Joss Whedon's "Serenity" Pushed Back From April 22nd to September 30th!

This was just posted on Whedonesque.net by Joss:

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.

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My thoughts?

Wow

Oh well. We'll just have more time to promote the hell out of our BDM. Truth be told, I was worried that XXX: State Of The Union and the next Star Wars movie would come along and deposit our BDM underneath them both, and the media analysts would have a field day with the overbooked spring release schedule and take it out on Serenity (i.e. "Whedon's Firefly movie fails to soar"). So September 30th sounds good. According to Yahoo! Movies, it's a week after The Legend Of Zorro and Serenity will be opening up against Curious George. I'd rather there be no competition, but maybe Serenity can battle for a premium chunk of box-office gold. Onward, Browncoats!

And now here's further proof that Universal is making sure that they don't shoot themselves in the foot by releasing Serenity at too crowded a time in the box office marketplace.

U shuffles '05 release sked

From Yahoo! News

U shuffles '05 release sked

Mon Nov 22, 8:22 PM ET

Claude Brodesser, STAFF

(Variety) — Universal Pictures has confirmed it has moved back the release date for upcoming Nicole Kidman starrer The Interpreter causing a chain reaction of changes to its release sked over the next 12 months.

The Sydney Pollack-helmed pic has been moved from Feb. 18 to April 22.


This, in turn, means that Serenity -- based on the now-canceled Fox skein Firefly created by Joss Whedon -- has been moved from April 22 to Sept. 30. However, that displaces Jarhead, the Sam Mendes-helmed pic based on Anthony Swofford's memoir as a Marine sniper in the first Gulf War (news - web sites).


"Release dates and the distribution calendar are fluid documents," said Paul Pflug, a U spokesman. "As a distributor, we're always looking for the best dates available."


Meanwhile, U has dated two other pics on the release calendar. Kate Hudson starrer The Skeleton Key -- a thriller helmed by Iain Softley and penned by Ehren Kruger -- has been set for July 8; Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin a coming-of-age pic by the helmer and Steve Carell, has been slated for Nov. 23.