Can it be true? We have word, by way of Alan Tudyk, that a Serenity sequel may well be on the way.
Shiny.
Go Forth And Vote With Thy (Future) Wallet
An interesting initiative has popped up over the past couple of days seeking to convince Fox Broadcasting to produce a second season of Firefly using direct-to-DVD or iTunes-ish technology instead of committing to broadcasting it over the air. Please head over to that site and indicate your willingness to purchase such an offering, posthaste.
That is all.
Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease, SciFi Edition
By way of Dean Esmay, we have this wonderful, beautiful news:
Serenity Might Fly Again?
Loni Peristere, visual-effects supervisor for the SF movie Serenity, told SCI FI Wire that there’s hope for future flights of the cast and crew of the movie, which just came out on DVD. Director Joss Whedon—who also created the canceled Fox TV show Firefly, on which the movie is based—expected that the movie might draw the low numbers it did in its theatrical release, Peristere said in an interview. But he added that the movie’s sales on DVD, which came out on Dec. 20, are running neck-and-neck with the hit comedy Wedding Crashers, which bodes well for a possible Serenity sequel.
Pinch me, please. C’mon, Universal and/or Fox, pull the trigger already.
A Very Merry Un-Birthday, To Me? To Me!
Well, it’s time to celebrate your birthday, it happens every year
We’ll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer
You should be good and happy that there’s something you can eat
A million people every day are starving in the street
Your daddy’s in the gutter with the wretched and the poor
Your mama’s in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four
There’s garbage in the water
There’s poison in the sky
I guess it won’t be long before we’re all gonna die
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
-Weird Al Yankovic, “Happy Birthday”
We’ll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer
You should be good and happy that there’s something you can eat
A million people every day are starving in the street
Your daddy’s in the gutter with the wretched and the poor
Your mama’s in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four
There’s garbage in the water
There’s poison in the sky
I guess it won’t be long before we’re all gonna die
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
-Weird Al Yankovic, “Happy Birthday”
I turned a grand old 28 today. I don’t feel that old, but it’s creepy to think that in a mere two years, I’ll be 30; odd how these things creep up on one.
I celebrated it in a non-standard fashion this year, as I’ve been in TX for my birthday for the past five years or so: my grandparents were in town, and since they hadn’t yet seen Will, they accompanied my mother in a trip to our house. This was the first time for Will to meet one of his namesakes, his great-grandfather William (Bill). My wife, knowing that my grandparents are life-long Pittsburgh Steelers fans, dressed Will in his Steelers outfit which apparently went over like gangbusters with the great-grandparents. My grandfather was content simply to hold Will, which aggravated my granmother as Bill The Elder kept obscuring the Steelers logo and “ruining” the photos my wife was snapping.*grin*
We supped on meatball sandwiches and spinach salad that my mother brought over and then finished the meal with apple spice cake (complete with “Happy Birthday” candles) and coffee, after which my wife and I presented the great- and regular-grandparents with their Christmas gifts (framed pictures of Will, for those out there keeping score).
Then, I was presented with two gifts that would warm any decent sci-fi fan’s hardened heart: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi from my parents and the Firefly boxed set from my lovely wife.
Maybe turning 28 isn’t such a terrible thing after all…
“Serenity” DVD Drops 12/20/2005
(*cough**cough*ahintforpotentialgiftbuyers*cough**cough*) Those of you that can’t wait for the DVD of Serenity to hit the streets, as well as those of you that consider yourselves fans of Firefly should definitely check out Serenity: The Puppet Show. Brilliant!
A Disturbing “Development”
Well crap.
I have been studiously ignoring Arrested Development, as has apparently the rest of America. It was always one of those “get around to it shows” for me, and I felt no reason to sit down and dedicate any time to viewing it, as no one had actually recommended it to me (other than just about every TV critic in existence, several bloggers whose opinions I value, the Emmy selection committee, and my brother-in-law, that is). I had watched one or two episodes and found them to be amusing but not necessarily worth devoting extended viewing to. I placed the DVDs of the first two seasons in my Netflix queue and had let them languish near the bottom until hearing an interview with the head writer on Fresh Air last week. The interview, combined with clips from the show they played piqued my interest and I moved the DVDs to the head of my queue.
