finding Serenity and Saving Face

[ironymaiden]

ah, Serenity. huge monster thanks to pixxelpuss for encouraging me to stop by the preview line in case a ticket became available. there's little more wondrous than having a gamble like that actually pay off. i got to wear one of solcita's cunnin' crocheted hats (although she was admiring scifigal's knitted ones) and generally tried not to bounce around and squeal too much. (sorry i didn't wade back through the masses to say hi, bhagwanx. i wasn't thinking very clearly about the fact that i had a couple hours before the show...i wasn't thinking clearly at all. because my brain was filled with squeeeing trying to get out.)

it started with a reel of an emotional Joss Whedon talking about his love for the project, and the fans' love for the project, and the importance of spreading the word. it was a rough cut, with incomplete effects and music.

if George Lucas' legacy is the works of Joss Whedon, then i may be able to forgive Mr. Lucas for sucking for the last twenty years.

to compare this to another tv-to-film franchise, it's Wrath of Khan. if you wanted to see The Voyage Home, you will be in trouble.

last night my friend T had to ditch me for work, and C already had plans, so with the kind assistance of frabjousdave i obtained a ticket to Murderball. he couldn't score me a ticket to Saving Face, however, so i hopefully joined the Rush line, where i spent a lovely fifteen minutes chatting with the lesbian couple in front of me until an angel from an AIDS organization handed me his extra ticket - for free.

Saving Face is coming to Seattle June 10th. it's a multigenerational/Asian/lesbian romantic comedy/family drama. it's sweet and funny, and the chemistry between Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen is delightful. i know that it probably won't reach a very wide audience because several characters rarely speak English, and the writer/director talked about how producers repeatedly loved the script but wanted to change the race/ethnicity. i recommend it to anyone who has ever dealt with living up to their parents' expectations. (or anyone wants to see hot Asian girls getting it on outside of porn.)

Murderball merits its own entry.

Comments

[varina8.livejournal.com]

I'm thrilled by your review of "Saving Face." I thought it was a sweet little movie and I loved Joan Chen in it.

[buhrger]

it was a rough cut, with incomplete effects and music.
so just how often is this rough cut being shown? any chance it'll make it north of the border, he asked expecting the answer "no".

and while i don't want spoilers overall, i would like to find out if the ships are silent in space, as in the series. of course, if it was a rough cut, that may not be known yet....

if George Lucas' legacy is the works of Joss Whedon, then i may be able to forgive Mr. Lucas for sucking for the last twenty years.
i thought sucking was a good thing... :-)
does Joss cite Lucas as an influence?

[pixxelpuss.livejournal.com]

Is Saving Face part of SIFF or what? It sounds awesome.

[ironymaiden]

i saw it as part of SIFF, but it's being distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. i think it's going to be at the Harvard Exit in a couple weeks.

rough cut

[ironymaiden]

i don't know about showings in Canada, or when it might happen again. this is the preview schedule site; i noted that the official fan organization is for residents of the US and Canada, so perhaps there's hope. i may have to break down and join the Browncoats.

sound and music weren't done, so it was hard to tell. i'm rooting for silent.

influence

[ironymaiden]

i don't exactly know the answer to that, but i don't believe American genre filmmakers of a certain age can claim that they haven't been influenced. i take the interests and obsessions of the Trio, the story of Star Wars v Empire arguments on the way to ComiCon, and the decor of the offices in interviews on the Buffy DVDs as evidence.

there's no blatant homage, but Joss captured the spirit of the films of my childhood. there are scenes in the film that had the feel of episodes IV and V; i felt that i was being shown things by Whedon that Lucas resorted to telling in his more recent work. i also think the production design hearkens to the dirty, scrappy "future" of Star Wars.

[ironymaiden]

yeah. i think it's more deserving of success than My Big Fat Greek Wedding...plus the script was written for a UW Extension class, and that kills me.

[sarastro-us.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I miss SIFF this year. seattlejo used to get passes from work, but she switched jobs this past year, and so no more freebies.

*waves to ironymaiden and thanks for being added*