JMS teases Babylon 5 feature film at Comic-Con

[Reverend]

I don't think he's a bullshitter. I think he's sincere, but he just hasn't had very good luck with continuing B5.

Yeah, this is what's annoying me. I'm as sceptical as anyone that this'll happen, but there's no reason to believe that JMS is talking out of his arse. The man has a history of shooting straight in his interactions with the fans and he's more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

I think some people just find it easier to be irrationally derogatory than intelligently critical.

'The Lone Gunman' got cancelled faster than 'Firefly' (but deservedly so from what I gather).

Kind of off topic, but I enjoyed Lone Gunmen more than either X-Files or Millennium, neither of which ever caught my interest.

I was a big X-Files fan in the early days. Partly because it was a sci-fi show that *everyone* at school were talking about (and when did that ever happen back then?) but also because I was already very much into the subject matter.
Most kids find their dad's stash of porn mags, I found my dad's of back issues of 'Unexplained' magazine. I must have read through like 20 issues in a single day and I was not a big reader back then!

...but as the show went on and got less and less coherent, I lost interest. Never watch either spin-off and only tuned in for the final episode out of curiosity...and I barely remember what happened. Now 'Sleeping In Light' on the other hand is etched into my memory.

I got to hand it to JMS for still trying to revitalize B5 but at some point it goes from admiration to pity.

Now he just comes off as pitiful because he's been trying to get something done with B5 for ages to no avail and all big announcements never have come to fruition. At some point you have to realize it won't happen and you let it go. You did a damn good job in the past but you have to move on and do something else.

JMS had a great idea and made it reality in the 90s but i wonder why he never got to repeat such a thing with something different. He could be something like Joss Whedon who had his 90s hit shows but who has moved on and tried other stuff and some if failed like Dollhouse but he never gave up trying to come up new stuff which culminated with him doing Avengers and firmly setting himself up to be Marvel's chief nerd.

JMS seems to be unable to move on.

Pity? The bloke has *never* been this successful! This is not some old has been actor or producer making his living solely off of convention appearances. He a much sought after screenwriter and comic book author. Aside from that streaming series that fell through at the 11th hour, he hasn't touched anything B5 in eight years.

He's finally in a position to do what fans have been pestering him for for years (to make more B5) and he's decided to use his raised profile to give back to the fanbase. Note: he doesn't NEED 'Babylon 5' any more. He can comfortably put it on the shelf forever and move on as he has no shortage of projects on the go.

 

[Hound of UIster]

But just keep in mind that whatever you think about this guy, he's not known for bullshitting his fans

Really - that was MY thought too!



There was all that bullshit about the movie about twelve years back and look what happened there!

It was cancelled.

http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/The_Memory_of_Shadows

 

[Jan]

Really - that was MY thought too!



There was all that bullshit about the movie about twelve years back and look what happened there!

It was cancelled.

http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/The_Memory_of_Shadows

It dead-ended because the group that commissioned the script couldn't come up with the funding. That's one reason why Studio JMS' recent success makes it possible for them to do it with or without WB's involvement. Not that they're not looking for investors, too, but it won't be dependent on WB.

Jan

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Do you know if he got back the rights to that script?

I was a big X-Files fan in the early days. Partly because it was a sci-fi show that *everyone* at school were talking about (and when did that ever happen back then?) but also because I was already very much into the subject matter.
Most kids find their dad's stash of porn mags, I found my dad's of back issues of 'Unexplained' magazine. I must have read through like 20 issues in a single day and I was not a big reader back then!

Then there was Saga, which was a men's magazine and a weird phenomena magazine. That was back in the days of Chariots of the Gods? and UFO flaps. On paper, X-Files was just the sort of thing I would love, too, but the problem was that I just didn't like the characters or the actors-- I had a similar problem with Star Wars and Firefly. If I can't bond with at least one character, I can't get into it.

 

[Reverend]

^^ Do you know if he got back the rights to that script?

I doubt that'd matter. He seems dead set on a reboot and going by the descriptions I've read, that script was pretty steeped in existing continuity.

That said, I'm sure he can safely pilfer ideas and plot point from it if need be.

I was a big X-Files fan in the early days. Partly because it was a sci-fi show that *everyone* at school were talking about (and when did that ever happen back then?) but also because I was already very much into the subject matter.
Most kids find their dad's stash of porn mags, I found my dad's of back issues of 'Unexplained' magazine. I must have read through like 20 issues in a single day and I was not a big reader back then!

Then there was Saga, which was a men's magazine and a weird phenomena magazine. That was back in the days of Chariots of the Gods? and UFO flaps.

