Firefly movie not a done deal

[Farsight]

The source on this is TVGuide (print), as referenced by Dark Horizons: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news03/031209b.php

Even though the lavish DVD set for his defunct "Firefly" show comes out today, "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon confirmed that it seems the big-screen incarnation of the western/sci-fi series has been hit a snag - it looks like it may happen but don't expect much in the way of speed.

Whedon says "I have interest, I have hope, but I have no news. I can't really talk about it. When there is news, I will [tell you]. But if I start talking about it before there is [anything definitive to say], it lessens the chance that [it will get made]. Assuming it actually happens — which I cannot — yeah, the idea is I'm trying to write a movie that everybody who hasn't seen the show could enjoy, but that doesn't repeat anything that we have seen on the show".

---

So, as some of us noted previously, getting a 'movie deal', doesn't mean a movie gets made. I'd wager the studio will be watching DVD sales figures very closely before deciding whether to spend the money. Good luck to Firefly fans, and the lesson is to not count on anything until film starts rolling (but we already knew that one from experience)... :)

[Shipscat]

Huh..

Well, while I agree that getting a movie deal does not mean that a movie will be made (I've been told that many times), that's not what I've heard.

I wonder if something has changed, because I thought Joss was going to start working on it soon...

[LadyCrais]

I ran across this a couple of days ago, but I don't know as it adds any information to will or won't a movie get made problem.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1070840410568&call_pageid=968867495754&col=969483191630

Firefly's new wings courtesy of DVD
Dec. 8, 2003. 01:00 AM

ROB SALEM

Back in the early '60s, when Star Trek was initially cancelled just two years into its "five-year mission," the fans had no recourse but to inundate the network with an avalanche of outraged mail.

Incredibly, it worked. For another year, anyway. For the fans, emboldened at having succeeded where no fan had dared to go before, the crisis forged an alliance so strong it endures to this day — as indeed does the Star Trek franchise.

But that was then, and this is now. The prime-time stakes are considerably higher. The innovation of e-mail notwithstanding, when a show is cancelled by its network — particularly an expensive, niche-market genre show — it pretty much stays cancelled, regardless of what the fans have to say.

There are, fortunately, exceptions. Farscape was said to be well and truly over ... until last week's announcement that it would return as a miniseries.

And now the fans of Firefly, the Joss Whedon-created sci-fi western so cruelly cancelled this season after only nine completed episodes, are pinning their hopes on the show's rebirth in the form of a feature film.

That, and tomorrow's much-anticipated release of the entire Firefly series, including the original two-hour pilot and three additional unseen episodes, in an attractively packaged DVD set, priced at $69.95 in Canada.

The series, including the un-aired episodes, can currently be seen in reruns here on Space. But the DVD set is also crammed with extras, including several amusing and (understandably) biting commentary tracks, revealing behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel and other archival materials.

Nathan Fillion, the Edmonton actor plucked from relative obscurity to star in the series as the mercenary Malcolm Reynolds, shares the fans' anticipatory enthusiasm.

"I really hope that people enjoy it," he enthuses, calling in from L.A. after a day on the set, guesting on NBC's Miss Match (a reunion of sorts with its star, Alicia Silverstone, with whom he had worked on Blast From The Past).

"I mean, I don't think there's any way that people could have as much fun watching it as I did doing it. But I know I'm very excited. And so is my family."

Shooting Firefly, he says, however briefly, was easily the most rewarding experience of his career. "I've been very fortunate to have really fun casts and really great crews to work with, but that one particular one stands out as the best. Joss took care of everybody, and took measures to make sure everything was smooth. And it showed."

There is nothing like external adversity to bring a cast and crew together, and Firefly certainly had more than its share.

From the very beginning, Fox network executives didn't get the concept — essentially, a low-tech science-fiction series with western overtones and an Eastern accent — and Whedon was deluged with notes and edicts as to how it should be changed and improved.

"That's where it turns into guesswork for me," Fillion allows. "I don't know the whys and the wherefores ... I know it's just a bunch of people trying to do what's best, and trying to keep the network on the air, and trying to make lots of money. I do have my wishes, of course. I wish it would have had a little more of a chance.

