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JMS At Comic Con, New B5 Greenlit, then fell through - but maybe not?
[quote]
Straczynski, who over the years has dabbled in a variety of spin-offs of the series, said that he didn't want to do anything on the cheap anymore (*cough* The Lost Tales *cough*). So his terms for Warner Bros. were: two to three million dollars per episode, commission a full season and grant him full creative control And they went for it.
But then, months later, this new "distribution system" collapsed.
And yet, Straczynski says that there's still a chance that some kind of show will happen. Again, he can't say much right now, but the implication seems to be that this is a sooner rather than later situation. Will it be a reboot, a sequel, a prequel? Only Londo knows! [/quote]
[url]http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/118/1183899p1.html[/url]
Straczynski, who over the years has dabbled in a variety of spin-offs of the series, said that he didn't want to do anything on the cheap anymore (*cough* The Lost Tales *cough*). So his terms for Warner Bros. were: two to three million dollars per episode, commission a full season and grant him full creative control And they went for it.
But then, months later, this new "distribution system" collapsed.
And yet, Straczynski says that there's still a chance that some kind of show will happen. Again, he can't say much right now, but the implication seems to be that this is a sooner rather than later situation. Will it be a reboot, a sequel, a prequel? Only Londo knows! [/quote]
[url]http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/118/1183899p1.html[/url]
Comments
When can he ever? It's at the point where I'll believe it when I'm watching it. :)
Perhaps it goes something like this. ;)
[code]THE WRITERS' CLUB, NIGHT
PANNING SLOWLY AROUND a poker table, as a number of WRITERS are
playing a game, gambling their scripts and telling stories of convention
appearances.
Writer #1
And so then I say, "But unfortunately that deal fell
through. However, I have another possibility in the works.
This one is really big, just what you've all been waiting for.
But I can't say much right now." And the whole room just
went wild, cheering! You should have seen them! I swear,
I pull this trick every year and they never seem to catch
on. It's hilarious!
Writer #1 begins laughing uncontrollably, and the other writers join in.[/code]
By the way here’s a link to jms’s new official webs site (run by those who sell the books).
[url]http://neversurrenderdreams.com/[/url]
And a link to a recently developed android app under the category of Books & reference which appears to link to the site, so you’ll always be up to date with his tweaks, sorry, tweets. [url]http://androiddev.orkitra.com/download/apps/?appid=6648727411280262239[/url]
JMS Speaks!!! : ). Sorry, read it happening in the past but being here for it this time has just driven home the joke.
..or a person..
[quote]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=3][B]BABYLON 5 UPDATE[/B]
J. Michael Straczynski via Facebook
July, 2011 [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=3]Last year, the studio offered a full season of a new and rebooted B5 as part of a new distribution venue they were creating (us and several other shows from the same studio were part of the same deal). We'd have a full season, a big budget, and total creative control. The negotiations (not between us but between the participants of the venue) dragged on for over a year, we were told repeatedly this is going to happen, but finally, the participants couldn't make the math work. So we and the other three shows that they were hoping to put out there got set aside. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=3]At this point, I've told the studio that if this isn't going to move ahead, there's something else they need to consider and there's a very informal negotiation going on now in that regard. We'll see where it goes from there.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=3]But again, B5 was never created to be a Deep Space Franchise, we wanted to do our 5 years and get out clean. That was my intent going into this, and if that's where this ends up, I'm happy to stick with that. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=3]There are other film and TV projects I'm doing, including a deal just concluded to write a pilot for Will Smith's company on a show that's been pretty much pre-sold for a full season overseas (two bidders want it badly for Europe, and now they're just looking for a US partner)....The new show is intended as a mainstream prime-time drama.[/quote][/SIZE][/FONT]
Curious what this other thing might be though.
And about the reboot idea. While I've said before that I wasn't totally against the idea, after reading that comment from JMS, I'm more certain now that it's just best for B5 to be laid to rest.
