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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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Babylon 5 posts by JMS for June
This file includes a compilation of posts on GEnie by J. Michael
Straczynski in the Babylon 5 topic. The posts are copyright by JMS
(and compilation copyright is by GEnie).
************
Topic 22 Wed Nov 20, 1991
SOARON [Bio-Dread] at 19:41 EST
Sub: Babylon 5
TWCNBN has been been named! J. Michael Straczynski has managed to bring a new
quality to television and promises to do justice to TV and SF with a new
action-adventure SF series of his own design. (NO story suggestions, please.)
826 message(s) total.
************
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 92 Mon Jun 01, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:01 EDT
ComiCon is August 13-16. We begin filming on August 10th, so it's hard
to know exactly what sort of footage (if any) we'll have to show at that time;
that's awfully fast. But there will certainly be the current EFX reel, plus
whatever new stuff Ron has come up with by then, and we may have some slides
as well...we'll see. (You mean I'M not enough?)
The core group of stations carrying B5 are themselves paying part of the
production costs, so that's an interesting development in terms of delivery
and who'll carry what. (This to a question about 11 messages ago.)
BTW, we'll have a film crew on premises during our *own* filming, for a
Making Of documentary. Gee, suddenly I'm a star....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 95 Mon Jun 01, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:26 EDT
At this point, it looks like I'll be arriving on Thursday, and returning
on Sunday. I *imagine* that the B5 presentation will be on Saturday, at least
that's what I'm going to push for. Once I know for sure, I'll post the info
here. I just learned this evening that the B5 presentation at WesterColt is
going to be on a Saturday, though I don't yet have a firm time.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 102 Mon Jun 01, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 22:54 EDT
I've already talked to Ron about doing an RTC sometime closer to airdate,
and he's agreed. Frankly, I'd rather he continued pounding away at the EFX
than here, for the time being. (I can afford to take the time, the script's
already written...all I have to do now is, oh, produce the damned
thing...besides, I'm just plain nuts.)
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 114 Wed Jun 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:03 EDT
Ah, THAT explains why the picture wasn't in the issue I picked up (June).
Will look for the new one next week.
In addition to our main casting director, we've now nailed down our
supplementary casting directors in New York and elsewhere. Scouting starts
next week. Don't expect any announcements on cast soon; for one thing, it
should go through Warners first, and for another, we're going to be VERY
picky. We don't have to rush, and we're not going to. Sets you can change,
lighting you can modify, but your cast is your cast.
BTW, one of your number will be seeing the B5 script *and* the B5 demo
tomorrow afternoon. If he sees this and would like to comment at all
(necessarily vaguely on the script, please), he's welcome to do so.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 118 Wed Jun 03, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:47 EDT
BTW, for those who might be interested in finding out what your loyal
correspondent has gotten himself into THIS time, if you're on the East Coast,
check today's (Wednesday's) BOSTON GLOBE, or yesterday's NEW YORK TIMES page
12 (art theft info, which ties into the Globe), or the trades or USA Today
over the next day or two.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 131 Thu Jun 04, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:29 EDT
I'm hesitant to put the name of our casting director up here, only
because I'm afraid she'll be flooded. If people want to inquire in mail, I'll
pass it along, however. When there get to be too many requests, I may at that
point stop.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 136 Fri Jun 05, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:04 EDT
There are indeed times that TREK has been, to varying degrees,
Paramount's only real profit-maker. It is, in essence, a license to print
money. Put the ST symbol on something, and it sells.
Which is, fundamentally, the reason behind DS9 in the first place. One
thing I've kind of avoided was talking much lately about DS9, even though I've
been hearing a *lot* from people inside Paramount lately. But the one
overwhelming fact is this: TREK is what's called in this business a
"franchise," like McDonald's or Burger King. (In more general terms, a
franchise is a cop show, or a doctor show...you get the idea. Every studio
or network looks for a certain number of "franchise shows" before then setting
out to look for New Stuff.)
Anyway...and I know some people are going to yell at me, but this really
is the truth...DS9 is basically a fiscal repackaging of TNG. For the
following reasons:
1) Stations don't like to get one show that runs too long, over the six-
seven year mark. It becomes unweildy for them, and the cost of buying a big
show package is just a lot larger.
2) A series only begins to make money for the studio when it goes into
full-syndication (meaning they stop making new episodes and just rake in the
cash). This is particularly true when a show has been on the air for a long
time. See, each year, programmed increases in salaries and other areas go up
and up and up. By year six, you're paying a HELL of a lot more than you paid
for year one.
So how are they saving money by doing a NEW series?
3) Pay scales for production staff and cast are always lower for a new
series. It's sort of the studio Going Rate. Apparently a number of TNG
production people have been told that if they want to stick around after TNG
is finished, and go onto DS9, they're going to have to take cuts in salary.
Actors fees will be lower overall. So you're starting at a lower baseline,
and the really expensive show (TNG) is now over, and in full syndication,
earning back some money.
When you take all of that into consideration, and factor in the fact that
the series takes place in the same universe, with the same basic scenario,
same races, same Federation, even some of the same characters, what you come
down to is essentially this: that DS9 is a repackaging of the same thing,
under a different name, for basically economic reasons. There is no sudden
new vision behind it, it's just a less costly extension of the old show.
Which is not to say it ain't gonna be a good show. It might be a very
good show. If it is, that's terrific, the more good SF around, the better.
It's important for anyone reading this to make that distinction: this issue is
completely apart from quality, it's strictly economics. This is the reason
there IS a DS9. Where they go from that point _ good, bad, or indifferent _
is another discussion entirely.
There's nothing wrong with re-selling the same show to somebody under a
different name if you liked the original show in the first place.
Which is really all I can say, or have to say, about DS9 at this
juncture. I already heard that they're going to push for January. I also
know that it's going to be just about impossible for them to do that (plus the
marketing folks at Paramount would much prefer the show debut in February,
during Sweeps). This is in some degree an effort to beat B5 onto the
airwaves.
And from what I hear, that's going to be next to impossible. They only
got a good, workable draft in about a week or so ago (and, to be fair, I hear
from my sources there that it's "pretty good," and that's fine), and it just
takes *time* from that script to sets to casting to the shoot itself. One
concession to time, apparently, is that there's going to be a LOT of time
spent on the Enterprise, since those sets are already finished and available,
so it'll be more like an expanded TNG episode than a real pilot. It's what
they already do there: the Enterprise encounters a new situation, a new
location, deals with it, and moves on. The difference is, we will now have
characters who remain on that place and follow them.
The only way they can beat B5 to the air is if they really go toward
making it an extended TNG episode, and make the EFX as minimal as possible.
Which is, after all, their purview. It's their show, and their right. If
they want to do it with hand-puppets, that's their prerogative.
I was going to go on originally and talk a little about a small shoot
tomorrow (a film for the marketing guys on B5, which with luck I'll be able to
bring to cons), and some casting stuff, but this has already gone on longer
than I'd anticipated. Next time.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 140 Fri Jun 05, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:54 EDT
Ah, but you've always been such a seductress....
Some nifty stuff going on, boys and girls, some of which I can't talk
about yet, but hope to soon. See, at this stage of the game, the magic box
opens, and suddenly all SORTS of people are let into the process...agents,
casting associates on both coasts and in the midwest, licensing guys,
marketing guys, advertisers...and usually the response to a new show is,
"Okay, yeah, sure, come back to us after you've been on for a while." I can't
betray anything just yet, but let's just say that that has NOT been the case
here...the phone is practically ringing off the hook.
