WE ARE BROWNCOATS!

Why Serenity II is not being made.

POSTED BY: TECHTREKKER
UPDATED: Saturday, March 23, 2013 02:08
SHORT URL: http://goo.gl/XoNEt
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Monday, January 31, 2011 4:09 PM

TECHTREKKER

My days of takin ya seriously are certainly comin to a middle


For the longest time, I've wondered why in the verse Fox or Universal has not done a sequel, even one to DVD when obviously there is a hard core fan base out there globally. As Jayne said: "It just doesn't make any sense."

This article that I found on Io9 answers some of my questions:

http://io9.com/5747305/how-much-money-does-a-movie-need-to-make-to-be-
profitable?skyline=true&s=i


To paraphrase Mal at the end of the same episode... "It ain't about what we want it's about what they want:" And that is a sure thing to make money.

If a sequel was made for let's say 50 million dollars, that means, according to this article, the movie would have to make at roughly twice as much in box office and DVD sales to just make their money back.

With that daunting number out there in front, will Serenity II ever be made? Will there ever be a producer that is steely enough to take that chance again?

Thoughts?


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Monday, January 31, 2011 4:35 PM

STORYMARK


Yep. I got yelled at for trying to explain some of this stuff to people back then....

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Monday, January 31, 2011 6:16 PM

TECHTREKKER

My days of takin ya seriously are certainly comin to a middle


I personally would like be optimistic and say YES. It will eventually be made. Just hope it is in my life time.

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Monday, January 31, 2011 7:16 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


Well, I know people won't approve of this but ... I don't think that I, personally, want to see a sequel. I didn't like the BDM, so a BDM2 just doesn't appeal to me. I know that many others like it so this article is disappointing to them. I guess its just a matter of opinion, I'd never say people are wrong for liking it and wanting another, I just don't fancy it.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Monday, January 31, 2011 11:09 PM

SULIEN


*sigh* Why is it that no sci-fi fans ever win the Mega Millions lottery jackpot? I'd bankroll Serenity II if I hit it big, that's for certain. Come to think of it, it's a pity Bill Gates isn't a Browncoat. :-/

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 5:34 AM

ZEEK


I really wonder about a made for TV movie or mini-series. It seems like a good percentage of nerdy internet folks are at least casual fans of Firefly. I'd think just the announcement alone would set the internet on fire for a few weeks. The non-fans would have to wonder what it is everyone is suddenly so excited for. That should boost DVD sales and the movie or mini-series would be an event with a lot of buzz around it. I'd think that would be worth it. Maybe our fanbase isn't strong enough for an ongoing series, but I'd bet that most fans would tune in for a one night or one week event.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 6:27 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
I really wonder about a made for TV movie or mini-series.

I agree with you about a TV movie. SyFy Network has done two original movies with Firefly actors: Mothman with Jewel Staite and Sands of Oblivion with Morena Baccarin and Adam Baldwin. Both Mothman and Sands of Oblivion received a measly 3.6 stars out of a possible 10. www.imdb.com/title/tt1514425/ www.imdb.com/title/tt0977663/

The problem with the movies wasn't low budget, although more money wouldn't have hurt. It was terrible scripts. With an adequate FIREFLY script, SyFy could broadcast a 7 star movie. In their other writing projects, the writers for these two movies (Sonny Lee, Patrick Walsh, Jeff Coatney, Kevin VanHook) have done some truly undistinguished work. If only Joss Whedon would go slumming and write Serenity 1½ for SyFy. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 7:40 AM

STORYMARK


Syfy spends less on those movies than an individual episode of Firefly cost nearly a decade ago. Even a TV movie would require a bigger budget than that.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 8:07 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT


sooner or later, a studio exec with no creative impulse of his own and a hole to fill in his schedule will stumble across Firefly and its fan base and greenlight something. Considering how long it's already been, it'll probably be later. All we can do is hope it'll be good enough to strike gold...

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 8:18 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Syfy spends less on those movies than an individual episode of Firefly cost nearly a decade ago. Even a TV movie would require a bigger budget than that.

