The Official Serenity Thread! (Make no more)

[Movies205]

I dont know what kind of rebuttal you want me to give, anything i put out would merely be stripped down anazlyzed and told im wrong.
I dont think its neccisary as i said hes bashing a movie hes never seen, that i think is the end of the debate, i think fans of any genere can agree with me on that.

I don't see the point in trying to degrade my favorite scifi movies. T2 and Star Trek 8 are amazing classic scifi. imho

I'm not degrading them at all but T2 is an action movie and Star Trek 8 is a space-opera, yeah okay it's sci-fi. There not amazing sci-fi, T2 is an amazing action movie and ST8 is sci-fi but it's not amazing, it's a cool movie with good characters and good action.. I mean true sci-fi is hard to come by. I'm not degrading your opinion at all. Also I think if won't post an intellectual post out of something as petty as someone saying your wrong than wow... And I love T2 and ST8, though personally I find T1 better. 2001 Space Oddessy and Brazil I'd consider true Sci-Fi, it takes facts and ideas, and puts out a hypothesis and it's own theories, that's my opinion though.

 

[Mee]

How can you define "true Sci-Fi"? I'd consider any and all Star Trek Sci-Fi, though Terminator, maybe not.

 

[Movies205]

How can you define "true Sci-Fi"? I'd consider any and all Star Trek Sci-Fi, though Terminator, maybe not.

I don't know I love Star Trek dearly, but after the first series it kind of decline in the idea of sci-fi and became more of a drama about people, but I take that back about Sci-Fi since yeah it is.

 

[JLBats]

I'm not degrading them at all but T2 is an action movie and Star Trek 8 is a space-opera, yeah okay it's sci-fi. There not amazing sci-fi, T2 is an amazing action movie and ST8 is sci-fi but it's not amazing, it's a cool movie with good characters and good action.. I mean true sci-fi is hard to come by. I'm not degrading your opinion at all. Also I think if won't post an intellectual post out of something as petty as someone saying your wrong than wow... And I love T2 and ST8, though personally I find T1 better. 2001 Space Oddessy and Brazil I'd consider true Sci-Fi, it takes facts and ideas, and puts out a hypothesis and it's own theories, that's my opinion though.

UGH, I hate getting into semantics about what true sci-fi is.

It seems like, for the purists, you have to be some pretentious movie about the morality of nuts and bolts placed in a tub of applesauce to be considered true sci-fi.

 

[Movies205]

UGH, I hate getting into semantics about what true sci-fi is.

It seems like, for the purists, you have to be some pretentious movie about the morality of nuts and bolts placed in a tub of applesauce to be considered true sci-fi.

I think it has more to do with people being insecure about there opinions, I mean, why is it big deal that I consider T2 an action movie with sci-fi elements? Sci-Fi is Science Fiction, it's taking science and providing interesting theories, it's hard to write because it takes a good grasp on science now. I mean I'd consider I, Robot to be true Science-Fiction because the plot is so engrained in it and provides an interesting insight into the future, I'd consider Minority Report the same as well, I'd consider Alien as true sci-fi. These are stories that leave you coming out with ideas and other thoughts, I mean Terminator 2 when you strip away the science could still be done, you could make it about someone being killed because they pose a threat to a facist nation, and you could leave everything the same.

 

[JLBats]

I think it has more to do with people being insecure about there opinions, I mean, why is it big deal that I consider T2 an action movie with sci-fi elements? Sci-Fi is Science Fiction, it's taking science and providing interesting theories, it's hard to write because it takes a good grasp on science now. I mean I'd consider I, Robot to be true Science-Fiction because the plot is so engrained in it and provides an interesting insight into the future, I'd consider Minority Report the same as well, I'd consider Alien as true sci-fi.

I just hate the semantics, alright?

It's that kind of talk that largely derails sci-fi threads into off-topic debates.

 

[Mentok]

Without the BO, the DVD sales wouldn't have turned such a profit...the film made the studio tons of cash. There is way more than BO to consider on a film's success. Just look at Austin Powers, DVD sales were what made it so much money, and helped greenlight the sequels.

No, DVD sales were also poor. You my friend have a serious case of denial . It didnt make the studio 'tons of cash' at all.

DVD saes got Austin Powers a follow up? Thas a load of crap. Austin Powers had a shooting budget of $16.5 million and made $67,683,989 World Wide in BO earnings. Thats what got a follow up greenlit.


Same for the other two 'Powers' films...

AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (budget - $33 million) WW Box Office $310,940,086

AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER (Budget - $63 million) WW Box Office $296,633,907

 

[bluejake01]

No, DVD sales were also poor. You my friend have a serious case of denial . It didnt make the studio 'tons of cash' at all.

