Please God- I hope this never happens

[Justme]

Litheran disagrees: Talk like that is why Batman grew nipples. = 0

I lol'd, my new sig.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

Says who? What about other famous creations? Dracula? Robin Hood? Romeo and Juliet. The reason they do stick around is because they are being constantly re-imagined. I don't think that you can say "Okay this format is ok to retell but not this one".

All of those characters are in the public domain, and their creators are long dead. Robin Hood was a folklore character with no specific creator.

Again I don't think you give enough credit to the original concept of the blonde cutiepie being the chosen one. The ideas of popularity vs responsibility, breaking stereotypes, female empowerment, isolation etc they are all there.

True... which is why WB should create such a character, and make as many movies about her as they want.

I think we can reach common ground here though. I think the biggest problem is the manufacturing of a "hit", if they manage to turn Buffy into something as shallow and bad as Twilight that just so happens to push enough tweenies buttons to make a buck it would be sad.

My hope is that if it does get made, it will be like the A-Team movie... just another piece of product crapped out by the Reboot Machine that comes and goes with no notice and hardly leaves any mark on the fandom of the original.

Of course that's not likely, given all the free publicity this movie is already getting.

Joss plays in this playground though, he is part of it so he can't complain too much.

Joss hasn't ever made a licensed movie against the will of the franchise's creator. The Alien movies were a group effort made by and for a studio, and The Avengers is a comic book property. Its creator, Stan Lee, stands to make millions if it's a success.

 

[dan k]

Joss is the genius behind Buffy, it was he and his team that made us laugh, cry and love the characters. He wrote it in such a unique way which won't be replicated in this new film. The quirks of the show won't be there, the cast won't be there, most of the characters won't be there, in summary it isn't going to be the Buffy we all love.

My worry is that if it does well people will just forget about the television series and it doesn't deserve that treatment. The cast and Joss don't deserve that.

In some ways i hope it is terrible. Maybe it would lead to Joss deciding to protect his baby and bring something out to show people "The real Buffy". Ok so that is very unlikely but i can still dream.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

True... which is why WB should create such a character, and make as many movies about her as they want.

This is a different argument and can discuss it differently but.. if Fox and WB both own properties to Buffy, Fox thinks there is movie value and WB does not, why should Fox not do it? I dont see an issue with them doing a Buffy movie; how they are doing it, possibly. But them having the ability to do a movie, I have no problem. Do you think Fox would do a movie if WB had plans to do one as well?

 

[Litheran]

This is the last I'll say on it; I get very few chances to be a rabid fan-boy. The last time something this precious to me was being fiddled with was Dawn of the Dead and Superman Returns; which blew Kryptonite chunks. So for the meantime I'm gonna remain pessimistic and inconsolable. Because the DoTD remake is now in my top 5 zombie flicks of all time. And I'm hoping that lightning might strike twice......but it's still gonna suck compared to the show.

Maybe if it had been an instance where the show continued through the slayer line ala The Doctor and his regenerations.

If you have to ask Doctor Who?; we can't be besties =(.

 

[Justme]

Andrew, just a couple of points to save me chopping up the quote again.

Yes those characters are in the public domain but it goes back again to the legal vs moral. If it's wrong because she isn't in public domain then it's ok because they clearly own the legal rights. If it's wrong because it's wrong to steal somebodies character then I am sure most of the stories I named were retold by others around the same time (I read something about Dracula just recently). Even if they weren't I refer you back to Superman, Batman etc.

When I said Joss plays in the same playground I meant the cynical commercialised entertainment one. Buffys cast is entirely made up of thin pretty white people.

 

[Kean]

What are they? How is it nothing like that? Please explain, because I do not see a difference.

I can't speak for Linds but what I find the fundamental difference between the Buffy reboot and the above mentioned is that they happened years after the original or the story was intended to be in several tellers hands. More to the point the creators of these other franchises were not currently still writing and producing canonical material for said franchise.

On top of that the Buffy franchise is nowhere in the league of the above mentioned in terms of notoriety. The only people who want a Buffy film are Buffy fans and Buffy fans want Joss telling that story.