"But if its destiny was to be cancelled, then to be a DVD collection, then hopefully a movie, I'm in for that.

"I don't have any ill will toward Fox. I had a really great time. But I do feel as though I have unfinished business there."

The word on the movie is good, he says.

"The last rumour I heard, and from reliable sources, is that it's still moving in a very positive direction ... a negative direction being either it's not going, or it's not going forward. The last thing that I heard was that things were still looking good. I'm very hopeful.

"I'm hoping that whoever is in charge of making the decision — which is now Universal, who bought the rights — I'm hoping that they're looking at how excited people are about the DVD, and realize that there may be a market for this (as a movie)."

In the meantime, Firefly has done all right by Fillion — the association with Whedon and company led to a five-episode guest arc as the prime villain in the concluding saga of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

"I'll tell you something. I've never been more famous than after I did Buffy. I can't believe it. A 65-year-old man stopped me at the grocery store, `Excuse me, but didn't you play Caleb? Your name is Nathan Fillion.' People who are fans of that show, I find them to be very thoughtful, very competent ... and they know my real name."

The relationships forged on the Firefly set endure — even if the set itself has not.

"We were kind of actually living the Firefly life, kind of a united front against a common enemy. It did kind of brings us together. We still chat on the phone, crank call each other ... We still all hang out together. I'm still in touch with the sound crew guys, the camera crew guys, the prop guys, the cast. We're still all in touch. Thick as thieves.

"The sets are gone, though. One of the doors ... the fellas that did our special effects, and won an Emmy for them, they did a little Firefly move on their own and stole one of the doors and installed it in their office."

Did he manage to salvage any souvenirs himself?

"I have the rubber replica of my gun — the gun itself cost $9,000, so they wouldn't let me keep that. But I've got the rubber replica we used when I was doing stunt stuff.

"I've got a handful of Alliance money, some of the gold food bricks from the first episode, T-shirts, mugs, Malcolm Reynolds' criminal record ..."

Well, if the movie doesn't happen and things get tough, there's always an army of collectible-hungry fans out there on eBay.

[waltersgirl]

a relevant bit from an interview with Joss and Tim Minnear at Cinefantastique...

CFQ: What are the odds of a movie version? I know there was the whole announcement that Universal was going to make a movie….

JOSS WHEDON: That was a little premature as there is no green light. I can’t play the odds, I can’t really count the odds. They’re not bad. The interest is genuine. It’s up to me to turn out a script that’s worth making, which is what I’m busily trying to do. I’m dealing with good, smart people, which is both good and bad. It’s good because of the interest they’ve shown, but it’s bad because I can’t pull one over on them. So it’s really up to me to see if that works and I should know soon.


the full text here (http://64.5.52.62/%7ecfqcom/nuked/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=166). it's a multi-part piece that will be an episode guide.

[Farsight]

Whedon also has to convince the studio that Firefly is a better project than a new Buffy movie, which I'd suspect is where they'd prefer to spend their money... :)

[Captain Calhoun]

Now I never watched the show, but it looked like a Farscape clone, only not as good (which is the reason I never watched it). Was I wrong?

[vhsiv]

Originally posted by Captain Calhoun
Now I never watched the show, but it looked like a Farscape clone, only not as good (which is the reason I never watched it). Was I wrong? Cpt. Calhoun, you were wrong - though we shared the same initial reaction.

You ought to have given Joss Whedon more credit than that - not all tv creators are the shameless rip-off artists that Berman, Braga and Ron Moore are. At least with Whedon, I knew that there would be interesting characterisations and he'd likely take the story to hitherto unexplored territory.

I strongly encourage you to pick up the DVD set ($32.00, Costco). I don't think you'll be disappointed.

NOTE: It's high-concept of a different sort - it has been said that science-fiction supplanted the Western as a dominant narrative mode in the late '60's early '70's. I found it intriguing that Whedon would take that MLA/pop culture notion and run with it. The premise and promise of the show really beats the sh!t out most genre programming on the air at the moment. Sadly, FOX Corp. thought that Whedon not only a comedy writer, but that he was creating another Buffy (har-har) franchise for them. I guess that no one had bothered to screen either 'Alien Resurrection' or Buffy's 'The Body' before they considered how to market 'Firefly' (both FOX productions, btw).

