GregF

Personally, I love the bio-mechanical dinosaurs, they were my favorite thing about the picture. To those saying the movie should be made, etc., sadly it wouldn't make sense to do -- because the way first half 2010 events shape up, none of this could have happened. So at best it's an alt. universe story now. Wrinkledlion -- Not to my knowledge. That does not mean "no," it simply means that if the set designers had done any work toward 2010 along these lines, I was not made aware of it.

No BIONICLE 6 movie outline exists. Had we done one, it would have been written in 2009, but by 2009, we knew there would be no 2011 movie -- so no need to write an outline. Also, just to answer the couple folks who brought it up -- you don't get "character depth" in a screen treatment. That's what the actual script is for. The treatment is to give the studio an idea of the plot and a way to estimate how much making the movie will cost. Character interaction, etc. is not the point of this exercise.

Couple of things -- 1) I don't think I can share the 2009 treatment, because I don't own it. It was written under contract with Tinseltown Toons and purchased by them,so they are the only ones who can share that. The 2010 treatment was never purchased by anyone, which is why I could show you that one. 2) The whole "Earth" thing was simply because we had not yet decided what the plague tribe's element would be at that point, so Earth was a placeholder. 3) Some of this most likely will be canonized if we go to Bota Magna in story (as we most likely will, post spring 2010 .. no reason not to)

