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Crusade: Behind The Scenes

vacantlook

Super Moderator
I thought I'd post that an email has come out announcing another CafePress book: Crusade: Behind The Scenes. This book does not contain any scripts from Crusade, but it does have, as the title suggests, behind the scenes information, including interviews with cast and crew.

"Sample Highlights":

30 never before seen photos and drawings.

A complete story description of an unknown episode called "The Walls of Hell." The would-be writer of this episode, Larry DiTillio, details point-by-point would have happened.

Who the medieval and modern literary characters were that J. Michael Straczynski had in mind when he created Galen.

Why the White House had to intervene when Peter Woodward was cast as Galen.

The one reason JMS rejected virtually all the women that auditioned to play Dureena Nafeel.

Specifics about how the Excalibur set was designed to facilitate filming and how that affected the look and feel of the show.

The total number of Apocalypse Boxes in the Babylon 5 universe (hint: it's a lot more than one.)

Why the character of Lt. Matheson was not defined as man, women, young, old, or by ethnicity when the show was cast.

JMS' thinking when he made Matthew Gideon a gambler, a renegade and secretive character.

Why TNT demanded certain sets and costumes be changed during the first hiatus.

Why Captain Gideon was gunned down in the unfilmed season finale.

Why Dureena’s contact lenses were made less scary between the filming of "A Call to Arms" and the start of Crusade.

The reason Trace Miller (the shuttle pilot) appeared in only two episodes when it was expected that he would be a series regular.

Dr. Sarah Chambers’s original name when the show was first conceived.

Why Edward Woodward, father of Peter Woodward, was cast as Alwyn.

Peter Woodward's other behind the scenes vocations and how they related to his acting.

Details about how the actors really felt about working with directors Mike Vejar and Janet Greek.

How J. Michael Straczynski prepared the Crusade actors for the type of stardom that comes with being in a popular science fiction series.

The ways in which many of the cast members found out about the production shut down and Crusade’s cancellation...and their reactions.

Why the Crusade producers had to fly to Chicago to interview a particular actor before they could offer the role.

Which Crusade character would have been possessed by the Apocalypse Box if the series had continued.

Gary Cole's thoughts on how Captain Gideon measures up to other characters he's played, like Mike Brady in the Brady Bunch Movies.

The histories some of the actors made up to help them get to know their characters.

The specific inspiration for the black uniforms that replaced the gray ones.

How the cast of Crusade first met and what happened at that meeting.

What aspect of Crusade made J. Michael Straczynski happiest (and what didn't).

Which cast members were familiar with Babylon 5 and which were not.

What back story JMS give his cast to help them develop their characters.

How JMS “erased the line” between the actors and their characters.

How long JMS originally intended to keep viewers in the dark about the true nature of the Apocalypse Box.

What iconic TV personality’s voice does JMS liken to Daniel Dae Kim’s.

How production designer John Iacovelli planned to realize alien worlds on indoor sets and how he would have differentiated the look of various planets from one another.

What specifics the famed Jet Propulsion Lab contributed to the alien-specific aspects of Crusade.

Why “War Zone” replaced “Racing the Night” as the premiere episode.

Why Crusade premiered in June when most television shows debut in September or January.

How the directors and producers on the show describe the differences between Gary Cole and Bruce Boxleitner as a leading men.

Carrie Dobro's candid feelings about her less-than-glamorous role as the resident tunnel rat.

How directing Crusade differed from directing Star Trek, according to two of Crusade's directors.

Richard Biggs's candid thoughts about playing Dr. Franklin on Crusade, without the familiar trappings of Babylon 5.

How the cast and crew felt about the unusual situation of an entire season of the show being produced before the first episode ever aired.

The movie that John Copeland likened to the episode “Ruling from the Tomb.”

Why composer Evan H. Chen never listened to Christopher Franke's score from Babylon 5.

How actor Tim Choate landed the role of Polix and how he differentiated it from his Babylon 5 character, Zathras.

The disappointment of the original Drakh makeup.

Details of Peter Woodward's relationship with actress Judi Dench.

Why Peter Woodward would get beaten-up on film sets when not acting.

How Gary Cole built his character from a forty-five-page script.

The starting point design-wise for the Excalibur uniforms.

Why Eilerson in is civilian clothes instead of a uniform.

How the Babylon 5 props were redesigned because Crusade was five years further into the future.

Whose idea it was to put the camera dolly tracks in the ceiling.

The secret's out — find out what the actors tended to do with their uniform costume pockets.

Interviews of:

J. Michael Straczynski
Creator
Tony Amendola
Natchok Var

Richard Biggs
Doctor Stephen Franklin

David Allen Brooks
Max Eilerson

Evan H. Chen
Composer

Tim Choate
Polix (and Zathras!)

Gary Cole
Captain Matthew Gideon

John Copeland
Producer

Peter David
Writer

Larry DiTillio
Writer

Carrie Dobro
Dureena Nafeel

Tony Dow
Director

Randy Gardell
Costume Designer

Jerry Gergely
Special Makeup Effects Artist

Janet Greek
Director

Dark Hoffman
Property Master

Marjean Holden
Doctor Sarah Chambers

John Iacovelli
Production Designer

Daniel Dae Kim
Lieutenant John Matheson

Curt Lowens
Old One

Tony Maggio
Samuel Drake

Bill Mondy
Nix

Steve R. Moore
Visual Effects Supervisor

Douglas Netter
Executive Producer

Michael Vejar
Director

John Vulich
Makeup Effects Creator

Peter Welkin
Anla-shok Trulann

Peter Woodward
Galen

Tom Wyner
Apriori Flentak

Seems like this'll be an interesting book.
 
