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Re: JMS: 'Tis the Season...

Monday, January 04, 2010 6:38 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Have been up to my ears with work, and got slammed again by the
freaking flu. So I've been way out of contact with everyone on
everything.

On Dec 13 2009, 3:21=A0am, Jan <janmschroe...@aol.com> wrote:
> ..for a year-end wrap-up on all that's moving and shaking in the various
> Straczynski-verses including (but not limited to):
>
> Superman: Earth One and your plans. =A0It's scheduled for 2 GNs per year?

At this point, I believe that's the plan. The script for the first
128 page GN is done and in, most of the art is done, and a bunch of
the pages have been colored. So we're well ahead of the game. (They
need a full year to properly promote the book and get it out there.)

> Brave & the Bold (loved #29 with the Geek)

Atom/Joker comes out in a week or two, then it's Aquaman/Demon, then a
combo of Batgirl/Wonder Woman/Zatanna, then a kind of experimental
situation with two issues on a parallel track, telling different but
related stories with different teams (first: Legion of Super-Heroes
and the Doom Patrol, followed by the League of Substitute Heroes and
the Inferior Five).

> Shattered Union

Working on it now.

> The Flickering Light

May have something interesting to say about this in March or April.

> Forbidden Planet

Next draft turned in, waiting for responses.

> Lensman

Working on it now.

> They Marched into Sunlight

On hold pending a new director. Also the political climate has
changed a bit, so it's not as timely as it was.

> TV Series Pilot for FOX (Any chance of a working title?)

Final draft of the script went in to the network last week, so we'll
know something soon. I've heard we're in pretty good shape for a
pilot pickup, but I've heard that before.

> ..and any other projects I've missed.
>
> And for 'old' business, has Ninja Assassin performed satisfactorily as it=
's been
> opening up around the world?

Warners is more than satisfied with the results.

> I read recently that the last scripts for The Twelve will be handed in sh=
ortly.
> What can we look forward to there?

Finishing them up right now.

> ..and any new projects that you'd care to tell or tease about. New names =
that
> you've added to your speed-dial recently, for instance?

I'm finishing writing Midnight Nation as a movie which one of the
biggest producers in town wants me to also direct. There may also be
some movement soon on Dream Police and a new SF film trilogy I've put
together for film. And I've gotten a fair amount of work done on my
autobio. I figure it's time.

> Super congratulations not just on getting a Superman title that will let =
you
> take a fresh look at the character, but one in a format that doesn't limi=
t you
> to 22-page chunks.

To the convention question raised at the end of this thread...I'm
seriously thinking of taking a rest from cons this year. I need to
focus on the work, and it seems like every time I do one lately, I end
up with the Martian Death Flu. Random House may do a book tour in
association with the Superman GN, but I haven't heard the final word
on that yet.

jms

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:30 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Nov 12, 4:14=A0pm, Dan Dassow <dan_das...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Nov 12, 5:51=A0pm, "jmsa...@aol.com" <jmsa...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Some more:
>
> > Cleveland:
>
> >http://cleveland.metromix.com/movies/reader_review_application/ninja-...
>
> > St. Louis:
>
> >http://www.reviewstl.com/enter-to-win-free-passes-to-ninja-assassin-a...
>
> > Toronto:
>
> >http://www.nowtoronto.com/cgi-bin/EH/EventHandler.cgi?Actn=3DEntry_Form.=
...
>
> Joe,
>
> Does that mean that the residents of Cleveland, St. Louis and Toronto
> have a better chance of seeing you in person in their fair cities than
> a snowball surviving on the surface of the sun? ;-) Will there be an
> autograph line?
>
> Dan Dassow
> Hopeful resident of St. Charles, Missouri

Negative, I'm in deadline-land, finishing off the current draft of
Forbidden Planet and the Fox pilot. If I even try to leave the house,
the sniper on the roof will take me out.

jms

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:51 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Some more:

Cleveland:

http://cleveland.metromix.com/movies/reader_review_application/ninja-assassin/1600121/content

St. Louis:

http://www.reviewstl.com/enter-to-win-free-passes-to-ninja-assassin-at-the-st-louis-advance-screening-11-12-09/

Toronto:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/cgi-bin/EH/EventHandler.cgi?Actn=Entry_Form&Fnm=event433&User_ID=contests

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:36 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

And there's a ticket giveaway for tickets to Ninja in KC.

