B5 Feature Film: Save the Original Cast! (1 Viewer)

[ChristopherDAC]

Why is it that die-hard fans of particular science-fiction franchises [rather than SF in general] are always so abrasive and positive?

That said: This is unaceptable. I enjoyed the Babylon 5 series immensely when it was being broadcast on television, and I really think those actors earned their roles. I'm not saying it might not be interesting to see the roles reinterpreted, but it certainly wouldn't be the show the fans want to see, and the market is crowded enough with CGI spectaculars that without that word of mouth it will surely be a flop. At best, they would be doing something like Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu Ka?which still manages to generate arguments 17 years later as to whether it belongs on "the list" [and didn't do to well in release] -- and that was an animated film, where they simply tweaked the character designs, voices, and setup to work as a theatrical picture rahter than a TV series!

 

[Sean Laughter]

And there is where it all falls apart. That's like a cop saying to a criminal holding someone hostage, "If you don't let her go I might think about getting out my gun and aiming it at you . . . I might even pull the trigger too."

You've pretty much proven David's original point.

I know nothing about Babylon 5, was never interested in the show, have only seen one or two episodes that were in the middle of the "arc" and so I was so confused I had no idea what was going on. I tried every now and then to watch an episode or two in succession, but I could never get into the characters because the episodes pretty much had to be watched in order and they never seemed to be played that way after their initial broadcast. B5 just seems, IMO, to be one of the hardest shows to pick-up-and-go with if you know what I mean. That's the main problem this project has, and it's also the same problem any new X-Files movie that bases its story on the "conspiracy arc" would face, it could be so caught up in continuity that it sells to no one but core B5 people . . . period. I hardly think it's out of the realm of common sense to think that that's a concern for the studio. I agree that casting known people isn't a cure for that, making the material more non-hardcore accessible is, but you can't blame them for being thinking along those lines.

 

[nolesrule]

The episodes have never been aired in a random order. They have always been aired in correct (or correct enough) order as reruns on TNT and SciFi. You just keep jumping in at the wrong time. If you really want to give the show a shot, you might as well rent (or buy used) the first 2 seasons.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Joe, agreed.

People not liking B5 because you have to follow along and things running in order would be like complaining about the LOTR's books, if one picked up Two Towers and opened to the middle and started reading.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Which is why the X-Files film that was made dealt with something manageable and used the larger conspiracy as background, and why it did in fact attract more than the core TV audience.

Newsflash to all the arm-chair studio heads in the audience: The people in charge of these films are not complete morons. They've actually thought of this stuff. Precisely because the main story arc was completed in the B5 television show, any films can deal with stand-alone stories. Plenty of which were left open or could be invented out of whole cloth. JMS has a detailed outline for the story running from about 1200 AD to 3200 AD, and a rough outline running a million years in either direction of the core five-year arc.

Sure there will have to be a certain amount of back-story in any such film to establish character relationships and a plot point or two, but that's true of any film. On the Waterfront and Barefoot in the Park also had to lay in back-story. And it doesn't have to take much time or confuse an audience.

90% of the people who bought tickets to the X-Men films probably never read one of the comic books. How much time and effort did the movie have to spend establishing the fact that super-powered mutants exist and that they are viewed with suspicion by normal humans? 10 minutes? 15? And that's mostly 10 or 15 mintues of action and interesting story, not a dull lecture. Why would a B5 film dealing with the Telepath Crisis (which almost exactly mirrors X-Men's mutants) or the aftermath of the Shadow War (not the war itself) require any more explanation than that?

The two most successful of the Trek pictures (The Voyage Home and First Contact) likewise did as well as they did by attracting people who were not fans of the series. The former did a five minute recap of events that were mostly irrelevant to the action that followed anyway, the latter told the audience just enough about the Borg and Picard's prior dealings with them to establish the Ahab/Moby Dick theme - and did so in a few minutes through the terrific device of Picard's waking nightmare and the battle at Earth.

So "the main problem this project has" turns out to be a problem that only exists in the minds of the nay-sayers, the actual filmmakers being smart enough not to do that.

Somehow it seems good filmmakers manage to do things all the time that fans can't even imagine. I guess that's why they're the filmmakers and the fans are just fans.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I still think the best movie would be a rendering of the Centauri Trilogy books. A lot of great stuff in there and detail from how we get from Londo becoming Emperor up to his death and Vir becoming Emperor.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Two problems with that:

1) It couldn't be done as a single movie. It would have to be a LotR sized trilogy and cost a bloody fortune. Not going to happen.

2) JMS has already told that story. The books exist. The whole point of doing the books was to tell stories that couldn't - for one reason or another - be told on film. (At the time the book deal with Dell was made and JMS wrote the outlines for the three trilogies the B5 reruns and S5 were doing well on TNT, Crusade was in pre-production and headed for a hoped-for five-year run, and JMS had just turned in an outline for a B5 feature film to Warner Bros. The franchise was heading towards what seemed like its high point and it seemed likely that there would be additional chances to do things in the B5 universe with bigger budgets than ever before. Yet JMS chose to put the Telepath, Centauri and Psi Corps stories in book form. I don't think he would ever want to see books that were based on his show adapated back to the screen. But I could be wrong.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[TheLongshot]

Joe, thanks for the heads up (Tho I've heard this said for a little bit.) I think the fact that JMS gave a very flat "no comment" on this is pretty clear that it is a real posibility that this could happen. Considering that no one in the B5 cast really has strong movie creds, and none are young up-and-commers, such a move by studio executives wouldn't surprise me at all.

Really, WB should be paying attention to how "Serenity" is shaping up. So far, the word on the test screenings are real good. All of this, with the original cast. Course, the differences could be that while the cast is unknown, they are also relatively young, and Joss is pretty hot still.

Sure, we don't really KNOW that WB is going to do this, but there is a rumor out there that hasn't been denied. A clear message does need to be sent to WB that any recasting, short of an actor being unavailable, is unacceptable. Personally, I think there is nothing to lose by letting WB know how I feel on the matter.

Jason

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And the two that aren't young (Adam Baldwin, Ron Glass) ARE well known, from Full Metal Jacket and "Barney Miller" respectively. Still, a successful Serenity will bode will for features of other cult series.