. According to Deadline, Lionsgate is teaming with Saban Brands to bring the Power Rangers back to the big screen for a potential new franchise, which sounds easy in theory, but seeing as the 1995 film of the same name grossed an adequate $66 million on a $15 million budget and 1997’s Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie was pretty much dead at the box office, they’ve got their work cut out for them.

For starters, Lionsgate is going to need a hell of an idea to bring the Power Rangers roaring back, a la the Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and whatever other awesome toys we played with as kids.

The new film will cast a new group of high school kids who mix their studies and social lives with the mission to save the world.

Oh, okay. Well, I’m sure Lionsgate will make up for the unoriginal, stale and cookie cutter plot with some great action and not whatever that terribly-edited Japanese monster-fighting stock footage was supposed to be. I don’t know, maybe I’m just bitter about this stupid idea because it’s 2014 and we’ve had four Transformers movies, two Godzilla reboots, countless comic book films and comic book reboots, and even a giant robot-fights-kaiju movie with Pacific Rim, and Hollywood can’t get its crap together and make a Voltron movie already.

I can almost hear Taylor Kitsch’s voice saying, “And I’ll form head!” In the meantime, $10 says Olivia Munn plays the Pink Power Ranger.

The Avengers get introduced in the style of the original Power Rangers opening credits. Some really fantastic editing work here.

Good afternoon you princes of Maine, you kings of New England, you stalkers of Olivia Wilde. Here are all the mashup and parody videos I didn’t get a chance to cover, thrown in your face like you’re Jodie Foster working for the FBI.

In the offing for today:

1. FIRST VIDEO: We’re not sure how this mashup of Toy Story and Requiem For A Dream neglected to include the scene where Woody’s arm falls off, but we’d still go A2A with it anytime. [via Buzzfeed, NSFW audio]
2. SECOND VIDEO: The Avengers edited as the Power Rangers opening credits? That actually works. [Clip Nation via Gorilla Mask]
3. THIRD VIDEO: The catchy Adventure Time song “Bacon Pancakes” gets a yelling goat remix by Chad Johnson. We’ll use any excuse to post this song. [via Laughing Squid]
4. FOURTH VIDEO: Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer” also gets a pitch perfect goat remix. [via Joanne Casey]
5. Banner picture via Reddit and my dreams.
   
6. Inset picture: “Avenger Time!” by Steven Lefcourt. [via RampagedReality]
   

[via]

Easter is coming this weekend, which gives us a great reason to post pictures of geeky Easter eggs and gorge ourselves on solid chocolate bunnies. (But only solid chocolate bunnies. The hollow ones are still deceptive Cadbury temptresses.) This year’s gallery relies heavily on Star Wars Easter eggs. Conspiracy? Perhaps. But it’s all so pinteresting.

For more Easter egg decorating ideas, check out last year’s gallery of geeky Easter eggs here.

“Humpty Smarty Dumpty” by Dávid for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

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“MIB” by Álvaro for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

Made by Lesley A. Jensen [via]

“Eipod” by Harald for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

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“The proud dwarf and his mining treasure” by Dominik for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

“Alien Egg” by Ben for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

Made by Lesley A. Jensen [via]

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“Demonic Egg” by Chris for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

“Eggzilla” by Alex for the Massive Voodoo Easter Egg Contest.

Made by Lesley A. Jensen

[via]

Ah, beer. The best easter egg of all. [via]

So, this is a thing that happened.

As you may know, Jason David Frank, best known for his role as the Green Ranger (and White Ranger, and … uh, Red Ranger) on the legendary “ninjas fight monsters” 1990s kids show Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, is now a mixed-martial artist. He’s also a pretty spectacular self-publicist, like that time he created a line of Jesus-themed MMA clothes or the time he broke the world record for most boards broken during a skydive. Now he’s talking to The Roman Show on BlogTalkRadio about how he wants to fight former WWE Champion CM Punk. Also, he’d like to fight Jean Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux.

I swear to God I’m not making this up.

Jason David Frank, who played the Green Ranger in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, spoke with The Roman Show and said he’d like to face CM Punk in an MMA fight. Frank said that barring that he would like to do a kickboxing match or even pro wrestling match against Punk, who is a practicioner of jiu jitsu. Frank has competed in MMA before.

