The Actual Chance of a BDS
POSTED BY: ubergeek
UPDATED: Friday, August 25, 2006 04:12
VIEWED: 24247
PAGE 3 of 9
I'm gonna start a new topic on 'is firefly suitable for kids' as it's way off topic. I'd be interested to hear your responses over there tho.
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I do not kill with my hand.
He who kills with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.
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I think we can agree our chances of a sequel reside mostly with Joss and how strong his desire is to continue the franchise.
Fortunately/unfortunately there is a clear signal that will tell us when he's given up - as the cast have said elsewhere, if nothing more is going to happen, they'll tell us the secrets of the show - what Book's past was, what Inara was running from, what was Nathan wearing under that dress... they'll tell us all. I hope they do it via a medium like a comic book or an approved novel but whichever way it comes, there's still hope until those secrets get spilled.
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Hello All,
I lurk every day, but i thought I'd weigh in now. I personally believe we wont be seeing any video form of Firefly/Serenity again. Comics for sure and possibly books in our verse (which I'll buy) but not a new series,mini-series or movie. I know this is not a popular theory and I will get flamed, but I dont think I'm alone in this belief.
Do I want to see more movies or a new series? It scares me how much I want that! But from every interview from the cast and from everything Joss has said, I believe it's over in video form.
From non-fans looking at Joss's resume Firefly was a failure. His directorial debut was so-so. Now not the quality, but being measured by the only thing that matters....money. I met Joss on set when i was an extra and then I saw him again at one of the browncoat screenings months later. He literally was 20 pounds lighter. Stress is fun and all but it was physically taking a toll on him. He has moved on and Wonder Women and Goners and X-men comics are plenty.
Until all of that is gone and someone comes to him and offers him a chance to do another movie, he isnt persuing this anymore (IMO) Which unfortunately is unlikely, because when the bean counters add up all the proceeds,I feel the movie will just come in the black.
Yes I'm bummed that crappy movies are getting sequels, but that just reminds me that the first one must have made money and the bean counters feel they can make more.
It has been a wonderful ride and i will also cherish how lucky I was. I do sleep better knowing that Joss Whedon is still alive and using that imagination of his. So I will just have to look forward to his next creation.
Sorry for being so long winded,
TheDuke333
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Quote:
Originally posted by Darkfly:
That's the spirit but how old is your son cause not all the episodes are suitable for younger kids(like under 11).
Go to http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=19&t=22697 for more info!
Things are about to get interesting...Define interesting...Oh GOD oh GOD we're all going to die.
I agree It's really the "whoring" thing. Most six year olds have seen Star Wars and understand about death in SCI-Fi movies..Problem is in FF the characters seem more "real". In my experience the same child who can watch Obiwan get lightsabered and not ask a question about it, does not see Mal kicking a guy through a moving engine the same way. Why is that?
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I've edited this post cause it's got nothing to do with the orginal idea but if you want to talk about what's suitable & all that go to this link
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=23113&m=361252#361252
Remember it's only my view so you don't have to take it so seriously.
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Go to http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=19&t=22697 for more info!
Things are about to get interesting...Define interesting...Oh GOD oh GOD we're all going to die.
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DARKFLY not to be alarmed, I know where you're coming from with the age thing and I agree, but my son(the youngest) is 19. His older brother is 21. I've just about got my older son and his girlfriend roped into watching the pilot eps with me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefuly when I set the hook it will be hook, line and sinker (in fishing terms). They'll want to watch the rest.
CASUAL and THEDUKE333 I agree with you guys. Well somewhat. CASUAL, yep there are many browncoats,Ok not exactly brown but beige maybe. These folk love Firefly/Serenity just not to the point of joining forums and participating in browncoat events (My wife being one). They would/could be interested in seeing a sequel or more FF.
THEDUKE333,some good points, but I hope you're wrong. Comics are one thing and I do pick some up from my friends bookshop. But lets hope for the return of work for the actors. Maybe that's living in a fantasy world but hey, what about the Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens and all the other fandoms. Escapism has no limits. I'm wishing for a co-zillionare to step forward and tell these studios that he (or she) will bankroll our next round of FF. I'll bet said richie wouldn't loose any money.I'll even throw in the mudders milk free of charge. Now if I win the lotto,no worries. If someone sees Joss tell him to go ahead and send me Inara's phone number 
Z
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I think there's actually a very good chance of another series, as Fox at least must be aware of the huge sales in the DVD market.