Which is also not the same at all as DC.

http://www.scene-stealers.com/giveaways/win-passes-to-ninja-assassin-in-kc/

jms

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:39 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Nov 10, 8:01=A0pm, Jan <janmschroe...@aol.com> wrote:
> In article <0001HW.C71F95AF0035A792B01AD...@news.eternal-september.org>, =
Amy
> Guskin says...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >>> On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:55:51 -0500, Jan wrote
> >(in article <hdd93n02...@drn.newsguy.com>):
>
> >> In article
> ><4128d034-8026-4c90-8c37-a335c0b3f...@m7g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,
> >> jmsa...@aol.com says...
>
> >>> Found out today that there's a =A0chance to win free tickets to a
> >>> preview screening of Ninja Assassin on the 19th in Washington State.
> >>> Info at:
>
> >>>http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=3D38080
>
> >>> jms
>
> >> Minor correction: =A0It's in Washington, DC <<
>
> >Minor?! =A0That's 3,000 miles worth of correction!
>
> >Amy
>
> Well...yeah. But it's only 3 letters different. =A0I was just hoping JMS =
hadn't
> agreed to attend only to find out he'd be flying across the country.
>

My bad...and no, at this point I won't be there, too much to do here.

jms

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 5:42 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Found out today that there's a chance to win free tickets to a
preview screening of Ninja Assassin on the 19th in Washington State.
Info at:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=38080

jms

Re: JMS: Silver Surfer back in development?

Saturday, October 24, 2009 9:03 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Oct 23, 12:51=A0pm, Jan <janmschroe...@aol.com> wrote:
> JMS:
>
> I noticed a few weeks ago that IMDB had changed Silver Surfer's status fr=
om
> 'Unknown' to being back in development:
>
> Project Notes
> All dates refer to when the comment was entered
> 18 June 2007 Optioned Property
>
> 30 June 2007 Script
>
> 1 July 2008 Development Unknown
>
> 8 October 2009 Script
> In active development at Fox. =A0
>
> And this morning there this article was linked to on another forum:http:/=
/www.examiner.com/x-18039-Capital-District-Movies-Examiner~y200...
>
> ..so I wondered if you've heard anything new that you can share?
>

Nope. My guess is that since my draft was closely tied into FF2,
which is ancient now, they've struck off in a different direction.

jms

Re: Seen on Live Journal - fan produced films?

Friday, October 16, 2009 11:19 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Oct 16, 4:00=A0pm, voxwoman <voxwo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am currently trying to track down the original source for this - the
> poster on LiveJournal claims this is on one of the B5 Facebook pages.
> The things that concern me are (a) NOT JMS-written and (b) fan
> fiction.
>
> "Latest Update: Ok B5'rs...its confirmed, that there are a few new
> B5's shows being produced...but NOT by Strazynski. Instead they are
> high end professionally mastered FanFict shorts. I've spoken to a few
> of the producers and they are t...hinking about releasing them via the
> Vuze HD network in hopes to rekindle a new full length series to take
> place after 2262 and will take place during the Drakh wars and
> telepath wars."
>
> the link to the post is this:http://community.livejournal.com/babylon5/48=
4829.html?view=3D4734941&st...
>
> -Wendy

Totally and unequivocally untrue.

First, WB does not have anything going with B5 at the moment, and
would not DO anything with B5 without my direct involvement.
(Interestingly enough, I had a meeting just a few days ago with the
HEAD of WB Television, and they confirmed that there's nothing in the
pipeline, in or out of the studio, and won't be until and unless I
authorize it. They're being very nice these days, for a variety of
reasons that I'll address at some point in the future.)

Second, bear in mind that the same guy who's putting this out there is
also saying that the episode title of each B5 installment has the
title said out loud at some point during that episode. Also totally
untrue.

Third, WB is fiercely protective of its copyrights. I've gotten them
to go easy on fan sites in general, and they've generally looked the
other way on parodies, but if anybody started producing any sort of
high-visibility films, the studio would be on them with restraining
orders almost instantly.

jms

Re: JMS: Ninja Assassin at film festivals

Friday, October 02, 2009 11:24 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Sep 30, 7:13=A0pm, Jan <janmschroe...@aol.com> wrote:
> JMS,
>
> I notice on IMDB that "Ninja Assassin" is getting some exposure in the ne=
xt
> couple of weeks at Fantastic Fest and Vancouver International Film Festiv=
al.
> Will you be going to any of those? =A0What do you think of the few review=
s that
> have come out so far?
>
> And is it cool seeing your name on the big screen?
>
> Thanks,
> Jan
>

No plans for any of the festivals at the moment, I'm too buried under
work. And it's cool any time I see my name anywhere, and it's spelled
right....

jms

Re: Attn JMS: OT - "Changeling", "Criminal Minds" and your

Friday, October 02, 2009 11:23 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Sadly, the methods used in Changeling are not uncommon...tactics like
this have been used by others in varying combinations. (As a kid in
Paterson, maybe ten, I'd gotten lost coming home from school, was
walking around crying, and a car with two guys and a woman said that
my dad had sent them to get me. The woman was trying to reassure me
that it was okay to get in the car. I didn't. And no, my folks had
never sent them.)

