Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[DaveNarn]

Nah, Super Heroes are still the money maker.

If only he could get the Justice League on a new Babylon 5 show...

[Lope de Aguirre]

I was thinking those last days about the recent trailer of Star Trek Discovery. I was wondering if in case of success, it would let people/investors/netflix-like-actors see Babylon 5 as another potentiel and profitable franchise to be revived too.

Yeah, good idea.
I hope so.

[Apsu]

I was thinking those last days about the recent trailer of Star Trek Discovery. I was wondering if in case of success, it would let people/investors/netflix-like-actors see Babylon 5 as another potentiel and profitable franchise to be revived too.

[Ubik]

A question; do people think the cancellation of Sense8 will in any way hamper progress on the B5 film? I wonder if this is good or bad for the street cred that needs to be built.

The positives are that the press and fan reaction to the cancellation has been very strong. People clearly love the show. Another thing is that this frees up JMS in terms of time, with no more Sense8, perhaps there is room in his schedule to start considering this again. And whilst my feelings are mixed on this, he and the Ws are very tight now, this can only be good in terms of networking within hollywood. I think Sense8 has done a lot to restore their reputation.

[Jan]

You're right. JMS owns the movie rights *only*. He can't do ANYthing else at all, whatsoever without WB permission (and payment, I'm sure). But if he wants to do a feature film for B5 and is content to only let it run in the theaters (as he doesn't hold the TV rights), and he can get the backing to do so, WB has no say in the matter as far as I know. Own is own.

Success with Midnight Nation and Rising Stars (ETA: And Ten Grand - Woo-Hoo!!) is likely to help with the attracting of investors. That's what JMS meant when he said he needed to build up the 'street cred' of Studio JMS.

Time will tell...

[Looney]

Hmmmmm . . . I don't think I would ever say never, but I am also not so sure I would say we'll ever see a feature film. At this point I imagine WB will eventually come around to the notion they own the rights to the franchise and the TV rights, so the best we might hope for is a new incarnation on TV or streaming - please not on CW. I've been thinking about it a lot and I don't think they are ever going to let JMS do his own feature without a serious kickback and control over the future. And yeah he owns the movie rights, but I doubt they'll just say, "Okay, make your movie." I mean as far as I know he can't do anything else with B5 other than claim he has the right to make feature films. He can't do B5 novels, comic books, I am starting to think maybe he can't do audio dramas, or basically anything to tell a B5 story other than a movie. Am I wrong? So does it sound like the corporation that controls so much of that franchise is just going to be cool with him making money off of a feature film without them getting a huge piece? Doesn't sound like the way things work in this world?

I don't know, I wish he could get everything he wants to make a feature film, but I just don't see WB letting him do it on his own. Now it would be great if they would fund him and let him do it like he wants, but I think we all WB corporate wants to control of everything so that is highly unlikely. Plus we all know WB is not likely to take a chance on an old SciFi franchise right now when it doesn't involve superheroes. They are investing all of their money in trying to match Marvel/Disney. Who knows though?! Maybe there is new blood at WB who are smart enough to recognize quality and know how to get things done. I can't help but think it would be very helpful if Rising Stars and Midnight Nation were HUGE success, but in all honesty I think the best we can hope for is critical success in a market already saturated by comic book superheroes. Sense 8 Season Two being a huge hit wouldn't hurt.

[Ubik]

So, when do you folks reckon we're likely to see a B5 feature film? 2245!? Sooner? Never?

[Ubik]

Would be very interesting to know what sort of period/context JMS would plan to set any movie against.

A full reboot was what he specified when discussing the possible feature film, but hasn't said much beyond that. I would imagine it would be updated to reflect modern political themes and concerns.

Personally, I'd want to see a story that diverged from what we already have, cause there's little point in re-treading old ground.

[Brian G Turner]

Would be very interesting to know what sort of period/context JMS would plan to set any movie against.

[Jan]

I haven't seen very many but I was surprisingly moved by Phase II's "World Enough and Time" episode.

[Looney]

It has been mentioned before, but I really love the effort behind Star Trek Continues.

http://www.startrekcontinues.com/episodes.html

I don't love everything they do, but I often feel I am watching the original series. I think they really capture the tone. It is far from perfect on multiple levels, but it is still pretty entertaining. Far and away the best Star Trek fan produced thing I've seen as far as level by level effort. Star Trek Renegades productions I've seen have had decent production values and work put into them, but I've also felt like the scripting behind them has been greatly lacking. Star Trek Continues feels more like stories the original Star Trek might have told. Don't get me wrong, I didn't care for more than one of the stories they chose to tell, but that is just a personal opinion on the choice not the effort they put into telling it.

