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Watch the First 9 Minutes of Serenity

Posted by Zonk on from the nothing-else-to-do-on-a-friday-afternoon dept.

An anonymous reader writes "As reported on FireflyFans.net, Universal is attempting further promotion of the sci-fi action film Serenity by making the first 9 minutes of the movie available online. The clip contains the opening backstory that sets an Alliance assassin on the trail of the ship's crew; it's an effective hook. On Yahoo movies, Serenity is ranked as the number 1 film currently in theaters and is hanging in a top-ten spot in the highest rated movies of all time. Slashdot has previously covered Orson Scott Card's review, the film's opening, an interview with Joss Whedon, and much more. It's all out of love..."

69 of 426 comments (clear)

  1. Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Okay now I'm gonna go see this.

  2. Aftermath? by Sorthum · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have to wonder, if this works to boost revenue for Serenity, what will the MPAA's response be? It only took them, what, ten years to realize the internet can help them?

    1. Re:Aftermath? by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why would they react any differently than they have been? They've known that the internet is a great advertising medium, and this is just another way of advertising. They're still going to be against the distribution of the whole movie, though.

      I don't see their position changing at all.

  3. The Firefly TV episodes matter more by Nonesuch · · Score: 4, Informative
    I saw Serenity the week it had come out, and if SciFi hadn't just a few weeks back shown the first two episodes of the series again, I don't think I would have understood what happened in the movie.

    The movie depends quite a bit on the overall backstory from the one season of the television show. If you haven't seen the show, it doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense.

    Luckily "Firefly - The Complete Series" is available on DVD.

    --

    I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
    1. Re:The Firefly TV episodes matter more by RatBastard · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That's odd. I saw Serenity last weekend with friends who had never seen Firefly and they had not trouble keeping up with what was going on. Yes, they lost some of the richness of the story, but they did a fine job of filling in the blanks for most reasonably observant people.

      --
      Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
    2. Re:The Firefly TV episodes matter more by Supurcell · · Score: 5, Informative

      I, and the people I was with, thought Serenity stood well on its own. Going in, I didn't know who the characters were, but on the way out I felt very attached to them. I never felt lost. I assume there were probably some jokes that I didn't get, because I didn't watch Firefly, but the movie was exciting and funny enough on its own.

    3. Re:The Firefly TV episodes matter more by Dionysus · · Score: 2, Informative

      Have to agree with the other people who responded to you. I saw it with a friend who had never seen Firefly, and he didn't have any problems.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
  4. What the Heck by dduardo · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Unfortunately, the Operating System you are currently using is unsupported."

    1. Re:What the Heck by Kortec · · Score: 2, Funny

      Obviously only communists and n3wbcakes use operating "systems" that don't come from redford.

      On a more useful note, can someone mirror this or set up a tracker for us pinko-commie types?

      --
      "My heart is in the work." - Andrew Carnegie
    2. Re:What the Heck by pymike · · Score: 5, Funny
      It's as if millions of penguins cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

      Me included though :\

    3. Re:What the Heck by Hott+of+the+World · · Score: 2, Funny

      Bob Redford's got an operating system?

      Old school!

      --
      | - | - |
    4. Re:What the Heck by simeonbeta2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Aaargh. So they're using a weird plugin (bad) but the plugin is written in Java (good) but the plugin only works on Windows (bad again). Why would you make people download a plugin (and maybe a jre) but then forgo the alleged chief benefit of Java? (Write once, run almost anywhere)... If they wanted windows only with drm, why not just use Windows Media and active-x?

      --
      http://metapundit.net
    5. Re:What the Heck by borawjm · · Score: 2, Funny

      Perhaps they are smarter than we think.
      Step(s) to prevent slashdotting:

      1.)Don't support linux

    6. Re:What the Heck by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 3, Insightful
      They say if you run the Pc version of Firefox under Wine it works.

      You probably meant the Windows version of Firefox. You see - I'm using a PC too. It runs Linux. :P
    7. Re:What the Heck by roseblood · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hi - you must be new here.

      No, HE is.

      --
      There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
    8. Re:What the Heck by Angostura · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just FYI, it runs on Mac OS X just fine. So it's not just a Windows thing. If anything this makes it more puzzling that it doesn't run on Linux.

