Serenity: The Official Visual Companion

by Joss Whedon

Penned by Whedon and Brett Matthews, who wrote several episodes of Firefly as well as Dark Horse's final Angel comics series and the animated Chronicles of Riddick feature "Dark Fury," Serenity follows a ship full of mercenaries, fugitives and one law-abiding prostitute in their pursuit for fast cash and a little peace along the fringes of space. The ragtag crew of Serenity take on a scavanger mission with the hopes of earning enough dough to disappear for a while. Only too late do they realize the whole gig is orchestrated by an old enemy eager remake their aquanitance with the help of some covert-operatives known only as the Blue Gloves. Artist Will Conrad (Marvel's Elektra and Witches) and colorist Laura Martin (Astonishing X-Men and The Ultimates) paint a rough and wild world of adventure across a strange and dangerous universe, in this not-to-be-missed tale straight from the brain of pop-culture mastermind Joss Whedon!

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Media Tie In, Tv, Art, Film, Pop Culture

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Joss Whedon (born Joseph Hill Whedon) is an American screenwriter, executive producer, film and television director, comic book writer, occasional composer, and actor, and the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures.

He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)', 'Angel (1999–2004)', 'Firefly (2002)' and its film follow-up 'Serenity (2005)', and 'Dollhouse (2009–2010)', as well as the web-series' 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)'. Whedon co-wrote and produced the horror film 'The Cabin in the Woods (2012)', and wrote and directed the film adaptation of Marvel's 'The Avengers (2012)', the third highest-grossing film of all time.

Many of Whedon's projects have cult status and his work is notable for portraying strong female characters and a belief in equality.

credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serenity: The Official Visual Companion by Joss Whedon goes perfect with the Firefly: Still Flying book. Being a big Firefly fan, of course I love the Serenity movie. Firefly addict. This book makes the Firefly junkie in me happy, like a kitten in a box of catnip! I love all the pictures, behind the scene info, characters on screen and off, props used, added info you won't get anywhere else. I still get weepy when I hear, "... leaf on the wind." Oh....I love this book...

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

erenity Official Visual Companion is like the director's commentary that goes on DVD. In this book, it's an in-depth interview with director Joss Whedon on the world of Serenity.

Joss Whedon talks about everything inside and outside of the movie. He talks about his inspiration, writing style, favourite scenes, Firefly (of course!) and its world, challenges, casting and all the other usual things you find in a "making of" book.

The 40 pages of interview provide a very good behind-the-scenes look at how the movie was produced. There are plenty of stories on shooting, the scenes, stunts and working with all the different actors and crew on set.

Just after the interview is the full shooting script for the movie. It is laid out with set photos, storyboards and concept art. It's pretty cool they included the designs for several ships and weapons.

For those who love the movie and TV series, this book will make for a very nice collection.

[Nightstar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this expecting a short, fun, behind the scenes look at the making of Serenity, and figured I'd probably skim through the official screenplay that makes up 2/3 of the book - or even skip it altogether. I honestly didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I'm glad I read it!

I've read a few plays before, but this is the first movie screenplay I've read, and it really felt as though I was watching the movie all over again. There's enough detail included in the notes to get a feel for the scene, and even though it's been several years since I last watched Serenity, I was able to vividly picture everything I was reading.

Overall, this was a really fun read, and I enjoyed hearing even more about the process of bringing the film to life. It was great revisiting this world after so long :)

[Paul Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Serenity (and Firefly), so I loved this book. It features 30 pages of an interview with creator Joss Whedon, plus several of his insightful pre-production memos to various departments (lighting, music, etc.). Then the book has the Serenity screenplay, including loads of production art, storyboards and notes from the cast. Seeing behind-the-scenes glimpses of how the film came together is fascinating and thrilling for Firefly fans, who are guaranteed to love and learn from this book.

[Vinton Bayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been an amazing resource for my Firefly podcast: Mighty Fine Shindig, as we covered the movie in our last episode #MFshindig

[Zanna Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clears up some points possibly missed in the movie. I appreciate the back story of the writing.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kirby Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful companion to an underrated SF film and series.

[Metalfist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na het lezen van het Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay had ik eigenlijk nog wel zin om nog eens zo’n soortgelijk werk te tackelen. Ik heb niet veel van dit soort geïllustreerde screenplays in mijn bezit, maar die van Serenity stond toch al een aantal jaren hoog in mijn toplijst. Misschien vanwege het feit dat ik grote fan ben van alles wat Whedon heeft gemaakt? Het zou zomaar kunnen. Ik las dit dan ook voor het laatst toen ik voor de zoveelste keer de Firefly reeks (en uiteraard Serenity) had gekeken.