[Ubik]

Yep there some stunning crowd funded / indie / fan films out there. The Dredd and Punisher short films are very well executed. There was a thread a while back about B5 fan films, and the distinct lack thereof. There was a brief effort a year or two back to organise people to do a fan production but the facebook group turned into the biggest clusterf*&k of bickering fans with no direction at all, poor story ideas and not a hope in hell of getting anything done.

Most fan films are made by a small group of enthusiasts, usually film students or someone with an avid interest in shooting / editing. I guess there's the old Babylon Park stuff and Star Wreck for B5 Parody, but I remain surprised no one has had a crack at a short film set in the B5 universe. (I always thought something outside of canon or stand alone would work best, as opposed to trying to continue any original plot lines).

This one is worth a mention:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1288561702/alan-moore-and-mitch-jenkins-his-heavy-heart

Beautifully shot project between Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins. Made for a mere 60,000 GBP. I think you can now buy the films directly from LEX as a box set or digitally. it has a heavy Twin Peaks vibe, transported to Southern England with lots of Burlesque. I was a backer, and was so excited to see this get made. Trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVam62ZPzr4

[Babel-17]

On a further tangent here... and am kinda thinking out loud, so please don't shoot me down in flames:

I do wonder if 'box office' results are just a bit silly these days, when you can release to an equally global audience directly online.

It's been mentioned and dismissed before, but *cough* Veronica Mars film *cough*. Sure, that and the potential B5 feature are two fundamentally different beasts as JMS has dismissed crowdfunding as a viable option.

I've seen some utterly superb crowdfunded productions. Given B5 was so pioneering with its meagre budget back in the day, I do wonder where that spirit of innovation has gone? I fully appreciate no one wants to stoop to Lost Tales levels of cheapness; an empty B5 is no B5 at all, but there must be a middle ground here. I do admire JMS keeping to 'we do it right or not at all' dictum, but part of me wonders if that does somewhat steer us towards 'not at all'.

I helped kickstart Henri, a very nice short film. Check out the cast. I also helped kickstart the video game, Dreamfall: Chapters.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2069787/

Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder ...

Huh, the whole movie in HD seems to be for free at Vimeo now. Cool! And, lol, you're all welcome!

https://vimeo.com/61686359

P.S. I've seen some fan made movies on youtube that had my jaw dropping. The Judge Dredd one, and The Punisher one with the star from the movie. There was a series of videos based on The Fallout video game that were incredibly well crafted, and very funny.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Punisher:_Dirty_Laundry

Extremely violent, NSFW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWpK0wsnitc

[JoeD80]

I imagine Joe is referring to theatrical rights. Direct-to-video and streaming fall under different parts of the MBA; those rights would still be owned by WB I think.

[Jan]

As far as I know a 'feature film' is defined by its running time. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute, and British Film Institute, a feature film runs for 40 minutes or longer, while the Screen Actors Guild states that it is 80 minutes or longer.

This seems to be the only stipulation attached to the term.

What matters, though is how the contract reads, and that's likely dependent on how the WGA defines it. What we'd need is whatever MBA Minimum Basic Agreement was in force in the early 90s, but this is a sample of how they define things.

following meanings:
A. GENERAL
1. The term "television motion picture" (sometimes referred to in
this Basic Agreement as "television film") means the entertainment
portion of motion pictures, whether made on or by film, tape or
otherwise and whether produced by means of motion picture
cameras, electronic cameras or devices or any combination of the
foregoing or any other means, methods or devices, now used or
which may hereafter be adopted for the recordation of motion
pictures produced primarily for exhibition by free television. The
prefatory language to this Basic Agreement and the provisions
cited therein determine the extent to which the provisions of the
Basic Agreement which are applicable to television motion pictures
are also applicable to pay television and basic cable.

2. The term "theatrical motion picture" means motion pictures and
photoplays, whether made on or by film, tape or otherwise and
whether produced by means of motion picture cameras, electronic
cameras, or devices or any combination of the foregoing or any
other means, methods or devices now used or which may be
hereafter adopted for the recordation of motion pictures produced
primarily for exhibition in a theater or similar location in which a fee
or admission charge is paid by the viewing audience, other than
those motion pictures produced primarily for exhibition in another
market covered by this Basic Agreement.

They definitely make a distinction.