Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Interview with a Joss fan (or three)
As I mentioned in the previous post, Bernard Zuel of the Sydney Morning Herald is doing a story on Joss Whedon, Firefly and Serenity for the Spectrum magazine (September 3 issue). I've been dying to break this news ever since I found out about it, but was waiting until UIP confirmed it.
And how did I know about it beforehand? Through the extreme kindness of another Browncoat. Mim, who runs the Browncoats Downunder yahoo group (whilst JenskiJen is overseas, livin' la vida Browncoat), and who I helped to organise the Weekend Shindig, has become the "known" fan with UIP. I got a very excited email from her a couple of weeks ago, because UIP had contacted her and asked her if she would mind being interviewed by Bernard Zuel for his piece. She, in her infinite kindness, asked UIP if it was okay if she got someone else along as well, and asked me to come along and hold her hand.
Now, I'm not sayin' I really like talkin', and talkin' about Joss in particular, but oh boy did I jump at the chance!! (Thank you Mim!!)
We organised to meet up at Mim's place, and after some unfortunate experiences with the NSW rail system (what system?), I was picked up by Mim (with Bernard in the back seat?!) and off we went.
I cannot for the life of me remember what the hell we talked about - apart from, you know, Joss. Bernard had done a 50 minute interview with Joss, and was going to do interviews with academics (I think) and, of course, we were the "rabid fan" section of the interview. Which is fine by me!
I had a little spiel all planned about Firefly and family and how Joss and the cast and the fans have all formed an international family and that's what I love most about the Serenity/Browncoats phenomenon. But I promptly forgot to say it in all of the excitement. We talked about why we enjoy Joss' work, how we got into it, why Firefly is so brilliant, what we want out of Serenity (sequels!!)...
As I said, it's all a blur. Bernard told us that we were unlikely to get more than a line or two in the piece, but that's fine, and what we expected, I guess. I think the fact that Serenity is, in some ways, being marketed as being made on the back of a fan phenomenon (and that is, in part, true) warrants there being some input from fans in stories about Joss and the movie. And I'm incredibly honoured to have been one of those fans! Again, thank you Mim!
I really look forward to reading the piece, which comes out the day before my birthday (bonus!)
(Mim - if you read this and remember anything that I've left out, please put in a big ole comment!)
Additional bonuses to the day (what a good day that was!) were meeting Mim's cats, the Broadway screening tickets finally going being on sale online, and the arrival of shiny ComicCon and Wizard World Serenity goodies from JenskiJen (which have led me to running a trivia game on the Serenity Oz site - which is sooooo much fun!)
And how did I know about it beforehand? Through the extreme kindness of another Browncoat. Mim, who runs the Browncoats Downunder yahoo group (whilst JenskiJen is overseas, livin' la vida Browncoat), and who I helped to organise the Weekend Shindig, has become the "known" fan with UIP. I got a very excited email from her a couple of weeks ago, because UIP had contacted her and asked her if she would mind being interviewed by Bernard Zuel for his piece. She, in her infinite kindness, asked UIP if it was okay if she got someone else along as well, and asked me to come along and hold her hand.
Now, I'm not sayin' I really like talkin', and talkin' about Joss in particular, but oh boy did I jump at the chance!! (Thank you Mim!!)
We organised to meet up at Mim's place, and after some unfortunate experiences with the NSW rail system (what system?), I was picked up by Mim (with Bernard in the back seat?!) and off we went.
I cannot for the life of me remember what the hell we talked about - apart from, you know, Joss. Bernard had done a 50 minute interview with Joss, and was going to do interviews with academics (I think) and, of course, we were the "rabid fan" section of the interview. Which is fine by me!
I had a little spiel all planned about Firefly and family and how Joss and the cast and the fans have all formed an international family and that's what I love most about the Serenity/Browncoats phenomenon. But I promptly forgot to say it in all of the excitement. We talked about why we enjoy Joss' work, how we got into it, why Firefly is so brilliant, what we want out of Serenity (sequels!!)...
