For those who haven’t seen them all yet, here are the latest comments on recent developments from JMS himself, posted to his Facebook Fan Page:
Just turned in what one hopes will be the last revision on Shattered Union for Bruckheimer, and moving on to start writing on Vanishing Point, also for Bruckheimer (these are intended as big tent-pole summer movies)…got word that the B5 r…elated stuff is still proceeding along, just can’t say anything yet…artwork on Superman Earth One volume 2 is coming along swimmingly, looks great, with lots of funny stuff, personal stuff and cool action with a redesigned Big Bad familiar to Superman fans…have accepted an invite to talk at the Lake Arrowhead Writers Guild Conference in June (only open to WGA members)…the Houdini screenplay for Dreamworks is being budgeted and sent to directors…I just did a short piece for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s yearly Liberty Comic…and I’ll be going out to the networks to pitch a couple of projects to develop for next year. Otherwise it’s pretty quiet.
Re: the B5 thing…I’m not being coy, it’s just that over the years, it’s like B5 has been the football, the fans (and I to a degree) have been Charlie Brown, and the studios/networks have dutifully executed their role as Lucy. Consequently, I’m not saying anyTHING to anyONE for any REASON until I know for a stone cold fact that there’s ink on contracts and we’re moving ahead on something of substance.
and this question/response posted on Thursday:
Jason Fancher
Everything sounds great. About the B5 thing, I understand the hesitation over not saying something too soon and getting hopes up, but remember we are the best fans in the world. Alot of us sat through five plus years of extreme loyalty, completely in love with that series. Still to this day nothing can touch it in regards to thought provoking drama. So with that in mind, we the fans can help push the product for you if you ask. With social media we can start reassembling the fan base and bringing a new flock. With Likes on Facebook and internet buzz, we could be the key to showing a studio the ever present interest in the franchise and squash any doubts they may have. When first you tackled the series, you stepped onto the internet and created interest that more than likely helped save the show on more than one occasion. This time let us do that work. If you write it, we can help sell it.Fans of J. Michael Straczynski [kurt’s edit: aka JMS]
I appreciate that, but using the fans in this fashion is the one thing that I don’t want to do. I’ve seen so many fans really kind of taken advantage of, sent out into the field to drum up interest…t’ain’t right. I think we did something (or talked about maybe doing something) like this once when B5 was on the edge of renewal, and that is almost okay…but in a case like this, it’s my responsibility to the fans to get something going IF it can be done to the right standards. B5 has proven its mettle, the studios know what it is, they know there’s a fan base…everybody’s done their part. Now it’s the turn of the studio or others to step up.
I’m an infinitely patient person. I have waited this long for a ‘definite’ word of a new Babylon 5, I can wait a bit longer.
(This is where someone quotes G’Kar back at me)
Love, @powerdroidgirl
Well, I agree with JMS there is no to raise the attack flag on WB. 9 out ot 10 times, when fans hit the street to save it show, it leads to attacks on the studio and it just toughens their resolve. I also think he is retreating a bit on the question as well. Instead of a wait and see it now goes back to the studio if they want to do it. It leaves him cover if nothing pans out to blame the studio which after reading the Crusade books won’t shock me if they do cancel at the last second. Personally, I think something will get done. Hollywood is in this weird reboot/update mood that they have burned through almost all the successful franchises like Trek, Buffy, Batman and so on eventually they will hit B5. Hopefully they will let JMS do it and not turn it over to some “new young” creative that really “respects” the past work, but wants to do something new and exciting. Fox and Buffy, I am looking at you.
Crossing the streams for a moment.
As Zhan said in Farscape: “Time and patience…”
I just want this announcement to actually happen, instead of just being a repeat of The Memory of Shadows.
However the onus has always been on the studio to want to do something with B5. The fans haven’t gone away. While I never signed up for it, the moderated B5 board on Usenet has been going strong, the B5 DVDs were one of Amazon.com’s top sellers, this podcast we all enjoy has been going on for 6 years, and there have been many people discovering B5 since it completed it’s run in ’98.