General Questions

[KoshFan]

Well, now I can die happy.

 

[Jan]

My personal opinion (based on nothing at all, really) is that it may have been a bit of a commentary on the budget he was given. That and the fact that, as he said, he just can't take that sort of thing seriously. And third (of course), he's a big Sifl and Ollie fan.

Jan

 

[Crusader]

My personal opinion (based on nothing at all, really) is that it may have been a bit of a commentary on the budget he was given. That and the fact that, as he said, he just can't take that sort of thing seriously. And third (of course), he's a big Sifl and Ollie fan.

Jan

ok den lol. I was watching the special features and was thinking my god this getting beyond a joke. he cant be serious lol

New Questions on The Memory of Shadows

1. Ive only just recently heard about this (as an admin on a wiki asked me to write an article on it after reading the crusade one i did) So presuming it was WB that commisioned this film, why did they pull the plug???
2. How far with pre-production did JMS get, was a script written???
3. Was there any details released of the proposed storyline???
4. Was any potential casting info released???
5. When was this commisioned and subsequently cancelled, if it was 2004 did richard biggs death play a part in the film not coming to fruition???
6. Given the title, was this about the shadows themselves or left over shadow technology???

Given that im a newb to all things B5 thanks for the help lol

Edit: Yes Another Question

B5:TLT Question

1. Ok is Voices In The Dark A Complete Episode, or is that the title for the first DVD with the two episodes being titled "Over Here" & "Over There"???

 

[Jan]

LIST=1]
[*]Ive only just recently heard about this (as an admin on a wiki asked me to write an article on it after reading the crusade one i did) So presuming it was WB that commisioned this film, why did they pull the plug???

It wasn't WB. A person or company whose name I don't remember (if I ever knew it) optioned the movie rights to B5 which JMS owned and commissioned him to write the script. From there he/they needed to put the financial deal together and find a distributor. Neither one was accomplished.

For JMS's post when the project dead-ended, you'll want to read this.

[*]How far with pre-production did JMS get, was a script written???

Soundstage space was reserved, a director hired, an office opened, that's all. Yes, the script was written.

[*]Was there any details released of the proposed storyline???

Some. As I recall, some marines were stationed on B5 to Captain Lochley's displeasure. Diplomats from all over were supposed to be coming to the station. Galen was supposed to be helping somebody find out what happened to her brother. Earth's 'black projects' divisions were involved somehow.

[*]Was any potential casting info released???

There were some reliable rumors that the rights optioner needed WB to underwrite the film and WB was only interested if there were name stars attached and so casting 'sides' went out that described wanting to cast characters *not* the original actors. Word was that JMS was very much against this and a lot of fans tried to write letters and send 'Babylon Bucks' to persuade WB to only use the original cast for existing characters.

[*]When was this commisioned and subsequently cancelled, if it was 2004 did richard biggs death play a part in the film not coming to fruition???

Commissioned in late 2003, JMS turned in the script on Dec. 27, 2003. It seems that there had to be some revision after Rick's death but it's uncertain what effect it had on the script.

[*]Given the title, was this about the shadows themselves or left over shadow technology???[/LIST]

From what I heard, leftover Shadow Tech.

[*]Ok is Voices In The Dark A Complete Episode, or is that the title for the first DVD with the two episodes being titled "Over Here" & "Over There"???

Dunno. The only way JMS has ever referred to it is as "Voices in the Dark".

Jan

 

[AnlaShokGrey]

There were some reliable rumors that the rights optioner needed WB to underwrite the film and WB was only interested if there were name stars attached and so casting 'sides' went out that described wanting to cast characters *not* the original actors. Word was that JMS was very much against this and a lot of fans tried to write letters and send 'Babylon Bucks' to persuade WB to only use the original cast for existing characters.

Oh my gosh, I'd completely forgotten about those things. I wonder if I still have 'em stored somewhere on fjordstone.com...?

...

Well, I can't find them. Jan, do you have any idea what the link was? I have a feeling I may have just overlooked them while browsing the files contained in the domain. I'd be heartbroken if they were lost! That was some of my best Photoshopping work!

Amy

 

[Jan]

Well, I can't find them. Jan, do you have any idea what the link was? I have a feeling I may have just overlooked them while browsing the files contained in the domain. I'd be heartbroken if they were lost! That was some of my best Photoshopping work!

I had it bookmarked for the longest time but then deleted a whole bunch a few months back and I think that was among them. I did find this from the "Keep B5 Alive" archive site, though: Babylon Bucks

Jan

 

[vacantlook]

I still have jpg files of most, if not all, of the ones that look like actual money if you'd like me to email them to you, Amy.

 

[Elenopa]

I have Jpegs of the ones with Delenn and Londo, which act as headers to a letter.

 

[vacantlook]

I have:

• the three big unusual "credits" bills that Jan posted the link to (I actually only had two of the three until I got the Crusade one just now from Jan's link, so thanks for posting that link and helping me fill in a gap in my collection!).
  
• the six regular-looking $1,000,000 bills put together on two jpg files; Delenn, G'Kar, and Lochley on one, and Londo, Sheridan, and Galen on the other. These jpg files are 2550x3300.
  
• five of the formulated letter and single $1,000,000 bill combo files: Delenn, G'Kar, Lochley, Londo, and Sheridan.

