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Truth behind JMS vs. Top Cow

Sigma

Regular
JMS posted this link to B5 usenet newsgroup - http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13

I'll copy-paste the JMS vs. TC part here, if moderators think its maybe unfair or illegal or whatever they can edit it to shorter. :)

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"Rising Stars" is late. The superhero series by "Babylon 5" writer J Michael Straczynski has not seen an issue released for months. Many presumed lateness on behalf of the writer or artist, but it goes a lot deeper.

For the last few weeks, Lying In The Gutters has been hearing references to issues between J. Michael Straczynski and Top Cow, and that as a result, JMS has held back the scripts to the last three issues of the "Rising Stars" series. Online, all JMS has said publicly is that there were some "issues" that were being worked on.

Here's what's been uncovered.

In 2002, JMS was writing the screenplay for the "Rising Stars" motion picture for MGM and Atlas Entertainment. As usual, the project went through multiple drafts, notes being given and incorporated, until a draft was reached that MGM liked enough to send the producers out to look for directors. JMS declined his oft-taken producer status due to his commitments on the TV series "Jeremiah."

However, again not unusually in the world of film, as JMS continued to deliver scripts for the comic, he heard nothing back from MGM. However, rather than the project simply going dead, I understand he was totally shut out of the process.

According to one comment he made online, JMS only learned about the Russo Brothers (hot newcomers and proteges of Steve Soderbergh) signing on directors and to do a "light rewrite" of the screenplay the same way everybody else did; he read it on comics2film.com.

Apparently it's Writers Guild policy for a new writer on an original project to be brought on to meet with the original writer. Guess what didn't happen.

Now, the Russos were supposed to be doing a very simple polish on the script. But instead they decided to do their own version of the movie, and totally threw out JMS's script.

Again this is not uncommon. What is unexpected is that JMS was never even informed about this. He was still waiting for an expected polish of his script to come in.

Since this was all going through Top Cow's much-trumpeted media exploitation interests, JMS contacted Top Cow many times over the following months to check on the status of the "polish," but was told each time, from the offices of Spike Seldon and Chris Carlyle, that no script had come in yet.

Sources close to JMS suggest that even though he was still delivering comic scripts, he may have started to slow down on delivery a bit, because he was getting a bad feeling about the situation.

He was right, and the whole situation came to a head because of a chance meeting.

According to an email sent from JMS to Top Cow, JMS was returning from Vancouver when he ran into Chuck Roven at the Vancouver Airport. Roven is head of Atlas Entertainment, producers of "Twelve Monkeys" and "Three Kings" and "City of Angels," and the company that will be producing the "Rising Stars" movie. According to the email, JMS asked Roven how the script was coming. Roven told him that the Russo Brothers were working on their third draft, that the first two drafts had been very good, and they were doing a lot of work on the third draft.

So two drafts of the movie, based on JMS's series, had come in, and all the while he was being told by Top Cow that no drafts had ever come in.

The email sent after this, to Top Cow, demanded copies of the scripts at once, but received what JMS believed were delaying tactics. Finally JMS emailed back to say that if he didn't have the scripts in hand within 48 hours, he was going to sever all relationships with Top Cow.

Within 24 hours, the scripts that had supposedly never been there, were couriered to JMS's home.

The new drafts, according to our sources, has nothing to do with JMS's original screenplay. I'm told "the comic was about taking the clichés of comics and turning them upside-down. The new screenplay puts them all right-side up again. The whole thing has just been dumbed down"

The big finale involves the main characters constantly beating each other up with trees. Okay, sounds good, we all like a bit of tree-on-tree action, but not quite in keeping with the tone of the book

So at this point, it looks as if JMS is holding back the last three issues of "Rising Stars" until this situation can be resolved. According to a source close to Jim McLauchlin's office, JMS has asked to meet the Russos (which again was something that was supposed to happen anyway) and to give notes on the screenplay and to be involved creatively in the process.

So far, he believes Top Cow have done none of these things.

JMS has not yet been invited into the process, indeed he believes he has been specifically been cut out by Top Cow management. Many editors there reportedly knew nothing of what was going on until matters came to a head. Rumours are that Top Cow insiders are furious that JMS wants to be involved, and feel they can wait him out.

I also hear that JMS is yet to receive any of the money from any of the merchandising from "Rising Stars," or the novelizations of either "Midnight Nation" or "Rising Stars" and that Top Cow accountants have been asked to look into this.

When contacted for comment on this, JMS replied, "I can't argue with the events as you've described them. That's what happened. Suffice to say that it was a shock and disappointment to find that Top Cow would so deliberately and deceptively cut me out of the process. I mean, it's one thing to lie so blatantly, but another to tell a stupid lie that can be so easily punctured. As for the screenplay, to be fair to the Russos, it's actually closer to the original books in a few places than my draft was, but the rest is a complete disaster, and if it were to go forward as is, I would really have no choice but to totally disassociate myself with the project."

