Serenity is a 2005space westernfilm written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is set in the universe of the cancelled Foxscience fiction television series Firefly, taking place approximately two months after the events of the final episode.[1] Set 500 years in the future, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a transport and cargo ship. The captain and first mate are veterans of a Unification War and fought on the losing side. Their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who carries a dangerous secret.
The film was released in the United States on September 30, 2005 by Universal Pictures. It received generally positive reviews and opened at #2 in the United States, taking in $10.1 million its first weekend, spending two weeks in the top ten, and totalling a box office gross of $25.5 million.[2]Serenity won film of the year awards from Film 2005[3] and FilmFocus.[4] It also won IGN Film's Best Sci-Fi, Best Story and Best Trailer awards and was runner up for the Overall Best Movie.[5] It also won Nebula Award for Best Script for 2005. Won the 7th annual 'User Tomato Awards' for best Sci-Fi movie of 2005 at Rotten Tomatoes and the 2006 viewers choice Spacey Award for favorite movie.
Among fans, the film is commonly referred to as the "Big Damn Movie" or abbreviated "BDM", a reference to a line from a Firefly episode. Serenity is a rare occurrence in the industry—as failed TV shows are rarely continued in major motion pictures.[6]
The film is based on Firefly, a television series that was cancelled by FOX Network in December 2002—after 11 of its 14 produced episodes had aired.[7] When attempts to have another network pick the show up failed, creator Joss Whedon decided to try and sell it as a film. Through a connection, he was introduced to Mary Parent with Universal Pictures, who immediately signed on after watching the episodes on DVD.[7] By June of 2003, actors Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin confirmed this on the official Firefly forum, as did Whedon in several interviews.[8][9][10]
After Universal Studios acquired the movie rights to Firefly from FOX, Whedon began writing the screenplay. Universal planned to start shooting in October of 2003; however, delays in finishing the script pushed the start of shooting to June of 2004.[7] Universal, while on board with the movie, was not willing to spend the typical budget for a story set in space ($100 million), and Whedon convinced them he could do it for less, and without filming in Canada. And in 50 days, instead of the usual 80.[11] On March 3, 2004 the movie was officially greenlighted to enter production and it was revealed to have budget of only $40 million.[12][13] Typically, production of a movie would try and save money by not filming in Los Angeles, but Whedon insisted on staying local and hiring local, union crew.
Whedon's task was to take a television series that few people had seen and explain the premise, without boring the viewer, or the fans of the franchise. He achieved the exposition by constantly shifting the opening sequence: at first it is a traditional narrative, but then turns out to be a school room, which then turns out to be in River's mind, etc. The viewer is constantly fed information but at the same time it is unsettling. Whedon stated in the commentary that this works thematically as well, since it depicts River's fractured state of mind. When they reach the ship, Whedon uses a long tracking shot to establish "safety".[14]
Adam Baldwin on top of the mule, which is shown here attached to the rig created to help achieve the effect of a hover craft
Since the budget was not very large, practical special effects were used as much as possible: if a CGI composite was called for, as many tangible sets and props were made to reduce the amount of CGI needed.[15] The most technically challenging scene was the mule skiff chase.[15] For budget reasons, a grimble (an hydraulic turntable) and CGI, like the pod race in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, were quickly ruled out and challenged the production team to find an alternative.[11] Instead they built a trailer with a cantilevered arm attached to the "hover craft" and shot the scene while riding up Templin Highway north of Santa Clarita.[11] As "Serenity" visual effects supervisor Loni Peristere stated in a Los Angeles Times article: "Traditionally this would have been, like, a 30-day shoot. I think we did it in five."[11]
One item that could not be reused from the television show that would have helped save money, was the original set of the interior of the ship Serenity. It had to be rebuilt from scratch for the film, using frozen images from the Firefly DVD set.[11] ZOIC, the CG-rendering company that produced the graphics for the series, also had to perform a complete overhaul of their computer model of Serenity, as its television model would not stand up to high-definition cinema screens (and future HD DVD resolution).[16][17]
The set for the failed colony, Miranda, was filmed on location at Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California.[18] (The building into which the Alliance ship is crashed is the DRHS Band and Orchestra's rehearsal room.)