Cynic. ; )
Periodically responding to questions about B5 is something [I]Joe [/I]most likely feels he has to do, what with fans constantly hounding him about it – though usually he doesn’t tells folks about every failed attempt. But having a keen bunch of folks talking about the product(s), no matter who is doing it has a happy – and profitable – side effect. ; )
The set of 14 script books - alone - likely grossed over [URL="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/halfway-mark-reached-in-what-is-believed-to-be-the-biggest-single-author-publishing-endeavor-in-history-56509892.html"] 1 ½ million dollars.[/URL]
As the owner of . . . . Publishing 180, captain [I]Jaclyn [/I]to the fans, said.
“Niche, Niche, Niche. It’s one of the surest laws of marketing and yet rarely do business people heed its principle: niche your product or service and sell more not less.”
[URL="http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:eBLXSiERZW4J:www.ebook-site.com/support-files/webtrafficsecrets.pdf+%22Publishing+180%22+company+%22Jaclyn+Easton%22&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShq_wJrAm4JSxMJmcPHMPfKiKYL_r5Vl_hQ1KGIM4dJSR57IhPLIL2PXiRQ-jgNF8BCNEseN5D_dcSfC8UNZMiv0ObSY0EozOWDNop6eLciCfmUReUBFUr_7L1q1iLRGpbf-7Ny&sig=AHIEtbSWQEyebixUVeTOyBLMcw23OIthJA"]It’s a fascinating read.[/URL] I must have a head full of bad wiring or something, I just don’t “get it” as far as this aspect of fandom goes. But, every market needs exploiting, I suppose.
Then why has he agreed to make so many add-ons? I've always maintained that B5 should be left alone and enjoyed as it is.
[QUOTE=Triple-F;193299]The set of 14 script books - alone - likely grossed over [URL="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/halfway-mark-reached-in-what-is-believed-to-be-the-biggest-single-author-publishing-endeavor-in-history-56509892.html"] 1 ½ million dollars.[/URL]
As the owner of . . . . Publishing 180, captain [I]Jaclyn [/I]to the fans, said.
“Niche, Niche, Niche. It’s one of the surest laws of marketing and yet rarely do business people heed its principle: niche your product or service and sell more not less.”[/QUOTE]
Meanwhile, a lot of us who couldn't afford the huge mark-up they artificially added to something have missed out. Woo.
It’s a cold business, and the customers are there to be manipulated. There’s plenty to chose from, but one of the more obvious is:
[B][I]A close relative to exclusivity is urgency, and a great way to create urgency is by having a limited selling cycle. . . . . . . Naturally, this urgency translates to notable sales spikes.[/I][/B]
Never understood that with the books, it’s Print On Demand for Christ sakes, the whole point is you don’t print anything until you have an order. I was genuinely surprised to read folks, on more than one forum, say that they were spending money on them that they couldn’t afford – BECAUSE of that approach.
I know I’ll get it in the neck for highlighting this. But, here’s an interesting opening page to a [URL="http://jmsnews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2743 "] discussion thread[/URL], especially when you consider who (there’s more than one) is connected with one or more of these books, and who isn’t.
Self affiliates, unique competitions with unique prizes, exclusive content, the Money Moment, testimonials and the rest. There’s nothing new with any of all that - and it all goes on with these books. Personally, I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with any of that – it’s business after all. But, and I’ll likely get it in the neck for this as well, I view those that do all that while presenting themselves as your friend, one of the boys, are little more than used car sales men.
(Was talking with Luc Mayrand the other week, and mentioned in passing it was nice to see some of his artwork being published in those Crusade books, and his ideas about things like the transport system in the Excalibur being highlighted – he didn’t know a thing about it. ; )
In the interest of being factual, at the time that thread from the JMSnews forums actually happened (2008), only one of the participants was involved with the script book project: Me. And it's not as if it was any secret that I was involved with the books (though I don't think I made a big announcement, either because it wouldn't be appropriate). I became involved with the JMSnews forums in 2003 and with the script books in 2006. Amy became involved later to help with the "Asked and Answered" and Joe Nazzaro later still and only to the extent that Publishing 180 purchased a number of his previously done interviews.
