Category: Entertainment

In advance of its pending national opening, the movie Serenity has become the subject of an internet experiment. As I mentioned here, the marketers of the movie have invited bloggers to a limited number of screenings. I signed up, as did who the heck knows just how many others.

The marketers responded, and at least one potential blog-screening participant, Steve H. at Hog on Ice, was chagrined.

The more I think about it, the more I think I should blow off the bloggers-only screening of the movie Serenity.

It’s nice to be treated like a professional writer, and to be given a seat at a free showing of a movie. But that isn’t what’s happening here.

The confirmation email I got from Grace Hill Media says I have to show up 45 minutes before the movie, find a Universal rep, produce the email showing that I’m part of the “Blogger Bonanza,” and see if they want to give me a seat. And I have to do this on a Tuesday night, after driving over 20 miles through rush-hour traffic.

That’s not how you treat someone you respect. They’re hoping I’ll write a review which will be seen by a few thousand people, hundreds of whom will presumably buy tickets after reading what I write. In other words, they’re hoping I’ll provide a service that will benefit them economically. In return, I’m entitled to a guaranteed seat.

Certainly, Steve has some valid points here. Nevertheless, as did Rick Blaine, in this case I understand the point of view of both the hound and the fox. In a campaign seeking attention from bloggers, Steve has to be considered one of the big guns, having passed the one million mark for hits on his SiteMeter. Still, the Serenity marketers are treading their way through unexplored territory. Perhaps a scattershot welcoming of the blogosphere is the best way to build a groundswell of publicity, or maybe targeting particular large bloggers is the better route. Who knows?

As for myself, I’ve once before been to a no-guarantee screening, for a late-’90s movie that I cannot recall (I can only remember being glad I had only stood in line at a co-worker’s urging rather than actually spending money on the drivel). I will comply with the marketing requirements, if only because I’m a sci-fi buff (goodness knows I’ve pimped out Battlestar Galactica enough on this blog). Actually, I’m intrigued by both this marketing concept and this movie. The required synopsis is as follows:

Joss Whedon, the Oscar® – and Emmy – nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

I have not seen a single episode of Firefly, upon which this movie is based. I will be taking with me to the screening a co-worker who is a fan of the series for feedback from an insider’s perspective. Expect a spoiler-free review here tomorrow or Wednesday. If the blogger screeing is bungled and I don’t catch the flick, expect some vitriol instead.

Want to see Serenity early? Here’s your chance, with a hat tip to the Blogfather. I’m currently down as being on the press list for the early Dallas screening. I’ll believe it when I get there.

Yikes! Phil, finally returned to blogging after a brief hiatus from his blog Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), has tagged me with a meme.

The meme involves the following:

1. Total volume of music
2. Last CD I bought
3. Song playing right now, or last song played
4. Five songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me

Quick. Simple. Easy.

1. Total Volume of Music
About 500 MB of MP3s and roughly 175 CDs. I just haven’t transitioned to the MP3 fixation yet. The actual number of CDs is tough, since I’m guessing at what’s scattered around my cubicle or over at the fiancee’s house.

2. Last CD I Bought
Probably either Run-DMC’s Greatest Hits or the Team America: World Police soundtrack or some Scottish folk music.

3. Last Song Played
“Calling You,” from Blue October’s History for Sale.

4. Five Songs That Mean a Lot to Me
Now’s where the meme gets tough.

Well, let’s start with two for the fiancee.

1) “Let Me Go,” by Cake, from Prolonging the Magic. In no lasting way do the specific lyrics of this song remind me of the fiancee. It’s really just the concept of a girl saying stay away and I’ll want you. The fiancee and I, at one time, worked for the same company. I kind of pursued her and somehow, after much no-thank-you-but-well-maybe behaviour on her part, began dating her. I had already decided to leave my job, and right after we actually began dating, a company flew me to Denver for an interview. The sweet hotel they put me up in had a Cake sample CD and the song just reminded me of our relationship to date. I played it for her and it’s stuck.

2) “Calling You,” by Blue October, from History for Sale. This is a good love/rock song for any couple. Especially for a couple that has to persevere separation.

Now, two from the undergrad days at Texas A&M.

3) “The Aggie War Hymn,” by the Fighting Texas Aggie Band. My CD version is from Recall! Step-off on Hullabaloo! Gig’em, Aggies.

4) “You Never Even Call Me by My Name,” by David Allen Coe, which I have on his 17 Greatest Hits CD. Ah, Northgate. You’ve changed a lot, but the Dixie Chicken and Dudley’s Draw are still the same.

Now, my favorite from my senior year of high school, a song that has resonated with me for Lo! These many years.

5) “Kayleigh,” by Marillion, from Misplaced Childhood. I tend to love songs for their lyrics, and the imagery in this one is amazing. I actually recommend the entire album, a concept piece about a relationship gone wrong, a night of contemplation and a dawn of new reckoning. Besides, after all these years of grooving on the song, I’m pushing, so far successfully, for the beautiful name Kayleigh as a name for a possible daughter.

What the hell, Phil cheated and listed six. Besides, what’s a song list without Frank?

6) “Summer Wind,” currently my favorite Sinatra, from the highly recommended The Very Best of Frank Sinatra (which tragically lacks “The Lady is a Tramp”). I waited too long in coming to appreciate the man’s work. A late-blossoming affection for vodka martinis helped. Frank and a martini glass just mesh beautifully — it’s like the universe shifts into proper alignment.

I’ll tag no one, as I tend to tag the same folks again and again. However, anybody is welcome to participate in the meme.