Five hundred years into the future, Earth's resources have been depleted; humanity has moved to a new star system and terraformed many of the planets. The system is controlled by the authoritarian Alliance, but away from the "core planets" a frontier justice holds sway where outlaws like the crew of the cargo ship Serenity can scrape out a living if they dodge Alliance forces and the Reavers—savage spacefaring cannibals who raid the worlds of "the Rim." A schoolgirl is seen questioning the Alliance's practices. She awakens as teenaged River, a brilliant psychic who is conditioned mentally and physically by the Alliance before being rescued by her brother Simon, and gaining sanctuary aboard Serenity. An Alliance agent called simply the Operative is given high authority by the Alliance Parliament and begins his hunt for the fugitives.
Serenity captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds insists upon bringing River (and her talents) along on a bank raid, over the protests of Simon. After the crew narrowly escapes Reavers, Simon confronts Mal, who decides to leave the fugitives behind at their next stop. At said stop, while Mal is haggling with fencesMingo and Fanty over the bank-raid spoils, River wanders into the same bar, watches a video broadcast, and proceeds to attack everyone in sight. Simon arrives and shouts a "safe word" that causes her to fall asleep. Mal allows Simon and River to continue traveling on Serenity while the crew contacts a reclusive techno-geek known as Mr. Universe. Mr. Universe discovers that River's outburst was triggered by a subliminal message in the video she watched, beamed out by the Alliance. He also notes that River whispered the name "Miranda." Mal receives a call from Inara, a former passenger. Suspecting a trap, but mindful that she must be in danger, Mal visits her and is confronted by the Operative, who offers to let Mal go if he turns River over to him. Mal refuses, and thanks to Inara's quick thinking, they escape from the Operative and back to Serenity. Another of River's outbursts shows the crew that "Miranda" is an unknown outer rim planet, about which River learned something horrible when in contact with members of Parliament during an inspection visit of her training. Since traveling to Miranda would require a suicidal crossing into Reaver territory, Serenity instead goes to Haven, now home to another former passenger, Shepherd Book. On arrival, the crew discovers that the outpost has been ravaged by Alliance forces, fatally wounding Shepherd Book in the process. The Operative sends a message claiming responsibility, and promising more of the same until River is turned over.
Mal ordering the crew to remodel Serenity to look like a Reaver ship.
Overriding the crew's complaints, Mal orders that Serenity be made to look like a Reaver ship. The transformation is successful, and they sneak through an entire fleet of Reaver warships. Upon reaching Miranda, the crew finds it has a completely habitable environment — but the sprawling cities are empty except for masses of badly decomposed corpses, all without apparent cause of death. The crew discovers a log recorded after the disaster by an Alliance expedition, which reveals that the Alliance administered a chemical substance designed to suppress aggression and thus render the planet free of violence. It worked so well that the populace stopped working, eating, or caring about anything and let themselves die. However, a relatively tiny fraction of the population had the opposite reaction, turning hyper-aggressive and mentally unstable: they became the Reavers. A sickened Mal plans to reveal this secret to all the worlds by using Mr. Universe's transmitter equipment, but the Operative has predicted this and awaits just outside of Reaver space with an Alliance fleet. During the return trip through the Reavers, Serenity opens fire upon a pursuing ship, causing the other vessels to chase it: Serenity emerges from Reaver space flanked by the entire Reaver fleet. A massive battle ensues between the Alliance and the Reavers, allowing Serenity's pilot Wash to fly down to Mr. Universe's planet. The Operative's ship is destroyed, and he also flees to the surface in an escape pod.
Wash flying Serenity to safety.
