-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I know there are B5 short stories which were published in various magazines such as the B5 Magazine, Amazing Stories, and maybe other publications. I (and I can't be the only one) have not been able to track all of these down. Is there any chance that these could be collected and published in a single book?</font>
Somebody would just have to make that deal with WB, that's all.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I'm hoping that _Acts of Terror_ will be one of the TZ stories included, since I've been meaning for some time to ask you where I could get hold of a copy of it. (In fact, do you have anything to say about where one could find _Acts of Terror_?)</font>
Just in the original Twilight Zone book.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)</font>
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">My buddy thinks he saw you at Golden Age today (Wed). Did he?</font>
Yup. I went in to pick up some copies of the Midnight Nation graphic novel, which hit stores that day, and they asked me to sign what was left.
Read the thing over last night, and I'm really very, very proud of it. I've never previously read it straight through like that. One interesting thing, when I picked up the book, I hadn't known they were goin to omit the front covers in between issues...meaning, usually you hit the end of issue one, there's a cover/title page for issue two, so you know there's a transition. Here, they ran it straight together, with the cover pages as a bonus at the end.
When I saw this, my heart skipped a beat for a second, because I wasn't sure if it would play that way, if the jump from one issue to the next without any kind of warning would look jarring or confusing. So I went through the whole book, page by page, issue by issue, and sonuvagun, it all lines up fine even without the transitional pages. I was actually kind of surprised, because even though they were written as an ongoing series, they weren't *intended* to go up against one another that tightly.
So yeah, I was there, and yeah, I am most pleased.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
Wizz, Thanks for posting all of this stuff. Have a margarita on me wil ya?
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Listening to the narration, this show's theme was to show off all of the new tech that WILL BE USED in the IMPENDING war with Iraq that WILL BE TAKING PLACE SHORTLY!
No qualifiers. No ifs, ands or buts. Much to my surprise, the war has already started.</font>
Of course it has.
Lemme break this down a bit....
First, we've been carrying out an increasing number of air strikes and sorties against Iraqi targets toward the North for over a year. So in that sense, we're already in action.
Second the sheer cost factor in moving a couple hundred thousand troops from here to there is so huge that you can't and don't do that unless you intend to use them. You don't put that much force in place and then not use them.
Bush and company are going in no matter what is or isn't found in Iraq. And they'll go in next month, almost certainly. Because, as noted, this has really little or nothing to do with terrorism; the intent is to redraw the map of the Middle East. Nothing more, nothing less.
The "war" will last maybe a couple of weeks. If that.
The repercussions...those will go on for decades.
As a Brit once said of World War II, "The duration's gonna be a lot longer than the war, mate."
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">With the closing of DV, what other kind of promotion might you end up doing for this release? Might you do other local book signings, or something like the UCLA Festival of Books or BEA at the end of May? Just wondering, as I know this is a smaller press, so the book won't be as easy to find as some of the big publishers stuff. And, as usual, it's always nice to see you, and promoting your written material is more relaxed then one of your shows.</font>
It's a smaller press, but it's distributed by Simon and Schuster, so my understanding is that it'll be in all the major chains, like Borders and Barnes and Noble and others.
Have literally just signed the thing, so we haven't had a chance to talk PR.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Given Sheridan's knowledge of the future from this episode, how is it that he is unable to put two-and-two together in Season 5 when it is learned that the Centauri are behind the attacks on Alliance ships AND that left-over Shadow technology is involved? How come he was unable to realize that the future he saw 3 years ago was now beginning to take place? Why wasn't a force sent right then and there, to drive away the "dark servants of the shadows" that Londo spoke of in the WWE time-flash?</font>
First and foremost, he had actually very little information to go on; the viewers have more, and that's where it can get confusing as to why he doesn't act upon return. Our knowing isn't the same as his knowing.
That flash took place 20 years down the road. How does that tell him the Shadows are there now, 20 years in the past? They could have come within the last 10 years, for all Sheridan knows. The Cenauri have always been an aggressive race, they were aggressive even before the Shadows, there's no direct tie there. Nor is there any tie in what Londo says to Sheridan and the attacks on Alliance ships in the present, 20 years earlier. He can't connect all the dots because all the dots aren't there.
The notion of the audience having information that the characters don't is key to a lot of Greek tragedy, and that's kind of the mode I was going for here.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Why do most people don't see Saddam as a threat?</font>
There's threats and there's threats. To his own people? Sure, same as any tyrant in any country around the world. To the US? Again, no more than anybody else, and probably less, given that his military is in a shambles, his economy is a mess, there hasn't been one shred of evidence to support the thesis that he can hurt anybody outside his own borders...on and on and on.
<font color="red">He has violated every resolution the UN gave him.</font>
As others have pointed out, the US has violated UN rules, ditto for Israel and any number of other countries. In addition, the US has removed itself from the World Court, broken the Arms Limitation Pact with Russia, has announced it plans to start testing nukes again in violation of the Test Ban Treaty, I could go on and on. Should we invade ourselves?
<font color="red">He is a threat to Israel. </font>
Lots of governments are. So why are we taking on this one? Is that the reason for the invasion? Because he's a threat to Isreal? That hasn't been said by our government. If that were the reason, then we should be invading Palistine, Lebanon, Iran and so on. Why is Iraq being singled out?
<font color="red">He does not like the US government.</font>
I didn't know that was a requirement for not being invaded. Are we therefore free to invade anybody who doesn't like us? Because that would entail most of the world as matters stand right now, which is ironic since after 9/11 a lot of the world was was standing *with* us until we squandered that good will and antagonized countries that would normally be our friends. But again, we're not invading all or any of them, why Iraq?
<font color="red">Yesterday the UN inspectors found 12 chemical warheads in great condition.</font>
No, they found 12 *empty* warheads, that could be used for chemical charges, in a box covered with dust and rat droppings that had been sitting in a corner for god knows how long. Shall we go to war for 12 empty shell casings? Other nations have shell casings, some empty, some full of chemical or biological agents, numbering in the hundreds. Why Iraq and not them?
<font color="red">That's in violation of the new resolution because he was to destroy them or list them on the 12,000-page declaration last month. </font>
There's some debate apparently as to whether or not these were in a previously declared document. Bear in mind also that most of the weaponry, chemical and missile, was sold to Iraq by the US.
<font color="red">He almost once killed an ex-president.</font>
That's been alleged but never substantiated. Nor has a shred of evidence EVER been presented tying Iraq to 9/11. Not one. Powell and Bush both came forth saying that such proof would be forthcoming, but to date not one bit has been supplied. Instead, we have Rumsfeld saying things like "the absence of proof is not the proof of absence." This is the same Rumsfeld who was quoted talking to one of his staff as saying "can we tie this to Saddam?" within hours of 9/11. They were looking for a reason to go after him.
