09-28-2005, 11:56 AM
Disclaimer: There are no spoilers for the movie Serenity in this thread!
On Friday, september 30th, the much-awaited, heavily anticipated movie "Serenity"
makes its debut in American cinema. This thread is an attempt to convince you to
go see it. :)
(Although I'm not crazy about the Poster, and especially the tag-line, I thought you should see it nonetheless.)
Background
![[Image: Serenity.jpg]](http://www.angel.fenre.org/Serenity.jpg)
In 2002, a show called "Firefly" created by Joss Whedon (Buffy the vampire slayer
/Angel) was aired and cancelled. The show was set 500 years into the future and
was about 9 distinctly different and unique characters on board a smuggling ship
called "Serenity". Without giving away any spoilery information, I can say that each
character had his own 'secret past' or agenda, that was never fully explored in the
timeframe of the series.
"Curse your sudden but inevitable cancellation!"
One of the reasons it was cancelled was because it didn't get a huge audience at
the time, partly because Fox aired the episodes in the wrong order (among other
things, the first episode was aired last). Fox refused to air 3 of the episodes, and
generally treated the show like crap, by replacing certain episodes with sports
events, changing the schedule for the show, etc. It didn't get a huge fanbase,
basically because no one knew when the episodes would air. The show was
cancelled after 11 episodes much to the agony of those loyal viewers who *did*
watch it. They tried everything to get the show back: they sent letters to Fox
executives, took out full ads in papers asking for their show back and even
contributed money to charities in Firefly's name. Nothing worked, until the DVD
set was released.
The Fans
Thanks to those hardcore fans (dubbed "Browncoats" after the name of the people
who were on the losing side of a civil war on the show [not a spoiler. She show
starts with their defeat]), and their tenacity, Fox decided to release the series on
DVD, and the sales went through the roof. For more information, check out this short
clip about the fanbase. ("Featurette: an inside look.) While we're on the subject of clips,
I uploaded a brand new interview with Joss for you. It's about Serenity, Wonder Woman
and a potential Spike-movie.
The Viral marketing
One of the characters of the show (and the movie), "River Tam", a prodigy and
genius, was kidnapped by the government and was forced to undergo medical
testing. She is a kind of telepath. As part of the promotion for the movie, Joss
filmed some short clips. They are supposedly from security cameras from the
institution where she was held. There are 5 clips, and I recommend viewing
them in the order of top to bottom (as opposed to chronologically). They give
some backstory as to what River Tam was subjected, prior to the events of "Firefly".
(If you haven't seen the series, they might not be as interesting as they are for
those of us who have.)
I hope everyone get a few friends together and bury their asses deep inside the
theater seats come this friday! This movie deserves it! I will leave you now with the
words of Joss Whedon which he posted on the official movie message board 3
days before the premiere:
We few, we happy few
Well boys and girls and boys dressed as girls and girls dressed as Kaylee, the time is almost upon us. This Friday we take that old rust-bucket out of the shipyard and see if she can breach atmo. It's been a long (to paraphrase a band I like) strange trip, and it'll be nice finally to show everybody what it is we've been tinkering with all this time. You already know you have my thanks, from the hardcore fans to the softcore... fans.... let me try that again. From the people manning the booths, buying DVD sets for their friends, getting banners seen everywhere on Australian TV, raffling artwork for ticketholders (Adam Hughes, take a bow), to the most casual fan who just wants to see the flick and won't ever even read this. You guys are the fuel in the engine, the Fire in the Fly, the weird green stuff coming out of Serenity's butt. (Hmmm. Forget that last one. I'm a little bit out of control here.)
Everyone needs something to keep them going. Mal has his ship. Zoe has her integrity. Jayne has Vera. And I've got you guys.
So what now? There have been so many posts about seeing it, seeing it again, the first weekend, the second weekend, being enthusiastic without being obnoxious (and yes, it IS hard to see over the pom-pom of a Jayne hat), buying tickets in advance, making a noise... I honestly wouldn't know what to add. I can tell you this: the movie will play in about 2200 hundred theaters, which is a good number. Too many, and you get empty theaters with no energy -- not enough, and you get, well, not enough. It may be hard to find in some areas but it'll be out there. Leave no multiplex unturned! This is going to be a ground war, peeps -- we have to hold the valley for a long while. However it opens, it needs to HOLD. Instead of the Alliance we'll be fighting viewer apathy, fear of something new, the urge to wait for DVD, and Jessica Alba in a bikini. (Although I have it on good authority that she spends 90% of the film in a huge wooly parka. Make sure that gets out.)
The day this puppy opens, I'll be seeing it with my family (don't worry, there's a lot of them, and they're all paying) and then I'm off to Europe to learn the word 'Browncoats' in nine different languages -- 'cause like I said, it's all about holding. I'll never be far from a computer, though, so I can check in with y'all. Thanks for every damn thing.
