Babylon 5: the movie (1 Viewer)

[KyleC]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but since this is based on a TV show I put it here. Please move this thread if incorrect. I found this little blurb today on scifi.com

"The Mediasharx Web site reported a rumor that J. Michael Straczynski is developing a theatrical movie based on his Babylon 5 TV series, to be called Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows."

 

[KyleC]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but since this is based on a TV show I put it here. Please move this thread if incorrect. I found this little blurb today on scifi.com

"The Mediasharx Web site reported a rumor that J. Michael Straczynski is developing a theatrical movie based on his Babylon 5 TV series, to be called Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows."

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Until JMS says it himself, it's just a rumor.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Until JMS says it himself, it's just a rumor.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

That would be Great. Funny I am reading one of the books called, "The Shadow Within."

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

That would be Great. Funny I am reading one of the books called, "The Shadow Within."

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Well, maybe a little more than a rumor...

JMS has made it clear for several months that a new B5 project is in the offing - mostly thanks to the sales of the DVDs. While he cannot say too much until Warner Bros. makes the official announcement, he has dropped enough hints to make it clear that it is a theatrical movie, and he long ago started referring to the project as "B5:TMoS". He recently confirmed that fans who had guessed Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows was the title were correct. So the title, but not the nature of the project, is confirmed.

That the project is a feature film has been pretty clear since he claimed that if he said too much Warner Bros. would "use my head to punch a 2.35:1 hole in the wall". He also ruled out a TV series or print project when he first mentioned that he was in talks with Warner Bros., so the possibilities were limited to theatrical film or mini-series pretty early on. And nobody makes 2.35:1 mini-series.

The official announcement was expected about a month ago, but apparently all the contracts for all the parties involved were not finalized. Since then Richard Biggs ("Dr. Stephen Franklin") died which (a) put business negotiations distinctly on the back-burner for the close-knit cast and crew (b) would have required WB to delay any announcement both out of respect for Biggs's family and because key personnel would not be available for any kind of press conference (c) JMS now has to rewrite portions of the script and (d) they may or may not now need to sign another actor to play a new character to replace Dr. Franklin in the film. (Events in the series establish that Dr. Franklin lives at least into his late 50s or early 60s, so they can't have the character pass away in the story.)

So yeah, techinically it is a "rumor", but as a practical matter many of us have known since April or May that the long-awaited B5 theatrical film is finally moving forward. Of course, given the long preproduction time required for most big-budget "FX" pictures, it is unlikely we'll see the film itself until 2005 or 06. :frowning:

BTW, in his most recent news update JMS also mentioned that at least one other B5 universe project is being seriously considered, and that more authorized novels will be announced soon.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Well, maybe a little more than a rumor...

JMS has made it clear for several months that a new B5 project is in the offing - mostly thanks to the sales of the DVDs. While he cannot say too much until Warner Bros. makes the official announcement, he has dropped enough hints to make it clear that it is a theatrical movie, and he long ago started referring to the project as "B5:TMoS". He recently confirmed that fans who had guessed Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows was the title were correct. So the title, but not the nature of the project, is confirmed.

That the project is a feature film has been pretty clear since he claimed that if he said too much Warner Bros. would "use my head to punch a 2.35:1 hole in the wall". He also ruled out a TV series or print project when he first mentioned that he was in talks with Warner Bros., so the possibilities were limited to theatrical film or mini-series pretty early on. And nobody makes 2.35:1 mini-series.

The official announcement was expected about a month ago, but apparently all the contracts for all the parties involved were not finalized. Since then Richard Biggs ("Dr. Stephen Franklin") died which (a) put business negotiations distinctly on the back-burner for the close-knit cast and crew (b) would have required WB to delay any announcement both out of respect for Biggs's family and because key personnel would not be available for any kind of press conference (c) JMS now has to rewrite portions of the script and (d) they may or may not now need to sign another actor to play a new character to replace Dr. Franklin in the film. (Events in the series establish that Dr. Franklin lives at least into his late 50s or early 60s, so they can't have the character pass away in the story.)

So yeah, techinically it is a "rumor", but as a practical matter many of us have known since April or May that the long-awaited B5 theatrical film is finally moving forward. Of course, given the long preproduction time required for most big-budget "FX" pictures, it is unlikely we'll see the film itself until 2005 or 06. :frowning:

BTW, in his most recent news update JMS also mentioned that at least one other B5 universe project is being seriously considered, and that more authorized novels will be announced soon.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Joseph DeMartino wrote (post #4):



I just hope it's not about telepaths. [whew!] That would dampen my enthusiasm for it.

So, you think it will feature all or most of the old "regulars"?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Joseph DeMartino wrote (post #4):



I just hope it's not about telepaths. [whew!] That would dampen my enthusiasm for it.

So, you think it will feature all or most of the old "regulars"?

 

[JohnVB]

Any speculations on whether people who have not seen the TV series will still enjoy this movie?

- bones

 

[JohnVB]

Any speculations on whether people who have not seen the TV series will still enjoy this movie?

- bones

 

[Sam Favate]

My guess is that Warners would make that a requirement. They want to appeal to the broadest possible audience. I'm sure it will fit in with B5 continuity, but I doubt you'll have to know the nuances of 110 hours of television to enjoy it.

 

[Sam Favate]

My guess is that Warners would make that a requirement. They want to appeal to the broadest possible audience. I'm sure it will fit in with B5 continuity, but I doubt you'll have to know the nuances of 110 hours of television to enjoy it.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Exactly. I've always thought this would be a non-issue, although it seems to get raised every time the notion of a theatrical film is mentioned.

