JMS at SDCC - Who's going?
Jan
schedules. I see JMS's writing panel on Thursday, the only day posted so far.
So anybody else going to be here?
JMS, are you going to be able to make the announcement that's "Near and dear to
everyone's heart" yet? Can you give us the rest of your schedule?
Jan
--
I try never to get involved in my own life. Too much trouble.
Charlie E.
>Comic-Con is less than two weeks away now they're starting to post the daily
>schedules. I see JMS's writing panel on Thursday, the only day posted so far.
>
>So anybody else going to be here?
>
>JMS, are you going to be able to make the announcement that's "Near and dear to
>everyone's heart" yet? Can you give us the rest of your schedule?
>
>Jan
I will be there, but I might miss the writing panel. It conflicts
with the Dr. Who and Torchwood panels. Biggest problem with
Comic-Con, you need to be in two (or more!) places at once!
--
Charlie Edmondson
Edmondson Engineering Inc
www.edmondsonengineering.com
Jan
>
>I will be there, but I might miss the writing panel. It conflicts
>with the Dr. Who and Torchwood panels. Biggest problem with
>Comic-Con, you need to be in two (or more!) places at once!
>
Ain't that the truth! The full schedule of panels is up now. JMS' spotlight
panel is on Saturday:
>4:45-5:45 Spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski— Yes, it's him again. Somehow—we
>>have no idea how—he's gone from writing comics and TV to working with Tom
>>Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Paul Greengrass, Tom Hanks, the Wachowski
>>Brothers, and Angelina Jolie. His long career (he's also known for Babylon 5,
>>Twilight Zone, and others) stands as proof positive that there is no such
>>thing as a just God. What's he up to now? What's coming next? What secrets
>>remain yet untold? How did he achieve this (well, okay, we know that and let's
>>just say it has something to do with a contract signed with Ba'al)? Come and
>>ask the man responsible—J. Michael Straczynski—for Thor, The Twelve, and such
>>upcoming movies as Changeling, World War Z, Proving Ground, The Flickering
>>Light, The Grays, and Lensman. Room 6B
Slitheen
news:g5679...@drn.newsguy.com...
> Comic-Con is less than two weeks away now they're starting to post the
> daily
> schedules. I see JMS's writing panel on Thursday, the only day posted so
> far.
>
> So anybody else going to be here?
>
> JMS, are you going to be able to make the announcement that's "Near and
> dear to
> everyone's heart" yet?
I'm particularly interested in this announcement. It has had my head in a
whirl since I heard it first mentioned.
[ Mmmmmm.....scratches his chin and goes into serious ponder mode..... :) ]
--
Slitheen.
"I've searched the phrase 'I shall walk the Earth and my hunger shall know
no bounds', but I keep getting redirected to Weight Watchers!"
Ianto Jones, Torchwood.
jms...@aol.com
in a quick fashion....
Several things just to update folks.
First, many thanks to all those who sent along research suggestions
and offerings to be of assistance on the project I can't talk about.
I've been swamped with deadlines and unable to reply to any of the
public notes and private emails, but as soon as I can get my head
above water, be assured that I'll be in touch with many of you.
Second, as noted in the original thread before I hijacked it, yes, the
plan at the moment is that I will be at Comic Con San Diego this year,
primarily doing my thing on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
There is a *chance* -- mind you, it's just a slim chance but to be
honorable I must mention it -- that a work situation *may* preclude my
appearance there. Or it may not. I'll know more by the end of next
week, and for now as far as I know, everything's on target for me to
be at SDCC. If that changes, I'll be sure to let everyone know as far
in advance as possible.
One final note re: recent discussions on TMoS and more Lost Tales.
B5:TLT was commissioned at a $2 million budget to, yet one more time,
"test the waters" for B5. We did what we could with that, and that
was that. As we did with Rangers, which also suffered from not having
a lot of money because of concerns about "is there really a B5
audience?" Which is, of course, a foolish question from a studio that
has never really understood what it has in B5.
Of late, there have been more discussions from WB about doing more
DVDs, again at a low cost, or a cable thing, again with minimal
investment.
So for the last few months, I've been giving this whole subject a lot
of quiet thought. And I've come to a conclusion.
B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything
else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that
adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.
As well intentioned as Rangers and TLT were, as enticing as it was to
return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to
subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don't regret having made
them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I
am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn't make them
again.
