My interpretation of the crappy Serenity DVD cover
POSTED BY: nakedandarticulate
UPDATED: Sunday, November 6, 2005 03:16
VIEWED: 14067
PAGE 2 of 5
Who's your llama, bay-bee?
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"That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way." -- Malcolm Reynolds
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Quote:
Originally posted by LadyShelley:
What is so amazing about this whole silly thing is Amazon no sooner posted the picture and every FF board was immeditely "I hate it." Why? Talk about knee-jerk.
That would be because the instant first impression is "I hate it". Nothing wrong with stating your opinion.
And come on, even if you like it you have to agree that the Serenity logo on a black background would be better than this cover, and that wouldn't even have any of the actors on it.
I *really* hope we get a SE of the DVD at a later date that is a nice arty cover, maybe like I said just black with the logo in the centre.
But yeah, petitions are stupid for this. Better to all decide to say "the cover is pretty bad but the movie is EXCELLENT" to non-fans! :D
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kazzahdrane:
That would be because the instant first impression is "I hate it". Nothing wrong with stating your opinion.
And come on, even if you like it you have to agree that the Serenity logo on a black background would be better than this cover, and that wouldn't even have any of the actors on it.
I *really* hope we get a SE of the DVD at a later date that is a nice arty cover, maybe like I said just black with the logo in the centre.
But yeah, petitions are stupid for this. Better to all decide to say "the cover is pretty bad but the movie is EXCELLENT" to non-fans! :D
You're right that there's nothing wrong with stating an opinion, I just don't understand where the animosity is coming from. Maybe this is a matter of being too close. It sounds like the biggest complaint is with the shot of River; so is the real issue with how River's character looks in the film?
As for an arty cover, do you really want that? This isn't an artsy kinda film; it's not Lord of the Rings Special Edition, it's just plain Fellowship of the Ring.
The complaint with the poster was it was boring and dull, which I agree it coulda used some help. But when they add some punch to the cover art, the studio is again slammed by fans.
Lady Shelley
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http://www.redhawke.org
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im slamming them,because of the"crowd" shot(i say again-LLAMA!) and serenity shooting laser beams,everything else ill (painfully)take.
DEERS ARE EVOLVING..... http://www.myspace.com/kevinconn
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If you don't agree that:
1) Serenity doesn't have a laser cannon, let alone two of them,
2) River looks like Not River
3) There's a crowd of (Reavers? Settlers? Towns folk? Llama ranchers? Angry fans?) on the cover that clearly have nothing to do with the movie
4) Did we mention the llama?
5) Mal has never used the weapon he's holding
6) Though there are a couple hundred people on the cover, there's no sign of the rest of the crew that has such a significant role to play throughout the movie
Then it probably isn't worth arguing about. It doesn't change the fact that Serenity was an awesome movie, it's just one more thing that Universal can't get quite right.
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As uncouth as it may be, I am going to quote my own post from the now archived DVD-art petition thread to answer folks' questions on what's the problem IMHO with the DVD art.
Quote:To address some other points that have been made...
Originally posted by NoSadSeven:
The only petitions I sign are government required petitions for "third" party ballot access. Yet, I just signed gossi/whoisriver's petition.
One of the things I most appreciate about Serenity is its integrity. The movie is called "Serenity", for god's sake! That is a horrible title for a sci-fi action drama from a marketing perspective. But, knowing the film and the series, it is what this film needed to be titled. Joss had the artistic integrity to name the film from the story, from the characters, from the heart. That is one of the things that is characteristic of this series, and why I love it so much.
Now look at the DVD cover. I'm not complaining about the production value. I'm not complaining about the design. I'm not even complaining about the quotes (or lack thereof). These things aren't very important to me, and though I'm not thrilled with them, they are truly not worth my energy.
What I am complaining about is the DVD cover's complete lack of integrity. Can anyone point out anything on that cover that accurately reflects the movie? Anything? River...do I even need to say it? Serenity...shooting lasers? Mal and Zoe...with oddly embellished weapons? The horde... the horde? Reavers, soldiers, dancing llamas - whatever the hell they are, they ain't Serenity. They're not a misrepresentation, they are a manufactured lie. (There is the title...they did keep that, but I bet they fought over it!)
I understand artistic license. I understand the need to embellish some details and alter others in order to present an overall impression. But here, the overall impression they are trying to give is yet another manufactured lie.
