My name is Connor Cochran. I work with Peter S. Beagle, the man who wrote THE LAST UNICORN, A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, the "Sarek" episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, and the screenplay to the original animated LORD OF THE RINGS (not to mention a whole lot of other classic genre works).
Right now Peter needs help -- BIG help. Which is why I'm sounding as loud a rallying cry as I can.
You will find all the details up on the web at
http://www.conlanpress.com/youcanhelp.
Just for now, here's the short form:
1) Despite having millions of readers and fans, Peter (who is 66) now lives barely above the poverty line. Why? Because all his life he has been cheated by publishing companies and film studios.
2) He is also fighting desperately to earn enough money to take care of his 100 year-old mother.
3) The English company that controls the animated feature-film version of his best-known book, THE LAST UNICORN, has sold more than 600,000 LAST UNICORN DVDs and videotapes within the last two years...but despite Peter's contract, they haven't paid him ANYTHING from those sales. In violation of that contract they've also refused to supply a proper accounting of any kind, despite repeated requests.
4) When Peter wrote THE LORD OF THE RINGS screenplay, years ago, he was paid only $5,000 for his work. He agreed to this ridiculously low fee because the producer said there wasn't any more money in the budget, and promised to make it up to Peter in big-money contracts for other scripting jobs. The producer didn't keep any of his promises, of course -- and his company is STILL refusing to make things right, even though they have earned more than $200 million thanks to the work Peter did.
With the help of the public, though, we can make things better.
Peter has hired an attorney to press his legal claims. But that's not enough, by itself, to win the day. Now he needs public backup by way of fundraising, publicity, and a *serious* letterwriting campaign.
If you loved something he's written, or if you believe that creators shouldn't be victimized by big corporations...then please join our cause and help him.
LEARN THE TRUTH: Go to http://www.conlanpress.com/youcanhelp and read all about it.
Thanks for listening,
-- Connor Cochran, Business Manager for Peter S. Beagle