Spoilers for Buffy-associated projects

[tyche]

Uh, I was looking around and realised that there was nothing for any spoilery info to do with 'Ripper' (the projected Giles spin-off series for the BBC), 'Firefly' (Joss's new sci-fi series) or the animated Buffy series. Hence, this thread.

[AutumnT]

There's a little blurb in this week's TV Guide (the 50 years one) that calls [i:b8674da41f] Firefly[/i:b8674da41f] FOX's "highest profile undertaking." It goes on to say the two hour pilot cost $10 million to make and will be released as a feature film in Europe. Gail Berman says "[i:b8674da41f] Firefly[/i:b8674da41f] is the Western I wanted to make, even though it's set 500 years in the future."

[tommo]

[b:03a0c6f95e] Ten million???????[/b:03a0c6f95e]

Good God, that's a lotta money!

[Epicurus]

10 million seems like a lot of money but is it really in the tv biz? I am completely ignorant when it comes to expendatures, how much does the average BTVS episode cost to make?

Tommo, you make impossible for me to [b:eb2af4d3aa]not[/b:eb2af4d3aa] post directly after you. I feel like I follow you around like a lost dog.

[the literary exterminator]

Well, to put it in perspective, UPN pays about 2.33 mil per [i:81fbe6cbf4]Buffy[/i:81fbe6cbf4] ep, so you figure each has to cost less than that. Also, [i:81fbe6cbf4]Buffy[/i:81fbe6cbf4] was only costing the WB about $1 mil per ep before the move. On the other end of the scale, [b:81fbe6cbf4]each[/b:81fbe6cbf4] of the six [i:81fbe6cbf4]Friends[/i:81fbe6cbf4] are getting $1 mil an ep next season.
-

[Epicurus]

Ah thanks for the break down. That's a shit load of money then. I guess I was thinking more about movie costs than tv.
Hmm a feature film, that's a cool idea. I hope this show is worth all that fuss.

[SlayerTazz]

There is a write-up on Firefly on AICN...I didn't get to read it all yet - but it seems like a good place to get some info...or you can check out this link I found while playing on the net last night: www.insanity.com.au/firefly/

[tommo]

Epicurus...[b:ab135a096d] sit![/b:ab135a096d]

I'm not sure if ten million is a lot in tv money, or just a lot in anyone's money. I mean, think of all the British movies that have been made for a fraction of that. Quality movies, I mean.

[Epicurus]

[i:095cad206e]*sits down*[/i:095cad206e]
[i:095cad206e]*silently looks around the room*[/i:095cad206e]
jeez I really gotta work on this submissive attitude I seem to have adopted.

SlayerTazz thanks for posting that link, I'm gonna bookmark it as it's very helpful.

Quoting (almost) all of the recent article posted:

[b:095cad206e]"Whedon has hired Chris Buchanan as President of Mutant Enemy Productions, the company behind Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. The move flags Whedon's interest in producing not only more TV shows, but music and movies as well. As Whedon told Variety, "It's a different kind of company than it was when we started. The number of productions is starting to expand, as well as the number of venues, and I didn't have an exec to be there specifically to facilitate our entrance into all these new media." Those other projects include the developing Buffy animated series, and the BBC Buffy spin-off Ripper, starring Anthony Stewart Head." [/b:095cad206e]

This sounds like a great step for ME. Weird how it includes music as a venue that they want to indulge in. Hmm Amber... make Amber sing some more. I wanna hear more of her low range singing talents.
I also wonder how movies will fit into this expansion.
BTVS: The Movie perhaps? dunno if I like the sounds of that...

[WebWarlock]

Here is question that I have been ponderin'.

Are Firefly and Buffy taking place in the same universe? My inital guess is no. But then I start to think about it more and I kinda wonder. I know we have been told that we wont see any "Star Trek" like aliens, so I am going to assume that same goes for demons.

But still...

Warlock

[girlwiththebraids]

i guess this thread would best fit this story i got emailed to me today...it amused me greatly...mods feel free to move it if you think it should go someplace else

