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*** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread - Page 2

post #31 of 649
10/1/05 at 9:09am
My nitpick was that, according to the series, 6 months pass between Our Mrs. Reynolds and Trash. The movie is supposed to be 8 months after they pick up River and Simon... I suppose you could say that this timeline works...

pick up simon/river and spend less than a month on board before our mrs. reynolds. Six months pass in the timeline before Trash takes place, then another week or two in storytelling wraps up the series. 2 Month gap between Objects In Space and the movie (although Whedon said originally it picked up 6 months after the last episodes, but you could probably ignore that since it's not spoken at all during the film.)

Serenity (1 of 2)
Serenity (2 of 2)
The Train Job
Bushwacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs. Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Heart of Gold
Trash
The Message
Objects In Space
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post #32 of 649
10/1/05 at 10:04am
Quote:
Friday estimate has the movie pulling in 3.9 million for 2nd place.


Doesn't look too good for the future of the franchise. I'm sure DVD sales will make a killing though.
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post #33 of 649
10/1/05 at 10:15am
My guess is that they were trying to a, weaponize the process that created the Reavers and b, use River as a weapon against the Reavers. It's not like they could exactly stand up to her in a fight even en masse.

And my gripe wasn't just with the Western stuff being gone, although that was part of it. More though it just felt like the style, tone, and feel of the show got lost. To put another way, I can guarantee you this isn't what the next two hours of Firefly would have been. I do believe this was the direction Joxx eventually wanted to take things, but I don't think this is the way he would have done it. The overboard action sequences (kick ass action, but too much), the fact that a season's worth of plot was crammed into two hours, and stuff like that just made it feel very different than the show. That's to be expected, it's for a different audience in a different format with different expectations, but I still missed the slower, more expansive feel of the show.

As a movie adaptation it was first rate, and definitely avoided feeling like a long TV episode, but I still feel that something got lost in the translation. Regardless of that though, I definitely liked the movie and will be back for sure next weekend to help keep the legs up.
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post #34 of 649
10/1/05 at 10:21am
Quote:
Mal says "You always fog things up."


Good. I'm glad I heard wrong, because it did feel out of place.

Quote:
And my gripe wasn't just with the Western stuff being gone, although that was part of it. More though it just felt like the style, tone, and feel of the show got lost. To put another way, I can guarantee you this isn't what the next two hours of Firefly would have been. I do believe this was the direction Joxx eventually wanted to take things, but I don't think this is the way he would have done it. The overboard action sequences (kick ass action, but too much), the fact that a season's worth of plot was crammed into two hours, and stuff like that just made it feel very different than the show. That's to be expected, it's for a different audience in a different format with different expectations, but I still missed the slower, more expansive feel of the show.


Yeah, but that's the reality of Tv pace vs. feature film pace. Joss said this very thing - that he took the essence of where the show was going, trimmed all the fat, and made a movie about it. Films cannot by their very nature of length take the time and have the patience that episodic television has. It would fail. Under the circumstances, I just don't see how one could expect something like a simple story of smuggling cattle.
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post #35 of 649
10/1/05 at 1:57pm
I was happily surprised by this one. That is one solid piece of genre filmmaking! I had a blast and enjoyed just about every minute.

And, I thought a LOT of western style/heart remained, even if many of the trappings were missing. The entire third act played like a Rio Bravo siege.

Great, great stuff!
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post #36 of 649
10/1/05 at 4:22pm
74 at Metacritic and 80% at Rotten Tomatoes. I'm shocked, but maybe I shouldn't be.

Quote:
Friday estimate has the movie pulling in 3.9 million for 2nd place.
Quote:
Doesn't look too good for the future of the franchise. I'm sure DVD sales will make a killing though.
Well, Flightplan didn't do much better with 4.5 million, and Serenity beat Flightplan with the theater average. Flightplan took $1,285 per theater with 3,424 theaters, and Serenity pulled in $1,782 per theater with 2,188 theaters. However, A History of Violence got the #1 spot: $1,866 per theater with 1,340 theaters. Serenity can't survive on the existing fan base alone, and they're the ones going to the theater this weekend. I don't think it was marketed right. If this movie succeeds, it's because of word of mouth, and word may travel slow or fast. We'll have to see how it does in the following weeks.
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post #37 of 649
10/1/05 at 6:06pm
This film was fantastic! I really hope word of mouth and DVD sales can help it to a respectable gross, as I really, really, really want to see another film with these characters.

One of my favorite lines:

Simon: River, remember that if there's any fighting, you drop to the ground or run away...*whispering* It's OK to leave them for dead.

This was what I call a "gamut" film. It runs the gamut of emotions from laughter to tears, from drama to excitement. I haven't enjoyed a film this much since "Spider-Man 2" (which I also consider a "gamut" film).

