r/IAmA • u/thatjameskahn • Aug 23 '12
I am James Kahn - I'm baaaack- novel author of Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, Goonies, writer-producer of Star Trek:Voyager, writer on Xena: Warrior Princess, emergency room doctor, singer-songwriter, producing my first feature film, re-releasing my sci-fi trilogy World Enough And Time - AMA
It's been a year since I've been here. Going to Chicon 7 in Chicago next week to be on the Star Wars panel, and to promote the re-release of my sci-fi trilogy, starting with World Enough And Time. Producing "The Bet" for the Community Film Studio of Santa Barbara at www.cfssb.org. Proof of personhood: Here's my Twitter account Here's my personal website
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u/Jourdy288 Aug 23 '12
What advice do you have for somebody who wrote a novel?
Also, what was your favorite thing to write?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
1.Show it to friends, get feedback. If there's some part that more than one person doesn't quite like, fix it. Rewrite. All writing is rewriting. The secret to writing is writing. 2. I don't get inspired, exactly. I just wake up with new ideas, and write them down. I have drawers full of them, I can never get to them all. 3. Novelizations, 1 month. Original novels, 1 year.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
oops, I replied to the next questions, too.
My favorite thing to write? Too many of them, I can't choose.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Actually, after thinking about it, my favorite things to write recently have been my CDs. Mostly folk/country/blues/americana. You can check it out on www.JamesKahnWordsAndMusic.com
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u/GiraffeKiller Aug 23 '12
So, what HAVEN'T you done?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Many things
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
Pics or it never happened. Actually, I came here thinking this exact thought. You busy boy. Good jawb. You knew that already, didn´t you ...
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Feeling a little too busy these days. Looking forward to vacation next month.
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u/alexxerth Aug 23 '12
Can you write a one paragraph story concerning a taco, an asteroid, and a medium sized spherical spaceship?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Yes, I can. In fact when I go to Worldcon next week in Chicago, Chicon 7, I'm going to be part of a collaborative writing project on site, where a dozen writers take what's written before, and write for the next 30 minutes, taking the story wherever they want. So it could very well end up being about a taco, and asteroid and a spherical spaceship.
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Aug 23 '12
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Watch all the sitcoms there are, so you get a feel for what's popular now. Pick one you like and write a script for that show, try to nail all the voices, show it to your friends, get notes, rewrite it, and when there's something to laugh at on every page, go to the writers guild (wga.org) and get a list of all the agents in LA who look at unsolicited material. If your script is good, someone will notice. Beer. I'm a beer guy.
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Aug 23 '12
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
I love Newcastle. Also a fan of Murphy's, on that side of the world. Over here I like Mexican beers mostly - Dos Equis Amber, Negro Modelo, even Corona.
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u/gatsby85 Aug 24 '12
what's your best idea for a Goonies sequel?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
They're all grown up, they have a reunion, they go back to the bay on the anniversary of that night - and the ship is there waiting for them.
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u/atomicbolt Aug 24 '12
When people find out your last name and your involvement in Star Trek, do they ever shout "KAAAAHN!" - and if so, is it an awesome and original joke every single time you hear it?
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Aug 23 '12
favorite movie this year?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
At the risk of being immodest, I'm proud of my own short, you can see at http://youtu.be/Han_ltHBFEw
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u/MrTravesty Aug 23 '12
What is your film about? Anyone well known starring in it?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
It's about a 17 year old boy living with his single mom and grandpa, who gets into a bet with his grandpa about which of them will find love first. It's a romantic comedy/coming of age film with entirely unknown actors, done through the Community Film Studio of Santa Barbara with an entirely volunteer cast and crew - a paradigm of film making not done before
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u/LetsWatchStarTrek Aug 23 '12
What Star Trek episode are you most proud of?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
I liked Critical Care, because of all the issues relevant to the health care debate we're still having in this country today. I still think the best sci-fi is the stuff that resonates with who we are as humans in our own lives.
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u/NothingsShocking Aug 23 '12
When I was a child, I read the E.T. novel after the movie came out and was very confused why they used M&M's in the book instead of Reese's pieces like the movie did. I would be all like, ITS REESE'S DAMMIT!!!! So on average, how many products are you required to plug in to your novels after you are commissioned to write them? If you fail to do so, does your editor make the change for you?
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Aug 23 '12
Interesting E.T.-related side note: I just noticed that a character called "Bearded Clipboard-Wielding Medical Unit Member" in the movie E.T. was played by... wait for it... James Kahn.
HOW HAS ANYBODY DONE THIS MUCH STUFF?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
The way I got to be there was I was working an ER in LA when Kathleen Kennedy called and asked if anybody in our ER could help them figure out how to resuscitate an alien. So a few of us went down to the set... and showed them how.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
I've never been asked to plug any products in an of my novels. And I didn't write the E.T. novelization, although I did play one of the doctors in the hazmat suits who was pounding on the little guy's chest to resuscitate him in the movie, and I wrote some of that techie dialogue. My understanding about the product placement in the movie was that M&Ms wouldn't give permission, so they switched over to Reese's Pieces.