[General]

If they're watching DVD sales, I did my part by buying a set the other day.

[vhsiv]

Originally posted by General
If they're watching DVD sales, I did my part by buying a set the other day. Good for you, General!

Firefly is currently ranked at #19 (http://www.fireflyfans.net/amazon.asp) in DVD sales at Amazon.com. I went out today and bought a second copy to give to a friend today...

Somewhere between 'Ariel' (disk 1) and 'Our Mrs. Reynolds' (disk 2) you'll be hooked. By the time you get to 'Objects in Space', you'll be 'Farscape' angry.

I suspect that the sales will be some small vindication. Let's hope that Universal doesn't screw up the movie deal any more than it's already been compromised.

If the sales do well enough, there are going to be plenty of FOX tv executives eating crow for some time to come...

And that the Bonnie and David Eick legions stay the heck away from it.

[Farsight]

"Farscape angry"? I think you might have anger management issues... :)

Firefly ran 14 hours (11 on TV) I believe... No show disappearing after 14 episodes could make me as angry as Farscape being killed after 88 on a cliffhanger. I would guess that Firefly didn't even end on a cliffhanger, since it was cut partway through the season (I haven't seen the unaired-on-TV episodes).

I can't think of any show that I was truly attached to after 14 episodes, including many of my favorites. Farscape? That would be 'Jeremiah Crichton', not even up to 'A Human Reaction' yet.

Firefly had promise, so I can see why people would like it to have continued, but I suspect if Joss Whedon wasn't involved with it, there would have been little outcry over its departure. It was a highly flawed show, saddled (excuse the pun) with strange choices of tone (no sound in CG space scenes made the mediocre CG much more obvious, southern accents in space is just trying too hard to evoke a western feel), and WAY too many characters to get acquainted with, leaving them all underdeveloped. Starting a show out of the gates with 9 regular cast members is insane. Of course, it also showed potential - I especially liked when the captain tried to negotiate with a badguy, then when the badguy swore to hunt them down, kicked him into an engine. :) It would have been nice to see if the rough edges could have been smoothed out, whether the main story arc would have a good payoff, and if the show would reach its potential, but none of those had happened yet, so I can't see becoming "Farscape angry" over it. :)

I find it interesting how easily some people identify with, and become attached to shows. For me, it takes an extended batch of quality episodes to win me over, with moments of sheer brilliance and a continuing story that truly develops (the X-Files flopped on that requirement) :) . I can't even imagine ever being as irate as I was about Farscape over another show.

[grinner]

Originally posted by vhsiv

NOTE: It's high-concept of a different sort - it has been said that science-fiction supplanted the Western as a dominant narrative mode in the late '60's early '70's. I found it intriguing that Whedon would take that MLA/pop culture notion and run with it. The premise and promise of the show really beats the sh!t out most genre programming on the air at the moment. Sadly, FOX Corp. thought that Whedon not only a comedy writer, but that he was creating another Buffy (har-har) franchise for them. I guess that no one had bothered to screen either 'Alien Resurrection' or Buffy's 'The Body' before they considered how to market 'Firefly' (both FOX productions, btw). Buffy was considered 'Comedy'? Really? The movie maybe... but I don't think the television show was a comedy.

[vhsiv]

Originally posted by Farsight
"Farscape angry"? I think you might have anger management issues...Actually, I'm one of the more even-tempered people you'd ever meet.

In any case, Firefly - as an idea and a show - had as much promise as Farscape. On a purely intellectual *idea* it was great - the Western imagined as a science-fiction tale and vice-versa. As far as its realisation and execution - it was amazing: Buffy for adults, if there ever were such a thing: Inara, the courtesan, who's not just a pretty face, Kaylee the mechanic who's the sweetest gal in the 'verse, Mal the conflicted captain, Simon and River, etc.