When Kennedy was prepared to go to the wall over Cuba, he declassified high resolution photos of the missile sites under construction in Cuba. The moment he did that, there was no longer any argument over the rightness of the cause. If Bush has the evidence, he should produce it. Instead, he says, as he does in the new Woodward book, that the president doesn't have to prove or explain himself to anybody.
<font color="red">We don't want Saddam to be the next North Korea. </font>
Except, of course, we *do* have North Korea being belligerent, threatening nuclear war, which *does* have nukes or the potential to make them, which *has* been exporting missiles to Yemen...and that seemingly much greater menace is being treated with diplomatic kid-gloves by the Bush administration. Why the double standard? Are they afraid to make trouble because they know that North Korea really *is* a threat, but Iraq *isn't*? If so, then again, I ask, why single out Iraq?
<font color="red">Also note most of the Middle East is ruled by tyrant rulers.</font>
Okay, so do we now invade all of them too? It's also worth noting that most of them don't like Saddam. Further, most of the Moslem leaders aren't big on Saddam because he's kept a secular rule in place despite religious pressure...which makes any thought of an alliance with Bin Laden even more suspect, since he's dead against a secular state.
<font color="red">They considered a threat for having a democracy in Iraq.</font>
This sentence doesn't parse. Try again.
Point is, is it the business of the United States to initiate first-strikes to topple other governments, however much we don't like them, through invasion and warfare? Do we start knocking over governments just because we *can*?
Even the CIA stated that they didn't think Saddam would or could be a menace to the US unless invaded and pressed into a corner. So again, why invade?
Real simple. Because the supply of oil is shrinking, because they control one of the largest supplies of oil on the planet, and Bush and his oil-company buddies want control of that, and the right to re-draw the map of the Middle East in ways they prefer.
And I don't think that's a valid reason for one sovereign nation to go to war with another.
If there were even a single piece of proof that there was any tie between Iraq and 9/11, if there were any direct attack on US soil by Iraq, I'd be right there saying let's get 'em. But there's not.
We abhor the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, intended to disable our military so that we would not be a threat to their interests in the Pacific. They say they gave us plenty of warning, even a letter saying that was that and they were moving. But the act stands as one of the most shameful events in military history.
We should know better than to go down roads trod so often to shameful places by others before us. We should be better than that. We should learn from history.
Saddam is a thug. He deserves to go down, and he will, but it should be through the actions of his own people, not through an invasion and a puppet government.
He's a creep.
But that doesn't make what's happening right.
War should be the last resort of people of conscience, not the first resort.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Those protesters last Saturday were Socialist Anti-Americans. </font>
This will be my last word to you, because as far as I'm concerned, you have just disqualified yourself in this discussion with that remark.
This is the same kind of bullshit red baiting we saw in the McCarthy period. There are those who support the Administration on one side, traitors or spies on the other, nothing in between.
There is such a thing as the loyal opposition. We are *supposed* to be able to dissent, that's how a democracy (or a republic in this case) is supposed to work. If disagreement = being branded a traitor, then we are no longer what we were fighting for in the first place.
Your statement is a disgrace to what the founding fathers intended, and a dishonor to the country. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Mark this as my last reply to you.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">I recommend that you study the subject further, if you read the chart on the bottom you can clearly see that the US nuclear force has decreased over the years.</font>
The study you cite was in 1998, talking about where things will be in 1999. So it's WAY out of date.
Also, the Bush administration has stated publicly that it intends to awaken and expand its work on nuclear devices in warfare. The statement included more work on tactical nukes, the development of bunker-buster nukes designed to irradiate areas deep underground, and other niceties. And it may return to a more rigorous schedule of underground nuclear testing.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">As a Quaker, I stand completely against war, especially this one. I have to agree with all of your reasons (and pretty much felt the same way even before I read your post).
But, after reading it, I have one question (actually two).
People are showing disapproval of the war by marching on Washington and other cities. There are protests and letters to our representives in congress. However, Bush doesn't seem to care about anyone's opinion but his own.</font>
I don't know if it's that he doesn't care about anyone's opionion but his own, as much as he cares about catering to the extreme right wing of the party. (How else to explain such things as nominating to the Presidential Advisory Commissoin on HIV and AIDS Jerry Thacker, a Pennsylvanian marketing consultant who has characterized aids as "the gay plague" and called such alternate lifestyles "deathstyles" while saying they could be cured by faith and that condoms do nothing to stop the spread of HIV. He's done similar things to commissions on the rights of women and other areas.
(But I digress.)
<font color="red">So -- What are you doing (if anything) to take a stand against the war? </font>
Well, this is part of it. I think that democracy works best when all sides are free to talk openly about their concerns. It's only in open discourse that the truth wriggles free. Raise questions. Pursue the news past the gloss of CNN. Read the USA Patriot Act, don't just go from the synopses.
<font color="red">And do you have suggestions for actions that are not run-of-the-mill that could actually have an effect on whether or not Bush orders an attack on Iraq?</font>
In my opinion, and this is only my opinion, there is nothing that can be done at this point to stop an attack on Iraq. You don't move nearly 200,000 troops halfway around the globe and not use them; it would be a huge loss of face for Bush.
That boat has, literally and metaphorically, left the docks.
What we can do is to remain an informed and quarrelsome electorate, and when the time comes to exercise our rights as citizens to vote, to side with the president if our conscience dictates we do so, based on the evidence, or vote for the opposition, based on the same evidence.
For me, thus far, the truth of this current situation is this: Iraq is a target of opportunity, not a target of conscience. We're hitting there because we can find Iraq on a map, whereas we can't find Bin Laden (of whom Bush & Company haven't uttered a word of late) on any extant maps.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">As was Babylon 5, but you planned it for 5 seasons. So, for how many seasons did you plan the arc of Jeremiah?</font>
Five.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">As a long-time fan of B5[1], I wish to contribute back to the community in some respect. I wish very much to create a fansite of some kind (the exact details are blurry) and was wondering if it were permissible to use still images from the episodes for discussion and comparison[2].</font>
As far as I know, as long as proper attribution is given (i.e., (c) 1993 Warner Bros) it shouldn't be a problem.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I've wondered for a while, why are directors not attatched to TV shows for seasons or longer runs?</font>
They often are. X-Files and other shows have resident directors who direct as many as half or one-third of the episodes, and work with the outside directors on visual continuity. You can't have one director doing more than that because you have to prep one episode while another is shooting, and that means having at least two directors.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Wow Joe!
