Whedonesque : Comments on 8469 : (SPOILER) Serenity in 2000 Words or Less.

lol, genius. I love the song at the end. Going again tonight so a bunch of people who haven't seen it yet, some are Firefly fans, some probably don't even know what Firefly is and some have seen a couple of episodes (1 guy started watching last night and is suddenly desperate to watch them all in time but I don't think he will)

Paul_Rocks | October 12, 17:39 CET

OMG that was so funny!! "Joss Whedon: snicker" cracked me up everytime.

Firefly Flanatic | October 12, 17:45 CET

Rotflol! Okay, that was very funny. The snickering cracked me up as well...as did the fan-comments and the song at the end. Funny stuff, and disturbingly accurate at some points as well ;-)

ETA:

Although I didn't 'get' these comments if they're referring to actual movie moments (Big-ass Serenity spoilers coming up):

CREW: Whew. Wait, this planet is full of people who died for no apparent reason.

JOSS WHEDON: *points camera at Wash for no apparent reason*

FANS SEEING THIS AGAIN BECAUSE JOSS WHEDON IS OUR MASTER: AAAUGH! Whedon you bastard!

And:

RIVER: *In closeup, punches out a Reaver who looks an awful lot like Joss Whedon*

FANS SEEING THIS AGAIN BECAUSE JOSS WHEDON IS OUR MASTER: *snicker*

Someone explain these? If I missed these moments and have to see the movie again, I don't much mind :-)

[ edited by GVH on 2005-10-12 15:54 ]

GVH | October 12, 17:48 CET

*snicker*

Harpy | October 12, 17:56 CET

That was hilarious! GVH, I didn't notice either of those things, but am going again tonight (third time) so will endeavour to take note of them. I'll post if I notice thm.

Mehitabel | October 12, 17:56 CET

I broke someone's Firefly cherry by watching all of the episodes with them and then going right to the theater afterwards. It's time-consuming but highly rewarding. I hope he makes it through all of them before he goes - he'll appreciate how seamless the transition is.

Ocular | October 12, 17:59 CET

Love it. I also love that while spoofing line after line, he let "My turn" play straight as a cool moment.

GVH, those two stood out to me too. For the first one, there is a cut to Wash ("Let's get to the beacon.") right after Jayne is yelling about how everyone's dead for no reason, but I think it's just coincidence. For the second one, never heard about Joss being that Reaver before, doesn't really look like him if you ask me (seen the movie 6 times).

jam2 | October 12, 18:00 CET

I can answer the first question. When they are on the planet and we are seeing things from River's point of view as everything is spinning, Jayne is saying that and as he says the last part, the spinning stops and lands on Wash. So it definitely was foreshadowing his death. As for the other part with the Reaver looking like Joss Whedon, I hadn't heard anything about that but I'm assuming he was playing the part of that particular Reaver?

Firefly Flanatic | October 12, 18:00 CET

Ah, I love the Star Wars reference (These aren't the droids you're looking for).

chickenbird | October 12, 18:20 CET

Firefly Flanatic: Check. Hadn't noticed that before. Jam2, are you talking about a different moment on Miranda? than Flanatic?

As for the second thing:

As for the other part with the Reaver looking like Joss Whedon, I hadn't heard anything about that but I'm assuming he was playing the part of that particular Reaver?

Right...but wouldn't we have heard about it sooner, if that was the case? I mean a thing like that seems like something that'd wind up on Whedonesque, right? Maybe the writer just mistook the Reaver for Joss?

GVH | October 12, 18:42 CET

Jam 2 is talking about the same part but I feel it is definitely foreshadowing what is about to come just by how it is done. River's point of view is spinning, seeing each person and as Jayne says that bit about "dead for no reason" her view stops dead center on Wash. That is classic Joss. And I agree with you about the "Joss as a Reaver" thing is something that I'd think we'd all have heard something about by now?

Firefly Flanatic | October 12, 18:51 CET

I'm assuming a 'piss take' isn't anything like a 'spit take', right? Cuz, gross!

Rogue Slayer | October 12, 19:24 CET

River's talking about too much hair in Firefly was actually foreshadowing for this....

gossi | October 12, 19:32 CET

Haha that was funny! The 'gurks' and 'grars' cracked me up! And I totally understand this guy still loving the movie. I once wrote a Parody of Buffy S7 in much the same way and I still loved that too.

This is probably my favorite bit: REAVERS: Grar?

RIVER: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! *Kills all the vampires, I mean Reavers*

River's talking about too much hair in Firefly was actually foreshadowing for this....

...............*stunned silence*

Oh. My. God. Where the frag did you manage to dig that one up!? If Joss lurks he'll probably put you on some hit list!