So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
featured, big-budget feature film.
It's that or nothing.
And if it's nothing, I'm totally cool with that because the original
story stands on its own just fine. I'm not lobbying for it, I'm not
asking fans to write in about it (nor should you) because such
campaigns never really have much impact...that's simply the position
I've taken up here. Lord knows I don't lack for other things to do
these days. I'm busier on more prestige projects with terrific people
and great film-makers than at any other time in my career.
At the end of the day, for me, it's not just a matter of getting more
B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving
cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.
So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
'cause it's your show too.
jms
Jan
jms...@aol.com says...
>
>So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
>more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
>cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
>interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
>featured, big-budget feature film.
>
>It's that or nothing.
>
I'm not at all sorry to hear this. It's about time WB put up or shut up.
Brian Harvey
>At the end of the day, for me, it's not just a matter of getting more
>B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
>before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
>action.
Fwiw, I think that's the right decision, especially the part about "respects
what came before it."
But, supposing you win that battle, these days there'll be /another/ studio
battle to be fought: avoiding making a film that stars the special effects.
To me, what made B5 such a huge /technical/ success was that, although it
was full of amazing CGI, I never noticed unless I was specifically trying to
study how it was made. No arrows moving through the air in slow-motion.
Nobody melting into mercury. Nobody even walking though walls. Just
perfectly natural-looking walks through five-mile-long corridors.
If you do make a big-budget B5 movie, please don't let the special effects
people show off.
Andrew Swallow
[snip]
A great pity. I was looking forward to watching some more Babylon 5
videos.
Andrew Swallow
Duggy
> One final note re: recent discussions on TMoS and more Lost Tales.
A rather large note.
> So for the last few months, I've been giving this whole subject a lot
> of quiet thought. And I've come to a conclusion.
> B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything
> else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that
> adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.
> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
> It's that or nothing.
> And if it's nothing, I'm totally cool with that because the original
> story stands on its own just fine. I'm not lobbying for it, I'm not
> asking fans to write in about it (nor should you) because such
> campaigns never really have much impact...that's simply the position
> I've taken up here. Lord knows I don't lack for other things to do
> these days. I'm busier on more prestige projects with terrific people
> and great film-makers than at any other time in my career.
> So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
> side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
> 'cause it's your show too.
I understand completely. There are so many things that I want to see
more of but am afraid they'll ruin.
Glad to here that you're in a position where you can make this
decision without regrets.
===
= DUG.
===
James A. Robbins
news:7ea6c682-3835-48b3...@79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
> So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
> side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
> 'cause it's your show too.
>
> jms
Joe,
Thank you for B5. If something more along that line happens then
that would be great, but thanks for what we've got.
And good luck on all your current endeavors. It couldn't have happened
to a nicer guy. Just don't work yourself to death, it's not worth it.
--
James A. Robbins
johndun...@gmail.com
>In article <7ea6c682-3835-48b3...@79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com>,
>jms...@aol.com says...
>>
>>So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
>>more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
>>cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
>>interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
>>featured, big-budget feature film.
>>
>>It's that or nothing.
>>
>
>I'm not at all sorry to hear this. It's about time WB put up or shut up.
>
They had better hurry while they still can afford him.
johndun...@gmail.com
>
>Second, as noted in the original thread before I hijacked it, yes, the
>plan at the moment is that I will be at Comic Con San Diego this year,
>primarily doing my thing on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
>
>There is a *chance* -- mind you, it's just a slim chance but to be
>honorable I must mention it -- that a work situation *may* preclude my
>appearance there. Or it may not. I'll know more by the end of next
>week, and for now as far as I know, everything's on target for me to
>be at SDCC. If that changes, I'll be sure to let everyone know as far
>in advance as possible.
>
I just found this thumbnail bio of JMS on the San Diego Comic Con web site.
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_guests.shtml#Straczynski
Is it just me or is JMS dressed a Terry Pratchett in this picture?
I just hope DC actually gets the podcasts posted for their panels. I want to hear what to expect
with JMS's The Brave and The Bold. JMS has the whole DC sandbox to play in with I hope all the
action figures.
-
John Duncan Yoyo
------------------------------o)
Local residents upset with the current weather pattern are encouraged to walk outside
their homes and shake their fists at the sky while exclaiming, "I am displeased!"