Yeah, the old man had a suitcase full of UFO paperbacks too, including Chariots as I recall. Never read any of them though. Nevertheless I was still the only kid in my class who already knew all about the Roswell incident way before all my classmates went on and on about it as if it just happened, because they just saw it on X-Files.

Thanks to Arthur C. Clarke, I was introduced to critical thinking fairly early on, otherwise I might have ended up a believer just from sheer mental saturation of the subject. Though on a similar note I can probably thank Dan Aykroyd for getting me interested in the first place.

On paper, X-Files was just the sort of thing I would love, too, but the problem was that I just didn't like the characters or the actors-- I had a similar problem with Star Wars and Firefly. If I can't bond with at least one character, I can't get into it.

For me, I don't need to identity with or get attached to a character if the story is compelling enough. I tend to think of early X-Files as being along similar lines as anthology shows like 'The Outer Limits' or 'The Twilight Zone'. Having two or three recurring characters and some occasional continuity was just a bonus in my eyes.

 

[Jan]

^^ Do you know if he got back the rights to that script?

Unlikely. When a script is commissioned, it's generally bought outright. Whether we might see the script in a script book is questionable. We know that the 'separation of rights' clause is part of the WGA contract and we never got any indication that the group that commissioned TMoS were WGA signatories so there's a good chance that we won't see it.

Jan

 

[Marsden]

I don't think JMS ever mislead or lied to anyone, but his plans have not come together.

I'm not hostile, just cynical. Because so many of those plans didn't work out.

This time, he's really in a much stronger position to say these things, but there's still plenty that could go wrong.

I just wonder why rebooting something rather than making a whole new thing, something I'm confident that could be very good. I've like a lot of what he's made, all the way back to Captain Power. He could do it again. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[mos6507]

"I just wonder why rebooting something rather than making a whole new thing"

You could very well say that about all of Hollywood. Very little originality on display.

 

[Gotham Central]

If JMS is going to make a movie, I would suggest that he make something set in the B5 universe, but not on B5 itself. Hell, were he interested in rebooting B5 I would start with a film retelling the story of the Earth Minbari War. In the Beginning was great, but it was kind of a hodge podge film character wise that does not follow any one individual or group of people. That gave the movie the sort of scope that is fairly unusual and built on the fact that we already knew the characters.

A new version might just follow Sinclair.

B5 created a fairly expansive and detailed universe. JMS had to make quite a few compromises to bring the original show to life, so a reboot might give him the chace to tell the story the way he originally envisioned it. However, that story should NOT be told in a movie. The strength of B5 was the nuance and details that seeped through from episode to episode finally paying off with great revellations down the road. Indeed, one of the great things that JMS said about B5 was that he essentially told you how the story would end at the outset. However, getting to the end was never really the point...it was the road taken to get there that was what made it special. Movies rarely work like that because they simply don't have time.

Without the opportunity to build over time and weave and intricate web of story elemnts, it just becomes Lord of the Rings in Space....which might be fun, but is not really special.

 

[Reverend]

I don't think JMS ever mislead or lied to anyone, but his plans have not come together.

I'm not hostile, just cynical. Because so many of those plans didn't work out.

This time, he's really in a much stronger position to say these things, but there's still plenty that could go wrong.

I don't disagree.

I just wonder why rebooting something rather than making a whole new thing, something I'm confident that could be very good. I've like a lot of what he's made, all the way back to Captain Power. He could do it again. We'll just have to wait and see.

Uhhh...he IS doing it. On multiple fronts!
OK, let's see. Aside from the B5 movie, Studio JMS's current line up is as follows: -

• Dream Police - Original IP (comic)
• Protectors Inc. - Original IP (comic)
• Sidekick - Original IP (comic)
• Ten Grand - Original IP (comic)
• The Adventures of Apocalypse Al - Original IP (comic and web-series)
• Sense8 - Original IP (TV series)
• Two Streets - Unknown, but sounds like an original IP (TV series)
• Flickering Light - Original IP (film)

Hardly bereft of original ideas, yes?

 

[RJDiogenes]

I doubt that'd matter. He seems dead set on a reboot and going by the descriptions I've read, that script was pretty steeped in existing continuity.

Yeah, that's exactly why I'd love to read it, even if it never gets made.

Yeah, the old man had a suitcase full of UFO paperbacks too, including Chariots as I recall. Never read any of them though. Nevertheless I was still the only kid in my class who already knew all about the Roswell incident way before all my classmates went on and on about it as if it just happened, because they just saw it on X-Files.

