Firefly/Serenity + Joss Whedon thread

[nacho]

I'll have to agree with Matt.  Buffy and Angel are secret pleasures you deny in public...

[nacho]

Oh god! 

Firefly Serenity sequel a possibility?
Written by John Howell
Sunday, 04 November 2007

Firefly

Reports suggest there is a chance of a direct to DVD sequel to Serenity, the film that followed on from where the television show Firefly left off. Firefly was cancelled after just 12 episodes in 2002.

Set in 2517, Firefly is a unique blend of science fiction and western genres and quickly developed a cult following after its cancellation. Led by the enigmatic Captain Malcom Reynolds, nine crewmembers live on Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship, many of them renegades from the Alliance, a governing body formed after a war in which the captain and some of his crew fought on the losing side.

While Firefly was cancelled even before its first season was completed, and the film "Serenity" performed poorly at the box office, Firefly has a massive fan base and sales of the film and episodes on DVD have been impressive.

Firefly was created by writer/director Joss Whedon, most famous for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Alan Tudyk, the actor who played the ship's pilot, Hoban Washburne, said that the newly released "Serenity: Special Edition" DVD has been selling so well Universal is talking about doing another movie.

Here's Alan's quote from Moviehole:

"They had to put [the new DVD] out because they've been selling out of the other one [the DVD that isn't the 'Collectors Edition'] and so Universal's like 'So, let's do another one'", he says, adding "And now… there's now a chance there's going to be another movie".

The quote was taken from an interview Tudyk gave to promote his appearance in Death at a Funeral.

Nothing definite, but let's hope it's true. The special effects were excellent, the writing outstanding, and the characters intriguing. If any science fiction show in the last 10 years deserves more airtime, Firefly is it.

[Sirharles]

They are going to slowly beat this thing to death if Joss Whedon doesn't step in and stop this nonsense.

[Matt]

lol at Tudyk.

[nacho]

I suppose this could go in the Terminator thread, but it's got dreamy Firefly talk.

Could there be another incarnation of Joss Whedon's science-fiction western "Firefly" on the horizon? Summer Glau says of course: it's a show that is "never over."

"We're very close," Glau said of the cast during a recent press conference with reporters including SyFy Portal. "I get to see Nathan [Fillion] the most because he lives the closest, and I still see everyone whenever I can."

Someone she misses a lot is Jewel Staite, who is now a regular on SciFi Channel's "Stargate: Atlantis," thus spends a lot of time in Vancouver, B.C.

"We all had such a strong bond, and that was my first experience," Glau said. "I didn't even know how to stand on my mark. I blocked the camera all the time, I ran into people, and they still treated me like an equal and as part of the family. I think we would all come back if we got the opportunity."

In the meantime, however, Glau has taken on the role of a Terminator in Fox's "Sarah Connor Chronicles." Unlike costars Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker, who reprised roles originally made famous by the likes of Linda Hamilton and Eddie Furlong, Glau got to take on a role created specifically for the new series. But that didn't stop fans from trying to compare her to a certain state governor.

"Lena and Thomas have done an amazing job, and they're both very brave actors," Glau said. "I completely trust their versions of their characters. It was easier for me, but people still ask me about Arnold Schwarzenegger. No one can possibly compare me to him. He was an icon, and I am doing something very different."

Playing the somewhat emotionally and societally detached Cameron, Glau has had to face an evolution of sorts with her robotic character. Some viewers felt that it was inconsistent of her character to be very human when she is first introduced in the pilot, and then suddenly be more machine than anything else as the series has wore on.

"We were experimenting with Cameron quite a bit, and we wanted her to be able to seem to be human, and we especially wanted John to be fooled by her so that he would let her into his life," Glau said. "So in the pilot, I do act very human, and as I go through the series, it appears that I have taken steps back and acting more like the Terminator that I am."

Cameron is trying to develop more of a human perspective, but Glau says she likes the challenge of trying to achieve a real sense of that, not just one that was programmed to fool John in the beginning.

[Matt]

First experience, Summer? Please. Let's try a different first experience.

[nacho]

Nude Buffy!

Well, nude-ish.

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/news/article/1157151782248?packedargs=suffix=ArticleController

[nacho]

This is everywhere now, but I'll go ahead and add it here.  Tim Minear's script for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I secretly believe Minear to be the true genius behind Whedon, though I haven't yet read the attached...

[nacho]

Mainly Dr. Horrible...but there's some general Whedon stuff, as well, so better in this thread...

http://io9.com/5029327/dr-horribles-singalong-panel-at-comic+con-yes-there-will-be-more-horrible

Yes, we made it past the scary security guards and into the panel where Joss Whedon, creator of Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog (and a little thing called Firefly), where Neil Patrck Harris is wielding his Freeze Ray and Nathan Fillion is attacking him already. Liveblogging as we go! Big news: YES there will be more Dr. Horrible! Also, at the end, we got all the details on the DVD version of Dr. Horrible, plus the cool video contest for people who want to join the Evil League of Evil. Click below.

Whedon confesses he wants to give Doctor Who showrunner Russel T. Davies "a big wet sloppy."

Somebody asks about whether Whedon ever wants to do happy endings. Felicia Day, who played Penny, says she was happy that she died in Dr. Horrible. Whedon says he likes happy endings, and says he's had a bunch of them in his work but he doesn't remember any right now.

