Firefly

Post subject: Well. Here I am.

So I was flouncing (that’s lurking but fancier) about whedonesque and I couldn’t help but see the little CHUD.com hate-bomb that Devin wrote. I don’t mind that he doesn’t love the film, but things like "It failed in a big way" and "It’s over" are about as charming — and journalistic — as "I was right." I am being totally realistic when I say the weekend grosses did not meet expectations — but those expectations were based on models that don’t apply to this situation because, seriously, nothing does. The industry is not calling this a failure, just a slightly soft version of a normal opening in a generally weak weekend.

Now I did meet Devin, and he’s not a dumb guy. But he seems to have a real animus against you Browncoats, and that’s the thing I wanted to comment on, ’cause that doesn’t sit well with me. He actually blames you guys for making sci-fi fans stay away from the movie. Says you should be ashamed for having adopted a name, that you will start finger-pointing and bickering now that you’ve ’caused’ the ’failure’ of your film. He blames other things as well — the title, the ads — but that’s fine. If one —ONE — of you guys reads that column and takes it to heart I’ll not sleep. You guys did an amazing thing this weekend — and the exit polls showed how much you guys were out there, and how much business you dragged in with you. Not to mention everything you did for the months - sorry, YEARS — before it opened. I’m crazy proud of you. Yes, there is an exclusionary element to some fandom that is inevitable, but this group has fought that as well or better as any, and maybe I’m a nerd, but being compared to a Trekker (or even a TrekkIE) doesn’t offend me a bit.

We all know this remains an uphill battle. We all know that next weekend is crucial — and a lot of it will rest on us. A lot will rest on the studio reaching people we can’t. And factors we can’t see coming. But I don’t especially appreciate people calling Time of Death while I’m still operating. I don’t like smug defeatism. And nobody disses the ’coats without me wading in. That’s all.

The question remains: Did Early die out there in space, or did some passing ship show up at the last second? There’s no answer yet, but I sure as hell know how I’d write it.

 j.