EdDantes | October 12, 19:37 CET

Now why would anyone post this? You're not supposed to make us laugh this hard when we are at work or in a computer lab.

Oh, that was priceless.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.

WhoIsOmega? | October 12, 19:43 CET

That was absolutely hi-larious! I love the fan reaction notations. Too funny.

Gypsy | October 12, 19:43 CET

That is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. Priceless.

palehorse | October 12, 20:20 CET

I definitely noticed the camera stopping on Wash the second time I saw Serenity, and I definitely think that was foreshadowing.

electricspacegirl | October 12, 20:32 CET

Absolutely hysterical. Actually laughed out loud towards the end. Loved the Reavers' "Grar?" ROFL!

rockgoddes | October 12, 20:34 CET

GVH, and all those wondering about the second thing I think the point the the Reaver looked like Joss was maybe less literal and more "Joss is bringing the hurt, but he's using Reavers to do it, so, the Reavers are Joss."
And, yes, the camera stopping on Wash, wiht Jayne's line is totally foreshadowing.

On a slightly different note, I'm pretty sure that Morena is the computer voice when the Operative get his approval in the vid room. Joss had put the question out on the Browncoats site, and it's gotta be her.

Very enjoyable, and I really liked it.

k8cre8 | October 12, 20:40 CET

"Whedon, you bastard!"
Yet another "laughing too loud for work, have to go hide in the loo" moment.

redfern | October 12, 20:55 CET

River's talking about too much hair in Firefly was actually foreshadowing for this....

Ha! gossi, I've seen that picture. There's another old pic of Joss somewhere, it was used to make the "They cancelled my frikken show!" banner right after the Angel cancellation. Joss had longish hair and he looked all young and bohemian and really hot in that picture and I wish I could find it.

ETA: I shouldn't type when I'm too tired.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-10-12 21:29 ]

electricspacegirl | October 12, 21:09 CET

K8cre8, I came to the same conclusion about the voice of the computer.

newcj | October 12, 21:14 CET

LMAO - My daughter came to check why I was laughing my head off on my own in the study :)

And Gossi, what a brilliant pic.

The Do That Girl | October 12, 21:48 CET

Yeah, gotta be Morena's voice. And Joss' in the trade station. The man is all about using what resources he has on hand!

Rogue Slayer | October 12, 22:07 CET

Checking back in. I see there's some consensus about the Wash foreshadowing. Guess I'll have to see the movie a few more times and reevaluate. =)

jam2 | October 12, 22:17 CET

Yep, it seems like I missed that as well. I do remember the scene in question, just not the fact the camera stopped on Wash just as Jayne referred to the dead bodies. I do agree that it's a Joss-like thing to do, so it probably is foreshadowing. Now I have to wait till November 17th before Serenity opens here and I can see it a third time to check. Not that I mind, I plan on seeing it a couple of times more at least. Gotta enjoy Serenity at the theatre while I can :-)

Oh, and ROTFLOL @ that pic there!

Hmmm, I just noticed that my quote + invisible text above isn't completely working...didn't see that on my work computer...but I guess it's still hidden well enough. Right?

GVH | October 12, 22:28 CET

Yeah, apparently quote+invisible=barelyvisible, but it seems ok. I still had to highlight it to read it.

jam2 | October 12, 22:38 CET

GVH, lemme guess ... your work computer has an LCD monitor? They don't have quite the color depth.

Ocular | October 12, 22:40 CET

I really doubt the camera stopping on Wash was foreshadowing. He simply had the next line. Spin the camera to mimic River's "psychosis," then stop on Wash to push forward the plot and get to the beacon. If the camera move was supposed to be intentional, it would probably be in the script, and it most definitely isn't.

The Dark Shape | October 12, 22:52 CET

That's a good point, The Dark Shape, it isn't in the script.

Ocular - nope, not an LCD monitor. It was slightly sunny outside though, and the light was shining on the monitor, so I think that's why I missed it.

GVH | October 12, 23:30 CET

My guess is that in Joss' editing process he goes over every little detail, and if he had edited it that way on accident, when he went over it again, I doubt he would have missed the connection. I'm pretty sure the foreshadowing was intentional at some point, especially since the biggest shocker of the movie was that death and it would have been on Joss' mind while making it.

It reminds me of the Buffy episode "Afterlife", when Buffy walks through the graveyard and an angel statue appears behind her, and as she's passing it it looks like she has wings, which was foreshadowing that she was actually in Heaven, not hell, after she died. At the time I first noticed it, I wondered if it was filmed that way on purpose or if it was one of those beautiful accidents. Then I read or heard somewhere that it wasn't an accident, the director intended that to foreshadow Buffy's confession in Once More With Feeling.

