The little guy fights back

When the television show Firefly was canceled in 2003, its fans were upset. (And rightly so, because this was one of the best television shows evah. Seriously.) When the first (and only) season of the series was released on DVD, sales went through the roof and Universal Studios thought, "Hey, we can make more money off of this" and gave the go ahead to Joss Whedon to make Serenity, a feature film set in the Firefly universe. (It had the same characters and was actually a sequel/postscript of sort to the series.)

In advance of the September 2005 theatrical release of Serenity, there were a number of intriguing viral marketing campaigns (including the "R. Tam Sessions"). More importantly, the fan base put its heart into promoting the film. Although Serenity didn't rake in the big bucks at the theater (probably not enough to generate a sequel, I'm afraid), the film enjoyed a phenomenal PR campaign--much of it at no cost to Universal, thanks to legions of loyal fans who spread the word (with Universal's encouragement) and pleaded with everyone they knew to see the film. (In many forums I remember reading pleas from fans that people go see the film on opening weekend, since box-office receipts during those few days are often the only measure studios count when considering whether or not to make sequels. And Firefly fans didn't want to Whedon's tale to end!)

So two days ago I read this piece at Slashdot. Here's the text behind the link:

"What happens when a film studio and a fanbase get into bed? Fans of Joss Whedon's Firefly, and the movie by Universal Studios — Serenity — are not amused. After being encouraged to viral market Serenity, the studio has started legal action against fans (demanding $9000 in retroactive licensing fees in one case and demanding fan promotion stop), and going after Cafepress. The fans response? Retroactively invoice Universal for their services."

Go, Browncoats!