DVD saes got Austin Powers a follow up? Thas a load of crap. Austin Powers had a shooting budget of $16.5 million and made $67,683,989 World Wide in BO earnings. Thats what got a follow up greenlit.


Same for the other two 'Powers' films...

AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (budget - $33 million) WW Box Office $310,940,086

AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER (Budget - $63 million) WW Box Office $296,633,907

No case of denial at all...I just know exactly how the studios work. In the end, Serenity made a few million, after DVD sales...I don't know what ****ing world you live in that a few million bucks isn't a ton of cash, but since you can spare it, and it isn't a big deal...why don't you give me a few million bucks, mkay?

 

[Mentok]

No case of denial at all...I just know exactly how the studios work. In the end, Serenity made a few million, after DVD sales...I don't know what ****ing world you live in that a few million bucks isn't a ton of cash, but since you can spare it, and it isn't a big deal...why don't you give me a few million bucks, mkay?

It flopped. They made no money from it. You clearly have no idea how studios work.


1 - Total production costs were $39 Million. Add to that the EST $10 Million for marketing and you have a rough total budget of around $50 Million.

2- The films world wide Box office taking was just under $39 Million.That leaves Universal in the red for $28 million when taking into account that studios receive around 55% of total ticket sales.

3- DVD rentals added another $9 Million to the totals with DVD sales $13 Million.

There is no profit from the film, be it Box Office or DVD sales yet.

 

[bluejake01]

It flopped. They made no money from it. You clearly have no idea how studios work.


1 - Total production costs were $39 Million. Add to that the EST $10 Million for marketing and you have a rough total budget of around $50 Million.

2- The films world wide Box office taking was just under $39 Million.That leaves Universal in the red for $28 million when taking into account that studios receive around 55% of total ticket sales.

3- DVD rentals added another $9 Million to the totals with DVD sales $13 Million.

There is no profit from the film, be it Box Office or DVD sales yet.

Your DVD sales figures don't match the ones I have for the film...Your source?

Edit: I just found out where you got your figures from, and that report was as of January 1st, 2006. The film has continued to sell in the last 7 months, and the studio has made a small profit from the film, a few million...

 

[bluejake01]

You clearly have no idea how studios work.

I work in the film industry...I have a passing knowledge of the way the studios work.

 

[ROBOCOP CPU001]

I work in the film industry...I have a passing knowledge of the way the studios work.

you get the coffee?

 

[Mentok]

Your DVD sales figures don't match the ones I have for the film...Your source?

What figures? All you have claimed is that it has made a profit. You have shown nothing to back that up.

Edit: I just found out where you got your figures from, and that report was as of January 1st, 2006.

Impossible, since 1 - I didnt post a link and 2 the figures are from March 06.

The film has continued to sell in the last 7 months, and the studio has made a small profit from the film, a few million...

Then show me.

With Box Office records, DVD rentals and sales plus TV rights, UNIVERSAL are yet to announce they have made a profit from the Serenity film.

 

[bluejake01]

Impossible, since 1 - I didnt post a link and 2 the figures are from March 06.

Uhm...you may not have posted a link, but I found the text from your post, word for word, with all your, on an Entertainment news site and it was dated January, 06.

Since you will not provide your source, I will continue to disregard it as out of date, since every site I have found insists that Serenity finally went into the black thanks to DVD sales. Something missing from your calcualtions is money made from premium cable cannels like HBO, Showtime, etc. and merchandising. One thing to note as well, the HD-DVD sales are actually VERY encouraging, and have made the studio even more money.

From wikipedia:
Serenity was chosen as one of the first HD DVDs to be released. The Serenity HD DVD was released on April 18, 2006. On the day of its release, it ranked in the later 100s on Amazon.com in top selling DVDs. Given the low demand for HD DVDs at this point, this is quite notable. As of July 1, 2006 Serenity remains the 2nd most sold HD DVD.

 

[Movies205]

Uhm...you may not have posted a link, but I found the text from your post, word for word, with all your, on an Entertainment news site and it was dated January, 06.

Since you will not provide your source, I will continue to disregard it as out of date, since every site I have found insists that Serenity finally went into the black thanks to DVD sales. Something missing from your calcualtions is money made from premium cable cannels like HBO, Showtime, etc. and merchandising. One thing to note as well, the HD-DVD sales are actually VERY encouraging, and have made the studio even more money.

From wikipedia:
Serenity was chosen as one of the first HD DVDs to be released. The Serenity HD DVD was released on April 18, 2006. On the day of its release, it ranked in the later 100s on Amazon.com in top selling DVDs. Given the low demand for HD DVDs at this point, this is quite notable. As of July 1, 2006 Serenity remains the 2nd most sold HD DVD.

