Serenity pushed back to September

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:02 pm

I want to kill.

http://www2.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=7331

Joss Whedon wrote: Are you guys starting to hear that fanfare? Those distant drums? Are you slapping on your side-arms, pulling on your long brownish-colored coats and thumbing your crisp new bills in anticipation of the cinematic event of the year? Well, it's official: on April 22nd you, the true the blue the loyal, can step right up with the rest of America and WAIT FIVE MORE MONTHS.

Heh. See, sometimes studios shuffle around release dates...

Okay. Don't panic. right now you're panicking. you're thinking, "how could they do this to me?" But what you SHOULD be thinking is: "How could they do this to JOSS?". Seriously. That pity is mine and I want it back.

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

I love this movie. I HATE waiting to show it too you. I felt pretty much the way I imagine you're feeling right now when they told me. But these guys know what they're doing, and they're trying to protect their investment, not bury it. So I gotta be a grown-up. The release date is September 30th. Hopefully it won't change again.

Spread the word. Keep the faith. And gleam the damn cube already.

April too close to Episode III? Possibly.
Better than Episode III? I'd expect so.
Am I pissed off beyond the capacity for rational thought? Yes.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:26 pm

So this is Joss Whedons movie, in space. What's it supposed to be about then? Of course not Buffy-verse, but one can only deam.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:40 pm

Predabot wrote:So this is Joss Whedons movie, in space. What's it supposed to be about then? Of course not Buffy-verse, but one can only deam.

It's the movie version of Firefly. Which got about fourteen episodes before being cancelled due to Fox being absolutely insane.

Firefly was utterly fantastic and brilliant. Even incomplete, the first season is far far far better than the first year of Buffy.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:49 pm

Ok, it'll be good then I suppose.

Just a little tidbit: when someone here on Transfans once mentioned FireFly, and a few days later there was Firestarter:Rekindled on tv I mistakened it for that FireFly thing!

Post by **Best First** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:56 pm

Brendocon wrote:Even incomplete, the first season is far far far better than the first year of Buffy.

i have yet to see it* but reserve the right to kill for that statement.

cheers.

*adds to xmas list

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:13 pm

Best First wrote:
Brendocon wrote:Even incomplete, the first season is far far far better than the first year of Buffy.
i have yet to see it* but reserve the right to kill for that statement.

Bring it!

It's all comparative, though innit? You can't compare two-thirds of a season of one program to an entire seven-year body of work.

Closest parallel that can be drawn is to the half-season that BtVS got as a starter. And on that score, Firefly is the better imv. Sure, not as good as some of the later stuff, but it's not fair to compare it to the later stuff, for obvious reasons.

Maybe it's down to the heights that the series hit later on, but I find some of the season 1 episodes downright uncomfortable and awkward to sit through. Whereas I really can't think of a single Firefly ep that I don't thoroughly enjoy.

Post by **Best First** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:25 pm

i like Season 1, quite tight IMO (or maybe they wree just younger then...

)but it does pale in comparison to some later stuff. I'm currently reqtching Season 7 and part of me wishes it could have gone on for ever...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:35 pm

Season 1 frightens me whenever I rewatch it. I see a slimline and pale Boreanaz and think "nope... definitely not aged a day." Kinda makes me glad Angel stopped going after season 5 - as gutted as I was when it ended, you've gotta wonder how long they can keep up the pretense that he doesn't age.

Obfleur · Post by **Obfleur** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:44 pm

I love all this talk about Buffy, Angel, Firefly and stuff.
I have no idea what it is (Except Buffy) but it's interesting to read all your discussions

Post by **Best First** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 3:03 pm

Brendocon wrote:Season 1 frightens me whenever I rewatch it. I see a slimline and pale Boreanaz and think "nope... definitely not aged a day." Kinda makes me glad Angel stopped going after season 5 - as gutted as I was when it ended, you've gotta wonder how long they can keep up the pretense that he doesn't age.

The Vampire with a Soul... and a girdle, and a cupboard full of Just For Men.

sigh. Spike looks a bit ragged towards the end as well.