As for the script excerpt, I'd mentioned elsewhere in various
interviews that I'd heard of the Collins case a number of years
earlier, and had tried on several occasions to write the script but
had never gotten past the first section and a rough outline for the
rest. I just didn't have the skill set to write it properly until
years later, when I tried one last time.

I still want to do the novelization, but there's been so much film
work that it's been hard to peel away the time.

jms

some news from jms

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 6:56 PM

From: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Two quick items....

Tomorrow my first issue of The Brave and the Bold appears from DC. I
haven't said too much about this book because a) I wanted to make sure
there was a good sized backlog so it'd stay on schedule and b) until
it was closer to the debut. What's cool about this series -- which is
in answer to folks who asked, of all the books I could've done at DC,
why TB&B, which isn't normally in the top sellers -- is that it lets
me put together characters from anywhere I want in the DC universe
into stories that have a complex moral center to them.

Each of the issues are stand-alones, and have some of the best stuff
I've done in comics lately. The first issue features Batman and Dial
H for HERO in a story about self-sacrifice; the second features the
(Barry Allen) Flash and the Blackhawks in a tale that asks "when, if
ever, is it right to kill?"; the third is (believe it or not) with
Batman and Brother Power the Geek (I'm not going to say much more
about it than that, except that it's my favorite of the first bunch);
and the one after that features Green Lantern and Dr. Fate in a story
that pits life and death against the question of free will vs.
determinism (not something you generally see in a comic).

So I'd love it if folks could spread the word to swing by their comics
shops tomorrow and pick up an issue. If you liked the kinds of moral
and ethical stories we did in B5, I think you'll like what we're doing
with B&B.

That said...a bit of news. In addition to the feature work, I now
have a mainstream prime-time drama series in development with one of
the Big Four broadcast networks. Not cable, not syndication, one of
the Big Four. (I can't say which yet, pending an announcement.) The
pilot script will be turned in by year's end, and after that they'll
decide if they want to shoot it. As noted, it's primarily mainstream
with a touch of genre to it, and it should be a lot of fun.

As for those who've asked when we might see the Crusade script
books...keep watching the skies...there's something moving up there.

jms

Re: ATTN JMS: Original casting question

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 11:08 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Sep 1, 4:44=A0pm, vakie <vaki...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 2, 00:43, John W Kennedy <john.w.kenn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Now I'm confused. I could have sworn that I saw somewhere that there
> > was a first Na'Toth who worked a single day and freaked out over the
> > makeup, whose footage was consequently never aired at all. The story
> > is in Wikipedia (s.v. "Na'Toth"), with the name Susan Kellerman
> > attached, but that's not where I first saw it.
>
> I remember reading or hearing that somewhere as well.
>
> vakie

Yeah...I think that might be right, though I don't recall if that was
a first day of work or makeup tests. Boy, the brain goes fast....

jms

Re: ATTN JMS: Original casting question

Tuesday, September 01, 2009 2:28 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Sep 1, 5:36=A0am, Joseph DeMartino <jdema...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Just idle curiosity: =A0In reading the Julie Caitlin Brown bio posted onw=
ww.hollywoodshow.comin conjuction with their upcoming autograph
> show, I came across the following:
>
> "Following the departure of Mary Woronov from the series and the last-
> minute loss of originally cast Susan Kellerman, Babylon 5's casting
> director called her and unexpectedly offered her the role of Na'Toth
> on the first season of the science-fiction series."
>
> This is the first time I've ever seen it even *suggested* that anyone
> had actually been cast to play an aide to G'Kar other than Woronov,
> Brown and Mary Kay Adams. =A0So I'm skeptical, to say the least.
>
> Are they completely nuts or could this be some lost bit of trivia from
> the earliest days of the show? =A0Maybe Kellerman was one of the actors
> who *auditioned* for the role, and the story became mangled somewhere
> along the line? =A0(The bios on the site seem to be a mix of stuff from
> the IMDB, official websites and who-knows-where, so I have no idea
> where this particular tidbit comes from.) =A0I'm just intrigued by the
> idea that something ostensibly "new" like this might have surfaced
> after all these years.
>
> Regards,
>
> Joe

I vaguely recall that she auditioned, and I think she was among our
finalists, but I don't believe we ever crossed the contract threshold.

jms

Re: JMS at FanExpo Aug 29-30

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 5:07 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Aug 25, 1:37=A0pm, Tippi <aa...@torfree.net> wrote:
> On Aug 25, 2:21=A0pm, Jan <janmschroe...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > >I looked at the SciFi schedule and found him listed as a special guest
> > >but no time or room. Then I looked at the Comic schedule and found the
> > >info there. Wonder if they'll do other panels with him in the SciFi
> > >section? (same venue but different parts)
>
> > I took a very quick look at the other schedules and didn't see anything=
..
>
> > JMS? =A0Anything else you'll be appearing at this weekend?
>
> I emailed the organizers and they said just the Comic appearances.