To be fair, you have yet to really provide any link yourself to back up your claims, and most of what I read points to it wasn't high profitable, I respect that you work in the biz, but the internet is an annoymous community, you simply can't throw something like that out and expect to have your word taken as fact, your just as bad as what your accusing mentok of, and to the both of you, you been saying the same thing for the past 4-8 posts... Which is simply:

Mentok: It wasn't highly profitable, posted figures up

BlueJake1: It was highly profitable, I work in the biz.

 

[bluejake01]

With Box Office records, DVD rentals and sales plus TV rights, UNIVERSAL are yet to announce they have made a profit from the Serenity film.

Universal has also yet to announce the actual DVD sales numbers, and all the figures available are projections based on sales.

But, lets just look at your figures...


$21,450,000 - actual profit from international B.O.
$9,000,000 - DVD rentals
$13,000,000 - DVD sales

The film makes only $43,450,000 based on your figures.

But considering that the film has sold over 2 million units on DVD your DVD sales figures are WAY off. All the figures I have found project DVD sales profit at $24,000,000 to date. That would put the film over 54 million, meaning it has made a few million for the studio...and again, that doesn't count the other ways in wich the movie has made money for the studio.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

From wikipedia:
Serenity was chosen as one of the first HD DVDs to be released. The Serenity HD DVD was released on April 18, 2006. On the day of its release, it ranked in the later 100s on Amazon.com in top selling DVDs. Given the low demand for HD DVDs at this point, this is quite notable. As of July 1, 2006 Serenity remains the 2nd most sold HD DVD.

So what, it's sold 5-10 HD DVD copies, instead of the usual 4-5. I really doubt there are enough HD DVD players sold right now to even register a blip on the market.

 

[bluejake01]

To be fair, you have yet to really provide any link yourself to back up your claims, and most of what I read points to it wasn't high profitable, I respect that you work in the biz, but the internet is an annoymous community, you simply can't throw something like that out and expect to have your word taken as fact, your just as bad as what your accusing mentok of, and to the both of you, you been saying the same thing for the past 4-8 posts... Which is simply:

Mentok: It wasn't highly profitable, posted figures up

BlueJake1: It was highly profitable, I work in the biz.

I never said it was highly profitable...I said it made some money...and for me, a few million is a ton of cash...and The studios count on numerous films that make "some" profit to stay alive. They can't run a studio on blockbusters...they are too risky and too expensive.

I also only once stated I work in the industry, to demonstarte I know how studios operate, not that I knew the exact figures for Serenity, since Universal will not announce them. All he has is sites that are projecting based on sales, and all I have is the same.

Now, as to people believing me about what I do...I couldn't care any less if you paid me to. The people that have known me since I joind this board over 5 years ago, know that I speak the truth...I just don't care enough about the issue to bend over backwards to prove anything to a bunch of strangers on a message board. www.spectsoft.com is the company that my best friend started when we were in school. We now have clients such as Dreamworks PDI, Tippet Studio, The Orphanage, Riot, and Encore-Hollywood. You will find my name in the Compant section, under The Team...my job title is fairly simple, and describes what I do there "John Martin - Creative Genius" I do also handle quite a bit of marketing and sales when we are at trade shows.

 

[bluejake01]

So what, it's sold 5-10 HD DVD copies, instead of the usual 4-5. I really doubt there are enough HD DVD players sold right now to even register a blip on the market.

Well considering it ranked in the 100's of ALL DVDs sold at Amazon for that month is quite impressive for an HD DVD.

 

[Movies205]

I know you full well BlueJake I also know you live with 2 or 3 women I forget the exact number because of that thread in the community a while ago, and I respect your opinion, I'm merely stating on an annoymous board, the fight became meaningless after the 2nd post cuz it started going into circles.

 

[bluejake01]

I know you full well BlueJake I also know you live with 2 or 3 women I forget the exact number because of that thread in the community a while ago, and I respect your opinion, I'm merely stating on an annoymous board, the fight became meaningless after the 2nd post cuz it started going into circles.

It's 2...and Brazil rocks. I was watching it just yesterday.

On a bizare side note...

We have created a new feature in Rave HD that allows for audio to be embedded in the uncompressed HD dpx frames, and played back seamlessless in realtime. This eliminates synch issues that all studios face. The code is so smart that it even reverses the audio sample and staggers it when the frames are played back in reverse sequential order. This, as far as we can see, only has one clear advantage...you can capture Buckaroo Banzai, encode it, and play it in reverse with no audio distortion. This, as far as we can see, is only good for a laugh when you are all drunk at the office after the quarterly company party.

