lurkers-guide/ftp/Releases/96pr_straczynski

                     J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

                     The Creator of "Babylon 5"


    For Babylon 5's third (and current) season, J. Michael Straczynski
established a new benchmark in American television history.  He became the
first individual to write every episode of a full 22-episode season for a
one-hour dramatic series.

    Furthermore, when combined with the last five episodes of season two,
Straczynski has in actuality scripted a total of 27 consecutive one-hour
dramatic shows.  He is also scheduled to write the first four shows of the
next season, before passing the torch (intermittently) to some of the
highly-respected science fiction writers he has used in the past.  As
noteworthy, of Babylon 5's 66 produced episodes to date, Straczynski
singularly has written 49 of them (or approximately 75%).

    Add to that the fact that he has simultaneously served as the executive
producer of what many regard as the most ambitious science fiction series
since Roddenberry's original "Trek" -- and the dual task can easily be seen
as monumental.

    "It's never been done before and I now can understand why, because just
being the executive producer on the show is an 18-hour-a-day job and writing
all the shows is a 16-hour-a-day job.  So basically I've got a math
problem," Straczynski laughs.

    What possible explanation could there be for taking on such a formidable
challenge?

    "I kind of thought I might have to, but I didn't start off thinking I
was going to do this," he says.  "The problem is that the first year was
like the introduction to the show, the characters, and the Babylon 5
universe, which allowed for a lot of stand-alone stories.  The second year
brought us a little more into the 5-year arc.  During both, we were able to
give good outside science fiction writers the threads of the story and let
them come back with their own interpretation.

    "But this year, the arc was really heating up.  There were a lot of
changes -- the chairs were being moved around a lot.  And since I'm the only
one who knows where the story is going, it was simply easier to do it
myself.  But," he adds, "we will be bringing in outside writers again next
season, the moment the story settles down again."

    As an executive producer, Straczynski supervises the monolithic details
that comprise the rich and wondrous tapestry of what viewers have come to
expect of Babylon 5 -- spectacular space ships, elaborate costumes, a
massive array of sets, sophisticated alien make-up effects, and eye-popping
special visual effects.  As well, he provides immeasurable input into the
creation of each episode's memorable music score, the casting of noteworthy
guest stars and unforgettable feature players, the creation of distinctive
stories by outside scribes (when he isn't writing them himself), and the
final polished editing of every on-air hour (along with producer John
Copeland).

    "I have total creative control over the show, which means I don't sleep
a hell of a lot," Straczynski laughs.

    But, he adds, "it is extremely rewarding.  This is a town driven by
committee -- and the last good things created by committee were Stonehenge
and the Pyramids. Thanks to Warner Bros., Babylon 5 from start to finish is
one person's vision."

    Hard as it is to believe, Straczynski has only been gainfully employed
in the television industry since 1984.  But during that time, he has written
more than 140 produced episodes of television, and served as a story editor
and/or producer on numerous shows, including such hits as "Murder, She
Wrote," "The Twilight Zone," and "Jake and The Fatman."

    Though only 41 years old, he has also published two novels, an anthology
of short fiction, over 500 nonfiction articles and short stories, a dozen
produced plays, another dozen produced radio dramas, and a classic text on
screenwriting (of which a new, expanded edition will be appearing this
Fall).

    His remarkable resume also includes significant stints as a contributing
editor and monthly screenwriting columnist for Writer's Digest magazine, a
special correspondent to the Los Angeles Times, a staff reporter and writer
for Time, Inc., the host of a weekly two-hour science-fiction radio talk
show in Los Angeles, the entertainment reviewer for a San Diego radio
station, and the author of numerous classic comic books.  And those are only
the career highlights of what this "writer's writer" (as he has been termed
by his peers) has done.

    It's little wonder that Straczynski's Babylonian Productions partner
Douglas Netter calls him "the most prolific writer I know.  This man is
always writing.  That's what he does, that's what he loves to do."  Netter
should know.  As the former head of the MGM Studios and a successful
independent television producer for the last 17 years, he has worked with
the best of the best over the years.