Summer Glau did Deadly Honeymoon, a TV movie with a $1,000,000 budget. It got 5.6 stars out of 10 - www.imdb.com/title/tt1526585/ It had half the budget of a typical SyFy movie but a superior script. So . . . if we can't have Serenity 1½ on SyFy with a script by Joss Whedon, then maybe we can have Serenity ¼ with a script by Zack Whedon for a www.myLifetime.com movie. Small can be beautiful.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 8:54 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by two:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Syfy spends less on those movies than an individual episode of Firefly cost nearly a decade ago. Even a TV movie would require a bigger budget than that.

Summer Glau did Deadly Honeymoon, a TV movie with a $1,000,000 budget. It got 5.6 stars out of 10 - www.imdb.com/title/tt1526585/ It had half the budget of a typical SyFy movie but a superior script. So . . . if we can't have Serenity 1½ on SyFy with a script by Joss Whedon, then maybe we can have Serenity ¼ with a script by Zack Whedon for a www.myLifetime.com movie. Small can be beautiful.




.....*sigh*

Unless you want them to recast the crew and built the ship out of cardboard It. Will. Cost. More.

Period.

Having a great script doesn't make the other stuff cheaper. Comparisons to small films, with simple sets and a small cast are retarded - they're not the same, even if it featured Summer.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 9:08 AM

ZEEK


Well we've already dropped two major cast members. So, that should cut casting costs a bit. They could do a movie that is just all shot planet side with no scenes on the ship. It would be a little sad not to see it, but I'd be ok with it for one movie.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:00 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
Well we've already dropped two major cast members. So, that should cut casting costs a bit. They could do a movie that is just all shot planet side with no scenes on the ship. It would be a little sad not to see it, but I'd be ok with it for one movie.



Sure, but that still leaves 7 main cast members. Say you pay them each 100 grand (probably a reasonable rate for some of them, well below what others are used to) 3/4 of a million right there. You still have to pay the license fee (as Syfy doesn't own the property), cover pre-productions (designs, storyboards, pay the writer, etc) pay the crew, insure the production, rent locations or sets, transport everyone, feed everyone, rent or buy costumes and props, then there's post production, music, FX and so forth.

Half the crew, sitting in their knickers in a sand wash talking for 90 minutes would cost a million. Just the way it is.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:01 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
.....*sigh*

Unless you want them to recast the crew and built the ship out of cardboard. It. Will. Cost. More. Period.

Having a great script doesn't make the other stuff cheaper. Comparisons to small films, with simple sets and a small cast are retarded - they're not the same, even if it featured Summer.

You're thinking too big. A Serenity movie could be done without building a Firefly set. Start with the zero budget R. Tam Sessions, where River murders a doctor at the Alliance institute. That could be the opening for the movie. Add a legless ex-soldier with prosthetic legs (call her Sarge, an otherwise unnamed original character) who covers up the murder. You didn't expect Dr. Mathias to do his own dirty work? Stealing directly from Avatar, Dr. Mathias is promising Sarge new legs for her cooperation with his evil plans. Every movie needs two villains.

Sarge will eventually: recapture River when she later escapes the institution on her own, teach River to fight, choose the safe words in Russian that make River sleep, and, finally, be the pilot who lifts Simon and River out of the secret Alliance facility. The plot is how River causes Sarge to sympathize with River's plight. Every movie needs a character arc. Sarge is that character.

Almost forgot, River does her mind reading act before members of Parliament. They are feeling weird after hearing what she says.

In the epilogue, Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee, Inara get their one minute long cameo appearance in the shipyard. It is Sarge who is flying the salvage ship that is carrying the damaged Serenity. The movie's entire computer graphics budget is spent on this scene and the one where Sarge pulls up her pant leg to show her cybernetic legs.

Most everything in this movie happens underground in the secret Alliance facility or at some low rent bars where Sarge meets Simon to plot the escape. Very simple and cheap sets. And that's how you think about an ultra low budget sequel to Serenity.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:09 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by two:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
.....*sigh*

Unless you want them to recast the crew and built the ship out of cardboard. It. Will. Cost. More.