“CM Punk is legit, many people think he isn’t but he is,” Frank said on the show. He also noted he would like to face Jean Claude Van Damme, saying he would “bring out the Green Ranger versus Bloodsport.” (transcription h/t 411)

A Power Ranger challenged a pro wrestler to a fight and name-dropped Bloodsport. THIS IS RELEVANT TO MY INTERESTS.

Here’s the duo in happier times:

photo via Tumblr

Of course, CM Punk is no stranger to fighting celebrities. He did a little training with Al Bundy, if you’ll recall. Maybe the fight will happen and we’ll get to cross it over with WWE? I don’t know, I just want to see Punk being attacked by Brock Lesnar, only to be saved by the Dragonzord.

[banner image via Wrestling Memes]

The Internet’s collective interest got piqued last week when Bryan Cranston revealed to Colbert that he used to do voiceovers for Power Ranger villains. Leave it to Leno to find the actual clips.

If there’s one thing Leno is good for, it’s finding vintage clips of his guests and embarrassing them with it. Cranston should have seen this coming since he told Colbert he was a villain in Power Rangers, but he still seemed a bit surprised Leno actually found any clips.

As a Power Rangers fan growing up, it’s cool to see that Cranston was right there guiding my life all along. I always wondered why there was only one set of footprints on the sand, but now I know Bryan Cranston was carrying me the whole time…either that or I was floating in a haze of super meth.

Here are more clips from Cranston’s interview.

20th Century Fox

To hell with your Citizen Kanes, Casablancas, and Lawrence of Arabias. The cinematic arts hit their peak when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie came out in 1995, and it’s all been downhill since. Here’s why.

First and foremost, it relies heavily on the indisputable highest form of humor in existence: Puns.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

And it’s the only movie to start with a good two minutes of aerial acrobatics, because the Power Rangers skydiving onto a target will save the Angel Grove observatory… for some reason that’s never established. It’s unimportant. Look at those sweet flips!

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

More sweet flips!

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

And Kimberly and Billy flipping off-screen when any sane person would walk. It’s a testament to the importance of originality and proper quad fitness.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers engendered in a whole generation of young dorks a love of science. How can you listen to dialogue like this and not want to unlock the secrets of the universe?

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Kimberly’s wide-eyed reaction to setting foot on an alien planet that’s clearly just California taught us all a valuable lesson about approaching each new experience with a sense of childlike wonder.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Other valuable lessons that lesser films don’t bother to teach: Evil uses bendy straws.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Never walk when you can Ninjetti Corkscrew Kick.

by Rebecca Pahle

…and dance like no one is watching.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Though you may think Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is your average ’90s action movie, in breaking the fourth wall so Billy can make a (quite excellent, let’s be honest) pun it reveals a terrifying subtextual analysis of the nature of reality and our relationship to our inner selves.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Just as the Rangers taking so long to morph that the baddies got bored and left has philosophically intriguing implications about the nature of humanity’s solipsistic perception of time and the importance of living in the moment.

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

And the bad guy was defeated when he was kneed in the crotch into the path of an oncoming comet! After Aisha pressed a “For Emergency Use Only” button! “Knee to to the crotch” is a button that exists on the Ninja Megazord!

by Rebecca Pahle/20th Century Fox

Saban Entertainment

No more everything happening at the crappy local park, I guess.

Those valiant defenders of Angel Grove, the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, are getting a new movie. This isn’t the first time the Rangers have got their own flick, but the last couple were charmingly low-budget-and-effort affairs. Basically they were just extra long episodes of the TV show with slightly better effects (if that’s even possible).

Well folks, the Rangers are leaving their scrappy roots behind and heading to Blockbusterville for their latest effort — the movie will be produced by Hollywood tentpole-producing robot Roberto Orci (of the Star Trek and Transformers films amongst many others) and will be written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, the screenwriting duo behind X-Men: First Class.

On the other hand, Haim Saban, the “creator” of Power Rangers (actually he just created some super-cheap wraparounds for Japanese Super Sentai show Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger) is also producing, so maybe he’ll bring some of that classic Power Rangers crumminess to the project. Hopefully he still has Bulk and Skull’s numbers.