That Friday gross is really disappointing, as I don't think anyone needs to be a fan of "Firefly," or even know of the series, to enjoy this film immensely. But I'm afraid too many potential moviegoers are thinking "tv movie" about Serenity. It's a shame, as this is better than every other blockbuster that they filled the seats for this past summer.
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post #38 of 649
10/1/05 at 7:39pm
2nd place is hardly dissapointing! Did anyone really think that a science fiction movie would be first place? There are many people who won't even consider going to such kinds of films. In one weekend, the film essentially paid for itself and anything beyond this is bonus. Though admittedly with Hollywood accounting that means nothing.

That said, I wouldn't mind if the next Firefly project was a tv movie. I'd love a tv mini, actually - an arc long enough for more character moments. Maybe 6 hours? 8? Mmm...
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post #39 of 649
10/1/05 at 7:54pm
>>As the film came to a close, all I wanted was more...more Serenity, more Firefly, more time spent with this special crew on board the spunky ship that could.<<

I couldn't have said it better myself. I felt exactly the same way. I loved this movie. I was introduced to Firefly only last weekend. I borrowed it from a friend and planned to watch one or two eps in order to familiarize myself with the characters. Damned if I didn't watch the entire box set over the weekend. It left me wanting more, a LOT more. The film does the same.

I also find the Friday take a little disappointing. I sure hope word of mouth gets out for Serenity. It's a shame that highly entertaining and smart films such as Serenity are so few and far between but the mindless summer blockbusters keep getting made year after year.
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post #40 of 649
10/1/05 at 8:04pm
Dear god..... what a film, a couple of rough spots... Zoe's talking to Mal about the hanger on he shot, seemed a little forced to me.

If Joss comes up here for a convention.. he and I will have a talking too... keeps killing characters I have grown emotionally attached to.

*SPOILER WARNING FOR OTHER JOSS SHOWS*

 Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Buffy (2x)
Angel
Spike
Tara - oh god, Tara!
Anya
Doyle
Joyce
Fred - god... Fred
Wesley - one of his best written



Now Book and Wash

GRRR

But damn, what a movie.
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post #41 of 649
10/1/05 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Well, Flightplan didn't do much better with 4.5 million, and Serenity beat Flightplan with the theater average

Flightplan is also in it's second week of release. Not it's opening weekend which drew in close to 25 million in box office money.

I'll be seeing Serenity tommorrow. I loved the show and I really look forward to seeing the film!

Lance, I might also suggest you spoiler those character names you listed. The Serenity character deaths are allowed in this thread, but there are no doubt a few folks that may be interested in watching Angel and Buffy, and you've all but ruined every major death on both shows for any unsuspecting reader of this thread.
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post #42 of 649
10/1/05 at 8:13pm
It has been done... never thought of that.. just assumed by this time Joss fans would have seen all
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post #43 of 649
10/1/05 at 9:36pm
I enjoyed it. I did like at the very beginning how they explain what happened with Earth and how all the worlds are set up. I remember discussions when the show was on. Wondering if their are different systems or one big system. This answered the question.

Accepted Shepard's death ok. Not thrilled with Wash's.

Also, I thought when the ship got totaled on the planet. I thought of another Trek moment. Where they destroy one ship...to bring in another. I figured at the end they would get a new ship.

And finally I hope Joss(who is doing the Wonder Woman movie) casts Morena Baccarin to play WW. I know he is looking at her.
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post #44 of 649
10/1/05 at 11:41pm
I too loved the beginning, especially how we finally get to see Simon's rescue of River. In the TV show it always sounded like Simon had a secondary role in getting River, and the movie showed just how determined he was to rescue his sister by going into the stronghold himself.

Oh- Lance, you forgot my most devastating Joss Whedon death:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Cordelia- a great episode that redeemed the character only to end in her death. Also, the death was the most underdone of the ones you mention, so it really had the chance to sink in
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post #45 of 649
10/1/05 at 11:44pm
Quote:
And finally I hope Joss(who is doing the Wonder Woman movie) casts Morena Baccarin to play WW.


I don't. I've had enough of this casting people who don't naturally resemble the characters they're playing, and then trying to make them look more like the characters artificially by dying their hair or giving them coloured contact lenses (ie Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four, and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns, who both get blue contact lenses).