Serenity crash lands on the planet and while it suffers massive damage, the crew has survived. Just as everyone begins to relax, a Reaver harpoon impales Wash, killing him instantly. Fleeing Serenity, the crew sets up a last stand in a small room to hold off the Reavers and give Mal the time he needs to get to Mr. Universe and transmit the message. Mal finds Mr. Universe dead, but triggers a recorded message telling of a secondary transmitter hidden elsewhere in the complex. The Reavers attack the crew, inflict several injuries and force them to retreat. The crew tries to close a blast door, but it will not seal completely, so River dives through the gap in the door and seals it from the other side. Mal reaches the second transmitter which is located on a platform perched over a deep shaft. The Operative appears, leading to a final bloody showdown between the two men. Mal emerges as the victor but does not kill the Operative, instead leaving him to watch the recording from Miranda. Mal returns to his crew; just as he is told what River did, the blast door opens to reveal River standing unscathed amidst an enormous pile of dead Reavers. A squad of Alliance troops belatedly storm onto the scene, but the Operative, his faith in his mission shattered by the Miranda message, orders them to stand down. The crew buries Mr. Universe, Shepherd Book, and Wash and patches up Serenity. As they prepare to resume their travels, the Operative makes his own exit, promising Mal they will never meet again. Serenity blasts off with Mal in Wash's seat at the helm, and River acting as his copilot. The final shot shows the ship flying off triumphantly, until an unidentified piece of metal flies from the back of the ship and hits the camera.
Hoping to generate buzz through early word-of-mouth, Universal launched an unprecedented 3-stage campaign to sneak-preview the movie in 35 US cities where the television series had earned high Nielsen Ratings. The first stage of screenings was held in 10 cities on May 5, 2005. The second stage, held on May 26, 2005, added an additional 10 cities and was also the source of controversy when individual theatres began selling tickets before the official announcement was released, leading some shows to be sold out before being announced. The third round of screenings, with an additional 15 cities, was held on June 23, 2005. The screenings proved a success, with all three stages selling out in less than 24 hours, the second-stage screening in Washington DC sold out in a mere 22 minutes and the second screening in Phoenix sold out in 8.[20][21]
Australian audiences were the first outside North America to get preview screenings. After an exclusive Sydney test screening, Melbourne held a public screening on July 21, 2005. This was followed by a film festival screening on the Gold Coast on July 22. Public preview screenings were held in Adelaide and Sydney on August 1, and Perth on August 4. Further screenings were held in Victoria, Tasmania, and Queensland in late August. A showing of the finished film billed as the "Gala Premiere" was held at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 22,[22] followed by an interview with Whedon the next day,[23] and preview screenings across the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 24, in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Dublin. Several of the screenings in all the countries featured the attendance of Joss Whedon and the film's cast, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Whedon also attended two Q&A sessions after sold-out screenings of the finished film in Melbourne and Sydney on September 12 and 13.
River (left), upset with the interviewer in Session 165 of the R. Tam sessions released on the internet.
The trailer also generated buzz on the Internet. It was uploaded on April 26, and by the 28th, it topped the Yahoo Buzz Index.[24][25]
Universal also utilized a viral marketing campaign, producing five short videos that were released on the internet between August 16 and September 5. These short films, known as the "R. Tam sessions," depicted excerpts of counseling sessions with the character River Tam while she was being held at a "learning facility" known only as "The Academy". The counselor in these sessions is played by Joss Whedon himself. Taking place before the events of the film or the television series, the videos shed some light on the experiments and torture "The Academy" conducted on River. They "document" her change from a shy child prodigy to the mentally unstable character of the television series.[26]
On October 5th, 2005, Universal also made the first nine minutes of Serenity available online.[27] A browser plug-in allowed the viewer to see the opening of the film in full-screen broadcast quality (bandwidth permitting). The clip was removed a few weeks later.