Someone asked if I would post the original screen treatment for the planned 2010 movie (which, of course, is not getting made). Since this story will never get used for anything, I saw no reason not to share it. Please note, though, that this was a first draft -- it would almost certainly have been changed, maybe a lot, once it was run by TLC and Tinseltown Toons and Universal. But this was the original version. A few things to emphasize before you read: 1) This is NOT official story, as it was never approved by TLC, though the very general outline did come from the story team as a whole. 2) The names of new characters are NOT approved BIONICLE names, and nothing exists on these characters beyond what is noted below. 3) Due to the fact that the overall story had to be changed with the decision to end the line, none of the events below ever happened in official BIONICLE continuity. This should be read as a curiosity, nothing more. BIONICLE 2010 MOVIE We open with a fast recap of how we got where we are – Mata Nui, exiled from his universe by an evil power, arrives on Bara Magna. He finds himself allied with the small villages that dot the region against fierce invaders from the north, the Skrall. In the end, Mata Nui leads the villages and their glatorian to victory, and discovers their shelters were in fact pieces of a giant robotic body. As a thank you to the warriors who helped them, he bestows new elemental powers on them and dubs them Toa. We then include the “coin” scene from the end of Legend Reborn, as the coin becomes important. Mata Nui states that he needs to find a source of power for the body they have built, and that perhaps that source lies to the north – the Skrall, after all, had technology unlike anything the other villages have. But if he and his new friends are going to make this journey to an unknown land, they will have to be alert every step of the way. Cut to Ackar, at night, sitting on the jungle floor with his back against a rock, sound asleep. The next moment, a burst of water hits him in the face and he wakes up, sputtering. Cut to Kiina, water still dripping from the end of her weapon. She tells him it’s time for his watch. Note that Kiina looks different than how we saw her last, with her armor and weapon changed. The explanation for this becomes obvious. Mata Nui, Ackar and Kiina are camping in an abandoned Skrall outpost. There’s a cache of armor and weapons there. As Ackar outfits himself, he speaks to Mata Nui about their absent comrade: ACKAR You know, Berix was really hurt when you said he had to go back to the village. It was just a bad sandstorm, and he got a little banged up. Nothing he hadn’t been through before. MATA NUI He was here because of me … in danger, because of me. I can’t be responsible for his safety. Their conversation is cut off by a noise coming from the path behind them. Ackar volunteers to go scout and see what – or who – is back there. He starts back the way they came, his feet leaving molten footprints in the ground. He is trying to be stealthy … but as he gets close to the source of the noise, he loses control of his new fire power again and a nearby tree bursts into flame. Revealed in the light, he is an easy target for a Skrall warrior who was hiding behind a rock. The Skrall fires his weapon and hits Ackar, who goes down (though he is not badly hurt, just bruised). Seeing this, Mata Nui flips out. His eyes glow, his voice as he shouts “Ackar!” takes on a weird echo effect – and suddenly the rock the Skrall was hiding behind becomes animated and grabs the Skrall, starting to squeeze. Ackar gets up at this point, looks from Mata Nui to the Skall and back, and says, “Hold it!” Startled, Mata Nui returns to normal, the rock goes back to being a rock, and the Skrall drops to the ground. Ackar grabs the Skrall and asks him what he’s doing here. The Skrall explains that there is nothing left for him back in Roxtus and he wanted to go back home. He was hoping to join up with Mata Nui’s party, but got startled by the flames and thought Ackar was attacking. Kiina, awake now, doesn’t believe the Skrall for a second, but Mata Nui overrules her, saying he understands what it is to just want to go home. Kiina says that home is the last place she ever wants to see again. Ackar has other things on his mind – like how Mata Nui just did what he did (Mata Nui has no idea). He’s also pretty sick of these new fire powers Mata Nui gave him, which almost just got him killed. Kiina laughs, wondering how any Glatorian can not want a powerful new weapon? At that moment, she loses control of her water powers and it starts to rain … but only on her. Mata Nui asks the Skrall what his name is. The Skrall replies he has no name … he is just a Skrall warrior. Complaining that he can’t just call the Skrall “Hey, you!” the whole way, Ackar gives him a name. (This should be something along the lines of “bucket head,” insulting but not vicious.) The Skrall assures him he will carry the name with honor. As they move out, Mata Nui asks the Skrall why his people left their homeland to invade the territory to the south. The Skrall reveals it was not by choice – they were forced out by invaders they could not defeat. As best as they could guess, the invaders came from inside a massive volcano, a place of great power. Sometimes in the night, the skies were lit up all around by the energies given off by the mountain. Skrall warriors were sent out to try to attack the volcano to stop the invaders, but none ever returned. Mata Nui tells the others he is convinced this volcano may be what he is looking for – a source of power for the new mechanical body. But it is his fight, not theirs – they can turn back. He reminds Ackar that he was chosen to lead the defenders of the new city, and should be back there. Ackar cuts him off, saying any number of Glatorian can lead the force – only one is Mata Nui’s best friend. Mata Nui is touched, but obviously a little uncomfortable to be leading his friends into danger. As they walk away, none of them notice something emerging from a nearby mountainside to follow them … something that wasn’t there one moment, then appeared the next. The party moves on, Ackar keeping a careful eye on the Skrall. The terrain changes from jungle to ice forest, marked by trees that make giant redwoods look like twigs. It’s only when they find one whose base has been partially exposed that they realize these are not “trees” – they are dozens of legs of beings like the Mata Nui robot body – just legs and feet from past Great Being projects, resting here, abandoned. They are in, in effect, a snow-covered junkyard, littered with massive BIONICLE pieces all in a jumble. A perfect setting for an ambush. The attack that follows is furious and frustrating for the heroes, as they are up against mechanicals with an advanced chameleon power and the ability to shapeshift. The enemy appears, attacks, and vanishes. This particular attack is primarily fire bolts, but strangely, they never seem to hit their targets – or do they? It’s Kiina who realizes the truth in the midst of the fight – the enemy isn’t aiming at them. They are aiming at the natural features around them, bringing down avalanches and felling “trees” to box the heroes in. And they’ve done a great job – all but one of the paths out of the region they are in is now completely blocked. KIINA Don’t you see? They’re not trying to capture us or kill us … we’re being herded, like sand grafs into a pen. SKRALL These things forced my people from our lands, pushing us south. MATA NUI South … away from the volcano. But the only route they left open to us is to the north. ACKAR So we’re being shoved toward the volcano. That’s never a good thing. KIINA Wonderful. We can’t turn back … and going forward doesn’t sound like such a great idea either. MATA NUI Then stay here! No one asked any of you to come! The party is taken aback by Mata Nui’s outburst – and so is he. He apologizes, saying he is not sure what is wrong – the further north they travel, the stranger he feels. The group travels on, finding themselves at the edge of a mountainous area that is sort of Monument Valley meets the the Grand Canyon times 100. Massive mountains tower high in the air for as far as the eye can see, and in the center, bigger than all the rest, is the volcano. There is only one pathway leading into the mountainous region – we see the group go in and watch