(no subject)

[apocalypsos]

I'm now one successful drug test away from getting a really well-paying job at a factory that makes and packages DVDs. Hellooooooo, employee discount.

Oh, and I went to see Serenity. It was good.

...

AWESOME. *flails*

Okay, there's my fangirl moment out of the way. :)

For the record, I was spoiled for the movie. I mean, like, completely. And let me tell you what ... knowing about Wash did not diminish anything. I pretty much started welling up the first time he said, "I am a leaf on the wind," and didn't stop until ... well, until Wash did. Killed me well and true, that one did. (Also, I'm the sort of swoony little misfit who hopes Zoe was pregnant at the end of the movie. 'Cause I like the thought of a little part of Wash running around the ship.)

I kind of like the thought of a sane River, or at least a saner one, in any event, if that's the way it's going. Then again, it just makes her more of a Mary Sue, but -- and I hate to say it -- but I like River the Mary Sue. So there. ;P

I wasn't really upset at losing Book, because he wasn't one of my favorite characters (not like Wash, who's the kind of guy I would date), but much like with Wash, there wasn't any time to mourn. There was a war, and it was time to fight.

As for the rest of it, I love Mal and his deep love for Serenity, I love Jayne and his gun fixation, I love Inara and her gorgeous wardrobe, I love Kaylee and her desperate need to get laid (wow, she really IS me), and I love Simon and his NOT WEARING A SHIRT GYAH-OMG-MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

And okay, here's what bugged me about the movie -- it was really, really good. So you're saying, why does that bug you? And here's why -- because I think if we'd gotten the movie before we'd gotten the TV show, we'd still be watching the TV show.

Think about Joss's track record. He's worked mainly in two genres -- science fiction and fantasy. He's got a really great record in fantasy -- there's Buffy and Angel, and he also worked on the Toy Story screenplay. But he's got a really crappy record in science fiction -- Alien Resurrection, Titan A.E., and let's not even get into "What happens to a toad when it gets struck by lightning?". Really, look at the trailers for Serenity. Did they say "From the writer of Alien Resurrection and Titan A.E."? No, they said, "From the writer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel," which is nice and all, except for it being the wrong goddamn genre. (This is why you'll never see the phrase "A comedy by Steven Spielberg" on anything unless it's animated.) Something about that just set wrong with me the first time I saw that, and I love all three shows.

And it's not even just that. There are a lot of factors about this movie that make me wonder a little if they set it up somewhat to fail. Oh, the loyal fans will go, over and over again if what I've seen on my friends list is any indication. And I know I've been telling everybody who I think might appreciate it to go, but the problem is that I've gotten at least twice, "Oh, you mean that show they cancelled?" Surprisingly, it's hard to sell someone who's never watched Firefly on a movie based on a TV show cancelled after 14 episodes. What kind of confidence does that give people who want to go that it'll be good? Oh, the good reviews? I've seen way too many reviews of Serenity where the writer says somewhere, "I'm a Firefly fan, and I loved this movie!" That's great, but I make the same face when I read a review of a Star Trek movie where the writer says they love the show.

And it doesn't even help if I say I've got the whole season and they can borrow it, because really, who's got fourteen straight hours to spare? Not to mention they released it in September, when action movies that are expected to make any money come out earlier in the summer. (EDIT: I should probably add that I'm not really sure the multiple sneak previews helped as much as they were expected to. Oh, I think they helped somewhat, but I'm still wary about the whole thing.)

You know what's going to happen? It's going to do okay at the box office -- not great, but okay -- and then it's going to kick ass on DVD. And that's why I think it would have been better if a feature-length movie had come out first, especially with Joss's past. Joss has already taken a cult movie and turned it into a really good TV series. Yes, it was fantasy, but a little tweaking of Serenity in a few places would have made it a great set-up for the series. (Actually, a new script from the pilot probably would have been better, but you see what I'm getting at.)

I don't know ... I'm probably just rambling and being pessimistic. But I honestly did love the movie, and it's really sad that all I can think is that if we'd gotten a film first, Firefly would still be on my TV schedule.

Bah. Enough sideways pessimism. I killed an hour before the movie plotting the Books of Boggs, so now I'm going to script the hell out of them on my index cards. :)

Comments

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

Yay for the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And OOOH I hope Zoe was pregnant at the end... that appeals to my inner romantic.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

*flails for the job*

And God, could you see Zoe with a baby? With Wash's baby? That would be AWESOME.

I believe I need to look for fic for that. Oh, yes. (I've also been sold on River/Jayne. Don't even ask me how I got to THAT one, but ... yeah. :))

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I've read some really good River/Jayne fic. Check this site - I found it after I watched your DVDs and was craving fic :)

Have you checked out fanfic100?? I'm crazy & signed up to write 100 Veronica stories.

