TMNT "partners" to shut up Steve "Murph" Murphy

[Kendamu]

There seems to be a little confusion as to who to blame for what here. So, let's refer to the blog itself:

Two months or so ago the blog came to the attention of the executives at Imagi Studios, the animation company responsible for the most recent TMNT film, and the folks currently holding the rights to a sequel. For a few months prior to their discovery I had been blogging the process of that sequel, updating you on where things stand, sharing with you a bit of insight as to how the sequel meetings were progressing, giving you a sense of Mirage’s collective frustration and befuddlement at the glacial pace of the development. As you may be aware (I pointed this out in a comments section somewhere), the Imagi execs didn’t like what I was posting and asked the Mirage CEO “to tighten the lid” on me. Which he did. Hence the lack of Imagi updates (not that there’s much to report). Mind you, I only wrote about the process itself and did not discuss the various plots under consideration except in the broadest terms (“more a comedy with action than an action-adventure with comedy”).

Angry Company #1: Imagi

Last week a producer and friend of mine at 4Kids Productions – the folks who make the TMNT cartoon – told Mirage that my postings of Playmates Toys’ Fall 2008 action figure designs had “sunk” 4Kids’ plans to publicly release such designs over the course of the coming year - via a viral marketing campaign that they were planning to undertake - trickling and doling out the images and concepts on the tmnt.tv and ninjaturtles.com websites. To quote directly from his email: “One part of their [the marketing team’s] plan was to strategically ‘leak’ designs. Of course, by the end of the week they discovered that you guys had already posted EVERYTHING and their plans were sunk!” Hmmm, everything? Really?

Angry Company #2: 4Kids.

Clearly, my sharing information will have little to no impact on anyone’s marketing plans. Needless to say, the complaint went to my CEO, and although he and I are in agreement with regards to the value of this blog as well as to the relative absurdity of the 4Kids “sunk” claim, I have been told that I can no longer post unauthorized images, nor discuss story concepts or creative directions related to Playmates (even though they’ve never complained), 4Kids Productions and (for some reason) NECA.

So, apparently, NECA didn't really care all that much about what happened with Lee's exclusive reveal.

So, Imagi and 4Kids can go sit in a septic tank. NECA and Mirage are getting my money through figures and comics. My attitude will change when their attitudes change.

This makes it really hard for me to justify buying Season 2 Part 1 of 2k3 now.