"Babylon 5" -- Scripts soon to be available
From The Zacolo Today e-mail newsletter:
A message from JMS:
All 91 Babylon 5 scripts that I wrote are going to be made available
through an ndependent publishing firm in trade paperback form. We're
still working out the final details in terms of how to put the
scripts together, but right now the plan is to do 7 scripts per
book, each volume released every two weeks or so, at a cost of about
$29 per volume if ordered in the first week or so it comes online)
or $39 per for those who buy later. That's four bucks per script if
purchased early, about five per script if published later...which
saves fans a HUGE amount of money.
There will be 14 volumes in all, each again containing 7 scripts AND
newly written introductions and commentaries about each episode that
are thus far averaging about 30 pages per book, telling some of the
behind-the-scenes stories that have never been told before (and some
that have), talking about the writing process, how the arc was
created and maintained, anecdotes about cast and crew, what went
into the stories...enough so that at the end, at 30 pages over 14
volumes you get about 420 pages of new material on the making of
B5...a book unto itself.
On top of THAT...some of the books will contain rare b&w photos from
my own personal archives, taken by me on set, which have never
before been seen by anyone else.
The very first book will have the Gathering script, plus 5
additional scripts (to make up the 7 hours of material) BUT...and
this is the cool part...the script of the Gathering included in this
volume will be one that has NEVER BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED BEFORE.
See, when we went to sell Babylon 5, I wrote a pilot screenplay to
take around. When we made the deal, the notes process began...and
the script went through considerable changes. But this is the
ORIGINAL draft, the one only seen by the studio and the other
producers on the show.
What's different? How about Garibaldi trying to get hold of his
dying father back on Mars...how about a shape-shifter instead of a
Minbari assassin with a changeling net...Londo as a part-time pick-
pocket...Dr. Chakri Mendak instead of Dr. Kyle...new scenes between
Lyta and Laurel, Delenn and others that were later cut...a LOT more
character scenes with Sinclair and Garibaldi...a discovery about
Delenn's lifestone and what that means to the Minbari...where
Sinclair is NOT put on trial, but finds a whole different and more
interesting way to solve the mystery of Kosh's assailant...and the
introduction of Kosh's life-mate, Velana, who plays a very important
role in the script. (Didn't know Vorlons had life-mates, did you?)
This script is HUGELY different from the one we filmed -- funnier in
places, with more character moments -- and it has been kept under
lock and key all this time. Now, for the first time, it will be
officially released in the first volume of this set.
And here's the coolest part...as a gift for the fans...a FIFTEENTH
volume will be given FREE to those who pick up the other 14. And
what is IN this 15th volume, you ask?
Remember the lost script for "Soul Hunter," of which only 5 copies
existed before I pulled them back, destroyed all but one copy for my
files, and wrote a brand new script to replace it...all because it
felt too much like a Star Trek script? Well, THAT one is in the free
fifteenth volume. It also features a comic sub-plot concerning B5
being audited.
As if THAT wasn't cool enough...nearly a YEAR before we began
writing episode scripts, before we HAD the series commitment, WB
wanted to see what a typical episode might look like. So I wrote a
draft of "And the Sky, Full of Stars," one of our most important
episodes, that is massively different from what we would later
produce...including fantasy sequences with Knight Two as the
proprieter of a dark carnival of sorts.
It will also contain the Babylon 5 writers bible...the production
draft of "The Gathering" as a companion to the original draft
offered in volume one...and something very special.
For over ten years, fans have asked "What would Babylon 5 have been
like had Sinclair stayed?" Well, that question will be answered in
this volume.
After we finished the movie, but before we got the series going, WB
asked to see a breakdown on this five-year arc thingie. So I wrote a
six or seven page, single spaced outline of the ENTIRE FIVE YEARS
with Sinclair still in place. The document makes for fascinating
reading when compared with the series as it developed. NOT ONLY
THAT, but the same document has a brief outline for A POTENTIAL
BABYLON 5 SEQUEL SERIES, which would have been entitled BABYLON
PRIME.
Again, that's what will go out FREE OF CHARGE to those who pick up
the full set. While obviously all these volumes can be purchased a
la carte for those who don't want all the script, this fifteenth
volume will ONLY be sent out free, it cannot be purchased directly.
So for roughly a quarter of what fans would spend to buy the scripts
individually from dealers, which are often poorly photocopied or
otherwise in bad shape, you get uniform trade (large-ish) very
handsome paperback editions, WITH the introductions, photos, and
the bonus book.
(Doing the math more specifically...to purchase all the scripts one
at a time would cost nearly $2,000. Here, if copies are purchased as
the script books first come online, the full set would cost around
$420; if purchased after the discount period, we're talking about
$560...which is, again, for 15 volumes counting the free one,
amounting to nearly FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED PAGES OF MATERIAL.)