What did it mean that Dr. Horrible changed his costume? Harris says that he was gutted and facing harsh reality of what had just taken place. Fillion suggests that Dr. Horrible got what he wanted and Billy lost everything.

Would Whedon do online episodes set in the Firefly 'verse again? Yes, says Whedon . . . it would make dozens and dozens of dollars. Fillion notes that it would be great because Whedon has already killed off all the characters he doesn't like working with. And he put on a cute Captain Mal accent for us. Nice.

Then Fillion treats us by saying, "The hammer . . . it's my penis." Later, he says, "It even shakes like a hammer."

Has Whedon ever killed a character by accident? He says yes, some have left and been unavailable so he killed them without wanting to.

A fan asks how would Dr. Horrible end or continue. Whedon says there WILL be another part to Dr. Horrible. Wow, big news. Exciting. They won't tell us what it will be like.

Harris says Doogie Howser was "the heroin years."

Is Whedon disappointed by having all his shows canceled? He says he gets nervous, but that he's wiser and balder since Firefly. He says and if we don't get episodes out, "I can make stuff on the internet now." As he speaks, a person comes up on stage and takes pictures of his bald spot.

As for the future of Whedon production? He's clearly very into the Web as an alternative. He said, "Things are changing, and Dr. Horrible is about that putting power in different hands . . . the wrong hands."

A crucial question: Who came up with the "shoulder dance" where Billy kind of shakes it up during the Freeze Ray song. Harris came up with it, he says, as an "MTV Cribs style thing."

Harris says that being Billy and Dr. Horrible is like being in Whedon's mind — "and watching Joss cackling over it fifteen feet away." Whedon says it's not just is mind, it's the hive mind he shares with his siblings and co-creators of Dr. Horrible, Jed, Zack, and Maurissa.

Fillion says Day combines "geeky with sexy hot." Basically, he's a giant goof.

Ah, Moist has joined the crew on stage. Yay for Moist.

Audience member asks whether Xander was ever supposed to come out as gay. Whedon laughed, then replied: "I have two tricks — you're out or you're dead. You're out or you're out." With Willow, he says did that because of the sudden disappearance of Oz (who Whedon says will return in the comic), and they said how can they follow Oz. Then they said this could be an interesting dynamic, oh wow now it's actually a beautiful romance. Whedon says maybe the most beautiful romance ever.

Fillion asks how many people are wearing Captain Hammer shirts, vs. Dr. Horrible shirts. More cheers for Dr. Horrible, I have to say. Which is like, well duh. Sorry, Nathan, we love you, but Captain Hammer is a butt.

Whedon comments on the Buffy singalongs. He says "Shut Up Dawn" is just a mean song, and he's in favor of Dawn. Tonight, he says come to the Dr. Horrible singalong, a "feelbadforlong."

Zack says that Joss wrote the last, sad songs in the final episode of Dr. Horrible.

We just got the weirdest question from the audience ever. It was about whether there would be some Harris in the third Harold and Kumar film, but he also added in something about how Harris should star, and it should be about mushrooms or something. Whoa. Fillion says, "You could star in a movie and I could be your best pal."

What are everybody's favorite musicals on the panel? They all get excited and start answering. You can tell that their picks all influenced Dr. Horrible. They include: Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd (Whedon), Little Shop of Horrors (Fillion), South Park, Singing in the Rain (Whedon), Les Miserables, Rent (Harris).

Fillion is posing and doing Captain Hammer faces as Whedon grabs him lovingly.

A fan asks whether Hammer really is a dick. But Whedon says Fillion is one of the kindest people he's ever known. He's also, "the smarmiest motherfucker I've ever known. Shatner, your time is done." Fillion is laughing.

Jed announces the Hammer DVD. He says they'll do some new things: "Commentary the Musical." He says if you haven't heard of this, you'll find out. They're also going to have a contest. They'll take video submissions for the Evil League of Evil. 3 minutes, like you're applying to be on Survivor. 10 best on DVD. We'll do that after soundtrack and t-shirts.

Soundtrack will be available for download in a couple of weeks says Whedon.

Fillion says if you guys remember NPH ("If you're tight you call him MPH.") — he uses an iphone to control the the van in the second episode. Fillion's friend designed that software. And you can get it! It's here.

[nacho]

Uh...what?

James Gunn ("Slither") is pulling together a new ultraproject merging some of the "Firefly" cast with some porn starlets says CHUD.

Actors Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Michael Rosenbaum, along with porn starlets Belladonna, Aria Giovanni, Jenna Haze, and Sasha Grey will star in the as yet unannounced project.

Gunn is presently working on "Humanzee", a short contribution to the Xbox Live series of comedy flicks by horror filmmakers. He's also co-hosting the reality show "Scream Queens" with "Saw" series star Shawnee Smith.

[Matt]

helllloooooooooo!? Lexx 2.0?

[nacho]

Seven years after Firefly:

http://scifiwire.com/2009/09/7-years-after-firefly-whe.php

[Sirharles]

I may need to have my man-card revoked for knowing this, but Whedon directed and co-wrote tonights episode of Glee.  And it has Neil Patrick Harris in it as the main characters nemisis.

[nacho]

Gay!

[Sirharles]

I live with a woman now...what do you expect!