Serenity Script - Do We Have An Order?
POSTED BY: two
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 6, 2006 18:11
VIEWED: 8525
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After Serenity crashes, Alliance soldiers surprise the crew in Chapter 18, titled 'Do We Have An Order?' This chapter is only 100 seconds long, the shortest on the DVD. Is it too short?
Why even think about changing this Nebula Award winning script and Hugo Award winning movie? Because River hopelessly waits to be shot in the back by 15 guns. What would happen if the crew has five minutes of warning?
An alternate script is attached after Joss Whedon's comments and 228 word shooting script.
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JOSS WHEDON'S COMMENTS
From the “Serenity” DVD, starting at 1 hour 45 minutes 57 seconds into the movie.
[ My comments are in brackets ].
[ River fights the Reavers. This commentary overlaps the start of Chapter 18. ]
“That also contains the great Jack Green lighting of throwing a spot on her and two spots around her and just waving them around. You don't notice it at the time, but it gives it a very expressionistic feel, which feels right for what River's going through, even if it doesn't make logical sense because River herself doesn't make logical sense.”
[ Blast doors open to reveal River, holding two Reaver blades. ]
“And here we have the hero shot. And I have never used that term more literally in my life. We designed the entire set and the entire sequence for this moment. It has been pointed out to me that I have a problem making fiction that doesn't have super-powered adolescent girls in it. I don't care. I think that's one of the sweetest things that I ever shot and it makes me very happy.”
[ River stands in the bright Alliance lights, with 15 rifles pointing at her back. ]
“Here we overexposed Summer again and pushed it as far as we could. I think it makes it very intense and makes her look very intense. To have it that unnaturally bright reminds me of “Good Will Hunting,” the close-ups of Matt Damon when Robin Williams is talking to him. It's almost artsy. But in context of a big light shining on her, you wouldn't necessarily recognize it as such.”
[ The Operative says, “Stand down. It's finished. We're finished.” ]
“That whole sequence did not exist. Originally it went off on somebody about to pull the trigger and you found out after the funeral what had happened. But audiences weren't really keying into that. So it was the advice of the, again, invaluable Mary Parent, the executive on the thing, to actually hear him say “Stand down,” and understand that they had won because people were confused. Some people thought the movie was over. Some people thought that there had been a big fight and she had killed everybody. But we didn't actually have footage of everybody reacting to him saying, “Stand down.” So her look back to Mal is, I think, either reversed or taken after the fact. And those men putting their guns down, they're actually putting their guns down because I said, “Cut.” And we slowed it down and they have a new process whereby they can smooth it out. And if you look carefully, by the way, in the left hand frame somebody is putting down, not a gun, but a camera. But luckily it blows through pretty fast.”
[ Comment immediately after Chapter 18. ]
“The funeral sequence, obviously, it use to be a little bit longer. But, you know, we realized we did have to finish the movie at some point...” - Joss Whedon.
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JOSS WHEDON'S SHOOTING SCRIPT FOR CHAPTER 18
The following is the 228 word shooting script for chapter 18 of “Serenity.” It is from “Serenity, The Official Visual Companion” by Joss Whedon, page 152 and 153. In the shooting script, the Operative is silent. In the finished movie, the Operative speaks while off the screen.
INT. INNER HALL - CONTINUING
The gang is still trying to patch themselves together when the elevator doors open. Mal staggers out, holding his bleeding side.
ZOE
Sir?
MAL
It's done. Report?
Zoe looks at the badly wounded Simon, is about to give a report - and the doors st
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