JMS Speaks (again)

[Wizz]

<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
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<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
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<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
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<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
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<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
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<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
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<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
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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
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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
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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)

[Wizz]

<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>

[Wizz]

<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)

[Wizz]

<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)

[Wizz]

<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
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<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

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<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
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[Wizz]

<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
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Well, I'm pleased....

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=...0-083409-5383r


jms
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<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)

[Wizz]

<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

[ProfCrash]

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.

[Nommy]

LoL Crash! Does that make you feel better now? Can you give us a quote from Bruce about it?

[Wizz]

<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)