Period.

Having a great script doesn't make the other stuff cheaper. Comparisons to small films, with simple sets and a small cast are retarded - they're not the same, even if it featured Summer.

You're thinking too big. A Serenity movie could be done without building a Firefly set. Start with the zero budget R. Tam Sessions, where River murders a doctor at the Alliance institute. That could be the opening for the movie. Add a legless ex-soldier with prosthetic legs (call her Sarge, an otherwise unnamed original character) who covers up the murder. You didn't expect Dr. Mathias to do his own dirty work? Stealing directly from Avatar, Dr. Mathias is promising Sarge new legs for her cooperation with his evil plans. Every movie needs two villains.

Sarge will eventually: recapture River when she later escapes the institution on her own, teach River to fight, choose the safe words in Russian that make River sleep, and, finally, be the pilot who lifts Simon and River out of the secret Alliance facility. The plot is how River causes Sarge to sympathize with River's plight. Every movie needs a character arc. Sarge is that character.

In the epilogue, Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee, Inara get their one minute long cameo appearance in the shipyard. It is Sarge who is flying the salvage ship that is carrying the damaged Serenity. The movie's entire computer graphics budget is spent on this scene and the one where Sarge pulls up her pant leg to show her cybernetic legs.

Most everything in this movie happens underground in the secret Alliance facility or at some low rent bars where Sarge meets Simon to plot the escape. Very simple and cheap sets. And that's how you think about an ultra low budget sequel to Serenity.



Yeah, lets do a lame story on a nothing budget ensuring it'll look like crap. That'll go a long way to saving the verse.

Having a different ship still... you know.... requires a set.

I'd rather no more, than crappy more.



"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:14 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


River could have a long scene with members of Parliament. She could become completely unhinged and scare them with her knowledge of their pettiness: marital infidelities, cheating on taxes, poisoning the neighbor's dog, something nasty for each one of them. That could be fun to watch if it is well acted. Everybody hates politicians.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:26 AM

STORYMARK


And would parlaiment be set in a bar, too? Played by cardboard cutouts?

Maybe Summer's stalkers would be content with a half-assed "movie" that consists of her in a dark room rambling on about the love lives of politicians, but it sounds like utter dreck to me.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:57 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
And would parlaiment be set in a bar, too? Played by cardboard cutouts?

Retired politicians like Schwarzenegger (a Terminator actor doing a favor for Terminator actress) could play the members of the Alliance Parliament. River punches them in the face. Every one of them leaves the conference room at Universal Studios with a bloody nose. Is that enough to satisfy your need for violence? If not, then maybe some gunshots. Bullets are popular in TV movies.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:10 AM

JONGSSTRAW


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
And would parlaiment be set in a bar, too? Played by cardboard cutouts?

Maybe Summer's stalkers would be content with a half-assed "movie" that consists of her in a dark room rambling on about the love lives of politicians, but it sounds like utter dreck to me.



Start with this:



Add this:



And this:



Film it with stop-motion action using this:



Find and update an old used script:




There, I just made Serenity II for $ 112.49

Everybody wins....yeah!









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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:13 AM

ZEEK


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
I'd rather no more, than crappy more.


That's the difference I'd rather see something come out and just see what kind of response there is. I don't care if it's "a very merry Serenity Christmas" and it's just a silly christmas movie set in River's mind with the crew all playing parts in a hallmarkesque story. Just get some reason to get the cast back together and see if there is really a hidden pile of fans out there somewhere.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:14 AM

STORYMARK


I refer you to the last X-Files movie...

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:27 AM

ZEEK


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
I refer you to the last X-Files movie...


