Cut and pasted from the Spoiler thread:

I'm about to leave in 30 minutes to see it for the second time. Let's hope we get the reels in the proper order this time. Also, the BDH need to come to see us to make up for that mistake. And just because we rock.

Ok, Portland, let's be bad guys!

electricspacegirl | May 27, 03:21 CET

come on post! I wanna know if you loved it.

charisma | May 27, 04:26 CET

Who would be registered on whedonesque.com and say nay to Serenity? It be hypocritical or contradicting or something along those lines... Wouldn't it? Either ways, I'll tell you what I thought in mere hours in the other board created by Simon!

[ edited by RIPWesley on 2005-05-27 03:25 ]

RIPWesley | May 27, 05:25 CET

I would like to think most of us at Whedonverse are more than sheeps that say "yay" just because it's made by Whedon. If the movie sucked, I would say nay, regardless of my affliations.



Sorry, if that sounded harsh. I'm just bitter that I'm here staring at my computer while some are staring at the BDM. :(

NickSeng | May 27, 07:26 CET

I was spoiled beforehand, but that didn't take away from it. A big definite yay from me, and from a Firefly virgin who I brought with me who is now going to run out and buy the DVDs.

HiddenSky | May 27, 08:46 CET

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Just got back from the screening in D.C (Morena [and her mom!] were there!) and I haven't stopped smiling since. It was truly amazing. I don't really have any coherent thoughts right now, but for those who have yet to see it? Do NOT read the spoilers. It's for the best, I promise. :)

vamRIPire | May 27, 08:58 CET

Morena & her mom came to the DC screening - how sweet! I hope we didn't frighten her mom what with all the screaming. Both of them are gorgeous - Morena was wearing an Ally McBeal length skirt. She said that she hadn't seen this version of the film... anyone lucky enough to go on May 5 & 26? Curious to hear what's changed.

I loved it, of course... on the edge of my seat almost the whole time. Tears, laughter, pain, inspiration.

gingeriffic | May 27, 08:59 CET

I just got back from the Bensalem, PA show. I'll write more about it tomorrow, but I can say it's like an episode of "Firefly," but much BIGGER. It's intense, funny, frightening, shocking, heartwrenching and will leave you in awe. Joss pulls no punches with this movie, and there are many moments where you'll say to yourself "I can't believe that just happened!" All the actors are amazing!

Do not give into temptation and read any spoilers for this movie. You do not want to know. See it the way it was intended to be seen.

More tomorrow morning...

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2005-05-27 07:22 ]

Nebula1400 | May 27, 09:18 CET

Just returned from the Bensalem, Pennsyltucky screening and I am at once, wired like a meth-freak and drained beyond belief. I just never dreamed it could be so, well... BIG. Unbelievable. Thought I'd feel sweet, proprietary big-sister pride in Joss, and left realizing how unbelievably arrogant and patronizing those thoughts were. This is no little labor of love. This is a giant, magnificent, jaw-dropping, blockbuster. A blockbuster, people. Simply the most exciting movie I've ever seen. Return of the Who?? Revenge of the What??

Too fried for coherent thoughts yet, but I'll just say that my Merchant Ivory-loving girlie-girl friend who is a complete Whedon virgin and was a little stern about being dragged to "that spaceship movie" had two things to say afterward:

1. "That was just far too graphic/too much violence for me." and
2. "What-time-can-you-bring-by-your-DVDs-in-the-morning,-cuz-I'm-not-sure-I-can-wait-until-Saturday-and-I-want-to-make-sure-to-watch-the-series-a-couple-times-through-before-we-see-the-movie-again-in-September-and-yes-I-have-a-trial-tomorrow-but-not-until-noonish-so-I-can-get-at-least-two-episodes-in-first-thing-if-you-don't-sleep-too-late-oh-my-god-I-loved-it-i'm-not-going-to-sleep-at-all-tonight."

You. Can't. Stop. The. Signal. More in the a.m....in the meantime, please, please, PLEASE refrain from spoilers. If I had to do it all over again, I would have even stayed away from the trailer. What an effing brilliant ride! Thank you, Joss. Thank you so very much.

[ edited by barest_smidgen on 2005-05-27 17:06 ]

barest_smidgen | May 27, 09:28 CET

Just got back from the Hartford screening... no one famous there. But I got a keychain! Woo!

Anyway, I'm saying Yay! YAY! YAY! YAY! The movie is amazing. It was not what I was expecting at all, but still brilliant. And I want to thank every other conscientious browncoat in the theater that cut their laughs short so they didn't laugh over the next line. It had to be the most polite audience I've ever seen a film with. Now I'm going to post a more spoilery review over in the other thread because I cannot go to sleep.