Why can't people do casting like the kind that picked Christopher Reeve for Superman and Lynda Carter for Wonder Woman? I know those were special individuals and it's not easy to find people like that who naturally look like they were born to play the part AND are good actors, but it's a big world with a lot of actors in it, and finding those types isn't impossible. And by the way, yes, I am aware of how shallow and fanboyish that sounded.
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post #46 of 649
10/1/05 at 11:53pm
Quote:
The overboard action sequences (kick ass action, but too much), the fact that a season's worth of plot was crammed into two hours, and stuff like that just made it feel very different than the show. That's to be expected, it's for a different audience in a different format with different expectations, but I still missed the slower, more expansive feel of the show.
This was my primary complaint as well (the thing that kept me from giving the film a full four stars). The one scene that I felt really captured the feel of the show was at the very end, when Mal enters the bridge to lift off the newly-patched up ship. From the way the camera lingers on Wash's empty chair to the way the rest of the scene is just River and Mal talking, saying nothing but meaning everything, that nailed the feel of the show at its best. The sequel, if there is one, won't have the burden of this exposition so hopefully it'll have time for more scenes like that one. It was probably the most moving in the entire film for me.
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post #47 of 649
10/2/05 at 12:54am
I really enjoyed it. Packed theatre too. I agree with the tone change. One of the things that made Firefly is the intimacy of the characters and with the TV to Big Screen movie much of that is lost.
Kaylee gets the best lines, " I want to Live."

Much better than the prequel Star Wars trilogy but unfortunatly won't do nearly as good.
There is no justice.
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post #48 of 649
10/2/05 at 3:47am
Josh did great with this movie. I will miss Shepard and his taunts at the captains conscience, soul, Moral, etc... Plus as stated before his past. There could of been so much more done with that character. Wash's best line in the movie and series was the leaf statement. I thought that was his best acting yet in the show. Only Joss can brake your heart in killing characters you grow to love(Jenny,anya,Wesly) to name a few.

I think it's great that the fans are making a difference with T. V. shows. (Farscape)
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post #49 of 649
10/2/05 at 6:19am
Doesn't look too good for the future of the franchise. I'm sure DVD sales will make a killing though.


At Dragon*Con the actors revealed tht for universal to greenlight a sequel the film had to earn $80 million worldwide. These numbers are entirely encouraging towards that end.

However, I'm very satisfied that this movie has filled that emptiness one feels after watching the final episode of the series. If this is the end of Firefly, I feel a sense of completion.
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post #50 of 649
10/2/05 at 9:04am
In one weekend, the film essentially paid for itself and anything beyond this is bonus.

Not quite, considering the film was budgeted at $45 million. So, considering the split with theater owners, it needs probably close to $100 million before it breaks even (but, as noted above, Universal is looking for a worldwide gross of around $80M, since they know it'll probably make a killing on DVD too).
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post #51 of 649
10/2/05 at 9:06am
Quote:
I've had enough of this casting people who don't naturally resemble the characters they're playing



Yeah, and that Baccarin is normally a 4'2" with short blond hair and...wait a minute, that's her real hair?? :-D She is already kind of playing a stately woman with a lot of self control yet can kick ass at a moment's notice...sounds like the Amazon of my dreams, baby. Unless she is always in costume after Firefly, she looks pretty much how I would expect WW to look when I have seen in her non-movie photos. I think she has the chops for both the serious and funny (which is a prerequisite for a Whedon movie) and will still be "unknown" enough to still be fresh to moviegoers.

Granted, the perfect WW might be auditioning right now but until then, I think our Inara would do just fine.
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post #52 of 649
10/2/05 at 9:09am
David Rosen - you are right, I totaly missed

 Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Cordilia - WHY!!!!!


Her last episode was just SO well done... I loved seeing her, and then that last scene between her and Angel.

 Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Cordilia: "oh hell... one for the road"
*crosses room kisses Angel passionately*
*phone rings*
Angel: "I...ah... I... I don't need to get that"
Cordilia: "That..."*sighs* "That, you have to get"
Cordilia: "Oh, and your welcome"
*Angel answers, argues with other side shocked, hurt expresion, lets phone drop from his ear, brings it back up*
Angel: "I'm sorry, when did she die?... Did she, uhm.... She never did wake up? I... see"
*slowly hangs up phone*
*tears*
Angel: "Thank you"


*me chokes STILL*
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post #53 of 649
10/2/05 at 9:35am
Quote:
In the TV show it always sounded like Simon had a secondary role in getting River
He did. Joss changed it. This is the explanation for how River got out in the pilot episode:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Zoe: How did you do it?

Simon: Money. And luck. For two years, I couldn't get near her. Then I was contacted by some men, some underground movement. They said she was in danger, that the government was playing with her brain. If I funded them, they could sneak her out in cryo. Get her to Persephone, and from there, I could take her...wherever.
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post #54 of 649
10/2/05 at 10:54am
One more thought-

Did anyone else feel like the Serenity crew were a lot less afraid of the Reavers in the movie than they were in the show? My friend noticed that when we watched it, and after watching the episode of Firefly that had the Reavers, I tend to agree with her.
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post #55 of 649
10/2/05 at 11:16am
Re: Simon and River escape. I think the movie can synch up with the show just fine. He never says he wasn't directly involved...only that they helped him get her out. This happens in the teaser of the film as it required a ship to get him out in the end. And we can only assume that the weapon, his cover and so on were provided by these other people.

