[Helianthus16]

>LOTR is being actively commercially exploited and the commercial exploitations are darn good.

Darn good, but not perfect. We are now denied the right to re-interpret LOTR, perhaps because we want to include the Scouring of the Shire--not because the movie was necessarily worse without it, but because we _want_ to.

And heck, take a better example: the Harry Potter movies are in great need of re-interpretation, but don't expect to see independent film-makers getting a bite at that apple anytime soon.

[griftah]

Do we really need more fanfics?

[Jach]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_M...

Yes, we do.

[Vivtek]

Well, now we don't.

[Helianthus16]

when you accept that the LOTR movies are just fanfics we've spent millions on, you'll understand why we need more fanfics.

[griftah]

Do we really need to blur difference between art and fanfics even more then?

[gwern]

Yes. Fanfiction is an artificial term imposed on us by our current IP regime. It is not a natural kind and simply refers to normal literary practices that run afoul of current laws. Why isn't Shakespeare's _Othello_ fanfiction of Cinthio's short story? Because there was no copyright to run afoul of, and so it was 'only' a retelling or adaptation.