I'll post another message when they officially go online at
babylon5scripts.com but in the interim...know that they are coming.
jms
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
A message from JMS:
All 91 Babylon 5 scripts that I wrote are going to be made available
through an ndependent publishing firm in trade paperback form. We're
still working out the final details in terms of how to put the
scripts together, but right now the plan is to do 7 scripts per
book, each volume released every two weeks or so, at a cost of about
$29 per volume if ordered in the first week or so it comes online)
or $39 per for those who buy later. That's four bucks per script if
purchased early, about five per script if published later...which
saves fans a HUGE amount of money.
There will be 14 volumes in all, each again containing 7 scripts AND
newly written introductions and commentaries about each episode that
are thus far averaging about 30 pages per book, telling some of the
behind-the-scenes stories that have never been told before (and some
that have), talking about the writing process, how the arc was
created and maintained, anecdotes about cast and crew, what went
into the stories...enough so that at the end, at 30 pages over 14
volumes you get about 420 pages of new material on the making of
B5...a book unto itself.
On top of THAT...some of the books will contain rare b&w photos from
my own personal archives, taken by me on set, which have never
before been seen by anyone else.
The very first book will have the Gathering script, plus 5
additional scripts (to make up the 7 hours of material) BUT...and
this is the cool part...the script of the Gathering included in this
volume will be one that has NEVER BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED BEFORE.
See, when we went to sell Babylon 5, I wrote a pilot screenplay to
take around. When we made the deal, the notes process began...and
the script went through considerable changes. But this is the
ORIGINAL draft, the one only seen by the studio and the other
producers on the show.
What's different? How about Garibaldi trying to get hold of his
dying father back on Mars...how about a shape-shifter instead of a
Minbari assassin with a changeling net...Londo as a part-time pick-
pocket...Dr. Chakri Mendak instead of Dr. Kyle...new scenes between
Lyta and Laurel, Delenn and others that were later cut...a LOT more
character scenes with Sinclair and Garibaldi...a discovery about
Delenn's lifestone and what that means to the Minbari...where
Sinclair is NOT put on trial, but finds a whole different and more
interesting way to solve the mystery of Kosh's assailant...and the
introduction of Kosh's life-mate, Velana, who plays a very important
role in the script. (Didn't know Vorlons had life-mates, did you?)
This script is HUGELY different from the one we filmed -- funnier in
places, with more character moments -- and it has been kept under
lock and key all this time. Now, for the first time, it will be
officially released in the first volume of this set.
And here's the coolest part...as a gift for the fans...a FIFTEENTH
volume will be given FREE to those who pick up the other 14. And
what is IN this 15th volume, you ask?
Remember the lost script for "Soul Hunter," of which only 5 copies
existed before I pulled them back, destroyed all but one copy for my
files, and wrote a brand new script to replace it...all because it
felt too much like a Star Trek script? Well, THAT one is in the free
fifteenth volume. It also features a comic sub-plot concerning B5
being audited.
As if THAT wasn't cool enough...nearly a YEAR before we began
writing episode scripts, before we HAD the series commitment, WB
wanted to see what a typical episode might look like. So I wrote a
draft of "And the Sky, Full of Stars," one of our most important
episodes, that is massively different from what we would later
produce...including fantasy sequences with Knight Two as the
proprieter of a dark carnival of sorts.
It will also contain the Babylon 5 writers bible...the production
draft of "The Gathering" as a companion to the original draft
offered in volume one...and something very special.
For over ten years, fans have asked "What would Babylon 5 have been
like had Sinclair stayed?" Well, that question will be answered in
this volume.
After we finished the movie, but before we got the series going, WB
asked to see a breakdown on this five-year arc thingie. So I wrote a
six or seven page, single spaced outline of the ENTIRE FIVE YEARS
with Sinclair still in place. The document makes for fascinating
reading when compared with the series as it developed. NOT ONLY
THAT, but the same document has a brief outline for A POTENTIAL
BABYLON 5 SEQUEL SERIES, which would have been entitled BABYLON
PRIME.
Again, that's what will go out FREE OF CHARGE to those who pick up
the full set. While obviously all these volumes can be purchased a
la carte for those who don't want all the script, this fifteenth
volume will ONLY be sent out free, it cannot be purchased directly.
So for roughly a quarter of what fans would spend to buy the scripts
individually from dealers, which are often poorly photocopied or
otherwise in bad shape, you get uniform trade (large-ish) very
handsome paperback editions, WITH the introductions, photos, and
the bonus book.
(Doing the math more specifically...to purchase all the scripts one
at a time would cost nearly $2,000. Here, if copies are purchased as
the script books first come online, the full set would cost around
$420; if purchased after the discount period, we're talking about
$560...which is, again, for 15 volumes counting the free one,
amounting to nearly FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED PAGES OF MATERIAL.)
I'll post another message when they officially go online at
babylon5scripts.com but in the interim...know that they are coming.
jms
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
Thor, ya got Aspirin?
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