I am not a hardcore fan of Batman, Star Trek or Spiderman. In fact I have only ever seen reboots. I would estimate that 99% of my friends who have seen these reboots are in the same boat. However, those friends (the majority of which are not Buffy fans) would not just go and see a Buffy movie like they would Batman, Trek and Spidey.

This all screams of the studio cashing in on a fad.

The only reboot I think is truly a suitable comparison is the Battlestar Galactica reboot of 2003. This happened decades after the original BSG ended and was so removed from the original (not to mention ridiculously good) that it satisfied the old hardcores who felt like their show had not been pissed all over but it brought in a totally new fanbase.

That's how a reboot should be done. Not this farce.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

Andrew, just a couple of points to save me chopping up the quote again.

Yes those characters are in the public domain but it goes back again to the legal vs moral. If it's wrong because she isn't in public domain then it's ok because they clearly own the legal rights. If it's wrong because it's wrong to steal somebodies character then I am sure most of the stories I named were retold by others around the same time (I read something about Dracula just recently). Even if they weren't I refer you back to Superman, Batman etc.

I believe in the concept of public domain... that after a time, when the creator is dead and no longer telling stories of his creation, that the story and characters should be released to the public to do with what they want. But by its very nature, public domain laws guarantee that the creator and his heirs will not have their creation taken away from them. When the first vampire movie, "Nosferatu," was made, the widow of Bram Stoker (creator of Dracula) sued the filmmakers because they called the vampire "Count Dracula" and lifted many parts of his story from the book... "Dracula" was still under copyright then. But today it's not, and anyone can use the character or make a movie of the story, or a new story based on it.

Decades from now, when Joss is long gone and no longer telling Buffy's story, I'd have no problem with somebody else doing their own take on it. The immorality comes from doing this right in Joss's face, without his approval or involvement. Everything Buffy is, is Joss. WB is just sucking a free meal out of his life's work... like a vampire.

 

[Icarium]

This all screams of the studio cashing in on a fad.

You mean to imply that studios sometimes have other reasons for producing movies? I am shocked. 🙂

Yes those characters are in the public domain but it goes back again to the legal vs moral. If it's wrong because she isn't in public domain then it's ok because they clearly own the legal rights. If it's wrong because it's wrong to steal somebodies character then I am sure most of the stories I named were retold by others around the same time (I read something about Dracula just recently). Even if they weren't I refer you back to Superman, Batman etc.

Well put.

 

[Litheran]

Oh, forget my earlier statement because it appears the movie has already been made and is being screened for a group of actors.


Let's see what Mel Gibson thinks.


Mel Gibsons Review

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

What are they? How is it nothing like that? Please explain, because I do not see a difference.

Mostly what Kean said, but it's also the shameless grabbing of the name that was built up by someone else that is just wrong. If the name is all they have, the character will be completely different. This isn't a reboot, this is a different story, with different characters, and they just happen to be legally allowed to use the name.

Each James Bond film is about James Bond. Superman and Batman were handed to DC (or whatever, I always get these mixed up!) to be used. Star Trek's various spin offs were all, always, controlled by the creators. The reboot is using the same characters. It's perhaps telling a different story, but it's fundamentally the same.

What all these don't do, is use the name solely as a marketing tool to sell their own AU fanfiction, without the consent of the person who made that name marketable.

 

[Fenrik]

Wow!
So the world actually WILL end in 2012! 😱

 

[Washburne]

My worry is that if it does well people will just forget about the television series and it doesn't deserve that treatment. The cast and Joss don't deserve that.

This argument is mentioned by a few. You're realizing what you're all doing right? If the show will be forgotten it'll be because we will let it be. Us, the current fans, and not people that just watch the movie.

Would the show be forgotten if the movie wasn't made?
If yes, then the movie getting made doesn't change a thing. If no, then why would it be forgotten just because someone else made something totally different (better or worse) with the same name? Do real fans move on to something else simply because it's newer?

I don't think you give those who I guess you'd like to call the real Buffy fans enough credit.

