JMS teases Babylon 5 feature film at Comic-Con
- Thread starter Candlelight
- Start date
Now that TNT is having success with original productions like Falling Skies, they should redeem themselves by backing a new B5 spin-off series.
Too bad that it's too late to resume Crusade. That would have been a great series.
Suggestion: Go watch the recent remake of the "Space battleship Yamato" series entitled:
"Space battleship Yamato 2199" <--- It's basically the same story as in JMS' "Crusade" - just executed and told better.
Since this addresses a point several people have brought up, here's what JMS recently posted on facebook regarding the proposed B5 movie's budget: -
Basically, they think the company in general can raise 100-200M from investors. The B5 movie itself would be made for about half that.
JMS said:
Basically, they think the company in general can raise 100-200M from investors. The B5 movie itself would be made for about half that.
Ummm...JMS has a Studio, he can easily get everyone of the original cast who is still alive (Since they are all very tight and do dinner and other things regularly) and he has the Rights, so, your slam fails miserably
Having a "studio" means it's a production shell for the purpose of gathering money, the cast is a bunch of could-have-beens at best, and a sci-fi movie costs a lot of money. My next-door neighbor isn't going to a theater because he heard that Bill fucking Mumy is in it or he heard Bruce Boxleitner's voice. Tron: Legacy's failure is proof enough of that.
Gene Roddenberry having the film rights to Star Trek didn't mean shit until Paramount stepped up and said, "OK, we'll fund this."
I love Babylon 5, for the most part. But there's no way Straczynski is getting $100 million for a movie, particularly when the biggest opportunity to do so was more than a decade ago, when the DVDs were being released and there was a fair amount of interest. Nowadays, Babylon 5 is an afterthought in genre discussion forums. Same as Farscape, same as a hundred other shows.
It happens.
1. The Producers: An unscrupulous man can make more money from a flop than from a hit.
2. The Mob is laundering money.
3. A Fanboy is pissing away his inheritance.
4. Dementia.
2. The Mob is laundering money.
3. A Fanboy is pissing away his inheritance.
4. Dementia.
No matter how bad the plot of the movie is, it could always be made worse by casting Will Farrell as an actor playing a part in a remake of B5.
Don't underestimate the potential groundswell of public interest in this project if someone of Mumy's calibre and fame becomes attached to the project.
I took your suggestion on board and asked my neighbour what they thought. Regrettably my neighbour must be a statistic anomaly, as they said - just prior to telling me to vacate their property - that they had no idea who Bill Mumy was - or even what *expletive deleted* Babylon 5 was! Oh well, I'll check with others in the neighbourhood later. I'm abso-fraggin-lutely certain getting word of mouth going now will send anticipation through the roof.
So, with $100+ million and Mumy *potentially* signed on (squee!), let's jump ahead to box office predictions. Being slightly optimistic - $270 million domestic and $350 million worldwide? Seems reasonable given the investment. Hell, if they nab the bald guy who does conservative radio nowadays toss another $35 mil onto those predictions.
I'm pretty sure a sequel will be a no brainer once they see all the $$$ in the theaters.
Man, I can't wait for this guaranteed project to take off and elevate Babylon 5 to an even loftier position than it already holds in the pubic eye.
Watch out, George!
I just remembered where we left off Lennir's story.
Babylon 5: The Lone Ranger.
Still a little bit of shit and stigma attached to that brand.
Babylon 5: The Lone Ranger.
Still a little bit of shit and stigma attached to that brand.
Right... Tell him that.
His company already has several major projects in production, including one or two feature films. If you listen to the recording of that panel, he says that $100-200M figure is the kind of money certain investors have *already said* they're interested in putting up. This isn't wishful thinking. Now you may think it's bullshit, fine, that's you're prerogative. But just keep in mind that whatever you think about this guy, he's not known for bullshitting his fans like this. Quite the opposite.
As for the show being an "afterthought"...maybe. But so was the original 'Battlestar Galactica' until someone did something new with it and that's all genre fans could talk about while it was one. After the failure of 'Enterprise', Star Trek was seen as an essentially dead franchise until JJ Abrams brought it back with a vengeance.
It happens.
Hmmm. Well, presuming a sequel (or dare I say, trilogy), JMS could adopt the Star Wars model and have stand alone features that aren't part of the core trilogy.
Just imagine an offshoot film featuring 100% Mumy. Fuck, this is going to be fantastic!
Well, if Bill is busy, they could always call in Jared Harris again.
Last time, it was seamless.
Last time, it was seamless.
Following that line of logic, somebody other than JMS should take over B5 and remake in such a way that it turns off fans of the original series.
A 100 million budget?! B5 is my all time favorite show but that is just deluded.
The perfect example would be Serenity. A big budget followup to a cult hit sci-fi tv series that was very popular with very few people but was cancelled because not that many people watched it. It came out just 2.5 years after the show ended, when there was still a general interest.
Budget: 39 million.
International Gross: 38 million.
That's bad.
And B5 went off the air in 1998. Sixteen years ago.
The perfect example would be Serenity. A big budget followup to a cult hit sci-fi tv series that was very popular with very few people but was cancelled because not that many people watched it. It came out just 2.5 years after the show ended, when there was still a general interest.
Budget: 39 million.
International Gross: 38 million.
That's bad.
And B5 went off the air in 1998. Sixteen years ago.
You going to back that up sunshine? Name *one* instance where he's deliberately mislead the fanbase.
No. Following that logic it's possible for an obscure or long fallow IP to make a massive financial comeback. Who dose it or what the fans think of it is immaterial. It's a precedent, not an allegory.
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More people watched Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek when they failed on network television than watched Babylon 5 when it succeeded on PTEN, of course. And, both revivals had the backing of a major studio behind them.
An $80-100 million movie is more plausible than a $100-200 million movie, but JMS will still need a major star or two to get a project of that size off the ground (especially an independent one). Cloud Atlas managed to get off the ground (barely) with the Wachowskis behind the camera, and Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Hugh Grant in front of it.
And? How many of NuBSG's audience was made up of those that watched the original series when it first aired? Not many I'd wager. Most were very likely new to the franchise and probably had only heard of it in vague way most people hear about old shows that nobody watches or talks about any more.
None of that is impossible and yes, I think the idea is likely to include casting one or two well known faces. It seems like his idea for the original cast are to put them in support roles rather than cast the whole movie with them alone.
As for getting some directing talent...well he has worked with the likes of Clint Eastwood, is currently working with the Wachowskis on Sense8 and Ron Howard owes him a favour for casting his old man. Possibilities abound.
Plus, like I said, that figure isn't a stated goal, but a real amount investors have already show an interest in putting up to fund Studio JMS.
Is there a guarantee the film will get made? Hell no. Movie projects fail in Hollywood all the time. Deals fall through, funding fails to materialize, distributors can't be found, schedules get delayed, talent drops out and so on and so forth. But that's the same with just about any project.
Really, all he's said is that he *will* write a script, he *will* give WB first refusal and if they pass, he *will* move forward with Studio JMS bankrolling the thing. Basically, he's said (in more detail than most producers/writers I might add) that the is a B5 movie in the works and it'll likely be in production within the next two years. Some people are acting like he's announced a specific release date or something.