People are Getting It. Some of them are even coming to us, having heard
about the show on the grapevine.
There's a point when a show begins to hit critical mass, when you've
spent four years trying to get people excited, and suddenly there are excited
people coming out of the woodwork at you, and now everyone begins to get some
sense of what we've got here.
(God, I'm *dying* to tell you what one of those calls was...this is so
spiffy, so neat, so BIG...wait, Joe, be patient, wait until the ink dries,
keep your mouth SHUT for once, fer chrissakes....)
Tomorrow I go On Camera. Warners _ which is really supporting us in a
big way _ is sending over some of their people to do an on-camera interview
with me, Ron Thornton, possibly a couple of others, and include some of the
EFX we've developed. The film is to be shown at a large gathering of execs,
advertisers, marketing guys, the whole bit. I'll probably nab a copy to slip
into the reel I've been making that shows the progress of B5, from early
artwork to the first EFX reel, the new stuff, now this...eventually I'll add
on new EFX, then maybe some actor stuff, and as we get into shooting, some
snippets here and there, so that the reel is always absolutely current for
conventions.
What you get the sense of, finally, when something like this really gets
going, is of an army of people, and you have to play Patton, getting everyone
where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be there. (Or maybe
army ants would be a better comparison.) There's silence for a very long time
at the beginning, then gradually it gets louder,and louder, and after a
while...yikes!
For years, nobody knows you...you start to look for your face on milk
cartons...then suddenly everybody wants to talk to you.
Y'know what? It's fun.
By the middle of next week, I should start getting video of actors
auditioning in NY, and the 3-dimensional renderings of the set. Today I had
to pick out the "audition sides," meaning those pages (sides of pages) of the
script that an actor goes through in a session with the casting director to
see if s/he's right...so you have to pick what amount to mini-scenes, and they
have to be separate enough so that the actor can get a grip on it, but
important enough to the plot to see how they handle exposition, and emotional
enough to see how they project feelings of anger or joy or fear...all in 2-3
pages a shot.
It's tough being a writer, but I gotta tell you, it's a walk in the park
compared to being an actor. It's rough work, and I have an endless respect
for those who do it well.
Gotta crash now...have to look good on camera tomorrow. If that doesn't
qualify for a miracle, I don't know what does....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 150 Sat Jun 06, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:00 EDT
The novelization process has begun. I wish I could've adapted it myself,
but time constraints prohibit that. The writer who's agreed to take on the
project is one of the best, though, and a well-known SF writer to boot. More
on this as it develops.
We've finally locked down our line producer/unit production manager, who
rides herd on the physical production side...comes to us straight from JEDI
and INDIANA JONES and other high-profile films.
Meanwhile....WOW! Had the largest production meeting yet: me, my
associate and the other exec producer Doug Netter; producer John Copeland;
production designer John Iacovelli; Ron Thornton; our new line producer, and
others. And the newly finished sketches and blueprints for the sets were
rolled out.
I had no idea....
See, Iacovelli's been promising me a new, different, radical look for the
show. I've had a kind of general idea in my head from what he said, but it
came nowhere NEAR the reality of what he unrolled onto the table in front of
my boggled eyes. Take BLADE RUNNER, mix in a little ALIEN, add a touch of
Japanese design, some deconstructionist architecture, and an eye for colors,
and you've got something absolutely nifty. He's also made the most ingenious
use of soundstage space that I've ever seen; he has really pioneered some new
ways of doing things involving forced perspective, elevated sets, new uses for
trance lights, gymbaled sets, you name it.
Anyway, it's *really* cool. The amount of thought he's put into this,
into making this absolutely new and different, is staggering. See, if you're
doing a new TREK, for instance, a lot of the homework is done for you. The
doors open like THIS, in the middle...a turbo lift looks like THIS when it's
in operation.
But because this is a different show, in a different universe, we have to
go back to ground zero and think of ways we'd do this stuff based on new tech,
and different ideas. John came up with a new way of doing doors, and ports,
and transport tubes. Endless ingenuity.
After the meeting, Ron Thornton and I were talking, and he said, "Okay,
what's the deal on Babylon 4? I mean, are we ever going to see what happened
to it, or see it again?"
I smiled. "Do you REALLY want to know?"
He considered it for a moment. I think he gets nervous when I smile like
that. "Okay...sure."
So I told him. And his eyes went wide as pancakes. It was a wonderful,
Tex Avery effect. "Get out of here," he said, at first sure I was kidding. I
explained that I was quite serious.
Last I saw him, he was wandering off, muttering to himself, but growing
increasingly enchanted with the idea....
The shoot today (the behind-the-scenes preview shot at the office for
publicity purposes) went well. I *hate* being filmed, but I think I got my
main points across.
One other interesting thing Ron mentioned: apparently the GIFs from here
have been uploaded onto the Star Trek Echo Network (or whatever it's called)
BBS system, where apparently it's causing quite a stir.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 158 Sat Jun 06, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:39 EDT
I'll announce as soon as I can. If you haven't yet recieved your shirt,
after ordering one, re-contact the same address and check with Susan. Gently.
We don't want to startle her.
Still lining up cons on the East Coast. I've kinda unofficially agreed
to be at WishCon in NY, so that's a start. Will expand from there. The hard
part is stealing time away from work here on two shows at the same time.
Thank Mojo for notebook computers....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 166 Sun Jun 07, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:07 EDT
Yes, Warners is distributing B5 through the newly-formed Warner Bros.
Consortium of Stations. WWOR New York has just been purchased and added to
the Chris-Craft line of stations that's at the core of the consortium, so
doubtless they'll be carrying B5 as well.
I'm already on tap for a con over Labor Day, so that let's out Tri Con,
and as for Shorleave...for reasons that are probably obvious, I'm trying to
avoid cons which have a prime connection to ST at this time. First, I don't
think all parties concerned would be comfortable with it. Second, we're
trying to establish our own image, and don't want to piggyback on anyone else.
So my general rule of thumb is that if the con has the words ST in its title,
or that title derives from ST, then we steer clear. There are plenty of
others, though, that will fit the bill nicely.
International distribution is being taken care of by, natch, Warner
Bros. International Distribution, and though I haven't yet received the
specifics, I have heard that it's been doing EXTREMELY well in that regard.
When I have more details, I'll pass them along.
Over the last week, we've really been getting into the details of
creating our universe, and sometimes it's overwhelming the extent of it all.
How do we tell where we are on the station? Okay, so we color code the
sections, so that rather than saying "I'm in sector seven, level five," you
say, "I'm in blue-five," and the background _ occasional color-coded panels _
can visually confirm this.
What about language? Signs? Ron's having a guy come up with a whole
raft of alien fonts to use. If you have directional signs in the halls, what
do you do with them? (Remember, this is a freeport, so you're going to have a
lot of folks coming through, not all of whom can communicate well with one
another.) So do you have one sign in one language showing where you are,
where you've been, which way to the bar...or several? If several, which do
you choose? (We've worked this out kind of ingeniously, so I'll let it go at
that for now.)
There's just an awful lot to consider...decisions of the smallest sort.