Until I saw the eariler posts, I didn't know you went to SDSU. I also did my undergraduate work there, and remember The Daily Aztec quite well. I spent two years in Zura Hall, and one year as an RA in Olmeca. So I take it you probably recall the various staples of the campus such as Monty's Den, and Square Pan Pizza ? I graduated in 1982. B5 and Jeremiah has always bode my deepest respect for your writing and heart felt stories, but this just increased that.</font>
Yeah, I hung out in all those places. (I also worked there during two summers as an orientation counselor, helping new students adjust.) It was a pretty good college, all things considered.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I just read [Tony Kushner's]_Angels in America_ for the first time, and for some reason I
pictured the Angel as a Vorlon!!
[img]smile.gif[/img]
Do you like his work?</font>
Haven't read it.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia">
<font color="red">What's the current status of the B5/Crusade graphic novel?</font>
It's in need of some spare round tuits....
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">You "ain't just whistling Dixie." The primary reason I voted against Gore was that I wanted a vacation from the previous 8 years of worrying about my Second Amendment rights.</font>
Too bad they're not being as sancrosanct about the remaining amendments in the Bill of Rights...
jms
<hr width="50%">
Of course, the whole irony of this discussion, in light of recent events -- and when the topic turns to guns the whole thing basically devolves from that point on -- is that the current administration, for the alleged sake of combatting terrorism, has surveyed libraries to find out who's been checking out what (16% of the National Librarian's Association report having been contacted and provided information), who's taken pilot courses, who's taken scuba courses (with one school refusing to turn over its records), but not one inquiry into who's buying what guns, even though guns are more likely to be used in a terrorist attack than library books or scuba gear.
Not advocating anything here, just pointing out the contradiction....
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Why are there no new B5-novels? And why there where never any "Crusade"-Books? Why not continue "Crusade" in novels "based on an original outline by J.M.S."?</font>
All that's required is for a publisher to make a deal with WB.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
Hey Wizz (or anyone else),
I've seen a similar reply before, but neither time has he indicated that WB might be interested in that, or what might make them interested, or even if he might be interested in approaching them about it. Or even if it's been attempted and shot down by all the available publishers. Any ideas on what we as Fans could do to encourage WB to give us more books?
-
Knowing the WB, I doubt an email campaign will work. Although, since their DVD season sets sold so well, maybe it will be brought up in the near future.
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">What are the dates of the Morden/Anna trip? </font>
Per the B5 Chronology by Terry Jones:
2256:
"Thursday December 3rd. Before the Icarus departs Station Prime on it's 6 month scientific and archaeological expedition to the Rim, Anna Sheridan transmits a full mission inventory to her husband John. The Icarus departs Station Prime to begin it's journey in hyperspace."
2257
"Sunday January 3rd. The Icarus lands on Z'ha'dum and the survey teams which include Anna Sheridan, Morden and Justin, begin to explore. Unknown to those on Earth, some of the survey team are captured by those Shadows already out of hibernation and given the choice of serving them or death. Morden is manipulated by the Shadows into becoming a willing emissary and receives a cranial implant to facilitate communication between him and the Shadows. Anna doesn't agree with what they are doing, so she is merged with Shadow technology along with other team members. The Icarus is set on automatic and the engines overloaded to blow as it reaches orbit.
"Revelations, In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum, Knives, The Shadow Within and Z'ha'dum outline what happened to the survey team and the Icarus. The Passing Of The Techno-mages:Summoning Light reveals Morden has an implant in his skull.
Probes set up by the Vorlons to monitor Z'ha'dum record the events on the planet's surface and the information is transmitted to Ambassador Kosh's ship en route to Babylon 5."
jms
<hr width="75%">
RE: Shuttle lost
It is a terrible, terrible tragedy. I've been locked in my office writing all day, and din't hear about this until late.
We become so used to the sight of astronauts climbing skyward on the shuttle and drifting back to earth that we forget the dangers involved, that these people are riding controlled explosions going up, and blasting back at mach six with little or no fuel coming back, using technology that is nearly twenty years old, and ships that have taken multiple beatings on lift-off and re-entry for all of those years.
If the government really wants to show respect for the lives lost, they should inject some of the money otherwise being spent on bombs into creating and repairing and refurbishing the remaining shuttles, or otherwise paying more than lip service to the space program that has given so much, and so many lives, in return for so precious little funding from Washington.
jms
<hr width="75%">
RE: Sky Full of Stars
<font color="red">
Some of the imagery and storyline in this episode seem to allegorize the C.S. Lewis Narnia story "The Silver Chair", Sinclair filling th Prince Rilian role, and the cybernet device being remiscent of the chair of enchantment itself!
Furthermore, the title seems to echo the words of Puddleglum near the end of the book, when the witch is trying to enchant him he says he has "seen the sky full of stars" in defence. Is this mere coincidence, or is there more in it? I have also noticed that Delenn says something very similar to what Professor Digory Kirke tells the children at the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in "War Without End".
Is this a tip of the hat to C.S. Lewis, or just the wild imaginings of a hapless Briton who can't see a cigar for what it is?</font>
Since I haven't read that one of Lewis' books, I'd have to say the latter.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
</font>
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">It occurs to me that in some ways you're trying to learn to tell your stories in the fewest possible words. From writing novels (250-350 pages), to plays (? pages) through TV episodes and Movies (50-100 pages) and audio dramas (?pages), you're now writing a fair number of comics with only 22 pages, though I know that the scripts are more with your panel descriptions.
I'm just wondering if this is a progression you've been doing deliberately, to find the perfect balance of verbal and visual maybe, or just how things happened? Maybe your background as a journalist is telling ("specificity is your friend")? Or should I start working on getting telepathic so you can just p'think your stories this way?
</font>
I think (p'think?) it's just the way things have laid out lately. In truth it's very difficult for me to tell a short story; with me, everything's a long russian novel. Even with the comics being 22 pages each, they are still part of a larger story or arc, and the RS and Midnight Nation stories were/are both just plain big for a form that usually measures arcs in 3-6 issues.
Just long-winded, I guess.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
This is just an aside, knowing that we've got any number of folks out there who can do the math (and/or the biology) on this a lot better than me (which would be, well,pretty much everybody reading this), 'cause it's something I've noticed lately.
Unlikely as this sounds, I'm one of those people who often seems to know when the phone is going to ring. Not always, just often enough so that I'll suddenly look at a phone and think, "It's about to ring," and sonuvagun, it does.
Now, I've always just put this down to synchronicity...after all, how many times would I look at a phone and it doesn't ring, and I don't think about it? In my head, when I knew it was about to ring, the only way I can describe it would be kind of vrrr-vrrr-vrrrrTIK sound in my head.
Well, a few weeks ago, imagine my surprise when I heard that sound coming from outside my head for a change when I knew the phone was about to ring. It was coming from the desktop stereo speakers in my office, where I'd set down my cell phone. (A Motorola v70.) It was that same exact vrr-vrr-vrrrTIK sound, coming from the speaker, then a moment later, the cell phone rang.
