JMS reassures

[colonyearth]

The director question has been discussed at length...but I'm not certain which thread it was. I will try to find it and give you a link, since there were some good insights there.

I will say what I said then...do not count on one of the series directors. WB will not make the same mistake that ST and Paramount made...I.E.: the look and feel of making a two hour episode as a film. JMS will want big, epic. TV is a completely different beast than film and while film directors can easily direct TV, TV directors do not always make good film directors. It's a pacing thing, and more often than not a matter of which one you started in, film or TV.

If, by some wild chance, one of the series directors were to do it, though, it would most likely be Mike Vejar.

There is way too much riding on this, however, so expect a long search, then JMS finding someone who loves B5 or respects his vision or both.

I could write more, but later...work calleth.

CE

[Towelmaster]

I was thinking of Mike Vejar too(if it would be a series-director that is).

On the other hand; if jms is in a position to get anyone for the job(I think that this job is quite attractive to producers) he might want to draw up a list first...

As long as it's not Quentin Tarantino, fine director but I think it would not be easy to get Uma Thurman in...

[WorkerCaste]

Originally posted by colonyearth
If, by some wild chance, one of the series directors were to do it, though, it would most likely be Mike Vejar.

I, too, think it unlikely that a series director would make the jump to the big screen for this, but I'll throw out our favorite Centauri ambassador.... no, not that one, the second one ... Stephen Furst. IIRC, he directed 3 B5s and 2 crusades, but he has directed movies, too. Mind, very small movies, but still. He has also been on a number of movie shoots due to his acting experience, so he has a familiarity with the work flow and demands particular to a theatrical movie. Just some grist for the mill.

[Towelmaster]

I think what you might want is a director who is very good at directing as well as very good at listening to the creator of the show.

I think that a movie-producer with such a small ego will be hard to find though.

Anyway; JMS is probably laughing out loud at these speculations... for he knows what is true...

[colonyearth]

Originally posted by Towelmaster
I think what you might want is a director who is very good at directing as well as very good at listening to the creator of the show.

I think that a movie-producer with such a small ego will be hard to find though.

Anyway; JMS is probably laughing out loud at these speculations... for he knows what is true...

Actually, they most likely don't have a director lined up as yet, but are in negotiations with various names.

I have always contended that WB will not trust the first feature film in the B5 universe to a lesser director, but will go to someone with feature film experience. Most likely they will look for someone that will work with JMS not against him, yes bring his own passion and vision to the project.

While Furst has had some experience, remember he really has no more experience than Vejar in the directing chair. He's never directed a feature film, nor has he acted in many. His career has been predominantly in TV, which is what they will want to avoid. Like I said, different beast and all.

I don't know that they will seek out a film director with major clout, such as a Spielberg or a Cameron or a Jackson, but they will look for someone with vision and talent, who works in more of a team oriented style and who's star is rising.

Who knows, they might get lucky and find a major talent who loves B5 and wants to direct TMoS, but that is not so likely as finding someone such as Bryan Singer was about 5 years ago before X-MEN; young, idealistic, wanting to prove himself and very naturally talented.

The Harry Potter series just did that with Cauron, a director who's star is rising, who has received critical acclaim, but who is not extremely well known.

JMS will accept that any feature director will bring his own style and vision to TMoS...and that he will have to allow them to carry that with them. What's important is finding someone who can do that while staying true to what has come before, the series, and JMS' vision.

A visionary director can be married beautifully to JMS' vision, if it's the right person.

I look forward to the announcement of the director more than almost anything...probably because I'm a director, myself.

CE

[Capt.Montoya]

Originally posted by colonyearth
The Harry Potter series just did that with Cauron, a director who's star is rising, who has received critical acclaim, but who is not extremely well known.

Alfonso Cuar¾n is much more well known in MÚxico (of course).

What if he directed TMoS... if only so he'd made a sequel: "Y tu Ivanova tambiÚn"

[Flynn2000]

Good stuff Colonyearth, except one thing I must correct. John Gaeta's ESC Entertainment, and not WETA, did the FX for the Matrix films.

ESC did what I consider to be some of the most beautifull and astounding FX ever, in Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. Just look at the amazingly realistic looking CGI and model work they did for the Siege On Zion. I think the way they render machines would be perfect for B5. They were even supose to be the primary FX provider for WB, as they were funded by them, but alas after being snubbed for the last year they seem to be almost out of business.

I would now go with ILM. Over 25 years of doing space type visuals, coupled with the technology developed for epIII (it starts with a battle between thousands of starships) makes ILM the logical choice. Remember how nice Minority Report and A.I. looked?

WETA would be fine also. It's just that I don't wan't B5:TMoS to be used as a test bed for WETA to figure out how to do technological type visuals. But then again this might make them try even harder.

It actualy doesn't have to be just one company. Most movies these day's use many FX providers. The space and tech type things could go to ILM and planetary ground kind of stuff could go to WETA. Just think of what a group of pissed off Technomages on the attack would look like if done by WETA! Or try to picture a very complex space battle with every thruster port, hatch, spinning section or whatever of each ship detailed down to the very bolts as done by ILM. A section of a ship cut open in battle and the people spilling out with huge detail inside on a level never seen before... Sorry, getting carried away.

And don't forget Digital Domain.