What do the cups look like? The tables? The ports? How do you handle
lighting? How do you avoid the standard configuration rooms we've seen a
hundred times before in SF-TV? How does the construction of the station
affect architecture, design, function? What sorts of things would someone be
allowed to bring with them from Earth or wherever? Are the quarters made from
natural or synthetic materials? Are all the quarters the same, or
different...if different, how, and along what lines, given that there should
be some consistency in rationale.
This is one of the things that really sets tv aside from fiction. In
fiction, you can describe a control room or observation deck in a few words,
and move on, letting the reader's mind fill in the gaps. Same with radio.
But in TV, you have to BUILD it. You can't just say, "He sits at his desk."
What does the desk look like? What does the chair look like? Does he use a
pen and paper? Computer? How do you do the communications console
differently than before? What sort of decoration does he have on the desk?
Pictures? Holograms? Souveniers? Awards? Models of ships? Then after you
decide, you have to MAKE them all, and make sure they look real.
It can get daunting after a while. That's why you've GOT to surround
yourself with people you can trust, so that when they bring ideas and designs
to you, you don't just go nuts and throw it out, but you know that what they
bring will be good, and may just need a suggestion or two to bring it more in
line with what you want. Then they go away and do it.
As an exercise, just look around any room in your house, and ask
yourself, "What do I have here that I would not have 200 years from now?
What's not here that I *would* have 200 years from now? How would it look?"
There's not a square foot of space that's not somehow affected by that
scenario.
I think I'll go lie down for a while....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 168 Mon Jun 08, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:49 EDT
Thanks, Joe. Glad you're enjoying it.
Joe...hmm...that reminds me....
I've never been real big on formality. And I know that typing
Straczynski can be a fearsome thing indeed. Fingers were never meant to move
in that particular configuration, I think, and more than one person has had to
dial 911 with his nose when his fingers tangled on the keyboard.
Point being..."Joe" is just fine. If there's another Joe in a thread (as
above), "Mr. S." is is also fine if you need to make the distinction. (One or
two have called me Big S. Some comment that I'm the biggest S in town...and I
wish they wouldn't smile quite so broadly when they say it, or hold it quite
so long.)
In any event, we're all in this together, so I think we can let formality
slide.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 171 Mon Jun 08, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:46 EDT
Actually, that's something we've discussed...what if someone only sees in
the ultraviolet spectrum? Or infrared? For those individuals, the color
coding is different...though you won't be able to see it on your television
screens, because YOU can't see in the ultraviolet range, but it'll be there.
Would this face lie?
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 190 Tue Jun 09, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:41 EDT
Okay, okay, I can take a hint....
Dr. Benjamin Kyle is Babylon 5's resident xenobiologist. He's in his
late forties or early fifties, black, very thoughtful, very dignified...with a
sly sense of humor (not sarcasm) that tends to catch one off guard. He began
as a physician on Earth, and was a leading researcher into xenobiology there,
gaining a quick grasp of the ins and outs of the few alien cultures that we
(then) were in contact with.
Naturally inquisitive, early on as a much younger man he began to "hitch-
hike" onto deep-space ships, always hungery for new information that could be
used by humans and outworlders alike. (His deal was that he would act as
ship's physician without charge, in exchange for a bit of freedom whenever
they made planetfall somewhere.)
He has seen, catalogued and operated on more alien lifeforms than just
about any other Earther in this time. And had his share of close scrapes, as
well. Some races consider is sacrilege for any other race to "enter" their
bodies through surgery...Ben will take the risk if it means saving a life.
He's detailed, methodical, single-minded...and if one route is closed,
he'll go another, even if it means getting into a fair amount of trouble.
(Which happens in the pilot.)
One scene omitted from the script for purposes of time is kind of
illustrative of Ben's humor. During a crisis _ there's someone in the
medical area (I'm being deliberately vague) who's in trouble, and Ben's on
stims, staying awake to see the patient through _ he at one point has to talk
to Sinclair.
Sinclair is asleep, Carolyn beside him, when the call comes in via the
bedside monitor. Noting Carolyn's state of undress, Sinclair tells the
monitor to receive the call, "audio only." Ben starts in on his report...then
stops. He can't see Sinclair. Sinclair, noting Carolyn who stirs beside him,
says, of the monitor, "Slight malfunction."
"Ah," Ben's voice comes..."Hello, Carolyn." He knows she's there, and
tells Sinclair c'mon, let me see you while I'm talking to you...I'm a doctor,
I'm not going to see anything I haven't seen before.
With a shrug from Carolyn, Sinclair switches on the video.
Ben's face appears on the monitor. He looks over to Carolyn. Smiles.
"Nice tan."
Carolyn's response...is best left unstated.
Ben volunteered to come to Babylon 5 for several reasons: as the best in
his field, he's most capable of dealing with any emergencies, and this is the
sort of place where that is most needed. In addition, he's getting a little
old to be hitch-hiking on starships...why not settle down somewhere where the
aliens come to *you* instead of the other way around?
He's single, his wife having passed away some five years ago, one more
reason he's come to B5. There's nothing left at home for him now that she's
gone. He has two grown children, one of whom is successful, the other...well,
less so.
He's been offered research grants from some of Earth's biggest
corporations, universities have offered him important posts, the government
would LOVE to have him come work for them (where, he suspects darkly, they
would have him work on alien biological warfare)...but he's said no to all of
them. His place is as a working physician and xenobiologist, at a place where
he will have ample time to study the new species they encounter, and do his
part for peace.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 205 Thu Jun 11, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:40 EDT
What else they would call it...hmm..........home?
I have some names for y'all, for those keeping track. We've finished
assembling our crack first team on the production side, and I can pass along
most of the names now. We're astonished at the sheer level of quality we've
gotten on this stuff. And tickled to have them.
Director: Richard Compton. One of the prime directors for The Equalizer
and Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice.
Director of Cinematography: Billy Dickson. Billy has an amazing eye for
color and shadow and composition that many of you may have seen on the
Desperado programs. First-class.
EFX Director: Ron Thornton. Main EFX fellow behind The Addams Family,
Highlander II, Plymouth, Dr. Who The Movie and others.
Production Designer: John Iacovelli. Award winning production designer
direct from Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and other projects.
Production Manager/Line Producer: Bob Brown. Previously producer or
production manager on War of the Roses, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom,
Return of the Jedi, Iceman and the three Childs Play movies.
Casting Director: Mary Jo Slater. Mary Jo has cast untold numbers of
movies and TV programs, from the revived Dark Shadows to the recent Intruders
mini-series to Star Trek VI.
Plus others we've nabbed from James Cameron's company, Steven Spielberg's
company, George Lucas' company, Jim Henson's company, and others. Names as I
can release them.
This is a team that most any movie or TV series would *kill* for, and
we're very happy to have them all aboard.
Today I saw the new suite of offices we've acquired. People begin moving
in this week. The numbers of people involved are expanding with astonishing
speed. I strolled about in my new office, and that's when things begin to
become very real. Have to acquire new furniture to fill it. That'll make
three offices: my home office, my office at Universal, and my office at the
Babylon 5 location, plus a smaller office at the set which I'll be sharing
with my other executive producer, Doug Netter.
It is now exactly 2 months to the day when we will begin rolling film.
From this point on, the clock is ticking, and there's a LOT to be done. But
we're in very good shape, and I'm looking forward to it immensely.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 211 Thu Jun 11, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 14:09 EDT
The boxed episode was wrong; several of my episodes (not the best ones,
but okay) appear in the other volumes of CP episodes; only about one-third
made it onto cassette.
