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Serenity Collector's Edition DVD coming out 21 August

topic posted Sat, August 4, 2007 - 11:50 PM by  stuart
The Serenity Collector's Edition DVD comes out August 21st. If you like Firefly and Serenity (and if you didn't you probably wouldn't be here), please go ahead and pre-order this right now. No, seriously -- I just did. Here's a link to it on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Serenity-C...B000Q9IZ5C/

Here's why. In an interview at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Joss said "[Serenity is] a success to the studio or else we wouldn't be doing a special edition DVD. They actually admitted as much on paper, which you know studios are loathe to do, and that was actually from the theatrical. Theatrical was a disappointment, as everyone knows, but it did go into the black. Then the DVD came and they took me aside and said "We can't keep these things on the shelf. We want to do a special edition."

And a little while later in the interview, when asked about chances of a sequel, he replied "Hope for it probably rests with this DVD... [I]t's probably not being discussed in boardrooms right now, but the fact of the matter is if it makes enough money sooner or later they say 'hey, this is money!' Also there are paradigms that are much cheaper, it doesn't have to be enormous."

More of the interview here: www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php

This is clearly a pragmatic answer, but compared to his other comments of late on the potential for more adventures in the 'verse, it's an absolute ray of sunshine.

So, again. If you want to see a sequel or a return to TV, buy the new DVD when it comes out. And if you haven't bought the Firefly boxed set yet, think about getting that too:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AQS0F

Firefly is a 20th Century Fox property, so buying it doesn't directly address the bottom line for Serenity (a Universal property), but it does show that there's sustained interest in this story.

This site has some more ideas about how to lobby for a sequel:
www.bigdamnsequel.com/

cheers,
~stuart
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stuart
offline stuart
Seattle
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  • nico...
    nicole m
    offline 11

    Re: Serenity Collector's Edition DVD coming out 21 August

    Sun, August 5, 2007 - 4:42 PM
    Thanks Stuart. :)

    Well, I'm still not sure about this one. The notion of building hope for a sequel is tempting, but if the studio needs to see DVD sales to push them in that direction, then why wouldn't sales of the first DVD matter? Why would sales of the collector's edition matter more? It doesn't make sense. If anything fewer collector's editions will sell no matter what because anyone who wanted the movie since it came out would have bought it already. Some die-hards will be OK owning two copies, but many won't be lured by the extra features. The movie is still the same, and sales of the original should be enough to tell the studio whether to invest in a continuation. I don't buy that sales of this version will suddenly convince them, and I resent that hope for a sequel is being dangled in front of fans to get them to buy yet another DVD set.
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    • stuart
      stuart
      offline 165

      Re: Serenity Collector's Edition DVD coming out 21 August

      Sun, August 5, 2007 - 10:49 PM
      nicole: << if the studio needs to see DVD sales to push them in that direction, then why wouldn't sales of the first DVD matter? >>

      my guess is that *continued* sales of the first DVD will push in that direction, but less so than seeing that people are interested enough in new content (namely, the special features included on the second DVD) that they will buy this new release.

      put yourself in the shoes of Joe Universal Exec for a moment. this movie you had high hopes for didn't do so great in its theatrical release, but managed to break into the black. barely. DVD sales, however, have been solid. you've now spent money on packaging and marketing a new DVD set. seeing that new content also make money shows that there's still momentum for this material.


      << I resent that hope for a sequel is being dangled in front of fans to get them to buy yet another DVD set. >>

      i suggest you re-read what i posted, and the interview i linked to. "hope for a sequel" is NOT being dangled in front of fans. the interviewer specifically asked what hope there was, and Joss replied that it probably depended on sales of the new DVD. Joss was prompted, and replied with a purely pragmatic answer. *IF* the studio sees that Serenity continues to sell -- and specifically a new release with additional content (at least this is the point Joss seemed to be making), they are more likely to reach a point where they decide that a sequel might be a worthwhile endeavor.

      and for goodness sake, it's not like this is going to break the bank for most people. the current price on Amazon is less than $25, including tax and shipping. i'm happy to spend that for another commentary track and more special features -- and if my purchase is one more bean for the counters in their complex calculus for potential sequel profitability, even better.

      for what it's worth, i'm not sure about it either. i never said -- nor intended to imply -- that if we all rush out and buy this new DVD set that there will definitely positively be a new movie. but if we don't buy it, we can be damn sure the odds of a sequel will dwindle.
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      • nico...
        nicole m
        offline 11

        Re: Serenity Collector's Edition DVD coming out 21 August

        Sun, August 5, 2007 - 11:14 PM
        >for what it's worth, i'm not sure about it either. i never said -- nor intended to imply -- that if we all rush out and buy this new DVD set that there will definitely positively be a new movie. but if we don't buy it, we can be damn sure the odds of a sequel will dwindle.

        Hey. I think you misinterpreted my post. I never said, nor suggested, that it was you doing the dangling. I'm not out to shoot the messenger here.

        Anyhoo, anyone interested in the new features should, by all means, get the DVD. I never said otherwise. If not, though, I don't think people who already own the original should feel some obligation to buy a DVD set they don't really want *if* the only reason they're doing so is because they think it will make a sequel more likely.
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        • stuart
          stuart
          offline 165

          Re: Serenity Collector's Edition DVD coming out 21 August

          Sun, August 5, 2007 - 11:43 PM
          nope, i didn't misinterpret your post. it was clear to me that you didn't think i was doing the dangling. my closing paragraph in my last reply was general editorializing.

          fwiw, i agree with you, and will take your point a step further: I don't think anyone should feel obligated to buy something they don't really want, whether DVD set or otherwise, whether they own the original or not.

          my point in posting this was twofold:

          * to alert folks to the upcoming collector's edition dvd, since it hadn't been posted about yet
          * to point out Joss' comments in the interview about any possibility for more Firefly / Serenity content in the future, and how that possibility would likely be affected by sales of the new set.

          fwiw, the trilogy options that the cast signed expire pretty soon, which could be influencing the studio's decision to release at this time. if the collector's edition sells well, it would make more sense for the studio to get back on the franchise *before* the options expire.

          by the way, in your initial reply, nicole, you said "The movie is still the same" -- well, there are 6:45 min of deleted scenes included in the nearly hour of additional content. so, it's not *exactly* the same. for a completist freak like me, seeing those deleted scenes is alluring. :)
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