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Message

Subject: Re: JMS: Year-end update?
Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 06:13:23 +0000 (UTC)
From: jmsatb5@aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated

Jan wrote:
> JMS,
>
> Any chance of an update on the usual list of projects (TV, comics, plays,
> script books, novels, short stories, introductions, afterwords, etc.) as well as
> any we haven't heard about (that you can talk about)?  Any convention
> appearances coming up for 2006 in addition to the New Zealand one?
>

Next week three jms comics hit the stands, the third (and best of the
first batch) issue of "The Book of Lost Souls," which I'm very happy
with, the next "Fantastic Four" issue, and the next "Supreme Power:
Hyperion" issue.  It's sort of an all-jms-all-the-time thing (which
would have to be the most boring network on television, but there you
are).

In addition to the other books I'm doing for Marvel, I'm set to do two
more mini-series in 2006, neither of which I can discuss at the moment.

Also, now that the CBC strike is over, "The Adventures of Apocalypse
Al" has been picked up again, and we're looking to do the voice tracks
in February.  The 20 five-minute radio drama episodes should air a few
months thereafter, to allow time for post and publicity and the like.
I believe it will thereafter show up on BBC Radio, Radio Ireland, the
US market, and a number of other places before ultimately being
released on CD.

It would seem that everything is now in place for the TV series that
hired me as show runner to go ahead, and I'm now starting on the first
script, which is due late January.  Other writers have also been
quietly put to work.  I don't want to say too much else about this
because there's still one last detail that needs to be ironed out at a
much higher level regarding the venue and the like, and I've had too
many things that were 99% go sideways at the last second for me to not
approach this like a Lucy-and-the-football situation...so we'll see,
but at the moment, things look like they're moving ahead.

As for the other series, the one I created, I can say this much now:
it's been purchased for development by Disney's Touchstone Television,
and we will be bringing it out to the networks this coming June at the
start of development season.

Two different studios are currently in negotiation to pick up the film
rights to "Midnight Nation," and another studio has offered to pick up
"Rising Stars" for a series for next year, but we'll see where that
goes...not all options go anywhere.  "Dream Police" is now also in
development with another studio, and I've turned in a detailed outline
for the feature.  They're now looking to pair up the material with the
right director so they can take it out formally to the film
marketplace.

WB has begun making inquiries here about doing a B5 DVD trivia game,
but that's still very much in the preliminary discussions stage, so
we'll see.  (This would mainly utilize existing footage from the series
and TV movies.)  I've also bee consulting with them about the coming
debut of B5 on AOL in January, and several related areas.

Volume 3 of the B5 script books (which got a great review on
www.cinescape.com) will hit around the first week of January.  Because
there's SO freaking much material in this one -- an 18,000 word intro
plus 30 pages of memos PLUS all the scripts -- we've had to push the
photos to volume 4, or risk making something so large that it might not
come out right.  This is my favorite so far, the most personal in many
ways, the funniest, and the most informative on behind-the-scenes
stuff.  I'm nearly done with the volume 4 intro, which I like, but v3
remains my favorite so far.  We should be able to debut new volumes
around the first week of every month, so all 12 of the remaining 14
primary volumes would be finished by next December.

Convention-wise, in March 2006, I think I'm slated for a convention in
Hungary, work schedule permitting, and the convention in New Zealand in
October 2006.  Other conventions include World Con in Anaheim in
August, San Diego Comic Con in July, and Heroes Convention in North
Carolina in June.

There's other stuff as well, but those are the high points for the
moment.

jms

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