Jon Schild
jms...@aol.com wrote:
> Putting this on a recent thread here where it's more likely to be seen
> in a quick fashion....
>
...
>
> At the end of the day, for me, it's not just a matter of getting more
> B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
> before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
> action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving
> cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
> it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.
>
> jms
>
Think what you could do with the money that was thrown into the toilet
funding 7 years of Star Trek Voyager and 4 years of Enterprise.
Joseph DeMartino
> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
>
> It's that or nothing.
Not that I get a vote here <g> but I just wanted to say that I think
you've made exactly the right decision for exactly the right reasons.
I'd love to see a *real* B5 movie on the big screen. That would be
great. But if that never happens I have 110 episodes, several TV
movies, the novels, the scriptbooks and the JMSNews archive if a I
need a "B5" fix. And I can look forward to "Changeling", "Lensman",
"World War Z" and all the rest.
I've got no complaints.
May you continue to go from success to success.
Regards,
Joe
Christian Hennecke
wrote:
[snip]
> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
>
> It's that or nothing.
Well, personally I would be content with a TV show or DVD production
with several episodes or movies backed by a *decent* budget.
Anyway, I fully understand your position. Eat that, WB! :-)
--
"I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen." - W.H. Auden
Josh Hill
wrote:
>jms...@aol.com wrote:
>> Putting this on a recent thread here where it's more likely to be seen
>> in a quick fashion....
>>
> ...
>>
>> At the end of the day, for me, it's not just a matter of getting more
>> B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
>> before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
>> action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving
>> cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
>> it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.
>>
>Think what you could do with the money that was thrown into the toilet
>funding 7 years of Star Trek Voyager and 4 years of Enterprise.
"I'm going to buy 100 more shares of Bippycorp."
"But Bippycorp has been going down for years! Why not invest in
Boppycorp?"
"Nah, I want to play it safe."
:-) :-|
--
Josh
"My name is not Strangelove. I don't know about Strangelove. I'm not
interested in Strangelove. What else can I say? . . . Look, say it
three times more, and I throw you out of this office."
--Edward Teller
Josh Hill
>B5:TLT was commissioned at a $2 million budget to, yet one more time,
>"test the waters" for B5. We did what we could with that, and that
>was that. As we did with Rangers, which also suffered from not having
>a lot of money because of concerns about "is there really a B5
>audience?" Which is, of course, a foolish question from a studio that
>has never really understood what it has in B5.
Damn. I was sure -- sure -- that after the success of the series DVD's
and TLT they would see the light. I guess I'll never understand
Hollywood. Still, like everyone else, I think you've made the right
decision. The last thing we need is "Babylon 5 Meets Terminator."
Tippi
> On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:42:18 -0700 (PDT), "jmsa...@aol.com"
>
> <jmsa...@aol.com> wrote:
> >B5:TLT was commissioned at a $2 million budget to, yet one more time,
> >"test the waters" for B5. We did what we could with that, and that
> >was that. As we did with Rangers, which also suffered from not having
> >a lot of money because of concerns about "is there really a B5
> >audience?" Which is, of course, a foolish question from a studio that
> >has never really understood what it has in B5.
>
> Damn. I was sure -- sure -- that after the success of the series DVD's
> and TLT they would see the light. I guess I'll never understand
> Hollywood. Still, like everyone else, I think you've made the right
> decision. The last thing we need is "Babylon 5 Meets Terminator."
how about B5 vs Aliens vs Predator!
I am also disappointed that there will be no more TLT, esp. the third
story that was held back for the "first" release. But also glad that
JMS can "move on".
Kurt Ullman
<19752a98-fc8e-434f...@27g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
Tippi <aa...@torfree.net> wrote:
> how about B5 vs Aliens vs Predator!
>
Nasty thought. However, if Londo ever shows up in a Direct TV
Commercial.. someone is going to die a very slow painful death.
Wes Struebing
>Putting this on a recent thread here where it's more likely to be seen
>in a quick fashion....
>
>Several things just to update folks.
<snip>
>
>So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
>side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
>'cause it's your show too.
>
Joe, much as I'd love to see more B5-related stuff, I have to say,
you're absolutely correct! (not that we doubted that when push comes
to shove that what you've posted is what you'd say)
And I would imagine that most of us "are good with that", too.
It's been (and still is) a hell of a ride, sir!
