Valkyrie to Cabin to Serenity II: A New Hope??? by Penthos

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Valkyrie to Cabin to Serenity II: A New Hope???

POSTED BY: PENTHOS
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 23:58
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Thursday, January 8, 2009 5:44 AM

Okay, I was NOT planning on going to see the movie Valkyrie. Atleast, not until I read this article and started thinking about the Mary Parent-Tom Cruise-Joss "Cabin In the Woods" connection and the danger to "Cabin in the Woods" by NOT seeing Valkyrie.(Please read the following article before continuing on with this post):

http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/joss-whedon-is-now-working-with-tom-cruis
e-horrors-yes.php

From what I gather, basically United Artitists is only going to be able to make "Cabin In The Woods", if they make enough money back on Valkyrie to stay in business (around $150,000,000 or UA might be RIP).

So here's what I propose we (the Whedon Army, aka Browncoats) do: first, go see Valkyrie. Then, if you can, scan the Ticket stubs and email the studio stating that in order to support the studio that supports Joss you went to see Valkyrie. In the same email, let them know that you intend to see "Cabin in the woods" when it comes out. And finally, let them know that if there is any way possible we would like UA to get ahold of the rights to Serenity and make that Sequel. Pledge to see it in the theater at least 3 times as well as purchase the DVDs etc...

If the Whedon Army can show enough muscle to help UA over the hump with Valkyrie and then strongly support Cabin in the woods, they might just believe that continuing Serenity would be a profitable venture.

Thoughts? Does this seam like a reasonable plan? I know its a long shot, but what else do we have?

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Zoe: Don't think its a good spot sir, she still has the advantage over us.
Mal: Everyone always does; that's what makes us special.

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Thursday, January 8, 2009 9:01 AM

STAPLES

Not a terrible idea, but studios don't just pass around the rights to films (unless it's for Watchmen...), so I find it highly unlikely that UA will get the rights to a Serenity sequel.

What I think (and hope) will happen is this: If Frank Miller's "Buck Rogers" film goes on as planned (by him) he will cast Nathan Fillion in the title role, and Morena Baccarin as his love interest (he actually said this - I don't have a link to the article, but he did). If they are in a successful Frank Miller film, and Joss's "Dollhouse" and/or "Cabin in the Woods" is successful, then Universal will have three bankable names, and we will have a sequel.

Joss has a bunch on his plate, and I personally don't think he wants to jump into a sequel right away if there's a large probablility it will fail to make money. I think when he is ready, he will push for it, until then, I wait. Just remember - X Files just came out with their movie sequel about six months ago (years and years after the first film) - so don't give up hope - just be patient.

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Thursday, January 8, 2009 9:28 AM

PENTHOS

Quote:
Originally posted by Staples:
Not a terrible idea, but studios don't just pass around the rights to films (unless it's for Watchmen...), so I find it highly unlikely that UA will get the rights to a Serenity sequel.

What I think (and hope) will happen is this: If Frank Miller's "Buck Rogers" film goes on as planned (by him) he will cast Nathan Fillion in the title role, and Morena Baccarin as his love interest (he actually said this - I don't have a link to the article, but he did). If they are in a successful Frank Miller film, and Joss's "Dollhouse" and/or "Cabin in the Woods" is successful, then Universal will have three bankable names, and we will have a sequel.

Joss has a bunch on his plate, and I personally don't think he wants to jump into a sequel right away if there's a large probablility it will fail to make money. I think when he is ready, he will push for it, until then, I wait. Just remember - X Files just came out with their movie sequel about six months ago (years and years after the first film) - so don't give up hope - just be patient.

Granted, aquiring rights to a film from another studio is not something that can be taken for granted, however, its not unprecedented. Nor is it unusual (anymore) for multiple studios to split production costs...

I guess the biggest point here is that if UA goes under then "Cabin in the Woods" MAY not get made. I will go see a movie I wasn't planning on seeing just to help make sure that a Joss movie gets made... And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way... So if lots of us Browncoats go see Valkyrie JUST to help make sure "Cabin" has a chance to get made, we might as well let them know that's why we are doing it.

Also, I think that considering Joss's professed love for the Firefly world that if he was offered the opportunity to continue it on the big screen, he would do whatever he could to make it happen regardless of his schedule.

As for the Buck Rogers angle, hell ya, I'm all for that as well. I hadn't heard about that, if you could dig up a link to Frank Millers comments about hiring Fillion and Baccarin I would love to read it.

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Zoe: Don't think its a good spot sir, she still has the advantage over us.
Mal: Everyone always does; that's what makes us special.

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Sunday, January 11, 2009 9:09 PM

MOOSE

Quote:
Originally posted by Penthos:

As for the Buck Rogers angle, hell ya, I'm all for that as well. I hadn't heard about that, if you could dig up a link to Frank Millers comments about hiring Fillion and Baccarin I would love to read it.

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2008/10/26/frank-miller-going-to-
space-with-buck-rogers.html

From the article:

"If only Gil Gerard had really fallen into a coma back in the late 70s after being exposed to some kind of gas, then we could resuscitate him now. That'd be killer. Obviously, my mind turns immediately to Bruce Campbell or Nathan Fillion. I doubt Fillion would want to get into another spaceship at this point, but you never know.

"As for the women, you have some flexibility. The budget restraints mean some of the big names are out of the question, but since I just mentioned Nathan Fillion, what about his Slither co-star, the lovely Elizabeth Banks as Col. Wilma Deering and for the hell of it, Fillion's Firefly filly Morena Baccarin as Ardala?"

Nathan, Elizabeth, AND Morena?
Yeah, I would see that...

ETA: Upon reading the original article, I think it's the blogger's opinion and not Frank Miller's.

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2008/5/11/buck-rogers-in-the-21st
-century.html

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Monday, January 12, 2009 3:08 AM

BIGRICHARD

definitely looks like it was the bloggers opinion, unfortunately. And anyway, after the apparent disaster that is The Spirit (it hasn't come out in Aust. yet), Miller might not be making any more films by himself, he might have to get to work on Sin City 2 with Robert Rodriguez.

As for Valkyrie, I was going to see it anyway, but let me know how the emailing thing goes and I'll join in. No harm in trying to help Joss!

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Monday, January 12, 2009 11:25 AM

PENTHOS

Alright! Finally some support, I was starting to think Browncoats had lost their fight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zoe: Don't think its a good spot sir, she still has the advantage over us.
Mal: Everyone always does; that's what makes us special.

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Monday, January 12, 2009 12:12 PM

BADGERSVERYFINEHAT

Valkyrie's gettin a decent write-up in the press over here (UK) so this might have the beginnings of a plan. Count me in if we can develop it any further.

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Monday, January 12, 2009 12:48 PM

STAPLES

Whoops! I'm really sorry about the false info! I was under the impression Miller said it. I would love to see Sin City 2, but I would much rather see Nathan and Morena in a big budget film together...I guess it's back down to just wishful thinking at this point...

I would see Valkyrie, but will not for two reasons - 1: I have no money, and can barely pay my rent. and 2: I will not watch any new Tom Cruise movie. I'm sorry - you all should go see it, but my one little ticket stub won't have much impact.

Everyone should do this - it's a good idea, but just don't count me in for it...

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Monday, January 12, 2009 1:40 PM

BIGRICHARD

The money issue is fair enough.

But never miss a film because of one actor.
And never say things like "my one little stub won't matter".

Imagine if Tom Cruise was (for some reason) in Serenity 2. Would you not go and see it? Actors that you usually dislike can surprise you, or, alternatively, can be worth putting up with to see the rest of the film.
I know people who didn't see Fight Club, Seven or Benjamin Button for a long time, simply because they didn't like Brad Pitt. Some I've managed to convince, and they've ended up loving those films, others are still missing out.

And "my one little stub". If everyone thinks of themselves as the individual and doesn't do it because "one little stub won't matter" then we have no campaign. We have nothing.

But yes, do pay your rent first! I'm fairly sure Valkyrie isn't worth living in a box!

And hey, don't worry about the info, I read it exactly the same way you did about 2 months ago or whenever it first came out, and it was only looking at it again that I realised.
Here's hoping the big budget film that Nathan and Morena are in is Serenity 2!

EDIT:
Speaking of Sin City 2, this was just posted over at JoBlo.com...

Jamie King told our own JimmyO in an interview to be published later this week:

"[SIN CITY 2] is gonna be really awesome and I already know that Frank is writing a third one. He's finished the script… he came to the premiere, he was so sweet, I said, 'You have to promise me to come to my premiere.' He stayed in town to come… he's like one of my best friends. He's like my brother, we became really close on SIN CITY. So yeah, he finished the script and now we're working on… because it's at the Weinstein Company, we're just working things out with the studio. "

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Monday, January 12, 2009 3:31 PM

VETERAN

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Reminds me of the "old days" when we were filling out postcards to Fux.

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Monday, January 12, 2009 10:58 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan for a while now, but i did enjoy Valkyrie. Usually enjoy Bernard Hill films, even Titanic except for that annoying leonardo guy. Plus Terrence Stamp,
Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branaugh, Tom Wilkinson, I enjoyed the cast. Plus I enjoy real history, so much better than that Titanic fallacy.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 11:58 PM

SHINYGOODGUY

This is probably the best idea I heard yet, because it has direct impact - remember money talks......you know the rest - the studios make movies not to entertain so much as to make money.

I just saw a trailer for, ugh, the Pink Panther 2.
Don't get me wrong, I love Steve Martin, but not as Inspector Clouseau. For me there is only one - Peter Sellers.

Pink Panther (2006) Budget: 80 Million (What?)
It made $82.2M in the States and $76.6M Foreign.
All told: $158.9M Worldwide (Go Figure?!, SGG)
PP closed after 9.4 Weeks in theatres.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes gave it 25% Rating

"Without a whit of subtlety, this tired retread induces nary a laugh, only groans of disbelief that we're expected to find such a sorry string of dumb puns, infantile farts, awful accents and endless pratfalls funny." Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine, 2007. This was pretty much the consensus of the reviewers on RT. 7 out of 20 reviewers put a positive spin on this movie.

What PP had going for it was some big names: Martin, Beyonce just to name two. But that was about it. And now we have the release of Number 2 coming soon (2/6/09). Is it fair that we get another lame attempt at capturing the comic genius of Sellers and Blake Edwards, and we can't get our beloved heroes back? No, it's not. But the bottom line (see PP numbers above) is that these days it pays to have a big name attached to your project. That, in turn, attracts the big crowds, the casual moviegoer that then becomes hooked once they see how great our heroes are.
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Here are Serenity's numbers.

Budget: $39M
Domestic take: $25.5M
Foreign take: $13.4M
Worldwide gross: $38.8M
Opened: 9/30/05
Closed: 11/17/05
In theatres: 6.2 weeks

Domestically Serenity made about $4.1M/wk
Worldwide it made about $2.2M/wk
A combined $6.3M a week worldwide, by contrast PP made $16.9 a week worldwide.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%

Consensus: Snappy dialogue and goofy characters make this Wild Wild West soap opera in space fun and adventurous.
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BTW here are Valkyrie's numbers, so far:

Budget: $75M
Domestic take: $72.6M
Foreign take: $404 Thousand (WTF?! 99.4% of Valkyrie's gross is in the US in 2.9 weeks)
Released: 12/25/08

It doesn't look good for Tom so far. Let's see if it has "legs."

In the just curious department: Marley & Me is kicking major butt. In the same time in theatres as Valkyrie it has made $125M domestically, and, get this, $9M foreign. Can you believe it?
Get ready for Marley & Me 2.
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Okay, what does this mean for our heroes? Let us pray. Seriously, I think it's a good idea (supporting Joss by going in droves to the box office) but Tom is getting his ass handed to him by a puppy. Doesn't look good folks. The numbers don't lie. But, who knows, maybe Tom and UA will
pull off some miracle and things will turn around.
(To be fair Marley was released in 3,500 theatres and Valkyrie in 2,900 theatres).

"Thats why we lost the war, superior numbers."
Mal

SGG out.

Tawabawho?

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