Buffy on sale, and I need some convincing (1 Viewer)

[Casey C.]

I see Amazon has the Chosen set available for pre-order for Sept. 19 release. Hasn't this set been out since last year? Is this a re-release of the same set, or is it different?

 

[JoePassmore]

Then you run into the danger of ticking off the hardcores when trying to make a movie that appeals to a broader base. Firefly was practically a clean slate having only aired 12 or so episodes. With the Buffyverse, you have not only one, but TWO shows that have close ties to each other that would have to be taken into consideration.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Exactly. Firefly wouldn't have been made into a movie if the TV series hadn't been short enough that the continuity could be "written around" in such a manner that Universal felt they had the chance to break through to people who had never seen the series. Buffy and Angel, on the other hand, are in a precarious position where they undeniably have a larger core audience than Firefly but not exactly large by television standards and also have 12 seasons worth of character development and continuity that would have to be addressed to please that core fanbase.

 

[Dave Mack]

I think the mistake they made was calling the film, "SERENITY".
While I LOVED it and love Firefly it does NOT sound like a sci-fi actiony movie. Sounds like a "chick flick" or a meditation CD.

 

[Jay_B!]

a movie could actually widen the fanbase though. While Serenity was NOT a box office hit, it did cause a lot of people to check the Firefly DVD's out. South Park, The X-Files, Beavis And Butt-Head all boosted the shows (remember, SP and Beavis were both cable shows that attracted smaller audiences than Buffy and Angel did on WB, and both movies did quite well at the box office).

Plus, remember Buffy and Angel have such a core fanbase that they would likely go see the movie much more than once. And hey, if The Grudge made $100 million just because of Buffy fans who thought it was the next best thing to a new Buffy episode, who knows how much a Buffy or Angel big-screen movie would make?

Don't forget how many people here were not Buffy or Angel fans in first run, but got into them on DVD, add those people to those who watched the reruns in syndication for the first time and those who watched it in first run, and it's considerably higher than expected.

 

[Kevin Grey]

You don't widen a fanbase with a movie based on 12 seasons of continuity (or 7 if you stick strictly to Buffy). South Park and Beevis didn't have any continuity or back story needed to enjoy their film installments. And X-Files was roundly criticized for relying too much on the back story of the series and their viewership was probably 3 times what Buffy and Angel got.

And I think Grudge's success had very little to do with SMG and a whole helluva lot to do with the success of The Ring.

 

[Dave Mack]

I think it was partly SMG as Dark Water which was another remake kinda tanked, didn't it?

 

[Kevin Grey]

I haven't seen the actual movie (or the Japanese original) but Dark Water's premise seemed pretty silly- it was marketed as scary water. Plus, it opened in the summer season, not Halloween as The Grudge did.

I'm not saying that SMG wasn't an asset to The Grudge but I find any statement implying that it made $100 million from a bunch of Buffy fans with blue balls pretty absurd. If SMG truly had the kind of power to guarantee $100 million grosses then she would be making $20 million a picture.

 

[Dave Mack]

Agreed, I think she helped and was not the sole reason. But also SMG looking the way she did, (blond, when in real life she's a brunette) in Buffy and spooky goings on makes box office sense. Jennifer Connely, Russell Crowe's "A Beautiful.." wife and the pretty junkie from "Requiem" in a spooky film...
The Japanese dark water was actually pretty dang creepy too I thought.

 

[Henry Gale]

Would someone please answer Casey's question?

I'm curious myself.

 

[JoePassmore]

Looks the same to me. The listing for the original release seems to indicate it was out of print since it only lists as being available in the Amazon Marketplace. They must've made new pressings or something.

 

[Dave Mack]

It would be nice if the Buffy musical could FINALLY get an anamorphic release one day. I have the R2, PAL speed up which changes the keys on the tunes by 1/2 step but the PQ is SOOOOO much better than the non-annie R1 release...

 

[Eugene Esterly]

I gotta agree there. I have the Buffy movie from 1992 & it is an ok movie but & I also own Season 1 (purchased 2 yrs ago at Circuit City) & I just ordered a used copy of the Buffy Collection which has seasons 1-7 from Amazon.com Marketplace.

The movie & TV show, while they share the same name are in two different categories. The movie is ok for a good laugh but the TV show is much, much better than the movie & the TV show is based on the original script for BTVS movie, Joss was forced to tone down the script to make it funny.

The script to the original BVTS movie was supposed to be a pure horror movie but Joss was forced to tone it down. You can read the full unedited script to BTVS at http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/b...re_slayer.html .

The BTVS TV show is so popular, in fact, it has made it on the list of best TV shows ever made.

 

[Eugene Esterly]

I wasn't a fan of BTVS in the beginning. I'm not sure if I even watched a Buffy episode during it's 7 season run, I believe that I probably did but I have a bad memory & can't remember.

More & more people are getting into Buffy espically since all 7 seasons are on DVD & FX is still showing Buffy syndicated episodes.

 

[Dave Mack]

Unfortunately FX chops a few minutes out to add even MORE commercials which is absurd since the shows only run about 42-43 minutes anyways.
DVD is the way to go for Buff.....

 

[Johnny S]

I have no doubt that if promoted correctly,a Buffy film could be a financial success. However, if this happens they run the risk of pissing off the die-hard fans because it would have to explain everything so that people who have not seen the series could enjoy it as well. If they were to do a Buffyverse movie I think one set in the past would be best IMO... Possibly the long talked about Spike movie. If they did this there would be no disadvantage for the non-Buffy fan & I think a movie like this could be a great financial success.

 

[Dave Mack]

What's funny is that James Marsters who is approaching his mid 40's has told Joss, "If we're gonna do it, it's gotta be NOW!" because his character is not suppossed to ever age.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Count me in as another huge fan of Buffy. I bought the box set and I have to admit, getting used to knowing that I now own the entire run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer took a little getting used to...but I love it. The box set is well, well worth the $139. I Highly recommend it as money very well spent.

...that being said, where is the Xander love folks? Everyone is talking about Buffy, Willow, Tara, Giles...but what about Xander, my favorite Scooby? The one I could always relate to? (I too was insecure and sarcastic in High School. Actually, I still am...)

 

[Dave Mack]

Have you taken the buffy personality quiz? I did and I'm Xander!
http://www.eonline.com/Features/Feat...uffy2001/Quiz/

I think in some ways Xander was the most realistic scooby. He's loyal yet selfish and VERY insecure. Worse thanWillow even in her early "geeky" years. Wants Buffy so bad for himself in the first 3 years that he lies about Angel's.... And I'd go on but don't want to spoil things for any newbies!
There's a pretty interesting book written by philosophers, many with Phd's on Buffy!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...e=UTF8&s=books
Even if you don't agree with all the essays, they are all pretty interesting. Xander comes off often as someone who has his own agenda often even when actively participating in the group. He was one of the few like Giles and dawn who was just "ordinary". NO super powers or supernatural gifts. He mentioned this to Dawn in an EXCELLENT scene in a season 7 ep.

 

[Eugene Esterly]

I took the quiz and it says I'm buffy. It's a fun little joke quiz. I have to agree with you about Xander, he didn't have powers like Buffy who was powerful or Willow who had magic but he was still able to help the group.