them as they disappear over a rise. Then the two mountains that flank the entrance suddenly slam shut. Inside, the party hears the noise and reacts. But before they can go back and check as a group, Ackar points up ahead. There’s a clearing where it looks as if nature has gone to war with itself. Earth and rock are churned up everywhere, plant life is all over, either burned black or frozen solid. Hearing a groan, Mata Nui finds a jungle glatorian half buried under rubble. This is Oris, and he seems not at all surprised to see the group, though he is grateful for the rescue. Oris explains he got caught in a “worldstorm” and just barely survived – “they happen here sometimes.” He asks Mata Nui how long he and his friends have been lost. Mata Nui replies that they aren’t lost. Oris smiles and assures Mata Nui that they will be. The Skrall, who had run off briefly, now returns to say that the path they took to get into the region is now blocked off and he can’t see any other exit. Going forward is once again their only option. Oris offers to travel with them, and as they start off, Mata Nui idly asks him just how long he has been lost here. Oris’ answer startles and shocks the group: “Oh, 20,000 years or so.” That night, the group makes camp, with Ackar providing a campfire. Now we see the group from the fire’s POV – and what we see is plant tendrils emerging from the ground and creeping toward the sleeping heroes. Sparks suddenly fly from the fire, igniting the vines and burning them up. As the fire awakens the group, we see eyes in the flames slowly fade away. We see the Skrall surreptitiously collect a piece of the fire’s kindling and stash it away. The next day finds the party in an area of dense jungle – please note that all of these areas are still within the maze, so there are mountains all around forming the walls of said maze. The heroes are attacked by thick jungle vines – with teeth – and struggle to fight them off. It looks like a losing battle until Orsis says that he knows these plants, they hate water. Kiina is able to use her powers to drive the plants away. Again, we spot the Skrall snatching up a piece of plant and putting it away with no one seeing. Once they withdraw, the team spots two Glatorian trapped high in the trees, wrapped up in vines. The Skrall hurls his shield and slices through the vines, freeing them. They are Tera and Likus, earth and ice Glatorian, respectively. They are also comic relief and con artists – they make their “living” hiring themselves out to competing villages, then staging mock combat and splitting the pay afterwards. They have only been stuck in the maze a short time. Both see the Skrall as a ticket to fortune – faked fights in which they beat him would do wonders for their reputations and the prices they could ask. During the fight, the coin Mata Nui carries was knocked loose and ended up on the ground. When Mata Nui picks it up and turns, he is surprised to see the pattern on the coin rotate as well. A few more turns confirms that, yes, it happens every time, with the coin acting almost like a compass. Then, even more surprising, the entire pattern of the coin changes (a result, though Mata Nui does not know it yet, of the maze changing configuration). As he and the others move off, we see the face of the elemental plant lord appear in a tree trunk, watching them balefully. As they continue through the maze, they emerge from the jungle area to an area where the terrain between the mountains is completely flooded. Mata Nui suggests using the nearby trees to make a raft. We next see the party sailing through the channels on their makeshift craft. The waters suddenly become very violent. The raft overturns and shatters, dumping everyone in the drink. A huge hand made of water emerges from the river and grabs Mata Nui and Kiina, pulling them below the surface. We follow them down, down into the depths and into the presence of the elemental water lord. Kiina wonders how it is they are able to breathe – the elemental lord replies that the waters answer to him, and drown only those he wants drowned. Asked by Mata Nui who he is and what’s going on, the EL explains that he is one of six ELs who dwell in this region. More than 100,000 years ago, they went to war with each other. All six came here in search of the power source in the great volcano, and all six became trapped. The water EL senses that Kiina has an affinity to water and that Mata Nui is a being of great power. He offers them sanctuary in his domain, if they will agree to serve him, and tells Kiina she can be in command of his forces. Mata Nui asks about their friends up above. The water EL replies that they do not matter - -they are, after all, only “beings of earth and rock, flame and frost.” Mata Nui immediately says no, but Kiina hesitates. (After all, isn’t what she’s always wanted to get away from the desert of Bara Magna?) The water EL states that since Mata Nui chooses not to agree, he can live with the consequences … if not very long. Mata Nui starts to drown. This makes Kiina’s decision for her – she attacks the EL. She reveals that she remembers him well – she once served in his army, and she remembers what that conflict did to this planet. Now she fights only for herself … and for her friends. She grabs Mata Nui and heads for the surface. Behind them, the river starts to freeze from the bottom up, including the elemental lord. Kiina must swim rapidly to outrace the spreading ice. Once on the surface again, she finds the others have already made it to “high ground” – a small strip of stone against a stone barrier that blocks the river’s progress. She makes it there with Mata Nui just as the river freezes, but is injured in the process. Ackar uses his power to hold back the ice long enough for the two of them to make it to safety, but again it goes wild and almost fries the others. Mata Nui checks his coin. As he looks at it the pattern changes completely on it (as the maze changes its configuration). Likus asks what it means. Mata Nui thinks he has put it all together – real mountains don’t change their locations, so these aren’t real mountains. They’re the walls of a maze, with the volcano in the center. Since the maze changes its form, it could be close to impossible to find your way out once you’re in. Kiina says that explains why the elemental lords are trapped here, but not the strange things they have seen – burnt and frozen plant life, rivers freezing in seconds, etc. Mata Nui says there’s a very simple explanation – they said they were at war more than 100,000 years ago – and they’ve never stopped fighting, even in here. That doesn’t address the immediate problem – the barrier. Ackar uses his flame power to melt a big hole in it, but stone immediately reforms to close it again. Frustrated, Ackar smacks the wall with his melee weapon, saying the blade is worth more than this fire power is. He tells Mata Nui that he understands his desire to go back and help the people he left behind, but that maybe that’s not what he was meant to do. Maybe he should think about the welfare of the friends he has made here, and stop worrying so much about the ones he’s left behind. Oris, Tera and Likus know nothing about what Ackar is talking about, but they do see that Mata Nui is apparently the leader of this band. What are we going to do now, they ask? What’s the plan? Mata Nui is torn. He looks at the ragtag party around him, including the injured Kiina, stranded between a frozen river and a rock wall. There’s no chance to send them back and go on alone, since they would never find their way out. And the pressure of leadership is getting to him – when the three new members continue to press him, he snaps, “I don’t know!” And at the same time, unknowingly sends out a wave of gravity power that makes the barrier explode. The others all back away from him, afraid of Mata Nui for the first time. The others rush through the gap, not waiting for him. They find themselves on a river, but not a river of water – a river of rock, jagged boulders moving at the speed of a rushing torrent down a slight incline. As they try to decide how to negotiate this passage – still staying far away from Mata Nui – Oris notices that the Skrall has disappeared. Ackar is concerned – he thinks the Skrall has run out on them, and that he never should have been welcomed into the group in the first place. Mata Nui intercedes, saying the