What will the opening scene of "Serenity" The Firefly Movie be? by outlander

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What will the opening scene of "Serenity" The Firefly Movie be?

POSTED BY: OUTLANDER
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 08:49
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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 1:02 AM

Seeing I guessed the working title of the movie way back in December I thought I would have a go at the opening scene.

Here goes - My concept for the opening scene would be the crew of the Serenity doing a heist ala Train Job/Arial with all crew members involved, including River, Simon, Book and Inara. This would be a good way to introduce the crew quickly and give the movie an entertaining, exiting and spectacular opening. I kind of figured that Joss was heading for this kind of dynamic with the crew and he almost got there.

In objects in Space I felt that River was at a point were she could become useful to the crew under certain circumstances and Book seemed to have inside information on the alliance that could also be useful. Simon and Inara's training could also be utilised in some way.

Anyway that is my suggestion. I maybe completely wrong, it's probably too much of a Hollywood Formula/Mission Impossible/James Bond kind of an opening for Joss Whedon.

Does anybody have a better idea?

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 5:25 AM

REDKOMMIE

While I think it would be that way... I think we will see something more along the lines of something past...

either the war, or, something I have been fiddling with... Mal's childhood.

What do we know about mal's childhood other then he won't talk about it? in Our Mrs. Reynolds, we know that he grew up on Shadow, most likely a farmstead, where his parents ran the place, and Mal had many 'uncles' in the form of the farm help.

But what happen there?

I think that one great way for the Movie to break free, bring in a crowd, and open things for a new series would be three key things: Reavers, River, and the Blue Hands.

Now... we all seem to think that Mal seems to know a bit munch about Reavers for the common captain. He knew right off the bat what was going on with the 'surivor' in Bushwhacked (well maybe not right away, but he picked it up pretty quickly).

I think Mal's boyhood home was destroyed by Reavers. He alone surviored...

Now again that is only a specualtion :p

Or it might have to do with River being operatored on by the Blue Hands.

Those are my ideas :p.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:08 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

I am not seeing an opening involving Mal's childhood. It would be too complex a beginning especially for people who have not seen the show.

I am thinking either a flashback to the Battle of Serenity Valley, or perhaps another Unification Day bar scene w/ Mal and crew up to thier annual antics.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:12 AM

NOOCYTE

What a splendid idea! I can see it (insert swimmy TV dissolve....)...

Scenes from a ranch. All very idyllic (if rustic) and low-tech. Could be any Western. A young Malcolm Reynolds seen being helpful and adept, working with wise, crusty, ribaldly funny ranch hands under the shrewd, watchful eye of his strong, loving mother. Perhaps some indication of how central a role religion plays in their tough frontier life (a prayer for the herd, or for Mal's dearly-departed father [?], or somesuch).

Distant sonic booms from a cobalt-blue sky. The cattle become surpassingly nervous. Young Mal scans the skies with us, and we see nothing but the two large moons (our first hint that all is not as it had appeared in Western-land).

Suddenly, a hulking, terrifyingly huge spaceship heaves over the horizon. Terror on all the ranch hands' faces, Mrs Reynolds goes for her rifle. A large personnel hatch begins to descend, wild ululating chants and screams emerge from inside the grounded ship. Slow, dolly-zoom on Young Mal's face, mingling terror and fascination...

Dissolve to Mal's face, present day. I won't speculate too much on the rest of the movie, but encounters with Reavers prompt a gradual reveal of the ghastly things that happened on that day on Shadow...

Department of Redundancy Department

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:22 AM

DAVEB

The Reavers opening wouldn't really work for a film, where a lot a people won't know much about the series. This film needs to be successful for if there's a chance of a new series. However I think a huge space battle would be great, as it's in silence people would hopefully be very intrigued.

"Well my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:23 AM

SPACEMONKEY

I like the Mal childhood idea, but think a better way to introduce the whole crew fast and with out repeating the series would be to have the Doc delivering Zoe's baby. That way, Wash could be there holding her hand (he could later faint), and you could have Book with his bible saying a prayer. This would establish Zoe’s and Wash and man & wife, and the Doc as well..The doc.

Of course the Girls would have to be there, all talking and smiling, Maybe Kaylee could ask Inara if she ever wants a baby, and she could say something like being a prositute makes that hard with all the guys she sees. Inara could ask her the same question, and she could say something like "I don't know, I've always been good with engines and such, not sure how I'd be with a baby. She could also make comment about how there’s no one around that would want to have a baby with her..While looking right at the doc) This would set up what they do.

River could be trying to get the best view possible while babbling on about the birth process or ranting off some weird facts about how women can withstand more pain then men. This would be where Jayne would make some crude or rude remark to her/ about her. While he's cleaning Vera! =-) Maybe say something how there’s no profit in having a kid, cost to much goran money.

Mal of course would be around, maybe on the bridge. Here he gets a call asking for the captain of the ship, where he answers (letting non-brown coats know who he is). The call could be from a brother or family member (or anyone really) asking for help. The call could be from a young child whose town was attacked by reavers.

Cut to Mal's childhood where his town is attacked be reavers. He could be thinking about how he was the only child left from an attack. When he snaps out of his day dream, Inara is there to tell him the good news about the newest crew member.

Of course, the Blue-Hand, River, and Book would have major story aches in the movie to tie up the lose ends from the series.

I haven't worked out much after that, but a story about life and death (death being the reavers, life being about the Wash/Zoe's baby)

At the end, you could have some very symbolic images about Life, something that would leave the movie in a good place to either leave it there, have more movies or as an opening to a new TV series.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:25 AM

NOOCYTE

Actually, we wouldn't need to know much about reavers for this opening. Just that something Terrible had happened to Mal's home. One thought I'd had was that Mal would run into a fellow survivor from Shadow while doing a job in present day, prompting flashbacks and other expository devices. The audience would find out about Reavers during the course of the film, so that, by the time the climactic battle came about, we/they'd know all we/they needed to know.

Department of Redundancy Department

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:29 AM

NOOCYTE

Nice bit of expository compression, there, SPACEMONKEY. I could totally see that. The life/death duality would make a nice dramatic anchor theme for the film.

Department of Redundancy Department

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:37 AM

ASTRIANA

The only challenge I see with the Zoe delivering scenario is that it would conceivably take her out of the butt-kicking action... Perhaps we start with Zoe, Wash & Baby Warren in their quarters?

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:41 AM

SPACEMONKEY

maybe, but we are talking 500 years worth of advance medic here. I don't think she would be out that long! =-)

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:45 AM

SERENA

I like Space Monkey's suggestion. Actually, I like all the suggestions.

About Inara, however. At the end of HofG she said she was leaving and in OinS she and Mal are talking about her arrangements to leave ... something about going to a planet who's primary income comes from the sturgeon market -
Mal: so unless you've got the overwhelming urge to gut sturgeon, and who hasn't? ...

So, how are they going to resolve that little dilemna?

"Every well bred, petty crook knows that the small, concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting."

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 7:21 AM

RKLENSETH

I think Inara won't be with them in the beginning but she joins up with them again later in the movie. Maybe she'll show up at the right time in the right place, like she always does, in the nick of time to save Serenity's crew's ass or Mal's ass in particular.

Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 7:23 AM

ADAMSTERLING

I'm not sure what the opening scene would be, but I just had a great though.

Wouldn't it be great if the movie does extremely well, and not only comes back to TV, but also gets a ride at Universal Studios? I think that would be awesome.

Also, maybe Universal could buy the rights to the original Firefly pilot, and around a month before the movie's release, start showing it on TV, about once a week? It would create a lot of hype, and could introduce more people to the series.

-Adam

SAVE ANGEL!

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 7:31 AM

HATEHATEHATEFOX

Quote:
Originally posted by Astriana:
The only challenge I see with the Zoe delivering scenario is that it would conceivably take her out of the butt-kicking action... Perhaps we start with Zoe, Wash & Baby Warren in their quarters?

Well, I'm only speaking from personal experience, but after I delivered my daughter (my first and only) I was able to get up immediately and go have a shower. By the next day I was totally fine although tired. So I would say that butt-kicking is not totally out of the question, although not during nursing! lol

However, I had a midwife and was medication free - no epidural, no meds of any kind. Doctors tend to get in there and gum up the works. Not sure what Simon would do with his 2nd delivery of all time.

~~~~~~~~
Nothing is ever so profoundly regretted as a kind act.
Robertson Davies

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 8:15 AM

LANDRY

I don't care how the movie starts, just as long as it starts. Joss is my god and whatever he decides to do is just fine with me.

Although, I do have some suggestions...and as soon as Joss gives me a call, I'll share them.

"I can't wait until the time when I can talk about my time on Firefly without crying."
~Ron Glass "Book"

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 1:58 PM

SAINT JAYNE

I'm picturing a pleasant, Mennonite colony. Happy little workers going about their lives, when enter the Reavers. Much mayhem and killing, although the Reavers still go unseen. Now that they've got our attention, they introduce our heros and tie the whole thing together.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 2:05 PM

TMURRIE

All I hope is that no one tells Joss what to do, or not do with the movie. I trust that he will give us what we want, and sometimes what we don't want. Either way, whatever he does is good, as long as it's all him and no coporate bastards! I mean......ya i mean bastards.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 5:32 PM

WYDRAZ

Frankly, I wouldn't dare imagine much of what the movie will be like. That's Joss's territory, and I'm sure I'll like whatever he decides to do with it.

That said, the very first scene should be of Serenity! That's going to be the name of the movie, after all.

I'd personally like to see her fly into a system with two suns, putting to rest weather or not ships in the Firefly universe actually travel between stars. HOW can be left a mystery, if Joss likes. But since some fans believe the Firefly universe is mighty small, and others don't, I'd like to see the answer to this.

Binary systems are quite common, after all.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 6:45 PM

JASONZZZ

A Butt-nekid 3-way with Zoe, Inara, and Kaylee would get my interest right up front...

oh wait, did I say that out loud?

Like Fireflyfans.net?
Haken needs a new development system. Donate.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=5&t=3283

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 7:01 PM

BEATLE

It should be Mal kicking someone into an engine turbine.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 1:10 AM

DEANNAMAY

I see the Reavers attacking a community, and a small boy running away. Death and destruction, and all that, I could even see Mal finding perhaps Inara dead, then Mal wakes up.

They have him go up to the bridge with Wash telling them they will be ready to leave whenever everyone gets back. They are also picking Inara up. Cue the exotic space port with fancy dressed people.

They then have Simon, River and Kaylee come back from a little outing, River being much calmer, but still a little skewed. Jayne comes back from picking up some supplies along with Zoe. Book had his own little secret meeting.

Then we see the blue hands down on the planet as the ship takes off. We see Mal's relief as all his people are in place, and he's in the sky again.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 1:43 AM

HORRID

my reckoning is it would open on an old man preferrably black sitting in an old wooden chair on the veranda of a store on the main street of a dusty old town playing a beat up guitar singing a blues version of the firefly theme, then Mal will come flying through the window behind him holding a bag from some heist he's pulling, Jayne and Zoe will come out walking backwards shooting guns at their pursuers. the serenity will land in the middle of the street, They will get in and the serenity will fly away, then we'll get alot of quick expositional dialogue about who everyone is out of the way for the rest of the movie

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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 3:41 AM

CHRISTHECYNIC

I’ve been away a bit, do we know anything about the plot of the movie? Assuming we don’t:

I would like to see something with River for the opening, then have it cut to ha heist that introduces the characters. That way it could set up some interactions with the blue hands.

I’d like the whole movie to be about that, you know (or maybe you don’t) a heist that gets messed up by their involvement to start, then learning more about River’s past, and Book too, in the process. Maybe have it be like Ariel where they break in somewhere specifically to help River.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 8:49 AM

SOJOURNER

I seem to have a knack for coming in on threads when it's too late to be relevant, but here are my thoughts anyway:

Though I love the thoery that Mal's boyhood home was wiped out by reavers leaving him as the sole survior, I don't think that was the way of it.
Joss has said that he wanted us to see mal as a man of hope and faith in the beginning of the pilot. I think something like that would have certainly destroyed his hope and his faith long before the war. I admit though that I don't have a theory of my own,

so take it for what you will.

as far as the openning scene, I just want to see serenity.

--Bryan

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