I'm Not Even Hungry

This Thing Is Finally Paying Off

Those of you who have ever talked to me - ever - know that I'm a gigantic Joss Whedon fan. And that' s not just because I'm physically huge - although I am 10 million feet tall - it's also because I think his television shows are the best television shows ever made. Those shows are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. For those who feel the urge to make fun of me for liking a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, please kill yourself. When organizations as different as The American Prospect and The Weekly Standard can get behind a show, somebody must be doing something right. Specifically, Joss Whedon must be making the best television in history. Also, Thomas Hibbs , former chair of BC's philosophy department, and and Daniel Drezner, over at the University of Chicago, agree with me. So there.

Which brings me to the point, or at least closer to the point. Buffy and Angel both had long, relatively happy multi-season runs. True, Angel was cut tragically short and I still cry about that sometimes, but things could have been worse. They were, in fact, worse for Firefly, which lasted less than a season. I could, and possibly will, go on at length about why this happened, how awful it was, how I still cry about it sometimes, etc. But because he's awesome like that, Whedon didn't let his baby die. After insane amounts of work, he convinced Universal Studios to take a risk and bankroll a big-screen version of Firefly. This is something that shouldn't have happened, but it did. The movie is called Serenity, and it comes out this Friday.

The problem is that it may be unmarketable. I just did my best to persuade you, and it took two paragraphs, and if you haven't seen the show, it still probably didn't work. So, Universal is trying out new ways of building buzz. One of those new ways involves giving away tickets to an early showing of the movie to bloggers across the country. When I found out about this, it took me a second to realize that, nominally at least, I'm a blogger. So I sent in a link to the blog, and either because we're inherently awesome or because I sent it in really early, we were chosen, and I now have two tickets to see the movie on Wednesday. So a review is coming. I might cry.

If your interest has been piqued, learn more about the movie here:http://www.serenitymovie.com.

Or read this synopsis and imagine how it can be crafted into a compelling existential examination of morality in a godless world, both maintaining and subverting its genre elements: Joss Whedon, the OscarR - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family -squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

posted by Tim @ 7:25 PM