[B5JMS] JMS: Re: Babylon 5 Universe Novels?

Thu Oct 20 04:31:36 EDT 2005

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From: "KoshN" <macthevorlon at yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 21:51:50 +0000 (UTC)
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Re. the new novels that were (are?) going to be coming out:

Were they graphic novels or regular (all words) novels like the last
three trilogies?

Is there a chance that the new novels are still going to come out, or
is that project 100% dead?

KoshN

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From: "Carl" <cengman7 at hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 02:20:51 +0000 (UTC)
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<jmsatb5 at aol.com> wrote in message 
news:1129763371.988536.28150 at g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> As a producer, my revenue from the DVDs is tied to the overall profit
> of the show, which is still showing $50 million in the red (thanks to
> creative accounting), so I get zero off the sales of the DVDs as a
> producer.
>
> As a small potted plant, I get even less.

So the accountants (who are apparently fiction writers in their own right) 
make
money on the DVDs and you don't.

After so many years of this I would have thought that the various guilds and
unions would have found away to make the process more honest.

I'm not a big fan of unions, but this makes a case for some.

Carl

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From: Jan <janmschroeder at aol.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 03:33:43 +0000 (UTC)
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In article <7d6dnTCfnO18Y8veRVn-sQ at comcast.com>, Carl says...
>
>
><jmsatb5 at aol.com> wrote in message 
>news:1129763371.988536.28150 at g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> As a producer, my revenue from the DVDs is tied to the overall profit
>> of the show, which is still showing $50 million in the red (thanks to
>> creative accounting), so I get zero off the sales of the DVDs as a
>> producer.
>>
>> As a small potted plant, I get even less.
>
>So the accountants (who are apparently fiction writers in their own right) 
>make
>money on the DVDs and you don't.

Almost to add insult to injury, the costs of those accountants are (or were)
being charged against the show, too, I'm afraid.

Actually, as an accountant, I can tell you that it's perfectly reasonable and
necessary for expenses incurred by the studio overall to be spread amongst the
individual shows.  What I don't get, because I've never seen a set of books for
a studio, is how it can be so everlasting and ongoing (if it actually is).

>After so many years of this I would have thought that the various guilds and
>unions would have found away to make the process more honest.

I'm not sure that it is dishonest, no matter how much I might wish JMS were
getting a cut of the money brought in by the DVDs and other items.  It's not
even 'creative accounting' but standard business practice.

Put it this way...JMS has said that B5 cost about $110 million to make.  That's
what the *budget* was, though, the controllable expenses, not what it actually
cost.  Even though the B5 soundstages weren't on the WB lot, it's still only
fair and reasonable that, being a WB production, a portion of the costs of
running WB should be charged against the show as overhead.  That includes such
items as security, storage, office personnel, all those high-paid execs and
*many* other charges from striping the parking lot to loan interest payments to
taxes to paper clips (and yes, even that set burning down in Latvia).  *All* of
those charges would need to be distributed among the shows in production because
without the structure of the studio, no shows would get made.  Chances are,
that's where the huge deficit occurred starting the first day B5 went into
production.

That's why the difference between a show 'making money each year' by bringing in
more in advertising than the budgeted expenses to make the show can be hugely
different from what shows up on a profit and loss statement.

What I don't know is for how long things can be directly charged against a show
no longer in production.  If there are still 'overhead' items being charged
against the show, I'd be kind of surprised.  Items such as production costs of
the DVDs would be about all I'd expect any longer with the possible exception of
advertising and sales items.  I wouldn't know that without seeing a statement,
if then, since I'm not that familiar with the industry.

Hopefully if any of this contradicts what JMS has seen on his statements, he'll
let us know.  At any rate, this concludes the 'more than anybody *ever* wanted
to know about Accounting' portion of tonight's entertainment. ;-)

Jan

-- 
Here, gathered together in common cause 
We agree to recognize this singular truth 
and this singular rule: 
That we must be kind to one another.
                           G'Kar (J. Michael Straczynski)

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 04:07:41 +0000 (UTC)
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Jan wrote:
>
> Hopefully if any of this contradicts what JMS has seen on his statements, he'll
> let us know.  At any rate, this concludes the 'more than anybody *ever* wanted
> to know about Accounting' portion of tonight's entertainment. ;-)
>

Your analysis is essentially correct.  WB can take 30% of all B5 income
right off the top as "overhead," and subject the remaining 70% to their
net formula, which is constructed such that if a set on a small movie
burns down in Botswana, they can bill the costs against B5...so that
the series will never, ever show a profit.

I ain't the first in this position, and sadly, I won't be the last.

jms