all talk no walk
POSTED BY: impression
UPDATED: Monday, January 16, 2006 06:24
VIEWED: 5591
PAGE 2 of 2
Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Having only recently stumbled into the Firefly 'verse in the summer of '05, and this site shortly after that, I certainly can't speak for everyone (or for anyone but myself, truth be known...), but my feeling is that maybe, just MAYBE, the "old guard" original Browncoats might be just a little bit... y'know... tired... from the battle. Look at what Joss, his crew, and these fans did: they resurrected the 'verse from what was surely a certain death. That kind of miracling will plumb wear a person out sometimes.
This is where the new recruits come in. You. Me. All the people who'd never heard of or seen Firefly before the movie came out, or who'd only just recently found this little corner of the 'verse. We're the reinforcements the Browncoats have been waiting for; we're they're air cover. And when we have to be, we're the ones who need to carry them when they can't crawl any more.
I feel more and more confident that there WILL be a return of Firefly and/or Serenity, be it on the big screen or the small one, but it's not going to happen tomorrow. If the project got picked up by a network or greenlighted by a studio tomorrow, you'd still be looking at a year or more before you'd see it on the screen. Meanwhile, Joss has prior commitments to meet, and the fans who worked so amazingly hard at getting Serenity made get a chance for some well-earned rest while they bask in the glory of the movie, and while the studio counts up its money and decides whether there's any life left in that cantankerous old cargo ship. WE know Serenity's got plenty of life left in her, but hearing it from a pack of rabid fans ain't quite the same as hearing it from the studio accountants. My bet is that they WILL figure out that there's money to be made with Serenity, Firefly, and any sequels - Star Wars paved the way in showing the industry how to merchandise a product and then build on that fanbase with new merchandise and new products. The way I see it, any Firefly/Serenity continuation, be it on the small screen or the large, not only increases the chances of gaining a widening audience for each new story, but also helps drive further sales of the earlier installations of the story.
LIke I said before, that's *MY* opinion on where we're at. I could be completely wrong. For now, probably the best thing we as fans can do is:
1) Keep spreading the word. You can't stop the signal. Another member here had a wonderfully devious plan to drive Firefly DVD sales - he loans out the first two disks of the series, and if the people watch it and want more, they have to buy the series for themselves! Talk about geurilla marketing! It's brilliant, and simple.
2) Put our money where our mouth is. Instead of firing off angry petitions and e-mails to Fox, Sci-Fi, and Universal, let's start supporting the 'verse with our wallets. Buy the DVDs, buy the comics/graphic novels/video companions, buy the licensed goods (few as they are right now). Fox & company understand fans and fan support, but they don't really care about them - at least not as much as they care about MONEY. If they see that Firefly, Serenity, and the licensed merchandise are turning real live profits, their pointy little ears will perk right up.
As a f'rinstance on the merchandising thing, check out HotTopic; they had a run of licensed Serenity T-shirts available online and at a few of their stores, and they were all sold out within a week. As someone who used to wholesale licensed goods, I can tell you for certain that that kind of turnaround gets peoples' attention.
3) Keep a good attitude. Never give up, and never lay down arms. You're in good company here - everybody here is here not because they *like* Firefly; they're here becaue they LOVE it. I stand in complete awe of the fans who have been here since the beginning. To paraphrase Xander Harris from Buffy, they're not "special"; they are extraordinary. They're far from giving up, and all of them want more stories from the Firefly universNOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Bowie, you realise your complaining about a complainer, right? 
I can't help but think of a Monty Python sketch where someone on a talk show says "I'm here to complain about complainers who complain about people who complain! It's about time something was done about it!" Then the host knocks him out with a mallet.
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RKLENSETH: Thanks a bunch for the kind words. What brings a tear of joy to MY eye is the hard work that the original Browncoats have done, and continue to do. If it weren't for the tireless work and support from them and from Joss & Co., we'd never have gotten what we have. Certainly no one's giving up now, when the Alliance is on the run!
Quote:
Firefly should have been forgotten, Serenity should have never existed, and we shouldn't be here. The Browncoats should have died and been forgotten in the rocky valley of Serenity. And yet we still fly.
Exactly. We were on the losing side; not convinced it was the WRONG side.
As for *HOW* to promote the idea of a sequel... I haven't a clue. Damn me for not taking business classes in college. :(
Just blue-skying here, thinking out loud (or would that be "typing out loud"? And is there a *quiet* way to type, for that matter?). What if a studio (say, Universal) could get corporate sponsorship to pony up some of the budget for a sequel or a return to television? For instance, you get Best Buy to pitch in X dollars to the budget. This ISN'T "product placement" as such, since this IS the Firefly universe we're talking about here; a big Best Buy sign would look really out of place on Persephone, right?
