Subject: JMS compiled messages [9/27/95] (1/2)

From: [email-masked] (Bill Bottke )
Date: 27 Sep 1995 16:21:21 GMT

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Comments, questions, or additional information should be sent to: 
Bill Bottke  (E-mail: [email-masked])

JMS Archives found at: http://www.hyperion.com/lurk/lurker.html 
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USENET POSTINGS
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Date: 12 Sep 1995 01:47:30 -0400
Subject: = ATTN. JMS:  Proper Vorlons?

     We will see them.  Eventually.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:01:34 -0400
Subject: Just how many people watch B5?

     I have it on good authority that we're watched by at *least* seven
people.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:03:53 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Where did Kosh go?

     First he returned to his encounter suit, then he went to his ship,
and stayed there for quite a while.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:04:50 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Doors and such

     You'll notice the doors are wedged, with overlapping, key-like
sections into which the doors settle.  When they close, the sound you hear
is the door sealing shut, and pins extruding into place to keep the door
shut (in the key-wedges).  That's also why they slide down, rather than
part in the middle; it's totally airtight in case of pressure falls.  So
yes, we *did* think of it, and took care of it, by thinking of a new way
to do the doors.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:05:55 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS:  Pres. Clarke's car

     No, telepaths are generally excluded from holding high public office.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:26:39 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Season 3

     Brad read the script, fell in love with the part, and dived for it.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:35:32 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:  Titles (was Message

    No, sorry, the titles kinda have to be where they are....
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:35:59 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS Crew Autographs

     To get autographs, send a self-addressed stamped envelope, and what
you'd like signed, to the B5 mail drop.  (Note: WB doesn't pay for any
photos, the cast pay for those out of pocket, so it's hard for them to
oblige on this.)  The address is:
 
     14431 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 260, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423, and make
sure you put ATT: (CAST NAME), C/O BABYLON 5
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:36:20 -0400
Subject: *JMS* ATTN: JMS *JMS* JMS (or

     The definition of "conversation"....ah, of course, you mean oral
intercourse.
 
     Ain't the language just one great big lovely pinata of unexpected
wonders...?
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:49:58 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS (one question)

     At this point it's too early for me to even *think* about what I will
or can or can't do with the side-story...just getting this puppy out the
door is a full-time obsession....
 
                                                                       jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:51:14 -0400
Subject: Shadows and problems...

     I would not create a race as potentially unstoppable as the shadowsx
(shadows) without making sure they had one -- but only one -- Achilles'
heel.  Though it may take our characters a long time to figure out what
that is...almost *too* long....
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:51:45 -0400
Subject: Attn: JMS B5 Walking the Talk

     Correct; while one cannot deny the effects of poverty, and drugs, and
crime, and illiteracy, there's something numbing and destructive about the
death of myths, of a broader social mythology, and we're working hard to
provide that.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:52:12 -0400
Subject: Is Sheridan an Atheist?

     Basically, Sheridan believes in a lot of things; he's very eclectic
in his views, can incorporate lots of different perspectives, and has a
respect for all views.  In one of the early season 3 eps, in fact, one
character upbraids him for having "no clearly defined pattern of faith,"
to which Sheridan replies, "I'm eclectic, open-minded."
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:52:28 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS - How to Keep New Vie

     Of course, that would require lopping a minute or so of program
content to make room for that synopsis...and I don't think I want to do
that.
 
                                                              jms

Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:52:49 -0400
Subject: JMS:  "Messages" Move?

     Both 7 and 8 would both be seen in the second round of episodes;
we did the switch to pair up the right episode with the right director.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:17:00 -0400
Subject: JMS: Closing Speech in "TLTS"

     Certainly, Sheridan is slowly growing more into a leader who must
be able to step to the front in this kind of way, yes.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:17:24 -0400
Subject: Attn: JMS - Cameo and other st

     No, I have no plans to ever make a cameo appearance on B5....
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:18:04 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: British editors on r

     I'd only heard about the one G'Kar scene being chopped; there were
more?   Sigh...
 
                                                                        jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:18:25 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: "Time On Target" (mi

     It's an actual military term for launching a lot of stuff, so that
even though it's launched at different times, it all arrives at once.
 
                                                                   jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:18:46 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: Londo's believabilit

      He's as believeable as any person would be under those conditions; we
often go off the far end, come back, screw up, make up...it's what we do,
we're a mass of contradictions.
 