  5. The beginning is good by temojen · · Score: 2, Informative

    It gave enough backstory for my girlfriend (who never saw the series) to know what was going on, and even covered some stuff I missed in the series (like the setting being one big solar system, not interstellar).

    1. Re:The beginning is good by Scrameustache · · Score: 2, Informative

      I missed in the series (like the setting being one big solar system, not interstellar).

      You didn't miss it, they just didn't mention it.
      It was the subject of much debate amongst fans before the movie, in fact. I thought they had more than one solar system, since it was implied in the way they talked about systems and whatnot, but, seems not.

      --

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

    2. Re:The beginning is good by Catbeller · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whedon simply didn't get the difference between a solar system, a group of stars with solar systems, and a galaxy. He may have been straightened out later.

      I was butting my head on this for a while: after all, if the new solar system was colonized by Earth, then - bloody hell! - they had interstellar drives. For hundreds of millons of passengers.

      But the series never shows anyone making star hops. They're all fusion rockets, and they only travel a few million miles, spending weeks or days en route. Probably deuterium/tritium fueled.

      What happened to the mighty starships? What happened to the Terran supertransports? And didn't anyone read "The High Frontier" on Earth? Why go to another star and terraform planets when you can stay around our solar system and build land areas in habitats with congomerate land area millions of times that of Earth's surface?

      The confusion rattled me after I figured out that Serenity wasn't a starship. If the author can't figure out the difference between a solar system, a group of stars WITH solar systems, and a galaxy of Earths, he ain't writing science fiction -- he's using the form instead. Sci-Fi instead of SF. With the caveat that his universe doesn't make any sense.

      However, I ignore all that and love the movie. I just wish they taught astronomy in writing classes.

    3. Re:The beginning is good by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The very same thing bothered me. I haven't seen the movie yet (but I'm going, 100%) and I'm honestly disappointed that it's all a big solar system. I guess I had pictured a cluster of stars, each with planets. Very important for the show is the notion of the core planets and "farther out" planets. But I did initially picture this on a galactic scale...

      I suppose it makes things a little better that these planets have many moons, all of which are terraformed and include artificial gravity (I know, hard to imagine - and all conveniently have the landscape of southern California). But there are laws of physics (maybe math, actually) about how close together planetary orbits may come in a stable solar system. There just can't be many orbits in the habitable zone. (Anything outside of the bands of Venus and Mars would not look like California no matter how good the terraforming is.) So why aren't the outer planets cold?

      You're right, many other details are thought out, but Whedon is delinquent on giving us a map of the settled planets, or even a sketch. I imagine he wants to, but can't make it fit with the requirements of the narrative. What the narrative requires is something analogous to an archipelago on the sea - a space that is densely populated with many moons and planets. That's just not gonna happen; the more you say about it, the sillier it would sound, so Whedon just ingnores the subject. If I were him, I'd have been more direct about it up front, bit the bullet on superluminal travel, and made Serenity an interstellar ship. This would explain the huge interstellar migration you mention... The downside is that Serenity seems too crappy to be superluminal... but then again, the Millennium Falcon was also a piece of crap and nobody had problems picturing hyperdrive. But there is something weird about people who can afford an interstellar spaceship but still use revolvers to shoot each other. Yes, a quirk of the show.

      So with the solar system thing, I think Whedon is digging himself deeper, and he should have worked out these things when he first conceived the show. Absent that, he just shouldn't address the issue. Anything he says about this will only make matters worse.

    4. Re:The beginning is good by Deef · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Whedon is quite clear in the film that Firefly takes place in a single solar system, "With dozens of planets and hundreds of moons", which was colonized after the solar system containing Earth was abandoned (at least, by those who moved to the new system). We even get a picture of the solar system in which the film takes place at one point. It is unclear at what point terraforming technology was perfected, but it seems consistent with his series that it was considerably after they moved to the new solar system.

      Despite your claim, I don't see any confusion on Whedon's part about the difference between a solar system and a group of stars with solar systems. His narrative is consistent throughout. I have some gripes with the way that he's laid his solar system out (for instance, IMHO the outer worlds should be CONSIDERABLY colder than the inner worlds, although some of that can be handled with a suitably chosen mix of gases for the atmosphere), but his description is at least consistent.

