Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[moreorless]

I certainly enjoyed it right from the start(well the start of the series didn't catch the pilot until a bit latter) and I spose you could argue the shift isn't really so much between seasons one and two as it is between the first and second halves of the first season. I would still say Coming of Shadows represents the series hitting its real peak form though.

There was just something about Michael O'Hare that really worked for me with him as Sinclair. Scenes like the one with him and Naroon, "Branmer's life was more significant than his battles. Let the warrior caste praise his courage in war, and let the rest praise him for what he truly was—a man of peace." For me it was scenes like that where I just thought "nailed it!"

I would agree with this, in the early stages of the series I think his portrayal of Sinclair was arguably more central to the show than any other character at any point in the series. That could I spose hint at a direction a rebooted B5 could take, something that focuses more tightly on a Sinclair like character and something along the lines of his originally planned arc? Maybe a story either set in or with flashbacks to the Earth/Minbari war touching on the significance of the link between the two races and himself? could be interesting and would obviously have room for plenty of action.

Honestly I can see the logic of going that route as well since personally I think that the Centuri/Narn story would be VERY difficult to better in any reboot.

[Looney]

So here is one positive I can take from Michael O'Hare having to leave the show, he DIDN'T completely become the center of the show. I mean that strictly from a structural point of view. I love Sinclair, but having a new Military Governor come in at the start of Season 2 helped avoid the cliche of making the series all about a central hero. Yes there is a lot of that, but I think B5 is a better show because him leaving made the position he held in the plot slightly less central in terms of the structure. Had he continued on the show then it would have been a fraction more about his role being top of the pyramid, which is very typical of narrative forms we are exposed to today. It gave us "You are the one who was. You are the one who is. You are the one who will be.", at least in terms of how the audience ended up looking at the three characters. The point I am taking too long to make is that had O'Hare not left or if a reboot focuses on a central protagonist then the plot falls into a little more typical format than the original series gave us with regard to a central hero. Yeah Sheridan is a central hero, but I think anyone who has seen the entire series knows he did not get there on his own more than they might think is true about central heroes in other stories. I hope that makes sense. Having said all that I am sure the reboot will focus on a central hero; I hope this time it is Delenn and JMS just bites the bullet and hires Mira. She may not have the Box Office Juice needed in the U.S., but I don't care. I like good things to happen to people I like, especially when we all know she has the talent to not only pull it off, but create a Delenn that isn't quite the same as the Delenn we remember. WOW! I didn't think I would go on that long.

[moreorless]

I think the key difference between Sinclair and Sheridan is that the former is already at the start of the series very much "enlightened". Theres a lot of information he doesn't know of course but his general world view is at the kind of level Sheridan would only reach much latter. Having your lead character be someone who's learning from others rather than mainly guiding others(not that Sheridan doesn't do a good deal of that) leaves a lot more room for supporting characters.

That's I think why O'Hares departure didn't hurt the show too badly, the "one who was" wasn't just something JMS made up to cover himself it did feel right, that is Sinclair does feel like a character near the end of his journey in terms of his personal growth where as Delenn is mid way though hers and Sheridan is starting his.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

My moody-pessy glass is getting lower and lower. I am fearing now that Joe just doesn't have the time to do a B5 movie. He's got so many other projects, that I'm just not sure there's any time left for our beloved space show.

I hope I'm wrong, of course. It's just how I'm feeling right now.

[Looney]

My moody-pessy glass is getting lower and lower. I am fearing now that Joe just doesn't have the time to do a B5 movie. He's got so many other projects, that I'm just not sure there's any time left for our beloved space show.

I hope I'm wrong, of course. It's just how I'm feeling right now.

Fear not Delenn_of_Mir. Who is to say he doesn't already have most of it written?! We are talking about an idea that has been stopped and started many times in the past. We are talking about a Universe that JMS knows intimately. We are talking about a project that may just need a little tweaking to modernize. There is no telling. Even if he is starting from scratch instead of re-working an existing idea it is still a world he is very familiar with and hopefully will easily slip back into. JMS may need to put very little effort into finishing the writing end of things and then it just becomes a matter of time to sell it and get it made. For all we know it might be written and he is already trying to get it made. Yes I know that is wishful thinking, but you never know. It may take longer than we want, but at least we know he is trying to get it done on his own this time instead of messing with what WB wants. If they sign on I hope he is still able to maintain control of how things happen.

[Jan]

My moody-pessy glass is getting lower and lower. I am fearing now that Joe just doesn't have the time to do a B5 movie. He's got so many other projects, that I'm just not sure there's any time left for our beloved space show.

I hope I'm wrong, of course. It's just how I'm feeling right now.

Ummm... It's only March for heaven's sake!

And remember that we just this week got news (see the 'Interesting JMS posts' thread in General Discussions) that he's got a new spec script making the rounds. So we know he managed to find that time someplace - why wouldn't he be able to do so for Babylon 5? I swear the man has a pocket universe tucked away someplace for all of the scripts he manages to churn out!

I really don't think we can expect any word any time soon. It sucks, but there's also no indication that JMS has changed his mind.

Jan

[Ubik]

My feeling is that the script will get written this year, but where it goes, or more to the point, how fast it progresses from there is anyone's guess. I would think perhaps 2-3 years from now if all goes well?!? A script would be the first step, then there’s the not insignificant task of securing backers and funding / or a studio to produce the film, then a suitable director and a cast that would do it justice.

