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Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will
J. Michael Straczynski has written Thor, World War Z, and Changeling among many other films. He created Babylon 5 and has worked on numerous comic book titles including Superman and The Amazing Spider-Man. Most recently, he has teamed up with the Wachowskis for an original Netflix sci-fi series, Sense8 . He's agreed to take a break from his busy schedule in order to answer any questions you may have. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one question per post.
Can we PLEEEEEASE have HD Bab5? if you crowd-fund it, we will pay.
Have you considered rebooting Babylon 5 with a new cast a la JJ Abrams Star Trek? If not yourself at the helm of such a project, would you ever cede control of those characters to another creative team?
Why did you make a movie and then name it World War Z when it had nothing in common with the source material except for a title?
What would have been different with the last two seasons of Babylon 5 had you known for sure you had a full 5 seasons?
Have you ever considered revisiting the Babylon 5 universe? Perhaps in animated form?
I've often noticed that if an actor played a speaking character in one scifi series, while looking mostly humanish, any other series they are in they have a pretty concealing costume. For Instance Mr Katsulas played a rather humanish Tomalok on Startrek, whereas his G'Kar had a pretty intense costume.
Is this done intentionally, or just coincidence?
Strangely, the last movies he put out, even though he wrote them and seemed to have a lot of control over them, were just bad in every sense of the word.
They watch like they were written and directed by people who did not understand the universe and did not know how to write/direct.
They are so badly written, just a poor budget cannot take the blame. Babylon 5 was amazingly written, but that does not mean that JMS is infallible or capable of doing it again, even with full creative control and an unlimited budget.
Based on the last few movies, I do not have any huge interest in him continuing the B5 universe.
Also, none of the movies were particularly good. The series is, full stop, better than star trek; But the movies were meh at best.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
While reboots in general are often terrible ideas, I've always felt B5 was a prime candidate for one. It came in that awkward stage between 80's tv and modern tv (it was certainly one of the pioneers of longer story arcs) and also pushed the boundaries of CGI (IMO awesome back then but nigh unwatchable now). I don't know if any of you have tried to go back wand watch those 80's shows you thought were so awesome back then - I have, and they're more often than not unwatchable trash compared to what we are used to now (some shows excepted, of course. I won't say which so I don't offend anyone at all). 75% of B5 was incredibly brilliant and holds up perfectly fine today. But that other 25% (much of it packed into the first season) is embarrassingly bad to watch. I've tried more than once to get friends into the show and have them tell me it's terrible (and this is despite them skipping the worst on my recommendation). B5 simply hasn't aged well; I'd love to see it get a modern reboot (no lens flare please).
For me, you are the father or grandfather of social TV, meaning the way you promoted Bab 5 (before, during and after) the series is more or less the methodology that many TV shows and movies have adapted. You maybe have been using NNTP (Network News) instead of Facebook or Twitter, but for me you are the first.
My question: in that context: What are show producers/runners not doing today with Social Media that they could or should be doing to engage and interact with fans?
http://www.hawknest.com/
When you look back at how you used tools like NNTP to engage with your audience regarding Bab 5, is there anything you would have done differently today?
http://www.hawknest.com/
I consider your use of online technology for Bab5 to have been both Evolutionary and Revolutionary.
My question: Which if any other shows, writers, producers and show runners did you emulate or follow or get inspired by when you took to the Internet to promote Bab 5.
http://www.hawknest.com/
Years ago, you mentioned that you signed on with Ron Howard to write a screenplay for a movie based on E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series. Is that project still in the works?
Here's my question - What's the deal with the Forbidden Planet prequel/sequel/remake/reimagining/whatever your name was linked with some years ago? I've heard all kinds of rumors. One was that you finished a script but it got stolen and posted on the internet and that killed the project, Other rumors have this being a prequel, a sequel, a film set in the same universe and all kinds of things. I love the original film so if there's ever a chance of you being involved in something related, I'd love to know whatever you can tell, even if it's not much.
Would you ever take on running Doctor Who if it were offered to you?
No good deed goes unpunished.
Michael O'Hare
Jeff Conaway
Andreas Katsulas
Tim Choate
Richard Biggs
Paul Winfield
a number of secondary actors as well.
Putting questions of whether there is an actual curse aside. As the Creator of Babylon 5, how do such lossess influence your present creative works?
Sense 8 brings together one of my favorite creators of worlds, with one of my favorite authors, and one of my favorite companies....