      As to why you never see people making interstellar hops, the obvious reason is that, in general, they don't. Anymore than the average American keeps an ocean liner in his backyard so that he can take a trip to China if he needs to. They moved to the new solar system, and that's where they live now. Interstellar colonization at sublight speeds is not a fun or quick thing to do, and makes for poor movies.

      The basic misunderstanding here is that you are used to science fiction which uses technobabble like "warp drives" and "hyperspace" to make faster-than-light interstellar hops in less than a human lifetime, but Whedon is restricting himself primarily to the actual known laws of physics, which suggest that such things aren't possible. (Also note that in his film, ships at a distance don't make noises in empty space, which is accurate but unfortunately quite uncommon in science fiction films).

      Also, keep in mind that the crew of the Firefly is POOR. They don't get the neato toys. They can't afford laser pistols, etc. Those are for those with money, such as people that live on the Core worlds.

  6. No Linux support for this? by SaidinUnleashed · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Evidently it only works for people with the "right operating systems".

    Is it so hard to use a standard media type?

    Why do companies feel like it's right to mave stuff like this that's actually MORE trouble to make incompatible with non-MS/Mac systems?

    Seriously. I just do not get this mindset.

    --
    Shiny. Let's be bad guys.
    1. Re:No Linux support for this? by Sloppy · · Score: 2, Insightful
      And by doing that, they spent more money to get fewer users. Fine, you can say that the fact that they got fewer users doesn't matter, because the number of people who don't suck Microsoft's cock, is insignificant to them. A million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking .. uh, nothing.

      But that still doesn't justify the extra expense. They went to all that trouble to write some kind of Java player or weird web thingie (and then put in extra code to "support" certain OSes), when all they had to do was not "support" any OS, and just link to Firefly.mpeg.

      They couldn't handle a hyperlink. They could write code, but a link totally beyond them. It's one thing to tell potential customers to fuck off, but to spend money to tell people "we don't want your money" is pretty amazing. Maybe the fact no Hollywood movies ever make a profit, isn't really due to creative accounting after all.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  7. As long as they're making Serenity available... by joelparker · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...how about improving downloads by using a better format, such as XVID or Quicktime?

  8. Statistics, Internet fans and damn statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Come on now, it's obvious to me that Serenity's fans are boosting the review averages all over the place. Nothing wrong about that, but keep that in mind. Best film of all time?? Let's get serious here, it's a good 2 hours of entertainment, nothing earth shattering here.

  9. Good movie, but #10 all time movie? by ObiWonKanblomi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    On Yahoo movies, Serenity is ranked as the number 1 film currently in theaters and is hanging in a top-ten spot in the highest rated movies of all time.

    As with the majority of slashdot posters on here, I am a total sci-fi junkie, but does Serenity really qualify to be within the top 10 movies of all time? Granted, this is a yahoo poll and probably was saturated by people so desperate for anything with a futuristic theme they're willing to hump a movie which was written by a guy who make a witch turn lesbian in another show with declining ratings.

    I seriously cannot understand what is so great and original about this movie. Sci-fi meets cowboy theme has already been stretched in 26 episodes (plus a movie) of Cowboy Bebop.

    I don't even see Bladerunner on this Yahoo top 10 of all time list. Dune? Seriously, are you going to tell me Serenity is better than Bladerunner?

    1. Re:Good movie, but #10 all time movie? by CrystalArchangel · · Score: 4, Funny

      Seriously, are you going to tell me Serenity is better than Bladerunner?

      Yep.

    2. Re:Good movie, but #10 all time movie? by steve_bryan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Seriously, are you going to tell me Serenity is better than Bladerunner?

      Yep."

      Serenity is not ambitious enough to be in that sort of company. I'm a big fan of the Firefly TV series but this movie is a serious step down from the TV series. The writing and acting were much better in several episodes. I get the feeling they might have felt it necessary to dumb it down for a movie audience. It is loud and fast with lots of fighting action but that was only one aspect of the TV episodes. I hope they are successful anyhow so there is a chance of another movie.

      I usually wait for movies to appear in second run theaters so at least I don't spend as much money if I'm disappointed. Firefly was so good I didn't have the patience to wait and yet again I wish I had found it easier to wait. If you haven't seen the series then do yourself a favor. Rent and watch the DVD's and see the movie when the price drops to $2 from the current $8.50 and more.

