Script Book # 6 - SPOILERS

[Jan]

From the sounds of things, Cafe Press is shooting the books out quickly this time so I thought I'd get this ready now.

Jan

[Jan]

As noted in the "Ordering Experience" thread, I got my Volume 6 this afternoon and I immediately sat down and read the introduction.

JMS's tribute to Andreas was wonderful. I teared up at least a couple of times reading about Andreas' gallant and courageous spirit and I'm grateful to JMS for having written of it so clearly that now I feel the loss of Andreas the man as much as or more than I feel the loss of G'Kar the character.

And while we may have been expecting a rather somber volume considering how it's begun, let me be the first to let you know that there are *plenty* of laughs in the episode introductions and footnotes.

Going back to read the memos and look at photos now...

Jan

[AmyG]

I read the intro yesterday afternoon. I haven't been able to read any further yet.

[KaCHING64]

A tale of two McGills

I was highly amused by the McGill v. McGill tale. I was previously unaware of it. I am a huge fan of both Stilgar and D-Day so either actor would have worked for me in the role, but I had fun reimagining the portrayal by Everett.

It was nice to reminice about eating at the Out-Take Cafe (the place he mentioned running into Everett in the first place, which was right around the corner from where I lived between 1988-1995). If remember correctly, this restaurant was owned and operated by Dan Haggarty of Grizzly Adams fame.

The words about Andreas were extremely touching. I felt special to know JMS's and the cast's experiences near the end. I will really miss his talent - both in B5 and Trek.

Chris

[Jan]

Yay, another post! I was wondering if everybody else was still waiting for their copy or still reading or what.

I got a kick out of the caption for the picture of Bruce on the White Star "acting blurry". The best one, though, was the one of G'Kar's uniform. I'd've loved to have seen that in person. One of these days if I'm ever in LA for a con, I'll have to check out that museum.

Jan

[frulad]

Argh. Well, it was bound (no pun intended) to happen. A page (11/12) finally fell out of one of the books (my newly arrived Volume 6), the second I opened the damn thing. I've been so careful with these too, as that type of glueback binding seems to have a tendancy to want to fall apart, especially as the pagfe count gets higher. (You should see the tattered mess my New York City Movie Filming Locations Guidebook is starting to become after carting it around on trips to NYC the last two years...)

[Jan]

[email protected] Seriously. Books shouldn't be losing pages unless some serious binding bending takes place.

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

The tribute to Andreas touched me very deeply as well. As a journalist, one doesn't often get to see beneath the facade of an actor- most of them have a public persona; some of them even have a 'convention persona' that is very different from their real-life personality- but I did get a few tiny glimpses of what Andreas was really like from time to time and I liked him tremendously.

And on a completely unrelated note, it was interesting to read JMS's footnote about Foxworth appearing in Jeremiah. Bearing in mind how the actor had f**ked over Babylon 5, I never really understood how he managed to land the role of the president in Jeremiah, but after reading Joe's story about it, I feel a lot happier, knowing that karma was served.

[frulad]

Joe, is it fair to say that Robert f'ed over the show or was it his agent who did? Seems to me that the culpability could be shared in various amounts by the two...


(Maybe I just want to cut the guy some slack cuz I thought he was hilarious on Franken's short-lived LateLine...)

[Joe Nazzaro]

I think that's probably true, which would explain if not mitigate Foxworth's non-return to B5. It wouldn't be the first time an agent had a different agenda from his client, and this happens all the time. I was talking to Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies recently, who mentioned that they were getting contacted by lots of well-known actors who wanted to appear in the series. And then the agent gets involved, asks for an astronomical sum of money and that 'Wouldn't it be great if...?' idea promptly goes out the window.

And incidentally, it wasn't just actors who backed out of B5 without warning. I remember JMS telling me about a director who shall remain nameless, who had done a lot of Star Trek episodes and was signed on for an episode of B5 until pressure was put on him not to do it. So he didn't.

[Jan]

Still, wouldn't the final decision have to have come from Foxworth? From what I understand the Trek gig was a two-parter so I suppose it's understandable from a financial standpoint even if B5 got there first.

I think that JMS was right, though. In a way, killing off Hague did increase the tension. And the blooper of the scene where McGill changes his line reporting Hagues death is hilarious.

Jan

[WorkerCaste]

So, how much of the extra lines and extra takes do people think really happened, and how much is for comedic effect?

BTW, I would think that the final decision had to be Foxworthy's. I wouldn't think an agent would break a contract without consulting with the client. Boosting the salary demands before an agreement is reached is one thing, but I thought this was a signed deal.

[KaCHING64]

BTW, I would think that the final decision had to be Foxworthy's. I wouldn't think an agent would break a contract without consulting with the client. Boosting the salary demands before an agreement is reached is one thing, but I thought this was a signed deal.

I think you're giving agents far too much benefit of the doubt. They are the lowest and slimiest players in the Hollywood food chain - by far. Studio executives and some producers are slightly higher by comparison. When agents run amok on behalf of their clients in their own self interest, it can damage an actor in the community. In the case of Foxworth's appearance in B5, JMS seemed to indicate that there was direct dialog with Foxworth himself. One could surmise that Foxworth was owning the double booking rather than his agent. Lastly, choosing the larger paycheck over a prior commitment shouldn't surprise anyone in this business. Integrity is truly a scarce commodity in Hollywood.

Chris

[Jan]

In the case of Foxworth's appearance in B5, JMS seemed to indicate that there was direct dialog with Foxworth himself. One could surmise that Foxworth was owning the double booking rather than his agent. Lastly, choosing the larger paycheck over a prior commitment shouldn't surprise anyone in this business. Integrity is truly a scarce commodity in Hollywood.
Chris

This is the post I found about the contact in backing out of the booking:

From: J. Michael Straczynski <[email protected]>
Subject: PoNR-Hague
To: CIS
Date: 3/2/1996 4:02:00 PM

No, Stephen, you've got that backward. We had booked Foxworth
long in advance. Later, out of the blue, a rep for the actor said that
by accident he'd been double-booked on B5 and DS9 for the same
period...and even though we had prior claim, because the other was a
two-parter, more money, they went for that. One can only wonder when
the other offer *really* came in....

jms

Emphasis added by me.

Jan

[frulad]

I was talking to Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies recently, who mentioned that they were getting contacted by lots of well-known actors who wanted to appear in the series. And then the agent gets involved, asks for an astronomical sum of money and that 'Wouldn't it be great if...?' idea promptly goes out the window.

Well, RTD is doing a bangup job with DOCTOR WHO, so I hope he's not worrying about it too much... (Still glowing from seeing Sarah Jane & K9 this week.)