Out of curiosity, I used the land-line to dial my cell phone later, and the same sound came from the speakers again, just a couple of seconds preceding the actual ring. GIve it a try, see for yourself. It wouldn't happen every time, I discovered, but a lot of the time it would. I also tried it with a large-ish Nokia cell phone, and the same thing occured.
Now, somebody out there can probably do the math on the electromagnetic impulse that could be picked up by a speaker system from the phone, and I guess what I'm wondering is, can the human nervous system be sensitive enough to pick up something like that? If so, it might provide a scientific answer to how some people just know the phone is about to ring.
Just one of those things you think about when it's nearly 1 a.m. and you really should be writing....
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
One of the unscientific ways to predict Earthquakes in CA is to check the newspaper for pets running away reports, ie, lost pets. When the number of pets running away dramtically rises, a earthquake is imminent.
Animals can sense a change in the force or what have you...
So I wouldn't be surprised if what JMS is saying is true.
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">With the anniversary of the first airing of The Gathering coming up quickly, do you have any special plans to commemorate the day?
</font>
Plans hell, I'm still trying to get the number of the bus that hit me....
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia">Just an advisory to those who picked up this issue [ASM 50]...there's a big glitch by way of a missing dialogue balloon at the most crucial part of the story. (It was a production glitch late in the game.)
Since I can?t really do spoiler space well here, here?s a ?tiny URL? to the page with the story info, should you be inclined?
Wizz
http://tinyurl.com/6s90
Just a small thing, the justification for the whole arc....
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Well when you're doing your next comic signing you could always write that on the last page of each book. Or just get a stamp made if you want to save your wrist.</font>
Actually, I was thinking I might just get a stencil of the missing dialogue and bleed through the stencil onto the page....
jms
<hr width="50%">
Actually, I was thinking I might just get a stencil of the missing dialogue and bleed through the stencil onto the page....
<font color="red">You certainly know your audience! [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>
Then all we need is to get a CGC rating set aside for certain blood types, so it'd be 9.3 B-negative.....
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">--wow. That is one BIG glitch.
Wonder how that happened?</font>
It fell off the page.
Literally.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
Hmmm, fell off the page...
That takes me back to my layout days. You run the bits and pieces that you are adding thru a machine that coats the back with wax. Then stick it where it goes. It is a handy non-permanent way to line things up. But the down side is that if you are not careful they do fall off. Not the most adhesive surface, but damn effective most of the time.
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Quick question though. I thought JMS had told us last year that he could not resolve the Peter/MJ separation, that Kevin Smith insisted that he be the one to do that. So what changed?</font>
I quote Kevin Smith in an interview given to popcultureshock.com:
**********
"I could be wrong, and maybe folks are just lying all over the place to Poor, Misinformed me, but I was told JMS had no real concrete plans for Peter and Mary Jane. He cleared the decks of all the supporting characters on his Amazing run to concentrate on that first storyline with the guy who wants to eat Spider-Man - whose name escapes me at the moment. I realize his intention was to slowly work the supporting cast back into the book, but I was always led to believe that Mary Jane wasn't his primary concern. If she is, then Good Lord, he's welcome to her.
"JMS, if you're out there reading, and you want to handle the Mary Jane/Peter "We're married, but not really" hot potato, brother: do it with my blessing. Because the shit-storm that's gonna rise out of that cluster-**** is gonna be big. Like when the word "Kike" showed up in the pages of Wolverine-uproar big. Like "The Clone Saga"-uproar big."
***********
I *was* reading, he gave his blessings, so I did it.
And, oddly, I haven't seen more than one or two mildly critical messages anywere about this. Most everybody seems quite happy to see them together (and at no time has anyone at Marvel ever told me not to say they were/are married).
So I"m really at a loss to understand why Kevin felt he didn't have the wherewithal to make this work. It really hasn't been a problem.
I guess most everybody thinks it was done right, that's all.
So thanks, Kevin. Couldn't have worked out better.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Hey Joe, when are we going to see the Squadron Supreme book?
</font>
The first three scripts are in, have been for a while, and we're now well into pencils on issue two. The book is set to debut July 16th.
It's really pretty spiffy so far.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)</font>
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Do you know yet if your busy schedule will allow you to go to the San Diego Comic Con (or any other such event) this year? After all, I'm not sure I want to fly out from NYC unless there is hope for a "JMS Sighting." </font>
Yeah, I do plan to be there. I'll also be at WonderCon in San Francisco around the end of April.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">A friend recommended Kevin Smith's movies to me, which I'm plowing through (along with the 4-hour "An Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD). I'm struck by the similar origins of you both (comics, New Jersey) and of course found out you're both writing Spider-Man projects.
So my question is, how much opportunity have you two had to get to know each other? What do you think of his work? What does he think of yours? On one of the DVDs filmed at his comics store the B5 figurines were arrayed on the shelf in the background, which would suggest some passing knowledge of your work.</font>
I've only spoken to Kevin once, at a con, where he was signing. I came up and introduced myself. He blinked at me for a second, then said, "Huh. You're taller than I thought you'd be." And that was about it.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">If the bombs start falling in Iraq and some CNN reporter opens a report with the words, "And so it begins..." I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that an hommage to either Tolkein or Straczynski was intended. </font>
Y'know...three thousand missiles set to hit in 48 hours...they call it "shock and awe."
Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when they called it a blitzkrieg.
Oh, wait, those were the bad guys. Sorry. Wrong war.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Just speaking for myself, I *like* the stories of carpenters who understood what you were doing. Who else would write entire columns about the other people who made B5 happen? Can't say I've ever seen that before. </font>
I just feel more comfortable talking about that stuff, about the contributions that the rest made, because for one thing, they tend to get overlooked because I'm kind of the one whose name is fronted all the time. They deserve the recognition.
And I just find talking about what I do just...awkward, that's all. Not fishing for compliments, just saying it 'cause it's true. Because of a lot of requests, last time I did San Diege Comic Con, I tried talking about myself what I do for the first half far more than usual, and I don't think I've ever spent a more difficult half-hour. When we turned to questions and could throw it to the show overall, I was substantially happier and more comfortable.
And I *like* telling stories about what other people do, about the show overall, because it's often a lot more colorful and interesting than what I could tell on my own behalf. I come in, I write, edit, cast, write, go home, rinse, repeat.
Blecch.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
RE: Jeremiah
Last I heard, year two is set to debut in the US around the first week of August. They want to be able to debut their new series "Dead Like Me" in June/July or so, let that get its sea-legs, then we come out in August.
We're currently in the last phase of shooting our two-part season finale "Interregnum."
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">So, just out of curiousity, how does it feel to see your pronouncements of fictional doom and gloom coming true in such a dramatic, world-impacting fashion?</font>
It's a weird bit of synchronicity that has always been the case with my work when I'm kind of riding the right waves, for lack of a better term. Riding the synchronicity wave might be a better one. They went through B5, echoing now, and they continue with Jeremiah.