So, who’s looking forward to 100-million-dollar, disaster-porn Megazord battles where you can hear the individual screams of the thousands being crushed to death? Can’t say I am. That said, Zordon will look pretty rad in 3D.

Via The Hollywood Reporter

Saban Entertainment

Lionsgate has announced a release date for their Power Rangers reboot: July 22nd, 2016. The announcement comes right after another cheesy ’90s franchise (Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles) performed well above expectations and secured a sequel, so maybe they should thank the Turtles (again).

Via CBM

X-Men: First Class co-writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz are penning the script based on a story they co-created with producer (and Star Trek 3 director) Roberto Orci.

Power Rangers will open the same weekend as Warner’s King Arthur (yay, another generic public domain movie) and in the same month as sequels to the Bourne, Ice Age, and Planet of the Apes franchises, as well as two more movies optioned from kids’ stuff: Angry Birds and The BFG. Everything is a reboot, a sequel, or based on merchandise geared to a third grade reading level. This is what happens when stuff like Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtles sells 50% more tickets than expected.

But we suppose some fans are excited to see a new version of The Best Movie™. For you guys, don’t let my disappointment in the lack of new, adult-oriented summer movies bring you down.

ruinedchildhood

Via Uproxx

Via Deadline and CBM

Via Pat Loika

Emma Frost doing the “haters gonna hate” strut. (Photographed by Pat Loika.)

It’s that time of the week when we post a mixed bag of intriguing costumes we’ve spotted recently. Some of it’s new; some of it isn’t; all of it is worth highlighting.

Are you a cosplayer or photographer who would like to be featured on Gamma Squad? Upload your photos to our Flickr group to be considered.

Onward to the gallery:

“I am Grootpool!” — hamo624

Via hamo624

She-Hulk photographed by Greyloch. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Via Greyloch

Zordon of Eltar (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) photographed by KwanMan.

Via KwanMan

Disney’s Maleficent photographed by Jason Ernst.

Via Jason Ernst

Bombshell Wonder Woman cosplayed by Meagan Marie, photographed by Chuck. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Via Chuck

Sister of Battle (Warhammer 40K) photographed by Matt Drobnik.

Via Matt Drobnik

Django (Django Unchained) cosplayed by Chris Davis, photographed by Paul Cory. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Via Paul Cory

Invader Zim photographed by oPHILcial.

Via oPHILcial

“You look like you’re trying to cosplay. Would you like help with that?” — Ethan Trewhitt.

Via Ethan Trewhitt

Saban

Yasutomo Ihara was one of the guys whose face you don’t know, but whose moves you definitely do: He was one of the many stuntmen in suits for tokusatsu series such as Power Rangers and Kamen Rider. And now, apparently, he’s a thief… and a surprisingly successful one.

Ihara, according to Kotaku, lost his job running around in a motorcycle helmet when he injured his knee. Not having anywhere else to turn, or simply wanting to seem really awesome to the Internet when he got caught, he started sneaking into homes by climbing up the walls or shimmying up utility poles before entering the home. That earned him the nickname of, what else, Spider-Man.

And he was fairly prolific: According to the authorities, they believe he’s responsible for robbing 43 homes of nearly $77,000 worth of cash and valuables. Ihara, for his part, doesn’t seem to have released a statement yet, possibly because the Japanese justice system is a bit different from our own.

Apparently, Ihara was saving up the money to afford to go to acting school and become a professional, beyond just taking a few hits in a rubber suit. It’s not clear what restitution he’ll have to make or what sentence he’ll serve. But if it’s any consolation to him, at least he’s not the Power Ranger who’s fallen the farthest.

Saban

Amy Jo Johnson has had a pretty solid career, appearing as a cast member on everything from Felicity to Covert Affairs, but she’ll forever be best known as Kimberly on the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Amy is currently in the midst of an ongoing Indiegogo campaign for The Space Between, her directorial debut about a man who discovers his child isn’t his own. A couple days ago she hit her funding goal, so to celebrate she decided to grab her guitar and hit the streets of Toronto in her old Power Ranger outfit.

Original Blue Ranger David Yost was pretty sure she wouldn’t have the guts to do it…

But screw you Billy, Kimberly ain’t give a sh*t, she does what she wants.

