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JMS live in New Jersey

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JMS was at a Comic Book Convention to help raise money for Hawthorne High School's floundering art program. I'm sure you'll be getting much more info because I met people from both the Moderated site and JMSnews.com.

The day just finished with JMS generously answering questions for an hour and a half. The Q&A took place in a large classroom where someone had written J. M. Straczynski: TMoS 101, on the blackboard which he erased when he came into the room. There was much joking about the TMoS project all through the session. He said he wished he could talk about it but couldn't. However, halfway through when someone asked a question about the Mages he pointed to the erased blackboard without saying a word. Later, when someone asked about Crusade he again pointed to the erased blackboard. Was he joking? We'll soon know.

He said he was familiar with our B5TV site and that it's very good!
 
I just finished dredging my brain to try to think of how I could invoke the mages in TMoS for a post in another thread right here, and then I read this! :LOL:
 
There were approximately sixty plus fans at the Q & A some coming from as far away as Florida. I only found out about it from the JMS news site. I didn't see any publicity in the local papers - I live about 5 miles from the place where the convention was held. It may have been the first time that the organizers had run something like this. There were plenty of venders and also seemed like a good group of people attending. The high school Art Director, the man in charge, was very happy with the money raised. JMS personally donated a thousand-dollar check. There were also auctions and chances sold for prizes. I won a First Collectors' Issue of Babylon 5 published in August 1997!

One interesting question asked of JMS was which B5 character was closes to his personal voice. He said he would like to say G'Kar or Delenn but he would have to say Londo because he represented someone who repeatly made bad choices. He also said about Londo (and not about himself) that in the beginning Londo had choices but no power but in the end he had power but no choices . . . and he said that Londo was a patriot.

He also spoke about the upcoming Crusade DVD and said that he won't do the lead in unless he can tell the real truth about why TNT cancelled the series. The legal teams are discussing it.

I do have a voice recording of the Q&A but haven't listened to it yet so these comments are from my notes.

There were many hints of possible projects which are being discussed with his agent.

And, by the way he doesn't look like that short, chubby guy who turned off the lights in the last episode of B5. He's tall, dark and handsome!
 
(I'm posting pretty much the same con report at all the forums I hang out at. Apologies if you've seen this other places)

Well, I'm back from my whirlwind trip to NJ to see JMS at the Hawthorne High comic con. I think a good time was had by all and I know I had a *great* time meeting and talking with so many friends I'd never met before.

Don't know if anybody's interested in a minute-by-minute report so I'm just going to concentrate on news that people might be interested in.

First - No new clues on TMoS except that while the words "It's a theatrical movie" never passed his lips, JMS did comment that a) the ratio clue sure got figured out quickly, b) he pantomimed a movie screen and c) commented that he's recently discovered a (resistance? prejudice?) toward people moving from TV to motion pictures.

When we fans were first gathering in the classroom where JMS' Q&A session was going to be, we joked about sitting at school desks and that JMS was the 'teacher'. We wrote on the blackboard "Mr. Straczynsi" and below that "TMoS 101". That last, JMS erased as soon as he came into the room. He immediately told us again that he absolutely could not tell us anything without getting into deep trouble. He couldn't even discuss when the announcement would come when we tried to pin down the Ides of May clue. There were two questions that caused him to refer back to the erased "TMoS 101", though. The first was about the Techno-mages and the second was about Crusade.

- The long awaited "But In Purple, I'm Stunning" is due out around Christmas from Simon & Schuster.

-Asked whether he'd ever like to go back to animation, JMS said that he has been approached recently by WB Animation about a project.

- Dream Police seems to be a comic project he's having fun with. He say's he's writing it in a 'Joe Friday' type of voice.

- He's designed the set-up for the 'shared universe' project but may not have time to write for it. Somebody help me out with the name here; I seem to have not written it down.

-In answer to a question about whether he'd like to work on Star Trek (the question referred to B&B being on the way out I believe), JMS said "Surprisingly, I can't comment on that".

