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"Serenity" Movie - Scene-stealers.com Review - Watch The Video

Webmaster — 2008-07-26T10:08:31Z

"Serenity" Movie - Geoffrey Mandel Graphic Designer - Medium Quality Artwork

Webmaster — 2008-03-15T22:50:00Z

ABC Australia blogs about "Serenity" Movie

Webmaster — 2008-02-02T09:11:05Z

Serenity is that rarest of things - a feature film made from a brief, cancelled TV series. And all thanks to the fans.

Joss Whedon's unfinished science-fiction TV series Firefly was canned after only 11 of 14 episodes had been aired, but fans of the cult comedy made such a persistent fuss that they caught the attention of studio execs.

The fans, known as Browncoats after the rebel soldiers in the series, raised money for an ad in Variety magazine and bombarded the broadcaster with postcards requesting the show go on.

While the series never returned to the air, it was released on DVD. And it was a hit.

So to the delight of Browncoats across the 'verse, Universal Studios agreed to produce a feature film based on the series, and thus Serenity was born.

The movie, probably best described as a futuristic space western, follows a motley crew of ex-rebels as they attempt to scrape out a living on the outer planets while hiding a psychic fugitive and uncovering government secrets.

Fittingly, NASA astronaut Steven Swanson, a famous Browncoat, took the Firefly series and a Serenity DVD up to the International Space Station, where they're now kept as entertainment for the station's crew.

All the main actors from Firefly returned for Serenity, and the DVD commentary explains that there was a strong sense of family between the cast, Whedon and the crew.

Apparently the bond between on-screen siblings River (Summer Glau) and Simon (Sean Maher) was so strong, they had to keep re-shooting the scene where River is trying to save Simon's life, because Glau kept bursting into tears.

Glau, a dancer, used a combination of Kung Fu, kickboxing and ballet for her fighting style.

The Fruity Oaty Bar commercial that has a hidden code to send River into killing mode was filmed in full. You can watch it here.

But apparently, much of the Chinese used in the film (often instead of English swear words) is actually nonsensical.

While critics gave Serenity a mixed reception, Firefly converts went wild and the fanbase grew.

In April 2007, Serenity beat Star Wars to be voted the best science-fiction movie of all time in an SFX magazine poll of 3,000 sci-fi fans.

Serenity has also produced a spin-off comic book series, co-written by Whedon.

The Browncoats are famous for their generosity and fierce loyalty to the director. Since 2006, annual charity screenings of Serenity across the globe have raised $US160,000 for Equality Now, an organisation devoted to women's rights.

In 2006, fans organised Serenity Day, a day on which they encouraged people to buy Firefly and Serenity DVDs to "thank Universal for supporting Joss" and to prove that creating a sequel to Serenity would be a profitable venture.

The annual charity screenings and Serenity Day are all held on June 23, because - naturally - that's Whedon's birthday.

"Serenity" Movie - Widescreen Collector Edition DVD for $8,95 only

Webmaster — 2007-12-03T10:26:56Z

Click on the picture to order :

"Serenity" Movie - River Tam Sessions - Watch The video

Webmaster — 2007-11-10T12:47:04Z

Ron Glass - "Serenity" Movie - Newsblaze.com Audio Interview - Listen the Podcast

Webmaster — 2007-10-28T11:13:15Z

Grew up in Evansville, Indiana. Attended High School at St. Francis Seminary, where his nickname was "Big G". He graduated from high school in 1964. He then attended the University of Evansville where he had a double major and received a BA degree in Drama and Literature.

Click on the link for more :

http://newsblaze.com/story/20071025060021tsop.nb/topstory.html

Jewel Staite - "Firefly" Tv Series & "Serenity" Movie - Raygunrevival.com Interview

Webmaster — 2007-10-27T13:53:35Z

RGR Interviews : Jewel Staite by Paul Christian Glenn Pg. 13

Ray Gun Revival magazine Issue 32, October 15, 2007

Anyone who knows anything about RGR knows that Joss Whedon's Firefly is a program close to our hearts. The inspiration for this ‘zine came, if not directly, at least indirectly from the adventures of Captain Mal and his ragamuffin crew, and for that, I will always be grateful.

Last month, Universal released a Collector's Edition of Serenity, the big-screen sequel to our beloved series. The film is a brilliant, sometimes brutal denouement that doesn't just capture the spirit of the series, but expands its universe and takes the characters to places, both literally and figuratively, that we've never seen before. Serenity is the rarest of specimens : an old-fashioned adventure story that manages to be both frightening and funny, both heartbreaking and heartwarming, both thrilling and thought-provoking. You know—everything that Star Wars used to be.