--
Wes Struebing
Jan. 20, 2009 - the end of an error
Gregory Weston
<kurtullman-C9C13...@70-3-168-216.area5.spcsdns.net>,
Kurt Ullman <kurtu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Now you know the real reason their hair is that shape.
--
"Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?"
- Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix
Josh Hill
wrote:
>> Damn. I was sure -- sure -- that after the success of the series DVD's
>> and TLT they would see the light. I guess I'll never understand
>> Hollywood. Still, like everyone else, I think you've made the right
>> decision. The last thing we need is "Babylon 5 Meets Terminator."
>
>how about B5 vs Aliens vs Predator!
I shouldn't laugh -- they actually had a predator rip episode of
Voyager.
>I am also disappointed that there will be no more TLT, esp. the third
>story that was held back for the "first" release. But also glad that
>JMS can "move on".
Me too, but I can see why JMS wouldn't want to fall into the
underbudget sequel trap . . . while some of us were satisfied with a
smaller scale short story format, others were expecting something with
the scope of the show.
John W Kennedy
> It's that or nothing.
And that's probably best. If "Changeling" does what it's expected to do
at the box office, maybe they'll listen. (Or maybe, from their
viewpoint, it's "World War Z" that will be the necessary experiment,
'cause, y'know, all that crazy sci-fi stuff is the same.)
To continue a topic in this thread, maybe you can get Clint Eastwood to
direct, since it seems he's inclined to leave your words alone.
--
John W. Kennedy
"But now is a new thing which is very old--
that the rich make themselves richer and not poorer,
which is the true Gospel, for the poor's sake."
-- Charles Williams. "Judgement at Chelmsford"
Jeffrey Kaplan
> As well intentioned as Rangers and TLT were, as enticing as it was to
> return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to
> subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don't regret having made
> them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I
> am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn't make them
> again.
>
> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
>
> It's that or nothing.
Please don't lose the computer models again, in case "they" decide to
go for it.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
Notes on Fortress Construction: 8. If possible, no exhaust ports
should lead directly to the heart of the reactor core. If that is
unavoidable, all such exhaust ports should have closeable reinforced
blast doors at every other level, and alternate routes of venting in
case of emergency.
Kay Shapero
79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com>, jms...@aol.com says...
>
> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
>
> It's that or nothing.
>
Fair 'nuff. And if you ever do make that feature, I'll be down there in
the front row with my popcorn!
--
Kay Shapero
Signature munged - to email me use kay at domain of my website, below.
http://www.kayshapero.net
Dan Dassow
> jmsa...@aol.com wrote:
> > It's that or nothing.
>
> And that's probably best. If "Changeling" does what it's expected to do
> at the box office, maybe they'll listen. (Or maybe, from their
> viewpoint, it's "World War Z" that will be the necessary experiment,
> 'cause, y'know, all that crazy sci-fi stuff is the same.)
>
> To continue a topic in this thread, maybe you can get Clint Eastwood to
> direct, since it seems he's inclined to leave your words alone.
>
“World War Z” would probably be well served by Clint Eastwood’s almost
journalistic or clinical directorial approach.
Dan Dassow
newton...@ntlworld.com
> So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
> side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
> 'cause it's your show too.
>
> jms
Simply, Thanks. Good and brave decision.
Babylon 5 Universe RIP.
---
Andrew.
Meditation - its better than sitting round the house doing nothing.
Hank Arnold (MVP)
> At the end of the day, for me, it's not just a matter of getting more
> B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
> before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
> action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving
> cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
> it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.
>
> So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
> side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
> 'cause it's your show too.
>
> jms
>
I think that all of us are very cool with that. B5 does stand on it's
own. All that TLT and the TMoS proved was that there *IS* a point where
you can't cut funding. If future B5 projects were to be of the same
quality, it would only hurt the B5 legacy.
Thanks for giving us the best TV series *EVER* (note that I didn't say
"Sci-Fi). No natter what you do in the future, that will always be your
greatest accomplishment.
BTW, I've started watching the re-runs of "Jeremiah" on SciFi. Wow!!
Only the third episode and I'm hooked again!! It's really a shame you
didn't get to tell the whole story.
