Has anybody here met Don Bluth?

[apinion]

I got to meet Don Bluth 3 times. Twice at the Classic Gamin Expo (2001-2002) and at DragonCon in 2001. I got him and Gary Goldman, Rick Dyer and John Pomeroy to sign my Dragon's Lair marquee and my Dragon's Lair and Space Ace posters. At DragonCon I bought a Dragon's Lair cel from them and Don drew a sketch of Dirk, Daphne and Singe for me and Mrs. Brisby and Littlefoot for my wife.  The picture below is from DragonCon and is of Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and myself. They are really great guys and could not have been nicer. The last time I saw them Gary rememberd me and we talked about his house and other things. It was like we were old friends.

[amadama]

That's very slick apinion. I wish I could have been there.
Alex

[karcreat]

I personally have a tarnished opinion of Mr Bluth and Mr Goldman, as I VERY politely got in touch w/ them regarding my 'Space Ace' tribute game...and they couldnt be bothered to even LOOK at it.

I used to be be big fans, but not so much anymore.

All they did was tell me to 'stop production' and all my efforts were summarilly ignored.
Real nice way to treat your fans, guys.

However, they DID teach me a valuable lesson...never ignore or mistreat your fans (as they did)...without your fans you are NOTHING.

K

[amadama]

Hi Karcreat,
It's a shame that was what happened. Unfortunately theiy probably had little choice in the matter.
You sent in what is called an "Unsolicited Submission". 99% of the time these are disregarded immediately. There have been many cases in which an idea was supposedly "stolen" and then the fan has sued (even if they signed away a waiver).
Your best bet is to never contact the developers/creators until after you are done with your fan work. In that case it is considered "fan art"  and is in fair use (similar to a parody or spoof).
You do good work, don't let this get you down. Keep it up!
Alex

[karcreat]

Hi Karcreat,
It's a shame that was what happened. Unfortunately theiy probably had little choice in the matter.
You sent in what is called an "Unsolicited Submission". 99% of the time these are disregarded immediately. There have been many cases in which an idea was supposedly "stolen" and then the fan has sued (even if they signed away a waiver).
Your best bet is to never contact the developers/creators until after you are done with your fan work. In that case it is considered "fan art"  and is in fair use (similar to a parody or spoof).
You do good work, don't let this get you down. Keep it up!
Alex

Nope, I guessed as much too, and even politely informed them that I would sign a waiver, etc in case they had such worries...they simply would not take an interest.
They stated that they could 'not tolerate anyone utilizing their characters or likenesses' and I stated it was a fanwork, completely non-profit...they didnt care (thats the problem in a nutshell, I think)...I found this a complete let down, to think I supported Bluth all those years and he 'couldnt be bothered by some fan', even if it was something as involved as a playable game tribute...a shame, it turns out he is 'too Hollywood' to be concerned with his fans.
I decided to do my OWN characters in a PC game (Im currently at work on it) but I will never forget the disappointment I felt in discovering that Bluth had turned into the very thing he used to despise...a Hollywood phony.

K