In article ,
Kurt Ullman   wrote:
>In article ,
> Cheryl Martin  wrote:
>
>> >From the FreeBabylon5 FB page (aka, Jan Schroeder):
>> 
>> https://www.facebook.com/FreeBabylon5/posts/540863409373209
>> 
>> More detail later as I listen to the recording but it's CONFIRMED that JMS 
>> will write a BABYLON 5 feature film in 2015 for production in 2016 with or 
>> without Warner Bros..
>> 
>> 
>> Cheryl
>
>  I am confused (a natural state for me if you will remember), I thought 
>WB owned the intellectual property for the universe and nothing could be 
>done w/o their okay.

JMS owns the movie rights.  Here's the longer bit Jan Schroeder posted about
his panel at SDCC.

Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con (or the day JMS announced that he'll do a B5 mo
vie).
I got there at a good time, not long after the con opened at 10:00 AM. A little
surprisingly, the mezzanine didb't really seem too much busier than other days
so far except for the food area being busier. I've got pre-written letters to W
B and NBC/Universal out on the table and a fair number of folks took those to m
ail after adding a little demographic info. Five or six were left with me and I
dropped them off to be mailed.

The big panel of the day was JMS' of course. First I went to his signing and go
t a few things signed that will most likely be destined as fund-raisers. I veri
fied with JMS that he wouldn't mind if I handed out buttons and postcards befor
e his panel. A new friend, Lukas, handed out at the door and I wandered the roo
m where people were already staying from the panel before.

JMS started the panel by reviewing his current projects, both 'out house' (not
Studio JMS) and in-house and continued with news. We got an introduction to the
Sense8 actors. JMS described it as a "...complex, amazing tapestry of stories."

- Ten Grand: JMS is currently negotiating with a major Studio/Network for a ser
ies based on this.

- Shadowman feature film: He's two to three weeks from turning in the latest dr
aft.

- He couldn't name it, but he's working on a project for Universal concerning R
od Serling and working with Carol Serling, Rod's widow on it.

- Again he couldn't say much but he sshowed a title card for a show called "Two
Streets" that he's just made a deal with Universal for that he'll be working wi
th "Walking Dead's" Gail Anne Hurd.

- "Titans" is the name of the Ffeature film/graphic novel project that was just
announced yesterday (see movie thread).

So it's been a really big year for Studio JMS. And due to that, he can now look
to doing a feature film ffor B5. JMS recapped that WB owns everything about B5
except the movie rights and even though he holds the film rights, to take a B5
movie to another studio without holding the TV rights wouldn't work. There's on
e studio in LA that doesn't care about that - Studio JMS - and in 2015 JMS will
write the script. He'll give WB the opportunity to step up, but if they don't,
Studio JMS will make it in 2016 on thier own with a $1-200,000,000.00 budget.

Fan questios:

A fan asked if JMS might crowdfund part of the film so that fans might be invol
ved and JMS said that he resists doing that because it seems to him that SF fan
s are an exploited group and he doesn't ever want to do that - he'd rather acce
pt investor money.

Asked about the current situation with streaming Babylon 5, JMS said that it's
all up to Warner Bros. and geve the .#.FreeBabylon5. campaign a nice plug, tell
ing of the success in Europe to date and hoping for some movement domestically.

A fan asked if the success of a B5 feature might improve the chances of streami
ng and even future TV projects and JMS said that it would probably have a signi
ficant effect, that a good way to get someone's (WB) attention is to rattle the
ir cage.

Asked if the film would be a reboot or a continuation:

"It would have to be a reboot because it's been twenty-plus years since we star
ted that show and some of the age ranges wouldn't work with some of these chara
cters so we'd need to move a few people around. But what I want to do is use th
e original cast one way or another but we'd have to move some things around. I'
d love to see Bruce as the PPresident of the Earth Alliance; it would be the pe
rfect role for him."

JMS went on to tell about a story he wanted to do that he wasn't allowed to in
the original show where when Londo was injured, he wanted to do a dream sequenc
e where the actors played different characters but the studio thought the audie
nce would get confused.

A fan asked what's being made not that would equal BB5 for being transformative
and JMS replied that TV is having a golden age right now with lots of amazing t
hings. being made.

He concluded with his regular homily for the fans to never surrender their drea
ms, that with persistance and talent and luck, can overcome your circumstances
and follow your passionss and succeed.

Jan
(posting in various places- feel free to share)



-- 
*Moderator: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated ,sci.space.moderated  *
*I am grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are grey.   *
*We stand between the darkness and the light. ---JMS                *


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