Never watched any x-files movie or tv show.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:34 AM

STORYMARK


Point being, it was a huge show, with a huge following. After taking several years off, with the main storyline left dangling, they do a movie that's a cheap, simple one-off story. The fans were pissed that it didn't advance anything, non-fans were completely disinterested, and it flopped. Essentially killing the franchise, even though next year is the year the main storyline was supposed to wrap up, and even though the stars and creator are game, and the fans want to see that story - the studio won't finance it because the cheapie flopped.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:39 AM

ZEEK


I'm fine with that. If it flops it flops. At least we get a shot and we get some more Firefly/Serenity. That's more than we've got now.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 1:19 PM

STORYMARK


I'd still rather stick with the solid run we have than get some shoddy POS the soils the whole thing. Babylon 5 The Lost Tales is also a good example. Sure, it was more - but it sucked so bad that JMS regrests doing it, no one really likes it, and it leaves a great story ending with a piece of junk.

Quality over quantity.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 1:26 PM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
I refer you to the last X-Files movie... Point being, it was a huge show, with a huge following. After taking several years off, with the main storyline left dangling, they do a movie that's a cheap, simple one-off story. The fans were pissed that it didn't advance anything, non-fans were completely disinterested, and it flopped. Essentially killing the franchise, even though next year is the year the main storyline was supposed to wrap up, and even though the stars and creator are game, and the fans want to see that story - the studio won't finance it because the cheapie flopped.

The X-Files Movie about the psychic pedophile priest was the wrong example to prove your point about cheapness killing a franchise. It cost $30,000,000 to make. Two word explanation for its failure: pedophile priest. All the blame is on Chris Carter's script and direction. What studio will finance more of his movies? His following movie, self-financed, was the semi-autobiographical Fencewalker, which hasn't been released almost two years after filming was completed. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencewalker

“Scully and Mulder are brought together again when a special case requires Mulder's expertise, and Scully is prevailed upon to find him. The case involves a pedophile priest who claims he is having psychic visions regarding the whereabouts of a missing FBI agent.” - www.imdb.com/title/tt1251753/

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 2:29 PM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by two:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
I refer you to the last X-Files movie... Point being, it was a huge show, with a huge following. After taking several years off, with the main storyline left dangling, they do a movie that's a cheap, simple one-off story. The fans were pissed that it didn't advance anything, non-fans were completely disinterested, and it flopped. Essentially killing the franchise, even though next year is the year the main storyline was supposed to wrap up, and even though the stars and creator are game, and the fans want to see that story - the studio won't finance it because the cheapie flopped.

The X-Files Movie about the psychic pedophile priest was the wrong example to prove your point about cheapness killing a franchise. It cost $30,000,000 to make. Two word explanation for its failure: pedophile priest. All the blame is on Chris Carter's script and direction. What studio will finance more of his movies? His following movie, self-financed, was the semi-autobiographical Fencewalker, which hasn't been released almost two years after filming was completed. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencewalker



A tepid argument at best. The pedo priest was not an element that was advertised, so the general audience was unaware of it (as most people don't look into the details of plot in advance). Besides, the show tackled uncomfortable themes plenty of times, so the core audience wouldn't have had much issue there. You're guessing, at best.

Blaming the script and direction is nonsensical, as people didn't show up to see how good or bad either were in the first place. His next film is irrelevant (and I'd point out Joss' next film has gone unreleased, as well).

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 3:56 PM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Blaming the script and direction is nonsensical, as people didn't show up to see how good or bad either were in the first place.

How do you claim the X-file script is not to blame?: Scully brings in Mulder, but detests the old priest's crimes and thinks he is a fraud. Mulder, of course, wants to believe Father Joe could help on the case. But hold on one second. Even assuming that Father Joe planted the severed arm himself, you'll have to admit it's astonishing that he can lead agents to its exact resting place in a snow-covered terrain the size of several football fields, with no landmarks. Even before he started weeping blood instead of tears, I believed him. Scully keeps right on insulting him right to his face. She wants not to believe. She is suppose to be the rational skeptic. Why did she change into a knuckle-head for this movie?

Scully is emotionally involved in the case of a young boy who will certainly die if he doesn't have a risky experimental bone marrow treatment. This case is irrelevant to the rest of the plot except that it inspires a Google search that offers a fateful clue. Apart from that, what we're faced with is a series of victims, and eventually Mulder himself, who are run off the road by a weirdo with a snowplow.