    How it all began for Joe Straczynski (as he is known by his friends and
co-workers; or "JMS" by his Internet fans) is the stuff of which novels are
made.

    He grew up the son of a blue-collar plastics worker "who had a unique
economic philosophy, which was blow into town, run up a lot of bills, and
split.  So, as a result, we were always on the move.  Every six months to a
year, we'd be in a different town or a completely different state.  I went
to a different school every year. We had different names that we lived
under.  Men would come in the middle of the night with badges, and we'd have
to pack up and get out.  It was that kind of existence."

    Growing up, there were only two kinds of friends Straczynski could count
on: television and public libraries.  From television, he developed an early
admiration for the work of Rod Serling, Paddy Chayefsky, and Harlan Ellison
(Babylon 5's creative consultant and a long-time friend), among others.
From his friendly library, he worked his way through every children's title
by his pre-teens, and embarked on an adult literary odyssey in which he
would revel in the legendary likes of Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C.
Clarke, Robert Hinlein, E. E. "Doc" Smith, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

    As he explains of the origins of his unusually long and prolific career:
"My entire life I knew I was going to be a writer.  That was it.  As a kid I
collected paper clips and pens of different kinds -- 'I've got to get
ready!"  Then I hit 17, and I said, 'Okay, I've prepared enough.  Now I'm
going to start writing!  So I've been writing and selling non-stop since I
was 17 years old."

    While still in high school, he wrote articles and plays.  His first
commissioned work was a full-length comedy written at the request of the
school, which was performed in front of a full assembly.  "Prior that,
nobody noticed I existed," he recalls.  "Suddenly, I was noticed."

    His last year of high school, he started sending out one-act and
full-length plays to various theaters.  "One local theater decided to
produce one of them, and sent a letter suggesting a meeting.  I went to it,
and they kept waiting for my dad to show up or something.  Finally, I was
able to convince them that no, I really was the person who wrote the play,
and they did it," he says.

    Working his way through various colleges, he had a full-length play
performed for some 20 weeks in summer stock and later published in book form
by a leading theatrical publisher.  He also acquired degrees in sociology
and psychology, with minors in philosophy and literature, and taught
creative writing at San Diego State University, while turning out articles
for leading magazines and newspapers.

    And then something possessed him to try his luck in Hollywood.  He
arrived on April Fools Day, 1981, one of the thousands who flock to Los
Angeles each year without a single contact in the industry.

    Armed only with a portfolio of freelance byline clippings, he quickly
worked his way through the ranks of freelancers to staff writer, story
editor, co-producer, producer, supervising producer -- and finally --
executive producer and creator of Babylon 5.

    "Like everyone else in town, I began as a staff writer and I found that
I would get rewritten all the time," he says.  "So I asked, 'Who did that?'
and found out that it was the story editor, and went for his job.  Then when
I was the story editor, I'd do a script and it would be rewritten.  Who was
it?  The producer.  So I went for his job, and eventually you work up to
executive producer, and nobody rewrites you anymore. My style of writing is
very personal and eccentric, and that was the only way to protect the
words."

    Perhaps, the most telling impact that Straczynski has had on the medium
that he regards with such respect that he gave it Babylon 5 is the
significance of the following...

    In early 1995, Newsweek magazine created a Who's Who of 50 of the "most
influential thinkers-innovators who will shape our lives as we move into the
21st century."  That elite group -- which it designated the "captains in the
information revolution" -- included, not surprisingly, such figures as
Steven Jobs (the co-founder of Apple and more recently of NeXT), Tim
Berners-Lee (the inventor of the World Wide Web), and Kevin Kelly (the
executive editor of Wired).  But of all the individuals who have in one way
or another moved the goal posts in film and television, there was only one
name...that of J. Michael Straczynski.