ETA: I totally forgot to mention this bit: I brought my dad with me. He's 54 years old and a big action movie fan (If you asked him his favorite movie, he might possibly say DIE HARD). He's a typical moviegoer. He saw, I think, 3 episodes of Firefly when they aired. So he wasn't coming into the film entirely cold, but he wasn't a rabid fan. And he really enjoyed the film. We talked about it for at least 30 minutes straight on the ride home. (Which is a ton for us because we don't talk all that much) So I now have faith that the film can reach out to the non-Browncoat sect. Which before seeing it, I really wasn't sure about.

[ edited by WindTheFrog on 2005-05-27 07:35 ]

WindTheFrog | May 27, 09:29 CET

barest_smidgen, your enthusiasm and wit are always appreciated; so very happy for you on this wonderful night!


That's a bold statment, makes me so excited and both increases and lessens the pain of being left home alone on 'prom night', so to speak!

gorramit | May 27, 09:32 CET

*hugs gorramit* I mean it, too. To see my totally ambivalent friend burst out laughing, grab my arm in shock, cover her eyes and cry "Holy Crap!" at scenes from the trailer that we all had watched over and over was a real treat, and made me more than just a little bit jealous of her newness. On the other hand, I had so many of my own fits and starts of that sort, that I'm not sure my little heart could have taken much more. I swear to you, when the lights came up, and we stood to leave, my knees were weak and wobbly.

[ edited by barest_smidgen on 2005-05-27 07:53 ]

barest_smidgen | May 27, 09:50 CET

barest_smidgen, I'm one to sit through the end credits for movies I enjoy, just to prolong the experience, to delay having to leave that world. There's no question that I'll do just that for 'Serenity' but from your reactions (we appear to think alike in our fandom) the theatre staff will have to scrape me off the floor! *Sigh* there are unconfirmed rumblings here in Canada of something happening soon...wish I knew more but don't; my excitement levels are peaking once more! Thank you!!

gorramit | May 27, 09:57 CET

Wowee, Wowee, Wowee!!! This is mostly a retread of what I said on the other thread (no spoilers there either, I think). I was blown away. Joss really exceeded my expectations; there was enough explanation of the verse for newbies without taking time from the movie for the rest of us. And I was pleasantly surprised that the Joss humor was everywhere. When I saw the trailer I thought it was only mostly action, but, as Joss always does, it makes you laugh and cry, practically all in one breath. I agree with the folks that say not to get spoiled if you can help it. It will make it that much better. And, as I said in the other thread, I can't believe how absolutely gorgeous Morena Baccarin is in person, even more so than on film (if that's possible). I can't see how this won't be a hit. I want another preview so I can see it again. (but I'm not greedy!)

spikeangellover | May 27, 10:01 CET

I was at the D.C. screening with gingeriffic, spikeangllover, Chris in Virginia and many other Whedonesque lurkers-not-posters. I'm exhausted and just posted a rambling, incoherent-yet-wired "review" in the Spoiler section. I have no energy left to say much of consequence in this spoiler-free thread tonight. But I will, because my heart is with you guys. I went into it largely unspoiled - the one spoiler I was exposed to I did not invite and in fact deeply resent having been exposed to. To those of you who like being spoiler free, I say remain strong! There are quite a few shocks and surprises and breathless developments and it's all just so.....BIG. I loved it. I can't imagine anyone not loving it. It's very, very different than Firefly but it's wonderful and jaw-dropping and it's its own, amazing thing.

We D.C. folks got Morena Baccarin and her Brazilian film actress mother, Vera Setta! So unexpected. As others have already said, Morena is even more beautiful in person than on film, as hard to believe as that is. And so naturally gracious.

Wow. Just, wow.

phlebotinin | May 27, 10:08 CET

Listen to what everyone has said. AVOID spoilers. Jesus Christ, this movie was orgasmic. How does that man do it? He even made me say Jesus Christ and orgasmic in the same sentence!

BlindHawkeyes | May 27, 10:12 CET

True, true, spikangellover. I leaned over a couple of times to fill in the gaps for my friend when I thought not knowing Firefly left her at a disadvantage. Each time she shushed me with some version of "I know. I got it." Or, "Well, obviously. Hush!" And "Will you stop shouting 'No!' at the screen, already?"

I know, i know. I'm going to the shephard's special hell...

barest_smidgen | May 27, 10:15 CET

Yay! Loved it! I was a little worried going in that I would just _like_ it, but I really _loved_ it! The audience clearly loved it too, laughing, crying, cheering all the way.

