plans are for further adventures of the Exeter crew. He's commented in the past that he wants to do another show, but I really don't know how realistic that is. It's such a tremendous undertaking, and costs so much money to do, that I fear this may be a one-time deal, but you never know. I do not believe I would be involved with another show, should it happen, however. 'Invaders' was an adventure where the Exeter is called, under false pretenses, to a planet called "Atlantis" where something valuable is being mined. There are mysterious disappearances taking place on the mining colony and Exeter investigates the mystery. There's a love story involving Garrovick, and some fun action; some rockin' hand-phaser battle stuff. It would have been fun to shoot. If it does get produced some day, I'm sure it'll be a fun episode for Exeter fans. I'm not sure if this episode will be the next one, or whether another story will be developed, if indeed another show is ever produced.
3.0: Would "Atlantis" have been the finale for the Exeter project, or was the team hoping to keep doing episodes after that? For that matter, is "Starship: Exeter" still a going concern, or is it a dead project?
SCOTT: 'Atlantis' was not written to have been any kind of finale. Jimm and Josh have discussed their ideas for a finale, but I'm not very familiar with that. No, Starship Exeter is NOT a dead project--the final piece to "Tressaurian" WILL be released--but I'm not sure about further episodes. That's up to Jimm.
3.0: One of the crew of Exeter - I forget who now - commented on United Worlds that he quickly got to feeling rather constrained by the limitations of the Trek Universe, and having to fit their story in to the confines of an already over-defined fictional universe. He'd said he had some new project he was working on, which sounded to be somewhat similar to Trek in format, but was set in a new standalone universe with new underlying rules. Do you know anything about that, and did you yourself ever feel a bit hamstrung by the strictures of 'playing in someone elses' garden' so to speak?
SCOTT: You're probably referring to Dennis Bailey, our screenwriter, who runs United Worlds (now located at starshippolaris.com, by the way). He's referring to the show he's trying to put together called "Starship Polaris" as a new standalone universe.
3.0: Yes, thank you, that’s it!
SCOTT: The problem with playing in someone else's garden, as you say, is that you never really "own" all the hard work you've put into it. We walk an extremely fine-line, intellectual property-wise. I mean, any day, Paramount COULD decide to flex their legal muscle and shut us down, along with all the other fan-films, and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. While I don't think that's likely to happen (it's free advertising, after all!), I suppose I wouldn't be surprised. So, Dennis and myself and others involved with Exeter, are either moving onto their own independent projects, or getting out of "the business" altogether at this point.
3.0: You also did a short called "Secret Identity Crisis" a few years back. I generally try to find and watch everything by everyone I interview before I talk to them, but I wasn't able to track down a copy. What was that short about, and how did directing it differ from a large-scale production like Exeter?
SCOTT: My short, "Secret Identity Crisis," is a fun little film I did in 2007. You can't find a copy anywhere because it's not online. It is available for purchase (cheap!) on my website (http://www.riverscapepictures.com), and the DVD includes the film itself, some commentaries, and some behind-the-scenes documentaries. It's a fun little disc, and the film is a kick in the pants. It's about a super-hero who, after battling his arch-enemy that gets away (again!), he retires to the local watering hole where he meets someone new. It's a fun twist on the super-hero genre that's very simple, and if I do say so myself, is quite entertaining for an 8-minute film. It was written by Maurice, the same screenwriter of Exeter's "Atlantis" script. It was very small-scale in comparison to Exeter, at least as far as scope. But I had a professional crew and equipment for that project.
3.0: Are you working on any projects now? Can you tell us about it? What's next for Scott
...and now off to watch [sigh] Warehouse 13
The Artist Formerly Known As Republibot 3.0