In our story, we're moving toward a truly massive conflagration, a major war, and in the course of filming one particular episode, as the shit hits the fan, one character says, "Let's go kill some of the enemy and make some noise."
As it happened, by yet another weird coincidence of timing, at the moment we shot that scene, the bombs started falling in Baghdad.
Some of the cast are becoming increasingly creeped out by this....
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Will there be more Babylon 5 and what are your new projects?</font>
To part one of your question, one never knows.
To part two...season 2 of Jeremiah is just about finished in terms of production, and will go on the air sometime probably early or mid August.
Spidey continues to come out regularly.
My new comic, Supreme Power, also from Marvel, debuts July 16, with art by Gary Frank.
Now that Jeremiah is done, I'll be turning my attention to finishing off Rising Stars.
I have a new television series currently in development, we finalized the contract with the company last week, and we'll see where it goes.
The director of Daredevil has said he wants to make Midnight Nation his next film, so we're taking meetings over the next few weeks to see if we can make that happen.
Just finished the commentaries and interviews for the B5 Year 3 DVD set, and I think it's a bit better than the year 2 commentary I did, which I think kinda sucked. Year 2 comes out in April.
I'm doing a new audio drama series which I can talk about more later. We should go into production as soon as I've finished the last of the scripts over the next week or so.
I know there's some other stuff, but I've just forgotten it. (There may also be some strong interest in Polaris from another studio.)
jms
<hr width="75%">
Re: Kevin Smith
<font color="red">My girlfriend Carol and I watched "Dogma" last night. (If you've seen it, I'd be curious to hear any thoughts you have, as this movie is pretty much the Catholic Church as SF.) One running discussion we have is comparing/contrasting your work to Kevin's, given your common background, tastes and interests. She made the observation that "Kevin is very self-indulgent," which I guess is true. You have those "self-indulgent" moments, as all creators do, but Kevin's largely seem to be the core of his art. </font>
I think I pretty much agree with this assessment, though I would, since I kind of come out better in it and it would be in my interests to agree (standard disclaimer).
<font color="red">But if you have a few moments, I'd like to know what you think about "Dogma" from the perspective that you're an atheist while Kevin claims to believe in God. </font>
I saw it an awfully long time ago, and to be honest it's a bit fuzzy to me now. I do remember that I enjoyed it, in a dopey kind of way, and that it was entertaining and made some good points along the way. It's certainly not for everybody (but really, what is?), but it does seem to have teeth in all the right places.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">How many installments is the column you've written/are writing for TVZone, JMS?</font>
Five in total, one per season.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I'll second that one Joe.
Getting O'Hare involved would make most fans I know very happy indeed. For a guy who was only the lead in one season his popularity has endured.</font>
He was asked if he wanted to participate in the DVDs in general, not just for season one, and declined. WB isn't going to keep bugging him if he doesn't want to do it.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">So which year 3 episodes have you done the commentaries for?</font>
Severed Dreams and Z'ha'dum.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">#51 came out last Wednesday. Fantastic! Without giving away any spoilers, there is Spidey eating a hot dog, the origin of a new villain, more fun with MJ, and gangsters! How *do* you fit so much into so small a space?</font>
I try to have fun with it, and that means keeping things moving. That's the best part of Spidey for me, just the sheer fun of it.
My new comic, Supreme Power, also from Marvel, debuts July 16, with art by Gary Frank.
<font color="red">For those who might be interested, you had better PREORDER this. Copies of its predecessor "Squadron Supreme" are selling like crazy at comic conventions and the TPB is selling high on ebay. Joe's new revamped story with Gary Frank is going to be HUGE.</font>
I'm about to turn in the script for issue 4, and I have to say this is turning into something quite extraordinary. It couldn't be more different from Spidey, and to be honest, everything else I've done. The "voice" is completely different, and it's just a freaking dense book, just layers on top of layers of subtext, and I feel like I'm finally using the medium right for maybe the first time, in terms of using the visuals to comment on/counterpoint the dialogue, and vice-versa.
As much as I enjoy Spidey, and I enjoy it a *lot*, this is the one that I have to tear myself away from when I'm writing, because I get so caught up in it that I can't wait to get back to it again. As I said, we're four scripts in already and this thing doesn't even come out until mid-July. We should have 7-8 banked by the time this thing hits the stands, so it can come out like clockwork.
As I'd noted before, we're keeping a fairly low profile on this until it's ready to go, but everybody at Marvel is extremely excited about this one, especially Joe Quesada. They think this is going to be the one to beat.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Can you tell us who is doing commentary for Season 3 besides you??</font>
I'm trying to remember which episode they did, if it was Interludes and Examinations or Ceremonies of Light and Dark, but the three who did the commentary were (I believe) Bruce, Jerry and Jason.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Hrm. Does this mean we have to wait for season 4 for Andreas and Peter?</font>
Andreas and (I believe) Peter have thus far declined to be interviewed or to do a commentary because they would like to be compensated for their participation, and WB isn't able to do that for any of the cast. I could probably intervene and push this with them, but I don't think it's right or fair to get between an actor and a chance to get paid. I think they *should* get paid for doing this. I think *anyone* who does a commentary or the like should get paid, but the budget just isn't there for it, and I don't feel comfortable telling somebody that it's okay not to get paid for doing a day's work.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Out of curiosity, about how much time has been required on average, of an actor volunteering to provide commentary for the B5 DVD season boxed sets?</font>
Commentaries or interviews? The commentaries are all done real-time, so it's about 45 minutes; the interviews take about one hour per actor per season.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Now, for the potentially-stupid question: do they know that no one else is getting paid for interviews/commentary? I'd assume that this would be the first point WB would trot out in their wheedling of actors for commentary, but one should never assume (especially with regard to suits).
</font>
Yep, that's pretty generally known. It's really a matter of conscience, and as such as far as I'm concerned off-limits.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">An impractical and naive suggestion: I for one would be willing to pay an extra dollar or two (retail) per season set to compensate the actors and/or producers for their time.</font>
Not workable, and especially not in advance of sales.
jms
<hr width="50%">
<font color="red">Does that mean there is rarely any need for retakes? I'd have thought it would take at least 2-3 times the length of the actual episode to do a commentary.</font>
No, you allow for a few extra minutes at the end so that you can edit tightly, but that's about it.
jms
<hr width="75%">
Not to distract from the war debate, but for those interested in writing, a long interview is about to come out in Sketch magazine, and there's also an online link at:
http://www.hypethis.com/interviews/i...raczynski.html
jms
<hr width="75%">
Just a word to let any folks who might be interested know that I'll be a guest at WonderCon in San Francisco the weekend of April 25th. They've got me on a fair number of panels and a spotlight, plus some autograph sessions. This is the first San Francisco convention I've done in many years, and it may be a while before the next one 'cause I only do one or two a year (WonderCon is run by the xame cool folks who run San Diego Comic Con).
