[B5JMS] Babylon 5 Scripts Site Nearly Ready, And More!

[b5jms at mail.fsl.cs.sunysb.edu]

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 13:39:14 +0000 (UTC)
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First, an advance word to those who are looking on...as noted here
earlier, all of the B5 scripts that I wrote are going to be published
in book form via www.babylon5scripts.com (a clever and inventive
title), and I just had it confirmed to me that the site will be going
on line right around the 28th of this month, give or take a day or so.

There will be 14 volumes, containing all the episodic scripts that I
wrote, plus "In the Beginning" (in the 14th) and in volume 1 the
ORIGINAL 1989 version of "The Gathering" that was used to sell the show
but which was massively changed prior to production, which features
different characters and gave Kosh a life-mate named Velana.

The 15th volume will be given without charge to those who pick up all
14 volumes...even the shipping charges will be covered.  That volume
will contain the lost Soul Hunter script (well, not lost, I recalled it
because I'd unwittingly written a Star Trek style script instead of a
B5 style script), a never-before-seen draft of Midnight on the Firing
Line written a YEAR before we got the go-ahead for the series to show
WB how the series would work, which is *massively* different (and a bit
more surreal) from what was filmed...the original B5 series bible...the
5 year arc overview given to WB before we started filming season one to
show how the series would work (and which followed Sinclair's character
all through those five years on B5)...and the script used in the
now-famous (or infamous) practical joke played on Andreas and Peter
which had G'Kar changing genders and ending up in bed with Londo.

Each volume also has an original introduction from me, and a lengthy
discussion of each episode, averaging about 40 pages per book, with a
lot of behind the scenes information never revealed before, along with
what went into the writing and producing.

There will also be a collection of B&W photos from my private
collection taken behind the scenes, which have never been seen by
anyone before.  (Some books will have more photos than others,
depending on how often I made it to set that week.)

As noted before, for the first week or so after each new volume is
released, they'll be knocking ten bucks off the price of each volume to
reward the B5 community for keeping an eye on this.  And yes, they do
ship internationally.

Moving on to other topics for a moment....

The same week, the 26th, will also see the publcation of issue one of
"The Book of Lost Souls," the new comic I'm doing with Colleen Doran,
and published by Marvel.  This book is not like anything I've ever
written before (the closest would be Midnight Nation), and it's
definitely not like anything else Marvel is doing, and it's just
gorgeous to look at (and not bad to read, either).  No spandex, no
costumes...a kind of modern dark fantasy, very adult, sometimes very
dark but ultimately hopeful...and best of all, it has a talking cat
named Mystery who is modeled after Buddy the Miracle Cat, so really,
how can you go wrong?

Finally...and I almost hate to type these words for fear of jinxing
anything...but in addition to the network project in development, I've
been offered show-runner on another series which should, if all goes
according to plan start shooting up in Vancouver in the spring.  That's
all I can say about it for now, except that I've accepted the offer and
we're now concluding negotiations.  More on this as it develops.

jms

(message content (c) 2005
Synthetic Worlds, Ltd.
Reprint permission specifically
denied to SFX magazine)




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From: Methuselah Jones <methuselah at altgeek.org>
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 01:01:47 +0000 (UTC)
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Carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of  
<jmsatb5 at aol.com> of rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated make plain:

> As noted before, for the first week or so after each new volume is
> released, they'll be knocking ten bucks off the price of each volume to
> reward the B5 community for keeping an eye on this.  And yes, they do
> ship internationally.

Well, perhaps this indirectly answers a question which has so far gone 
unanswered. If the volumes are not being released all at once, then 
presumably those who buy them one at a time will still be able to get the 
bonus volume, unless the publisher wants people to wait until they're all 
released before buying, which of course is not likely.

Perhaps each volume will be accompanied by a proof-of-purchase 
certificate.

-- 
Methuselah
Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. 
Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. 
Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there 
is.


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 03:20:09 +0000 (UTC)
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Methuselah Jones wrote:

>
> Well, perhaps this indirectly answers a question which has so far gone
> unanswered. If the volumes are not being released all at once, then
> presumably those who buy them one at a time will still be able to get the
> bonus volume, unless the publisher wants people to wait until they're all
> released before buying, which of course is not likely.

Yes, they will be released one volume at a time, every two or three
weeks.  The 15th volume will not be available until after volume 14 has
been put out there.  This creates a level playing field between those
who can only pick up one book at a time, and those who'd dive in and
get them all at once.

> Perhaps each volume will be accompanied by a proof-of-purchase
> certificate.
>

That's very close to what they have in mind...this will all be made
clearer once the site goes up.

jms



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 09:38:59 +0000 (UTC)
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Okay, though we're right down to the wire, I managed to get seven of
the most crucial memos into the first volume of script books...the ones
that define the B5 universe in terms of casting, sets, CGI, the
background of the various races, prosthetics, directing, wardrobe,
ranks and so on.  These are the actual memos written at the time, which
had the problem of a) creating the universe as we first find it, b)
setting up stuff for years down the road, while c) keeping some
information secret for fears it would leak.

It's pretty compelling stuff, to be honest...I'd forgotten about a lot
of it, and the sense of immediacy and the show being created as we went
is pretty cool.

jms