Logo
Lovejoy Surgicenter
ISSUE #32.31 • NEWS • NEWS STORY

How Portland Found Serenity


Local fans of a sci-fi cult fave go international.

Social bookmarking | Permalink
Email | Print | Rate It! | 5 comments
Recently in "News"

July 23rd, 2008
Cover Story • BEST OF PORTLAND: By the People, For the People0 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Made Marion | Growers of marionberries try to rescue their crop from attack.2 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Murmurs • We still believe in Harvey Dent.0 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Rogue of the Week • Outlaw cyclists | Road rage rides on two wheels.12 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Cycling under the influence | Safer than driving? Maybe. But still very illegal.1 comment

July 23rd, 2008
A Separate Peace | Activists want Portland to be a sanctuary for AWOL soldiers.7 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Call Me Crazy | Man: HI. Woman: Y R U Bothering Me?2 comments

July 23rd, 2008
The Hole in the Fiber Doughnut | Commissioner Dan Saltzman wants fiber in the city’s web diet.3 comments

July 23rd, 2008
Mystery Raid | Federal seizure of local charity’s computers puts Iranian community on edge.2 comments

July 23rd, 2008
The Score • Nazis, terrorists and gamblers join the listening circle.1 comment


IT'S...ALIVE! Serenity characters like River Tam (Summer Glau) keep Browncoats marching.
BY ZACH DUNDAS | zdundas at wweek dot com

[June 7th, 2006] Judged by the iron rules of showbiz, Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly and the spinoff movie Serenity were failures. Interesting—with their ragged Wild West-meets-sci-fi settings and cast of gunslinging outlaw spacefarers cursing in Chinese—but failures. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator's series bombed on Fox in 2002. The follow-up film stalled at the box office last September.

But that's the old paradigm talking. Firefly attracted an extraordinary worldwide corps of fans who call themselves Browncoats. (The name comes from an always-outgunned rebel army key to Firefly mythology.) And now, Portland's own Browncoats are spearheading an international effort to breathe new life into Serenity, which won critical acclaim, if not huge ticket sales.

In late June, near-simultaneous Serenity screenings in at least 33 cities—from Portland and Montreal to Adelaide, Australia—will raise money for Equality Now, a women's-rights organization Whedon supports. The coordinated onslaught came together online, but originated in a nighttime carpool on Portland's east side.

"It was the end of December," says Christopher Frankonis, the local Browncoat best known for blogging about local politics under the name The One True b!X. "Three or four of us were on the way home from either the Laurelhurst or the Kennedy School. We started talking about how the second-run screenings [of Serenity] were winding down. How can we see it on the big screen again?

"In a few minutes, that turned into 'Let's pick a day and try to organize a screening.' In about five seconds, that turned into 'Let's do a charity screening.' And about two seconds after that, it became, 'Let's pitch this to everyone.'"













icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

That night, Frankonis nabbed the Internet domain name Cantstoptheserenity.com. Six months later, "Serenity Now/Equality Now" testifies to the Web's capacity to harness the energy of obsessed civilians everywhere.

Frankonis finessed distribution issues with Universal Studios and played a coordinating role. Otherwise, fans in individual cities organized the showings themselves. "I was relentless in pimping the idea," Frankonis says. "Once people emailed me to say they were organizing in Boston, say, I put that up on the site. But there's no central office picking which cities would be involved."

Screenings are scattered over June 22-25. The Portland event, June 23 at Cinema 21 in Northwest Portland, will serve as a rallying point for the local Browncoat battalion. With a Yahoo! group 356 members strong, Portland's Firefly fanbase is one small example of how grassroots, Web-connected enthusiasts are rewriting the entertainment industry's rules.

"It's an interesting period," Frankonis says. "The fanbase is still in the process of collectively deciding what it's going to be. The thing about this particular show is that there's so little of it, any enjoyment we're going to get out of it in the future is going to have to be self-generated. In this case, for once, it's not just fans organizing to convince someone to keep making a show they like. It's fans organizing for the benefit of something bigger."

For tickets and other information on Portland's

"Serenity Now/Equality Now" screening, see www.serenitynow.pdxbrowncoats.com.

 

Rate This Story
Be the first to rate this story.

Comment on this article

Story Forum Archive  writes on Jun 7th, 2006 12:00am

How Portland Found Serenity
Nice piece. One item not addressed is the fan base ranges from young to old.
—L Peterson

Story Forum Archive  writes on Jun 8th, 2006 12:00am

How Portland Found Serenity
I am so pleased to see this exceptional movie get back on the big screen. Throw in some benefit for women's rights and suddenly bright spots of energy appear all across the planet. I bet you'll be able to see it from space on the weekend of the solstace.
—Pam Leneve

Story Forum Archive  writes on Jun 13th, 2006 12:00am

How Portland Found Serenity
So glad to know that I'm not the only person out there who names her vehicles and pets Jayne, Mal, Wash and Kaylee. This is a great article -- well written and passionate without too much sap or whining. I will be at the event with bells on!
—Sarah D. H.

Story Forum Archive  writes on Jun 23rd, 2006 12:00am

How Portland Found Serenity
It's great to see the WW giving some love to this cause. This is proof that geeks en masse can get some good done in this world! Hopefully we can sell this screening out.
—Tracy D

Story Forum Archive  writes on Jun 28th, 2006 12:00am

How Portland Found Serenity
It would be great to see some kind of follow-up in the WW about how successful the Portland screening was, and the event worldwide as well. Maybe after the total are available in the next week or two?
—Jen H.

Comment on the "How Portland Found Serenity" article


Best of Portland
Ad
OMSI
Ad

Ad

Sponsored Links: WW Personals
Musician's Market
Snowboard Jackets


Recently in Willamette Week
July 24th 2008Lean, Mean Meat-Free Machine | Portlander Robert Cheeke is the face of vegan bodybuilding.
July 24th 2008The Sopranokovs | The Russian mob comes to town with a new scam—medical identity theft.
July 24th 2008Manhunter | Almost every state lets bounty hunters chase down its most wanted. Why doesn’t Oregon?
July 24th 2008Get Wet: WW’s Summer Guide 2008 | The rain is finally over. Now let’s get wet!
July 24th 2008New Kids In The Flock | Gresham’s twin teenage sensations go about their Father’s business. And it’s making them superstars.
July 24th 2008The Price is WHAT? | Second-guessing City Hall—it’s more fun than Monopoly!
July 24th 2008Welcome to Googleville | America’s newest information superhighway begins On Oregon’s Silicon Prairie.
July 24th 2008Fleeced | While students across Oregon celebrate graduation, many are facing a gnawing problem—they’re getting sheared by huge debt.
July 24th 2008A Bridge Over The River Why? | Local pols say global warming is a dire threat. But they want to spend $4.2 billion on a project that makes driving easier.