Info at wondercon.com
Just FYI.
jms
<hr width="50%">
One last item on this...and I'll also post this separately as well...a lot of folks have noted that this is the tenth anniversary of B5 going live, so at the convention in SF there will be a limited number of signed scripts for the Babylon 5 series finale, "Sleeping in Light" for sale.
This script includes deleted dialogue (lots of it), and at least one deleted scene, and the alternate ending(s).
Just for those who might be interested....
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">By the way - that "(s)" added to the alternate ending is probably peaking everybody's curiosity. How many other possible endings were there?
</font>
I think I need to clarify this lest the wrong idea be communicated....
It's not an alternate ending in terms of, say, showing Delenn skiing at the end instead of being on the bench...but when the script was written, it kind of ended three times...the bench scene was one, then there was another small scene after that, and one more at the end of *that*. Not big scenes, just little frissons...one being fairly funny. It's about 3 pages worth of material, which would've been about 3-4 minutes of screen time.
Just in the interests of clarity. Among the deleted material is a very funny scene with the new commander of B5 when he gets the news about who's about to come on board,a longer version of the talk between Ivanova and the Ranger who comes with the news (and a bit of added business at the end of the scene involving her aide), that sort of thing.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)</font>
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I just looked at the Consumer Order Form on the Diamond Comics website, and "Supreme Power" isn't listed. Is it delayed, or being released under a different title? (Where does the Diamond site include the solictations text, anyway?)</font>
I've always heard that the pub date is July 16, and thus far nobody's said anything to the contrary. I can't see any reason why there would be a delay, since we're now 4 scripts ahead and the first issue is through pencils, inks and lettering.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia">Season 2 hits the stores on this coming Tuesday, and we're almost finished with the S3 dvds. We're also in discussions about releasing Crusade.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine </font>
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">"JMS has said he has no plans or real interest in revisiting the B5 universe,..."</font>
Howzabout, before you have me chase down every dumb, errant, misrepresentational quote, you ask idiots like this to provide the reference?
jms
<hr width="100%">
<font color="red">JMS, thanks so much for the story about the pagans and G'Kar's declaration of principles. </font>
My pleasure; I have no ax to grind on any of this, and one rarely hears of pagans nowadays engaging in pogroms.
<font color="red">If I've never said it before, thanks, Joe, for your completely awesome contribution to television, to science fiction, and to my life.
</font>
My pleasure.
jms
<hr width="100%">
<font color="red">Now, I know you've previously stated that these bloopers would be problematic to release, as it included "material not originally intended for broadcast". Now, seeing as some of the bloopers are on the DVD, what are the odds of ALL of them being released? I know *I* would pay good money for a chance to see them all </font>
Thing is, and this is an important factor, they're not being released for sale per se, they're included as an added benefit. To release them on their own would mean selling them as a separate unit, and that would be problematic in terms of working out royalties and residuals. Which is why you generally don't see a lot of it on other shows absent some kind of prior arrangement or understanding.
jms
</font>
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I was in a comic shop in Burbank recently and a customer who said he had worked on Babylon 5 said that in a given scene they shot one take for widescreen and a seperate take for fullscreen.
Is this true? </font>
Nope.
It is, in fact, in the top ten percent of the top two percentile of stupid things I've heard in my life. This is someone who a) obviously doesn't understand how you crop wide for full, and b) was never near B5.
jms
<hr width="75%">
Well, I'm pleased....
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=...0-083409-5383r
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">When you are writing a scene down, do you visualise it in your mind: before, during or after?</font>
I'm a big believer in what Mark Twain once said...you should never begin writing something until you have finished it to your satisfaction.
When I start a scene, I don't type a word. I play it through my head from beginning to end, over and over, until I know exactly what happens, how I get into it, how I get out of it, and what happens in between. Once I can see it as a whole, *then* I begin writing.
So if you were to poke your head in my office, if I'm not typing, what you'd probably see is this: me in my desk chair, halfway reclined, eyes closed, one hand over my eyes, playing the scene over and over in my head like a mini-movie, seeing it behind closed eyes.
People without tact assume that I'm sleeping, but I'm not, dammit, I'm not....
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I just have to ask, though, do you agree with the statement "Straczynski is from New Jersey, and it shows"? It certainly suggested to me that there may be yet another layer to the saga that I have yet to appreciate..</font>
I'd never considered that aspect until reading it there -- sometimes swimming in a fishbowl makes you oblivious to water -- but on reflection there may be a nugget of truth in that.
Though I grew up all over the country, I've always considered myself basically a New Jersey street kid, and there's a certain attitude that goes with that, which I can see reflected in the show...a kind of in-your-face wanna make something of it? attitude.
Certainly the gritty, industrial, nuts and bolts Jersey factory look applies to B5.
The main difference I've seen between guys from New York and guys from Jersey is that guys from New York *start* fights, whereas guys from Jersey would sooner die than *back down* from a fight.
jms
-
I have bought and watched some of the Season 2 DVD. Pick it up, the comentary by Boxlitner, Doyle, and Christian is worth the price alone. Pretty much everything I ever complained about regarding Sheridan in Season 2 the three of them hit on in their commentary. It is hilarious. Seriously funny stuff. Do not allow someone who is watching the series for the first time look at the extras, there are spoilers all over the place, especially when JMS is talking. I have not seen the bloopers part yet, checking that out tonight.
-
LoL Crash! Does that make you feel better now? Can you give us a quote from Bruce about it?
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">You managed to get Martin Sheen for the River of Souls telemovie. I'm wondering how this came about.. Did you send Sheen a script on the off-chance that he'd sign on? or did he come to you? How much did he know of what he was getting into?
</font>
We heard he was available, and was a nominal fan of SF, and sent him the script. He enjoyed the script, particularly liking what it said about the soul (he's a strong and vocal catholic), and I think he saw in it something he wanted to be associated with.
We'd initially approached him about playing the scientist, but when he got the script he much preferred the soul hunter material, and went for that, even though it would mean considerable prosthetics work.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
For those who have bought the DVDs, I have found the Easter Eggs on the Season 1 and 2 DVD's.
On the 6th DVD, go to the Universe of Babylon 5 segment. Go to the Data Files. On each one of the data files available use the left and right keys. In each Seasons DVDs you will eventually find a 5 that pops up. Hit enter when you see the 5. For season 1 you will get the series promotional commercial. For season 2 you get a 3 minute long gag reel. They are both cool.