And just a word of advice: Perhaps if you feel you'll "get it in the neck" for posting something, perhaps it's because you already know that the innuendoes you're presenting are inappropriate.
For those interested, [url=http://www.geekplanetonline.com/hosting/originals/babbleon/?p=episode&name=2011-07-31_gpo_babbleon_012b.mp3&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBabbleOnProject+%28GeekPlanetOnline%3A+The+Babble+On+Project%29&utm_content=FeedBurner]here's an interview with JMS[/url] that goes into more detail on the proposed reboot. The interview starts about an hour in and is about two hours long.
Jan
In the interest of being factual, at the time that thread from the JMSnews forums actually happened (2008), only one of the participants was involved with the script book project: Me. And it's not as if it was any secret that I was involved with the books (though I don't think I made a big announcement, either because it wouldn't be appropriate). I became involved with the JMSnews forums in 2003 and with the script books in 2006. Amy became involved later to help with the "Asked and Answered" and Joe Nazzaro later still and only to the extent that Publishing 180 purchased a number of his previously done interviews.
And just a word of advice: Perhaps if you feel you'll "get it in the neck" for posting something, perhaps it's because you already know that the innuendoes you're presenting are inappropriate.
[/QUOTE]
There’s no innuendo’s – I know you read this forum ; ) - I find the situation of limiting the books as a means of encouraging sale spikes distasteful, it preys on the needs of a small group of fans. You can argue that it’s not – specifically – Joe Straczynski’s intention to do that, I can argue differently. We both have perspectives and neither of us know his mind.
Straczynski is a business man, Steve Shapiro is a business man, Jaclyn Easton is a business woman, and what they all share is a very long standing appreciation of the potential which the internet provides - and how to tap into that potential.
Can’t stress enough, I sincerely believe there’s nothing inherently wrong with that in the slightest. But, personally speaking, I don’t like used car salesmen. ; )
To quote Fletcher in The Outlaw Josey Wales “Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining.”
Who's Steve Shapiro and what's he got to do with the discussion?
Exactly who is it that you keep intimating is a 'used car salesman' or 'presenting themselves as your friend, one of the boys'? Given one of your posts, it seemed to be me. Now it seems to be JMS. Or maybe it's Jaclyn Easton?
Let me give you a free clue: It's perfectly possible to intend to make money on a business venture and still have a sincere care and concern for the fans/customers. And that's absolutely the case with the script books. That's why I was invited on board in the first place and why fans are encouraged to contact the scripts team if they have any issues even though Cafe Press already has a perfectly adequate customer service department.
Jan
First, I was a student, so I couldn't really afford the books.
Second, when the books were being published, Cafepress only printed in the US. They shipped internationally, so I bought the first book. The postage and customs fees ended up almost doubling the the cost. £55 is a lot to pay for a book. And there were fifteen of them.
More recently, Cafepresss have started printing in Europe, so it's a bit more affordable and I've obtained three more script books. But it's far too late for the main series.
As someone who has spent the last few years building up his own science fiction universe, reading all the behind the scenes information from JMS could have taught me alot, so it's a shame I won't get a chance to do that.
Who's Steve Shapiro and what's he got to do with the discussion?
Exactly who is it that you keep intimating is a 'used car salesman' or 'presenting themselves as your friend, one of the boys'? Given one of your posts, it seemed to be me. Now it seems to be JMS. Or maybe it's Jaclyn Easton?
Let me give you a free clue: It's perfectly possible to intend to make money on a business venture and still have a sincere care and concern for the fans/customers. And that's absolutely the case with the script books. That's why I was invited on board in the first place and why fans are encouraged to contact the scripts team if they have any issues even though Cafe Press already has a perfectly adequate customer service department.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not going to get drawn into a who did what, when – and why. lol. But I will clarify one thing Joe Nazzaro isn’t, in my opinion, akin to a used car salesman. He’s a professional, and one that’s no doubt well aware of the realities of that profession. And as a little aside, he also carried out work that was published on the Babylon 5 magazine as well as numerous other B5 articles in other publications.
Steve Shapiro!!? – look him up.
I linked to a 3 year old thread because that’s when the script book thingy was relevant. Posting to a more recent one is kinda difficult to do. ; ) At least as far as the script books are concerned.
As far as who do I feel comes across as a used car salesman with the techniques employed when it comes to selling things to a certain section of the fan community. That would be J. Michael Straczynski (aka, Joe). I really didn’t want to link to this but here’s [URL="http://www.themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen4_04_14"] *one* example [/URL] of why I couldn't help but come to that opinion. And Jaclyn Easton (aka. Captain Jaclyn), for the kind of reasons already mentioned and linked to.
Like I said, I have not one iota of an issue in folks making money from their product. I just have a bullshit threshold.
As for folks like yourself a fan, who is directly involved in literally a multi-million dollar business selling products to other members of the fan community.
I can’t help but feel that – but will be more than glad to accept your word otherwise – your involvement with that multi-million dollar ongoing venture will in some way, on some level, influence (at least some of the time) what you say to other fans, including those that have issues with obvious bullshit.
But, that’s just a personal opinion, just as what you said above about jms is your personal opinion. ; )
Ah...yes...the public demonstration of your ignorance when it comes to how award credits are shared. Right...got it. Part of the rant where you thought it would be proper in some way to advertise IP addresses that you thought were JMS's, right? But I'm sure there was no malicious intent there, was there? :rolleyes:
[quote]And Jaclyn Easton (aka. Captain Jaclyn), for the kind of reasons already mentioned and linked to.[/quote]
Missing the link to where she pretended to be anything other than a business woman.
[quote]As for folks like yourself a fan, who is directly involved in literally a multi-million dollar business selling products to other members of the fan community. [/quote]
Was there supposed to be a complete sentence in there somewhere? However, let me correct this part of your statement: I'm not now and never have been involved in selling anything to anybody. I'm a consultant; I fact-check and research references and I've got instant access to every B5 & Crusade script written. And since you typed it above, I have to assume that you know that the project *grossed* over a million dollars. Anybody with a pocket calculator can calculate the cost per copy of the script books and figure out how much of that *gross* stayed at Cafe Press. Hint: Print on Demand is expensive.
[quote]I can’t help but feel that – but will be more than glad to accept your word otherwise – your involvement with that multi-million dollar ongoing venture will in some way, on some level, influence (at least some of the time) what you say to other fans, including those that have issues with obvious bullshit.[/quote]
Again: I'm a consultant. I do research and answer questions about the show and about what happened when and where and when I'm lucky I get an early look at the upcoming books. If you can demonstrate that I've changed my attitude or behavior in any way since Volume 7 of the script books, I'll allow that you might have a point. But you won't. So yes, take my word for it, I'm a fan first and foremost and my part-time job doesn't have an effect on my activities as a fan.
Jan
Jan, you do realise your having a go at me rather than the points raised. Anyway, I know exactly what’s involved in the issuing of the Emmy awards. Ron Thornton PAYING a couple of hundred bucks for a certificate with Straczynski name on it is not the same as Straczynski being an Emmy award winning writer. That wasn’t an off the record comment from Ron by the way (or the full story). It was *one* of the things I decided not to include on the site - from a fair number of contributors - so as to not embarrass jms. Quite restrained, I thought, given my obvious malicious intent, and I was the one asking the questions. To get the site a bit more attention I suppose I could've included comments like those surrounding old photographs that were circulating the internet from an ex showing, well maybe not. I recognise the value of EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ; ) but there's limits.
