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