Face the fact - B5 is dead

Darn, I should have remembered that quote, I've read it before.

And good. It would be much better to have no B5 project than to have a pimp-of-the-week version.

Yup, my understanding from JMS' posts is that he holds the rights to a B5 theatrical movie, not WB. Therefore, WB cannot do a B5 movie without JMS' involvement.

WB may be stupid, but surely even they must realise that making a blockbuster SF movie with big name stars and the B5 name tacked on would be a no-go as far as the established fanbase is concerned.

From JMS point of view, as the rights holder he can go ahead with a B5 movie without WB involvement (just as he was doing with TMoS). All he needs is someone to step forward, pick up those rights and come up with the funding deals needed to actually make it happen this time.

WB may be stupid, but surely even they must realise that making a blockbuster SF movie with big name stars and the B5 name tacked on would be a no-go as far as the established fanbase is concerned.

Click to expand...

Stupid or not, their policy simply seems to be that they only want big blockbuster movies with big name stars. We'd hoped to change their minds about that with the letter campaign last year but it didn't work.

My personal plan is to write them a letter every single time there's a decently profitable SF movie just to keep whispering in their ear "Look, you've already got something that can do as well or better." Dunno if it'll work or not, but it's the one thing I can do to influence things.

Jan

Maybe Serenity will show them that you can have a successful theatrical film with TV characters, none of which are big Hollywood stars.

When is Serenity due in the theaters?

9/30

I'll have to remember that around October. Any trailers for it yet? Never mind, there is a website I can check for that.

Thanks.

Two trailers, in fact! Eat 'em up.

The trouble is that's diametrically opposed to getting a feature film out of Warner Brothers.


1. JMS wants to reward the TV Series actors.
2. Warner Brothers does not back movies with TV Series actors.
3. Warner Brothers has the rights to Babylon 5 and Crusade.

Therefore, Catch-22.

Click to expand...

This suggests a possible solution. We could invite the WB studio chiefs to Tunisia, and offer them a ride in a vintage B25. We fly over the Mediterranean, the plane angles sharply, and they fall in the drink. Joseph Heller couldn't object. He's dead.

Waner Bros. own the television and sequel rights to Babylon 5, as well as the related trademarks, copyrights and subidiary rights including publishing, computer games, etc. Their contract with JMS requires that they consult with him on any future projects in these media, but he does not have any veto over them. They could call him up and tell him that they were remaking the series with Paulie Shore playing Sheridan and (after the paramedics revived him) they'd have to listen to his objections but they'd be perfectly free to continue without him. The only way they'd breach their contract is if they went into production without telling him first and listening to his input. They are under no obligation to [i\accept[/i] his input.

As a practical matter WB understood perfectly well that B5 was JMS's baby, that it was a modest but steady profit maker and that if they interfered they were more likely to screw things up and lose the small audience it had than to attract more viewers - so for the most part they've left JMS alone and have gone along with his wishes in various areas. (Which is one reason why there was so little B5 merchandising and why things like the shot glass were discontinued.)

All of the above is pretty standard for TV contracts, and is as true of Gene R's relationship with Paramount (which really did take the franchise away from him) as of JMS's with Warner Bros. With one small wrinkle. When WB and PTEN was hashing stuff out and signing up producers and series, nobody thought any of the stuff they were doing would ever end up on the big screen. So they actually did let JMS keep the theatrical rights to B5. (Much as Fox gave Lucas the presumably worthless merchandising rights to that little Star Wars picture he was doing in exchange for getting him to take a lower salary and keep the film on budget. )

The problem with that arrangement is that JMS is not a film studio, or even a real production company. He has no real ability to raise 10s of millions of dollars to make a film and no facilities to shoot one. So he's at the mercy of others in getting a B5 film made. Warner Bros., since they would not own the resulting film and could, at best, get a distribution deal out of it, has no incentive to initiate such a project itself. (And every incentive to stay away from it. Let's say a B5 film were made and it turned into a Star Wars or Spider-Man sized hit? How stupid does WB look for having signed away the rights in the first place? Better, from their standpoint, that there be no film, just as it made sense to some folks at TNT to prevent Sci-Fi from picking up Crusade. If the show had been a hit, they'd have looked awfully stupid for tying to kill it.)