As I said, it's all a blur. Bernard told us that we were unlikely to get more than a line or two in the piece, but that's fine, and what we expected, I guess. I think the fact that Serenity is, in some ways, being marketed as being made on the back of a fan phenomenon (and that is, in part, true) warrants there being some input from fans in stories about Joss and the movie. And I'm incredibly honoured to have been one of those fans! Again, thank you Mim!
I really look forward to reading the piece, which comes out the day before my birthday (bonus!)
(Mim - if you read this and remember anything that I've left out, please put in a big ole comment!)
Additional bonuses to the day (what a good day that was!) were meeting Mim's cats, the Broadway screening tickets finally going being on sale online, and the arrival of shiny ComicCon and Wizard World Serenity goodies from JenskiJen (which have led me to running a trivia game on the Serenity Oz site - which is sooooo much fun!)
Long time posting - have some news.
Wow. It's been a while since I've posted here, eh?
Okay. What first? So much has been going on in the world of Serenity that I've been caught up in it, and not much else.
First - Australian screenings. There were a whole bunch o' screenings announced on August 15, and here's a plea from UIP to try and get those screenings sold out.
There are also more screenings being held in the next couple of weeks - including an additional screening at Broadway cinemas in Sydney. Get buyin' (I know I have - after swearing not to see it again until September 29)!
Second - Joss is going to be in Australia in "early September" - he posted the news at the Universal Board, but it requires registration, so...here's a confirmation from UIP. I do wish they'd hurry up and release more details about his two day visit - I need to book flights and stuff so that I can sta...ah, attend as many Joss related events as possible.
Third - Enterprising Browncoats have discovered that Joss will be appearing on Rove on September 13 - which is cool from a large audience point of view, but disappointing to me because Rove is such a completely crap interviewer. Help with the campaign to have him interviewed on Enough Rope by putting in a vote at Suggest a Guest.
Fourth - Joss has done several interviews with different Australian publications, coming out over the next few weeks: Empire magazine, Filmink magazine and a Bernard Zuel piece in Spectrum in the SMH/The Age (more on which anon).
Fifth - Serenity had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival. There are heaps of great news pieces, reviews and pictures, but I can't find the links to them all. Go to Whedonesque and look at the last few days - lots and lots of links!! You'll probably have to go through the archives for August, since the front page is getting filled awfully fast!!
Sixth - some great (and creepy) little films have been found floating around the internets. Check 'em out. 416 and 1 (QuickTime required)
Phew! What a week it's been, eh? Hope I haven't forgotten anything...
Okay. What first? So much has been going on in the world of Serenity that I've been caught up in it, and not much else.
First - Australian screenings. There were a whole bunch o' screenings announced on August 15, and here's a plea from UIP to try and get those screenings sold out.
There are also more screenings being held in the next couple of weeks - including an additional screening at Broadway cinemas in Sydney. Get buyin' (I know I have - after swearing not to see it again until September 29)!
Second - Joss is going to be in Australia in "early September" - he posted the news at the Universal Board, but it requires registration, so...here's a confirmation from UIP. I do wish they'd hurry up and release more details about his two day visit - I need to book flights and stuff so that I can sta...ah, attend as many Joss related events as possible.
Third - Enterprising Browncoats have discovered that Joss will be appearing on Rove on September 13 - which is cool from a large audience point of view, but disappointing to me because Rove is such a completely crap interviewer. Help with the campaign to have him interviewed on Enough Rope by putting in a vote at Suggest a Guest.
Fourth - Joss has done several interviews with different Australian publications, coming out over the next few weeks: Empire magazine, Filmink magazine and a Bernard Zuel piece in Spectrum in the SMH/The Age (more on which anon).
Fifth - Serenity had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival. There are heaps of great news pieces, reviews and pictures, but I can't find the links to them all. Go to Whedonesque and look at the last few days - lots and lots of links!! You'll probably have to go through the archives for August, since the front page is getting filled awfully fast!!
Sixth - some great (and creepy) little films have been found floating around the internets. Check 'em out. 416 and 1 (QuickTime required)
Phew! What a week it's been, eh? Hope I haven't forgotten anything...