Matt Hawkins of Top Cow replied to the allegations saying, "I wish we had the kind of power in the Hollywood process as stated, but unfortunately we do not. The writing decisions for the 'Rising Stars' movies were ultimately made by the studio. If the 'Rising Stars' comic scripts are being held up specifically because of this, we've only been notified of such recently and only through reading the posts on the Internet. The assertion that we've done nothing to try to remedy this is untrue as we have been talking with the studio and powers that be about how best to fix this and have been trying for months to have a sit down with Joe to discuss the entire situation.

"We've always felt Joe was a spectacular writer and both myself and Jim McLauchlin have been trying very hard to work this out as we would like Joe to create and write new projects for Top Cow. That may seem unlikely at this point, but we continue to hold out hope. We continue to work with Fiona Avery, who was brought to us by Joe, on several projects including a brand new one launching this October called 'Cursed.' We have also done two recent spin-offs on 'Rising Stars' written by Fiona ('Bright' and 'Laurel Darkhaven').

"The idea that 'Top Cow' insiders are furious is insane, there is a great deal of concern over this and we're doing what we can to try and fix the situation."
 
It's basically re-printing someone else's work -- the trafficking of words that do not belong to you. Please do not post large excerpts here -- post a lead or your own teaser, and then link to the original site. This is way, way too long for an acceptable excerpt.

The writer always gets screwed.

Thankee!
 
It's always someone isn't it? Warner Brothers, TNT, Sci-Fi, Top Cow...the guy simply doesn't work well with others.
 
True geniuses are the hardest to work with!

Also, JMS likes to work like a novelist, not a TV guy. B5 is unique in that after it began, WB stopped giving him notes on scripts and such. I've never heard of another program where execs weren't dabbling with the creative talent. JMS may have been a bit spoiled during B5!

-Tim
 
I think I must have been spoiled right along with him then. I thought about trying to become a career writer, but there seems to be way too many other people in this world who attempt to tell an artist exactly how to make his or her art, which in my opinion completely undermines the concept of art.

This week in the daily Calvin & Hobbes strip ( http://www.ucomics.com/calvinandhobbes/index.phtml ), Calvin has been playing with some new clay his mother bought him. Through the several strips of this "Clay Art" story, Calvin says that "fine art is dead, Hobbes. Nobody understands it. Nobody likes it. Nobody sees it. It's irrelevant to today's culture. If you want to influence people, popular art is the way to go. Mass market commercial art is the future. Besides, it's the only way to make serious money and that's what's important about being an artist." Calvin later continues, "See, the problem with fine art is that it's supposed to express original truths. But who likes originality and truth?! Nobody! Life's hard enough without it! Only an idiot would pay for it! But popular art knows the customer is always right! People want more of what they already like, so popular art gives it to 'em!" They continue to play with the clay and Hobbes makes a tiger. Calvin exclaims, "That's no good! Who's going to buy something like that?! It's subtle! It's boring! It's incomprehensible! How will this ever appeal to the lowest common denominator?! It's completely unadaptable to merchandise tie-ins!" Hobbes replies, "Who cares? I just wanted to make it." And Calvin flips out, "What?! Is this some snobby, elitist, aesthetic thing?!?"

I think this successfully demonstrates my frustration with much of modern culture here in the US. Rarely is something done to be good, only to bring in as much money as possible. Meaning is frequently sacrificed in order to be more easily digestible to the "average person." Usually, this just means adjusting most things that begin with a degree of inspiration and fire so that those who are more readily to spend their money on something without thinking much about it will do so.

Such frequent stance in this country has had me seriously reconsidering the concept of writing at all, even writing for the sake of my own soul. I think now that if I ever do actually end up writing, which is something I honestly don't know if I could completely walk away from, then my writings are going to be something kept secret and to myself so that no one else who could erase all meaning I labored to endow my stories with.

Such frequent destruction of artistic creations in the various storytelling media is just yet another element of society that makes me wonder exactly how screwed up we are and how much futher we're going to go before we just flat out self-destruct.
 
I dunno, it just seems like guy burns bridges wherever he goes.

Hmmm ... it always struck me that he just didn't suffer fools gladly - could be interpreted as the same thing I suppose.

He is clearly not one for compromising, and given how much compromising seems to be requisite within popular culture - music, TV, whatever, that is inevitably going to lead into conflict.

However, if this story is accurate, you have to wonder at TC's motivation for doing something that was only going to end up getting very ugly indeed.

Also strikes me as significant that, for a guy who is (by his own admission) so hard to work with, he is never short of a job or six.