                                                                       jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 02:19:20 -0400
Subject: Canadian TV GUIDE 16-22 Sept

     Would love to get a copy of this article, if at all possible.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 03:20:20 -0400
Subject: Fweeet! (Was:Re: I fondled a C

     <fweet!> is what they used in the comics when the silver age Hawkman
spoke to his birdie-buddies.  (Some of you got this.)
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 03:33:11 -0400
Subject: JMS: Slow motion? <CoS & Chrys

      Slow-motion (or camera overcranked) is almost always indicated in
scripts.  I like slow-mo.  It can add a dreamlike quality to a shot, and
prolong a sense of imminent trouble.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 03:33:36 -0400
Subject: Re: MO'H's Departure (was Re:

     I can't believe this discussion has come back again.
 
     Okay, this to Robert Holland and all the other jerks who can't
seem to get it right.  This is the only thing I'm going to say on thi
issue because everything I have to say, I've said elsewhere, repeatedly,
and despite everything, this keeps coming up.
 
     Quite simply...what the fuck business is it of yours?
 
     What happens between Michael, or any other actor on this show, and me,
is my business, and theirs, not yours.  You have no right to an
information otherwise.  Fuck off.
 
     Every time this comes up, I tell the person who drags it out of the
mud, "Okay, give me the name and address of the last couple of employers
from whom YOU parted company.  Let me start speculating about that on the
nets."  But they always decline.  Because they're goddamn cowards who like
to speculate on how somebody ELSE left their job, what *really* went on,
because well, that's FUN and it's their BUSINESS and why NOT...but when it
comes THEIR turn, well, that certainly isn't right, that's not fun, and
it's nobody else's business.
 
     (And don't give me the "public persona" crap either; by posting here
ad infinitum you're just as public as anybody else in this discussion.)
 
     What infuriates me most about this is that I just got back from
spending 4 days in the company of Michael O'Hare...we were on panels
together, we had dinners, lunches and breakfasts together, we hung out
(all, I hasten to point out, in the company of witnesses), we had a great
time because we know and understand the situation, and we're both
comfortable with it.  And then I come back here to find THIS shit going
on again.
 
     Why don't you guys just get a frigging life that doesn't involve
sticking your snout into other people's business, and maybe tend to your
own...or give us the same opportunity to do the same to you, and your
employer/employee history.
 
                                                                      jms

Date: 19 Sep 1995 04:10:07 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Theo (the name)

     Finding character names is sometimes easy, sometimes hard; it really
does vary.
 
     And Theo was named for Vincent's brother.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 20 Sep 1995 15:30:36 -0400
Subject: The dancer and the dance

     What I love is when I hear somebody say, "Well, if Patrick Stewart
were playing this role, nobody'd say HE was wooden."  I wish those people
had a better sense of history, because when the reviews of TNG's first
season came out, just about every reviewer around called TNG's acting --
Stewart included -- wooden.
 
     Revisionism...it's a lovely thing....
 
                                                                jms

Date: 21 Sep 1995 20:38:25 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS - Wolf359

     Majel Barrett-Roddenberry and I got on quite well, as you note; we
set aside any prior misunderstandings and got on with it.  We hung out,
joked a lot together during autograph signings, had a late dinner (along
with Michael O'Hare and Ed Wasser), and she told the audience at her
presentations that she considered B5 the only other intelligent SF show
now on the air, suggesting that fans support the show.
 
     It was, overall, a very pleasant experience, problems with air
conditioning (or the lack thereof) notwithstanding.  The attendees were
great, polite and friendly and enthusiastic about the show...a most
impressive experience.  And the clips from upcoming year 3 episodes went
over *very* well, including a scene with Londo and G'Kar that is likely
my favorite of the series to date.  (Another scene with Londo and Lennier,
btw, contains a small nod to the online fans of the show; we can't and
won't use story ideas, but there's been so much humor, reams and reams
of it, every imaginable kind of joke, that I dropped one of these jokes
into an episode...one that's come up at a lot of conventions and on the
nets endlessly.  Just to acknowledge the fans in the only way I can.)
 
                                                             jms

Date: 21 Sep 1995 21:01:54 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Thanks

     Thanks; the initial perception (oh, look, another ST ripoff) is
something we really had to fight hard to overcome, so you're not alone in
that.  Thanks for being open to checking us out.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 22 Sep 1995 03:40:09 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: WB and UPN to merge?

     If the WB network and UPN merge it'll have little to no effect on us,
since PTEN is a different arrangement altogether.  That's my suspicion,
at least, until I hear otherwise.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 22 Sep 1995 04:03:38 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS - SCRIPTS

     I always leave a fair amount of flexibility in the series/season
outlines; to do otherwise seems foolish.
 
     We don't generally do a lot of revisions.  Once in a great while
you'll get something that goes through 4 colors (drafts are color coded),
but they're rare.  And invariably *all* such drafts after the first are
mainly revised to handle set changes or production requirements, not
story, dialogue or other creative stuff.  This season, in all but one
case, I write the first draft, clean it up a bit for the second/final
draft, it goes into production, we adjust for sets ("Can we make this
the conference room instead of Sheridan's office so we can do it on the
same stage and avoid a camera move to stage in the middle of the day?"),
and it's filmed as written.
 