Regards,

Joe

Waner Bros. own .....

Click to expand...

What a delicious typo. :devil:

Waner Bros, as if waning. :devil:

Maybe Wiener Bros.

How 'bout Wanker Bros.?

Hey, they all fit.


Heh. I'm in a silly mood. Been fighting with my damned Verizon Mobile Office Kit (Phone to USB cable and software) in an effort to try to get some B5 mp3 files into my phone as ringtones.

I install the driver, and it says the driver isn't there. I'm beginning to feel like Chief Inspector Dreyfuss in the Pink Panther movies. <u>"Keeel him!"</u> <nervous eye twitch>


On the PC, when I check under System, Hardware, Device Manager, it shows
"Motorola V26x" with a "!" (error) mark under Universal Serial Bus
controllers. If I right-click on "Motorola V26x" and select the
Properties tab, it says:

"The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)
To reinstall the drivers for this device, click Reinstall Driver."

(Odd, since I had already installed the Motorola USB Drivers from Mobile
Office Kit Disc 1 - USB Drivers and Phone Book Manager.)


<upon trying Reinstall Driver, I get>

Welcome to Upgrade Device Driver Wizard. <and I click Next>

Install Hardware Device Drivers
* Search for a suitable driver for my device. <and I click Next>

Search for driver files for the following hardware device:
Motorola V26x <and I click Next, with no Optional Search Locations>

...and it searches:

C:\WINNT\inf

...and then says:

The wizard found a driver for the following device:
Motorola USB modem
c:\winnt\inf\oem3.inf

Windows found a driver that is a closer match for this device than your
current driver. To install the driver Windows found, click Next. <and I
click Next>

...and it says:

Installing software necessary to support your hardware.

...and then almost immediately...


"An error occurred during the installation of the device.
The installation failed because a function driver was not specified for
this device instance."

To close the wizard click Finish.

And that's it. And I'm back to square 1 with "Motorola V26x" with a "!"
(error) mark under Universal Serial Bus controllers.

I tried the website
(http://www.verizonwireless.com/mobileoffice), where the Mobile Office
Kit instructions says to go for troubleshooting tips, optimization help,
frequently asked questions and other useful information, and it routes
me to:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/mobileoffice/mobileoffice1.jsp
where there is absolutely ZERO troubleshooting tips, optimization help,
frequently asked questions or other useful information.

...and why things like the shot glass were discontinued.)

Click to expand...

Heh, heh. I have one, and think I'll take a shot right now (Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey).

All of the above is pretty standard for TV contracts, and is as true of Gene R's relationship with Paramount (which really did take the franchise away from him) as of JMS's with Warner Bros. With one small wrinkle. When WB and PTEN was hashing stuff out and signing up producers and series, nobody thought any of the stuff they were doing would ever end up on the big screen. So they actually did let JMS keep the theatrical rights to B5.

Click to expand...

Doesn't mean anything, for the reasons you list below.

The problem with that arrangement is that JMS is not a film studio, or even a real production company. He has no real ability to raise 10s of millions of dollars to make a film and no facilities to shoot one. So he's at the mercy of others in getting a B5 film made. Warner Bros., since they would not own the resulting film and could, at best, get a distribution deal out of it, has no incentive to initiate such a project itself. (And every incentive to stay away from it. Let's say a B5 film were made and it turned into a Star Wars or Spider-Man sized hit? How stupid does WB look for having signed away the rights in the first place? Better, from their standpoint, that there be no film, just as it made sense to some folks at TNT to prevent Sci-Fi from picking up Crusade. If the show had been a hit, they'd have looked awfully stupid for tying to kill it.)

Click to expand...

Bottom Line: No B5 universe film. No B5 universe TV series.


Weeben screwed.

At risk of derailing this thread, are you on 98SE? I had no end of USB device problems there...

Either way, it sounds like the drivers you were given were corrupt from the off..

If on XP, try removing/ disabling all other USB, preferably having first rolled back the system to a time before you stuck the phone interface drivers in. Then try a clean install.

It would all have been so different if firewire had won...