Seems like this'll be an interesting book.
It is! Senior editor Jason Davis recorded a segment of the Babylon Podcast last night and Summer and Tim described it. As you can see from the sales page, it's a gorgeous book! The photos and concept art included are great, too.

In addition, the announcement was made that JMS's scripts will be in a three-volume set called "Crusade: What the Hell Happened" that we're hard at work on now. No word on publishing date as this one needs lots of clearances.

Jan
 
Seems like this'll be an interesting book.
It is! Senior editor Jason Davis recorded a segment of the Babylon Podcast last night and Summer and Tim described it. As you can see from the sales page, it's a gorgeous book! The photos and concept art included are great, too.

Ordered mine at 7:15AM EST today. Can't wait. :thumbsup:


In addition, the announcement was made that JMS's scripts will be in a three-volume set called "Crusade: What the Hell Happened" that we're hard at work on now. No word on publishing date as this one needs lots of clearances.

Jan

Clearances? You mean permissions, e.g. for the non-JMS scripts? ...or are the non-JMS scripts going to be in a separate series of books?
 
Clearances to use some outside material, I gather. I *think* (and don't hold me to this) the non-JMS scripts would be a separate item.

Jan
 
Cool cool cool! Funny that this book has no scripts, but it looks like something I'd like to read anyway. I looked on the site, but didn't find the number of pages, does anyone know? Or maybe I've had too much coffee and skimmed too fast, it's a flaw. So glad to hear the Crusade script books are in the pipeline. And that there are three of them, that implies a few scripts per, and lots of extra material.

Raw Shark

"I like hot dogs. It's decisive."
Lil' Bush
 
Seems like this'll be an interesting book.
It is! Senior editor Jason Davis recorded a segment of the Babylon Podcast last night and Summer and Tim described it. As you can see from the sales page, it's a gorgeous book! The photos and concept art included are great, too.

In addition, the announcement was made that JMS's scripts will be in a three-volume set called "Crusade: What the Hell Happened" that we're hard at work on now. No word on publishing date as this one needs lots of clearances.

Jan

Oh, that is so cool! Thank you! I've been grousing about the dearth of Crusade info for 11 years now. When I interviewed Straczynski last year, I couldn't even pump any info out of him. Thank you thank you thank you!
 
I ordered mine days ago, and am getting impatient. It's not really supposed to arrive for another week, but I'm impatient anyway. I'm also reminding myself to not be disappointed when we don't find out much of anything about the Apocalypse Box. I know there was some material on them in one of the Mongoose gaming books, but I kind of doubt it was official/canon. Personally, I think Jim Morrison's soul was inside it. He liked to screw with people too.

Raw Shark

"Two guys, in an airport, talking... It's fishy."
Bill Pullman, Zero Effect
 
I ordered mine days ago, and am getting impatient. It's not really supposed to arrive for another week, but I'm impatient anyway. I'm also reminding myself to not be disappointed when we don't find out much of anything about the Apocalypse Box. I know there was some material on them in one of the Mongoose gaming books, but I kind of doubt it was official/canon. Personally, I think Jim Morrison's soul was inside it. He liked to screw with people too.

Raw Shark

"Two guys, in an airport, talking... It's fishy."
Bill Pullman, Zero Effect

Jim Morrison was The Flaming Carrot, you know.
 
Although I've heard of the Flaming Carrot, my ignorance about it is otherwise total. I could look it up online somewhere, but my Crusade book came yesterday, so I think my choice is clear. I also got the second volume of JMS' Thor run, so I'm a bit torn.

Raw Shark

"Every single time, we think we have the answers. And every single time, we get surprised."

Monster Magnet, Queen of You
 
Received mine yesterday in the UK and it looks v.interesting :). (360 pages, for the person who asked on page 1.)
 
I saw this but I won't be getting one .
Gotta wonder then, what was the point of your posting in this thread. I mean, you didn't say why you wouldn't be getting one. Hoping somebody would ask? :wtf:
 
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Some people just feel the need to contribute something to the conversation.

Me, I'm fine with silence, but whatever.
 
I'm still not sure about this one. I didn't order any of those "questions/answers" books, because they didn't add to the whole Babylon 5 mythos. I'm not interested in some fan-made questions, thus I passed them. But this one, with all the interviews and stuff tingles me a bit. Still not sure if it's something that I need or not. But on the other hand, it's the first of the Crusade volumes so...
 
Seems somewhat interesting, but I'd be a lot more interested on the actors' thoughts after the show tanked.
 
Received mine yesterday in the UK and it looks v.interesting :). (360 pages, for the person who asked on page 1.)

Just out of curiosity, were you charged import duties/VAT? Could be a deal-breaker for me.
 
Received mine yesterday in the UK and it looks v.interesting :). (360 pages, for the person who asked on page 1.)

Just out of curiosity, were you charged import duties/VAT? Could be a deal-breaker for me.

I have ordered all of the B5 script books and a few others, along with this Crusade volume, and never been charged import duty or VAT. I vaguely recall someone telling me that books are exempt, but couldn't put hand on heart that this is the case.

I do recall, however, that there was a lot of fuss when the script books started as Cafepress initially just described them as "Merchandise", and UK/European customers were being charged import duties as a result. Once they began to actually describe them as "Books" the problem went away ... all of which points to the whole "books being exempt" thing.
 
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