     There's often a perception -- I saw it again at Wolf 359 -- that
lots and lots of people have input into the writing of the script.  Not
so.  I write it alone.  Nobody sees nothin' until the first draft is
finished.  I then show it only to WB (which hasn't given me a single
script note since episode 4, year 2), producer John Copeland (who looks
at it for any possible production headaches, too many extras or sets,
other physical elements), my partner Doug Netter (who doesn't generally
give creative notes, as per our tradition), and if necessary, Ron at
Foundation, Optic Nerve, and the director.  A couple of cast members
like to look at first drafts, just out of curiosity to know what's
coming next, but don't give notes or suggestions.
 
     Once I have in hand any production hiccups, I clean up the draft a
bit, adjust the production, EFX or prosthetics elements, make my last
minute personal revisions on the script (dialogue, structure, whatever),
then it's published as a Final Draft which goes to everyone in the cast
and crew.  The various departments then begin work on realizing what's
in the script.  We have meetings to discuss it to make sure everyone's
on the same page.  I meet with the director to make the same assurances.
Last minute production-oriented changes are made ("Do we have a Ranger in
among the extras here?  Do we need 12 Narns or will 8 do?").
 
     And then the script hits the stage, and we shoot it.  As written.  If
an actor has a problem with a particular word, it can be changed after
checking with me to make sure that word isn't there for a very special
reason (a clue, foreshadowing, whatever).
 
     The scripts are extremely detailed, with inserts, camera angles,
slow-mo indications if necessary, lighting notes, you name it.
 
     Some scripts I tinker with a lot before issuing that first draft;
others blow right out of the printer as though pre-written.  Sometimes
the most important ones are the ones that need or get the least revision,
because I see them the most clearly; and often it's the more trivial
episodes that seem to require lots of finessing.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 22 Sep 1995 21:06:41 -0400
Subject: Re: MO'H's Departure (was Re:

     I've stopped reading this thread, for obvious reasons, but thought
I'd reply to one of them in the box just to let you all know: I spoke
with Marc Zicree today about other stuff, and in the course of the
conversation, mentioned this whole situation.  He was, quite frankly,
aghast and appalled.  He offered to post a note here stating his position,
which is: that he had no first-hand information at all about the O'Hare
situation, and was operating off what he'd assumed to be the case (we had
never really discussed it, as he'd moved on to other projects long before
any of this happened).
 
     He asked me to apologize on his behalf to anyone who might have been
caught up in this because of his speculations.  Anyone who wants
confirmation of this can drop him a note, or as stated, he's willing to
come in and say this publicly.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 22 Sep 1995 21:07:06 -0400
Subject: JMS: Why Theo?

     I've always liked the name Theo, from Vincent's brother, so there
was the sound of it; also the sense of it, in that Theo was a guide, a
counselor, a confidante, which Theo might come to be in this; and, finally,
Theodore means (I just lapsed on the actual definition) but either chosen
(favored) of god or messenger of god (have to check my dictionary of names
again), which is appropos.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 22 Sep 1995 21:34:30 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Nervous Breakdown

     Thanks; it can get difficult to continue some days, but the other
options are not a possibility for me.
 
                                                                 jms

Date: 23 Sep 1995 05:51:22 -0400
Subject: Attn JMS: B5 Card question <wa

     I'd kinda wanted to do more backstage shots, but was told there
wasn't room.  Next time.
 
                                                            jms

Date: 23 Sep 1995 05:51:32 -0400
Subject: Re: ATTN: JMS - SCRIPTS

     Yes, it was "A Distant Star," and as I recall, the note was mainly
that the teaser needed a snappier hook than it had, just the arrival of
the Cortez.  Agreed with it, but there wasn't much we could do with the
structure of it.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 24 Sep 1995 20:43:40 -0400
Subject: Mira Furlan in LA Play

     Mira Furlan, best known here as Ambassador Delenn, is currently
starring in a production of Sophocles' classic play ANTIGONE.  This
modernized version is directed by Mira's husband, Goran Gajic, and adapted
by Deanne Stillman.  It's a chance to see Mira out of makeup, and in a very
different kind of role than you've seen before.
 
     The play is currently running at the Hudson Guild Theater, 6543 Santa
Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood.  Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays at 8
p.m., Sundays at 7.  Tickets can be acquired by calling 213-660-TKTS.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 25 Sep 1995 03:38:03 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS:What if the show does

     This is a question I can't even allow myself to consider.
 
