J. Michael Koshinski

[SpooRancher]

Four main clues so far.

Ides of May: We believe that means an announcement on or near the 15th of May.

Wrong Side of the River: Speculation has lead to New York, Canada, or somewhere in Europe as the location of the announcement.

TMoS: Too many speculations to list (although my personal favorite was Techno Mages on Steroids).

In the opposite of Can't: Can. Obviously. Completed theatrical and television projects are referred to as being "in the can". Could mean that his project has wrapped and is preparing for release. Can is also short for Canada, could be referring to where project was filmed, or may be announced.

Is this the basis of it all? We have a little less than a month to find out exactly where all of our speculations have been misdirected by JMS' Koshisms?

[Jan]

Re: J. Michael Koshinski

Originally posted by SpooRancher
Four main clues so far.

<snip>

In the opposite of Can't: Can. Obviously. Completed theatrical and television projects are referred to as being "in the can". Could mean that his project has wrapped and is preparing for release. Can is also short for Canada, could be referring to where project was filmed, or may be announced.

Except that there's no possible way that anything can be filmed yet. JMS wrote on 2/26:

The only things I can say right now about B5:TMoS is that now that all the
correct agreements have been signed, sealed and delivered, the draft has gone
in, met with great enthusiasm all around, notes have been received, and the
next draft is in process and has to be delievered within two weeks so that
certain other steps can be set into motion.

So the second draft would have been handed in roughly the middle of March. Not enough time since then to have set up production offices, hire crew, negotiate with cast etc. in order for any shooting to even have begun.

Even when we find out what the project is, the waiting won't be over I'm afraid.

Jan

[Kevin]

Thinking back to about a decade ago, I remember waiting around for news for the new Star Wars prequels, and I definetly remember that waiting be a hell of a lot worse then waiting for it when it was finally in production (of course the fact that it went on to be utter crap is beside the point )

Anyways my point is that while we'll certainly be waiting around for awhile, I think it'll be a lot easier once we have an idea of what's being worked upon

[Vendrimi]

Re: J. Michael Koshinski

Originally posted by Jan

Except that there's no possible way that anything can be filmed yet. JMS wrote on 2/26:

Except you forgot the wisdom imparted by the movie Spaceballs, you can now see the movie before completion! ;-)

[Gkar4ever]

Which brings us to an important point: Is JMS creating B5:TMoS because he knows he will? In which case, is JMS Kosh in disguise, and we are the unwitting Valens of the past? (Time relative to B5)

Man, these long week-end shifts are boring, can you tell?

[circularREASON]

the cannes film festival is on next week

( YES THE 15TH OF MAY IS DURING THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL )

NEXT FRIDAY ISN'T IT

Can't wait personally - I'm keeping the booze on ice until then though....

[CRONAN]

Star Wars 3 is scheduled to premere in theatres in July. 2005. Since most movies only take a few months to shoot, if that, B5: TMoS may be released before then.

[Leto II]

Or, it could be positioned by WB as one of their two (or three) major "tentpole" summer films of 2005 -- one of these already being Batman Begins. Assuming that principal photography ramps up within the next few months, it'd be right on target for such a release date.

The question becomes...how much positioning and of an advertising blitz will Warners throw B5's way, whether it's a late spring, mid-summer, or early fall picture? It depends largely upon (A) how good the film ends up being, both in dailies as well as in final cut form; (B) whether it would be jockeying with other pictures in the WB stable for a release window; and (C) whether Warners BELIEVES that it can reach the critical "non-TV-show-fan" audience demographic successfully.

If a nugget of shite like Van Helsing can merit a $60 million ad campaign, and be propelled to a predicted "#1" slot this weekend (as folks seem to be saying...narf), it's still a nugget of shite, only a well-promoted one.

If Warners puts a proper push behind a film that they feel strongly about, one of substance and breadth -- a film that can build grosses based upon good word-of-mouth, similar to the X-Men series -- it could still pull the same opening weekend numbers, and *sustain* its run, dependent upon the amount of competition present and its season of release.

A Babylon 5 film, properly blitzed and "sold" to those who are utterly unfamiliar with the storyline and milieu, could do a respectable domestic run; with foreign, one is virtually guaranteed to go into the black even if the US take is somewhat anemic, depending upon the budget. To say nothing of cable, broadcast, airline, and DVD sales once its run is up. The X-Files movie grossed -- what? -- roughly close to (or slightly over) the $100 million mark in America, and was already turning a profit for the studio before it ever unspooled in Europe and elsewhere...and there exists a substantial groundswell of grassroots support for B5 in England and the other European nations.

Ultimately, the major uphill battle is going to be here in the US, where there are far more competitors for the slices of the ticket-dollar pie during the spring and summer months than elsewhere, and more folks who are distracted away to *other*, more appealing diversions far too flightily. It's going to be a tough sell at first. However, if WB begins the process as quickly after the edits of the dailies come in as possible to assemble that first, crucial "teaser" trailer, the first hurdle will have been surpassed, and the groundwork laid for a more complicated campaign closer to release-time.

This ball is in WB's court. God willing, they don't miss the serve.

[circularREASON]

Re : Van Helsing

Yep it was a nugget of shite.

But there was a trailer on before it ( can't remember the name of the film - but was sci-fi flik - the chronicles of riddick? -).

Sci-fi flick - looked very good cgi - but had me thinking about B5 movie.

If Warners have decided to go with a B5 movie ( and don't forget we have to have it CONFIRMED ) it can be made into a VISUALLY STUNNING piece of cinema. The technology available now to film makers as far as CGI is concerned far surpasses what was available when B5 was shot.

With all of the spoilers JMS has been giving, I would now like to see a movie involving B5 - The Excalibur and the whole of the Earth Alliance Fleet - Lets resolve the CRUSADE arc in the movie . It would make one hell of a film. Could also involve most of the regular B5 charactors. You would probably need a prologue of some kind - but that can be done in 5 minutes with scenes from B5, & A Call To Arms.

Chris Franke would have to do the score - but perhaps with a large orchestra - say the London Symphony or equivelent.

I also do not think the movie has to be about 'the telepaths' anymore. I just do not think that would fit in at the moment - but could be a second film if the first was a success or a mini series from WB.

[colonyearth]

Since I'm not going to post my thoughts on this every time it comes up...go check out my reasoning for the film(s)' possible story line (arc) over at the "Let's go into deeper B5:TmoS speculation" thread...I go into detail there.