Upcoming Firefly Movie Behind-the-Scenes Photos

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Upcoming Firefly Movie Behind-the-Scenes Photos

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday September 12, 2004 @01:18AM from the stuff-to-lust-after dept.

browncoat1 writes "A Firefly Mod for Neverwinter Nights is available, based on the cancelled FOX Television show Firefly (by Joss Whedon, of Buffy, Angel, and Titan A.E. fame). The guy who wrote the mod just posted some secret behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the upcoming movie Serenity, based on the show and starring the actors and actresses from the show. It should be a must-see for fans of Firefly or sci-fi TV in general."

30 of 107 comments (clear)

Re:Sci-fi? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-12 01:24 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'm guessing the cruising around in space-part?
Re:Sci-fi? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-12 01:24 · Score: 4, Insightful

Spaceships, terraforming, and psychic powers aren't sci-fi to you? Okay then.

And sadly, if anything is making people desperate, it's the depths that both Star Wars and Star Trek have fallen to.
"Secret" by toetagger1 · 2004-09-12 01:25 · Score: 4, Funny

"secret behind-the-scenes photos"

I love secret photos, especially when they are on the Internet and /. links to them!

--
who | grep -i blond | date cd ~; unzip; touch; strip; finger; mount; gasp; yes; uptime; umount; sleep
I wonder... by TrickFred · 2004-09-12 01:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

Joss as much as admitted that he 'borrowed' the idea for Buffy the Vampire Slayer from a Japanese anime called 'Devil Hunter Yohko' in an interview I read a few years back [in print, sorry, no link] - I wonder what his influences were originally for Firefly?
1. Re: I wonder... by Black+Parrot · 2004-09-12 02:05 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  > I wonder what his influences were originally for Firefly?
  
  Supposedly the Jesse James legend, plus presumably every western and space opera written or filmed since then.
  
  Supposedly also it harks back to an original pitch of Star Trek to the studio as "a wagon-train in space".
  
  --
  Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
2. Re:I wonder... by ajs · 2004-09-12 02:06 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Why do there have to be specific influences. In the case of Buffy, Joss has said that he started with the idea of wanting to turn around the "scared girl in the alleyway, attacked by monster" so that the girl kicks the monster's ass. Being a fan, and drawing on anime for the mechanic of that seems reasonable, but if you watch the first 2 seasons of Buffy, the slayer and the monsters (vampires) aren't the focus of the series except in a few episodes. MOST of the show early on is about the contrast between high school and monster-hunting and how high school really is the more frightening element.
  
  In Firefly, obviously there are Star Wars elements. There's also a whole lot of the old TV western series feel (Joss has mentioned that this is deliberate).
  
  For my taste, the concept was a poor one. Telling a frontier story in space makes perfect sense, but you don't have to drive that home with American western metaphor. However, the execution (barring a few jarring elements that Fox demanded) was brilliant, and the show grew on me. I especially liked the development of the culture in large (throwing in Chinese language) and small (the scarcity of fresh vegetables) ways. The show FELT like it was taking place in a frontier setting, and I think that's the highest compliment I can pay to Joss and the crew of the series. The acting was superb. The only character I never "believed" was Jane. Joss has a hard time writing thugs because I don't think he knows enough of them ;-) but the actor did a fine job.
3. Re:I wonder... by Loadmaster · 2004-09-12 02:24 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Mr. Whedon has said that he was inspired to create Firefly while reading the book, "Killer Angels." KA is a book about the battle of Gettysburg.
4. Re:I wonder... by kalidasa · 2004-09-12 03:05 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  For anime, the closest match is obviously Cowboy Beebop, but the feel of the two shows and the setup are quite different. As for the Andromeda fans, try doing a compare of Firefly to Star Trek:
  
  Mal - Kirk
  Zoe - Spock
  Wash - Scotty
  Kaylee - Chapel
  Shepherd - McCoy
  Jayne - Chekov
  Inara - Rand (yeah, I know, Rand and Chekov were never on at the same time)
  
  This is because episodic television (indeed, all episodic fiction) is by its nature formulaic: you look for ways to balance your ensemble, and the chief balances seem to be around the hero. First you create your hero, then you look to his friends (in Trek, the emotionally balanced Kirk has McCoy, the sympathetic one, and Spock, the logical one; in Firefly, you have Zoe, the professional, and Shepherd, the sympathetic), then his love interest (Rand, Inara), then the inept male comic relief (Chekov, Jayne), then the socially inept female comic relief who has a crush on someone (Chapel, Kaylee), and don't forget Mr. Fixit. Of course, since supposedly Andromeda was based on an idea by Roddenberry, structural similarities between Andromeda and Star Trek would make sense (look at the structural similarities between ST: TMP and *Encounter at Farpoint* some time - Decker:Riker::Deltan Ilia:Betazoid Deanna), but I think you could probably look at any other team-based episodic television series and find many common elements.
5. Re:I wonder... by Scrameustache · 2004-09-12 04:17 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  the scarcity of fresh vegetables
  
  I like that too, gives it that extra "ship at sea" feel that a lot of sci-fi doesn't have (because you can't have shows upon shows where they dont land anywhere).
  
