changing mediums...
Serenity, which is permanently linked with Firefly, has covered several mediums in it's short existance:
Starting on TV
Going to film
with a set of comic books in between
and some video guerilla marketing thrown in for good measure.
A lot of fans (myself included) would love to see the show continue on television, but that doesn't seem likely.
In a recent interview Joss Whedon said it wasn't likely:
"Well, here's the thing. I didn’t grow up loving television. American television to me was always kind of low brow. But then I started working in television and thought "wow, you can really do beautiful stuff here". But now, I've finally made a movie and been treated like a filmmaker, which is very different to being treated like a screenwriter. I've now had the best of both worlds and the fact of the matter is I'm now in love with both. There's just no two ways about it.
"I'm desperate to go back to TV but it's really a situation where I have to go back with enough power to… I can't go through another Firefly. Just to love something that much and have it pulled out from under me. I can have a film poorly received but the fact is that it's out there, you did it and you have the sense of accomplishment regardless. With a TV show you create it to go on and when it doesn't it gives you the kind of feeling I am just not capable of living through again"
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I actually enjoy the different incarnations, I will be thrilled with more comic books. But there is no way that one sequel every 2-3 years could be as much fun for me as 22 episodes per year right on my own television set.
But I get why having total artistic control and a great big (because $40 million WAS huge for Joss, he'd never had so much to spend) budget is a lot more fun than being constantly second guessed by a bunch of television producers. With BtVS, Ats, and then worst of all with Firefly Joss found his budgets cut, his ideas challenged, and his vision compromised. Artistic control is what everyone wants, it is why it is better to write your own novel instead of working for a magazine, it is why it is better to paint in a garret than to do commercial art. I totally get the desire to see your work out there, before the public. Then, whether it is loved or hated, at least you know it is what you intended.
I wonder if there are any other stories that have gone from one medium to the next in such unique and interesting ways (because the videos are really substantially different from the TV show just as the comics are obviously a different way of story-telling than the movie)? Of course Shakespeare starts as a play, and has had many interpretations on screen, plus being the inspiration for some wonderful paintings; but not all by the same creator. It was Joss Whedon who created Firefly, wrote & directed Serenity, co-wrote the comic, and wrote & starred in the guerilla marketing videos...surely THAT is unique?
Starting on TV
Going to film
with a set of comic books in between
and some video guerilla marketing thrown in for good measure.
A lot of fans (myself included) would love to see the show continue on television, but that doesn't seem likely.
In a recent interview Joss Whedon said it wasn't likely:
"Well, here's the thing. I didn’t grow up loving television. American television to me was always kind of low brow. But then I started working in television and thought "wow, you can really do beautiful stuff here". But now, I've finally made a movie and been treated like a filmmaker, which is very different to being treated like a screenwriter. I've now had the best of both worlds and the fact of the matter is I'm now in love with both. There's just no two ways about it.
"I'm desperate to go back to TV but it's really a situation where I have to go back with enough power to… I can't go through another Firefly. Just to love something that much and have it pulled out from under me. I can have a film poorly received but the fact is that it's out there, you did it and you have the sense of accomplishment regardless. With a TV show you create it to go on and when it doesn't it gives you the kind of feeling I am just not capable of living through again"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I actually enjoy the different incarnations, I will be thrilled with more comic books. But there is no way that one sequel every 2-3 years could be as much fun for me as 22 episodes per year right on my own television set.
But I get why having total artistic control and a great big (because $40 million WAS huge for Joss, he'd never had so much to spend) budget is a lot more fun than being constantly second guessed by a bunch of television producers. With BtVS, Ats, and then worst of all with Firefly Joss found his budgets cut, his ideas challenged, and his vision compromised. Artistic control is what everyone wants, it is why it is better to write your own novel instead of working for a magazine, it is why it is better to paint in a garret than to do commercial art. I totally get the desire to see your work out there, before the public. Then, whether it is loved or hated, at least you know it is what you intended.
I wonder if there are any other stories that have gone from one medium to the next in such unique and interesting ways (because the videos are really substantially different from the TV show just as the comics are obviously a different way of story-telling than the movie)? Of course Shakespeare starts as a play, and has had many interpretations on screen, plus being the inspiration for some wonderful paintings; but not all by the same creator. It was Joss Whedon who created Firefly, wrote & directed Serenity, co-wrote the comic, and wrote & starred in the guerilla marketing videos...surely THAT is unique?