Posts Tagged ‘Joss Whedon’
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I was totally at a loss as to what kind of incentive sketch I could draw that could be associated with this comic. So, facing a complete lack of ideas, I drew a quick sketch of Iron Man for your viewing pleasure.
…because I can.
I don’t know if real-life Jared is as much of a Joss Whedon fan as I’ve depicted him here. I’ll have to ask him. Although I am aware that he is somewhat fond of Alien: Resurrection, based off his screenplay.
Some of you who visit this site won’t know who Whedon is because his official, credited track-record in the film world is spotty at best.
In addition to penning Sigourney Weaver’s last romp in space as Ripley, he also wrote Titan A.E. and wrote a treatment for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He’s been brought in as a script doctor on high profile films like Toy Story because of his signature command of snappy dialogue. He’s probably be brought in to touch up many more, but only the good folks at Pixar have credited him.
Film work aside, he’s best known for his work in television as the creator and head writer of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He’s also recently gotten into comic books, writing the wildly popular Astonishing X-Men – a brand new monthly title created just for him to play around in.
Needless to say, nerds love him.
And while I have a passing admiration for the guy, I’m not a big follower of his work. I never really got into Buffy because we didn’t have the WB in these parts when it first came on. By the time we got it, the show had moved to UPN. I’ve caught a few episodes here and there in syndication, but there’s a whole mythology in place there that I could never crack. Renting the DVD sets of each season was just out of the question. I didn’t have the time.
Anyway, after Buffy and (sorta) after Angel, Whedon took another stab at television with a "space opera-slash-cowboy" adventure program called Firefly. Don’t ask me what it’s about. I never watched it. The show ran on the Fox network from 2002-03 and, in typical Fox fashion, they promoted the hell out of the premiere episode. When it didn’t draw huge numbers, they shuffled it off to Saturday night. A dead zone. And there it expired.
Like so many "brilliant but canceled" television shows these days, the entire run was put out on DVD and drew big numbers from fans devoted to all things Whedon. Fast forward a few years and a movie starring the cast of Firefly has been reborn on the big screen under the moniker of Serenity.
Clear as mud? Good.
This has been a very… specific process for bringing this concept from the small screen to the big screen and in that respect it becomes a curiosity. As I said earlier, I admire Whedon. I’m familiar with his "voice" if I’m not overtly familiar with his body of work. He’s like Mamet in a way, to me. I’ll see one of his films every so often, but the dude is out there writing stage plays that I will never hear.
So I’m interested in what kind of activity Serenity my conjure up this weekend, but remain pragmatic in the regard that this film is pretty much strictly for fans who felt burned by Fox’s decision to ax Firefly.
So, those marketing the film are left with a couple of options. Do they try to bridge the gap to lure in casual fans like myself or even those less familiar?
Or do they aim straight up the middle and only attempt to draw in those already up to speed with the franchise?
Based off the trailer, I would say the latter. And this will make for a quick burn through the multiplexes, mark my words.
This, of course, is a shame. I think Whedon is a talent strong enough to be introduced to as many people as possible. Now that his profile is raised, he needs to approach his next project holistically and call attention to himself that way. A film adaptation of Wonder Woman is next on his docket and that might do the trick. But for the immediate future, Serenity is not that picture.
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I didn’t really know where else to put this, so I’m just putting it out there as kind of a fun F.Y.I. blog post.
I was very tempted to do another comic about Serenity for Wednesday based simply off the amount of referral traffic coming in from Firefly and Serenity LiveJournals and fan sites. If Joss Whedon fans – Firefly fans, in particular – are anything, they’re dedicated.
I was actually kind of worried that you guys would read my musings and find them unfair, but many of the notes I’ve read and e-mails I’ve received have been very even-handed. Several of you appreciated an "outsider’s" perspective – curious yourself if Serenity would play beyond the initiated.
One thing that I’ve gathered from all this is that even the people who weren’t fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel got a heck of a lot out of Firefly. Usually being drawn in by a friend who was already hooked, they became hooked themselves. I can’t count the number of recommendations I’ve had just to sit down and watch the series. After all, there’s only 12 or 13 episodes, right? I’ve never been adverse to this suggestion, I just never made the time. Now might be the opportunity to do so.
A lot of people I know have seen advanced screenings of Serenity and speak highly of it. Most of these people are already fans, so you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. I’ve yet to read a report or review from someone who wasn’t already familiar with the franchise, so it’s still kind of a question mark as to how it will go over.
But like I said, those who’ve seen it and are already fans say they love it. It doesn’t completely ostracize non-fans, but it doesn’t play so over their heads that they can’t appreciate its finer qualities.
That said, I’m more interested in David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. And no, not because my Google ads have been replaying that little flash advertisement about a million times. It’s actually getting really good reviews!
It’s essentially a meditation on the effects of violence in society. Does violence beget more violence? Is it a natural born tendency or something civilization can overcome? It’s getting great notices for Cronenberg’s direction. Not a wasted frame, they say. And the ending leaves things open for interpretation. It leaves the audience to come to their own conclusions. I love that kind of stuff. I’m sick of being spoon-fed answers. Thank goodness for fall movies! Besides, any film that features Ed Harris as a mysterious government spook gets points in my book.
Now here’s hoping that Cronenberg doesn’t pull out some sort of gross body revolting FX like he did in The Fly or Scanners. His thematic fascination with the body turning against itself creeps me out like no other. But then, it might be a little out of context in this film.
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