Skrall offered potentially valuable information – Oris says it doesn’t seem like the party is doing any better than he did on his own, and he had no Skrall to “help” him. Ackar does not come to Mata Nui’s defense. The party hears cry for help. It’s the Skrall. He is out in the middle of the river of rock, but has stumbled and is in danger of being crushed. Tera and Likus, unwilling to lose a potential meal ticket, team up to rescue him. After they are safe again, Kiina blasts Ackar from behind with a jet of water, slamming him into the side of the mountain. Mata Nui rushes over to help him back up. Both demand to know just what Kiina thought she was doing. “Teaching him a lesson,” she replies. KIINA (to Mata Nui) Ackar says he’s your friend – your best friend – but I guess that’s only when he likes the gifts you give him or he agrees with all your decisions. ACKAR So you attacked me from behind?? KIINA I thought you’d like to see how it felt. This gives Ackar pause. He apologizes to Mata Nui, saying he knows that everything MN does is with his friends in mind – all his friends, here and back where he came from. Sure, he hasn’t quite mastered this fire power yet, but that’s not Mata Nui’s fault. He should have remembered how hard it is to find a good friend – and that friendship isn’t just about standing by each other when it’s easy to do, but when it’s hard, too. And, by the way, what the heck was with lifting up that stone barrier?? Mata Nui explains to the group that he once had a great deal more power than he does now. For reasons he doesn’t understand, some of that power is coming back the further north he goes. But he can’t control it, and it could be a danger to the others, so maybe Ackar and the rest were right – maybe they should stay away from him. It’s the Skrall who answers first, assuring Mata Nui that the party wants no one else for their leader, and that he is sure Mata Nui will lead them through this strange place. He tells them that the only way down the river is by skipping from stone to stone – but if you slip and fall in between them, you’ll be crushed for sure. The team travels downriver in just that way, Ackar having some difficulty because his feet keep melting the rocks, and the Skrall being the most skillful. But waiting at the end are “rock falls” – the equivalent of a waterfall, where the rocks drop from a high ledge into another part of the maze. The team goes over – but this time, Mata Nui is able to control his power, using it to lower the group gently to the ground (controlling gravity is a handy thing, indeed). They find themselves on a lava plain, with the volcano not very far off now, according to the coin map. Jets of fire shoot up from the ground at random intervals. Mata Nui calls for everyone to stay close together, but the Skrall is off collecting one of the small stones. He hurriedly rejoins them. As they move through this hellish landscape, dodging bursts of flame and sudden lava flows, they come upon a strange sight: a large brazier, alight. Before anyone can stop him, the Skrall rushes forward and throws what he has collected – the stone, the kindling, a flask of water, a bit of vine, a piece of ice, and a handful of sand – into the brazier. As energies swirl from the brazier, he explains that he was not here on his own, as he had claimed. He was sent here by Tuma to make an alliance with the elemental lords. In exchange for gaining access to the volcano, they will help the Skrall crush the Agori and seize control of the planet. The energies spread out – the flames grow into the fire elemental, vines grow from the ground into the plant elemental, the rocks form the stone elemental, etc., until all six are present. The bad news is, now that Mata Nui’s team has led the Skrall to the brazier so they could be summoned here, they have no use for any of them – the good news is, the elemental lords don’t like each other much either. So their attacks on the team evolve into attacks on each other, with the team caught in the middle. The team gets pounded, and while Mata Nui is able to save some of them, Tera and Likus are in danger. At the last possible moment, the Skrall has a change of heart and saves the two of them. This becomes a running battle, with Mata Nui’s team doing a fighting retreat and trying to make their way to the volcano. They manage to briefly lose the ELs in the maze and make it to the volcano. Okay, so now they’re here – the general feeling is, now what? Mata Nui staggers. He senses that the power in this volcano is the same power that once energized his old body. On a hunch, he hacks away at the stone of the volcano, and exposes metal underneath. The volcano is fake, he reveals. It’s not a true volcano, but a power plant. And somehow, they have to get that power back to the robot body in the desert and keep it away from the elemental lords. Just then, the volcano rumbles and a big spark of energy shoots out the top – and Mata Nui and Ackar realize simultaneously that what they need is an eruption. Mata Nui clears away an entrance to the volcano. The entrance has six spheres on it, each in a different color – black, green, white, red, blue, and sand – and a seventh in the center with the “yin-yang” symbol on it. Kiina and Oris, impatient, try various combinations, but nothing works and the ELs are getting closer. Mata Nui suddenly stops them and points out that it took the two of them working together – his knowledge, and her power – to help the team escape the jungle. It took her skill in water and Ackar’s flame power to help them escape the frozen river. Maybe that’s what the symbols mean – the unity of the different elements. And all of them must be pressed at the same time. But what about the seventh symbol, wonders Tera? Mata Nui says he has been seeing that symbol since he got to this world … and though he isn’t sure what it means, he remembers it from his past life. So perhaps … He reaches out and touches the center symbol, even as the others touch theirs. And the entrance slides open, revealing a metallic tunnel. The party goes inside, but the entrance is blown apart before it can close. The ELs are closing in, and the team is harried by elemental attacks. The Skrall volunteers to stay behind and fight them off to buy Mata Nui time, and Tera, Oris and Likus volunteer to do the same. We cut between their desperate struggle outside of the volcano and Mata Nui, Ackar and Kiina racing through the complex tunnel system. They come upon an abandoned vehicle probably used in the construction of this place – it’s equipped with a powerful blaster on the front that could carve through rock. Ackar suggests they could use that to blast the core of the volcano and trigger an eruption, but it could mean their deaths. They race to the core in the vehicle. Meanwhile, the fire and ice elementals have made it past their three allies and into the tunnels. Flame and frost attacks follow them as they fly through the tunnels. At last, they make it to the core. Mata Nui asks Ackar and Kiina if they are sure they are ready to risk this – Ackar looks at Kiina, then back to Mata Nui and says, “Hey, that’s what friends are for.” Mata Nui triggers the blast. The core overloads, sending sparks everywhere. Just as the fire and ice elementals reach the core, the place erupts! A massive amount of energy is shot up through the volcano as the core is destroyed, and with it goes the vehicle our heroes are in. The waves of force push out from the volcano, crumbling the walls of the maze. Oris manages to help Tera and Likus before they are crushed to a place of relative safety, but the elementals are not so fortunate. Even as Mata Nui’s craft disappears into the sky, Oris and his new allies taste freedom once again as the maze collapses. The power emitted from the volcano arcs through the sky and strikes the robot body, fusing the pieces together and powering it up, as the Agori look on in wonder. Meanwhile, we see the ship cartwheeling through space, and finally crash landing on a heavily forested world. After a few moments, the hatch opens and Mata Nui, Ackar and Kiina emerge, relatively unscathed. Ackar wonders where they are now – Mata Nui says what’s important for the moment is that they are whole and this place looks like a safe haven for now. Suddenly, there is a terrible roar .. and as the camera pulls back, we see bio-mechanical dinosaurs roaming through the landscape … THE END