Who is doing this? And why does Father Joe keep getting psychic signals of barking dogs? And is the missing agent still alive, as he thinks she is? And won't anyone listen to Mulder, who eventually finds himself all alone in the middle of a blizzard, being run off the road, and then approaching a suspicious building complex after losing his cell phone? And how does he deal with a barking dog?

The evildoers are inept; they receive bills for medical supplies under their own names, and surely there must be more efficient ways to abduct victims and purchase animal tranquilizers. And the wrong-headedness of Scully so frustrating, and the FBI bureaucracy so stupid...

The X-file movie did badly at the boxoffice because the story stunk, not because it was made for less than US$30,000,000. The next Firefly made-for-TV movie better have a good script or else that one thing, all alone, will ruin Firefly forever.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 4:36 PM

INVADERCHAT


Well I'm with STORYMARK on this one, I'd rather have no more at all than some cheap crap spoiling what Firefly is right now. Additionally, Schwarzenegger and 'low budget' should probably not be mentioned in the same sentence, quality productions cost money and if there was going to be a Firefly ANYTHING then I would want quality.

I mean, how much did Dr. Horrible cost? Wasn't that like a quarter of a million or something without licensing, distribution and with the actors working for free?

And WTF!? Firefly without seeing Serenity? No thankyou. And that means rebuilding the sets, the startup costs of anything decent would be pretty big, not to mention actually coordinating everyone to come back to the show.

I can't think of anything worse than a poorly done, low budget piece of crap that would ultimately seal the fate of Firefly firmly in the dustbin. If it's going to be done, it needs to be done right.


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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 8:47 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


TWO, I know everyone dissed on your idea, and I think you were just kidding, but if someone wrote that story over at fanfiction.net where I read, I would actually give it a go, try it out. Whether I finished it would depend on how well its written, but I'd try it.

I think Firefly fans seek a way for the verse to go on longer. There are various ways of doing this: Playing the Serenity pretend, doing fan films like Browncoats Redemption, connecting with other browncoats either locally or online, participating in other fan projects like The Signal online, reading or writing fanfic. There are lots of ways to do it. So the verse can go on, its just a matter of finding out how to acomplish that for oneself.

I'm still not really interested in BDM2.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011 11:00 PM

VERASAMUELS


1. Check out Browncoats: Redemption. It even has some BDHs in cameos [GG]

2. Dr Horrible is a good model.

3. Even more so, 'Sanctuary'. Started out as a CGI heavy but innovative pay-per-view download from the web. Now about to enter its 3rd season on Syfy.

4. I suggest, not so much Serenity 2 as 'Tales from the 'verse'. Webisodes with one or more actors, gradually painting a picture of an event or series of events from different standpoints. Who is telling the truth? Who is hiding something? Who got the wrong end of the stick? Who holds the vital pieces of the puzzle?




Devout Keeper of Jayne's Lunchbox

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011 5:31 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by RionaEire:
TWO, I know everyone dissed on your idea, and I think you were just kidding, but if someone wrote that story over at fanfiction.net where I read, I would actually give it a go, try it out. Whether I finished it would depend on how well its written, but I'd try it.

I was serious about the Serenity story - an employee of Dr. Mathias switches loyalties, contacts Simon, and flys the helicopter that rescues River from the Alliance Institute. Because everybody hates politicians, I think it would be fun to watch River embarrassing a roomful of politicians that have come to see the psychic in action. I wanted to show 'Storymark' that a Serenity movie could be made without filming all 9 original actors for 6 weeks and without Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau spending months in fight training.

The story only needs a good script. A made-for-TV Serenity movie on a SyFy budget is too small to attract Joss Whedon to write it. That is unfortunate because SyFy would probably let a camera operator who wants to supplement his income write the hack-spectacular script, which would prove Storymark's claim that cheap movies are bad and would destroy the Firefly franchise.