Thanks to Arthur C. Clarke, I was introduced to critical thinking fairly early on, otherwise I might have ended up a believer just from sheer mental saturation of the subject. Though on a similar note I can probably thank Dan Aykroyd for getting me interested in the first place.

Sounds like we led similar lives. I was also devouring ACC and other Hard SF at the time. I never actually believed any of the UFO or Ancient Astronaut stuff (otherwise I wouldn't have slept outside during the Summer under the naked sky ), but I loved it anyway. I was just always obsessed with anything exotic or wondrous.

For me, I don't need to identity with or get attached to a character if the story is compelling enough. I tend to think of early X-Files as being along similar lines as anthology shows like 'The Outer Limits' or 'The Twilight Zone'. Having two or three recurring characters and some occasional continuity was just a bonus in my eyes.

Well, that's true. For standalone short stories, I don't really need to bond with any of the characters. But for a continuing series, if I dislike the characters, I just can't sustain interest.

Unlikely. When a script is commissioned, it's generally bought outright. Whether we might see the script in a script book is questionable. We know that the 'separation of rights' clause is part of the WGA contract and we never got any indication that the group that commissioned TMoS were WGA signatories so there's a good chance that we won't see it.

Ah, that's a shame. A script book is exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[Jan]

I've finally transcribed the portion of JMS' spotlight panel from my audio tape. Any errors are mine.

JMS recaps what’s coming up and then:

So we’ve been having a really, really good year at Studio JMS. And where that comes in handy – where it’s kind of important involves this (B5 logo comes on screen). So… Fact: When I made the Babylon 5 deal with Warner Bros. it was just short of indentured servitude. Financially, I’ll never seen a dime out of Babylon 5 ever. I have no problems with that; I knew what I was signing when I go into it, but I mention it to piss them off every once in a while. One thing that I was able to withhold was the film rights. I still own the movie rights to Babylon 5. I’ve been pushing Warner’s for the last…ever since the early cretaceous period…to “Let’s do a Babylon 5 movie – a proper big budget feature film.” And they’ve always dragged their feet [because] that’s what Warner Bros. does. They knew that they had the upper hand because I couldn’t take it to any other studio because these days all the studios want all the rights. So if I brought it to say, Sony or Fox, they’d want the TV rights which Warner Bros. controls. Warner Bros. will never give those rights up so we were always handcuffed by that.

Turns out, however, there’s one studio in Los Angeles…Distributors, by the way, don’t care about the TV rights. Distributors just [care] about the movie, they don’t care about the TV part. There’s one studio in town that doesn’t care if it doesn’t have the TV rights…that wants to see this movie made and will do it with or without Warner Bros. (Studio JMS logo comes on screen).

Here’s the plan: We’re going to have, through Studio JMS, at least two, maybe three TV series on the air next year. We’re going to have at least one or two movies going ahead. And we’ll use that to parlay serious investment in the studio. I’m not talking Kickstarter, I’m talking about one hundred million dollars, two hundred million dollars; we already have people who are lined up and interested in doing that.

So in 2015 I will write a Babylon 5 screenplay. I’ll be giving Warner Bros. the opportunity – if they want to step up, “Help yourself”. If they don’t, 2016: We make it. I’m not going to wait around for more of our cast members to die. So that’s the long term plan and those are the current updates on everything that’s going on right now.

Question from a fan: Asked if JMS might crowd-fund for a million of the investment so that fans can be part of it.

JMS: I would rather now. Here’s the reason why, though. I come from the ranks of fandom – I’m as rank as any of you. To me, much as I understand that Kickstarter and crowd-sourcing are a way for those outside to get involved with the process, show their appreciation for the process, I am resistant to that lure because it feels to me like taking advantage of the fans and I have a hard time with that on a moral and ethical basis. I’d rather have an investor come up and say “Here’s a check for a hundred million dollars” - which I would gladly take, by the way; if anyone in the audience happens to have one of those lying around, let me know – than to come to the fans and try to get it. Science fiction fans, and horror fans, to a degree, are the most exploited folks out there. “Line up, buy the merchandise, watch the show.” And I just see this money suck happening. So the answer is no.

Question from a fan: Are you considering a reboot to bring in new viewers or are you thinking of a continuation with the cast and crew from the original series.

