There is a nice article about the talk jms gave to aspiring writers at Comic Con on July 23rd

His overarching theme: the importance of writing what you deeply care about.

IO9 Article

and here is a video link to his MIT lecture from earlier in the year.

jms MIT lecture (link taken down, sorry  It will be available on DVD some time in the future.)

Welcome to Show #162!

Never Surrender Dreams.

And now, we bring you Part 2 of The JMS Interview!

In this hour, JMS talks more with Tim and Summer about the development of Babylon 5 and the pros and cons of continuing or expanding the series, the real reason for putting his foot down on “big budget or nothing”, the broader realities of the hammer lock of Warner Bros has on any future “expanded universe” properties, the personal influences on his writing, and related reflections on family, both born and made, and last but not least, the ever-changing relationships with the fans, both in cyberspace and on the convention circuits.

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Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now part of the village that encompasses Third Life Books. You can find the village at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49.

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send an email to Summer.

If you can, Please Donate!

Promo: Slice of SciFi

Welcome to Show #161!

Faith Manages.

The interview everyone clamored for but hadn’t been holding their breath waiting for has come to pass.

JMS, The Great Maker, graciously allows Tim and Summer to throw a seemingly endless stream of questions about the origins and creation of Babylon 5, the production and growing pains of the show, and dealing with the vagaries of the industry of Hollywood, the bizarre perfect storm surrounding Crusade on TNT, and more.

And yes, this interview went long enough that the only way to do it justice was to split it over two episodes, so come back next week for part 2!

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You have until June 27th to enter the contest to win a free iTunes copy of the Harlan Ellison documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth!

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now part of the village that encompasses Third Life Books. You can find the village at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49.

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send an email to Summer.

If you can, Please Donate!

Promo: Can’t Stop the Serenity 2009

This is the only news coverage Tim was able to find… anyone else find any mainstream coverage of the lecture?

‘Babylon 5′ creator speaks about failure, future of media at MIT
By Jeanne Amy
GateHouse News Service
Mon May 25, 2009, 10:13 PM EDT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Middle-aged, irreverent, innovative and bold, J. Michael Straczynski is no joke, even though he doesn’t hesitate to make a few. Creator of the popular sci-fi TV series “Babylon 5,” known to many as his initials, JMS, Straczynski spoke to a packed MIT lecture hall Friday for the second annual Julius Schwartz Lecture, hosted by the school’s comparative media studies department.
Known best for his writing on “He-Man,” “She-Ra,” “The Real Ghostbusters” and most recently for the major motion-picture “Changeling,” Straczynski spoke briefly on the value of failure.

“If you don’t fail once in a while, you’re not doing it right,” Straczynski said. “But you can’t fail all of the time and achieve anything, unless your dad was the President or something.”

Through several personal tales of failure and distress, Straczynski inspired his fans and challenged them to take risks.

“You have to do what scares you, even though, especially though, it scares you,” he said.

Read the full article here: ‘Babylon 5′ creator speaks about failure, future of media at MIT

J. Michael Straczynski with Henry Jenkins at the Julius Schwartz Lecture
Friday, May 22 7:00p
at MIT Building 10, Room 250, Cambridge, MA

The second annual Julius Schwartz Lecture brings J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the cult science fiction hit Babylon 5.

The Julius Schwartz Lecture is an annual event held to honor an individual who has made significant contributions to the culture, creativity and community of comics and popular entertainment..

The lecture is hosted by the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT and was founded to honor the memory of longtime DC Comics editor Julius “Julie” Schwartz, whose contributions to our culture include co-founding the first science fiction fanzine in 1932, the first science fiction literary agency in 1934, and the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. Schwartz went on to launch a career in comics that would last for well over 42 years, during which time he helped launch the Silver Age of Comics, introduced the idea of parallel universes, and had a hand in the reinvention of such characters as Batman, Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom.

The event is typically structured as a short lecture presented by the honored speaker, followed by a question-and-answer discussion between the speaker and the head of the Comparative Media Studies program, media scholar Henry Jenkins III. This will be followed by an open question-and-answer session between the lecturer and the audience. The inaugural speaker for the series was New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman.

Link: The Julius Schwartz Lecture
Link: Julius Schwartz Lecture Guest Speakers

In 1999, J. Michael Straczynski allowed his original notes on Babylon 5 to be released via his Last Word column in the Babylon 5 Magazine (Vol. 2, Issue 9). These notes were the first written record of Babylon 5, made moments after he had his inspiration for the series while taking a shower.

Though the magazine is long gone, on this, the 10th anniversary of this column’s publication, he wanted to share the origins of Babylon 5 again. While many fans saw them when they were originally published, he realizes that many more have not.