I spent $25.90 for the Remastered Browncoats Redemption Remastered Deluxe Edition shipping April 2011. http://shop.browncoatsmovie.com/ That is my contribition to supporting small films.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011 7:39 AM

ZEEK


Quote:

Originally posted by InvaderChat:
Well I'm with STORYMARK on this one, I'd rather have no more at all than some cheap crap spoiling what Firefly is right now. Additionally, Schwarzenegger and 'low budget' should probably not be mentioned in the same sentence, quality productions cost money and if there was going to be a Firefly ANYTHING then I would want quality.

I mean, how much did Dr. Horrible cost? Wasn't that like a quarter of a million or something without licensing, distribution and with the actors working for free?

And WTF!? Firefly without seeing Serenity? No thankyou. And that means rebuilding the sets, the startup costs of anything decent would be pretty big, not to mention actually coordinating everyone to come back to the show.

I can't think of anything worse than a poorly done, low budget piece of crap that would ultimately seal the fate of Firefly firmly in the dustbin. If it's going to be done, it needs to be done right.



Why would it have to spoil things? You think the more money spent on a production the better it is? Seems like movie reviews and awards shows would have a really easy time were that the case.

I don't see why something new would necessarily ruin what we already have anyway. I mean I don't particularly care for any of the comic books. I read them once and that's enough for me. The only one that I feel has any impact on what came before it is Shepherd's Tale. The others have been more self contained and easier to just forget about IMO.

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011 1:27 PM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
You think the more money spent on a production the better it is?



That's a straw man. No one said that. But the fact is, productions cost a lot, Science fiction being one of the most costly. Anyone who knows anything about production knows that unless it is just a few people (not known actors to boot) sitting around in a room talking, a film is going to cost more than a million dollars. In the film world 10 million is considered ultra low budget. A million is considered a micro-budget. Be realistic.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011 1:32 PM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by two:
How do you claim the X-file script is not to blame?:



I already answered that. People don't know if something is well written or not unless they see it, and very few did. Giving me a synopsis is missing the point completely. I know the story, I saw it.

Rule of thumb in the industry is that opening weekend is about the marketing - because no one has seen the damned thing, and can't judge the content. This is why crappy movies with good trailers open huge then taper off. If they continue to draw crowd, then it's attributed to word of mouth - which equals people liking the story. But that can't happen until people actually see it.

And the vast majority of filmgoers are not people who scour the internet for plot points. No one here is a general viewer.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011 2:39 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


TWO, like I said I'd read your story if you wrote it, if you do, include some bits inbetween your main plot about the other Firefly charactors flying around, Simon trying to get River out etc. I will read that story and probably enjoy it.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 3:48 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
People don't know if something is well written or not unless they see it, and very few did. Giving me a synopsis is missing the point completely. I know the story, I saw it.

Rule of thumb in the industry is that opening weekend is about the marketing - because no one has seen the damned thing, and can't judge the content. This is why crappy movies with good trailers open huge then taper off. If they continue to draw crowd, then it's attributed to word of mouth - which equals people liking the story. But that can't happen until people actually see it.

And the vast majority of filmgoers are not people who scour the internet for plot points. No one here is a general viewer.

X Files (2008) failed because Chris Carter, the scriptwriter, pulled down his pants and mooned the audience. Way to go, Chris, you lazy writer. Carter left plot holes and logic slippages all over X Files. TV writers think mistakes will be ignored. No, they won't. When it's not free TV, when it's paid movies, audience's suspension of disbelief only stretches so far before it breaks. Since nobody here but 'Storymark' and me saw X Files, I choose an example from Serenity of a TV writer's mistake. I can show you from an early script that Joss Whedon knew it was a mistake but, surprisingly, he turned around and did it anyway.

Mal and the Operative are standing on the same platform, close enough to pee on the other's boots. Mal shoots the Operative's gun out of his hand. Does Mal then kill the Operative? Mal is a gentleman and wishes that the movie not end just yet. Unbelievable TV tripe in a movie! Joss Whedon originally wrote it with Mal and the Operative standing on two different platforms. Mal could not crossover to kill the Operative. That's believable. See page 171 of the 190 page Serenity script.