Damn, 44 and still making the pink spandex work. It’s good to know in this ever changing, confusing world that you can always count on the Pink Ranger still being super attractive.

Via Just Jared

Via YouTube

In case you were on Mars this weekend and haven’t heard the news, former WWE Champion CM Punk has signed with UFC. Yes, the one with the actual fighting. They announced the signing on their UFC 181 pay-per-view on Saturday and, as it is known to do, the Internet went crazy.

A lot of famous folks from the wrestling, MMA and entertainment worlds chimed in, and we’ve collected ten of the best responses in an easy-to-digest-on-Monday-morning list. #Content! Consider it a handy guide to knowing where everyone stands, from fellow fighters (“WTF?”) to former employers ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and the man himself.

Enjoy! Now let’s not mention Punk again until July. Or an hour from now, whichever comes first.

10. Legendary WWE play-by-play man turned voice of Battlegrounds MMA Jim Ross, who considered Punk’s signing from a business standpoint.

9. Nate Diaz, with the opposite of JR’s analysis.

8. Current WWE hostage Rey Mysterio, who does not totally understand how hashtags work.

Awesome to see my homie Punk at UFC 181 announcing his new career as a UFC fighter! Congrats & wish him the best… Kick some ASS homie! #ItWasAPleasureBeingInTheRingWithU#LifeChanger#CantWaite2SeeUKickAss

YOU CAN JUST WRITE ANOTHER SENTENCE, REY.

7. Former WWE wrestler Tyler Reks, taking the “guy on the Internet” position.

6. Green Power Ranger and occasional MMA guy Jason David Frank, continuing his never-ending, Fatal Attraction-esque campaign to fight Punk.

Via Haymaker:

“Jason’s actually been kind of toying with the idea of fighting CM Punk for over a year now,” Frank’s manager Brian Butler from Suckerpunch Entertainment told FOX Sports on Sunday. “They toured together on the Wizard World conventions and they were doing appearances together and the fans were kind of talking about it and it got some buzz about a year ago. It never really died down, but with the announcement last night it flared back up.

“I got a text message from Jason right away saying ‘he wants to fight at middleweight, too, I’d love to do it, he got away from me’ just kind of joking around. But actually it makes a lot of sense.”

Via Facebook:

Via Facebook

This was posted on my managers page!! I’m sorry guys I have to do this and wake up UFC. I need your help to tag @danawhiteufc @ufc please hash tag this direct to there page. I like CM this is just a professional call out Again. Thanks SUCKER PUNCH ENTERTAINMENT for believing in me!! Team I depend on you. This is my life and I deserve a shot at this. @suckerpunchent haters hate winners WIN. It’s a great fight embrace don’t hate

5. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, the most adorable smark in MMA.

4. AJ Lee, aka AJ Brooks, who should be trying to tap Ronda Rousey to a shoot Black Widow any day now.

3. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones with a layup, but a good one.

2. Punk himself in an interview with Ariel Helwani, in response to the notion that he’s a famous pro wrestler with no pro fighting experience waltzing into a high-level position in the world’s top MMA company.

“At the ripe old age of 36 I’m trying to be less of a hot head, and see where people are coming from. And I understand – if that’s your opinion, that’s awesome; it’s my job to change your mind, although that is not going to be one of my hang-ups. I’m not going to deal with negativity. Plus, I think it’s part of the game. There needs to be fighters that call me out and say those things, I just hope somebody is more creative because the ‘fake wrestler’ thing is a little too obvious.”

1. WWE, taking passive-aggression to new levels with their one-sentence statement. They didn’t even use a picture of the man. They used their logo.

WWE wishes Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk) the best of luck in his newest endeavor.

Ice cold.

Via Facebook

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard about the Power Rangers reboot. We know the release date is July 22nd, 2016, and the script is coming from X-Men: First Class co-writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz from a story co-created with producer Roberto Orci (who is no longer producing, as he left to direct Star Trek 3 then bailed on that, too).

Now additional Power Rangers reboot details have been revealed by Jason David Frank — who played Tommy Oliver in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as well as other series since — in an interview with Comicbook.

To summarize, Frank says it’s being filmed this year and he’s going to be in it because (in his words), “they feel there’s no movie, at least, without me.” Sure.