Having seen Revenge of the Sith last week, I couldn't help but notice how much better Serenity was in terms of dialogue. I'm a Star Wars fan, but let's face it, most of the time you wished people would stop talking in ROTS. In Serenity, you treasure every scene, every exchange, every line. The characters are smart and true (even the bad guys), no different than it was in Firefly.

I don't really know what else to say without going into spoilers, so I think I'll go post in the other thread. Avoid the spoilers if you haven't seen it, but I don't consider the trailer too spoilery. Having seen it didn't detract from the movie for me at all.

EDIT:
BTW, I took 2 friends who have now watched some but not all the episodes on my DVDs. They both thought it was really good. When it comes out, I'm not worried about the audience liking it, they will. I'm worried about getting people INTO the theater to see it. Here's hoping!

[ edited by jam2 on 2005-05-27 08:28 ]

jam2 | May 27, 10:20 CET

Ron Glass was in Minneapolis.

Long story short, a hearty "yay" from me. Sleep will be difficult tonight.

ringworm | May 27, 10:40 CET

Wasn't there, but heard from some one who was, that Nathan was at the Sacremento screening.

RavenU | May 27, 11:27 CET

I went to the first screening in Sacramento. I am so kicking myself for not getting tickets to tonight's screening.

fr0g | May 27, 11:32 CET

Summer Glau was at the Chicago screening. She was lovely, and kind, and seemingly floored by our enthusiasm. She signed posters and posed for pictures afterward. There was also a camera crew filming segments for marketing/DVD material.

Saw it with someone who'd seen none of the TV series. He loved it dearly. So tired/wired. Whoo!

nemo | May 27, 11:50 CET

No BDH's in San Francisco this time, but I did have better seats than I did for 5/5, and it made a lot of difference. I mean, I loved it the first time, but this time was even better. EVEN BETTER. Any concerns I may have had after the first viewing were completely erased. What an amazing film. Oh, and I think someone asked if it had been changed. No, it was the same version--still some sound and light issues.

Samantha | May 27, 11:56 CET

Nathan was in Sac! It was great. They had a camera guy interviewing people, and we were in line a lot longer than on the 5th, so I started to get pretty excited. We finally sit down and Nathan walks out. What a hot, classy, funny, and charming man. They changed the flyer a bit too - the new one is has the Serenity logo in the center, with small pictures of the cast at the bottom, as before. And now I have one signed by Nathan. I had a feeling that if I skipped this screening, someone would show up. What a great time. I'll post more about tne non-spoilerish things he said when I assemble my thoughts, for now, there are important spoilery things I must speak of in the other thread.

And re the movie being the same or not, I noticed two, tiny little things that were shifted a bit, and Nathan confirmed that a couple little things were changed as well. Little. A camera angle at one point, and where we see a character first in a particular scene.

Angela | May 27, 12:07 CET

Okay guys, I'm wowed and I didn't even see the screening. Could some of you later posters give us non-blessed an impression of the audience's reactions? Although, heh, the theatres were probably wall-to-wall brownscape.

Arrggh, it's four months away . . .

Drifter | May 27, 12:09 CET

Just got back from Denver. Jewel was the special guest for that screening. All I can say is Wow! My sweetie, Sandy, says her only complaint is that she didn't blink enough and her contacts dried out!

Audience reaction? Lots of applause, screams, shouts, and wows. Oh wait, that was just my family :-)

It truly is the "Western in Space" that Gene Roddenberry promised, but did not deliver.

dcubed | May 27, 12:26 CET

Since no one has mentioned it, my very lucky friend in Denver sat a couple seats away from Ms. Jewel Staite, while I was at MPLS with Ron Glass. RAR! What a night :) I spoke with some 'verse virgins and they were blown away and planning a dvd grab of the series. I was also very happy to get to watch reactions of the folks (converts all) that I brought with. Seeing it time two made me yearn for time three.

A friend that I converted letf saying it was bar none the best scifi movie of all time and maybe the best movie period. High praise indeed. If you have not seen it yet, I recommend going in spoiler free. It is a hell of a ride and you don't want to know ahead of time where the track is going :)

edit -- I see while I was babbling dcubed posted re: Jewel :)
p.s. -- the reaction was amazing, though not as many costumes as the first round. More singing of Hero of Canton and Ballad of Serenity this time out, however.

[ edited by zeitgeist on 2005-05-27 10:29 ]

zeitgeist | May 27, 12:27 CET

Just got back from the Portland screening. I was with samawitch and m'cookies and their friends. This is my second time seeing it.