But, the big question is whether the original cast will be available when the day comes.
As they all move onto other projects, or start breaking into the movie market, are they going to have time to commit to another 'x' amount of episodes. (And more importantly, as 'star' values rise, will the producers be able to afford them?).
That isn't to try and sound negative, but if (or when) Firefly's resurrected, will it ever be the same show as before?
It also depends greatly on whether Joss will have the time to be actively involved, or whether others will take the show over. Been the subject of another thread, but if you've ever watched Andromeda, the quality is good - up until the point RHW left. Then it just became another sci-fi series - had its good moments, but never really recaptured its energy properly.
I think as others have mentioned, Universal didn't publicise Serenity nearly enough. It was great that they payrolled the movie, but without great advertising to back it up, it was always going to be a 'must see' more for fans. It's gathering pace in the DVD market, but whether sales justify Universal making a sequel, only time will tell.
Personally, and this is only my opinion, I think it was a mistake making a movie. Serenity's a great film, as befits an excellent series, but condensing what could've been a whole series into 1 hour 54 minutes meant a lot of detail being left out.
Even in the extras on the DVD, I get the impression that Joss regretted this as well, particularly having to cut certain scenes to keep the movie flowing.
It was a real tragedy that Universal didn't (or couldn't) go with at least a 4 part mini series. I guess Fox have the rights nicely stitched up as regards that.
So to end on a positive, I think there's every chance of a new series. But whether it'll be the same as the show we know and love is in the lap of the gods. We may even end up with Firefly - The Next Generation, with none of the original cast at all!!!
I know that isn't a popular outlook (hell, it's not even an outlook I like), but it's just trying to be realistic. There's nothing I'd love more than another 120+ episodes with the original cast AND Joss at the helm, but I don't see that happening at the moment.
All we can do, as virtually everyone says, is spread the word, get more fans involved, and show the studios that Firefly's a very viable proposition.
And to do that, we'd probably need a head count of how many Firefly/Serenity fans there actually are. This is probably the biggest board in terms of members, but there must be many more fans out there who haven't joined.
I think I remember reading once (re: Star Trek being cancelled), that the studios used to view each fan letter received as counting as 100 people. I guess the rationale behind this was that many people can love a show, but few bother to write in. In that case, a rough calculation shows that there may be 2,100,000 fans, using the member count on here alone. My guess is it's much higher than that.
May be accurate, may not, but it does make you think. It's a shame there's no way of pooling all the Firefly sites members, removing duplicate members, and coming up with an overall figure.
If we could go to Fox/Universal and say we have 'x' number of fans still actively posting, it might make them sit up and listen.
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If there's money to be made, a studio will make a production. It's true that the box office returns for Serenity were lower than hoped for. (There are several legitimate arguments regarding the promotion, or perhaps insufficiency thereof, which can be made in that regard... but that's another thread topic.) The thing is that there are now far more Firefly/Serenity fans now than there were last year when Serenity was released. Serenity itself created those new fans... plus the word of mouth of existing fans and very real Firefly and Serenity DVD sales that continue quite well on Amazon.
The reason why fans have a legitimate hope for sequels is that the cast all signed 3 picture contracts with Universal for Serenity. Their contracts all have a built-in clause for a trilogy.
Joss wants to tell more stories of the 'Verse, he has stated that he has hundreds of yet untold stories. The cast love playing their roles, and they genuinely enjoy working together. The fans of course will respond immediately to more incarnations of the 'Verse. Though Serenity did not make huge profits when it was released, and low numbers were the story for all movies released during that same time, Serenity did receive overwhelmingly great reviews and many awards.
So here's where it's at:
• Joss wants to do more.
• The cast want to do more.
• The fans are aching to have more.
• The production itself was widely acclaimed.