Brutaka is not a Toa, so I don't think that's relevant. Skopio is red, that doesn't mean we can't have red Toa. Yes, you could duplicate many of the things this Toa can do wit a variety of masks, but you have to be able to constantly switch masks in the midst of battle to do that. What if, as a non-Psionics Toa, you simply don't have time to do that? As for the Toa of Gravity -- actually, the potential exists for elemental masks of any of the elements. You could put on a Mask of Fire and do much of what Tahu does, does that mean we don't need Toa of Fire in story? No, because a Toa of the element is going to be better able to control it than another Toa just wearing a mask.

Blue and gold was suggested by a BZPer a week or two ago. I liked it, so I went with it. Purple is nice too, but I felt there were not enough purple Toa-style pieces in existence to allow for a good MOC of the character. And it's "ce" as in "cerebral" and "cerebellum"

As promised, if slightly delayed, here is in the info on Psionics as an MU element: Colors: Blue and gold Gender: Female Prefix: Ce - (pronounced "say") Matoran Ability: Unable to be mind-controlled or read telepathically -- by studying them, Helryx learned how to shield the minds of the OOMN members from telepathy. Powers: A Toa of Psionics has the following powers: * Telepathy * Telekinesis * Ability to do a damage-dealing mind blast (mental damage only, not physical) * Limited mind control (cannot make someone do something that is against their pre-existing moral code) * Creation of illusions -- so lifelike they can be experienced by all five senses, but cannot fool techological systems * Ability to mentally mask her presence from bio-mechanical or organic life, but not from technological systems