Beginning in January 2006, fans began organizing charity screenings of Serenity[28] to benefit Equality Now, an organization supported by Joss Whedon. By mid-June, 41 such screenings had been confirmed for cities in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, and the United States, and as of June 19, there were 47 scheduled screenings. The project is referred to as "Serenity Now/Equality Now", and was coordinated through Can't Stop The Serenity(sic), where a full list of screenings is also available. As of July 15 the Can't Stop The Serenity website, after getting reports in from 41 of the 47 scheduled screenings, stated that the project had raised an estimated $64,871.27 for Equality Now. There has already been some discussion amongst those organizing the 2006 screenings of repeating the event in 2007, though Can't Stop The Serenity states: "There will be discussions about next year, and this website will be working to enable and foster those discussions. But let's finish enjoying this year, first!" and notes that "There will be a letter going out to [their] Universal distribution contact in early July, posing the set of questions [they] would need answered before any substantive discussions can occur amongst organizers regarding a new round of charity screenings in 2007" [1].
Awards Serenity won film of the year awards from Film 2005[3] and FilmFocus.[4] It also won IGN Film's Best Sci-Fi, Best Story and Best Trailer awards and was runner up for the Overall Best Movie[5] (Batman Begins received first place). Won the 7th annual 'User Tomato Awards' for best Sci-Fi movie of 2005 at Rotten Tomatoes. It also won Nebula Award for Best Script for 2005. Serenity won the 2006 viewers choice Spacey Award for favorite movie.
Serenity received mostly positive reviews from film critics, with a "fresh" rating of 81%[29] from the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of film critics. Ebert & Roeper gave the film "Two Thumbs Up,"[30] and The San Francisco Chronicle called it "a triumph",[31] while The New York Times described it as a modest but superior science fiction film.[32] It is listed at #41 of top Science Fiction movies on IMDB.[33] Science fiction author Orson Scott Card called Serenity "the best science fiction film ever," further stating "If Ender's Game can't be this kind of movie, and this good a movie, then I want it never to be made. I'd rather just watch Serenity again."[34]
However, some reviewers felt the film was unable to overcome its television origins, and did not successfully accomplish the transition to the big screen. USA Today wrote that "the characters are generally uninteresting and one-dimensional, and the futuristic Western-style plot grows tedious" while Variety declared that the film "bounces around to sometimes memorable effect but rarely soars".
Despite critical acclaim and Internet buzz, Serenity performed modestly at best at the box office. Although several pundits predicted a #1 opening,[35][36][37] the film opened at #2 in the United States, taking in $10.1 million its first weekend, spending two weeks in the top ten, and totaling a box office gross of $25.5 million.[2] Movie industry analyst Brandon Gray described Serenity's box office performance as "like a below average genre picture".[38]
Serenity's international box office results were mixed, with strong openings in the UK, Portugal and Russia, but poor results in Spain, Australia, France and Italy. Universal International Pictures cancelled the film's theatrical release in at least seven countries, planning to release it directly to DVD instead. The box office income outside the United States was $13.3 million, with a worldwide total of $38.8 million,[39] slightly less than the film's $39 million budget, which doesn't include the promotion and advertising costs, the budget for which was approximately $10 million. The film's creators and supporters are hoping that strong DVD sales, similar to those of the Firefly television series, may lead to a sequel production.
Nathan Fillion as Mal. A former sergeant on the losing side of the Unification War, he struggles to survive free and independent of the Alliance. Captain Malcolm Reynolds was named #18 in TV Guide's "25 Greatest Sci-fi legends" list in 2004.[40] Whedon approached Fillion to play the lead and after explaining the premise and showing Fillion the treatment for the pilot, Fillion was eager for the role.[41]
Gina Torres as Zoe. Another veteran who fought alongside Mal in the war, she is fiercely loyal to Mal, whom she calls "the captain."
Alan Tudyk as Wash. The pilot of the ship, and Zoe's husband. He often acts as a voice of reason on the ship.