As for how Carolyn got a tan...she's a trader, remember, and she's
frequently planetside during her travels. So NYAH!
jm(I think of everything)s
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 215 Thu Jun 11, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:27 EDT
Doug Netter is Exec Producer on BABYLON 5. I am Co-Executive Producer.
I worked with Doug on several projects in the past, including CAPTAIN POWER,
where he was, again, producer. He's irascible, and every bit as much of a
pain in the butt as I am. He grouses, carries on... one day I expect to
wander into the offices and find him wearing a patch over one eye, a knife
between his teeth, talking to a parrot and preparing to board the building
next door.
And I trust him implicitly. Doug is a straight-shooter. I have three
rules I live by when I work on a project: I never lie, I never BS, and I
never, EVER bluff. Doug's the same way. When he tells you he will do X, it
happens. Period. He's a pro, and was previously the head of production at
MGM.
When we were working together on CP, Doug made me a promise. He said,
"Look, Joe, you know me, I'm not a writer, that's not what I'm good at. So I
will never give you a creative note. Production notes, hell yes. Creative
scripts notes...no."
And he kept that promise.
Which is why, when it came time to show someone what I'd come up with on
BABYLON 5, instead of going righ off the bat to a big studio or a network...I
went to Doug. He liked it, and we formed a partnership to pruce the movie and
the series. He's invested a lot of time and effort over the last 4 years,
when it seemed it would never happen, but he never lost faith in the project.
We have a great relationship: we insult each other shamelessly. I've
even learned to somewhat mimic his voice, so I can return fire with his own
words, in his own voice. When our casting director met with us for the first
time and started going over how much she *loved* the script, he broke in, "No,
no, no, jeez, what're you saying, you can't say that, we NEVER say that, I'm
telling you you can't work with the man if you say that kind of thing. You
gotta tell him it's *sufficient*, but just barely, and with luck we can save
it in post. Jeez, no, don't ever do that again."
He's a very funny man.
I'm having him roughed up on Friday.
THAT'S who Doug Netter is.
Meanwhile...interesting things are happening. See, normally, when you do
a syndicated show, it's tough finding the actors you want, because syndicated
rates are across the board lower than network. That's a given on ANY show.
So all parties were prepared for a long, hard search.
Scripts started going out Monday.
Growing since, then and particularly in the last 48 hours as scripts have
arrived at homes, actors have been coming out of the woodwork at us, from all
sides. Not just newcomers, we're talking *name* actors who read the script
and fell in love with one or more of the characters and want to play them. My
jaw fell at some of the names I heard over the phone today...actors who will
do it for what we have, and want to do it very much.
Big name or newcomer, though, we're going to see and consider everybody.
You don't want to cast a Big Name just because he's a Big Name if he's wrong
for the part...you screw yourself over bigtime if you do that. Similarly, if
you don't cast a newcomer for a part even though he's *perfect* for the role,
you again screw yourself over.
But it looks like our range of choice is going to be a *lot* bigger than
I'd expected. A *lot* bigger....
Meanwhile...think good thoughts. I've always had one composer in mind
for this show. People thought I was nuts. But we've got a good, not a great
but a *good*, chance of nailing him. If we can, I'll be in heaven. Won't
know for a while, though, so don't expect word on this one anytime soon.
Boys and girls, THIS is the fun part!
(In the voice of Dr. Smith, "'We can save it in post' indeed. Hmf! Oh
the pain, the pain...come here, you clattering, clanking concatonation of
useless cogs!")
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 231 Fri Jun 12, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
When we get to the series, there will doubtless be guest stars, some of
whom have already been arranged for. But not in the movie; we want to
concentrate on our regulars and the ensemble at this point.
The scene cut for time won't be filmed; you don't film what you know
you'll have to leave on the cutting room floor. Later, though, when the
series gets going...who knows, it might surface.
I was sure I'd spoken more about Garibaldi. Okay, remind me in, say, 3
weeks (top of July) and I'll go into more detail.
About Frank Welker...I've actually enjoyed working with him over the
years on TRGBs. Extraordinarily funny. By himself, he could get things so
funny that we'd have to stop down, nobody could stop laughing.
The absolute *worst* such incident _ and thus the best _ came on the
last episode of mine. See, we had to always keep Maurice, Frank and _ ogod,
the new Peter, I've forgotten the actor's name _ apart, because if they sat
together, this weird comedy loop would start, and they'd get funnier, and
funnier, and soon all hell would break out. (Once, when Lorenzo Music was
still doing the show, Frank learned to mimic his voice. So one day, in
taping, when Lorenzo missed his cue, Frank supplied his line...in his voice.
Lorenzo looked around with a "What the hell was THAT?" look on his face.)
Anyway...on this one day...all three of them were seated together, Frank,
Maurice and the Other Guy Whose Name I Can't Remember. And they started
improvising. And they went into Celebrity Farts. What would the farts of
various celebrities sound like? (We're talking in the middle of a taping, for
chrissakes.) Soon, Frank took the lead...Cher's fart, Twiggy's fart, Raymond
Massie's fart, the Pope's fart....
...and then...and then...he let fly with...William Conrad's fart.
And flattened the entire place.
People were *literally* on the floor. No one could talk. Laughter and
shrieking and carrying on for Twenty Minutes. Someone would try to get out a
line...and just dissolve. And every time we *thought* we had it in control
again...out would come another William Conrad Special.
I thought I would die.
Wonderful thing is, I have that on videotape, I think.
I think I'll go find it....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 237 Fri Jun 12, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:31 EDT
David Coulier, right-right-right, that's the guy.
Took a look at the videotape, and remembered one other thing. It took
nearly 20 minutes to get things calmed down after Welker let fly. We had to
take a break so everyone could get their heads screwed back on again.
Everyone went back into the recording studio. Sat. A moment of silence as
they get ready....
And there comes Frank Welker's voice, "Y'know...you ever wonder what
Charlton Heston's fart would sound like...?"
The director lunged for the studio mike, "DON'T....YOU...***DARE***"
He just smiled.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 245 Sat Jun 13, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
Paula...being only nominally computer literate, that's a question far
beyond my understanding. When Ron Thornton does his RTC with me prior to B5
airdate, you might want to address that question to him.
I seem to recall that the Conrad incident was *after* I'd finished
working on the show, which made it just that much funnier. I mean, it just
went on and on and on...windows were blown out...birds fell from the
sky...women went into labor...animals keeled over and died...passing airplanes
momentarily lost power...dogs for five miles in any direction suddenly looked
around and wondered "What the hell was THAT?"....
I can't believe it...I've degenerated my *own* topic into fart jokes.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 253 Sat Jun 13, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 20:09 EDT
"What about sin?"
Personally, I'm for it.
And all of the areas you mention will fall under the eye of B5 from time
to time. There's nothing more boring than someone who's overcome all his or
her vices...so all of our characters will be prey to one problem or another.
Ambassador Londo Mollari has a BIG gambling problem (and a secondary problem
with women), Garibaldi has a history with alcohol and other substances that
almost got him kicked out of his prior jobs...I find the most interesting
people those who are always fighting to be better, to be more, to avoid
falling into vice despite terrible temptation.
And some will not survive that temptation.