Friday, August 05, 2005
We may experience some turbulence and then...explode
That was a hell of a ride.
It's taken me a few days to think about this post, because, as happened last time, the rollercoaster experience that is Serenity takes some time to get over.
I was completely wired by the time I got to the cinema and met up with Nixy and her girls. I had made a whole bunch o' tshirts for some of the other Browncoats, but wasn't very happy with them. I had used a different transfer paper, and it hadn't worked out very well. M'eh. I'll just make some more. Gave Kaz and Smiley their tshirts and comics and ticket.
So I had a bag of tshirts, badges, pens, prizes, comics, trivia questions and tickets, and a stomach full of butterflies. Mim and the other guys from Browncoats Downunder rocked up from dinner, and Mim negotiated getting the banner set up. I found people and gave them their tshirts and comics, all the while shaky and overexcited.
Unfortunately, my friend who was flying back in from London couldn't make it in to the cinema due to his flight being delayed, so I gave his and his girlfriend's tickets to the UIP guy to give out to anyone who turned up asking for tickets. I don't think that they got given away, though, which is a shame.
Mim and I managed to convince the management that running trivia was a good idea, and so we ran up and down the line (which had started forming an hour before the movie started), shouting questions at bemused punters and flinging badges and prize packs at them that answered correctly. Sometimes with extra hints.
We got the trivia done, and started handing out lyric sheets to the punters as they filed into the cinema. I lost my ticket, and panicked about being able to get in, but the UIP guy accompanied me and got me through. I then found my ticket hiding in my bag. D'oh!
Mim and I led the crowd in singing the Firefly theme - twice, due to a lacklustre performance the first time around. I sat with the Browncoats, whilst my friends found each other and sat up the back. I felt better sitting with people who had already seen the movie, and plus...Browncoats are family, you know? There's a certain level of comfort to be had from sitting with fans who are as insane as you are!
The UIP guy read out a message from Joss, and Mim and I, after a little debate, got the crowd to do a third round of the Firefly theme, threw ourselves back into our seats, and then...here comes Serenity.
I had thought that I didn't remember anything from the first time I had seen Serenity, but as soon as the movie started, I remembered everything. Every. Damn. Thing. Which should have meant that I was bored, or detached, or something, but no. I was on the edge of my seat, hands clasped to my mouth, for pretty much all of the movie.
There were new scenes and better colour and gorram I want to see this movie again now! I was completely engrossed in the movie, but part of me was analysing the crowd's reaction, because I knew that there were new Browncoats and non Browncoats in the audience. There were belly laughs, gasps of surprise, and absorbed silence in between. Excellent.
The movie was a lot tighter than it had been, with a better examination of the "minor" characters than had been evident in the first cut I saw. The special effects were almost complete, and awfully shiny. There had been some tweaks which lifted some of the action scenes above and beyond what I thought they could be, and the last third of the movie rocketed past. Last time, this had been a little disorienting, but it's been tightened up so that you don't feel like you miss anything, but you do feel like you are on a rollercoaster and you have no idea when or how you're going to get off. In a good way.
After the movie, and reintegrating myself back into the real world, there were hugs and sniffles and more hugs. Mim asked her non Browncoat friend what she thought, and the answer was "Can I borrow the series?" Another recruit there, methinks.
My non Browncoat friend seemed to dig the film - he really enjoyed the humour, and was very keen to see the series. My new Browncoat friends were a little shellshocked, but talking to them, Mighty Ogbo especially, confirmed what I had realised - I loved the series, but the movie took that love out into the stratosphere. Made me into a flan, a Browncoat. Made me look at the series in a whole new way.
Mighty Ogbo and I got home and sat up until almost 1am talking about the film. He really wants to see it again, and, like me, hasn't been so impressed by a film as he was by Serenity in a really really long time. For me, the last time I felt like this about anything was after the first time I saw Fellowship of the Rings. There's so much love there, so much dedication. So much pretty. Such good storytelling. I don't delude myself that Serenity could ever be as big as LotR, but I do hope that it makes a big enough impression that we get another two movies.
