Sci-Fi Storm

Seems JMS has just a few things on his plate. He is going to write Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man comic along with his two existing comics (Rising Stars, now at #10, and Midnight Nation, at #2). He has been given to go ahead for scripts for a Rising Stars movie from MGM and a pilot for a new series for Showtime, AND Warner Bros. wants to dust off “The World on Fire”, a series developed with Chris Carter (creator of X-Files).

Here’s what JMS said on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated on September 30th, 2000:

Boy, has this been a week….

As most folks know by now, the news about Marvel entrusting me with their flagship title The Amazing Spiderman broke on the nets Monday/Tuesday. As a longtime Spidey fan, this is something I’m looking forward to enormously. You can expect to see the first jms-written issue of TMS probably around March or April of next year.

On Wednesday Rising Stars 10 came out (and Midnight Nation 2 is due out in 2 weeks).

Also this week…after writing my first pass on the outline for the Rising Stars feature film (tentatively entitled “Born in Fire”), MGM read the outline, loved it, had a couple of very smart suggestions…and as of Wednesday, I’ve been put to script.

On Thursday, some friendly folks at Warner Bros. asked if they could take up the banner of my project The World On Fire (formally with Chris Carter) and take it out in the Spring to sell it as a series.

I also turned in the outline for the pilot TV movie this week, and today, Friday, was put to script on THAT project as well. With that hurdle passed, I can now talk a little about it. The network is indeed Showtime, as some have speculated, with Paramount Television the studio attached, and it’s for an hour-series (debuting with a two-hour pilot movie) slated for their Sci-Fi Fridays slot. The project is based on an outside source, though I can’t yet comment on that. I’m on as executive producer/show runner. In addition, feature film director Joe Dante is aboard also as executive producer, and he will be invaluable in setting the visual and directorial tone of the series. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Joe, and if we get past the next few hurdles — every series has to go through the stages of pilot outline, pilot script, decision to produce the script and then the go-order on a series, same as with B5 and every other program — I’m *really* looking forward to working with him on the series.

The Rising Stars movie screenplay will probably be turned in sometime middle or late November; the Showtime TV movie screenplay will probably be turned in around November 1 for production reasons.

It has been just an *astonishing* week….

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com) (all message content (c) 2000 by synthetic worlds, ltd., permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine)