Friday, October 20, 2006

Question #117

Does the play, "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead" by Tom Stoppard, qualify as "fanfic"?

For those of you who aren't geeks or nerds, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are two minor characters from Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. Their ONLY reason to be in the play basically is to die. Tom Stoppard, a genius in his own right, took these two minor characters and made an absurdist play about them.

Fanfic are basically fiction written by fans, about what they're fans about. Tons of Star Trek fanfic abound throughout the web, as well as other cultish series like Babylon 5, Xena, Beauty and the Beast (the TV series) etc.

Most producers (that is, the money makers on the series, but not the concept/story makers) frown on fanfic, but most writers/actors/directors/creatives enjoy reading how fans interpret what they're doing and sometimes, you can get really good writers out of people who do fanfic.

For those who frown on fanfic, I send you the above Hmm Question. Is the ONLY difference between fanfic and Tom Stoppard's "Shakespeare in Love" and "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead" is that Shakespeare's plays no longer has an active copyright?

If so, your reasons for frowning on fanfic, sucks.

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