In addition to the notes, there is a brief introduction that formed part of that column.

Click here to read the column

The Great Maker has sent out a call to the masses:

From: “jmsatb5@aol.com”
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:01:39 -0700 (PDT)

So here’s the deal. I’m calling on everybody in sight to help me
bring back a word. It’s a conspiracy, see, and you’re all part of it
if you choose to be.

I want to bring back the word “anon.” As in, “I’ll call you anon,” or
“See you anon.”

It isn’t as specific as “see you tomorrow,” when you may not, or “I’ll
call you later” which is even more ill defined and inelegant…”anon”
means simply again…”I’ll see you again” or “I’ll call you in the
fullness of time.”

I’ve started using it, and slowly, over the last year, I’ve noticed
the people around me starting to pick up on it: friends, agents,
business folks.

I think it’s time for anon to make a comeback.

If you want to be in on the conspiracy, just start using it in your
day to day speech and, when it can be done quietly, because this is a
conspiracy after all, enlisting others to do the same. But it’s best
if it’s just used regularly, without making a deal out of it.

If every B5 and SF fan who sees this helps out, I think we can work
this word back into everyday English within two years.

C’mon…let’s play.

jms

While J. Michael Straczynski didn’t pick up a BAFTA for Changeling, there is a new award for it in his portfolio:

Best Screenwriter 50 and Over
J. Michael Straczynski, Changeling

He’s already one of television’s top writers of fantasy and science fiction; and although Changeling is based on a true story, Straczynski’s tale of a mother’s search for her kidnapped son—and the corruption it uncovers—churns with an eerie sci-fi atmosphere and dizzying sense of disorientation.

We Also Loved: John Patrick Shanley for Doubt…Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button…Woody Allen for Vicky Cristina Barcelona…Joel and Ethan Coen for Burn After Reading.

Link: AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups® Awards 2009

J. Michael Straczynski is scheduled to speak at the 11th Annual Mars Society Convention, in Boulder, Colorado August 14-17th.

Convention Information:

Who: Hundreds of Mars Experts and Enthusiasts
What: Eleventh Annual Mars Society Convention
When: August 14-17, 2008
Where: University of Colorado, Boulder
Why: Your chance to hear the latest news and research from Mars, and to join us in advancing the cause of human space exploration!

Thanks to Denis Legault for spotting this!

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:42:18 -0700 (PDT)

Putting this on a recent thread here where it’s more likely to be seen in a quick fashion….

Several things just to update folks.

First, many thanks to all those who sent along research suggestions and offerings to be of assistance on the project I can’t talk about.

I’ve been swamped with deadlines and unable to reply to any of the public notes and private emails, but as soon as I can get my head above water, be assured that I’ll be in touch with many of you.

Second, as noted in the original thread before I hijacked it, yes, the plan at the moment is that I will be at Comic Con San Diego this year, primarily doing my thing on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.

There is a *chance* mind you, it’s just a slim chance but to be honorable I must mention it that a work situation *may* preclude my appearance there. Or it may not. I’ll know more by the end of next week, and for now as far as I know, everything’s on target for me to be at SDCC. If that changes, I’ll be sure to let everyone know as far in advance as possible.

One final note re: recent discussions on TMoS and more Lost Tales.

B5:TLT was commissioned at a $2 million budget to, yet one more time, “test the waters” for B5. We did what we could with that, and that was that. As we did with Rangers, which also suffered from not having a lot of money because of concerns about “is there really a B5 audience?” Which is, of course, a foolish question from a studio that has never really understood what it has in B5.

Of late, there have been more discussions from WB about doing more DVDs, again at a low cost, or a cable thing, again with minimal investment.

So for the last few months, I’ve been giving this whole subject a lot of quiet thought. And I’ve come to a conclusion.

B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.

As well intentioned as Rangers and TLT were, as enticing as it was to return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don’t regret having made them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn’t make them again.

So I’ve let everyone up here know that I’m not interested in doing any more low-budget DVDs. I’m not interested in doing any low-budget cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full- featured, big-budget feature film.

It’s that or nothing.

And if it’s nothing, I’m totally cool with that because the original story stands on its own just fine. I’m not lobbying for it, I’m not asking fans to write in about it (nor should you) because such campaigns never really have much impact…that’s simply the position I’ve taken up here. Lord knows I don’t lack for other things to do these days. I’m busier on more prestige projects with terrific people and great film-makers than at any other time in my career.

At the end of the day, for me, it’s not just a matter of getting more B5. It’s a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came before it and doesn’t have to compromise visually or in terms of action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.

So I’ve drawn that line in the sand, and I’m happy living on whichever side of that line the universe puts me. Just thought you should know, ‘cause it’s your show too.

jms