-He's heard that WB netted $70 million from the first three and a half seasons released. (Yeah, I know they weren't released in half seasons but that's what he said).

- The interviews and commentaries are done for the movie set DVDs but there may be a snag when it comes to Crusade. JMS wants to talk about what really happened and why it was cancelled and this makes WB nervous. Apparently there have been phone callse regarding the subject but JMS wants to tell the truth. Is insisting on it, in fact. For those whom might not have heard that story: During/after Season 5 of B5, TNT studied things and discovered that when B5 was on, TNT regulars tuned out and when B5 was over, the regulars returned and the B5'ers tuned out. By the time Crusade was filming, TNT wanted out and the notes were actually a deliberate campaign to get them out of their obligation. The plug on Crusade wasn't pulled by accident, folks.

I think the con definitely gave this art dept a shot in the arm. Joe Nazarro was there to help out JMS by collecting our donations and JMS presented the con coordinator with a check also. Joe N followed JMS' example of selling autographs for a buck by having brought quite a number of signed trading cards and selling them for a dollar each. I got three of them. Thanks, Joe!

I hope if I've forgotten too much people will post and add or correct this. Again, I had a *great* time and loved meeting so many folks from rastb5m, JMS News and B5TV!

Jan
 
First - No new clues on TMoS except that while the words "It's a theatrical movie" never passed his lips, JMS did comment that a) the ratio clue sure got figured out quickly, b) he pantomimed a movie screen and c) commented that he's recently discovered a (resistance? prejudice?) toward people moving from TV to motion pictures.
Interesting :)

-He's heard that WB netted $70 million from the first three and a half seasons released. (Yeah, I know they weren't released in half seasons but that's what he said).
Not bad...not bad at all :)

Thanks for report Jan
 
There were two questions that caused him to refer back to the erased "TMoS 101", though. The first was about the Techno-mages and the second was about Crusade.

This "Project" has to be about the telepath war then ...
 
why - I think it more possible for the movie to be about the unfinished CRUSADE plot.

Indeed. Because of this faint referance to technomages. There is Psi-Corps trilogy available as book trilogy... And, I state again my opinion, that Teep war wouldn't be appealing nor interesting to broader public. At least it doesn't interest me in any way.
 
why - I think it more possible for the movie to be about the unfinished CRUSADE plot.
The TeepWar and the unfinished Crusade arc are not mutually exclusive. If I had to guess, i would say the movie encompasses the TeepWar but forshadows the Crusade arc by introducing the concept of the "shadowy" Earthgov/EA military/PsiCorps struggle to be the masters of leftover shadowtech... leaving exploration of the actual crusade arc for follow-on features (or a series).

It would be hard to start with a movie on the Crusade arc and then jump back in time to do the TeepWar, so if JMS is planning to do them both he needs to do the TeepWar first.
 
If you want to read the follow up article in a local newspaper go to this site:

web page

fill in the search blank (on left) with the word visionary click. It's the first article.
 
The Psi Corps trilogy, like every other post-B5 project skips over the Telepath War itself. What does that tell you about how JMS wanted to handle that story given the chance?

And your not being interested in a given story says exactly nothing about how much interest there might be among other B5 fans or the general public. Sorry.

The Telepath War proper takes place in 22464/65 - A Call to Arms in late 2266, Crusade S1 starts in January 2267. Hard to see how a movie could cover that much ground. On the other hand, we now know that there are several B5-related projects under discussion, some of them a direct result of the progress made on TMoS. So JMS may have been referring to some of the "side projects", rather than the feature film itself, when he pointed to the blackboard. (Or even have just been indicating that all of these items are under the same public comment embargo until at least TMoS is officially announced. Again, it is easy to read too much into some of JMS's gestures and clues.

I still think the feature film is most likely to be the Teep War if only because it is a mostly self-contained story, requires little knowledge of the broader series, could involve most or all of the original cast, and because JMS has clearly been saving it for something for five years. He spent a valuable chunk of B5 S5 laying the ground work for it, then all of Crusade, Rangers, three book series and a half-dozen short stories mostly writing around it. It is the last great untold story of the B5 universe. What else would he chose for what may well be his one and only chance at a B5 feature film? What other story is that compelling, that important to the overall arc and to the characters? What other story resolves the stories of two major characters?