--
Regards,
Hank Arnold
Microsoft MVP
Windows Server - Directory Services
Amy Guskin
<251c9440-c9bc-4071...@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>):
> On Jul 13, 9:42 pm, "jmsa...@aol.com" <jmsa...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> So I've let everyone up here know that I'm not interested in doing any
>> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
>> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
>> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
>> featured, big-budget feature film.
>>
>> It's that or nothing.
>
> Not that I get a vote here <g> but I just wanted to say that I think
> you've made exactly the right decision for exactly the right reasons.
> I'd love to see a *real* B5 movie on the big screen. That would be
> great. But if that never happens I have 110 episodes, several TV
> movies, the novels, the scriptbooks and the JMSNews archive if a I
> need a "B5" fix. <<
I just said this on a message board last week or so. Personally, I don't
need _one more bit_ of Babylon 5, because I still have the jewel in the crown
-- the five-year series -- plus the assorted other things. But it's that
jewel that I keep coming back to, again and again.
In fact, I wonder what that ratio is, for most of the fandom? That is, how
many times folks have re-watched the whole series or cherry-picked episodes
from the series, as compared to how many times they've re-watched (or
re-read) anything else (Crusade episodes, the whole Crusade series as it
stands, LotR, TLT, any of the tv movies, any of the novels or novelizations)?
In any case, while I know Joe could write us a _great_ big-budget film with a
new story in the B5 universe, I always have to come back to the fact that the
story would, by necessity, be limited. He can't tell any stories that rely
on G'Kar. Or Franklin, for that matter. But the loss of G'Kar to the B5
universe seems -- to me -- to be more of a sticking point, at least for the
period between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light" (which is the most
likely period to be writing about, if the idea is to use the original cast).
I think G'Kar will be glaringly obvious by his absence, in any tale told in
that time period. Still, if a big budget is granted, and Joe wants to tell
us a story, obviously I'll be there on opening night with bells on (and
clothes. can't forget the clothes.).
Amy
--
"In my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over
again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda." - George
W. Bush, May 24, 2005
Gregory Weston
John W Kennedy <jwk...@attglobal.net> wrote:
> jms...@aol.com wrote:
> > It's that or nothing.
>
> And that's probably best. If "Changeling" does what it's expected to do
> at the box office, maybe they'll listen. (Or maybe, from their
> viewpoint, it's "World War Z" that will be the necessary experiment,
> 'cause, y'know, all that crazy sci-fi stuff is the same.)
Have you read WWZ? (Or are you indicating a belief that the real content
won't matter? The suits will hear "it's got zombies" and let their
'imagination' do the rest?)
I'm actually quite curious to find out how that book turns into a
feature film.
Alex
> It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
> before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
> action.
Thank you! I'm glad that you think this way (and totally support that).
Jon Schild
Amy Guskin wrote:
> Personally, I don't
> need _one more bit_ of Babylon 5, because I still have the jewel in the crown
> -- the five-year series -- plus the assorted other things. But it's that
> jewel that I keep coming back to, again and again.
>
> In fact, I wonder what that ratio is, for most of the fandom? That is, how
> many times folks have re-watched the whole series or cherry-picked episodes
> from the series, as compared to how many times they've re-watched (or
> re-read) anything else
>
> Amy
I am on my 4th full viewing, now getting another newbie hooked.
Joseph DeMartino
> And that's probably best. If "Changeling" does what it's expected to do
> at the box office, maybe they'll listen. (Or maybe, from their
> viewpoint, it's "World War Z" that will be the necessary experiment,
> 'cause, y'know, all that crazy sci-fi stuff is the same.)
I would think that "Lensman" would be more likely to get their
attention, since "WWZ" will probably fall mid-way between the horror
and war genres, and not be perceived as SF at all.
Regards,
Joe
mhai...@gmail.com
> in a quick fashion....
>
> Several things just to update folks.
>
> and offerings to be of assistance on the project I can't talk about.
> I've been swamped with deadlines and unable to reply to any of the
> public notes and private emails, but as soon as I can get my head
> above water, be assured that I'll be in touch with many of you.
>
> Second, as noted in the original thread before I hijacked it, yes, the
> plan at the moment is that I will be at Comic Con San Diego this year,
> primarily doing my thing on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
>
> There is a *chance* -- mind you, it's just a slim chance but to be
> honorable I must mention it -- that a work situation *may* preclude my
> appearance there. Or it may not. I'll know more by the end of next
> week, and for now as far as I know, everything's on target for me to
> be at SDCC. If that changes, I'll be sure to let everyone know as far
> in advance as possible.