It seems I also have text files of the two letters that I wrote during the campaign. I'm hesitant to actually read them after all this time; I always feel embarrassed and excessively perfectionistic when I read stuff I've written.

 

[Crusader]

Questions on Crusade DVD

1. My (UK Region 2) DVD of Crusade contains commentary tracks snd 2 featurettes at the end of it, The Making of Crusade and Forging Excalibur. Does the US DVD contain any further special features???
2. Beyond that from my own research i learnt that JMS' initial commentray with his harsh criticisms of TNT was removed by WB, firstly as TNT cancelled Crusade why did they do this??? and secondly did anyone ever hear this original commentary track, and if so did it say anything pertenant???

 

[AnlaShokGrey]

I still have jpg files of most, if not all, of the ones that look like actual money if you'd like me to email them to you, Amy.

Ha! No, you can be sure that after all the hard work I did on those, I still have them somewhere on my hard drive, but thanks so much for the offer, VacantLook. I was just hoping they were still posted on my server so that I could point others to them, for their enjoyment.

 

[AnlaShokGrey]

Okay, found 'em!

Since the subject came up in this thread, I'm posting this here rather than starting a new thread. I found my "B5 Bucks" images, and have re-posted the lower res versions of them for your enjoyment:

http://www.fjordstone.com/b5/b5bucks1_lores.jpg
http://www.fjordstone.com/b5/b5bucks2_lores.jpg

Remember, kids: these are not legal tender, so don't you try to spend them and make B5 fans look bad!

 

[Jan]

[*]Beyond that from my own research i learnt that JMS' initial commentray with his harsh criticisms of TNT was removed by WB, firstly as TNT cancelled Crusade why did they do this??? and secondly did anyone ever hear this original commentary track, and if so did it say anything pertenant???

As far as I know, that commentary was never made public. It probably said something fairly similar to what JMS said at the Hawthorne Comic Con:

The hiccup we have hit on the Crusade DVDs...And by the way, they're selling great. I've heard that they've netted - netted, mind you, over 70 million dollars just from the first three and a half seasons. (applause) When they said, do you want to do the Crusade commentaries, assuming of course that we get the rest of them (something), I said "Absolutely." (they said) What do you want to talk about?" JMS: "I want to say what happened." (they stutter) "What do you mean?" JMS: "The TRUTH!" I want to put the truth out there. We are now on our fourth (something) of Legal Affairs. "He wants to do what??" "The TRUTH!" I have another conference call scheduled on Thursday with Legal Affairs. We're running out of time for the DVDs. I said, "Look if I can't get the truth out, then I don't want to support the DVDs."

Audience: I can see some big-ass disclaimers over that one.

JMS: I want the real truth to come out. Including the fact...I ran into some guys who worked for TNT about two years after Crusade went down. And they said, "Did you ever hear the rest of the story?" JMS: "What rest of the story?" TNT guys: "We found out, we did a research survey, a five year long study of our ratings. This was just after Crusade got going. And, we found out that the audience for B5 came for B5, then left afterward. And the TNT regular viewers didn't stick around for B5 and went away and came back. B5 wasn't adding to our viewer base." So...they decided to pull the plug on Crusade for that reason and use the money to buy another show. But they couldn't say that because they'd be in breach of contract with Warner Bros. So their job was to make it impossible for us so they could then say, "We aren't getting the show we want, our notes aren't being dealt with, therefore we aren't responsible, we're canceling the show, this is your nut Warner Bros., you take care of it." That is why all the notes became so egregious. If I had given them everything they wanted, they still would have pulled the plug. They just wanted out. Yeah, I want that information out there. (Audience: We'll take care of that) On the DVDs. You all heard the tenor of the notes? (agreement, requests for JMS to tell some anyway) That's all right. Other questions...

Jan

 

[Crusader]

Ok, and is i cant find anything im guessing the special features for the US Set are the Same as the UK one. And just to run off a bit here would anyone be interested in seeing some "lost Characters" appear in TLT, such as Laurel Takishema or Ben Kyle. I would definitely like to see more sinclair, and maybe more of Katharine Sakai

 

[vacantlook]

...And just to run off a bit here would anyone be interested in seeing some "lost Characters" appear in TLT, such as ...Ben Kyle.

Johnny Sekka, the actor who played Dr Kyle, died some time back.

 

[Crusader]

Johnny Sekka, the actor who played Dr Kyle, died some time back.

So him appearing in TLT would be all the more special

 

[Sindatur]

So him appearing in TLT would be all the more special

Yes, we should have an CGI episode with Ironheart giving Orientation to Gen Franklin, Drs Franklin and Kyle, Zathras, Walker Smith and G'Kar (I know I'm forgetting another minor character) Beyond the Rim. The dialog can be a retread of their dialogue from the show (or from other parts they've done) and spliced together where needed.

 

[hypatia]

That is, of course, a joke. Right?

 

[Jan]

That is, of course, a joke. Right?

In extremely poor taste, I'd say. Both Crusader and Sindatur's comments.

Jan

 

[Sindatur]

In extremely poor taste, I'd say. Both Crusader and Sindatur's comments.

Jan

I don't think my comment is in bad taste at all to joke about a tribute like that. Afterall, remember the Coka Cola commercials with the dead actors? Certainly nowhere near as in bad taste as peeing on someone's grave.