As for the wiki thing. (You do know what kind of stuff you can find out with an IP address and just a few clicks of the mouse don't you - personally I was quite shocked) But how in the blue blazes of hell is showing an example like that, especially in the context of the text, malicious. Sorry, but it was relevant. Given what the whole thing highlights, that's kinda funny, and sadly quite expected. But of course, I'm the bad guy for pointing ; )))
[quote]Missing the link to where she pretended to be anything other than a business woman. [/quote]
Oh boy. I never said she was anything other than a business woman. I said she is a business woman that's well aware of how to manipulate people in a niche market - and personally I find it a bit distasteful. Sorry if I didn't make that clear enough for you.
[quote]Was there supposed to be a complete sentence in there somewhere?[/quote]
Ahhh, one of the classics I've read being used with varying success over the years. Tell you what, I'll include a couple of extra speling mistakes as well for you to latch on to. ; )
[quote] However, let me correct this part of your statement: I'm not now and never have been involved in selling anything to anybody. I'm a consultant; I fact-check and research references and I've got instant access to every B5 & Crusade script written. [/quote]
Thanks for the clarification, your a consultant, and as such presumably have no interest in the success or failure of the venture (or go around forums letting people know that a new book has come out). ; )
[quote]And since you typed it above, I have to assume that you know that the project *grossed* over a million dollars. Anybody with a pocket calculator can calculate the cost per copy of the script books and figure out how much of that *gross* stayed at Cafe Press. Hint: Print on Demand is expensive.[/quote]
Another couple of oldies but goodies in the space of a couple of sentences. As for the million dollar grossing thing, (I mentioned multi-million, btw) Let me refer you to the link I used earlier, written by Captain Jacylyn, and which only refers to the script books - not what came before or after.
[quote]The first six volumes of the series have shattered every publishing record of CafePress to date. Sales of volume 7 are expected to match or exceed previous volumes. For 48-hours following the release of each volume of the Babylon 5 scripts of J. Michael Straczynski waiting fans snap them up at an average rate of one book every 12 seconds. Based on sales figures to date the series is projected to generate in excess of $1.5 million in gross sales.
[/quote]
Excess of 1½ million - I assume she knows what shes’ talking about. Publishing 180’s (and jms's Synthetic Worlds) relationship with Café Press is long standing, and started before the script books (and involves other merchandise other than just the books), and they’re a bulk purchaser. While print on demand may be expensive for those who want 20 copies of their shopping list printed and bound, I suspect the unit cost for Café Press’s record breaking customer might be a teenie weenie bit less, for all kinds of reasons. But you got me, of course I don’t know the figures, so a calculator wouldn’t do me much good, would it. But thanks for the hint. ; ) (btw. I run a print business, someone else does the proof reading).
[quote]
Again: I'm a consultant. I do research and answer questions about the show and about what happened when and where and when I'm lucky I get an early look at the upcoming books. If you can demonstrate that I've changed my attitude or behavior in any way since Volume 7 of the script books, I'll allow that you might have a point. But you won't. So yes, take my word for it, I'm a fan first and foremost and my part-time job doesn't have an effect on my activities as a fan.
[/QUOTE]
Shiny.
Anyway, as this is clearly going to decend into us trading insults or getting into a puerile point scoring exercise rather than discussing stuff, I’ll be leaving the conversation now.
You win, I'm clearly a mad trekky with an agenda. ; )
Edit
Just checked, as I thought I may have imagined it, as you do. But your credited as the editor for the Babylon 5 : Other Voices books. No matter though.
Just checked, as I thought I may have imagined it, as you do. But your credited as the editor for the Babylon 5 : Other Voices books. No matter though.[/QUOTE]
Wow, I'd forgotten that. That was before we settled on the more accurate title of archivist, I guess. Because that was my main function in those books, providing copies of the scripts that the writers no longer had. The only other thing I particularly remember doing for that series was keeping track of what was due from which writer when but that's not what I picture editors doing, really. Jaclyn wanted to honor the contribution with a credit, that's all.
Jan