News from JMS : Delays for "The Memory of Shadows"

[redlaco]

So it is official, the name of the project is The Memory of Shadows.
And of course, since the deeply missed Richard Biggs was supposed to play in it, the screenplay have to be reworked and, therefore, the whole project will be delayed accordingly.

Here's the whole story :

My apologies for the prolonged absence, but the loss of Richard Biggs kind of took the wind out of our sails and it's taken a while for me to feel up to saying anything about B5. This has also had the effect of slowing up anything to do with B5:TMoS (which as some of you have guessed or inferred does indeed stand for The Memory of Shadows), because in the writing we/I never imagined he wouldn't be here to be a part of it. More on that another time.

The funeral itself was a very moving ceremony. It was a point of some pride that, although Richard had worked on a variety of shows, and all of them were present to varying degrees, the largest contingent was from Babylon 5. The B5 family gathered in full strength, because whatever internecine hassles may have come up between anybody, there wasn't one person on that show who didn't think Richard was just a nifty, nifty guy.

There were many crew members present, from art department to camera and office staff...DP John Flinn, directors Tony Dow and Jesus Trevino, and literally all the major or minor cast members with the exception of Jeff Conaway (who was out of town and couldn't make it), Peter Jurasik (who was attending another funeral on the other side of the country) and Joshua Cox (ditto...it was a bad week for a lot of people).

So from the cast we had: Bruce, Jerry, Mira (and Goran), Andreas, Claudia, Walter, Bill, Pat, Marjorie, Tracy, Stephen, Jason, Caitlin, and others I may have missed or forgotten. From the writing/producing side it was me, Kathryn, Larry DiTillio, Doug, John Copeland, Kevin Cremin, Skip Beaudine, others.

Out of respect for the privacy of the family, I won't go into details of the
ceremony itself. Suffice to say that he was dearly loved by all, and his
family is held in that same affection by everyone who was there.

I was going to go into more stuff here in general, but I don't seem to have it in me at the moment. More later, then.

 

[CARTMAG]

its great that soo many showed up for Richards funeral... that realy does prove how close all the cast and crew realy was Top to bottom... which is something that did come up very clearly in the show itself.... im also sure that Franklin probably did show promenently in The Memory of Shadows..... when it is done it will be strange to see it without Richard in it......

 

[shalazar_bation]

I agree, cause if thats what its about(tmos), I'm sure there had to be a story about the teeps that had the shadow implants. and that was headed by franklin.

Shalazar
We won't forget you big guy!

 

[frobisher]

The painful decision now is do they recast or rewrite...

And the tone of jms' post kinda indicates it's a decision he is currently putting off for as long as he can out of respect for Richard.

 

[psyclonejack]

On a wild tangent . . .

I wonder if Mongoose could get some product placement in the movie. It would be wild to see sitting on a desk a B5 roleplaying book or two. Or even in a bookstand a character is walking past.

You know fans will slow mo through the scene just to spot the book.

PsyJack

 

[Judge Walker]

The painful decision now is do they recast or rewrite...

And the tone of jms' post kinda indicates it's a decision he is currently putting off for as long as he can out of respect for Richard.

When an actor makes a character his, like Richard did with Stephen, a recast just does not do the character justice. If anything I would like to see a rewrite done.

 

[Chobbly]

The painful decision now is do they recast or rewrite...

And the tone of jms' post kinda indicates it's a decision he is currently putting off for as long as he can out of respect for Richard.

When an actor makes a character his, like Richard did with Stephen, a recast just does not do the character justice. If anything I would like to see a rewrite done.

Me personally, that's what I suspect will happen, not just out of respect for the character but more so for the man who played him. TMoS may be delayed somewhat if there is a rewrite rather than recast, but as a mark of respect, I don't think that can be argued with.


Chobbly

 

[nitflegal]

The painful decision now is do they recast or rewrite...

And the tone of jms' post kinda indicates it's a decision he is currently putting off for as long as he can out of respect for Richard.

When an actor makes a character his, like Richard did with Stephen, a recast just does not do the character justice. If anything I would like to see a rewrite done.

Me personally, that's what I suspect will happen, not just out of respect for the character but more so for the man who played him. TMoS may be delayed somewhat if there is a rewrite rather than recast, but as a mark of respect, I don't think that can be argued with.

Easily agreed. You don't recast what Biggs made, you realize it's his character and, with him passing on, so has his character for future televised/filmed works (even though we "know" that the character lives on). I have no doubt that JMS will honor the man and his work the same way.

