Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[DaveNarn]

"Hey! I'd like a B5 man"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MshadyDLjnk

Nice one

7-UP commercials with Geoffrey Holder..

https://youtu.be/dvZd4ld8Tt4

Techno-babble, never had it - never will
Taste the untrek freshness!

[moreorless]

"Hey! I'd like a B5 man"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MshadyDLjnk

[Jan]

Maybe series of retro commercials would so the trick.

LOL! wish the forums had a 'like' button!

Jan

[DaveNarn]

Maybe series of retro commercials would so the trick.

A nice little old lady standing in the theater lobby looks at all the current sci-fi posters and complains loudly "Where's the B5?!"
(Wendeys 'Wheres the beef' commercial)

A voice over song during opening credits...
I wan't my B5 back, B5 back, B5 back
(Chili restaurant ' Baby back ribs' advert)

A couple of teens wearing sun glasses exiting the new SW movie
"Meh, just lots of running, jumping, sword fights, and now with lens-flair!… I could have had a B-5!!"
(V8 Juice commercial)

[Ubik]

This is quite likely going to change come December, when a certain Force Awakens

Whilst it's stiff competition in the visual department, every studio will be keen to make space / SF films again. Although, I don't recall the prequel films really having that effect, at least not in the same way that the original SW inspired countless knock off films in the 80s. So, maybe it won't be quite as pronounced as I think. Still it has to help give SF films some extra box office cred.

I guess SW is its own thing and it stands alone. It has a massive built in audience regardless of genre.

[cornholio1980]

In terms of the draw of FX he might even benefit a bit from the fact we really haven't seen much in the way of space battles(Enders Game is all that comes to mind) in recent years so wouldn't need to really over overboard to outdo anything else.

This is quite likely going to change come December, when a certain Force Awakens

[moreorless]

I would agree with that, the existing fanbase isn't enough to get a big film made but it does provide a bit of a glass floor which is often what Hollywood is interested in preventing the possibility of a really massive bomb, a lot of films get made of properties that aren't massively well known as a result. JMS's game and potentially the script could well be what desides whether the film gets made.

In terms of budget I'm not sure 100 million is really essential, B5 can't be done well on a shoe string but still I think the format isn't one that really pushes the budget. The need for locations shooting is limited, hundreds of extras aren't needed, sets don't need to be that massive and as the original showed CGI in space is actually often simpler/cheaper than other kinds that needs to recreated more complex characters and environments. My guess is that JMS could make something that looks up to current blockbuster standards on a $60 millionish budget.

In terms of the draw of FX he might even benefit a bit from the fact we really haven't seen much in the way of space battles(Enders Game is all that comes to mind) in recent years so wouldn't need to really over overboard to outdo anything else.

[Looney]

My feeling is that the biggest obstacle could be WB. If they don't sign on I think others might stay away because of what they control. I assume they control all Home Video and Merchandise rights as well the TV. Am I wrong?

Other than that I think JMS' rep combined with a really good script could get the job done. There are big name people out there who remember the show. You know people like Whedon, Abrams, and others could easily end up getting behind the project even if it is just something they say they would like to see. Plus the show was so big in other markets that you know he can likely find some funding there. And he can likely find some funding for the promise of overseas' box office receipts. I think it might take a little longer to get done than we all would like (which is evidenced by the fact we already wonder if he is even going to get it written this year), but I think it will happen. We just need to figure out a way to get him to forget these other projects for a little while and focus for several months to get the best of the best reboot script.

[Ubik]

No disrespect intended but I have NO interest whatsoever in seeing a movie for the amount that could be raised via Kickstarter. None. JMS was right several years ago, if it's not going to be done right, it shouldn't be done.

Con Man's raised 3.1 million. Veronica Mars about 5 million. Not nearly enough for a show that has to be built from scratch, which neither of those did.

Jan

Fair point Jan. I think we all remember Lost Tales, and I have no desire to see 'B5 on a shoe string budget' either.

I am just a little sceptical that any studio will want to invest the kind of money that would be required. B5 is just really quite obscure these days. Unless a major studio bites, it's going to be very hard to fund to a sufficient level.

Maybe if Netflix were to begin funding feature films, now that would be exciting. Who knows!? Seems Joe is building a good relationship with them via Sense8. I wish WB would do the honourable thing and sell him the rights back.

Then we could get a proper reboot, on TV, where B5 belongs.