Re: Fear of reavers. I don't know, they seemed pretty scared to me. The opening scene they barely paused to get a handful of gold and got out of Dodge very quickly. They didn't stay to fight or anything. In the finale, they were just as frightened but they weren't fighting for their lives. They were fighting for a Cause. They had no illusions of survival at that point, just buying time. I thought the fear was pretty palpable. Not as much as the show ("Jayne, you're scaring the women"- still one of my favorite lines) but then again, they had an entire episode about the Reavers without ever showing one. They had to be more scared. You could say the same thing about Alien and Aliens. The fear of the alien creature is substantially reduced and changed to something else when there is more of them. One alien=horror movie. More than one=war movie. Same with this show. They established that Reavers were worse than death, to the point where shooting a man is better than leaving him to live. I didn't need to see them wetting themselves the rest of the movie to know that.

IMHO, of course.
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post #56 of 649
10/2/05 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 
I had to scratch my head, wondering if Whedon had any inkling that Baccarin would come up as a candidate as WW given that her garb in the final stanza had her outfitted in a tight top, reminiscent of WW's top portion of her costume, and had her shooting a bow and arrow as her weapon (an Amazon's weapon - with their name, "a mazon" derived from having one breast removed so they could shot their bow and arrows without the string catching one of their breasts during releasing of the string).
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post #57 of 649
10/2/05 at 12:52pm
Weekend estimates care of BoxOfficeMojo

1Flightplan $15,038,000
2 Serenity $10,141,000
3 Tim Burton's Corpse Bride $9,755,000

Lets hope word of mouth stays good. I'm hoping for a theaterical run along the lines of "There's Something About Mary". Good word of mouth with continual solid numbers but never hitting the #1 spot. In any event I'm seeing it atleast once more before the end of next week.
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post #58 of 649
10/2/05 at 1:34pm
Quote:
I don't. I've had enough of this casting people who don't naturally resemble the characters they're playing, and then trying to make them look more like the characters artificially by dying their hair or giving them coloured contact lenses (ie Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four, and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns, who both get blue contact lenses).

Why can't people do casting like the kind that picked Christopher Reeve for Superman and Lynda Carter for Wonder Woman? I know those were special individuals and it's not easy to find people like that who naturally look like they were born to play the part AND are good actors, but it's a big world with a lot of actors in it, and finding those types isn't impossible. And by the way, yes, I am aware of how shallow and fanboyish that sounded.

I can't understand what you are saying regarding Morena looks more Greek than Lynda Carter...which is what WW's background is supposed to be.
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post #59 of 649
10/2/05 at 1:59pm
River is supposed to be 17?
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post #60 of 649
10/2/05 at 3:38pm
I'm not usually around on opening weekend, too many people, too much left to chance. But, hell, it's Serenity and I haven't seen the film in nearly 5 months.
The multiplex also has A History of Violence so I let the numbers decide.
I asked the manager,"Which movie has less people in it?"
He tells me that it's pretty close but due to a bigger room Serenity has more open seats. That settles it.
The back row is already pretty full so I make my best choice with what's left. Of course, I choose wrong.
He's about my age (OK he's 10 years younger) and he's probably watched the DVD set. So, he obviously needs to explain lots of important stuff to the woman sitting to his left. They're in front of me, off to the right abit so I'm hearing him. He's having to shout over the movie during the action bits.
You know how it is, you waited a long time to see this movie, you've driven a long way and...
Hell, looking back, I was really lucky. I don't think there was a child in the theater.
But, this guy was going at every 30 seconds of so, it was gonna ruin the movie.
Why am I always the only one to say anything? Why not the guy right behind them? Anyone else?
No.
I leaned forward and just told him what was on my mind, "Why am I sitting here trying to think of a nice way to tell you to shut up?"
He turned and let loose with some sarcastic version of, "OH, Excuse Me,I'm Sorry."
I let it go, it can't be fun having a stranger admonish your behavior in front of your girl.
But, it worked, he didn't make another sound.

I loved Serenity!
It was just so satisfying for it to be as intense as it was.
Not a guilty pleasure, just a ripping good yarn even if you'd never heard of Firefly.
Wish I had a better memory of everything I saw and heard at the preview last May but it was more involving in its completed form.
When I left the room the only other credit reader turned to me and said, "It's better the second time!" I asked him when he saw it the first time.
"Yesterday."
I'll be going back tomorrow or Tuesday. Wanna make sure there's a sequel or two.

AP WIRE
"The science-fiction tale “Serenity,” a continuation of writer-director Joss Whedon’s cult TV series “Firefly,” debuted in second place with $10.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday."
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