Dat heb ik deze keer niet gedaan, maar misschien wel een kleine disclaimer dat ik lichtjes bevooroordeeld ben. Dat gezegd zijnde, Serenity: The Official Visual Companion blijft wel nog altijd de moeite voor eenieder die de franchise een warm hart toedraagt. Er wordt gestart met een kort (en humoristisch) voorwoord door Joss Whedon en daarna volgt er een lang interview (32 pagina’s!) met Joss Whedon dat werd afgenomen door Abbie Bernstein waarin op een aantal aspecten van het maken van de film dieper wordt ingegaan. Zo komt de toekomst van de reeks aan bod (onder andere de comic books en de hoop dat er nog meer in de toekomst zal verschijnen, dat is jammer genoeg – weten we nu waarschijnlijk wel met zekerheid – niet het geval) en alles wordt verteld met die typische Whedon-humor die zijn werk zo kenmerkend maakt. Van mij had het interview gerust nog wat langer mogen duren maar wat misschien nog even interessant is, is het toevoegen van Production Memos (of Memoes zoals Whedon het noemt) die geschreven werden ter voorbereiding van de reeks/film zoals een korte geschiedenisles. Natuurlijk volgt nadien nog hetgeen waar het echt om draait en dat is het volledige screenplay.

Dat wordt nog opgefleurd met flink wat foto’s uit de film maar ook met een hoop sketches van onder andere kostuums, setdesigns en wat weet ik nog allemaal. Dit is dus echt wel meer dan een Visual Companion ten opzichte van de film en de serie. Het interview is een grote meerwaarde voor eenieder die graag Joss Whedon hoort praten en zijn production memos zijn een erg leuke extra. Aanrader voor eenieder die fan is van Firefly en Serenity!

[Nights *Words à la Carte* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como fã do do filme Serenity, a continuação da aventura das personagens da série Firefly, criada por Joss Whedon, este livro tinha que fazer parte da minha biblioteca.

Nele, o autor fala-nos do processo criativo da história completa, das diferenças entre gravar a série e depois o filme, a construção das personagens, cenários, luz, música e tudo o resto que um fã gostaria de saber. Para além disso, está repleto de imagens e esboços, curiosidades, apontamentos sobre os actores e o guião original do filme.

Este é, pois, um livro para os fãs da história do Capitão Malcolm Reynolds e da sua tripulação de uma nave de carga, da categoria Firefly, chamada Serenity, que nem sempre se pode dar ao luxo de fazer os trabalhos mais "sérios" para sobreviver.

Se não forem fãs, recomendo que comecem pela novelização do filme, Serenity e depois, se se sentirem curiosos por saber mais um pouco deste mundo (ou mundos) criados por Joss Whedon, experimentem este companion.

[Kyle Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into the production of Serenity, this book includes the screenplay, interviews with Joss Whedon about the making of the movie, and various insights, factoids, and pre-production artwork. It gives us a glimpse into how the project came to be; the work of developing the characters, transforming Firefly from the small screen to the movie theater, and on the set stories. I really enjoyed learning more about this movie and am saddened that the TV series was so short lived. It was one of those things whose greatness wasn't recognized until too late.

[Clare Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The visual companion to the movie is excellent-- I wish it had interviews with more people than just Joss (did I just say that?) but it has new stuff that is so great to know. (Did you know Mal and Zoe were in a PoW camp together? Did you know this show owns my soul?)


In my copy, Amazon receipt: gift from Catherine Thangathurai.

"To Chels. For murdering you with Nathan jealousies and for Xmasy Spirity Goodness. Shiny Christmas! From Cate."

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The highlight of this book is the interview with Joss Whedon about the journey to making the movie. The script itself is interesting for the scenes that didn't make the final movie and the translations of Chinese expressions but it's the interview and behind-the-scenes stories and artwork that make this worthwhile.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the official companions to the series, the Serenity companion has the shooting script and various extras -- Joss Whedon's thoughts on stuff like art and music, lots of pictures, galleries of designs and stuff, bits about the background of the show and the movie... Well worth having, if you're a fan, and beautiful too.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shiny in-depth look at the production of Serenity the movie. There's even a screenplay complete with storyboards for some scenes. Lots of photographs and screenshots in full color. Oh and an interview with Joss Whedon himself! Tons of insights and facts about the movie. Must have for any Firefly fan.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Original Review from Sep 2005)

Ah. Truly sweet. A lengthy intro from Joss about the making of the movie and the Firefly universe, followed by the screenplay (including a few deleted scenes), all interlaced with numerous gorgeous color shots. A wonderful book for anyone with interest in the movie, or the ‘Verse.

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't even realize this existed until I snatched it up at the library. There's some wonderful backmatter in here, and I have to say, reading the script really puts things in a stronger context. I didn't even mean to read the script, but then my eye scanned over the first lines and I was done for. Great companion to the 'verse and the film.

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all the pictures and behind the scenes information that made the movie much more than it actually was. I read the script along with movie and that was fun to see where the actors deviated from the script.

[Liana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just, wow. Amazing companion to a beautiful movie. Spectacular work, guys; but it makes me even more sad that it ended. But you can't stop the signal... maybe there's still hope.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for reference for a paper I wrote in a film class on Serenity and Alien. Totally worth it if you loved the show or movie--Joss lends a lot of insight to the history, production aspects, etc.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better film guides. And so much pretty!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A script and treatment of the movie and mostly re-hashed production materials that were, nevertheless, interesting to revisit.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. More needs to be published about this fandom. WE NEED MORE!

[Rift Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The script of the "Serenity" movie with stills, concept art, and more. thought it was pretty good.

[William Herbst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Screenplay, pictures and essays about Serenity - well done.

[Keith Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Browncoat's wet dream.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from November 22, 2005

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little guide with many pictures from the scenes of the series. Not a lot of content but the visuals were nice.

[Ronni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must for firefly fans.