At this point I may jump in on the DC panel on Saturday, but it looks
like that may be the only other addition. They wanted to do the
writing panel but it looks like they ran out of room(s).

Came very close to cancelling, but I'm pretty sure I'm up for
traveling now. This cough just never ends, though.

jms

Re: Attn. JMS: Re. The Del Rey B5 trilogies, Galen in "The

Friday, August 14, 2009 12:48 AM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Aug 13, 6:51=A0pm, "Mac Breck" <macthevor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> JMS,
>
> In "The Passing of the Techno-Mages" (especially towards the end of Book
> #3) Galen _appears_ _to_ _be_ more accomplished and more powerful than
> he is in "Crusade." =A0Did Jeanne Cavelos overstep what you intended as
> Galen's and the other Techno-Mages' capabilities?
>
> Did you have oversight of the writing of the three Del Rey B5 trilogies
> as they were being written, and did you guide the authors when you
> thought they might be going beyond what you wanted, in the interest of
> the books remaining canon to the B5 universe?
>
> Did you ever read the finished Del Rey B5 trilogies?
>
> If I had to guess, I'd say that there is no real, significant
> inconsistency between Galen in "The Passing of the Techno-Mages" and
> Galen in "Crusade" , and that appearances can be deceiving. =A0;-)
>
> p.s. =A0I really hate the hyphenated spelling (Techno-Mage) and think it
> looks much better (less clunky) as Technomage.
>

Will get to this when I can.

"No rush."

jms

Re: Are the B5 CGI files gone forever ?

Monday, August 10, 2009 3:13 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

> BTW, one question to which I would like a definitive answer. With composite live
> action/CGI shots, the only output which remained extant was the final 4:3 video
> copy - I believe that's correct, that was the problem with the DVDs. Has there
> ever been a definitive answer as to whether or not 35MM film stock containing
> the live action parts of those composite sequences still exists?

Insofar as I know, yes, it would exist somewhere. Assuming the rats
haven't gotten to it.

jms

Re: Are the B5 CGI files gone forever ?

Monday, August 10, 2009 3:12 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Aug 10, 9:58=A0am, Jeffrey Kaplan <gor...@gordol.org> wrote:
> Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Joseph Straczynski
> said:
>
> > (Haven't been around much because the ear infection which turned into
> > a throat infection which turned into a bronchial infection turned into
> > walking pneumonia, so I've been spending most of my time trying to get
> > better -- which I'm finally starting to achieve -- and any time at the
>
> When's the last time you had a week to just RELAX?
>

1987. Seriously.

jms

Re: Are the B5 CGI files gone forever ?

Sunday, August 09, 2009 11:31 PM

From: joseph straczynski <jmsatb5@aol.com>
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

On Aug 9, 8:40=A0pm, Matt Ion <soundy...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 09/08/2009 2:35 PM, Immortus45 wrote:
>
> > =A0 =A0A long time ago I heard that the CGI files of B5 are missing and
> > that's why it can't be converted to high resolution. My assumption was
> > that they had been accidently erased or destroyed or something, but
> > somewhere online I read a message from someone who said something to
> > the effect that Warner Brothers has massive archives and it's possible
> > that they're still there somewhere perhaps misplaced in some forgotten
> > corner on zip drives or something. =A0Does anyone think that's possible=
,
> > or is that just wishful thinking ?
>
> I suppose anything is POSSIBLE. =A0It's also possible that they're sittin=
g
> on wiped disks or drives that are still recoverable.
>
> Whether anyone has the inclination to go looking, however...

Doesn't matter if any of them exist, they could never be upgraded to
HD or anything close to that. They were produced on antiquated
equipment at a resolution that's ridiculous in comparison to what's
currently being done now.

And honestly, what you'd pay to try (and fail) at up-resing them would
be nearly what you'd pay to render everything fresh.

(Haven't been around much because the ear infection which turned into
a throat infection which turned into a bronchial infection turned into
walking pneumonia, so I've been spending most of my time trying to get
better -- which I'm finally starting to achieve -- and any time at the
computer, which wasn't much, went to work. I want to be sure I'm well
and able to travel for the Toronto convention later this month. Last
time I had a bad ear infection it prevented me from getting on a
plane, and I had to take a train from LA to Vancouver. It was no
fun.)

jms