No offense taken.
First off, I haven't seen the George Takei fan film...so I don't know if he's been actually credited or not. But once again, that film was made back in the 1970's before there was an internet. I was unaware that any of the Star Wars stars had been involved with fan productions... I don't like Star Wars so I avoid watching their fan films as often as possible.
There are myriad reasons why you may not legally be able to promote your film that way.
First, there may be SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) rules that prevent it. There may be contractual obligations between the actor and their agent that prevent it. The studio may take umbrage that you're playing in their sandbox and prevent it. Perhaps, just maybe the actors themselves wouldn't desire it.
I may not have been clear in my ramblings above, though, so your opposition may be based on my mushy explanation. If you HIRE Richard or Dirk or Anne or Terry or Larry or Noah or Eve the Chimp for that matter, and actually pay their day-rate and all that goes with it, you have the right and obligation to credit them in your film. If they do it for you as a lark or a favor or just out of the goodness of their hearts, it would be completely up to them and their agent and the rules of the union how to apply the credit. Some actors might not want to have their name on a fan film. I can't imagine that it would harm their career, but some might not want it for their own reasons.
Also, if Anne Lockheart (for an example) appears in your 20 minute film for a total of 1 minute on a non-synched video screen and says "Congratulations warriors! You've successfully completed your mission!" you wouldn't necessarily want to oversell her involvement. "Special Guest Star" maybe... "Reprising their role as" possibly...but STARRING? I'm sure there are SAG rules about that too. But then again, I've never talked with Anne about this subject (or any other)... maybe she'd WANT to be labelled as the STAR.
Its just a matter of being careful is all I'm saying. Most studios are pretty liberal about allowing fans to make films like this... but you have to get REAL intimate with the unspoken rules of "gong too far". The problem is that it's a sliding scale. What's okay with Lucasfilm or Paramount might NOT be okay with Universal. And depending on who it is in the legal department who discovers your fan film, you might be okay or you might be declared an "enemy of the state" and get a cease and desist order.
This probably didn't help at all. Did it?
-Gordon