  The only character I never "believed" was Jane. Joss has a hard time writing thugs because I don't think he knows enough of them ;-) but the actor did a fine job.
  
  Funny, I think he's one of the most believable characters.
  The actor does a fine job playing him because, well, he ALWAYS plays military types. Hell, this guy feels like Animal Mother (from Full Metal Jacket, played by him also) just enrolled on a spaceship after 'nam...
  I love how he starts off as a simple thug but then shows different aspects of his brutish personality. He's brave in a fight but cowardly at times, he doesn't want others to know he's a thief, a backstabber... He feels shame, he feels remorse. He's a horrible human being, but he's still a human being (granted, he wouldn't be this human if Mal wasn't there to give lessons in criminal decency). ...the man they call...Jayne...
  : )
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
Super Sub Secret /. Decoder Ring Engaged by JasonUCF · 2004-09-12 01:33 · Score: 3, Insightful

The guy who wrote the mod just posted some secret behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the upcoming movie Serenity,

Uh...durrr... what's secret about your soon to be slashdotted photos? And if they don't get hosed, which marketing agency do you work for?
1. Re: Super Sub Secret /. Decoder Ring Engaged by Black+Parrot · 2004-09-12 01:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  > Uh...durrr... what's secret about your soon to be slashdotted photos?
  
  OK, make that "soon to be secret" photos.
  
  --
  Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Hmmm by Quixote · 2004-09-12 01:54 · Score: 4, Interesting

Submitter's email address? "tulsa23@hushmail.com".
The "guy who wrote the NVN mod" runs Sixbyte hosting, which is located in..... Tulsa, OK.
Is this a case of Astroturfing ?
To use a slogan from a certain network: I report, you decide!
;-)
Re: Sci-fi? by Black+Parrot · 2004-09-12 01:58 · Score: 4, Interesting

> Which part of Firefly is sci-fi? It seems all that lousy Stargate etc stuff is making sci-fi fans desperate enough to accept anything...

It must be tough making it through life unable to enjoy anything but "real" SF.

While we're on that topic... ISTM that many (but not all) SF fans have a really anal[-]retentive approach to their hobby, i.e. a fixation on definitions, categorization, and list making. Look at the subject headers in an SF newsgroup sometime... "Is this SF?", "10 stories about one-eyed lesbian space pirates", etc. It's funny, in a sad sort of way.

--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Re: Sci-fi? by worst_name_ever · 2004-09-12 02:02 · Score: 5, Funny

Look at the subject headers in an SF newsgroup sometime... "Is this SF?", "10 stories about one-eyed lesbian space pirates", etc. It's funny, in a sad sort of way.
Yeah, no kidding. Some people are just sad. Say, what was that URL for the lesbian space pirates again?

--

In Soviet Rush, today's Tom Sawyer gets high on you.
Andromeda by Karma+Sucks · 2004-09-12 02:05 · Score: 3, Interesting

FireFly is the realised version of a western in space Kevin Sorbo always wanted the Andromeda show to be.

Compare these characters for starters:

Matt --> Dylan
Jayne --> Tyr
Sheperd --> Rev Bem
Kaylee --> Trance
(both Canadian girls who played in similar kid shows incidentally) ...

Lots of similarities with tweaks for the particular environment and setting of Firefly. And of course, Firefly is miles ahead of what Andromeda became.

--
(Please browse at -1 to read this comment.)
1. Re:Andromeda by Scrameustache · 2004-09-12 04:08 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Matt --> Dylan
  
  I think you meant Mal, as is captain Malcom Reynolds...
  
  FireFly is the realised version of a western in space Kevin Sorbo always wanted the Andromeda show to be.
  
  And I'm sorry, but Sorbo wanted it to be "Hercules...in space!".
  
  Also, comparing Andromeda to Firefly is unfair. The only similarity is that they both (add Farscape to that to make it 3) were comfortable with campyness. Andromeda by being cheap and using campyness as an excuse to not make efforts (IMO, my wrasslin loving freinds liked it), Firefly by going all the way with the space western motif (they had a cargo of cows, making them officially cowboys), and Farscape with the muppets and the sexy alien space monsters (which are campy, but enjoyable).
  : )
  
  --
  You can't take the sky from me...
Re: Sci-fi? by Black+Parrot · 2004-09-12 02:16 · Score: 3, Funny

> Say, what was that URL for the lesbian space pirates again?