      Bladerunner included musing on what it means to be human, mortality, memory and really cool sci fi sets. Serenity includes some really cool sci fi sets that even evoke Bladerunner but it is a caper.

    3. Re:Good movie, but #10 all time movie? by theantipop · · Score: 3, Insightful
      While I agree with the majority of your comments (which are much more reasonable than both sides of argument I've seen about the movie), I do take issue with your strict definition of entertainment. This is a common theme among Slashdot posters, that you think it takes a seriously spiritual and intellectual script to make a good movie. I don't think this is necessarily true. While it can help a movie to be as ambitious as Bladerunner, it does not mean that another movie which does not preach the same level of values is to be written off so easily. You, and others like you, may seek intellectual persuits in every facet of your life; but some, like myself, enjoy forms of entertainment that don't require deep textual analysis.

      Serenity and Bladerunner are both great movies, but I don't think they reach the same goals as to be ranked on just one scale.

  10. meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't see the hype personally, sure it's an ok tv show but it's nothing special. Some nice looking girls, a few gags, some spaceships and that's about it. Better than most but not great.

    Mod me as a troll if you like but I know there are a few people that think like this so *shrugs*

  11. Re:UNSUPPORTED? by temojen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Never use their site again, and tell your friends to do likewise.

    They're using "video/vividas" type files, which appear to require their own applet to run, presumably for DRM purposes. DRM on marketing videos?? why??

  12. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by The+Fanta+Menace · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's the direct link to the video file, although I still don't know of a Linux player that can handle it:

    http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/viv/39 29_Serenity_720.viv
    --
    -- Even if a god did exist, why the fsck should I worship it?
  13. i never understood the joss whedon cult by circletimessquare · · Score: 2, Insightful

    but i have my theory: with no new star trek and star wars fare in the pipe, desperate sci fi serial pulp fans are jumping ship and clinging to this piece of driftwood

    yeah, serenty is ok, but it's no alien or blade runner

    you may now mod me into oblivion for not blindly stating my allegiance to the high school clique and mindlessly jumping on the hype machine

    so sorry, pfffffft

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:i never understood the joss whedon cult by Linux_ho · · Score: 2, Insightful
      with no new star trek and star wars fare in the pipe, desperate sci fi serial pulp fans are jumping ship and clinging to this piece of driftwood
      As if the "Star Wars fare" that's been coming down the pipe lately was the greatest sci-fi ever. Yeah, of course I loved A New Hope, and Empire Strikes back, but then it all started going downhill from there... and I think Serenity's better than any one of them. WAY better than Attack of the (yawn) Clones. Jeez, I'll never get those two hours back.
      --
      include $sig;
      1;
    2. Re:i never understood the joss whedon cult by smoondog · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I seriously think your statement isnt true

      Well, I think the facts disagree with you. Reread my original post.

  14. Meanwhile, in Universal HQ... by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Universal Exec : Ok guys, let's do something completely new : We will make the first nine minutes of Serenity available online !
    Henchman : Ok, but how much do we charge them for it ?
    Universal Exec : Nothing, we just let them see the first...
    Henchman : Ok, popups ? Right, popups ?!
    Universal Exec : No, we will just let them see...
    Henchman : I got you : Ads, right ? Banners !
    Universal Exec : No, we will JUST let them see the first nine...
    Henchman : Ok, but we HAVE to annoy them somehow... How about some proprietary plugin instead of going for the normal formats ? Let's screw a littlebit with their minds before they get their free content.
    Universal Exec : Fuckit, it's lunchtime.

  15. Just finished watching by colonslashslash · · Score: 4, Informative
    Serenity at the local cinema with several friends, one, like me, was a fan of the short-lived Firefly series, and the other 3 had never seen it before. Everyone enjoyed the movie, and although obviously it's something that is going to appeal more to fans of the series (mostly because these people are more attached to the characters), it does work as a stand alone movie very well. The brilliantly delivered dry humour, drama and all out action sequences are more than enough to satisfy almost everyone in the audience.