Is it possible that it was a decision made later in the editing process? We'll just have to ask Joss next time we see him.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-10-12 22:24 ]

electricspacegirl | October 12, 23:51 CET

Scrolling through these comments to add something and it cracks me up how all the comments with the spoilers blocked out look like some sort of MADLIB game.

Oh, and I loved that, and cracked up at the song at the end.

socks | October 13, 00:04 CET

Yep, we shall ask Joss. But I think you're right, ESG (hmmm, I keep switching sides in this little debate, it seems - I'm easily influenced ;-)).

GVH | October 13, 00:09 CET

Mad Libs. Yes, Sorry, I got carried away. It looked like so much fun when Simon did it.

electricspacegirl | October 13, 00:35 CET

I have to agree with ESG. There is a whole beat before Wash says his next line. The very first time I saw the film I wondered why Joss would leave in that bit of silence before Wash speaks, since the pace of the dialogue in the rest of the movie is almost too fast. The second time I saw it, having known what happens, I saw the pacing there as totally deliberate, so that Jayne's line and the camera resting on Wash would be caught by the audience.

palehorse | October 13, 01:06 CET

The Dark Shape, I don’t think that point is necessarily valid. Joss is both the writer *and* the director of the film, so he’s probably not going to put as much direction in there for himself as he would when he wrote for other directors on his shows. As a director, he probably carefully thought about the filming of that scene beforehand; he doesn’t need to write it down because he already knows.

But, yeah, we should ask Joss.

StakeTheLurk | October 13, 01:23 CET

...kick me right smack in the crotch...

That stretches the scansion a little doesn't it? And yet I laughed fit to wet my nethers.

And gossi: I am blind, and I am reborn. Thanks for the piccy. Reminds me a little of the R.e.M. album with Stipe's yearbook picture, and the caption "They airbrushed my face."

bogu_salias | October 13, 01:55 CET

The Dark Shape, I don’t think that point is necessarily valid. Joss is both the writer *and* the director of the film, so he’s probably not going to put as much direction in there for himself as he would when he wrote for other directors on his shows. As a director, he probably carefully thought about the filming of that scene beforehand; he doesn’t need to write it down because he already knows.

Being the writer/director generally means there will be *more* camera directions -- and there are quite a few in the script.

The Dark Shape | October 13, 02:30 CET

It wasn't until I'd seen the movie for the 6th time that I realized that when Mal brings back River to the ship and he is asked why, he looks at Zoe and it harkens back to the moment when they discuss having left the man back to die with the Reavers. That wasn't in the script either.

Lioness | October 13, 02:40 CET

Having just got back from seeing Serenity again I figured I'd weigh in. (and I want to play at the invis fun ;) )
There is definitely a deliberate pause on Wash after Jayne's line. In fact it cuts to a different camera before Wash speaks his line so I think it was foreshadowing. Just because it's not in the script doesn't mean Joss didn't think of it after writing the script and then implemented it thus.

Paul_Rocks | October 13, 03:38 CET

It would've been disorienting for the audience. Think about that shot -- it's a widing camera for a good ten seconds. It stops for a beat, and then cuts to the medium shot.

That wasn't in the script either.

Erm, yeah. If you say so.

The Dark Shape | October 13, 04:41 CET

I have to agree with ESG.

Yes, everyone agree with me. 'Cause I'm right. ;)

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-10-13 02:55 ]

electricspacegirl | October 13, 04:45 CET

Good job, Paul Rocks. I'll look for that when I see it FOR THE SEVENTH TIME on Saturday. I've never seen or wanted to see a movie this many times in such a short time in my life. Short being since May 5th.

I think I'm a geek.

electricspacegirl | October 13, 04:57 CET

Am I the only one who thought this would be a great MAD Magazine spoof? In fact it almost reads exactly like one of their movie spoofs, with all the self-referential commentary. Wouldn't it be great if somebody did this in comic strip form? :)

In one of Joss' director commentaries for Buffy, he talked about freaking out and not knowing how to shoot a scene before doing it. Yeah, of course this is a movie and he had more time to storyboard everything, but who's to say Joss doesn't get inspired with a new idea on the set sometimes?

[ edited by Ronald_SF on 2005-10-13 06:22 ]

Ronald_SF | October 13, 08:21 CET

We need that guy who illustrated the "Smile Time" episode to do this. Not Mad magazine. Too much inside stuff for the mass media to enjoy. This is pure Whedonesquers' fandom fun.

Genia | October 13, 18:37 CET

October 12 2005