Serenity Pushed Back

[vacantlook]

Are you guys starting to hear that fanfare? Those distant drums? Are you slapping on your side-arms, pulling on your long brownish-colored coats and thumbing your crisp new bills in anticipation of the cinematic event of the year? Well, it's official: on April 22nd you, the true the blue the loyal, can step right up with the rest of America and WAIT FIVE MORE MONTHS.

Heh. See, sometimes studios shuffle around release dates...

Okay. Don't panic. right now you're panicking. you're thinking, "how could they do this to me?" But what you SHOULD be thinking is: "How could they do this to JOSS?". Seriously. That pity is mine and I want it back.

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

I love this movie. I HATE waiting to show it too you. I felt pretty much the way I imagine you're feeling right now when they told me. But these guys know what they're doing, and they're trying to protect their investment, not bury it. So I gotta be a grown-up. The release date is September 30th. Hopefully it won't change again.

Spread the word. Keep the faith. And gleam the damn cube already.

-j.

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[AntonyF]

I'm a sceptic, myself. Moving films to September is a classic move of not having faith in a movie.

Their marketing people know that too.

 

[KoshFan]

To give a little benefit of the doubt, they were up against the last Star Wars movie, and that makes a whole lot of other film companies cut and run. I am dubious of running all the way to September, but avoiding spring makes sense to me.

 

[AntonyF]

September is always dump month though, that's what makes me sceptical.

 

[colonyearth]

I wouldn't take it as a lack of belief in the film. Joss is right, from March on throughout the summer next year, there are some bigtime blockbusters scheduled to come out, including SW, War of the Worlds (which Serenity would've gone pretty much head to head with), Hitchhiker's Guide, etc.

When you're banking on a cult fan base to start your ticket sales and then word of mouth to keep them, you don't go up against the big boys.

Whedon has a huge fan base, and I would venture to guess that Serenity will do very well.

No, a Sept. release is not necessarily the kiss of death on a film.

I would not read anything into this other than what Joss has said at this point.

Now, if Sept. comes and they don't have press screenings for critics...then worry.


CE