[glitterdemon.livejournal.com]

yeah. the problem i have with the marketing of the movie is not so much what they did do (screenings, viral marketing, etc.) as what they didn't do, which was eschew all traditional methods of advertising. (where were the tv promos with critics' raving blurbs this week? "ebert & roeper give it two thumbs up!" "the new york times says it's better than star wars!") it's like, yeah, if you have something of quality, it's brilliant to find ways to encourage word-of-mouth. but you can't expect to get everyone who may be interested into the theater that way.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

The thing that gets me about the viral marketing and the screenings is that it's not hitting the people who've never seen the show. In fact, it's hitting exactly the people who HAVE seen the show before, and I don't know a one who wasn't already recommending the movie to friends before that stuff even started. It's the kind of marketing that hits the fans, which is a waste of campaigning. The fans didn't need to be advertised to -- we were fine. We were already on board.

What they needed was to aim at people who'd never seen it before, and they haven't, really. I mean, I have seen that critic's raves commercial on TV, but what does that accomplish? Yes, it tells people that critics think it's good (which doesn't help, since a lot of people won't listen to critics, including most of my action-movie-loving family), but it doesn't tell anyone what it's about, something which can stand up just fine on its own.

[budclare.livejournal.com]

where were the tv promos with critics' raving blurbs this week? "ebert & roeper give it two thumbs up!" "the new york times says it's better than star wars!"

I saw that commercial several times this week. And I don't really watch all that much tv.

[silly-dan.livejournal.com]

..."From the writer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel," which is nice and all, except for it being the wrong goddamn genre.

On the other hand, the first trailer for Star Wars said "From the filmmaker who brought you American Graffiti," so this isn't unprecedented.

Oh, and good luck with the new job.

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

shirtless simon is so.effing.hawt. In Objects in Space as well as in teh m0vie.

Mmmmmmmmm Sean Maher. Yum yum yum yum. Kaylee's one-liner was hilarious. "I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers in more'n a year weren't run on batteries." lol.

[karenbear.livejournal.com]

I'm now one successful drug test away from getting a really well-paying job at a factory that makes and packages DVDs.

Oh my god, the mothership is calling you home! ;-)

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Dude, you should have seen my face walking though the factory with the HR guy. I was practically this close to crooning to the machines, "Hello, my pretties!" *snerk*

It also didn't help that they had these huge framed movie posters lining every single wall. At the very least, I would have boosted The Exorcist and The Iron Giant.

(On a serious note, though, from what I could see of what I'm going to do, a trained monkey could do it. No, scratch that -- an untrained monkey could probably do it, too. It's basically just hanging back and making sure the machine's got supplies in it.)

[karenbear.livejournal.com]

So do you seriously get an employee discount? Because if so I think you just found my dream job!

from what I could see of what I'm going to do, a trained monkey could do it.

I can never decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. For me anyway - I'm not really looking for a career. I want a job that doesn't suck, that gives me a sense that I did something with my day, and pays me enough to live on with some at the end of the month to save a little and add to my DVD collection. But you don't want to get bored as well. I mean, you have to spend so much time there.

It also didn't help that they had these huge frames movie posters lining every single wall

They've been looking at my decor designs I've been making for when I eventually get my own flat!! ;-)

Good luck with the new job though - hope it turns out to be fab! :D

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

I didn't even THINK about Zoe being pregnant. I would ADORE that. Mmhmm.

And I just hooked about six more people onto the show, including two who aren't generally SF fen at ALL. They scoff at Trek, they saw Star Wars for Ewan, and they now are miffed that I went away for the weekend, because they've only seen up to Shindig and want more.

Mwahahah.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Zoe with a baby just ... *swoons* Zoe having Wash's baby would just hit so many of my kinks. Oh, yes. :)

I watched Trash last night, and I popped in the third disc just now so that I can watch Out of Gas and Ariel while I do my hair. :)

[ficangel.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the new job!

And I really got the impression that Serenity was made on the basis of the DVD sales very, very grudgingly. It seems to me that sneak previews and word of mouth are being employed as the primary marketing campaign because they're cheap and the only options that Joss had. I think, though, that he should have taken a page from Lost's book and really drummed up interest with random flyers tacked up all over the place and cheap, mysterious-sounding radio ads. They would have ultimately cost a lot less than a televison commercial, would have reached more people than the admittedly scary-as-hell internet campaign, and don't tell me for a second that Summer Glau can't be just as scary through voice alone as she can be with the whole package.