Bob Greenberger

The buzz this morning is all about the news that Serenity, the movie version of Firefly is bumped from April to September 2005. Over at Ain’t it Cool News, they report:

Here’s what "Serenity" writer-director Joss Whedon posted onto the Whedonesque website scant hours ago:

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.

The news got me to thinking so I skipped over to the usually reliable countingdown.com to check the reality of Universal’s opinion. Here’s a look at the movies currently scheduled for April, keeping in mind Serenity was set for April 29.

April 1, 2005

The Weather Man
Sin City
Beauty Shop
Look At Me

April 8, 2005

Unleashed
In Her Shoes

April 15, 2005

Layer Cake
The Amityville Horror

April 22, 2005

Walking the Line
What's it about? Biopic of the singer Johnny Cash.

April 29, 2005

xXx 2: State of the Union
What's it about? A new xXx Agent joins the NSA to take on a case in Washington DC.

House of Wax
What's it about? Car troubles sidelines a group of teens in the quiet town of Athelston, Iowa. Directed to the only business that can offer assistance -- a creepy gas station owned by a suave bad boy named Bo -- the stranded kids are lured deeper and deeper into Bo's web.

Crash
What's it about? A compelling urban drama- tracks the volatile intersections of a multi ethnic cast, examining fear and bigotry from multiple perspectives as characters careen in and out of one another's lives. No one is safe in the battle zones of racial strife. And no one is immune to the simmering rage that sparks violence and changes lives.

So, we have a bunch aimed at people on spring break, action from the new XXX and the gorgeous looking Sin City, a horror remake, some comedies and a biopic. I don’t quite see the problem Universal does.

Now, let’s skip ahead to see how the September competition stacks up:

September 1, 2005

The Woods
What's it about? A psychological horror story that begins when a neglected teenager named Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is dropped off by her parents at a remote all-girls boarding school deep in the forest. Watched over by sinister head-mistress Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) and her staff, Heather is tormented by her classmates and is desperate to go home. But when students start disappearing and she begins to have horrifying visions, Heather realizes things at the school are not what they seem. She only knows there's something out there in the woods - and it won't be letting her leave any time soon.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose
What's it about? An attorney defends a Catholic priest who has been charged with the negligent homicide of a 19 year old girl whose exorcism he presided over.

September 8, 2005

Nothing on the schedule…yet.

September 15, 2005

Alien Love Triangle
What's it about? A story told in several parts about 3 aliens (Kenneth Branagh , Heather Graham , Courteney Cox) who come to earth to learn about the strangest human emotion of all: love.

A Scanner Darkly
What's it about? Set in the future, A Scanner Darkly follows an undercover agent, Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves), who can change his face and identity. But when he ingests too much of the drug Substance D, his personality splits in two.

September 22, 2005

The Legend of Zorro
What's it about? The legendary masked hero returns in this sequel to the hit movie "The Mask of Zorro".

September 29, 2005

Serenity

Oliver Twist
What's it about? Retelling of the classic Dickens novel about a young orphan who flees the workhouse and joins up with a group of boy thieves in grubby 19th Century London with Ben Kingsley as Fagin.

Jarhead
What's it about? a coming-of-age tale about a platoon of U.S. Marines during the Gulf War

You ask me, the genre offerings seem a little more competitive in the fall, especially with Zorro a week ahead of Serenity. While early September seems like a dumping ground, AICN’s Hercules points out that end of the month releases have historically performed better. I still have to wonder, though, given the target audience Universal should be aiming the feature at, if this is such a wise decision.

April doesn’t look overly competitive in comparison and gets the film out ahead of May’s Star Wars and July’s War of the Worlds remake. This would also mean they have a DVD available for the holiday season. Let’s just say I have my doubts about the decision.