> Mutant Enemy, the producers of the hit series _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_
> and _Firefly_, announced today that their latest spin-off series would
> be a groundbreaking departure from the original hit series _Personal
> Initiative_, starring former Buffy cast member Mark Blucas in his role
> of Riley Finn, commando turned demon hunter.
>
> "We're really lucky to get Mark back, after his many recent successful
> movie roles," said producer Marti Nixon. "Every time the idea of Riley
> returning to Buffy comes up, the Internet goes nuts. There's more
> interest expressed in Riley Finn than any other character in the entire
> Mutant Enemy stable. After his recent return in Buffy's _As You Were_,
> Josh (Mutant Enemy maestro Josh Whedon) knew he had to put together a
> series to showcase him. That's when _Personal Initiative_ was born."
>
> "This is an incredibly exciting opportunity," added producer Dave Fury.
> "Buffy and Angelus are very personal shows, very character driven, very
> focused on their respective locales, Sunnyvale and Los Angeles. As the
> head of a globe-trotting anti-demon force, however, _Personal
> Initiative_ allows us to go around the world. It allows us to examine
> important issues such as global terrorism, and September 11, which we'll
> examine with Mutant Enemy's trademark subtlety. It allows us to create
> new characters who are metaphors for the current world situation, like
> Ifret, the impish advisor for the new demon terrorist group that Riley
> must face. (We want to call them Al Qaeda, but we don't think we can get
> that one past the censors.)"
>
> Joining Blucas in _Personal Initiative_ is Alexandra Moltke, reprising
> her popular role as Sam, Riley Finn's beloved wife, a winning addition
> to the Buffy universe in _As You Were_. "Sam was very much the happily
> ever after type in _As You Were_, but you'll discover that married life
> isn't always quite so wonderful for a pair of demon-slayers in
> fatigues," Moltke explains. "In fact things almost get scary for them,
> especially when Riley's very peculiar addiction resurfaces."
>
> That addiction, Riley's sexual addiction to vampire whores, was the
> reason for his departure in _Buffy_, but it's even more difficult when
> the vampiress in question is Dracula's daughter (played by award winning
> actress Stephanie McMahon Helmsley), whose father, Riley's old archenemy
> Dracula (a role reprised by former Buffy guest star Rudolph Martin) is
> _not_ happy to discover her daughter in bed with the beefy Iowan.
>
> "Riley's in Transylvania to help the Romanians fight Islamic demons,
> when he discovers the frontline defending force is led by none other
> than Pere Dracula!" Nixon explains. "It's a wonderful metaphor for the
> moral dilemmas of this world. amd how dirty politics can be, and Riley
> sleeping with Dracula's daughter is symbolic for how a cleancut country
> like America is forced to dirty itself in war by sleeping with some
> truly disgusting people. But don't worry, the pilot script by Josh
> (Whedon) and new story editor Tom Browning drives home this point
> repeatedly so no one can miss it."
>
> Also, Nixon promises, _Personal Initiative_ will add exciting new
> concepts to the Buffyverse. "People have been wondering how Sam can be
> almost as good in combat as a Slayer. Well, you're going to find out,
> and trust me, if Buffy ever discovers her secret, she's _not_ going to
> be happy! A lot of the old rules about how the world works are going to
> be turned on their head!"
>
> Also joining the regular cast is veteran character actor Ted McGinley as
> Ruxx, a demon who's far more than he appears to be. "Ruxx was originally
> a human, a very successful human whose actual body was stolen by a very
> powerful demon," Fury explains. "I want that demon to be our big villain
> for the first season, but Marti says she's sick of Big Bads, so we may
> hold off for now. Ruxx is going to be an intermediary between clean cut
> Riley and the incredibly shady demonic arms and terrorism trade. He'll
> be a really intesting character. People will learn just how evil arms
> trading can be!"
>
> "I'm dying to do a script on Wolfram and Hart's international
> operations," Browning adds. "So we'll get to see Wolfram and Hart's
> European branch, the Old Partners, in action. And that naturally ties
> into _Ripper_, and it's a time travel script, so we can bring in
> _Firefly_, for the crossover to end all crossovers!"
>
> "We also intend to push the envelope as far as nudity goes, given the
> overwhelming reaction we had to it on Buffy." Nixon explains, "So we can
> expect vampires, drugs, guns, rock n'roll, and lots of sex!" producer
> Nixon adds, smiling broadly.
>
> _Personal Initiative_, a Mutant Enemy/April Fool's coproduction will air
> starting this fall on HBO.


braids

[tyche]

My fiance came up with some entirely fake titles for possible spin-offs from 'Angel':
WESLEY: MY ASS IS NOT PANSY
GUNN: MY ASS IS NOT A STEREOTYPE
FRED: MY ASS IS NOT BONY
CORDELIA: MY IMPLANTS ARE NOT PANSY
ANGEL: MY ACTING IS RATHER PANSY, ACTUALLY
Well, they amused me, anyway.
And some genuine 'Firefly' info:

Source: www.cinescape.com/

Whedon FIREFLY looks FX heavy
Radium effects house gets the nod

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dateline: Monday, April 1, 2002

By: CHRISTOPHER ALLAN SMITH
By: News Editor
Source: Hollywood Reporter


Joss Whedon has decided on the effects house which will be creating the FX shots for his far future space show, FIREFLY. Radium is the lucky FX shop, and it's got a heavy load for the first episode, titled "Serenity" (that's also the name of the main ship, a Firefly class space ship).


According to the specs for the job, the first two hours of the show will have 80 digital shots of not only starships but also synthetic people and aliens.

The more we hear about this project, the more we want to hear. Here's hoping Whedon can do for space adventures what he did for vampires with BUFFY.

[tommo]

Oh god, I love that [b:44e89f5776] Personal Initiative[/b:44e89f5776] stuff. Oh dear lordy lord...

Excellent.

[Sassette]

Heh ... catching up on this thread the day AFTER April Fool's, and having missed the bit where you said clearly that it was a joke, that totally had me going for the first paragraph or so ... it wasn't until they started talking about Riley being so popular on the Internet that I kinda' went, "Hey, waitaminute ..."

