EXCLUSIVE:
An Interview with Christopher James Beppo
Getting in touch with the man behind the Prophecies
For those of you new to the Ezra Small Prophecies, Christopher James Beppo is the creative force behind these mysterious "revelations." In my Official Shout-Out page, I describe how people from the WB, or at least from the Ledger, have visited this site. Feeling sufficiently emboldened by their public acknowledgement of my work, I requested an interview with Mr. Beppo. The Ledger editors graciously granted me this request, so I emailed ten questions to Mr. Beppo and was delighted to receive a prompt and fun response. Thank you, Ledger editors and, of course, Mr. Beppo, for being so good to your fans. Without further ado, here are the questions I sent and the responses I received.
| 1. | How did the Ezra Small Project begin? | |
| We decided to do something about the history of Smallville in Volume 64, Issue 18 of the Ledger to celebrate Smallville History Month (the anniversary of DOS). Since there is so little written about our founder in the lore, Ezra seemed like a good "guide." The three-part story gave some foundation to how Ezra first started receiving his visions and, hopefully,
gave people a small window on the world of Smallville before everything changed. |
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| 2. | After a new Prophecy is posted, fans literally race to decipher its content and compete to post its translation. Prophecies from Season One are still being talked about even though Season Four begins next week. Did you have any idea the Prophecies would become so popular? | |
| It's very gratifying to know that there is such a reaction to the Prophecies. We didn't know whether or not anything further would ever come from that original story. In fact, there was a bit of a lag before anyone seemed to catch on to the contents of the third part. |
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| 3. | When a new episode of Smallville airs, the latest edition of the Smallville Ledger is posted, and it usually contains a new Prophecy. Are the Prophecies written at the same time as the episodes, or are they created later during production? | |
| They come at all times from various inspirations. Many of them relate to past and present events; many look forward. Some are published immediately,
some are held back. |
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| 4. | While the Prophecies contain many references to and direct quotes from Smallville episodes, the Prophecies also allude to a wide variety of legendary creatures, mythological beliefs, historical figures and events, and great works of literature and art. How much research goes into creating a typical Prophecy? | |
| It varies, depending on what's happening in Smallville. There is almost always a solid reason for including Ezra's writings on issues that don't seem to relate to the town directly. In fact, some early, seemingly irrelevant Prophecies seem poised to become meaningful soon. |
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| 5. | The latest Prophecies are unquestionably more difficult to decipher and analyze than the earliest, which initially were not even written in code. Will this trend continue, making each Prophecy more cryptic than the last? And can we continue to expect more codes-within-codes like we've seen in past Prophecies? | |
| While the coded entries may seem more complex, there is still much to be learned from uncovering the meaning of the ones that are in plain language
as well. There's no telling in what way the Prophecies will reveal themselves as time goes on, but it's a safe bet there will be layers of meaning, yes.
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| 6. | Speaking of encryption, the Prophecies have used a variety of codes, from simple reverse alphabets to a form of Morse code to hexadecimal code. Do you worry that someday you'll post a Prophecy encoded so well that fans won't be able to crack it? | |
| It is our sincerest hope.
J |
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| 7. | Describe the Prophecy creation process, from start (skeleton of an idea) to finish (posting on the Ledger site). | |
| Again, each revelation manifests itself in its own way and time. Not to sound "artsy" or anything-- far from it-- but the process changes depending on
the subject matter. The excerpts that appeared in the issues represent a state of mind that existed when the events were taking place. Some are precise and transparent, others are inscrutable. Some are safe to disclose, some are
not.
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| 8. | You've seen interpretations of the Prophecies on various websites and discussion boards. Are those of us playing the Ezra Small game generally on track with our interpretations and analyses, or do we sometimes stray far from their true meanings? | |
| It's fascinating to imagine how many different ways a few words can be taken. Sometimes, there can be no right or wrong. Other times, a new
meaning can be ascribed to a riddle that was once thought solved. |
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| 9. | In a previous question, I referred to some Prophecies containing codes-within-codes. One Prophecy, for example, contained a code-within-a-code that revealed the message "WHO KILLED JULIAN?" Have code-cracking fans caught all of these hidden messages, or are some still lurking in old Prophecies? | |
| It's hard to tell if anyone has picked all the clues clean yet. My feeling is that there is still more to be discovered. As far as I know, this is true in at least one case.
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| 10. | At one point in time, the Ledger asked fans to indicate their level of interest in the Prophecies to determine whether their continued presence was appreciated. We fans clamored for more Prophecies, and the Prophecies were continued. Can we expect to see Prophecies accompanying episodes until Smallville ends as a series? | |
| I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, Heather, for your support and kind words, and to thank everyone who appreciates the Ezra writings. The message boards can be a hard place to visit sometimes, but you and your correspondents seem to always keep the discourse at a
respectable level. I especially appreciated your civility (and
Iamza's) in
pointing out when the Ledger misprinted one of the Ezras.
Honestly, I present these mainly for my own entertainment and for all of yours. To answer your question (sort of), you may notice a slight change to the online Ledger this season. But the last three words of Ezra's final Prophecy in May will hopefully hold true. Happy hunting. Chris |
So there you have it, folks: A little insight into the mind of Beppo. Let me know what you thought of this interview, and don't forget to tell the WB how much you love the Ezra Small Prophecies so we continue to receive these revelations. Thank you again, WB and Mr. Beppo!
UPDATED: On 27 September 2004, I received a cryptic email from the great Beppo himself. The email was three lines of what I can only assume is a bonus Prophecy-- an SESPS exclusive! Check out the bonus Prophecy on the main Prophecies page!
© 2004 shirkie