The cast of Serenity has since moved on, but Jewel Staite, who played happy-go-lucky mechanic Kaylee Frye, took a few minutes from her work on the set of Stargate : Atlantis to talk with Ray Gun Revival about Firefly, the film, and the future.

RGR : Let's begin with the Collector's Edition DVD of Serenity. To the chagrin of many fans, you were absent from the commentary track. This was due to a massive, ugly falling out you had with Joss, Nathan, Summer, Adam and Ron, right ?

JS : Not so much massive and ugly but more like large and homely. Seriously, I was filming Stargate until midnight the night before my flight was supposed to leave, and my passport was in the middle of getting renewed and hadn't come in the mail yet. I wish it was juicier than that, but there is no juice with us Firefly people. We all get along and love each other and it's really boring.

RGR : How did Joss originally pitch the character of Kaylee to you, and how did that original concept evolve as you brought her to life ?

JS : I read a small synopsis on Kaylee before I auditioned that basically said she was a warm, bubbly, chubby, lovely little individual, and I immediately realized that they would want me to eat copious amounts of cheeseburgers once I got this part, so I made it my goal to be as impressive as possible. I honestly thought I was a bit wrong for it at first and I actually wanted to audition for River, but I was told that Joss was pretty specific in wanting to see me read. Once I had the part and we started to shoot, it was a bit unclear how bubbly Kaylee was supposed to be. Is she just happy or is she more manic ? Is she hiding something and that's why she puts on the happy facade, or is she just drunk ? I figured the best route to go was to play up her innocence, her frankness, and her warmth more than anything. “Out of Gas” put me straight on the whole innocence thing, so after that I added horny flirt to her repertoire.

RGR : One thing we never got to see on the series was Kaylee's life before Serenity. Did you ever imagine her previous life, and if so, how did you integrate those elements into your performance ?

JS : I did a bit of imagining, but I also trusted Joss with any kind of backstory questions I had. I knew she had a great family, maybe not such a well-off one, but a family that was supportive of her and her abilities, otherwise why would they have let her go with someone like Mal ? That's one of the things that was most disappointing for me when the series got canceled so prematurely ; I would have loved to learn more about her life off the ship.

RGR : On the series, you played Kaylee with a sort of childlike innocence ; she was an optimist who saw the best in everyone. In the film, however, she seems to have reached a darker place—doubting the captain, shutting Simon out before he could apologize for leaving, etc. Were these simply functions of the script, or did you make a conscious effort to put Kaylee in an edgier place ?

JS : It was pretty much spelled out in the script what kind of mindframe everyone was in. The crew has reached a dark time, they're sick of being poor and on the run, and because of that, they're not getting along. Joss writes great dialogue ; it's easy to take a character into a different place.

RGR : On the new commentary track, Joss notes that Morena felt she got “lost” in the final cut. With the romance between Kaylee and Simon being such an important part of the series, were you disappointed that it didn't get more time in the feature film ?

JS : Morena's always lost, so that's no big surprise. Honestly, that did kind of suck for her, because she and Nathan had some really amazing, really beautiful scenes. But the movie was too long, so a lot of stuff that wasn't totally integral to the plot had to be axed, and it's a shame, because there's one moment they had in particular that always made me cry. In contrast, I think the amount of romance seen on screen between Kaylee and Simon was just enough ; the movie was about so much more than who gets to finally sleep with who, so I thought that while our moments were important, they were also relatively light and sweet, which gave everything a bit of balance.

RGR : Every actor wants to grow and find new parts that inspire them. How do you feel about being associated with a show that has thousands of fanatical followers who will always see you as the smudgy, smiley mechanic ?

JS : It's kind of funny : I've met some fans at certain events and conventions and things who say I look “sooooo much better” with grease on my face and overalls on. Like, thanks. But at least she's a likeable character ! I never imagined when I signed on to Firefly that this would happen. I think we all knew from the very beginning that we were creating something quite special, so when I meet people that understand and appreciate it, it feels really nice. The whole experience holds a lot of wonderful memories for me. Like when Nathan put hand lotion under the door handles of my trailer and laughed at me when I fell down the stairs. Other than that, I love all those guys, and I miss them a lot.

RGR : If the series had succeeded, how would you have liked to see Kaylee evolve ?

JS : I would have loved to meet her family, like I said before, but I've always had this desire to see Kaylee become a mother. She's child-like in a lot of ways, but also loving and maternal. I think she would have been a really great mom.

