# "Serenity" at the Edinburgh Film Festival **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229 "2005-08-23T04:12:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/1 "2005-08-23T04:12:35Z")
Serenity, the movie based on ‘Firefly’, opened today at the Edinburgh film festival. I’ve been waiting to see what the reviews would be like from professional critics and non-Firefly fans who might see the movie at the festival. Here’s the first article posted after the premier: [Creator of Buffy slays them with film debut](http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1827162005) > [@](#): > > THE big screen debut of Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival yesterday, with hundreds of fans descending on the Scottish capital for one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of the year. > > Spawned from the cancelled TV series Firefly, the new film, Serenity, sold out within hours of the festival box office opening last month. Two extra screenings were hastily scheduled to meet the huge demand, both of which also quickly sold out. In fact, tickets sold out so quickly that they crashed the festival’s computers and led to a bidding war on eBay. > > **Strong reviews for Serenity, the story of a small band of galactic outcasts set 500 years in the future, promised to seal its place as the big film of this year’s film festival.** > > Extra crowd control staff were laid on at Cineworld to cope with the large numbers of fans expected to turn up as the entire cast of the $45 million film descended on Edinburgh for the premiere… Pretty interesting. And here’s a mention in the [Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/08/22/bfedin22.xml) posted just before the premier: > [@](#): > > For sheer, joyful entertainment, though, there’s no question as to this festival’s hottest ticket: the world première of Joss Whedon’s Serenity. A science fiction western based on Whedon’s cult television series Firefly, it picks up where the series left off, pitting Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his rogue crew of small-time rebels against the military might of a superpower called The Alliance. Between them lies the mystery of River Tam (Summer Glau), a psychic assassin who holds the key to the future of the universe. > > As the man responsible for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, perhaps only Whedon could conceive of a science fiction western - and pull it off with such élan. His command of form and playful delight in extending it serve him well again here; Serenity delivers all the thrills, spills and eye-popping explosions one could demand of a big studio blockbuster. > > A complex ensemble piece without major stars, it has characters to care about, a keenly political intelligence, and some of the most cracking banter since Howard Hawks was in his prime. **It deserves to be a huge hit when it’s released next month.** I’ve been nervous about _Serenity_ finding a mainstream audience, but if these comments by media pros are any indication, it could be a blockbuster. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/2 "2005-08-23T05:47:06Z")
Well, if “them danged furriners” like it, it’ll kill it for J. Typical American Moviegoer. I mean, if they’re showing it in some place called Eddyburg, will it have English subtitles when it’s shown here in 'murica? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/3 "2005-08-23T14:12:28Z")
I never hated the Scottish before. But now. NOW that they’ve seen _Serenity_ a month before I can … ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/4 "2005-08-23T14:18:11Z")
There was an article in Entertainment Weekly about the movie. It said there have been 66 “advance screenings” so far, which is apparently an unusually high number for any movie. I guess they’re hoping for good word-of-mouth before it opens on a wider basis. I doubt it’ll get anywhere close to me, darn it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/5 "2005-08-23T14:18:28Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Well, if “them danged furriners” like it, it’ll kill it for J. Typical American Moviegoer. OTOH, big overseas sales can turn a flop in America into a big moneymaker that spawns sequel after big damned sequel. Or maybe even a TV series. That movie sounds like it could be turned into a really good series. 😉 Anyway, Scottish people aren’t furriners, like the English or people from Massachussets. They’re Merkins who talk funny. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/6 "2005-08-23T14:38:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > They’re Merkins who talk funny. \ he said _merkins_. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/7 "2005-08-23T17:17:30Z")
Whoa! Surfers at work be careful with that Telegraph link. There’s a pic (not from Serenity) that your more prudish bosses may take issue with. But I’m very glad that this thing is getting mainstream approval. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/8 "2005-08-23T20:16:53Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > I never hated the Scottish before. But now. NOW that they’ve seen _Serenity_ a month before I can … I’ve already seen _Serenity_, too. You don’t hate _me_, do you??? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/9 "2005-08-23T20:28:23Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > There was an article in Entertainment Weekly about the movie. It said there have been 66 “advance screenings” so far, which is apparently an unusually high number for any movie. I know. I’m afraid by the time the damn movie is officially released, everyone but me will already have seen it, and I’ll be sitting in the theater by myself. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/10 "2005-08-23T20:34:54Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I know. I’m afraid by the time the damn movie is officially released, everyone but me will already have seen it, and I’ll be sitting in the theater by myself. Given the typical conduct of your typical moviegoer, that may not be such a bad thing. That way you can talk on your cell phone, shout at the screen, and uhm, those _other_ things, without bothering anybody. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/11 "2005-08-23T20:39:34Z")
The fact is, you have to monitor [this site](http://www.cantstopthesignal.com/) constantly, 24/7, if you want to have a chance at seeing any advance screening. The damn things go on sale, then poof, they’re gone within minutes. Note that the four sites listed on the page are all listed as “SOLD OUT” already. Earlier this summer, I missed getting tickets to the Dallas screening by about an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/12 "2005-08-23T21:26:31Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ve already seen _Serenity_, too. You don’t hate _me_, do you??? Yes. Yes I do. But you can send me some Scotch and I’ll forgive you. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/13 "2005-08-23T21:30:46Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ve already seen _Serenity_, too. You don’t hate _me_, do you??? He does, he does. Why, I’ve been hated ever since I bragged to **Homebrew** about seeing the movie. Ahh… the good life. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/14 "2005-08-23T21:40:12Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > He does, he does. Why, I’ve been hated ever since I bragged to **Homebrew** about seeing the movie. > > Ahh… the good life. 😛 You think it started _then_? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/15 "2005-08-24T00:21:34Z")
I hate you too, if that helps. Of course, extremists like my wife and I think nothing of scheduling surgery around the opening of _Serenity_. “Sorry, no. Can’t get operated on that week. _Serenity_ is opening the next day, and we have tickets to see it 5 times in a row. How about the week after?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/16 "2005-08-24T00:22:02Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > Why, I’ve been hated ever since I bragged to **Homebrew** about seeing the movie. You have to sleep sometime… ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/17 "2005-08-24T01:11:50Z")
Yet another envious person here… Found a [funny blog entry](http://www.iofilm.co.uk/festivals/edinburgh/2005/diary_23082005.php) - with pictures from the premiere. Everyone but Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass is in the pics. Is it September 30 yet? GT ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/18 "2005-08-24T02:26:41Z")
> [@gardentraveler](#): > > Yet another envious person here… Found a [funny blog entry](http://www.iofilm.co.uk/festivals/edinburgh/2005/diary_23082005.php) - with pictures from the premiere. Everyone but Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass is in the pics. > > Is it September 30 yet? > > GT …the two reviews at the end are interesting: one of them by somebody who has never seen the series: (Spoilers galore in the links) > [@](#): > > At root the problem is that we have a multi-part TV series being condensed into a two-hour movie that makes too many assumptions in terms of background knowledge. Fine, if you’ve bought into the mythology, but alienating for the casual viewer. [http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/s/serenity\_2005.shtml](http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/s/serenity_2005.shtml) …compared to… > [@](#): > > heard mutterings of, “This is what Revenge Of The Sith should have been”, on leaving the screening. Given my love of most things Lucas, and Serenity as is, it’s kind of hard to argue. [http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/s/serenity\_2005\_r2.shtml](http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/s/serenity_2005_r2.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Ithaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Ithaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ithaka)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/19 "2005-09-08T08:44:55Z")
Saw it last night at a London press screening. It delivers. And my non-fan colleague was fairly impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229/20 "2005-09-08T13:46:09Z")
Jeez, people. You’re making my _List of People I Hate_ too long to manage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serenity-at-the-edinburgh-film-festival/318229.md?page=2)