    The only shame I feel about this movie is that it is a gem released during such a mundane (IMHO) year for theatrical releases, so although it stands out from the 2005 crowd, that in itself unfortunately isn't saying much at all. Still, I'd recommend it very highly to those who havn't seen it yet. And if you are even a more moderate fan of the series, then what the hell are you waiting for? Gogogo.

    One thing that did dissapoint me was the lack of the theme tune, unless I missed it, but I didn't hear even a snippet during the whole movie :-(

    --
    She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
    1. Re:Just finished watching by mackil · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually they do play it at the very end of the credits... no lyrics, just the guitar. I guess that shows how big a geek I am... staying till the end of the credits...

  16. Trailer Review by SteevR · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Not really representative of the series or much of the rest of the movie. Although...

    since its the first 9 minutes exactly as seen in the theatre, it doesn't give away any of the rest. Rest assured, there are many good bits to be given away!

    I hope this becomes a more common practice in the future; I believe this is a far better hook than a trailer.

    --
    Performing sanity checks on your own beliefs is vital in avoiding poisoned koolaid.
  17. Re:UNSUPPORTED? by EvilMagnus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because you might steal that free promotional download and show it to other people, that's why! Then how would Universal make money on that free promotional download or the movie that the free promotional download is promoting?

    I mean, come on, it's not that hard! You must tightly control the distribution of free promotional downloads, otherwise filesharers will destroy your company! :)

    --
    -EvilMagnus
  18. Impressive by franksp · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think that one of the most impressive things is that the video link survived the slashdot effect. Or am I too late?

  19. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by black+hole+sun · · Score: 2, Insightful

    .viv? Sounds like a renamed .mpg file. I'm postitive they didn't create a new file format just for this trailer.

    The nice thing about linux is that most distros come with the `file` utility. Just run it on the ".viv";

    file /path/to/serenity.viv

    And it will tell you what kind of file you've got. Just change the extension...you know what, and I'm not in Linux right now to test, but most Linux movie players aren't dominated by file extention, unlike their Windows counterparts. If I were a betting man, I'd say you could probably double click and open with mplayer and it'd likely Just Work(TM)...

  20. Re:UNSUPPORTED? by gronofer · · Score: 2, Informative
    I was thinking of downloading it, hacking it up a bit in a video editor and releasing a new movie of my own, much better than the original. This would have cost them millions, since nobody would have bothered with the inferior version after that.

    Unfortunately, my operating system is unsupported, so they are safe this time.

  21. Re:WTF? by ceejayoz · · Score: 2, Informative

    Had you actually tried it, you'd have noticed that it's not a browser popup, it's a Java permissions popup, which is (correctly) not blocked by Safari.

    Worked fine on my Safari with popup blocking. Hell, I actually had to use Safari because it wasn't working right on Firefox for Mac.

  22. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by The+Fanta+Menace · · Score: 3, Informative
    The nice thing about linux is that most distros come with the `file` utility. Just run it on the ".viv"; file /path/to/serenity.viv

    Already tried it; it just says 'data', so file doesn't know about it. I've tried it with a number of players so far (xine, mplayer, realplayer, even Windows Media Player running under Codeweavers' crossover) and none of them can read it.

    My guess is that it's an mpeg wrapped up in some sort of drm that requires their encryption key to play it.

    --
    -- Even if a god did exist, why the fsck should I worship it?
  23. Special 16 year old girls by AutumnLeaf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Am I the only one distrubed by JW's obsession with them?

    I haven't really seen this discussed anywhere. On the other hand, I haven't looked very hard.

    Just curious.

    1. Re:Special 16 year old girls by SallyMac · · Score: 2, Insightful

      In the movie, Simon specifically says she's seventeen.

      --
      cleverly disguised as a responsible adult ||
    2. Re:Special 16 year old girls by bytor4232 · · Score: 3, Informative
      His "obsession" as you call it comes from his origional inspiration for Firefly and the Buffyverse: the Uncanny X-Men. His favorite comic book character is a character named Shadowcat, who is young, troubled, etc. Buffy is pretty much a duplicate of Shadowcat, as is River and Kaylee in a much lesser degree. If you enjoy Wheldon's work, check out Astonishing X-Men which has been running for about 2 years now.

