--And there’s something else…WB came to him as they do periodically wanting to do something with B5. They asked if he wanted to do a feature film but JMS declined mainly because he can’t yet picture structuring a B5 movie “…as long as Andreas and Rick insist on staying dead.” Maybe in a year or two he’ll be able to but right now he can’t do something big. What JMS suggested was a bunch of short films—little mini-movies, an anthology show set in the Babylon 5 universe. They said, “Okay.” There’s a network already interested in carrying them but they’re also planned for direct to DVD. This will be “Babylon 5 – The Lost Tales’, a lot of small stories that never made it into the series that he’s rediscovered notes for. And JMS wants no interference, complete creative support – in writing. They said, “Okay.” And JMS wants to direct them. They said, “Okay.” The first will be three individual stories about three of the main characters (to be determined). The plan is to shoot in September, post-production Oct.-Dec. and they’ll probably come out the second quarter of 2007.

To the other questions that have arisen: we're looking at 3 half-hour episodes/stories for the first DVD, with additional features and the like in the other half hour. Each story will be worked around a given established character, the specifics of which are still TBD contingent upon availabilities and other issues.


We have a budget, we're greenlit, we're going.


As for what prompted the interest now at WB...it's only recently that they've finally run through all 5 seasons, which for many years now has been a constant source of revenue, and I think they would love to have something to continue to with. The recent news re: Changeling probably didn't hurt, but the deal was actually being negotiated long before there *was* a feature film deal with Imagine. As I recall, we finalized the deal right around the time that the Imagine news was announced.

It was a rather extraordinary 24 hours.

I held off saying anything until I was cleared by WB to announce it as a go project. Ultimately, whether we shoot in Vancouver or elsewhere will be a function of the deal that gets made locally.

WARNER HOME VIDEO TO RELEASE
BRAND NEW "BABLYON 5"
MADE FOR VIDEO IN 2007

BURBANK, CA, November 13, 2006 - Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) have announced the start of production of "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales," a made-for-video movie that will be targeted towards the Babylon 5 loyal audience and science-fiction fans in general . The announcement was jointly made by Jeff Brown, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Non-theatrical Franchise, Warner Home Video and Gregg Maday, Senior Vice President, Movies and Miniseries, WBTV.

WHV will be the home entertainment distributor for this made-for-DVD release which will include two new Babylon 5 stories collectively entitled "Voices of the Dark" in one film plus exclusive behind the scenes content. The stories will be written and directed by executive producer and original "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski. Executive producer Doug Netter also returns in that role. Actors from the original series that have signed on to participate in the project include Bruce Boxleitner ("President John Sheridan"), Tracy Scoggins ("Captain Elizabeth Lochley") and Peter Woodward ("Galen").

Babylon 5 is a top selling franchise on DVD to date with over $44 million in consumer sales. Launched in February 1993, the award winning series was a top rated show on television with more than 13.7 million viewers in its debut season. After its original planned five-year run - introducing the concept of a five year arc before other TV series began to use multi-season arcs -- the show went on to enjoy 9 successful years in syndication and Cable on the Sci-Fi Channel and TNT. It also spurred the creation of five feature length movies based on the series including The Gathering, In the Beginning, Thirdspace, River of Souls and A Call to Arms, as well as the limited series Crusade. Babylon 5 has received numerous awards including two Emmys, two consecutive Hugo Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting from the Science Fiction Writers of America, five English Media 'Cult TV‚ Awards, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, the Sci-Fi Universe Reader Choice Award for Best TV Series and was the winner of the TV Guide Poll for Best Sci-Fi Show.

"We are very excited to be releasing this new made-for-video release filled with original content for 'Babylon 5' one of the most successful science fiction series of all time," said Jeff Brown. "This popular TV show which has been off the air for a few years continues to have a strong loyal fan base that is hungry for more content. This is the first time we're utilizing one of our popular TV franchises as a made-for-video title, and we have a strong commitment to the growth of this sector."

"It's great to be reunited with Joe and Doug once again," commented Maday. "I have always been very proud to be associated with their wonderful work on Babylon 5 and I‚m confident the "Lost Tales" will add to the legacy of this very special franchise."

On an immense space station built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, the crew of Babylon 5 are charged with maintaining the peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers. The story of The Lost Tales picks up several years after the events of its original story, and follows several of its major characters in new adventures set against the backdrop of the Babylon 5 universe.

We have set-up a temporary webpage of photos from the shoot from my personal collection. These images mark the very first photos to emerge from production.

http://babylon5scripts.com/TLT-JMS-photos.html

And in regard to that...the initial goal was to try and do three big stories in one DVD. So I wrote three scripts, featuring Sheridan, Lochley, Galen and Garibaldi. (I wanted to focus on the human characters initially so we'd have more time for prosthetics R&D for the next one.) The stories, as noted previously, were huge...all over the map, from Minbar, to Earth, Mars, the future, the distant past, as well as B5 itself obviously. We're also going to be trying some new production technologies, again trying to stay ahead of the tech curve, the way B5 has always stayed ahead on these things.

And over the last few days, as we began to bring on crew and lay out the production, looking at just how complicated these mini-movies were going to be, the idea of making three of these monsters began to become a bit much for us to pull off on out first time out the gate, especially since I'm still kind of new as a director. So we decided to postpone one of the three to the next DVD, and lengthen the other two to make up the difference. Given that the Garibaldi story was the most complicated visually and technically, also the most difficult from a CGi perspective, that's the one that got pushed until, potentially, next time.

And if the sales are anywhere near what WB expects, and I think they will be, there's no question that there will be more of these down the road. So we're gong to focus in on those two stories and knock them out of the park. Same length, same running time, and now even bigger than at first anticipated since the budget on number three will now be applied to the other two.

January 12, 2007

For those who signed up for the mailing, a bit of an inside update on where things stand on Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (whose production was hailed just this week in the new TV Guide under the "Cheers and Jeers" column) (and yes, we got the "cheer" part of that, wiseass)...I'll be flying back up to Vancouver toward the end of the month to supervise the dialogue looping and to start reviewing the finished CGI shots being created by Atmosphere. We've also designed a brand new title sequence for Babylon 5, which incorporates all of the major characters, and emphasizes the interconnectedness of the characters seen over the show. There will also be a separate set-piece placed just before the main title sequence that will tie back visually to our series finale, "Sleeping in Light," in kind of a tribute to the end of that volume and the starting of this one.

We're also finishing up the director's blogs and behind-the-scenes pieces, which will show Bruce, Tracy, Peter and our new cast members, with the former group commenting on both the future of B5 and their own memories and reflections on Babylon 5. There will also be meditations and tributes to the passing of Richard Biggs and Andreas Katsulas from their fellow cast members.

The director's blogs will follow production from script through prep and shooting...though in some cases with a bit of an unusual approach. (I can never do anything serious with a straight face.) You see, there was something innovative and new and unusual and artsy that I wanted to do with this movie, but did the studio get the majesty, the novelty, the innovativeness of that idea? No, no, of COURSE not. But by gosh you'll get a preview of it here...and the world of SF will never be the same.