Night Terror is on point -- while I am not planning a "name dump" into the story in 2010, if I decided, say, to do a flashback story, or to go into the red star, or to go to Bota Magna, I really can't do that if I have no new names.

Nuhrii -- We are going to all brainstorm a big list and send it to Legal and see how many we end up with. I am hoping to wind up with at least 30 names I can use.

-- Good news to start with -- I have gotten permission to get a whole new list of approved names done for 2010 and 2011, which means we will be able to have some new named characters in the story! -- Plague tribe's element is ... iron. Yes, I know, that doesn't match their armor color, but there is a reason for that, which will get revealed in an upcoming mini-serial on BIONICLEstory.com called Sahmad's Tale. -- Look for more info on the Psionics power on Monday, same place. Greg

I will be away from home for Thanksgiving weekend, and so not able to answer PMs. I will get to your questions next week when I am back. Greg

55555 - I've actually never been invited to any of the BrickFair, BrickCon, etc. sort of thing. I think probably because they tend to be very AFOL-geared shows, and most AFOLs have little interest in BIONICLE.

Just an FYI -- I will be appearing at LEGO KidsFest at the CT Convention Center in Hartford, CT on Sunday, November 22nd from 12-4. Current plan is that I will be signing copies of the BIONICLE: TLR Movie Magazine, along with whatever else people want me to sign. On Saturday, November 21, from 12-5, Daniel Lipkowitz will be appearing. Daniel is the author of The LEGO Book as well as the LEGO Star Wars comics you have seen in print and online and is BZPower's own Swiftone. For more info on the show, check out www.legokidsfest.com. Greg

Along the lines of the last post, I got another interesting PM the other day. The poster was concerned that the revelation of details about various aspects of BIONICLE, through my answers, was messing up his fan fiction in progress (which he was trying to keep as close to canon as possible). Not going to debate the nature of fan fiction here, or get into the fact that a lot of the questions being asked are by other fan fiction writers who want the info for their stories ... but rather discuss the world of "licensed publishing." So let's say that you now have my job -- you are the writer for the official comics and books for BIONICLE. And you have a great story idea and your book is humming right along. And then you find out a set you thought was going to come out (say, shadow Toa Ahkmou) has been cancelled. But there are three new combiners you need to work into story, plus a new poster whose action has to be reflected in story. What do you do? You rewrite, of course. Why? Because that is the very nature of writing in a universe you do not own or fully control. In the end, I don't decide what sets come out or don't, or what kind of ad materials get done, or what the web game looks like ... I just have to incorporate all of that into what I am doing. It's the same for someone writing a Star Wars book, or a Star Trek comic, or anything where he/she did not create the universe and does not own it. Someone else can always change things and you have to be ready to turn on a dime and make changes to reflect that. You are playing with someone else's bat and someone else's ball and they make the rules you have to follow. Not everyone likes that. Some writers only want to create their own universes so that they don't have anyone else making changes, and that's fine. And a lot of people write fan fiction that is THEIR BIONICLE universe and does not try to reflect the official one too much -- and that is great too! But if you are going to write for a property someone else owns -- or write "canon-close" fan fiction where you are trying to match it to my answers -- this is something you will have to deal with multiple times in your career. Nature of the beast.

Hi Ignition -- And I can see your logic. But for the record, BZP does not take time away from serials, etc., it's a leisure time activity for me. A lot of time what happens is I will be writing, and then take a break and come here, and then do more writing. If I wasn't coming here, I would just be going elsewhere on the web, cause I would still need the break