At the central core of our humanity is the fact that we are flawed, and
it's overcoming those flaws that makes for real drama. Or, in some cases,
being overcome BY those flaws.
You have to understand the key issue that has always been, and will
always be, at the *heart* of Babylon 5. In 99.9% of all SF-TV in the last
twenty years or so, there have always been the Noble Good Guys and the Awful
Bad Guys. I don't buy that. Whether it's 20 years from now or 200, we will
still be humans. Some will be better or more noble than others, and some will
be constantly on the lookout for the next scam, the next vice, the next thrill
or danger or target.
In Babylon 5, I want to hew as closely as possible to how REAL people
would react in this situation. I haven't labored at this for four years to do
one more Good Guy In Shoot-Em-Ups With The Bad Guys Show.
Garibaldi will lapse in his rehabilitation. Londo will get in very
serious trouble because of his vices. Laurel will have a run-in with certain
chemicals. Even Sinclair will fall prey to a weakness of his own.
The question is...what do each of them now DO about it? THAT is what makes
it interesting.
There's a short story entitled "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg," by
Mark Twain. In that story, we meet a town of people who have put up a sign
outside their town, "Lead Us Not Into Temptation." And they have scrupulously
avoided temptation for years. One day, into this town of self-proclaimed and
self-satisfied virtue comes temptation, in the form of a bag of gold which
someone, offering the right phrase, is supposed to collect. The man who
really left it (and we find later it's lead), gives the town's most virtuous
people fake phrases, to see if they will try and collect that which is not
theirs.
Every one of them fall for it...and the town is embarrassed and
ashamed...and many are wonderfully vindicated by this. And now the sign in
front of the town reads, "Lead us INTO Temptation." Because it's only when we
are truly tested that our virtue means a damn thing.
"The human heart in conflict with itself," William Faulkner said, is the
only thing worth writing about. Mainstream shows explore that question in
hospitals, in police stations, in lawyers offices, on the frontier. Now B5
will explore it on the frontier of space, in a self-contained world of its
own. If that wasn't the whole point, I'd have given up on this a long long
time ago.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 261 Sun Jun 14, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:33 EDT
Dan Quayle badmouthing the "elite" ... right ... a sissyfied, pantyassed,
country-club-and-golf-swinging rich daddy's boy who couldn't knot his tie
without an instruction manual and three aides calling somebody ELSE "elite."
Well, at least we all know that "culturalelite" is not one word the way he
says it, but two words. What a waste of genetic material. The man's an
intellectual cul-de-sac and ought to be dropped down a sewer.
It doesn't bother me.
Meanwhile...I think it would be an error to blame the "non-internal-
conflict" mode on the "suits." In the case of TNG, that came straight from
Roddenberry, for instance. It is *still* firm policy that those aboard the
Enterprise cannot _ CANNOT _ have internal doubts or fears.
The execs at Warners never once mentioned anything about that, and have
been unstintingly supportive of the project. Understand: I've now put the
script through 3 drafts, all on my own initiative, and we have not gotten
*one* note from Warners. We had a meeting on the last version, and except for
a thought that it still might be a few pages too long, they had no suggestions
at all. They WANT a different vision, something with teeth. And they've been
endlessly supportive of that.
B5 toys? Well, there's been contact with the licensing people. I sure
hope so, I want some myself.
As for Walter Koenig...I've already asked if he'd be willing to a) write
a script for us (he's done a LOT of TV writing, something not generally
known), b) guest-star in an episode, and c) do a cameo early on with, um, some
other people you'd recognize. (sly smile)
BTW...I've been thinking about it, and what do y'all think of the idea of
a B5 newsletter? Nothing fancy, VERY bare-bones, but just something in
writing that chronicles the inside info, profiles those involved, maybe shows
some of the early designs, that sort of thing? What would be good about that
is that it would thus be accessible to people who don't have a modem...if you
want to turn somebody on to what's going on, you let him know about, or sign
him on for, the newsletter.
Would there be enough interest to support that? I don't know if
contributions should be requested when subscribing, or just send it out
freebie (or if there's enough interest for anyone to want to shell out a
couple bucks for it). I happen to know somebody who does newsletters (hi, you-
know-who), and have been considering hiring her to do the job if there's
enough interest. At this point, probably just one per month to start, maybe
getting fancier as we go.
If it's even a good idea.
What do y'all think?
Oh...and there's a new B5 logo in the works. The more we've looked at
the current version, the more we've thought maybe something else would work
for the show. (We'd still use the old one, but for other purposes.) I gave
Ron a write-up of what I thought would look *really* cool, and he is working
on it now. Just FYI.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 288 Sun Jun 14, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 18:04 EDT
Yikes, 21 messages since last night...okay, I think I'll go ahead and
investigate the newsletter issue seriously. (Spoke to someone last night who
can do the job, so we'll see.) As for the "should I/shouldn't I?" stuff...I
actually wasn't being cute or ingenuous; I sometimes use this forum for
thinking aloud. I really hadn't decided one way or another when I posted my
message. Was actually looking for an opinion (and boy, did I get them!).
The one thing I'm going to have to consider further along these lines is
the fee question. One thing that I swore at the beginning of this whole
process, long before I ever posted a single word about B5 (back even before it
was That Which Could Not Be Named), was that I was very, very, VERY unhappy
with the way media fans have been shilled and ripped off and exploited over
the years, and that I would NOT do the same. Thus I have to be very careful,
simply for my own peace of mind.
Once the show gets up and going, running regularly, that's one thing.
But right now, a newsletter almost benefits *this* end more than any other,
because the show hasn't aired yet. (Yes, as you can see, I'm thinking aloud
again.)
So the *best* way to handle this might be as follows: it'll be nominally
free for the time being. (Because printing costs and the cost of actually
putting it together will be absorbed by Yr Obdnt Srvnt, not Warners, it won't
be really fancy, but the guts will be there.) If somebody wants to contribute
a buck or two, that's fine, but optional. Nor should anyone send in ANYthing
until receiving one issue at least and determining at that time if it's worth
it. (As I've said here before: take NO ONE, including me, at face value; be
critical consumers.)
Once we're on the air regularly, at some point it'll probably go into
subscription mode (at the least possible fee, just enough to cover production
costs). But not until then.
I *think* that's fair.
Anyway, for the moment, do nothing. I've got to make some phone calls
and some arrangements. We already have a decent sized mailing list from those
who've received shirts, so you're already on-line. At some point, we'll open
it up and have anyone else who's interested send their addresses. But not
until I have everything set up.
Like I said...it won't be fancy. Just informative.
(As for the schematics, I know that Ron has some cool ideas along the
lines you mention, but I don't know the details yet. Will post when I do.)
Somebody the other day, noting the enthusiasm in the fan community for a
virtual outsider, described B5 as "the Ross Perot of science fiction
television." I don't know if that's good or bad....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 301 Mon Jun 15, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:31 EDT
Agreed, the simpler the better. No ads for now. Just info.
Phil, send me the B5 text file, and I'll approve it ASAP, just want to
make sure I didn't say anything a) stupid, or b) no longer correct.
I'm giving thought to opening up the shirts for general order at cost.
When I decide on that one way or another, will post that info (and the
address) here. Just being careful...there's only 500 of those things, and I'm
not sure how many I'll be lugging to conventions.