Show me another story idea with as many compelling reasons for making it the first and possibly last B5 movie and I'll be happy to have my mind changed. But so far I haven't seen a single alternative story idea that even comes close. Finish the Crusade story line? In a single movie? Don't think so. (Finish that silly plague story, maybe, but who cares? That was never more than the "McGuffin" anyway. We already knew the plague was cured going in, having seen "Deconstruction" and "SiL". And that wasn't the Crusade story anyway.)

Regards,

Joe
 
If you want to read the follow up article in a local newspaper go to this site:

web page

fill in the search blank (on left) with the word visionary click. It's the first article.
Any chance you could cut and paste it here? I cannot get to it: when I complete the registration process after clicking on the story, I end up on some random page that doesn't have the story.
 
As requested

Devotees flock to meet visionary mind behind 'Babylon 5'

Sunday, May 9, 2004

By SUZANNE TRAVERS
HERALD NEWS



HAWTHORNE - They met for the first time in person Saturday on the back steps of Hawthorne High School, but as fans of the writer J. Michael Straczynski, they've been online friends for years.

Aisling Grey, 41, drove up from Malvern, Pa. Jan Schroder, who did not give her age, flew up for a 24-hour visit from Orlando, Fla. They joined others from as far away as Quebec and Massachusetts who came to see the Paterson-born Straczynski, creator of "Babylon 5," the science-fiction television series that ran from 1993 to 1998.

"When I watched 'Babylon 5,' I was like, 'That's it,'" said fan Mickey Ellis, 34, who drove from Rochester, N.Y., and was inspired by the show's cosmic view of ethics, philosophy and mortality. "That says everything I've been trying to formulate for a few years."

Straczynski, 49, who also has written episodes of "Murder, She Wrote," "The Twilight Zone," and "Walker, Texas Ranger" and writes "Amazing Spider-Man" for Marvel Comics, was the headliner at Hawthorne High School's first-ever comics convention, organized by art teacher Allan Rosenberg and students in the cartooning club.

In the high school cafeteria, dealers stacked piles of DVDs, action figures, comic books and posters along the walls. Approximately 40 artists, many from New Jersey and New York, manned tables covered with pencil drawings and comic books. Not everyone was there to see Straczynski. Sisters Sarah Lagattuta, 16, and Tina, 14, of Garfield, said they came for the free drawing lessons and to see Japanese animation.

Tina said she loves the way comic-book storytelling combines words and pictures. As their mother Janet urged them to get in line for a Straczynski autograph, Tina narrated their actions, comic-book style. "And now the two siblings are being pulled away as the older sister hits the younger sister with the poster that she got for free!"

Passaic resident and cartoonist Howard Simpson said he enjoys meeting fans at conventions, and that he was glad to attend one in his own back yard. He draws for Disney, Looney Tunes and DC Comics. He drew a picture of Scooby-Doo in a sketchbook for Stephanie Sheng, 3, and her father Lambert, 38, of East Hanover.

"Drawing is a very solitary thing - not lonely, but solitary," Simpson said. "It's nice to get out and interact with the fans."

Organizers said the event drew several hundred people and raised thousands of dollars to buy supplies for the school's art department.

Straczynski was the big draw. More than 70 people attended an hour-long question-and-answer session with him in the afternoon.

Never mind that "Babylon 5" ended in 1998, said Grey, who described the online friends who communicate at rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.mod as a bunch of "deep thinkers."

"He really is one of the few writers who doesn't dumb things down, and that's why we like him. There's so much to talk about that six years after the show ended, we're still talking about plot points," she said. "Every time we watch that final episode, we know what's going to happen, but we weep."

Straczynski said he has not attended an East Coast comics convention in a decade and had not set foot in New Jersey for 30 years. He said he sent an online message to his fans telling them about the Hawthorne fund-raiser and promising that he'd be there.