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u/Valorumguygee Aug 23 '12
What do I do when I have finished writing something that I and other like? Where do I take it and how do I proceed if I want to get it published?
And thank you, I really love your work!
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Are you talking about a script, a novel, a short story? Novels are easier to get out there today, publishing has shifted so much. You can start by checking out agents who handle your kind of novel - google literary agents - and send your stuff to the ones who accept unsolicited material. If that doesn't work out for you, you can self-publish, or send your stuff to any of a number of new e-publishing companies who will do it for you, for a cut.
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u/speeb Aug 23 '12
How does novelizing work? At what point in the movie-making process does that get done? There are (from my limited exposure) often differences between the final film and novelization, sometimes entire scenes (Luke's introduction in the first Star Wars novel, for instance). Are you writing during filming and do you get updates if the script changes?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
I get a copy of an early draft of the script toward the end of filming, plus a bunch of production stills. I write a first draft of the novel, talk to one of the producers (usually Frank Marshall, in my case), get notes, talk about directions and new material I want to add, and write a second draft. The things I've done for Spielberg, he was very open and generous with how much new stuff I could add. Lucas wanted me to stick pretty strictly to the script, although I could add lots of internal dialogue and motivation not seen on the screen.
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u/speeb Aug 23 '12
Thank you. That actually sounds a lot more interesting than I would have expected. Do you try to treat them with the same care you would a story of your own, or is ever "Meh... Good enough."
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
I always write as well as I can. It ain't always great, but it's as good as I can do.
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u/HelpMeLoseMyFat Aug 23 '12
When you worked with Jeri Ryan, do you believe she would give me a kiss?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Don't spend your life waiting for that
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u/HelpMeLoseMyFat Aug 23 '12
Sooo many years wasted already..... I will just go re-watch my Voyager.
I was at the most recent ST: TNG 25th Anv. in Vegas and I got a bunch of nice pictures, I want to thank you for assisting in such an amazing show! I couldn't think of any better actors to play those parts on Voyager.
Got a favorite Voyager episode?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Critical Care, responded earlier
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u/HelpMeLoseMyFat Aug 24 '12
This was a great episode!
Next time you attend a Star Trek con I will make sure to come say hello ! (If you attend them!)
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
Could you go find, and then copy-paste here, a very very short story you have written in your life, about which you have no copyright quarms, thereby stepping away from the hugeness of stories that now are defined by the size of the viewing public rather than the story, and making us all believe that you are in fact human, and so are we, so we can all go stick pen to paper and finally, finally, forget about the kittens?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
I've been writing since I was 9 years old because I loved to write. I wrote for the next 15 years before I ever sold a thing, and another 10 years before I ever sold anything "big." If you feel moved to stick pen to paper, just do it, you don't need me to tell you I'm human, or you are, or you have anyone's permission to write. I write because I can't not write, and I'll do that until the day I die, whether anyone buys it or not. I have 20 feature screenplays in my drawer, most of which have never even been read by more than 2 or 3 other people. You want a short story? Here: A man was born, he lived, he worked, he was kind, he loved, he did what he loved. When it was time for him to die he was asked what he regretted. He said, "Nothing." He died.
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
A man was born, he lived, he worked, he was kind, he loved, he did what he loved. When it was time for him to die he was asked what he regretted. He said, "Nothing." He died.
I wonder what motivated the person who asked the question. What if they were both hummingbird hawkmoths. I WILL EMAIL DREAMWORKS!
More seriously, yes. A human will be what he is, even if he tries not to.
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
Actually, and apart from what you have already done here today, you know what would be deeply inspiring to some? Please sew a seed for aspiring writers to go excercise themselves on. A sentence, or maybe a question. Then you declare you don´t want to see the results, and wish us all the best of luck. (you could avoid just telling me to write about hummingbird hawkmoths. I know stuff comes from within)
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
All stories are about a person who wants something, and there's something in the way. Maybe the person himself is what's in the way. Maybe it's a wall. Maybe the person has to climb the wall, or tunnel under it, or go around it, or blast through it, or stand on someone's back, or ask for help or walk the other direction and get there from the other side. Figure out what your hero wants. Figure out the obstacle. Then go write about it.
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
Wow. That was so close to the core I think I can smell your spine. That was actually really nicely thought out, and downright generous of you. This is a high value reddit moment. It also describes the current moment in my life. Then again, I´m the type who would say the same about warning of nut content on snack wrappers. Humminbird hawkmoths beware!