The "Making Of" documentary will be made during the filming of B5, so
where it'll be appearing or when is an open question. I imagine it'll be
supplied to E! and ET and other news organizations, and to the TV stations
carrying B5 as promotional material. Since we don't want to blow our wad too
early, I can't imagine it'd appear in general distribution anytime before
December/January, though if I can get my hands on it, it may appear at a
convention or two....
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 332 Tue Jun 16, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 21:20 EDT
Excuse me while I fall down....
It has been a *looooooooooooong* day.
Met with some execs and showed them our progress...blew them away. They
had no *idea* we had come so far, or were capable of so much. Also during
this, they (and I) got to see the foam-core models for the first time of the
B5 sets. They're really something else. We're taking a completely different,
but very logical approach to building the sets than anyone is going to expect.
Everything about them, the angles, the composition, is unique. Really cool
stuff.
Then went over sound stuff and other production details. For those
keeping track, it does seem that we're going "non-whoosh" for our space
sounds, to keep it closer to reality. Went over alien langauges, how we're
handling sound in environmental respects, that sort of thing. And THEN met
with the wardrobe designer we've selected, who kept laying out designs and
photos and magazine pictures and ethnic clothing styles from various
countries, "Is it like this? Or more like this?" And you're confronted with
shadings and degrees and liens, and what is going to be the style 200 years
from now?
It's just a blur of decisions, and you're constantly surrounded by five
or six people who need the answers to what the world looks like NOW so they
can begin building it.
After a while, you can't even see straight anymore, and all you want to
do is go somewhere *far* away for a long long time.
Not that it ain't fun, and not that it ain't exciting, but yikes!
Will be seeing the audition tapes from New York tomorrow. We have
already found some nice prospects. Will advise when I have a better idea.
Going to collapse now.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 342 Wed Jun 17, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:33 EDT
By all means, go ahead with the badge et al. Sounds cool.
Who are some of the actors we're getting in terms of shows?
(Again, these are just *auditions,* not confirmed people; in fact, some
we know we won't use at this point, but it's interesting to see who we're
getting.)
Got a call on the last bunch of people to come through, all of them very
good. Person read down the list of names, and when I heard one of them I
stopped dead. "WHO?!" I asked. She read the name again, and _ assuming, I
suppose, that I didn't recognize it _ noted, "You know, from THE
AVENGERS...?"
Oh.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 363 Thu Jun 18, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 04:01 EDT
No further comments on casting for the time being. And just FYI, I've
formally changed Jackarr's name (as I once considered here, again thinking
aloud). It's now spelled G'Kar, more in line with the way it's pronounced.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 376 Fri Jun 19, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:05 EDT
Still thinking about music. And sound.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. We're doing a read-through. What
that means is, we assemble the *full* production team: line producer,
production manager, production designer, art director, director, director of
cinematography, writer/producer (me), efx director, wardrobe person, and a
bunch of others, along with several actors (just for that job, not on the
series) who then read through the entire script, page by page, and everyone
gets a chance to stop it and ask questions and discuss what's needed. It's a
long and painstaking process that will probably take at least half the day.
As well as doing all the production stuff with the rest of the team, I'm
going to be listening very carefully to the dialogue, since this will be the
first time I've heard the whole thing spoken aloud. Invariably, once you see
how your words fit in somebody's mouth, you trim, rearrange, and otherwise
futz with things. The goal to make the whole thing as airtight as possible.
Sat and talked for a long time with the director today, Richard Compton,
and he's even more excited about the project than when he began and he was
pretty excited *then*. And found out something I didn't know until we spoke.
Our script was "published" a week ago Wednesday. (Published here means
that the script has been broken down and each scene numbered for production
purposes, and that draft, now called the shooting script, is given to all
production staff, sent to agents locally, that sort of thing.) The following
day, Thursday, Richard arrived in New York to help with casting. What he
discovered was that suddenly he was getting calls from practically every
actor's agent in town about the show, AND THAT THEY ALL HAD THE SCRIPT AND HAD
ALL **READ** THE SCRIPT!
These were agents to whom we had not SENT the script. Apparently, as
near as he was able to determine, the script was being bootlegged all over
town, faxed and messengered and people were demanding copies. It's sort of
"the" ticket in town now is to get a copy of the script. And the agents, and
their clients, went nuts. I'd heard that people were coming out of the
woodwork (and I'd mentioned it in passing here), but I had no idea really how
it was happening. Actors were circulaing copies of the script among
themselves and calling their agents and the casting director trying
everywhichway to get in on the auditions, convinced from what they saw in the
script that it was going to be a hit.
None of this I knew in detail until today. I was astonished. The
director just sat there and smiled. "You've never heard your script read,
have you?" he asked. I allowed as how I hadn't. That smile again: "You're
always mentioning how much you know of the story that isn't in the
script...well, there's things *in* the script that I'd bet even YOU don't know
are there, because they're things you put in subconsciously...but an actor can
find them. And during the auditions, they did. They just chewed the
dialogue, savored it. Loved it. Found all these wonderful little corners and
subtext. Wait," he said, "just wait until you see the audition tapes
tomorrow. You'll die."
This sounds awful, I know, but the truth is, I just sat there and beamed.
Sonuvabitch...y'know, this might actually *work*.
We've decided, btw, to extend casting another 2 weeks. We've got some
GREAT prospects, but Richard feels, and I agree, that since we've got the
time, don't rush. Make the best choice possible. We've got the script, we've
got the production team, we've got the EFX, we've got the director, we've got
a terrific design on the sets...the last thing and the most important thing we
need is the cast. If we can pull that part off...we've got it nailed.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 378 Fri Jun 19, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:53 EDT
Someone who has no flaws to overcome is, in my view, a pretty crappy role
model.
You have to stop for a moment and ask yourself, seriously, what a role
model *is*, or should be.
Is a "role model" someone of privilege, or station, who is utterly absent
of self-doubt or flaw?
Someone, in other words, who is almost alien to us?
Or is a real role model someone who has gone through the same things we
have, experienced the same problems and frustrations and dead-ends as we have,
but who has managed to overcome those problems and lead a life of dignity and
grace?
It's like saying which is the better role model for an explorer: someone
who's ranged all over the plains, fallen down, gotten lost, cut his feet, but
managed to find his way back safely...or the guy who reads plenty of maps, but
never leaves his living room?
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 381 Fri Jun 19, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:55 EDT
We'll probably end up getting an intern via one of the local
universities.
(Wonder if it'd be better to go for a creative writing student than a
film student...the latter can be such a pain....)
When did I get over being nervous and anxious at someone reading my
words?
Well, I'll tell you the truth: as soon as I hit that point, I'll let you
know.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 393 Sat Jun 20, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:28 EDT
Thanks, all. I suspect that Warners will splash the "Making Of" thing
all over the place, and will thus leave that to them. As for the newsletter,
I've pretty much made up my mind, but still have to at least run it past
Warners as a formality.
Had the run-through today, with actors on hand reading through the whole
script (sort of a reader's theater rendering). Every so often, we'd stop and
discuss how to do this effect or that sequence, but the interruptions were
few.
It was really a blast, I gotta tell you. See, when it's just in your
head, you *think* you know how it'll work, but even then there's no way of
knowing it'll work when it hits the stage. There's always some doubt. Barely
slept at all last night, wondering, worrying the script in my head the way a
dog worries a bone. Dragged my ass in early this morning, met the actors who
were going to read through it with us, met everybody else (some of whom I
hadn't met before...it was a *big* room and a *big* crowd from every branch of
our production), grabbed a bagel and water (I don't think I could've handled
coffee this morning), and sat at the long table facing the actors, hoping for
the best.
