This is just wonderful. Thanks so very much for posting this. I got a huge lump in my throat - in a good way.

phlebotinin | May 31, 21:51 CET

Yes, this was an absolutely fantastic speech that very succinctly summed up the feeling of the Firefly fandom. I think we all feel that we've managed to grab onto something that was fleeting, but also something that was very special, and we almost feel compelled to show it to people. We take a certain amount of ownership for it, and that makes it very dear to us.

ringworm | May 31, 22:01 CET

Great speech...now if Joss can just bring back the Buffy and Angel Verse in the same manner...
I truly hope he is successful with Serenity and then maybe the networks will take notice of the pheonomenal talent they could have in Whedon. I can't give up on that Spike Movie yet...just can't.....

kathylovesspike | May 31, 22:05 CET

"they tried to kill us... they did kill us... and here we are. We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty. "

How fittingly appropriate to the Whedonverse. Joss, above all, should know that there is no such thing as death ever being a finality.

Christopher | May 31, 22:17 CET

Wow, I didn't expect to get teary-eyed just from reading what he said. Come September, Serenity has to be the little movie that could. It just has to.

bloodflowers | May 31, 22:25 CET

The site has crashed, or at least that's what I'm getting...did anybody copy and save it? If so, could you post a link to it?

Chris inVirginia | May 31, 22:28 CET

I'd love a Spike Movie but that was the last thing from my mind when I read this. Firefly only got 15 hours and now there's a movie. Wow. I'm enjoying basking in the glow of how happy and excited Joss is. Firefly was such a labor of love for Joss and it was cut down so tragically short. What a marvel this movie is. Please oh please Sky Bully let all of Joss's wildest creative dreams come true - more Serenity movies, a return of Firefly (my fondest wish), Spike movie, whatever Joss wants. All Hail Joss! Joss for Emperor and Grand Poobah of the 'Verse!

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2005-05-31 20:34 ]

phlebotinin | May 31, 22:29 CET

Maybe next time Joss pitches a show, FOX will be more likely to pay attention.
:-)

toontimer | May 31, 22:40 CET

bah, i can't enter the website for some reason. can someone copy the message to this thread?

Lord_Magneto | May 31, 22:59 CET

Th-that was beautiful man(sob)................and no I'm not being sarcastic.While reading it I hear Joss all over again(I was at the Boston screening)and it makes me feel very warm and ting----shiny! :D

nakedandarticulate | May 31, 23:11 CET

I'm getting an error message too.

This was such an awesome message. When I saw Serenity the first time, it was so unexpected. Seeing Joss pop up on screen, hearing the love in his voice, his love for the 'verse, and for all his fans. It's enough to make even Jayne cry.

So, Phlebotinin, have you been able to stop thinking about Serenity yet? Me neither.

electricspacegirl | May 31, 23:14 CET

Nope, esg. I can't!

Perhaps Universal has yanked it from the site? It seems unlikely, but you never know. More likely is that fff.net is crashing. Let's hope it comes back up again.

phlebotinin | May 31, 23:19 CET

Reposting from my browser cache:

Hi, my name is Joss Whedon. Before we begin the special screening, I have a little story I want to tell you. It's about a TV show called Firefly.

Firefly went on the air a few years ago and was instantly hailed by critics as one of the most canceled shows of the year. It was ignored and abandoned and the story should end there, but it doesn't, because the people who made the show and the people who saw the show (which is...roughly...the same number of people) fell in love with it a little bit...too much to let it go, too much to lay down arms when the battle looked pretty much lost. In Hollywood, people like that are called 'unrealistic' ... 'quixotic' ... 'obsessive'.

In my world, they're called 'Browncoats'.

Whether you've watched the show, or saw the DVD's, or whether you've never set foot in the Firefly universe before tonight, the fact that you're here means that you are part of something...something that is a little bit remarkable. This movie should not exist. Failed TV shows don't get made into major motion pictures unless the creator, the cast, and the fans believe beyond reason.

It's what I've felt. It's what I've seen...in the DVD sales, the booths at the cons run by fans, the websites, the fundraisers... all the work the fans have done to help make this movie. It is, in an unprecedented sense, your movie...which means, if it sucks, it's your fault. You let us down, but let's not dwell on your failures because the work is not done. I have to finish making it. Obviously not quite the final cut and you will notice some placeholders in music and effects, but we're very close. Once we are finished, we have to get people to see it. Now, obviously the studio is going to do their thing. There will be ads and trailers and all that joy, but this movie doesn't have stars and it doesn't have a giant mega-budget or even a simple salable premise. What it has is us, the people who believed unreasonably.

If this movie matters to you, let somebody know. Let everybody know. Make yourselves heard. If you don't like the movie, this is a time for quite, silent contemplation. But, when the unfinished credits roll, if you still call yourself a Browncoat, remember the millions of people who don't...who might. I want us to do this together. The cast is going to be appearing wherever they can. I'm going to be blogging and stumping and whatever I can think of. We've got Can'tStopTheSignal.com up and running...I'm fairly certain. We're all doing everything we can to make this the event that it should be.

Just remember, they tried to kill us...they did kill us...and here we are. We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty. Thank you for helping to get this movie as far as it has gotten.

Welcome to Serenity.

ringworm | May 31, 23:30 CET

Beautiful, simply beautiful. Reading it brings me right back to the screenings, all the emotion welling up... this had better be on the DVD. :)

Dizzy | May 31, 23:56 CET

defidently brings me back too. Hmm, I wonder what is going in my aim profile from now until...forever. can't stop the signal :)

sigh, I still think my favorite part of this speech is when he says: "In my world, they're called Browncoats." My poor mother had no idea what that meant, but I made her wear her brown leather coat to the screening, and when she heard that, she shook the jacket in the air so defiantly I almost peed my pants. One more browncoat was created that night :)

[ edited by MySerenity on 2005-05-31 22:16 ]

MySerenity | June 01, 00:14 CET

I'm getting an error message too. Is the Joss message going to be played at the start of every screening or just the previews? I expect it's just the previews, as most non-fans won't want to to hear it whenever the film is on general release. Hopefully it will be on the DVD as a special feature or something.

I do think that all of us are responsible for helping the fight to continue the Firefly-verse, and that all of us Browncoats should be proud.

Imagine if Joss gets really rich and successful and becomes a George Lucas or Spielberg kind of person, with enough money to take on whatever projects he wants. That would be so fantastic, we would see so much more of Firefly, Buffy, Angel and whatever other fantastic ideas Joss comes up with.

[ edited by Razor on 2005-05-31 22:18 ]

Razor | June 01, 00:14 CET

Joss never ceases to amaze me. September can't come fast enough!

Tiny Tabby | June 01, 00:17 CET

Joss got one thing wrong. This film does have stars.

ZachsMind | June 01, 00:22 CET

This is my dream.

electricspacegirl | June 01, 00:43 CET

Even though I had heard the gist of Joss's speech before I saw it, when I heard it from him at the Portland screening on Thursday, I choked up and to hear 200 people finish his sentence "...and that makes us mighty" sent shivers down my back. There's something about that man that inspires me.

BTW, Chris Buchanan was asked if Joss's speech would be on the DVD and he said he would make a note of it.

samatwitch | June 01, 00:48 CET

I NEED for this to be on the DVD so that I can cry every time I watch it... wait, I already will. Strange tangential thought -- the 'need so I can cry' gave me a Fight Club flashback... weird.

ETA--



Right, but not A-list, 'next big thing', 'hot' types (not 'til September anyway ;)). I think that is what he is referring to. Our BDHs are not instantly recognizable by every JQ Public out there, thus the phrasing.

[ edited by zeitgeist on 2005-05-31 22:58 ]

zeitgeist | June 01, 00:50 CET

Zachsmind & Zeitgeist, exactly right... I felt sad for poor Morena sitting down there with her mom - "what do you mean I'm not a star?" But she will be in a few months dammit - and then of course she will be a superstar when she plays Wonder Woman...

gingeriffic | June 01, 01:05 CET

snif...

Got tears in my eyes. Wow. That was a great message.



It makes me want to roar some sort of battlecry. I think I'll get very teary watching this movie.

Numfar PTB | June 01, 01:07 CET

Doesn't this count as a spoiler? I was trying to avoid this...

charisma | June 01, 01:19 CET

Yeah it is a spoiler...in the sense that it has nothing to do with what a spoiler actually is.

ringworm | June 01, 01:22 CET

charisma, respectfully speaking, I'm failing to see how Joss's message can in any way be construed a spoiler for Serenity.

phlebotinin | June 01, 01:22 CET

Numfar, yes, teary but also be prepared for close to uncontrollable laughter, screams of terror and possibly some embarrassing grunting noises as you rapidly transition between emotions...

gingeriffic | June 01, 01:25 CET

I'm with phlebotinin...if Joss's messaage constitutes a spoiler, what is the trailer?

But: I think we (me especially) need to be careful in talking in the thread about what we saw in the screening--to not mention anything that actually takes place *in* the movie.

Chris inVirginia | June 01, 01:33 CET

*sobbing* Thank you so much for that.

einral | June 01, 01:46 CET

For what it's worth, this message from Joss itself is a recruitment tool, depending on the audience.

My entire family is of a creative bent, and understands the connections people can have to various pieces of creativity. None of them had watched Firefly, despite the fact that I keep telling them to do so.

Today, I read two of them Joss' message over the phone as part of my continuing campaign to get them to start watching the series.

Based solely on my persistence, and on their recognition of the earnestness of the connection between the show's creators and its fans that comes through in Joss' message, they've now made the commitment to watch Firefly.

So, depending on the personalities and character of the people you know who are not yet Browncoats, I'd urge you to consider using it as a recruitment tool. It worked here.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2005-06-01 01:18 ]

The One True b!X | June 01, 03:17 CET

*pitiful wail*

Yup. The Man Who Made Me Return To University And Say: I kinda died last year, but now I'm back and here I am making A's!!!

God I love Him. *sniff*

WhoIsOmega? | June 01, 03:30 CET

Thank you for posting this.

Reading it again after having seen it nearly a month ago makes me weepy.

And it makes me proud to call myself a Browncoat.

And thank you Joss Whedon for giving us "Serenity."

ShelaghC | June 01, 03:54 CET

Hehe... let's not dwell on your failures. I love it.

Mort | June 01, 04:01 CET

It better not suck, then. I couldn't handle the guilt.

Craig Oxbrow | June 01, 04:29 CET

I feel just in the shows, it has a touch of everything, that makes you smile, rage, cry, feel proud, laugh, grin... Simply a hell of a speech.

Jademaliburoad | June 01, 04:41 CET

Sniff. Sniff.

That's great. The "that makes us mighty" quote is so very appropriate. Although, I think another quote, from a deleted scene describes Joss, the BDH's and us Browncoats who love them:

"One you've been to Serenity, you never leave... you just find a way to live there."

IMForeman | June 01, 05:51 CET

Yes. We believed unreasonably.

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2005-07-31 06:31 ]

rivergirl | June 01, 06:05 CET

My favorite part was "If you don't like the movie, this is a time for quiet, silent contemplation." :) I couldn't agree more. I loved the movie, but I hope that people who don't will keep quiet out of respect for Joss.

leiden | June 01, 06:28 CET

As much as I loved the movie, this intro did more to make me cry and cheer than the rest did, I think. The man is my hero. A few years down the line, after he's a big star... I'm thinking Bio-pic.

pixxelpuss | June 01, 10:30 CET

Well, that Joss ... he is something else in this world. *sniffle*

I honestly get the feeling that at least half his enjoyment in creating cool things is seeing how much happiness they bring to others. I hear so much love in these words -- for his Serenity baby and his creative cohorts, for each and every one of us. If anyone ever again questions why I'm so crazy about him and everything he does, I'm going to refer them to this.

His commitment to excellence in his efforts, and then the sharing of those efforts, comes across to me as so total, honest and pure it almost approaches some kind of mystical practice -- as if art is really divine enough to maybe save us all in the end -- and he wears his heart outside his body when he talks about it and doesn't care what anyone else thinks, and that's just so damn beautiful, and inspiring, how can you be a feeling, thinking creature and not be moved?

I only wish I could see this little speechlet in the darknesss of a theater and get the complete flan experience, but I guess I'll just wait to be amazed by the thing itself in September. That's gift enough.

Wiseblood | June 01, 10:31 CET

This is wonderful. Thanks for posting the message. " . . .that makes us mighty." In reading above how people in the audience said this in unison, it makes me ever sadder that I likely won't be able to see the movie until September and share that experience. But I do hope this ends up on the DVD for those of us who haven't seen the screenings.

And one other point -- thanks to all of you for respecting those of us who remain spoiler free. So far, beyond seeing the trailer, I have have not been spoiled, and as difficult as it is, I hope to remain that way. The respect Whedonesquers show for one another is one of the reasons I enjoy coming here.

palehorse | June 01, 16:01 CET

Hearing at least half - probably more - of the theater say along with Joss " . . .that makes us mighty." brought tears to my eyes. I swell with pride everytime I think about it. Thank you Joss!

jewel | June 01, 20:23 CET

I just re-read it and was compelled to save it to my hard drive.

WhoIsOmega? | June 02, 02:40 CET

Numfar PTB said:


Bwaaa! It's a kind of a warrior... Strikes fear into the hearts of....

Bayne | June 02, 02:50 CET

Earlier today, I polished up the transcript in Word, and posted it on my cubicle wall. I thought I had fully penetrated my potential fan coworker marketplace. Nope. Questions from additional people, and names added to my Firefly DVD Waiting List.

Very shiny.

It's no small surprise that the best marketing tool is Joss' own words.

Angela | June 02, 03:22 CET

WiseBlood, you said what I was thinking. I have never been such a huge fan of a film maker before. I just love everything he touches ('cept of course Aliens 4). He really is such an incredible creator. And your right about the joy he gets in giving us his baby. Joss, I seriously respect you, and truth be told, he's spoiled me for other movies and tv. I expect the best, and am just failed over and over, cause they're just not Joss. I do hope we have many many years of this beautiful mind and his beautiful creations. Thank You Joss.

nixygirl | June 02, 04:41 CET

I have to appreciate a creator who respects his fanbase. It's why I'm fond of Joss, along with people like Neil Gaiman or Bruce Campbell. You just get the feeling that if you met them and told them you were a big fan of their work, they'd be able to sincerely thank you.

And this message helped me get another potential Firefly convert. I've been pushing friends to watch Firefly, and I used this as another excuse. My little sister's best friend agreed to give it a go as a favor to me. Whoot!

Besides, I feel I'm doing a favor to geeks everywhere by getting cute sorority girls to watch sci-fi. =)

kishi | June 02, 07:14 CET

"Besides, I feel I'm doing a favor to geeks everywhere by getting cute sorority girls to watch sci-fi. =)"

Bwah hahahaha! kishi, it works. I was one!

WhoIsOmega? | June 02, 17:44 CET