RGR : Honesty time : how creeped out are you by the more salacious fan fiction that appears online, and how do you feel about “fanfic” in general ?

JS : I don't really read the “fanfic.” Someone gave me a link to a particular short story involving Kaylee and Jayne getting it on... and then Kaylee and River getting it on....and then Kaylee and Inara (not such a huge stretch I guess, considering they're both ridiculous flirts) getting it on... and I just thought, “What does this say about me ?” There sure are some creative minds out there, but anything involving me and, well, Jayne getting together is just barf-worthy. Adam's like my dad.

RGR : Switching gears, what can you tell us about your new role as Dr. Jennifer Keller on the upcoming season of Stargate : Atlantis ?

JS : I'm having a lot of fun with this one. Keller's such a juxtapositon of so many things ; she's this amazingly brilliant doctor, way ahead in her field, well-respected and perfectly capable of dealing with almost any medical emergency, but she's a scaredy-cat who hates guns, violence, heights.

She's really out of her element in the world of Atlantis. But she's holding her own, and becoming braver all the time. She's got a great sense of humor too, and a natural ease with people. But she's very different from Kaylee. Kaylee's a lot more confident in herself, while Keller's a lot more grown up and practical. It's been really fun getting to know this person and figuring out where she's going to go and how she's going to evolve. This season's going to be a lot different from other seasons, with lots of surprises, but I'm really excited for it to start airing so I can finally talk about it !

RGR : Finally, the upcoming film The Tribe will mark your first foray into the horror genre. How has the experience been different from all the sci-fi you've been involved with over the last few years ?

JS : The Tribe's not a horror movie ! I'm not a fan of horror in general, unless it's done really intelligently, but even then all the guts and gore and cheap scares kind of annoy me. The reason why I signed on to The Tribe was because it was a story about letting go of your fears and being able to take care of yourself. I loved the character of “Liz” ; she starts out as such a meek, nervous little person and grows into so much more. I'd call it an action/suspense/thriller rather than a horror movie. And yeah, it's definitely been a different experience—lots of action, lots of conquering of my own fears, and becoming my own person. I learned a lot about myself on this one. I feel like I can do anything... I feel like Wonder Woman ! (They're still casting that damn thing ? You listening out there ?)

"Serenity" HD DVD is in the new Xbox 360 promotion

Webmaster — 2007-10-22T13:13:15Z

Five free film titles with purchases of an HD-DVD drive until February 2008

Microsoft is gearing up for the Christmas period with a new offer that's aimed at taking on Sony's PlayStation 3 Blu-ray component.

The company has announced that it will hand out five free HD-DVD titles from a selection of 13 films to customers buying an HD-DVD drive for their Xbox 360 between now and the end of January next year.

The titles available are : Serenity, The Chronicles of Riddick, Hulk, Children of Men, The Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift, Troy, Full Metal Jacket, Corpse Bride, The Prestige, Swordfish, Black Rain, Dreamgirls and Word Trade Centre

To receive the films customers will need to fill in a form and send it, along with the barcode from their HD-DVD drive purchase, to Microsoft - who will then send out the films within 28 working days.

The move comes shortly after Sony's PlayStation 3 price drop announcement and attempts to push its Blu-ray drive - one of the reasons why the PS3 retails at a higher price point than the Xbox 360.

"Serenity" Movie DVD - Collector Edition - Chud.com Review

Webmaster — 2007-09-03T18:29:38Z

The Pitch

“Burn the land and boil the sea ; you can't take the sky from me.”

The Humans

Nathan Fillion (Waitress), Alan Tudyk (Death at a Funeral), Adam Baldwin (My Bodyguard), Summer Glau, Morena Baccarin, Ron Glass (Barney Miller), Sean Maher, Jewel Staite, Gina Torres (Cleopatra 2525), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things), David Krumholz (Superbad), Sarah Paulson (Diggers)

Unbeknownst to the cast, the Firefly reunion was just an excuse for Joss to show off his vacation pictures.

The Nutshell

Once upon a time there was a TV series set in the distant future, about a spaceship and her colorful, diverse crew. The actors had exceptional chemistry and the writers were some of the best in the business. The show's premise imagined outer space as an untamed frontier, analogous to the western expansion of the United States. However, the network's executives never understood it. They meddled endlessly— rejecting the original pilot episode, moving the airtime all over the schedule and finally, abruptly, canceling the series altogether.