*shakes her head sadly*

Clearly, I need to sleep more.

-Sass

[rastven(d)]

oh my god, if I laughed any louder I think I might be danger of waking the dead that are known to inhabit this building.
Personal Initative has to be the best of all the April Fools Day jokes. I mean really, Islamic Demons, Dracula, the whole evil axis metaphor and to make it better an "actress" of the calibre of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.

I have to say I would be the first to buy the DVD's of this series, lol

Some days I think the Internet was invented by 60's scientists solely for the purpose of perpetrating practical jokes on colleagues that they didn't see very often. The idea that it would speed up research by sharing ideas was merely an elaborate ruse to secure funding.

[tyche]

BBC news story here.

[Killin Joke]

In dire need of some clarity, please: So there is going to be a spin-off around Giles, right ? And not called The Watcher but Ripper, which is a way more wicked name. You could confuse these watchers with those from Highlander... Lucky bastard (I've always wanted Joss to give Eliza Dushku her own show, around Faith, but that was totally wishful thinking from my part of course )

[tyche]

Last I heard, it was still called 'Ripper'. But it has apparently been put on hold for the immediate future so that Joss can concentrate on 'Firefly'.

[Killin Joke]

Thanks for the info, Tyche. So with a bit of luck we might be expecting two spin-offs from the Master (bad choice of words really /chuckle/)

[Kiwiccan]

Epicurus, If only Joss could talk Amber into making a CD. I love her voice, especially the lower tones she is capable of producing. Her lower tones make my insides quiver and I go all weak.

[tyche]

Not strictly spoilery:
www.forbes.com/newswire/2002/04/16/rtr569639.html

Link from www.slayage.com/

[Kalita]

Um, I'm quite sure it's not. They're going for a sci-fi audience, many of whom scoff at the Buffy franchise and don't go for the horror/fantasy elements.

If they did tie it in, there'd be a real problem; not only with sci-fi purists, who would deplore the 'cheap' demon angle; but also from the Buffy fans, who'd want to know if immortals like Spike, Dru or Angel are still around and if they'll make guest appearances or something. It'd get silly pretty fast.

Then again, I'd love to see Melaka Fray do a guest appearance, but I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the actress, or something. Knowing me...

[sam7777]

It could be the future of the Buffyverse. I guess I spent too many years watching Star Trek to get excited about another show with a crew on a star ship. I'll be giving this one a miss.

Editted to add: Even before the Tara thing, I didn't want to watch Firefly. The whole Civil War/Reconstruction theme to the show has my eyes glaxzing over. Besides who wants to watch another show with doomed relationships.

Here's a little tidbit from the Fireflyfans.net fan forum:
[b:d0e0b489e9] Firefly Contributing To The End Of Buffy?[/b:d0e0b489e9]

"First Whedon drops the Iron Man movie and now it looks like he is taking a gamble and sacrificing Buffy in bringing Firefly to life and making it a huge success.

An article posted on the Firefly: Ultimate Resource website suggested that Joss's committment to turning Firefly into a successful series for Fox may be contributing to the demise of Whedon's other series, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer."

[tyche]

According to FilmForce, Joss is no longer attached to the film of 'Iron Man' due to 'Firefly'.
Some interesting info on voices for the Buffy animated series at IMDb - both Giles and Oz will be voiced by different actors. I think their info may not be entirely correct, though, as I remember reading a while back that SMG would not be doing the voice for Buffy.
Links from Slayage.

[AutumnT]

I've some friends in the biz and rumors are flying fast and furious in Hollywood right now about Firefly.

It seems it is way way overbudget and the cast is just not clicking.

Things are so bad that FOX is considering not putting it on the air despite the commitment they made to it. They aren't too happy with out of control costs after dealing with Chris Carter for years...

Thought that might lighten the mood a little.

[sassyeggs]

[b:7e0f1c14a4] AutumnT[/b:7e0f1c14a4]: I've got a friend that works for Fox, too, and they said pretty much the same thing. They want ME to cut costs on the show and possibly recast/restructure some major roles.

On a Scooby Doo note, [b:7e0f1c14a4] eirefaerie's[/b:7e0f1c14a4] boyfriend got us both Scooby Doo t-shirts from the movie theater where he works. I'm so excited. I must be a genuine dork.

[xita]

Thanks to both of you, I have a smile on my face now I hope it was all worth it

[BBOvenGuy]

I'd also heard rumblings that [i:3273919d04] Firefly[/i:3273919d04] was behind schedule and very expensive, but this is the first I've heard about the cast trouble.

Joss was at his most successful when he was humble and put upon. Getting the extra money from UPN last year seems to have gone to his head. What a surprise for someone born and raised in Hollywood...

[sassyeggs]

Glad I could cheer you up a touch, [b:1ca6de7028] xita[/b:1ca6de7028]. I know you and many others have lost hope, but try to keep a little hope, even if it's delusional, like mine!

[AutumnT]

I was only too happy to share.