You didn't need to know 30 years of comic book lore to understand X-Men and you didn't need to know the history of Arda up through the First, Second and 8/10ths of the Third Age to understand The Lord of the Rings. The audience for any given film only needs enough backstory to understand that film - something fans often lose sight of. The essential points of B5 history needed to set the stage for a Telepath War film, for instance, could be laid in with one five minute montage early on and flashbacks and dialogue totalling no more than 10 minutes scattered throughout the rest of a two-hour-plus movie.

I hope the film is about the Teep Crisis, because that is the last major untold story of that could include most of the original cast, and I think it will be included in the film because it has been deliberately written around in all later B5 projects. (Even the three novels of the Telepath Trilogy skip over the period or the War or Crisis, the first two taking place years before the event, the third years after with the effects evident but the details left fuzzy.) Crusade and the unsold Rangers series pilot were both deliberately set after the event.

And the film is almost certain to focus mainly on the series cast. 1) Because it was the sales of the DVDs that moved WB to revive the movie project. 2) JMS has talked about how none of them ever thought about Richard Biggs not being in the movie, and how this has created challenges for him.

I don't understand why some people are so hostile to the idea of the movie focusing on the Teep Crisis - especially since so many of those who express this hostility seem to have no idea what that story entails. They act as if it would be some kind of replay of the telepath arc from season five. The Teep arc from S5 is to the Telepath War as John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry is to the Civil War. It would make a kick-ass movie. 'Nuff said.

The lovely thing about a title like The Memory of Shadows is that it opens the door to just about anything that could have been left over from the Shadow War - which as it happens includes the telepaths, reverse-engineered and left-over Shadow Technology, formerly allied races and all sorts of nastly little surprises forgotten when the armies clear out, like the buried landmines of former combat areas on this planet, or the unexploded WWI and WWII shells and mines that farmers from Belgium and France to the Swiss border still turn up with their plows every spring.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Exactly. I've always thought this would be a non-issue, although it seems to get raised every time the notion of a theatrical film is mentioned.

You didn't need to know 30 years of comic book lore to understand X-Men and you didn't need to know the history of Arda up through the First, Second and 8/10ths of the Third Age to understand The Lord of the Rings. The audience for any given film only needs enough backstory to understand that film - something fans often lose sight of. The essential points of B5 history needed to set the stage for a Telepath War film, for instance, could be laid in with one five minute montage early on and flashbacks and dialogue totalling no more than 10 minutes scattered throughout the rest of a two-hour-plus movie.

I hope the film is about the Teep Crisis, because that is the last major untold story of that could include most of the original cast, and I think it will be included in the film because it has been deliberately written around in all later B5 projects. (Even the three novels of the Telepath Trilogy skip over the period or the War or Crisis, the first two taking place years before the event, the third years after with the effects evident but the details left fuzzy.) Crusade and the unsold Rangers series pilot were both deliberately set after the event.

And the film is almost certain to focus mainly on the series cast. 1) Because it was the sales of the DVDs that moved WB to revive the movie project. 2) JMS has talked about how none of them ever thought about Richard Biggs not being in the movie, and how this has created challenges for him.

I don't understand why some people are so hostile to the idea of the movie focusing on the Teep Crisis - especially since so many of those who express this hostility seem to have no idea what that story entails. They act as if it would be some kind of replay of the telepath arc from season five. The Teep arc from S5 is to the Telepath War as John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry is to the Civil War. It would make a kick-ass movie. 'Nuff said.

The lovely thing about a title like The Memory of Shadows is that it opens the door to just about anything that could have been left over from the Shadow War - which as it happens includes the telepaths, reverse-engineered and left-over Shadow Technology, formerly allied races and all sorts of nastly little surprises forgotten when the armies clear out, like the buried landmines of former combat areas on this planet, or the unexploded WWI and WWII shells and mines that farmers from Belgium and France to the Swiss border still turn up with their plows every spring.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

One of the best. I recommend following it up with the Technomage trilogy by the same author, then the Telepath and Centauri Prime books, and finally Kathryn Drennan's To Dream in the City of Sorrows which tells the story of Jeffery Sinclair from the time of his mysterious transfer to Minbar until his return to Babylon 5 for the events of "War Without End". It also tells how one Marcus Cole came to join the Rangers and train under Sinclair. Drennan wrote the first season episode, "By Any Means Necessary" and is also married to JMS, so she knows whereof she speaks.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

One of the best. I recommend following it up with the Technomage trilogy by the same author, then the Telepath and Centauri Prime books, and finally Kathryn Drennan's To Dream in the City of Sorrows which tells the story of Jeffery Sinclair from the time of his mysterious transfer to Minbar until his return to Babylon 5 for the events of "War Without End". It also tells how one Marcus Cole came to join the Rangers and train under Sinclair. Drennan wrote the first season episode, "By Any Means Necessary" and is also married to JMS, so she knows whereof she speaks.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Sam Favate]

I agree a Telepath War movie could be great, although I've always wanted a movie focusing on the Drak threat to the Alliance and the resolution of the story of Londo and Centauri Prime. Whatever the movie is, Londo and G'Kar need to figure prominently. They're two of the most valuable players, IMO.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Well, we saw part of that resolution in "War Without End" and can deduce the rest by the situation that exists in "Sleeping in Light". The story has also been told already, in considerable detail, in the Centauri Trilogy by Peter David. I don't think JMS would be interested at this point in going back and doing what amounts to an adaptation of a novel based on his own outline. I think that as far as he's concerned that part of the story has been "told" and he rather explore other nooks and crannies of the B5 universe.

Regards,

Joe