Chris Buchanan showed up, introduced the movie, and then held a Q&A afterward. He told us that Alan Tudyk was going to be there, but had to be in New York to do Spamalot.

There were no messed up reels this time, and we did have sound for all of it, including Joss' message. Seeing it linearly this time, I was able to get a better feel of it. It's still as powerful of ever, and I can't wait to see it finished, with all the effects and music it's going to have.

I'm tired, and I don't feel like saying much more. I just want to read all the posts now. Oh, and m'cookies says hi.

electricspacegirl | May 27, 12:39 CET

We did sing the Ballad of Serenity and The Hero of Canton in Sac this time, neither of which happened on the 5th. Quite a few costumes, something I forgot to mention - one guy had on a full Mal outfit in Sac, and when Nathan came out, he (the fan) calmly walked all the way up to him, and started to extend his hand. Nathan hollered, "Security! Security!" jokingly a couple times, and kindly shook his hand and the guy returned to his seat. After the movie, the cameraman had all the people in costumes get together for a group moment.

Reaction in Sac was awesome. Lots of laughter, cheers, screams, etc.

Angela | May 27, 12:44 CET

Great posts everyone, cheers for your thoughts. I'm quite curious to know how many people would have seen the movie last night.

Simon | May 27, 12:47 CET

Oh, I forgot to mention: someone at the screening made little Firefly buttons to hand out for free. I got 3. One is a shot of Mal from the series, pointing his gun, another is River from Objects in Space, holding the stick, and the other is the Serenity logo. Now I have five different buttons (a big Serenity button, and a Joss is Boss button). I have 4 more Joss is Boss buttons I'll be giving away.

Browncoats are awesome. Someone new to the PDX Browncoats yahoo group, who only heard about the screening a few days ago, came with his wife. He got one ticket, and since he had been a fan longer than her, she let him go in. She waited outside for another ticket. At the last minute, she got one, and when she came into the auditorium, a bunch of us cheered for her. That was awesome to see.

We didn't have to wait in line very long. They let us in at 8:30 this time. While we were waiting, A guy with a Jayne hat went up front to lead us in a rendition of Hero of Canton. He had the lyrics, and a lot of us didn't know them all by heart, but we all joined in the chorus, mostly off-key, but it was beautiful anyway.

Before the movie, a bunch of us met up at a restaurant for BBQ. We had made reservations. We got to meet, chat about the Jossverse, and we had a great time. It's an amazing experience to bond with strangers over fandom. It doesn't feel like we're strangers. We feel like family. So shiny.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-05-27 11:51 ]

electricspacegirl | May 27, 13:33 CET

I enjoyed reading your story electricspacegirl. Made me wish I was there and now I am so green with envy. Only 126 more days until the feast. Oh and something I've been wondering about but never asked. Were there credits on the movie at the beginning(you know the long intros that go on forever.)

[ edited by eddy on 2005-05-27 12:54 ]

eddy | May 27, 14:52 CET

There were credits, though I'm not sure they are the final version.

Nebula1400 | May 27, 15:17 CET

Jesus Christ, this movie was orgasmic. How does that man do it? He even made me say Jesus Christ and orgasmic in the same sentence!

I have really enjoyed reading all the posts, and I am jealous of everyone. But, BlindHawkeyes, I am still rolling with laughter at your post! I read it to all the people around me (who needed a short advance explanation, because they all thought I had finally gone over the edge), and they got a real chuckle, too. So thanks for making my (our) day.

palehorse | May 27, 15:19 CET

I'm having a harder and harder time staying spoiler free... thanks for all your reports!

Caroline | May 27, 15:55 CET

Me too Caroline!

I'm off out tonight with people who know what happens! Maybe I should abstain from the drinking, otherwise I may not be spoiler free by the end of the night!

I've really enjoyed the reports too! A happy surprise to see the cast there as well.

bubblecat | May 27, 16:13 CET

Jewel Staite in Denver
Having Jewel watch the BD movie with us was a real thrill. Thanks! Her husband came, too, and they were both very gracious. I include a pic of Jewel, along with some of my notes, here. (The sections that I consider to be marginal spoilers are clearly marked as such.) So when's the next one?

Ari | May 27, 16:53 CET

The movie was incredible. Don't read any spoilers, its worth it to go in totally blind.

In Atlanta, the person in charge of Special FX was there (sorry, but I missed hearing his name). At the end, he took a few questions. He said the movie we saw would still have some color correction and a few tweaks to sound. The final score wasn't yet in place. There were around 40 FX scenes that weren't final yet. He said that they were all in the movie, but they needed a little more polish. People asked what the budget for the movie as well as Universal's budget for marketing were, but they dodged both questions nicely just saying that they had much less to make the movie than most other summer blockbusters.

Someone asked if Firefly would come back to TV, and the answer is that if the movie does well, they want to continue with more movies. People asked if the story would be fleshed out in more details, and the comic book was mentioned, but they also hinted at something maybe being animated. Someone asked if we would see Joss on TV again, but right now he's focused on movies. At any time, he has about 10 great ideas for what he'll do next, but his next idea changes each day.

Since we're in the south, they shared a story that part of Mal's charater was influenced by the book The Killer Angels. Joss apparently referred to the mood in the book about the Southern soldiers who lost the war and were forced to move out west as the attitude that he wanted to see with Mal.

[ edited by wsavage on 2005-05-27 15:39 ]

wsavage | May 27, 17:25 CET

I was at the DC screening along with 3 other people (thanks to marmoset and gingerific!!!) and I must say -- I was not dissapointed. I am soooooo glad I stayed away from spoiler threads beforehand. Wow. I haven't gotten my thoughts together enough to write anything coherant yet, but hopefully soon.

For those of you that haven't seen it -- don't read the spoilers, if you can at all help it. It'll be worth the wait. Definately.

jewel | May 27, 17:43 CET

I am so incredibly jealous. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry now.

Daromaius | May 27, 17:54 CET

I was at the Providence screening last night, and let me just add to all of the "wow, it's amazing" comments.

One of the things I really loved was Joss' introduction. Just the right mix of humorous and heartfelt, and it was a wonderful reminder that the people involved with this project have never lost sight of the contribution of the very vocal fan base in getting this made.

We really have done the impossible, and I, for one, feel pretty damn mighty.

deirdre | May 27, 18:03 CET

Is it just me, or was anyone else just really excited to be surrounded by screaming fans? I think this will go down in history as one of my best-ever movie-seeing experiences, what with the screaming and the screeching and the seeing Jewel in person.

GrrrAargh | May 27, 18:19 CET

I saw the Serenity screening in Bensalem, PA. No stars there :(, but I don't think there would have been seats available for them...

Joss Whedon is a cruel man. You love him for doing something you absolutely hate. You hate him for making you laugh after tearing your heart out. You’ll be in shock yet totally enthralled and exhilarated when witnessing what has to be the scariest, most edge-of-your-seat movie you’re likely to see in ever. He’s raising the bar on storytelling in movies, and that can’t be bad. Or it could be traumatizing. Take your pick.

Serenity is everything you would expect a Joss Whedon story to be, but so much of it is unexpected – which is what you should expect. It is funny and terrifying, often in the same moment. There is nothing predictable about it, yet if you know Joss Whedon’s brilliant madness, everything that happens in the story makes sense and was bound to happen.

Just as in Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, the story also has deeper meaning and social commentary, but not in a preachy, moral high-road way. People are going to be talking about the deeper messages in the story and analyzing it for years to come – as with any great piece of literature, or any great movie.

The movie we saw at the screening isn’t quite done. The picture quality is grainy. The opening titles may be temporary (not sure). The background music is temporary or non-existent. The lighting and color in many scenes needs enhancement or the pictures need more clarity; but that is something that will be remedied by the time the movie is officially release, and none of it detracts from the story at all. In the version we saw, it appears that all the special effects are in place, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more added to the final version. If nothing is added in that regard, it wouldn’t be missed.

The performances by the actors are all riveting. Every character has at least a few good moments, and those moments aren’t ever squandered or without purpose. I’ve never seen so many messages and emotional transitions conveyed on one face in the same moment as I’ve seen in this movie – and that applies to nearly everyone in the cast. Especially powerful are the performances of Summer Glau, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres… oh, hell… let’s just say everyone in the cast! This is sort of like trying to decide which one of your children is your favorite…

Do yourself a favor. DO NOT GIVE INTO TEMPTATION AND SEEK OUT SPOILERS. If you want the full impact of this movie, stay spoiler free. Kill anyone who tries to spoil you. See this movie the way Joss intended you to see it. You will be grateful that you did.

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2005-05-27 16:36 ]

Nebula1400 | May 27, 18:19 CET

I was at the Providence screening, and wow. I want to see it again, and again, and again. I went to see the first Matrix movie six times, and I am pretty sure I'll be wanting to top that number with Serenity by mid-October (I say "wanting" because I really don't have that kind of cash on hand, but you know what? that's a long ways away).

