What went wrong? How did "Serenity" manage to do so badly, while piles of horse shit like "Star Wars, Episode 1" make more money than the GDP of many developing nations?
For those who are not in the know, "Serenity" is a film by Joss "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Whedon. He created a science fiction series called "Firefly", which was gloriously made with strong characters, well used special effects, dialog that you wanted to listen to and stories that made sense. In retaliation, the studio (Fox, I think) showed it out of order and didn't show all of it. However, the show managed to drag together a loyal fan base and, when it hit DVD, it went off like a rocket (a small one, admittedly). So much so, that a film was commissioned.
The film, "Serenity", was made for $40US million. So it was not a huge budget thing, but it was not made on a shoestring either. Joss Whedon trod the fine line between a film that the series fans would enjoy, and one that non-series watchers would also enjoy. I think he managed it, and my non-firefly friends who have seen it agree.
So the film was made, and it had everything the series had, but with better costumes and better effects. The effects are glorious, with enough to move the story, but without being overwhelming. They just fit in. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, as did my Dear One and our friends. Interestingly, it is one of the few science fiction films I have seen that the ladies enjoyed as much as the men. It has intelligent dialog, mixed with glorious space battles, contrasted with gritty hand-to-hand battles, with the odd gun-fight thrown in for good measure. It is a great film.
Unfortunately, while the critics said good things about it, the audiences just didn't bother. It opened at $10US million. After 3 weeks, it has reached $30US million. I would love to see more of these films, this one is that good, but the piss-poor audience reaction has probably seen an end to that.
To put things in perspective, the puss-bag, stinking pile of excrement that was "Star Wars, Episode I" pulled in $64US million in its first weekend, and has now suckered in $924US million worldwide. Almost a fucking billion dollars. Shit!
So, it looks like I live in an age of reality TV and mediocre films, where quality is rewarded with the back of a shovel, while pretty bangs and flashes, covering a storyline taken from the ingredients list of a cornflakes packet, make millions.
I can only hope "Serenity" beings in the DVD dollars enough to warrant a sequel, but I have trouble convincing myself of it.
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