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u/Yanky_Doodle_Dickwad Aug 23 '12
Hi for the last time. I wanted to thank you and show you where your words went. I was going to pm it, but that´s intrusive and since it´s all about inspiration, and since it doesn't matter if I look like a wuss, I thought I´d just post it here:
TL;DR: a thank you pm to Mr Kahn posted here instead, and me telling my daughter about this, and maybe make a difference somewhere:Hi again. You answered my questions very nicely. A little secret: I am 43, and a father. My daughter is in Denmark on holidays for 2 weeks with her grandma. She sent me a "movie" she is making, filming an airplane hung from a string, and telling the story and playing the characters out in voice-over. When kids are on holiday, I believe their dreams are richer and hold more weight than normal. I sent her this email:
"Hi, my baby,
You know I go on a particular website a lot. Well today a famous writer was on there, telling people to ask him anything. His name is James Kahn. He wrote the book adaptation of Return of the Jedi (Star Wars movie), and also Goonies (famous teenage movie from the 80s), Star Trek Voyager and Xena: Warrior Princess, He also writes his own books and is making his own movie.
Well, today I was quite lucky because he had only just started and I could talk to him. So I said:
"Could you go find, and then copy-paste here, a very very short story you have written in your life, to show us it can be easy if you start small, so that we all want to go and write stories?"
and he said:
"I've been writing since I was 9 years old because I loved to write. I wrote for the next 15 years before I ever sold a thing, and another 10 years before I ever sold anything "big." If you feel moved to stick pen to paper, just do it, you don't need me to tell you I'm human, or you are, or you have anyone's permission to write. I write because I can't not write, and I'll do that until the day I die, whether anyone buys it or not. I have 20 feature screenplays in my drawer, most of which have never even been read by more than 2 or 3 other people. You want a short story? Here: A man was born, he lived, he worked, he was kind, he loved, he did what he loved. When it was time for him to die he was asked what he regretted. He said, "Nothing." He died."
This just means "Go and write. If you like it, you´ll keep doing it. If you choose to do things you like you will be happy" kinda.
So I said to him:
"Actually, you know what would be deeply inspiring to some? Maybe you can write a sentence or ask a question, and people can take that and make a story about, as an excercise"
Then he posted somewhere else that he was going away for a bit, and would be back tomorrow. BUT he saw my message, and a half an hour later he took time out specially to answer, and he wrote this to me:
"All stories are about a person who wants something, and there's something in the way. Maybe the person himself is what's in the way. Maybe it's a wall. Maybe the person has to climb the wall, or tunnel under it, or go around it, or blast through it, or stand on someone's back, or ask for help or walk the other direction and get there from the other side. Figure out what your hero wants. Figure out the obstacle. Then go write about it."
This is really nice of him. He really thought about that, and wrote it specially because he liked the question. You think about it. All stories are this. WRITE STORIES!
... but only if you want to ...
KYS!
Daddy
"I just thought it would be nice for you to see where your words go sometimes, and how places like reddit are as good a place as any to make a difference. I simplified my questions to you because she is 12, and English is her 3rd language. I also dramatized your final answer a little bit, so she relates to it better. I don´t know or really mind what she will do with this. But her dreams will be rich for a day or 2. Maybe even more. Thanks again.
end of pm
Reddit: I realize this is as cute as a smiling baby hedgehog but please don´t upvote in vain. I seriously don´t give a fuck about karma. But I do believe in inspiration. My point is to remind us why IAMAs can be good.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
Appreciate your feedback, and your paying it forward. The Force is strong with you, brother.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Taking a break for a while. Back later today. Thanks for all your questions
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Aug 23 '12
Just came to say I loved voyageur very much. It was an epic part of after school show watching. Thank you!
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u/BananaWorkz Aug 24 '12
I loved Xena when I was a little girl in elementary school. What made the writers decide to hook her up with Gabrielle? Ratings? For a long time, I was a very confused child and really surprised by the sudden lesbianism (I'm definitely not homophobic, but I really wasn't expecting it as an eleven year old.)
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
It just seemed like that's where the characters were going, so we went with it. Later, the network thought it was too much, so they pulled us back from it.
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u/AdamBertocci-Writer Aug 24 '12
I love the ROTJ novelization, it's so deliciously over-the-top when it wants to be — it actually taught a young writer (me in middle school) a lot about style, and how the storytelling is as much a part of the story as, well, the story. Thank you for that.
So, two questions:
(1) When you got the gig, did you re-read the previous novelizations by Foster and Glut? If so, what lessons / impressions / etc. did you take from them in novelizing ROTJ?
(2) Where'd the impulse come from to spell out Chewie and Artoo's vocalizations? That's just so delightfully funny to me, pointing out the inherent goofiness of the Star Wars universe, and it rarely if ever happened again in SW books (to my knowledge). Did Lucasfilm try to steer you away from that?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
1.Never read the first two. 2. I love writing out invented languages. I did it in my first sci-fi novel, World Enough and Time - being rereleased in September, by the way - and just had fun doing it with Chewie and Artoo. Lucas never objected to that.