Well, again, Wrinkledlion, doesn't this then go back to a larger issue on BZP -- the constant pursuit of spoilers? That is very much a definition of what BZPower (and a lot of other sites) are about. If you feel that definition needs to be changed, then it is something the membership needs to resolve among themselves. The alternative is people basically saying to me, "Stop me before I read spoilers!" BZP's history is one of (whether I say anything or not) knowing everything months or a year ahead of time -- dating back at least to 2003, when people were parsing the interviews with the cast of MOL trying to figure out who the seventh Toa was, then broadcasting the news all over the site. In my case, I am a fan of Dr. Who and Torchwood, and I have friends who visit sites and get great spoilers about upcoming shows, casting, etc. I don't want to know that stuff, so I don't go to those sites. As a fan, what I do or don't get exposed to is my responsibility. On the other hand, I do read Previews, so I can get an idea of what is coming out in comics in the next couple months, story-wise, so I know which series I want to buy and which I don't. I don't mind some spoilers there, because it helps me plan my budget. We also have to keep a sense of perspective here, too -- the only people getting any spoilers given here are, say, 40,000 members and let's add maybe another 100,000 casual visitors to the site. That leaves millions of fans who either don't know BZP exists or don't come here because they don't want to see the sets a year before they come out, etc. In the end, wanting spoilers is not "bad" or "wrong," and not wanting them is not "bad" or "wrong." But this site was about spoilers before I came here, and would still be about it even if I left, just in different ways ... so this is a question of the site's identity, which is why I shared this message to begin with. If the site as a whole resolves that they DON'T want to know anything ahead of time, I will gladly stop teasing ... but I do not then want to still be getting 50 PMs a day asking about next year.

Aanchir -- Put simply, I was not aware of any kinks. I got submitted a suggestion re: the Kanohi from people on here I respect, and okayed it. I frankly did not have time to worry about every possible interpretation of the info, and assumed the people who were making the suggestion would have concerned themselves with that. I will take the blame for that one, though. With regard to online contests for "canon" elements -- if you have an issue with the number of them, etc., this is something you need to take up with the staff at BZPower and BS01. These contests are run at their request and under their auspices, not mine, and if they concern things that I don't plan on showing/explaining, I see no reason not to okay them. BIONICLE.com does not run these contests. I have also rejected suggestions to do a number of contests because they dealt with things I could not or would not be able to make canon. I do think, though, that all this may be leading into a larger debate among BZPers about what questions they ask and why. There is an insatiable hunger for future info on here, and even if it is stuff I can't answer, I still get constant questions on it. The poster who wrote me focused on me as the issue, and maybe that's fair -- but at the same time, I do not provide set images months before the sets come out, which always seem to wind up online (though not officially, as BZP staff are good about that sort of thing). Basically, a lot of people are on a spoiler hunt 24/7, and that's okay ... but if other people on here have a big issue with that, maybe the discussion needs to be among members. Greg

I received this today from a BZPer (whose identity will remain confidential), and I thought it was worth sharing -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, Mr. Farshtey. This is a rather long message, so if you're busy right now, I advise you to answer this later. This is not a question-filled PM like the ones you get all the time. In fact this is a proposition. I think you should either leave BZPower or stop answering all these PM's. Let me just say that I have nothing personal against you. In fact I enjoy your comic writing and dialog immensely and I think you should finally actually get to write the script for one of the movies. But I propose you should quit it with all these PM's because they are hurting the story. Getting bombed with thousands of PM's gives you extra work and it seems to me that the blue STARS Piraka is Nektann only because all the fans whined about it. And I have to say that listening to the hordes of fans in BZPower is not exactly good for the story. The fact that we get everything about the story on a silver platter every time we just ask is not good story development. It also pretty much kills the theories. And yes, listening to fans is not really a good thing. Let me quote a really funny man: QUOTE(Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw) "Fans are clingy complaining *******s who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. (Incidentally, why not buy a Zero Punctuation t-shirt?)" There will always be people who whine about some decisions you make in the story team, because you really can't please everyone. You shouldn't let the fans control the story. It will make everything better and way more unexpectable, if you listen to them a little less. So, if you don't agree with this, just say so and I'll stay quiet. But I have three different solutions for this. The first is the most extreme, the third is a little easier. 1. Leave BZPower completely, maybe visit every once in a while. (This will not work if you are here just because you like these forums) 2. Stay in BZPower, but stop answering the questions. 3. Stay in BZPower, but only answer questions concerning what has already happened in the storyline. Everything else you could ignore. Sorry if this all seems a bit harsh. I genuinely respect you as the writer, but it just doesn't work when the creator of a story is too intertwined with the speculative community of the fans. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few points I wanted to make: 1) While it is true that the character of Nektann exists thanks to a suggestion by a BZPer (Nuhrii the Metruan), the notion of the Piraka set BEING Nektann came about in 2008 and did not arise from conversations held here. Since that is the only example the poster gave me, I have no idea what other instances of fans somehow determining future storyline he/she had in mind. Future story, as you know, comes from the story team, and while fans have contributed a lot to the universe as a whole (see below), they rarely know the shape of future story early enough to have major, major impact on it, at least to the extent this person seems to think. 2) That said, I am personally proud of the fact that fans -- both on BZP and off it -- have been able to contribute to the story universe of BIONICLE the way that they have. The whole notion of interacting with the community is something LEGO is very much all about -- from me being here to Kids Inner Circle to the LEGO Ambassadors Program and the work of the entire Community division. We're not looking for one-way communication - we hand stuff to you and you just take it -- or for you to just be crying out in the wilderness with no one listening to you. The best of LEGO comes about when community and company can work together. So I will never apologize to anyone for being open to a suggestion here when it's a good suggestion, or for adding to story to fix a possible contradiction a fan has pointed out, or for doing things like Rahi Guide or Dark Hunters guide that gave fans a chance to create an official piece of the universe. BIONICLE belongs to the fans as well as to the company, in that sense -- we all help to make it what it is. And I am honored that people of such obvious intelligence and imagination would want to contribute to this universe. I think just ignoring what people say they want in story would be to do a disservice to the fans and to the company I work for. Needless to say, I don't intend to take this poster's advice. 3) On the "ruining theories" thing -- yes, I have heard that before, but not sure what that means. If I come up with a theory -- say, that Captain America will come back from the dead as a 12-foot tall giant made of Play-Doh -- and I find out that is not the case, my theory is not "ruined" -- because it was never accurate in the first place. There's a difference between "ruined" and "wrong." A theory is a hypothesis based on evidence -- if the evidence is not there or it's being misinterpreted, then the person theorizing is going down a rabbit hole. To me, ruining a theory would be more like ... a BZPer guesses what is going to happen next, so I change it so he won't be right. And I don't do that sort of thing, it would be obnoxious and unfair. Think of it like this -- you're driving along, and you're not sure you are on the right route. You stop and ask someone for directions. He can tell that you turned left three miles back when you should have turned right and you're going to wind up nowhere near where you want to be. Which should he do? Say nothing and let you waste hours being lost, or tell you, "You might want to look at the map again, I think you are off back here." (Now, it's possible you just were enjoying the drive, don't care whether you get where you are going anytime soon, and don't want to know if you made the wrong turn -- but I'd guess under those circumstances you wouldn't stop and ask directions.) Anyway, that is what I think on this. Greg

