Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron061.txt

Subj: Answers Date: 10/3/97 12:08:20 AM From:  RonDMoore

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There are probably other planets and/or alliances that have joined in the fighting, but they would be much smaller players than the Feds and the Klingons. We may or may not mention them at some point. Remember that there were many nations fighting the Axis in WWII, but only the major players are usually referred to.

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No problem. Just show up at the gate. Wear a big sign that says, "I'M HERE NOW" and I'll have someone escort you to your very own makeup trailer where they'll put some dark makeup on your fingers and then take some pretty pictures...

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No.

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Well, they are *our* rules! Seriously, the pitch letter is composed at the beginning of the season and it only reflects our thinking at that time. Things often change over the course of the year, but we seldom get around to going back and revising the pitch letter. We also just feel that certain story ideas are better left to the staff -- things like bringing in the Holodoc from Voyager are ideas that have to be developed in-house because they involve a fair amount of political manuevering within the shows so as not to step on anyone's toes. Overall, the pitch letter and the guidelines are meant to steer you away from things that everyone and their brother tries to pitch or write and we're just sick of seeing them on paper. The rules can, of course, be broken -- we'll read your spec or take your pitch anyway -- but you lessen the chance of serious consideration with every guideline that you break.

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I'm not sure I understand. You got your script back without "rejected" on it, but it did or did not have an invitation to pitch?

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I don't know. Maybe. It's a question of whether or not it would screw up our library of stock Defiant shots to suddenly make a change on the exterior model.

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I think he knew.

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I don't know, but assume it's at least in the hundreds of millions, if not billions.

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She's getting a tax credit instead.

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It was a very pleasant experience. It was nice to be on a panel that celebrated the people behind the scenes who don't get nearly enough credit. I was surprised at the large turnout and how polite everyone was after the event was over and Ira and I were just mingling in the lobby.

Subj: Answers Date: 10/3/97 12:39:36 AM From:  RonDMoore

<<-- Real Genius, 1985

Which is one of the best movies Val Kilmer EVER made!>>

Other great Kilmer flicks are "Tombstone" and "The Doors". His Doc Holiday is a real scene-stealing performance and should not be missed by any western fan. And although "The Doors" is a flawed movie in many ways, I think that Kilmer's turn as Jim Morrison is nothing short of amazing.

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Yes/no/maybe.

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Oh, get over yourself. I take my lumps along with everyone else. I screwed up the date of the Eugenics Wars and I take the blame for it just like I'll take the rap for writing "Acquiel" and "Rascals." I don't take some high and mighty attitude with you and you know it, Catbyte.

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Which was what?

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I'm not sure. We haven't decided this yet.

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All good questions, but I'd rather not answer them since it would give away too much of our thinking.

<<It was a big loss because a bunch of battleships and I believe a carrier were destroyed. Had they not been at pearl harbor, they wouldnt have been destroyed. Also, had they KNOWN that the japanese were going to be bombing them, they wouldnt have been destroyed. The japanes planes that attacked were, when compared to the US forces at pearl harbor, quite weak. However, the ships were docked, the guns were mostly unmanned, and the crews were all out partying. Had the CIA existed at that time, they most likely would have found out about the attack on pearl harbor, told the captains of the ships, thereby allowing the captains to get their ships ready to destroy those attacking planes.>>

Just to clear up some history: There were no carriers in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Although the CIA did not exist at that time, both the Army and the Navy had their own intelligence services and they did decode a great deal of Japanese communiques that indicated an attack was in the offing. The problem was in analyzing and disseminating the information that they did have. Many officers did expect an attack, but felt it would come in the Phillippines, not the Hawaiian Islands. Also, a strongly worded "war warning" went out on that very morning from Washington, but did not arrive in Hawaii until after the attack had commenced due to some quasi-comical mishaps along the way. The men of the US Fleet in port were not "partying" but were lining up for morning colors at the time of the attack. The attacking Japanese aircraft were superior to almost every American plane in Hawaii at the time and were manned by highly trained and experienced pilots.

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We talked about it a few times, but the idea never seemed to gel with anyone on staff.

Subj: Answers Date: 10/3/97 12:51:52 AM From:  RonDMoore

<<can you tell us what kind of storyline you wanted to involve Spock in? >>

We had a notion of doing a show with the Mirror Spock, but it never got beyond the notion stage because Nimoy wasn't interested.

<<Also, are budget concerns standing in the way of us ever seeing the Vulcan/Romulus storyline part of a new ST Series or Movie? >>

No.

<<How is the ST #9 Movie coming?>>

I really don't know.

<<In this story arc, who is the glass? And who is the rock? Or, put another way, WHO is more likely than not to shatter on impact, regardless of WHO is the cause of that impact? >>

Again, I don't want to give away too much.

<< If he implied his father is dead, to the audience, he is dead. It's not bright to play with your audience like that.... I'd prefer a writer's (Ron's) take on the subject, but he is apparently not up to discussing it>>

How many ways do you want me to answer this? Sisko IMPLIED his father was dead. He didn't SAY he was dead. So when we wanted to bring on his father, we were able to do so without breaking continuity, because an IMPLICATION of death is not the same thing as a STATEMENT of death. In retrospect, it can be said that Sisko was referring to a very serious illness that his father suffered through and that Sisko himself felt powerless to do anything about. His father later recovered.

<<My question is, since all the runabouts are named after rivers, why hasn't a guy who hails from the Big Easy named one Mississippi yet?>>

Good point. I'll try to remember that.

<<Any chance we'll be seeing the Vorta Eris or Kilana in future episodes?>>

I don't think so.

<<In the "Tribbles" episode you did on DS9, you spent MILLIONS to recreate even smallest detail, however then it came time to score the show, Dennis McCarthy was ORDERED (this is confirmed by several published interviews) not to use a note of Jerry Fielding classic score from the original episode by "The Powers that Be". My question is WHY?>>

The argument was that we should score the show with a DS9 original score instead of merely aping the old show. I disagreed with the idea and I still do.