I think that securing funding and/or a backing from a studio will be the really hard part. If we look at Joe’s other pet project ‘The Flickering Light’, it’s perhaps not encouraging that it’s still no closer to being made. And, to me, that had a better chance of getting made than a B5 feature film.

The best shot a B5 film would have, would be if WB showed interest and pushed the project forward. We know they’d like a big SF project that could be their next ‘trilogy’, or ongoing series of films, so who knows…

Still, I’ll keep my fingers crossed and my eyes on the sky. It’ll be an uphill battle, but Joe is definitely good at fighting those.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

Ummm... It's only March for heaven's sake!

And remember that we just this week got news (see the 'Interesting JMS posts' thread in General Discussions) that he's got a new spec script making the rounds. So we know he managed to find that time someplace - why wouldn't he be able to do so for Babylon 5? I swear the man has a pocket universe tucked away someplace for all of the scripts he manages to churn out!

I really don't think we can expect any word any time soon. It sucks, but there's also no indication that JMS has changed his mind.

Jan

"giggles" How long ago did he say he wanted to do it? Last summer sometime? Time moves soooooooo slowly. It feels like it's been forever, already.

*edited to not sound so weird*

[Jan]

So to me if someone says they're going to do something and then never mention it again I assume they've forgotten or changed their mind. It would just make me feel better if Joe said something about it once in a while.

It's an interesting idea to assume someone will do what they said unless they say they're not going to do it. Is that how normal brains think?

Well, it's not a bad default to assume that they will in normal circumstances. Now, in show business, there are SO many variables, it's best to be aware of what's under JMS' control and what's not. We know for sure he'll write the script but after that there are the finances and distribution to work out. Distribution shouldn't be any trouble but finances could be (though he seemed pretty confident).

I think we should just figure that he'll let us know when there's news. And hope it's *soon*!

Jan

[Looney]

Alien Nation reboot coming; X-Files reboot is a "Go". How many more 90's shows are coming back before the B5 reboot? JMS might be too late to this party if he doesn't get this done ASAP. My guess is if we keep hearing the word "reboot" and none of the are big successes, which I doubt they will be, it could doom a B5 reboot getting the moola JMS needs if he takes too long. Sorry to bring up something negative, but when I read the Alien Nation reboot news this morning it just added to the pile. It seems every week we hear about something being rebooted. I guess I would feel better if WB was already on board with JMS. The fact that he thinks he can raise the money without them is fine, but that is today. A string of reboot failures in the next couple years could cause what he can get done today to disappear tomorrow. (OKAY SO I HIT THE PANIC BUTTON, BUT HE NEEDS TO REASSURE MY INSECURITIES WITH A MOVIE UPDATE.)

BTW I love the original Alien Nation, but how obvious is it that they want to milk a franchise that will be cheap to make with today's effects.

[Jan]

The fact that he thinks he can raise the money without them is fine, but that is today. A string of reboot failures in the next couple years could cause what he can get done today to disappear tomorrow. (OKAY SO I HIT THE PANIC BUTTON, BUT HE NEEDS TO REASSURE MY INSECURITIES WITH A MOVIE UPDATE.)

What's to report, though? "I still plan on writing a movie script this year but haven't gotten to it yet."? As for the 'raising money', remember he's not necessarily looking for investors for just the movie but for the studio in general. For the most part, the investors won't have much say in how the money's spent, though of course they'll need to know the general purpose and goals.

Jan

[Looney]

What's to report, though? "I still plan on writing a movie script this year but haven't gotten to it yet."? As for the 'raising money', remember he's not necessarily looking for investors for just the movie but for the studio in general. For the most part, the investors won't have much say in how the money's spent, though of course they'll need to know the general purpose and goals.

Jan

HA! How about the script is done?! And if investors in the studio in general know that the studio is planning to fund a reboot in a time of failed reboots and so on and so on. Anyway like I said, I just hit the panic button.

And did you get my PM Jan?

[Jan]

There always have been and always will be reboots and remakes. I don't think they'll ever fall out of style.

Got your PM and just answered. Sorry for the delay!

Jan

[Triple F]

As for the 'raising money', remember he's not necessarily looking for investors for just the movie but for the studio in general. For the most part, the investors won't have much say in how the money's spent, though of course they'll need to know the general purpose and goals.

Really!? I don’t know how Hollywood works, but that seems to be a bit of an unbelievable idea. A group of (presumably) professional and experienced investors will just hand over 100million + to jms and “won’t have much say in how the money is spent”…….. I know it’s sometimes referred to as the dream factory, but no, I don’t think that’s how it works. Why am I getting flash backs and the song “Spring time for Hitler” in my head.

The flip side to what Looney said (which is a genuine concern I think), is all that it takes is for one of those reboots to be a success, and the number of them will probably mushroom in an attempt to find another.

[Jan]

Really!? I don’t know how Hollywood works, but that seems to be a bit of an unbelievable idea. A group of (presumably) professional and experienced investors will just hand over 100million + to jms and “won’t have much say in how the money is spent”…….. I know it’s sometimes referred to as the dream factory, but no, I don’t think that’s how it works.

Whoever owns 51% of the company gets to decide what happens. Doesn't matter if it's a corner store or megabusiness, that's how it works. Obviously there would be business plans and the investors would have to be comfortable with the vision and prospects for the company but they won't have any real decision making power any more than shareholders have over (for instance) Heinz over what new product they're going to introduce. If the investors don't like it, they can sell their shares but that's about it.

Jan