I'm also intrigued by your inclusion of Warner Brothers in his list of "burnt bridges". Not sure I see that one. Or, SFC come to that.

:confused:
 
Hmmm ... it always struck me that he just didn't suffer fools gladly - could be interpreted as the same thing I suppose.

Could you work peacefully with someone who thought you were a fool?

He is clearly not one for compromising, and given how much compromising seems to be requisite within popular culture - music, TV, whatever, that is inevitably going to lead into conflict.

I would think so.

However, if this story is accurate, you have to wonder at TC's motivation for doing something that was only going to end up getting very ugly indeed.

That was a one-sided story that took a one-sided stance.

Also strikes me as significant that, for a guy who is (by his own admission) so hard to work with, he is never short of a job or six.

No one said he wasn't talented.

I'm also intrigued by your inclusion of Warner Brothers in his list of "burnt bridges". Not sure I see that one. Or, SFC come to that

Didn't he have problems with Warner during the first season of B5? Didn't he blame Sci-fi's airing schedule for the failure of Rangers? For that matter, what ever happened to his Polaris project?
 
Didn't he have problems with Warner during the first season of B5?

I don't think so. I certainly don't remember anything to that effect in the JMSNews archives, and at least nowadays JMS has stated that WB is and has always been a firm supporter of B5.

Didn't he blame Sci-fi's airing schedule for the failure of Rangers?

Yes, but you have to admit, it *was* pretty bad timing on SFC's part. Particularly given the region-specific breakdown of the ratings.

Cheers,
--mcn
 
I don't think so. I certainly don't remember anything to that effect in the JMSNews archives, and at least nowadays JMS has stated that WB is and has always been a firm supporter of B5.

Hmm, I thought I recalled an interview where JMS said that Warner's pretty much left B5 alone... after the first season. Wasn't it basically Warner's decision to bring in someone to replace Michael O'Hare? (Yeah, I know JMS said that the character of Sinclair had too much to do, but I think the decision was Warners)

Yes, but you have to admit, it *was* pretty bad timing on SFC's part. Particularly given the region-specific breakdown of the ratings.

I guess the fact that it sucked had nothing to do with it. And to be honest, I'm not altogether sure that the timing was bad... I mean how many die-hard B5 fans (or people who watch the Sci-fi channel frequently) are gonna be watching football anyway? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy into the belief that the ratings would have been through the roof if sci-fi had aired Rangers on another night.
 
That was a one-sided story that took a one-sided stance.

I never said it was anything else ... hence I prefaced it with the caveat "If this story is true".

There are incidents outlined in the story that, if true, cannot be interpreted as anything other than a deliberate decision by someone to keep JMS out of the loop - such as the directors/writers not meeting with JMS when they were brought on board, the allegation that TC told JMS that they hadn't had a script from them when it had already been through two drafts.

Those things can be verified to be true or not true.

Just because a story is one-sided and from a certain point of view, it doesn't necessarily follow that it is automatically "horse hockey". There are certainly things in it that TC need to be a bit more open about, if only to exonerate themselves from what are fairly serious allegations under the circumstances.

It certainly appears that JMS believes that this is an accurate representation of the facts.

Someone needs to bang some heads together.

:mad: :devil: :mad:
 
Hmm, I thought I recalled an interview where JMS said that Warner's pretty much left B5 alone... after the first season.

Yeah, I saw that interview too (or one like it at least). However, in the one I saw he was specifically talking about how WB left them alone creatively after the first season, even to the extent of not giving him notes on the scripts.

I guess the fact that it sucked had nothing to do with it. And to be honest, I'm not altogether sure that the timing was bad... I mean how many die-hard B5 fans (or people who watch the Sci-fi channel frequently) are gonna be watching football anyway? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy into the belief that the ratings would have been through the roof if sci-fi had aired Rangers on another night.

I don't recall JMS ever complaining about the scheduling, although he certainly commented about it(different thing). I seem to recall that the ratings were certainly significantly better in the areas that didn't clash with the NFL game.

As far as "die-hard" fans not watching the football game, I would tend to disagree. I consider myself reasonably "die-hard" when it comes to B5, and if a new B5 movie was going to be shown first in direct competition with a live sports event I was interested in, but was to be repeated again over the next couple of days I can safely say that I would forego the first airing and catch the re-run.

Seeing a movie for the first time is a pretty similar experience whether you see it on first run or later. Seeing a live sports event is something else entirely. Just not the same watching a recording later (especially if you haven't avoided the result).

Problem is though, if the die hard B5 fans were all that was important that would be one thing, but SFC needed the casual/other SF viewers to tune in too. When you are not a die hard, the "live sport vs movie you can watch later" becomes a "No Contest".

:p
 

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