And that would have been the end if it hadn't been for the fans, many of who had never had the chance to see the show in its initial broadcast. Thanks largely to a concentrated grass-roots effort, studio interest in the property was revived and the entire cast was brought back, along with most of the original creative team. A continuation, in the form of a big-budget, widescreen theatrical motion picture, miraculously became reality. Its financial success led to several sequels, a handful of TV spin-offs, and a sprawling merchandising empire. Today, 40 years since it all began, household ears still ring to the names of Captain Kirk and Mister Spock.

If there's any comfort to be found in judging Serenity's box-office performance, perhaps we should consider it curiously appropriate that the beautiful losers of Joss Whedon's Firefly concluded their adventure on their own terms, as a proud, sacrificial blip of individuality amid a crushing summer-movie season. In a year when the Star Wars franchise proved to have lost sight, irretrievably, of the things that made it great, here was a proper space adventure packed with engaging characters, suspenseful action, and a killer sense of humor.

The Lowdown

What remains to be said about The Movie That Proved Sci-Fi Convention Awareness Isn't Everything ? Nick covered it HERE, Devin went in-depth HERE, and Russ tackled the original DVD release HERE. You'd think that'd be enough, wouldn't you ? Well, it's been a couple years so hopefully this piece won't seem too redundant.

Bottom line ? I dig the flick. I prefer the show — viewers familiar with both will note that the central ‘Western in space' concept is dialed down dramatically from the TV incarnation, and many of the characters get short shrift. I agree with my compatriots that Adam Baldwin's Jayne steals every frame in which he appears, and that the confrontations between Mal (Fillion) and the Operative (Ejiofor) are everything a balls-out Han Solo-vs.-Darth Vader throwdown could have been. I'll also allow that kooky little River is best in small doses, though novice actress Glau rises to the occasion with an impressive performance.

For my own spoilery part, I'm most disappointed with the truth about the Reavers. The big revelation doesn't seem to square with what little we learned in the series, and while it's provocative (and central to the plot) I kind of prefer the idea that they were just folk gone bonkers in the face of the ultimate existential crisis.

The Package

First, a word on the awesome box design— with this and the Flash Gordon case, Universal is on a roll this year. Although the artwork is a bit busy and jumbled, it's a dramatic improvement on the previous edition. There's actually a picture of the damn spaceship now.

Serenity is presented in a transfer identical to the previous disc. It was bold of Whedon to go full ‘scope for his feature debut, but on home video the aspect ratio creates a problem. Suppose you want to watch the TV show first, then continue on to the film ? The show was composed at 16:9 ; the idea of ‘scope is that it's bigger and wider than a regular screen but on home video, letterboxed at 2.35:1, it actually ends up smaller despite its greatly increased detail. Pretty good inducement to go high-definition, I guess.

On to the extras. Call me crazy, but with a 119-minute feature presentation and a combined 110 minutes of supplemental content, wouldn't a movie-only Disc One have been a better use of space, especially with the new DTS track ? A 'Play All' option for the mini-docs would be nice too—there's surprisingly little overlap amongst them.

With the exception of the cast commentary, which was recorded this spring, all supplements are ©2005 and reflect the giddy optimism of the pre-release period. Said commentary is solid ; the intervening years have allowed the participants to calm down a bit and even express a bit of frustration with the way the film was received by the paying public. Included are all the items from the original disc, plus some that were previously Web exclusives or TV specials. Session 416, a mock-doc series of interviews charting River Tam's descent into madness, is fascinating to see in full-resolution, if only for Ms. Glau's real tears. The Green Clan is an all-too-brief profile of cinematographer Jack Green, whose experience on numerous Clint Eastwood productions was invaluable to the look of the movie. Ever more than before, the Joss Whedon Introduction video is in desperate need of some sort of preamble to establish its context. English subtitles are provided for all material except the solo Whedon commentary.

8.5 out of 10

"Serenity" Movie DVD - Collector Edition - Joblo.com Review

Webmaster — 2007-08-31T18:28:48Z

The crew of the spaceship SERENITY find themselves in a heap of danger when a government assassin relentlessly attempts to track them down in order to dispose of River Tam (one of their passengers who holds a dark secret). I might've been one of two people who didn't completely fall in love with SERENITY during its theatrical run (with JoBlo being the second), but having since then garnered some interest in the TV show on which the film is based, "Firefly", it looks as though I've developed a newfound appreciation for it. But to be fair, part of that could also be my man crush on Nathan Fillion. (Don't judge - we're all allowed one.)