What has it been like to work with the Wachowski siblings and Netflix? Has working with Netflix provided a freer avenue for creativity than a traditional television network experience offers?
Many on here are no doubt wanting a sequel of some sort. Honestly, I'd like to know where Lennier ended up, and did he ever redeem himself?
m
In the immortal words of Socrates, who said; 'I drank what?'
How about doing a spin-off from Babylon 5 involving a Vorlon game-show? I'm thinking of something like Takeshi's Castle.
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
At the moment there is not a single TV show in space? Since the ending of the BSG reboot and Stargate: Universe cancellation, TV has been essentially "spaceless".
Why do you feel that is?
And what do you feel it would take to bring "space" back to television?
What would the dialog be in a confrontation between Zathrus, Thor, and Loki? If you cannot tell us for legal reasons, what would it be in a meeting between not-Zathrus, not-Thor, and not-Loki, who happen to resemble the characters they are not?
Are you referring to Zathras, Zathras, Zathras, or Zathras? (Not even Zathras listens to Zathras.)
"Is there a way fans can submit ideas, in this intellectual property right sue happy system we have?"
Even when a fan is willing to give up all rights to the idea, just for the chance of seeing it maybe happen. It seems that such is prevented by all the legal suits.
How can one go about submitting an idea? When one does quite have the developed skills to write out a script and pitch it to studios.
& kick JJ Abrams in the balls next time you see him?
See how many lens flares you get.
Who are you?
What do you want?
So, what is the story with Jeremiah? I only saw the first season and haven't been able to track down the 2nd, but I rather enjoyed what I saw of the show.
I read an interview you did http://www.republibot.com/cont... where you mention that you finished the 2nd season and wrapped up what you could as best as you could and then ran like hell. What happened?
First I wanted to thank you for B5, It's views in offering a society and philosophy that was NOT Star Trek but more real, which really spoke to me and influenced me in several ways through my life (I think for the better).
My question is about the philosophy from B5, the underlying belief that "We are all 'star stuff''" became more of a guiding virtue. I found this most appealing, can you share what your source was for this universal belief system and if it is one that you subscribe to?
He also did a slashdot interview last year:
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
In Babylon 5 you took on the concept of the Nightwatch. What are your thoughts regarding the current global monitoring by the NSA? What actions do you feel Americans could be taking to voice their opposition and stand against our present "Nightwatch"?
How hard was it to get acceptance for telling a long epic story instead of the usual "single story, push reset" that was the basic fare in the 80's?
Before B5 what we had was a bunch of loose episodes in a season. The only "story arc" was an occasional two-parter, usually the end-of-season cliffhanger episode resolved in next seasons first episode. We would probably not have had series like Battlestar Galactica or Game of Thrones today without B5 showing the way (to be fair there is a slight possibility that someone else could have done something similar later).
It must have been hard to convince the network to go for this?
I'd like to add a thank you for B5 (and Spider-man, Supreme Power, The Twelve etc.). It's without doubt the best tv experience I've had so far. I saw most of the series on NTSC tapes that I manged to borrow through a friend (who somehow managed to get this recorded and sent from US). This was before the it was possible to buy DVD's of series immediately after they where showed and it took years before anything reached norwegian tv (if they came at all). Actually it's one of the best DVD experiences I've had as well now that I think about it. All the little hints and portents I'd missed the first time made re-watching the series a great joy.
I know that there are a few things in B5 that were mentioned, maybe touched briefly, that were hinted at and that did eventually not get the attention that I felt they were supposed to get, either because of time constraints, because actors decided to jump ship or because of reasons that I (or even we, as a whole) don't know about.
Are there any plot ideas that you were quite fond of that you could not flesh out the way you wanted them to? Any "loose ends" that you really wanted to tie up and give closure but couldn't during the series run? And, of course, why couldn't you?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
When I look back at the 90s, there was so much good science fiction on TV, Babylon 5 included. The writing was good, the stories were human and often inspirational, and above all they required a thinking audience. Nowadays, science fiction on television has become mainly action fantasy more than anything. Most of it takes place in the present day rather than the future. The shows that do start get quickly canceled off, and it seems like they're mostly pessimistic and dumbed-down. I seriously doubt a show like Babylon 5 could ever get made today, much less last more than a single season.
How do you view the current state of science fiction on television, and why has it become this way?
-mrxak
Onions Will Kill You