[colonyearth]

Welcome to another newbie.

Yes, you might be right about Weta and the Matrix films...though I do recall their name mentioned along side of the 2nd and 3rd Matrix films for some reason. Online research has proven fruitless in attempting to discover why.

I did state in a previous post that the bidding was for the main FX house and that other smaller houses would also come on board.

Weta would do just fine in any FX they do, space or otherwise. Do not expect Weta and ILM to both work on TMoS though, so that's a pipe dream.

To say that Weta couldn't out do ILM on space FX is silly. Such FX are actually easier to create than the detailed creations Weta turned out for the LOTR trilogy.

As I've stated earlier, it was the LOTR:ROTK and Weta that made GL call his people together on SWepIII and tell them they have to do better.

That says it all to me.

Personally, I think either house would generate incredible FX for any B5 creation. However, I'm hoping for Weta. I think they'll blow the doors off of ILM.

ESC's Zion attack scene was great, unfortunately some of their other work hasn't been. As for Digital Domain...feh...they're ok, but not all that.

Ultimately, it's not always the FX house that's choosen that really matters, but the amount of money WB is willing to spend on them.

CE

[Telemachos]

Flynn is correct -- ESC (formerly Manex) did the VFX for Matrix 2 & 3. They're no longer around though.

Most major FX-oriented films these days have a "main house" and farm out some shots to other houses, either because they can't handle the total workload from the beginning, or because of deadlines. You'll often find the main houses -- who are each other's main competitors -- working on signature projects for each other. Digital Domain did work on LOTR (WETA's signature series), for example, and ILM did shots for TITANIC (a DD gig from the getgo).

And just last year WETA and ILM were the main houses for MASTER AND COMMANDER, so it's certainly not impossible (or even unlikely!) that the two could both have some part to play in TMoS (whether minor or major remains to be seen).

While obviously each house likes to one-up each other and out-do what's done before, there's also a lot of collaboration (before he started LOTR, PJ consulted Lucas on what he would need from an FX house and certain approaches that might be useful, for example).

From my experience, much of the "XXX house is better than YYY" comes from fans of various series, not so much from the people actually involved with doing the VFX themselves. Any of the major houses would do TMoS proud. End of story.

[WorkerCaste]

HereÆs a question for people more familiar with the workings of FX houses: how is the process impacted when there is an existing visual design for all or many of the elements? Better yet, hereÆs a question for anyone: how do people think designs for existing elements will be affected? I remember when ST:TMP came out and the Enterprise had undergone some pretty massive changes. Do people think weÆll see ôimprovementö of the designs, or just a richer, fuller texture to the modeling? Thoughts?

[frulad]

Originally posted by Flynn2000
ESC did what I consider to be some of the most beautifull and astounding FX ever, in Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. Just look at the amazingly realistic looking CGI and model work they did for the Siege On Zion. I think the way they render machines would be perfect for B5.

Their machinery may look good, but their people modeling wasn't that great. Look at the agents jumping on cars during that freeway chase.

[Telemachos]

Originally posted by WorkerCaste
HereÆs a question for people more familiar with the workings of FX houses: how is the process impacted when there is an existing visual design for all or many of the elements? Better yet, hereÆs a question for anyone: how do people think designs for existing elements will be affected? I remember when ST:TMP came out and the Enterprise had undergone some pretty massive changes. Do people think weÆll see ôimprovementö of the designs, or just a richer, fuller texture to the modeling? Thoughts?

In practically every example I can think of, a big-screen version of <fill in the blank> would be "bigger, better, and more epic".

Just look at the changes that happened to the B5-verse when CALL TO ARMS came out and Netter Digital wasn't limited by the earlier Lightwave models that had defined the series.

Expect changes all over the place, some subtle, some not. In B5's case, IIRC most of the ships had texture-mapping and modelling detail but smooth skin and little or no bump-mapping. Since the show's VFX look was essentially locked in 1992-1996 Lightwave technology (now literally a decade old), the amount of detail and refined design work should be astonishing. I'd also expect some, if not all, of the ships and environments to be physically modelled and scanned, as opposed to simply 3D-modelled.

[iamsheridan]

Originally posted by WorkerCaste
Do people think weÆll see ôimprovementö of the designs, or just a richer, fuller texture to the modeling? Thoughts?

"Improvements", surely.
Hopefully, we will be able to recognize all the ships (and other stuff) from the series, but it's not certain.

/IamS

[Capt.Montoya]

Originally posted by Telemachos
... I'd also expect some, if not all, of the ships and environments to be physically modelled and scanned, as opposed to simply 3D-modelled.

And since the original 3D models are gone to software limbo out of WB carelessness new models have to be created anyway...
A great chance to make it look much improved.
I'm almost sure that whenever teaser images and a trailer are released it will look different but much better.

[WorkerCaste]

Telemachos, I agree with what you said. When I posed the questions, I was thinking about ACTA and the new vortex, the new textures, etc. These are what I would consider "richer, fuller." If there weren't changes all over, I'd be shocked. Can't wait to see all the added details. I'm just thinking about what might appear as the "not so subtle" changes, or as IamS put it, "Hopefully, we will be able to recognize all the ships." In the past there have been times when it felt like things were being "fixed" where they weren't broken just so the artists can put their own stamp on things. How much will the design change?