The story itself isn't anything special, as it comes across as fairly generic sci-fi, much of which can be readily found in hundreds of other movies/TV shows. There are also a number of clichéd moments, but those are fortunately counteracted by the numerous scenes that go completely against expectations (gotta love the scene where the villain says he's unarmed, and Fillion blasts him anyway ; good shit !).

Another sore spot on the production is the TV-ish feel that creeps in at times. This should come as no surprise to Joss Whedon followers, since his work mainly stays oriented in TV land ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel"). Regardless of this minor setback, his direction impresses all the same. The first half of the film in particular flows beautifully, and I loved how Whedon managed to utilize transitions in cool and creative ways—certainly a step up from those awful "side wipes" seen in the STAR WARS films.

Ultimately, what makes SERENITY come together is its cast, style, and script. There's this western, swashbuckling mentality mixed with the futuristic sci-fi elements that somehow fits perfectly, and the hilariously witty dialogue helps bring it to another level. Some of the cast members go to waste, but key members like Nathan Fillion and Chiwetel Ejiofor are excellent. Their performances coupled with the film's snappy banter make for an unstoppable duo, and really act as the driving force for what makes this well-realized adaptation/send-off of "Firefly" so much fun. Video : Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The picture appears to be the same as it was on the original DVD release, which is perfectly fine since it looked great then too.

Audio : English DTS 5.1, English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, and Spanish/French 2.0 Surround. The DTS track is new to this "Collector's Edition" DVD, so audio junkies should be thrilled. The movie sounds terrific. Feel free to toss aside your original single-disc release, because this awesome double dip contains all of the previous special features, and of course, a whole bunch more.

Even the packaging is beautiful, with an undeniably cool (and partially see-through) cover, and a sturdy case that folds out nicely. The downside though, is that it may be a little bulky when stacking it beside your other DVDs. Seeing as how the set is only two discs, there doesn't seem to be a justifiable reason for why it's so thick.

Returning features have been marked with an asterisk.

DISC 1

*Audio Commentary (with writer/director Joss Whedon) : An honest and enjoyable listen, especially for all you Whedon lovers out there.

Audio Commentary (with writer/director Joss Whedon and actors Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass) : This recently recorded track is fun if only because the returning cast/crew sound like they're having so much fun, and not because it's particularly informative. If you're looking for insight, check out the original commentary by Whedon alone.

Extended Scenes (6:45) : There are four scenes available here, none of which provide any extra moments of substance. These are for the diehard fans only.

Take a Walk on Serenity (4:07) : A short but entertaining featurette that follows Joss Whedon and the cast as they explore Serenity, the ship used in the film.

The Green Clan (3:08) : A relatively worthless featurette that focuses on cinematographer Jack Green, his life, and contributions to the film.

*Joss Whedon Introduction (3:55) : Not merely a DVD intro, this is the introduction Whedon put before the original preview screening of SERENITY. Very heartfelt.

*We'll Have a Fruity Oaty Good Time ! (1:39) : This was originally an easter egg on the previous DVD, but now it's made easily accessible. It gives an inside look at a commercial used in the film, and it's hilarious.

Also returning from the previous release are *Outtakes (6:05) and nine *Deleted Scenes (14:39), all of which come with optional audio commentary from writer/director Joss Whedon.

DISC 2

A Filmmaker's Journey (19:54) : Not overly in-depth, but still informative, this great making-of featurette goes over the ins-and-outs of bringing SERENITY to the big screen.

*Future History – The Story of Earth That Was (4:33) : An interesting yet all too brief look at how the world has changed from our time period to the one featured in the film.

*Re-lighting the Firefly (9:41) : An earnest examination of how the cancellation of "Firefly" led to the creation of SERENITY, with a cast/crew trip to ComicCon topping it off.

*What's in a Firefly ? (6:33) : This featurette delves into the special effects work on the film. Interesting, but fairly standard.

Session 416 (8:01) : A cool addition to the set, showing extra bits and pieces of River's backstory.

Sci-Fi Inside : Serenity (21:46) : This fluff promo piece, having originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel, offers hardly any insight into the making of SERENITY. Skip it. I still don't quite get why people have been hailing SERENITY as one of the greatest sci-fi adventures since the original STAR WARS, but with it's nifty western twist on the genre, some bitingly hilarious dialogue, and the always badass Nathan Fillion being even more badass than usual, it's definitely an enjoyable ride. "Firefly" fans will be psyched with this slick new "Collector's Edition", and they have every right to be ; it's a kickass set. Beautifully packaged and loaded with extras, this is one double dip that's actually worth having to cough up the extra cash.