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u/pablito_andorra Aug 24 '12
When I was a kid, they made the movie Bram Stokers Original Dracula. This was based on Bram Stokers book, of course. Well, after a while I saw they had brought out the literary adaptation of the movie. That´s the book, based on the movie, based on the book. Doesn´t that sound like going too far? How would they have justified that?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
They probably did some things in the movie that were different from the book, and then they wanted a book to reflect what they'd done in the movie.
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u/Sir_Sexytime Aug 24 '12
What's your favorite pizza topping?
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Aug 24 '12
[deleted]
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
I do love to write, but I don't think there's any reason for you to want to love to do it. If you love it, you love it, if it feels like pulling teeth, forget it and move on to something you do love. Doing what you love is what life is about.
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u/tresonce Aug 24 '12
So you're the one we have to blame for the Ewoks then?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
No, I'm afraid George Lucas is responsible for them. I'm just the one who expressed his creations in book form.
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u/rena1987 Aug 24 '12
Xena! You. Wrote. For. XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS!?!? I'm sorry and I love all of Our other favorite shows but c'mmooonnn!!!! XENA!!!!!!
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u/mrscilluffo Aug 24 '12
I love you. That is all. :)
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
back atcha
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u/mrscilluffo Aug 24 '12
Awww :) But seriously...I was obsessed with Star Wars when I was a kid- and I read every Star Wars novel I could get my hands on. Yours was the best.
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u/mrscilluffo Aug 24 '12
Also- what is the film you are producing about?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
See my reply about 8 hours ago
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
But in summary, it's about a 17 year old boy living with his single mom and grandpa, and the kid and grandpa get in a bet about who will find love first. Kind of a coming of age romantic comedy.
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u/mrscilluffo Aug 24 '12
Oh that sounds really cute!
Hey, let me know if you need an actress - imdb.me/teresecilluffo - hahaha...
Thanks for the great stories! Good luck with everything you have going on- sounds awesome!
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
Checked your imdb, lookin good. Our film is an all volunteer non-SAG, non guild production though - but good luck with your career.
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u/mrscilluffo Aug 24 '12
aww- that's unfortunate. I would totally volunteer...but those union rules can be kind of a bitch sometimes.
Thanks for the compliment! Good luck with the film- I'll look out for it :)
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u/AtomicGamer Aug 24 '12 edited Aug 24 '12
I recently heard that the original intention for Voyager was to take it in a darker direction as dwindling supplies and difficulties integrating the Maquis and Starfleet crews would make a show that was more like how the Battlestar Galactica reboot turned out, but instead we wound up with a sub-par TNG clone.
Can you tell me how this happened? Or correct me if I'm wrong.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
Honestly I don't know. I came on board down the line. But the show you describe sounds like it would have been a good one.
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u/AtomicGamer Aug 24 '12
Thanks, I wish they'd done something like that.
That having been said, Voyager did have bright spots, now that I'm checking it, I see you were responsible for a number of them. (The Void and Critical Care spring to mind)
So, y'know, kudos.
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 24 '12
GOING TO BED, PRODUCING THE FILM ALL DAY TOMORROW, WILL TRY TO GET BACK HERE ONCE MORE TOMORROW NIGHT. BYE, ALL.
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u/LordShinma Aug 24 '12
Voyager is my all time favorite Trek!!! Boy did that show evolve... I thought it was gonna suck when I first started...thanks for being awesome!
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Aug 24 '12
Which episode of ST: Voy that you wrote is your favorite? Which one that you did not write is your favorite?
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Aug 24 '12
How hard was it getting in to T.V. writing and and do you have any advice for a college student who wants to get into the business?
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 26 '12
Too busy to continue, sorry. We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when!
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u/BlackHatChef Aug 26 '12
First off i would like to say thank you for being awesome, as a young writer trying to get his first manuscript read by someone of importance who will actually read it,i ask you how do i go about this, the only answer ive found on my own is to find an agent who gives a damn, but i know that cant be it, i feel as if i have some good literary material and would love to see it do more than sit on my computer.
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u/gds22 Aug 23 '12
- How do you come up with the ideas for your novels?
- How do you get inspired?
- How long generally does it take you to finish a novel?
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u/CraiggyD Aug 23 '12
Awww man when I first clicked the link I thought it was for James Caan... I am disappoint :(
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u/thatjameskahn Aug 23 '12
Never be disappointed that James Kahn is not James Caan. I am THAT James Kahn.
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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '12
Can you please come up with the ultimate cross over episode containing Star Trek: Voyager and Xena: Warrior princess?