>
>
> "test the waters" for B5. We did what we could with that, and that
> was that. As we did with Rangers, which also suffered from not having
> a lot of money because of concerns about "is there really a B5
> audience?" Which is, of course, a foolish question from a studio that
> has never really understood what it has in B5.
>
> DVDs, again at a low cost, or a cable thing, again with minimal
> investment.
>
> So for the last few months, I've been giving this whole subject a lot
> of quiet thought. And I've come to a conclusion.
>
> B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything
> else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that
> adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.
>
> return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to
> subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don't regret having made
> them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I
> am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn't make them
> again.
>
> more low-budget DVDs. I'm not interested in doing any low-budget
> cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
> interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
> featured, big-budget feature film.
>
>
> story stands on its own just fine. I'm not lobbying for it, I'm not
> asking fans to write in about it (nor should you) because such
> campaigns never really have much impact...that's simply the position
> I've taken up here. Lord knows I don't lack for other things to do
> these days. I'm busier on more prestige projects with terrific people
> and great film-makers than at any other time in my career.
>
> B5. It's a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
> before it and doesn't have to compromise visually or in terms of
> cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
> it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.
>
> So I've drawn that line in the sand, and I'm happy living on whichever
> side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know,
> 'cause it's your show too.
>
> jms
I agree. I have enjoyed the books, the spin offs and TLT but in the
end I felt like it was just a DVD commentary over deleted scenes.
It's fascinating to see, but the strength of the show is and always
will be the 5 year run. It is an amazing feat and the rest seems like
a watered down version of leftovers. That's not a criticism of trying
to do more, but unless (as you say) it can ADD to the original story,
there isn't much point.
There is not a day goes by I do not look up at my picture of Andreas
and SEE G'Kar and then think about Londo. How classic of a struggle is
that? How amazing was it to see the series unfold and the mystery
unravel and, most importantly, watch the people change and grow.
That's what it is all about isn't it?
I hope the others can see this for what it is, an utter agreement of
what you said and not a bashing. I Love B5. I am a huge fanboy for the
universe and I would be for Manga WB cartoon versions of the show if I
thought it could pull off something which improved on the source.
The problem is that the SOURCE was done so well...and I don't ever
need Hamlet 2.
Tom
> On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:42:18 -0700 (PDT), "jmsa...@aol.com"
Good and bad I think.
Selfishly I think we would all want more B5 despite the budget. I
cannot speak for everyone, but B5 is the reason I know the name JMS
(yes too lazy to type). Having said that, I would hate to see Joe
making B5 if he is not invested. Its kinda like ST. If you are not
invested in preserving the quality of the show even the most die hard
fan will lose interest.
Charlie E.
wrote:
>I think G'Kar will be glaringly obvious by his absence, in any tale told in
>that time period. Still, if a big budget is granted, and Joe wants to tell
>us a story, obviously I'll be there on opening night with bells on (and
>clothes. can't forget the clothes.).
>
>Amy
Amy,
Just a bit of predition: It will be a little while before we get the
B5 movie, but when we do, we will have G'Kar there... As the first all
digital recreation of an actor! (With all proceeds goint to Andrea's
family as though he were actually there!)
Just thinking that Joe ALWAYS likes to push the envelope!
Charlie
Jeffrey Kaplan
> Think what you could do with the money that was thrown into the toilet
> funding 7 years of Star Trek Voyager and 4 years of Enterprise.
Invest in Firefly Industries (and get into a proxy fight with Mollari)?
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"The Superior Person's Book Of Words", by Peter Bowler: ECONOMICS: An
arcane language, used by its own cognoscenti for reviewing past events
in the production and distribution of wealth. There are some who would
define economics as a science rather than a language; but, in the
absence of any evidence that future events can be predicted by
economics on the basis of fixed laws, this approach can hardly be
supported by the objective lexicographer.
Amy Guskin
article <4c773c26-43c5-4cb0...@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>):
>> The problem is that the SOURCE was done so well...and I don't ever
> need Hamlet 2. <<
You realize of course that that movie -- Hamlet 2 -- is coming out rather
soon? :-)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/
(Not actually anything like a sequel to "Hamlet"; I just couldn't resist
mentioning it since I just saw a poster for it in the theater last night.)
Brian Harvey
> All that TLT and the TMoS proved was that there *IS* a point where
>you can't cut funding. If future B5 projects were to be of the same
>quality, it would only hurt the B5 legacy.
At the risk of seeming iconoclastic, I don't think you can /entirely/ blame
the budget. Just watching one of any number of very-big-budget movies with
"2" in their names should convince you that it's very, very hard to create a
sequel that's as good as the original. I think we were lucky enough that the
second season of B5 wasn't a disaster! A bigger budget might have helped TLT,
but LotR seemed ill-conceived to me regardless of how well it'd been filmed;
in some ways it reminded me of that movie about the Ewoks whose name I forget.
(Although, I was impressed with the three trilogies of novels filling in the
gaps in the televised story. And I'm not saying I wouldn't watch the B5 movie
if one were made!)
>Thanks for giving us the best TV series *EVER* (note that I didn't say
>"Sci-Fi).
Nah, as JMS said himself (in one of the script books), that's "The Prisoner."
But B5 comes in second. (And then comes Animaniacs, but that's another
story. :-)
Amy Guskin
<5aip74tllgj49ibso...@4ax.com>):
I think I may be sick.
Michael Haines
> >>On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:20:37 -0400, thus spake mhaine...@gmail.com (in
>
> article <4c773c26-43c5-4cb0-b4f0-0826939d0...@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>):
>
> >> The problem is that the SOURCE was done so well...and I don't ever
> > need Hamlet 2. <<
>
> You realize of course that that movie -- Hamlet 2 -- is coming out rather
> soon? :-)
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/
>
> (Not actually anything like a sequel to "Hamlet"; I just couldn't resist
> mentioning it since I just saw a poster for it in the theater last night.)
>
> Amy
> --
> "In my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over
> again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda." - George
> W. Bush, May 24, 2005
Now that is funny.
Horribly, horribly funny.
John W Kennedy
I would not expect to see that happen, unless (and I don't think this
particularly likely) AK's family came to Joe and asked him to do it.
--
John W. Kennedy
"...when you're trying to build a house of cards, the last thing you
should do is blow hard and wave your hands like a madman."
-- Rupert Goodwins
John W Kennedy
> In article <487be9a7$0$7325$607e...@cv.net>,
> John W Kennedy <jwk...@attglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> jms...@aol.com wrote:
>>> It's that or nothing.
>> And that's probably best. If "Changeling" does what it's expected to do
>> at the box office, maybe they'll listen. (Or maybe, from their
>> viewpoint, it's "World War Z" that will be the necessary experiment,
>> 'cause, y'know, all that crazy sci-fi stuff is the same.)
>
> Have you read WWZ? (Or are you indicating a belief that the real content
> won't matter? The suits will hear "it's got zombies" and let their
> 'imagination' do the rest?)
I cannot imagine why you seem to think you have a disagreement with me.
--
John W. Kennedy
"The bright critics assembled in this volume will doubtless show, in
their sophisticated and ingenious new ways, that, just as /Pooh/ is
suffused with humanism, our humanism itself, at this late date, has
become full of /Pooh./"
-- Frederick Crews. "Postmodern Pooh", Preface
Amy Guskin
<487cf2b1$0$5022$607e...@cv.net>):
> Charlie E. wrote:
>> On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:05:13 GMT, Amy Guskin <ais...@fjordstone.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I think G'Kar will be glaringly obvious by his absence, in any tale told
>>> in
>>> that time period. Still, if a big budget is granted, and Joe wants to
>>> tell
>>> us a story, obviously I'll be there on opening night with bells on (and
>>> clothes. can't forget the clothes.).
>>>
>>> Amy
>>
>> Amy,
>> Just a bit of predition: It will be a little while before we get the
>> B5 movie, but when we do, we will have G'Kar there... As the first all
>> digital recreation of an actor! (With all proceeds goint to Andrea's
>> family as though he were actually there!)
>>
>> Just thinking that Joe ALWAYS likes to push the envelope!
>
> I would not expect to see that happen, unless (and I don't think this
> particularly likely) AK's family came to Joe and asked him to do it.<<
I'd be very surprised if anyone involved would think this a good idea.
Besides being ghoulish at its base, it's also insulting. It implies that
Andreas's acting ability, his talent, is (was) incidental to his physical
appearance and the sound of voice. I don't care how many pieces of
celluloid, digital bits, and segments of audio they piece together; those
digital bits will not be an actor.
jph...@aol.com
> >> On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:07:40 -0400, thus spake Joseph DeMartino (in article
>
> many times folks have re-watched the whole series or cherry-picked episodes
> from the series, as compared to how many times they've re-watched (or
> re-read) anything else (Crusade episodes, the whole Crusade series as it
> stands, LotR, TLT, any of the tv movies, any of the novels or novelizations)?
> In any case, while I know Joe could write us a _great_ big-budget film with a
> new story in the B5 universe, I always have to come back to the fact that the
> story would, by necessity, be limited. �He can't tell any stories that rely
> on G'Kar. �Or Franklin, for that matter. �But the loss of G'Kar to the B5
> universe seems -- to me -- to be more of a sticking point, at least for the
> period between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light" (which is the most
> likely period to be writing about, if the idea is to use the original cast). �
> I think G'Kar will be glaringly obvious by his absence, in any tale told in
> that time period. �Still, if a big budget is granted, and Joe wants to tell
> us a story, obviously I'll be there on opening night with bells on (and
> clothes. �can't forget the clothes.).
>
> Amy
> --
> "In my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over
> again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda." - George
>
> - Show quoted text -
Speaking for myself - with my run of reviews (ten left by my count)
now one episode short of the end of "Crusade" - I'd desperately like
to see the "Crusade" story finished as a novel series or other (at
this point, I think a novel series would be the only way to do it
properly... all of the actors have, by this point, aged too much, and
it would be difficult to get them back together). My frustration
watching "Crusade" is that I really like what's there, even when it's
a bit compromised, and I think had it been left alone it could have
been as good as, or - heresy - better than B5. And I'd just like to
see the story play out, even in print form.
With that one caveat, though, I fully agree with jms' decision. As
much as I'm looking forward to "Lost Tales" (I've deliberately put off
watching it so that I will be reviewing my first viewing of the
stories when I get there), I get the impression it will be a very
minor supplement to a great series. I'm sure I'll enjoy having it
there - I even enjoyed "Legend of the Rangers," featherweight though
it was - but I doubt very much that I will feel that it was an
essential piece of B5.
Besides, when you're making movies with directors of Clint Eastwood's
calibre, you can hardly be expected to stay in the direct-to-TV/late-
night cable wilderness, can you?
(Quick aside for how nice it is not only to see JMS finally getting
some mainstream recognition for his work, but also how nice it is that
in the past 15 years Eastwood has finally started receiving his due
credit as a director. He was doing some creative and genuinely
interesting work 30+ years ago... work that was mostly ignored by
critics at the time, in large part because of its genre. Another
parallel worthy of note?)
John W Kennedy
I agree. (I only allowed the hypothetical exception because I couldn't
very well presume to speak for the family.)
(Can't help thinking of "The Darfsteller", though.)
--
John W. Kennedy
"The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich
have always objected to being governed at all."
-- G. K. Chesterton. "The Man Who Was Thursday"
Slitheen
news:0001HW.C4A2A3EB...@news.verizon.net...
I agree, but I expect filmmakers to attempt something similar one day
nonetheless. I remember watching a documentary and they were discussing
about the possibility of us one day watching new James Dean and Marylyn
Monroe flicks etc, via the use of modern CGI techniques. Spooky! :/
I get goosebobs from watching the one digitally created segment of
Gladiator - featuring the already deceased Ollie Reed. It's like someone
walked over my grave when I see that.
"Shadows and dust...." :)
--
Slitheen.
Manchester United - Back to Back Champions 2006/07, 2007/08 & Champions of
Europe 2008.
Slitheen
news:g5iemo$1ev$1...@news.xmission.com...
For me, Babylon is on a very small list of shows that I can return to
numerable times and not get bored. In fact, it is a list of only two. At the
top of that list is The Prisoner, which I personally think is the greatest
TV show ever created by man - with Babylon 5 coming in a *very* close
second. These two shows I can watch over and over again without them losing
any of their appeal.
There are other shows I return to on DVD, but for those each viewing is not
as special as the last. The Prisoner and Babylon 5 have that indescribable
quality that just keeps them fresh. Not surprisingly, the following that
surrounds both shows are truly what you would refer to as 'cultish' in
nature.
I am on perhaps my sixth full end-to-end viewing of B5.