    Among the other honors which have come Straczynski's way are three
prestigious nominations -- for a Writer's Guild Award and an Ace Award for
his adaptation of the episode, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde," on Showtime's "Nightmare Classics"; and an Academy of Canadian
Television and Cinema Gemini Award for an episode of "Captain Power and the
Soldiers of the Future".  He has also received the coveted Horror Writers of
America's Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel for his book, Demon Night.

    Certainly, Babylon 5 would have never earned its two Emmy Awards and
three Emmy nominations -- as well as numerous other honors -- if it hadn't
been for Straczynski.

    For Straczynski, writing could be called more of a preoccupation than an
occupation.  He works 10 hours a day, 7 days a week -- until 3 or 4 in the
morning, exactly 362 days a year.  The only time he takes off are his
birthday, Christmas, and New Year's.

    In fact, when he and his wife visited England several years ago, she
told him, "'No writing when you're over there.'  And I ended up getting a
little notebook on the sly and hiding it in my pocket," he laughs.  "By the
time we got back, I had outlined my next novel."  (Which he then wrote and
sold within six months.)

    Ask him why writing has become the all-consuming rite of his life, and
Straczynski jokingly insists, "I'm an incompetent at everything else!  My
wife will verify this.  I'm terrible at everything else.  This is all I can
do and I enjoy it -- slamming words together in combinations to see what
kind of explosions come out of it."

    Then he adds, more seriously:  "If you said to me that I can't write
anymore, there'd be a puff of purple smoke and I'd be gone.  I would just
cease to exist.  So I'm always doing three or four or five things at the
same time.  And while working on this show, I was rewriting my textbook on
writing.  I get twitchy if I'm not writing something."

    It's hard to imagine what television would be like today without such
visionary wordsmiths as JMS.

    A copy of Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction, featuring a recent
article by Straczynski on the evolution of Babylon 5 and other topics, has
been enclosed in this kit for further reference.


    J. Michael Straczynski

    Career Chronology

    "Babylon 5" (1993-present):  Creator/writer/executive producer.
    Wrote bible, two-hour series pilot, and 49 of total 66 produced episodes
    during first three seasons.  Executive producer in charge of all
    creative decisions.

    The (Even More!) Complete Book of Scriptwriting  The updated and
    expanded version of the author's 1982 best-selling how-to classic will
    be published by Writer's Digest Books in Fall 1996, which will include
    an an entire Babylon 5 script.

    "Guardians" (1995):  Writer of the two-hour pilot for a science-fiction
    syndicated series.

    "Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993):  Supervising producer; writer for one
    episode. (CBS/Cannon Television)

    "Murder, She Wrote" (1991-92):  Producer for two seasons; writer on
    seven one-hour episodes.  (CBS/Universal)

    OtherSyde  Author's second horror novel, published in hardcover by E.P.
    Dutton/New American Library in August 1990; also in Germany, England,
    Japan, and Sweden, among other countries.

    "Jake and The Fatman" (1989/90):  Executive story consultant; writer for
    four one-hour episodes and a two-hour TV movie.

    "V: The Next Chapter" (1989-91):  Development writer (creator/producer);
    writer for the one-hour series pilot, four-hour mini-series, and series
    bible for a new version of the one-hour series for first-run
    syndication. (Warner Bros. Television)

    "Nightmare Classics" (1989):  Writer for two one-hour adaptations,
    including "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which was
    nominated for both Writer's Guild and Ace Awards.  (Think
    Entertainment/Showtime)

    Tales From the New Twilight Zone  Author, softcover anthology of short
    stories based on his own scripts; published 1989 by Bantam/Spectra
    Books, as well as overseas.

    Demon Night  Author, horror novel; nominated for the Bram Stoker Award
    for Best First Novel by the Horror Writers of America; published in
    hardcover in Spring 1988 by E. P. Dutton and in softcover in Spring 1990
    by Berkeley Books.