Matt

 

[Dag'Nabbit]

I have to agree with all of that. I certainly hope that is what is going to occur simply because I have so much respect for the character that Richard Biggs developed as well as the actor himself.

 

[psyclonejack]

It will also be intresting to see if he is even mentioned in the movie. Or, simply written out as to avoid the whole situation. Though a dedication at the first of the movie would Rock! I know I would applaud in the audience if I saw in the opening credits, dedicated to . . . Richard Biggs.


PsyJack

 

[Methos]

they even could include his tragic death inte the film

he might have died cause of the drakh plague

 

[psyclonejack]

Nope cause he is at the good bye of Sheridan some what 20 / 30 years after the 5th season. The Drak plauge only took place 5 years after the 5th Season didn't it? So you can't really have any of the main characters if you are making the movie that far in the future.

Psyjack

 

[Methos]

it is just a clone of dr franklin

mr. garibaldi created it, just to make sheridan happy

one more dead friend would be too much to bear

stupid idea, but can´t think of a better one

 

[Graknor Stev]

two things.

1 - Recast can be done, if they do a proper job of it, kind of as an homage to the man who brought the character to life. In my opinion that is the most decent thing to do, though it could get ugly if some fans hate the new guy... we'll see I guess.

2 - Who cares what we saw in the reunion 30 years later, it had so little impact on the plot that removing or adding a character doesn't change much, no? So Dr. Franklin can be dead or absent from the next project, I don't think those 5 minutes or so from B5 should determine all future projects.

 

[redlaco]

So Dr. Franklin can be dead or absent from the next project, I don't think those 5 minutes or so from B5 should determine all future projects.

Mmmm, for me it means a lot, so "removing him" would hurt the timeline too much (and I think clones shouldn't be abused, Methos). I'm not extremely strict on continuity issue, but one of the great quality of B5 is its internal cohesion (well most of the time). So, such a drastic change would diminish the show, IMHO.

I agree that a rewrite is the way to go, and a tribute in the credit is mandatory. Richard Biggs was a great man, and it shows in his acting. Somehow, I'd have a hard time to imagine him playing the "bad guy" role. He seemed too kind, but he was such a great actor that he would have been able to make it believable, I guess.

 

[Judge Walker]

Well a rewrite wouldn't have to mean that Dr. Franklin is dead. He could simply be on some other mission, he is one of the top rated doctors in the EA. I'd like to see him as Chief of Staff of Bethesda Dome, that would be a tribute to the character I think.

 

[nitflegal]

two things.

1 - Recast can be done, if they do a proper job of it, kind of as an homage to the man who brought the character to life. In my opinion that is the most decent thing to do, though it could get ugly if some fans hate the new guy... we'll see I guess.

2 - Who cares what we saw in the reunion 30 years later, it had so little impact on the plot that removing or adding a character doesn't change much, no? So Dr. Franklin can be dead or absent from the next project, I don't think those 5 minutes or so from B5 should determine all future projects.

Well, I'd care. Admittedly, I'm kind of a continuityphile, but we've seen that the character survives so why go against that? Also, while the death of the actor cuts him out of movies and film, the character can still be an integral part of the Babylon 5 universe in books and short stories. Why cut that option off?

Matt

 

[Mongoose Si]

Well, I'd care. Admittedly, I'm kind of a continuityphile, but we've seen that the character survives so why go against that? Also, while the death of the actor cuts him out of movies and film, the character can still be an integral part of the Babylon 5 universe in books and short stories. Why cut that option off?
Matt

I agree completly. One of the great things about B5 is the continuity - the story was planned from the start, not made up is it went along (like most other shows). This is a big strength of the story!

I'm big on continuity too, so killing him off would be unacceptable to me (and many of the fans) and it would also be disrespectful to Rick Biggs. Franklin can be written out of the script AND be alive - that will not be too difficult a task for someone like JMS

 

[Jal]

2 - Who cares what we saw in the reunion 30 years later, it had so little impact on the plot that removing or adding a character doesn't change much, no? So Dr. Franklin can be dead or absent from the next project, I don't think those 5 minutes or so from B5 should determine all future projects.

i would also care if that option was chosen, in B5 the plot and continuity threads were woven more tightly than on other shows, Dr Franklin being absent i could live with, but having him dead would be a bit annoying to say the least.

Richard Biggs will be sadly missed.

 

[shalazar_bation]

I agree, why change the story and say that he's dead? I mean this could turn into Highlander for cripes sakes.... that use to be a great movie.... untill the second one came out.... :twisted: and then the last one.... WTF was up with that?



Shalazar
I say just kill'em all, and let the centauri god of pleasure sort'em out.... :twisted: