GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

To many screenings?

POSTED BY: DAWNSISTER
UPDATED: Monday, May 30, 2005 09:12
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Sunday, May 29, 2005 7:06 AM

DAWNSISTER


Is anyone getting worried about the number of screenings? I am very worried that this gift to fans is going to backfire tremendously for US and Universal. If they keep running screenings they're going to sabotage the films actually opening in Sept! Working in a dvd dept my coworkers (not FF fans) and I have all noticed an increase in sales and talk on the floor among customers about the series! PPl who have never seen the show are coming in looking for it. Isn't this where we want them to start? I would like to see some publicity built up for the series coming back to sci-fi, let the word get out to as many as possible so they can get the backstory. We need the build up of "Want" from new viewers for the movie in Sept. Let that happen!! If ppl want something, they will get it, let them get it opening weekend in Sept! Right now I see some possible things that could go wrong: the more screenings, the more of a chance of a copy of the film leaking out online. If everyone can get to see it now, ppl are less likely to go opening weekend, what would be the rush! Also casual viewers may possibly see it now and not bother later to ever go to the theatre. Also those casual viewers get it online and again never bother with the theatre. Finally, a couple not-so-good reviews are cropping up online from admitted NonJoss fans, lets limit those so other ppl who haven't seen Joss's work before don't go in with a notion of it from these reviews or give them the opportunity to decide to pass up the movie altogether.


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Sunday, May 29, 2005 7:53 AM

KNIBBLET


What's a ppl?

Overwhelming numbers of positive reviews will outweigh the few bad reviews that will pop up.

The previews are limited to small theatres and it's not like the movie is being run every day, everywhere.

You're noticing "Serenity" because you're a fan. You never notice that most movies have these screenings. I've been to several over the years - none that I was looking for before "Serenity".

Relax and stop worrying.

"I'm gonna rip you a new puppet hole, bitch!"

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 9:38 AM

BIKISDAD


I'd have to agree with Knibblet on this one. Probably something like 99.95% of the people going to these early screenings are hard-core fans who will definitely see the movie again in September. So the screenings aren't a problem.

Getting other people interested is the problem. Getting them to either watch the dvds or the series, when it airs on Sci-fi, is a good strategy for winning more fans over.

Just remember, some people are convertibles (open-minded people, willing to try new things); and some people are hard-tops (closed-minded clods who won't go see "Serenity" until the third sequel is a huge hit). When you're trying to convert people to Firefly, just ignore the hard-tops and concentrate on the convertibles. Your time will be much better spent and you'll feel a lot better about your efforts.

Apthy on the Rise. No One Cares.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 10:51 AM

LITWOLF689


I think we have had a perfect number of screenings and now it should stop. The screenings have given a small number of fans a view of the movie and now they can spread the word even more. They will put more effort into converting non-fans. I think it was a perfect number but no more now.

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FREAKIN' SHOW! I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damnit." ~Joss

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 10:59 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


Quote:

Originally posted by Litwolf689:
I think we have had a perfect number of screenings and now it should stop.


No, there needs to be at least one more so I can see it again sooner rather than later.




wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 11:19 AM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES


Quote:

Originally posted by dawnsister:
the more of a chance of a copy of the film leaking out online.

Finally, a couple not-so-good reviews are cropping up online from admitted NonJoss fans, lets limit those so other ppl who haven't seen Joss's work before don't go in with a notion of it from these reviews or give them the opportunity to decide to pass up the movie altogether.



1) Star Wars was all over the net within a week - its the nature of the beast. It hurts films, but that's a universal across the board.

2) If the film is going to get bad reviews (and it is - let's not be blind to the fact that not everyone is going to like our BDM), its going to get bad reviews. Put it this way, the balance appears to be largely in favour from what I can see (avoiding the content of the reviews entirely) - this isn't a Batman and Robin situation. (edit) Which incidentally was on TV this weekend and was as bad as I recalled. Worse maybe.

Online preview reviews are unlikely to really make a huge difference unless they are sooo overwhelmingly bad; its the reviews in the mainstream press in the week or so before that will be crucial.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 11:27 AM

RDHDWLDFLWR


I wish I hadn't seen the advance screening. I am a hard core Firefly fan but not a big Serenity fan.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 12:38 PM

MYSWORD


Most movies are rarely like the tv show or video game they are based off of. All i can say is, it didnt suck like the other attempts as tv/games made movie. (Why Resident Evil...why? )Let's just relax, got some months to spread word.There are millions of fans versus millions are ppl who don't even know.

Later Days

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 1:09 PM

SERGEANTX


Quote:

Originally posted by rdhdwldflwr:
I wish I hadn't seen the advance screening. I am a hard core Firefly fan but not a big Serenity fan.



Care to say why? Without spoilage that is.. Just curious if it was plot related, or changes in style.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 2:11 PM

RDHDWLDFLWR


Sort of plot. "Buffy in Space" "River the Slayer" and a couple of big changes I didn't like. It was very action packed and fast paced which I liked but missed the little moments we had on the series. As others have said, the non viewers will miss what makes the characters who they are and who "we" know.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 2:32 PM

SERGEANTX


The 'Buffy in Space' angle is what I've been concerned about myself, but I haven't seen the movie yet. The fast-paced, cartoonish action of 'Buffy' was the biggest reason it never hit home for me the way Firefly did. I've often thought that 'Buffy in Space' is what Fux thought they were getting with Firefly.

I'm sure hoping you're wrong about this one, but I'm suspecting I might agree with you.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 4:26 PM

KAZE


Personally i don't see the Buffy in Space thing. Well maybe in one very brief part. As far as River's fighting ability though i saw that coming since the pilot of the series. I do see that there were less of the little moments but i honestly think that if there were any more of them it would start looking a lot more like a long episode of the tv show instead of a movie. I and many other fans would have enjoyed that but i think someone who had never seen Firefly may not have. I think it's great as is. People who never heard of Firefly or even people who hated Firefly may see Serenity and love it. Then they'll want to see the backstory and all. I do think they should alter that one very Buffyish moment though but to me i think the actual fighting type stuff is fine. I do understand why some people may see it differently though.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 5:56 PM

SERGEANTX


Good to hear Kaze!

Thanks for the info.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 6:06 PM

3HEADEDMONKEY


im kinda happy but also worried about all the prescreenings. alot of firefly fans went to the screenings and didnt like the movie. what if they end up not watching the movie in september? it'd hurt the sales.

good thing these people are a minority....i think....

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 6:10 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Too many screenings is right. I love the idea that 10, 20 cities got to see an early version of the BDM, but more screenings only increases the opportunity for pirated copies. I know most of us wouldn't want that to happen, but it only takes 1 willing enough to make a few extra $$'s from selling early copies.

I'd like to hear their rationale at 'Versal on this one.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 6:37 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.


Someone over on the 'Versal board proposed what I consider a very plausible reason for all the pre-screenings. Unfortunately, it would involve spoilers trying to explain it to you.




wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005 8:57 PM

JASONZZZ



Screenings are done all over the place all the time. It's not a favor to you - although you do benefit. But it lets the marketing types gauge how exactly to market it, how to cut the trailers to bring in their target audience, how to promote it, etc. Yeah, most of the deals and promotions are prolly set in place, but it lets them tweak things to make sure it works. Or maybe it's high time to shelf it and cut their losses - straight to DVD types. It also lets the movie guys gauge whether they still need some tweaking here and there to get the story to be understood correctly, to get the right reaction from the audience.

If you hang out at the theatre at the right times standing in the right line, a lot of times they give out tickets to these special screenings. Sometimes screenings are also announced on college campuses as well.





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Sunday, May 29, 2005 10:37 PM

JAYSEDAI


These last two Serenity screenings were for the fans and not for marketing decision makers. Those screenings were done a long time ago. Joss and Chris have both stated that these screenings are nothing more than a big thank you to the fans for all they have done.

Also, all of this worrying is over nothing, these screening will only do good, buzz is always good. I think they should keep doing one set a month until release. Maybe more. And don't worry about piracy, Universal was being VERY careful, they patted everybody down, and they had infrared sensors running the whole time.

And if by some chance the movie does get leaked, it will only help the show, because it will only help create buzz. Trust me. Don't believe me? Read "Piracy is Good?":
http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html

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Monday, May 30, 2005 4:33 AM

SHINYSEVEN


It seems pointless to repeat the screenings in the same cities--it only creates bad feelings for those who don't live there and aren't willing to drive for hours and/or invest in a hotel room to see a screening.

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Monday, May 30, 2005 5:57 AM

JASONZZZ



Yeah well, they tweak the film until the 2 weeks before actual print and show date. It is for the fans' thank-yous as much as gauging the audience. It's a business at the end of it no matter what is said.

Film piracy - more films are pirated at the duplication sites and in-house then actually at the theatres nowadays. The 15 and 17 year old gestapos with their night-vision gear in there are laughable. The movie and music people just don't get it.

Quote:

Originally posted by jaysedai:
These last two Serenity screenings were for the fans and not for marketing decision makers. Those screenings were done a long time ago. Joss and Chris have both stated that these screenings are nothing more than a big thank you to the fans for all they have done.

Also, all of this worrying is over nothing, these screening will only do good, buzz is always good. I think they should keep doing one set a month until release. Maybe more. And don't worry about piracy, Universal was being VERY careful, they patted everybody down, and they had infrared sensors running the whole time.

And if by some chance the movie does get leaked, it will only help the show, because it will only help create buzz. Trust me. Don't believe me? Read "Piracy is Good?":
http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html]



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Monday, May 30, 2005 6:19 AM

KBACHELDER


I when to the 5/26 screening and have been talking to friends about it ever since! If there are more screenings many have asked me to get them tickets! This is a great way to increase the Browncoats who will talk up the actual premiere to more casual moviegoers.

Kevin

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Monday, May 30, 2005 7:10 AM

SUBGUY


Quote:

Online preview reviews are unlikely to really make a huge difference unless they are sooo overwhelmingly bad; its the reviews in the mainstream press in the week or so before that will be crucial.


So far the only real reviews I have read were in the Boston Herald the day after the first pre-screening on 5/05, which gave the movie a GLOWING review, and Entertainment Weekly, which put Serenity in the #2 spot of the top 10 movies to see in 2005. I think this bodes well!

Captain pete

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Monday, May 30, 2005 7:17 AM

SUBGUY


Quote:

Originally posted by Kaze:
Personally i don't see the Buffy in Space thing. Well maybe in one very brief part. As far as River's fighting ability though i saw that coming since the pilot of the series. I do see that there were less of the little moments but i honestly think that if there were any more of them it would start looking a lot more like a long episode of the tv show instead of a movie. I and many other fans would have enjoyed that but i think someone who had never seen Firefly may not have. I think it's great as is. People who never heard of Firefly or even people who hated Firefly may see Serenity and love it. Then they'll want to see the backstory and all. I do think they should alter that one very Buffyish moment though but to me i think the actual fighting type stuff is fine. I do understand why some people may see it differently though.



One thing to keep in mind is Joss had a plan for his series and the characters in it long before Fox pulled the rug out from under him. There were character arcs that were supposed to come out over time. Cancelling the show cut off any chance to play out those arcs. But Universal granted Joss another chance to go where he was planning, and since there was no guarentee (sp?) there would be anything beyond this movie, I think he tried to reach the end point on some of his arcs while he could while also treating fans to some of the plot developments/scenes/images they hoped and prayed for since early 2002. Keep in mind what Joss told us in his intro before the movie. "This movie should not exist!"

Keep in mind, some time has passed in the 'verse since "Objects in Space." Not a lot, only 6 months, but people can change somewhat in that short amount of time, which might have been the intentions when this movie was made.

Captain Pete

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Monday, May 30, 2005 9:12 AM

MYSWORD


Agreed (to the above).

I don't feel like quoting all of that.

Later Days

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