Have fun
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">We already know "Supreme Power" wasn't solicited for July as expected, and J.M.S. was kind enough to mention here that he's unaware of any delays. I assumed that meant someone botched it, and that we'd see the first issue rush-solicited along with a normal solicitation for the second issue in the next Previews. However, I just noticed that Marvel has the July listings posted, and "Supreme Power" isn't in there. Does anyone know if this has been officially delayed?
</font>
I noticed that it wasn't in the July previews, after it had been set for July 16th, and inquired of Marvel because we're well ahead on art and scripts (I'm working on issue 5 at the moment).
They explained that they'd wanted to debut the comic at Wizard Con (either Philly or Chicago, I can't now remember), but since I couldn't make it, they pushed the debut to August 6th, which allows us to get even further ahead on scripts. Once it hits the ground, we won't have any basis for missing any pub dates for at least half a year, if not more.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I finally got to hear the commentary about the Pagans using the Declaration of Principles during rituals (and at some that I've attended, BTW). And I just wanted to mention that one of the local groups here REQUIRES their new members to watch the entire series as a starting point for discussions about personal responsibility and choices and consequenses.
B5 is a nice, big rock to throw in the pond.</font>
That's really terrific to hear. The funny thing is that I've been hearing more and more of this lately, about the philosophy and ideas behind B5 being used in this way.
In addition to the Pagan groups, I came across a bunch of Technomage sites that use some of those elements, a Buddhist site that's full of B5 quotes, and a Southern Baptist site that used a B5 quote (without attribution) right on its front page.
I hear from so many people these days about this sort of thing...it's vastly rewarding, I must say.
Funny thing is, on an aspect of the B5 philosophy...a while back, in order to be able to use it in the show, I wrote down the whole basic philosophical underpinning, under the heading of the Foundation (Franklin's group). It's quite long and involved, but I felt that the only way to use it properly would be to have it as fully fleshd out as the rest of the B5 universe.
Because so many people seem to respond to it, from time to time over the years I've considered releasing that material...then I hesitate. It's one of those things that either I'll release posthumously or delete altogether.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">So, Joe. Is that your record? I'm betting that you know. If not, what was your longest in and where can I find it?</font>
....eep.
Don't know, never thought about it, never counted it. It's something I do once in a while for effect, because there's something nicely breathless about a run-on sentence, and the goal is to keep it totally grammatically correct, so it's a challenge to be sure, but I've never actually gone so far as to do a word count.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Because so many people seem to respond to it, from time to time over the years I've considered releasing that material...then I hesitate. It's one of those things that either I'll release posthumously or delete altogether.
Is it too late to slide it into the quote book? Sounds like it might go well there.</font>
Not feasible since it's basically a small book in length on its own.
<font color="red">And speaking of which, any news on a publication date?</font>
The final manuscript should be going in this coming week, so figure a few months thereafter.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I think it's very important that everything you wrote regarding the series -- notes, index cards, napkin scribbles, the odd graffiti spray-painted on Sun Valley brick walls -- needs not only to be preserved but also released for public access at some time.</font>
Not possible. It's gone. Nearly all of it.
My notes: gone once I used them.
Early drafts of scripts: gone. I'd write the script, make my notations in hand, get the revised one in hand, toss out the one with my notations and put out the final draft. There are no surviving scripts from B5 with my handwritten notes or edits on them.
B5 correspondence and memos: unless they're in the hands of other people: gone.
I have, to all intents and purposes, erased my footprints in the sand. Only the finished work remains. It was a deliberate decision from day one. I don't want people poking in to find where "I" am in this, where my brain was at this point or that point. I ain't the issue. The story, as told, is the issue.
The only things that remain in my possession are the script books with the final draft of each script, shooting schedules, and in some cases, art or prosthetics designs. Some blueprints. The rest I threw out.
The only real document about the making of Babylon 5, from stem to stern, is the one I wanted to leave behind: this conversation, on line, with the folks who stayed with us for five plus years.
It's the only thing that really means anything to me.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Joe, one of the problems that Mark Twain scholars have to deal with is that a number of his writings weren't published until after his death, and were often then bowdlerized to the point that there's still debate about his original opinions and intent. (MT is my favorite author...)</font>
Same here. He's always been a seminal influence on my work. I have pretty much everything he's ever written, absent the five volume set of his journals that's only available to libraries. "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" is still one of my favorite pieces, as is "The War Prayer," leading to its nod in B5.
His essays, to which you refer, are some of his best work, especially his takes on Adam, Eve, heaven, hell and the rest.
For anyone looking on: there is one book I tell anyone who wants to be a writer, to read. Twain's autobiography. It is, quite honestly, probably the best book, best autobiography, ever written. Funny, inspiring, moving, sad, and deeply profound. We think of bios from that time as being dry or irrelevant...TRUST me on this one. It's anything but. I consider it one of the best books I've ever read.
As for the problem of who really wrote what, and what got changed: we have one benefit he didn't have: read-only PDF files.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Can someone post WHICH Mark Twain autobiography JMS suggested we get? My search showed many printings and many odd titles. Even the basic "Mark Twain autobiography" weren't consistant. Prices ranged from $1.25 to $50.</font>
A biography is written by a third party; an autobiography is written by the person himself.
There has only been one autobiography written by Twain.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">what I want to know and probably the rest of this newsgroup also wants to know; have you written an autobiography yourself, are you in process writing one or when are you going to write it?
</font>
In order of questions: no, no, and either when I'm old enough to have done enough to merit one, or not at all.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
A paraphrased repost since it seems my first one got lost in the ether....
Just an FYI for those who've been keeping an eye on this one...on August 6, Supreme Power will hit the stands, with pre-orders being taken now at comics stores. Up until now, I'd always felt that Midnight Nation was the best thing I'd ever managed to pull off in comics. (I enjoy the heck out of writing Spidey, but there's just something about Midnight Nation that won't let me go.)
Supreme Power may, I finally think, supplant that one.
There's something going in in Supreme Power, a strong emotional core, that pulls me in every time I sit down to write it. It's got an edge, it's profoundly sad in places, and weirdly funny in other places. Some elements are bound to be a bit controversial, but that's part and parcel of telling this particular story. Emotions are, for me, the whole point of telling a story, and those who've read and reviewed Midnight Nation as it slowly revealed itself know what I'm talking about.
Not coincidentally, Gary Frank is doing the art, who also did the art on Midnight Nation. So that may also be a part of it. The art is just stunning, especially the way he captures the emotion of the characters in their eyes.
Given the reactions of some folks who've seen the black and whites proofs of the first issue, I think this is going to move out pretty fast, and Marvel for the most part doesn't reprint issues, so if it ain't ordered in advance, it might not be available until the gather it together for the trade.
Anyway...I don't want to belabor the point. I don't generally come on to promote something unless I feel strongly about it, and this one I *definitely* feel strongly about.