The DVDs arrived yesterday and my wife and I sat down to watch the first two episodes and were subsequently blown away. It is incredibly witty, incredibly funny and entertaining in the extreme. It’s also canceled, as of the end of this season.
Arrrgh! Fox has done it to me again! I get sucked in to a show (see: Firefox, Futurama, etc.) and they cancel it right out from under me.
Here’s to hoping that someone out there is listening and gives both Joss Whedon and the A.D. crew funding to “port” their shows direct-to-DVD, because there’s a lot of potential in those two properties and it’d be a shame to let them languish on in obscurity, unfinished and unresolved.
Plus, I’m really selfish and want to see how the series end.
An Interview Worth Reading, If You’re A Geek, That Is…
I know I’ve been flogging the Serenity horse pretty hard these last few days, but this will be (one of) the last movie-related posts, I swear. TIME.com has posted an hilarious three-way interview with Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman that’s well worth reading. Major-league geekage alert for those who click through on the link – Buffy is discussed, as well as Mary Poppins, Time Cop, Sandman and a host of other stream-of-consciousness stuff. Very funny.
Serenity Screening
UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers.
The Setup
As previously mentioned, I was set to attend an advance screening of Serenity last night, and attend it I did.
Aron had expressed interest in seeing the movie, so I dragged him along as my “+1” as my wife had declared herself to be in no shape to sit anywhere for 2 hours, let alone in a theater playing a loud, explosions-filled SciFi flick. After some initial miscues (thanks Google Maps – there is no Exit 340 A off of the Schuylkill – it’s exit 339), Aron and I made it to the UA Main Street in Manayunk at around 6pm, a full hour and a half before the show was scheduled to start. We were among the first to get there, apparently, and chatted with some of the people in line, primarily Will of A planet where apes evolved from MAN?!?. Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (both new and old), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the forthcoming film adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe all were discussed at length.
Continue reading “Serenity Screening”
Paying The Piper
As previously noted in this space, I shall be attending the “Serenity Blogger Bonanza” advance screening of Serenity. I received a confirmation email this morning informing me that:
To significantly increase your chances of getting into the screening, you MUST do the following:
· You MUST include the film’s synopsis on your blog (synopsis below) and you MUST link your blog to the SERENITY website (which has the trailer and production notes) and featured artwork. After you have screened the film, please discuss it on your blog. Please provide us the links to all of your blog posts on SERENITY
· Print out and bring a copy of this confirmation.
· Arrive at the theater AT LEAST 45 minutes before the show begins.
· Upon arrival at the theater, please find a UNIVERSAL PICTURES representative and inform him or her that you are part of the SERENITY BLOGGER BONANZA. The Universal rep will then instruct you as to what to do next.
· DO NOT bring in a camera or a cellular phone that takes pictures. They WILL be confiscated, and you will NOT be allowed into the screening.
· Have a great time!
Drat. I was hoping to grab some pictures of the scads of people sure to be dressed in brown overcoats. I’ll have to see about the cellphone thing, though – would hate for my wife to go into labor mid-screening and have me unawares. Maybe I’ll take her camera-less phone instead…
I’ve obviously taken care of the “link to the Serenity site” requirement, but for completeness’ sake, I’ll post the official synopsis, verbatim:
Joss Whedon, the Oscar® – and Emmy – nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.
Meh. Firefly/Serenity deserve so much better in terms of PR than that load of hogwash. Whedon and crew seem to be succeeding despite Universal’s best efforts, as the sold-out advance screenings and PR junkets like this Blogger Bonanza show. Then again, “Gunsmoke in space with some Buffy thrown in” probably isn’t the easiest thing for paid corporate PR flacks to put into paragraph form.
All you need to know is that Serenity is 85% likely to rock. Heh.
A Peaceful, Serene Future
Mal: So Doug’s going to get to see the Philly advance screening of Serenity, huh?
Jayne: Yup. Well, as long as his wife doesn’t go into labor that night.
Me: Oh. Heck. Yeah.
(For those not in the know, dig Brad’s Summary of Serenity.)