I'm getting a lot of people sending me Q's one day, then resending them the next. I try to get to all Q's as quickly as I can, but often it's not going to be in the same day you send them, so if you don't get answers that day, do not resend. I would say wait at least three or four days before resending if you feel that's necessary. Greg

I gotta disagree on Vakama -- as you said, he had this deep connection to Lhikan and felt he had failed him. Wouldn't turning evil and attacking his fellow Toa be failing him even worse? Why, then, would he do that? Captain America blamed himself for his sidekick's death for decades, he didn't turn bad and attack the Avengers as a result. He fought harder to honor his memory. Keep in mind all that foreshadowing you refer to was done BECAUSE we already knew what the plot of the '05 movie would be at that point. Otherwise, his character would have been developed differently.

One note -- I contacted the Brand Manager re: the Target web site, and they will be contacted and asked to take the Stars sets down as it is too early to be featuring them. Greg

In the interests of saving time -- I cannot discuss ANYTHING relating to BIONICLE 2010. I'm not allowed. That includes sets, story, etc. The fact that this site or that site may post things early does not change the rules I have to work under when I am on here. Greg

Lately, I am getting a lot of PMs from people saying they have seen the new BIONICLE movie (which, to the best of my knowledge, has only had two screenings so far, one of which was in Billund where I don't think too many of you live). A few people have admitted that they are watching pirated copies of the film. So I am going to ask that you DO NOT send me questions based on watching illegal copies of the movie. You are putting me in a very uncomfortable position by doing so. As a colleague of Threshold and an employee of LEGO Company, I would be obligated to report you (and yes, I have no doubt BZP would hand your names over to the authorities if asked). I don't want to do that, so please stop putting me in a position of having to do so. Watching a pirated version rather than renting or buying a copy makes it less likely there will be future movies. Upcoming projects get green-lit only if TLR sells enough copies. If it doesn't, you can pretty much forget new DVDs in future. Greg

If you did not receive your comic with your July LEGO Magazine, contact LEGO Customer Service and they will get you a copy of it.

The magazine thing is sort of a long story -- has to do with something we are doing for one of the new 2010 lines and budgets and delivery dates (basically, nuts and bolts publishing stuff). Moivng the release date up ended up making the most sense as a course of action. Right now, it looks like this issue will focus on one of our big new lines, plus new BIONICLE, new LEGO City, new Racers, new Star Wars, Toy Story, and most likely some more info on LEGO Universe. Greg