 

[zobothehobo]

This argument is mentioned by a few. You're realizing what you're all doing right? If the show will be forgotten it'll be because we will let it be. Us, the current fans, and not people that just watch the movie.

Would the show be forgotten if the movie wasn't made?
If yes, then the movie getting made doesn't change a thing. If no, then why would it be forgotten just because someone else made something totally different (better or worse) with the same name? Do real fans move on to something else simply because it's newer?

I don't think you give those who I guess you'd like to call the real Buffy fans enough credit.

My worry isn't that the show if forgotten by us... it's that when the average Joe walks down the street and hears someone talking about Buffy, they don't think "Oh Buffy that TV show" they think "Oh Buffy that movie in 2012." My worry isn't that any of the current fans will forget the show... but before I watched Buffy, I had heard of it. Most people have. Outside the fan base, there are a lot of misconceptions about the show... but generally when people think 'Buffy,' they think SMG and the show... even if they don't like it or have never seen it.

 

[sk]

Can't say that I am delighted over a reboot. It isn't exactly something I have always wanted...
But I don't hate the idea. Basically I don't care actually.

In my opinion the worst thing that will happen is that we get another crappy movie among many.
Best case is that we gets another good movie. I can live with that.

None of it will change the way I feel about the original movie, the tv show or anything else really...
What others think when they hear Buffy now or in the future I don't care much about either.

/SK

 

[Washburne]

If everyone think like that fine. Maybe it's me taking it wrong. Or some need to try and improve the way they're phrasing themselves. At least if they're english natives. 😉 And that's coming from me, the master or being missunderstood. But ok, I get what you mean. I just don't worry or will be upset by it. Sad maybe. Time passes, things change. If people forget it ,it mean that they didnn't care much if anything to begin with. And honestly, if they don't care about the show/character I love why then should I care about what they think?

To me it's a much worse problem that people confuse Sweden with Switzerland.
Ok, not really.

 

[frankie]

I might be the only one who likes this idea. Looking at it as a separate piece of work from the show I think it could really work. It could be absolute crap but that's how I'm feeling about Buffy at the moment. If season 9 impresses me and gets me back to being someone who's looking forward to Buffy then I say scrap the movie idea but at the moment I feel that team Joss is doing a shitty job and I have no problem with some newbies taking a shot. If it doesn't work, no big deal for me - it's not the show. If it does then I'll be happy to see a character I love given a new lease of life. Season 8 has a few issues left to turn things around but at the moment I don't like Buffy. I rather a crappy movie tarnish the show than the current canonical stuff. At least as a fan I can say, "well that movie was shit but it's not the show". Sadly I can't say that about season 8.

 

[MRNewman]

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand - I don't want to see my memory of the series tarnished by a crappy movie. On the other hand, if it's amazing it could introduce an entire new generation of people interested in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

[Hale Caesar]

As far as I know, they only have rights to Buffy - a vampire slayer. So as well as none of the other characters... None of the Sunnydale mythology - so, no Hellmouths (anywhere). No soul-having vampires. No Slayer backstory. I even read somewhere that the last name "Summers" might be a TV-show only thing. So they're pretty much getting "generic vampire hunter who just so happens to be called Buffy".

Wow. I was trying to look on the bright side of this movie, but now it's pitch black. Buffy was so great because of all the cast and characters she was surrounded by that helped each other become better

"Generic Vampire Killer Named Buffy" lol

 

[VisionGirl]

Wow. I was trying to look on the bright side of this movie, but now it's pitch black. Buffy was so great because of all the cast and characters she was surrounded by that helped each other become better

"Generic Vampire Killer Named Buffy" lol

That's what I was thinking today- the genius about Buffy is that it wasn't a solo supergirl saving the world. It was her & her misfit friends! The Core Four's friendships were such a huge part of the show, & without that, is it really Buffy? I guess they could dig up some other friends for her, but I rather think that they'll ignore that element for a sexier Buffy, great visual effects, and more violence.... Or they'll uber-camp it like the 1st movie.