Here’s the relevant quote:

The movie is definitely set for this year. Everything is in place. They won’t give me specific details because it’s all like hush-hush. Even me, I try. I email Saban and ask them kind of what you’re asking me, but they do feel that I’m going to be part of it, because they feel there’s no movie, at least, without me. The funny thing is, one way or another, whether it happens or it doesn’t, I’ve been great to Lionsgate and I’ve been loyal to Saban. It’s not like they owe me, but if I want to ask for a personal favor, I’ve invested into their emotional bank account. I feel like it’s fair to have that withdrawal with them, because I’ve done nothing but support them for the last 10 years, 20 years in fact.

So when that happens, I don’t need to cash in any favors. I believe it’s going to happen anyway, but when it does, I’ll keep my fans involved, but I will tell you it is being filmed this year.

I know that for a fact. It’s going to be great when it is.

We’re taking it with a grain of salt until Lionsgate actually hires a director and starts production, but there is room for Tommy Oliver in a mentor role in the rumored plot of the movie, which involves a new group of high school aged Rangers but has been described by Orci as having “a continuity within the world”.

Ah, yes, but how will it stack up with The Best Movie™ ever?

Via Uproxx

Via Comicbook and Screenrant

Via flexgraph

Poison Ivy cosplayed by Nikita Cosplay, photographed by flexgraph.

It’s that time of the week when we post a mixed bag of intriguing costumes we’ve spotted recently. Some of it’s new; some of it isn’t; all of it is worth highlighting.

Are you a cosplayer or photographer who would like to be featured on Gamma Squad? Upload your photos to our Flickr group to be considered.

Onward to the gallery:

Poison Ivy cosplayed by Nikita Cosplay, photographed by flexgraph.

Via flexgraph

Batman (cosplayed by Kevin D), Wonder Woman (cosplayed by Victoria), And Superman (cosplayed by xmanofsteelx) photographed by Hero Hotties and submitted by Victoria. Submitted via our Flickr Group.

Via Victoria

Randy Marsh (South Park) photographed by Oregon_Grown.

Via Reddit

Power Rangers cosplayers photographed by Baldwin Saintilus.

Via Baldwin Saintilus

Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) photographed by V Threepio. Submitted via our Flickr Group.

Via V Threepio

Sabin

UPDATE: He’s been released.

Some of the former Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers are doing great. Jason David Frank is still loving the franchise and talking up the reboot, while Amy Jo Johnson is just plain awesome. Other Power Rangers? Not so good. We thought Yasutomo Ihara’s arrest for allegedly robbing homes would be the low point, but his arrest seems tame in light of this latest bit.

Ricardo Medina, Jr. — Red Ranger Cole Evans on Power Rangers Wild Force and returned to the franchise in 2011 to play Deker in Power Rangers Samurai — has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He’s being held on $1 million bail after his arrest for allegedly murdering his roommate, 36-year-old Joshua Sutter, with a sword during an argument. Medina called 911 himself and waited for deputies to arrive.

The incident took place around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, at a residence in the 38000 block of San Francisquito Canyon Road, an isolated section of the Los Angeles-area mountains, about 45 miles north of the Civic Center.

Medina, 36, entered his bedroom with his girlfriend and closed the door, according to deputies, and when Sutter forced his way into the room, Medina stabbed him once in the abdomen with a sword that he kept behind the bedroom door. (Via The Wrap)

This is all surreal, to say the least. This guy was one of the Red Rangers and a cast member on the VH1 reality show Kept — where he tried to convince Jerry Hall to keep him as her boy toy, but was later eliminated when she didn’t approve of his impromptu striptease during a dance competition.

At least those stripping skills came in handy — one of his most recent jobs was as a member of The Hollywood Men, a male strip club act. We weren’t expecting a post about a Power Ranger allegedly murdering someone with a sword to veer off into a bit about male strippers, yet here we are.