I'll agree with everyone else -- you must stay away from spoilers!

Of note: one of my male friends says the talk at the urinals afterwards was all about Star Wars (and that it wasn't the most complimentary talk), and not about the amazing movie everyone had just seen. Now, number one, I wasn't aware all you guys actually talked at the urinals (but that's better than awkward silence, right?), and number two, I wanted to know, "why talk about Star Wars?" After mulling it over a lot, I've come to the conclusion that everyone was just TOO BLOWN AWAY, too awe-struck by "Serenity" to go gabbing casually about it in the men's room. It needs mental processing, it needs re-watching, and it needs serious contemplation. "Star Wars" was so easy to digest for most folks, so almost 'fluffy' in comparison (not the word I'm looking for, but you get the idea), that it makes for much easier casual banter. Does that seem like a good explanation?

Secondly, even though I'd been spoiled for the content of Joss' pre-screening video message, it was still incredibly moving and funny, and I don't regret that kind of spoiler, because it didn't detract in the least, and it wasn't a spoiler for the actual movie.

Story-wise? Possibly the most brilliant script ever, and so well-executed by everyone involved you will be completely amazed. Technically, yes, there were some major color issues (boy, that first scene was just so grainy and dark), but I am sure they'll fix them before September.

Security was un-obtrusive, they didn't go through our bags, the night vision thingy was going on, but not in a rude way, and the theatre manager was very sweet. The Universal guy seemed like a bit of a wallflower. He didn't say anything, and didn't even seem to be interested in asking people for their reactions. I was puzzled by this behavior -- surely he'd want to chat with people?

chickenbird | May 27, 19:09 CET

I thought it magnificent. I saw it in Atlanta, and I was completely blown away.

psyche | May 27, 19:35 CET

So, the consensus seems to be that it doesn't suck. Good to know!

bobster | May 27, 21:10 CET

bobster - i saw it for the SECOND time, and no, it does not suck. hee hee!!!

anyone who was at the BOSTON screening - it appears there was VIP of some sort in the audience, my friends said they thought it was Ron Glass but i said no (and i'm right! yay me!), but any idea who it might have been? facing the seats, he was seated on the upper left, about seven rows up, on the wall. had a beret type cap on that covered his hair. any ideas who this might have been? i want to wow my friends some more w/ my superior knowledge of arcane jossy things. :)

leenah | May 27, 21:35 CET

AMAZING. I can't even formulate coherent thoughts about how excellent this film was, and I was worried it would be like a long episode of the show (which would have been fine). It's SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

Be excited. Be *very* excited :)

Typhon24 | May 27, 21:36 CET

I was at the Portland screening. It was awesome!!! I still can't believe I saw it...I still can't believe what I saw. I don't need to go into any detail on the evening because electricspacegirl covered all the fun that happened before the movie. The Q&A with Chris Buchanan was great! I met him afterwards, he was really nice and just seemed to enjoy talking to us. My wife asked him to sign our little poster, we're going to frame it, it will be my first Firefly paraphanilia to add to my Whedon collection (except the DVD's of coarse). My wife, who likes Buffy and Angel and who has seen a few episodes of Firefly LOVED the movie! I think we will be watching through the DVDs together real soon.

Thank you Joss (if you read this) for making such an awesome movie...and letting us see it so soon. You Rock!!!

Jinxieman | May 27, 21:46 CET

I saw the movie in Portland, and it was far more powerful than I expected. As someone posted on FFF, don't go into this movie expecting the caterpillar of Firefly. Serenity is a butterfly, and the ride is exhausting, fun, beautiful and dangerous. I went in expecting to be impressed and surprised, and still found those expectations exceeded.

Avoid spoilers at all costs!

Oh, and Chris Buchanan was incredibly friendly and generous with his time and information. It was great to have a glimpse of the process from someone with the access he has.

Worth every penny and browser refresh to get those tickets.

strangel | May 27, 21:49 CET

Thanks for all the posts - much appreciated.

I just wanted to say to those of you who have seen the movie, please don't forget to rate Serenity in the IMDb and maybe put some non spoiler comments up as well - a lot of people use this to check out movies (I know I do). You have to register to vote but, apart from helping Serenity, it is worth it for the neat little database features you get free as a registered user.

miranda | May 27, 22:18 CET

Strangel and Jinxieman, did I meet you? I was the girl with brown hair, glasses, in purple, and I was hanging out at Rick's Serenity van when he was showing off his Firefly props in the parking lot.

electricspacegirl | May 27, 22:38 CET

electricspacegirl, as I just posted in the other thread, we didn't meet, but I remember you asking about [POSSIBLE SPOILER] Nathan playing the Reaver. You look familiar to me though, but I don't think we have ever meet, probably one of those odd things. Have you ever been to Longview?

