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May 27, 2005
Sacto "Serenity" Sneak Preview, 5/26
Liz introduced me to the work of Joss Whedon about a year ago. Tonight, we drove to a sneak preview screening of "Serenity," which opens nationally September 30.
I never really got into Buffy, though I have watched it alone so I could pepper her later with questions about backstories and the like. This guy has opinions I respect, and he pushed the vampire-killer on me and everyone he knew. Truthfully, I'm not much of a joiner -- as a result, I sometimes miss out on those special few TV shows that are wildly popular with broad audiences and are of good quality.
Yeah, I'm a TV snob. Doesn't mean I haven't fallen asleep on the couch to an episode of CHiPs once or twice, though.
Example: I've never watched an episode of Desperate Housewives. Not even a few minutes of it. I know that's a terribly ignorant thing for a pop-culture sponge to blog about, but there you are.
Anyway, Liz introduced me to Joss Whedon through the DVD box set of Firefly, one of the best shows you've never seen, and definitely one of the best sci-fi programs since the genre was shaped by Serling and Roddenberry.
After driving to and from Sacramento (216 miles r/t, give or take), I'm not prepared to offer an in-depth review of the movie, and I don't want to kick over a bucket of spoilers in a sleepy haze. I will say that it was awfully good of star Nathan Fillion to make a personal appearance at the Century 14 Theaters in Roseville, CA. Which is actually past Sacramento, if you want to get technical.
He was loose and funny with the audience and entirely at home without a script. He'd been to Comic Cons promoting first a canceled series and now his upcoming feature film, and he must have an understanding and respect for his fan-base, even if he doesn't take them entirely seriously all of the time.
While I watched the sometimes cringe-inducing Q&A with costumed fans (of which several described themselves "browncoats") I imagined that Fillion can probably recite the entire "it's just a TV show, people!" sketch that William Shatner performed on SNL a generation ago.
When "Serenity" comes out, it won't have to compete with the noisy summer films, but I still have doubts about the studio's ability to market this movie succesfully. Everyone I know loves the trailer, but they're all fans. The people I know who saw the movie thought it was great, but again, they're all fans -- that's why they were motivated to score one of the scant preview tix.
For those of you who don't know, Firefly is set in a future in which humankind has spread across the galaxy. Characters, storylines and aesthetics are informed by the genres of Western, Science Fiction, Seafaring and Gothic Horror, among others.
Check out the trailer and let me know if this is a movie you'd be interested in seeing. I think this is a good movie that was based on an excellent TV show, but I have every faith that Universal Studios will stumble in its attempt to present this movie to potential audiences. I hope I'm wrong.
Ideally, the passionate and activist Joss Whedon/Firefly fan base will all show up opening weekend with a friend. I'm predicting an opening weekend gross of $28 million, cume theatrical take of $85M domestic. Should be a killer on home video.
I just finished the new Peter Biskind, and I'm full of inside baseball BS about box office figures and theatrical marketing.
UPDATE: Liz recalled that Fillion actually DID reference the Shatner sketch when responding to a fan's question! Granted, the guy did inquire about a detail in a scene where he opens a safe, and Fillion quipped, "that's like one of those 'so, what was the combination?' questions." Read the sketch.
"I'm actually more a fan; that was slick, that was stylish, and that was kind," says Liz.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 04:22 AM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2005
Political TV show rant #124
Watching The Capital Gang is like making an appointment to get hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer.
It's easily avoidable and certain to be painful. It's predictable and mundane, and you won't be better for it.
I don't know why I never removed it from the TiVo lineup. That space would be better used for Jacques Pepin, hell, even repeat showings of The Firm, which by my estimation, is broadcast approximately 14 times each week. (n.b.: if you ever want some serious fun with TiVo, put "David Mamet" into a WishList.)
I'm watching the Gang and today's guest, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Ted makes me uncomfortable. I'm glad he's speaks so eloquently and stridently, but he carries so much baggage that I think just enough people -- Leno watchers, you know the type -- just see him as a cartoon liberal.
I started watching The Capital Gang again with regularity last fall. TiVo was new to me, and I had some vain, vague notion that if I was able to soak up enough spin from both sides, combine that with news sources from around the world and filter it all somehow, I'd be able to tell which way things would go, enabling me to relax in the late stages of the campaign.
You can guess how well that went.
So, whatever. Kate O'Beirne makes me want to vomit, and I hate Bob Novak. I'd go into great detail about how slimy and odious I find him, but there'd be no point. Others do the topic justice far better than I could.
And then I realized that I think there's really only one reason I still tune in. To see if they've fixed the proscenium, stage left. Something, or someone, punched a hole in the dry wall right at about shin-level.
That hole has been there since last fall, and if I were obsessive enough to have saved episodes to the VCR, I could prove it. I'll leave that sort of work to Brent Bozell and the Media Research Center instead.
I always look for the hole first thing, using the DVR to freeze frame. I know, I'm weird. And as Jon Stewart famously opined, shows like these hurt America. But why don't they fix it? It's driving me mad. Is the show that low-budget? Maybe they have to scrimp so Bob Novak can get those complete transfusions each Saturday in the Green Room.
So, here's the letter I'm sending via the feedback form on CNN.com dedicated to TCG:
I'm a long-time watcher of your program, and I appreciate how much work must go into each week's production.I'm guessing it's fast-paced over there, what with ever-tightening news cycles, shrinking budgets, and the pressure to pull high-profile guests.
With all that in mind, my question is this: will someone ever get around to patching the hole at stage left that appears on the front of the desk-like proscenium?
I've noticed for months now that the area has received some damage, clearly visible if you scan past episodes. Surely the stage crew is aware -- most shots are framed in such a way that the hole is cropped out.
I'm just wondering if the hole is a low priority, or whether there are budgetary constraints. If it's the latter, I'd be glad to send a small container of joint compound to your studios.
Best regards.
If I receive a response, I'll be sure to post it here.
Any theories about the hole's origin? A knock-down between Mark Shields and the Prince of Darkness over social security privatization? Maybe Margaret Carlson parked in O'Beirne's parking space and she got feisty.
Or perhaps it's just evidence of more liberal media bias. You don't see tatty sets over at Fox News, biotch!
OK, back to more important things.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
Find me at withoutreservations.net
For the next few months, I'm taking a trip around the world with my beautiful girlfriend.
We're not one of those couples whose names and identities run together -- in our own minds, or in our social circle. Each of us is a distinct individual. The stuff that overlaps lets us get along better than I've ever expected to with anyone.
But, sharing a blog -- and the whole world -- with her seems perfectly natural. We are sharing the experience of a lifetime. It doesn't mean I've turned my back on this space. I'm just throwing my back into my living, which might just include earning a few ducats as a travel writer.
We'll see.
Anyway, see you at withoutreservations.net
It was either that or Circumnavidate.com, and that was deemed as just a little too precious by L. Giving it a thumbs-down was the right call, but she went so far as to register circumnavidate.com and then redirect it to withoutreservations.net.
She extended herself to protect my fragile male ego, even though it was a suggestion that I disavowed. There should be no wonder why I love this woman.
See you around.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 01:26 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
QOTD: a twofer.
"To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end in life."
"When the last dime is gone, I'll sit on the curb outside with a pencil and a ten-cent notebook, and start the whole thing over again."
Posted by Your Protagonist at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2005
With apologies to William Carlos Williams
I have composted
the avocados
that were in
the bowl
and which
you were probably
saving
for a turkey sandwich.
Forgive me
they were overripe
so mushy
and so old.
After "This Is Just To Say"
Posted by Your Protagonist at 03:18 AM | Comments (0)
May 02, 2005
Why public radio is great!/sorta sucks.
A semi-renowned blues musician has passed away, so the guy with the 10 to midnight spot on a sliver of a signal at the left end of the dial has devoted his entire program to covers of the bluesman's best-known tune.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)