                                                                jms

Date: 25 Sep 1995 03:37:46 -0400
Subject: Attn. JMS Naive query about se

     The script never technically leaves my hands.  Once the final draft
is written, it's given to every department, which breaks it down in terms
of set, extra, day-player, EFX, music, sound and other requirements.  We
have visual effects, art department and other meetings to go over what's
in the script and make sure we all understand what's required.  Any new
designs for prosthetics, costumes, EFX, ships, or other episode-specific
elements are drafted, and shown to me for approval.
 
     The script department breaks down the script in terms of shooting
schedule, timing of scenes, and arranges a production board indicating
which scenes will be shot on which days  (Based on which sets are being
used; you don't shoot in sequence...you do all the C&C scenes done on day
1, then move into the Zocalo for all those scenes, and so on.)
 
     The director and I have a tone meeting to go over the script page by
page.  At this time, the director sometimes suggests changes in locales
for production purposes, though this often happens earlier in the process.
 I make sure we both understand what each scene is about, context and
subtext.  Then there's a production meeting of all departments, where we
all go through one last time and break down each scene of the script by
what's required.
 
     The director then takes the script to the stage, and shoots what's
written.  Dailies arrive each day thereafter, and go to post production,
where an editor does a preliminary assembly of the episode.  If the
episode appears to be coming in long, we have the option of trimming a
scene here or there in shooting...or expanding if it's coming in short.
 
     After 7 days of shooting, the raw film is complete, and the editor
gives the director his assembly.  The director then comes in and takes
about 3-4 days making his or her cut.  The director's cut then goes to
me, and John Copeland and I go in to make the producer's cut, often
re-editing every single frame, though sometimes less, depending on many
different factors.  This is done on computers, the Avid.
 
     This final edit is then used to assemble the actual film (we take the
Avid computer disk and turn it over to a supercomputer which assembles the
film overnight).  Using this online copy, I now sit down with the composer,
and sound people, and watch it again, going through it and noting where
sound effects and music are required, and what kind I have in mind.  "In
at 03:13:18 (three minutes, 13 seconds, 18 frames), out at 04:14:22.  I'd
like something soft, strings mainly, underscoring that doesn't get in the
way...with a tone change at 04:05:13, into the action, and since we've got
a lot of combat going on there, we need you to clear out the low-end for
the battle stuff."
 
     Composer and sound EFX people then do their thing, and a couple weeks
later, we do the audio mix.  (During this time, Ron and company have
delivered the last of their CGI.)  At the audio mix, all of the final
elements are inserted/layered in, including any last-minute looping or
dubbing.  This done, the episode is delivered to PTEN about 5 days later.
 
     Total time to complete an episode (after the last day of filming per
se): 52 days.
 
                                                                  jms

Date: 25 Sep 1995 03:50:04 -0400
Subject: ATTN: JMS - More on Scripts

     "So why do you rush your work out the door?"  I don't.  The script
takes the amount of time needed to get it right.  Sometimes I take 7-10
days to write a script.  Sometimes I do it in just a couple of days; and
often, the 2-3 days jobs are actually better because it's done in white
heat, with the image clearest in my mind.
 
     In television, you can't take 6-8 weeks or even 2 weeks to turn in a
script; it's got to be done on a schedule; remember, you're using up one
script every 7 days, and you have to have scripts in hand 3 in advance
minimum for proper prep work.
 
     "I find input from my writing group to be very helpful."  I don't.
I've been writing professionally for 23 years now (started at 17), full
time for the last 17.  I know what I want to say, and how I want to say
it.  Does a sculpter go to a sculpting group and say, "Y'know, I think I
see a horse in this bit of clay, but I'm not sure, what do the rest of
you think?"  An artist follows the dream or the vision that is in his or
her head.  There's this notion that writing is somehow different; it ain't.
 
     Nothing decent has been done by committee since Stonehenge and the
pyramids.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 25 Sep 1995 04:02:22 -0400
Subject: Ivanova shackled to buffoon (w

     At the start of year one, Claudia came to me and said she'd love to
do more funny stuff in her role; don't change anything in the story, just
let her have some fun here and there before All Hell Breaks Loose in year
three.  I let her have that.
 
                                                                     jms

Date: 25 Sep 1995 04:14:19 -0400
Subject: Space: AAB First Impressions:

     Finally managed to catch SPACE tonight (on tape, working late), and
overall I thought it was very promising.  The production values alone are
amazing, and it's clear that every dime is right there on the screen.  It
has a lot going for it, and I wish them the best of luck.
 
                                                                    jms

Date: 26 Sep 1995 23:16:41 -0400
Subject: ATTN JMS: Followup to naive qu

     We usually have most of the CGI in place when we do the edit, yes;
and yes again, we have about 9 episodes at all times simultaneously in
varying stages of production and post-production.
 
                                                               jms