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2005-05-27 20:55 ]

Jinxieman | May 27, 22:53 CET

I was in Chicago (second viewing for me, first for my brother) and we were both in heaven..it is even better the second time (when I wasn't having an anxiety attack throughout the film), and Summer Glau is so beautiful in person, and so incredibly sweet. We had the very best time...

and I can't wait to see the BDM a third time! (LOL)

embers | May 27, 22:54 CET

Jinxieman: I don't know if it was a spoiler or not, but there was something (now invisibled) in your last post that could have been a plot detail some of us don't wish to know about until September. If it referred to some innocent jape, my apologies; if it was a spoiler, please try to be more careful. There are still a few of us out on the rim who haven't seen Serenity yet. Gosh, do I sound bitter at all?

SoddingNancyTribe | May 27, 22:58 CET

Funny you mention this, I heard three guys in the bathroom afterwards say that Serenity was the best movie ever followed by 'F*CK EPISODE THREE!!!" and a bunch of laughter.

zeitgeist | May 27, 23:03 CET

SNT: that's okay that you changed it, but I don't really think it was a spoiler, more like a fun fact if it's true, it has nothing to do with the plot of the movie or even any events that happen. I didn't think it was a secret that those things are in the movie, but better safe than sorry.

Jinxieman | May 27, 23:08 CET

SNT...Jinxieman's comment refers to a fun but false rumor about one of our beloved actors also anonymously playing a second, extra-ish, non-recognizable character in the movie -- the rumor was put to bed by one of the BDH's at a screening.

And "bitter" becomes you, sweet thang. ; )

barest_smidgen | May 27, 23:09 CET

Thanks, zeitgeist, this just confirms my friend's experience.

I do think Ep. III was better than I and II, but that ain't sayin' much. Our Big Damn Heroes just make that lackluster Star Wars seem even more ... lackluster. And I say this regret, because in the indie movie realm, I'm a loyal and avid Ewan McGregor fan.

Did anyone in Providence get a chance to talk to the Universal rep? I'm still puzzled by his reticence.

chickenbird | May 27, 23:14 CET

np, chickenbird :) I, too am a big fan of Ewan, from Shallow Grave onwards, which is proabbly why I saw ep3 in spite of not being much of swfan.

zeitgeist | May 27, 23:21 CET

embers! we should meet up next time! Wasn't Summer charming and sweet? Guys, trust me...don't read spoilers. I'm so glad I didn't!

Harmalicious | May 27, 23:25 CET

Thanks for the response, Jinxieman (and barest_smidgen). I see now that it wasn't a spoiler; the wording was just a touch ambiguous, that's all. No harm done.

(ETA) BTW, for fans of indie movies and Michelle Trachtenberg, the LA Times today featured a sparkling, if brief, review of Mysterious Skin. Bonus excerpt:

"The most mature work by the idiosyncratic and gifted [Gregg] Araki, 'Mysterious Skin,' based on the book by Scott Heim, highlights the director's talent for inspiring the most demanding of portrayals from actors and for richly evoking the world his characters inhabit. The film has a mesmerizing floating quality, heightened by Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie's deceptively serene score, and it has considerable offbeat, deadpan humor to offset its dark undertow."

SoddingNancyTribe | May 28, 00:22 CET

It's Cool!

Jinxieman | May 28, 00:33 CET

Thanks for the 'Mysterious Skin' review, I am SO looking forward to it!

chickenbird | May 28, 01:16 CET

Thanks to everyone who's commented so far on the screenings! Reading all these wonderful reports, I've passed from green into blue (now approaching indigo-violet) with envy, but I really appreciate how much care has been taken in sharing impressions without stripping away any of the surprises and mystery.

As of this moment I remain 99% unspoiled and, gorramit, I intend to stay that way until September ... but a little teasing never hurt anybody. Masochist that I am, I kinda enjoy it ;)

Re: Mysterious Skin -- I was already pretty intrigued by early reports I read about it and MT's involvement, but the NPR review I heard earlier this week -- and now finding out that some of my fave soundtrackers, (Harold Budd, a Brian Eno cohort, and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins) did the music -- virtually guarantees I have to give it a look-see.