And like I said...it was a blast. See, a script is *meant* to be
performed. It's still an art form unto itself, while it's on the printed
page, but it's *meant* to be spoken, the way you can appreciate a musical
score on a page, but it's only really alive when an orchestra gets its hands
on the notes and brings it out into the world.
Today I heard the birth cry of Babylon 5.
The characters spoke, out loud, for the first time.
In short, it went an *awful* lot better than I had dared to hope.
The character stuff worked, the humor worked wonderfully (the whole room -
- people who'd read the script dozens of times by now _ broke up repeatedly,
and after one long laughing fit, one of the actresses called to me, "You are a
very sick puppy. I like that in a man"), and the action was paced much faster
than I'd thought, just seeing it on the page. (If anything, I may have to
extend the scenes just a little during some of the action set-pieces...if it's
too short, it feels perfunctory. I wanted it to move fast-fast-fast, but now
I see that I can take just a beat or two more to give it more weight in
places.)
Some members of the crew felt that they'd finally "seen" the story for
the first time, and everyone left the meeting absolutely jazzed.
We wrapped at about 2:00. Five hours straight, and not one person left
to go to the bathroom or stopped for a break. Nobody *wanted* to stop.
Today was a very good day.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 408 Sun Jun 21, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:51 EDT
...and, Arne? What was the reaction?
As for the new logo...I love it a lot. Won't be uploading it for a
goodly time, because like I said, I want to hold some things back. But it's
*way* cool.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 431 Tue Jun 23, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:27 EDT
Located quite some distance away from B5 (a safe distance in case
something goes wrong) is the jump point, which is a device which creates an
"exit-point" from hyperspace. It's tremendously powerful, allowing smaller
ships to use the system without lugging around the massive amount of
equipement and power sources to burst back in.
The area itself is several miles across. You go into one at point A, and
emerge at point B. Big ships _ BIG ships _ can create their own entrances
and exits (which explains how the gates or jump points got somewhere), and
they construct the gates as exploration continues, leaving gates the way you'd
leave bread crumbs.
At least, that's the theory.
Meanwhile, spent 6 hours watching tapes of actors auditioning,and sat in
on some live auditions as well (the tapes were from New York). We have some
REALLY good candidates. The hardest to cast, I figured, would be Delenn, for
many reasons...but we may have lucked out right out of the _ um_ gate.
There are times when you see a face, and just go, "Nahhh, that ain't it"
and fast-forward...but you really do feel for these actors, the work it takes
to get in the front door.
Anyway, if we find nothing else, we've got strong prospects for at least
half our cast, and two weeks more to go on casting, so we're in very good
shape.
jms
______
Category 18, Topic 22
Message 433 Wed Jun 24, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:18 EDT
Here's an important lesson:
When someone comes to videotape you, and they tell you to sit back in
your chair, SIT BACK IN YOUR CHAIR! Augh. I saw the videotape of the behind-
the-scenes piece Warners did on us. And it's fine, really, it's got good
stuff, it looks nice, it's just...everybody else sat back, so they used a lens
with a slightly fisheye effect to bring them forward, but I have this tendency
to get passionate when I talk, and I sit forward, and _ well _ I look like I
gained 50 pounds at *least*. Combine that with the tendency of television to
make you look heavier to begin with, and yikes!
Anyway, that aside (I may never eat a pizza again), it came out well.
More meetings today, costume and prosthetics and wardrobe and the like.
Have some interesting new techniques we're going to try; don't know if they'll
work yet or not, we have to do some tests, but if they do, it'll be cool.
Also saw a still of the Narn ship for the first time. Not bad.
This will be brief; have been on the go since forever today, and am about
ready to fall flat on my face.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 443 Thu Jun 25, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 00:24 EDT
To a prior message...yes, I'll be at Comic Con. I'm slated to do the
Westercon/Westercolt presentation on that Saturday at 1:00.
I sometimes think that EVERYBODY knows somebody who's auditioning for B5.
Good look to him. We've found a good prospect, but we're keeping our minds
open. (We found a *very* interesting prospect for Londo the other day.)
This is going to sound awful, and I shouldn't take pleasure in it, but I
*swear* it's true, there were other people in the room, I wouldn't make
something like this up...COULDN'T...I was sitting in on auditions the other
day, hiding behind the camera, didn't want the actors to know that the
writer/producer was hanging around. So this one actor comes in to audition,
saying all these wonderful thigns about the script, and then pulls a sour face
and says, "Yeah, I was auditioning yesterday for that other show. DeepSpace
Whatever. Man, what a piece of sh!t."
I practically fell out of my chair.
Forgive me. I'm a sick man.
(And, of course, there's every possibility that he said EXACTLY the same
thing in reverse. The one thing I'm learning is never to take easy
compliments too seriously. That way lies madness.)
Anyway....
Interesting prosthetics discussion the other day. We're trying to find
different or offbeat things to do with the look of characters, and their
wardrobe...which is *tough*, because so much has been done over time. We've
absolutely ruled out the Forehead approach, but then you've got other problems
to consider. See, that's the one part of an actor's head that's relatively
unused (boy, what a straight line). For instance, you don't want to cover the
eyes or the mouth, since that's where an actor does 90% of his or her work.
So you start looking at other options: cheeks, necks, arms, head-shapes,
coloration, texture, on and on, while trying to avoid the obvious dumbnesses
(no metallic skin coloration, it either doesn't show up well on camera, or
looks like something out of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea).
There's the question of how MANY alien species you're going to see on
camera, how many of each, what sizes, do you use appliances that take less
time than straight makeup? How many costumes are required? If a race has
several representatives on board, do they all dress exactly the same (more
cost effective), or do they all dress with variations of the same (more
expensive)? Do you mix mechanicals with costumes? How do you deal with the
lighting as it affects makeup and wardrobe? How much color do you want to go
for? How will wardrobe vary depending on location of the set?
The process of asking those questions entailed locking me in a room with
our EFX guys, the director, prosthetics and wardrobe people, and they just
kept hitting me with this stuff for about 2 or 3 hours. (You get kind of
punchdrunk after a while..."What did you have in mind when you described the
(blank)?" "I had in mind *exactly* what the wardrobe guy is going to give us
because I knew intuitively, being able to see into the future, that he would
know *exactly* what I meant, he wouldn't require further explanation, and once
(Sometimes they hit me.)
Fortunately, they all *do* seem very much in tune with what I saw in my
head when I wrote the script, so it went fairly smoothly overall.
May have some interesting licensing news to pass along soon.
Meanwhile, we now begin the process of further organizing our PR with
Warners so we can get the most bang for our buck, and coordinate our efforts.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 448 Thu Jun 25, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:45 EDT
Yeah, we're looking at that kind of approach as well. I think the best
way to go is a mix of things, different techniques and looks.
S.Schaper...dead on re: the military/tactical stuff. And you will get to
see some of that in the pilot.
Man, it's a sharp crowd around here....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 456 Fri Jun 26, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:51 EDT
Boy, another long day, and lots of questions here. I think I'll tackle
the questions first, then some news.
Yes, there will be classes of ships, and we've come up with some
interesting ideas on how to play some of that. You will *definitely* see some
of those variations in the 2-hour pilot.
