I lurve this advice. I wish more NOVELISTS would follow it. Many a novel stops dead for boring description of characters. OTOH, however nice it is that Moran appreciates Jossness, I won't be seeing Severance, because it's just not my kind of movie. But I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it immensely.

Maeve | January 15, 19:33 CET

Severance really is a good flick. The usual tagline is "The Office meets Wrong Turn". Or maybe Deliverance.

Point is that if you like clever writing and good humorous characterization with your gratuitous torture and death, check it out. In retrospect it's not surprising that Moran might have been influenced by Whedon's style while figuring out some aspects of the script.

And the director/co-writer, Christopher Smith, did a pretty great job on this one too. His first film, Creep, was alright but this is leagues ahead.

NekoDono | January 15, 21:29 CET

Very good description. I felt like I was watching the movie. Again.

madmolly | January 15, 22:15 CET

The intro gives the audience the impression that River sees the future? Nope, don't think so.

Besides that, good advice, for sure.

shambleau | January 15, 22:47 CET

Curiously, the only character that was failed a bit in that intro on Serenity, was Zoe. Although I felt Joss made it as clear as he could, all sorts of people missed that she and Wash were married.
Maybe just too much info coming at once.

Lioness | January 15, 23:07 CET

The word "master" should only with great care be united with an iamb that ends with the sound "un."

Pointy | January 16, 02:51 CET

Point taken... 'bator.

QuoterGal | January 16, 03:05 CET

I'm one of those "Serenity Browncoats", i.e. I saw the BDM before the BDS. I was amazed at how quickly I liked the characters...Joss really nailed it good with the opening in Serenity. It was a very short span that hooked me fast.

Jonestein | January 16, 03:11 CET

That might be what my novel needs. Heck, I hate writing descriptions in the first place and try to avoid them when I can...let the readers imagination fill in the blanks.

But in a movie, you've got the visuals--you see the person. Not quite sure how to just do it with dialogue in a book without giving the basics of the character description.

twilight angel | January 16, 05:31 CET

The intro gives the audience the impression that River sees the future? Nope, don't think so.

I dunno. That doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me.

MAL: She's a reader. Sees into the truths of things. Might see trouble before it's commin'...

Then moments later, just as Simon is about to tell her that she's going on the job, she interrupts him and says, "I know. I'm going for a ride."

I think that could give first-time viewers the impression that she's precognitive.

AlanD | January 16, 10:54 CET

In a limited sense River is precognitive since she knows what people are going to say before they say it, what people are intending to do before they do it (young guy in bank etc.) by reading their thoughts.

Cindy B, not a writer but i've noticed (through reading ;) that some authors avoid long expository physical description either by drip-feeding it so it doesn't feel long or by having other characters comment on it so that it doesn't feel expository ("Wow ! Err, how's the weather up there big fella ?").

Or you can make the exposition itself entertaining as well as informative e.g. from 'The High Window' (I think) by Raymond Chandler "From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away." (to me this is so good because not only does it pretty much pin the character being described in two pithy sentences but it also tells us a bit about the character doing the describing i.e. Philip Marlowe).

Saje | January 16, 15:32 CET

Severance...I didn't see the bit with the --- ----- (wouldn't be fair to spoil it) coming. Hilarious. Oh, and that bit where the ------- takes out an --------. Fantastic.

commandlinegamer | January 16, 23:18 CET