Whedon squashes SERENITY sequel rumors

Since Comic-Con in San Diego three weeks ago, there have been rumors circulating again about a Serenity sequel. You see, Summer Glau, sitting on the Sarah Connor Chronicles panel, made the mistake of saying she was ready, willing, and able to do another Firefly-based movie, although she added that if there wasn’t a Serenity sequel, she’d “feel at peace” with that. Of course, rabid browncoats heard the first part of Glau’s statement and, while gasping with excitement, totally missed the second half.

Anyway, Firefly creator Joss Whedon, now immersed in his new Fox TV series Dollhouse, has put the kibosh to Serenity sequel rumors. He says that although he and the cast are ready to make another film, no studio is willing to launch one.

Ah, well… We can always stick Serenity back in the DVD player anytime we want. And if you’d like to watch that movie with ten other diehard browncoats, why not download the feature-length fan commentary available right here at Hey, Want to Watch a Movie? It’s a long podcast — about two and a half hours — with almost 22 minutes spent on everybody getting their favorite beverages in hand and cueing up the DVD, so the MP3 file is pretty gorram big. But it’s all a lot of fun.

Download Minear's MISTRESS script

I'd heard some time ago that Tim Minear, executive producer, writer, and director of TV's Firefly, was working on a script for a movie adaptation of Heinlein's great libertarian novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Dunno if it'll ever get made, but the script is now available as a PDF for free download. I'm gonna gobble this thing up, and I'll report back in a few days.

An Ode to Summer

John DeNardo over at SF Signal is enamored with Summer Glau. So much so, he writes, that “despite my lackluster viewing experience with The Sarah Connor Chronicles, one bright spot remains: Summer Glau. Tough female characters are irresistible, and Summer plays them well. (See also: Serenity.) Yet whenever I hear her name, I don’t think of the elfin beauty or the kick-@$$ karate moves…I think of that damn ’70s song from Seals and Crofts called ‘Summer Breeze.’” So John delightfully offers the following in Summer’s honor:

Summer Glau (Makes Me Feel Fine)
(Sung to the tune of “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts)

See the girl all curled up in the cryo
Not a stitch of clothing found in sight
Mal is ticked off wond’rin’ ’bout the Doctor
I don’t care, I’m feeling alright

CHORUS
Summer Glau, makes me feel fine
I can’t shake her image from my mind
Summer Glau, makes me feel fine
I can’t shake her image from my mind

See the tree branch lying on the cold deck
She picks it up, maybe thinks it’s fun
Snap us back to now, see the worried crew
Don’t look now but River’s got a gun

[CHORUS]

Followed by agents, their hands painted blue
They have no idea just what she can do
’Cause when she sees what’s playing on TV
Fruity Oaty Bars, now it’s time to kick @$$

See the angel punching and a kickin’
Not really sure what she could do
She’s a weapon, a source of destruction
She’s a vital part of Malcolm’s crew

[CHORUS]

Speaking of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I have the two-part pilot recorded on the DVR. I’ll try to get to it tonight and post my thoughts here later this week.

Looking toward "Big Damn Movie 2"

My friend Brain worries that the Serenity actors’ contract options for doing a sequel expire this coming Saturday. I’m not so concerned. So the contract options expire. Can’t those options just be renewed?

Anyway, even though Serenity’s performance in theaters two years ago was less than stellar, the film’s DVD sales over the past 20 months were good enough for Universal to release a 2-disc “collector’s edition” last week. And I suppose if all us Browncoats buy the Big Damn Movie a second time, maybe, well, maybe Joss Whedon and crew will get a chance to do another film about the Greatest Sci-Fi Universe Ever. I bought my copy last Tuesday, as soon as it went on sale.

If you love Serenity, and even if you bought the original DVD, this new package is worth picking up. It’s got all of the bonus features from the first release, plus lots of new stuff, including a feature-length cast commentary (with Whedon, too) that manages to be plenty of fun.

I know, I know. You feel ripped off, as we all do when these special edition DVDs keep coming out with new stuff. You’re tempted to skip this new release altogether, just to show the industry they can’t keep kicking you around. But this new Serenity is a goodie, and if you buy it, you’re telling the suits at Universal that you wanna see Big Damn Movie 2. And you can always use your original DVD as a loaner to recruit new Browncoats. Good idea, huh?