Wiseblood | May 28, 02:20 CET

jam2 - concerning Star Wats and the ROTS dialogue: my sweetie says you shouldn't begrudge Lucas his one good idea :-)

dcubed | May 28, 03:04 CET

Yes, like everyone else has said, stay spoiler free! It is so worth it!

I was in Minneapolis and I was thrilled that we got a BDH! Ron Glass was great! He answered some questions from where he was sitting (my row! the front row of the back half of the theater) before going up front to the table to sign. I'd never known that he got his start in Minneapolis at our Guthrie Theater back in the late 60's/early 70's. He said that was a factor in them deciding where to send him.

For the most part security seemed very low key, especially compared to the preview of Mr & Mrs Smith that I saw at the same theater on Tuesday. At that one they checked every cell phone for a camera & made you take them out to your car.

But there was one incident with one security guard that royally ticked me off.

One of the security guys came in with two people helping them look for seats. This was at 9:30. There were two seats & he told the people next to those seats that they weren't allowed to save seats. He refused to listen when they said they weren't saving them, the people who were sitting there were out in the lobby buying popcorn, and the coats on the seats belonged to those people. When one of the people with that group tried explaining to the frelling security dude that those people were here and were out spending money at concessions he was told to butt out or he would lose his money because he would be asked to leave. The couple came back with their pop & popcorn to find that their seats were gone, their friends apologising that they couldn't stop it, and the guard refusing to do anything about it. That couple who had been in line since 7:30 ended up sitting in crappy seats apart from each other. The security guy didn't help anyone else who sauntered in at 9:30 find a seat. I don't know who those two people were (I knew or recognised a good 25% of the audience) but I hope they really felt like crap. Grrr.

Other than that one incident that had our entire section pissed off the entire evening was one glorious Big Damn Movie! I really want to see it again.

Right as it ended my husband yelled "Play it again!"

hellziggy | May 28, 04:19 CET

Well, the proper thing would've been for those two late comers to get up and give the seats back to the people who had been there first. Maybe they were Ebert & Roeper (I hope ya'll weren't throwing popcorn at them all night!!!).

Firefly Flanatic | May 28, 04:53 CET

I just wanted to add a quick comment to electricspacegirl's excellent review of the evening. My friend and I drove 8 hours from Vancouver, BC to Portland to see the movie with esg, m'cookies (thanks for the tickets) and her friend, and some of the other Portland (PDX) Browncoats. Everyone there was very friendly. The guy representing Universal was very helpful to the fans and Chris Buchanan was funny and patient. He seemed a bit surprised that we all started clapping as soon as we heard his name while he was still saying his title. And, gorramit, we did ask about screenings in Canada and he said he had heard from fans up here. He was a bit cagey about it.

hellziggy, I'm with your husband. As soon as the movie ended, I turned to electricspacegirl and said, "If we all just sit here, do you think they'd run it again?"

It was mind-blowing - funny, touching, emotional - and that was just Joss' introduction. I kept waking up last night thinking of different scenes, and every few miles on the 7-hour drive home, one of us would bring up a plot point. As we neared the border, my friend said that if he was asked if we had something to declare he was going to answer, "I declare 'Serenity' was a really great movie!"

Now I have to go get some sleep.

samatwitch | May 28, 06:21 CET

so that was your hubby? Nice :) I figured it would be someone I could track down on Whedonesque, lol

zeitgeist | May 28, 08:10 CET

Great posts everyone...Just a too long note on "Mysterious Skin" --

The bad new is that you should NEVER, EVER, EVER take a review by Kevin Thomas seriously. This is not to say that you should ignore other reviews in the L.A. Times -- Kenneth Turan, for example, is a first rate writer. Thomas is a bizarre, unexplained anomaly who likes movies most everyone else in the universal can't stand. And it's not in an interesting Pauline Kael way either. He just writes positive reviews of seemingly nearly every movie he reviews.

The good news is that the Rotten Tomatoes meta-review website, which tabulates nearly all the reviews out there, gives it a very strong 8.6 "Fresh" rating with an average ranking of 7, which is well above average. On their "Cream of the Crop" ranking, which includes only top pubs (though it also includes the Thomas review), it's scoring an almost-unheard of 100% with an average rating of 8. So, fortunately, Thomas ain't alone THIS time.

bobster | May 28, 08:33 CET

:) Yup, it was him. As far as I know he's not here on Whedonesque. I started coming here after I started following it on my Live Journal through the RSS feed.

hellziggy | May 28, 10:39 CET

Well, I'm late posting this but thanks so much for all the non-spoilers. So jealous. Lucky dogs, you.

April | May 31, 02:45 CET