Anyway, so you get some of the big corporations involved. Best Buy, Amazon.com, Circuit City, whoever. Hell, bring in Coca-Cola if you want. Then, instead of product placement in the movie, you offer them exclusives. Coke can do special cans and bottles if they want, like was done with Star Wars and others (hell, they can even do a run of "Blue Sun" if they want to! Maybe Red Bull would be better for that one...), Best Buy can maybe get a special-edition DVD that's exclusive to them (with exclusive featurettes and such), and things like that. Hell, Sony or Microsoft can throw in, too, and get tie-ins to video games for the XBox360 or the upcoming PlayStation3. Sci-Fi can put up money, and in return they get the first rights to air the movie or show. Or HBO could back it. These are just a few ideas, and probably not even the best ones, just what comes to mind off the top of my head.
Like I say, it's not *traditional* product placement, but it would all but guarantee sales of some product. Let's face it: Firefly/Serenity fans might not be so many in number, but they are HUGE in loyalty. Here we are, practically BEGGING for officially licensed merchandise, and any company that's willing to take a chance on us and put up some of the production budget for a new movie or resurrected series WILL get our support and our money. This kind of ties in to the idea of getting the sponsors and advertisers involved - but not in a way that they get to rewrite the scripts or play "board of directors" to Joss's vision. Give him the money, the creative freedom, and the time, and your corporate investment will more than pay off, I'm betting.
Now, it's not going to be easy for anyone to convince a large corporation to shell out valuable money based on Firefly's or Serenity's history (cancelled TV show, mediocre box office numbers for the movie, etc.), but if they can only realize that this fanbase is SOLID and loyal, and that it's GROWING and will continue to grow as long as there are good new stories coming out, then it isn't a huge leap to get them interested.
It might be time for us to be a litle less "independent", and get the alliance working FOR us! :)
Mike
"Kaylee, find that kid that's taking a dirt nap with baby Jesus; we need a hood ornament."
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How's this for timing. I have been a browncoat for a short time as well and saw that we need to do something to keep the 'verse from collapsing.
So, I created www.browncoatsriseagain.com
Let's FORCE the entertainment industry to take this seriously. If we really put our money where our mouth is, then Joss will have the leverage to do this any way he sees fit. I think a direct to DVD would be the most revolutionary, but it will be Joss' call.
All I am asking is to pool our money (which we would spend anyway supporting Firefly) and put in all in one account where the entertinament folks can see the number and salivate over it. And then we sign it over to Joss (how to do it best is something I would like a little legal help over).
Anyway, check out the site (I know about the typo on the banner - it's getting fixed :) ) and let us know what we need to do to get more people and if you feel moved please donate!
Thanks!
Andrew Schultz
www.browncoatsriseagain.com
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This is just a little lull period between Firefly/Serenity projects.
Even if, by some miracle, the money for a new Serenity-based TV season or movie were raised tomorrow... Joss has two unrelated movies to write and direct first. Realistically, the soonest anything new can happen with Firefly/Serenity is probably 2009 and that's only if the project goes into production by summer 2008.
Browncoats, don't burn yourself out in the short-term. Immediate results will not happen here. As long as everyone's prepared for a long-term struggle, our mighty-ness will pay off.
Keep turning new people on to the show... encourage them to buy the DVDs and everything else will take care of itself.
mattro
PS: Oh yeah, it won't hurt to go see Wonder Woman and Goners when they come out. The higher Joss' profile in Hollywood rises, the better the chances of further Serenity/Firefly adventures.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hjermsted:
This is just a little lull period between Firefly/Serenity projects.
Even if, by some miracle, the money for a new Serenity-based TV season or movie were raised tomorrow... Joss has two unrelated movies to write and direct first. Realistically, the soonest anything new can happen with Firefly/Serenity is probably 2009 and that's only if the project goes into production by summer 2008.
Browncoats, don't burn yourself out in the short-term. Immediate results will not happen here. As long as everyone's prepared for a long-term struggle, our mighty-ness will pay off.
Keep turning new people on to the show... encourage them to buy the DVDs and everything else will take care of itself.
mattro
PS: Oh yeah, it won't hurt to go see Wonder Woman and Goners when they come out. The higher Joss' profile in Hollywood rises, the better the chances of further Serenity/Firefly adventures.
To paraphrase Zoe: "I don't disagree with any particular point"
However, you'll notice on your Firefly DVDs that a fair number of epiosdes were written and directed by people other than Joss. As long as he was involved at the high level I would be satsified... It's not the same as the beginning where he had to create the whole 'verse. We just need to live in it now. :)
Andrew
www.browncoatsriseagain.com
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