If I were fellow blogger Keith, I would be writing this
article from a totally different angle. I would probably be doing cartwheels at the thought of a Buffy the Vampire
Slayer movie, written and directed by Joss Whedon. Alas, I missed the boat when it came to Buffy, so
today's news breaks my heart. An article in the latest Entertainment Weekly with Joss Whedon says he has come to terms
with the fact that there won't be any more Firefly movies. Serenity only made $25 million in
the United States and it's not yet clear how well the DVD will do (it went on sale this week). But, that amount of
money isn't enough for Universal to launch a franchise of films. Sigh.This a little hard to swallow, because, what happens to everyone, especially River? I think Joss Whedon suspected this going into the flick, which is why he killed off two major characters, and why he did try to wrap it up all nice and tidy at the end just in case we don't see the crew of the Firefly again. It's sad, really, that movie companies won't give franchises like this a greenlight. There is a hardcore fan base (Hello, my name is Anna) that already exists. Why not make a movie for the fans? Why does it have to be a huge success? Movie companies continue to make pieces of crap that do worse than Firefly (i.e. Into the Blue) and get terrible reviews. Ah well, if Joss has let go, so shall I. And, I can always hold out hope that Whedon will decide to make movies direct-to-DVD.
By the way, the prospect of another Buffy movie is still just a prospect. In the article, he says he's turning his attention from Firefly to Buffy. However, right now, Whedon is writing the script for a new Wonder Woman movie and he's signed on for a thriller called Goners, but it's not clear whether he's writing or directing or both.
*His comments may be taken out of context, so click this link when you're done reading*
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-21-2005 @ 1:49PM
Jason Ruby said...
I just died a little inside. :(
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 2:00PM
Mike S said...
A Buffy movie will make some money. Firefly was going to be a fantastic series, its a not so great movie franchise (too much actual thought required).
Its the Wonder Woman movie that scares me. That will take a lot of work not to make it a steaming pile.
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 2:05PM
Keith McDuffee said...
Well, you're half right, Anna. Yes, I want to see the Buffyverse live on, but I have a huge place in my heart for Firefly...that's now sadly empty. :(
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 3:21PM
Alan said...
In your world is the sky blue? A world where movies are made because they're good, and it doesn't matter how much money they make? A world where Keanu Reeves stopped making movies after "Bill and Ted," and now manages a Tanning Salon in Canoga Park. A world where Cartoon Network puts full seasons of their best shows on DVD, and "Ed, Edd and Eddie" are only shown once a day, wedged between infomercials in the wee hours of the morning.
Is that what it's like in your world? Your world sounds nice. I'd like to live there some day.
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 3:26PM
chris said...
Joss posted about this on whedonesque. I dont think EW took his comment and presented it correctly.
He hasnt given up on firefly.
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12-21-2005 @ 3:46PM
Keith McDuffee said...
Joss sets the record straight here:
http://whedonesque.com/comments/9027#101124
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 6:04PM
Anna said...
Yes, Alan, that is EXACTLY the world I live in.
Except today it's raining (tear)...
Reply
12-21-2005 @ 6:24PM
ryanknapper said...
Yeah, he hasn't given up on 'Firefly.' He has just set the fight aside so he can work on his current projects. When I win the Powerball and offer to fund a couple of more movies I'm sure he'll happily jump on it.
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12-21-2005 @ 11:30PM
Natrino said...
*Cue George-Michael with Charlie Brown music*
Reply
12-22-2005 @ 12:17AM
doc said...
To be fair, Anna, didn't you kind of miss the boat on Firefly too?
I don't think I will ever figure out the Joss Whedon fans. To judge by the internet, you would think he has this massive legion of adoring fans that will bend to his every whim. But they just don't show up when it counts. The movie is an example. Or Wonderfalls (Short-lived show!), which is in the Minear extension of the Whedonverse. Before that one premiered all the Whedon based boards were full of talk about it, but it didn't translate into numbers. I get the feeling that he has more a small group of very vocal fans than the large throngs some imagine.
I am also left wondering what, if any, effect all the preview showings had on the movie. That, and the move from April to September. I know Joss and the powers that be said the move was a good thing, but they had to say that. It smelled like the movie was being dumped.
At any rate, Firefly was great. I hold out hope that it can come back in some form in the future, and I really hope that people actually watch it this time.
Reply
12-22-2005 @ 4:04PM
Jennifer said...
doc, you pretty much nailed it: there's not as many Whedonites out there as we all thought there were. The Internet makes it look like there's a lot more out there than there apparently were. (And I speak as a rabid Whedonite myself.) I think the fans as a whole tried their damndest to go to the movie as many times as possible- hell, I bought five tickets-, recruiting their friends, plugging the show, what have you. It just...wasn't enough. Not $80 million enough.
*sigh*
Reply
1-03-2006 @ 9:40AM
Sebastian said...
Why dont Whedon make movie for Firefly fans? Its simple. Becourse this guy makes huge productions and he is not interested with somthing so cheap like movies for fan. Sad but true.
Sorry for my english.
Reply
1-12-2006 @ 9:27AM
Matt said...
The problem was selling the Idea too the money men. The series was launched with little fanfair, I only found out about it because of a friend. Then the proceded to air them out of order so the story line made little sense. The FOX execs really killed it before it had a chance. The same with the movie. Promotionally it was destined to only attract those who new and loved the series, no real investment was made in promoting it. That's the difference between movies sucess for crap like the 40 year old virgin, funny but crap, and Serenity, a great story but poorly promoted. I feel the money men saw it as just another 'Star Trek' type spin and gave it no interest.
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