Mr. Whedon basically bent numerous archetypes to produce an original show - an original Universe, free of the tired clichés that Ron Moore, Rick Berman, George Lucas and James Cameron have been handing us for the better part of a generation. So my disappointment comes from seeing so much dren produced under the mantle of 'science fiction - Andromeda, Enterpise, Dark Angel, Charmed, BSG, Tracker, Dead Like Me, SG-1, Mutant X, X-Files, X-men, Daredevil, Solaris, Blade II, Matrix:Sequelitis, TV show remake, comic-book crap, Schwartznegger nonsense, etc. ad infinitum - only to see a truly promising show shot down in it's infancy.

Those 14 episodes of Firefly, and those 23 episodes of 'Space: Above and Beyond' are to me better than the past 15 years of Trek anything. Mediocrity seems to be the rule on the aptly-named boob-tube.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[vhsiv]

Originally posted by grinner
Buffy was considered 'Comedy'? Really? The movie maybe... but I don't think the television show was a comedy. grinner - If you pick up the Firefly set, it's all there - the producers, Joss Whedon and Tim Minear sensed a major malfunction on Fox's part, thinking that Firefly was going to be some sort of 'fun' Red Dwarf kind of romp. Minear and Whedon complained that many of the Fox television executives were unfamiliar with his work, imagining Buffy as some sort of 'straight' live-action incarnation of Scooby-Doo - there are links to a seven-part Firefly intervied somewhere around here...

Firefly Episode Guide - Part 1 (http://64.5.52.62/%7ecfqcom/nuked/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=166)

[grinner]

Originally posted by vhsiv
grinner - If you pick up the Firefly set, it's all there - the producers, Joss Whedon and Tim Minear sensed a major malfunction on Fox's part, thinking that Firefly was going to be some sort of 'fun' Red Dwarf kind of romp. Minear and Whedon complained that many of the Fox television executives were unfamiliar with his work, imagining Buffy as some sort of 'straight' live-action incarnation of Scooby-Doo - there are links to a seven-part Firefly intervied somewhere around here...

Firefly Episode Guide - Part 1 (http://64.5.52.62/%7ecfqcom/nuked/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=166) my copy was shipped and should have been here today... but alas it wasn't. Wow... what a misconception by Fox....

[Farsight]

Firefly - as an idea and a show - had as much promise as Farscape.

'Promise' being the key word - I don't get as worked up over losing the 'promise' of a great show, as I do over losing an actual great show... but that's just me. :)

FOX definitely didn't give the show a fair shot, but I hope Whedon & Minear (whose work I actually like more, thanks to Angel) are able to see past FOX's errors and learn from their own mistakes as well. It'd be a shame if their next work(s) suffered a similar fate.

[waltersgirl]

to each....but in my opinion, Firefly is Farscape-excellent. and with any luck, their next "work" will be Firefly: The Movie.

[blue]

"Buffy for adults, if there ever were such a thing"
Hey, Buffy WAS for adults. Buffy was brilliant. LOVED BUFFY, AND ANGEL AS WELL.
I watched almost every episode of Firefly, and was really eager to see it because of what I expected from Joss Whedon--but my attention was not held. I did not fall in love with any character, was often unsurprised, and not moved by the dialogue or the endings of episodes. In fact, I was often disappointed. I kept hoping it would improve.

[Jul]

blue - I found that when watched in the appropriate order (which Fox didn't air them in) you fall in love with the characters and can't wait to see where they're going :D

[Nicola]

Originally posted by blue
Hey, Buffy WAS for adults. Buffy was brilliant. LOVED BUFFY, AND ANGEL AS WELL.


Buffy was certainly FOR adults but it was ABOUT teenagers.

Firefly was about adults as well as being written for adults.

I liked Firefly very much. What was Fox thinking?

[waltersgirl]

i think Fox didn't actually watch Buffy, otherwise it would have known that Buffy wasn't a comedy, but rather a drama that had comedic aspects...not unlike life. imagine that. so then, their expectations were skewed based on their perceptions.