And yes, more than one-on-one. That's all I can say for the moment on
those two topics.
I imagine, down the road, we'll be more flexible on the forehead
issue...it's just that, to start, we want something that's consistently
different. One of the most important aspects to all of this is that we
establish a completely different identity to anything else around. So we
make some concessions to that. But over time, we'll be flexible.
Re: a B5 roleplaying game...if someone at a roleplaying company wants to
license one, or for that matter if ANY licenser (toys, games, whatever) wants
to license B5 stuff, they should go through the Licensing Company of America,
Warners' in-house licensing company.
Yes, I was adjacent to the Penguin's Lair set, which was across from my
office at Universal. Got to hang around the set and stuff. My (then)
secretary stopped appearing at her desk after a while, and could almost
invariably be found down at the penguin tank, feeding the birds.
The budget is, natch, classified. At least for the time being. But we
are absolutely staying within the budget allocated. The difference between
any other SF show and this one is that we're doing things in a very different
way, looking at ways of making sets or using our resources such that we get
more bang for our buck. There's an *awful* lot of waste in TV. We're putting
every dollar up there on the screen, and our people have found some
wonderfully ingenious ways to make everything bigger, better, and more
flexible. In addition, most times a budget gets out of control is when you
back into your set design, you start making changes, throw out one thing or
another....
We've had four years to plan this out. And that advance planning is
showing in every aspect of the show, including set design, production, EFX,
prosthetics, you name it. We've already locked down the blueprints for all of
our sets. That's well in advance of where most shows are at this point. We
already know in advance roughly how many episodes in the first season we will
be using various characters, so that helps us set the acting budget. Why pay
an actor for 22 episodes if you're only planning to use him for 11? Most
times, nobody KNOWS how many shows an actor is going to appear in, and pay him
for the run of the show, only to use him for half the episodes. Happens all
the time.
Most shows are not run terribly responsibly. I believe right down to my
socks that if someone is going to give me several million dollars to go make
something, it behooves me to use that money *responsibly*. And in this case,
because *so* much is known ahead of time about the requirements of the show,
it's eminently easy to work to a budget, and yet wind up with something that's
not simply acceptable, but which will simply blow your socks off.
On to the news:
More casting today. Saw a *dynamite* Sinclair. And, for the first time,
a *really* good Lyta. (Oh, and by the way...since the actors all come in with
different pronunciations, I figured it might not be generally known...it's
pronounced "Leeta.") Also had a meeting with the publicity people at Warners,
who're starting to gear up for the B5 publicity campaign. Not much has been
done until now because we don't hit the air until February, and nobody wants
to blow the momentum ahead of time.
Managed to get a copy of the short B5 promo film with interviews, and
will add that to the convention tape I bring around.
And now, as for the newsletter: it's now a go, having checked with
Warners to be sure we didn't overlap. No working title yet. (Hmm...how about
this: the person who comes up with the best title for the BABYLON 5 newsletter
gets one of the rare, early B5 color portfoios? If you decide to go for it,
post the stuff here, but try to put several into one message, rather than a
bunch of separate ones.)
The editor/writer of the XXXX, The Official Newsletter of Babylon 5, is
Katherine Lawrence (known to locals as sf-lawrence).
I'll have her get the current mailing list of folks who've gotten t-
shirts from the B5 offices. We plan on adding as many of the convention
programmers from around the country as possible. How she wants to add other
names from here is up to her...whether she wants them now, via email, or
later, or what. (KL: don't have 'em come via the B5 offices, we'd be
swamped.)
Target date for Issue #1 is August 1st.
That said...it's now out of my hair. I'll let Katherine handle any and
all inquiries about the newsletter. I don't wanna know from it for a while;
I'm up to my ears in production at the moment.
There's a lot more news breaking, but I'll save some of it for another
time.
One kind of fun thing...I was playing with the set models today at the
office, and found that if you pick them up, and peer through the plastic
portholes and/or entrances, you can sort of get a camera's eye view of the
thing...like actually being on set in miniature. Talk about a thrill...I
can't *imagine* what it's gonna be like to actually stand on the set of the B5
observation dome when it's finished. (These sets, by the way, are *big*, boys
and girls; I'm talking BIG.)
Onward!
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 461 Fri Jun 26, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 02:52 EDT
Yes, there will be married couples. And singles. And unmarried couples.
And sex. And on and on.
Interesting ideas..."The Tower of Babylon 5" ain't bad, but we've got a
long ways to go until we get a final title. (I think that "Straczynski's Log"
is...well...a little *personal*...not to brag, of course....)
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 493 Sat Jun 27, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 05:42 EDT
Some good names here; some I rather like.
The circulation of the newsletter is going to be much broader than just
to Genie-ites; if that were the extent of it, then we wouldn't NEED a
newsletter. It's to plug in the...er..un-plugged-in.
Saw some more actors today, some more cool EFX, and for the first time,
sketches of the prosthetics we'll be using for some of the actors. WAY neat.
G'Kar is especially interesting.
Long day (those who listen to HOUR 25 know why), so this'll be brief.
Good things coming.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 529 Sun Jun 28, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 16:39 EDT
All suggestions are equally considered...even the loony ones.
Yes, when I'm finished with the B5 movie, I'll continue with M,SW (as I
am now, in fact), until the season concludes in February...which is about when
we'll dig in seriously on the B5 series. What that means is that I'm really
doing double duty...I steal a few early-morning hours for B5, then go to M,SW,
put in a full day, leave around 5ish, then go to B5 and don't return home
again until sometimes 10 or 10:30 p.m. (And of course there are days when I
have to be at B5 all day, for casting and other reasons.) So I'm sometimes on
the go as much as 18-20 hours a day, depending on what's up. Fortunately, the
producers at M,SW are fully aware of the situation, and support it, and as
long as I continue to handle my workload, have no problem with it.
There is a tendency to forget where one lives sometimes, though....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 540 Mon Jun 29, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:13 EDT
Trying to decide what and where to go now that Lady K. has opted out.
Sigh. One more decision.....
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 548 Tue Jun 30, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 01:59 EDT
(pant-pant-pant) Barely a few minutes here to log on and update.
Meetings galore. Today we locked down the actual, physical look of our
main alien characters, and man, they're great. Just great. We've got Steve
Burg, one of the main conceptual designers behind Terminator 2, and John
Criswell, one of the main guys from the Henson Creature Shop, linked to handle
prosthetics and related areas. They've both always wanted to cut loose with
what they can do, and we're hoping to give them that opportunity.
So now the look of Londo, G'Kar, Delenn and Kosh is (are?) set. I think
you'll approve (sly smile).
Will lock down some of the cast in the next few days; the rest of the
cast in the next 7-10 days. Set design has been approved by the studio.
We're now in the process of making deals for actors, construction firms, efx
shops and the like. We're *really* starting to move now.
That's the funny thing about a production like this...it takes a long
time to get moving; it's like slowly pushing a huge boulder inch by inch until
gradually it begins to pick up momentum...goes faster...and then it's all you
can do to keep it from speeding out of control, which is something you always
have to guard against when you've got *so* many people running in different
directions, doing different things.
Onward.
jms
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Category 18, Topic 22
Message 550 Tue Jun 30, 1992
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 03:04 EDT
I'll answer that question the second week in August. Trust me, I have a
reason for delaying the answer.
jms
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