[Jan]

I honestly think there's more power in the Kickstarter / independent production route. Or a combo of both, a la the Veronica Mars film.

No disrespect intended but I have NO interest whatsoever in seeing a movie for the amount that could be raised via Kickstarter. None. JMS was right several years ago, if it's not going to be done right, it shouldn't be done.

Con Man's raised 3.1 million. Veronica Mars about 5 million. Not nearly enough for a show that has to be built from scratch, which neither of those did.

Jan

[Ubik]

One thing JMS could maybe attempt is back to back filming for more than one release, that does save a good deal of money and would make a sequal more likely.

I think finding backers for that would be really, really hard. I'm still unsure how easy it's going to be to finance a proper feature film of a series that has such a low profile amongst the general public. I suppose the reboot option kinda makes that a moot point, but it's still a hard sell. Sadly, any 'original' feature is a hard sell in Hollywood these days.

I honestly think there's more power in the Kickstarter / independent production route. Or a combo of both, a la the Veronica Mars film.

[moreorless]

I definitely agree with your core point. There are some moments in the post-SIL material that make me smile, but it's mostly forgettable and underwhelming. I think I'd probably be happier if the show had just ended, and that was that.

That said, it's just too difficult for me to imagine how a rebooted film can work in this universe. Anything's possible, but B5's greatness stems from slow builds, large character/story arcs, and big payoffs. It has a lot of other quality going for it, but that is its primary differentiation from everything else.

Say what you will about the Star Trek reboot, but they accomplished this task successfully, and that gives me some small hope. But Star Trek was so much more episodic in design, with small stories and smart themes, so taking it to the films in the first place made it "bigger". And while I love Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, their character traits can be encapsulated in small scenes over the course of a film. Kirk needs to be less reckless, Spock needs to be more human, and McCoy needs to change nothing at all -- he's perfect. That's basically it, so rebooting the whole shebang in one film isn't that big a deal. But taking B5 to the film world makes it "smaller", both in terms of character and story. There's just no way to tell a story like Londo's or G'Kar's in a 2-hour film, unless the film is entirely about that character. Hell, there've been like 10 Avengers movies, and we barely know anything about them. Yes, I know that's big-budget action-movie writing, but the point stands that there's so little room in a film for what B5 did so well.

I guess what I'm ultimately hoping for is something like the story of Babylon 4. Keep it in our universe, recast a character or two, and tell a good story. I don't think it's possible to truly "reboot" B5 and do it any kind of justice. I know it makes little marketing sense to make a Babylon 5 movie that's not about the Babylon 5 station, but its story can't be successfully retold in my opinion. I hope to be proven wrong, but I fear I'll look back on this in years and feel the same way I feel about Lost Tales, etc -- wishing they'd just left it alone.

Really for me the Telepath/Bester situation was the main thing I wanted to see more of, maybe a bit of Lennier.

I'd also agree about Trek, in some ways it was easier to take because we'd had such large amounts of fan focused Trek in the 90's and early 00's that a lot of people were just burnt out on it(especially as the latter TNG films weren't great) and welcomed a change but it wasn't really the Trek we knew rather some of the characters stuck into a Hollywood action film.

Luckly I'm not sure you could do the same thing with B5 though, yes it had some great characters but none of them have anything close to the public awareness of Kirk/Spock/Bones.

I'd agree with your point about building characters and plots as well, B5 as we know it couldn't even he handled in a trilogy of 3 hour films effectively. As you suggest I think the obvious way to go about it would be to cut out a section of the story and focus on it. One thing JMS could maybe attempt is back to back filming for more than one release, that does save a good deal of money and would make a sequal more likely.

[phazedout]

JMS: "I'm writerman" in a suitably gravelly voice.

[Ubik]

Nice to see JMS fighting crime again!

Echoing an incident from the Chicago Comic-Con in 1995 when Straczynski tackled a thief who tried to steal artwork from a dealer's table, he said that he had just tripped a man who stole a woman's purse in San Diego's Seaport Village and was running past him.

I do hope he finds time to dedicate to the B5 film amidst all the projects he's taking on.

[Jan]

It's exactly the same except that he said he expects to be writing the script later this year.

More when I find my recorder. Meanwhile, here's a pretty good synopsis:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/sdcc-jms-announces-flash-earth-one-talks-gender-issues-on-television

...including the reason why JMS was late to a con event for only the second time ever (that I know of).

Jan