Or even better, a new series.
It's taken me a few days to think about this post, because, as happened last time, the rollercoaster experience that is Serenity takes some time to get over.
I was completely wired by the time I got to the cinema and met up with Nixy and her girls. I had made a whole bunch o' tshirts for some of the other Browncoats, but wasn't very happy with them. I had used a different transfer paper, and it hadn't worked out very well. M'eh. I'll just make some more. Gave Kaz and Smiley their tshirts and comics and ticket.
So I had a bag of tshirts, badges, pens, prizes, comics, trivia questions and tickets, and a stomach full of butterflies. Mim and the other guys from Browncoats Downunder rocked up from dinner, and Mim negotiated getting the banner set up. I found people and gave them their tshirts and comics, all the while shaky and overexcited.
Unfortunately, my friend who was flying back in from London couldn't make it in to the cinema due to his flight being delayed, so I gave his and his girlfriend's tickets to the UIP guy to give out to anyone who turned up asking for tickets. I don't think that they got given away, though, which is a shame.
Mim and I managed to convince the management that running trivia was a good idea, and so we ran up and down the line (which had started forming an hour before the movie started), shouting questions at bemused punters and flinging badges and prize packs at them that answered correctly. Sometimes with extra hints.
We got the trivia done, and started handing out lyric sheets to the punters as they filed into the cinema. I lost my ticket, and panicked about being able to get in, but the UIP guy accompanied me and got me through. I then found my ticket hiding in my bag. D'oh!
Mim and I led the crowd in singing the Firefly theme - twice, due to a lacklustre performance the first time around. I sat with the Browncoats, whilst my friends found each other and sat up the back. I felt better sitting with people who had already seen the movie, and plus...Browncoats are family, you know? There's a certain level of comfort to be had from sitting with fans who are as insane as you are!
The UIP guy read out a message from Joss, and Mim and I, after a little debate, got the crowd to do a third round of the Firefly theme, threw ourselves back into our seats, and then...here comes Serenity.
I had thought that I didn't remember anything from the first time I had seen Serenity, but as soon as the movie started, I remembered everything. Every. Damn. Thing. Which should have meant that I was bored, or detached, or something, but no. I was on the edge of my seat, hands clasped to my mouth, for pretty much all of the movie.
There were new scenes and better colour and gorram I want to see this movie again now! I was completely engrossed in the movie, but part of me was analysing the crowd's reaction, because I knew that there were new Browncoats and non Browncoats in the audience. There were belly laughs, gasps of surprise, and absorbed silence in between. Excellent.
The movie was a lot tighter than it had been, with a better examination of the "minor" characters than had been evident in the first cut I saw. The special effects were almost complete, and awfully shiny. There had been some tweaks which lifted some of the action scenes above and beyond what I thought they could be, and the last third of the movie rocketed past. Last time, this had been a little disorienting, but it's been tightened up so that you don't feel like you miss anything, but you do feel like you are on a rollercoaster and you have no idea when or how you're going to get off. In a good way.
After the movie, and reintegrating myself back into the real world, there were hugs and sniffles and more hugs. Mim asked her non Browncoat friend what she thought, and the answer was "Can I borrow the series?" Another recruit there, methinks.
My non Browncoat friend seemed to dig the film - he really enjoyed the humour, and was very keen to see the series. My new Browncoat friends were a little shellshocked, but talking to them, Mighty Ogbo especially, confirmed what I had realised - I loved the series, but the movie took that love out into the stratosphere. Made me into a flan, a Browncoat. Made me look at the series in a whole new way.
Mighty Ogbo and I got home and sat up until almost 1am talking about the film. He really wants to see it again, and, like me, hasn't been so impressed by a film as he was by Serenity in a really really long time. For me, the last time I felt like this about anything was after the first time I saw Fellowship of the Rings. There's so much love there, so much dedication. So much pretty. Such good storytelling. I don't delude myself that Serenity could ever be as big as LotR, but I do hope that it makes a big enough impression that we get another two movies.
Or even better, a new series.