JMS: It would have to be a reboot because it’s now been twenty-plus years since we started that show and some of the age ranges wouldn’t always work with some of the characters. So we’d have to move a few people around. But what I want to do is use the original cast one way or the other and move a few things around. I’d love to see Bruce as President of the Earth Alliance; that would be the perfect role for him.
I love playing around with the cast anyway. The one story that I wanted to do for the original B5 and they wouldn’t let me do it was, when Londo was injured and had this dream sequence, I wanted to have different actors play different roles. So Jerry Doyle would play Londo. Claudia Christian would play Delenn and Delenn (Mira) would play Ivanova. Peter Jurasik would play Jerry Doyle’s role. Andreas Katsulas would be the Commander of the Station and Bruce would be G’Kar. They said, “People would be way too confused.” JMS: “They won’t be confused, trust me! Listen, they have the intelligence for this.” It was the only story that they said “No, no, no, no and by the way, no.” The chance to [ ] play around with the cast and have some fun with it could be a good thing.

Jan

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I've finally transcribed the portion of JMS' spotlight panel from my audio tape. Any errors are mine.

JMS recaps what’s coming up and then:
....

Here’s the plan: We’re going to have, through Studio JMS, at least two, maybe three TV series on the air next year. We’re going to have at least one or two movies going ahead. And we’ll use that to parlay serious investment in the studio. I’m not talking Kickstarter, I’m talking about one hundred million dollars, two hundred million dollars; we already have people who are lined up and interested in doing that.

....

Jan

Thanks, Jan. The bit I quoted and emphasized is the most misquoted in all the articles and discussions on a B5 feature film reboot. From your transcript, JMS is clearly talking about $100 to $200 million investment in Studio JMS not in an actual B5 film.

 

[Jan]

Thanks, Jan. The bit I quoted and emphasized is the most misquoted in all the articles and discussions on a B5 feature film reboot. From your transcript, JMS is clearly talking about $100 to $200 million investment in Studio JMS not in an actual B5 film.

I'm embarrassed to say that some of the misdirection may have been my fault, also, from when I was reporting on the fly without having listened to my recording of the panel (memo to self: That's *why* you record, dummy!). If you've ever seen or heard JMS speak, he talks *fast* and breaks into dialogue and segues and you really have to follow fast. At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Jan

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Thanks, Jan. The bit I quoted and emphasized is the most misquoted in all the articles and discussions on a B5 feature film reboot. From your transcript, JMS is clearly talking about $100 to $200 million investment in Studio JMS not in an actual B5 film.

I'm embarrassed to say that some of the misdirection may have been my fault, also, from when I was reporting on the fly without having listened to my recording of the panel (memo to self: That's *why* you record, dummy!). If you've ever seen or heard JMS speak, he talks *fast* and breaks into dialogue and segues and you really have to follow fast. At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Jan

Oh I've seen firsthand. I attended every B5 panel and JMS spotlight at SDCC while "Babylon 5" was airing, including the panel with Michael O'Hare, Jerry Doyle, Harlan Ellison and Andrea Thompson. So I totally understand if you weren't able to get it all until you listened to the recording.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Thanks for the clarification, Ryan Thomas Riddle.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Thanks for the clarification, Ryan Thomas Riddle.

The thanks really belongs to Jan who transcribed her audio recording. I just emphasized the bit that made it more clear as to what investment JMS was looking for.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Thanks for the clarification, Ryan Thomas Riddle.

The thanks really belongs to Jan who transcribed her audio recording. I just emphasized the bit that made it more clear as to what investment JMS was looking for.

Well that was really helpful, I think.

And, yes indeed, thanks for the transcription, Jan.

 

[Jan]

Oh I've seen firsthand. I attended every B5 panel and JMS spotlight at SDCC while "Babylon 5" was airing, including the panel with Michael O'Hare, Jerry Doyle, Harlan Ellison and Andrea Thompson. So I totally understand if you weren't able to get it all until you listened to the recording.

Holy cow, that must have been intense!

And you're welcome for the transcription. For those who'd prefer to listen to the panel, there's an audio of it here:
http://sciencefiction.com/2014/08/08/looks-like-j-michael-straczynski-working-film-reboot-babylon-5/

Jan

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Thanks for the clarification, Ryan Thomas Riddle.

The thanks really belongs to Jan who transcribed her audio recording. I just emphasized the bit that made it more clear as to what investment JMS was looking for.

Well that was really helpful, I think.

My pleasure then.

Although, it's easy to see how some would assume it was for the B5 film considering that most science fiction summer blockbusters range from $150-$250 million to make. Which brings up the question of how viable a B5 movie would be as a theatrical blockbuster made for less than $150 million. Would it be able to compete in a summer filed with DC and Marvel movies with larger budgets? Or a Trek movie? Or one of the many Wars movies on the horizon?

But then again, some of the better science fiction movies made in recent years have been ones that aren't big-budget fare — like "Looper", "Moon" and "The World's End." (And this coming from someone who loves both Abrams Trek movies.)