[vhsiv]

Originally posted by Farsight
Firefly had promise, so I can see why people would like it to have continued, but I suspect if Joss Whedon wasn't involved with it, there would have been little outcry over its departure. It was a highly flawed show, saddled ... with strange choices of tone ... and WAY too many characters to get acquainted with, leaving them all underdeveloped. Starting a show out of the gates with 9 regular cast members is insane. I'm coming back to your point a little late, but the 2-hour pilot that Whedon made - the same that was rejected and shown as the LAST episode - was key to understanding and introducing all the characters.

At the last minute, those knotheads over at Fox asked Whedon and Minear to write a new 1-hour pilot episode over a weekend, which meant that they had to compress and elide much of their previous careful plotting. I missed 'The Train Job' when it was first aired, but it and 'Serenity', the original pilot - are two of the finest episodes in the run, it's hard to believe that they were produced under the difficult circumstances that they were, because the two eps dovetail together like Japanese carpentry.

If you have problems with the show, you can lay them squarely at the feet of the Fox programming executives - THEY made the choice of airing the show out of order and fuxing the pilot. If you need more convincing, PM me, and perhaps we can work something out.

[Farsight]

I'm aware that the show's order was messed with pretty badly, but that didn't really bother me - I actually liked "The Train Job" better as the pilot than "Serenity".

Can you imagine if Farscape had additionally had Scorpius, Sikozu, Granny, and Chiana in the first episodes of season 1? That's similar to what Whedon was trying to do with Firefly. It was as if he wanted to skip that introductory period he had done in both Buffy and Angel where we get to know the core characters, and THEN new characters are introduced into the ensemble to mix up the dynamics. They started Firefly with as large or larger of a principle cast than shows like Farscape, Buffy, or Angel had in their FOURTH seasons.

IMO that was a critical mistake. It short-changed the characters, and detached me from the show. After 11 episodes, I didn't feel like I knew the characters at all. The only characters I liked were the captain and Jayne - the rest I had only gotten a superficial feel for. I knew Crichton better after Farscape's pilot episode than I knew any of these characters after 11 stories.

Whedon's "vampire" shows succeeded because they have a strong focus - viewers almost instantly (even from the title alone) know who and what the show is about. Firefly had neither - the story purposely was w/o a "what", which would be fine, except it was also w/o a "who", with the character focus spread across 9 people.

To steer back in the general direction of the topic, I hope we see a movie of Firefly eventually - decent science fiction movies are rare. The need for a "big story" would solve the "what"; I just hope the writers learn, and don't try to spread 90-120 minutes of story over 9 characters... Especially since, similar to how a Farscape movie would need to work, a Firefly movie would HAVE to not require people to have seen the TV show.

I find it odd that a movie announcement was made when a script doesn't even exist yet. That means that in reality, there is no deal - a movie studio asking to see a script is akin to a TV network asking to see a pilot. I bet DVD sales determine the outcome of this one. Firefly fans should remain very wary, which is hopefully something they've already learned... :)

[Shipscat]

Look, Farsight, the last I heard (and I'm sure there could have been a slip between then and now) it was looking very good for a Firefly movie. Yes, it is inside information, and no, I'm not going to tell you where I got it. If Joss is saying that the announcement was premature, that there wasn't a green light yet, then it just means the announcement was premature.

And they already know that the DVD sales are good-Firefly was sold out in pre-orders, from what I've heard.

I liked Firefly. I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon's, and I noticed that a lot of people who became 'instant' fans of Firefly liked a lot of the same stuff that we appreciate about Farscape. The fact that so many thought they were new and different for a Scifi show just meant that they hadn't tried Farscape yet.

I'm not "Farscape angry' about Firefly's demise, but I sincerely doubt that I would ever feel that way about another tv show.

But I'm not going to compare the two, and I'm certainly not going to be happy if Firefly doesn't get another chance, or feel vindicated at the capriciousness of the entertainment industry.

[Davesnothome]

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" got its 'comedy' label, because the show itself classified itself as a comedy show for awards! I'm guessing, in the first few seasons of 'Buffy', TPTB for the show, feeling they couldn't compete with other television dramas for various television awards, choose to be considered under the comedy label to increase their chances to win some awards.

Conisider it it the "Ally McBeal" thinking. We'll classify ourself as whatever, if you will give us an award! (g)

Dave