At risk of derailing this thread, are you on 98SE? I had no end of USB device problems there...

Either way, it sounds like the drivers you were given were corrupt from the off..

If on XP, try removing/ disabling all other USB, preferably having first rolled back the system to a time before you stuck the phone interface drivers in. Then try a clean install.

It would all have been so different if firewire had won...

Click to expand...

I'm on Windows 2000 Pro. Also, it turns out that the only function I wanted, copying MP3s from the PC to the phone, the Verizon Mobile Office Kit (software + phone-to-PC USB cable) <u>doesn't do</u>.

From Verizon Wireless Tech Support:

<font color=" red">
Thank you for contacting the Verizon Wireless website. We are sorry to learn that you are having difficulty with your Mobile Office Kit connectivity and are eager to assist you with information regarding MP3 and your Motorola V265. As part of our Worry Free Guarantee, your concern becomes our concern the first time you contact us.

We apologize for any confusion regarding the Motorola Mobile Phone Tools software. The MPT software performs the 2 separate functions noted below.

The transfer of contact and calendar information between your handset and any USB equipped PC is supported by the included software. This information can be imported from Outlook, Outlook Express and Lotus Notes. <u>The transfer of any other data such images, sounds or other media to or from your PC using the Multimedia Studio is not supported by our handsets.</u>

Motorola Mobile Phone Tools software also enables you to use your handset as a wireless modem and connect your PC to the Internet. There are 2 connections that you can use to connect. One is called "Quick 2 Net" and it connects at a rate of 14.4 kbps. There is no monthly fee for "Quick 2 Net", it simply uses airtime in accordance with your rate plan. The second connection is called "National Access" it connects at an average rate of 60 - 80 kbps. "National Access" does require an additional monthly fee (options listed below) but does not incur any airtime charges.

- 20 Megabytes of National Access for $39.99 per month
- 60 Megabytes of National Access for $59.99 per month
- Unlimited National Access usage for $79.99 per month

If you have further questions or concerns, please write to us again through www.VerizonWireless.com. We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless.

Sincerely,

Verizon Wireless
Data Technical Support

"We never stop working for you!"
</font>


Essentially, they're "eager" to tell me that the Verizon Mobile Office Kit with its USB cable doesn't support the (IMO, <u>utterly basic</u>) functionality that I want, that of being able to copy an MP3 file (e.g. a Shadow scream) from the PC to the phone. Evidently the only way to get an MP3 into the phone is to download it over the air, and if a download site does not offer that particular sound, you're S.O.L. Basically, they're ignoring users who want to do custom MP3s, like the various B5 and Crusade MP3s that would be so GREAT as ringtones.

BTW, the color functions are seriously screwed up.

Specifying ___ leads to ___.
Yellow <font color=" yellow"> Yellow </font> -> Black
Orange <font color=" orange"> Orange </font> -> Light Blue
Red <font color=" red"> Red </font> -> Green (above)
Green <font color=" green"> Green </font> -> Dark Blue
Cyan <font color=" cyan"> Cyan </font> -> Black
Blue <font color=" blue"> Blue </font> -> Dark Blue
Purple <font color=" purple"> Purple </font> -> Dark Blue
Violet <font color=" violet"> Violet </font> -> Black
Brown <font color=" brown"> Brown </font> -> Black

On my machine the "Thank you ..." was red and the "www." was light blue.
I use the “b5tv” style sheet.

I was using the search feature on the board to look for an old post on something, and though I have no idea how this thread in anyway relates to my search criteria, I thought it was funny to read the headline: "Face the fact - B5 is dead" knowing about the imminent release of TLT.

Wow, some of my firsts posts!!

Yeah, good feeling isn't it!

vacantlook said:

I was using the search feature on the board to look for an old post on something, and though I have no idea how this thread in anyway relates to my search criteria, I thought it was funny to read the headline: "Face the fact - B5 is dead" knowing about the imminent release of TLT.

Click to expand...

And here I thought this thread was dead.

This is the internet.

Nothing dies here...

Unless, of course, it could indict someone imprtant. Then it suddenly gets accidentally erased and is gone, and lost forever.

:roll:

Still gloating over this thread....