Pissin' Poonani · Post by **Pissin' Poonani** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:36 pm

Would he really want to live forever anyway? I mean, wasn't it Kakistos who was so old that his hands became hooves? Spending several life-times feeling guilty for the awful things you've done, only to eventually become Streaky Back the Bacon Footed Boy would have me reaching for the Holy Water enema...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 6:53 pm

"I'm not gonna git a bat-face like him, am ah?"

Post by **Computron** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:27 pm

Firefly is amazing. I introduced four of my friends to it at once, and each of those introduced it to two others, and much like a pyramid scheme, it's grown beyond anyone's control.

Huzzah!

"See the man with the really big gun? He didn't want to come out this way and he's feeling a mite ornery."

The hero of Canton, the man they called Jayne...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:35 pm

"Y'only need to scare him."
"Pain is scary..."

bobaprime85 · Post by **bobaprime85** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:06 pm

Best First wrote:i like Season 1, quite tight IMO (or maybe they wree just younger then... )but it does pale in comparison to some later stuff. I'm currently reqtching Season 7 and part of me wishes it could have gone on for ever...

Wait, you like season 7?! Wow, you're the first one I've met in a long time. Probably ever. Most have called it a jumbled mess, it seems. Glad to know I'm not alone.

Eh? Firefly? Yeah, that was mildly interesting.*

I'm going to be harmed for that one, aren't I?
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:14 pm

bobaprime85 wrote:Wait, you like season 7?! Wow, you're the first one I've met in a long time. Probably ever. Most have called it a jumbled mess, it seems. Glad to know I'm not alone.

I love season 7. It gets better each time I watch it. Maybe a few loose ends here and there, but that's realism for you - you can't take an arbitary point in the life of a group of people and have everything resolved at once.

I think a lot of the backlash towards it comes from the fanboy/girlz/whatever who are upset because it didn't unfold the exact way that they've always dreamt it would. These people need to get the hell over their fanwank fantasy scenarios and realise that they're the ones being told the story, not the people who decide what happens.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:18 pm

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

Sorry. Weadon is full of corporate BS.

He know that September is the grave yeard of dumping films 'the demograph' doesn't really want to see. Always has, alway will.

It's like Matt Groening retracting the 'Simpsons should end because it's run it's course' comment. Looking at Simpsons for the last few years he is clearly right. Its a shame he is always willing to toe the company line when wheeled in. Weadon is doing the same to retain the almight buck he earns, not becasue he isn't secretly pi##ed.

Post by **Best First** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:34 am

Brendocon wrote:
bobaprime85 wrote:Wait, you like season 7?! Wow, you're the first one I've met in a long time. Probably ever. Most have called it a jumbled mess, it seems. Glad to know I'm not alone.
I love season 7. It gets better each time I watch it. Maybe a few loose ends here and there, but that's realism for you - you can't take an arbitary point in the life of a group of people and have everything resolved at once.

I think a lot of the backlash towards it comes from the fanboy/girlz/whatever who are upset because it didn't unfold the exact way that they've always dreamt it would. These people need to get the hell over their fanwank fantasy scenarios and realise that they're the ones being told the story, not the people who decide what happens.

spot on. Season 7 is the best since 3 IMO.

Jetfire what would you have him say? Sorry. Your criticism seems rather... idiotic to me.

As for becoming like Kakistos i think the inference is that the body changes to reflect the demon, as with the master as well, but seeing as how Angel's Demon is trapped by the soul this may in fact never happen. Maybe. That aside he doesn't want to live forever anyway does he? He wants to eaen teh right to be mortal. Still not seen season 5... coem out on DVD already.

Post by **snarl** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:49 am

I downloaded ep one of Firefly.

I think I may need new codecs.

It has no sound.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:01 am

snarl wrote:I downloaded ep one of Firefly.

I think I may need new codecs.

It has no sound.

Which episode one? There are, confusingly, two of them.

There is the two-part episode ("Serenity pt 1&2") that is set first and introduces everybody.

Fox decided that this was all good and well, but they wanted to see a pilot episode that shows the sort of weekly shenanigans the characters will be getting upto.

So they made this episode ("The Train Job") and set it after the first one.