I suppose this will have to do.

--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
What about the publicity? by rfunches · 2004-09-12 02:23 · Score: 2, Interesting

It'll be interesting to see as production and post goes on how the publicity works out. Remember that wonderful network called Fox and their marketing department that royally screwed over this show? Since Universal bought the movie rights to a defunct show, it obviously has more of a vested interest in Firefly, but are they looking to be The Next Big Thing in Hollywood or simply appeal to Firefly fans.
Bah, where is the cute engineer girl??? by doormat · 2004-09-12 02:25 · Score: 4, Funny

No photos of her =^(

--
The Doormat

If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
1. Re:Bah, where is the cute engineer girl??? by br0ck · 2004-09-12 02:43 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Check her blog. Actually, now that I go there, it is interesting that she says they're already done filming. Cool!
2. Re:Bah, where is the cute engineer girl??? by Teese · 2004-09-12 03:49 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  It always surprises me to spot her though, because she somehow looks MUCH different in Firefly that in anything else
  According to the commentary on one of the firefly episodes, she says that "they" wanted her to put on weight for the role of kaylee. Yea, put on weight! in Hollywood! for a television show! on a girl! crazy.
  I think it worked, very cute she was in the show.
  ("they" where not precisely defined, that I remember. If it was Joss himself, or the other exec. producer, or Fox (I doubt it), or the casting director, or Santa Claus was not mentioned.)
  
  --
  "I'm a Genius!"*
  
  *Not an actual Genius
3. Re:Bah, where is the cute engineer girl??? by Dr.+Smeegee · 2004-09-12 07:47 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  "very cute she was in the show."
  
  Watching our TV you do Master Yoda? Surprised we are!
Linkage by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-12 02:29 · Score: 3, Informative

Here's a link to a story talking about Firefly when it first came out. Whedon talks about the book in it and why it inspired him.

Firefly
Firefly is fundamentaly different Andromeda by Em+Ellel · 2004-09-12 03:01 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's like saying shows are same because they both have characters in them.

Andromeda's main premise is an attempt to (re)build a huge empire. It is highly political (and not in a smart, B5ish way) and highly idealistic (tada - everything is "Good Vs. Evil" like Star Trek and other idealistic "sci-fi")

Firefly's main premise is to keep flying and stay below radar, noone is good or evil, just people who can help and people who can hurt. Main theme is survival.

I think survival is something more people can relate to and makes for a much better science fiction (as opposed to "sci-fi")

-Em

--
RelevantElephants: A Somatic WebComic...
Fox is Evil. by Aetrix · 2004-09-12 03:12 · Score: 2, Insightful

Ooh - I get the first chance to say -

Fox is Evil and Bad for canceling Firefly. It's a great show.

--

"One touch of Darwin makes the whole world kin." George Bernard Shaw
Hmm.. by TrevorB · 2004-09-12 03:21 · Score: 3, Funny

Seriously... Are pics like these supposed to demonstrate how the series died off?

(ducks)

(apologies to all, I'm actually I Firefly fan)

(ducks again)
Firefly Links by lostOnEarth · 2004-09-12 03:42 · Score: 4, Informative

For those who don't know what Firefly is about here are some links:
The offical Serinity site:
http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/?u=tu sk
And the most popular fan site:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/
You can of course buy the DVD's if you want to see this great series too, at Amazon or elsewhere.
Re:Sci-fi? by Scrameustache · 2004-09-12 04:39 · Score: 3, Informative
Spaceships, terraforming, and psychic powers
- Laser guns
- Flying cars
- Sonic rifles
- Space stations
- Cryogenic transport
- That funky soldering tape thingy
- Real time non-invasive 3D brain scan imaging
- etc.
: )
--
You can't take the sky from me...
Re:Firefly Links and stupid referral programs by tabacco · 2004-09-12 05:41 · Score: 2, Informative

Oh god, another person trolling their referral link around /.
Re:Question by Scrameustache · 2004-09-12 06:26 · Score: 2, Insightful

Dark Angel (a quality show)

You mean the post apocalyptic show where technology was destroyed by EMPs, but everyone had working, brand bew SUVs (with a bit of mud swiped on the hood to make it look post apocalyptic), cell phones, Macs, motorcycles, etc?
The one with freakin' Vincent from Beauty and the Beast?
The one with the genetically enhanced girl that can inexplicably leap over a 20ft fence? Who's rent-a-womb mother (with no genetic link to her) looks exactly like her?

The show with a hot chick that goes in heat?

That wasn't a quality show, that was a hot chick vehicle, there's a difference. The chick was hot, the show was not.

--
You can't take the sky from me...