      Wheldon is a master story teller, and I am really enjoying his work. I saw Firefly last weekend and immediatly went on a hard target search for Firefly this weekend. Watched the entire series, and am blown away. I never know TV could be this good. Too good to continue I guess :(

      --
      -- 4 8 15 16 23 42
    3. Re:Special 16 year old girls by lawpoop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not really. I think about 16 years old is normally an acceptable age of a woman for a man to be attracted to. Remeber, about 100 years ago, most kids were getting married around age 15. Dying at 30 moves things along little faster.

      Anyway, as long as the woman is physically mature, I don't think the guy is a pedophile, and the obsession doesn't seem harmful to society -- as long as he can wait two years.

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
    4. Re:Special 16 year old girls by Catbeller · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A person should always wait for a girl to reach 18, not because one would hurt her by having icky sex with her, but because our society is apeshit insane and would tear her and her older partner to shreds. So waiting until she's of age is just sanity in an insane world.

      Of course, if everyone who'd had sex with an underaged partner were actually found out and prosecuted, the US would just become a giant prison complex full of lifers. I'd not be in there with the majority of y'all, but that's because I had a slow rampup to romance when I was young. I can't recall many teenagers I've known who didn't have an affair with an older man or woman at some time.

      You don't think teenagers gain their advanced sexual skills from people their own age, do ya? Someone's teaching someone somwhere in the sexual food chain.

  24. Re:Originality is a horrible comparison by technoextreme · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I seriously cannot understand what is so great and original about this movie. Sci-fi meets cowboy theme has already been stretched in 26 episodes (plus a movie) of Cowboy Bebop.
    Orgiinaility is a horrible way to compare the greatness of works. I think it was Orson Scott Card that wrote if you worry about duplicating a specific story you will never get anything done. Ironically, after searching throuwh wikipedia for Flash Gordon I noticed that George Lucas used that as his inspiration for Star Wars. Remember it's the quality of the story that matters the most.
    --
    Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
  25. then watch the rest of it by Slashdiddly · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://torrentspy.com/search.asp?query=serenity

  26. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by Dlugar · · Score: 4, Informative
    Here's the direct link to the video file, although I still don't know of a Linux player that can handle it
    I've done some digging around and unfortunately it looks like:

    1) The .viv file is some sort of propriety format
    2) There's a Java archive (jar) on the page that is automatically selected for Windows or OS X that has a file extension of .jpeg[1]
    3) Inside the Java archive is a Java applet, PlayerApplet.class, that apparently does nothing but act as a proxy for another file inside the class, a DLL file in the Windows version, probably something similar in the Linux version

    Looks like we're out of luck.

    Dlugar

    [1] There are actually four files which you can find here:
    http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/pl ayer/vivid_ocx.jpeg
    http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/pl ayer/vivid_jni_ms.jpeg
    http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/pl ayer/vivid_jni_osx.jpeg
    http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/pl ayer/vivid_jni_sun.jpeg

    They're each JAR files (which are basically just zip files) so the more enterprising can download them and figure out exactly what they do.
    --
    Computer Go: Writing Software to Play the Ancient Game of Go
  27. Re:STOP FREE ADVERTISING by Skye16 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not all nerds want to hear about MS, Linux, New Case Mods, Ham Radio Operators, New Space Probes, Creating Life Out of Amino Acids, Monkeys Learning How To Fly, Reconstructing the 1918 Influenza, etc, etc. But a lot do, or would, if it were to happen. Guess what? Slashdot tries to cater to them all, at least to some extent. Is every single nerd going to be thrilled with every single story? No. Oh well. Are there going to be a slew of nerds out there getting pissed because they're hearing too much about any of the above, including Serenity? Yes. But guess what? Bitching about it won't change a fucking thing. I'm not sure what to tell you if you really don't like it other than a: do it yourself, b: go somewhere else; or c: create a firefox plugin to strip out stories that contain whatever-words-you-don't-want-to-hear-about.

    I'm not saying you can't bitch, I'm just saying you're wasting your time, and unless you get some sort of thrill out of playing the down-modded martyr, in the end, it's not going to be worth it.

    But, hey, do what you want.

  28. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by BJH · · Score: 2, Informative

    The format comes from Vividas, and while this page says they support Linux, they seem to mean it in the sense that you might be able to run their Java player under Linux if you're lucky.