Morena Baccarin as Inara. She is a companion and formerly rented one of Serenity's shuttles. In one of the Operative's traps, Mal is reunited with Inara at her training house, and the two escape back to Serenity.
Adam Baldwin as Jayne. A mercenary, skilled with weapons, is often the "main gun" for jobs and is someone that can be depended on in a fight.[42] He is a "lummox" but thinks he is the smartest guy in space.[43] As Whedon states several times, he is the person that will ask the questions that no one else wants to talk about.[44]
Jewel Staite as Kaylee. Kaylee, the ship's intuitively skilled mechanic, also has a persistently bright and sunny temperament.
Sean Maher as Simon. Simon is River's loving brother who helps rescue her from the Alliance. He and River are taken in by the crew of Serenity. His life is defined by caring for his sister.[43];
Summer Glau as River. River is a seventeen-year old psychic genius. She and her brother are taken in by the crew of Serenity after she is rescued from an Alliance Academy. The Alliance's pursuit of River forms the basis of the film's plot. As Whedon states, the film is the "story of Mal as told by River."[14]
Ron Glass as Shepherd Book. A shepherd, or preacher, Book was once a passenger on Serenity, but now resides on the planet Haven. Mal and the crew look to him for guidance.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative. A ruthless, intelligent employee of the Alliance assigned to track down River and Simon. In searching for the person to place the role, Ejiofor was on the top of every casting director's list, but the studio was wanting someone more well known. Whedon, however, was eventually able to cast Ejiofor.[45]
David Krumholtz as Mr. Universe. A "techno-geek" with good relations with the crew of Serenity, especially Wash, Mr. Universe lives with his "love-bot" wife and monitors incoming signals from around the 'verse.
While the film seems to depict the Alliance as an all-powerful, authoritarian-style regime, Whedon is careful to point out that it is not so simple as that; "The Alliance isn't some evil empire", but rather a force that is largely benevolent. The Alliance’s main problem is that it is in over its head dealing with all the myriad cultures that it cannot control and should not try to.[46] What the crew of Serenity, and specifically Mal and his lifestyle, represents is that people have the right to choose, even if that choice is wrong. This is the main message of the film - that no one person or group has the right to impose their views on others, even if it is a better way of thinking.[47]
The Operative embodies the Alliance and is as Whedon stated the "perfect product of what's wrong with the Alliance". He is someone who is a force for good, who wants to achieve a "world without sin", and believes this so strongly that he will do anything to achieve it, including risking his soul. In contrast, Mal is someone who has lost his beliefs.[48] Someone who cares and believes so strongly about something has the potential to be a monster, and we see in this film with the Operative filling this role. Conversely, Mal who has not been an effective leader because he has tried to put that deadly conviction that he used to have (in the Unification War) behind him and knows what it will bring - "I start fighting a war I guarantee you'll see something new" (Mal to Inara foreshadowing his attainment of a belief). By the end of the movie, however, Mal finally believes in something so strongly that in a sense he approaches this potential to be a monster, for he asks the crew to lay down their lives for this belief.[49][47] Whedon has said that the most important line in the movie is Mal's line to the Operative "I'm going to show you a world without sin." Whedon's point with this, and with Mal saying he is a "fan of all seven", is that sin is "outdated" and that it is just, quite simply, who we are as humans.[47]
Joss Whedon explains in the DVD commentary track that the planet "Miranda" received its name in reference to a line spoken by Shakespeare's Miranda in The Tempest, Act V, scene I: "O brave new world, / That has such people in't!"[49] The Alliance had hoped that Miranda would be a new kind of world, filled with peaceful, happy people, and represents the "inane optimism of the Alliance".[50] It is also of note that the planet on which River was conditioned is called Ariel, which is also the name of a character in The Tempest (who represents the wind). The aforementioned quotation from The Tempest also gave the title to
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