I do not know why Joss moved the Operative closer to Mal for their shoot out, but I know that was a mistake. I think most of the audience noticed.

X Files failed at the boxoffice because the script sucked and I got a related theory about why Pixar cartoons have all done well, so far. Pixar cartoons don't have stories where the writers do something stupid or senseless, like they do writing TV shows. That is probably because Pixar takes two years working on the pencil and paper storyboards. Mistakes are fixed before they ruin the cartoon. I think if live action writers were as careful as Pixar, fewer movies would stink. Too bad that ain't gonna happen. Hollywood is a sad world of anxious adults in a hurry.

Were a small, low budget Serenity II to be made, it would need a really good script. Probably need the good script far more than a bigger movie with lots of special effects and fight scenes to distract everyone from the underlying story.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 4:50 AM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

I do not know why Joss moved the Operative closer to Mal for their shoot out, but I know that was a mistake. I think most of the audience noticed.


? I didn't think it was that big of a mistake. Mal was 1) focused on getting the broadwave out, 2) had to get across the gap anyway, 3) knew that the Operative wears body armor, 4) knew that the Operative is better with hand to hand combat, and needed to get the hell away long enough to to shoot him, 5) didn't know the Operative had stumbled across Mr. Universe's message and knew what he was planning, and 6) figured the Operative would be confused by his apparently insane decision to cross the gap. One of Mal's favourite strategies, seen in all the war time flashbacks in the series, is to be so unpredictable that he catches his enemies off guard.

Unfortunately, the Operative's anger over Mal's trick with the Reavers and number 5) meant the Operative did attack him, and nearly succeeded in knocking him into a spinning rotor. Yikes.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 5:21 AM

ZEEK


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
You think the more money spent on a production the better it is?



That's a straw man. No one said that.


Quote:

Originally posted by InvaderChat:
I'd rather have no more at all than some cheap crap spoiling what Firefly is right now.



Maybe InvaderChat didn't say the more money the better but he did say the less money the crappier. Therefore if you take money away and make the movie crappier than as you add money you must be taking the crappy away. Which would seem to be making it better.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 5:58 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Bytemite:
Quote:

I do not know why Joss moved the Operative closer to Mal for their shoot out, but I know that was a mistake. I think most of the audience noticed.


? I didn't think it was that big of a mistake. Mal was 1) focused on getting the broadwave out, 2) had to get across the gap anyway, 3) knew that the Operative wears body armor, 4) knew that the Operative is better with hand to hand combat, and needed to get the hell away long enough to to shoot him, 5) didn't know the Operative had stumbled across Mr. Universe's message and knew what he was planning, and 6) figured the Operative would be confused by his apparently insane decision to cross the gap. One of Mal's favourite strategies, seen in all the war time flashbacks in the series, is to be so unpredictable that he catches his enemies off guard.

The Operative's head wasn't armored. Mal had disarmed the Operative. Only if Mal had walked forward and shot the unarmed Operative dead could Mal cross to the message panel without the worry of a crazy Operative killing him from behind. If Mal is a real soldier, the Operative is dead dead dead. If Mal is a TV writer's toy soldier, then anything can happen - even having Mal turn his defenseless back toward an assassin. There's only one choice for a real soldier - kill the Operative now, not later.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:02 AM

BYTEMITE


OR, because the Operative is better at hand to hand combat, Mal thought he might have ended up disarmed himself if he stayed nearby much longer, and potentially tackled off the platform.

You can shoot someone in the head, but he shot the gun out of the Operative's hand first, which was a bigger concern at the time. Guns have recoil, and unless you're River, it's very hard to get two very precise shots, one to disarm another gun, and then a headshot, off fast enough that that the recoil doesn't become a factor. They're close enough together that the Operative could have charged Mal during the recoil. So Mal retreated.

Yes, I was considering Mal trying for a headshot in the previous post. It still doesn't work, the Operative is just too good, it falls under point number 4.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:14 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


Quote:

Originally posted by Bytemite:
OR, because the Operative is better at hand to hand combat, Mal thought he might have ended up disarmed himself if he stayed nearby much longer, and potentially tackled off the platform.