 

[Movies205]

It's 2...and Brazil rocks. I was watching it just yesterday.

On a bizare side note...

We have created a new feature in Rave HD that allows for audio to be embedded in the uncompressed HD dpx frames, and played back seamlessless in realtime. This eliminates synch issues that all studios face. The code is so smart that it even reverses the audio sample and staggers it when the frames are played back in reverse sequential order. This, as far as we can see, only has one clear advantage...you can capture Buckaroo Banzai, encode it, and play it in reverse with no audio distortion. This, as far as we can see, is only good for a laugh when you are all drunk at the office after the quarterly company party.

Ha, man HD going kick ass... In abour 4-8 years when I'm done with college and get a job that pays well enough for me to buy the equipment. So your deep into all that, with HD are they going have full-bitrate audio now? Because I believe on DVD it's half, hence the debate that LDs have better audio quality.

P.S. Brazil does kick ass... Have you seen the "Love Conquers All" version, I couldn't finish it, it was so amazingly bad

 

[bluejake01]

Ha, man HD going kick ass... In abour 4-8 years when I'm done with college and get a job that pays well enough for me to buy the equipment. So your deep into all that, with HD are they going have full-bitrate audio now? Because I believe on DVD it's half, hence the debate that LDs have better audio quality.

P.S. Brazil does kick ass... Have you seen the "Love Conquers All" version, I couldn't finish it, it was so amazingly bad

I am not sure about the bitrates of HD DVDs, I deal with uncompressed HD video on the production side. We work with f/x production houses mainly. Our hardware and software can output and ingest uncompressed 8-bit, 10-bit, HD, SD, Dual Link and 2k HSDL frames. The images are stored as sequential frames and accessible via a client/server interface. We can ingest frames from external DDRs, straight from a camera, or render farms. Rave HD also has full RS422 deck emulation for editing.

I am sure that the audio will be encoded at the highest bitrate that will fit on the new discs...unless they take the same shortcuts they do now with standard DVDs

 

[Movies205]

I am not sure about the bitrates of HD DVDs, I deal with uncompressed HD video on the production side. We work with f/x production houses mainly. Our hardware and software can output and ingest uncompressed 8-bit, 10-bit, HD, SD, Dual Link and 2k HSDL frames. The images are stored as sequential frames and accessible via a client/server interface. We can ingest frames from external DDRs, straight from a camera, or render farms. Rave HD also has full RS422 deck emulation for editing.

I am sure that the audio will be encoded at the highest bitrate that will fit on the new discs...unless they take the same shortcuts they do now with standard DVDs

I suppose what it comes down to is the regular consumer going notice, and then plus bonus feature. But again I know the barest of the bare when it comes to HD, DVD just what I glean from various things I've read. That serve though that's ingesting uncompressed HD video must be insane at least from the perspective of an 18 year old kid, and rendering farms, man that sounds like you have pretty hardcore job was some cool equipment. So what exactly do you do? Do you compress the video down into a managable size for editing and then uncompress it back out. Again my knowledge is limited, like I live in a computer family and know a lot of stuff from what I've read and what I do so I get the gist of what your saying mostly.

 

[Mentok]

Uhm...you may not have posted a link, but I found the text from your post, word for word, with all your, on an Entertainment news site and it was dated January, 06.

Then post that

Quite simply, you cant.

THIS is where I got the sales quotes from.

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/archives/dvd_sales_push_serenity_over_the_top.html

No, its not from Jan 06 and its not 'word for word'

Since you will not provide your source, I will continue to disregard it as out of date, since every site I have found insists that Serenity finally went into the black thanks to DVD sales. Something missing from your calcualtions is money made from premium cable cannels like HBO, Showtime, etc. and merchandising. One thing to note as well, the HD-DVD sales are actually VERY encouraging, and have made the studio even more money.

Do you actually read my posts at all? I have included sales of TV rights in calculations.

The only place you will find anything claiming that Serenity has cleared any money are Joss fansites that use dodgy logic and maths to reach that conclusion.

http://www.whedon.info/article.php3?id_article=14008

From wikipedia:
Serenity was chosen as one of the first HD DVDs to be released. The Serenity HD DVD was released on April 18, 2006. On the day of its release, it ranked in the later 100s on Amazon.com in top selling DVDs. Given the low demand for HD DVDs at this point, this is quite notable. As of July 1, 2006 Serenity remains the 2nd most sold HD DVD.

Quoting the Wiki... User created content by fans. Quoting the Wiki is pointless.