  29. Correction - United Int'l Pictures, not Universal by LoadStar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Correction to the submission: this is being released by United International Pictures, the company responsible for international release of Serenity. Since UIP is partially owned by Universal, it might be seen as semantics, but UIP has a distinct marketing plan for the movie from that of Universal.

    It's also important to note, because it might seem like odd timing for Universal to release new marketing materials for a movie already released - it might even seem a move of desperation to get "butts in seats" before it leaves theaters... but it makes more sense as new marketing released by UIP for a movie they are opening today or within the next few weeks.

  30. Nice hook by mattwarden · · Score: 2, Funny
    Unfortunately, the Operating System you are currently using is unsupported.

    Best. movie. ever.

  31. Re:UNSUPPORTED? by Doppler00 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, apple.com/trailers is the same way. Why the heck to they care if people download movie trailers? It's utterly ridiculus. My only guess is that the movie studies love to have the control to pull a trailer they deam "inappropriate" at some later date.

  32. Stupid: Target audience, and I can't play this. by radarsat1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Okay.
    I'm one of those people who reads slashdot regularly, runs linux on his computer, and has NOT watched the show Firefly and did NOT go see the movie the week it opened.
    However, I do love sci-fi, I just never took the opportunity to get hooked on this show. (I have enough vices already!)

    In any case, look: Advertising, after a movie has been released, is to encourage those who have not seen the movie or may not have been following it so closely but who _might_ be interested, to fork out the $10 and go check it out. I admit, the trailer was sort of interesting but nothing that really grabbed my attention. Mostly it's the hype I've read on this website that has kept me interested, and is what is making me want to go see it. I have no idea about the Firefly story, but since everyone seems to think it's so amazing I might be pursuaded to go see it, especially with a little enticement like showing me the first few minutes of the movie.

    Now. I run linux. So I can't watch this "teaser". Let me repeat: I AM PRECISELY THE TARGET AUDIENCE for this advertisement, and yet the message I get when I actually make the effort of clicking on the link and going to the website to check it out is: You can't watch this, your operating system is not supported. This is not something that happens by accident. They are ACTIVELY dissuading linux users from watching the teaser. I had to click "view source" just to find the file, and I'm downloading it, but I realize it's very unlikely I'll be able to watch it. They are publishing in some stupid non-standard format. And for what reason? I can't think of a single one. They are giving it away for FREE, why would they be worried about copyright? At the VERY least, if you don't want to get into weird IP battles by using "frowned upon" formats like DivX (though I don't see the problem with OSS formats like Xvid), publish it in straight MPEG, even if it's low resolution, but my goodness, don't DENY your target audience the ability to watch it.

    Whoever is in charge of marketing has no clue.
    As it is, I still don't know if I'll bother going to see it, especially considering how expensive the theaters are these days and how little time I have.
    If only I could watch the teaser...

    It finished downloading by the time I typed this out. And look, mplayer and VLC are both out of luck.

    1. Re:Stupid: Target audience, and I can't play this. by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This is not something that happens by accident. They are ACTIVELY dissuading linux users from watching the teaser.

      Whoever is in charge of marketing has no clue.

      Which one is it: a carefully designed conspiracy against Linux users, or the end result of a naive marketing department that doesn't understand that a large chunk of their target audience uses something other then Windows?

      If I had to make a bet, I'd put my money on the latter. I highly doubt there's someone sitting around saying 'Yarr! Let's get those Linux users! That'll teach 'em for being different!". I'd guess the company providing the streaming video brought the claim of 'being able to provide high-quality on-demand streaming video to broadband Internet users using a unique process which makes unauthorized duplication near impossible' to the marketing department for the film. The 'Vividas' company most likely neglected the fact that they wouldn't be able to reliably accommodate users of alternative OSes, and it never occurred to the folks marketing the film to ask.

      --
      The Internet is generally stupid
    2. Re:Stupid: Target audience, and I can't play this. by sweetnjguy29 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I also tried running this on linux and got the same message. However, if you go to the website http://www.vividas.com/support/, and look under system requirements, it says that Vividas will run under Linux using WINE emulation if you have 192MB RAM, Pentium III or better CPU 450MHz or better CPU clock speed and an Accelerated Graphics card, with at least 4MB of memory. Its still in testing, however.

