Found on Ebay / Etsy / Redbubble, Etc...

[Jan]

Real or not?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genuine-Babylon-5...QQcmdZViewItem

I'm hardly an expert but it does look like it's real to me. I'd be curious what kind of provenance comes with it to back up the claim that it was used onscreen.

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

I think my serious doubt would be the term 'screen used.' If the piece had indeed been used on an actor, it would have had to be glued down around the eyes and mouth, which means that some kind of solvent would be needed in those areas to remove it. Normally if you see a foam latex mask that has been used, those particular areas would have been degraded because the foam latex would have broken down. Even at the best of times, the material doesn't have a huge life span unless, as Mike Westmore did with some Star Trek heads that were going into exhibitions, the heads were treated with some kind of fixative.

I know we've had this discussion before about B5 heads and I know that there was a directive handed down by the production office at some point to Optic Nerve that these things should be destroyed so as not to make their way into the fan market, but I also know that makeup artist Greg Funk did a B5 convention in the UK for which he brought several heads, which I believe were left behind. What happened to them at that point I have no idea.

[Jan]

Joe's right of course, but from what I've seen there's a huge difference in durability between the prosthetics used for speaking actors and those used on background actors. Here's a good picture of one of the prosthetics worn by Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar.

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

Jan, you bring up on a good point. The prosthetics are often sculpted differently for a principal actor where you know they're going to be seen in close-ups and background heads where they're not, although believe me, I've heard countless horror stories over the years where a background head gets moved closer, much to the horror of the makeup artist involved.

There are other factors involved in blending prosthetics around the eyes, particularly when the actor is sensitive in that area. John Rhys-Davies for example, had huge problems with his Gimli makeup in Lord of the Rings, to the point where I believe the face had to be re-sculpted.

And of course there are the problems that no one ever realizes are going to be a problem. I was recently interviewing somebody who worked on Tropic Thunder who pointed out the artists working on Robert Downey Jr's makeup had all sorts of problems because they couldn't use alcohol-based products on his face, Downey still being in recovery. Same problem with Charlie Chaplin many decades ago.

So there's more information than anybody could have wanted- or even cared about!

[grumbler]

(snip)
So there's more information than anybody could have wanted- or even cared about!

I am a big fan of unwanted information about which I don't care!

Thanks for the anecdotes.

[JoeD80]

Jan, you bring up on a good point. The prosthetics are often sculpted differently for a principal actor where you know they're going to be seen in close-ups and background heads where they're not, although believe me, I've heard countless horror stories over the years where a background head gets moved closer, much to the horror of the makeup artist involved.

This is one of the things the Optic Nerve team was trying to change, by having processes to make all the prosthetics realistic and have a fast moving production line. They seem to have been pretty successful, as I don't recall any weird looking prosthetics on B5 (unless you count the pak'ma'ra )

And of course there are the problems that no one ever realizes are going to be a problem. I was recently interviewing somebody who worked on Tropic Thunder who pointed out the artists working on Robert Downey Jr's makeup had all sorts of problems because they couldn't use alcohol-based products on his face, Downey still being in recovery. Same problem with Charlie Chaplin many decades ago.

IIRC, part of the reason for Julie Caitlin Brown leaving the role of Na'Toth was because the prosthetics reacted with her skin.

[Andrew_Swallow]

We need new makeup and prosthetics glues. I was hoping that the big check on all chemicals by the European Union would produce some.

[sftv]

Peter David commented on Saturday about the Centauri trilogy ... Two of the books had a "normal" run. The third was shorted by some 20,000 copies, and he often sees copies of that for sale in the 80 buck range.

OS, the first person to ever have Peter David sign his scriptbook. That's right. I popped Peter's cherry.

Peter reminds me about the value of the third book every time I have him sign one...

Now if UPS (or whover was the shipper) had gotten me that OV book when it was supposed to have arrived, I would have gotten to Peter with it first. It shipped on time, but took a detour on the way so it didn't arrive until after I'd left for San Diego. I was the first person to have him sign the special variant of the IDW Star Trek: New Frontier #1 with Peter on the cover, though. He hadn't even seen an actual issue with that cover.

http://milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=80396423108%201%20INC%20B

Although, as he points out, he looks more like Dick Cheney than himself...

