Tim Russ (Tuvok) rejects the label "fan film" for Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, the independent Star Trek feature he directed with several well-known Star Trek actors in the lead roles.

"This is an independent Trek feature, and we have every intention of selling it to the public as either a download or on DVD," said Russ to Making Movies, adding, "The quality of 'Gods and Men' is superior to the typical fan film."

Among the actors who appear in the film are Walter Koenig (Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Garrett Wang (Kim) and Ethan Phillips (Neelix). "We obviously needed to gather name actors from the various series to be in the film if we were going to produce it commercially," said Russ. "It would give the story much more punch and generate much more interest from the fans."

Russ said that the producers were looking into the legal issues behind using series concepts for a commercial, independent Star Trek film. "At present the Star Trek franchise is owned by CBS," he noted. "We are planning to approach them about distribution for the project be it internet or DVD."

Though he declined to give the story away, Russ did say that "the theme has to do with security vs. freedom. How much freedom is one willing to give up in the name of security?" He feels that the film is "consistent with Gene Roddenberry's vision" along with "good old action, suspense, and old familiar faces." The movie was shot on the Star Trek: New Voyages set, "because it was cost effective and they worked for the story", and borrowed some of the crew and wardrobe from that fan series.

Russ can be seen this summer in Live Free or Die Hard and has several other directing projects in the works. The full article and Of Gods and Men trailer are here.

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