Fox naturally decided to show this second pilot episode first, waiting till the very end of the run before showing the two-parter.

It is logical.

Hence there are two "first episodes." The sensible one, that is on the DVD set first; and the broadcast order one.

The broadcast order was also ****** for all the other episodes, too.

Post by **snarl** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:46 am

it is 'The Train Job'

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:54 am

Then it is not the one you want.

You want "Serenity" first. Not the movie.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:11 pm

Best First wrote:
Brendocon wrote:
bobaprime85 wrote:Wait, you like season 7?! Wow, you're the first one I've met in a long time. Probably ever. Most have called it a jumbled mess, it seems. Glad to know I'm not alone.
I love season 7. It gets better each time I watch it. Maybe a few loose ends here and there, but that's realism for you - you can't take an arbitary point in the life of a group of people and have everything resolved at once.

I think a lot of the backlash towards it comes from the fanboy/girlz/whatever who are upset because it didn't unfold the exact way that they've always dreamt it would. These people need to get the hell over their fanwank fantasy scenarios and realise that they're the ones being told the story, not the people who decide what happens.
spot on. Season 7 is the best since 3 IMO.

Jetfire what would you have him say? Sorry. Your criticism seems rather... idiotic to me.

Say nothing.
Just cut to corporate BS. A liar is a lie. Saying "Your excited" at being placed in a dumping ground, meaning the film is already deemed a 'flop', is betraying the inteligence of his fanbase or simply telling lies to them.

There's no need for the lie.

I'm simply stating I refuse to accept unqualified BS.

Pissin' Poonani · Post by **Pissin' Poonani** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:09 pm

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=ti ... &p=57&g=72

Not bad-£20 a season. Glad to see they got all creative with the packaging

Galvatron91 · Post by **Galvatron91** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 8:29 am

Brendocon wrote:you've gotta wonder how long they can keep up the pretense that he doesn't age.

We've had this conversation haven't we? Something about "what ate David Boreanaz" if I remember right.

I agree completely. Firefly went much more smoothly than Season One of Buffy. I love BTVS, but it was a show that got better after the first year imo. I'm miffed that the movie will be delayed, but at the same time I'm glad that it might not get crowded out by the spring rush to beat Star Wars.

Eline · Post by **Eline** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:34 pm

Sounds very promising, this movie.

I watched the first (apparently not really the first) and second episode of Firefly, though "hmmm... this could be very interesting" and then for some reason never watched it again.

Maybe I need to get the DVD somewhere.

Can you watch the movie without the series? Or is it better to watch the movie and not the series?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:09 pm

Eline wrote:Can you watch the movie without the series? Or is it better to watch the movie and not the series?

It's supposed to have been written so that people can come into the movie without having seen the tv program. But it's being set in the same continuity, so it's not re-telling the story that's already been covered, but will retread a lot of the same ground to bring the newbies up-to-speed (supposedly in a way that will also give a new perspective to people who already know the story).

If that makes sense?

It's part of why the film's called Serenity, not "Firefly: The Movie. Of the series. That was cancelled. And that you didn't watch."

Galvatron91 · Post by **Galvatron91** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:36 pm

Brendocon wrote:It's part of why the film's called Serenity, not "Firefly: The Movie. Of the series. That was cancelled. And that you didn't watch."

Don't forget: "That Fox didn't promote or show any interest in until it made a mountain of cash on DVD sales."

sprunkner · Post by **sprunkner** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:32 pm

NOOO!!

I must have missed this topic when it came up. I can't... wait... that's almost a year... for more Firefly! AHHH!

I really wish Universal had just put the damn show back on the air.

And I agree with this "better-than-the-first-season-of-Buffy" thing. Firefly was more mature, more epic, with greater possibilities and characters who were outside of a high school framework where they could act independently. Having only watched seasons one and two of Buffy, I think that Buffy fulfilled its promise already (and hopefully more as I keep watching) but Firefly had greater promise that went unfulfilled.

DAMMIT!

Post by **Best First** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 7:17 pm

bobaprime85 wrote:
Most have called it a jumbled mess, it seems.

reprogressing thru seson 7 as i am at prsent i must say that hese people are muppets. hmm.