REVENGE OF THE NERD
Necessity is the mother of Joss Whedon’s reinventions. The 41year-old writer-director boldly went where he had gone before — not once but twice — because he needed to.
The irresistible impulse first consumed him when his Buffy the Vampire Slayer
script turned into a flimsy 1992 movie that bombed both artistically and at the box office. Rather than sulk, Whedon sold his Buffy premise to TV in 1997 and shaped the postmodern piece of Gothic entertainment the way he wanted it done. Seven years later, Whedon had a Buffy hit that went out with a bang last season.
And when Whedon’s 2002 sci-fi western TV series, Firefly, was axed after only 11 episodes, he decided to reapply his renovating skills, this time turning the cult-favourite TV show into a feature-length motion picture.
Opening Friday, the resulting movie is called Serenity, which is the name of the space ship and home of interstellar drifters trying to survive in a restricted universe.
Part spoof and a whole lot of action and adventure, Firefly has been shaped by Whedon into a seriousminded major motion picture that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a contradiction that could describe the creator, a smart-aleck quipster often described as the Geek Guru.
“ Well, I prefer pigheaded nerd lama,” says a smirking Whedon, both mocking and celebrating his status. “ Although, I do admit, I wear the Geek Guru mantle proudly.”
And he should. Firefly fans
can be credited with helping Whedon get his movie
made. Huge sales of the
series DVD — more
than 200,000 units —
proved to be an eyeopener for the studio, and eventually helped to
greenlight the
film project.
A series of
summer Serenity screenings
attended by
zealots calling
t h e m s e l v e s
Browncoats, in
honour of the
show’s defeated
freedom fighters,
more or less confirmed what marketing mavens anticipated — Serenity would attract Trek- like devotees.
Indeed, the positive reaction to the movie also proved that Whedon’s stubbornness had paid off. He had resisted the suggestion of casting big-name actors to take over the TV roles. Instead, he brought back all nine cast members from the series.
OK, so some of the Serenity actors might be vaguely familiar. Gina Torres made a name for herself in The Matrix sequels. Adam Baldwin played Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket. Alan Tudyk might be remembered for his part in A Knight’s Tale and Ron Glass can set the famous wayback machine to his Det. Harris days in the 1970s Barney Miller
series.
Mostly, though, the cast are made up of journeymen celebrating their good Firefly and Serenity fortunes.