You can shoot someone in the head, but he shot the gun out of the Operative's hand first, which was a bigger concern at the time. Guns have recoil, and unless you're River, it's very hard to get two very precise shots, one to disarm another gun, and then a headshot, off fast enough that that the recoil doesn't become a factor. They're close enough together that the Operative could have charged Mal during the recoil. So Mal retreated.

Yes, I was considering Mal trying for a headshot in the previous post. It still doesn't work, the Operative is just too good, it falls under point number 4.

That is make believe. That is excuse making. The only realistic tactic for a soldier is for Mal to try to kill the Operative immediately. Whether he succeeds depends on Mal. Mal is arrogant enough and angry enough to try. But Joss wanted the ultimate battle in a more picturesque location. And he wanted the Operative to use the pinch of death, used on Dr. Mathias. Joss wants Mal to be a toy soldier.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:28 AM

BYTEMITE


If he tried to kill the Operative immediately, he would have been shot, and very likely killed.

Mal has an excellent quickdraw, but he had two options to go for, the gun, or the Operative's head. He went for the gun, and lost his chance to go for the head.

It's not make believe, it's reality. Mal already exceeds the believability for improbable aiming skills, to shoot the gun out of the Operative's hand and then shoot the Operative in the head, in short order, not only makes the Operative look incompetent (which he is not), but would be IMPOSSIBLE.

This is the reason why River does what she does in War Stories is so impressive. It's impossible to do. Kaylee even tells Mal in Objects in Space that she doesn't think even HE could do what River did, and she's right.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:38 AM

TWO

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly


The Operative knew the Wushu Finger Hold. He had seen Kung Fu Panda. Mal had not. Mal could only win with trickery.
(The Operative is the Panda. Mal is the Leopard.)



The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:57 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
You think the more money spent on a production the better it is?



That's a straw man. No one said that.


Quote:

Originally posted by InvaderChat:
I'd rather have no more at all than some cheap crap spoiling what Firefly is right now.



Maybe InvaderChat didn't say the more money the better but he did say the less money the crappier. Therefore if you take money away and make the movie crappier than as you add money you must be taking the crappy away. Which would seem to be making it better.



Ok, go ahead and list the good scifi movies made in the last decade for a million bucks...

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 7:01 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by two:
X Files (2008) failed because Chris Carter, the scriptwriter, pulled down his pants and mooned the audience. Way to go, Chris, you lazy writer. Carter left plot holes and logic slippages all over X Files. TV writers think mistakes will be ignored.



You opinion of the show is irrelevant. It was a hit, a big one, so much so that it dwarfs Firefly by comparison.

The rest of your "analysis" is.... questionable at best. For instance, ALL aminated films are fully boarded in advance.... even the bad ones. That's how that process works.

Yes, a Serenity II would need a good script. And good scripts tend to require money to make well.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 7:01 AM

ZEEK


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Ok, go ahead and list the good scifi movies made in the last decade for a million bucks...


Wow that's as close to an apology as I've ever seen you make. You're growing as a person. fff.net magic!

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 7:03 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by Zeek:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Ok, go ahead and list the good scifi movies made in the last decade for a million bucks...


Wow that's as close to an apology as I've ever seen you make. You're growing as a person. fff.net magic!



Then you havn't paid much attention. I have apologized many times when I'm wrong.

Im not apologizing here. Because I know what I'm talking about. I just helped prep a movie with a million dollar budget. It doesn't go very far, and that was with no special effects, simple locations, and an all d-list and lower cast.

Still waiting for that list.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 7:08 AM

ZEEK


Making up a million dollar constraint is just silly. I thought you realized that and it was a joke. I never said a million dollar movie. But it doesn't need to be 45 million either. It also doesn't need to be scifi IMO. As I said they could shoot a whole movie off ship on one of the outer rim planets. The sets could be regular looking locations. They could cut a ton on special effects and on rebuilding all the Serenity sets and I'd be perfectly fine with it.

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