I am not even complaining that a disingenuous DVD cover is morally wrong. I am complaining that a disingenuous DVD cover on a genuine movie like this one is economically wrong. There is the issue that many of those that find the cover appealing will not find the actual movie appealing, whether because it's just not their kind of thing, or because it will not meet their [DVD cover-based] expectations, and subsequently create a negative word of mouth. But what concerns me most is that the marketing designers, in their desperation, have thrown all of these obvious marketing cliches - the sex, the big guns, the space lasers - together on one box in the hope that something sticks. Consumers can smell desperation - it stinks - but they may not be able to tell whether it's coming from the DVD itself or just the cover.
By most accounts, Serenity is a damn fine movie. I just wish Universal would show deserved confidence in their product. Let the movie represent itself - not puppet theater. Confidence shines through.
Quote:
Originally posted by Kazzahdrane:But yeah, petitions are stupid for this. Better to all decide to say "the cover is pretty bad but the movie is EXCELLENT" to non-fans! :D
I'm not much of a fan of petitions, but gossi/whoisriver has made more of this than your average online petition. The first 24 hour's worth of response (about 1500 signatures) has already been shipped to the VP of Universal Home Entertainment - preceeded by a phone conversation alerting them that it's on its way, and to be followed up with verification of its receipt. Will that change anything? Probably not. Will it harm anything? Can't see how.
Quote:
Embers wrote:
I never look at the covers,
I would flip it over on the back and think
"oh yeah, I remember the ads for this, it looked good"
or
"two thumbs up and I like Sci-fi...I'll try it"
or
"wasn't this mentioned online? I think my friends were mad at me for missing this when it came out"
do you REALLY decide about a DVD because of the cover picture? Because I never have.
You don't flip over every DVD in the store. In order
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Quote:
Originally posted by nakedandarticulate:
So if I had never heard of Serenity,this is what I would think the film was about by just judging it from the cover.
So I guess that woman in the corner is like an evil Queen or somethin,and there is some space battles with lasers comin from every ship,the people on the bottom must be protecting the group of people,possibly just leaving a football game gone horribly wrong--wait,is that a llama??????? Oh,okay,so those people must be in some sort of religion that worships these magical llamas and the Queen must want it,she probably says something like"Get me that llama!" A very special llama called Serenity......this film looks stoopid.
"It's about how much freedom you can take away from somebody before they either fold or fight," Whedon says. "It's about the right to be wrong and the nature of human beings, that they need the freedom to be wrong. That they cannot be made to be better or perfect."--Joss Whedon on Serenity
This post is just too funny. Actually, all the posts on this thread that say 'llama' in them.
Moving on, I agree that the cover art is awful. It really doesn't look like the movie and it sort of looks like some cheesy made-for-tv ad. I think most fans would agree that the ad is just awful, but the movie is wonderful. Would I like a nicer cover? Of course! But, I'm not going to whine and sign things saying: "Boo, bad marketing." 'Cause let's face it, the movie has been badly marketed from day one.
Hopefully, a SE DVD comes out in a year or so with better art. Until then, I'll buy this DVD and ignore the cover art.
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Bad Guy: And I think maybe you gonna give me a little one-on-one time with the missus.
Jayne: Oh, I think you might want to reconsider that last part. See, I married me a powerful ugly creature.
Mal: How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?
Jayne: If I could make you prettier, I would.
Mal: You are not the man I met a year ago.
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Well said, Lady Shelley, I totally agree.
I will agree with some people that some things are a little misrepresentative. Frankly, I don't care. To me, it looks good. Everyone I've shown it to aside from one person has gone "WOW :o I LOVE THAT! I want that as a poster!!!" or whatever. It jumps out at you. It's a lot more 'full' than the old posters, which people complained were too plain, yet people are still complaining. It's so disappointing that we have to play god like this with the petition. There's a difference between "I don't like it because of X,Y,Z reasons" and "I AM GOD. CHANGE IT NOW OR FEEL THE MIGHTY BROWNCOAT WRATH. WE RUN THE ADVERTISING, NOT UNIVERSAL AND CO!"
I have no issues with people not liking it, hell, Joss even commented. But this petition just feels bad. It feels like we're taking things a step too far and trying to play god, and I will have no part in giving us a bad name. People from other fandoms - even the Buffyverse - are slagging us off for doing this, and I'm ashamed.
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i would go "ohhhh that girls is kickassidly hot, and i bet they fight alot and blow crap up, and ohhh joss whedon! i bet its funny! Must own right now, i know i have a spleen to sell around her somewhere"
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Quote:
Originally posted by hogwaffle:
i would go "ohhhh that girls is kickassidly hot, and i bet they fight alot and blow crap up, and ohhh joss whedon! i bet its funny! Must own right now, i know i have a spleen to sell around her somewhere"
LOL! ... I would.
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