The ONLY thing missing from the above formula for green lighting a sequel is "Great box office returns". That's it. Just comes down to getting bigger audience numbers... connecting more with main stream audiences. A studio wants to make money. They are not going to say "no" to a profitable franchise. The thing is, Serenity's profits weren't that bad, and the movie has climbed into profit with the DVD sales. But the returns weren't in the blockbuster range, and Universal has to think how best to utilize their wonderful new acquisition: Joss Whedon.
Universal has a highly valuable resource in getting Joss under contract. They feel at this point that Joss working on a production that has a built-in familiarity with the public, like Wonder Woman, and is a far easier "sell" promotion-wise, is a great way to use his talents... profit-wise. Super hero movies, using highly established and popular characters, are practically guaranteed huge money makers. Can you blame Universal for wanting to turn their brilliant new acquisition loose on a super hero franchise that is tailor made for his sensibilities? Of course not. So Universal wants to direct his talents in that direction for a while... and make some big bucks. Well, good for them! ('course, it's frustrating for we who want more Serenity, NOW... )
Universal is most likely biding its time and seeing how things develop after the release of Serenity. If the fan base keeps growing, if the DVD sales stay strong, if the merchandise keeps selling, then there will be good reason for them to mount another production in the future. Again, they are a busines and they want to make money.
Once they see that the audience numbers justify another investment, Universal will be glad to press that green light.
11th Hour
P.S.
I personally would prefer some type of return to a series on TV, even if the seasons were shorter like the shows on HBO. Firefly/Serenity really bloom when they have the space and time to expand the stories and explore the characters. Remember, Universal owns the Sci-Fi Network so they do have a built-in way to distribute their television productions.
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The problem with the reason that I think a new series won't be made is because Joss refuses to work with fox again. And I would bet that Fox has full controll of the rights and probbaly wont sell them.
And yes, It did take some time for Serenity to be made. But usualy (and im talking generalities here) Sequels are *announced* in the first year or a little after. In the terms of a movie, The more time Passes Is a bad thing. As Dinalt wrote, the actors wont allways beable to do a movie. They Might be doing other things.
Reading interviews from the Actors and Joss, it looks like they are loosing hope. And not because of the fan base, which is always growing. Because I think they are sick of waiting for the movie, and I think that Joss (as this has been said before) I getting sick of fighting just to tell his story.
I remember seeing an Interview with Adam Baldwin. He stated that the *earlyist* that they could start production of the film would be 2008. And even that date wouldnt be certain. Cause you would have to wait or the actors to all be avalable.
Its not a question of giving up hope. Its a question of math.
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Totally agree with 11th hour, but one thing i'd like to state, restate, cause it seems to be missing from the thread.
JOSS. IS. BUSY. AT THE MOMENT.
He is signed up to write Wonder Woman, and then he is doing a seperate project, Goners. That means, he cant do more firefly or serenity until he's finished those.
Quite frankly, I'm happy for him, happy for all of us. If wonder woman is a big success (and I really think it will be: it's got the male demographic from being a super hero wearing not much, it's got the women for being a woman super hero, it's got the fans of WW, it's got browncoats, and who knows, if word gets out it's being written by a feminist, we might even get some of the older folk), then Joss will be really cool. He'll be "Joss Whedon of Wonder Woman fame". Now I know we wanted him to have that from Serenity, but it was an unknown franchise, with unknown actors, and it was badly marketed. O, and here's another thing, I'm almost positive of:
Serenity DID break even, with about 25mil domestic, about 13mil world, and a ton more from DVDs, they did make their money back, and Uni is making profit. So a sequel isnt out the door. And they must understand that Serenity will make even more fans.
So, the way I see it, Joss is on a major project that markets itself (something Serenity couldnt do) plus maybe having a real marketing campaign, he'll raise in respectability, and that might even carry goners to success. If those work out, he'll have more freedom to do stuff, and frankly, if there is a serenity sequel, he could carry the ads better as "the writer/director of WW".
So that's my hopeful vision. It means waiting a few more years and all, but it's hopeful.
"But, these strong women characters?"
"Why aren't you asking 100 other guys why they don't write strong women characters?" -Joss Whedon
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