His original plan had been simply to write a check, but after speaking with Rosenberg, he decided to help in person.

"If there is any purpose to my having celebrity - and writers have the most minor celebrity there is - it's to use it to do something good from time to time."

He said he raised more than $1,000 Saturday by charging a dollar per autograph. Normally, he limits them to five per person, but lifted that quota for the fund-raiser. He said one person presented him with 98 items and he signed them all. Later Straczynski wrote his own check for another $1,000 and presented it to Rosenberg.

Straczynski was born in Paterson in 1954 and went to elementary school here, though he said he can't remember where. Driving through Paterson to Hawthorne Saturday, he said he recognized parts of town near Broadway where he lived, and said the city "looks about the same, oddly enough." His family moved every six months or so, sometimes changing their last name.

"My dad had a unique economic philosophy - blow into town, rack up a lot of bills, and leave," he said. As a child, he also lived in Newark, Matawan, Chicago, Texas and Los Angeles.

Still, he said, being from New Jersey is a large part of who he is, and in his stories, he takes a good-natured potshot at Jersey "wherever I can - it's a nod to the old hometown."

Straczynski said he learned to read from comic books, and also gleaned his sense of ethics from them. Comic books taught him that "you get to be a hero every once in a while.

"I get to do that today."

Reach Suzanne Travers|at (973) 569-7167 |or travers@northjersey.com.
 
Thanks for posting your con reports, everyone! That was a really interesting note about TMoS; I was perfectly content with it being a Telepath War story, but forgot completely about the Technomages. My, my, my!

I would have actually gone to Jersey on Sunday, but I had to work. Bah.
 
I would have actually gone to Jersey on Sunday, but I had to work. Bah.

Sometimes you've just got to prioritise...<g> Would have been fun to meet you too. I keep saying how great it was to meet so many folks from the different forums (fora?) but it *was*! It only struck me as slightly odd later that we would introduce ourselves by name, then give forum and handle.

Jan
 
First - No new clues on TMoS except that while the words "It's a theatrical movie" never passed his lips, JMS did comment that a) the ratio clue sure got figured out quickly, b) he pantomimed a movie screen and c) commented that he's recently discovered a (resistance? prejudice?) toward people moving from TV to motion pictures.


-In answer to a question about whether he'd like to work on Star Trek (the question referred to B&B being on the way out I believe), JMS said "Surprisingly, I can't comment on that".

I can only hope that this resistance and prejudice, though I knew it existed, doesn't in any way deter JMS or cause problems for JMS, B5 and the future. But I have to say it's wonderful to know that the buzz and hype seem to be overshadowing anything negative.

Hopefully, JMS will hold his own and maintain his patience and the resistance will decrease over time. To those of you who were there, how did he say that part? Was it with that "I'm sick of this superiority complex of theirs and getting tired of it more and more each day"? Or "It's there, but not a big deal and getting better," sort of way?

What was his demeanor like when talking about that particular issue?

And as for the ST comment...I find that VERY INTERESTING. And a little part of me wants to go Whoooohoooooo!

I guess time will tell.

One last question: He wouldn't elaborate on the Ides of May comment I see, but did he seem to be of the attitude that it wouldn't still be around that date?

Thanks for the info and postings!

CE
 
I don't know how to cut and paste.

Actually, you just want to copy and paste, and you're kidding, right? That's one of the basic operations, right up there with being able to save a picture.

If you're using a PC and Windows, hold down the left mouse button and drag across the text you want to copy, and let up on the mouse button when you're done. Then either do a Ctrl-C or click the right mouse button and left click on Copy from the pop-up menu. Then go to where you want to paste it (Left click the mouse to put the cursor where you want the stuff to be pasted.) and press Ctrl-V or right click on the mouse and left click on Paste from the pop-up menu.


If you wanted to cut instead of copy, just substitute Ctrl-X ("X" is like scissors, for cut.) for the Ctrl-C.


BTW, I got to the article perfectly fine with the directions supplied. ;)
 

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