      This isn't an example of a company ignoring the linux community. This is an example of a company trying to control distribution by using a proprietary format. It took over my entire desktop while playing...couldn't quit out of it until it finished...must be some sort of DRM scheme.

      I think they would have been better off using a normal format...but this appears to be an industry format: http://www.akamai.com/en/html/about/press/press518 .html for more details.

      You can take off your tin-foil hat now.

  33. I wish I had mod points to correct this... by 787style · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How is parent flamebait? It's the persons opinion. Has slashdot become the republican party, where we must supress views we don't agree with?

  34. Shocked by the video quality by fsck! · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've already seen the film twice, so what really shocked me is how well that worked. The video started almost instantly, and I'm on a modest DSL line shared with a neighbor. Good quality. Some noticable compression artifacts and the sound was just slightly out of sync, but still, very good for what it is.

    And to those complaining about free advertising: Let's complain instead about the granularity of SlashCode's RSS. There should be a seperate feed for each section, and some way of getting your customized index as a feed. Then you can easily exclude Sci-Fi stuff you think is so off topic.

    But I digress. Everything the studio can do to help Sereinty/Firefly/Whedon Enterprises is good. I hope we see more quality naturalistic science fiction like this and Battlestar Gallactica in the future.

  35. Huh.... I was wrong. by Tyklfe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Amazing how those nine mins just totally changed my mind. I thought Serenity looked pretty dumb and campy from the trailers, but now I'm actually going to go see it. Go figure.

  36. Well, it's better than I expected... by Assassin+bug · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I probably would not have gone to see this movie. Now, I think I will. The acting doesn't seem to shabby, and the plot moves along fast enough for you not predict every tangent. Of course, this is just the first few minutes, the rest could be aweful. But I know I've seen far worse scifi flicks within the same opening-sequence timeframe. Cheers!

  37. Re:My Review by McSmithster · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well though you shouldn't be moded flaimbaite you clearly don't understand Firefly or Serenity.

    "I never feel convinced that any of the effort by the 'good side' or the 'bad side' is significantly important to those characters."

    Thats kind of the point. Its not about the good and the bad. These guys are frickin mercenaries. They kill people for money. Who is suppose to be the good guys???? Its about surviving. Its about life. Not some holy war where they uphold only the most noble of virtues. The characters are more then one-dimensional. They arent good, they arent bad, they are people. They have flaws and they face problems and dilemmas. They over come them but sometimes they dont. Should everything be so perfect and nice where even the smallest of actions changes the balance of the never-ending war of good vs. evil? No, because thats not how life works. This isnt star wars, where the good triumphs. This is something more and the characters are unique. Its not a monolithic story line like most Sci-Fis are, so I can see why you have a hard time understanding the story and characters.

  38. Re:Correction - United Int'l Pictures, not Univers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sorry, I must have been fooled by the giant UNIVERSAL logo right at the beginning of the video.

  39. Re:Site doesn't like Linux/Mozilla by S.+Traaken · · Score: 2, Informative

    Can play it under linux :D

    Install wine (winehq.org)
    Install ie6 with tool from http://sidenet.ddo.jp/winetips/config.html
    (Possibly install dcom98. Not sure if its essential or not.)
    Start ie.
    Change security settings (Internet Options -> Security) to allow installation of unsigned activex controls
    Go to the site http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/in dex.html
    You'll get a dialog telling you to install a jre. Cancel.
    Say yes to installation and execution of anything activex related.
    Click on Dial up.
    Watch the movie in its window.

    The fullscreen options (low, med, high) give me an error about unavailable display modes. I'd love to know if it is possible to get this playing the higher res versions in a window, but my javascript/webdev fu is weak. http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/pl ayer_script.inc would be the place to look - playPressed() would be the function. Getting it called as playPressed('http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Se renity/viv/3929_Serenity_720.viv',true) would do the trick (2nd arg inidicates whether to play in a window or not.

    (Alternatively, a patch for wine that sorts out the screen mode problem would possibly do the trick).

  40. Now available in QT, WMV & RealPlayer by Cheshyre · · Score: 5, Informative

    IFilm now has the first nine minutes available in three other formats: streaming Windows Media, QuickTime and Real Player

    Are those more accessible to your OS?