What does the poster look like then?

Caroline | July 19, 21:15 CET

Here's the relevant link.

Simon | July 19, 21:17 CET

Caroline is was posted a few days ago, it has River in the foreground, Nathan behind her, and the rest of the BDHs in headshots across the bottom. I'm actually amazed that Nathan has posted 6 times at the official site, now I must go find what he has written in the past.

embers | July 19, 21:17 CET

I love the poster. But that's just me. And Nathan, apparently.

Rogue Slayer | July 19, 21:19 CET

I'm with you and Nathan Rouge S. I think it's great and actually so do the other people I've shown it to.

Paul_Rocks | July 19, 21:22 CET

My first thought when I saw it was "Where and when can I get one?" I think they're pretty cool looking. I'll most likely be making friends with a movie theater manager to see if I can get one...

kishi | July 19, 21:28 CET

Nathan's funny. Still dislike the poster though.

And, I have to say, I really dislike the use of the term "whinge" to dismiss those who disagree with you. Sorry cap'n.

SoddingNancyTribe | July 19, 21:31 CET

Holy soap box, Batman.

Heehee. Hey, I liked the poster, for the most part.

electricspacegirl | July 19, 21:49 CET

Still hate the poster. It's ugly, River doesn't even look like River. She looks more like Dana the insane slayer from Angel Season 5. And Mal looks like a psychopath stalker. No Firefly vibe whatsoever do I get from it.

Also, the tagline (The Future is Worth Fighting For) doesn't even make sense. It sounds like it could have been a high school yearbook motto.

Just my opinion, of course. But I really don't like it at all.

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2005-07-19 19:58 ]

Chris inVirginia | July 19, 21:52 CET

That poster gets uglier every time I look at it. So I better stop doing that.

rbt | July 19, 22:02 CET

I agree with the captain. I think the poster is beautiful and can't wait to have one on my wall.

MindPieces | July 19, 22:08 CET

I see some people(at the board) complaining that it's not 'Firefly' enough. Well, it's supposed to get the rest of the people who don't know about Firefly. It's not supposed to be 'Fireflyish', it's supposed to represent the movie Serenity, and I think it does, as good as a movie poster can. I find Serenity and Firefly a decent distance apart, and I think the marketing should be as well. Firefly had more of a 'western' feel to it, even in the opening credits, but Serenity has more of a futuristic feel, which may do better with the mainstream audience. I think the poster does well to give that futuristic feeling without making it too 'sci-fi' which might also turn off some people.

And face it, Serenity is a movie that is hard enough to explain in words, much less in pictures. I'm not sure there would ever be a poster that would satisfy everyone. Let's just be happy we're getting some actual mainstream marketing finally! :)

Rogue Slayer | July 19, 22:12 CET

From what I heard at ComicCon, this (linked above) is almost the final poster but not quite, because Universal intends to take the gun out of River's hands for the official one. Supposedly, that made the one they raffled off (signed by Joss) even more valuable, since there were only 5 printed. This could be just rumor.

I like it and think it fits the movie.

dreamlogic | July 19, 22:13 CET

Tried but couldn't find Nathan's comments...some of us gotta work!

Anyhow, I very much like the top part of the poster. There's a sense of intrigue to it and, as someone who's comment I did see said, Summer is a star. New tag line is much better than "Can't stop the signal" which to me still sounds too much like "Can't stop the music."

However, I dislike the 7 faces of Firefly below. Non-Browncoats will be thinking, "So this chick and her scowling boyfriend on a spaceship are being chased by seven pissed-off ghosts?"

Of course, you've got 9 actors and their agents to deal with here, not to mention us annoying fans who want EVERYONE to get their due attention. Probably giving the marketing crew major league schpilkas in the genecta gazoint.

bobster | July 19, 22:29 CET

Eh. I neither like nor dislike, personally. I'm vaguely apathetic. Which probably isn't the target emotion, but seeing as how I'd go see the darned thing even if its poster was nothing but a solid block of eye-blinding green, I'm guessing Universal doesn't especially care what my opinion on it is.

If I had my druthers (and note that I have yet to see even one druther, let alone pural), I'd go with nine different versions, featuring each character. But, sadly, Serenity itself seemed less about those nine characters, so perhaps it'd be inappropriate. Be damn cool, though.

Jet Wolf | July 19, 22:30 CET

In point of fact its a teaser. Whether it reminds people who already know about FF/Serenity is so beside the point. Its supposed to catch peoples attention. I like it, and I think it will get people to stop for a second, but then I don't think it looks like a 'generic tv movie of the week' poster like some do. Didn't gossi say that this was one of four teasers being thrown about and definitely not the final one in any case? Notes SNT's "whinge", moves on ;)

In all seriousness, I want to see all of our BDHs get their due, but the movie is mostly the River and Mal show as far as primary plotting. Everyone should be so busy spreading the love of the 'verse around that they don't have time to listen to poster-whinge :)

zeitgeist | July 19, 22:32 CET

Here's a different point of view: I don't care what I think about the poster. It is an intriguing image, one that features a woman who is apparently on a mission in which she has the protection of a gun and the support of the man behind her. It reflects a somewhat romantic theme but one also of a strong woman. It's eerie looking and that fits well with the space orientation reflected in the picture of Serenity.

The words blurred into the background are all emotionally negative words.

The violence inferred by the gun, the male character's furrowed brow and explosive thrust of the space ship is in complete contrast to the film's name, Serenity. Ah, now this really is intriguing.

But there's a note of confusion. You don't know how all those people in the pictures below fit in with the two main characters. The tag line is supposed to marry the two halves of the poster. Maybe some noble cause.

Hey, I think I'll go to that film!

I like the poster (okay, I lied about not caring . . .)

Drifter | July 19, 22:49 CET

I loved the poster at first sight, was surprised that so many didn't like it and didn't think it was "Firefly" enough because I instantly felt it was. I'd love to have that hanging on my wall!

Firefly Flanatic | July 19, 22:55 CET

LOVE the poster, too bad they're still sticking with the Papyrus font though. I'll be going crazy trying to get my hands on one of those.

spitefairy | July 19, 22:56 CET

And I love Nathan too!

[ edited by Firefly Flanatic on 2005-07-19 20:58 ]

Firefly Flanatic | July 19, 22:57 CET

The point is, when Universal try to sell the movie to new viewers (as that is *exactly* what they need to do!), does it really matter if it looks Fireflyish, or if it will sell?

Hot girl. Hot guy. Different faces at bottom. Guns. Lots of words.

You could have a western sci-fi looking poster with horses, but you know: that geek audience is likely already sold. They need to reach the rest of the people, otherwise this thing will bomb.

[ edited by gossi on 2005-07-19 21:01 ]

gossi | July 19, 23:00 CET

I'm a HUGE fan of this version. I think they both are equally deserving of mainstream exposure. They're both a must-have....

two_guns | July 19, 23:01 CET

Yay POSTER! Yay Nathan!

SpookyRiverFan | July 19, 23:07 CET

The slogan's off...but the image is great.

Grounded | July 19, 23:34 CET

Yay Nathan! Poster . . . not so much.

They're going to take the gun out of her hands? To make the poster PG-13 or something? (Won't the NRA get angry?) Seems as though that will make the poster even less interesting and less meaningful. Without the gun, the violence implied in the words strewn about will seem a little silly. Oh, well.

palehorse | July 19, 23:37 CET

Off topic sorry, but I was just checking today’s news on the UK Google news site not expecting anything but the usual bad news and to my surprise in the entertainment news section the Edinburgh ticket dash plus reports from the Comic Con are listed amongst the top stories.

It’s halfway down the page here if you are interested. Sandwiched between a Colin Farrell sex tape story and a Johnny Depp item.

Nice publicity ;)

miranda | July 20, 00:02 CET

go check out ALL of nathan's comments on the browncoats site. FUNNY. and heartwarming. golly.

i'm all choked up here at my desk. gods, i am such a geek girl.

(login to site, go to browncoats forum, under search change it to 'author' and put in 'Nathan_Fillion'. the small page image next to each topic name will take you directly to his posts.)

leenah | July 20, 00:19 CET

Are you kidding? That poster is awesome!

charisma | July 20, 00:55 CET

Ah, I love the man. But people with better butts than me ain't supposed to be funnier than me. ;-)

Mort | July 20, 00:55 CET

palehorse, a guy at the sfbrowncoat charity raffle stated very authoritatively that they were going to take the gun out and there were only five of the ones with. I don't know who he was. Keith DeCandido said that this version would be the final cover art for the novelization. I think it's kind of an odd decision if they take it out for the movie poster, too.

Saw where on an earlier thread, you asked what had changed in the movie. It's the only version I have seen, but from what I heard there were no major changes, just that the music, effects, and editing were finally done.

[ edited by dreamlogic on 2005-07-20 00:25 ]

dreamlogic | July 20, 02:24 CET

Leenah - I did just that, thanx for the prompting to do so, they were a good read.
Drifter - Thanx for your p.o.v of the poster, it is intriguing.
I personaly love the poster because it will do what it's suppsed to do. I hope they leave the gun in her hands, and is it true that they're going for the PG-13?
That was a rumour I was hoping was wrong.

nixygirl | July 20, 02:30 CET

I think the poster looks very nice indeed. It features Mal and River more than the others and it should. River is the main thing of the plot and Mal's the closest to being the lead. I like the calm atmosphere with the lurking tension. Can't wait to get it. Tastes, as ever, differ, but I honestly don't understand the complaints.

And really, people should stop saying the movie and it's aspects are 'not Firefly' enough if they don't want to be dissappointed again and again. This is not the show. This is the movie. A movie is an entirely different beast than a TV show and to succeed it has to be. The whole concept, story and characters are about more than just brown colors and banjo music ya know;-)

No idea why they feel the need to remove the gun by the way.

[ edited by EdDantes on 2005-07-20 03:25 ]

EdDantes | July 20, 05:25 CET

Just to present another perspective, perhaps part of the reason some fans may be responding tentatively toward the advance poster is that they're among those who haven't yet seen the movie. They (and by 'they' I mean 'I', specifically) have nothing to compare the image in the poster to ... yet. It can only exist in connection with what we have seen before. Ya'll who have been privy to early screenings may -- justifiably -- be slightly unobjective blinded by love ;)

Perhaps the poster is a perfect summation of what will be shown on screen; as one who's waiting for September and trying hard to stay mostly unspoiled, I can only react to what's in front of me based on the experience I've had with the TV-'verse up til now. I see a colder, harder look for the characters I'm familiar with, a sensibility which, I'll assume, is reflected in the film. Well, if that's what Joss/Uni came up with to sell the movie to the masses, I'm cool with it. Soft focus fuzzy-wuzzitude, or horsies, or any of the other stereotypical, buck-skin-fringed, cowboy-hatted, jangly spur-booted Western trappings are so not what I had in mind.

I guess I expected, with all the photographic/design program wizardry that must exist in Hollywood, that the studio would have whipped up something a tad more visually dynamic/intriguing, using complementary colors along with the predominating blue tones to generate an eye-grabbing combination. Maybe it's just me, but the general monotone isn't very exciting (and I like blue!). I think a more liberal (but judicious) use of orange or yellow would be very effective without altering anything else.

(I'm also surprised by the gun being removed. That alone would probably have tempted more action fans into the theater. What will she be holding instead? Or will they just leave her standing there empty-handed?)

All that said, I'm not completely un-enamoured with the overall design, and I'm happy to see anything tangible promoting Serenity. Having been to several major movies this summer, with no sign of the trailer yet, I'm looking forward to driving by my local metroplex soon and seeing it displayed in the 'coming soon' wall slots!

[Edit: grammar, schmammer...]

[ edited by Wiseblood on 2005-07-20 07:07 ]

Wiseblood | July 20, 09:06 CET

I saw a preview, don't have a need for the poster to be more "Western" or "Firefly" or feature more characters but am still not crazy about it. It just doesn't grab me. Taking the gun out of River's hands though, just doesn't make any sense to me. Keep the gun.

Too tired to say more though. Sleep now.

newcj | July 20, 09:16 CET

I didn't like the poster. It's not that it isn't "firefly" enough, I just thought that the colors were muted and the entire thing wasn't very eye-catching. I also wasn't so hot for the headshots at the bottom. besides that, I didn't think it was all that bad. It's not ugly, but it's not exactly pretty either.

mustbebunnies | July 20, 10:27 CET

Remember the posters for Blade Runner, Aliens, Matrix, Predator, Planet of the Apes, Etc ? All feature predominantly muted colors with one major color being highlighted, and that for the most part being blue.

The marketing people are saying, "Hey there unsuspecting viewer... see this? It's science fiction and YOU need to see it; now; or forever be out of the loop when it comes to cool movies, and future pop culture references. Go...hit the net, find out what you can and tell your friends!"

OK that last bit was more me than marketing.

nixygirl | July 20, 12:31 CET

It looks pretty trite, to me.

Zamm | July 20, 17:38 CET

As lovely as Summer is, she's not looking her best here & considering other movie posters use the "hot babes" stratagem to bring in the teenage boys, I don't see how this can compete. I don't dislike it - I'm just constantly worried about Universal's marketing efforts and whether they're going to be effective enough to get people in the door who aren't already fans.

gingeriffic | July 20, 22:27 CET