    "The Real Ghostbusters" (1986): Story editor on 13 network and 65
    syndicated episodes; writer for the series bible, pilot, 7 network and 9
    syndicated episodes. (1988-89): Writer for 5 more network episodes and a
    primetime Halloween special that aired during the Fall of 1989.  (Wrote
    23 episodes total).  Series was nominated for a 1990 Emmy for Best
    Animated Series.  (Columbia Pictures Television, ABC and DIC
    Enterprises)

    "Batman" (1988): Writer for the bible and pilot.  (ABC/Nelvana
    Entertainment)

    "The Twilight Zone" (1987-88):  Story editor for 30 half-hour episodes
    for first-run syndication; writer on 11 scripts, including a teleplay
    based on an original Zone outline by Rod Serling.  (London Films/CBS
    International/ MGM-UA Television)

    "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" (1986-87).  Executive
    story consultant/story editor; co-writer of syndicated TV movie,
    "Against the New Order"; story editor on 26 half-hour episodes; writer
    on 11 original episodes, as well as provided teleplays/outlines for five
    more.  (Landmark Entertainment Group)

    "The Twilight Zone" (1986): Freelance writer for two original stories,
    including a produced half-four episode. (CBS/Persistence of Vision)

    "Elfquest" (1986): Co-writer on series bible and pilot.  (CBS/Zander
    Prods.)

    "Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors" (1986):  Writer for 14 produced
    scripts. (DIC Enterprises)

    "She-Ra, Princess of Power" (1985): Staff writer and uncredited co-story
    editor; writer for 9 produced scripts.  (Filmation Studios)

    "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (1984): Staff writer; wrote 9
    produced scripts; rewrote another dozen.  (Filmation Studios)

    The Complete Book of Scriptwriting  Author of this 1982 classic
    published by Writer's Digest Books in hardcover.  Sold over 40,000
    copies; reprinted six times and subsequently released in softcover.  A
    standard text at many universities.  Also published in Japan.

    Other:

    Development Writer/Creator on various one-hour TV series in development
    (1986/1989)

    Contributing Editor and bi-monthly scriptwriting columnist, Writer's
    Digest magazine (1981-91)

    Special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times; staff reporter/writer
    for Time, Inc.

    Author of over 500 newspaper and magazine articles in such national and
    regional publications as the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald
    Examiner, Twilight Zone Magazine (as contributing editor), Video Review,
    Penthouse, San Diego Magazine, Foundation, and the Daily Californian,
    among others.

    Science fiction/fantasy writer, with short stories appearing in Shadows
    6 and Midnight Graffiti softcover anthology, Pulphouse and Amazing
    Stories magazines.

    Host, "Hour 25," a weekly two-hour science-fiction talk show on KPFK-FM
    in Los Angeles for five years (1987-92)

    On-air entertainment editor/reviewer for KSDO-AM Newsradio in San Diego,
    hosting a half-hour weekly broadcast (1979-81)

    Writer for a dozen produced stage plays (both one-act and full-length),
    including one play published in book form by Baker's Plays and "The
    Apprenticeship," which was produced for 20 weeks at the Marquis Public
    Theater in San Diego (1980)

    Writer for over a dozen produced radiodramas, many for the nationally
    syndicated series "Alien Worlds" and "Mutual Radio Theater" (1976-79)

    Screenwriter under contract for various unproduced feature films,
    including "Mr. Freeze" for Ivan Reitman Productions (1990-91);
    "Shattered Lives" for Shelley Duvall/Think Entertainment (1991); and
    "Journey to Forever" and "Wheels Over the World" for DIC Enterprises
    (1986-87).

    Author of various comic books, including STAR TREK's "Worldsinger"
    issue; TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT: Two Face vs. Cyborg's "Face to Face Two
    Face Face" issue; and NOW'S TWILIGHT ZONE "Blind Alley" issue.

    Creative Writing Instructor at San Diego State University and other
    colleges. Also a frequent guest speaker at numerous workshops,
    conventions, and seminars.