And remember, amidst all the urgency to make this an event, all the work and the worry, to take two hours and just enjoy yourself. That is, after all, what all this fighting's about.
-joss.
On Friday, september 30th, the much-awaited, heavily anticipated movie "Serenity"
makes its debut in American cinema. This thread is an attempt to convince you to
go see it. :)
(Although I'm not crazy about the Poster, and especially the tag-line, I thought you should see it nonetheless.)
Background
In 2002, a show called "Firefly" created by Joss Whedon (Buffy the vampire slayer
/Angel) was aired and cancelled. The show was set 500 years into the future and
was about 9 distinctly different and unique characters on board a smuggling ship
called "Serenity". Without giving away any spoilery information, I can say that each
character had his own 'secret past' or agenda, that was never fully explored in the
timeframe of the series.
"Curse your sudden but inevitable cancellation!"
One of the reasons it was cancelled was because it didn't get a huge audience at
the time, partly because Fox aired the episodes in the wrong order (among other
things, the first episode was aired last). Fox refused to air 3 of the episodes, and
generally treated the show like crap, by replacing certain episodes with sports
events, changing the schedule for the show, etc. It didn't get a huge fanbase,
basically because no one knew when the episodes would air. The show was
cancelled after 11 episodes much to the agony of those loyal viewers who *did*
watch it. They tried everything to get the show back: they sent letters to Fox
executives, took out full ads in papers asking for their show back and even
contributed money to charities in Firefly's name. Nothing worked, until the DVD
set was released.
The Fans
Thanks to those hardcore fans (dubbed "Browncoats" after the name of the people
who were on the losing side of a civil war on the show [not a spoiler. She show
starts with their defeat]), and their tenacity, Fox decided to release the series on
DVD, and the sales went through the roof. For more information, check out this short
clip about the fanbase. ("Featurette: an inside look.) While we're on the subject of clips,
I uploaded a brand new interview with Joss for you. It's about Serenity, Wonder Woman
and a potential Spike-movie.
The Viral marketing
One of the characters of the show (and the movie), "River Tam", a prodigy and
genius, was kidnapped by the government and was forced to undergo medical
testing. She is a kind of telepath. As part of the promotion for the movie, Joss
filmed some short clips. They are supposedly from security cameras from the
institution where she was held. There are 5 clips, and I recommend viewing
them in the order of top to bottom (as opposed to chronologically). They give
some backstory as to what River Tam was subjected, prior to the events of "Firefly".
(If you haven't seen the series, they might not be as interesting as they are for
those of us who have.)
I hope everyone get a few friends together and bury their asses deep inside the
theater seats come this friday! This movie deserves it! I will leave you now with the
words of Joss Whedon which he posted on the official movie message board 3
days before the premiere:
We few, we happy few
Well boys and girls and boys dressed as girls and girls dressed as Kaylee, the time is almost upon us. This Friday we take that old rust-bucket out of the shipyard and see if she can breach atmo. It's been a long (to paraphrase a band I like) strange trip, and it'll be nice finally to show everybody what it is we've been tinkering with all this time. You already know you have my thanks, from the hardcore fans to the softcore... fans.... let me try that again. From the people manning the booths, buying DVD sets for their friends, getting banners seen everywhere on Australian TV, raffling artwork for ticketholders (Adam Hughes, take a bow), to the most casual fan who just wants to see the flick and won't ever even read this. You guys are the fuel in the engine, the Fire in the Fly, the weird green stuff coming out of Serenity's butt. (Hmmm. Forget that last one. I'm a little bit out of control here.)
Everyone needs something to keep them going. Mal has his ship. Zoe has her integrity. Jayne has Vera. And I've got you guys.
So what now? There have been so many posts about seeing it, seeing it again, the first weekend, the second weekend, being enthusiastic without being obnoxious (and yes, it IS hard to see over the pom-pom of a Jayne hat), buying tickets in advance, making a noise... I honestly wouldn't know what to add. I can tell you this: the movie will play in about 2200 hundred theaters, which is a good number. Too many, and you get empty theaters with no energy -- not enough, and you get, well, not enough. It may be hard to find in some areas but it'll be out there. Leave no multiplex unturned! This is going to be a ground war, peeps -- we have to hold the valley for a long while. However it opens, it needs to HOLD. Instead of the Alliance we'll be fighting viewer apathy, fear of something new, the urge to wait for DVD, and Jessica Alba in a bikini. (Although I have it on good authority that she spends 90% of the film in a huge wooly parka. Make sure that gets out.)
The day this puppy opens, I'll be seeing it with my family (don't worry, there's a lot of them, and they're all paying) and then I'm off to Europe to learn the word 'Browncoats' in nine different languages -- 'cause like I said, it's all about holding. I'll never be far from a computer, though, so I can check in with y'all. Thanks for every damn thing.
And remember, amidst all the urgency to make this an event, all the work and the worry, to take two hours and just enjoy yourself. That is, after all, what all this fighting's about.
-joss.
