Actual April announcement

[Andrew_Swallow]

{snip}

At his May talk, JMS made the point that in Hollywood, sometimes it's easier to get a hundred million than it is to get (I think it was) $30 million, which is what he was/is looking for to do his film "The Flickering Light".

I suspect that this is rank related. The suits in charge of $100 million films are a high rank than the men in charge of $30 million films. The higher rank also means that the men can authorise the money where as the lower rank need to ask their bosses (and committees).

[Garibaldi's Hair]

I suspect that this is rank related. The suits in charge of $100 million films are a high rank than the men in charge of $30 million films. The higher rank also means that the men can authorise the money where as the lower rank need to ask their bosses (and committees).

I must be missing something Andrew, because that doesn't make sense to me. As you outline it, effectively the same suits are making the decisions over $100m and $30m movies, just that one is "filtering" through an underling first, in which case the difficulty in obtaining the lower funding level presumably comes from the underling filtering movies out and not recommending them to their bosses for funding.

On the other hand if, in reality, the lower ranked guys in charge of $30m movies DO get to make the decisions are they just inherently more cautious because if they are seen to fund too many flops they won't get to move up to be in charge of $100m movies.

In either case, the problem lies with the lower ranked suits themselves rather than the infrastructure above them. What would be the point in putting someone in charge of $30m movies if they still have to ask their boss for the money at the end of the day?

OR ... radical thought ... is it that the kind of movies you can make for $30m are actually more risky than movies costing $100m? I am sure we can all recount a number of instances in which we have been to see an expensive blockbuster movie and come away thinking that the story was dire, the acting atrocious and the dialogue dull and uninspired but consider the ticket price money well spent because the soundtrack was awesome, the action sequences spectacular, the effects eye-poppingly good and we come out having been hugely entertained.

A $30m movie cannot spend a ton of money on eye-popping special effects, spectacular action sequences and so on, and has to rely much more on script, dialogue, story, casting and acting. If those things end up as dire, atrocious and uninspired as they are in the blockbuster then the movie will die on its feet because it hasn't anything else to build on.

[JoeD80]

$100 mil = blockbuster that studio spends marketing money on so they get $400 mil back.
$30 mil = regular movie that studio doesn't bother to market so they only make $20 mil back.

[Marsden]

Plus, $100 million dollars! is not really that much today, as Dr. Evil found out. Really, most movies even just comedies cost that much now.

Maybe most isn't right but many.

I still think JMS could take 1 crappy movies budget and make 3 good ones but maybe he doesn't want to anymore because that puts a lot of stress on him.

[galego25]

Some tweets from JMS (Jun 20)

@mikeydog Michael Stone
@straczynski What is next for the Babylon 5 Universe and when will we see it?

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
@mikeydog More at a later time when I can talk about it. Answer unclear, please try again.

@mikeydog Michael Stone
@straczynski Not to get all child-like (about to) but any estimate on when you will be able to talk about it? (Babylon 5)

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
@mikeydog When all parties have said it's okay.

@mikeydog Michael Stone
Can you reveal who the "parties" are? Network? Actors?

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
@mikeydog What part of "I can't talk about it" is evaporating on the frying pan...?

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@DavidLC11 David Cornette
@straczynski would you ever return to making weekly television again?

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
@DavidLC11 Under the right conditions, yes. More on this later.

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@WxManShane Shane Smith
@straczynski any new projects in the B5 Universe in the works?

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
@WxManShane That's a far more interesting question than you might imagine...but I can't talk about it at the moment.

[lotjx]

At this point, two months after April, we should just let anything that people ask JMS about B5 go. Its gotten to a maddening point. Part of me wishes he didn't make the April comment, because it feels like a game. A game that even JMS seems even annoyed at playing at.

[Jan]

This sort of waiting has happened several times before. IIRC, the Jeremiah announcement was made several months after the agreements had been made simply because it wasn't up to JMS to say, it was up to (I think) MGM.

I don't think JMS was annoyed by the question until 'Mikeydog' kept trying to wheedle info.

Jan

[vakie]

This sort of waiting has happened several times before. IIRC, the Jeremiah announcement was made several months after the agreements had been made simply because it wasn't up to JMS to say, it was up to (I think) MGM.

Yea, I suppose it's possible the deals have already been signed, but await the time when WB deems it's time to publish it. WB especially is at a delicate time right now, with their huge Harry Potter franchise ending, them trying to get their DC properties up in the air with Green Lantern and Superman, and the last Batman movie with Nolan coming next year.

B5 is one other franchise they might want to try get up there with the DC heroes to fill the void left by Potter, so they are probably keeping things hush-hush.

[Marsden]

@mikeydog What part of "I can't talk about it" is evaporating on the frying pan...?

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I love that answer! Will we be seeing that line in an upcomming feature?

[Compound Fracture]

Well, it certainly seems as if something is in the works! Exciting times!

[galego25]

I was expecting the B5 related annoucement (if it happens) to be a new movie. But now I'm starting to believe it could be a new series...

[vakie]

I was expecting the B5 related annoucement (if it happens) to be a new movie. But now I'm starting to believe it could be a new series...

There were already hints along this line earlier:

http://jmsnews.com/forums/showpost.php?p=63618&postcount=18

http://jmsnews.com/forums/showpost.php?p=63623&postcount=21

Now with hints like:

"any new projects in the B5 Universe in the works?"

@straczynski JMichael Straczynski
That's a far more interesting question than you might imagine...but I can't talk about it at the moment.

..it sounds to me like there is not necessarily either just a TV series or movie in the works, it might be both or multiple projects.

[Biffy Clyro]

Does this contradict his previous tweets?

Yes, doing a new SF film for Bruckheimer, and should have some news about something non-B5 but tv-ish soon.

http://twitter.com/#!/straczynski/status/86331772597575680

[Jan]

Does this contradict his previous tweets?

Yes, doing a new SF film for Bruckheimer, and should have some news about something non-B5 but tv-ish soon.

http://twitter.com/#!/straczynski/st...31772597575680

Hi Biffy, welcome.

No, I don't think it contradicts anything he's said previously. JMS had mentioned a while back that he had a couple of TV projects that he was going to be taking out this season. He did "Shattered Union" for Bruckheimer and mentioned before that there was a second project possible.

ETA: Somebody posted to JMS' Facebook page that he'd announced via Ain't It Cool News that the B5 project had fallen through. The link psted went nowhere and JMS tweeted "Nothing to say on that count at the moment." just a few hours ago.

Jan

[vakie]

ETA: Somebody posted to JMS' Facebook page that he'd announced via Ain't It Cool News that the B5 project had fallen through. The link psted went nowhere and JMS tweeted "Nothing to say on that count at the moment." just a few hours ago.

There's been no such news on AICN.