Sabin

Last weekend we reported the unfortunate news that Ricardo Medina, Jr., who played Red Wild Force Ranger Cole Evans on Power Rangers Wild Force and returned to the franchise in 2011 to play Deker in Power Rangers Samurai, had been arrested in the stabbing death of his roommate, Joshua Sutter. He had allegedly stabbed Sutter with a sword during an argument when the roommate had reportedly forced his way into Medina’s bedroom after Medina and his girlfriend had closed the door. Later we learned the door was also locked, as Vulture quotes from Medina’s attorney:

“It is a self-defense case,” Allen Bell, Medina’s attorney, told ABC7. “You have an individual here that was the victim of a beating in the kitchen area before he went to the bedroom and closed and locked the door in order to secure himself from any continuing violence.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, prosecutors for the L.A. County DA’s office declined to file charges, although they have asked sheriff’s investigators for more investigation. Medina’s $1 million bail was dropped and he was released from jail yesterday afternoon. It appears — as long as all the physical evidence and eyewitness testimony lines up — that the case will be ruled self defense.

It’s a sad story all around. Anyone who’s had roommates probably remembers a time you wanted to fist fight with them, or when one of them was trying to fight you and you didn’t want any part of it. That this argument ended in an apparently unintentional death is just terrible. I’ll refrain from making any tasteless jokes about how former stripper Ricardo Medina was… *sunglasses* stripped of the charges. Oh crap, that counts as making the joke, doesn’t it? This is awkward.

JOSEPH KAHN

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that most children of a certain generation remember is bright and goofy, with broad villains like a dimwitted bat-monkey and the Bloom of Doom. This ain’t that Power Rangers. It’s also not a porn parody, despite that last sentence. Power/Rangers is Joseph Kahn’s fan film, “not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition,” that turns Zordon’s crew into a bunch of moody sex-starved assassins. Kahn, the director of music videos for everyone from Aaliyah to Rob Zombie and the full-length feature Torque, told HitFix:

“The irony here is that I wouldn’t even want to make Power Rangers: The Movie for real. Like if I had to make a Power Rangers movie, this is it. It’s 14 minutes long and it’s violent and this is what I have in me. If they offered me the $200 million version, the PG-13 version, I literally wouldn’t do it. It’s just not interesting to me.” (Via)

Here’s what interests him, with some help from James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff.

UPDATE: the more nudity-filled video was taken down earlier.

It kind of looks like the EDM goo-monster film from the Entourage movie, no?

Via HitFix

Yesterday, the internet found itself blown away by the release of a Power Rangers fan film that took the famed series and made it dark, gritty and ultra-violent. While the intention of the short remains up for debate with some claiming it to be a parody of Hollywood’s desire to make every franchise reboot dark and gritty, something else now apparently in debate are the legal rights of the film itself.

After the video went viral, Saban Brands made a copyright claim to Vimeo to have the short removed from the service, which Vimeo granted. However, the YouTube version remains live (as seen above). Immediately, director Joseph Kahn mounted a defense, claiming that the film falls under fair use as there’s no pre-existing footage contained in the video itself, and that all shots are 100 percent original.

A top entertainment industry copyright attorney, who asked not to be identified, told Deadline that “there is a gray area of ‘fan fiction’ where tributes are made by fans and the studios don’t want to piss off their base by going after these people legally. The guy may have a fair use defense, or a de minimis use defense. It’s not a slam dunk by either side. Trademark law applies as well.” (via Deadline)

It also remains unclear how Lions Gate – the producing studio of the upcoming Power Rangers feature film reboot – feels about the whole thing, but the report goes on to say they have remained mostly on the sidelines through the whole ordeal.

Via Deadline

JOSEPH KAHN

Earlier this week, the internet found itself over the moon with a NSFW parody fan film of Power Rangers. After a few days, however, the film’s creators found themselves in legal trouble when Haim Saban and his company, Saban Brands, the owners of the property, pulled it from Vimeo. Now, after a few more days of public outcry by fans for tolerance from Saban, the film has also been pulled from YouTube by the company.

“When a copyright holder notifies us of a video that infringes their copyright, we remove the content promptly in accordance with the law,” [said a YouTube spokesperson]. (Via)

Unfortunately, U.S. law requires video hosters pull content immediately upon receiving a copyright claim. It is then the responsibility of the filmmakers to counter that claim in court if desired. So, unless this issue in fact does go to such a level, don’t expect to see the short on YouTube (officially) again anytime soon.

Via TheWrap