| Volume II, Issue 2 |
Welcome back! We enjoyed out December off and have settled in after our big move.
The Ed Wasser Fan Club Newsletter is going to 'every other month' format. Why? Now that we have it off the ground, we think we can do a better (and bigger) newsletter if we have more time to work on it. So the next newsletter will go out in mid-March.
To those of you who have sent mail to Ed and not gotten a reply, he has been away for a while filming various projects. He apologizes for his delay and promises to give his fan mail the attention it deserves and get caught up.
It has been suggested by some of the readers of the newsletter that we make and sell some Ed-ware, like a "What do you want?" T-shirt or something like that. Does anyone have any ideas on what would be cool and fun along those lines? Of course, this cannot be Babylon 5 merchandise, as JMS (rightly) keeps tight control over that, but we could do an Ed T-shirt or something. Thoughts? Interest? Email us and let us know...
(Below is the first part of a several hours long interview with Ed. It will be continued in every issue of the EWFCN.)
Well, let's see. For me, I usually get there around 6:30 and then check in. I pop by my trailer and drop my things off and go straight to makeup. While I am being made up, someone comes up and asks me what do I want, for breakfast, that is. This is kind of funny because we never have time to eat it. I usually manage to get a muffin and some coffee, though. We usually get the script about a week before shooting, so that is not a problem, and we are able to do a walk through, which means the director gets a look at the scenes to shoot. I then finish makeup, and we do another walk through, for the lighting and camera people. Then, we actually shoot. This all works out to about a minute an hour, or less. That is, an hour of work for less than a minute of film.
When I got the role of Morden, I decided that I wanted to find some prop or something to connect me to the role. My first thought was to have a pair of dice. Then I thought marbles. You know, something to play around with when I speak, something to direct my energy into. Like a power source. Then I realized that dice or marbles would be a little too obvious or distracting.
Then one day, I thought I would look in a crystal shop. I went into this one shop, thinking to myself 'what would Morden use to connect himself to the Shadowmen?' I looked at some pins. Then I saw this crystal, and I started playing with it. As I walked all over this shop, I played with this same crystal. For a solid hour I did this. All the while noticing that my hand felt powerful, like this was the answer. This was for Morden.
Then I asked the lady how much. She responded $140. I just could not bring myself to pay that much money for a rock, so I left. Empty handed. But I could not get the rock out of my head. So, I went back and offered her $120 in cash and asked her to throw the chain in. She said OK. And this, the Morden accessory, was born.
I found out that the crystal is called Moldavite. It is the oldest crystal on Earth. [EDITOR NOTE: When Ed bought the crystal, it came with a description of Moldavite. It is reprinted below.]
When I told my dad about it, he thought I flipped. '$120 for a rock?!?!' Oh well...had to have it for my character.
The next hurdle was to get JMS to OK it. I went to him and told him that I found this crystal and that its purpose is power. It gives you power in your life. Just the kind of thing Morden would wear. I told him I wanted to wear it because it made me feel connected to Morden, who needs to be connected to the Shadowmen. First, he was resistant. He didn't want the character to become about a prop. But in the end, he came around.
I take it home after every episode. I don't really wear it outside of the show, though.
I am open to powers of the universe. I believe in those who believe in it, and I understand those who don't.
First, a good New York slice of pizza. Second, I would like to see world peace, in that order.
Well, as James Cagney once said, "Well, never get caught doing it!" Or, as my professor would say, you have to let go of the preconceived notions of what you think you should be and simply ... 'be'.
The following copy came with the necklace Ed bought to wear whenever he plays Morden:
"Moldavite is the product of a meteor collision with Earth nearly 15 million years ago. It fell over what is now called the Moldau River valley in Czechoslovakia. The green gems are among the most rare minerals on earth. They have been prized by humans for thousands of years and are still given as gifts from royalty to royalty. In legend, it is believed Moldavite was the green stone in the Holy Grail and has the power to quicken one's spiritual evolution."
We will be adding to this section every issue to give you more background about Ed.
This past month Ed filmed a commercial for Jive Coffee to be aired in Japan. Ed played a coach of a baseball team. He got to spend several hours playing around in a massive stadium wearing a Dodgers uniform, which means he finally got his wish to get paid to play baseball. Ed also got to work with Noamo and Tommy Lasorda, which was a great treat for him.
Please include one SAE.
This section is for Ed to share a thought or poem or quote, or whatever is on his mind when we go to press. This first one is just a simple line of verse that was handwritten on a card he received from his girlfriend in his freshman year in college:
"Let the whisper of laughter lead you to your happiness."
First, a FUNNY STORY: Do you remember the first contest? The Top 10 Surprises in Morden's Autobiography? Well, we got scads of submissions to that one. Some of them, quite frankly were silly, and a few made no sense to us whatsoever. We of course ignored those...
One of the ones that did not make sense was:
Now, if you were editor of this newsletter, what would you do with this submission? I mean, it makes no sense. I guess maybe it is funny in a weird, eclectic sort of way... But it becomes much clearer and funnier when you find that this submission was sent by Ed's mom. In fact, then it becomes absolutely hysterical! So we are offering a belated, but sincere, super grand prize to Ed's mom, for her submission. Her prize? Ed promises he won't wreck her car anymore [inside joke alert!]
Next, the winner of contest number two. Contest # 2 was: Back at home on Z'ha'dum, Morden probably has a pet, maybe taken from earth, maybe not. What kind of animal does he keep for a pet, and what is its name? Four winners will be selected and reprinted in the newsletter, with the grand prize winner receiving an inscribed autographed photo of Ed Wasser.
First, the three runners-up:
And the grand prize winner:
The Morden Haiku
The haiku is a traditional Japanese verse form expressing a single emotion or idea in which 17 syllables are arranged in lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Contest #3 is to write a Morden Haiku. We are not going to give any more refinement than that.
Entries due by 2/15/96.
Contrary to the rumors you may hear, we are not on the lam from the law. You can contact us. To subscribe, email to subscribe@wasser.com. Conversely, when you have had enough, unsubscribe@wasser.com will do the trick. If you want to contribute anything, we will most likely print it, assuming it pertains to Ed, Morden, Shadows, B5 (i.e. doesn't ramble on about the Trilateral Commission). Email to submissions@wasser.com. Letters to Ed are also welcome, and you have his word that they will all be read and answered by him. Ed's email is, you guessed it, ed@wasser.com. In a few months, there will be a web page for us at: http://www.catalog.com/wasser. Contest submissions are sent to contest@wasser.com.
| Volume II, Issue 2 |