I'm inestimably proud of this book, and I hope you'll check it out.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
I think I will have to procure this comic.
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Just an FYI for those who've been keeping an eye on this one...on August 6, Supreme Power will hit the stands,
I'm really looking forwards to this one it's got to be said</font>
Thanks...as it happens, I forgot to include the url to a peek at the book (in
addition to the pieces in this month's Wizard and Diamond Comics Preview):
http://previews.diamondcomics.com/ed...remepower.html
<font color="red">Couple of quick bits though...
When might we see the last few Rising Stars issues? PLEASE!! </font>
That depends entirely on a situation with Top Cow that is in need of resolution. The delay in writing has not been a delay in writing; it's been working through some problems with Top Cow for the last...almost year now. The final issues won't be turned in untnil those issues are resolved.
<font color="red">JQ has mentioned that a new Dr Strange series is being "worked on". I know you've said you'd love to be part of this. What are the chances of you being involved? </font>
100%.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I'd be curious to know if there has been any independent audience research since Quemas took over. They seem confident that what they are doing is a dead-cinch to improve the books readability, but what evidence do they have beyond Jemas's hubris over his gifts for storytelling cultivated through years of working at a baseball card company?
</font>
Focus groups and audience testing have been two of the biggest reasons for the general decline in quality television programs over the last few decades. Nothing of value is ever learned, and the results are always used to justify dumbing down the stories to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Shows that test poorly often do very well; shows that do well with audience testing almost always fail. I was watching a focus group once where an audience member, during testing, said he didn't like a given show because it "wasn't science fiction."
Upon being asked by the group facilitator what he would consider to be good SF, he replied, very earnestly, "Power Rangers." This is in no way or shape an exaggeration or distortion. That's what he said.
Hearing that comics were going to focus groups/audience testing would be the fastest way to get me the heck out of comics permanently.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
You mean "Power Rangers" isnt good Scifi? LoL....( puke )
-
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I know that I personally, having bought every issue of every book you have written thus far, feel RELUCTANT (to say the least) to jump into a new and *unknown* entity like Supreme Power (as opposed to say, Dr. Strange) without Rising Stars being concluded (due to their similarities).</font>
Except, of course, that they're not similar in any way, manner, shape or form. This is an extension of the world that Mark Gruenwald created long ago, predating RS. Yes, it's a world that has not previously seen super heroes, but that's just about any fictional universe before, say, Kal-El lands. The two stories do not touch each other at any two contiguous points.
<font color="red">So, IMHO, it's probably more in your interest to get the end of RS out then it is for Top Cow. That's the problem with waiting on Top Cow.</font>
If someone is not doing right by you, and they want something from you, it's in your best interests to get them to do right by you before you give them what they want. It's about being a professional business person and living up to agreements. I always honor mine, and tend to make sure others do the same. If you hire a contractor to build you a home, and two thirds through reneg or otherwise back off on the business arrangement, a reasonable person doesn't expect the contractor to continue working anyway. The logic you employ is the logic constantly used to screw writers. I don't work that way.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I was wondering if you could tell us what sort of things you will be doing at Comic-Con this year. Perhaps a sneak preview of Supreme Powers and other interesting items.?</font>
Haven't heard yet from programming, but I imagine there will be a spotlight, some panels, and yeah, I'd like to talk about Supreme Power a bit.
Will be offering the last of the Sleeping in Light scripts with missing material that I had at Wondercon. And that will be the last time they will be made available at a convention.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">I was wondering if the elequent speeches that G'Kar spoke were actually written as part of the regular dialogue or if they were added in, also, if they were written by JMS solely or with assistance?</font>
I wrote every line of G'Kar's dialogue, inclusive of speeches, in the episodes that bear my name. In the episodes written by others, it was either written by them and left alone, or written by them and revised by me.
jms</font>
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)
-
<font face="georgia">Okay, this probably ranks with one of the stupider messages I've ever posted, but....
For some time now, slowly and surrepticiously, cats have moved onto the area around Casa Straczynski (how they pronounce it is anybody's guess), and the problem there is that where cats go, kittens follow.
I'm about to start to process of snaring and spaying the adults, getting them their shots and the like...but that leaves the kittens on hand (or paw) to deal with.
I'd like to find them a good home. A safe, reliable home. So I thought I'd come to you bunch first.
Here's the requirements: you have to live in the LA area, so you can come pick them up in person in neutral territory. I want your name, phone number, and address, and I want to receive periodic (once a year) updates on their condition (complete with jpgs), to make sure the little guys don't land in a lab or something.
If you're up to the task -- they're slightly feral kittens, about a month old, but they've been around people and should be easily enough to domesticate -- they're cute as buttons: some gray tabby, others white-and-black, lemme know in private email.
Thanks.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Not to bring up old memories, but since that's what you did in your expansion; i.e., dig deeper into the characters, etc. how strange does this sound coming from Johnson, and what is your reaction to his statement? </font>
It's certainly the approach I would take in his position, and did when I did my script. But by the same token, if someone were bringing back a show that I'd created, I'd much prefer to be the one writing it than use somebody else's script.
So I think it's great, he's certainly in the position to do a great job with it, and I say good luck.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">And here's a snippet of it: "Demographers at the magazine analyzed lifestyle characteristics that they say are good indicators of future wealth. Those characteristics ranged from the number of people under 45 with a household income of more than 100-thousand dollars to more obscure things, such as watching the sci-fi program 'Babylon 5' or reading Architectural Digest."</font>
See? I always said that there were benefits to being a Babylon 5 viewer.
That'll be a dollar, thankyewverymuch.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">It's been almost two years since the first season of Jeremiah ended - have the plans to film season two been shelved?</font>
First, the statement above is not correct. The season finale aired July 19, 2002, so it's less than one year since the season ended.
Second, last I heard the show was going to run starting the first week in September so that it could conclude with the last four shows in November sweeps.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">My question would deal with today's time. At what point would the killing of an individual be warrented? </font>
The first answer, and the easy answer, is: in self-defense, in one's home or in wartime.
The less easy answer comes when you get into the legal system. Where does justice end and vengeance begin?
I think that when you knowingly and deliberately take someone's life, you forfeit your own. But for me, that means life without the possibility of parole as a better option than the death penalty. (This is a position that's taken me a while to get to, to be honest.)
The death penalty and life without parole both are deterrents in that they permanently remove the offender from society, and I think life in prison is a far worse fate than a quick death. The difference is that life without parole allows for the possibility of correcting the few errors that get through, where the death penalty does not.
The idea of taking someone's life, with malice aforethought (I'm not talkling about accidental manslaughter or the like) and getting out in five to ten years is abhorrent.
But that's just me.
jms
([email protected])
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd.,
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine
and don't send me story ideas)</font>
