What will the opening scene of "Serenity" The Firefly Movie be?

POSTED BY: outlander
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 18:49
VIEWED: 8345
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OUTLANDER

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 11:02 AM

Seeing I guessed the working title of the movie way back in December I thought I would have a go at the opening scene.

Here goes - My concept for the opening scene would be the crew of the Serenity doing a heist ala Train Job/Arial with all crew members involved, including River, Simon, Book and Inara. This would be a good way to introduce the crew quickly and give the movie an entertaining, exiting and spectacular opening. I kind of figured that Joss was heading for this kind of dynamic with the crew and he almost got there.

In objects in Space I felt that River was at a point were she could become useful to the crew under certain circumstances and Book seemed to have inside information on the alliance that could also be useful. Simon and Inara's training could also be utilised in some way.

Anyway that is my suggestion. I maybe completely wrong, it's probably too much of a Hollywood Formula/Mission Impossible/James Bond kind of an opening for Joss Whedon.

Does anybody have a better idea?

REDKOMMIE

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 3:25 PM

While I think it would be that way... I think we will see something more along the lines of something past...

either the war, or, something I have been fiddling with... Mal's childhood.

What do we know about mal's childhood other then he won't talk about it? in Our Mrs. Reynolds, we know that he grew up on Shadow, most likely a farmstead, where his parents ran the place, and Mal had many 'uncles' in the form of the farm help.

But what happen there?

I think that one great way for the Movie to break free, bring in a crowd, and open things for a new series would be three key things: Reavers, River, and the Blue Hands.

Now... we all seem to think that Mal seems to know a bit munch about Reavers for the common captain. He knew right off the bat what was going on with the 'surivor' in Bushwhacked (well maybe not right away, but he picked it up pretty quickly).

I think Mal's boyhood home was destroyed by Reavers. He alone surviored...

Now again that is only a specualtion :p

Or it might have to do with River being operatored on by the Blue Hands.

Those are my ideas :p.

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:08 PM

I am not seeing an opening involving Mal's childhood. It would be too complex a beginning especially for people who have not seen the show.

I am thinking either a flashback to the Battle of Serenity Valley, or perhaps another Unification Day bar scene w/ Mal and crew up to thier annual antics.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

NOOCYTE

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:12 PM

What a splendid idea! I can see it (insert swimmy TV dissolve....)...

Scenes from a ranch. All very idyllic (if rustic) and low-tech. Could be any Western. A young Malcolm Reynolds seen being helpful and adept, working with wise, crusty, ribaldly funny ranch hands under the shrewd, watchful eye of his strong, loving mother. Perhaps some indication of how central a role religion plays in their tough frontier life (a prayer for the herd, or for Mal's dearly-departed father [?], or somesuch).

Distant sonic booms from a cobalt-blue sky. The cattle become surpassingly nervous. Young Mal scans the skies with us, and we see nothing but the two large moons (our first hint that all is not as it had appeared in Western-land).

Suddenly, a hulking, terrifyingly huge spaceship heaves over the horizon. Terror on all the ranch hands' faces, Mrs Reynolds goes for her rifle. A large personnel hatch begins to descend, wild ululating chants and screams emerge from inside the grounded ship. Slow, dolly-zoom on Young Mal's face, mingling terror and fascination...

Dissolve to Mal's face, present day. I won't speculate too much on the rest of the movie, but encounters with Reavers prompt a gradual reveal of the ghastly things that happened on that day on Shadow...

Department of Redundancy Department

DAVEB

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:22 PM

The Reavers opening wouldn't really work for a film, where a lot a people won't know much about the series. This film needs to be successful for if there's a chance of a new series. However I think a huge space battle would be great, as it's in silence people would hopefully be very intrigued.

"Well my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

SPACEMONKEY

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:23 PM

I like the Mal childhood idea, but think a better way to introduce the whole crew fast and with out repeating the series would be to have the Doc delivering Zoe's baby. That way, Wash could be there holding her hand (he could later faint), and you could have Book with his bible saying a prayer. This would establish Zoe’s and Wash and man & wife, and the Doc as well..The doc.

Of course the Girls would have to be there, all talking and smiling, Maybe Kaylee could ask Inara if she ever wants a baby, and she could say something like being a prositute makes that hard with all the guys she sees. Inara could ask her the same question, and she could say something like "I don't know, I've always been good with engines and such, not sure how I'd be with a baby. She could also make comment about how there’s no one around that would want to have a baby with her..While looking right at the doc) This would set up what they do.

River could be trying to get the best view possible while babbling on about the birth process or ranting off some weird facts about how women can withstand more pain then men. This would be where Jayne would make some crude or rude remark to her/ about her. While he's cleaning Vera! =-) Maybe say something how there’s no profit in having a kid, cost to much goran money.

Mal of course would be around, maybe on the bridge. Here he gets a call asking for the captain of the ship, where he answers (letting non-brown coats know who he is). The call could be from a brother or family member (or anyone really) asking for help. The call could be from a young child whose town was attacked by reavers.

Cut to Mal's childhood where his town is attacked be reavers. He could be thinking about how he was the only child left from an attack. When he snaps out of his day dream, Inara is there to tell him the good news about the newest crew member.

Of course, the Blue-Hand, River, and Book would have major story aches in the movie to tie up the lose ends from the series.

I haven't worked out much after that, but a story about life and death (death being the reavers, life being about the Wash/Zoe's baby)

At the end, you could have some very symbolic images about Life, something that would leave the movie in a good place to either leave it there, have more movies or as an opening to a new TV series.

NOOCYTE

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:25 PM

Actually, we wouldn't need to know much about reavers for this opening. Just that something Terrible had happened to Mal's home. One thought I'd had was that Mal would run into a fellow survivor from Shadow while doing a job in present day, prompting flashbacks and other expository devices. The audience would find out about Reavers during the course of the film, so that, by the time the climactic battle came about, we/they'd know all we/they needed to know.

Department of Redundancy Department

NOOCYTE

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:29 PM

Nice bit of expository compression, there, SPACEMONKEY. I could totally see that. The life/death duality would make a nice dramatic anchor theme for the film.

Department of Redundancy Department

ASTRIANA

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:37 PM

The only challenge I see with the Zoe delivering scenario is that it would conceivably take her out of the butt-kicking action... Perhaps we start with Zoe, Wash & Baby Warren in their quarters?

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

SPACEMONKEY

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 4:41 PM

maybe, but we are talking 500 years worth of advance medic here. I don't think she would be out that long! =-)

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