On how to promote and support Serenity without putting up posters and spamming your friends list:


Serenity imdb.com listing.

According to sources at the signal, imdb.com is considered an important tool in the industry for gauging the success of a film. By just typing “Serenity” into imdb and doing a search for the movie (and of course, clicking on the link to it that comes up), you are literally registering your interest in the show. Attention is paid to that.

More attention, though, is paid to the rating system used by imdb. Know that line of stars with the X.X/10 figures next to it? That’s an indicator of how imdb users have rated the film whose entry you’re looking at. Attention is paid to the rating system. But the rating system doesn’t work simply - your vote is weighted depending on how many *other* movies you rate at imdb. For example, if you just sign up and rate Serenity and no other films, your vote might count as 1. If you sign up, vote on 100 other films, you vote might count as 5. 500 films, it might count as 20. You get the picture. So sign up at imdb. Vote an assload of other movies you’ve seen. Then give Serenity a 10. Also on imdb, talk up the movie on the message boards (I know, I feel like they give me cooties too). Submit a positive review/comment.


Showing your support on other movie websites

Movielens is a great movie database site which allows you to rate all the movies you’ve ever seen. It then, based on your tastes and how you’ve rated other films, offers you suggestions. It also has a message board for discussion on movies. Sign up to movielens (it is a university experiment based site, so it is very clean and helpful, no ads or spam or nothing), give Serenity 5 stars, talk it up on the boards.

RottenTomatoes.com is another movie review site (more well known) which allows users to vote on movies they’ve seen. It then calculates an average rating on the film, based on both critics and user ratings. If the rating is above 60%, they consider it a good/successful film. Serenity is currently at 80% there. Sign up, keep voting!


Spreading the signal via word of mouth is always the way to go. If you’re on a message board, in a chat room, or on a train, at work, school, whatever - it most definitely doesn’t have to be a fandom setting - and the opportunity arises: talk Serenity up. Encourage people to see it. It ain’t that hard, it could only take as long as it takes to refresh your friends page and scroll on by all those posts again.

Ought to have gone to bed hours ago, but needed to get this out first.

All just folk now.
Serenity; crew; gen.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SERENITY.
Set towards/at/after the end.

Ugh, I HATE Jim Schembri. And not just because of his review of Serenity (which I would link to if it were online, but let me just say it was about 10 lines long, mentioned “cheap, ineffective humour” and “spaceships that look like ceral boxes” and got 1.5 stars), but because he gets everything SO. WRONG. every time. Hell, i remember him giving FOTR something like 2 stars, with the review along the lines of “it wasn’t until half an hour into the film that I realised it wasn’t ‘visit New Zealand’ ad”.

Anyway, that made me a bit grumpy, but I didn’t feel too bad, because it’s not like everyone else doesn’t think Jim Schembri is an ass without a pinch of taste.

But, speaking of reviews, dorrie6 linked to/posted one of the best reviews of the film I’ve seen, written by Orson Scott Card. You can read it here or in dorrie’s livejournal, here. It doesn’t have explicit spoilers, but you may be spoiled for some plot points if you’re already a Firefly fan.

I walked into this movie reasonably aware of the advance word-of-mouth (though not obsessively so) and only as the film actually began this afternoon, the day of its premier, did it occur to me that I had not heard a whisper of a breath of the actual plot of the movie. All I heard was, "It's great, you'll love it."

Well, guess what.

It's great.

I'm not going to say it's the best science fiction movie, ever.

Oh, wait. Yes I am.

But, everyone should read this review, if you have a modicum of interest or uncertainty in seeing Serenity. And I’m not just saying that because I’m rabid. It really is worth it. He talks more about the genre of science fiction, and literature, and humanity, than rambling about points in the movie itself. But don’t let that put you off - it is quite short, very succint and accessible. READ IT!

Will be catching the 6.30pm screening of Serenity at Hoyts Melbourne Central again tomorrow night, for anyone in who wants to join me.

eta: new_melbourne, for Melbourne Browncoats/Firefly fans looking to organise shindigs, notify of media, etc.