{"id":7470,"date":"2005-02-27T22:51:14","date_gmt":"2005-02-28T05:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2005\/02\/27\/the-arrested-memory-of-shadows.html"},"modified":"2013-06-04T07:23:39","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T13:23:39","slug":"the_arrested_me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2005\/02\/27\/the_arrested_me.html","title":{"rendered":"The (Arrested) Memory of Shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current (over the past year) iteration of efforts to get a B5 <\/em>feature film off the ground appear to be dead. From the B5JMS list (posted by JMS himself):<\/p>\n

The rule of thumb in Hollywood is that for every thousand scripts that get written, only a few dozen get into development, and out of those, only one will ever get made … if that.<\/p>\n

A little over a year ago, I was approached by a company that wanted to make a Babylon 5 movie. They optioned the rights, and commissioned a script. (It’s worth mentioning that I, not WB, own the rights to a B5 movie. When we were negotiating the original B5 deal — by whose terms I will never see a dime in profit — the one thing they did let me have were the movie rights, figuring they’d never be worth anything in the long run.)<\/p>\n

Anyway…on December 27th of 2003, the script for “The Memory of Shadows” was turned in, and the process began of trying to make the deal work with all the various forces involved. It is, to say the least, a very difficult process on any movie where the studio does not directly take the financial reins. In terms of B5, Warner’s position was esssentially, “We only do big-budget movies with big names, so you’re on your own.” If there were big-name movie actors in the film, they’d get behind it; without that, things become very problematic, especially as far as the financing was concerned. You much have to put together a consortium of international interests and business plans rivaled in complexity only by the Allied invasion of Normandy Beach.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, every attempt was made by the people involved to get this deal in place. This was not being done by Doug or myself, but rather by the company\/individuals who approached us and optioned the rights. At times, it seemed we were inches away from a deal … stages were reserved at Elstree, actors were contacted, a director was in place, the script went through many revisions, a few key staff were hired, again not by me … it was really a year-long roller coaster ride.<\/p>\n

During that time, the people involved, with every good intention, tried very hard to pull the necessary pieces together on the deal. The option expired in late December 2004, but I renewed it without cost, to give those involved more time to try and make things work.<\/p>\n

In the end, however, the deal could not be put together, and it did not look as if that was going to change at any point in the foreseeable future. So the option has reverted, and to all intents and purposes, the project has dead ended. Nor do I think this particular incarnation will arise again at any point in the future, though prognostication has always been a tricky art, especially if you have to do it without the benefit of hindsight.<\/p>\n

This was not the first time someone’s taken a run at a B5 feature film, and it will not be the last. Eventually it will happen, because such things are simply inevitable. If they can do a Brady Bunch movie, you can be sure that sooner or later, somebody’s going to do a B5 movie.<\/p>\n

The only thing I can say without equivocation is that when that day comes, as the rights-holder, I will make darned sure that it’s done right, because I’d rather have no B5 movie than one that doesn’t live up to what fans and I myself would want to see.<\/p>\n

To that end … I can wait.<\/p>\n

Well, rats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The current (over the past year) iteration of efforts to get a B5 feature film off the ground appear to be dead. From the B5JMS list (posted by JMS himself):…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[362,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-tv-babylon-5","category-media"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12547,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/03\/26\/joe_straczynski_news.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":0},"title":"Joe Straczynski news","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 26-Mar-08 7:56pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Various bits JMS revealed at WonderCon last weekend, including the comics he's doing (and has done and will do), movie scripts he has in the pipeline, the future of B5,...","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11016,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/04\/24\/b5_again.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":1},"title":"B5 Again","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 24-Apr-07 1:58pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The first installment of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, will be going on sale 31 July.\u00a0 It must be mine! Created by J. Michael Straczynski in 1993, Babylon 5...","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/B5Movie.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44195,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/08\/06\/it-was-the-dawn-of-the-second-age-of-b5.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":2},"title":"It was the dawn of the Second Age of B5","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 6-Aug-14 1:14pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So I give it a 37.2% chance of ever hitting the screens -- it's very unclear from the article how it would, in reality, be funded if Warners gives it a pass.\u00a0That said -- hell, yeah, I'm excited. \u00a0I am curious, though, how we'll squeeze a reboot into a standard-length\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14787,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/05\/13\/too-many-questions.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":3},"title":"Too many questions","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 13-May-09 2:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've bought all of the Babylon 5 script books that were put out by the B5 Books team over the past few years, just because it was a cool way to relive the show that I'd put so much time and love into over the past 15 years. I may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9342,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/07\/25\/the_return_of_b.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":4},"title":"The Return of … Babylon 5?!","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 25-Jul-06 1:08pm","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Woot-astic! Joe Straczynski, at the San Diego Comic-Con, announced all sorts of stuff.\u00a0 A correspondent to AICN recorded the following most significant item (to my mind): direct-to-DVD B5 releases\u00a0called...","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":156613,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2022\/03\/20\/b5-rewatch-5x07-secrets-of-the-soul.html","url_meta":{"origin":7470,"position":5},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 5×07 “Secrets of the Soul”","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 20-Mar-22 4:02pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Hot telepath sex, not-so-hot telepath origins, and aliens who are (gasp) keeping secrets","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"Babylon 5 5x07 Secrets of the Soul - Lyta in the tank","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Babylon-5-5x07-Secrets-of-the-Soul-Lyta-in-the-tank.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Babylon-5-5x07-Secrets-of-the-Soul-Lyta-in-the-tank.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Babylon-5-5x07-Secrets-of-the-Soul-Lyta-in-the-tank.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Babylon-5-5x07-Secrets-of-the-Soul-Lyta-in-the-tank.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Babylon-5-5x07-Secrets-of-the-Soul-Lyta-in-the-tank.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36921,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7470\/revisions\/36921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}