Lee Whiteside

[Jan]

I was the first person to have him sign the special variant of the IDW Star Trek: New Frontier #1 with Peter on the cover, though. He hadn't even seen an actual issue with that cover.

http://milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=80396423108%201%20INC%20B

Although, as he points out, he looks more like Dick Cheney than himself...

That's what he gets for shaving his beard and losing all that weight. <g>

Jan

[Jan]

Heading up the Shameless Self-Promotion category, I've just listed a copy of Volume 15 for sale on Ebay.

Feel free to Buy It Now . My employment situation (lack thereof, actually) is bleak.

Jan

[timk519]

Heading up the Shameless Self-Promotion category, I've just listed a copy of Volume 15 for sale on Ebay.

So you're the seller! I was wondering where that book came from.

Since you worked on that volume, I'm wondering why didn't you take more credit for your work:

In other words, a script archivist compared every single line of every single script to what is in the episode on DVD, and itemized those differences, line by line, shot by shot, scene by scene.

I think that should read

In other words, as the script archivist, I compared every single line of every single script to what is in the episode on DVD, and itemized those differences, line by line, shot by shot, scene by scene.

You could even offer to add your signature to the book, if the buyer would like.

I would also note: "Never opened or read, book is still in the original shrinkwrap" isn't a plus as the books may have missing pages or other printing defects. Are you going to offer a refund or discount if it turns out the book has issues?

I wish your sale all the best, as well as your employment situation. (What do you normally do for a living anyway?)

[Joe Nazzaro]

Good luck, Jan; there have got to be a few people out there that didn't want to spend several hundred dollars just to get to the volume 15 goodness. Although judging from other recent auctions, apparently you should be asking in the high three figures!

[Jan]

So you're the seller! I was wondering where that book came from.

Since you worked on that volume, I'm wondering why didn't you take more credit for your work:

In other words, a script archivist compared every single line of every single script to what is in the episode on DVD, and itemized those differences, line by line, shot by shot, scene by scene.

I think that should read

In other words, as the script archivist, I compared every single line of every single script to what is in the episode on DVD, and itemized those differences, line by line, shot by shot, scene by scene.

You could even offer to add your signature to the book, if the buyer would like.

Thanks, but that would mean changing the copy JMS and the scripts team wrote and that wouldn't be right. I gave some thought to making note of the fact that I was the (insane) one who did the Joe Cuts but I didn't really think it'd be a selling point to anybody who doesn't already know me.

I would also note: "Never opened or read, book is still in the original shrinkwrap" isn't a plus as the books may have missing pages or other printing defects. Are you going to offer a refund or discount if it turns out the book has issues?

Nope, but thanks for the comment. I've added a note that the book hasn't been inspected and realized that my return policy hadn't shown up. FWIW, this was printed long after the issue with the failing part was discovered and fixed.

I wish your sale all the best, as well as your employment situation. (What do you normally do for a living anyway?)

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm an accountant for hotels in the Disney World area. I had to walk away from my job for ethical reasons a few months ago and the combined gas and airline prices really ruined the peak season when it should have been easy to get another. Timing, as they say, is everything.

Jan

[Jan]

Good luck, Jan; there have got to be a few people out there that didn't want to spend several hundred dollars just to get to the volume 15 goodness. Although judging from other recent auctions, apparently you should be asking in the high three figures!

Thanks, Joe. Only trouble with those other auctions is that they didn't sell! I figured that if somebody snaps it up at the (moderately insane) Buy It Now price, I'm good. And even if they don't, the auction *could* go sky high on its own. Every once in a while I've been pleasantly shocked at how high a few of my auctions have gone. The "Gut Reactions" script, was a real treat going for over $700.

Jan

[timk519]

Thanks, Joe. Only trouble with those other auctions is that they didn't sell!

Didn't the last complete set of JMS/OV scripts start at $1K, and eventually sell for somewhere in the $500 range?